"Merrrrrida," A voice calls. Merida stands to her feet. She quickly examines the area, uncertain of where she is and how she got there. It is dark and cloudy and she is standing on rocks. There is a vast sea with a single wisp standing in the middle.

"Merrrrida," The wisp calls again. Merida turns to look backwards, still expecting to see dunbroch, only to see a forest behind her. Merida looks down at her bare feet. She is in her night gown and somehow, her hair has been put into a pony tail. Neither her or her mother have ever been able to tame her hair enough to fit a ponytail.

"Merrrrida," The wisp says, gesturing for her to come towards it.

"I can't walk on water! What are ye expecting me to do? Drown?" Merida shouts, knowing that the wisp isn't going to respond.

"Merrrida," The wisp responds. A trail of wisps appears behind the front one. Merida takes a deep breath and makes a step towards the water. She stops just at the edge, her toes barely grazing the water. The water stops at her feet. Merida lifts her foot and steps, expecting her foot to sink into the cold sea, but instead she hovers over the water. Merida gasps and lifts her other foot. Now she is standing on the water, still too afraid to keep walking.

"Merrrida!" The wisps say together. The moon shines its light down on her and Merida's eyes turn white at the sight. Suddenly, all her fears are whisked away. Merida feels as if she has entered a place of rest and peace. She follows the wisps calls, taking one step at a time. She allows the moon to take over, guiding her across the water. She reaches the first wisp and just as before, they disappear as she continues down the trail. Merida hears another voice in her head as she continues the journey across the sea.

"Astrid!" A man's voice calls, "Astrid, please don't do this!"

"This is all your fault!" A woman's voice responds, "You and your arrogant mother did this, and now you are going to watch everything your family built rot and burn!"

"Astrid, I love you!" The man's voice says desperately.

"And your love is your biggest weakness," The woman's voice responds, "It is because of your love that you watched everything we cared about be destroyed."

"That wasn't what happened—"

"And now, I get to watch you rot in hell with the rest of your family," .

"Astrid, no!"

"Goodbye, Hiccup,"

The moons ray lifts Merida from her position and around her neck a bear pendant appears. Merida's eyes clear and before her is a transparent figure. Merida furrows her eyebrows reaching out to touch it. The figure turns into a golden dragon with scales that shine bright. The dragon's majestic narrow face gazes down at Merida.

Before Merida can touch the nose of the dragon a wisp appears before her.

"Merrrida," The wisp calls.

"Merrrida!" The wisp says louder.

"Merrrida!"

"Merida!" Queen Elinor shakes Merida awake. Merida jumps to a seated position.

"What! What? Mum? What's going on?" Merida asks, her heart pounding.

"The kingdom is under attack! Yer father is already outside preparing for battle!" Queen Elinor says pointing towards the window. Merida jumps out of bed, stumbling over her bow which had been positioned on the floor by her bed. She reaches the window seeing a fleet of fifteen ships, unlike any others she has ever seen. Dunbroch's bell towers are ringing and the warning torches have been lit. Merida wastes no time jumping into action.

She struggles to get dressed, but the second she is, she grabs her bow and takes Queen Elinor's hand. Together they rush through the halls towards the weaponary. Merida pulls open the door, ducking as a line of swords are tossed onto a wagon. Inside near the blacksmith, swords are being sharpened and arrows are being stacked into bags.

"Hardvus! Where is my father?" Merida calls to a tall, muscular man.

"King Fergus? He's already at the frontline. They're waiting for ya. Better hurry, because they're 'bout ta move out without ya!"

Hardvus tosses Merida a freshly sharpened sword and a bag full of arrows.

"Mum, you know Dad is not going to let you come with us," Merida says.

"I know," Queen Elinor nods, "Please be careful. I'm going to find your brothers and look after them. Tell yer father to be careful and that I love him. I love you too!"

"I love you mum," Merida gives Queen Elinor a quick hug, "We'll make it through this. I promise."

Merida turns and follows the crowd of soldiers down a hall and out into the cold of the early morning. The sun is barely peaking over the hills of Dunbroch, and the intense cloud cover warns of an incoming snow storm.

Merida rushes to the stables, grabs onto Angus, and together they storm through castle to the front gates. King Fergus sees Merida pull up beside his horse. Merida is surprised to see the panic on King Fergus's face.

"What are we going to do?" Merida asks, "They haven't even hit shore yet!"

