I getting used to writing in POV writing again, so please forgive the terribleness of it.
WARNINGS: Violence, blood, and a character death
Chapter #30: A Night with No Tomorrow
Merida's POV
Tonight was the night. Tonight, I will elope with Hiccup and start a new life. No more responsibilities, no more arranged marriage. I'll no longer be "Princess Merida of DunBroch". I'm going to be just "Merida".
The wait had been agonizing. It had taken a day and a half to gather all the supplies. Food, water, a map of England, and enough money to last several weeks.
The plan was simple. Jack and Hiccup would leave first through the gate with all the supplies and go into the forest, under the pretense of travel. Rapunzel and I would leave the castle at night, using the hidden passage my mom and I had used several year prior. The four of us would meet in the clearing. From there, Hiccup and I would fly away on Toothless, to freedom and adventure.
In preparations, I had put on a simple traveling dress and a cloak. My bow and quiver lay ready beside a small pouch filled with jewelry that could easily be sold to a merchant. My last preparation was a letter to my mom. As diligently as I could, I wrote my reasons for running away. At the end, I vowed to her that I would return if William attempted anything to my family or DunBroch.
Just as I signed my name, Rapunzel entered the room, wearing a black dress and cloak, her usual braid done up in a low bun,
"You ready?" She asked. I quickly folded the letter and placed it on a spot on my desk where I knew my mom could find it. I strapped the quiver on my waist and slung my bow over my shoulder. Lastly, I strapped the pouch around my waist so that it wouldn't collide with the quiver. I looked at my friend,
"Yes."
Hiccup's POV
Though the crescent moon shined brightly in the sky, it only casted a faint light onto the earth. It's light reflected beautifully from the creek, giving the babbling water an ethereal glow. By the boulder, next to the creek, lay my traveling pack, filled with all the supplies and my riding vest. I had decided to not wear my leather armor; we had to travel light and fast.
Jack had taken a seat upon the boulder, poking at the ground with a stick he had found. It was a long stick of oak and it had a striking resemblance to a shepherd's crook.
I couldn't bring myself to sit down; I was too nervous and impatient to stand still for even a minute. I had paced around the clearing for the last half hour, the grass below me beyond trampled.
An eternity and a minute had passed before Rapunzel and Merida appeared from the deep, dense shadows of the forest. The instant she was out of the forest line, Merida came running to me. I caught her in a tight hug, spinning her in circles as happy squeals escaped from her pink lips. The moment I put her down, she kissed me.
When we heard giggles, we separated and looked at Rapunzel, standing beside Jack, holding tightly to his hand. Merida walked to her friend and hugged her tightly, sniffing a little,
"Thank you so much for everything." Merida said. Rapunzel gave her a squeeze before the two women separated. She smiled at her and at me,
"I wish you every happiness." She said in a voice choked with happy tears. As the women embraced again, I looked at Jack. He smiled but there was a trace of sadness in it. I took a step to him,
"You sure you won't come with us?" I asked. Jack sighed and shook his head just as Rapunzel broke the hug, intrigued by my question.
"Yes, I'm sure," Jack said with a tone of finality. Rapunzel walked to his side, taking his hand again, "There are still plenty of Vikings in DunBroch; we can't abandon them now." Merida took hold of my arm and looked questioningly up at me at the word "Viking". I shook my head,
"I'll explain later." I whispered.
"Alright." She replied. Leaving her grasp, I went to the boulder and pick up my pack, slinging it over my shoulder. Crickets began to glow as I walked back to Merida and took her hand, "You ready?" A bright smile crept up on her face and she nodded. I gave one last look and smile towards Jack and Rapunzel, the ones who had done so much for me and Merida, "Thank you." After they gave their sign of acknowledgment, we turned, hand in hand, towards the forest to go to the cove. But we had barely set a foot down, when we heard something approaching us. It wasn't animal; it was too loud to be an animal. I looked over my shoulder, at the spot that Rapunzel and Merida had come from, when Jack yelled,
"RUN!" He took the shepherd crook and held it in a fighting stance. There, entering the clearing, were soldiers, MacInroy soldiers.
A sling had magically appeared in Rapunzel's hand. Quickly grabbing a stone, she swung and the stone flew. Whether the stone had hit anyone, I didn't know as I had started to pull us towards the trees. Merida lifted her skirt inappropriately high and began to run but skidded to a stop when more soldiers appeared. I nervously glance around the clearing but there was a soldier at each angle.
We were surrounded.
The spears and pikes pointed at us forced us back, slowly trapping ourselves in a tight circle. I frantically looked at Merida. Tears were staining her eyes when she realized that we had been betrayed.
I heard a chuckle being carried on the wind. I turned and saw William MacInroy, entering the clearing prideful on his black horse. He smiled evilly at me.
"Capture them," He ordered, "But no harm comes to my fiancee." The soldiers moved closer to us. I gulped loudly.
"NO!" A voice cried. In sync, we all looked up at the sight of two horsemen, one on a white horse, the other on a brown one, charge into the clearing. Merida smiled unnaturally,
"They're friends," She cried, "They'll help us!" She cupped her hands around her mouth, "North!"
