Elements of Change-Ch:7

Genre: Crossover

Brave

How to Train Your Dragon

CLAIMER: ANY OCS BELONG TO ME.

Hiccup wrapped himself in a cloak given to him by Queen Elinor, and trudged along the stony path, neatly covered in snow. His fake foot made a racket as it did every morning, annoying and waking many of the villagers. Finally, he reached the shop, a blazing heat blowing into his face as he walked in. Satisfied, he unwrapped the cloak, set it on a wooden table then moved to the back to see what Ailean needed him to do that day.

Hiccup had gotten used to living in Scotland after the four months of hiding his identity and living as a blacksmith apprentice. He had been able to learn all the different roads and areas of the kingdom in that short time thanks to all the errands Ailean sent him on. His longing to return home still lingered and the aching in his heart for his friend remained, but as time went by, it lessened ever so slightly.

"Hey! C'mon this isn't fair." he protested. She swung the large blade again as Hiccup dodged. "I don't have time for this today...and I just fixed that!" He continued to dodge and run as she added a few more dents and scrapes to the shop around them.

"Learn ta fight an' ah'll surrender peacefully." Merida replied with a smirk, taunting him as she threw him a sword. Hiccup groaned as he caught it. Merida had been trying to teach him to fight for weeks since he seemed like such a weakling, though he always complained about being tired or not having time to learn, so Merida would often challenge him to a duel randomly during the day.

"Now then..." she said, raising her blade to defend herself for any attack Hiccup would send at her, though he gave none. She narrowed her eyes, then sent another swing at him. He raised his own blade to block her attack, though the force of it sent him stumbling backwards, pushing him out the door and into the frosty cold. He quickly gathered himself up and began running away as he saw a small figure with a sword charging at him.

The pair of them ran all throughout the village, sometimes knocking into people, earning some negative remarks and exclamations, others just laughing as they saw them run by. Unfortunately for Hiccup, his new prosthetic made it hard for him to run, especially when he had to lug a broadsword with him. His breath trailed behind him, though not for long when his metal foot came in contact with a stray piece of ice on the stone, and he was sent flying on his back. A loud THUMP was heard as he collided with the ground, his sword falling away from his hands.

"Are ye alright?" Merida's long curls were soon in his face as she crouched over him.

"Yeah..." he huffed, trying to sit up. She grabbed his arm and pulled him up, allowing him to sit in the snow for a bit to rest.

"Maybe next time ye'll consider facing me instead of runnin' away." she smirked after confirming he was okay.

Hiccup gave her a glare, then picked up the fallen sword, "Well now I have to go sharpen these...again." He reached over to take the sword from Merida's hand, but she pulled it away.

"No, ye need ta take a break. Ye've been workin' too hard. Here..." quickly, she grabbed the sword from Hiccup's hand, and gave them to a local boy, instructing him to run them over to Ailean. Then she pulled out a few coins from her pocket and placed them in his hands. After the boy had run off, she turned to Hiccup who was now standing.

"Now I'm covered in snow..." said Hiccup, raising an eyebrow to Merida.

"Well, it was sort of yer own fault."

"True. But I don't have to be the only one." suddenly he pulled a snowball from behind his back and threw it at the unsuspecting girl.

She raised her arms just in time before the powdery snow exploded against her body. Laughing, she gathered some snow in her cold fingers and shaped it before letting it sail through the air toward Hiccup. Soon a fight broke out, and snow was flying everywhere. Some of the village children passing by decided to join in the fun, and they even created teams, some on Merida's, some on Hiccup's. A few even tried to create a fort to hide behind, but their absence from the fun was noticed, and they were pelted with snowballs from every direction.

Merida laughed and laughed till she couldn't laugh any more, and she threw herself into the snow. She looked up to the sky. Was it dark already? The gray sky had darkened, and though no stars were showing, everyone could tell nightfall was upon them. Many of the children said goodbye and ran off to their warm homes.

Hiccup plopped down next to Merida, his face bright red from all the excitement. For a moment, they just sat there, looking up at the sky, allowing the energy to drain from them.

Merida exhaled, a white puff of air disappearing in the gentle wind. Soon, the streets were empty, and all that remained was the princess and the blacksmith.

"Thank ye, Hiccup..." Merida said, breaking the silence.

"For what?"

"Bein' a friend. Ye've only been here a short while, yet yer th' person ah trust the most. Ye've listened to mah problems, an' even solved one of them fer me. Ah only wish ah could do the same fer you." She looked over to see his reaction, but his expression was blank.

Hiccup searched through his thoughts in his mind. She trusted him, yet knew practically nothing about him. He should tell her who he is. No. He needed to tell her. I can't keep going on like this forever. He thought, but nothing came up. He opened his mouth to force the words out, but he had no idea what words to utter.

"Merida..." was all he could mutter.

"Hmm?" her eyes were still fixed on him, searching for something they could not find.

Though Hiccup remained silent, his mouth still open, trying to find the courage to tell her everything. But in truth, he was terrified. Scots and vikings were enemies. Would she be angry with him? Or worse, would she really try to kill him? In his months of living there, he knew there was no possible way he could stand up to her in a battle. Not that he would ever want to. She was his only friend at the moment.

