I do not own Brave or HTTYD.

Chapter Fourteen: Tradition

Hiccup didn't expect her to be in the room they'd previously shared—her parents were here now and he believed she would rather sleep alone and not dare endanger their relationship being found out. But she was there, combing out her hair which she must had spent some time on, damp patches an indication where she struggled to get the incredibly tacky Nightfury spit from the curls. She didn't look at him when he entered or when he gave her a shocked greeting, still yanking her bone comb with rough, angry movements that made him wince in sympathy.

"Um…"

She stood, placing the comb on the table with a loud 'thack!' staring at him from across the room. Her gaze worried him, the extreme concentration, brows lowered and pinched, mouth a firm, angry line. It was an odd thing—her severe look combined with her light nightgown was an odd juxtaposition. She stomped to him, a yelp being pulled from him when she began to yank on the belts that held his armor on.

"Lie with me," she spat, throwing him with the force of her pulling, "Tonight, now!"

"W-woah! Merida, hold on!" Grabbing at her hands, he tried to pause her ministrations with little success.

'Damn it, she's so quick!'

His shoulder plates fell to the ground, making him jump. His cuirass was off next, thrown next to them.

She began to press her mouth to his and he kept pushing her away, calling her name in a quiet, panicked whisper.

"Stop! St-stop it!" He pushed her away, finally, both of them heaving, "Merida, what in Thor's name is going on?!"

"I need ye," she tried blinking up at him with false coquettishness and he rolled his eyes, "Please, Hiccup!"

"Merida," she latched on to his throat and his breath left him in a whoosh like he'd been hit in the gut, "Stop!"

She glowered at him, eyes wet with displeasure, "Do ye not want me, then?!"

"Oh, for—! Merida, of course I want you! I've wanted you long before I even liked you."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, "Then, why reject me?"

"Be-because I like you!"

She raised a brow, "If ye like me so much, then bed me."

"Merida," he pulled at his hair, "Not that I would ever want to reject you, ever, but this-this-this isn't normal! Not for you! I mean, sure, you're always a bit aggressive, but this—!"

"Ye just gestured to all of me."

"Ye-ah!" She was upon him again, nearly undoing the belt loops that held the thigh-plates on his legs before he knocked her back again.

"Merida, what is going on? Tell me, now, or you can—you can just leave."

She looked hurt for a moment, then glared and barred her teeth.

"Fine! I'll just go and get Ian McGuffin or Lachlan MacIntosh to—!"

He was crushing her mouth against his, pinning her arms above her head and walking their bodies against the nearest wall. Perhaps it was all him, perhaps it was a bit of his dragon-blood that made him so angry at the thought that she would even dare go to one of her "suitors." She panted against him and thrust her hips to his, making him hiss in pleasure and push her harder against the cool stone of their shared bedroom. Kissing her felt like swallowing sparks, like welding iron, like grinding steel—heat and warmth jumped through his blood and he believed, maybe, even he could shoot dragon-fire if she kept her mouth on his. She raised one leg to loop around his calf and pull him forward even harder and his chest felt like it would explode, smoke billowing from his nostrils and flames from his mouth from the heat they stoked between them.

In the dark, he could see the metal pendant glint around her neck and he yanked away, both of them panting as he put distance between them.

"Hicc—!" She steadied herself, "I need ye to do this…"

"No," he pulled at his hair again, pacing, "No, you don't get to do this. You can't just—just command me and expect me to follow orders. Is that what I am, Your Highness?"

He looked to find her face stricken, "Nay…"

"We're equals, right? We're the same?"

She nodded, hands fisting in her thin nightgown, "Aye, of course…"

"Because I won't be controlled, Merida…unless you want to compel me."

Her hand whipped out and she threw the pitcher at him, his quick reflexes allowing him to just barely catch it from crashing against his skull, slipping twice before getting a firm grip on it.

"How dare ye! I would never!" She spat.

"Alright! Fine," he put the ceramic on the floor, hands out and open, placating, calming.

'Just like a dragon…' He sighed as she deflated, even her hair seeming to fall under his assessing gaze.

"Hiccup…My mum…"

She sat on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands, suddenly seeming much smaller and younger than he thought her to be, as if without her armor she was truly defenseless.

"She was already talkin' 'bout marryin' me off to one of the boys," her words were muffled by her fingers and he sat beside her in order to hear, "She says this will push them to make sure I have protection should somethin' like this happen again."

"Okay…and, so…all this was…?"

"Och," she raised a flushed face to his, biting her lip, "Do I really have to spell it out for ye?"

He shrugged one shoulder.

"If I were to flaunt my loss to my family, I could claim that…well, I'd be a fallen woman, see, and none of the lads would be willin' to take me and I could do as I wanted…"

"Your…loss?"

She seemed to turn darker, shaking her head, "Aye…"

"Of…?"

She hit him with a pillow and a shocked laugh burst from him, "My maidenhood, ye fool!"

His brow furrowed, "So…how…wait, wait, wait…"

He stood and looked at her, eyes comically wide.

"You're not allowed to have anyone before you're married?"

"No!" She sputtered, "Of course not!"

"At all?"

"No," she blinked, "If I was found out I could've been cast out or worse, married off to hide the scandal. Hel," she rolled blue eyes, not noticing she had picked up on one of his colloquialisms, "If my mum ever knew I had even kissed ye we would never be in the same room alone."

"So…you've never…erm…" he blushed, "Never been with a man?"

She raised her chin, "Nay, I haven't. I'm expected to fly bloody sheets on my wedding night."

"Ugh," he flinched, "That's terrible. Why would you bleed?"

She tipped her head to him, "Isn't that…what…Look, I don't know! Okay? I don't!"

"Well, in my experience," he knew his smirk was far too smug, "You shouldn't bleed."

