Hello my faithful readers! Sorry for not updating lately, I recently moved and internet is not yet working at my new apartment, so that means I have to update when I do have internet, which is usually at school...

Anyway, here's a new chapter for you guys! I have one note to make, and that is that the Unicorn story is NOT mine! I found it on the internet somewhere, credit goes to the writers!

I hope you enjoy this little chapter!

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

All I Remember, Part IV

He was curled up, staring at the wall. He had no idea how many days had passed, all he knew was that he was bored to death. He had nothing to do besides lay in bed all day, because the healer had forbidden him from getting up, and the highlights of his day were when someone brought him food.

Sighing, he turned to the door. Even if his stomach occasionally rejected whatever he ate, he was still starving, hungry for whatever they would bring him. And according to his stomach, which was growling like an angry beast, it was almost time for lunch.

His stomach wasn't wrong, because it wasn't long before the door opened and the boy came in, and he was carrying a steaming bowl and a small basket. Carefully, he pushed himself up, using only his right arm and after the boy had set the food down, he adjusted the pillows in his back so that he could lean against them comfortably.

"Can you manage on your own?" the boy asked, offering him the bowl.

He looked from the bowl to his bandaged arm, then back to the bowl. It was impossible to hold the thing with his left hand, and it was even more impossible to hold the bowl in his right, and eat with the same hand. So he shook his head, and looked at the boy apologetically.

"That's okay. I guess I have to feed you again then."

He adverted his gaze to the blanket, fiddling with it nervously. He found it incredibly humiliating to be spoon fed by a stranger, but he had no other choice. His viciously growling stomach demanded food, especially after throwing up again that morning. So when the boy sat down next to him, offering him a spoon full of the warm soup, he took it without complaining.

His stomach accepted the food gratefully, other then rejecting it like earlier that day, and he was grateful for that. He slept better when his stomach was full, and he didn't need to worry about choking on his own vomit.

The bowl was empty much sooner then he liked. He felt so hungry that he was sure he could eat ten more bowls, but he also knew that he shouldn't upset his stomach. So after the boy had put everything in the basket and was about to leave, he curled up again, his back to the wall.

"Is... is there anything I can do?"

He looked up. The boy was looking at him worriedly. He quickly shook his head and turned to the wall again.

"Are you sure? I can imagine you're bored, sitting in bed all day."

He sighed and turned around again. To be fair, he was bored. Terribly bored. He was so bored he had considered counting his own hair, twice.

"I am," he muttered, "is... is there anything you can do about that?"

"I might be able to get you some books... although you shouldn't read too much with a concussion, you can still read something. Hold on, I'll be right back."

As soon as the door closed, he blew out a breath and lay down again, staring at the ceiling. Everything was frustrating him. Why couldn't he remember? It was like someone had locked his memories away, then lost the key that accessed them. He put his arm over his eyes, thinking back to the one time he had started to remember, the time he had heard that song. When the door opened, he looked up and saw the boy enter, carrying a stack of books.

"I'm afraid I don't have many interesting books," he said while he started putting them on the nightstand, "I have one on history, one on herbology, this one is about stars and constellations, I have one with myths and legends, that is probably the most interesting one, and then we have one on... zoology. So, eh, I should say choose one, and start reading."

"Can you read to me?" he asked, hopeful eyes looking up to the other.

"Eh... not right now... I'm afraid..." he glanced back to the door almost nervously, "tonight? When I bring you dinner? Is that okay?"

"Sure... I guess.. do you really have to go?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm already late. If I stay away any longer, he'll get angry. You'll be okay on your own for a while, right?"

He nodded, a little sad that he had to be alone again, something he didn't like, but he also understood that there were other things that needed to be done. And they had already talked all day yesterday, and the day before that, so it was only logical that he had to be alone today. There were probably chores that needed to be done, and the man seemed like a mentor or teacher of some kind, so there were probably classes to attend to. He frowned. Was he supposed to be in those classes?

The door closed softly and he sighed, reaching towards the books. The first one he took was the one on zoology. He studied the binding, then read the front page. When he found it didn't really appeal to him, he put it next to him, on the bed and took the next one. It was heavy, appeared to be very old, and there was something about it that made his curiosity tingle.

