Chapter 10

Merida

...

Merida was up much earlier then normal, she wanted to bring extra food and supplies with her for Hiccup and Toothless and the last thing she wanted was for her mother to become suspicious. She knew if her mother ever found out that she was going to meet a Viking in the woods, she would likely lock her away in a tower room and bar her from ever leaving the castle again.

Merida chuckled to herself as she thought of it. In all those fairytale stories the princess was locked away and guarded by a dragon awaiting a knight's rescue. If she were locked away by her mother then a viking and a dragon could easily fly to her rescue. Not that she needed rescuing of course, but the analogy still amused her.

Her mother was a benevolent person for the most part, but she had a deep distrust and near hatred for Vikings. From what she understood, her mother's village was raided by Vikings once when she was just a wee lass. Elinor had seen the violence and devastation of a Viking raid first hand and nothing it seemed could sway her opinion of them. Not even great great nana's journal which described vikings very different than those which she described herself.

Merida couldn't blame her mother for feeling as she did, nor could she blame her for teaching her only daughter to fear them. Perhaps the majority of Vikings were as her mother described, for certain the ones that invaded her home were. But Hiccup was far different than any description of a Viking Merida had ever been told about. And judging by the fact that he hailed from Berk, the very people that were once Dunbroch's close allies, she could only assume that the Berkans simply were not like other Vikings. She was sure if they were that Mairead would never have fallen in love with Hiccup's great great grandfather to begin with.

Merida's mind drifted to her first encounter with Hiccup as she held him in the crosshairs of her bow and after she had basically and regrettably told him all Vikings were better off dead.

...

"Look, I don't blame you for feeling that way," Hiccup replied calmly, "there are plenty of terrible Vikings in the world, I know that better than anyone." He kept his hands up. He took a half a step closer as he gazed into her perfect blue eyes. Merida stood her ground.

"I promise you," Hiccup replied, "I'm not one of them." He dropped to his knees before her, but kept his hands up in surrender. He gazed up at her with his intense green eyes.

"Do what you must," he said as he gazed up at her, "I won't fight back." He dropped his eyes to the ground.

...

Merida couldn't explain the feelings that ran through her at the sight of the young Viking kneeling before her. They were conflicting to say the least. Here was the type of man her mother had always cautioned her about. He was the very reason she had never been allowed out of the castle walls after dark, and yet he knelt before her in surrender, gazing up at her with the greenest eyes she'd ever seen and sincerely pleading for her to see him as something other than what he was.

She'd always been taught Vikings were crazy marauders who had little care for human life other then their own. They were greedy, ruthless, and bloodthirsty and would kill anyone that stood in their way. But Hiccup had turned every pre-conceived notion she'd ever had of Vikings on its head. She initially distrusted him, he could have easily been lying to her, he could have just been telling her whatever he could to save his own hide. But his sincerity was so genuine and she could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth.

He had asked her to take a leap of faith, to trust him though she knew she shouldn't. She could not explain why she had so easily done so nor why she had so easily looked past what he was. It seemed something inside her just knew he was a good person and that she need not fear him.

But even more confusing to her were the inexplainable feelings that seemed to flood her heart when they met. She could not explain the way her heart fluttered so when he gazed at her nor why she blushed at the touch of his hand. She could not explain why his intense green eyes caused her breath to hitch.

Her mind flashed briefly to the moment he'd caught her after she stumbled while dismounting Toothless. He held her tight in his arms and gazed at her with those eyes causing her breath to catch in her throat. His eyes were intoxicating and she just wanted to gaze into them as long as possible. She didn't know whether she should look away to avoid his gaze or if she should just allow herself to get lost in his intense eyes and let come whatever may. They stood so close that if he'd wanted too he could have kissed her and for a moment she thought he might. In that split second of closeness, a thousand jumbled thoughts were running through her mind. If he kissed her should she comply? Did she want him to kiss her? Did it make sense if she wanted to kiss a man she just met and barely knew, let alone a Viking? The most pressing question of all was whether or not she had lost her mind. What could she be thinking allowing herself to feel such things for a man she'd only known for barely a day. The only logical explanation was that it was simply infatuation, brought on by her recent reading of her great great nana's journal, and the strange dreams that had been plaguing her mind.

