(This story is a two-parter, with part two to come next week. Blah di blah blah, I don't own anything, but I am particularly proud of this piece. :-) Enjoy!)

1. The Dragon-Rider's Fate

You know the tale of the brave princess who saved four kingdoms, and of the clever-fingered Viking who befriended a dragon. You know the story of how the Northman flew south and met her, how they fell in love; how the Northman gave up his native land to reign as prince beside the brave young woman, now a queen. They were married, and that is where this story begins.

It was three years and three days since they had been wed. When the Ivy was strong in the forest, and the leaves were turning brown and dropping from the branches, Merida the Queen shared a secret with her husband, Hiccup of the Hooligans tribe. After a night of merrymaking, Hiccup and his black dragon set off for the north, to relay the good news to Hiccup's father and tribe. He had made the flight many a time, and promised her, with a kiss and his word, that he would be back within a fortnight.

Queen Merida waved her husband off, and was not sad when she turned back to her castle. For there was work to be done, preparations to be made, and a kingdom to oversee. Still, she counted down the fortnight eagerly.

Fourteen nights passed, and Hiccup did not return.

Another seven nights, and still there was no dragon and no rider.

After twenty-eight nights, his dragon crawled back onto the land of Dunbroch, flightless and riderless. The queen, who had begun to wear her kirtle high and her gown loose, tended to the beast herself, and though she could not speak to him, understood that he was distressed and deeply afraid.

When the dragon slept at last, Queen Merida called on the three neighboring kings. They had once sought for her hand, but, having been defeated in this endeavor by the dragon-rider, were content to be her loyal friends. She received them in the hall of her castle, with her dowager mother by her side. And she asked of them if their kingdoms, scattered and diverse, had any news of her beloved husband.

First to speak was Lord MacGuffin, tall and broad and solemn-eyed. He quaked in fear of her anger as he said, in his thick brogue, "I 'ear tell he's broken 'is faith, and plans to marry a lass of 'is own people. So pick another leman, milady; 'e'll come home nae more."

But instead of anger, he saw that Queen Merida did not believe him. She tossed her hair aside. "I don't trust in rumor." She asked Lord MacIntosh.

Lord MacIntosh, wiry and wild-haired, shook his head in sorrow. His kingdom bordered the sea, and he said, "The gulls say he fell from his dragon, into the sea, and drowned. So pull o'er the widow's weeds, milady, you'll nae see him again."

But all that Queen Merida said was, "Gulls often lie."

The last to speak was Lord Dingwall. Short and stout he was, with a weak chin, but there were hollows under his eyes as he said, gravely, "I saw it with me own eyes, milady — the Nightmare King, with his black horses of the sky, has taken your husband into his dark kingdom. So grieve and find another man, for none have e'er escaped from the Nightmare King's lair."

And the Queen believed him, for Lord Dingwall was a berserker, and in battle they draw closer to the realm of nightmares than most normal folk do in a lifetime. She nodded to Lord Dingwall in acknowledgement. But all that the queen said was,

"Bugger all that."

She turned to her dowager mother. "I'm going to have to ask ye to rule DunBroch in my stead, while I seek out my husband." Before any could raise a protest, she turned to Dingwall. She asked, "How do I find the Nightmare King's domain?"

Lord Dingwall went slack-jawed in surprise, stammering out, "I only know the berserker's way, milady."

The Queen shook her head, muttering that would never do, not in her condition. She asked if any knew the way to the Nightmare King's lair.

But none in the hall did. Merida thanked them from her heart, and then took off her crown, handing it to her mother. She would hear no warnings and no pleas to stay back. She took up her arrows and bow, and made ready for a journey.

2. Unlikely Help

The dragon she left behind, leaving him to heal. Her horse she left behind, as she knew he could not endure the Nightmare King's realm. She took with her the love from her mother, the friendship of the three lords, and her bow, arrows, and sword. She ventured into the forest, alone, to seek out a hut belonging to a witch.

When she was there, the autumn wind blew cold, and the branches rustled and scratched, but she was not afraid. She heard laughter on the wind, and the sound of panpipes – playing a tune that Hiccup had been fond of whistling. She followed the sound, one hand on her sword, ready at any time to meet the Nightmare King himself.

But she met instead a spirit, white-haired and blue eyed, playing panpipes while cold winds swirled all about him. Frost bloomed where his feet touched the stone, so she knew his name, and called him.

"Jack Frost," she said, "I am the queen of this land, and I demand to know where ye learned that tune you're playing."

"Queen of this land," he replied, "I am a winter spirit, and maybe I don't remember. What's it worth to you?"

Merida grew angry. "I am the queen and I do not haggle—but I'll make an exception," she added, tempering her choler. She looked the winter spirit up and down, and guessed at what he might want. "Ye can have me word as a queen that when the winter sets in, there'll be a place at the table at Castle DunBroch for ye. Ye'll be welcomed as an honored guest, and I will pour your mead myself."

This worked on the spirit, with his bare feet and tattered blue robe. He sat up and smiled at her. "I take your at your word. What do you want?"

"I want to know how you learned the song you're playing."

"Fifteen days past, I was flying over the northern coast, when I passed by a Northman flying on dragonback, heading towards this land with all speed. Such an odd sight, I followed him, though he saw me not. He was singing this tune, and he was so intent on his destination that he did not even see the chariots of the Nightmare King. The Nightmare King spoke words to him – and drew the man under his power – and plucked him from the dragon's back as cleanly as you might pluck an egg from a nest."

"What were the words?" Queen Merida asked.

"Ah, that is another question," Jack Frost mused, "but, I'm inclined to be generous. If you go to the Nightmare King's realm, as I see you're set on, you'll likely never return. If you never return, I'll never get that place at the table in Castle DunBroch, with people to hark to my singing and my stories. So I'll tell you – the Nightmare King uttered your husband's name, and his four kennings. D'ye know what a kenning is?"

"Aye," she said. "What were they?"

Jack thought, counting on his fingers. "The Nightmare King called him Dragon-Friend, Smithy-Leg, Mind-Tester, and there was one other… oh, Husband-of-Merida. I suppose that'd be you, wouldn't it?" Without waiting for an answer, he was caught up by a particularly strong wind, and blown to the treetops. He called to the queen, "Remember, a seat for me and a bowl of mead!"

Now, as it so happened, Queen Merida knew what a kenning was. A kenning is a descriptive name, that in the hands of a powerful sorcerer can wield almost as much power as a true name, which gives true control over the person named.

Still, she was solemn and thoughtful as she left the frost-covered grotto, to continue seeking the witch's hut.