"What is it?" Merida was beginning to get impatient.

Hiccup knew he couldn't tell her now. There was no way. Quickly he searched for something to say in his mind that hopefully wouldn't sound stupid as soon as he said it.

"Uhhh...wwwwhen's your birthday?" he shut his eyes. It even sounded stupid in his mind.

"Mah birthday?" Merida raised an eyebrow, still looking at Hiccup. "Well, if ye must know, ah was born in th' summer. No where close to now."

"Oh...glad to know I didn't miss it!" Hiccup looked over at her, trying to give a weak smile, but it didn't seem to phase Merida.

"So what about you?"

"Huh? me?"

"Aye! When is yer birthday?"

"Oh, well...my birthday was a few weeks ago."

"WHAT?" Merida sat straight up. "Why didn't ye tell me?"

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't think it mattered much..."

"It most certainly DOES matter! How old are ye now?"

"I'm still only seventeen."

"'ONLY seventeen' ye say? Yer practically a man now!"

Hiccup chuckled. He never considered himself ever becoming a man. Especially since he had to eventually fill his father's shoes as chief of the village. If he ever got back, anyway.

"Age doesn't define whether you're a man or not. Where I come from, it's what you do. How much glory you can attain. I'm not a man."

Merida could see a sad look in his eyes. It was at times like this when he seemed so distant.

"Not yet." she added in to his statement.

He gave a sarcastic scoff before turning his head away from her. In the distance he could see the snow covered ships neatly tied to the docks.

Merida could tell he didn't want to talk any longer, though it burned her inside every time he did this. She wanted to know more about him. Where was he from? What did he do? Why is he here? She sighed. Now was not the time for that.

They both looked back to the sky, and remained in silence for another hour. By then the sky had darkened even more, and a shiver went through Merida's body. Winds blew in from the mountains as they finally decided to get to a warm fire in the castle. The two teased each other for not remembering the cloaks that they left in the blacksmith's shop. Though each wrapped themselves up in blankets after changing into dry clothes, curling up next to their own personal fireplaces. Soon they passed into a deep, deep sleep.

Hiccup gasped. He was still on the floor when he fell asleep next to the fire, which had died down. He began pulling his blankets off him which were wrapped tightly around his arms, legs and neck. He looked around, letting reality come back to him. Sighing, he curled up, pulling his knees close to his chest. His nightmares haven't been that bad in a while. Desperately, he pulled out his notebook, flipping to a familiar page. There, he saw his first sketch of Toothless. A small teardrop fell, smearing some of the fading charcoal.

A few mornings after the snow fun, Merida came to a decision. Quickly she got dressed in a dark green dress, clipped her quiver to her waist, and grabbed her bow before making her way down the stairs. As usual, everyone else was already eating breakfast. As she made her way to the table, she eyed everyone that was there. Elinor was pouring over letters and documents, some she could tell had the seal of the clan leaders on them. The boys were stuffing their mouths in a hurry to get into mischief while Fergus and Hiccup ate in silence.

"Morning, dear." said Queen Elinor, not looking up from her letters. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough." she replied. "How did everyone else sleep?" she said loudly, startling a half-asleep King.

"We had a good night's rest, right Fergus?" Elinor said, trying to keep her husband awake.

"Aye..." he said groggily.

The triplets nodded to their sister, then ran off upstairs with devilish little smiles on their faces.

"What about you, Hiccup?" Merida questioned, coming up next to him.

Hiccup looked up at her, slightly confused at her demanding tone. "Uhh...good I suppose?"

"Good, then ye have energy for a ride. Let's go." Merida grabbed his arm and dragged him outside.

"Woah! Ohhhh-kay?"

Elinor eyed her daughter as the pair left the room. "Merida, where are you going?" But the princess didn't reply as the large oak doors closed behind her. She looked back at her husband for an answer, but she became slightly annoyed to see his eyes closed and his chin resting on the table.

Meanwhile, Angus carried a young pair on his back through the forest. The trees were still painted white, and the crisp air penetrated all their lungs with each crunch of the snow the horse's hooves made. Hiccup had no idea what was going on through Merida's head. He held himself to her back tightly as to not fall off the steed, occasionally getting a mouthful of red hair. Eventually Merida allowed the horse to slow to a walk, letting everyone catch their breaths.

"What are you doing?" said Hiccup, letting go of her waist.

"So ye slept well, huh?"

Hiccup's eyebrows furrowed, and he leaned over to try to see her face. But her mane prevented him from seeing anything. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "Why is that-"

"Do you always sleep that well?"

Hiccup grabbed her shoulder. "Yeah, sure. What is this all about?" he tried to turn her, but she shrugged him off.

"Why do ye lie to me?" she pulled the reigns and Angus halted to a stop.

"What? I-I didn't."

She turned to face him. "Ah can hear ye at night. Ye can never get a good night's sleep."

"Okay, sure. I toss in my sleep, that's no reason to get so huffy."