If it was possible, she matched her hair even more and he chuckled. Just a few moments ago she was trying to rip his clothes off and now she was bright red at the technical talk of sex. She hit him with the pillow again, grumbling about Viking customs being far too flippant for her liking. He took hold of her hands and guided her to his lap, straddling him. He trailed his finger along the curve of her cheek, the stubborn set of her jaw, down her throat to the opening of her shift. He slipped it off one shoulder, her breath hitching and he stared into her eyes as he pressed hot, open mouthed kisses along her bespeckled shoulder.

"I want you," he raised her hand to his mouth, kissing along her fingertips, "Hel, Merida, I want you all the time…but I'm not going to fuck you—" she gasped a little at his terminology, "—Because you want to blame your leaving on me."

She snarled, "Then, what? Ye'll let me be wedded off to one of those simpletons—?!"

He grabbed her and flattened her along the bed, his green eyes, so dark they seemed black in the night, glaring down at her.

"Don't even think that."

"Don't like the thought, do ye?" She gave a simpering smile, "Ye don't want to think about big ol' Ian MacGuffin on top of me, ruttin' with me like an animal or Lachlan MacIntosh—!"

He was kissing her to shut her up, which is exactly what she wanted. She raised her hips to his and he ground down against her, despite not wanting to give her the satisfaction of riling him so easily.

"Brat!" He spat, pulling away.

She pushed him back to straddle him again, her face full and bright, victory giving her a gorgeous tinge.

"Tell me, O' Mighty Dragon-Rider," she gave him a grin that made him gasp, her body sliding over his, "D'ye think ye can tame me?"

He couldn't help but laugh at how terrible a line it was and her pout soon became snorting of her own, acknowledging just how horrid she was at playing this particular type of game. His hands were warm on her hips and she sighed against him, leaning on his shoulder, feeling his chest rise and fall.

"I want ye," she whispered, "'Cause I love ye, but…I was goin' to use ye and, for that, I'm sorry, lad."

He chuckled, hands in her hair, "Oh, I think we'd be using each other."

"I just…ugh! Hiccup, I want to be free!" Her hand slapped the bed, "I want to ride, I want to fly, go chasin' the wind and touchin' the sky! Because I can now! I want to go off firin' arrows into the sunset! I'm not—I'm not ready to sign my life away! I thought I'd be ready one day but I don't think I'll ever be ready!"

He hummed in agreement while she ranted, uncaring of her words and focusing instead on how soft she felt against him.

"But I won't use ye," she sat up, making him gasp with the roll of her hips against his and giving him a wicked smile, "Unless ye want me to, that is."

"I do," he stuttered, "Gods, I do but not like this. We'll have—ah! Easy!" She apologized as she slid off him, chuckling while he sat up with a wince, "We'll have a million islands to see, thousands of dragons meet. We have time, Merida."

He caressed her cheek and she pressed her hand against his, cradling him while held her.

"We have time," he muttered, "Plenty of it, and tons of world to witness. Don't rush because you're scared. You said I make you brave right?"

She nodded against his grip, "Aye."

"Then we'll be brave. For each other."

She nodded again.

"And don't talk about those stupid fools," she gave a delighted laugh when he gripped her hair hard and yanked her a hairsbreadth from his mouth, "Ever again or I will be forced to make sure you forget their names."

"I barely know their names anyway," she rolled her eyes and he kissed her gently on the mouth, then her nose, forehead and then her crown, pulling her into his grip.

"Remember what you said to me when I thought my dad would insist on a wedding?"

"There's no time," she muttered, "Between it all."

"Right. And that was before your dad and his army showed up."

She hummed, unconvinced.

"Listen," her neck craned to lock eyes with him, "We're not staying. It doesn't matter. None of this matters. We save them, then we leave. That's the bottom line, right?"

Her eyes shone with determination, "Right."

"So if they start with the whole 'betrothal' issue, let them. Nod, agree, smile and be led—and know that after we slaughter the brothers and their army, I'll be waiting with our bags packed and we'll set off against the great ocean. We can come back in a month, six months, years, never, I don't care. As long as you're beside me."

She nodded, expression tired and open and raw. It was odd to see her so bereft. She was so vibrant, so bright, so determined that he often forgot just what she was hiding under all her fire. She was softer than she let on, all her spitting and hissing just a way to keep others at a distance. He remembered that she had little experience with other people her age and was never denied—and as much as he liked to compare her, she wasn't any more draconian than he was. She was all soft flesh and fragile bone, just with the addition of her powerful magic.

He kissed her deeply, pulling her to lie beside him.

"Let me take my leg off," she snorted at his wording and he rolled his eyes, "And we need to sleep. Tomorrow will be long."

"Ugh," she hid in his shoulder, "Everyday is long now."

"True," he dropped pecks across her cheeks and eyelids, mimicking her smile as he pulled from her reaching grip, "But that's only temporary."

"Aye," her lids stayed closed, her breathing even, "Just for now…"

When he snuck back into bed, she was already asleep.

They woke to screaming and hollering, stumbling out of bed and blinking sleep from their eyes to throw on their clothes (and metallic extremities) and run out into the halls, searching blindly for whatever the ruckus was. They found the king trapped in a net and strung up from the ceiling, Elinor and Stoick and Valka all hurrying to the same spot.

"Oh, Thor…" Merida and Hiccup shared the same horrorstricken look.

"The twins!" The said in unison, looking as the king flashed the entire group more than they ever needed to see. There was a collection of groans as people covered their eyes, muttering under their breath about how lacking the kilt was in coverage.

"Ugh," Hiccup raised a palm to his and Merida's eyes as she gagged, "Things I wish I could forget."

Elinor was fluttering by the net, trying to find a way to get her husband loose.

"Loki'd!" There was more hollering and crashing as the blonde demons went rushing around, holding their hands aloft in mutual enjoyment of their collective chaos.

