~Thanks ImThePeanut for help with the translations!~
Merida's POV
Mum showed up again the next morning- and then she pulled me into Princess Lessons. Whenever someone knocked on the door for the following week, she'd hurry to open it. Who was she waiting for? Then she suddenly disappeared at dinner one night. I saw her slip through a door wearing a hooded cloak, and followed her.
She walked quickly through the forest, to the Witch's Cottage. What? Why was she going there? I peeked in through the window. She drew back her hood, and said, "Aunt Eiric, are you sure it worked? I've been watching her for a week. Nothing's changed." Wait, what?! The only person she's been near for a week is me! What- was she trying to turn me into a bear as well?!
The Witch looked thoughtful. "Sorry, Elinor. I can't help you. Maybe she's already met him. Or maybe she let him go by accident. Or maybe they're already together. Too many things could have gone wrong-according to you."
"I only want what's best for her." Mum tried to say.
The Witch shot her a look. "She didn't seem to want a true love last time I saw her."
"That was before she met this Viking!" Mum said exasperatedly. T
he Witch shrugged. "I've double-checked by now. She's already met her true love. Oh, hello Kíla." She said this last part as a girl walked into the room. She had green eyes and curly red hair like mine- just more tamable. "Who are you?" Mum asked.
"She's my apprentice." The Witch said.
"Kíla!" I heard someone yell. Kíla's eyes widened, and she dove behind the cauldron. In stormed a girl with brown curly hair which was completely untamable and angry blue eyes.
"Where is she?! She can't run forever!"
The Witch sighed. "Hello, Torra."
"Hello, Great-Great-Aunt Eiric. Now where is she?!"
"Who?" Mum asked.
"Kíla! I know she's here! Mum and Dad sent me to find her!"
"Why you?" The Witch wondered.
"Because I'm the responsible older one, and Kíla has to come now! The Highland Games are about to start, and the Lords' Sons are waiting!"
"I thought those were stopped regarding marriages." Mum said.
"It's not a betrothal! Help her understand that! It's so we can meet the Lord's sons properly as suitors!" Kíla popped her head up slowly, so Torra couldn't see her, and rolled her eyes.
"Huh?" Mum said.
"Honestly! Auntie, tell Kíla she has to come home! Mum and Dad are about to go all out on a search party, I think they think you'll disappear with her soon, and Johnny and Adrianne MacIntosh refuse to say anything, even though everyone knows they were the last ones to see her leave."
Kíla nodded, before ducking her head down again. Torra sat down. "Can't you at least use some of... that... to find her if you don't know where she is?!" She asked, gesturing to the cauldron.
"She's behind the cauldron." Mum said calmly.
The Witch stared at her. "Elinor!"
"What? Auntie Eiric, who are these girls?"
Torra curtsied and started to say something, but the Witch covered her mouth. "Torra! You know the rules- we can't reveal anything. And you've already revealed so much!" Torra sat back down and crossed her arms, while Kíla sneaked to the door.
She screamed when she saw me, and I hastily covered her mouth. "Are you daft?! Do you want my mother to hear us?!" I hissed. She shook her hand, and I uncovered her mouth.
"Running away too?" She wondered.
I shook my head. "Following my mum. She's been acting odd for a while, and I think the Witch knows why. Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Kíla, and I'm running away. From the Lord's Sons, as much as anything else. Mum and Dad are on my side, but Torra and Grandmother... thank God for my cousins."
"Cousins?" I asked.
"Jamie, Maoilios and Lawren. They're not siblings, but they're almost identical. Except Maoilios has red hair, Jamie has black hair, and Lawren is blond. Their fathers rule jointly every other year."
"Why every other year?" I asked.
Kíla shot me a look. "You don't know? Every year, the King and Queen are either ruling here or in a distant land. Unfortunately, I am the Princess. Fortunately, I am the second daughter. I can rule Dad's land when I'm older, and Torra can stay here."
"Why don't you like your sister?" I asked her.
"Because... you saw her. she's like a bloodhound. An evil bloodhound. She rules my life with an iron fist."
Suddenly, someone called, "Kíla! Where are you?!" Kíla was up and running in a minute, disappearing into the forest. Two riders on horseback stopped in front of me, cloaked.
"She's not here." One of them said, a woman by the voice.
"We have to keep looking. She could be anywhere." The other rider said, a man.
The woman's horse pawed the ground. "Don't you think I know that?! She's our baby. But we have to find her soon- if we're all gone, the Kingdom... excuse me, have you see a girl with red hair and green eyes come through here?"
I hesitated. "Who wants to know?"
"Never mind that! Have you seen Princess Kíla?" The man asked.
"...Yes. But she doesn't want to be married." I told them.
