I am so sorry for that false 1st chapter! I got my titles mixed up, please forget about it and just try to enjoy this!
…..
The night had comfortable spring warmth. Perfect for hosting an extravagant fair that featured all the wonders the world could offer. There was anything you want to see: everything from fire-swallowers, talking animals, six-armed swordsmen and even a bearded lady.
All sorts of folks were there; grand or ordinary, mysterious and alluring plus the ugly and terrifying. Mixtures of all kinds, including some that weren't exactly classified as human, but no human that night was rude enough to point it out.
Merida of the clan DonBroch walked by herself to the maroon tent. It had gold stars unseen unless in the right light.
Inside was bigger than it looked, plenty of room for the many customers enjoying their hookahs. A man with a funny, dark beard welcomed her, and told her they were booked unless she was willing to share.
Since she'd slipped away from her family, and her friend left (to watch 'mermaids'), Merida's slight loneliness made her curious to meet a stranger.
Following the man, she noticed the other customers pleasantly enjoying their intoxication. She found this fascinating; she thought this was a way to heighten her dreams during consciousness.
Each table had thin, sparking curtains surrounding it to give privacy. Merida could only see the sillhoutte of a person alone at a table. The man pulled it back, revealing a boy about her age coughing, and asked if the boy minded sharing.
"Sure- not a problem." His voice was nasally and toad-like; probably an effect of the hookah smoking.
"You are lucky; it's a pretty young lady." The man gestured to Merida, who rolled her eyes without the man noticing then smiled politely when they both looked at her.
Merida took a chair, paid the man with a gold ring and then was alone with the boy.
"What's it like?" Merida asked as he starting to lit it again.
The boy cleared his throat and told her, "I just started but so far just a little light-headedness."
The glass center was blue and blubbing, excited Merida took the mouth piece and smoothly inhaled.
The boy nodded a few times to show respect. "Nicely done for your first time."
The smoke she exhaled felt cool. "Huh, I thought it'd feel more fantastic than this."
Inhaling and then not choking, the boy laid back in his chair with ease. "Give it some time."
And in time the oddly juicy tasting swirls of smoke had them both in a state of euphoric relaxation.
"You've got a funny name." Merida said after they introduced themselves.
Hiccup said with dry, but not unsweet tone, "Yeah, I know but Fishlegs was taken at the time."
Merida laughed, her little buzz kept everything in her peaceful and cool.
"Hey, how come they you're alone?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm not alone- you're right here, sharing my table." Merida dizzily reminded him.
Hiccup shrugged at the rational answer. "Okay, why did you arrive here with no one else?"
"Ahh, couldn't find anyone else to try this with. How bout you?" Merida was appreciating how bouncy her hair was.
"I think it was either a chocolate chart or the guy who lays on spikes that took my company. Oh well, but your people were wrong to leave you." Hiccup informed her.
Merida didn't know how to take him seriously. "Mermaids aren't a worst reason than why your friends left you."
"I just mean it's not awesome when a girl's by herself at a criminal inviting fair; though I'm not saying they don't craft amazing ceramic unicorns." Hiccup had his hands up in defense.
"Ughh, ya sound like my mother." Merida gestured her hand like she was swiping a fly away. "I can take on a man twice my size if needed, I'm not some fragile little girl, unlike someone else I can mention." She pointed at Hiccup.
"First, ouch for doubting my thrashing abilities and second I didn't intend that girls can't be bruisers either. Believe me, I've felt the bruising." Hiccup rubbed his arm in remembrance.
Merida laughed a bit. "I'd love to, I've yet to meet a lass that can do more than bake a cake; unless ya count my mum."
"You're close to your mom, huh?" Hiccup guessed out loud.
"I am, as weird as is it to admit, we weren't always though. But crazy things happen and you learn to talk, and listen and just like each for being different." Merida admitted.
Hiccup was quiet, which made Merida feel like she talked too much so she asked, "What's your mum like?"
Hiccup shrugged. "Kind of a stiff."
