Elements of Change-Pt:2 Ch:28

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.

Enemy Advance

Eret woke up the next morning with a rather large headache. Many of the men had to be treated because of the invaders the night before, and some of them they found dead.

“You let them escape?” He rubbed his head as he scolded some of the guards.

“They had a Night Fury.” said one of the guards solemnly.

“I don’t care. If Drago finds out, he’ll have all our heads!”

Another guard raised his hand sheepishly.

Eret rolled his eyes. “What?”

“What if we don’t tell Drago?”

“Then how would we explain all these casualties?” he gestured to the bodies lining the cold, stone floor.

Suddenly the large, oak doors burst open, and in stepped the man they all feared.

Eret tried to put on the best poker face he had and gave a goofy smile.

“Drago! You’re back! Well, uh…see we can explain all this.” he chuckled nervously.

But the dark dragon master ignored him. Instead, he pushed him to the side and began to make his way up the stairs.

Eret tripped over himself before chasing down the man.

“Listen, Drago. I know they got away, but hear me out. Since you had already gone out, we didn’t expect anyone to-“

“Sir!” another guard called out.

Drago turned slowly, already annoyed by Eret’s continuous excuses.

“We have two prisoners.” the guard continued. “They were found on one of the Zipplebacks.”

Just then two young dragon riders were pushed in the doorway. Both were the same age and had long, blonde hair. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and despite their mouths being tied, they kept trying to speak and mumbled everything.

“Dragonriders?” Drago said softly.

“We assume so. Their dragon had saddles, and we found this.”

The guard pulled out a small piece of cloth from his pocket. On it was a decorative dragon design whose tail curled inward.

“Berk.”

A Day of Blood and Tears

More than three quarters of the people died that day. Through the entire morning, those who were left took to digging graves. Eventually, it got to the point where they dug one, big trench and dumped in whatever corpses hadn’t been consumed by the flames or trapped in the giant iceberg from the Alpha’s mouth.

Everywhere, there were cries and laments sung in Gaelic. Once the bodies were covered, each remaining Celt offered one last lullaby to their dead loved ones. As the lamenting continued, Hiccup and Merida sat as far away as they could from the graves. They helped work all day, but as soon as they got the chance, they removed themselves from the sickening sight.

Neither of them said anything. It seemed as though the air was pushing down on them and no one could say a word. Hiccup looked over to her, expecting to see a tear or the embodiment of anger, but this time she held no expression. Her cheeks were stained and dirty, but her eyes were dried up.

After a while, Merida opened her mouth and began to sing in Gaelic.

(Listen to song here)

“Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

Hush, my little baby, hush.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

My own little baby will go to sleep.”

Her voice choked, but she kept going.

“Though I am without a flock of sheep,

And the others all have sheep,

Though I am without a flock of sheep,

You, little baby, can go to sleep.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

Hush, my little baby, hush.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

My own little baby will go to sleep.

Darling, of the people of the great world

They spilt your blood yesterday.

They put your head on an oaken post

A little way from your corpse.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

Hush, my little baby, hush.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

My own little baby will go to sleep.

I breathlessly climbed the great mountain,

I climbed and I descended.

I would put the hair of my head under your feet,

And the skin of my two hands.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

Hush, my little baby, hush.

Oh hush-a-bye, my little baby,

My own little baby will go to sleep.” *

Her voice trailed off at the end, and she gulped hard as her throat swelled up. Upon hearing the song end, Hiccup wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Even when all the songs were sung, the two of them remained out beyond the dying fields and steaming ruins.

They watched as some came through the dying forest with flowers to pour over their loved ones’ grave, others put weapons or other items that weren’t burned on the softened earth.

Soon a strong wind came down from the mountains and blew some of the thick smoke away. After a while, neither Hiccup nor Merida could tell if they were shivering or trembling.

Eventually they got up and started walking. Hiccup still had an arrow wound in his leg which needed treatment, so they made their way to the other wounded.

Mostly everyone was injured in some way, so everyone had gathered by the lake to treat their wounds. Finding an open spot, Hiccup sat himself down by the bank as he removed his prosthetic. The arrow had cut through his left leg on the outside just above the knee. It had been open for a long time already, and there was plenty blood.

