From Me To You: A Mericcup Story

Chapter 9

Merida rode to the clearing, hoping that today, Hiccup would be there. He had skipped out on her yesterday.

She arrived to find Toothless, which was a good sign. But the dragon seemed sad, maybe worried.

The rider was sitting on a rock. He was leaning forward, hands on his knees, a piece of paper in hand.

"Hiccup? What happened? Why weren't you here yesterday?"

"You shouldn't have come," he said, voice low and solemn.

"Why? You're my friend, and I thought we had agreed to meet each other here in the afternoon so-"

"I've killed a man, Merida!" Hiccup yelled, sitting up and finally looking at her. He had deep bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept. He went back to his previous position, staring at the ground.

Merida cautiously moved closer, kneeling on the ground next to him. She gently took the letter from him, placing it on the ground next to her. It wasn't uncommon for a soldier to write a letter to his family in case he died.

She took Hiccup's hands in her own, turning him towards her. He leaned forward slightly and she hugged him, letting him cry.

They stayed like that for a long time. Merida rubbed his back, feeling her heart shatter. He hadn't slept and was breaking because he had killed one man. She knew countless others who were fine and had killed many. She respected him for that.

Hiccup dozed off after he stopped crying. She propped him up against Toothless and caught some fish. She tossed a few to the dragon, who was careful not to move and disturb the sleeping viking.

The sun was much lower in the sky when he woke up. She gave him some fish and they ate in silence.

As the sky turned light pink, Merida stood up. Hiccup stood up as well.

"I should be off. My mum will yell if I'm late for dinner." She moved closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"You are no less the man I almost shot an arrow at. You are still Hiccup, and nothing else will matter. Do you understand?"

He nodded, weakly smiled, and hugged her. She hugged him back before turning and jumping on Angus.

As Merida rode away, she pressed her hand to her chest.

When they had hugged, she had felt Hiccup's heartbeat. It seemed to match her own.

She arrived at the castle, groaning as she walked into the dining hall. MacGuffin didn't look up from his food. Dingwall was staring at the ceiling. Macintosh was flexing for the servants who were passing by. Her mum wanted her to pick from these idiots?

Merida ate dinner fairly quickly, retreating to her room. She laid on her bed, arms spread and hair everywhere. The only thing that was on her mind was Hiccup.

His heartbeat had almost exactly matched her own. What on earth did that mean? Was that just a coincidence?

There was a knock at her door. Her mum walked in, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Mum?" Merida asked before she could say anything.

"Yes?"

"Did your heartbeat ever match someone else's? I read about it, and I want to know if that's real."

"Well, your father and I, we have heartbeats that are very close. Which brings me to this." She handed Merida a small book that looked very old. It was kept closed by a piece of string.

"My mother gave this to me, and her mother before her, and her mother before her. It is a book about love and relationships and what not. This book helped you decide how to choose your husband. It helped me choose your father."

"Thank you!" She quickly opened it, listening to her mum's retreating footsteps. She flipped through it, stopping to read some pages.

Heartbeats

There is a legend that tells of humans that were once connected. Four arms, four legs, two heads, and two hearts. The gods looked at these humans and thought them too powerful. If they were to rise against them, they had twice the advantage. So, they split them in two. Each would wander the earth, looking for their other half. They knew their half to be true when their heartbeats matched, beating as one.

Merida closed the book, staring out her window into the black night. That couldn't be true. She was probably being paranoid.

Without another thought about Hiccup or the story, she went to bed.