"Wondrous Myths And Legends From Around The World," he read out loud as he studied the golden, swirling letters and the leather binding of the book.

He put it on his lap and opened it he saw that the title was written as well, in the same swirling letters, but with black ink. Under the words there were small drawings, and when he studied them closer, he found them to be drawings from mythical creatures, such as unicorns and mermaids. All the way down, at the bottom of the page was the name of the writer.

"Benjamin James," he muttered, and he frowned "two first names? Or is that just his writers name?"

He shrugged it off, not really caring, and looked at the drawings again. Even of they were small, each and every one of them could easily fit into the palm of his hand, they were incredibly detailed, every scale on the mermaids tail was drawn, just like every hair on the unicorns neck. Besides these two, he saw a hound with three heads, a dragon with a whole ton of heads, a bird he knew was a phoenix, and some sort of strange creature he couldn't place. After studying it for a while, he was still not able to figure out what creature would have a man's torso, but the legs of a goat, so he turned the page.

At the top were more drawings, although these were more plant like in appearance, and were clearly just for decoration, not really meaning anything. Under these pattern was a list, naming every stody in the book. He ran his finger down the names, muttering softly to himself.

"The Unicorn and The Princess... The Maiden and The Selkie... Legend of The Loreley... The Phoenix and the Merchant... Hercules and The Hydra... why do all these people meet mythical creatures? And have they no name? Who is this... "merchant"? What if I want to know his name?"

He grew quiet when he realized what he had said. Did he not wish to know his own name as well? And here he was, wondering about the name of a character in a story. He sighed and ran his finger down the list again. There were a few more and he couldn't really choose. So he decided to just start with the first.

After turning the page again, he was met with a large drawing of a unicorn in a forest. It had the same incredible detail as the small drawings on the first page, and it took him quite a while to see the man in the background. He chuckled when he finally spotted him, hiding behind a tree. When he turned the page again, he found the title of the story written in the same swirling letters,and under that, the story began.

Once upon a time in a kingdom far-far-away in the lands of the never-ending spring, a king sat in his golden throne and ruled his kingdom in perfect harmony. A person can feel nothing but exuberance at the sight of the magnificent castle in which the king and his daughter lived, the majestic atmosphere of the woods spread all around the castle, and last but not least – the overwhelming beauty of the princess.

It was pure Heaven-on-Earth; there was nothing that could even possibly attain the perfection of this place. The beauty of the forest made it amazing, yet another thing made it imposing. In those woods lived creatures of time unknown and one of them was the most precious of them all… and was hunted for centuries for its magical horn – the beast known as a unicorn.

One day a rumor started spreading. Someone saw a white creature with the looks of a horse, yet having a beautiful horn… and suddenly all men grabbed their knives and spears, their bloodlust and fierceness. The hunt had begun.

While the king's men were all setting torches on fire and sharpening their tools, the young princess was at her chamber, brushing her beautiful silky blond hair. She was the purest maiden in the whole kingdom with a heart as tender as a rose and a soul as clean as the water from the Fountain of Youth in the woods. She had an adventurous spirit and that day she decided to take a walk in the surrounding forests. Pushed by the desire to pick some fresh flowers, she left the castle and headed towards the woods.

With all beauty of the trees and flowers and the crystal cleanness of the mineral springs she lost track of time and wandered around for hours and hours and suddenly, she was very deep into the woods.

She started realizing that the woods were getting darker and darker and the trees were losing their beauty, the grass was dead and there were no animals around. She started getting scared and remembered a story heard long ago from her nanny, a story about the Dark Forest, deep inside the beautiful surrounding woods. Everyone believed it was just a legend, that it wasn't a real place, but right at that moment she was thinking it over. "Could it be tr…" she couldn't even finish her thought when tree branches started grabbing her legs and arms and taking her deeper and deeper into the forest...

The creature was stepping lightly onto the grass, slowly moving between the trees, heading towards the little glade where she was lying unconsciously. As approaching, it saw the purity of the girl in front of him and slowly began to trust that innocent maid.

