Chapter 5: Guest List
Night had fallen once more of the island of Berk, and once again, the growing number of people occupying the island had gathered into the Great Hall. An extra table had been added to the longtable that sat upon the dias at the back of the hall, allowing the Coronian royal family to sit with those from Berk and the Highland Kingdoms. The rest of the delegation from Corona sat at their own table, a few chatting with those who had come from the Highlands, but largely keeping to themselves, with some of the Coronians occasionally shooting wary glances at the Vikings and their dragons.
"Well," Rapunzel said as she looked out over the subdued Great Hall from her place at the high table, "I was always under the impression that Viking feasts were rowdier than this."
"They usually are," Merida confirmed from her seat next to Rapunzel, "But, well, Ah think th' Vikin's are tryin' tae stay on their best behavior sae as nae tae embarrass Stoick in front o' yer parents."
"What, they think they'll embarrass him by being rowdy and enjoying a feast?" Rapunzel scoffed, "These Vikings have a thing or two to learn about Coronians."
Rising from her seat, Rapunzel scanned the crowd before her gaze fell on the person she was looking for and she beamed.
"Clopin!" Rapunzel called, her voice ringing through the relatively quiet hall, catching everyone's attention, "Clopin, where are you sneaking off too!?"
At her call, Clopin, who had been walking along the edge of the hall, partially concealed in shadow, stopped and turned his attention towards Rapunzel, taking his hat in his hands and shooting her a wounded expression.
"Sun above, Princess," Clopin replied as he bowed deferentially towards Rapunzel while fully stepping into the light, "To think, after all this time, you would accuse me, a loyal servant of the crown, of sneaking."
"Oh, I, uh, I'm sorry," Rapunzel apologized as her face flushed with embarrassment, "I was just….I wasn't trying to…."
"Think nothing of it, Princess," Clopin interrupted her with a wave of his hand as he placed his hat back on his head, "I humbly accept your apology."
"Well, what I was trying to do was ask you to liven up this feast and give us a song," Rapunzel explained, "You are an entertainer, are you not?"
"Hmm, I suppose I am and I am ever at your command," Clopin agreed as he tapped his chin thoughtfully while gracefully stepping up onto one of the long tables, not even disturbing any of the plates and cups as he did so, "But what song? What song would fit such a grand and cavernous hall? What song should mark such a momentous occasion which brings our three peoples together?"
Clopin fell silent for a moment, an overly pensive look on his face as he seemed to consider his options. Then, Clopin snapped his fingers, the noise echoing sharply through the otherwise silent hall, and he smiled.
"I've got it," he said before clearing his throat.
"The Moorishman's wife was as fair as the sun, and her kisses were warmer than spring," Clopin sang, his clear, beautiful voice echoing through the hall, the Vikings listening intently as the Coronians and Highlanders smiled in recognition, "But the Moorishman's blade was made of black steel, and its kiss was a terrible thing."
"The Moorishman's wife would sing as she bathed, in a voice that was sweet as a peach," Clopin continued as he pranced down the length of the long table, all without disturbing anyone's food or drink, "But the Moorishman's blade had a song of its own, and a bite sharp and cold as a leech! Ooh!"
"The Moorishman's blade was made of black steel and its kiss was a terrible thing!" the Coronians and Highlanders sang, pounding the longtables rhythmically as Clopin pranced about, "The Moorishman's blade was made of black steel and its kiss was a terrible thing!"
As the Coronians and Highlanders continued the chant, Clopin leapt from the table and rolled across the floor before smoothly rising to his feet and smoothly sitting in an open seat between two of the Viking villagers.
"As he lay on the ground with the darkness around, and the taste of his blood on his tongue," Clopin continued as the rest of the room quited down once more, looking between the two Vikings as he sang, "His brothers knelt by him and prayed him a prayer, and he smiled and he laughed and he sung,"
"Brothers, oh brothers, my days here are done, the Moorishman's taken my life," Clopin sang as he rose back to his feet and walked to the middle of the hall, turning to face the Vikings, grinning as he found them staring at him with rapt attention, "But what does it matter, for all men must die, and I've tasted the Moorishman's wife! Oh!"
