The Big Four - One Life

Chapter 17 - The Queen's Proposal

A week after the battle, and the world appeared in a state of unreal paradoxes. The King and Queen of Corona had declared themselves indebted to the peoples of Dunbroch and Berk, for they had saved the entirety of the royal succession. Two days after Drago was killed, a treaty of alliance and friendship was signed between the three leaders, establishing trade links and protection between the royal families. All previous prejudices about the Vikings and Scots were dropped in that council chamber, and when it was declared to the Great Hall, it was greeted with rapturous applause, from Vikings and Scots standing side by side.

Elinor had always found Merida's habits a little unusual. She realised that she never really understood her daughter, not fully, from her riding and her shooting to her sword practice to her incessant desire to not marry. It was odd, she realised as she walked to find her daughter, how she had never fully grasped her desire for independence, and really, a battle was what she had always needed. She had so much of her father in her, the queen smiled to herself, and yet, when she slept and her hair splayed across the pillows, she recognised a gentleness in her daughter that she had never seen before.

Of course, she was with the Viking boy again, and the princess Rapunzel, and now the lesser known boy, one Jack Frost. To think! He'd been here this entire time, without anyone knowing, believing. Clearly they were all incredibly good friends; they had been virtually inseparable since the Battle of Dunbroch, and their strength, faith and courage with each other was truly admirable. Elinor was almost tempted to leave the diplomacy to them, they seemed so natural at discussing these matters. And yet, they were, all of them, only seventeen.

Elinor knocked on the door of the library before entering, finding the group of four huddled together over a hand-drawn map. She approached them, capturing snippets of their conversation.

"This here is Berk, the big mass of land here -"

"I've been there -"

"We know Jack, you were the one that made it snow nine months of the year. Anyway, this is Raven Point, where I found Toothless after I shot him down."

"You shot him down?"

"It was when we considered dragons as pests, rather than allies. That's why he has his tail-fin; it was wounded when I shot him, and I made him a new one, as I was Gobber's apprentice."

"Gobber?"

"Local blacksmith. He was like a father to me sometimes."

"An excellent man."

The group turned to see Elinor standing there, smiling. They stood to greet her and she stepped forward, addressing Hiccup.

"I knew Gobber personally. He was of Scottish descent, and served as a smith for my father when I was young. He'd tell me stories when I sat beside the forge, but he moved away and I never knew why. He's been doing well, I hope?" Hiccup nodded and Elinor smiled again. "I'm glad. Now," she said, turning to face her daughter, "we all know why you were all brought together in the first place. To discuss the marriage games and selection of suitors for the Princess' hand."

"Mother -" Merida started, her cheeks flaming, but Elinor wouldn't let her finish.

"As queen, I am going to propose a new suggestion. That the Princess does not need pick a suitor, not immediately, not until the Princess feels ready. However, if she were to receive an offer from a suitor whom she was inclined to prefer, then she may feel within her power to accept or decline this proposal as she saw fit." She smiled at Hiccup for a moment, who felt his face turning pink beneath his freckles. "I will leave you to think over the new proposal."

"Thank you," Merida said, her voice heavy with relief and happiness. She seemed on the verge of tears as she looked at her mother, and a smile stretched across her face completely effortlessly. The queen looked at her daughter, seemingly in a new light.

"It's the least I can do for a daughter that has saved this realm from so much."

In a swish of her emerald gown, she headed out of the library. A silence fell upon the group, with a noticeable tension between Merida and Hiccup, who weren't meeting each other's gaze. Hiccup broke the silence, raising his gaze determinedly.

"Merida, may I speak to you in private?" She looked up at him, terrified, but defiant. Rising from her seat, she took his arm, and left Rapunzel and Jack to sit closer together around the great oak table, poring over the map of the archipelago.

The two found a disused room of the palace. Merida let go of Hiccup's arm and walked towards a faded tapestry; Hiccup closed the door and turned to see what had caught her attention. She was touching the coarse threads of the tapestry, letting her fingers run over the stitches that made up a great black bear, running her hands over the knotwork and smiling to herself. Before he could speak, she began talking, softly.

"I never dreamed my mother would ever listen to me. I didn't think she'd understand me, for who I am." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I don't think I've ever been so wrong about her. She did change."

"So did my father," said Hiccup, his voice low. "He never listened, never heard me, never wanted to accept what paths I needed to follow. But I changed him." Merida turned around, her eyes so blue that he was taken aback momentarily. He noticed her freckles, so delicately scattered across her porcelain cheeks, like speckled eggs, so gentle and fragile, her hair, falling in cascades of fire, her eyelashes, a rose gold butterfly against her skin. He saw such elegance in her, in the war driven princess, that he felt utterly belittled in her presence.

"What did you want to ask me?"

Even her voice was delicate. Her accent softened her words; everything he said seemed to be harsh and crude and made of iron, whereas hers were silk and molten gold. The blocks of intangible words became a lump in his throat he could hardly break up.

"I was thinking. About what happened. And it feels, it only, I feel, oh Gods - Merida ..."

"Yes?"

Just. Say. The. Words. This was harder than killing a man. Just tell her. Just do it. This might be your only chance. She's beautiful and she's here and she loves you.

"It would, I would, oh for God's sake - I'm in love with you. I want to live with you, beside you, I want to rule a kingdom by your side. I've tasted life next to you and I don't want to leave you. I don't want to live without you. I want to marry you, explore the world with you. I want you, only you, and I know I will never be perfect for you, but I feel so selfish, and I love you and I don't want to live in a world where you're not there. I love you and I don't want to be here if I'm not with you."

In a moment, her arms were around him, her lips on his and those hands that had killed men were winding through his hair and his own, once drenched in blood of dragons, were resting upon her waist, and she kissed him with such unyielding passion that he thought he might, a living structure of flesh and bone, melt into this woman's arms.

He knew that he wouldn't care if he did. She was his entire world now, and he made a pledge in that moment; he refused to in a land where she wasn't by his side.