"For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

-J.R.R. Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring

~O~

Linked Futures

~O~

"I hope they'll let us in." Hiccup gulped before he began knocking on the door. Merida sneezed as she hovered Hiccup's vest over her head.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" He asked in between knocks.

Merida rubbed the foggy window glass in the otherwise dreary stonewall. "Maybe no one lives he-aCHOO!"

Hiccup's brows knitted in anxiety at the sight of her pale face. Her clothes were in darkened streaks, clinging to her frame. Hiccup stood back and was about to kick the door open in desperation when suddenly, the door creaked open. Merida poked a reluctant head inside, and then began placing wary footsteps inside the household. Hiccup went in and kept the door open behind him…just in case. He stomped on the floor mat, shaking off the wet residue on his boots.

Merida stared at the paintings carved into Pictish stone. There were hundreds milled to the walls, and plastered on the ceilings. She examined them a little closer. Each painting was an event in Scottish history. She should know. Her mother made her memorize the Celtic chronicles as she knew the back of her hand. Three colossal paintings stood out from the rest. There was the King Alexander III falling to his death on a visit to the Queen of Scotland in one painting, the Auld Alliance of the Scottish King John to that of the Northmen a hundred years ago, then the last portraiture she had recognized was the Battle of the Two Kingdoms.

"What is this place?" She asked. It was Hiccup's turn to marvel at the intricately whittled paintings.

"From all the paintings, this place looks like a museum," He laughed as he walked around the room with boots sodden wet. "This place is so old. They could do with some renovation."

"I like it just the way it is, young man." An old female voice croaked in the clogged room.

Hiccup staggered back at the response. "Who is there?"

"I believe I must be the one to ask that. What are you doing in my house?" The voice dripped with an eerie aura, cracking from the many years of isolation with no one to converse with.

Merida stood in front of Hiccup. "W-We needed a place tae stay. That's all."

"We meant no harm. We just needed a place to rest because of the storm," he added, hoping to sympathize.

"Might ye show yerself?" The princess asked, searching the room for the source of the voice.

"I'm right here." Merida and Hiccup twisted their necks to look behind them, and there sitting on a rickety chair was an old woman smiling at them. She stood up with the aid of her cane and walked up with a feeblish gait. Her gray hair bore records of her knowledge and her eyes sibyls of the future.

She came close to Merida who was sniffing rather violently whilst enveloped by Hiccup's vest, "Would you like some help with that dreadful cold of yours?"

"Doesn't Hiccup smell funny to you?" Dagur asked, in a tone that seemed like he did not want to hear a contradicting answer.

Oblivious to this, Rugad replied, "Definitely. Especially when he's working."

Dagur gave him an apathetic look. "I meant that something about him screams absolutley fake. Like all he is, is an act, a phony."

Rugad raised an eyebrow. "And we aren't?"

His brother chuckled devilishly. "Bite your tongue brother before someone overhears that. We have to finish our task here before we escape and rally the Outcasts and Berserkers. Now pipe down your tonsils."

Rugad rolled his eyes. "I apologize for jabbering so much information away."

"How many more weeks do we have?"

"Hmm, about three to four I guess?"

"I won't live three to four weeks. I need those weapons now!" He slammed his fist on the table.

"You can't expect Hiccup to forge a hundred fold weapons in sheer hours. And he's also inventing complicated catapults and arms of the sort. Be patient." Dagur told him.

"Alvin isn't." He sighed.

"But we've already shipped a dozen carts to Outcast Island. No Scott knows about that and I told the king we've kept it some place in the arsenal chambers. I'm sure Alvin would be pleased to know we've done our work quite cleanly."

"No, but at this point, he'll want us to find an advantage. It'll be further satisfying if we have a certain tactic to tell the Scott's defeat." Dagur huffed, pacing around the room.

Rugad rubbed his chin. "I suppose all we have are weapons but what else could we offer Alvin?'

Dagur sat for a moment, before bolting up from his chair with a sudden notion. "Come with me, brother," he said. We'll have to ride out into the forest."

"Thank ye." Merida asked, avidly sipping the soup.

"Oh just some old recipe I've whipped up during my stay here. You're still going to need rest, dear. " The woman replied as she began her woodwork on the table. She brought out a chisel and a piece of lumber and then started to fashion a carved painting.