Taking the cleanest cloth he could find he washed his wound and bandaged himself off with scraps from a blanket.

Merida had sat next to him, but she didn’t say or do anything. She had plenty of scrapes and cuts on her arms and face, but she didn’t bother to treat them.

Hiccup washed off another piece of cloth and held it out to her, but once again, she remained completely still. Hiccup almost gave up, but instead he moved closer to her and began wiping away the dirt and tears from her cheeks. He also cleaned out the scrapes on her arms, but there wasn’t much else they could do to treat them. No one had any stitches for deep cuts, and all of the bandages were used for the most serious injuries.

Once he finished, he looked around at everyone. His father was helping a young girl with brown eyes fix a dislocated shoulder. She was crying a lot and when he put it back in for her she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was the same girl who approached him the day before.

Scanning the area with his eyes, he could see Fishlegs and Snotlout crying over their dragons. But a little ways from where he and Merida were was Astrid. She too was crying, but her hands shook as she tried to clean someone’s burns.

It was Thuggory. Most of his upper body was burned, including his entire right arm. The injury continued up half of his neck and his right cheek all the way to his forehead. He was unconscious, but alive. Every time Astrid brought a cool cloth to his burns, his breathing would quicken and he would sometimes moan.

Hiccup walked over to see if he could help, but Astrid was too distressed to answer.

“H-he heard th-them screaming…” she said, trembling. Hiccup brought up his hands and steadied her arms.

“There were p-people inside, screaming…h-he ran in to save them.” Tears streamed from her eyes like waterfalls. “He c-came out with two people, b-both of them died…He was lit like a torch.”

Underneath his back, separating him from the ground was a large plank of wood. It was wet, suggesting Astrid washed it off as much as possible before laying him on it.

Soon, dusk came upon them, and yet the lamenting did not cease. Some people slept by the graves of their loved ones, others took refuge under the trees. Hiccup stayed behind to help Astrid take care of Thuggory, and they managed to cool his skin enough to wrap certain burns in cold, wet cloths. But Merida decided to sit by the ocean.

She sat by the water’s edge as the waves and ripples kissed her feet. She saw and heard nothing as the winds encircled her and the sea called her name.

That night she only slept when she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. At first, all she saw was darkness. There was nothing stretching all before her. Then she could see her father.

“Happy Birthday mah wee darling!” he shouted, and he picked her up and swung her around the room.

Looking around, she saw she was at home. She was in her bedroom and the sun pouring in from the window proved it was morning. Next thing she knew, her brothers ran in, one by one and jumped on her bed.

“Boys! Get down an’ hug yer sister!” said a stern, yet motherly voice. Elinor walked in, wearing her most regal attire.

All three triplets put on sour faces and got off the bed. Then they put on the brightest smiles they had and pounced on their sister. Merida laughed with her back to the floor, but her large father picked them all up and set them right.

Then everything changed and Merida was lying on the grass outside. Elinor was sitting at a wooden table, eating as delicately as she could, and Fergus was trying to give the boys a sword lesson. Unfortunately, it only resulted in them all jumping on him and taking his weapons away. Getting up, Merida found her bow next to her, and she picked it up.

As soon as she touched it, all she saw was fire. The flames exploded from her hands and enveloped everyone. She tried to tell them to run and hide, but they paid no attention to her. Soon the flames consumed everything.

She woke up screaming and kicking. Reality hit her like a rock as she stared out beyond the waves, only to remember that even though she was awake, nothing was better.

The Next Destination

Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat in a dungeon across from one another; each one had a leg chained to the floor.

“Do you think if I screamed loud enough, the walls would fall and we could escape?” said Tuffnut.

“Do you think if I punched you hard enough, you could scream that loud?” Ruffnut rolled her eyes at her brother.

“Maybe. Just don’t hit my toe. I stubbed it yesterday.”

“What about your arm?”

“No, I need it for later.”

“Need it for what?”

“Well I was planning to learn how to juggle Terrible Terrors.”

“You can’t juggle dragons.”

“Why not?”

“Cause why juggle dragons when you could juggle chickens?”

“Oh, Odin’s Beard will you two SHUT IT?” said Eret, coming down the stairs. “I already have a headache, I don’t need you to make it worse.”