"Vashe Velichestvo!" The one on the brown horse - North - yelled back. He turned the brown stallion and charged at the soldiers. Lifting his sword, he cut down a soldier and retreated again. The other rider had jumped off of his horse and began fighting on foot.
"Cut them down!" William screeched. A lone soldier nodded and took his bow in hand, notching an arrow into it. He aimed at North, who was fighting a few brave soldiers that dared to attack him. I began to fight the wall of guards, together with Merida, but to no avail,
"No!" Merida cried, reaching out to North. The archer smiled smugly and released the arrow. Merida watched with horror as it sailed through the air until it lodged itself in North's arm. HE cried out in pain and, in his weakest moment, the soldiers pulled him off his horse, the frightened creature running into the forest and disappearing. North fought but his arm made it hard to resist.
As the soldiers roughly pulled the arrow out, pinned his arms behind his back, and dragged him towards us, two soldiers grabbed me and forced me to my knees, one of them keeping my arms behind my back as they searched my belonging. They pulled out the money and chuckled greedily. I turned my head and saw them do the same with Jack, Rapunzel, North and the other rider, chuckling louder and more greedily as they pulled four bags filled with money out of North's coat.
I looked to the only one still standing free: Merida. She stared at me and mouthed,
"Toothless."
Hope surged through me. I almost called him but something stopped me. I looked around at the soldiers. There were at least 30 of them, all of them with more weapons than one man could hold. With a sinking heart, I realized that Toothless could never win against them. Sadly, I put my head down and my mind remained silent.
Third Person POV
William jumped off his horse with a smug smile on his face. He slowly walked towards his prisoners. The English filth, the two bandits that had plagues him for years, and the blacksmith that could've destroyed everything. He chuckled lightly when North gave him a dirty look.
"Take them away!" William ordered almost gleefully as he turned around, taking hold of Merida's arm to take her with him.
The soldiers started dragging them all up roughly, not caring when North yelled out in immense pain. Flynn began to struggle against his captors, his eyes staring frighteningly large at William,
"Wait!" He yelled, "William, wait!" Both the soldiers and William stopped abruptly in their paths. The Lord turned menacingly slow, a deadly glare staring at Flynn. Letting go of his fiancee, he walked to the bandit as the soldier forced him onto his knees, pulling on his hair so that he faced William.
William slowly drew his sword, pointing the tip at Flynn's throat. The bandit was unafraid,
"It's 'My Lord' to you, filth!" William pointed the tip against Flynn's Adam's apple, causing the bandit to flinch in fear. It was eerily silent as William withdrew the sword at the sight of Flynn's fear. He almost chuckled at his almost victory,
"No," Flynn replied, "It's always been William for me." The bandit looked at the lord with the pain of memories on his face, "Do you remember a boy named Eugene Fitzherbert?"
For a moment, it seemed as if William's harsh, stoic face softened but it quickly returned to his cruel face. He pointed the sword back at Flynn,
"I've never known someone with such a hideous name." Flynn flinched slightly before regaining his former pose,
"That's a lie!" He said, "You did know someone with that name! An orphaned Anglo-Saxon boy!" William face slowly began to turn red with oncoming rage. He pointed the sword at Flynn's heart,
"Do you not know who I am, thief!? I am William MacInroy!"
"I know very well who you are!" Flynn yelled back, standing up to stare William in the eye despite the soldier holding him back. One more powerful yank and he would've been free. The two men stared each other down, "Do you still have The Tales of Flynnigan Ryder?"
"I have never heard of that book." He whispered. Flynn gasped lightly at his harsh words, a rim of tears forming in his eyes. William smirked, "Take them away!" He ordered. The guards began their rough pulling and pushing again,
"What happened to you, Will!?" Flynn screamed. William stopped in his tracks but refused to look at the bandit. Flynn began to struggle so much that a second guard had to come and restrain him but despite their efforts, they could not move the struggling bandit, "What happened to the friend I once knew!? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!?"
"ENOUGH!" The swish of a sword ran through the clearing. Flynn groaned in pain; Rapunzel screamed in horror. William stared down at the sword that he had run through Flynn, the tip protruding from the bandits back with blood dripping from it. For a while, all that could be heard were William's pants and Flynn's weak breaths. Flynn looked into William's eyes and he saw something. He couldn't quite figure out what but it wasn't anger or rage or loathing. Flynn cried out weakly as William swiftly withdrew the blade, "Get them out of my sight!" He seethed.
"Yes, my Lord." The guards answered nervously. With a little more care, they pulled the bleeding bandit with the other guards, the bandit just barely able to stay on his feet.
William paced back to his horse, roughly grabbing Merida with him. She cried out but he paid her no heed.
"Get up." He ordered when they stood beside the black stallion. Merida stared at the large beast, hesitating. William slapped her on her cheek, "Now!"
Nodding and crying, Merida jumped onto the horse, William taking the spot behind her. He took the reins but didn't kick his horse as he caught Merida staring longingly at the blacksmith as he was being dragged away. William snaked his hand around her throat and whispered into her ear,
"If you remain silent, I'll make certain they live."