"Oh, dear Thor," Merida muttered and Hiccup copied her sentiment.

"You did this," he reminded her and she buried her face in her hands, "You unleashed them, you cannot blame anyone but yourself."

"I know!"

"Will someone cut the man loose?!" Stoick shouted with his own eyes covered.

"Oh, for—!" Merida took the offered axe from Stoick and flung it with as much precision as her arrows, hitting the rope and the wall with a loud 'clang!' Followed by Fergus' shout of terror as he dropped to the floor and growled as he righted his kilt.

The awkward silence stretched between the six men and women gathered in the tight hallway, Hiccup huffing and sputtering as he looked away, his father rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Well! This is as a good time as any to get right back to negotiations," Hiccup clapped his hands, rubbing them together as he and Merida marched to the library, snickering lowly in equal parts embarrassment and genuine mirth.

There was a few awkward moments between them, but luckily, Elinor was used to smoothing over the problems caused by her husband. It was turning out to be an equally exhausting day when Merida stood, her eyes trained to the brick walls, her brow furrowed. Her parents and his watched her pace with equal fascination and worry, her body language seeming to express her stress and anxiety.

"Hiccup," she muttered, "I think…somethin' is comin'."

He stood, "Alright."

"I-I can'nae tell," she held her temples, "Och, my head's spinnin' like a top…"

He grabbed her elbows, steering her to sit back again. Her mother babbled and took her face in her hands, making Merida mutter and wave her away.

"Somethin'…"

She gasped, eyes ablaze and her mother screamed and backed away into her husbands grip, who gave a sharp cry of his daughter's name. Hiccup winced as Merida trembled and spasmed, head thrown back as she growled in a tongue as ancient as dragons.

She collapsed and Hiccup swore he stopped breathing.

Merida was pulled, her chest caving as if being crushed—she knew this feeling, this call, was beyond the veil of what was living and dead. She spun, the world twisting without stopping, before landing on her knees on the deck of a ship. She swallowed a gag as she stood on shaking legs, spinning herself in search of whoever or whatever dared to call her here.

"Ah! There you are!"

She rounded to the center, seeing the ship tilt as if they were truly at see and she lurched forward, keeping her footing just barely to see the boy that had so much power. He hadn't just called—he had knocked on the door and she was forced to answer, he had found her and all those she was protecting.

She had failed them.

Again.

Grinding her teeth to dust, she righted herself with hands ablaze. She will cut him down here and now and end this once and for all!

"Ah-ah," he tipped a finger at her and she couldn't stop her feet from moving forward, bending, taking a seat by his side, "Isn't that better, my dear?"

"What did ye do to me?!"

"Why, I called you here to talk!" His grin was too wide for his face, his wide, pale eyes making him seem even more inhuman, "That's what my brothers said to do—you can't marry a girl you haven't spoken to. So, here we are! Speaking!"

He looked utterly too pleased with himself.

How old was this kid, Merida wondered, looking him over. His hair was messy, greasy and unwashed, his face smeared with food that was days old which made sense if he truly couldn't see it. He looked like her wee brothers, just a bit more grown up, but he had all the power to manipulate the world around him like a god.

"What's your name?" He chirruped, blinking and she tried not to wince at him.

"Merida," she answered, automatically, "Of Clan Dun'Broch."

"Merrrr-rida," he drew it out, "Merida, Merida, Meridaaaaa, Merida!"

"Aye, aye!" She held up her hands, exasperation rising, "That's me, ye got it!"

"I'm Ivar," he wiggled in his seat, "You should know it, I'll be your husband soon."

She scoffed a bit, "Oh, really now? And how old are ye, Ivar?"

"I'll be fourteen years this summer," his chest puffed with bride, "I'm a man now."

"Och," she stifled laughter, not sure what he would do, "And what if I told ye I was already married?"

His expression shifted from childlike to madman in an instant, the boat rocking violently against a sudden wind and storm clouds collecting over head. Her hair whipped across her face and she gasped, bracing herself against the wind, looking to see his blank stare completely immobile.

"Are you?"

"What?!"

"Are you married?"

"No! No, I'm not!"

Just as fast as it came it was gone, replaced by sunny skies and puffy, white clouds that drifted by. Merida gasped, realizing that everything was too right—the sun was too pale, white gold and the sky was far, far too blue and the clouds too cottony. It was so phony that it couldn't be real and she sucked in a shuddering breath as she watched the demon child that sat before her.

"Good," he smiled again before frowning, "Do my eyes bother you?"

"Eh…no," she lied, "They're…fine…"

He blinked and tipped his head before blinking again and facing her with gold-brown irises.

"Better?"

"Erm…"

"I know it's odd," he shrugged, "My mother offered my eyes to the gods and in return I got my magic. How did you get yours?"

"I-I…I was taught," she attempted to answer him without giving him too much, "Ivar…where are we?"

"Oh, the in-between," he said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, "I can't see you in the normal world, but I can see you here. You're very pretty," he gave a little giggle and blushed and Merida swallowed a mouthful of bile.

"The in-between?" She would try to turn the tides, "How do ye get here?"

He shrugged, "You open the door, I just showed you, jeez," he rolled his now tawny eyes, "You don't pay much attention, huh? No wonder someone had to show you everything."

"Ye weren't, then? Ye must be very clever to figure all this out on yer own…"

He beamed with pride, "Of course! My brothers say I'm the cleverest of us by far!"

She gave him a stilted grin, "I bet! But how do you go back?"

He frowned again, "Why? Do you want to leave?"

"Oh, no, no!" Her chest was too tight, "Just so I know for later, ye ken?"

His lips twisted, "I'll send you away when we're done. Unless you're smart enough to find your own way."

"O-okay, but my friends are worried about me, surely…"

"I don't care!" He pouted, "You're with me right now! So think about me!"

