"People who fail to abandon anything important, can never hope to change anything."

-Armin Arlert, SNK

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Reveal

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Author's note: You didn't think I was gonna update did you *violently twerks*

"Oh gods, that can't be Torch. Oh gods, oh gods, this is all so messed up." Hiccup couldn't stand still. He kept fidgeting and wouldn't stop ranting.

How was he so oblivious? Why didn't he recognize that it was Torch in the first place? Probably because that dragon grew tantamount to his mother, or probably even bigger.

Hiccup found Torch in the wilderness badly injured [1]. He had mistaken him for a grown up Common or Garden dragon and decided to take it home. A few days later, things ended up quite severely when Torch's mother discovered the empty hollow of her youngest nestling. It was a rather long story of how Hiccup had to go through a number of situations where he was at slight risk of dying to convince the Mother Dragon he didn't take her baby, and eventually, Torch was returned to his mother.

And that was the last time he ever saw a Typhoomerang again.

"Torch?" Merida peeped her head out of the bushes as she probed her surroundings, checking for spies. "Ye don't mean the dragon?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he said. "He was my friend when he was just a baby."

"That' thing tried tae eat me!" She yelled, staring at her tattered dress. Merida then looked at Hiccup and recalled how she was able to escape in the first place. "But it dinnae eat ye," she paused. "Why?"

A ghost of a smile passed through Hiccup's mouth. "He…he remembered me."

Merida was on the verge of laughing. "Well, imagine his delight when ye got him captured,"

He flinched. "Please don't remind me," he turned to face Merida. "Arrow, when he had you locked down, did you notice any whip marks on his body?"

"Yer seriously assumin' tha' ah had the time to marvel at that dragon at imminent death? Hmph, but aye. Ah saw them around his neck and back. The marks on his neck looked like…like…" she rubbed her neck, "…chain marks."

"How would he have chain marks? Who could've done this to him?" Hiccup couldn't stand the idea of dragons being mistreated. He pictured Toothless as a representation of all dragons, so that was why whenever he heard of ill-treated dragons, Toothless came in to mind. And the thought was unbearable.

Merida looked at the castle worriedly. "One things for sure naew. They're putting him on chains again. Wha' are ye going tae do abewt it?"

"Something crazy," Hiccup turned around with agitation, making his bangs smack his forehead sharply. Torch was his friend. And he wasn't going to let anything happen to him. "I'm gonna get him out."

"Heave! Don't let this beast get away!" Dagur scolded the men as they pulled the ropes in an attempt to get the dragon under the castle where they'll keep it alive…barely.

Torch struggled, trying to gnat the riggings binding him to the ground. There were about thirty soldiers trying to weigh him down. It took them for about an hour before the dragon's strength was subdued and he was finally taken to the underground catacombs where his figure and size would make it difficult for him to move his limbs.

The soldiers retreated from the cell that was caging Torch, each trying to massage a part of their body that had been severely bruised by the animal's relentless authority.

Dagur the Deranged was the last to leave, and before that, he gripped the bars where Torch was panting heavily, lying down with eyes half open from exhaustion. Ropes were tangled around his snout and neck. "Don't worry. I won't make you suffer that much. At least…not yet."

He laughed as he closed the doors behind him.

The news about the captured beast spread across the country like wildfire. In at least two days, the kingdom has issued the beginning of the second tournament to fight for the hand of the princess of Dunbroch. They had all decided to witness the demise of this fire-breathing creature on the third day. Spectators from all over the areas had travelled to watch the event of a lifetime.

Malcolm had just recovered, but barely. Although his condition was much better, it was easy to spot that he was scathed and weak. He still had a few bandages, here and there, and bright stitches on his leg.

Despite of that, he wouldn't shame Clan Macintosh by sitting out on the tournament. He announced his participation the day before the fight to kill the beast; it measured over a hundred feet, broke records of the largest wingspan they'd ever encountered, and completely horrendous. And it was merely the prelude.

Gavin and Dachlan raised both their eyebrows at each other. They were ready to fight. But nothing had prepared them for what will happen tomorrow.

Morning came.

Needless to say, Merida was already again at the mercy of her mother's comb.

"Argh, ah, dammit," Merida muttered at each scrape Elinor made causing her neck to tilt according to the will of the hairbrush.

