From Me To You: A Mericcup Story

Chapter 16

Hiccup was in so much pain, he was surprised that he hadn't passed out yet. The Scots had some pretty terrible torturing methods, way worse than the vikings.

He heard Merida coming back from wherever she had gone. She put his arm over her shoulder and they stumbled down the passageway.

The rest of the walk became a sort of blur. Hiccup knew they had made it out when the temperature suddenly dropped. Merida mumbled something before whistling. He felt her guide him onto something. It felt like a dragon.

The wind picked up and he passed out.

When Hiccup came to, he felt warm. There was some heat source nearby. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up at a ceiling.

"You're finally up!" came Merida's voice. There was a lot of relief in it. He turned his head to find a mess of curls hovering next to a fire.

"Where are we?" Hiccup asked.

"This is my family's summer castle. It's a lot smaller than the other one and only accessible by boat."

"In other words, an island."

"Right. No one else lives here, so it's safe. The nearest person is miles away, so no need to worry there. Arian Glas flew us here. Angus couldn't come, unfortunately."

Hiccup started to sit up, only to be met with a flash of pain from his chest and a steady hand.

"Don't reopen that wound. I'm only stitching you up once," she warned, helping him to a sitting position so he was leaning against the wall."

"Looks like I'll have to depend on you."

They looked at each other for a moment before quickly looking away. He could feel himself turning red.

"Here, the soup's ready." Merida gave him a bowl and a spoon. He ate rather quickly, since he hadn't had food in at least three days.

While they sat around, she explained what had happened and how they had escaped. Hiccup's hand curled into a tight fist when he heard about what Macintosh had done.

"Hiccup, take a breath. You're turning red."

Merida was looking at him like he might explode. He took a deep breath and loosened his fingers.

They sat around a while longer, mostly in silence.

"Merida. Come here." She was by Hiccup's side in an instant, looking very worried.

He stared up at her, serious and somewhat sad.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"If you weren't injured I would be hitting you right now," she almost growled, despite the small smile.

That night, somehow, Hiccup found his head resting on her stomach while she stroked his hair. It was dark, except for the fire, which they kept close to. The rooms was very drafty.

"Why did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Save me. You could have left me. You gave up your life for me."

Merida's hand stopped moving. It was silent for a while before she replied.

"I hate it when we have prisoners. They are tortured and treated like animals. Most of the time, it's only ever because they stole some food for their family. They almost killed you, because you were a viking. You weren't doing anything wrong, you were just being you."

"It's not like I'm innocent. I killed a man because he was a Scot. That moment haunts my dreams and always will. I deserved what I got, but now I've dragged you into this."

"Hiccup, I saved you because I couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt. And you don't deserve to be put on deaths door, no matter what you've done."

It was quiet for a while. Then Merida spoke so softly, Hiccup almost missed her say it.

"I saved you because I love you."

He looked over at her. Her eyes were directed anywhere but him. He smiled before reaching up and grabbing her hand.

"I love you, too."