As the Vikings laughed uproariously at the line, the Coronians and Highlanders picked up the refrain, quickly joined by the Berk villagers.
"The Moorishman's blade was made of black steel and its kiss was a terrible thing!" the gathered people sang as Clopin pranced down the hall towards the dais, "The Moorishman's blade was made of black steel and its kiss was a terrible thing!"
As the song came to an end, the crowd broke out into cheers and applause, prompting Clopin to turn to the crowd and bow while doffing his hat with a dramatic flourish.
"How was that, Princess?" Clopin questioned as he strode up the dais and leaned against the longtable.
"That was excellent, Clopin," Rapunzel replied with a grin before her expression turned questioning, "Though I can't help but wonder what you were doing when I called out to you."
"Sneaking," Clopin replied with a wry grin.
As Rapunzel blinked in surprise, Clopin turned his attention towards Hiccup, who was sitting on Merida's other side.
"Ah, you must be the famous Hiccup Dragonrider I've heard so much about," Clopin said as he doffed his hat and bowed towards the young man, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Clopin, Court Fool of the Coronian Royal Family."
"It's nice to meet you," Hiccup replied as his brow furrowed together, "Though I'm not really sure what a Court Fool is."
"It's saemethin' southern royals like tae dae," Merida explained, "He's an entertainer, but also saemethin' o' an advisor."
"An advisor?" Hiccup inquired, "How does that work?"
"I believe the idea is that, in a traditional court, everyone must be differential to the king," Rapunzel elaborated, "Everyone, that is, except the fool. Because he's, well, a fool, he can get away with insulting the king to his face, and in doing so, he can speak truths that the king's other advisors might be too afraid to say aloud."
"So your job is to insult Rapunzel's dad?" Hiccup questioned in bemusement.
"Hardly," Clopin scoffed, "A poor fool deals in petty insults. It takes a wise fool to know how to deliver truths disguised as jests."
"So, what kind of fool are you?" Hiccup inquired with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?" Clopin replied with a knowing smile, "Now, tell me, as an entertainer, I am always looking for new tales to tell. New songs to sing. So are the tales I've been hearing true? Did you and your lovely, soon-to-be wife here really defeat the legendary Red Death?"
"Uh, yeah," Hiccup admitted, scratching the back of his head as he looked away from Clopin, "That's basically what happened."
"Wow, Ah cannae believe how much ye're undersellin' all o' 'at," Merida observed with an amused smile.
"The people do love a humble hero," Clopin observed with a smile, "Makes them believe that they too could be a great hero if the moment called."
"Well, that's definitely how I feel," Hiccup agreed, "It just seemed like the moment snuck up on me. I never dreamed of being a legendary dragon slayer. Hell, I never thought I would be a dragon rider. I just wanted to be part of the village."
"That is not so unusual," Clopin said with a shake of his head as he stared intently into Hiccup's eyes, "It is said that there are three types of great people. Those who are born great. Those who achieve greatness. And those who have greatness thrust upon them."
A pause fell over the conversation as Hiccup considered the statement.
"You're really interested in this story, huh?" Hiccup observed as a small smile spread across his face.
"People love stories," Clopin explained, "They take inspiration from them. I think a lot of people would like to hear your story down in the south. It's a shame there's not a song, nothing spreads like a song."
"Well, there was 'at ane ye sang afore-" Merida began to say before stopping as Hiccup gave her a look.
"I think the story is enough," Hiccup stated.
"He's jist bein' modest again," Merida said as she gave Clopin a smile.
"I see," Clopin replied as he glanced between Hiccup and Merida, his interest clearly peaked, "Well, I'll have to look into that. Songs tend to be hard to contain."
As if to emphasize his point, the party goers broke out into another chorus of Clopin's song, the rafters of the hall filling with their half-drunk singing.
"It would seem that the people are calling to me," Clopin said as he began to back away from the table while giving Merida and Hiccup another courteous bow, "I bid you both good evening."