Minutes turned to hours. But the storm outside remained the same. Gusts of wind stripped tall pines of its leaves, the mountains disappeared in the shrouds of the downpour and the faded light the day had only to offer was dwindling within the approach of dusk.

"Ah don't think the rain's going anywhere," Merida sniffed. "Is there any way we can get back home?"

"Heavens, no," the woman exclaimed. "The weather is far too dreadful and you'll catch a serious illness. You must pass the night in bed here."

"She's right, Mer. It's better if you rest first." Hiccup added.

"What if people start looking for us?" She asked worriedly.

"That's not our concern now. Besides, this storm's probably going to distract everyone for the meantime." He assured her. Merida nodded in consent.

"There's a room upstairs. Might as well spend the night in my home." The old woman suggested, pointing to the winding staircase leading towards an empty nook. Hiccup held Merida's shoulders and began guiding her upstairs. It was quite a small room with a nicely tucked in bed with a candlelight glowing amidst the bleak walls. Almost as if the woman expected their visit. Or did she? The bed was large enough for two people, and she lived alone.

"Suddenly, this makes me feel a bit woozy now," Merida yawned.

"You should probably lie down." Hiccup suggested, but she already made a beeline to the mattress.

"Ye sleep on the far edge." She decided. Hiccup acknowledged her claim in territory, and waited until she found the side of the bed she wanted to sleep on. Merida sluggishly dropped on the sheets, her body welcoming the breather it offered. It wasn't as soft as the ones she had in the castle, but it'll have to suffice.

Hiccup made sure he was at least a feet apart from Merida.

"My head feels funny." She suddenly stated. "Maybe food will make the headaches go?" She pleaded, obviously too lazy to stand up and get some for herself.

Hiccup stared at her with impassive eyes. "I somehow knew you'd be asking that sooner or later."

"Come on, naew."

"You just ate!"

"It was only soup!"

Hiccup finally agreed while mumbling something about gluttony. Merida sank back into bed satisfied at the sight of him disappearing to acquire food. He came back a while later with two cakes with blueberry filling, probably baked by the woman. Merida snatched the plate from his hands and began devouring said cake.

"Careful, princess. The bed might snap." Hiccup smirked.

Merida turned to glare. "Ah sure hope that wasn't a crack about mah weight."

He grinned. "No, not all. Is there anything else her highness wishes?"

"Her highness wishes tae slap you."

Hiccup held up his hands. "Your wish is implied."

They had settled comfortably in bed, their backs facing one another. Merida watched the dark sky from the window, waiting for the slightest sign of dawn to appear. She hated it when it rained. It always kept her inside homes when she yearned for the comfort of the outside world to give her even a glimpse of what freedom feels like. In time, she would be stripped of that liberty. She was just not ready.

Merida suddenly jumped as lightning pierced through the sky with its branchlike arms followed by a ghastly blare of thunder. The window flung open by a sudden push of a cold breeze. She got up, freezing, closed the window with numb hands and lied back down on the bed.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked momentarily after she sunk her head on the pillow.

"A-ah'm grand." She muttered.

"Are you sure? I can hear your teeth chattering from here."

"Nothing, Hic. Just go back to sleep."

Even if the steady beats of the rainfall used to lull Hiccup to sleep, he couldn't rest at least until he knew Merida was alright. She had been feeling quite edged since the moment she came here. There was something about this place. Some kind of mystic thread pulled them into this house and let them linger in its presence.

He had just about closed his eyelids almost halfway when he felt something small and warm grasp his hand. He looked behind and saw Merida shivering in the cold despite layers of blankets wrapping her in a mummified fashion. Apparently, she had been looking for something warm to thaw the coldness nipping on her fingertips; only Merida didn't realize she found warmth in the person she made clear of avoiding tonight.

No color of roses nor crimson blood could tint Hiccup's cheeks as red as they were now. Even by all means of friendship they shared for a month, her touch was still alien to him, and surprisingly comforting too, as much as he hated to admit it. He gently switched to his other side, careful not to stir her. Slowly, he tried to unlace his fingers from Merida's, but his actions only made her tighten her hold on him all the more.

Hiccup paused, appalled at the realization that this was an actual princess of Scotland, and they were twined together in the darkness. What made him even more surprised was his reaction to her touch.

