From Me To You: A Mericcup Story

Chapter 4

Hiccup flew fast, leaning forward as to not fall off. Today he would get to learn how to use a weapon that was very uncommon with vikings.

Vikings believed in hand to hand combat, not little knives shot from far distances. Archery was a sign if cowards, even if it was a more effective way of destroying your enemy without killing yourself.

Hiccup needed to know something that could save his life in the long run. Archery seemed perfect, and today he got to learn.

Merida was waiting in the clearing. She somehow managed to bring a target. Mind you, she didn't have a cart with her horse, and it was a full sized target. That must have been very heavy.

A quiver and bow were laying on the ground, and Hiccup wasted mo time picking them up. He strung the quiver over his body, mimicking Merida, and grasped his bow.

"First lesson is knocking an arrow," she said, pulling one out. She explained how to tell how the arrow went on the string by the feathers. She showed him how to position the bow when pulling back the string. That was where it got awkward.

"No, no, you're doing it all wrong!" Merida exclaimed. "You hold the bow like this, keeping your elbow down!"

Hiccup failed yet again, so she took matters into her own hands. She walked over, standing behind him. She grabbed the back of his hand and adjusted his grip while forcing his elbow down slightly.

He turned red, realizing how close she was. She seemed to realize, too, because she took a quick step back.

"Try shooting now."

Hiccup looked at the target, aimed, and let go of the string.

He would have liked to say that the arrow sailed through the air and hit the target, but he could not. He would he would have liked to say that the arrow sailed through the air, but he could not.

The arrow fell three feet in front if him, barely damaging the ground.

Laughter erupted behind him, mixing with snorts. Hiccup turned and saw Merida bent over, holding her gut. Her laugh was contagious, and soon, he was laughing as well.

"You...need...to...try...to...aim," she managed out.

He could only nod, as he was having trouble drawing breath. Eventually, they stopped, shaking off their laugh pains.

Merida was a pretty good teacher. After an hour, Hiccup was hitting the target. No bulls-eyes, but it was only his first day.

They stopped for a break, and she caught some fish. Toothless bounded through the water, splashing Angus. The horse was not at all happy, but what could you do against a playful dragon?

The two enemies talked while they ate, recalling funny stories or telling the other things about themselves. Hiccup stayed away from mentioning that he was basically an outcast. After all, who wants to listen to woe is me tales?

After they ate, they shot at the target a few more times. Then, it was time to go back to their worlds.

Hiccup took to the sky, his last glimpse of that afternoon being the fact that Merida was leaving, the target and extra bow and arrows staying in the clearing.