Chapter 9

The next morning, Merida came back to the circle of stones.

"I spent all of last night searching the castle. There's a tapestry that symbolizes the partnership between DunBroch and Berk. It's broken though. I ripped it when I found out you were going to marry me." Hiccup looked at the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way." Hiccup turned around. And then Merida saw a wisp. "The wisps! They're back!" she said. Hiccup followed her through the woods.

Finally, they reached a cliff, a lake below. Merida noticed the structure atop the cliff. "The ruins of the ancient kingdom. I thought they were just a myth." Hiccup looked at her. They kept moving, inside the crushed structure. They came upon a large, circular room with collapsed walls, and an open roof. Suddenly, the floor gave out. Merida fell into another circular room, with four thrones against one wall. Hiccup broke a bigger hole in the boards and dropped down beside Merida. Walking around, they came across an old stone tablet, depicting two people shaking hands. It was split down the middle, dividing the people.

"Split. Like the tapestry." Merida said. Suddenly, a vision flashed through her head. The tapestry being torn, and then, an axe cutting the stone. She gasped, then looked at Hiccup. "The spell. It's happened before." Hiccup whimpered. Merida looked around again. "The strength of ten men. He changed his fate. Oh no. The prince became…" she turned around to see a dark green and red dragon, larger than Hiccup, with glowing yellow eyes and a crooked jaw. "Mor'du." The dragon roared. Merida shot an arrow that simply bounced off the dragon's thick scales. Hiccup roared, jumping in front of Merida and firing a plasma blast. He growled and jerked his head, gesturing for Merida to climb onto his back. She did, and Hiccup flew. He burst out of the hole and started sweeping rubble into the hole, blocking Mor'du's exit. He began to run, Merida still clinging to his back. He wanted to fly, but it was daytime. He couldn't risk being seen. Meanwhile, Merida was freaking out.

"The witch told me about the prince who asked for the strength of ten men. That prince was Mor'du. Everyone thinks he turned into a bear. But he's not a bear. He's a dragon!" Suddenly, Hiccup crashed into one of the giant stones, watching as it cracked. He groaned, and Merida jumped off his back. "We have to get to the castle." Hiccup shook his head. "If we don't, you'll become like Mor'du. A dragon. A real dragon. Forever. Mend the bond torn by pride. The witch gave us the answer. The tapestry!"