As soon as Ruffnut saw the trapper come down the stairs, her eyes lit up.

“Hi…” she said salaciously.

Eret rolled his eyes. Ever since the two of them were dragged in the castle, Ruffnut had been acting very strangely toward Eret. When he took them to the dungeon she kept trying to get closer to him, and when he opened the door to shove them in their cell, she paid close attention to his biceps.

“Alright, enough of that; Drago wants you to take him to Berk.”

“And why would we do that?” said Tuffnut after he tried to sick a rock in his mouth.

“He’s willing to grant your freedom if you do.”

“I’m free to go anywhere with you?” Ruffnut slowly crawled closer to the cell bars.

Eret took a step backwards. “Uh…no.”

She crossed her arms. “Then no.”

Eret put on a grimace. “But…” he gave a deep sigh. “Well, maybe.”

“Too bad we don’t even know the way.” said Tuffnut.

“Wait, what?” Eret looked confused and furious as his eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, we mostly just followed Hiccup here.”

Frustrated, Eret ran back up the stairs. Drago was not going to like this.

Move On

Even after she woke up, Merida didn’t move from her spot. She just continued to look at nothing beyond the waves. She didn’t think of anything while she looked, for everything she thought of reminded her of something she wished to forget.

After the morning pulled on, noises started to be heard from the forest. At first, no one wanted to see who it was, in fear that Drago had returned. Only a little while after, men on horseback emerged from the tree line, shocked at the crippled sight.

They were the members of the Dingwall Clan who had been sent for the week prior. They came bearing food, but food was all they had. There was only about fifteen of them, but every single one froze at what lay before them. A few ran to the graves and cried out their sorrows, but all the rest tended to the survivors.

One of the saviors rode up next to where Hiccup, Astrid and Thuggory were.

“What happened here?” he said.

“Drago came…he did this.” said Hiccup sorrowfully.

The man stood there for a moment, stunned at everything around him. Then he quickly looked back to Hiccup.

“Where’s Cathal?” he said, a bit worried.

Hiccup looked away from him. Without saying anything, he continued to take care of Thuggory.

“Don’t tell me he’s…” the man’s voice trailed off.

Hiccup looked back to him, but still said nothing. Taking his silence as confirmation, the man nodded slowly as his eyes went distant.

“How’d you know him?” Astrid said softly.

The man got off his horse. “Cathal was mah brother-in-law.”

Hiccup stood up. “Cathal was married?”

He nodded. “Aye. To mah sister. But…how did you know him?”

“He was my friend.” Hiccup said as tears welled up. “One of the few I had when I first came here.”

“Which clan are ye from?”

“I’m…not Scottish…I’m a viking.”

The man took a step back. He looked Hiccup up and down, studying him. But what he noticed most was the look of remorse glued on his face. Eventually, his expression softened.

“Well…if ye were a friend ta Cathal, yer a friend ta me.” he held out a hand. “Name’s Alan**.”

Hiccup took his hand. “I’m Hiccup. This is Astrid and Thuggory.” He gestured to the two still on the ground. Astrid gave a small nod, but then returned to her work.

Alan took another look around. After a full day, the wreckage had stopped smoking, but now the ice from the Alpha’s mouth was beginning to melt and soften the ground.

“This is terrible.” he said. “No one knew any of this was happenin’.”

Hiccup gave a heavy sigh. “What’s done is done. What we have to do now if figure out what to do now.”

“What are ye goin’  ta do?”

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know…we lost, and there’s no way to fight back.”

“We need to get these people out of here.” Astrid said, standing up. Brushing herself off, she looked to Alan. “Do you think you could take everyone back to your clan? It’s best if we get them away from this nightmare, and I need someplace safe for Thuggory.”

“Of course.” said Alan. “We should probably get going as soon as possible then.”

Hiccup looked to Astrid. “I’m gonna go get Merida.”

Just then Alan froze. “Merida? As in Princess Merida?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes lit up light like lamps at midnight. “She’s here? Where is she?”

Hiccup gestured for him to follow. He took him to where she’d been all night and day. For a moment, she seemed unrecognizable. Her face was frozen like a statue and her eyes lost all color. Even her hair drooped in sadness.