With that, Clopin turned away from them completely before vanishing into the crowd.
"Well, he was certainly a character," Hiccup observed as he turned his attention towards Rapunzel, "I can see why he's the royal fool."
"Yeah," Rapunzel agreed, nodding as she looked at where she had last seen Clopin, a pensive expression crossing her features, "And I'm starting to think that might not be his only position."
Later,
The moon hung high over the island of Berk, bathing the entire island in pale moonlight. Among those buildings so illuminated was the home of Stoick the Vast, Merida and Hiccup, the building standing dark except for a small light shining through a second story window. On the other side of the window was Merida's simple bedroom, consisting of little more than a wood and straw bed, and an iron-bound trunk containing her clothes and other belongings. A single candle sat on the windowsill, its burning light providing the room with dim illumination.
Currently, Rapunzel and Merida sat on the redhead's bed, while Varis roosted on one of the bedposts and Toothless lay sprawled on the floor, Pascal perched on the dragon's forehead, his scales matching Toothless'. Between the two princesses was a Viking map depicting a chain of islands.
"Wow," Rapunzel whispered in awe as she ran her hand over the map admiringly, "It sure is something to see an authentic map of the Barbaric Archipelago. Not that I haven't seen other maps of the region. I did some research in the library back home before we came."
"O' course ye did," Merida replied as she teasingly rolled her eyes.
"The one thing the other maps weren't clear about was where the various tribes are," Rapunzel continued, ignoring Merida's jab as she continued to pour over the map, "A lot of the southern scholars seemed happy to just write "Vikings" across the whole area and consider it done. It looks like the various tribes are marked on here, but my Runic isn't so good."
"Why are ye sae interested in this?" Merida inquired as she quirked an eyebrow at Rapunzel.
"Well, I know representatives of some of the tribes will be coming to your wedding," Rapunzel explained with a look of chagrin, "Corona is already making diplomatic inroads with Berk, it couldn't hurt to see if we can take steps with some of the other tribes too."
"But tae dae 'at, ye hae tae know who th' tribes are," Merida surmised with an understanding smile.
"So, what can you tell me?" Rapunzel questioned with her own encouraging grin.
"Well, all this is just stuff Ah've picked up on in ma time 'ere," Merida forewarned before she pointed to a spot on the western edge of the map, "We'll start with th' easy stuff first. This is Berk, home tae our tribe."
"What is the tribe called?" Rapunzel inquired as she arched a brow at Merida, "Berkians?"
"Hiccup explained tae me 'at th' proper tribal name is th' Slayer Tribe," Merida answered, "On account 'at we were th' best at slayin' dragons."
"Oh…." Rapunzel replied as her eyes drifted to Toothless snoozing on the floor, "I'm guessing that doesn't really work anymore, huh?"
"Nae, nae really," Merida replied with a chuckle, "Hiccup has suggested renamin' us th' Rider Tribe, but naethin's really been decided yet."
Merida then pointed to another large island relatively close to Berk.
"This is th' island o' th' Bashem Tribe," Merida continued, "They're basically Berk's closest allies, an' saeme o' th' best fighters in all o' th' archipelago. Their leader is a man called Mogadon th' Meathead, an' accordin' tae Hiccup, he lives up tae his name. Ye can think o' 'im as Hiccup's crazy uncle."
"He sounds like he'll be fun at the reception," Rapunzel observed with a smile.
"Ah'm sure he an' ma dad will get along great," Merida agreed with a chuckle before she pointed at the eastern part of the archipelago that appeared to be attached to the mainland, "This is th' territory of th' Burglar tribe. As their name implies, they're a little more stealthy than yer average Vikin', which makes them particularly good at raidin'."
"Wait, I think I've heard of them," Rapunzel replied as a look of recognition crossed her features, "Yeah, they sometimes cross the Giantlands and the Reindeer Fields to sneak into the towns in northern Arendelle and pillage them."
