Hiccup and Valka stayed up all night long, expecting Drago to burst through the castle at any moment. They waited, and waited, but the only thing that came was dawn. Hiccup yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm going to bed mom, you should too." Valka didn't say anything, but she nodded her head and continued to sit there. Hiccup sighed and walked to his room. He collapsed on the bed and was out within minutes.

Merida briefly saw Hiccup before he disappeared behind his door, she knew he would stay up all night. She rolled her eyes at his stubbornness. She had told him to go to bed all night until she herself was dragged to bed by an irate Elinor around midnight. Merida descended the staircase and was on her way to the kitchens when she spotted Valka on the floor, staring at the doors. Merida took tentative steps to the woman and sat down next to her.

"He's not getting en here, yah know."

"There was a time when A thought tha' too, but he took two loved lives tha' day." Valka turned to Merida, and the princess was taken aback by the amount of hatred that simmered in her eyes.

"Val, there's nothing tha' you can do tha' will get them back."

"A know there isn't, but A'll be damned if A'm gonna let him take more innocent lives." The skin around her knuckles turned white as it stretched thin.

"Val, yah need ta sleep."

"A will not sleep until Drago Bludvist is dead." She said, her voice void of emotion.

"Val…"

"No. This man killed mah husband, the love of mah life, can you imagine tha'?" Merida's eyes darted quickly to the stairs.

"Nae, A couldn't."

"And now he's after mah family."

"But if yah daenae sleep, yah won't be able ta stop this demon." Val chewed her lip and cast her gaze to the stairs.

"Daenae be scared of tha'. A'll protect Hiccup with mah life." Valka's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Merida." She breathed. She took in the young woman before her. Her hair was tied in a high, unruly ponytail and a golden band wrapped around her head. She wore a deep purple dress that pooled around her body and she had her father's sword attached to her hip. Her blue eyes shimmered with a wisdom that only came with old souls and her face was warm and inviting, un-twisting most of the knots in Val's stomach. She sighed, pushing on her knees as she rose.

"Thank you." Merida smiled and stood as well. She didn't reply, but enveloped Val into a tight embrace. Valka squeezed the Scott, grateful for the support. When they released each other, Valka yawned and headed up the stairs and Merida made her way to breakfast.

When she got there she found herself alone. She grabbed an apple and started walking the halls, listening closely for voices. She found some and followed them to a large set of doors. She pushed them open as she took a big bite of apple and found herself in a large room full of different maps of DunBroch. There was a large, crystal chandelier in the shape of two bears that was glowing, full of candles. A few torches dotted the walls, adding some extra light. In the middle of the room was a large, circular table with six occupants. Elinor, Astrid, Eret, Fishlegs, Alistair, and Grant. Merida strode into the room and flopped down next to her mother.

"We need a strategy. A daenae know much about this Drago, but from what A heard he's a monster."

"That's an understatement. But there is no strategy when it comes to Drago, Elinor." Eret said, looking at his hands. "He knows about all the dragons we have. He knows how to control them." Merida's brows furrowed.

"Nae he doesn't." All heads snapped to Merida.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, leaning forward.

"Well, Alistair found that hide en the dragon's teeth. Ef he was controlling them, they wouldn't be attacking him. An' he has nae idea about Cyhiraeth." Everyone from Berk had their mouths open, they didn't think about that.

"That's… actually a really good point." Eret said.

"Well, Drago did have his staff before. Now it's in pieces. Maybe that's why he can't control the dragons like he used to." Fishlegs added. Elinor's lips formed a thin line and her eyes narrowed.

"Queen Elinor?"

"Shhh!" Merida scolded. "She's thinkin'." Elinor's seat scraped on the marble floor as she began pacing.

"Ef Drago doesn't know about Cyhiraeth, then we have an advantage. We can surprise him, outsmart him. Et'll be dangerous,"

"Ehh, ridin' dragons, takin' down bad guys, danger es a part of the Viking thing." Merida shrugged her shoulders, looking at Astrid and Eret for support. They both laughed and nodded their approval. Elinor smiled softly, placing a hand on Merida's shoulder.

"What are we gonna' do, Queen Elinor?" Alistair questioned.

"The fist step, yah must learn how ta ride dragons."

To say it was a long morning would be an understatement. It took more time trying to get the lords and their sons to get on the dragons than it did for them to fall off of them. It was, ugly. Alistair seemed to get the hang of bonding with Cloudjumper, but riding her was a whole different story. He couldn't keep his legs tight enough around the saddle to keep from slipping off. Archibald and Finlay were riding Barf and Belch, and they fought more than the twins did, which confused the dragons, which led to them running into everything they passed. Echann was trying to ride Stormfly because, after trying to ride Meatlug, Astrid realized that a smarter rider wasn't an option so a smarter dragon might work. So far it was proving to be true, he hadn't fallen off Stormfly for five minutes. A loud 'thump'

made Astrid cringe, she shouldn't have thought that. It seemed that the only one who really got the hang of it was Grant, who was swooping around on Skullcrusher. It was like he was born to ride dragons.

