Hiccup couldn't seem to run fast enough. He heard Merida crying out to him, but he didn't listen. He had to get to his dragon, his friend. Branches whipped at his face, but he never once tripped over a root, or stumbled on a log. When it came to Toothless, he was the King of Grace.

He broke through the trees, into the clearing where he had left Toothless. But there was nothing there, nothing but the blood.

There wasn't much, just a large puddle soaking into the grass, a crimson carpet. Hiccup collapsed to his knees, letting his head fall into his hands. The pain from talking with the dragon was slicing back.

And then the dragon laughed in Hiccup's mind. Just that. No words, no threats, just laughter.

Merida stumbled through the line of trees, her face hopeful. But when her eyes fell on Hiccup in a despaired heap on the ground, she leaned against a tree in shock.

"No," She whispered. "He-He can't be... It isn't..." Hiccup didn't say anything. "But how would they move him?" Merida asked. "How would they get him from here to... Wherever they are?"

Hiccup was still silent.

Merida shut her mouth, but there was one question in her mind.

Is Toothless dead?

It was a long trek back to the castle. They had to walk a long way to cover the distance that Toothless had covered in so little time in the air. Hiccup was silent the whole time, tring not to let his tears show. Merida didn't even bother. She let them roll down her cheeks, but they weren't completely of sadness.

They were angry.

Anyone who knew Merida knew that when she was angry, she was angry. Her temper was as hot as her hair was red. The whole way back she cried and cried, but inside her heart was raging.

She wanted to kill the dragons with all of her mind.

They finally reached a hill that over looked the kingdom. Hiccup flopped to the ground and pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," He whispered. Merida didn't know what to say. She didn't realize that Hiccup could be anything but cheerful and optimistic and clumsy. She decided to sit down next to him, and then started fiddling with the grass.

"I think we should call your friends," She said quietly. "We need them. I mean, you don't have Toothless..." Her voice trailed off.

"We can't do a thing without him," Hiccup said dejectedly. "He knew the scent, he knew where I needed to go. He knew everything."

Merida nodded and sighed. "I... Without Toothless, Hiccup, everything is lost. We can't do it without him."

Hiccup turned away from her, but not fast enough. She caught sight of a tear falling off his cheek.

Empathy, something she had never really felt before, swelled in her heart, and she slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him tight against her. He leaned his head against her shoulder, breathing in her scent, which smelled like earth and flowers and horses.

After a few minutes, Hiccup stood up. "We should get back," he said quietly. Merida nodded and then had an idea. She stood up next to him, put two fingers in her mouth, and let out a shrill whistle. Hiccup was confused at first, but then saw something. He hadn't noticed Angus grazing in a meadow at the foot of the hill, which was quite far away. The enormous horse lifted his head, saw his owner's hair, and galloped over. They waited for him to reach them, and Merida grabbed Hiccup's hand, her face reddening slightly. She just wanted to comfort him, but she knew that the gesture might seem romantic.

Hiccup didn't seem to mind.

They mounted Angus, trotted slowly into the kingdom, and then through the castle gates, all the while being completely silent. Hiccup wrapped his hands around Merida's waist, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't, but his face was still sad. Maybe it was Merida's look of anger, maybe it was Hiccup's sad face, but the villagers seemed to realize that something was wrong, and quickly let them through. As soon as they were in the castle yard, Hiccup and Merida jumped off of Angus, and the horse galloped away to the stables. Merida glanced at Hiccup as they hurried to the throne room.

All was lost, she knew, without Toothless.

Elinor was sitting on her throne, reading, and Fergus was standing in the middle of the big room, talking to several bearded officials. When he saw the pair, though, he waved everyone away and hurried over to them, immediately noticing their grim expressions. Elinor seemed to know that something was up, too, because she set her book down (very primly) and hurried over.

"What is it?" Fergus asked, searching their faces. "What happened, Merida? Somethin' wrong?"

Merida nodded. "It's... Toothless. The dragons got him." Hiccup stiffened, and she once again grabbed his hand. Elinor noticed this exchange, but she let it go. This was not the time to talk to Merida about boys and suitors.