Despite her conclusion, Merida couldn't deny the strong connection between them. It was undeniable, quite unexplainable and unlike anything she had ever felt before. She liked him, that much was true, and he'd said he liked her as well; and it just felt so easy, genuine and natural to be around him. It was as if they'd been old friends and had known each other for years and had just been reacquainted.

But above all of this, her mother's voice remained, giving warning of the consequences of putting one's trust where there is none. In her mother's eyes, the most despicable and untrustworthy among men were Vikings. Convincing her otherwise about this particular viking would be difficult. Merida sighed heavily as she tried to push these confusing and very conflicting thoughts to the back of her mind.

Instead she focused on the task at hand. Her plan was to take the bag of food to the stable and hide it there until she could get away from the castle. Then she only need suffer through breakfast and then be free to head back to the woods. So at the crack of dawn she headed to the stables with her bag of supplies and hid it under the straw in Angus' stall. She knew nobody would look there, as Angus had little trust for others besides her.

After she had hidden the bag she gently pet Angus on the nose.

"I'll see ye in a little while Angus," she cooed. The horse snorted and nuzzled her affectionately. Merida giggled. She then exited the stable and headed back to the castle.

...

Hiccup found himself standing outside the edge of the standing stones, unsure of exactly how he had gotten there. He could just barely hear the faint sound of whispering echoing from somewhere in the center of the circle of ancient stones. In curiosity he stepped forth slowly remaining just outside the parameter of the circle. He peered just past the stones remaining hidden from whoever or whatever might be lurking there.

He could see a man in a cloak crouched down by one of the sacred stones, chiseling away at it with some sort of dagger and chanting to himself in what sounded to Hiccup like old Norse but he couldn't quite make out the words. Hiccup slowly walked along the outside edge of the stones. His view was temporarily blocked as he passed one of the ancient stones.

When the strange man was back in his view again the scene had changed. Now he saw him standing in front of the stone with the dagger in his hand. Slowly he turned the blade of the dagger to himself. At first it seemed to Hiccup that the man might slash his own throat but instead he reached the blade to a braid of hair by his ear and cut it off. The man turned to another figure which seemed to materialize out of thin air. The petite figure stood about a foot shorter than the man and stood with their back facing Hiccup. The figure reached up to the hood of their cloak and slowly lowered it revealing a tangled mess of bright red curls. Hiccup watched curiously as the man turned his blade to the woman and gently cut a lock of her hair away.

Hiccup's view was once again obstructed by another stone as he walked the parameter of the standing stones. As the two people came into view once more, Hiccup watched curiously as the man draped a necklace around the woman's neck. The man then bent forward, as the woman did the same for him. Hiccup watched curiously as he continued to walk. In his next glimpse he saw the man and woman kneeling before each other in front of the stone, their hands clasped and foreheads pressed together in what seemed an intimate exchange. He suddenly felt as if someone were pulling at him from behind. He tried to resist as he struggled to remain in his place watching the two mysterious people.

"Not now, " he muttered. But he continued to be pulled away against his will.

...

Hiccup opened his eyes to see Toothless standing over him. The dragon was anxiously trying to wake him from his deep sleep by pulling at his shirt and nudging his shoulder. Hiccup groaned as he reached up and rubbed his eyes. Toothless snorted at him impatiently.

"Alright," Hiccup groaned as he pushed the dragon away, "I'm up, I'm up." Hiccup huffed as he sat up groggily.

He leaned forward and grasped the bridge of his nose as he yawned. He groggily thought of the details of the strange dream. It was the first time in days that he hadn't had the recurring dream of the mysterious woman and he wondered the significance. He didn't know if this new dream was somehow influenced by his and Merida's meeting the day before, or if it was yet another instance of the spirits of the past reaching out to him. but he guessed it might be a little of both. Toothless nudged him again distracting him from his thoughts.

"Alright bud," he groaned, "could ya let me wake up a bit." He stood up yawning and stretched his arms over his head.