"He got along pretty quick." Merida observed. Astrid nodded her head in agreement.

"No! Alistair, you've got to get a grip on the saddle with your knees! Finlay, Archibald! Stop bickering, you're confusing your dragon! Echann!" He paused, brows together. "Stay on the dragon. Great job Grant!" He turned around and was on his way to join them when he heard a dragon squawk. He turned on his heal, only to see Alistair fall off Cloudjumper again. Eret smacked his forehead and Astrid hid a smile behind her hand, sniggering at his misfortune. Merida sighed, rolling her eyes before she marched to the arrogant young man.

"Ach, Alistair! Yer doin' et all wrong! Cloudjumper!" She called and the dragon landed beside her. "Get on the dragon." Alistair complied and pulled himself onto the saddle. Merida followed behind him and they took off into the sky. It only took a few flaps of Cloudjumper's wings before Alistair was slipping. Merida hooked herself to the saddle by a small carabiner and leaned forward, tapping his knees.

"When yah start ta feel yerself slippin' tighten yer knees. Keep yer feet back," she pulled his feet with her own, "et'll bring yer knees together. Now, land this dragon an' let me down." Alistair did as he was told and Merida shooed him off. He soared through the skies, gripping the reins, with his knees tight. Merida smiled and gave him a thumbs up before Cloudjumper looped.

Next, Merida helped Echann, which was just telling him to hold the reins and watch Stormfly's back. Merida sent arrows their way, having Astrid and Eret help throw things too. Echann wasn't too bad at directing the dragon, and soon he too was soaring with ease above the ground. The hardest task Merida had was to help Finlay and Archibald. They didn't get along, and that wasn't going to work.

"But-

"A daenae care. Yah are no' gonna fly until yah can get along." Finlay's left side was tied together with Archibald's right side.

"What es this suppose ta do?" Finlay grumbled.

"Et's gonna show yah how ta work together."

"How is that gonna work?" Archibald questioned the princess, a doubting look on his face.

"A'm glad yah asked. Here," she gestured to her brothers and the twins, all tied up in a similar fashion, "we have some examples. One example es ta show yah how workin' together can be easy an' enjoyable, the other es ta show yah what et's gonna be like fer everyone else ef yah can't stop bickering."

"Right," Astrid continued for her, "this course is designed to make you struggle while working against each other. You need to work together to get through it. On my mark," Astrid raised her hands above her head, "get set, go." Astrid dropped her hands to her sides. One group took off, the other fell on their faces.

"What are you doing?" Ruffnut cried.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? Left leg first!" Tuffnut retorted.

"No, you idiot! You have to start with your right leg! Your left one is tied to my right one!"

"Why didn't you say that before?" His complaint was greeted with a fist to his helmet. They clamored to their feet and began to wobble to the course.

While the twins were arguing, the triplets had already made it through the step ladder, and were halfway across the totter bridge, crab stepping between each other on the narrow log. Another clamor caught their attention as they paused to see Ruff and Tuff tangled in the ropes to the step ladder, grappling as best they could while tied together. They shook their heads and stepped off the log and onto the final part of the course. They had to crawl under boards and climb up a wall and individually ring a bell at the top. Hubert, sandwiched between Hamish and Harris, barked out orders.

"Inside, outside, inside, outside." They army crawled through the dirt and came out on the other side. There was no way that they could climb the wall while tied up. Hamish and Hubert untied the ropes, and two of them climbed on top of each other. Harris, being the strongest of the three, got a running start before leaping on his brothers backs and jumping up the wall. His fingers circled around the top and he hoisted himself up and rang the bell. Hamish was next, being the taller of the three, and stood, tippie toes, on his brothers back as he reached for his brother. Harris pulled him up and he rang the bell when he was secure. Hubert, although lacking in upper body strength, could jump very high, which resulted in him being pulled easily by his other two brothers, to ring the bell. They got applause and each one slid off the wall. Eret untied the twins, shaking out the net. The two adults bounced on their bottoms and continued their fight.

"Do you see what we mean when we say you have to work together?" The two men nodded their heads. "Good, because you two are next. We're not eating lunch until you can finish the course in one go."

By the time Finlay and Archibald were able to finish the course successfully in every area, it was well past noon. Merida plopped down at the table, filling the spaces between those who were training earlier. The doors opened and a tall, sleepy silhouette was in the door frame.

"Hiccup!" Merida smiled and waved her hand in the air. Hiccup chuckled and shook his head as he sat next to her.

"Good morning." He said, scratching the sleep from his eyes.

"Good afternoon." Fishlegs corrected, taking a bite of fowl. Hiccup chuckled again, this time nervously, his neck and ears tinted red.

