A/N: Hi guys, sorry this took so long. I'm working on chapter 3 already, so hopefully there won't be as long as a gap between chapters as the 1st and 2nd. Hope you like it.
Queen Elinor was pacing back and forth at the castle doors when Merida and Angus finally arrived. The Queen let out a sigh of relief, hurriedly descending the steps to meet her daughter. Angus stopped short of the Queen and Merida climbed off, already mid-sentence.
"..you see them?! They're so big, Mum! And fast! And the Vikings were riding them! Maybe I could -" Merida babbled on excitedly but her mother cut her short.
"Merida, I will not have you riding dragons! The Vikings are here for the festival, to complete the peace treaty. We need this to go smoothly, especially now it seems they have these beasts at their every call and whim. Just picture that thought as a pebble in your hand and cast it across the lake."
"But Mum! I-"
"Please Merida, for your kingdom, just behave." Elinor took Meridas hands in her own.
"Alright, Mum." Merida huffed.
Satisfied, Elinor took a step back and took in her ratted appearance. Sighing again she escorted Merida back into the castle where Merida would be thrown into the a bath tub, argue further about her attire and eventually agree to wear the dress her mother had planned for her so long as she let her hair free. Once both the Queen and princess were ready, they headed back to the front of the castle where they would meet the King and the triplets, already awaiting the arrival of the Vikings. While the guards and King watched the only road from the forest to the castle, Merida kept her eyes on the skies. And finally, after what seemed like an age, the first glimpse of a dragon appeared.
A few of the castles guards had come down to meet the Vikings at the shore and escort them to the castle. The tribe had already began making it's way to the castle, only a few stragglers were left behind, people caring for the ships, Hiccup and Toothless. He said he would catch up with them, Astrid giving him a concerned look as they left. As far as he was concerned, she needn't be. Things between them had been strained, at the best. Astrid was hot and cold and Hiccup never knew where he stood with her. They were still close friends, and though they had agreed to just remain so Hiccup had not felt so remorseful as he had expected to. He watched Toothless play with a crab on a rock nearby and envied such simplicity.
After he and Toothless had defeated the Red Death, the rest of the tribe had truly accepted him as one of their own. Hiccups father had listened to him more nowadays, with some exceptions. People don't change overnight and Hiccup was no exception to this either. And yet he had since had this feeling hanging over him that he now had to live up this expectation of himself. He flopped down beside Toothless in the sand, who was now watching the small fish scurry about in the rock pools.
"You don't know how good you got it, bud. No expectations, no responsibilities. Nope, just you and as much fish as you can eat."
Toothless looked up at him at that precise moment with a fish hanging out of his mouth. Hiccup gave a small laugh as the tiny fish managed to wiggle free of its captor and fall back into the water below. Toothless didn't look too upset at his lost prize, instead flicking water at Hiccup with his tail.
"H-Hey!" Hiccup spluttered, copping it square in the face. He splashed water back at Toothless and made to make a quick escape, but didn't get very far. The dragon followed and pounced on him lightly, causing him to fall on the sand. They wrestled and played on the beach for awhile before Hiccup submitted defeat.
"Okay, okay! You win!" Hiccup said putting his hands in the air. "Come on bud, we gotta get going or Dad will serve us both for the feast."
Toothless shook the sand from his scales and Hiccup mounted the dragon, checking his saddle. They took off running, becoming airborne with a jump. Together they flew off to catch up with the others on their way to the castle.
It hadn't taken Hiccup and Toothless long to catch up with the others. Hiccup ignored Astrids questioning look. He would answer her later, if he felt like it. They reached the outskirts of the forest and got their first look at the castle. A grand architecture, Hiccup had thought. It was quite big and well fortified with tall walls and plenty of watchtowers. The riders landed near the edge of the forest and entered DunBroch castle with the rest of the tribe. Awaiting their arrival was a rather large man not unlike his own father and a tall woman who Hiccup assumed was the King and Queen. Alongside them stood a young girl and Hiccup immediately recognised her as the girl he had seen on the cliffside. She stood in her spot restlessly. Next to her three little boys were standing with mischievous grins on their faces that made Hiccup feel anxious for some reason.
Chief Stoick and King Fergus greeted each other like life long friends, grasping each others enormous hands and guffawing loudly.
