Elements of Change-Pt:2 Ch:22

Genre: Crossover

Brave
How to Train Your Dragon
_{DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BRAVE, HTTYD NOR THE CHARACTERS FROM SAID MOVIES. THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.}
CLAIMER: ANY OCS BELONG TO ME.

Note: I haven't done much research on Norse or Celtic history/mythology. No flaming for inaccuracy please.

First Stop

Merida enjoyed the entire flight. She would laugh and scream as Toothless dipped and rose. Occasionally she would ask questions like, “How fast can he go?” or “What if he gets too tired?”

But the fun was over, and now they had to set up camp. The island they stopped at looked small from high above, only consisting of a small forest, a sandy beach and through the trees they could see hints of freshwater. Once they had all unpacked and gotten a fire started, then sun was down and there were no other sources of light besides the moon and a few flickering stars.

But even the peace of the evening couldn’t reduce the tension in the group. As soon as they kicked up the sand Stoick never let Merida out of his sight. Even when she offered to get firewood or find the spring they saw, he refused and told someone else to do it.

The only thing she could really do was inventory with Astrid to make sure they had everything they brought. Besides the food they brought, Astrid packed some dragon nip and of course, her mother’s axe. The only other things Merida really brought was a broadsword and a bow with a set of twenty arrows along with some materials to treat her burns

With nothing else to do, the princess sat down in the sand and stared at the campfire. She hated not being able to do anything and her muscles itched, but with Stoick’s eyes following her wherever she went, there wasn’t anything she could do.

Soon Hiccup was back from fishing with Toothless and the two of them dumped a bunch of fish down for the dragons. Meanwhile everyone else’s dinner was put over the fire to cook and they also handed out some dry bread.

After they all ate, Astrid stood up and held out a hand to Merida.

“C’mon. We should probably go check your burns.”

The princess looked over to Stoick first, but he didn’t object. But his deathly glare didn’t cease. Hesitantly she got up and followed Astrid into the woods. They stopped when they came to the spring. A bit awkwardly, Merida took off her tunic and allowed Astrid to help her take off some of the bandages.

“You seem to be getting better.” Astrid said. “Do any of them hurt too badly?”

“Not really.” Merida was used to cuts, burns or any other sort of injury from her many misadventures back home.

Astrid removed her thick gloves and taking a clean cloth, dipped it in the cool water and lightly dabbed the darkened skin.

“What a pity.” she said as she worked. “It looks like you had such beautiful skin.”

Merida sighed. “Ye sound like mah mother.”

Astrid chuckled a bit, then continued working. “So what’s your mother like then?”

“Well…she’s refined, beautiful, but very strict. As th’ diplomat of th’ land, she holds high expectations fer me.”

“Wow, that’s not how I pictured her at all. Since you mentioned she was the one who killed that demon bear, I thought you’d describe her as a warrior or fighter.”

Merida’s eyes drifted. “Only when she’s protectin’ th’ things that are most important ta her.”

Astrid simply nodded in understanding. She smiled gently as she worked; a bit amazed how quickly Merida was able to heal. The burns weren’t too bad to begin with, but there were a few blisters here and there. There were also a few places where the skin began to peel.

After they had covered all the burns, they only wrapped some of the most damaged areas again and Merida was able to get dressed again.

Though, as they cleaned up their mess, something on Astrid’s hand caught Merida’s eye.

“That’s a beautiful ring, ah never saw it before.”

Astrid looked at her hand, and was reminded of the special connection to the ring. It was a simple gold, but there was a shining ruby in the middle with smaller diamonds on either side of it.

The viking opened her mouth to explain it, but she hesitated. Thoughts ran through her mind, but eventually she found it in herself to trust this girl.

“My fiancé gave it to me.”

Merida’s blue eyes widened out of shock. “Yer getting’ married?”

Astrid sighed. “Yeah, though no one was supposed to know until later.”

A huge smile crept onto Merida’s face. “Yer getting’ married! Crivens, this is a big step, are ye sure yer ready fer this?”

Astrid shrugged. “Well, yeah. I mean I love him, we’ve known each other a long time, and when he proposed I knew it was time.”

The princess beamed. Normally at any sign of marriage, she’d hide away, but when it came to others’ marriage out of love, she couldn’t help but be excited. After all, it was all she wanted since the last time suitors came to her door.

“Well, even if we’ve only known each other fer a few days, ah’m excited fer ye. Ah hope ye have a happy marriage.”

Astrid smiled. “Thanks…but could you do me a favor? We didn’t want anyone else to know till later.”

Merida nodded softly. “Don’t worry. Ah won’t tell anyone.”

Back at Camp

While the two girls were gone, not much changed at the campsite. Ruffnut already got out her bedroll and tried to sleep, but from all the noise Tuffnut and Snotlout were making, there was no way anyone could sleep. Occasionally she would throw a rock or something at them, but it didn’t help.

Meanwhile Stoick sat next to his son, eating another fish. The dragons had gone to sleep like Ruffnut, but they too had little luck. After a while, Stoick leaned over to the brunette next to him and whispered,

“Son, we need to talk.”

Hiccup looked up at his father. “Dad…really? Now?”

“It’s not about that. It’s about our Scottish companion.”

Hiccup leaned back. He thought they had put this matter to rest, but obviously Stoick wanted to argue some more.

“Fine.” there was an obvious amount of annoyance in Hiccup’s voice.

The two men stood up and walked away from the camp area. They trudged in the sand till Stoick finally spoke up.

“I don’t trust this plan, Hiccup.”

“Dad! I get it! Okay? You don’t trust Merida, but you said you would go along with what I decided!”

“It’s not just that princess, Hiccup. Do you realize this could all be a trap? She may be leading us right where she wants.”

Hiccup stopped walking and looked straight into his father’s eyes.

“Dad! First off, this whole plan was my idea! Second, Merida would never do that! I know her, dad! I know her family, I know the land, I even know the family of one of the Lords! And I know that neither she nor any of her people would do this!”

“People change over time, son. Just look at how much our tribe changed over a few weeks after you and Toothless battled the Red Death.”

“Yeah, but we changed for the better, dad! What you’re suggesting is that they would backstab anyone they come across, and they’re not like that!”

“See, this is EXACTLY how your mother died. We trusted them, we let our guard down, and we paid the price for it.”

“Dad, I said before, they’re not the ones to killed mom. It was someone else.” Hiccup’s voice began to choke up.

“They’re all the same, Hiccup!”

“No, they’re not, and even if they were, you’d have to forgive them, or at least Merida.”

“And why would I forgive the murderers?”

“Because even when she found out I was a viking, even when she could have dug an arrow straight into my chest, she didn’t. Not to mention she saved my life! That’s worth forgiving for!”

Stoick’s eyebrows were more furrowed than they had ever been before. Through the entire conversation his voice was harsh and loud. But it continued no more. Shaking his head, he turned and kept walking away.

Hiccup sighed and plopped himself down in the sand. He didn’t want to argue any more. He was tired of arguing. He could hear someone coming up to him from behind, but he didn’t turn his head.

A familiar black dragon curled up around him, keeping him warm. Placing a hand on the Night Fury, Hiccup leaned down and rested his head down on the scaly hide.

This is going to be a long trip…