Chapter Eighteen

Hiccup-

Hiccup stared intently at Professor Moor as he stood in front of the class explaining how to cast the colloportus charm. There was a doorframe with a door in front of him. Professor Moor expertly raised his wand and said the spell.

There was a click showing the door was locked. Professor Moor walked forward and tried to open the door, but he couldn't. "That is how you lock a door," he smiled at the class. Mason raised his hand.

"Yes?" Professor Moor looked at him expectantly.

"How do you unlock a door?" Mason asked.

"Good question. Who knows the answer?" Professor glanced around the room. A few students raised their hands, Hiccup included. "Yes, Mr. Haddock."

"Alohomora," Hiccup said. Professor Moor nodded.

"Very good Hiccup. Five points to Ravenclaw." Hiccup smiled and sat up straighter in his seat. There was the sound of unhappy muttering from Gryffindor.

"Now I want all of you to try locking and unlocking the door. Form a line in front of this door," Professor Moor instructed. The students rose from their chairs and shuffled into an unorganized line.

Hiccup and Mason got pushed next to Merida and Blake. "Hey smarty," Blake greeted him. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"What am I supposed to call you, unsmarty?" he asked. Merida snorted. Blake grinned.

"Fair enough," he said.

"Well done Hic," Merida nodded her approval. Blake crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"So how's Dorian?" Mason wagged his eyebrows at Blake, changing the subject.

"What? Is it everyone pick on Blake day?" Blake asked.

"Nah that's next Tuesday," Merida ruffled his hair. Blake muttered something under his breath.

"Please step forward students," Professor Moor called. Hiccup realized they were holding up the line and stumbled forward. After he locked and unlocked the door he sat back in his seat. His blue notebook was sitting open on his desk.

Jack's handwriting appeared on the page and Hiccup pulled it towards him. We should do it tonight, he wrote.

Do what? Hiccup asked.

Talk to Simpion, it was Rapunzel who answered.

Why tonight?

We just think tonight is the right night to go.

Go where? Merida had joined them now.

Jack and Rapunzel think we should go see Simpion tonight.

I'm up for it.

Come on Hiccup.

I never said I wasn't coming.

So we're going?

You bet!

Jack Frost-

Jack stepped into the Forbidden Forest with Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Merida. The curly haired ginger had her bow in her hand with an arrow at the ready. Jack's hand was clutching his wand. He didn't want to admit it, but this forest gave him the creeps.

"Lead the way," he turned to Hiccup. Hiccup nodded and led them into the shadows. They could hear the sound of howling from somewhere in the forest. Rapunzel gulped and stepped closer to Jack.

"It's ok Punzie," he comforted her. "I'll look after you," he extended his hand that wasn't squeezing his wand. She took it and moved closer to him.

"Come on. If we keep moving we should be fine," Hiccup said, moving on into the woods.

"Should be?" Jack muttered, too low for anyone to hear. Merida moved behind them, every now and then glancing into the shadows with her bow drawn.

The forest was much more alive than the last time they had been there. He could hear more howling from all around them. There was human shouts too. He guessed it was centaurs, but he wasn't so sure.

"Sounds pretty busy tonight," he commented. Hiccup shrugged. Hiccup stopped when they reached the clearing where he kept Toothless. After a moment's hesitation he kept walking. Jack and Rapunzel followed him with Merida right behind them.

To their surprise Simpion was standing next to Toothless. The black dragon was laying down with his head facing the centaur. Simpion had his back to them and seemed to be talking to Toothless. He glanced at them as they tromped into the clearing.

"Good evening young wizards," he greeted them.

"Simpion," Hiccup blurted out, the surprise evident in his voice. "We were coming to look for you."

"I know," Simpion nodded. "That's why I'm here."

"How did you know we were looking for you?" Rapunzel asked.

"The sky," Simpion replied. Jack raised his eyebrows, this guy was crazy.

"Well Simpion, we were kind of hoping," Merida began, but Simpion interrupted her.

"I would train you to fight against the master and the 'shadow,'" he finished for her. They gazed at him, open mouthed. "The sky told me that too," he explained.