"Some of the soldiers have already started evacuating the villagers. Our top priority is getting them to safety. "

"Sire!" A soldier quickly runs up to them, "The villagers! We have no where to take them! Battles have never been fought on our soil and the forests are too dangerous to lead them there!"

"You have to take them away from here!" Merida hops off Angus, "If you take them south they will at least have a chance!"

"Yes Princess," The soldier bows, running back to spread the word.

"This is a disaster!" Merida shouts, "We should have been preparing for all types of situations!"

"We weren't prepared for a dragon!" King Fergus shouts back.

"It was one dragon! And we scared it off!" Merida crosses her arms. As if on cue, they hear an unfamiliar, ear piercing shriek. The crowd of soldiers silence, all of them turning to King Fergus and Merida. Fergus holds up a hand signaling for them to wait.

"Why did I have to say anything?" Merida whispers. Another screech leads to a fireball being sent straight into the heart of their town. Merida gasps, seeing their beloved town statue ignite in flames.

"Ready the catapults! To battle stations! Send the east squad to the decks! Do not let them loose in this town! Shoot down the dragons!" King Fergus barks orders.

Without another word, Merida swings herself onto Angus's back and heads for the catapults. There are at least four stationed in different areas of the town. Merida tries to ignore the chill of the wind as they ride to the highest regions of the town. Since all of the townspeople are scattering in fear, the fastest and safest way to reach the catapults is to take the scenic route.

Another blast of fire hurtles into Dunbroch's trading center. Merida grits her teeth as they reach the catapults. She divides the team up, ensuring that there is an equal number of soldiers at all of the four catapults, but she stays with the east catapult. The east catapult has the highest lookout and looks over their ports. Merida's jaw drops as she watches the fleet near their harbor. What takes her breathe away is the seven dragons flying over the fleet. Each of them look different, some with small wings that flap faster, and others with large wings and dagger eyes. All of them are a different color and size, meaning there is more than one species of dragons.

"Wait a second," Merida says squinting as another blast hits the village, "Someone is riding on them! Dragon riders! We're under attack by dragon riders! Shoot them down! Shoot them all down!"

Merida's heart is about to beat out of her chest as they launch the first boulder towards the dragon. They miss, sending the boulder flying into the trees.

"Again!" Merida says, "Aim more to your left this time!"

They follow Merida's orders, but the dragon ducks, dodging the blow. The other catapults follow suit, taking turns shooting at the dragon. Before long , the other seven dragons charge ahead, flying towards the castle.

"No!" Merida says watching as one dragon lands on top of the castle letting out what sounds like a hawk call. The soldiers around Merida shriek as their catapult is lifted into the air and broken in half like a twig. Before them is a smaller dragon, but it's teeth are the sharper and more plentiful than any other creature she has ever seen.

"You like my Natter?" The dragon rider laughs, "Let me ask this. What is a woman doing out here on the battle field, huh?"

"You land lubber! I don't have to take this! Why are you here?" Merida shouts at him.

"You've got a mouth on you, princess," The dragon rider narrows his eyes, "Now where is that King Fergus. I'd love to meet his family."

"I am Merida," Merida stands firm drawing an arrow from her bag and setting it in her bow, "First born of the Dunbroch clan! I do not answer to you, or any of yer other goofball Viking friends."

"Oh, so you really are a princess? Well! I didn't see that one coming. Unfortunately, I'm the one with the dragon." The dragon rider glares.

"And I'm the girl with the bow," Merida says, releasing the bow which is aimed at the rider's chest but the dragon steps in front of the arrow. The arrow bounces of its chest and hits the ground. The dragon swings its tail, knocking Merida over onto the ground. The soldiers around her charge at the dragon but one by one, they all fall by the breathe, strength, and power of the dragon. When all of her soldiers had fallen, the Dragon and his rider turn back to Merida.

"Looks like you're all out of arrows," The Dragon Rider says, "You will bring me to King Fergus now, or watch your village crumble."

"Merida!" King Fergus shouts rushing towards her.

"Dad, no!" Merida says grabbing a hold of King Fergus.

"I need you to run," King Fergus's says with pleading eyes.

"Dad," Merida whispers.

"Run now," King Fergus says again, "We will see each other again."

"Fergus! Now is not the time for games!" The Dragon Rider lands swiftly onto the ground, "It is time to watch your clan fall to the voyagers once and for all."

"You will never take control of this land, Ardus!" King Fergus says, "Never!"

