A/N: Last time, Hiccup finding Merida was separated into flashback form and I think my writing in general was kind of confusing. Not much has changed except for Merida's different names which can be explained like this - she has a new Viking name so she is more accepted by the Berserkers, to separate her from her identity as both a Celt and a member of the Chieftain's family so as not to rouse outrage. Obviously I've changed up a bit of the grammar, made everything tidier and more coherent.

And geography wise, Berk is on the island of Britain. I didn't decide on Scandinavia, because I wanted the conflict between the Celts to be on the same land mass and this is the best way for conflict and accurate anyway.

A lot of the plot hasn't changed much, there will be some minor edits. Hope you notice the Disney reference in the title!

Disclaimer: I do not own the How To Train Your Dragon series or Brave.

Chapter 3: One Family Reunion Coming Right Up

As Hiccup tried and failed to bring the girl to his village after various attempts, he desperately wished that he had actually brought Toothless with him - but it was not possible. For one, if he had gone on a flight that afternoon, then he would not have found the stranger in the first place. Secondly, if he returned to the village to fetch Toothless, then he might not know how to find her again, which would be terrible because without his assistance - she would surely not survive for long.

"Okay, upsy-daisy." He grunted, as he used his final solution - Hiccup used a soft, flat stretch of bark to carry the woman to his home so she could receive medical help. He placed her form flat upon the naturally made stretcher. After catching his breath, Hiccup dragged the stretcher with both arms towards Berk.

"Hiccup, where have you been? The others and I have been so worried these past few hours." Valka gasped as she threw her arms into a bear hug around her son, who returned the gesture gratefully. She was aware that her son was usually gone for days sometimes to explore distant territories with his dragon, but Hiccup had informed everyone that he was only going for a quick stroll. The Chief had missed several important tasks, which wasn't like him.

"Uh, mom. When I was out in the woods, there was a young woman. I found her barely alive, so I brought her here to get help." Hiccup explained, he lead his mother by the hand into the front room - where a young woman was carefully placed along a stuffed couch covered with fur and animal skins.

"Did she say anything? Was she conscious?" Valka asked in a soft, gentle tone. She continued to stare, eyes focused on nothing but the injured person.

"Barely, I guess she's been travelling on her own for a long time. I could hardly understand what she was saying, until I got to piece together what little information I received on the way." Hiccup informed, and continued. "She said she was in some sort of wedding - and I guess by her dress, she was the bride. Something must have caused her to run away from the event...she seemed very distressed. Oh yeah, her name's Merida." He said, carefully waiting for some sort of reaction or order from his mother.

"It can't be...it's - it's not possible..." Valka's voice was barely a whisper. Her hand shook as she brought it to the stranger's face, exactly as she had when she first met Hiccup - recalling the tiny, fragile babe with blue eyes and wisps of curly red hair. "She's supposed to be dead - I'd - I'd recognize her anywhere." Unable to hold it in anymore, Valka collapsed into sobs.

"Mom, what's wrong? W - why are you crying?" Hiccup blurted as he threw an arm across her back in support, unused to seeing his wild, brave mother so un-composed. 'Hey, what's wrong?' He inquired in a soothing voice.

"I should have told you, but after the death of your father - I didn't think it was the right time. She's not just any stranger, Hiccup. She's...she's...' Valka was breathing heavily, a panicked expression had crossed her face.

"Who is she mom? Who is she?" Hiccup cried out, eyes wide. He hadn't expected this kind of reaction from his mother. It made his stomach go in knots.

"You weren't an only child, Hiccup. You had a twin, a - a sister. She was taken from the Celts during a war we had with them twenty years ago - and I, I thought she died after her kidnapping...this stranger, this woman is your little sibling. Eerika Malicious Haddock." Valka revealed.

"Wake up, please." A hushed voice coaxed Merida with an air of obvious concern.

"M - mother?" She croaked. Her entire throat felt dry and uncomfortable from dehydration...had she been neglected by her captors? Merida wondered.

"I'm here darling, I'm right here." After some time Merida's eyes were forced open, and the odd mix of shapes and colours merged into some kind of form she could finally decipher. She was lying down, supported by a bundle of stuffed pillows that were the most comfortable things her painful and now crooked back (from all of those nights spent sleeping on rocks or against trees) had lain on after many merciless months. She still found herself (and grimaced when she saw it and recalled everything that had happened) dressed in her soiled wedding gown that promised a ruined beauty and when Merida looked in the mirror, she sighed - she looked an absolute wreck with a complexion of wax. She had red, glassy eyes and dirty, grazed skin riddled with cuts and bruises. Her cheekbones were sharp, to prove her lack of food was eminent.