Was he this childish before? He didn't seem it. Her mind raced to the boy she had shot with her arrow, hoping to pin him in the chest but getting him in the shoulder instead. She knew she didn't hit him when he went down, his dragon in tatters because of Saorsa's blasts, but she didn't recall him being like this.

But she didn't know the language then. Hiccup said he just kept repeating things, asking why he couldn't see her.

"So ye can see in this realm?"

He shrugged, looking out over a too calm sea, like the ship was sitting on glass, "I can see in the other realms too…just not you. Why is that?"

She answered as honest as she could, "I don't know…perhaps I'm very good at hiding."

"But why hide from me? I want to see you."

"You can see me here, now," she placated, "This can be our special place."

He hummed, "I like that. How old are you?"

"Twenty-one," she kept her arms crossed, a barrier between them, "A wee bit older than ye are."

"No matter," he shrugged, "I would like our children to have your hair, please."

Was that a request? "I don't think that's how that works…"

"For us, things work differently," he stood, "We make the world the way we want it."

"But that has repercussions, ye ken that, right? We cannot force the world to bow to us just 'cause we have magic."

He tipped his head to her and even now he did not seem truly human, irises or no.

"I haven't seen them yet," his voice was ominous, "Perhaps your teacher just wanted to…stunt you, in that way."

She stood and was able to see her height in comparison to his. He was scrawny and weak, she could cleave his skull in two with a good axe swing. A part of her mourned the loss of humanity that came with that thought, but the other part of her was nothing but hard resolve.

"How can ye see if ye are blind?"

"I can't see things in the normal world the way you do," he scoffed, "It's…different. I see things that live…mostly smarter things, bigger things, like dragons and people but I see animals, too. The energy they have makes a form of sorts, something I can track and find should I want to. Dogs and cats mainly and, if I pay attention, birds. But they're just…there, you know, not really something I want."

She swallowed, "Ye…want?"

"Yeah," he quipped, "You know, something that I want to use. Dragons are best to use, they die really nicely once I'm done with them, too."

Her breath escaped her in a wheeze as she leaned against the deck of the ship, everything spinning.

"I like to feel them die, because we can't."

"Everything dies," she snarled, "Ye will as well."

He laughed at her, the little snot—he dared to laugh.

"I'm part god," he shot her a look of pure adolescent snobbery, "I can't die."

"Even yer gods die, don't they?" She remembered Hiccup's stories, "Thor and Odin and many others die at Ragnarok."

"Well, yeah," he said it in a way that seemed to find her dull, "But that's when everything dies. That's just to be expected."

"Did yer brothers tell ye this?"

"Of course and my mom."

"Yer mum?"

"Yeah," he turned back to her, "She died when I was fairly young but she told me I would own this world. And my big brothers helped me do it."

"Ye never thought," she licked her lips, thinking, "Ye never believed they were doin' it for their own gain?"

"It's for us all," he smiled at her, sickly, "For you, too. We'll need somewhere to raise our sons."

She shivered involuntarily at the thought of lying beneath the wee beast.

"Do you not like this realm? I tried to make it pretty," he huffed, "But it's still not right. Maybe you can fix it?"

"No," she shook her head, "I just want to go back."

"Why? You can stay here with me, we can talk more."

"Ladies don't always want to talk," she swallowed, "Sometimes we just…like to be alone."

"Oh…" his illusion dropped and shot her with his opalescent eyes, "But I want to talk more."

"Fine!" She spat, her ire flashing, "Tell me something, tell me why ye feel the need to wipe the minds of all the creatures ye take?!"

He laughed, "You're funny!"

She saw red and she reached out, grabbing him by the collar of his dirty tunic and shaking him.

"Ye monstrous little shit," she snarled, "Why do ye slaughter what ye can'nae take?"

"Why not?" He still laughed and she dropped him as if he burned.

"I mean, if they're still inside it makes them harder to control so I just…I take them out."

Merida couldn't suppress her gagging and she held her hand to her mouth.

Demonic. He wasn't human.

No, a part of her stopped her thoughts. He was the stunted one. He was like the triplets, yes, because he lacked empathy. She and her parents had to grind that into her wee brothers, their youth making them forget that others had thoughts, feelings, beliefs—they struggled to comprehend these things but they regretted what they did once they finally grasped the concept. No one had every made this child see that his actions had consequences, he was told the world was his, that he could do as he pleased without having to answer to anyone and, with his power, he never did.

"Send me back," she croaked, "I want to go home."

"When will we meet for real?" He asked, taking her clammy hand in his.

"Never," she growled, "I hope we never see each other again."

He frowned, "I don't like that. I know where you are now, since I found you. I bet we can be there in a week or so. How does that sound? Then we can plan our wedding!"

She pulled away with a cry of rage, "D'ye not listen, lad?! I will never marry ye, I will never touch ye, I will put an end to yer horrors! I swear unto ye!"

He seemed to understand she was upset but didn't know why or what had caused it.

"Do you not like that I kill the dragons? I won't hurt the Nightfury—I kept her intact because she was so strong but I meant what I said, you can keep her, as a gift. And I won't kill the dragons anymore if that makes you happy. I want you to be happy."

"Ye destroyed my home," she hated how her voice quaked, "Ye killed my people…"

He sighed, "Well, yeah, but I didn't know it was you, then. Once we make babies, you'll feel better."

She wanted to pull her own eyes out, he was more frustrating than Lachlan MacIntosh.

Grinding her palms into her sockets, she focused.

Hiccup.

Where was he?

He was out there in the world somewhere, waiting by her body, wanting her back.

She reached deep within in her, magic rushing to her fingers, banishing the cold sickness that threatened to overtake. Swallowing deep lungfuls of air, she reached out with hands that were not made of flesh and bone, but magic—searching for the one person who was always there, always waiting to pull her back.

