Hiccup had changed. No longer was he the gangly, awkward boy of two years before. He had grown both upwards and outwards, the hard work of controlling Toothless putting muscle on him, but not in the over-powering, too-much-muscle style of the adult Vikings. His eyes were the same intense hazel, his goofy grin just as, if not more, charming.
This same grin he flashed at Toothless.
"Ready to go, boy?" He asked, stepping carefully over a large stick protruding from the ground.
Toothless looked at him, amazed that he was able to dodge a potential fall. Hiccup felt the same way,
but took it smoothly. "You see, Toothless? I'm really growing into a man." He walked over to check the saddle. "No longer shall I be the clumsy, stupid boy of-!" He let out a gasp of air as his body made contact with the ground.
Toothless stared down at Hiccup's prostrate body, holding back a grin. Hiccup had tripped over a different stick.
Hiccup dragged a hand through his hair and shot Toothless a sheepish smile.
"I swear, that stick wasn't there before." He finished tying his luggage to the saddle, and then gave Toothless a good-luck pat. "We have to get there today, buddy. I'm gonna fly you hard, alright?"
When Hiccup was finally mounted, he stuck his feet in the stirrups, checking over his shoulder to make sure Toothless's tail flap was attatched.
"Here we go." He muttered.
He urged Toothless into a run, and then shoved his foot back. The tail flap responded, Toothless's wings caught the wind, and they were in the air.
Hiccup guided Toothless into a fast upwards climb, whooping with the pure exhiliration of flying. They broke through the clouds in a northern direction, and then Hiccup leaned forward, high on Toothless's neck.
"Ready?" He shouted. "Go!"
They shot forward with incredible speed, the faithful dragon beating his wings hard against the air currents. Hiccup laughed, but the sound was immediately torn away by the wind.
Hiccup knew if they continued like this, they'd make it to the kingdom in a matter of minutes.
But where's the fun in that? He asked himself. After a few moments, he shoved his feet forward, and Toothless immediately responded, grinning with glee. They fell into a nose dive, their altitude dropping incredibly fast. But Hiccup was an incredible flyer, and Toothless was an incredible dragon.
They would wait.
The clouds began to thin.
They waited.
They broke through the cloud cover, still gaining speed, the ground appearing below.
They waited.
And when the ground rose to meet them, the green of the forest trees reaching for them, Hiccup pulled back, Toothless leveled, and they were gliding at an insane speed over the forest. Hiccup laughed and glanced left and right, taking in his surroundings. He could see the castle in the distance, the sight giving Toothless more energy. Hiccup sensed it, and urged Toothless lower. The forest broke away, and then there was just flat fields. They were gliding so low that Hiccup could almost touch the soft green grass. He slowed Toothless slightly, taking in his surroundings.
And then he saw her.
At first he thought there was a fire, a mysterious, shimmery fire. But as he got closer, he realized it was hair, a thick, beautiful mound of bright, orange-red curls, streaming behind a girl. She was tall, in a blue dress, but was still dwarfed by the enormous black and white Clydesdale that she was riding.
What surprised Hiccup was their speed.
Toothless was easily faster, but the horse was still incredible, faster than any other horse Hiccup had ever seen.
He slowed down, and made Toothless rise a bit higher. They were over the pair now, and Hiccup looked down at them and waved. The girl glanced up, her eyes filling with surprise and even a little fear. But in a moment the expression was gone, and replaced by a fierceness so intense that Hiccup did a double take.
The horse surged ahead, going faster still.
Toothless got competitive, too, and tucked his wings to his side, ignoring Hiccup's frantic yells of "slow down!" They shot ahead, the girl and her horse gradually falling behind.
Hiccup couldn't help but laugh.
Merida was angry.
There had been rumours of a dragon, yes, but she dismissed them. They were figments of the imagination, dragons were, in Scotland at least. They only existed on that stupid Viking island. Bark? No, it was Berk.
But when her mother told her that a Viking would come and help her catch the dragon, she lost it.
"What do you mean?" She had yelled. "There is no dragon, therefore, we need no Viking."
Elinor had been almost as angry as she used to get before she had been turned into a bear. There was a ferocious fight, mother and daughter both letting their Scottish temper fly. Merida hated Vikings, she hated the stupid, fake stories of dragons, and she hated help. She could kill whatever the thing was by herself.
But, like most of their arguments, Elinor made herself clear.
"Well, at least tell me when this... this.." Merida cringed. "This Viking is coming to live with us."
Elinor, for the first time in a while, looked nervous.
"Well, he will be arriving sometime today."
Merida felt her mouth drop open. "And you didn't tell me?"
Elinor squared her shoulders. "I believe, Merida," She said icily, "that I am your mother, and the Queen. What I say goes, and I am not going to let you and your pride get in the way of this." She turned to leave Merida's room. "If you ruin this, Merida, you will be punished. This is a chance for the Vikings and Scottish to unite, if this hunt succeeds. We cannot. Mess. This. Up."
She left gracefully, her face slightly flushed. Merida, though, was all but graceful as she flung herself onto her bed. She hated Vikings because they were barbaric. They were brawny and brainless, attacking whatever they wanted without consent from anyone.
So Merida did what she always did when her parents (more specifically her mother) made her angry.
She rode Angus.
Angus was one of the most famous horses in the land, because of his enormity, his gentleness, his speed, and his beauty. He was a beautiful black and white Clydesdale, and was faster than all of the other horses in the kingdom. He was a phenomenon, really.
Merida rushed out to the stables, grabbing her bow and arrows on the way.
"Angus!" She breathed. The beautiful horse was hers and only hers. Angus hung his head over his stall door and let out a loud, joyous whinny. A stablehand tacked him up while Merida checked her arrows and bow, and then she mounted him.
"Let's go for a good ride, Angus." She spoke into his big ear. With a slight squeeze of her legs he broke into a steady gallop, his long stride quickly carrying them through the castleyar d and into the village. Merida ignored the terrified cries of the villagers that she was almost trampling. She was being stupid, and whiny, and she knew it. But sometimes, she thought, a girl was allowed to be stupid and whiny, even if it's just for a little while.
Her and Angus flew through the woods, Merida hitting each target with her arrows, Angus tossing his head with glee. The pair flew out of the forest, and across several flat, green fields. With the wind rustling her bright red curls and the sun warming her skin,Merida felt her spirits start to lift, and she turned Angus around.
And then she heard it.
Just a slight flutter, no louder than a butterfly. But Merida still looked up, and was surprised, and a tiny bit scared, to see an enormous black shape float above her, and a boy waving at her and grinning. The Viking, she realized.
Anger surged through her, the argument with her mother flooding back to her. She could beat the stupid dragon. It was obviously going its fastest, and Angus wasn't. She crouched over the horse's thick neck and urged him into his fastest gallop, almost surprised at the sudden change in speed. Angus gracefully pulled ahead, whinnying in happiness as they started to pull away. And then she heard the same flutter, and the dragon was shooting ahead, the boy on top laughing his head off. After a few moments they had disappeared behind the castle walls, and Merida pulled Angus to a walk, trying to calm his heavy breathing.
Stupid Viking, she thought.
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