As the sleep faded from his mind and he became more awake, his mind slowly drifted away from this unusual new dream and the details of it became a bit hazy. He headed over to the edge of the stream.

Hiccup knelt down by the stream as he splashed the cool water on his face. He reached for a cloth in his bag and began to dry his face when he was impatiently nudged by Toothless once again.

"I know...I know bud," Hiccup chuckled. He stood and hung his towel on a nearby tree beside the armor he had taken off the night before. He now wore simple leather trousers, a loose fitting green colored tunic with his leather arm gauntlets. Toothless padded over to Hiccup and nudged him impatiently.

"Come on bud," Hiccup chuckled, "we're just waiting for Merida, okay, I promise I'll try to take you flying later and who knows maybe I can convince Merida to go flying with us." Toothless whined in annoyance.

"Hey, I thought you liked Merida," Hiccup chuckled, "I mean what's not to like right." He smirked up at Toothless. Briefly his mind drifted back to the moment she had kissed his cheek the night before. Absentmindedly he touched his hand to his cheek. He could nearly feel the tingling sensation where her soft lips had touched his skin and he blushed at the thought.

"I'm telling you Bud," Hiccup sighed, "there is just something about this girl, I can't put my finger on it." Toothless cooed and batted his eyes at Hiccup mockingly.

"Alright, alright," Hiccup chuckled, "are you done?" Toothless smirked in response as he nudged Hiccup playfully.

"Hey...here's an idea," Hiccup chuckled as he pushed Toothless back, "I'll wait here for Merida and you can go scrounge us up some fish for breakfast." Toothless leaned forward pushing Hiccup and causing him to fall to the ground.

"Alright, alright bud," Hiccup laughed. He tried to push Toothless away as the dragon batted at him playfully with his front feet.

"Oh, you want some of this do ya big guy," Hiccup huffed as he playfully wrestled with the dragon. Toothless leaned forward and licked Hiccup's face.

"Awe come on bud," Hiccup groaned, "I just washed my face!"

"Alright boys, break it up then if ye want some breakfast!"

Hiccup's heart froze for a moment at the sound of Merida's voice. He and Toothless turned to her simultaneously. Toothless jumped up and padded over to the princess happily. Hiccup sat up and quickly wiped the drool from his face. He got to his feet, brushed himself off and walked over in her direction.

He smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. He watched as Merida greeted Toothless by rubbing the dragon under the chin. He found it amusing how quickly the dragon had taken to her given the circumstances of their first meeting; but then Toothless had always been a great judge of character. Toothless insistently nudged at the princess bag causing her to laugh. The sound of her laughter and the sight of her bright smile caused Hiccup's heart to flutter.

"Alright ye impatient dragon," she laughed. She reached into the bag and pulled out two sweet rolls and tossed them to Toothless. He happily gobbled them up.

"Good morning princess," Hiccup said with a slight bow of his head. Merida chuckled slightly as she dismounted Angus.

"My, so formal," she replied with a grin, "for someone who tried to kill me yesterday." She continued to tie up Angus and loose the straps on his saddle.

"Excuse me...if anyone tried to kill anyone yesterday," Hiccup replied in amusement, "that would be you my lady."

"Aye," Merida smirked," after yer dragon tried to kill me first."

"Really," Hiccup chuckled, "let's not forget that t'was you my lady who fired the first shot." She turned to him with a smirk as she tossed him the bag she had loosed from Angus' saddle. He caught it with one hand.

"That was just a warning shot," Merida scoffed crossing her arms over her chest, "if I had tried to kill ye, ye'd be dead." He raised his eyebrow at her comment.

"Point taken," he replied with a shrug.

He opened the bag she had tossed to him and found it full of a variety of foods, bread, smoked meats, dried fish, more sweet rolls, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

His eyes lit up at the sight as he turned his gaze back to her.

"I didn't know what ye and Toothless liked," she replied with a shrug, "so I just packed some of everything."

"This is amazing," he replied with a wide grin as he eyed the delicious contents of the bag, "this is so much food..I love you!" The instant the words inadvertently left his lips his eyes went wide as he looked back at her with a mortified expression on his face.