She knew him in any form, on the back of his dragon or asleep in a glen. He was like lightning contained, matched by their brilliant dragons. He was warm and pulsing next to her cold body, appearing half dead.

She had found her own door.

"Good job," he smiled at her, genuinely pleased, "A week or so, okay? Bye!"

And, with a push of her own magic away from the ship, she flew from his made-up world and landed back into her body with a cough and a wheeze, shouts of concern and shock filling her buzzing ears. Hiccup was there, just as she knew he would be, and she blinked at him, exhausted.

"It was ye," she murmured, "It was ye who brought me back…"

He slumped against her hair and they lay on the library floor, uncaring of their parents fluttering around them. He intertwined their fingers, sighing in relief to find her blue eyes looking into his green.

"He's a madman, Hiccup," she muttered, ignoring the pull of her mother on her arm.

His brow furrowed as he was bodily pulled away from her.

"He's a madman," she mouthed as he was whisked away.

"Son," Stoick took his only child by the shoulder, "This is more difficult than I foresaw…It's a treacherous landscape, ye know?"

Hiccup nodded, not paying attention.

"We don't have the resources at the moment for a proper gift to this lass of yers. She's a high ranking noble. If we were still on Berk and doing well like we had been…well, we could have probably just scraped together enough to offer her family, but now…I just don't think it can be properly arranged."

"I-Wait, what?"

"Son," Stoick sighed, "Ye are the heir to a village with no property or coffers. The lass will be likely wed to one of the powerful families around her. I'm sorry…If I could give ye all the money on Berk, I would. I know ye love her."

"I—Dad, please, don't…don't say stuff like that," Hiccup went back to pacing, "It doesn't matter."

"Ye don't love her?"

"I do," he nodded, remembering his own advice to Merida, "She's spirited. She'll choose who she wants."

"Son—Hiccup, look at me," he stopped his child and stared into his eyes, expression grim, "That's not…that's not how they treat women here. She's not like Astrid, she can't be free. They're like cattle. They don't have rights."

He knew that, it was obvious from how Merida spoke before.

"Yer father is right, boy-o," Gobber muttered into his drink, rubbing his aching brow, "The lass belongs to the king. Whoever he wants her to wed, she will and bear his brats to boot."

"St-stop it!" He wheeled, "Merida will fight them. She's not going to just-just-just lie back and take whatever fool climbs on top of her! She's defied them already, she'll defy them again!"

"And lose her kingdom and family all over? Hiccup," Gobber sighed, "Be reasonable, son. There are plenty of young girls in the world. Ye loved Astrid once and now ye love this lass—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Hiccup weakly threatened, pointing a finger limply at him, "Don't. Do not."

"—Ye'll get over her," Gobber ignored him and dodged the furiously thrown tankard that flew his way. Stoick gasped, admonishing the rashness of his child and attempted to restrain him, but Hiccup pulled a dagger on him.

Poorly made, bent, and dented.

Her blade.

He forgot when he must have taken it—did he borrow it on one of the islands? Did he use it the other day while they were working? He didn't know.

"Son!"

"Merida doesn't want the crown, dad," he gave a little panicked laugh, "She doesn't want to be stuck doing whatever everyone else wants her to do. So, when this is all over," (he shouldn't be telling him this, he shouldn't, he shouldn't, he shouldn't), "She's leaving. With me and Toothless and Saorsa. And no one will stop us."

He threatened with the tiny blade again before sheathing it in a belt loop.

"We've done enough," he spat, feeling tears collect in his own eyes, "We've lost enough. We deserve happiness! Just because you made us doesn't mean you get to control our lives! All I've wanted is my freedom and Toothless gave it to me and when Saorsa chose to be with Merida, she was given the same opportunity! She wants to leave, she doesn't want to rule. We're not ready. We're not made for it!"

He wheeled wide, upset eyes to Gobber.

"How do you all keep wanting more?! I'm just expected to jump to save the people that tormented me for most of my life? Who ignored me?" He accused his father, "Who abandoned me? And she's supposed to marry some witless idiot just because he won some stupid competition? Becau-because it's tradition?"

"Hiccup," his father advanced and shook him hard, "Ye cannot take the lass from here, you cannot do this. If she runs off with ye, what will become of our peace?!"

"Your-your peace?! What about mine?!"

"Ye can find a girl, anywhere—!"

"Ah, Stoick—?"

"Stay out of this, Gobber!"

"Why should we put aside our feelings to keep protecting you?!" Hiccup scoffed, pulling away, gesturing wildly, "Why do I have to keep saving this damned tribe?! I gave you everything! Hel—I gave you my leg!"

"Okay, well, that's not exactly fair," Gobber raised his limb, nonchalant despite the rising tempers in the room, "Yer outnumbered here."

"Why can't you think for yourselves for just once!" He hollered, uncaring of those that heard him, "Can't you figure out your own way to peace? Why do I have to be the one coming up with all the ideas here?!"

"Because ye are to be the leader of this tribe, Hiccup and, so help me, ye will take this role—!"

"To Hel with you! To Hel with the Hooligans! I swear, I will never—!"

Gobber clapped a hand over his mouth, "Easy, lad, before ye say things ye cannot take back."

Stoick looked between his best friend and son before he sneered and stomped out of the house they were invading, grumbling as he went. Gobber dropped Hiccup and he wheeled on his mentor and father figure.

"I don't—!"

"Don't start," Gobber sighed, "I know. It's alright, boy-o, I know."

His chest heaved with emotion, "I can't get to her right now…"

"And that may be for the best…"

"I'm worried about her," he groaned, "Something was in her, something was rooting around in her brain, Gobber…I think it was that boy, Ivar."

"But he claimed he could not see her, could not find her. How did he manage to do so now?"

"I have no idea, and," he waved a hand towards the castle, "Because of her family, I can't get in there to ask!"

