Alright. Big change coming up. I've decided to start writing this story in third person, first person has just begun to sound to clumsy to me to write, and uncomfortable to read. I'll slowly make my way back a few chapters, start changing those as well, but it may take some time. This will hopefully alleviate my poor writer's conscience and aid in further readings. It's a bit of a shift, but I think in the end it will be worth it.

Anyways, on with the (newly improved) story! Enjoy!

Merida POV

Merida awoke the next morning to a bright sunrise. She hated having to wake every morning at dawn. She never cared for the extravagant light show the sun rays put on, nor did she enjoy the presence of other people in the mornings.

Merida dressed slowly, not bothering to tuck her shirt in, nor tie her tie properly around her neck. Instead, she let it hang uselessly around her neck, the red colours blending in with her fiery red hair. Merida looked around the room, saw all the girls take longer than usual to prep themselves in front of the mirrors. They all chatted excitedly as they did their hair and straightened out their uniforms. She snorted loudly when she heard what it was they were gossiping about.

"Who do you think Trelliem's going to ask out?" Came one, bright voice.

"I dunno." Came another's shrill answer.

"I hope it's me." Came a quiet, soft voice, and I had to resist the urge to hold back a laugh.

From what Hiccup had told her about the other competitors, Sean was a little lacking in... mental awareness. He asked really obvious questions, and wasn't cunning in any way. Merida didn't think he was stupid, he just wasn't... very fast in the upper levels. At least, not compared to Amélie and Hiccup.

Just thinking about him made Merida's cheeks flush slightly. Ever since that night in the common room, she had felt her many feelings for him grow stronger, and there was now no doubt in her mind that Hiccup was someone special. There was a small amount of doubt still, that perhaps this was just her hormones, or her wish for a stronger friendship, but right along the surface was the surety of her emotions. They had never lied to her before, after all.

She wondered for a second if Hiccup would ask her to the dance, and decided that if he were to ask, she would go. She may actually... enjoy a dance with Hiccup.

At the thought of enjoying a dance, Merida's mind flashed back to the hundreds of balls her mother used to throw at the castle. She remembered how the room was always hot from the sweating bodies of the drunken men, dancing with their sweethearts through the night. How there was never a quiet moment, and how she was always forced into those tight, unbearable silk dresses in the hopes that one of the lords sons would notice the willowy flame of a sullenly reluctant bachelorette.

Merida shuddered violently at the memories, and decided she was in need to exit the room, before all the gossiping and fretting over looks began to affect her thoughts once again.

She rushed down the common rooms stairs and nearly collided with Punzie, who rested at the bottom step.

"Morning, Mer!" Punzie said cheerfully, bright and bubbly as ever in the morning.

"Hey Punz." Merida answered, joining her in sitting at the bottom of the staircase. "What are you sitting here for?"

"I'm waiting for Jack." She answered simply. "He's late. Again."

"Hm. Surprising."

Hiccup's suggestion that Punzie and Jack may have... other feelings for each other had thrown of whatever mental equilibrium Merida may have possessed. The thought of the two of them as more than friends... it was more than a little disorienting. Then again, if Punzie and Jack ever found out about her and Hiccup it wouldn't be much different.

"You don't have to wait for me." Rapunzel told her, offering a thoughtful smile. "Poor Hiccup's probably all alone in the Great Hall, eating by himself..."

Merida raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Punzie blushed slightly. "Course not."

Merida laughed lightly and stood. "It's fine, Punz. I'll see you in a few minutes. If Frosty ever shows up, that is."

"See you, Mer." Punzie said, then turned her attention back to a book Merida hadn't realized she was reading.

Merida left the common room, stepping out of the portrait that concealed the doorway. She walked down the corridors, making her way to the Great Hall. She was hungry, and would never survive her classes on an empty stomach. The thought was terrifying, the idea of facing Pitch with a growling stomach almost made her feel less hungry.

She neared the Great Hall, the noise growing louder in small increments, and entered quietly, searching both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables for a certain auburn-headed wizard. As her eyes scanned the bustling crowd as they spoke over breakfast, she saw a hand, waving at her from the back of the room. Hiccup.

Merida smiled and walked over to him, trying to find seats around their usual place, which was a little fuller than usual. The bench surrounding them was full of other girls, trying to be subtle as they stole looks at Hiccup. Merida gritted her teeth and sat between Hiccup and the desperate girls, trying to refrain from glaring at the gaggling group of blondes and brunettes.

"Morning, Merida." Came Hiccups morning greeting.

"Morning." She replied shortly, the girls having put her in a foul mood to start the day. Hiccup caught this and frowned.