"Fergus, the great Bear King himself! It is good to finally put a face to the legend!" Stoick boasted.
"Aye and to you Stoick! This is my wife, Elinor, daughter Merida and sons Hamish, Hubert and Harris" Fergus said and Stoick bowed respectfully.
"My son, Hic- where is he?" Stoick had begun to introduce, then looked around at the crowd behind him. Hiccup was hidden behind Snotlout when Stoick found him and pulled him out of the crowd. "My son, Hiccup."
Hiccup gave an awkward wave. He hated being in the spotlight and almost always ruined the situation no matter how hard he tried not to.
"I see now how you killed all those bears, with that face!" And there it was. He regretted it the instant the words left his mouth.
Fergus gave him a strange look, while his father glowered at him. There was a snigger from somewhere behind him and Hiccup noticed Merida had bitten down on her hand to prevent herself from laughing.
"Er, gentlemen, shall we move to the grounds where the festival will begin shortly?" Queen Elinor suggested and they agreed.
Hiccup covered his face in embarrassment as the rest of the tribe muttered and whispered discouragement at him as they passed.
"That was a good one!" Hiccup looked out from under his hand and seen Merida standing in front of him. "I'll use that again!"
Now that she stood before him, Hiccup could see her face properly. Hidden beneath the fiery curls were beautiful cerulean blue eyes, freckles across a small nose and slightly pink cheeks. She certainly was beautiful enough to fit the title of 'Princess' Hiccup thought to himself quietly.
"I don't think I will." Hiccup replied, somewhat relieved he hadn't offended their entire kingdom with his first sentence said.
"Is.. is that your dragon?" Merida asked, indicating at Toothless who sat waiting not too far from them. "I saw you riding him over the cliffs." She sounded slightly nervous.
"Yeah, that's Toothless. You want to meet him?" Hiccup asked and Merida had jumped in excitement.
"Yes!"
They walked over to where Toothless sat, Merida standing a bit further away from him.
"Toothless, this is Merida. Merida, Toothless." Hiccup introduced them.
Merida stood transfixed at the creature before her, eyes wide with excitement and trepidation.
"He is beautiful" She said quietly, moving slowly closer to him.
She lifted a hand, then faltered.
"May I?" She asked them both.
Toothless studied Merida for quite some time, then gave a slow blink of acceptance to Hiccup, who took Meridas hand and slowly placed it on Toothless' nose. Merida let out a sigh of amazement, a grin spreading across her face. She slowly stroked the dragon, feeling the smooth scales underneath her fingers. It was a strange feeling, nothing that Merida could liken it to. An expression of pure wonderment rested across Meridas face and Hiccup couldn't help but be reminded of the first time Toothless allowed him the same grace.
"Of course it takes you three seconds to go from meeting to touching. Meanwhile, it took me weeks to even sketch near him." Hiccup said and Toothless gave him a reproachful look.
"You know I'm joking, bud." Hiccup reassured him.
"You really understand each other." Merida said, not taking her eyes off Toothless.
"He's my best friend." Hiccup replied.
"Don't feel too bad about the acceptance thing." Merida said. "When we first got Angus, my horse, no one was able to even look at him except me. He still doesn't let just anyone ride him. I'm not sure what it is, that makes them trust me more than others, they just do."
Hiccup, however, had an inkling. He looked at Merida and her appearance gave her the look of nature itself personified. Wild, untamable. Her body language and face however told another story. There was kindness and understanding in Meridas eyes as she looked at Toothless, a desperate want for friendship.
"Are you okay?" Merida asked, bringing Hiccup out of his reverie and he realised he had been staring at her.
"Gres!" Hiccup blurted out and Merida gave him a confused look. "I mean't to say yes but I started to say great" Hiccup explained, horrified.
Merida chuckled and Hiccup was spared further embarrassment as the Queen called for her from inside the castle. She gave one last grateful pat to Toothless and made her way back to the castle.
"So, I guess I'll see you later?" Hiccup called after her.
"Gres!" Merida called back, laughing still.
Hiccup smiled slightly and looked over at Toothless who had a strange look on his face. Toothless gave Hiccup a look as if to say 'real smooth, hotshot.'
"Alright, alright" Hiccup said gently pushing the dragons face away from his. Together they made their way around the castle and to the grounds where the festival was about to begin.