"Oh, ho-ho, I see now," Gobber chuckled at him, "Ye're just sore the honeymoon is over, eh?"

"Ugh—Gobber, no!" He flushed a scarlet shade.

"So ye haven't—?"

"No, we haven't," he stressed, "She's never…at all," he cleared his throat, "Apparently it's a big deal here."

"Huh, well," Gobber chewed on a hunk of some dried meat, "That makes sense, considerin' how little say women have in this blasted place. Only thing goin' for 'em is the fact it's not so blasted cold."

Hiccup sat on a bench and thunked his head down on the table with a furious groan.

"Why can't I ever be free?"

"Yer alive," Gobber muttered, "That means someone, somewhere thinks ye owe 'em somethin'."

He chuckled against the wood, humorless and angry.

"Go ride yer dragon, Hiccup," Gobber thumped him on the back, "That'll help ye some. And when night falls, perhaps that dragon just happens to fly by a window…and behind that window is a certain princess."

Hiccup scoffed, "A midnight ride isn't going to solve much, Gobber."

"No, that's true," he ruffled the younger man's already wild hair, "But, it's make ye both feel better and give yer wicked heads some time to plan this mess out."

Sighing, Hiccup stood and stretched to go look for Toothless and the other Nightfury.

"And, son?"

He turned.

"I know it may not help ye, but I agree—We've taken so much from ye, boy-o. If ye want her and she wants ye, go and do not look back. We can handle peace, just take care of yourselves."

"Thanks, Gobber…"

And he was gone.

Merida could not escape her mother, there was no way to get around the pounding questions she was throwing on her. Her head was aching, radiating down to the stiffness in her jaw, her entire body as tense and taught as her bow string. Blinking dry, irritated eyes, she glared balefully at her mother who wouldn't back down.

"Ye'll never leave this room, lass, if ye don'nae start talkin'!"

"Mum," she stood, despite the creaking of her knees, "D'ye honestly think ye can contain me?"

She snarled, "Ooh, child—!"

"Mum, enough! What d'ye think happened?" She advanced, shoulders falling. "Ye know the truth. If there was anyone in this castle that would figure it out, it would be ye. I snuck out nearly every night, my room smelled like herbs, I was always in the woods even when I should'nae have been. I knew things I did'nae need to, I found things out ye kept hidden—tell me, mother…what d'ye believe?"

Her mother shook her head, "Please, Merida…tell me ye did'nae…ye would'nae get entangled with the Cailleach. Not after what she did to us, to me."

"Mum," she sighed, "I did that to ye. Not Moira. It was me and ye can'nae blame her for what I did. There's no one to blame but me."

Her mother scoffed, "I…I know I did'nae…well, I brought ye to the edge, lass. I know I did and I forgot that I can'nae force ye to do anything ye do'nae want to do…"

"Mum," Merida pulled at her hair, "I…I was helpless when I turned ye into a bear. I nearly killed ye, sucked yer soul out and, God knows where it would have gone! I never wanted to feel that way again so I swore, when Moira offered me a chance to learn, I would never be in that situation again. I knew that now, finally, I could control my fate!"

"Lass, fate is…"

"I know," Merida groaned, "Not that it matters now, but I know. But, mum, this boy, this threat…"

She turned blue eyes, the eyes of her father, to her mother.

"He rips people's minds apart. He does it because it's easy to manipulate a puppet, a body without a mind attached. He can go in and suck it out, like-like-well, I don't know what but he ruins everythin' he touches and he's comin' for us and he's gonna kill us if we do'nae find a way to stop him!"

Her mother's hand fluttered at her throat, panic in her eyes.

"What—I do'nae want ye involved, lass…I lost ye once…"

"I lost the entire castle, mum," tears inadvertently filled her eyes, "They were slaughtered! Cut down right before my eyes! It is somethin' that will ne'er leave me, I'll carry that horror with me until I am gray and dyin'."

She took her mother's hands in hers, feeling her fingers grip her own so tightly, "We must stop them…"

Her mother began to cry, "I have already lived through war…I have seen too much already…" She took her hands and the two women, crushed by the realities of life, could not stand in the face of it any longer and fell into a nearby chair.

"Lass, Merida…" Her mother murmured, "I push ye…I wanted ye to wed for many reasons, tradition, aye, but because I was afraid. I was so afraid of war, because I had grown up with it all my life. I never wanted ye to have to go through it…"

Her fingers clenched around Merida's hand.

"I believed it would be better for ye to be miserable and alive than free and haunted like myself."

Merida snorted, "I would disagree, even after what I've seen and what I've done."

Elinor bit her lip, "Oh, Merida…"

"Mum," she sighed back, "I know now that life can'nae…ye can'nae run. Life catches up, ye ken it…but we can make decisions. We must decide what is right for us. I want to do this, I want to save ye, everyone…"

She moved to kneel before her mother's knees, "But then…then ye have to set me free."

"Wh-what?"

"In return for my power," her chin rose and bile seemed to coat her mouth at the thought of threatening her own mother, holding her abilities as a bargaining chip, "In return for peace…I want ye to set me loose. Forever. No more lessons, no more duties, no more expectations, no more crown."

"Och! Oh, lass," her shame was apparent, her disgust open on her face, "I thought ye'd grown out of this, I thought ye'd accepted—!"

"I did," her voice was steady, despite the tremor in her guts, "I did, but now I don't. Give it to one of the boys. I don't want this, I won't be the one with everyone's life hangin' on to me like arrows on my belt, waitin' to be shifted to a weapon and used. I can'nae…mum, I truly can'nae bear the thought."

"Ye're—Ye're scared, that's all," she took her hands, "I know, lass, it's alright! Ye're tired and ye're stressed, but we just have to keep our heads."

"Mum," she was calmer than she believed she would be, "My decision is made."

Her mother turned from placating, understanding to furious in a moment. Merida was ready and stood her ground.

