Warring Worlds (Mericcup fanfic) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 11

[SPOILER WARNING FOR "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2"]

(One year later . . .)

Hiccup stood on the edge of a cliff. He gawked at the stunning sight before him: all sorts of dragon species living side-by-side in an ice cave. They circled the stone column supporting the icy roof. Toothless growled, snapping Hiccup out of his daydream. The Viking looked to see what bothered his dragon and jumped. His new-found mother and a four-winged dragon were hanging from one of the rocky walls.

"This is where you've been?" Hiccup asked in awe. "For twenty years?"

His mother nodded.

All of the pieces fell together in Hiccup's mind. "Yo-You've been rescuing them," he realized, meaning the dragons in this ice cave.

Another nod.

"Unbelievable."

"You're not upset?" his mother asked cautiously.

Hiccup shrugged. "I-I-I don't know. It's a bit much to get my head around to be frank. It's not every day you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady."

Valka chuckled, her gentle eyes crinkling at the corners. Her dragon offered her a wingtip for her to grab onto. "Well . . . at least I'm not boring," Valka consoled herself as her dragon lowered her to the ground. "Right?" she asked her son.

A chunky blue dragon bumped its muzzle against Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup's glance went back and forth uncertainly between his mother and the dragon. "I suppose there is that . . ." he admitted, ". . . one specific thing."

Just then, the dragon groaned and looked under its wing. Hiccup thought he heard footsteps on the other side of the dragon's head. He gently pushed the dragon's head aside while the approaching person did the same thing. As they were revealed to each other at the same time, they both gasped. "Merida?" Hiccup asked incredulously right when she asked, "Hiccup?" Instead of the dress he was used to, the princess wore light trousers tucked into her boots. Everything else on her was hardened leather: the straps covering her forearms, her shoulder pads, her breastplate with the straps down the front, and even her short split skirt.

Valka looked from one shocked face to the other. She smiled as Merida threw her arms around Hiccup's neck for a fond embrace. When they pulled apart, they shared a look that Valka recognized . . . one that she had shared with her own sweetheart long ago.

"I didn't know you were back in town," Merida teased, slapping Hiccup's shoulder with her back hand.

"'Back in to–'?" He turned his back to her and stepped toward the edge of the cliff with open arms. "This isn't a town," he corrected her in awe. "This is a colony. A thriving dragon colony!" She came to his side as he lowered his arms. He looked at her and noticed how beautiful her eyes looked with that excited glimmer. "Is that what you've been doing this past year? Helping her build all this?" He gestured to the ice cave.

"Ach, no." Merida placed her hand behind his shoulder to encourage him to walk with her. "Kynan's good at ice blasting, but he's not this powerful."

"Another ice-spitter?" Hiccup said, referring to what Eret had called the dragon species earlier.

Merida laughed. "If that's what you want to call 'im." They came to the edge of the cliff and looked down into the lake at the bottom of the ice cave. Lying right up against the waterfall feeding the lake was a massive white dragon with two ginormous tusks coming out of its mouth. Hiccup guessed they had to be at least as long as two Monstrous Nightmares laid end-to-end.

Valka appeared on Hiccup's left and gazed lovingly at the sleeping giant. "He's not just an ice-spitter. He's our guardian and protector."

The three dragon riders' attention was drawn behind them at the sound of a roar. Valka's dragon was scaring off small two-legged dragons that had been crowding Toothless. The herd flew over the edge of the cliff and landed on the great white beast's face. One small breath from him was enough to send them flying away.