She furrowed her brows as her eyes glazed across the unfamiliar room with unrecognizable faces. There was a woman she supposed was the nurse, the boy that had saved her and a stranger sitting beside her - the stranger puzzled her, for she had accepted the fact that Merida had called her mother.

"But, you're not my mother." Merida replied. The grey streaked female's eyebrows rose dramatically, eyes filled with bafflement as she saw the woman falter, and her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

"A - apologies. I might as well get this done and over with and introduce everyone. Young lady, this is Alof, the healer that's been treating you since you were found in the woods by my son Hiccup...I'm sure you remember him." Valka introduced, Alof bowed in respect (Merida prayed the nurse had no idea that she was a noble of any sort, but she supposed her clothing had given it away immediately) and Hiccup just stood there, only stopping to stare at his sibling when he was caught by her.

"Valka, Hiccup? Is this some trance from all the days without food?" Merida asked. Mouth agape as she stared at the two people - her apparent family of flesh and blood who were merely inches away and in the same room, finally.

"Sweetheart, do you...do you know about us?" Valka put a greater emphasis on the 'us', and gestured to herself, Hiccup and Merida with only her eyes.

"I only found out a few moons ago - short story long, I had to marry someone I did not love so the clans wouldn't declare war and assume my kingdom, DunBroch was an unfaithful ally and was not to be trusted. On the wedding day I was very upset, because I had to go through with it and be a delicate wife that's only purpose was to produce heirs for the throne - of course I hated the prospect. So when I found a letter that described how I was taken from Berk during a war and was the Chief's blood daughter, it was my only chance to escape my dreaded fate - my mother found out that I knew, but she thought I'd go through the entire thing because it was too late." Merida winced as she recalled all of the cruel things she had said to Elinor, who had raised her into the strong warrior she was today (no matter how unintentional it was). "But I sort of left halfway through the ceremony - right at the moment I was supposed to say the vows for my dramatic exit, and I left. Except Lord Macintosh tried to force me into the ceremony, but I managed to leave the Church - when I began to ride to the forest on Angus, I had the entire Macintosh clan after me with their weapons. A bow lodged itself into my arm here-" Merida pointed to the miniature, deep but healing wound that had left a permanent scar on her shoulder, "and got scratched by a few of them. I traveled to Berk, avoiding the allied kingdoms so my journey took longer and, well here I am." Merida motioned at her sickbed, relieved that she had finally got the thing that had been pressing down on her for so long off her chest at last.

"Oh, you poor thing. I know that it must be over-whelming for you and I should tell you this later, but the Vikings have spotted you being carried unconscious and barely alive by Hiccup into our home to be healed, so there's bound to be some curiosity about your identity, and obviously-" Valka explained, hoping her daughter wasn't one to be emotionally invested in such situations. But from the sound of it her daughter was not easily frightened, the experience able to break even the toughest of spirits. So Valka decided she didn't want to pass her headstrong child off as a silly maiden, who had run away scared from her duty, it had happened before every once in a while - had it not? She was sure that if the girl was capable, she'd have been perfectly happy fulfilling the role of Queen but it seemed as if she decided she'd do more damage than good.

"They wouldn't welcome a Celt with open arms, even if I have pure Viking blood in my veins. I was brought up by them, raised into their traditions and culture. No fraternizing with the enemy.' Merida interrupted, to indicate that she fully understood the situation she was in. God forbid if the villagers ever found out that she was a Celtic Princess out of all things, they should surely revolt and demand her to be banished or be deemed a bastard child of Stoic and Valka, which she wasn't - but still, she was a Celt and they were Vikings. Rules didn't matter when you were angry and had your arch nemesis on your doorstep, and Vikings weren't known for their common sense or rationality in general either if you put it into a wider context.

"So after a while we wracked our brains and thought up a plan. You can choose a Viking name, and live as a mute with our people after you've fully healed - after all, no matter how lovely your accent is, it doesn't change the fact that you were raised a Celt. Let the people get to know you, to trust you, and everything will fall into place." Valka informed, her hand trembled as she grasped her daughter's pale one. "Do you understand?" She asked.

"Uh, yes. About that, I don't exactly know many Viking names. I was given a Gaelic one, Merida by King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Sure there were a few in the stories my parents told me as a child, but I don't know what they mean." Merida confessed, now wishing she actually listened to her mother during History classes instead of sketching on her parchment.

"Oh yes, names are important in Viking culture. Your name would surely raise some questions - especially from those who are aware of our enmity with the Celts." Valka pointed the situation at hand and shifted in her seat a bit. "You'd have to have a new name, of course. How about the name Akleja? It's a type of flower." Valka suggested, she and Hiccup chuckled when Merida stuck her tongue out and scrunched her nose up in distaste for the name.

"Okay, maybe not. Hey Merida, do you have a hobby you like or something?" Hiccup asked, speaking for once after his un-characteristic quietness, usually he would be much more opinionated in such a situation - Valka credited it to the shock of it all, stunned into silence.

