Chapter 4

The witch led Merida outside, closed the shop's door, and snapped her fingers. When she opened the door, a large cauldron was set up in the middle of the room. The witch started throwing things into the cauldron, talking to Merida as she did so. She gave it a stir and grabbed a large mug from the corner of the room. She scooped some of the potion into the mug, covered the top with a wooden lid so the potion wouldn't spill out, and sent Merida on her way.

The next day, Merida came to the small house where Hiccup and his father were staying. She knew Stoick was out with her father, so Hiccup was alone. She told him to come with her to the circle of stones for an ancient, before-marriage tradition. Hiccup, knowing nothing of her culture or traditions, believed her, and followed. Once they were there, Merida handed Hiccup the mug of potion.

"I made it for you. Special" she said. she had another mug for herself, filled with plain water, so Hiccup wouldn't get suspicious. She lifted her mug. "a cheers. To the new rule of DunBroch!" her mug tapped against Hiccup's, and they drank. Suddenly, Hiccup's eyes went wide. He dropped the mug, and collapsed to the ground, coughing violently. Merida closed her eyes and looked away. She didn't want to watch him die. After she heard him stop coughing, she looked, expecting to see Hiccup lying on the ground, motionless. However, what she saw was quite different.