"We know! My mother and Torra are trying to marry her off to the highest bidder though. Kíla would rather be locked in a tower with a dragon at the base of it and spend the rest of her life there."
The man seemed to have shot the woman a look. "Hey, that's unfair to-"
"You know what I meant. Which way did Kíla go?" The woman interrupted.
I pointed through the underbrush, looking up, trying to see their faces. The woman sucked in a sharp breath, then tore off through the underbrush. "Thank you, Merida." The man said, before following her. How did they know my name? And why do I feel like I know them?
"Aha! There you are!" I heard Torra say loudly.
I whipped around and glared at her. "I'm not your sister. I'm Merida of Dunbroch."
Torra froze. "B-but, you can't be!"
I shrugged. "Well, I am. Lovely to see you. Your parents just tore off that way looking for your sister. Why do you want her to be married anyway?"
"Because it's tradition!" Torra said. I tilted my head.
"Tradition? That's the only reason? No wonder Kíla ran off. It's what I would have done. And what I did."
I walked back to the castle slowly. Mum soon came upon me. "Merida?! What are you doing here?!"
I turned, and said calmly, "The usual. Met Torra and her sister Kíla, who is either delusional or foreign, their parents, and I saw you chatting with the very witch who turned you into a bear, regarding my 'true love'."
Mum froze. "What? You heard that?" I nodded. "You know, you could have at least asked me."
Hiccup's POV
Merida came storming in, with her mother behind her. "You weren't supposed to hear any of that!" "Really? Well then, let's go back into the forest and tell Torra and Kíla's parents that I'm not supposed to know any of them exist!" Merida yelled back.
"You're not! Those poor people lost their daughter-"
"They didn't lose her! She was driven away by her sister and grandmother trying to marry her off against her parents' wishes!"
"And yet she left without their blessing! Merida-"
"No, you listen! I don't know who Kila and Torra really are, but does it really matter?! All I know is that Kíla is running away for the exact same reasons that I did- and I might again! What in Scotland could you possibly want with the Witch?!"
Luckily, it was just me, Dad, King Fergus and the triplets in the hall.
King Fergus choked on his drink. "The Witch? Not the same one who changed you into a bear, Elinor?"
"She's my aunt." The Queen admitted.
Dad narrowly avoided spitting wine everywhere. "What?!"
"Merida, I'm just trying to protect you! You're going to get hurt!"
"How do you know that?!" Queen Elinor was cut off by the sound of a war horn.
"Now who could that be?" Dad and King Fergus muttered together. Merida pulled me up several flights of stairs to the top of the castle. No shapes were hurtling through the air towards them- it wasn't us and a panicking guard's paranoia. But we could see, beyond the lights of the Lords men- the torches of an advancing army. "Merida...?" I asked.
"The English." She said. Wait- The English? Who are the English?
"They're always trying to take our land." King Fergus explained.
"But they've never marched on Dunbroch before." Merida said, frowning. Suddenly, there was a loud banging. We all went down to see a thin little man with an overly large noise stand there. "Êtes-vous le roi d'Écosse?" He asked.
"What?" Fergus asked. The man sighed and muttered something in Norman, and said, "You are the king of Scotland?"
"Yes. What are you Normans doing up here?" Fergus asked.
"We will talk in the hall. Come." The man said. Everyone followed him, and sat in their formal chairs or in the benches. "We have come to expand England, for the good of King William. However we are not uncivilized people. Will you submit peacefully?"
Everyone stared at him. "There is no way that we'll let your king take us over!" Elinor, of all people, said.
The messenger smirked at her. "Madame, this is a discussion for how you say? Agh, I think you say, 'never mind'... les hommes, dans les autres mots. Please, take your daughter and leave this talk to les hommes." Merida narrowed her eyes, and I saw her reach for her bow, but she did nothing. I pity this man. She'll get him later.
"Everyone stays." King Fergus said.
"Very well. I have been sent to discuss a peace treaty with you. Now, seeing that you have a daughter, it occus to me that His Majesty could not possibly object to a marriage between her and his son, also named William." What?!
Merida grit her teeth. "And does it occur to you that I might object to this marriage?"
"You are a woman, and a child. No one cares what you have to say, this is for the good of your country!"
Merida stared him down. "Is it good for my country to be overrun by a foreign power where little men like you are highly venerated and women are nothing? I will one day be the Queen of Scotland- you will one day die a pauper's death. Perhaps you'll be executed. If so, I hope it is here."
The messenger backed down a little. "Nevertheless, Your Majesty, this is the recommended option. Or at least some form of a peace treaty."
Here he shot a look at Merida, who narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not serious." King Fergus said to him.
The messenger shot him a look. "Indeed. I am quite serious that Prince William would marry this... princess... regardless of her hostility."