"Uh I...I uh, I love...the fact that you brought us all this food, is what I meant." He cleared his throat. She smirked at him in amusement.

"Huh...I guess what they say is true then," Merida replied with a shrug.

"What's that," Hiccup asked.

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach," she replied with a smirk as she patted him on the gut.

He raised and eye brow at her in surprise of her boldness.

"Why Princess," he said in mock surprise, "do you mean you're trying to win my heart?" He raised an eyebrow at her and grinned.

Merida smirked at him and rolled her eyes as she took a few steps closer to him.

"Ye wish," she replied in amusement, "by the way, ye still have a bit of drool on yer face...just there," she pointed.

"Toothless," he groaned as he frantically rubbed his now reddened face clean. Merida couldn't help but to laugh.

He reached into the bag and excitedly pulled out a shiny red apple. He bit into the sweet fruit wth a look of euphoria on his face.

"This is so good," he said with a full mouth.

She gazed at him in amusement. He looked back at her and smiled as he swallowed the bit of apple and wiped the juice from his chin with his sleeve.

"What," he questioned.

"Just surprised the first thing ye went for was an apple," she shrugged.

"Well, practically all we eat on Berk is meat, fish and potatoes...maybe carrots if we're lucky...wild berries if we're really lucky," He replied as he took another bite, " where I come from, fresh fruit is pretty scarce."

"Ye don't grow any on Berk," she questioned. Hiccup shook his head.

"Too cold," Hiccup replied, "not much could survive the climate." He grinned at her again.

"So you can go ahead and put apples right at the top of that list then," he smirked.

"List," she questioned, "what list?"

"You know," he said as he raised an eyebrow at her, "the list of foods you're gonna win my heart with." Merida groaned in annoyance and rolled her eyes. Hiccup chuckled at her response.

"Feeling a bit confident today are we," she replied with a smirk. He grinned at her proudly as he bit into a second apple.

"Well you know," he replied, "I've heard that rescuing damsels in distress is a pretty big confidence builder."

"Oh please," Merida replied, "I was not in distress, in fact far from it."

"Hmmm, I seem to recall things just a little bit differently," he said sarcastically.

"Really," Merida replied, "because I seem to recall ye practically begging me to take a ride on yer dragon." He stepped closer to her taking another bite of his apple as she glared up at him.

"Well I seem to recall a certain damsel thanking me for rescuing her and telling me she liked me...before laying one on me right here," he said pointing to his cheek.

"Well... I'm beginning to rethink that statement," she grumbled. She blushed slightly as she glared up at him. Hiccup chuckled lightly.

"Ya know princess," he smiled as he leaned closer to her, "you are awfully cute when you're flustered." He took another bite of his apple and grinned at her mischievously. Merida groaned in frustration, but her heart was beating frantically.

"Hiccup ye are...ye are just," Merida replied as she struggled to get her thoughts straight, "ye are the most infuriating man I've ever met!"

"Maybe," Hiccup smirked, as he leaned closer to her, "but you still like me." Her blush deepened slightly as she huffed and stormed away.

"No I don't," she yelled back.

"Yeah ya do," Hiccup called back. He grinned as he turned and noticed Toothless giving him an unimpressed glare.

"What," he shrugged," she does." Toothless groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Hey how'd it go last night anyway," Hiccup questioned as he followed after her, "with your mom I mean." She rolled her eyes. She set down on a log nearby with her back facing him. She crossed her arms over her chest and ignored his question.

"Come on," Hiccup replied, "don't be mad I was just teasing you."

"Fine," she replied shortly as she turned to face him, "besides the fact that she practically sent out a search party for me when Angus came back alone...it was fine."

"I'm sure she was just worried," Hiccup replied as he sat beside her on the log.

"Aye," she was, "especially after Lord Dingwall said he saw a dragon flying about by the Fire Falls," Merida replied with a look of concern on her face.

"We were seen," Hiccup replied.

Merida nodded, "and it's not the first time either," she replied, "just a few weeks back Lord Dingwall reported seeing a dragon flying around his lands, a dragon with a rider. Was that ye as well?"