Jack's POV
The dungeons of DunBroch. A large, filthy, rat-infested dump that would've made a whorehouse seem like a king's palace. Most prisoners died from disease before the torture or execution could; they were the lucky ones.
The guards mercilessly continued to drag us down further into the dungeon, caring little for the ones who were injured. We stopped suddenly. I heard the jangle of keys and saw the guard in charge of the keys come and opened the door. The wood creaked loudly and Rapunzel screamed when a large black rat came scurrying out of the dark room. Without warning, the guard shoved me in. I just barely avoided falling onto the floor. Next came Hendry; he could just keep his balance.
I heard voices for a moment and North came walking in calmly with Flynn's arm slung over his shoulder. Flynn looked very pale and his head hung heavily. His chest seemed unmoving but the weak moans and groan he made were the only indicators that he still was alive. I spared a glance at his injury. The blood soaked majority of his blue vest and white shirt.
I turned to the door when the guards laughed. They placed Rapunzel in front of the door and shoved her harshly inside. She screamed as she hit the straw-covered floor.
"Rapunzel!" I yelled. I fell to my knees beside her as the guards hollered cruelly and locked the door with a loud thunk, "You alright?" I asked. In the minimal light, I saw her nod,
"I'm fine." She assured me.
"Flynn?" North's voice said suddenly, a trace of panic in it. We looked at the same time. North had rested Flynn against the wall. He was deathly still.
Rapunzel rushed to him. I crouched down beside her as she felt around his throat and chest,
"He's alive!" She exclaimed. She glanced to his wound then at me, "Jack, give me your cloak!" I nodded and fumbled with the ties, my shaking hands not making it easier. Finally, I got the cloak off. Rapunzel snatched it out of my hands and immediately wrapped it tightly around Flynn's waist. The sudden pressure caused him to cry out in pain. He continued to cry out and pant heavily and unsteadily.
"Flynn! Calm down!" North cooed. The dying man looked up at his friend with begging eyes, tears rolling down his cheek.
"Flynn?" Rapunzel said softly and gently. Flynn changed his gaze to my wife. She smiled, "You're gonna be fine." She moved her hands to start treating the injury.
"No." Flynn croaked and he tried to push her hands away.
"Please, Flynn." She begged, reaching to the injury, "Just let me help y-"
"No!" He screamed, grabbing her wrist harshly. He went into a bout of coughing, blood coming out of the edge of his mouth. It was an eternity before the bout ended and he let go of her wrist, "Please don't." He begged. He closed his eyes, another tear running down his cheek, "F-For 15 years, I had a dream I dreamt that William was still the same boy I once knew. That he still was my friend but he is gone and now I-" He hissed and bit his lip, fighting a spasm of pain, "I know he's not coming back. I failed." t was silent for a long time as everyone took in his story. His ragged breathing was all that was heard. Suddenly-
"Rapunzel?" He whispered. Rapunzel looked at the dying man, trying to keep a brave face while smiling at him,
"Yes?"
"I-I'm scared. Please help me to not be. Can-Can you sing that healing song from the story about the girl with the magic, healing hair." Rapunzel gently took his large, calloused hand into her small, soft ones.
"Sure." I turned away. I walked to the high, barred window, staring out to the night sky. Hendry joined me. We said nothing, finding an odd sense of calm when Rapunzel started singing,
Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Heal what has been hurt
Change the Fates' design
Save what has been lost
She let out a sob but she kept singing with a trembling voice
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine.
Third Person POV
William sat silently by the fireplace, staring into the flames as he toyed with a book on his lap. It was a small book, the parchment protected by a hard, worn leather cover. There were no letters engraved on the cover but William knew very well which book it was. Slowly he opened it. The sick yellow parchment displayed the title of the book: The Tales of Flynnigan Ryder. William moved his eyes down to see the ragged initials signed at the bottom: E. F.
The knock at the door caused William to slam the book shut and hide it underneath the bear hide in front of him,
"Come in." He said stoically. The door creaked open to reveal Cináed. The scar-faced man bowed,
"My Lord," He spoke, "Flynn Ryder is dead." William's eyes widened at the news. He knew he should feel elated at the news; a menace was finally gone but somehow, he was incapable of feeling happy.
"Thank you." He replied stoically. He turned back to the fireplace, swinging a dismissive hand. Cináed bowed and left.
The lord stood staring at the fireplace, a million emotions rampaging through him at once. He retrieved the book from under the bear hide. Anger boiled in him and with a yell, he threw it in the fire. The old parchment cracked underneath the intense heat. One loud pop and William reached into the fire, almost burning his hands, and pulled the book out, letting it fall to the ground. The corners were burnt black and the leather cover smoked.
As the mysterious emotion of sorrow overwhelmed him, William leant forward towards the ground, pulling at his hair. He felt something on his cheek, something unfamiliar and wet. He touched it and felt the tears. For the first time in years, William MacInroy cried.
I have a feeling that all of you will slowly start to hate me after this chapter and the majority of the ones that follow.
Review, favourite, follow