But once he saw her, Alan ran to her side.

“Princess! Yer here!” he exclaimed. But she didn’t respond. “Princess, we received word ye had left on a boat weeks ago, everyone thought ye were still out there!”

Once again, she said nothing. She didn’t even look at him. A bit lost, Alan looked to Hiccup.

But Hiccup gave him yet another solemn look before gesturing him away from the grieving girl.

“Merida,” Hiccup said after Alan joined his side, “We were going to take everyone to the Dingwall Clan. We’ll be leaving shortly.”

Knowing she wouldn’t respond, Hiccup turned and left without another word.

True to his word, they gathered all the survivors and prepared to leave the desolation. Some rebelled and ran to the grave of their loved one, vowing to never leave their side; others were like Merida and didn’t move. Only few agreed to leave with the company. They set the unconscious Thuggory on a cart next to a middle aged woman whose leg got caught in the wreckage of the fire.

Soon, after much convincing, there was only one person left. Hiccup was about to go tell her, but his father grabbed his shoulder.

“Let me talk to her for a second.” he said. Hiccup nodded slowly and Stoick made his way to the ocean.

“We’re about ready to go.” said Stoick as he walked over to Merida. Her reaction was the same as always.

Silently, he sat down next to her.

“I’m sorry.” He paused for a while, waiting to see her give a reaction. “What are you going to do now?” He looked to her.

“You’re a good lass.” he continued. “And…it seems I misjudged you for a long time.”

She still said nothing.

“To be completely honest with you, I hated Scotts for a long time. I never forgave them for what they did…and I suppose…it’s alright if you never forgive what they did.”

He reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder.

“But you also need to move on so you can fight back. I admired your ambition earlier, and now you need it more than ever.”

“What’s the point?” she finally said. Her throat was dry, so only half her words were clear. “Ah could kill Drago, get mah revenge, but for what?”

Stoick raised an eyebrow. “A peace of mind; Your parents at rest.”

“Aye, and then what? Ah have no one. Everyone ah’ve ever loved is dead an’ there’s nothin’ ah can do about it!” Angrily she took a handful of grass and threw it at the ocean.

Stoick paused for a moment. “Everyone?”

Merida fell silent again.

“There’s something I tell my son often.” The old chief said huskily. “It’s something my father told me for a long time. ‘A chief protects his own.’ As a leader, it is your duty to take care of your people. They need you right now, will you help them?”

Sighing and groaning, Stoick heaved himself up from his knees and turned to walk away once he received her silent response.

In the Dungeon

“Ugh, how much longer can they take?” said Ruffnut as she tried to take the shackles off her leg. “I think my leg’s gone numb.”

“Hang on, let me check.” Her brother picked up a large rock and threw it in her direction. Though, instead of hitting her leg, it hit her stomach.

“Ow!” she exclaimed.

“It sounds okay.”

“But I didn’t feel it in my leg.”

“Neither did Hiccup.”

“What?”

“What?”

They heard the creaky door hinge at the top of the stairs swing open. Afterward, the heavy footsteps of a dragon master approached them. Drago walked right up to the cell, followed by Eret who received some promiscuous flirts from Ruffnut once again. Neither of the twins bothered to get up as Drago opened the door and stopped in between them.

“So…” he said, “You don’t know the way to Berk?”

“Nope.”

“Not really.”

“I could go for a sandwich.”

Drago snorted at their lack of seriousness.

“Then I suppose,” he continued, “I have no further use of you.”

Within a second, he grabbed Tuffnut’s throat and lifted his feet off the ground. The dangling twin grabbed at the monster’s hands, trying to pry them away as he desperately attempted to breathe.

“Wait!” said Ruffnut, grabbing Drago’s arm. “We can at least point you in the right direction!”

Drago raised an eyebrow at her. Smirking, he let Tuffnut fall to the floor, gasping and coughing. As Ruffnut crawled to her brother, Drago slammed the cell door on them.

Turning to Eret, he said, “Ready the ships.”

_{*After the execution of the Clan Chief MacGregor of Glenstrae in 1570, his widow composed and sang this lullaby lament to her child}

<sub>Original Lyrics in description.

**Alan-Scottish name meaning “elf” of “spirit”</sub>