"Most likely," Hiccup replied, "I was scouting around here a few weeks back." She looked up at him in concern.

"Hiccup, ye need to be more careful with Toothless," Merida said in concern. Hiccup sighed. Usually he was more cautious about being seen during his scouting missions until he knew for sure the people weren't dangerous but it seemed he'd been distracted from the start in Dunbroch.

"Well the good thing is," Merida went on, "Lord Dingwall likes his ale a little too much..and so far my Dad has blamed the ale for his dragon sightings...but I fear if any more reports arise he'll take it more seriously and start a hunt for Toothless." As Hiccup gazed at her he could see there was genuine concern in her eyes.

"Hey don't worry," Hiccup replied as he placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance, "we'll be more careful, I promise."

"I hope so," Merida replied, "my dad is a stubborn man...if he gets it in his head to hunt for Toothless, he'll not stop until he has his hide."

"No offense," Hiccup replied, "but your dad sounds a lot like a Viking,"

"Worse," Merida replied, "he's a Scotsman." Hiccup chuckled.

"I have a feeling your people and mine would get along famously," Hiccup replied.

"Seriously though Hiccup," she said with concern creeping back into her voice, "I just...I don't want anything to happen to ye...or Toothless."

"Nothing's going to happen," Hiccup said, " I promised we'd be careful and...I'm a man of my word...okay." Merida nodded.

"What were you scouting for anyway," she asked in curiosity.

"Oh..uh it's something I've been working on for a while now," he replied as he walked past her, "I'll show you." He pulled out a folded up piece of parchment. He opened it carefully, then knelt down as he laid the paper flat upon the ground.

"A map," Merida questioned. She knelt down to get a better look.

"Here see," he pointed to the newest addition to his ever evolving map.

"DunBroch," she smiled, "and here is Dingwall lands she pointed out and Macintosh and Macguffin, this is all my kingdom."

"Your father is the ruler of all four lands," Hiccup questioned. Merida nodded.

"Where is Berk," she asked.

"That would be all the way over here," he said. He pointed to a smaller island.

"That is a really far journey," she marveled.

"It's not so bad," he replied, "not with Toothless anyway...it's only about 3 days by dragon."

"So you've been putting together a map of all the lands surrounding Berk, Merida replied. Hiccup nodded.

"See, up until about eight years ago," Hiccup replied "Berk was at war with dragons, after having fought with them for almost 300 years. In all that time we lost most ties with other tribes...not to mention a good amount of our written history. I mean most of what we know has just been passed down by word of mouth...which is not always so accurate given how much Vikings tend to exaggerate."

"I'm beginning to think Vikings and Scots are cut from the same cloth," Merida replied. Hiccup chuckled out loud.

"Well, if your plan to win my heart with apples goes well," Hiccup smirked, "at least we know the in-laws will get along." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Either that or they'll kill each other at the wedding," Merida smirked back. Hiccup couldn't contain his laughter.

"Yeah," he agreed amidst his laughter," that's probably a more likely outcome."

"Anyway," he continued, " I've been working on this map as a way of trying reconnect with other tribes again. I really want to rebuild Berk, and it's reputation, maybe reclaim some of our history. That and I'm trying to re-establish trade routes and peace treaties with as many of our surrounding tribes as possible. Also, now that Berk is a haven for dragons, it's beginning to get a little crowded. My hope is that we will come across some decent un-inhabited land to expand Berk, but so far no luck in that department."

"Well it sounds like a noble plan," Merrida replied, "yer tribe is right lucky to have ye as their chief."

"Thanks," Hiccup replied with a smile, "I'm just trying my best to live up to my dad's legacy really. I can only hope that someday I could maybe be at least half as good a leader as he was." Merida looked at him in sympathy.

"I'm sorry ye lost him," she said softly, "were ye close?" Hiccup sighed.

"We had sort of a complicated relationship," Hiccup replied, "but I did love him." Merida smiled warmly up at him. He averted his eyes slightly, as his mind drifted to his father.

"I don't know if I ever told him that...before," Hiccup said solemnly, "he was gone so unexpectedly...I just thought we'd have a lot more time."

