Curiousity

Rapunzel sighed in contentment as she enjoyed the public baths the school had to offer. While every room had a small bathroom the public baths were a place for the students to mingle, lounge, and relax. She sat beside Merida and Anna water just above her chest. She'd originally been ogled for her freakishly long hair, but soon the other girls ignored her in favor of the water and pleasant atmosphere. All around their classmates were also present, enjoying the water and making idle chatter.

"Thanks for inviting us Anna. This was a great idea," Rapunzel said to her friend.

Anna smiled at her. "No problem. Elsa never wants to go with me. So i'm glad you accepted." Rapunzel smiled before leaning back, letting the warm water relax her muscles.

Merida sat in silence, also enjoying the water and her friends' company. But as she did she felt eyes on her. She looked around, eventually meeting another pair of blue eyes. She found Astrid glaring at her from across the large pool of water. She narrowed her eyes, glaring right back. She hadn't known what she'd done to ear the girl's animosity, but she wasn't going to take it lying down.

Their stare down was ended as Heather said something to grab Astrid's attention, making her look away. With a huff Merida diverted her attention off the blonde, sinking down into the water leisurely. Steam rose from the water, covering the whole room in a light misty veil. Merida ducked her head under the water, holding her breath and listening to the muffled noise around her.

And then the background noise was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass followed by a splash. All the girls looked up to see the glass window on the ceiling had broken, almost as if something had come in.

In one voice nearly every female in the room shouted a name. "JACK!"

"I regret nothing!" came a familiar voice from somewhere outside, likely the roof, that was retreating into the distance.

"Ugh. He never learns. North is going to make him clean out the stables again," Anna said shaking her head.

"What an arse," Merida muttered. With grumbles the girls began getting out of the water, no longer able to enjoy their bath with a gaping hole in the ceiling. "Let's get out then," Merida said as she and Anna climbed out of the water. They stared, waiting for Rapunzel to join them, only to find the girl more flushed than normal and sitting very stiffly.

"Aren't you coming Punz?" Merida asked.

"In a bit," Rapunzel stammered out awkwardly. "I want to enjoy the water a bit more," she said quickly before they could ask her why.

Anna and Merida shrugged as they turned and left, followed one by one by every other girl until only Rapunzel remained. When everyone was gone she looked around the room to make sure the coast was clear. "You can come out now," she whispered lowly. A figure rose out of the water, form covered by her hair. Then it began to throw it off, revealing Hiccup, drenched and with water up to his waist.

"Thank you Rapunzel. I swear this isn't what it looks like," Hiccup said as he faced away from her. He'd fallen into the bath from the ceiling, and hoping Rapunzel would be the least likely girl to murder him he swam up to her, hoping to hide beneath her mass of hair.

"No problem Hiccup," Rapunzel muttered out awkwardly. She stiffly stood up, collecting her hair and using it to wrap her body before she quickly shuffled out of the bath. When she was gone Hiccup sighed, feeling like a pervert even though this really wasn't his fault.

He got out of the water and made his way to the door and before he could reach out it opened to reveal headmaster North. The headmaster stared down at Hiccup, brow raised.

"Jack," Hiccup said to explain it all.

"Ah. I see. Off to bed then," North said as he stepped aside to let Hiccup leave. The auburn haired young man did so, sloshing down the halls and back to his room where he planned to commit a murder.

The next day Hiccup dropped down onto his knees in front of Rapunzel and begged for forgiveness. The other girls watched on in confusion, wondering what exactly Hiccup was asking forgiveness for.

"It's ok Hiccup," Rapunzel whispered with a blush.

"No it's not. I owe you one now. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Just name it."

"Anything?" Rapunzel asked curiously.

"Yes," Hiccup said looking up.

Rapunzel hummed, fiddling with her hands and flushing a an idea came to mind. "I don't know the city that well. How about you show me around tomorrow?" she offered

Hiccup looked up to see if she was serious. "Uh...yeah. Ok."

Rapunzel suppressed a squeal as they made the arrangements to meet up. That whole day Rapunzel had a smile on her face as she anticipated the next day.

She was going on her first ever date!

Anna helped her prepare that night, bringing over and lending her some nicer clothes since Rapunzel really didn't have any. Merida sat idly back on her bed, uninterested in the whole affair. Dates were pointless. And her best friend could do better than...the E-rank. But she kept her mouth shut, occasionally smiling and nodding in approval when Rapunzel asked her opinion on a outfit.

Soon they picked out something nice for her.

Rapunzel went to sleep buzzing with energy as she excitedly awaited for the morning.

Rapunzel's mood was slightly sour as she was met with an unwanted development. Jack wanted to tag along. And not wanting to be outnumbered she decided to ask Merida and Anna to join them. Anna shook her head, muttering 'idiot' under her breath at Hiccup as they headed toward the city.

They walked around, first stopping by an art store. Rapunzel smiled gleefully as she looked over all the paints and brushes.

"You like art Rapunzel?" Hiccup asked as he came to stand beside her at a rack of brushes.

"Oh I love art. I used to paint my to-barn!" Rapunzel corrected quickly. "My barn back at home," she lied. She and Merida's story was that they were farmer's daughters.

