Here you are, chapter four. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorite-ed, followed this story so far, it means a lot.
Ch. 4: Breaking Walls
Merida took a deep breath, then slowly let it out as she released the arrow. She smiled smugly as she watched her target fall; that made one pheasant, two squirrels, and three fish. That plus the berries she had found should do for a decent meal. There was not much to be found as far as game went, however, and if it weren't for her trained hunting eye, there meal would probably be only the berries.
The redhead let out a whistle and waited a beat until she heard another one in return. Once she heard it, she headed towards it, pheasant in hand. She an Astrid had decided that the Viking would mark the path and stay close to Merida, letting the Scott hunt without worry of getting lost. She came upon a clearing where Astrid was filling several leather pouches full of water from a stream.
"You think that will be enough?" The younger girl asked. "I had brought four pouches, it never hurts to be prepared. Then Rapunzel gave me the two she brought."
Merida looked at the pouches, each large enough to last a person a while day if they weren't doing anything too strenuous. "Aye, lass," she said, "I think tha' shoul' be fine fer now. We can restock in the mornin' if need be." Astrid nodded and capped the last pouch before putting them in her bag. "Let's go see 'ow Rapunzel 'n' toothless are doin' on tha' shelter." The Viking smiled and nodded and they walked off, following the path the blonde had left. When they got to the beach, they found a nice sized shelter made of sticks and leaves and a few stones to keep the base. Sitting in front of it by a warm fire were the girl and dragon, Rapunzel resting on Toothless, obviously exhausted.
"We brough' the food." Merida said in a way of greeting. "By the time I'm done preparing it, Jack'll be back and we can eat."
Rapunzel offered a smile and a nod as her only response. "Here," Astrid handed the girl a water pouch, which she accepted gratefully. "You guys did a great job on the shelter."
"Toothless did most of the heavy work." The dragon snorted and nuzzled his face into the brunette's arm as if to say, "you did just as much." Astrid was almost surprised by how comfortable the two seemed together, it was nothing like with Hiccup and the dragon, but Toothless seemed to like this girl quite a lot.
Thinking of Hiccup caused the feelings of anxiety and sadness hit her again full force. For a few short hours, she had had something to keep her occupied; now she had nothing except for an empty feeling and worry knotting her stomach.
"He'll he alright," Rapunzel said as if reading her mind. "He's strong, of course you know this, you watched him face the Green Death, we just heard about it second hand. But I've seen him be strong in different ways over the last two years, and I can say without a doubt, Hiccup will be okay."
Astrid sat down next to the girl and sighed. "I know he's strong but he's not invincible, and we don't know what these people have done to him. What if he's..." She looked away from the fire and out over the water.
"Broken?" Rapunzel supplied the word for the Viking, and the blonde looked down at her feet giving a small nod. "Then we'll put him back together." The brunet smiled, but Astrid still looked doubtful.
"What if Alvin and his Outcasts are on dragons when we get there," Astrid stared into the fire, "It's a very real possibility, and if they are, we'll have a much harder time finding him. Also, if Hiccup gave into Alvin, he won't be able to forgive himself, I know him, He'll tie himself in knots trying to fix it, and in the end, the guilt will drive him mad." She sighed and looked out toward the Isle of Fangs, "He won't be the same when we get him back, whether he gave in or not, and I'm scared that he will never be the same."
"You don't give him enough credit," Rapunzel's voice was strong and she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, "I think he's stronger than anyone gives him credit for." Water began to pool in Astrid's eyes, but she quickly blinked it away, "You know where he says he gets a lot of his strength?"
"Toothless," Astrid gave a weak chuckle, the dragon was everything to Hiccup, but Rapunzel shook her head.
"You," she corrected and the blonde looked up, shocked. "He says you inspire him, that you've encouraged him when he felt like giving up, that without you, he would not be the person he is today." Her eyes began to burn again, and Astrid wiped her eyes, trying desperately not to let herself cry.
"That idiot," she muttered, "he's such an idiot!"
Rapunzel chose to ignore that comment, she knew Astrid was trying, and failing, to cover how much that comment had affected her. Vikings, she remembered, considered most emotions a weakness.
"Let me 'round tha' fire." Merida's voice called out from the darkness, breaking the air that had been growing around the two girls. "These are ready ta be cooked. Rapunzel, mind if I use your fryin' pan?"