"Oh really?" Ardus says gesturing towards the overlook, "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Merida and King Fergus look over their beloved kingdom. Half of the village has been burned and they watch in horror as villagers are taken captive by Ardus's men. Dragons surround the castle, striking fear into their people.

"Its time to accept defeat," Ardus says walking closer to King Fergus, "Give up your crown."

"I won't give up this crown until I draw my last breathe!" King Fergus hisses.

"Very well then,"Ardus says pulling a large double ax from his dragons holder. He swings down at King Fergus, but Fergus pulls out a sword and deflects the blow.

"Dad!"

"Merida run!" King Fergus says, deflecting another swing from Ardus.

"But Da—"

"I said run!" King Fergus yells as he takes a swing at Ardus. Merida hops onto Angus, and takes off just as she hears Ardus yell to stop her. Merida looks up to see a two headed dragon hovering over her. Merida hops down into town, missing the flames from a burning building just barely. Angus stumbles a bit at the big jump but still they ride on. Merida screams as a ball of fire shoots in her direction. She ducks and Angus dashes towards the left. She can see the edge of the town coming up fast. She kicks Angus, urging him to speed up.

Before she has a chance to escape the town, the large two headed dragon lands in front of her. The rider smiles and mutters a command. One of the heads spits a gas that makes it impossible to see. Angus jumps in surprise, throwing Merida off his back. Merida hits the ground with a loud thud. She stands to her feet and looks around, holding the back of her head. Her heart is pounding and all she can see is a green gas. Merida coughs trying to see through the thick smoke. She hears a sniff come from behind her and Merida takes off at a run. She hears a spark and the smoke around her begins to catch fire. She runs faster as the fire quckly spreads.

She jumps out of the smoke just in time but someone knows her to the ground. She turns to see a large man with a hammer in hand and a viking helmet slightly crooked. His twisted smile is frightening. He swings down his hammer and Merida rolls out of the way. She grabs an iron crow bar, the only weapon near her. She swings back at the man, but he easily deflects her swing. Merida is backed up against a watering well and a ding goes off in Merida's brain.

"What are ye waiting for, ya fat pig?" Merida taunts, "Ye swing like a girl!"

The vikings face darkens and he charges at her full speed. Merida waits for the perfect timing and steps to the side. The viking runs straight into the well and tips over inside. Merida takes off at a full run towards the forest, trying to escape before the dragon realized she hadn't gotten trapped in it's poisonous gas. Merida is huffing and puffing as she runs.

Just a little further! Merida thinks as she nears the woods. The second she steps on grass she hears a horde of men running towards the forest. Merida groans under her breathe, realizing that they must have sent soldiers after her. Merida runs deeper into the forest, but her breathe is falling short. She is exhausted and without Angus, she isn't nearly as fast. She looks over her shoulder, listening to the rustling of trees near her. Merida grabs a hold of the nearest tree and starts to climb. The higher she climbs the closer the sounds of footsteps become. Merida finally reaches the top branch and she swings to let the branch cradle her. Merida attempts to hold her breathe and tucks her dress underneathe her body as she spots the squad of men pass beneath her. Among the men is a female, a woman with blonde hair and a strong figure. She has a headband and a large fur coat.

"How could you lose her!" The woman shouts. Merida furrows her eyebrows, recognizing that voice from somewhere.

"She was just here, I swear we saw her run this way!" One of the soldiers defends.

"It's a forest you idiot! She could be anywhere! Find her!" The woman demands. The soldiers scatter, all stumbling through the trees. The woman shakes her head and grabs the ax she was carrying. She swings it at Merida's tree. Merida holds onto the branch for dear life, hoping that the woman takes her anger out on a different tree. To her relief, the woman takes a deep breathe and starts in the direction towards Dunbroch. Merida finally exhales, however, she knows that until the soldiers give up, she is going to need to formulate a plan.

Merida recalls the stream she had taken her mother too when she had been turned into t a bear. With the witch's old cottage there, she should be able to set up a camp there for a while. But it is obvious that until she can get a hold of the other clans, she is going to have to hide out for a while and gather supplies. For now, Merida stays where she is. The sun is at its peak and Merida realizes the day isn't even close to being done. There is no way she is going to be able to come down from this tree. Luckily there are apples in the tree near her so she can stake out for a while.

Merida leans back in the tree listening to the sounds of the wild. The birds chirp in distress and she can feel the wind shift. She shudders realizing through the adrenaline of the battle that she hadn't properly dressed to be out in the cold for a long period of time. The only peace of warm clothing she possesses is a light shawl.