"So wait, does the sky actually like talk to you?" Jack asked. Rapunzel elbowed him in the gut. "What?" he glanced at her.

"Don't be rude," she said.

"I was just asking," he defended himself.

"You know the sky can't talk. You were making fun of Simpion," she said. Jack shrugged.

"Will you train us?" Merida asked, turning the attention away from Rapunzel and Jack.

"I already told you I don't know how to defeat the 'shadow' and master," he said, flicking his long flowing silver tail.

"But you've got to know more about fighting than we do," Hiccup pointed out. "Besides you know the other centaurs, maybe some of them were alive during the time of the other master and could tell us about them."

"No!" Simpion yelled. His grey eyes blazed and he looked mad. Hiccup stumbled back in surprise, knocking into Jack. After a few heart beats Simpion turned back to himself. "The other centaurs aren't like me. They don't like getting involved in human affairs."

"Why are you getting involved?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"It is my destiny," Simpion said. Jack just stared at him. That was probably the lamest answer he could have given.

"So will you train us?" Merida repeated the question she had asked earlier.

"I will," Simpion answered. He glanced at Toothless. "Starting with him."

"What are you doing to Toothless?" Hiccup asked.

"You must all learn to ride him," Simpion said.

"Why?" Rapunzel asked.

"What if at some time he is the only way for you to escape something? Or you're in battle and Hiccup is wounded who will ride Toothless?" Simpion asked. They all shifted uneasily and glanced at each other. He had a point. "Who will go first?" Simpion asked. Nobody volunteered.

"You then," he pointed at Jack. Merida shoved him forward, causing Jack to approach the silver centaur.

"Up you go," he instructed. Jack climbed into the saddle that was strapped to Toothless's back. Toothless sniffed at him, but didn't throw him off. "You too," he motioned to Hiccup. Hiccup climbed up with Jack.

"Now teach him to fly," he ordered. Hiccup glanced at Jack.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he answered. Hiccup gently patted Toothless. The dragon unfurled his wings then shot off into the air like a rocket.

Merida-

"What are we supposed to do?" Merida asked after Toothless had carried the boys into the dark sky.

"Do you know how to use that bow and arrow?" Simpion asked, eyeing her hand carved possessions.

"Yea," she answered.

"Show me," Simpion instructed. Merida glanced at his confusedly. What was she supposed to shoot at? "Hit that acorn," he pointed into one of the trees surrounding them. Merida gazed up to where he was pointing. She could just make out the tiny nut in the darkness.

She pulled the string back to her cheek and narrowed her eyes in concentration. She closed one eye and focused on the acorn. Trying to align the arrow point with the acorn she took a deep breath. Letting the arrow go it whizzed through the air and missed the acorn by a few feet.

"Good try Merida," Rapunzel cheered.

"I missed," Merida sighed.

"Keep both eyes open," Simpion advised. "Let the arrow go as you're exhaling."

Merida took up her position again and grabbed another arrow. She pulled the string back to her cheek and narrowed her eyes. This time she left both of them open. She released the arrow as she exhaled and watched it soar through the air. It still missed the acorn, but only be a couple of inches.

"Much better," Simpion nodded in approval.

"I still missed," Merida pointed out.

"But you were a lot closer to the acorn this time," Rapunzel encouraged her. "If I were to try I would probably miss completely," she said. Merida grinned mischievously.

"Wanna try?" she offered her bow to Rapunzel. Her green eyes widened slightly.

"I guess," she said. Nervously she took the bow from Merida's hand.

"No put your hand there," Merida corrected Rapunzel. She handed her an arrow. "The tip should go just above your fingers." Rapunzel did as she was told.

"Keep your legs spread farther than that," Simpion advised. Rapunzel shuffled into position. She struggled to pull the string back to her cheek. Without hesitating she fired the arrow. It missed the acorn by a few yards, not even reaching the full height. Rapunzel sighed.

"I knew I'd miss," she said.

"You've got to have faith in yourself," Merida said. "Now try again. This time keep your eyes open when you shoot," she smiled. Rapunzel blushed realizing Merida had noticed how she'd shut her eyes as she released it.