"Merida," she breathed as if she herself could spit fire, "I—I know ye want yer freedom but are ye really sure ye're willin' to sacrifice—?!"

"Yes."

"Merida!" She shook her, "Ye are a princess! I expect ye to act like one!"

She shushed her mother, "Mum…ye can'nae stop me."

She barely winced when her mother slapped her across her face, her cheek immediately burning and swelling. Her left eye began to water from the impact but not from hurt or betrayal—she knew she would act like this, she was always temperamental when she couldn't control her daughter. She had burned her bow, thrown out toys, sold horses before, this was just a long line of her trying to reign her child back into her control.

Her hand flickered with her magic, summoned to her fingertips with barely a thought. She pressed it against her cheek, cool and bright. Her mother gaped to see her child wield the same power that had nearly taken her life, watching the redness recede, the light swelling disappear. Merida's left eye seemed to glow from the power she pressed underneath her bright iris. Elinor gasped, sputtering, the smell of autumn leaves and moss and apples filling the room.

"Lock the door and I will unlock it. Hide the key and I will make my own. Build a wall and I will break it down. Do'nae make me an enemy, mum," she stood and brushed her short skirt off, another horror to her mother, "I'm leavin'. Do'nae try to stop me, just…think. Talk to da, maybe he'll understand."

She flounced by her flabbergasted mother, a slight pang in her chest from the horror she gave her. She hoped she did not have a heart-attack, but uncaring more than she'd like to admit. It should hurt her that she recoiled from her, evidence of her distress, but it barely hurt Merida at all to see such a reaction. Perhaps because she knew that her mother would eventually find out and this would be the reaction, perhaps because it was something she just accepted long ago.

A part of her had gone cold and hard and deadly.

Seeing that boy, what he was willing to do…

She couldn't help but shiver in disgust and went immediately looking for Hiccup. She stumbled into Gobber, who gave her a tight smile and directed her towards the woods.

"Ye know he does'nae like campin' with the rest of us," he shrugged.

"Aye, he's more dragon than man," she laughed and spun to leave, but he made her pause.

"Princess…Hiccup says…yer wantin' to leave with him. Are ye so sure?"

She turned a sad smile to him, "Worried about us on our own, Gobber?"

"No, no," he took a hesitant step forward, "It's…not yer job to handle us adults, to solve our problems. Hiccup is right about that, to be sure. But are ye truly willin' to leave all this?" He gestured to the castle.

"I don't care about rock and mortar, Gobber," she answered earnestly, "D'ye believe me if I told ye I never wanted to leave his side?"

"Ehh, forgive an old Viking, princess," he gave a half-shrug, "I'm not sure I believe in all…this."

She rolled her blue eyes, "Ye just gestured to all of me. D'ye not believe me, Gobber?"

"Nay, I never said that!"

"But you implied it," she sighed, biting her lip, "I understand, even if ye do'nae believe that, I do…ye worry about him 'cause ye love him so dearly."

"I do."

"He gave me what I've always wanted," she fiddled with her skirt hem, "I wanted to be free and now I can be. With everyone's help…this threat will be eradicated. But then…"

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Then I want my own peace. Is that too much to ask?"

He smiled down on her and enveloped her in a hug and she hesitated only for a moment before gripping him back.

"Be free," he told her, "Ye deserve it. Ye both do. And take care of him, will ye? He's a loose dragon."

She laughed against his shoulder, "That's why I love him."

"I know," he released her and they bid quick farewells as she went in search of Hiccup.

"Ugh!" Hiccup threw another stone, bouncing off a tree while Toothless sat and watched, unamused.

"Bud, what are we gonna do?!"

Toothless blinked and sighed, looking up towards the sky.

"Oh, don't you give me that! Am I taking away precious time from your girlfriend?!"

A plasma blast nearly took his prosthetic leg out from under him and he yelped and danced away.

"Touchy!"

He couldn't help the panicked little laugh that fell out of him.

"Aw, c'mon, bud, you want to go look for her? I don't blame you, go on," he offered him the sky and his dragon blinked lazily at him, bored with the entire scene.

"Oh, I see how it is!" Hiccup leaped and hung around his dragon's neck, laughing happily as Toothless whipped himself onto his back and wrestled with him, easily lifting the boy off of him and flipping him around with his powerful legs, throwing him into the air and catching him before tossing him back up into the sky and catching him again.

Hiccup whooped and, briefly, felt that it was just him and Toothless again, stuck on some random island hunting down another dragon and looking forward to catching fish for dinner and sleeping under the stars.

"Well…tha's attractive," someone scoffed and boy and dragon both froze, awkwardly suspended, staring at the intruder.

"Merida!" Hiccup scrabbled off his dragon, hitting him in the gut and making him wheeze, running off to grab ahold of the princess. Toothless grumbled in annoyance but laughed in pleasure when the girl sidestepped the human boy and went straight for the dragon, cooing and cuddling him instead.

"Aw, wee lamb! Did ye work so hard for him? Did ye?! And he leaves ye for a lassie with big hair?!" Merida teased Hiccup and herself in equal measure, happy to hear him chuckling behind her.

"How'd you get free?"

She sighed, leaning back into his open embrace, "Gave my mum such a fright she may have died…"

"How—? Oh…that bad, huh?"

"I think she already knew in a way…but it was still a shock to see. She slapped me."

He turned her around, looking for a mark.

"Healed it already?"

"It was light," she shrugged, "Took me barely a thought."

"Sorry that happened, though…"

"Like I said, I kind of suspected it…Her tantrums often rival my own."

He hummed, "Here I thought you got it from Fergus."

"Well, it's probably a combination of them, to be sure," she stretched her back out, "Sorry to worry ye, though. I know ye weren't happy to be dragged away, heard ye hollerin' and carryin' on."