"What happened to him," Merida asked softly.

"He was killed," Hiccup said grimly as his eyes inadvertently glanced at Toothless for a moment. He turned his eyes back to Merida. "By one of our enemies." Without thought Merida reached out and took his hand, she squeezed it reassuringly as she gazed at him in sympathy. Hiccup sighed heavily as he tried to push the memory of his father's death away from his mind. He looked up into Merida's eyes and smiled in appreciation of her simple show of compassion. He slowly pulled his hand from her's as he began to fold up his map. He then stuffed it back in his pocket.

"So how was it that after 300 years of war," Merida questioned, "ye came to befriend Toothless," Hiccup chuckled lightly.

"Well that's...a really kinda long and sorta complicated story," he replied as he sat back upon the ground in front of her, "I...uh I kinda...shot him down during a dragon attack."

"Ye what," Merida questioned.

"Yeah," he smiled half heartedly as he rubbed the back of his neck, "it's not exactly something I'm proud of now, but at the time all I wanted was to prove myself to my Dad, to prove that I could be a good Viking, that I could kill a dragon." He sighed heavily at the thought of his father.

"You might not be able to tell this about me," he went on, "but I've pretty much been a screw-up most of my life and I just wanted the chance to be taken seriously, ya know."

"By killing a dragon," Merida questioned.

Hiccup nodded.

"The dragon," Hiccup replied, "The one that no one in my village had ever even gotten close enough to kill before, a nightfury."

"Toothless," Merida questioned. Hiccup nodded.

"So what happened," Merida asked.

"Well," Hiccup sighed, "I shot him down with one of my inventions. I called it the mangler, it's basically a cannon that launches a bola. I spotted him, and I aimed, and it was a direct hit, first shot!" I couldn't believe it!"

He sighed again as he reminisced.

"The only problem was nobody else saw it and nobody believed me, not even my Dad. So I went out to find the dragon on my own, to bring home proof to my dad."

Merida just gazed at him enthralled in his story.

"I found him in the woods, tied up with the bola and I was absolutely terrified, but I had my dagger, and I was ready," he held his hands up over his head as if the dagger were still in his grasp.

"But he just laid there staring at me, he didn't fight, he didn't even try to get away. Then when I looked him in the eyes I didn't see a monster or a demon. I..I just saw him and he was just as terrified as I was. And I just..."

"Ye couldn't do it," Merida said softly. Hiccup nodded as he gazed up at her.

"It sounds a lot like how it was for ye and I," Merida said. Hiccup looked up at her in confusion.

"I thought all Vikings were dangerous, murdering scoundrels," Merida replied," but ye convinced me otherwise." Hiccup smiled at her analogy.

"I guess you're right," he chuckled, "it is similar, well I'm just glad I was as convincing as Toothless." Merida smiled.

"So what did ye do," she questioned.

"As much as I wanted my dad's approval, I knew killing him was wrong and so I freed him instead," Hiccup shrugged, "but his tail fin was destroyed, which, turns out is absolutely essential for a dragon to fly."

"Poor Toothless," Merida replied.

"Yeah well, he got even with me eventually," Hiccup said motioning to his false leg.

"Toothless did that," Merida questioned in surprise. Hiccup nodded.

"Sure did," Hiccup replied, "but that is a whole other story," he chuckled.

"If Toothless' tail was destroyed," Merida questioned, "how is it that he can fly now?"

"Well," Hiccup sighed, "after a lot of trial and error and a whole lot of crash landings," Hiccup went on, "I created a replacement fin for him. It straps to his tail and then I can control it with a petal near his saddle using my foot.

Long story short we've been a team ever since," Hiccup shrugged, "though the most recent tail fin I made for him does allow him to fly on his own now too. So technically he doesn't need me anymore but we're still a pretty good team. Anyway, it's really because of Toothless that I convinced my tribe that dragons didn't have to be our enemies and that they were mostly just misunderstood."

"So now," he went on, "Berk is a haven for dragons. We rely on them and they rely on us and it's great!"

"That is amazing Hiccup," Merida marveled.