"Not at all!" The brunette conceded, handing her weapon over to Merida. It was times like these the red head was glad her friend used a cooking utensil as a weapon. She looked over at Astrid, noticing her eyes were a bit red and swollen but she chose not to comment. She new first hand Rapunzel has this way of breaking through walls, and it looked like she had cracked Astrid's.
She watched the squirrel sizzle on the frying pan as she cooked it, she had handed Astrid the fish on a spit for her to cook and gave another to Rapunzel before throwing the remaining raw one to Toothless who caught it happily. As she cooked she thought back to her own first few encounters with Rapunzel. She had thought the girl was weak at first, they had each told their own stories and she remembered thinking that, while the story was truly incredible, the brunette herself would be nothing without her husband or some of the other friends who had helped her.
Merida had grown quite a bit, but at that time she still was overly independent and thought relying on other people too much showed weakness. But then she remembered their first mission together, it was small and something Merida thought she would have no problem with. She had not relied on anyone else, had not listened to the plan Jack had set up, and had done things her way. It had ended very badly for her, and had Rapunzel not been there to heal her, she would have surely died. It was not the brunette's actions, however, but her words that had really gotten to the redhead.
"It's lonely to do everything by yourself," Rapunzel started and Merida wanted to scoff. "You think you need to carry everything on your shoulders, to never ask for help. You think if you do, it will negate everything you have been fighting for, you think if you ask for help you will be proving that you are not ready for the freedom you have been fighting so hard for." Merida stayed silent because the young healer was voicing her own thoughts and fears with almost scary accuracy. "You don't want people to look at you and say, 'we always knew that you didn't deserve the freedom we gave you.' But let me be clear, trying to do everything yourself is what shows you cannot handle the freedom. Remember that with personal freedom comes the freedom to also rely on others, and only when you are able to recognize your weaknesses and learn how to depend on others, only then will you have the true strength that comes with the freedom you want."
A part of Merida' wall had broken that night, and it wasn't long after that that the girl had broken down the rest of it, slowly but surely. It really was a gift, what Rapunzel was able to do. A gift from the sun combined with the knowledge and help from the moon had given the princess of Corona not only the ability to heal peoples bodies, but their hearts and minds as well. She truly was special, and even though she wasn't the best fighter in the group, she was still just as valuable.
Merida smiled as she thought of their little rag-tag team; at first glance, it really shouldn't work, but the man in the moon had known what he was doing when he put them all together. Jack was their leader; he was the immortal one, after all, and the one that had been a guardian the longest. Although most of the time he didn't act like a leader, he kept things light with his humor and fun-loving nature, but he could also be very calm and collected, and he definitely took charge when he needed to. He had grown very protective of his team, and Merida had no doubt he would gladly give his life for theirs.
She was the rash impulsive one, and the one who gave everyone courage. Even when she was afraid, she didn't show it and would move right into the thick of things. Her bravado gave the other's the strength to do the same. Jack always joked, "send Merida in first, if she doesn't come back, we'll know it's not safe." She laughed along, knowing it was a complement in disguise. Every one of them would have been dead without her rash-impulsive actions in battle.
Hiccup was their thinker. He was quick on his feet and was able to see things others couldn't. Jack often went to him for strategy because Hiccup had observed each of them, and he knew how to play to people's strength. He was able to do this even in the heat of battle, making last second decisions that had saved her rear more times than she could count. Of course, Toothless had a lot to do with that as well, but she was still grateful to her one-legged friend all the same.
And Rapunzel was their sunshine, and not just because her healing ability came from the sun's flower. Even when things got so hopeless that even Jack was unable to lift their spirits, Rapunzel was always able to see the bright side. She gave them motivation, and hope in even the most hopeless of times. She was also a fierce protector of her friends, and was also someone worth protecting. She was well-loved and had a genuine spirit that was almost impossible to find anymore, she was really the glue that kept them together.
"Sweet, dinner, where's mine?" Jack's voice startled her out of her thoughts.
"Here." Merida handed him a stick with a well-cooked squirrel on it.
Jack made a face, "my favorite."
"Ya can starve if ya really wan'." The archer challenged.
