From Me To You: A Mericcup Story

Chapter 17

Merida went to her mother's study the fourth day they were at the castle to find something to do. It was incredibly boring sitting around all day.

There was paper, pencils, books, a chess board, and playing cards. It was like she had struck the mother load.

"Look what I found!" she exclaimed, laying it all out. Hiccup brightened. She helped him to a sitting position.

"What do you want to do first?" he asked.

"How about a game of chess?"

The seventh day they were at the castle was the day it snowed. The two of them woke up to find it colder than usual. When Merida opened the door to get more wood, she was met with a blanket of white covering everything.

"How fitting for the middle of November," she muttered, trudging through the cold. While stacking wood to be brought back, a white rabbit hopped carefully out of the bushes.

It was a quick death, but now they had some good meat to eat.

That night, while Hiccup watched the meat cook, Merida went on a search for more blankets.

While searching her parents' room, she found a box full of sweets. Chocolates, candy canes, lollipops, caramels, and gum drops.

With an armful of blankets and the box tucked under her arm, she practically skipped down to the fire.

"Look what I've got!" she exclaimed, setting the box on Hiccup's lap.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Yep!"

"Where'd you find it?"

"My parents' room. They always hid the good stuff from us."

"Well, it's a good thing now!"

The twelfth day of their stay found Hiccup in a rather unfortunate situation. His current clothes were so ripped and thin that Merida had to make him a new set of clothes.

She really tried her best and did better than she thought she would. But the clothes were, honestly, ugly. At least they were thick.

"My fingers hurt so much from having to grip that wee thing," she mumbled one night. Hiccup seemed to convey the sentence differently then she had, because suddenly, her hand was being massaged lightly.

Merida felt herself blush, but she didn't pull away.

The fourteenth day, Hiccup was able to sit up by himself. His wounds were healing well and most of his bruises were gone.

It was also the day Merida had to go into the nearby village to get some food. She could hunt all she wanted here, but there was no way she could get vegetables or fruit or bread.

She found an old servants clothes and put them on, tucking her hair securely under the hood. She grabbed a basket from the dark kitchen and wrapped a thick shawl around her body. Now, she looked like a normal villager.

"What about your cloak?" Hiccup asked before she left.

"Here, if you unclip it, it turns into a blanket."

"You've been holding back on me?" He brushed away a fake tear, making her laugh.

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"Okay, but you, be safe."

"I will." She kissed his cheek and walked out the doors.

Merida whistled for Arian Glas. That dragon was a free spirit. She never stayed with them, instead, she looked for Toothless.

They couldn't look for the lost dragon themselves. Hiccup wasn't in a good position to do so, and she couldn't leave him for long.

The dragon took her sweet time landing, snorting.

"Come one ya big lump. We have to get to the village some time today."

Across the water was a thick forest. Behind the forest was a small village that had always been friendly.

Merida kept to herself, disguising her voice as best as she could. The villagers barely gave her a second glance.

When her basket was full, she walked out of town and back into the woods. She whistled for Arian Glas when she had put a safe distance between her and the village.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her, something cold and sharp placed to her neck.

"What's a young girl like yourself doing wandering the forest by yourself?" a low and smooth voice asked. It seemed feminine, and it wasn't Scottish.

"Who wants to know?" Merida asked, keeping her voice steady.

"Someone who's not from around here, and let's keep it at that."

With a twist of her arm, Merida ducked out of the hold. It was obvious that this person preferred a different weapon, as someone with more practice would never have let that happen.

She pulled out her dagger, keeping it pointed at the stranger.

She had blonde hair that was back and away from her face, but some of it hung by her eyes. She had an double bladed axe strapped to her back and a small knife in her hand.

"Have the vikings really gone to attacking girls in the woods? How far have you fallen?"

"Just tell me where the king and queen are, and no one will get hurt."

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"Because I've got this." She pulled her axe out, spinning it around. Merida glanced up, smiled, and took a step back.

The stranger must have thought she had the upper hand, so she started forward, only to be picked up by Arian Glas.

"Good girl!" she called out. The stranger screamed, struggling against the dragon's claws. Thankfully she dropped her axe.

She landed, keeping the stranger pinned under her claws.

"You may have an axe, but I've got a dragon. Who are you?"

The stranger let loose a string of insults that would have landed her princess lessons for a month.

"Nice to meet you. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Because I'm the heir chief. You'll have the vikings fighting back harder than before with me dead or imprisoned."

Merida narrowed her eyes. Usually the chief's next of kin was appointed heir. They didn't honestly expect Hiccup to be dead already.

"Doesn't Stoick have a son?"

"How do you know?"

"You don't think that maybe there are wanted posters set up around Scotland?"

The stranger kept her mouth shut. Merida went over her options. Kill, turn in, set free. She wouldn't kill, and this viking was too dangerous to be set free.

She dug through Arian Glas' saddle bag and found some rope. She threw the axe and knife as far away as she could. With her dragon standing over her, she tied and gagged the stranger.

"Come on. Move it."

They walked towards the village, stopping on the outskirts. Merida tied her to a tree, taking the gag off.

"If you want to live, you'll need to shout for help. Don't come back here ever again."

With that, she turned and hopped on Arian Glas, flying away. All the while the stranger screamed curses.