"Will ye stop squirming?" She reprimanded her daughter. Merida sat upright and gripped the edge of her seat to keep herself from tipping over. She wore a different dress this time since her the blue gown had taken a beating from Merida's activities. "Stand up, and give me a turn."

She obeyed and lightly swore under her breath. Beaming up at the mirror, her mother deftly ran her finger across Merida's chin and lifted it higher. This time, Elinor fashioned Merida's hair into a braid. Although twists and swirls curled their way out of tightly woven knots, they looked liked delicate strands falling at the side of her jaw.

The dress was a lovely shade of green. It was tailored to her size. Pleated laces gathered at the hem of the skirt, flaring out if she twisted from side to side. "Ye look absolutely stunning."

"Mum, abewt the dress. Ah didn't mean tae—"

"Oh hush now, Merida. Ah never liked that dress either. Ah'll be off now. Ye better be downstairs in time for the tournament."

"Aye, mum." Merida smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Inside the forgery, Hiccup pounded shards of steel in the burning furnace. Charred bits of coal wafted to his face and his forehead grew dirtied each time he tried to wipe the sweat pooling on his forehead. He had been working nonstop the entire day and he had already fashioned around three-dozen swords. While he burdened himself with toil, Dagur took his time leisurely in the chamber, occasionally checking his face with his reflection on his blade. He approached Hiccup who was incessantly coughing every time dusky smoke streamed from its swelteringly hot forge.

"Today is the day of the Tournament my dear slave. You know what this means?" Dagur exclaimed as he juggled his knives in the air.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I get a day off?"

Dagur smacked the back of his apprentice's head with the back of his hand. "It means the Royal Family is going to watch."

Hiccup scratched his head. "And I should be concerned about this because?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to see her." He replied smugly as he rubbed his chin. "Those hooded glums trying to win her hand don't know the dragon they're up against. Once she sees how horrible they are, she'll have no choice but to come to me. Let me tell you what I'm planning to do to outperform her suitors-"

"Look, Dagur," Hiccup sighed. "Can't you talk about it some other time? I really need help with this. And how would you know about the dragon they're up against?"

"I have my ways, Helmet. You should never underestimate someone like me. I was born with expertise on this kind of field." Quiet snickers emanated from Hiccup's throat. "Did I say something funny to you?"

Hiccup forced his chuckle to simmer down. "Hence the laughter." He quietly murmured. "Just keep on talking about your fanatical whims about the princess. If I yawn, that means I'm listening and I'm interested."

Dagur paused for a moment, before babbling again about what he cared about. Hiccup sighed and resumed working with deaf ears. It wasn't long before the door blasted open and Rugad was suddenly at the door, breathing heavy as he let his weight rest on the doorknob.

"You guys are gonna miss the tournament. It's starting already and the Royal Family's—" Dagur sprinted out of the room in full speed.

Rugad shook his head. "Now I know what to mention if I need to keep his ass moving." He turned to see Hiccup who's clothes looked like it just took a swim in the mud. "You should come. This is the most anticipated event in the whole country."

"But I—"

"Never mind what you're wearing. The King wants everyone to watch, now come." He exclaimed, tugging on Hiccup's wrist and dragging him out of the chamber.

An anticipated event indeed. The courtyard, villages and the castle had no people dwelling in them that day. King Fergus would not sully his palace with combatant beasts. They were somewhere underneath the palace where the large dungeons were being held as the venue for this year's second tournament to win the princess of Dunbroch's hand. The battle arena was a ring twenty feet below the ground, barricaded by rooftops made of chains, but only few enough so that spectators can see the inside.

"Where is the princess?" Dagur demanded among the rabble of people.

Hiccup looked up to see the four royal seats. The princes, Hamish, Hubert and Harris were wrestling each other with spiked maces. The King and Queen sat beside each other, looking as if they were having troubled situation. An empty throne stood right next to King Fergus.

"Late again?" Fergus asked, rubbing his hands together, itching to start the tournament already.

"Aye." Elinor nodded with a glower. "Ah told her to come down already, but she wouldnae listen,"

"Ah'll get Maudie to fetch her." He leaned his head towards the lady standing below the platform. "Maudie, get Merida will ye?" She nodded obediently and ran towards the castle.