"Been readin' up on Arendelle too, huh?" Merida inquired as she quirked an eyebrow at her friend.
"I like to keep tabs due to the….familial connection," Rapunzel admitted with a shrug and small sigh, "You never know when it might come in handy."
"Well, th' Burglars are led by a woman named Miranda th' Magniloquent, whose somethin' o' a sourpuss accordin' tae Hiccup" Merida went on, "Th' Burglars are also allies o' Berk, though nae as strong as th' Bashems. Thin's apparently tend tae gae missin' when th' Burglars come tae visit."
Turning her attention back to the map, Merida pointed at a large island lying in the northern part of the archipelago.
"This is Berserker Island," Merida stated, "As ye might hae guessed, it belongs tae th' Berserker Tribe."
"They sound….intimidating," Rapunzel whispered as she bit her lower lip.
"From everythin' Hiccup has told me, they are," Merida replied with a nod, "They're another warrior tribe, saemehow even tougher than th' Bashums. Like, "runnin' intae battle without armor" kind o' tough. An' 'at's without gaein' intae th' Berserker rage."
"What's that?" Rapunzel asked with wide eyes.
"It's this kind o'….state they can gae intae," Merida explained, pausing as she fished for the right words, "Like saemewhere between rage an' madness. An' while they're in it, they're twice as strong an' twice as tough. It's a sight tae behold."
"You say that like you've seen it in action," Rapunzel observed as her brow furrowed.
"Ah hae," Merida confirmed, "Fishlegs, th' big friend o' mine? He's apparently got saeme Berserker blood in him, an' Ah've seen him enter 'at rage. It's kind o' scary, tae be honest."
"Fishlegs?" Rapunzel repeated, blinking in surprise, "Wasn't he the nice one?"
"Aye, but ye wudnae like 'im when he's angry," Merida replied with a puff of breath.
"So, what's Berk's relationship with the Berserkers?" Rapunzel inquired.
"Shaky," Merida explained with a look of chagrin, "Berk an' th' Berserkers had a war nae long afore we were all born an' there's been an uneasy peace ever since. They're led by a guy named Oswald th' Antagonistic, though saeme call him th' Agreeable, because he was willin' tae sue fer peace with Berk. Th' real issue is his son, Dagur, who Hiccup has literally described as "deranged". He apparently bullied him an' Fishlegs pretty hard th' few times he came tae th' island. Especially Fishlegs."
"I see," Rapunzel replied with a concerned expression, "I guess I'll make a point not to engage him in conversation."
"Next, we hae th' Hunter Tribe," Merida continued as she pointed at some islands to the southern part of the archipelago, "As ye might hae guessed from th' name, they're skilled hunters, both o' beasts an' o' men. Their reputation is enough 'at Ah've heard o' nobles from th' southern kingdoms hiring them out as bounty hunters."
"How's their relationship with Berk?" Rapunzel asked.
"Pretty neutral," Merida answered, "They're led by a guy named Grimmel the Grisly, a particularly notorious hunter who made a name fer himself in th' southern kingdoms as a dragon hunter."
"Doesn't sound like someone who's going to enjoy the changes around here," Rapunzel observed.
"Aye," Merida agreed, "Between him an' Dagur, Ah'm nae sure who Ah'm more worried about."
"I mean, they won't start something at a wedding, right?" Rapunzel questioned, her expression a mixture of optimism and uncertainty.
"Ah've heard a couple o' bad stories o' thin's happenin' at weddin's, an' it's nae limited tae Vikings," Merida answered with her own look of chagrin, "But Ah'm willin' tae bet with contingents from both th' Highland Kingdom an' Corona present 'at even th' Berserkers wonae try anythin'."
"That's good to hear," Rapunzel observed with a relieved expression, "Is that the end of the guest list?"
"It is, but there is ane other tribe," Merida explained.
"Who's that?" Rapunzel inquired in confusion.
"Th' Seafarers," Merida answered as she leaned back against her pillow, "Accordin' tae th' others, they're th' best shipwrights an' sailors in th' archipelago."