"Eh...it's not that impressive," Hiccup replied dismissively as he stood up, "it was mostly like a series of accidents that basically worked out for the better." He offered her both his hands to help her up.

"Are ye kidding,"Merida replied. She slipped her hands in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"Hiccup do ye not see what ye've done," she questioned. Hiccup gazed at her curiously.

"Not only did ye change yer own fate," she smiled, "but ye changed the fate of yer people and the dragons, and ye did it for the good of yer tribe. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is. From what I can tell ye are a good man Hiccup, and a damn good leader. That's something to be proud of. And if yer father were here today...he'd tell ye the same. Ye just need to have a little faith in yer self. Ye say yer father was a great leader?" Hiccup nodded.

"Then trust in all that he passed to ye," she smiled, "yer father is still alive and well in here." She pointed to his heart, "as well as every lesson he's ever taught ye, trust in that and ye will always make him proud."

Hiccup gazed at her completely dumbfounded by the sincerity of her words.

Ever since he had taken over as Chief he had questioned his ability to lead, feeling as though he could never quite live up to the legacy of his father. He never wanted to be the leader of Berk but leadership had been thrust upon him after his father's sudden death. Since then he'd felt unequipped, and unprepared and still struggled with his feelings of inadequacy as Chief, and was still afraid to let his father down in some way.

Though his mother and even Astrid had tried to get Hiccup to see his own strengths and have confidence in his own abilities to lead, his insecurities still remained. He still held his father on an insurmountable pedestal and felt nothing he could do as Chief could ever compare. Merida's words had struck a cord in his heart. She made him see it from another perspective. That his father still lived on in him, his bravery, his heart, and in every lesson he'd ever learned from Stoick. What he had thought of dismissively as a lucky string of accidents, she had seen as the makings of a great leader and she called him out on his lack of pride in his, not so small, accomplishments.

There seemed to be nothing he could say that could even come close to expressing how much her unexpected words had truly meant to him. So he stood there wordlessly, her hands still clasped in his, gazing in amazement into the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"How...how is it that," he took a deep breath as he tried desperately to form his jumbled thoughts into coherent language, "how do you do that?"

"What," she questioned smiling up at him warmly.

"I don't know," he replied with a tender smile, "It...It's crazy, but it just feels like you see me, I mean the real me. I mean we literally just met and I...I just feel like...like you see me better than anyone." She smiled and shrugged.

"It's not hard," she replied, "to see the kind of person ye are Hiccup. Ye have a good heart and unlike most, ye actually follow it. It might have been a lot easier to follow the path expected of ye; instead ye went against everything ye ever knew and ye forged your own...now that's brave." He smiled slightly.

"Besides," she smirked, "Im an excellent judge of character."

"So it would seem," Hiccup replied as he smiled at her.

"As far as I can tell, yer a man of great virtue Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III," she continued, "maybe it's just harder for ye to see it for yourself, maybe ye just need someone to remind ye once in a while." She shrugged nonchalantly. He smiled at her tenderly, as he unwittingly leaned a little closer to her, his eyes never leaving her's. Had he any doubts before, he didn't now. Somehow he knew, this was just the start of something, the start of something good. It was inevitable and he knew with certainty that he was in serious danger of falling in love with this girl.

"You're, just," he smiled warmly, "you're amazing, you know that?" He brought his hand up to her pausing in uncertainty for just a moment, then gently brushed the wild red curls away from her face. To his surprise she didn't stop him nor back away as he thought she might.

"Thanks," he grinned.

She nodded as she smiled up at him.

"So," he grinned, "does this mean you still like me?"

"Aye," she smirked, " I still like ye...but don't push it." He chuckled at her response.

Yup, he was in serious, serious danger.

Suddenly they were distracted by a faint murmuring sound. Both turned simultaneously to see an all too familiar blue flame floating midair not a foot from where they both stood. Hiccup stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"It's a ..a...a floating blue flamey thingie."

"Wil o' the wisp," Merida corrected.

"Wil o' the what now," Hiccup replied glancing at her in confusion.

"Come on," she exclaimed as she pulled him by the hand, "we have to follow it!"