A/N: Do you guys know how many times I cut chunks of this chapter out and typed new ones in just to fit the back story (more to come on that later). One thing I will tell you is, you will defiantly notice something different when i comes to Hiccup and the village...

And also not every chapter will have a quote thing (I couldn't find one to fit this chapter, but when I do I put it here for future readers.)

Now enough of my rambling, here's the chapter.

He stood on the docks gazing out past the water's horizon. Meanwhile a blonde haired girl around his age made her way to him. He didn't acknowledge her as she stood beside him. Following his gaze to the water, she knew what he was thinking; it was what the entire village was talking about.

"Big day tomorrow." She said suddenly. He remained silent, and she continued. "This whole thing is crazy; you being forced to marry someone that you've never even met, and worse she's a Highlander." Sometimes she really didn't know when to stop talking. "I wouldn't want to be you. You don't even get a say in this. Whether you like her or not you're stuck with her, for the rest of your to top it off, the entire tribe is counting on you not to screw up, because if you do you could possibly start the first war we've had in generations."

"Thank you for pointing all of that out, Astrid." She wasn't helping the matter any. It was nothing new to him; these were things that he had been thinking about since he had learned of the arrangement. "Is there something you wanted or did you come just to tell me what I already knew?"

"Oh, right. Your father said he wanted to see you, he's in the Great Hall."

"Did he say what about?"

"Nope, but I'll bet you a Deadly Nadder that it's about tomorrow."

He made his way into the middle of the village where the Great Hall stood. Hiccup opened one of the massive tall doors and went inside. Cloth tapestries of dragon killing images hung along both walls. Hiccup despised them, they were an insult to him. He wasn't a dragon killer, and he never would be.

"Astrid said that you wanted to see me?" he walked over to where his father was, the chief of the tribe, Stoick the Vast.

"Tomorrow is a big day, Hiccup."

"I know, if they ever make it into a holiday they should call it Big Day, day." He said trying to lighten the mood.

"This is a serious matter, Highlanders will be here soon."

Hiccup was confused. "But I thought they were coming tomorrow."

"They're ahead of schedule, they'll be arriving tonight. While I finish making preparations, I want you to make that beast of yours disappears. I don't care what you do with it. I don't want to see any signs of it being in the village."

"But-"

"And another thing, I might as well tell you now; we will have a dragon tournament as entertainment for our guests."

Hiccup's stomach began to sink. "What kind of dragon tournament, exactly?"

"A dragon killing one of course."

"Dad, you can't-"

"We are Vikings, Hiccup, even though you might not act like one, we kill dragons, not ride them."

Hiccup opened his mouth to speak but didn't get a chance to.

"The only reason I'm telling you this now, is because if something mysteriously happens to the devil, I'll know who to blame. And I'm warning you Hiccup, if that dragon somehow escapes, it will be yours that's in the ring."

"But you can't just-"

"That's final, Hiccup! You will not interfere with tomorrow's plans. For one day you will not be," he gestured to him "this. You will be a Viking! Understand?"

"Dad, I-"

"Understand?"

Hiccup sighed reluctantly; his eyes fell to the floor. "Yea, I understand."

"Good. Now I have to help the others finish making preparations."

With that he turned and left, leaving Hiccup alone.

The last thing he wanted was to watch a dragon die, but what other choice did he have? Toothless was his best friend, the only real one he had ever had really. Hiccup just couldn't sacrifice him like that. He hated that there was nothinghe could do. In times like these he felt he lived up to the name Hiccup the Useless.

~:~

"No!" Merida yelled as she woke. She breathed slowly, trying to catch her lost breath from her dream. She looked around to see if she had woken anyone, but they were all still sound asleep.

She knew there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep so she got out of bed, found her cloak and made her way to the railing on the deck.

Three weeks they had been at sea, on their way to Berk, and for three weeks Merida either had nightmares, or she didn't dream at all. If she ever had the slightest inkling that she was going to go along with the alliance, her dreams had destroyed it.

In her dreams it was as if all the characteristics of all of the Vikings in her dad's stories came together into one person. And that person was the chief's son. She had no idea what to expect, and all she had to rely on were those stories, terrible, violent stories.

Though she would never admit it to anyone, for the first time in a long time, she was afraid. What if the stories were true? Was she doomed to a fate where she would become some Viking's whore? What if this entire alliance really was a ploy to easily ambush the Highlanders? She had so many questions that only time could answer, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to know the answers.