"Where are they from?" Rapunzel inquired as she scanned the map sitting on the bed.
"From what Ah understand, they daenae hae a singular homeland," Merida explained, "They keep tae their ships an' convoys, sailin' from place tae place, saemetimes raidin', saemetimes tradin', but always explorin'."
"But we're not expecting them at the wedding?" Rapunzel questioned as she quirked an eyebrow at her friend.
"Nae, as far as Ah can tell, Berk daesnae hae much o' a relationship with th' Seafarers," Merida answered as Varis fluttered down and perched on her shoulder, "Ah guess th' Seafarers haenae been interested in travelin' intae dragon-infested waters."
"I have to say, the politics of Vikings were more complicated than I expected," Rapunzel observed as she leaned back on the bed, "Thanks for the crash course. There was one thing I was wondering about though."
"What's 'at?" Merida asked as she stroked Varis' feathers.
"Is there ever any…transfer between tribes?" Rapunzel questioned, "Like, do people ever leave one tribe and join another?"
"Aye, seems like it," Merida confirmed with a nod, "Ah mean, ane of Fishlegs' ancestors must hae come from th' Berserker Tribe, fer instance. Daesnae seem much different than people immigratin' from ane country tae another."
"And what about if you leave the Viking tribes all together?" Rapunzel inquired.
"Th' anly times Ah've heard o' 'at happenin' is when someane is outcast," Merida answered as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Outcast?" Rapunzel echoed as her expression turned concerned, "Is that like banishment?"
"Exactly like 'at," Merida confirmed, "It's punishment fer a crime sae severe 'at yer identity as a Vikin' gets stripped from ye. Why do ye ask?"
"Because I think I know someone like that," Rapunzel answered as she worried her bottom lip.
Meanwhile,
Near the heart of the village where a few houses sat, Vladimir stood in front of the door of one of the homes, looking at it like it was a wild animal liable to attack him at any moment. Hesitantly, Vladimir reached out before rapping his thick knuckles against the door. For what felt like an eternity, Vladimir stood before the door, awkwardly waiting for it to be opened. Then, eternity ended and the door swung inward to reveal Fishlegs on the other side.
The young man was dressed in his tunic and trousers, the blonde hair on his helmetless head tousled by sleep. Rubbing one of his bleary eyes with his large hand, Fishlegs regarded Vladimir for a moment before his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked up at the taller man.
"Um, can I help you?" Fishlegs questioned wearily.
"Uh, yes," Vladimir replied with a deep, baritone voice, his expression uncertain, "I know you don't know me-"
"No, I think I do," Fishlegs cut him off as he stifled a yawn, "You're one of the Coronian Honor Guard, right? The Viking outcast. Or at least, everyone was guessing you're an outcast. Lot of people in the village have been talking about you. You're Vladimir, right?"
"Indeed," Vladimir confirmed with a nod, "I know this is an odd time, and will be a strange request, but I was hoping to talk to your mother."
"My mother?" Fishlegs parroted as he grew more weary, "Why would you want to-"
"Fishlegs?" the young man's mother suddenly said from behind him.
Looking back over his shoulder as Vladimir gazed over his head, Fishlegs found his middle-aged mother standing a short distance behind him, dressed in a gray sleeping gown with a wool shawl wrapped around her shoulders, her straw blonde hair hanging loose to her shoulders.
"Honey, who's at the-" his mother began to say as she managed to blink her eyes awake, only to cut herself off as she caught sight of Vladimir and a look of shock plastered itself across her features, "...Vlad?"
"Hello, big sister," Vladimir greeted with a solemn nod.
"Wait what?" Fishlegs questioned as he whipped his head around to look at Vladimir, before turning just as fast to look at his mother, "Mom?"
"F-Fishlegs….this is Vladimir," his mother explained as she struggled to compose herself while openly staring at the man at her doorstep, "Your uncle and….and my brother."
A/N: Always fun to end on a bit of a cliffhanger! Mostly character interactions and a whole bunch of world building, but hope you all enjoyed it. As usual, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!