"Good." Elinor said. "Well, we don't want to keep them waiting, Fergus. Start the tournament already."

"Yes dear." Fergus obeyed. The three suitors were inside the battle arena holding defensive stances. They carried the same weapon specifically designed by the new blacksmith, Helmet.

"Ah'm impressed, lads." Malcolm said, swinging the double-edged sword side to side. "This is a lot better than the rubbish we use at home."

"Aye," Dachlan replied. "Get ready, boys. Ah hear them say the beast can rip ye apart in seconds the moment it's out of its cage."

"WellIguessI'maweebitscaredofwhatsgoingtohappen," Gavin muttered, "Hoefullyimnotgoingtodie."

Malcolm and Dachlan exchanged glances. "What did he say?"

"No idea."

A trumpet echoed throughout the dome, silencing the murmurs of the anxious crowd. Fergus extended his hands towards them and yelled, "S-Suitors! To your marks!"

"And may the lucky man claim his victory against the beast!" Elinor added. Somewhere in the arena, a stranger brought her hood up to conceal her identity.

There was a sound of rattling chains and the weight of the portcullis covering the entrance of the metal cage was slowly beginning to slide upward. Everyone held their breaths when the log was elevated high enough for the barred gates to freely open. The suitors tightened their grips, fists clenched on their blades. Each of them mouthed to one another, "Good luck."

The doors burst with charred bits of dragon scales shooting out in all directions like hundreds of meteorites in a chaotic torrent. Everyone ducked and covered their heads to avoid being scorched. The suitors rolled to their feet after being knocked down from the explosion and prepared to meet the attacks of the dragon.

The smoke cleared from the opened gate. The suitors caught the bloodshot scales of the Typhoomerang, screeching flames emanating from every core of its reptilian silhouette. The head surged from the dust and flashed its fangs at the people staring from the metal nets. It swung its talons against the interior walls, trying to wreck it open.

At this moment, Malcolm took this distraction and began running towards the dragon, hollering a battle cry before letting his sword sink into its spine. Torch yelped and swapped young Macintosh against the wall with his tail. Malcolm winced as he clutched his shoulder.

"That's gotta hurt." Hiccup commented, folding his arms across his chest.

Gavin climbed on the beast's back to divert Torch's attention from his friend. He drew ropes from the girdle slung around his hip and used it as cords to climb its neck.

Torch shook his head up and down violently, trying to shake off the boy clinging perilously to his neck. He let streams of fire spew from his mouth like an underwater torpedo. Gavin was able to reach the dragons mouth, expertly lassoing the dragon's mouth with the ropes. Torch's voice was cut mid scream when young McGuffin tightened it.

Hiccup almost let a smile escape from his lips. "Wrong move."

Before Gavin could yell a cry of victory, the Typhoomerang vehemently threw his neck backwards, sending a shocked suitor somersaulting through the air. Torch stretched his mouth open as wide as he could. The ropes snapped like little bits of threads.

Dachlan was the only one left standing in the amphitheater, knees bent and shaking rather sadistically. Torch, although his mouth was fastened, his talons were still free.

Slowly, he stalked the shaking boy with long strides of his wing. It approached the young suitor very slowly with ashes of smoked fire cackling from its nose.

Everyone turned to avert their eyes and some even proclaimed their condolences to Dachlan Dingwall, expecting that it will be the end of him. Elinor froze. She felt almost as if her heart was constricted underneath the rib cage. "Your Highness," a quivering lady voice tapped her shoulderly frantically.

THe Queen glanced at the servant. "What is it now, Maudie?"

"Ah can't find her!" Her, was already hint enough.

Elinor wondered where in the world Merida could be. But her daughter promised she'd be there. Unless...

"Look over there! Who is that?" Fergus suddenly yelled, fingers pointing to a figure inside the arena.

A hooded stranger threw a stone at the dragon, whose head whipped around to see its new challenger. The entire stadium was filled with curious murmurs because of the untimely interruption. The monarchs blinked and narrowed their eyes, trying to identify the intruder.

Hiccup stared at the stranger walking across the arena from the gates, head still facing the ground. From the sway of the cloaked figure's hips, he assumed it to be a woman, but whom?

The person stopped mid stride, then fingers gingerly reached the heavy wool hood. It flared when it was pushed back, the entire cloak slid down to her ankles, revealing a familiar looking red head carrying bright red arrows on her quiver, but no bow.