Inch by inch, he edged closer, cradling her trembling body in his arms. The moment her small form fitted against his, Merida stopped shuddering. She even lifted her head, and laid it on his chest, almost as if she hurried to lose herself in the warm sensation of his embrace.

Well, this was certainly something he never expected.

Hiccup didn't know how he'd talk his way out of this in the morning, but for now, it didn't seem to matter. He reached out to stroke her hair and twist the strands falling to the side of her jaw. For a moment, he let his fingers rest on her cheekbone.

He felt drawn to her in a way he didn't understand. She was certainly the strangest and most unpredictable person he had ever met. But he was starting to think it was one of the best things about her.

Morning came.

Merida felt the brazen sunshine stream right into her eyes, luring attention to the view outside. The clouds had just started to part. Rays of sunshine wound throughout the gulley in a seamless afterglow. For the first time in a long while, she felt better today about sleep than any other night's rest had given her.

Then, the feeling of something heavy draped around her waist turned her gaze.

Without thinking, Merida quickly sprang to her feet, kicking Hiccup's haggard face in the process. "Ow!" He yelled as he woke up clutching his cheek.

Bile rose in her throaty morning voice. "Wha' the hell were ye doing?!" She demanded, raising her fists interrogatively.

Hiccup shared the same look of befuddlement, remembering brushes of intimacy that night. "It's not what it looks like."

"Ah'll tell ye what it looks like!" Merida grabbed her bow and arrow. "Yer head on a spike."

"Now, wait, wait, wait." Hiccup cautiously scrambled out of bed, his hands up in surrender. "Put the bow down and let's be civil about this."

"Don't ye dare ask me to be civil you little—"

The abrupt opening of the door cut her off midsentence. Hiccup had much to thank the gods for another day his head was still attached to his neck. The old woman appeared at their doorstep with a bright smile on her face.

"Breakfast!"

The meal consisted of fresh loaves of bread and a bowl of steaming porridge, although not as steaming as Merida's head was. Hiccup glanced frequently at her weapons, hoping they weren't aimed directly at him. She was terrifying sometimes. With quick reflexes and short temper, he wondered if she was part fox. It seemed her red hair supported his suspicions.

"Did you two have a good night's rest?" The old woman asked. She didn't get a response, only the awkward silence the two teenagers fell into as they pecked their breakfast away.

Besides his problems with the princess right now, Hiccup knew search parties are probably looking for her at this very moment. It had been a day, damn it. Obviously, they would have noticed that the stubborn royalty was not in her room. At least exclusion from Merida gave him time to think of what to do once they're found.

"The weather's clear now," he announced, "We should leave."

"Ah still haven't finished this soup." Merida complained, snatching a few spoonfuls to her mouth.

"You can't be leaving so soon." The woman told Hiccup. Hiccup ignored her and proceeded to walk towards the door. "The storm hasn't passed yet."

"What are you talking about? The storm's long gone." He clutched the doorknob and swung it open. "I'm sorry but people might be looking for us."

With a snap of the woman's finger, the door shut itself. Merida dropped her spoon. The curtains began to veil the windows and every single cranny that welcomed light. Darkness closed around them, elevating the damp chill that made the hair on their skins rise.

"Don't move, Mer." Hiccup instructed as he looked around, trying to identify stark outlines of his surroundings. Suddenly, bobbing, gleaming light ignited the far side of the room. Merida slowly rose from her chair upon seeing Hiccup's figure, courtesy of the green flames illuminating the house. She instinctively grabbed her bow and arrows, ready for any danger.

A cackle emerged from the shadows. "I didn't mean the storm you claim, young Viking," she laughed. Hiccup flinched when she acknowledged the fact he was a Viking, even though he never told her. "I meant the storm that has loomed over this land and will soon be its demise."

"Wha' are ye talking about, witch?" Merida spoke against the dark shapes scuttling in the dimness. She held up her bow, aiming at anything yet to intend them harm.

"Witch?" The old woman sounded upset. "I do none of those potions, evil concoctions nonsense."

"Who are you, then?" Hiccup asked.

"Who I am, in your world, is irrelevant," The darkness echoed. "The more interesting question would be, 'What am I?'"

"Alright then, tell us what are you?"