For the next few hours, Merida waits in agony, replaying the morning's events over and over again. She's probably cried more in the last few hours than she has in her whole life. Everything she loves has just been taken from her because of a few dragons and some men with a bad attitude. Merida can't help but resent the dragons. They should have known something was up when the first dragon showed up. They should have been ready. Granted, one day is not enough time to properly prepare, but Merida only sees that their clan—who had recently combated a man slaughtering bear—is not invincible. Their entire kingdom had been completely invaded in a matter of hours. She can't even imagine what her family must be going through. The triplets had just started to speak real words, and her poor mother is probably broken in shambles.

As the sun reaches its peak, Merida can't help but worry about Angus and her family. Who knows what could have happened to Angus after he kicked her off? For all she knows Angus could have been eaten by that monster! Merida reaches to grab an apple, trying to wake up her bum as she does. She leans back again, slouching farther, trying to restore feeling back into her legs. She brings the apple towards her mouth to take a bite but she hears another blood curdling shriek followed by the screams of a crowd. Merida hovers over the apple, but instead lets another tear slip. Before she knows it, she is in another pool of tears.

I just want this day to be over! Merida thinks in her head, This is all just a bad dream… yes… just a bad dream.

"You will bow to me!" Ardus shouts from the throne room of Dunbroch's castle. Elinor and the three boys have all been assembled and are guarded by Ardus's men. Astrid stands beside Ardus with her arms folded. The rest of their troop are scoping the castle be gathering the servants to submit their loyalty to Ardus.

"I will not," Elimor stands her ground with her head held high. The triplets nod their head in agreement.

"Your kingdom is under my control," Ardus laughs, "There is nowhere left to run. Nowhere to hide. You'd rather risk your life than to join me?"

"As long as my husband and my daughter still stand, I will not grovel in the sights of no man." Elinor fires back.

"Maybe this will change your mind," Ardus smiles, gesturing towards the back door. Two guards burst through with Fergus dragging his feet. He is badly wounded, his left eye swollen to the size of a small golf ball and his clothes are tattered and torn. Elinor gasps, rushing to his side. The guards drop him on the floor, Fergus barely able to prop himself up.

"Fergus! What have they done?" Elinor grasps the side of his face.

"They…. I couldn't.." Fergus tries.

Ardus pulls back his head in laughter as he stomps towards the duo, "Is this the man you want to stake your kingdom on? Fergus! The man who fought a bear with the strength of ten men! You really believed that one battle with the Vikings was enough to send us away for good? We're voyagers! We go as we please, take what we wish. And with the help of dragons, we can take on the world."

"Where is my daughter you filthy scum!" Elinor stands to her feet.

"Oh we'll find her soon enough," Astrid finally says, "And if we don't, she'll find you."

"What are you talking about?" Elinor asks.

"You really think she would just run off and leave her beloved family behind? I knew a guy like that once and it destroyed him from the inside out. We will do the same to her." Astrid smiles.

"And when she does come back, your kingdom can watch you all perish in the perfect execution in the middle of the village." Ardus adds, walking back towards the throne, "Take them to the dungeons with the rest of the unturned servants."

"This isn't the end Ardus! You will never find my daughter and she will avenge Dunbroch!" Elinor shouts as she, the boys, and Fergus are dragged away. Ardus takes a seat and breathes in, exhaling dramatically.

"So how does it feel, knowing you've won?" Astrid says leaning on Fergus's old throne.

"It feels," Ardus says pausing for dramatic effect, "Powerful!"

"What do you want to do next?" Astrid asks nodding back towards the soldiers, "Which of the other three clans do you want to hit?"

"Keep a team here, searching the forests for Merida. Send the dragon riders and a small troop to the Macintosh clan. Make preparations now, so we aren't scrambling around in the morning like chickens with their heads cut off."

"I'm on it uncle," Astrid says making her leave. As she shuts the door to the throne room behind her, Ardus can finally take in the extent of his success. He can hear the shrieks of his dragons, scoping the area outside. Ardus can't help but grimace at a tapestry of the Dunbroch royal family. He stands to his feet and glares, walking over to it. His eyes are fixed on Merida in particular.

"I'm going to find you pretty princess," Ardus says out loud, "And when I do, I'm going to watch Dunbroch and all the other clans fall once and for all."