He flushed, "Well…I wasn't sure what had happened and if you were going to be okay…"

"It was him," she revealed again, "I do'nae know how but he…he summoned me to this made up world. He built it, constructed it. He found me and he's on his way now."

He let out a long breath, pressing down on his panic, "How long?"

"A week, maybe a bit more. I'm sorry, Hiccup, I tried, I wanted to end it there, but he was in control and I—!"

"Don't apologize, it's alright, just breathe and start from the top. Explain it to me and we'll make a plan."

So she did, rubbing at the gooseflesh that rose along her arms at the sociopathic monster that liked to experience the death of other creatures because he believed himself unable to die. Hiccup interrupted, pacing, thinking, asking questions and trying to better understand this part of the story and that, hoping to find some hidden gem of information that the boy, Ivar, had let slip. She tried to describe the feelings he gave off, how her skin crawled and how suffocating his false world became when he was angry, how scared she was, and she told him continued speaking on marriage between them and children.

Hiccup winced, "That's horrifying, I'm so sorry."

"I know," she rubbed her arms, "It was…well…"

"Don't focus on that," he cut through her fear like his flaming blade in the darkness, "We have to figure out how to stop him."

"I still feel like I need that sword, Hiccup. Storm-Bringer."

"I'll work on it with Gobber," he began but she shook her head.

"I need to be there too, to…put my own magic in it. So that when I wield it, it obeys me."

"Okay, I know those words individually, but that magic shit still makes no sense…" he laughed, "But I can start on it tonight. And maybe I can dip it in Nadder venom…"

"Easy, lad, we just need it to work it doesn't have to set itself ablaze," she chuckled at his thoughtful look.

"Well, we don't want it breaking on you, princess," he winked, "You've got one Hel of a swing."

She smirked, "Damn right I do, Viking."

They stayed in the forrest for hours, uncaring of the danger it brought them. Once the sun dropped beneath the horizon, they flew across the dark sky, spinning and whipping around each other on the backs of their dark dragons. Merida drove him to the Crone's Tooth, where they landed at its feet, her eyes full of a challenge.

"Care for a wee climb, my boy?" She taunted, beginning to haul herself up. Saorsa cried and whined at the base of the rocky crag, Hiccup laughing outright at her madness.

"You're kidding!"

"Scared?!"

"Oh, it's on," A part of him was full of annoyance and worry, but he pushed that away and began shoving his prothesis into any available crack in the stone.

As they climbed, their dragons kept close by for a hasty rescue and, uncaring and unworried if they fell, they raced each other to the top. Hiccup slipped once and the world tilted as he gasped, his heart pounding away at his ribcage as he hoisted himself straight, the caw of Toothless' fear in his ears and pulsing in his mind.

Pushing the thoughts of his dragon away, Hiccup continued to climb in quick leaps, his muscles straining. He knew that his connection to Toothless gave him more power, he had felt it plenty of times, the strength of his eyes and ears and arms and legs now filling him as he pushed past Merida, nearly knocking her off as she shrieked in concordance with her dragon before scrambling back, both of them reaching the top. They whooped and hollered, howling and calling and cawing into the night like wild animals, like loose dragons.

Face bright and happy, Hiccup held on to this moment as he cradled her cheeks and this precious point in time. He never wanted to let it go but he knew that time would march on, whether or not he gave it his permission—Jormangünd kept spinning, tail in his mouth, the sun stretching across the earth until the end of times.

"Are you happy?"

"Very," she blinked up at him, "Are ye?"

He let out a breathy laugh, "Like I've never been…I didn't realize I needed someone…well, I didn't know that I was missing you until I found you."

"Ye are such a flirt," she snorted, "Ye say such pretty things, ye must rehearse them! Ye were always stumblin' before, putting yer damn foot in yer mouth! The metal one, I might add!"

"No! Please," he groaned, "Please tell me you don't think I'm that desperate!"

"I do'nae know…ye do stutter a lot," she teased, "But ye still manage to be poetic, nonetheless!"

He kissed her, under the moonlight. He liked her under the sun, that was when she was her most vibrant, the most brilliant, but under the stars she was softer, quieter and it was sight he felt only he knew. This was an intimate world, the two of them hanging on, together, suspended by time, tucked away into a crack of Ymir's skull, hidden between worlds. This was a part of her known only to him, this was the benefit of having tamed her fire and earned her trust.

Kissing him felt like being attached to something eternal, like stepping between the ancient stones of her ancestors. It made her hands grow warm and full of power, made her chest clench and pound as if it would explode. She felt timeless next to him, like something perpetual, cyclical, like the dragons. She felt like she could magic them both to have wings of their own, to breathe fire, to leap from cliffs and survive the fall. She felt like there was no beginning or end when she was with him—just constancy.

She pulled away to show him to drink from the fire-falls.

"Only the ancient kings were brave enough to drink the fire," she murmured, "Though, in the moonlight, it seems more like lightnin'. Rather appropriate, I s'pose."

It was still freezing cold, despite the heat of summer that had come in with the Vikings. If it was full of magic, he couldn't tell, it was merely water to him. But she smiled as if she knew a secret she wouldn't tell him, cupping her own palms to drink the water, a glowing blue under the bright half-moon above them.

They sat on the top, like they did with the Norn's Teeth, and spoke about everything and nothing. Hiccup was looking towards the future, determined that they would have all the time in the world available to them. Merida nodded and agreed, but a knot was forming in her chest about the upcoming war.

She believed she could stop Ivar and she believed it still—but his power in his in-between world was more than she had. She knew that magic, like all things, took sacrifice and she may have to give up more than a necklace to seal the demon away for good.

She needed to break the bond between her and Hiccup first, which she still couldn't do.

She had a week though—and that would have to be enough.

Because, no matter what the cost, he must live—even if she had to die for him.

Chapter Fourteen, complete!