"Tut, tut, dear boy. I never tell…" fog snaked around their limbs, twisting and manipulating their visions of what they could see. "…what I can show."

An array of colors leapt into thin air, bursting into images as it escaped from the frames of the mist. Hiccup and Merida were walled by bright fleeting mirages and panoramas swimming in a pale cloud like glowing minnows, each with different depictions of events. It all made sense now; they illustrated the paintings of Great King Alexander III, the Auld Alliance and the Battle of the Two Kingdoms.

"You're an Oracle." The words escaped his lips in a breathless pace.

"A wha'?"

"She sees the future and tells prophecies," Hiccup told her, still slightly dazed from all the knowledge he gained in a matter of days. "It's amazing." His hand reached out to touch vivid forms in the portal.

"Why'd ye bring us here then?" Merida demanded. In response, the mists vanished and were replaced by dark, red smoke clawing at the floor.

The voice sounded eerie as she began to speak. "Both of you play critical roles in this new prophecy," she said. "The Prophetic Past."

Hiccup frowned. "Prophetic…past?" The words seemed to contradict each other. How can the future be the past?

Merida's eyes widened. "Legends will repeat itself," she whispered. "Hiccup, it's like the stories I've been telling you about our kingdom. There had always been a dictum in each of those tales, that 'they will repeat in an era of great need."

"You're catching up." The Oracle chortled.

He still didn't understand. "So what does this have to do with us?"

She, the Oracle, lit the three substantial paintings and let it hover above the pair. "There is magic that has breathed life back into these histories, but there is also something that's coming, something you've never faced before. There is yet hope to stop it from destroying the lands you protect." She paused. "But the fulfillment of this prophecy cannot be without your help."

"What are you saying?" Hiccup couldn't believe it. He was getting caught up with two sides of a feud in a single place. "This war-this isn't my fight."

"It's both our lands, Hiccup, so it's both our fights." Merida argued. "What should we do?"

"Fate gives no instructions. That is why some people are just destined. But I will tell you this, my princess," her voice grew solemn. "Shadows cloak your adversities, a friend in fact an enemy, and in time, you will face treachery by one unlikely."

Treachery. Sweat caked the strands of Hiccup's hair to his forehead. Could there have been the slightest possibility she meant him? Guilt began to lance through his chest, a tight coil that reminded him of his transgressions towards someone he cared about.

The light of the green flame began to fade, and so did the Oracle's voice.

"Wait! Where are ye going?!" Merida yelled, trying to follow the source of the voice. Chants resonated through the room.

Treachery by one unlikely. Treachery by one unlikely. Treachery by one unlikely.

A river of light swept them off their consciousness. And in a flash, they were once again back in the forest as if nothing happened, leaving them to decide whether to believe what just happened was real or not.

The cottage was no longer there.

"This better be worth my time, Dagur." Rugad warned as they threaded to thickets and shrubs. Dagur hoped the trap he had set worked some kind of miracle. It was his last chance to finally get a stamp of approval from Alvin.

They soon reached a cavern, expertly tucked and hidden from oblivious passersby. The cave was filled with damp, musky scents, the base of the stony floor still wet with morning and evening tides. Dagur lit up a torch as they went deeper inside the cave, far from light's reach.

Dagur saw something rotting on the floor. He bent down and sniffed it.

Salmon head.

He couldn't believe it. "Hurry, Rugad!" He shrieked as he ran faster to wherever he knew the twists and turns of the caves went. Rugad followed behind him, wondering what was his brother raving on about.

"Wait up, you cod." He panted. What is it that's gotten you so—" Rugad noticed Dagur stopped in his tracks. "What are you looking at?"

His brother held up the torch higher for the glow of the light to stretch further into the dark. Rugad was at lost for words once he saw the trapped animal.

"A Night Fury?"

A/N: I have no words to say how truly sorry I am for the hiatus. I lost my muse, but I just got it back, and I hope never to lose it again.

I decided to continue writing this fic, all in a span of one night. I may have hurried a bit with the chapter just so I can already published this late late thing (forgive me, but I haven't written fanfiction in so long, it was quite a depressing night)

Please correct my grammatical errors and some mistakes I made with carelessness. I'd be more than happy to tweak them.

Again, my apologies, and I'm forever grateful to those who are still reading my stories.

-DawnD