Merida handed her another arrow. Rapunzel pulled it back to her cheek. This time she took the time to aim and kept her eyes open as she released. It still missed by a large amount, but it was better than her last shot.

"There you go," Merida clapped her hands. Rapunzel smiled. Just then Toothless dove into the clearing with Jack at the front. Hiccup sat behind him, his hair ruffled and his eyes wide. Jack looked exhilarated.

"That was great," he announced. "Who's next? It's really fun."

"Are you ok Hiccup?" Merida asked. He nodded slowly.

"I didn't know Toothless could go that fast," he said. "Or do that many flips in a row," he trailed off and shivered. Merida laughed.

"I'll go next," she offered. She handed her quiver to Rapunzel. "Keep practicing. And try not to use too many arrows," she added. Rapunzel smiled and nodded as Merida climbed into the saddle behind Hiccup.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked. Merida wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tightly.

"I guess," she answered. Her heart beat a little faster as Toothless unfurled his wings again.

"Hold on tight," Hiccup turned back to look at her and grinned. Merida blushed.

"Just fly already," Merida muttered into his shirt. Hiccup turned back around and chuckled.

"As you wish," Hiccup said. Just then Toothless rocketed into the air. Merida screamed in surprise and held on to Hiccup tighter.

Rapunzel-

Rapunzel collapsed into her bed. She only had a few hours before classes started and she hoped to get some sleep. She had spent most of the night training in the forest with Simpion, Hiccup, Jack, and Merida.

After Merida had left with Hiccup, she and Jack started shooting the bow. Jack was better at it than her, but he still didn't get close to the acorn. She had expected Simpion to be angry nobody got it, but he didn't seemed surprised on mad.

When Merida got back she had seemed particularly happy. Her blue eyes had been very bright and her hair was even more tangled than usual. Hiccup seemed happy too. Much happier than when he brought Jack back.

Rapunzel's turn on Toothless had gone smoothly. Hiccup showed her how to get him to turn, dive, and go up. They landed in a tree and switched positions so she could try flying. It wasn't that hard, but Rapunzel suspected she would have felt a lot less comfortable if she hadn't had an experienced flyer with her.

Pascal climbed onto the bed and lay next to her. His eyes seemed to ask her what happened and how it went. "It was fine Pascal," she whispered to him so she wouldn't wake anyone up.

He nodded and closed his eyes to go to sleep. Rapunzel lay down next to him and covered herself in the covers. She left her hair in the braid she had put it in so it wouldn't get in the way while they were training. Closing her eyes she drifted to sleep.

A/N:

I'm like so ashamed of this chapter. It is short and crappy and just ugh. I had been excited to write about it, but it didn't come out right at all. I'm really sorry. I've been so busy working on my other stories I haven't really had time for this one. Yea I'm writing three other stories so this is going to be updated slower now. I've also got Driver's Ed for the next two weeks so that's going to make it even slower. Sorry just try and bare with me. Oh boy it just started raining again. It's been raining this whole week! I love the rain though so I'm enjoying it. Here's a random question to anyone who's seen Les Misrables. If you were filming the movie and your cast consisted of all the characters in this story who would you cast as who? Here's my answer. Jean Valjean- Alex, Russell Crow(I forgot his name, it's the soldier guy)- Nicholas Jurntry, Cossette- Pally, Marius- Hiccup, Epionine- Merida, Enjorals- Jack, Fantine- Rapunzel, Goputch(I have no idea how to spell his name. The little boy)- Bounder, Inkeeper(forgot his name too)- Blake, Inkeeper's wife- Dorian, Priest- Simpion, Forman- Liam. Some of those I actually think would fit really well, others I just put in. You don't have to put all those characters in just the ones you want. You don't even have to answer it, I just think it would be cool to know what you think. Thanks to FloralrmaTylee, XxXBlueRose23XxX, bug349, Seororo, jackunzel lover1, Guest, ROTBTD FANGIRL, Megymoo, Clio, Kasha Eliz, 4everETRNL, AlexJohnD, and xNereikax for reviewing. Thanks for reading and please review. EPIONINE IS AWESOME! I FEEL YOUR PAIN! Sorry just felt like saying that.