The silence got awkward, and then something clicked in Merida's head. "Ahh, I am so sorry."
"It's okay, really." Hiccup's smile showed tenderness; it was old news and he didn't care to dwell on it.
Still on a buzz, but felt enough to think thoroughly, Merida then asked, "So what's your dad like?"
The mood didn't improve, but Hiccup gave gentle irony. "Crazy things happen…."
The fair was located near a great forest; the trees were tall and blue and the ground wasn't crowded with natural debris.
Hiccup talked about his life and listened to Merida when she talked about hers. The delicious smoke was still swirling in their brains, making them fuzzy but still civil.
"So where is this mighty beast of yers? Did he fly away?" Merida had never seen a dragon up close before but she was highly cynical of seeing a nice one.
"I parked him right over here; and he wouldn't fly away. He's a good dragon; best friend I've ever had." Hiccup did trust his dragon would be where he left him, but in the pretty forest at night it was hard to see where things went.
"That's nice. (yawn) I would love to see him. Have a ride even if he turns out to exist." Even in her disbelief, Merida felt that the boy was trustworthy enough; a little soft but not a liar.
"Riding dragons. Even if it's just a fantasy, I could use some fun like that." Merida admitted as she followed the aimless Hiccup.
He continued pushing branches in a stubborn attempt to prove he wasn't lost. "Yeah, the flying is awesome; the cleaning, clipping, polishing, feeding; hellheim all the training it takes I could use a break from."
"Ahh come off it; ya gotta take care of yer pets; give and take and all that." Merida looked up at the moon; it was full and brighter than usual.
After his metal foot stepped in some glowing fungi, Hiccup decided to stop the hike. "No offense, but what would you know about giving? Don't you just get everything, your highness?"
Merida took the offense. "Oh, you do not know the mind numbing pains it takes to wear a corset and pretend to be an example of perfection."
Hiccup turned around and played with his hands for show. "You are so right; I have never had to do either of those and probably never will."
"Oh don't start the pity party; you got a bigger adventures than I got." Merida bitterly stated.
"Table for two, the pity party has started for all attending." Hiccup sat down and invited her to sit next to him against a tree.
They listened to the sounds of bugs and spooky nature.
"With all that comes with it, I love what I have to do everyday." Hiccup told her.
"I may get hopelessly bored but I've got my family. They're not worth trading anything." Merida told him.
From the far left, a bright green light appeared. It came from a cart, a jewelry caravan like the many the fair had.
"I don't remember that always being there." Hiccup said, his companion calmly curious as he was beneath the surface.
Lifting herself of the ground, Merida walked over to see the trinkets better. Hiccup's head bounced back and forth as he questioned in his head what to do next. He got up and went to look at what Merida saw.
The pendants and chains that hung were all swirling in green colors. His logic couldn't explain where the individual lights were coming from, this bothered Hiccup a bit. To his side, Merida wasn't dazzled by the sparkly trinkets like normal girls would be; she too just found the glowing to be a marvel.
"We should probably walk away." Hiccup suggested, his eyes on the delicate crafts work bears on one small necklace.
"Take your own advice." Merida told him, she paid attention to the form of the bat-winged creature on a large, thick neck-brace.
In Hiccup's mind, still warm and swimmy, the bear had an epic story ready to be told. He could imagine it being wonderful but the boney hand that was grabbing his shoulder distracted him.
Hiccup shivered then looked at the wrinkly face smiling at him. Gender was not obvious, and it was missing teeth and seemed to very much prefer a dark wardrobe.
"See anything you like, deary?" one mystery down, the old thing was a female. Or at least use to be.
Hiccup tried grinning to cover his discomfort but scooting away from her didn't hide much.
Merida felt dizzy with familiarity and suspicion. "Do I know you?"
"I've never seen you before in my life." The witch said, and then went around to put her arms around both young people. "Can I interest you in a new dandy, princess? Ohh!"
The witch let go of Merida to grab a pendant. Hiccup was still in her arm as she put the cat-eye green jewel in his face.