"Ye also scream. Ah can hear ye calling something, but every time ah try ta make it out, it changes to something else."

"So I talk in my sleep too. What does this have to do with anything?"

"Who are ye, Hiccup?"

"What?"

"Ah can tell ye have nightmares, but of what? Yer scared of somethin', but ah don't know what it is."

"Well, what business is it of yours?"

"Hmph." She clicked her tongue and Angus continued walking. "Was it any business of yours about mah mum an' I?"

"Okay, fair enough. But why be so forceful?"

"Ah'm makin' it so ye can't run away again. No more smithin', no more gettin' distracted."

Hiccup looked around. He had been in the forest with Merida before, though he didn't know the land as well as she did, so there was no way he could find his way back.

"In all truth," Merida continued, "Ah'm worried about ye. Durin' the day, ye seem normal an' fun. But sometimes ye become all distant...an' in pain..." she looked straight ahead of her. "Ye helped me already. Ah want ta help ye, but ah can't. Ah know nothin' about ye, an' it hurts...ah promise ah'll listen the way ye listened to me..."

Hiccup sighed. He knew he had to tell her sometime sooner or later, but this was all too sudden. He wasn't prepared at all. Where should he start? Without thinking, he slipped off the still moving horse, nearly falling on his face from the fall.

"What are ye doin'?" Merida stopped Angus and got off, making sure he was alright.

"I'm fine. But I think we should sit down if you want to hear my story." Hiccup brushed some snow off a fallen tree and sat down, gesturing for Merida to do the same. After tying Angus to a small tree, she sat down next to him, waiting.

"You're right. I did lie to you." Merida shifted her cloak to hide her discomfort. She was a bit hurt from his statement, but she was glad he was finally talking to her. "You remember how I told you how I lost my leg?"

She nodded, "Ye stepped into a fire."

"Also a lie. My leg WAS burned, but only after battling a large dragon."

"DRAGON?" Merida stood up. "Dragons aren't real."

"Yes, they are. I even trained one."

She took a step back. "Are ye makin' fun of me? Ah was just tryin' ta get ta know ye so ah could help ye!"

"No, I'm not making fun of you. It's the truth I swear."

"Ah may not be as smart as you, but ah'm not thick."

"Merida, please try to understand." Hiccup himself was now standing as well. "Some things are difficult to understand, I get it. Okay? I didn't believe in magic till you told me you turned your mom into a bear. Where I come from, we don't have magic, but we do have dragons."

"An' WHERE are ye from?"

"I'm...sigh...okay. I'm from an island called Berk."

"Never heard of it."

"Probably because we're one of the smallest viking clans out there."

Merida's blue eyes widened. "Yer a viking?"

"Okay, yeah. I'm a viking! From the Hairy Hooligan tribe to be exact."

Merida couldn't take it any longer. "Yer not a viking! Vikings are supposed ta be large, bulky, and cruel! Ye can't be a viking!"

"I AM a viking."

"No! Stop lyin' ta me!" she pushed him over into the snow. "Ah don't want any more lies!"

She turned to untie Angus, but Hiccup was too quick, and he tackled her to the ground. "Wait!"

"Get off me!" she screamed.

"Would you please just listen to me?" he tried to keep her pinned to the floor as he spoke. "My full name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoick the Vast, chief of our tribe. I may not look like a viking, but it's true. In fact, I was a disappointment to my father. Our tribe has been battling dragons for centuries, and to kill a dragon meant everything. Unfortunately I messed up a lot, and I became the laughing stock of the entire village."

Merida didn't want to listen, but every word was engraved into her mind. But there was no way she was going to believe any of it. She forced a jab into his ribs, causing him to stop talking, and she escaped to try to loose Angus again. When Hiccup tried to advance on her again, she raised her bow. She had notched and arrow while he gathered himself, and it was pointing between his eyes.

"Stay back."

"Merida, please try to understand."

"Ah don't have to. Ye can't be a viking. Vikings attacked our shores, nearly destroying all of our clans. Ye can't be." The arrowhead in front of Hiccup's face began to shake as her hands quivered.

"But I am. And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

A tear rolled down Merida's red cheek. "Why didn't ye?"

"Well, knowing you were a Celt, I had my own reservations about staying with you. Vikings aren't the only cruel ones."

"What did we do to YOU?"

"You took my mother from me."

Merida lowered her bow. As soon as he said it, Hiccup no longer held an expression of fear, but one of anger and sadness. He sat down in the snow lowered his head.

"When I was only six, my parents and I went out to sea. What for, I no longer remember. We were about to pass a Scottish ship, but they started to attack us. Once we drew them back, they began to shoot arrows at us. My mother was the only one that was hit because she was protecting me."

Merida crouched down next to him. She remembered how her own mother risked her life fighting against Mor'du as a bear. During the entire fight, Merida was afraid she would lose her.

"What was her name?" Merida managed to choke out.

"Vahallarama." said Hiccup quietly. "Every now and then since she died, I would write letters to her, asking her to come home." he pulled out his small, leather notebook and handed it to Merida. "You can read some."