From Me To You: A Mericcup Story

Chapter 20

Hiccup looked around. It was the middle of the night, and still there were lights on in all of the tents. He kind of did expect that to happen, though. You can't just pull what he and Merida did and not think that the people would be discussing details late into the night.

Merida had talked to her mom and dad about supplying food and shelter for everyone. He had waited outside the tent when she went in. She came out with her head held high, but the minute they were out of everyone's eyes, she let her mask drop.

"I spoke to my own parents like I was a diplomat who was afraid of making them mad, but also needed to get very serious business done. What on earth has this world come to?"

Hiccup was able to get a small tent and set it up for the two of them. Whenever anyone walked by, viking or Scot, they stared at them, like they were on display.

"It feels weird, all of them being in the place we used to hide from them," he murmured. Merida was sitting next to him, head on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Like the world has been turned upside down."

"Do you think we can actually stop this war?"

"I hope so. Then we could get married and live a long, happy life."

She suddenly tensed, like she couldn't believe those words had just come out of her mouth. Hiccup was cast into deep thought. Did he picture himself with Merida for the rest of his life?

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one who's supposed to propose, not you," he whispered. She giggled.

They went to bed after that, and Hiccup, for the first time ever, dreamed not of himself killing the man, or being tortured, but of Merida and himself living the rest of their lives together.

The next morning, everyone gathered out in the open. It was the middle of winter, but there were so many fires it might as well have been spring.

Hiccup spoke first.

"Thank you all for coming. We are here to discuss the matters of a treaty to stop this war. Each side will read the things they hope to gain and we will god down the list. The vikings will start, followed by the Scots."

Astrid stood up as he sat down. He noticed that Merida's hand tensed before relaxing. She really had the poker face down to an art. As Astrid read, everyone else wrote.

"The vikings want extra help when fighting off dragons, help when fighting off intruders, a trading business between Scotland, and timber to rebuild any houses and boats that have been destroyed."

Astrid sat and someone one the Scottish side stood. Hiccup noticed that to the man's left was the long haired man who oversaw his torture. He sneered in their direction, looking Merida up and down like she was prey. That did not sit with Hiccup well.

"The Scottish people want help when fighting off intruders, a trading business between the vikings, and help rebuilding all the buildings that were destroyed."

This was good. Both sides wanted, mostly, the same thing. When the man sat back down, Merida stood up. Her shoulders were back and her head was high, exactly like a princess.

"To address the vikings' issue about dragons, you no longer have to fight them. Hiccup and I have been able to tame and befriend our dragons and any others we have come across. We will be opening a school for dragon training to help both the vikings and the Scots, though it will be based in Berk."

Hiccup nodded. They had talked about the school the night before, knowing that that would be an issue that would come up.

"Both sides want support when fighting off intruders, so we will come to each other's aid. We will also start trading again. This time, though, any argument will be solved before a war can start.

"Timber can easily be provided, and we will help each other fix up anything destroyed in the fighting.

"If someone could write up a treaty with those agreements on it by tomorrow, we will sign it then." Merida nodded and walked away. Hiccup stood and nodded, following her into the woods.

Once they were a safe distance, she turned and gave him the biggest hug ever.

"You were amazing!" he said, spinning her around.

"I can't believe I just did that," she breathed out, smile on her face. They were stopping the war. They were finally doing it.

Well, Merida was doing it. Hiccup was more there for moral support.

The next day, each side signed the treaty. Everyone shook hands and a huge celebration was held throughout Scotland and Berk. It lasted well into the night, drinks flowing freely.

Macintosh and Astrid were introduced to each other. When Hiccup next looked, they were hitting it off well. He could tell because they were making out. Lovely, a sight that would forever be burned into his brain.

Arian Glas and Toothless ran around, playing some sort of game. They very nearly trampled some servants, but Merida managed to calm them down.

It was early in the morning when Hiccup stole her away from her mother. Together they took a walk through the trees.

"Can you believe this has happened?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

"Not at all. It's all too surreal."

"What do we do now that you've stopped a war?"

She seemed to blush slightly. "It wasn't all me. I had to meet you to find a reason to stop it. But to answer your question, I want to do something more. Something with an adventure."

"How about this, after we train at least two people, we take Toothless and Arian Glas and fly away somewhere. Go on an adventure."

"Sounds like a plan."

They smiled, turning back to the celebrations.