Merida snarled something at him, before King Fergus ordered, "Throw this Norman into the dungeon!" They have a dungeon?! But I digress. 4 soldiers each grabbed one of the man's limbs, and carried him away, screaming for justice.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. King Fergus started to say something. "Men-"
Merida cleared her thoat.
"-And women, war is upon us. Every able-bodied fighter over the age of fifteen should arm themselves to the teeth. This will be bloody."
"Why not just do what the messenger said?" Someone asked from the crowd.
I whipped my head around. Merida isn't going to marry any Norman! Merida hopped down from the dais which the thrones were situated on, and pulled me away.
We passed the Lords, who were sharpening swords, Astrid and Adair, one of which was sharpening an axe while the other talked awkwardly (guess which one was doing which), Cawley and Ruffnut (hey, when did she get here anyway?) holding hands and speaking quietly (for once) Fishlegs explaining a dragon attack to an interested Morven, and the triplets handing out weaponry and giving me threatening looks.
I was handed a sword, and Merida soon had her bow. "Now, we wait." We didn't have to wait long. With a cry like thunder, the Normans rushed the castle. Boiling oil was poured from the battlements, and we were sent out, sword in hand. Then, someone had the bright idea of using the dragons. The Normans scattered like bugs.
At one point, a stray arrow knocked me off Toothless. I looked up to see him fly off, searching the battlefield. Thank Odin he is wearing his self-control saddle, and was okay. The arrow had barely hit my armor- not hard enough to hurt me, but hard enough to knock me off. I pulled out my sword and started fighting any Normans who came near. Not that I was that good at it, but still, I have improved. Suddenly, I bumped into someone. I swung my sword around- only for it to connect with Merida's sword. "When did you leave the battlements?!" I yelled over the battle.
"When I snuck past Mum with the knowledge I'd be more help down here!" She said, whirling back around. I defended her and she defended me. Her brothers are going to make my death extremely painful if I don't die here for this. Suddenly, I turned to ask her something, and saw a huge Norman coming from the side, aiming a sword straight for her. Without thinking, I put myself in front of her, and stabbed straight through the Norman's heart. The look on his face...
He manged to so one last thing before he died. He stuck his sword into me. First was a blinding pain, then I heard was Merida screaming, "Hiccup!"
Well... if I was about to die... "Merida, I love..." I slumped forward, everything going black.
-The Triplets-
Hiccup still hadn't woken up yet. The Normans were driven back, and their king came over himself with his son- also named William. They got the messenger out of the dungeon, who served as translator- unfortunately.
"Votre Majesté... Etes-vous sûr?" [Your Majesty... are you sure? (for the benfit of the readers, not the thoughts.] He asked in Norman. "Oui, un petit homme pitoyable." [Yes, little pitiable man.] The Norman King replied. His son snickered, and the messenger sighed. "Prince William will still marry your... princess. Though the King shall withdraw from this country either way." Merida stomped into the room at that moment. "Sorry I'm late. I was with- you."
The messenger cowered in his boots, but said, "Oui, c'est moi." [Yes, it's me.] Merida glared at him. "What do you want?" "Princesse, peut-être pourriez-vous marier mon fils?" [Princess, maybe you and my son can be married?] The King said. The Messenger translated this.
Merida glared at the messenger. "Funny. Wasn't that your original offer?" He nodded, gulping. He was well-aware by now what she could do.
"No." She finally said.
"No?" Elinor and Fergus said in unison.
"Non?" The King said in disbelief.
"Non?" Prince William said a little disappointedly.
"No. There is a boy up there who would die for me. A boy I love. I'm not going to have him wake up for my wedding to some Norman Prince!" Merida said angrily.
"Incroyable." [Incredible.]The Prince said in awe.
"Hein?"[Huh?] His father said. The Prince started talking in rapid-fire Norman.
Merida shot him a look. "I'm going back upstairs. Hiccup could wake up at any moment." She said, before leaving the room, itching to shoot somebody- like the messenger.
"She's something, isn't she?" The Prince said when she had left. Everyone stared at him.
"You speak Scottish?" Elinor and Fergus said in unison.
"Majesties, I am a Prince, and one out of several. In all likelihood, I will marry a Princess. It pays to actually speak the same language as your wife." Prince William said.
"So you heard all that?" Elinor asked.
"Oui, madame, -how you say, boot? Bat? Mais...- I happen to think she is... incroyable."
"Oh no no no." Hubert said.
"First Hiccup. Now this guy. Whose next- some Irish boy? Some bad-boy pirate? Boys are drawn to Merida now- like flies." Harris agreed.
"But she likes Hiccup." Hamish said.
"Even I approve of Hiccup now." Hubert said.
Prince William blinked. "But I am-" The triplets glared him into silence.
"And Hiccup is also a prince... in a way." Harris said.
"And he didn't invade Dunbroch." Hubert agreed.