"Does this tickle your fancy?" He looked at it, as to avoid looking at her, and the young Vikking could almost see that the jewel was changing pupil size.
"Uhh, no. Not interested." He slipped out of the hold and gestured with his face to Merida. His lips read 'let's leave. Now!'
They were both turned away from the cart but the Witch was still in their way.
"I've got too much in my cart; I'm dying to just give it all away!"
Not enjoying the desperation from the old witch, Merida pushed Hiccup to go past her. "Sorry, but even with both our money put together we probably couldn't afford a single thing."
The short black figure continued to circle them; when they stepped left she was two inched away.
"You must not have heard the part of me giving thing away." She twisted her empty hand, palm towards her, then when palm was down the smallest pendant of them all was in her hand.
It was gold, like they all were, but with the thinnest gold string to hold the round, flat little gem. It seemed to be cracked across the middle; like an angry lightning bolt.
The witch grabbed Hiccup's hand and made his finger curl around the stone. "Either keep it or get away from my cart!"
Merida and Hiccup exchanged an ironic look quickly, and then Hiccup smiled and said, "Pleasure doing business with you."
Merida walked faster, tugging Hiccup behind her as the witch finally let them leave without fuss.
"I say we bury it, or throw it in a tree." Merida looked up to see which tree was higher or had a good digging branch.
Hiccup wasn't attached to the pendant so he didn't mind her ideas. "Okay."
He tried throwing it to a random tree- it didn't go far. Merida watched it drop from a very close distance, she kneeled down wrapped the string around itself and threw it much farther.
"Nice." Hiccup said drily; he was use to being unsatisfactory in things that required muscle. Bitterness was a waste of his time.
"You throw like a girl." Merida said with good humor intended. Hiccup made a mock hurt face, causing Merida to make a mock-haughty face in return.
Feeling warmer, Hiccup realized it was morning. He slowly yawned and stretched, opened his eyes to remember where he was.
The night was slowly coming back; met a girl at a hookah tent, didn't hate her, they went to find Toothless, found a weird cart, left the weird cart, got lost in the woods and decided it'd be easier to find their way out in the morning. They slept on the ground, not very comfortable but a bark mattress wasn't too cozy.
His head felt like it just got off something really soft so maybe he felt asleep on a family of squirrels last night.
Eyes barely opened, he nudged the body next to him and said, "Time to wake before the neighbors get the wrong idea."
Hiccup knew he had said this, but the voice he heard say it was Merida's. Confusion made his eyes open all the way; he saw the same bluish trees of the forest he was lost in. but the body next to him looked freakishly familiar.
Slim frame, brown pants and vest, green sleeves and bronze hair…. also the other body next to the one he was sitting in had a faux left leg.
Trembling, Hiccup lifted the hands that he could control; they were pretty, polished and slightly callused girl fingers; the sleeves were a dark blue he knew he wouldn't wear.
He used the hands to feel his face; round and plush, his hair; frizzy and bright orange, and going from down his shoulders he felt breasts placed on his chest.
He gave them a squeeze; they were squishy and real but did not delight him.
One good scream shook the other person who had his body.
"Shut it, ya great Tumshie heid!" Hiccup heard his nasally voice say- it sounded extra funny with the accent the girl came with.
Unhappy to be awake, Merida grouchily looked at what she expected was some scared girly stranger; instead she saw herself scared.
Something quite improbable since it wasn't a mirror.
She grabbed at the flat hair on the head she was in, the muscle-less body and looked down to understand the missing feeling in her left leg.
Panic filling in her, she looked at her true body for answers.
The equally confused but less frantic face nodded and said, "Yeah, it's me."
Merida screamed in Hiccup's voice. Hiccup screamed in the feminine voice he now had; they just screamed in unison for a good three minutes.
After the screaming, they huffed and puffed and tried to calm themselves down.
"I got it all out of me. You?" Hiccup asked, looking down at the dress he was now wearing.
Merida nodded while biting her lip. "I think so."