When the unicorn got to her, he bent his neck down and looked at her beautiful face and slowly lied down next to her. After a while she woke up and firstly got a little scared, yet after looking at its harmless black eyes, she felt safe. Then the white beast stood up and let her get on its back and they both headed towards the castle. The princess was charmed by that creature's innocence and nobility, by its graceful movements between the trees and its gentle steps on the grass – pure harmony.

When they reached the castle and went inside the stone walls all of a sudden, a lot of armed people surrounded them and the unicorn started neighing and moving abruptly. The princess got down on the ground and started screaming and telling the men that this creature saved her life and brought her back to the castle. When the king came, she explained him everything that happened and he, while crying, told her that everyone had gotten worried about her. He hugged his precious daughter and looked at the terrified beast. Not until then he did realize that the unicorn is the purest and the most innocent creatures of them all.

During the feast that night, it was pronounced that the unicorn is a sacred animal and it was forbidden hunting it. After saving the young princess, the beast left the castle and never got back. No one ever saw it again, but now all men knew the truth about the unicorn.
It is said that the king's daughter met the unicorn again, yet that is a different story….

The end

He put the book down after flipping the page and finding a new drawing of the unicorn, and now he could almost imagine the silvery hair, the diamond horn of the unicorn, and with the book on his chest, he lay back. With one hand on the book he closed his eyes, feeling the headache starting to throb behind his eyes. Seems like the boy had been right. Reading intensely with a concussion was a bad idea. Maybe it would clear up if he rested his eyes and slept a little.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Someone shook his shoulder gently and he groaned, slowly opening his eyes. After inhaling deeply he realized he had fallen asleep, the book still on his chest. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and picked up the book, still opened at the drawing of the unicorn.

"Did you like it?"

He looked up and nodded, smiling weakly.

"That's good..." the boy muttered, "are you hungry?"

"A... a little..." he mumbled, one hand on his stomach. Something in him feared that if he would eat, that he would throw it all up again, and he was getting sick of throwing up.

"I'll go get something then. I'll be right back."

He nodded and picked up the book as soon as the door closed. Breathing in deeply, he let his hand glide over the fine lines on the paper. They were slightly raised, do to the ink they were drawn with, and it seemed that everything was drawn by hand. He brought the book closer to his face, his eyes straining in the dim light, and he nearly jumped out of bed when the door opened again.

The boy chuckled while he set the tray down and while he closed the book, he shot him a pouting glance.

"I'm sorry. Here, why don't you give me that, and you take this."

He took the book while he handed him a spoon. He stared at the metal utensil before looking up.

"I can't eat on my own."

"I know that," the boy said while he sat down, holding the bowl in both his hands, "I just wanted yo to hold it. Alright, just tell me when you feel that your stomach protests, okay?"

It wasn't much and he was done quickly. After wiping his mouth with his sleeve he looked from the book to the boy, then to the book again.

"Will you read to me now?" he asked hopefully.

"I did promise you I would, didn't I... alright, what do you want me to read?"

He just shrugged. "You choose."

"Alright..." He watched him flip through the pages, before stopping somewhere halfway in the book. "Does Legend of The Loreley sound okay? Yes? Good..."

"The legend of the Loreley starts in a time long past, and takes place in a land far away. Nobody knows where she came from, but the Loreley is said to be the most beautiful creature that mankind has even laid eyes on. There are many people who claim to have seen her, but no one is sure what she really looks like. It is rumored that she has long, blonde hair that shines like the sun, and eyes as blue as water."

"But there is only one thing certain about the Loreley, and that is that she has the most beautiful voice. A voice so beautiful, that it entrances all men who listen to it, and many a ship has sunk because it's sailors had fallen under her spell..."

He closed his eyes and listened to the soft voice. The sound was calming, and while he lay there, he could feel how memories were pushing at the back of his head, trying to break through the wall that kept them away.

He didn't know when he had fallen asleep, but when he suddenly bolted upright it was dark, his room was empty and he was alone. He sat for a while staring straight ahead into the darkness.

He wasn't sure where the name in his head had so suddenly come from, all he knew that he finally remembered. But he still couldn't be sure if it was his name, or someone else's.

It felt right. It felt just right. Slowly, he lay back again, softly muttering the word over and over, and he became more and more convinced that the name was his own, and he let of a long sigh, a happy smile on his lips when he fell asleep again.

"Wrenlou..."