"I like archery." Merida admitted, wearing a ghost of a smile upon her face. She recalled her care-free days - of travelling the forest and Highlands without fear of being captured or perishing from starvation.

"Well how about Aella? It means whirlwind." Hiccup suggested, he smiled visibly when his sister reacted with enigmatic enthusiasm. She nodded her head fervently in approval.

"I like it." Merida repeated the name in various kinds of voices, reminding Hiccup of the times he spent impersonating people. "Well, what to do now? I was hoping to meet Stoic when he comes back...have you told him?" Merida asked, itching to meet your father yet oblivious of the situation. She noticed that Valka and Hiccup's expressions of joy fell immediately.

"Oh, baby. You see, your father Stoic died not too long ago. He saved your brother in battle." Valka revealed, the tears she had kept at bay finally fell as she watched her daughter's crestfallen face. Hiccup too, had on a pained expression as he recalled the event that included his recently deceased father. It had been so quick.

"H-he's dead? I haven't had a chance to...to...me - et h-him?" Merida hiccoughed through her tears, whilst Valka and Hiccup hugged her in sympathy. Suddenly, a crash and an audible growl from downstairs took Merida out of her stupor. "What was that?" She gasped, voice raspy after her bout of tears and eminent crying - she did not spot her older brother wince, but she did hear him mutter something unintelligible.

"Oh, it's nothing. A local stray dog comes and goes all the time for meat - I don't think you'll see him often, he likes the outdoors." Hiccup explained, wide-eyed and frantic, he sighed in much relief when Merida accepted what he had told her without a trace of suspicion.

"I get it. Back at the castle in DunBroch, my family kept three Irish Wolfhounds - you probably wouldn't know what they look like. They have black fur, are agile and energetic, so I'm used to unexplained loud noises like that." Merida confided with a smile and a twinkle in her eye as she remembered the three canines fondly - those thoughts immediately brought her to memories of her mischievous younger triplet brothers, Hamish, Hubert and Harris. She hoped they were safe after her reckless decision.

"Lovely. Now you rest up tonight dear, you've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow. I'll have our healer give you a short check up in the morning, and then you can greet the villagers - remember darling, you're supposed to be a mute. Don't speak, because those Vikings can sniff out a Scottish accent a mile away." Valka warned. She hugged her Merida before leaving the room with the other, older woman who had been sworn to an oath of secrecy.

"I'll stay with you." Hiccup announced. He dragged his wooden chair closer to Merida's sick-bed. For a while, there had been a comfortable silence - until Merida asked;

"Hiccup, what was our father like?" Her eyes trailed from the ceiling to his face, and she regretted taking him off-guard.

"Dad? Well, he was brave, always thought of others, and was a great leader." Hiccup replied, eagerly he went off into a world of memories he had shut out due to his grief over Stoic's death - how he had gone fishing with his father, the great tales Gobber had told him of Stoic's victorious battles, and much more. He stopped half way through a story, when he noticed his sister yawning as she snuggled into a pillow. Hiccup smiled as he watched her sleep, unaware that she dreamed of Queen Elinor, a witch, the demon bear Mordu and an unforgettable curse.

Response to reviews:

lycan13: Sorry for the lack of updates, have had some health issues that are being sorted now and have finally been diagnosed officially after years of waiting. Hope it clears up the lack of activity! I had bad timing publishing this around the worst of it. But I'm back to regularly keeping up. And yeah, I don't have the document anymore because I've been absent from fanfiction but hopefully, you can see that my grammar's improved this time around! I'm taking up creative writing classes as part of an English and History course.

Guest: Thank you! It means so much that you are enjoying. 3

Althea Sirius: Thank you! Glad you're up to reading the next bit, I hope you liked the family reunion.

Guest: And yes, I saw Merricup shipping everywhere, especially the 'betrothed' scenario and I much prefer family dynamics to romantic relationships. They're more interesting to me, and I am just TIRED of seeing ships everywhere in fandom and Tumblr, particularly. And of course, all those questions will be answered eventually! I want more platonic fanfiction.

Noctus Fury: haha, again I was bored of everything being about shipping. Annoyed me to no end seeing hardly anything about family, especially in animation tags. Sorry if it feels that way! I'm not sure I explained the geography well? I originally imagined Berk as being on Britain, my homeland which is an island and could explain away the huge Viking vs Celts dispute. I thought it'd be better, travel wise if they weren't separated by sea - like living in Scandinavia or somewhere similar and it'd be easier story wise to have them closer for the conflict.

Also, Merida was injured and starving so I thought time-skips could maybe give a sense of her being in a trance like state.

Guest: Thank you so much! What do you like about the story? ^^