"Ach, Hiccup, yer fine. Et's good ta sleep in every once in a while." Hiccup gave Merida a grateful smile and began eating.

"So," he swallowed his mouthful of food, "what did you guys do this morning?"

"We learned how to fly dragons!" Echann excitedly yelped from the other end of the table. Hiccup quirked and eyebrow and turned to Astrid.

"And how did that go?"

"At first it was bumpy, the only one who could really fly was Grant. Eret had his hands full," she took a sip from her goblet, "but then Merida stepped in and really took control of things." Hiccup's brows raised and he turned to the princess, who just shrugged and continued to eat.

"You've got some competition, Hic." Eret laughed and clapped him on the back, making him choke on his mouthful of food. He sputtered but quickly regained his composure.

"Really Mer?"

"A just helped 'em out. They needed et."

"Well, you'll have help for the rest of the day." Merida smiled, taking Hiccup's hand and gave it a squeeze.

The rest of the week continued like that. Hiccup and Merida led Dragon Training while Astrid and Eret conducted hand to hand combat. Fishlegs taught them all they needed to know about many dragons, and Ruff, Tuff, and the triplets showed people how to work together, cause organized distractions, and how to camouflage themselves. It was a very productive week, even Val and Elinor joined in, everyone learning new skill sets for the impending war Drago was waging. It was an early Tuesday morning and everyone was sitting around the breakfast table. Astrid was leaning on Eret, still tired, the twins were banging on each other's helmets in an attempt to wake each other up, Fishlegs was bright eyed and bushy tailed as usual. The Lords and their sons were up and picking at their plates, eager to get to work. The triplets were running around; with no nanny they were unsupervised most of the time and were relishing in the freedom. Elinor and Val sat at the head of the table talking quietly to themselves. They had woken up extra early, hoping to be able to go for a flight. It had been a week since any of the dragons had been properly ridden and they were growing restless. Hiccup had unwillingly agreed, after his mother had been the biggest supporter of the movement. Merida was nibbling on a piece of toast, too excited to really eat anything. Hiccup finally strode into the hall and was tackled to the floor by three redheads.

"Hiccup! Can A ride with yah?"

"Nae! A'm riddin' with Hiccup!"

"Nuuh! Tha's not fair! Yah got ta ride the last time, Hamish!" Merida loomed over the three, who shivered and turned to their sister.

"Scat yah wee devils!" She raised her arms in a 'shoo' motion and her brothers scrambled back to their seats. Merida held a hand down to Hiccup and pulled him to his feet.

"Sorry about them. They're just really excited."

"That's fine. I knew they would be. Boys," Hiccup called, getting their attention. "None of you are riding with me, it's only fair." The triplets pouted, but Val smiled.

"One of yah can ride on Cloudjumper with me." Hubert shot up and clung to her arm. The woman chuckled.

"One of yah can ride with me." Elinor offered, only to be shot down with two looks of horror. "Oh, ridin' a dragon with yer mother. Et's social suicide." Elinor rolled her eyes with her sarcastic retort.

"A'd rather ride Meatlug." Harris muttered.

"A heard tha'!" Elinor pointed a spoon at her son, spattering him with left over porridge. He flicked the gooey oats off his face and gave his mother a horrified look. Elinor snorted, then covered her mouth with a hand. And, of course, Merida's first reaction was to scold her.

"A princess does nae snort." She pointed a finger at her mother.

"A'm no' a princess. A'm a queen. An' a snort here an' there won't hurt anyone." Merida threw her hands in the air.

"Really mother?" Everyone laughed, full hearted, stomach cramping laughs. It was the first time in a week anyone had felt like laughing. Merida sighed, looking at everyone when her eyes finally landed on Hiccup. She couldn't help but smile at the shy man that stirred funny feelings in her stomach. The man who made her blood run thick in her veins. The man who made it hard to breathe when he got close. The man she knew she was falling in love with.

She sighed and smiled to herself, thinking about what she was going to do now that her home was built. This castle was great but, if she was being honest, it didn't feel like home anymore. The strange walls, and empty halls left a hallow feeling in her heart. Nothing would bring back her childhood home, and all it did was serve as a constant reminder that her father was gone. But when she was on Berk, with Hiccup, she felt like the hole in her heart wasn't as big, like it didn't ache as much. She felt safe. Even when invaders threatened her family…

'Wait. Tha' day. Tha' man. He wasn't working alone. What ef…' Merida's mind began whirling a million miles an hour.

"Hiccup!" She stood abruptly, the laughing stopped.

"Merida, what's the problem?" He placed a gentle hand on hers.

"Et's Berk."

"What are you talking about?"

"Et was never about DunBroch. Et was always about Berk. A can't believe et took this long ta realize!"

"Realize what, Merida?"

"Berk es en trouble. We need ta go back."

A/N Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it!