Battle Scars (Mericcup Story)

Chapter 4: Fear of the Unknown

Hiccup woke up with a start early the next morning. Stoick had called him downstairs before the sun was able to rise, giving his son barely enough time to attach his prosthetic leg. “Son,” His father began cautiously, taking a seat by the fire in the center of the room. Shadows cast an eerie feeling across the space. “We were never able to finish our conversation last night.”

Hiccup had almost forgot his father’s words the previous night, he had become more focussed on the implications with the treaty. As more ships were bound to arrive, a new opportunity for trade or socialization of different cultures came as well. The merchants and shop owners of Berk (as few as there really were) had began to perfect their crafts weeks prior. Hiccup looked to his father’s green eyes, appearing layered with guilt and precaution for not paying attention earlier.

“Yeah, what was that about? I’ve heard the story of her family, although that had nothing to do with dragons.”

Stoick brought a hand to his son's shoulder, gesturing for Hiccup to take a seat near by. Hiccup did, then turned his attention back to the chief. “There is a reason it has been so long since this clan’s return, Hiccup. Both I and the leaders of the clan felt that she princess may be...unprepared upon her arrival,” When Hiccup showed no intent on interrupting Stoick continued. “You were to young at the time to remember, but there was an incident with a few dragons a short time after their arrival. There was minimal damage, but the worst of the dragon’s brutality was a short distance away from where the Donbroach clan was residing. It had appeared for a while that the young princess had been lost at the time.” Stoick turned to see Hiccup eyes had widened, but he was looking down into his hand as opposed to up at his father. “It had been a few hours until we’d found her. She had hidden deep in the forest, under an overturned tree. There was a Terrible Terror that was with her.” Hiccup’s head perked at the last of his father’s words.

“A Terrible Terror? They’re known to scavenge more than hunt, odd.” Hiccup stood, bringing a hand to his chin in a moment of thought. “What happened to it?”

Stoick’s brow crumpled as he recalled the rest of the almost forgotten event. “We chased it off I believe, it wasn’t causing any harm. Still at the very sight of it she changed. She was scared to death of the weakest dragon on Berk. Ever since then we’ve avoided having them return, now they’ve returned as we’ve run out of time. The treaty needed to be renewed.”

Hiccup crossed the room, the sound of boot and metal echoed in the silent room. He thought for a moment. “This could get really bad. If she still had that fear, what will happen when she’s queen?” Hiccup turned around to face his father once more.

“This is why I wanted to speak to you. It’s possible she may not become queen. In their culture it’s unheard for someone who is not married to lead. Her brother’s could take her place.” Stoick stood, his tall stature causing more shadows to dart about the space. “Still this needs to be addressed.” Hiccup knew what was his father was going to say. “I need to be able to trust that you and the other dragon riders will be able to help her. We need to get out of this situation.”

Hiccup took in a deep breath, running a hand through his dark brown hair. He tried to look his father in the eyes as best he could as he nodded, the only response he could give. Stoick gave his son a small grin before exiting the home to meet with the other new arrivals to the island.

Once his father had left Hiccup let his shoulders drop and breathed out the sigh he didn’t know he’d been holding back. Rubbing his eyes he tried to clear his mind of any possibility of failure, but being who he was it only seemed to make things worse. “Great,” He scoffed to himself after a moment of silence. “This is a great start.” He wondered how he was going to fix this before someone ended up hurt, and knowing what he did about Princess Merida, that someone would most likely be him or the dragons.