"At least, not personally." Hamish admitted.
"And he didn't demand to marry Merida to gain the kingdom when he was losing." Harris said, rallying his brothers.
"He took the time to love her." Hamish agreed.
"He almost died for her." Hubert mused.
"But I am Prince William of England! And I'm sure Merida and I-"
"We are Princes Hamish, Hubert and Harris of Scotland, and we are very sure that you should leave now before our sister shoots you." They said in unison. Then they left. Merida, as usual, was sitting by Hiccup's bed. He looked like he was sleeping, even down to the peaceful breaths, but the triplets knew when you sleep, you wake up. Hiccup might never wake up.
It had already been three days since the battle. People (usually Merida) would ladle soup down his throat so he wasn't hungry. Suddenly, someone said, "...you." Very faintly, but it obviously wasn't Merida or one of the triplets. "Hiccup?" Merida asked, surprised.
"Merida... I... love...you..." Hiccup said softly. The triplets crowded around.
"I love you too, Hiccup. Come back to us soon." Merida said gently, the tears forming in her eyes contrasting with the smile she was sporting.
Merida kissed Hiccup softly on the lips, before turning to the triplets. "Go tell his Dad, Mum, Dad- anyone who cares. Not that Norman ponce."
"The Norman ponce speaks Scottish." Harris said.
"I know, he's the-"
"No, the Prince." Hamish corrected.
Merida frowned. "Don't tell any Normans anything other than they are all huge ponces and extremely awful and I want them to leave Scotland. Especially that Prince. Honestly. I verbally abuse him and he says, 'incroyable'. What does that mean, anyway?"
"A compliment, most likely. William seems to have a thing for you." Hubert said.
"Don't worry, we told him that you would never choose a Norman over Hiccup."
"I'm glad of that." Someone said. But again, it wasn't Merida. They all turned back to Hiccup, astonished as his eyes fluttered open, and he sat up, groaning. "Why does my head feel like Thor's been pounding on it for weeks?"
"Three days." Hamish corrected.
"You were taken out by a Norman soldier. Astrid helped me take you back here. You've been unconscious ever since." Merida explained.
"Some Norman Prince just showed up with his father to try and marry Merida." Harris huffed. Hiccup put his arm around Merida's shoulders (well, she was sitting on the bed next to him).
"We put him in his place though." Hamish said happily.
"And... we... okay, I owe you an apology. You really do like Merida." Hubert admitted sheepishly. Harris and Hamish grinned. "Welcome to the family, Hiccup!" The triplets said in unison. Merida smiled, but sent them out to 'go tell people Hiccup was awake'. Please. The triplets knew when they weren't wanted- and when they had totally given Hiccup a mind-flip. But, just this once, they went off to do what Merida said immediately.
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The Normans really did invade Scotland in 1076, but were driven back to England.
The Scots disliked the Vikings more (uh huh. Two words: Norse Descendants) because there was a lot of slaughtering and pillaging etc. *insert Mericcup picture here to show there's no bad feelings*
I know this is a Mericcup thing, but c'mon. William II was killed out hunting- by a bow and arrow. (No, they totally had guns back in the 11th Century.)
Imagine what marriage to him (the way I portrayed him) would have been like for Merida. Yeah... even though one of his lords killed him, still.
When they say 'Norman' they mean French. But yeah. Oh, and all translations before the battle are my own, But literally everything William the Conqueror says is Google Translate. Except when he says 'no' in French. Also, I picked William (the Second) not because he would be king, but because he is the closest in age to Merida. Wikipedia (don't judge!) says he was born from 1056-1060. Now, since Merida is 16 when the Normans attack, she was born in 1060.
What? It's my story. The Normans are in the story so Hiccup can 'prove' himself to Elinor and Hamish. (Um, he kind of already did... but William shall stick around). I will give a dedication to the first person who can guess who Torra and Kíla are. It's kind of obvious. But Torra... I don't know how I got the character of Torra.
Oh! I remembered what I wanted to say: Disney has released Merida's Disney Princess Deluxe. I stared at it for about five seconds before deciding it wasn't Merida, it was an evil doppelganger and therefore must be killed. Jazz and Roseanna can help Merida with this. Because seriously. She's in the middle of a battle right now- she does not have time to stand like that, the Normans would grab her hair (as nicely styled as it is) and...
Her dress would get dirty way too easily (she climbs the freaking Fire Falls- she is not Sleeping Beauty!), she has absolutely no weaponry (good idea, Merida. Because the Demon Bear is DEAD, and nothing else would dare hurt a Disney Princess!), and in general, my feeling was 'who are you, and what have you done with Merida'. And no, Disney. New Merida is not inspiring. She is downright wrong. Please give us back the old Merida. She was a Princess anyway- she didn't need sparkles for it.