"Everything alright?" He asked quietly, sitting a little closer as he leaned over his barely eaten plate.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Deciding she needed to turn this conversation around, Merida quickly summoned a new subject sure to distract Hiccup from any not-so-subtle glares cast across the table.

"So, where did you go last night?" She asked him, hiding her suspicion in careful nonchalance.

"I, uh, went to the common room. You know, like I said I would." He answered, seemingly caught off-guard by this question.

Merida snorted. "Sure. And Punzie got suspended for not finishing her homework on time."

Hiccup sighed in defeat and looked back down at his food, picking at it with his fork.

"I went on a flight." He mumbled, eyes darting across the table, making sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Why didn't you just say?" Merida asked, disappointed in the answer, though she had been expecting it. "We all know Toothless has to-"

"Not with Toothless." Hiccup amended, sitting back so he could gauge her reaction.

"Oh." Was all she said. This was different. Flying with Toothless was one thing, but flying on his own...

"I know I said I shouldn't, because I may be caught, but I needed-"

"Hey guys!" Came Rapunzel's voice. Her cheerful tone jolting the two of them. Hiccup was even startled enough to drop his fork loudly onto his plate, then flush red when a few heads turned in his direction at the abrupt sound.

Jack looked only half alive as he sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes. He was obviously tired; he probably spent the night awake. Merida took as an opportunity for revenge.

"Oi, Frosty. You look like you didn't sleep at all." Merida said, feeding him his own line.

"Whatever, Princess." Jack muttered, too exhausted to think of a good reply.

Merida grinned and continued. "You know, you should be getting your beauty rest at night. It's a lot less painful to look at you when you're not half asleep."

"So you admit I'm easy on the eyes when I get my beauty rest?" Jack managed a weak smile.

"I said easier." She scoffed. "You're hard to look at either way."

"Sure, Princess. Everybody know you can't resist all this." He said, lazily gesturing to himself.

"All of what?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.

"Oh, ha ha. Nice one, Horrendous." Jack mumbled, laying his head down on the table.

The remaining three stared down at the young Guardian for a few moments, before deciding to ignore him as he began to take a nap on his plate. It was slightly pathetic, but Merida made a decision to cease in teasing him, at least for the moment.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Rapunzel exclaimed suddenly, delving into her bag for something.

Merida and Hiccup shared a quick look of confusion as Punzie continued searching through her bag, muttering to herself and occasionally pulling the odd object out to make it easier to search for whatever it is she was looking for.

Finally triumphant, she pulled out what looked like pieces of parchment, though thinner than what we were used to. She slid them across the table, and Merida picked them up. She scanned over the pictures quickly, taking note in how well thought out each one was.

On each one of the three pieces of parchment were two dress designs, totaling in six all together. They were all floor-length gowns, varying in design and colour. Some were very simple, layered dresses, while others were sketched out in precise detail. Some had jewels on them, others were coloured with rich shades of watercolour. Each one of them were beautiful in their own way.

"What are these for?" Merida asked, a little confused as to why she was showing her sketches of ballgowns.

"They're designs for your dress, for the Easter Ball." Punzie stated, as though it were obvious. Merida looked up from the papers, a disbelieving look on her face.

"You weren't kidding when you said you'd make the dresses?" She asked, shocked.

"It's probably the only time we'll ever go to a ball together. The dresses need to be as special as the night." Punzie said, in all seriousness, though she still smiled.

Merida nodded and looked back down to the three pieces of paper in her hand. How was she supposed to choose from all these? Seeing her confused expression, Rapunzel looked at her sympathetically and leaned over the table, so she could see the papers.

"I think this one would look best on you." She told Merida quietly, tapping one of the dresses on the second page.

It was a floor length gown, coloured with bright paint. It was a beautiful shade of dark, Celtic green, with tiny gold stitching woven along the sleeves. The sleeves came down to just below the elbows, and were slit down the center, looking both elegant and functionable. Celtic knots were illustrated wrapping around the middle, just below the rib cage in bright golden paint, which shone in the torchlight.

The result was a beautiful gown, looking like flowing green grass on a windy day. Add what looked like a gold headpiece to the ensemble and it created an impressive image.

"Then I'll choose that one." Merida said finally, handing the pages back to Punzie, who smiled excitedly.

Merida cast a at Hiccup, who was still picking at his food. His brow was furrowed, and he was obviously thinking about something. He didn't seem to hear her when she called his name. She said it a bit louder this time, and he started suddenly, eyes wide as he looked at her.

"I can't decide who's worse, you or Jack. What're you thinking about?" Merida asked as Punzie caused a ruckus trying to place everything back into her too small book bag.

"N-nothing." He stuttered, not fooling anyone. Merida gave him a look, and he sighed.