"Oh no." Hiccup smacked his forehead. "Why do I always have to keep covering her up," he absentmindedly asked himself as he disappeared in the throng of men and women still appalled by the princess' daring surprise. Even King Fergus and Elinor were too shocked to speak.

Torch left his prey and walked towards Merida. She gently lifted her palm when the dragon was close enough. "It's a'right, wee dragon. Ah'm not going tae hurt ye," Torch sniffed her palm and walked forward a few steps more as Merida took a few steps backwards.

"Arrow, what are you doing?!" Hiccup yelled from the gates, trying his best to beckon her back in. "You don't know that dragon! It could be dangerous—"

"Oh, shuttup naew ye worrywart. Ah got this," she yelled back, still facing the dragon.

"Are you crazy?!"

"It's a relative term."

Torch let out an earsplitting screech. Merida had to bend to cover her ears. Hiccup looked behind Torch to see a sword jutting on the dragon's back. Dachlan had stabbed him on the hind leg, and now, Torch was more enraged than ever. He started snapping his fangs at whoever was near him. He saw Hiccup and sprinted towards the boy with talons outstretched.

"Helmet! Get out of there!" Merida yelled.

Torch completely ignored Merida and trapped the boy against the wall; injuring Hiccup in the process He still had a blade stuck on its flesh, dragon blood continuously oozing out.

The dragon was about the finish him off when Hiccup yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Torch!"

The dragon closed its mouth in response. The name was familiar. He knew someone called him that before, a long time ago. He stared at the limp boy frozen underneath him.

"It's me, Torch," Hiccup cooed, "Your old buddy."

Torch whimpered and submissively lowered his head to the ground as he released him. He was bleeding so much; the sword must have sunk deep through a marrow or something. Hiccup stood up and placed his palm on his snout. "It's gonna be okay, buddy. I'm gonna get you out."

Shouts of villagers with axes and clubs resonated in the arena. "There it is! Don't let him get away!"

"No please! Just don't hurt him!" Hiccup pleaded, but they only went past him and bound Torch again in tight chains. But the dragon didn't fight back. He didn't even move. They began dragging him towards the portcullis where he wasn't going to be seeing daylight. The young Viking could only watch as his friend was once again trodden by humans. He turned around. He couldn't watch.

Hiccup knew what they were going to do to that dragon. They were going to kill him now that he's caused enough damage.

"You've been doing a really good job with dragons, Helmet. I'm really impressed by your work." Rugad said as he placed an arm around Hiccup who kept his eyes locked on the ground. "We need more men like you around here."

"He almost got the princess killed, genius," Dagur slurred. Hiccup turned around to face him, confused.

"P-princess? What?" Just then, Merida ran to Hiccup, looking pale and breathless.

"Are ye alright. Ye almost got killed," She asked worriedly. From a glance, she could see the sight of crimson slightly pooling on his abdomen.

Dagur rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't be here, princess. It's not safe for you to be around repulsing creatures," he glared at Hiccup. "And I don't mean just the dragon,"

"Merida!" People started making way for the Queen, who was turning red with anger. One could practically see the veins on her neck almost bursting out.

Merida tried to explain herself. "Mum-Ah was just—"

"What did ye think ye were doing? A princess does not meddle with barbarous traditions. Come along with me, now."

"Wait-Helmet Ah—"

Hiccup could only stare as Merida too, was dragged away and disappeared in muddled throng of men and women returning to their houses at the end of the show.

"Princess of Dunbroch?"

Blood surfaced from the cloth he bandaged on his chest. The cut was deeper than he'd thought.

Rain cackled on the stained glass windows. The only light Hiccup had were the faint glints of the lamps hung around the basement at random intervals. He had been looking for anything, herbs, salves, tonics, anything to thwart the soreness he had been feeling all night. He was already confused with all the information he had gotten on one full day. The girl he was training all this time was the princess? What part of laying low on the island of an enemy country did he not understand?

"H-Helmet? Open up. Ah know yer in there." A voice sieved through the wooden door, rather muffled.

Hiccup staggered back in surprise. How did she know where he was? Reluctantly, he limped towards the door to open it.