"What are ye daein' up?" a voice behind her asked. She turned to see her father.

"I couldn't sleep." He joined her at the railing.

"Right, tomorrow's th' day."

"Don't remind me." She turned away from him and looked back at him slightly. "…Why did ye wait eleven years tae tell me?"

He tried to think of what to say. There had been no reason why they couldn't have told her sooner. What was done was done, and she wanted to know why.

"Because…because I wanted tae forget aboot it. I wanted tae forget aboot what we wid be daein', even though it's for th' good o' th' kingdom."

"But why marriage? Why me?"

"That's juist th' way it is lass, I'm sorry."

Merida knew her father meant it too; you could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. She was his little girl; of course he didn't want to give her away to a complete stranger. But it was for the greater good; at least that's what he told himself at night so he could sleep.

"Land ho!" the lookout cried suddenly.

They exchanged a glance and he paused before saying "I'll go wake yer mother."

Merida looked to the distance; two dots of light led the way to the entryway into Berk. But to her it was like the gates of Hell.

~:~

Quicker than she would have liked, they made it to the docks.

When she got off the boat she noticed two men waiting for them. One was slightly shorter than the other and from what she could see in the dark, appeared a fake left wooden leg and a right hook that took the place of his hand. The taller one was more intimidating, even though he had no artificial limbs; Merida noted how his cold eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

"Chief Stoick." Fergus addressed the taller one.

"Bear King." he answered back, though they were here for an alliance there was still obvious tension between the two. He glanced at Merida "This your girl?"

" 's yer boy?"

"You'll meet him soon enough."

"I'll show ye were ye'r staying" the shorter man said, he must have sensed the uneasiness between the two and thought to intervene.

They started walking up the hill that lead into the main part of the village, Merida didn't get very far before she felt a tug on the skirt of her dress, she looked down and saw her brothers. Together they all held something in their arms. From the cloth that surrounded it she knew immediately what it was.

"Raysnare!" a smile spread across her face, completely forgetting where she was.

Her mother had hidden all of her weapons. She wouldn't need them tomorrow anyway, it wasn't fitting for a lady to be seen with them, so they had been locked up.

But luckily her brothers could find a way around almost anything. Of course she would have preferred her bow, Naris, but Raysnare was an acceptable substitute.

~:~

Hiccup trudged through the woods. He had hidden Toothless in the cove and spent the rest of the day with him. Night had fallen and he should have been home by now, he needed to get some rest. With the amount of stress that was put on him about tomorrow, he would need it. Having bags under your eyes was not attractive; he may not have had any idea about the girl he would marry, but he at least wanted to look presentable. But things never went exactly the way he wanted them too.

He saw the shine of the metal and heard angry mumbling. When she turned around her arm was straight and the sword extended its length, and it pointed right at Hiccup. Their eyes both widened in surprise. She hadn't noticed him until now, her eyes quickly narrowed. She got closer with her sword, making a threat.

"Who are ye?"

"I- uh" he sputtered.

"Were ye watchn' me?"

"N-no, no, I wasn't watching you, I was just taking a walk." he said finally, putting his hands up show he meant no harm. Her fiery red hair glowed in the moonlight, and her clothing was definitely not Viking's "You're not from around here are you? Wait, you're a Highlander?"

"Aye, 'n' ye'r a Viking." She spat the word.

"If you're a Highlander," He began to draw the clues together "does that mean that you're the princess?"

"Unfortunately."

"So that means you're the one that's going to marry m- the chief's son." Hiccup could sense her hostility towards the situation and thought best to keep his identity hidden for now.

She turned her sword away from him a drove it into a tree, adding to the number of cuts already craved into it. She came out here to get away from the reality of tomorrow, not to be reminded of it.

"I am not marrying some Viking savage!" she drove the sword yet again into the tree. "Ugh, I just want to chop his head off!" she wedged it out of the cut "Both of them!"

Hiccup discreetly distanced himself a little more from her, he was glad she didn't know who he was or he would have been killed on the spot, and worse.

"Merida!" her mother called suddenly. The sound of her name caused another cut in the tree. "It's not fair." She whispered.

She looked back at him only once and started to walk back to where they were staying. Hiccup watched as she left. He now knew what his wife-to-be looked like at the least, even if it was in the dark. He also knew that once they met officially, it was possible that she would try to kill him.

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