Ch. 15- Conflicts

Merida POV

I trudge along next to Rapunzel and Hiccup, my bow slung over my shoulder. I feel so jittery, out in the open.

"So, Mer, what is the castle like?" Hic asks, breaking the tense silence.

"It's big, and made out o' stone. It has torn up banners all o'er the walls. It's disguised by a lot o' trees, and near a big lake. Lots o' rivers around it too. There doesn't seem to be many Fins in the lake. Pretty much everythin' in there is torn up, but there is still some water flowin' and some old cookin' utensils. In one room, there's…"

"There's what?" Asks Punzie, picking up on my nervousness.

"There's a creepy tapestry, that has a strong looking man with red hair, an elegant woman with brown hair, a girl that looks like me, and three young boys. They look a lot like mah family! On the other side, there are bears where the people were. Ah'm kind o' scared o' bears." I shiver. "But the creepiest part is, all their eyes have been torn out. Or someone sewed the eyes as big black voids." Rapunzel is looking a bit nervous by now. "There are those symbols you were looking at, Hic, all around it."

Hiccup looks interested now. "Can you show me?"

I nod. "Sure."

We're at the castle now. "Comon, Mer, where's the tapestry?"

I sigh. "Follow me, Hiccup. Punzie, you comin'?" She nods nervously. I lead them up a couple flights of stairs. Then I push the door open and lead them in.

Rapunzel shivers. "It's a lot creepier than you described, Merida."

I swallow, then nod. Hiccup is looking at the symbols, barely glancing at the cloth. "Yep, they're the same as in the cottage. I'm thinking that in every ruin, there's going to be a clue in this language. Anyway, it says, 'Shoot the heart's heart, and the answer will be revealed.' There is a slight variation of the letters at the beginning, so that's probably a capital, and there's a variation on the 'h' of the first 'heart', so that means the first heart is capital 'H' and it's a proper person, place, or thing…" he started muttering to himself.

Punzie rolls her eyes. "When he gets like this, there's no way to make sense of it or stop him. Let's go settle in. Pascal's getting hungry."

I widen my eyes. "You brought your pet mutt?"

She looks sheepish. "Yeah… he was with me in the arena the first time, too. He helps me sleep. Also, he sometimes agrees to scout around."

"Oh. Well, he's pretty useful."

"Yep… I think I'll go check on Hiccup."

And as she turned back towards Hic, a small green lizard waved at me from her shoulder.

As I'm dozing, Rapunzel runs down to get me. "Merida! Merida! Hiccup's figured it out!"

I snap out of my daze, saying, "Really?"

She beams. "Yes! Come on!" She drags me up the stairs. I'm greeted by the sight of Hiccup running at me. He starts shaking my shoulders. "Merida! Take out your bow! Shoot at the teen girl's heart!"

"Wait! Hic! Slow down!" I shout. "What are ya talkin' abou'?"

"You have to shoot an arrow at the center person's, or 'Heart's' heart! It'll trigger something!" He says, rushing the words. "Ugh, it was so simple! Why did it take me all day to figure it out? I was looking too much into the lines, I failed to see the obvious…"

"Okay, Hic. Bu', aren't ya worried tha' it'll trigger a trap?"

"Yes, but we have to try! They wouldn't go to the trouble of hiding a castle so well for nothing!"

"Okay, Hic, you're going to hurt something. I'll do it." As Hiccup regains his breath, I notch an arrow, then shoot it through the girl's heart.

The second it embeds itself in the wall behind the cloth, I hear clicks, like gears are turning. And then the wall opens up like a door.

Hiccup is staring, wide-eyed. Why? He expected this to happen. I turn back to the door, prepared to walk in, when I saw what surprised Hiccup so much.

The one thing we didn't expect:

A boy.

Jack POV

I rub my eyes, finally morning. That was a loooong night. I was jumping out of my skin with fright whenever I heard something or someone snored. Huuuuuh… and I didn't get a wink of sleep.

It was worth it.

Jason stands up. "All right, Careers! We're going hunting! What's the prey, you ask? TRIBUTES!" Cheers erupt. Looks like my nap will have to wait till later. "I say, we head north to look!" Uh oh. panic attack panic attack panic attack the others are north oh god panic attack… get a hold of yourself, Jack!

"Weeeeell, let's choose our guards, how about, Drew and Fishlegs!" There's some disappointed muttering from the chosen two, but otherwise everybody's happy. "Let's move out!"

And he leads the charge of rabid Careers northward.

Ethan Nakamura puts his hand on the ground, then sniffs the dirt. "Someone came this way, recently. It overlaps with 3 people who came about a week ago."

Jason nods, and runs ahead, and everyone follows. Thank god Ethan can't pick up who came this way…

We weave our way through the undergrowth, and come into a clearing with a small, old cottage in the center. Jason smiles, and enters. I guess I'm going to die now, even if it's just to let the others in my district escape. If that's who's even in there. God, I didn't think of that. What if it wasn't them in there?

Jason opens the door, and scowls. "Looks like they want to play a little game of hide-and-seek." He curls his lip. "And if you find one, kill them."

The other Careers start turning the place upside-down, gasping when they find evidence that someone was there in the first place. They should know better, Ethan's a great tracker.

About an hour later, when Percy, Ethan, Jason, and I are just leaning against the wall (since me, Percy, and Ethan know that they're not there, Jason just never joined in), Ethan finally walks over to Jason.

"They're not here, Jason. I think I can track them to where they went, though."

"Why didn't you say that before? Let's move out, Careers!" It takes a couple of minutes to get through the traffic jam that's by the door.

Ethan is crouching on the ground again. "They went east, and it was this morning, a couple of hours ago. Follow me."

The walk is long, giving me some time to think. It was a good thing those people weren't there, for their sake and mine. Before they would be killed, they would probably be asked questions about the items, and they'd tell them how it appeared on their doorstep, and I'd be busted. Maybe. Where were they going-

Oh. That's where they went.

The big castle loomed before us, and I heard shouts coming from the other Careers. It would take forever to find them in that…

Jason scowls. "Ugh. We prepare and rest tonight, and move back here tomorrow. It's too big to find them, tonight." And without checking if we're following, he turns heel and starts walking back. "But we will find them, and we will kill them."

Double cliffhanger! Sorry if Jack's POV was a bit sucky. But, just think that it shows his exhaustion. Yeah! Okay, shout-outs:

Galatea R.S- it's fine! You're not a horrible person! Everybody gets tired out by school. And every review is a good review. I'm just happy you did! Thanks for reviewing!

RotBTDfan1937- I'm glad you enjoy it! Here is more!

Goodbye, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!