Before she realized what she was doing, Merida bolted. She knew had to find a place to hide and fast. She shut her eyes and sent a mental apology when she heard Astrid call out to her in confusion, but turned to make sure that the woman wasn't following her.
Astrid stood on the hillside watching her in concern, but someone ran up to her and seem to gesture towards the Chief who was waiting for her.
Merida turned her attention back to looking for a hiding spot. She headed towards the woods, knowing that she would be safer staying there then in the village itself, but as she ran by the kitchen a hand reached out and grabbed her. It was only thanks to the month of pretending that she couldn't speak that stopped her from shouting out in protest.
She looked up and met the grey eyes of Olaf. He glanced around before pulling her into the kitchen. Once there he shut the doors and looked out into the entrance to the grand hall before turning his attention back on her.
"Well then, it looks like you are in some trouble deary. Does Yngvild know you?"
Merida stood still, she didn't know how to react to his question.
"Well speak up girl, I know you can. You think I couldn't hear you and Hiccup whispering early this morning by my house? I always wake before dawn to head over here, I had my suspicions, but this morning confirmed them."
Merida felt the blood drain from her face as fear struck ice in her gut. Olaf blinked and then sighed.
"I ain't going to get you in trouble Merida. You're a good girl, and if Hiccup trusts you, I do as well. I understand why you kept it secret, that you're no Viking, but you don't have to fear me, I swear."
She swallowed and looked down, after a moment she took a breath and faced the cook. "I'm sorry for lying" she said in Norse. Olaf's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly recovered and started going through the pantry for supplies.
"We need to get you to safety, obviously Yngvild will know you, or one of his men-"
"It is because I'm-"
He lifted a hand to stop her "no, nope. I am going to help you, but it is best I don't know any details. I trust you know some places to camp out at in the woods, I'll pack you enough to survive off of for a day or two. At that point Hiccup should have returned. Do you know a place where he could find you?"
Merida thought of the little valley. "Yes, he will know where to find me" she replied.
He tied off a small pack for her, also wrapping a small knife which he handed to her. "Keep this on you... Just in case."
She swallowed and nodded as she took the weapon. She tucked it into her boot and then took the pack from him, offering a smile in thanks. He nodded and then walked over to the door leading out of the kitchen. He looked around before motioning that it was clear.
"Cook! Cook! They told me I could get some food here! We've been on the water for days with nothing but dried meat!"
The voice caused both of them to jump, it was coming from the hall and getting closer. Olaf shoved her out the door.
"Good luck, now get going quickly!"
Merida nodded and turned to say thank you, but he had already shut the door. She shouldered the pack and glanced around before walking quickly towards the woods. She knew that she would have to pass by the Chieftain's house, but she was hoping he would be down greeting the visitors by now.
As she reached the final stretch of houses she tucked herself behind one and glanced out at the clearing. There wasn't anyone there, she sighed with relief and walked out and towards the trees. She felt a giddiness sweep over her as she got closer, the knowledge that she would be safe made her do a little skip.
She walked past the line dividing the village from the forest and sighed in relief. She turned back to look once more at the village, but noticed a group heading up towards Hiccup's house. She recognized Yngvild with a shudder and noticed Hiccup's father, who was looking a bit concerned as he talked rapidly to Gobber next to him. She wondered if Hiccup had even told his Father his plans.
She realized that she would be seen if she moved, so she ducked behind a tree and silently cursed herself for not hiding her bright hair. She glanced at the group, who had now stopped a few feet away from her, close enough that she could hear their conversation.
"I would have thought your son would be here Stoick, it is a bit rude." Yngvild growled.
Stoick glared in the man's direction, "my son had some important matters to attend to this morning. We've had trouble with a dragon along a certain stretch of ocean. You wouldn't know anything about it would you? So far you seem to have been the only person to have sailed safely through there."
Yngvild grunted and ran a thumb over his sword hilt "Hn, I wouldn't say I survived it completely unscathed, those rabble from Alba destroyed one of my ships and as a result I lost men. But as for this dragon, no, I didn't see it."
Merida glared, that wasn't true at all! Yngvild's men had destroyed her ship, not the other way around. She took a breath to steady herself and kept an eye on them. After a moment though she heard a rustling in the bushes. Her hand went to the dagger in her boot as she turned to look for the source of the noise: after a moment Terror appeared and growled at her. She placed her finger to her lips in hopes of getting him to quiet down, but the dragon continued to kick up a fuss.
"Shh, Terror, I'm sorry I didn't take you with me, but ye need to be quiet" she whispered bending over to try and appease him. She looked over to see if the ruckus had drawn any attention, and jumped in surprise when she found all eyes on her.
She reacted without thinking, ducking into a small bow and then turning to walk into the woods. She heard the Chief tell the others who she was, and increased her speed in hopes of getting away before Yngvild might realize who she really was.
A sudden flurry of footsteps behind her sent her into a run without looking behind, in her heart she knew, she also knew that they would catch her.
Terror seemed to sense her panic and screeched at one of the men as they caught up to her. He puffed himself up and hurled a ball of fire in his direction, the man was caught off guard and yelled in panic as he stopped to pat himself down.