"No no, thanks Merida." He quickly took a bite. She went back to her own meal, but Jack could still feel eyes boring holes into him. He looked over to see Astrid and Rapunzel looking at him expectantly. "I didn't see him." They deflated visibly, Merida put down her dinner as well and frowned at the fire. "But I did find where they're keeping him, and I figured out that security's very lax during the day because the entrance to their lair is extremely hard to find."
"Well that's a start." Rapunzel said.
"Are the Outcasts… are they on Dragons?" Astrid asked hesitantly.
"No," Jack said and they all relaxed.
"I'm going to take Toothless and night scout the island, we need to figure out when the best time to get him for the cleanest getaway." Astrid said and Jack nodded.
"Yeah, that's a good idea, but be careful! Toothless may be able to disappear in the dark, but you can't, especially with you're hair. And they're looking for Berk scouts, so they'll be expecting dragons."
She smirked and pulled out a black bag with two holes cut out. The blonde pulled it over her head, effectively covering everything but her eyes. Jack held back a snicker, it was a good idea, but she looked a bit ridiculous.
"I look ridiculous, I know." Astrid said, reading his mind. "Hiccup is working on a way to blend into the night with Toothless. Most of his stuff looks... Well, you see my head, but it's a good idea, and I think he'll get it. Until then, I'll use his ridiculous looking, soft-helmet to help myself blend into the night."
"It is a good idea," Merida agreed. "Better ta look ridiculous an' be safe then ta not take e'ry precaution an' get caught." Astrid nodded and mounted Toothless.
"Don't wait up." She smirked before the dragon took off into the night sky, invisible to anyone who didn't know where to look.
"I hope she stays safe, and doesn't take any unnecessary risks." Rapunzel spoke, "If we're going to pull this off, she needs to stick to the plan."
"She will." Merida affirmed, "she's rash, like me, bu' she won' do anythin' to jeopardize tha' boy's safety. I may no' be the biggest expert in it, bu' I know love when I see it."
Jack nodded, "She'll be okay, and bring us back the information we need. And even if we couldn't trust her, we can trust Toothless, that dragon would do anything for Hiccup."
Rapunzel smiled, "He certainly would, animals are the most loyal friends, like Pascal to me, I know he would do everything in his power for me. And Angus adores you, Merida, likewise, Toothless has already proven he would die for Hiccup. Sometimes I wonder what animals have that we don't. How can they love so unconditionally, and humans can't seem to, even though we claim to be the more advanced species."
Jack chuckled at the observations of the princess. He had to admit, she had a point, although he knew a few exceptions if Bunny was classified as an animal. He looked back into the sky where the dragon had flown off with the female Viking. Three hours, that was as longs as they had agreed she should be gone. Then they could figure out the best course of action. The winter spirit frowned, he was anxious to get his friend out of those caves, but he knew they couldn't rush, incase they did more harm than good. But still, he wished he could barge in and freeze them all; he looked up at the moon as if the man could give him the answer, but like every time before, he was silent.
Alvin through Hiccup into his cell with such force, the small body bounced once before skidding to a halt on the opposite side. The larger man was fuming, Pitch had told him about his success in breaking the boy, or the success he'd thought he had. But the stupid boy still had some fight in him it would seem. The leader of the Outcasts had never thought someone could hold out for this long under his cruelty, especially not someone so small and weak as this boy! He knew stronger men who had given in much sooner. Still, Alvin knew the boy was very near his breaking point, a few days at most and he would have him.
Furious, He grabbed the boy's face with his meaty hands and forced the smaller one to look at him. "Tell me how to train dragons!" He snarled, but Hiccup's barely focused eyes held as much defiance as they could still muster, and his mouth refused to move. Frustrated beyond compare with the lack of the captured Viking's cooperation, Alvin put his fingers underneath the boy's protruding ribs, grabbed and pulled forcefully, hearing a sickening crack. "TELL ME!" He screeched as Hiccup screamed in agony, almost loosing consciousness from the excruciating pain.
Alvin was sick of the waiting game, he had waited two weeks and all composer, all of his cool calculating plans to get the boy to talk had flown out the window. There seemed to be no way to get this boy to talk, and Alvin had had enough. Angrily, he grabbed the small viking by what remained of the scruff of his shirt and dragged him like a rag-doll to the middle of the cell where there were chains hooked to the ceiling. The barely-conscious boy did not fight as Alvin chained his hands behind his back, first at the wrists, then at the elbows. The Outcast smirked cruelly as he lifted the boy to attach the chain to hooks at the boys wrists, then let him drop. The chain jerked his arms up and held him in the air, leaving the boy in agony. His broken ribs jarring him painfully.
