Chapter 13: Aftermath of the Defeated

General POV

Hiccup fell to his knees as he watched his home be destroyed. The flames engulfed the town and smoke rose into the sky.

Merida got down to his level and hugged him. "Hiccup, I'm so sorry."

"My home. Everything is gone."

"Not entirely true." Merida softly touched his face. "You still have me, and your people will have Dunbrock."

"What do you mean by that?"

Merida smiled. "You technically will be King of Dunbrock."

Hiccup smiled only for a moment, then he looked around at all the grieving members of the village. But he did not see grief. He saw joy.

The mother that Merida and Elsa saved walked up to him. "Thank you, Chief Hiccup. We thought you were dead."

"No, I still live by Odin's grace, but it seems the gods have turned their gaze from us."

"No, they haven't." The mother said. "They delivered us from evil. They guided you to save us from slavery."

Many nights we've prayed
With no proof, anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains long before we knew we could

There can be miracles when you believe
Though hope is frail it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

In this time of fear When prayer so often proved in vain
Hope seemed like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I'm standing here

Now I'm standing here

With hearts so full I can't explain

Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I'd say

There can be miracles when you believe
When you believe
Though hope is frail it's hard to kill
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
You can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

Just then, drumming started. Hiccup and Merida looked up to see a man, in rags, but with war paint and a necklace around his neck holding a ceremonial dagger. Hiccup knew this must be the new shaman of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. He knelt before Hiccup and started singing, soon followed by the other Vikings.

The seer is speaking with his gods
He will see what the future will become
In his vision, all in the way will fall
Before the mighty warriors

The ritual of blood is a gift
To the spirits of the sea
They will help us reach
The place of our glory

Through the sea
Through fire
Through honorable death in fighting
We will come to the sacred land

Nothing stops us
Nothing breaks us
Our father awaits us
In the golden halls of Valhalla

Our women are shield maidens
With the power of Freya
They are fighting like the bravest
Side by side with our men

We can cross the ocean
Our ships are strong
Thor has blessed us with the thunder
Of the distant storm

Our enemies are close
They are praying to their god
I can see
The fear in their eyes

He can't help them in this battle
Because Odin
Our father
Stays on our side

Through the sea
Through fire
Through honorable death in fighting
We will come to the sacred land

Nothing stops us
Nothing breaks us
Our father awaits us
In the golden halls of Valhalla

I smell blood around
Valkyries are flying in the sky
The axes are pulling my hands to the ground
But I will continue to fight!

My fate belongs to the gods
Before the day I die
I must deserve the right
To join my fellow brothers

Through the sea
Through fire
Through honorable death in fighting
We will come to the sacred land

Nothing stops us
Nothing breaks us
Our father awaits us
In the golden halls of Valhalla!

The man got up and motioned for Hiccup and Merida to stand before him. Hiccup nodded and stood in front of him, facing Merida. Merida did the same.

"To signify this day of release and freedom, I, Bergthor Hosvirsson, the clan's shaman, do hear-by grant welcome home to the chief of Berk. I also will bind these two in marriage."

Hiccup and Merida grabbed hands. Shaman Bergthor grabbed a sash and wrapped it around their hands. He then grabbed his staff from another villager and tapped the sash. Hiccup then kissed Merida. Bergthor looked to the people.

"Long live the Chief and Chiefess!"

The fellow Vikings cheered. The other members of the Six looked confused but then shook it off.

Heather ran through the crowd and grabbed Rapunzel.

"Your highness, you need to come with me. The Commander is injured."

Rapunzel followed as the Vikings set sail for Dragon's Edge.

…

Rapunzel's POV

I followed Heather below deck and saw Cass on a table. Her right leg was missing below the knee.

"Raps!"

"Cass!" She ran over to her. "What happened?"

"During the battle, a big brute of a man kept attacking me. No matter how many times I knocked him down, escaped, or flew, he'd follow me. Eventually, he cleaved my leg off. But then Queen Elsa put him down."

Elsa, who I didn't see standing there, spoke. "I got her back as soon as could, but she needs healing. Fast."

I looked at the wound. "I won't be able to restore your leg."

"I'll be fine. Just fix it."

I put my hair on the leg and sang the song. The wound healed, but the leg was still missing. The surgeon looked at me and nodded.

"When we get back to the Edge, we will have to get her a prosthetic. But she will live."

"Good." I then exited the room.

But outside the room, I found Eugene waiting for me.

The shame hit me hard. I looked at him. "Eugene, I..."

"Not here."

He walked into a separate room. I followed. I just stood there, ashamed as he looked at me.

"What did you do with him?"

"Well, not much..."

"Just tell me the truth."

I swallowed hard. I was not ready for this. Tears started to wheel up.

"We... slept together."

The look on Eugene's face broke my heart. I started crying uncontrollably. He just stood there, with a look of disbelief and despair on his face.

"Why, Rapunzel?"

I tried to talk between sobs. "Be... because... I... I... fell for... him...when... he... sacrificed himself for... us..." I said as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Eugene just stood there. "I see."

"I'm... so...sorry... I did... this … to ...you." I cried.

He just grabbed a bag from the corner of the room.

"Wh..wh... what are... you ...doing?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"Reggie is splitting off towards Arendelle to start a base camp there, so we can start the campaign to retake the Kingdom. I'm going with him."

"Your ...ur ...leaving ...me?"

"I can't be with you right now. I am humiliated and ashamed. To think my wife would be with another man was a thing that I thought would never happen. But I was foolish to hope."

Without another word, he walked out of the room.

"Eugene! No! Please don't leave me!" I called as he opened the door and walked away.

When he was gone, I started crying uncontrollably. I curled up in a corner and cried. I had trouble breathing I was crying so hard.

Just then, a familiar pair of arms picked me up. I looked to see Jack carrying me to a chair and just holding me.

"You..uu...uuu... were rigggghhhtt, JJJ...aackkk," I said as I cried into his shoulder.

"Shhh. Shhh." Jack said as he continued to hold me. "Just breathe."

"I...i... ii...i... Can't!"

"Shhh."

I just laid in his arms and cried myself to sleep.

…

Jack's POV

I just held Rapunzel as we sailed back to the Edge. She fell asleep after a while of uncontrollable crying.

Elsa and Anna walked into the room when morning came.

"Jack, what's going on here?" Anna asked.

"She had a rough night," I whispered as I slowly picked her up and set her back down on the chair. Elsa grabbed a blanket and put it over her.

"We talked to Eugene last night. He left with Captain Reginald." Elsa said as we exited the room.

"I figured." I sighed.

"Did you know?" Anna asked.

"Yes. I told her she should have told him. But she did it the hard way."

We walked up to the deck and saw the Edge.

"We suffered a loss last night," I said.

"Yes, we did."

We looked to see Hiccup on the side of the ship.

"But we will not let it happen again."

…

Zika's POV

Grimmel walked into the war room. I looked at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"We lost the island, but the contingency plan worked."

"Good. Berk can be easily replaced. I just wanted Hiccup to suffer. Now, call in the others."

Grimmel nodded. He opened the door and Hans, Narissa, Varian, and Lady Deathstrike walked in.

"Did Phase Two work?"

"Yes, your majesty," Narissa said. "Ryker was able to wound the Commander."

"Excellent. And our spy?"

"He'll be there to make sure we get her where we want her."

"Good. We can't let them take Arendelle. So, let's turn their heir against them."

What has Zika got planned?

Stick around to find out!

The Songs Used in this Chapter was When You Believe by Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky, and The Path to Valhalla by Zergananda

Thanks for Reading. Please Review. Chapter 14 will be here soon