Merida pushed herself further, ducking around trees and using her knowledge of the forest to her advantage as she tried to escape the men. After a time the sounds of them stopped and she risked slowing to a stop to assess her situation. She jumped behind some rocks and looked behind her. The forest played its normal sounds, but aside from the birds there wasn't a sound of anyone else. She sank down to the ground with a sigh, lifting the panting Terror to her lap and stroking his scales.
"Thank ye Terror, I wouldn't have made it without you." After a little while of waiting to see if anyone was still coming, she finally felt relaxed enough to get up and make her way towards the valley.
The events of the day swam in her head making her feel numb, she felt lost and, if she was being honest with herself, afraid. She didn't know what to do except to lay low until Hiccup came back, but then what about Berk? Yngivld was here, he knew she was here, he would ask questions. What could Hiccup do in this situation that wouldn't cause risk to either her or his village?
Merida chewed on a nail as she walked, these worried thougts plagued her and once she reached the entrance to the valley she stopped and looked back. She thought of Olaf, of Astrid and the others. She thought of Hiccup, whose greatest desire was to stop a war that could cause harm to the dragons. Merida didn't want Toothless to get hurt, she looked down at Terror and thought of what could have happened when the little dragon had helped her.
"I have to go back Terror… I have to turn myself in. If I do that I can prove that I duped them, that I was hiding here and it wasn't the fault of Hiccup or his father."
Terror chirruped and cocked his head to the side, Merida smiled sadly and bent down to pick him up. He struggled, but eventually acquiesced to resting on her shoulders. She pat his head, squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and turned back towards the village.
When she walked back into the village she expected more panic about her missing, but instead she found it quiet. As she passed by the kitchen she dropped Terror off and motioned for him to stay in place. The dragon grumbled, but for once seemed to listen to her.
She took a deep breath to center herself and then walked, head held high, towards the docks where Yngvild's ships could still be seen. She had only made it halfway there when one of his man nabbed her from behind.
"Found you, Alban scum." He pulled her hands behind her and bound them quickly with cloth that he must have had on him. He searched her and pulled the knife from her boot and tucked it into his belt. Afterwards he marched her at sword point towards the dock. Others followed after they realized that their crewmate had found her, they called her names and cheered each other at the capture of the wild princess.
She noticed the Vikings of Berk watching this unfold: a mixture of confusion and worry written across their features. Merida meet some of their eyes and offered a small apologetic smile, but for the most part kept her attention forward.
As they approched the docks Merida's eyes widened as she found Hiccup's father, Gobber and Astrid standing next to Yngvild. Their expressions were mixed between anger, sadness and an almost calculating look from Astrid.
She kept her head held high and chose to focus her attention on Yngvild. At least she hadn't allowed herself to get to close, it meant that they hadn't gotten attached to her either and it would make it easier for them to play their part.
"Well you have caught me" she said carefully in Norse. There was a look of surprise from Astrid when she spoke.
Yngvild sauntered over to her and tugged at a strand of her hair, it had become loose during her run in the woods. She kept her expression neutral, doing her best to mask her revulsion. Yngvild chuckled and then turned back to the chief.
"So this is where the princess had been hiding, right in the midst of a Viking village. This is what you get for not expanding your horizons Stoick. If you would join the raids more often you wouldn't have been fooled by this girl. She can't have been on her own though, was there another? "
"There was, and he left with Hiccup" replied Astrid, the woman walked slowly up to her and grabbed Merida's arms roughly. "I pitied you! I allowed you to get close to Hiccup! He was suspicious of you from the start and I told him not to worry!" Astrid let her go and turned around for a moment. Merida thought she was done when Astrid suddenly spun around and punched her in the gut, hard.
Merida doubled over with gasp pain. Astrid then grabbed her shirt roughly, lifting her back up. "We're going to go find Hiccup and I better find him safe."
Merida looked Astrid in the eye, feeling sorry for making her feel as though she meant any harm to Hiccup. Merida knew that they were close and could understand the other woman's concern for her friend and future leader. However, when she met the Norse woman's eye, it wasn't anger that she read in her expression, but a subtle wink.
Merida blinked and cleared her throat as she stood up, there was a weight on her tunic that hasn't been there before. With her hands bound behind her she couldn't discover what Astrid had slipped into her person, but for the moment she felt something akin to hope bloom within her.
"Yngvild, with your permission I would like to sail with you and this treacherous scum. I'll take Stormfly with me so that you will have a dragon on your side should we run into trouble."
Merida glanced over at the Viking, he stroked his grey beard as he eyed Stormfly. After a moment he smiled and looked towards Merida.
"Well then, let's get you and your keeper on board so that we can get you home to your father. I'm sure he'll love to know that his daughter is safe in the hands of Yngvild." He sneered, motioning to his men to take her. They grabbed her arms and hoisted her up, she kicked and yelled out in protest, but knew that it wouldn't change anything.
She took one last glance at Berk, she met the eyes of Gobber who was muttering something fiercely to the Chief, but Hiccup's father was unreadable. She looked up at the dragons flying around the cliffs of the village, the colourful signs of the training yard, the cluster of houses adorned with their detailed carvings. In her heart, she hoped that this wouldn't be the last time she ever set foot here. With that thought she was dragged down into the dark of Yngvild's ship, towards an unknown future.