"Just... last night, when we noticed the Fat Lady was missing, that wasn't the first time this month." He spoke slowly, picking through his words carefully as he explained. He cast a quick look at Jack, who was busy sleeping on his empty breakfast plate.

"You mean she was gone before?" Merida asked. The Fat Lady being missing was unusual in itself, but missing more than once, and in the same month? That was enough to cause suspicion, and Merida had a feeling Hiccup had already felt suspicious for quite some time.

Hiccup nodded, and placed his fork down on the table gently, making sure not to make a noise this time.

"I know that the Guardians use the portraits to spy for them, to keep an eye on the students when they can't." He explained, Merida trying to hold back her surprise. "They report back to them whenever the Guardians have a meeting."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

Using the portraits to spy on the students... that was something very serious. It meant all those times in the hallways, confessing things to her friends, complaining about the teachers themselves, those moments were never private. They were always being watched.

"I've seen it happen." Hiccup said. By now, Rapunzel had managed to stuff the parchment back into her bag, and was listening to him speak with wide eyes.

"When those Ministry officials arrived, more portraits than just the Fat Lady went missing." Hiccup told us.

"Sir Lancelot in the eastern corridor, he was missing." Punzie chimed in, adding even more proof to Hiccup's already hard facts.

Merida nodded, thinking back to last nights walk down the corridors. It had seemed rather quiet, with none of the portraits usual chatter to fill the silence.

"This is big." Hiccup said, suddenly much more somber. "And I think... I think it has something to do with the tournament, and the fact that I'm a champion."

She paused for a moment. It would make sense, after all, Hiccup was a wanted criminal in some of the ministry officials eyes. All because he was the subject of a dark prophecy no one was even sure meant something important. He hadn't actually committed any crimes, just the fact that he was here was enough to spur them into action.

"You think they're trying to find ways to sabotage you in the tournament?" Merida asked.

Hiccup shook his head. "I think they want me to win."

At that moment, the plates and food disappeared from the table, and Jack woke up as his head collided with the hard surface of the table. He cursed once and groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked, her bright green eyes wide with curiosity.

Hiccup paused for a moment and looked behind him suddenly. Merida looked over her shoulder as well, trying to see what he spotted. Of course. Just what Merida bloody needed. Girls.

"Hi." One of them said, a loud blonde with dark brown eyes.

"Yes?" Merida demanded, blue eyes aflame.

The blonde took one look at her unruly red hair, un-tucked shirt, and careless demeanor before switching her attention back over to Hiccup and Jack.

"You boys have dates to the Easter Ball yet?" She asked, her wavy-haired brunette friend joining her.

Merida saw Jack blink confusedly and Hiccup splutter on his drink. With wide eyes, Hiccup coughed once and placed his drink back on the table. Jack, however, straightened up, suddenly awake.

"Uh, no. I uh, no. No." Hiccup stammered, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh." Said the blonde, smiling. "What about you, Frost?"

"No." Jack said, rather icily. Then, plastering a careless smirk on his face he covered up the rather harsh reply. "But I'm thinking of asking someone."

At this, her brunette friend looked a little disappointed. The blonde only continued smiling, much to my annoyance.

"Well, you can find us at Slytherin table... if you're interested." The blonde concluded.

The second they left, all four of them sighed a breath of relief, sharing knowing looks of exasperation with each other.

"Oh gods." Hiccup muttered, taking a long swig from his goblet.

"Did they even tell us their names?" Jack asked, not directing the question to anyone in particular. Merida scoffed, trying to cool down her temper.

"I hate girls like that." She said aloud. "Fake smiles, batting eyelashes, high-pitched giggles and gossiping."

"News flash, Mer." Jack said, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You're going to be seeing that all week."

"Looking forward to it." She muttered, unable to keep the small trace of anger from her voice.

"We should get going." Punzie announced, standing up suddenly, clutching her book bag. "We have Charms next."

They all stood silently, lost in their own thoughts. Merida wanted to break the silence. It reminded her too much of awkward family dinners at the casle, everyone somber after another argument between her and her mother.

"So, Frosty." She began. She saw Hiccup sigh, knowing where this was going. "When you said you were thinking of asking someone... "

"What?" Jack asked. "That was a cover story."

"Yeah, right." Merida scoffed. "So, who's the unlucky lady?"

"No one." Jack said, suddenly defensive. "I made it up."

Merida cast a quick look at Rapunzel, who appeared very uncomfortable. She sighed. It seemed as though those girls had ruined more than just one mood this morning. They continued walking in since down to Charms class, only to be surprised by something very unpleasant upon arrival.

"You have got to be kidding me." Hiccup exclaimed upon entering.

"Welcome students!" Prof. Toothiana called out cheerfully. "Come take a seat! We'll be starting ballroom dancing in a few minutes."