Hiccup gasped and weakly tried to adjust, anything to try and ease some of the pressure. But his foot hung just above the ground, unable to support any of his weight, and his stump hung just as uselessly, unable to do anything anyway. The young Viking gritted his teeth and refused to look at his tormentor, but the cruel Viking grabbed the boy's chin in a vice-like grip and forced Hiccup again to look at him.
"Look at ye, 'iccup," Alvin taunted, "you're pathetic, a weakling tryin' to be a 'ero where there's no place for 'em. You're just causing yourself more pain, an' it can all end, if ye tell me 'ow to train dragons." Hiccup's cold, pain-filled eyes glared back, a silent but definitive no. "Until you teach me 'ow to train those beasts, you're gonna be stuck like this!" The Viking leader exclaimed and he saw Hiccup's eyes fill with panic, not wanting to be left in such a painful position, but not willing to give in either. The Outcast leader snapped his fingers, and four nightmares materialized out of the dark. "You know what to do." He told them. They whinnied hauntingly before surrounding the small boy, trapping him in the horror of his own mind.
Alvin then turned away knowing his victory was almost there, because there was only so much pain a person could take before they would do anything to make it stop, and the worthless boy was about to meet his limit.
Toothless landed smoothly on the shore, letting his passenger off before sauntering over to the fire. The boy with white hair who could fly without wings came out of the shelter he and the healer had made. He woke up the other two females and they also exited the shelter to gather around him and his Viking's mate.
"What did you learn?" Jack asked her. Toothless moaned and lay down by the fire, why couldn't the humans figure this out sooner? He was growing very impatient, he had been close enough to Hiccup he could smell him, it was driving the black dragon crazy. His scent had been riddled with blood and sweat, pain, fear, and possibly the worst, despair. He knew Hiccup had a very small window of time left before he either gave in, or died, and Toothless wanted to get him before either of those things happened.
"We'll have to go by day," Astrid was explaining to the other's, "they are obviously expecting us at night. The whole island was crawling with outcasts, I couldn't get even get close enough to land on any part of the island without the probability of being caught. But we're out of time!"
Merida looked at the Viking. "How do ya mean?"
"There's a fleet of ships about two days out from the island," Astrid explained. "And when I got closer I saw they were Berserkers, a tribe run by Dagur the Deranged. He's technically in a signed treaty with Berk, but it doesn't look like he's interested in honoring it. If we don't get Hiccup out tomorrow, that place will be so packed full of blood-thirsty Vikings, there's no way we'll be able to save him!"
Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Toothless cooed as if in response and walked closer to the group, obviously wanting to hear Jack's decision. "Tomorrow it is, then, I would have liked another day or two." Astrid shot him a look and he quickly explained. "I want to get him out as soon as possible, but I also want to keep everyone as safe as possible. I'm not familiar enough with that island or the people to make a great plan, if we go tomorrow we'll be relying mostly on luck." He sighed as he knew what the other's must be thinking, he was a decent planner, but he tended to second guess himself, he remembered the days he just did without thinking. Sure it had gotten him into trouble sometimes, but sometimes it had been a good thing, now with other people to protect, he tried to be as prepared as possible.
"We can do it!" Rapunzel exclaimed bringing Jack out of his self-doubt. "It wouldn't be the first time we've had to rely on luck." Merida nodded and Toothless sent him a knowing smile.
Jack smiled back and assumed his leadership role once more. "Alright, you three ladies get some rest, I'm going to work on a strategy for tomorrow, and Toothless, if you could take watch. We'll get up tomorrow shortly after dawn to eat and head out. Tomorrow, we're getting our friend back!"
Yeah, I'm always really mean to my favorite characters... forgot to warn you. Reviews are always welcome :) they make me want to update faster. (just to give you an idea, this is a three part story, I have fourteen chapters planned so far (just for parts one and two, haven't quite fully figured out three yet) and I have all of part one pretty much written, just not edited) so yeah, I'm planning an emotional roller coaster so hang on tight! (or get off I suppose, but where's the fun in that)