I'm a terrible human being for leaving you guys hanging for so long but school got in the way. Good news though, I got 80% on my linguistics midterm!

Second last chapter guys.

REMINDER: Poll closes when I post the next chapter. Vote while you can.

WARNINGS: Feels

Chapter #41: Happily Ever After

Third Person POV

The first thing she saw was pink. Not the bold pink of fine silk but the soft pink of roses in midsummer. She blinked her eyes once more to ensure that she wasn't hallucinating. Sitting up in the field, her eyes remained glued to the pink, gasping lightly in awe when she saw it were clouds floating above her.

As the cool spring breeze blew through her curls, Merida looked to her surroundings. She was on a hill that lay in the middle of a field that was surrounded by pines and oaks of various sizes. She moved her hand to push herself up only to have her fingers brush against a smooth surface. A smile appeared on her face when she saw her trusty bow laying beside her.

As she stood up with her bow in hand, laughter echoed through the clearing. Out of the forest appeared two children who were chasing something that was flying ahead of them. Curious, Merida slowly started to walk to them, watching as they continued their chase.

"Catch it!" The blonde girl screamed to the other girl, swiping her hand near the butterfly in an attempt to catch it. The other girl, a black haired child with light caramel skin, giggled and jumped to the little insect. Her smile disappeared when she saw Merida. The other girl follower suit.

"Hello, Your Majesty." The blonde girl said, giving Merida a polite curtsy. The Princess only needed to see the child's amber eyes to know who it was,

"Diana?" Merida uttered slowly. The blonde replied with a nod. Merida stared at her for a moment before embracing her tightly; she may not have known her best friend's child during her life very well but she had been very fond of her.

"Namaste." A small voice said beside them. Looking down, Merida saw black-haired child holding her hands in prayer and bowing her head. Merida smiled at the child and lowered herself to her knees that she was the same height as her.

"Hello." She said kindly, smiling at the little girl, "What's your name?" The girl smiled back but stared to the ground, playing with her fingers,

"Sera." She mumbled.

"That's a very pretty name." Merida complimented, eliciting a sweet smile from Sera, who finally greeted her gaze. Nothing about Sera seemed at all familiar except her large icy blue eyes. Those same exact eyes had belonged to North; she was standing in front of his daughter.

She was not even given the opportunity to ask as both children had grabbed her hand and began to drag her into the woods.

The further they progressed, the more the canopy seemed to close on them but Merida barely noticed as the two girls were kept dragging her through the trees while never ceasing to smile or giggle.

The moment the canopy of the trees covered the sky entirely, they found themselves out of the forest in a completely different environment.

Merida led out a gasp as she beheld the sight in front of her. The backdrop was a night sky, filled with billions of stars. Not just stars though; planets and pink and purple nebulas rotated and swished past the dozen of zigzagging bridges and staircases made of rainbows. Unconsciously, she let Sera and Diana drag her further onto a bridge as she continued to stare in awe. She watched as people walked on the bridges and disappear again as they walked through a gateway. She could see several glided gateways but was too far to see the symbols that resided above them. She eyes were glued on the symbols until the girls suddenly let her hands go.

"Come on!" Sera called as she ran through the gate, quickly disappearing from sight. Diana followed suit.

Merida looked up at the massive gateway to see a cross at the peak. Gulping nervously, she stepped through the gate.

She walked upon the same pink clouds she had seen in the field only minutes earlier. Buildings appeared around her, people entering and leaving while smiling at her when she passed. Up ahead, she heard Diana giggle and watched as the child run into the arms of someone she recognized. The man picked Diana up, the child whispering to him and pointing to Merida. He looked at her with his amber eyes and smiled.

"Jack?" She uttered out but she was distracted when someone joined him, "Rapunzel?" Merida choked out as the woman stopped beside Jack, nodding with a smile. Bursting into tears, Merida ran to her and enveloped her in a tight up, sobbing into her shoulder.

"It's ok." Rapunzel cooed, wrapping her arms around her friend and stroking her hair gently, "It's alright. It's all over."

The Princess continued to cry tears of joy, tugging at Rapunzel's dress as if trying to reassure herself that she really was there and this wasn't just another nightmare.

"Hey, do I get a hug too?" Jack joked, eliciting a laugh from Merida as she pulled away from Rapunzel.

"In your dreams, Jack." She replied, giving him a light punch on his shoulder, getting a mocked look of pain from him. Diana giggled,

"You're so silly, daddy." Jack looked at his daughter

"Am I now?"

"No, my papa is sillier!" Sera exclaimed as she ran to them with a woman not far behind. Merida guessed that she was Sera's mother and North's wife. The woman took notice of the newest arrival and copied the same gesture Sera hazard given Merida upon the first meeting.

"Namaste, Princess Merida." She said gracefully in her nightingale voice. "My name is Paro. You know my husband."

"North." Merida answered, to which Paro nodded. That's when she realized that North was missing.

"Where is North?" Paro didn't answer. Instead she pointed to something behind Merida. She looked and spotted north and Flynn heading towards the group.

"Hello, Vashe Velichestvo, it's good to see you again." North spoke in his ever boisterous voice.

Sera giggled and ran to her father, jumping into his arms though he just barely managed to catch her due to his surprise. In one swooping motion and laughing happily, he put the girl on his shoulders.

Having seen everyone so happy and all reunited filled Merida with envy. Hiccup wasn't there. She would be alone again but this time for eternity. Seeing her smile fall, North placed a hand on her shoulder, "There was a reason why I was not here to greet you, Merida." He explained, his voice falling softer. He looked up at something behind Merida.

Slowly, the princess turned and gasped at who she saw. Tall, auburn hair and those mesmerizing green eyes. Her heart pounded and her tears of joy returned.

Hiccup stood frozen in his spot. She was really here, in front of him. He wanted to run to her but his feet were nailed to the ground. But when she took a step, he did too. One step, two steps and before he knew it, he was running. His heart pounded louder as she came closer. Only a few more steps and he could finally wrap her in his embrace. One more step and... SLAP!

A gasp sounded from Paro as Merida's hand came in contact with Hiccup's cheek. The blacksmith's eyes widened in shock and ran his fingers over the now red skin, groaning at the remaining pain.

"I don't think I deserved that" He exclaimed, "what was that for?" He asked. Merida crossed her arms.

"Maireada." She replied bluntly. In the brief moments that the princess had talked to the woman, she had discovered about the escapades Hiccup went on after he told Merida that they couldn't be together.

Hiccup's angry face fell at her reply.

"Ok, I did deserve that." He admitted. Seeing the guilt ridden face, Merida couldn't stay mad at him for long. Letting out another sob of joy, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. To Flynn's whistles and snarky comments, Hiccup embraced her around her waist and pulled her closer to him. They kissed for what felt like an eternity but eventually, they separated, leaning their foreheads against each other.

"Marry me?" Hiccup whispered. Merida giggled.

"Yes." She nodded furiously. With a smile, Hiccup reached into his pocket and pulled out a handmade ring made of iron.

"I made this for you but I didn't want to give it to you until we were out of DunBroch." He explained as he slid ring onto her finger, "Seeing that were are out of DunBroch, you can have it now." He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the band.

"I love it." She whispered, admiring the ring. She looked at Hiccup, her husband, "And I love you." Hiccup reached up and cupped her cheek,

"I do too and I swear I'm never leaving you again." As he gave her another kiss, Merida knew that he would keep his promise forever.

There. They're together again. I'm not so cruel now, am I?

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