Merida was wearing her cloak again, and only pushed it back so Hiccup would recognize her. He did, so that was why he turned around angrily.

"Helmet, if you'd just let me explain—"

"Of all the things you had to be," Hiccup ranted. "A princess? A princess, do you realize how my neck is at slight risk of danger here? Your parents would behead me if they knew what I was teaching you,"

"Oh come on now, its not that bad. They won't find out." Merida reassured him.

"A-a-and how sure are you even about that? You're not the one they're going to decapitate, are you?"

"Will ye calm down?" She pulled his arm so he'd sit down on the chair beside him.

"Ow, that hurt," he cringed at his stomach. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Merida drew a linen bag from her pouch. "Ah have something ye need. It's not going tae take away the pain, but it'll make the night much more bearable."

Hiccup bit his lip. "Thanks, I guess." Merida scooted closer, trying to get a clearer view of his wound. Hiccup half lifted his shirt to give her better access as she worked her way to take off the bandage. "You're a princess. How do I expect you to know exactly what you're doing?"

"In my country, women are taught also how to handle injuries so we'll be prepared whenever there's a war. It'll lessen the casualties if we know how to aid our men back tae health—"

Hiccup swore when his wound was suddenly exposed to air. The feeling pricked him like needles. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Ah'm going to have to ask you to take of your shirt so Ah can—"

"What?"

"Ye'll catch an infection if ah don't clean this properly,"

"But—"

"Oh shut up ye wee baby. Ah'm not asking you to go full on naked." A deep scarlet flushed on both their cheeks. Merida clapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to make it sound like that. "I mean-oh never mind just do what ah told ye." Merida finished as she made her way towards a tap in the wall.

As she took a bucket and began filling it with water, Hiccup hesitantly tugged his shirt off, wincing at the amount of muscle he was straining to move. He shuddered from the chill, not particularly the cold. He had never let a woman see his body before. Not this up close.

Merida paused upon looking at him. Even if his back was just facing her, she could see he handled his body well. He wasn't at all as skinny as she expected. He actually had toned muscles. He even had battle scars, probably from all the years of training dragons. She approached him with the bucket in hand and knelt down beside him.

"This might sting a bit," she warned him before dipping a piece of cloth in the water and pressing it hard against the gash on his torso. Hiccup swore and shut his eyes. She took out the cloth and began rubbing the salve. Hiccup had to grip the edge of his seat to keep himself from running away. "Sorry." It felt weird doing this to him. Her pulse thrummed wildly particularly when she felt the depression along his hip where skin disappeared beneath his slacks.

"By the way," Merida started, hoping conversations would take his mind off the pain. "Thank ye."

"F-for what?" Hiccup muttered in between pants.

"For what you did back there. In fact, for everything you did the past couple of weeks," she admitted. "All done." Merida started to wrap the wound again with a cleaner bandage. She jumped subtly when she felt Hiccup's hand press over hers.

"That's enough." He breathed. "Thanks, Arrow." He reached for his shirt and pulled it down his head. Merida had time to look at him one more time before she caught sight of his face resurfacing from his chemise.

There was a long pause, before Merida opened her mouth to speak again. "Merida."

"Hmm?"

"My real name's Merida Dunbroch. Ah thought by now, ye deserve tae know." She continued to hold Hiccup in her gaze, wondering if he would answer her back.

"My real name," he replied finally, "Is Hiccup Haddock. You might as well know too."

"Hiccup." She repeated. His name was like a siren song to her lips.

"I know. It's a stupid name," he laughed, ridiculing himself. "Old Vikings used to believe a horrible name would frighten off gnomes and trolls,"

"It's nae stupid at all. For the record, Ah like Hiccup Haddock much better than Helmet." She smiled, hoping it would make him feel better.

"Well then, you'd be the first," he grinned. "But thank you."

[1] If you watched Riders of Berk, you'd know about the baby Typhoomerang Hiccup encountered.

You all probably hate me right now for not updating in almost two months. But hey, its Christmas break! Loosen up, here's my Christmas present to the lot of you *virtually hands out truffles and christmas cookies*

hohoho

(didn't proofread this one again but its already like, 2 am and I am going to sleep) Any grammatical errors, spellings and historical inaccuracies can be corrected through reviews alright? Merry Christmas guys!

And yes, it was a tangled reference.