"Really?" Hiccup said curiously. He hummed, reaching a hand out and grabbing a brush before taking a hold of Rapunzel wrist. Rapunzel stiffened at the contact, hoping her palms weren't sweating as he raised her hand and placed a brush into it. "Try this one. Good quality," he said as he let her wrist go. She smiled in appreciation as she looked the brush over.

"I like art too," Hiccup added.

"Really?"

"I like to sketch. But I dabble with paints every now and then," Hiccup said casually.

Rapunzel smiled at him, heart thrumming as she recognized a good sign.

A shared interest.

The girls pretended to be looking at art supplies while they flicked their gazed to Rapunzel and Hiccup. They found Rapunzel smiling wide at him as they spoke back and forth. They assumed this was a good sign.

"So," Jack said as he came to stand beside them. The girls stiffened up before looking at him. "Does Rapunzel like Hiccup? Was this supposed to be a date?" he asked curiously. Their flinches gave him his answer.

"Ah. Sorry guys. If I'd known I wouldn't have tagged along," he said bashfully. "Dude is seriously dense," Jack said with a snort as he looked at the back of Hiccup's head.

"It's ok I guess. Seems to be going well," Anna said as she motioned to the two of them who continued to talk about art.

"Well she does have an advantage already. Hiccup likes blondes," Jack stated.

"If you want I could show you some of my sketches," Hiccup offered Rapunzel.

"Oooh I'd love that!" she said with a nod.

After that the group left, since it was too late to leave without some strange excuse the others decided to stay with Hiccup and Rapunzel and just have a group outing. Rapunzel stayed by Hiccup, trying to learn more about him. Hiccup answered her questions openly and honestly, unlike her.

"So you and Merida are from the same village?" he asked out of the blue.

"Yes," Rapunzel answered shortly. Hiccup hummed in reply, eyes flicking to the red head.

"So you just decided to become Knights one day?" he pressed.

"Uh, yeah. More or less," she said with an awkward chuckle. Hiccup hummed again. Rapunzel swallowed as Hiccup looked intently at her, almost like he were trying to put a puzzle together. But he said nothing as he gave her a smile and they continued on their outing.

Anna and Rapunzel excitedly led everyone into a clothing store. They browsed while Jack, Hiccup, and Merida stood back patiently.

"Not much of a shopper?" Hiccup asked her.

"Nay," Merida said with a shake of her head.

The girls didn't end up buying anything so they left, making a few more stops at some local sights of noteworthiness and a cafe before they decided to head back up to the school. When they reached the school they began to go their seperate way, though Hiccup and Rapunzel paused to speak one final time.

"Thank you Hiccup. I had a nice time," Rapunzel said sincerely.

"I owed you one," he said with a shrug. Rapunzel's shoulder couldn't help but droop in dissapoitment that he'd only seen their date as a means to pay off a debt. "But I had a good time too," he admitted with a nod. That got Rapunzel to smile again.

"I'll show my sketchbook soon. Deal?" he offered. Rapunzel happily agreed before they went their seperate way. Rapunzel skipped merrily away, thinking her first date had gone pretty well. She'd learned just a bit more about her crush and they seemed to even have a few things in common.

She skipped up to her friends, who chuckled at the sight of her happy self before making their way back to their rooms.

Meanwhile Hiccup and Jack were settling in. Hiccup was feeding Toothless as he pondered all he'd learned from Rapunzel and what he'd already known.

"Hey Jack, what do you think of Merida and Rapunzel?" he asked his friend.

"They seem cool. Why?" Jack asked curiously as he stroked Baby Tooth with his finger.

"They said they're farmers' daughters...I don't believe that," he said seriously.

"Why not?" Jack asked, truly curious.

"I got a look at Rapunzel's hands today. They don't look like the hands of a farmer," Hiccup said as he remembered seeing looking her palms over when he placed the brush into her hand. "She also said she and Merida are from the same village. But Merida's accent in completely different."

"Maybe her family moved from another region. Couln't be lots of explanations," Jack countered.

"Then there's Merida," Hiccup continued. "Her attitude isn't at all what you'd expect from a farmer's daughter."

"What do you mean?"

"She's too...proud. We have noble borns here, yet she acts as if she's one of them. It's strange."

"You don't exactly act like your people Hiccup," Jack reminded him.

"Fair point," Hiccup relented. "Still. I think they're lying to us."

"So what if they are. It's not our business to pry into their personal lives. Maybe they have their reasons."

"You don't want to know why?"

Jack let out a sigh as he laid back, crossing his arms behind his head to stare at the cieling. "Well now that you got me thinking about it. A little," Jack admitted. He suddenly smirked to himself. "I bet you could find out from Rapunzel very easily," he teased.

"Why do you say that?"

"Wow. You know what you do have in common with your people Hic? A thick skull," Jack said with a snort at his obliviousness.

"What are you talking about?"

"Exactly," Jack said as his friend only proved his point.

Hiccup frowned, not knowing what Jack was talking about. But he didn't dwell on it as he thought back to his new friends. They weren't what they seemed. He was sure they were hiding something. Their origins were a mystery, one he suddenly wanted to solve.

And if Hiccup was anything, it was curious.

Curious and stubborn.