"What do you mean, 'got' him? Is he alive?"

Hiccup sighed. "We don't know. We just found his-his blood." His voice faltered but he kept on going. "The dragon was speaking to me, and he said I was lucky he didn't hurt Merida."

Fergus satarted pacing, his face paling. "And you think that he may've hurt Toothless."

"Killed," Hiccup corrected, his voice quiet.

"There's a chance that your dragon is alive..." Elinor's voice trailed off. She knew there was virtually no chance that Toothless was alive. She had heard how big the Bagpipe Terrors were, she knew they had incredible powers.

They continued talking for a while, but Hiccup quickly excused himself. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to be alone. He walked through the halls, looking at the portraits and trying to dodge any human interaction. He was afraid that if he talked to someone he would either punch them or burst into tears.

Both would be embarrassing.

He finally found himself climbing the spiral staircase leading to the top turret of the castle. He could get a view there, he knew, and thought that it would maybe calm him down.

He was right, it did. He felt the breeze on his face, the wind through his clothes and hair. It was almost like flying on his Toothless, except he didn't have the warm body beneath him, or the powerful wings on either side of him. He began to shiver, and was wondering if he should go back down when Merida showed up.

He didn't notice her at first. It was only until she spoke that he realized she was standing behind him.

"What should we do?" She asked quietly. He just shook his head and turned to face her.

"Honestly, I have no idea. We have no leads, no scent, and no... No Toothless." He stared at his boots, but then felt a pair of hands on his chin. Merida lifted his chin and looked at him fiercly, her blue eyes determined.

"You listen to me," She said. "We can't give up, got it? We just can't. We need to fight for... Oh my God."

Hiccup looked at her oddly. "What?"

She just stared behind him, and he turned towards the view once again.

Except this time it was different.

A large black shape was making its way out of the forest, way across the kingdom. Hiccup squinted, and then realized what he was saying.

"Toothless!" He yelled. He and Merida rushed down the steps of the turret, through the castle, and into the stable yard. They hopped on Angus and flew through the streets, the villagers cheering. They knew that something had gone right, as Merida was laughing and Hiccup had a huge grin on his face.

They made it to Toothless, who glanced up at Hiccup and then screeched in happiness. Hiccup jumped off Angus and ran to his dragon, feeling tears coming to his eyes as he threw his arms around Toothless's neck.

"We thought you were dead!" He shouted. He threw back his head in happiness and gave Toothless another hug, this time letting it last for a few moments.

It took a while, but he found the source of the blood. A gash on Toothless's leg. Nothing dangerous, nothing serious.

Hiccup was so happy that he did something very stupid. He pulled Merida into a hug, and then let his lips meet hers.

They lingered there for a moment, and then he pulled away, shocked at what he had done. In all honesty, it was a completely impulsive move. He might've even done it to anyone standing there at that particular moment.

Scratch that. He knew it was only Merida that he would kiss.

"I-I..." He smiled sheepishly. "It was a completely impulsive move, I promise. I was just... Happy." He gulped and jumped on Toothless, guiding him into the sky.

Merida stayed where she was. She knew that she should feel angry, enraged, even, at what he had done. But instead she smiled slightly and mounted Angus, who snorted at her reaction.

"Shut up," She laughed. And they galloped to the castle, where she knew Hiccup was waiting.

_

That night, Hiccup lay in bed happy. Toothless was alive, Merida hadn't been mad at him at the dinner table, and he had gotten a kiss.

Could life get better?

He thought about Merida for a moment. She had acted around him as she always did, no word about the kiss. There was the occasional scornful remark during dinner, a sarcastic joke. But he noticed she was smiling a lot more. That could only mean that she was happier.

Hopefully, because of the kiss.

Hiccup smiled to himself and rolled over, his eyes drooping. But then came the now-familiar pain in his head.

'Next time, there will be a death. Don't come after us again, stupid boy.'

Hiccup felt even more chilled when he felt a breeze blow through the room, and the window rattle slightly.

The dragon had just been in his room.

There ya go. I hope you don't hate me for almost killing off Toothless!
So what'd you think?