How To Be Brave Chapter Eleven

Black sand beach-Merida's P.O.V

Hiccup, Toothless and I lounge on a sprawling, deserted beach, snacking of freshly caught fish. As Hiccup cooks his over a fire, Toothless suddenly regurgitates a fish head. Hiccup smirks with forced politeness.

"Uh… No thanks." He says sheepishly, gesturing to his fish on a stick. "I'm good." I chuckle as he tries to subtly push the fish away, as to not offend him.

Several Terrible Terrors land like seagulls, hissing and nipping at each other as they approach Toothless' pile of fish. One grabs the regurgitated fish head and drags it away and another attempts to steal it from him. They face off and last fire balls at each other to settle the fight and we watch, amused. That is until Toothless spots one of his fish leaving the pile. A stealthy Terrible Terror is exposed as the thief. They tug on the fish, and it snaps back into Toothless' mouth. He swallows it back tauntingly.

Irate, the little dragon paws at the ground and blast Toothless. He opens his mouth, the gas hiss comes, and Toothless fires a tiny flame straight into its mouth, causing the gas to backfire into the little dragon. It coughs up smoke and staggers away, looking ill.

Hiccup and I laugh, applauding Toothless who bows his head. I crawl towards him and tickle his nose

"Who's a guid boy, hmm? That's right mah adorable weapon ay mass destruction, ye are, aren't ye?" I coo and ignore Hiccups odd looks he sends my way.

Hiccup laughs and shrugs it off, then turns his attention to the Terror. "Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" Hiccup throws the hapless Terror his freshly cooked fish. "Here you go."

The appreciative little dragon gulps down the meal and approaches Hiccup cautiously. He curls up next to him. Hiccup and I are amazed. Hiccup is pensive, "everything we know about you guys is wrong." Hiccup carefully pets him, sending the Terror into an immediate, blissful sleep.

"It's insane how wee we knae 'bout them, ye ken we're basically goin' off predictions an' untrustworthy sources." I added as an afterthought, "We're makin' up as we go along!"

Hiccup just smiles at me. "Agreed, my dear princess, now, I think it's time we go home." He stands up and offers me his hand, which I take.

"Home?" I smile, an eyebrow raised.

He pauses for a moment, then flushes. "Oh, yeah-well-you know what I mean, Merida!"

I snort as I laugh at his embarrassment. "'Course, Hiccup! Ye lucky I do, though" I elbow him playfully and he jokingly grabs me into a sideways hug.

"Ah, yes, how true Merida, and that is exactly why I love you so much." He laughs and I join in, attempting to ignore how the word 'love' made my stomach churn… In a good way?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night in the Blacksmiths stall- Hiccup's P.O.V

I am lost in thought; my head led of a desk in the Blacksmiths. I am by myself because I didn't feel it was right to wake Merida up. The desk is full of Toothless drawings, and I am feeling like I am burdened with the weight of the world. Suddenly, my father appears in the doorway. I jump and quickly cover up my desk.

"Dad!" I exclaim, feeling happy, nervous and dreadful all at once. "You're back!" I skirt the bench, blocking my father's view of Toothless, the prosthetic fin, and other drawings. I need to get rid of him. "Gobber's not here, so..." I say in an awkward attempt to get rid of him, pairing my odd tone of voice with striking an equally awkward pose in an attempt to look casual, trying to cover up as much as possible.

My father smiles at me. "I know. I came looking for you." He tells me.

I am caught off guard. "Y-You did?" I ask.

"You've been keeping secrets." He tells me simply, looking ster.

My legs choose this exact moment to give out. I slide, dragging the table's contents with me.

I cough, not knowing what to say. "I... have?" I try to act nonchalant.

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" He asks.

I look at him warily. I try to cover my tracks in vain. "I don't know what you're..."

"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."

"Oh?" I ask, my voice raising a few octaves.

"So." He sounds beaten. "Let's talk about that dragon." I literally feel the blood drain from my face.

I immediately go into panic mode "Oh gods. Dad I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to-" I am cut off by my father beginning to laugh. Big, booming laughter. I stare at him, baffled. "You're not...upset?"

It's my father's turn to look baffled. "What?! I was hoping for this!" He beams at me.

"Uh... You were?"

"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait 'til you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time!" He tells me excitedly and I feel my elated expression sink. It only gets worse. "And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear. What a feeling!" Stoick laughs and smacks Hiccup on the shoulder, sending him into the wall. "You really had me going there, son. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you!"

I slowly get back up, grimacing in the irony of it all.

"And all the while, you were holding out on me! Thor almighty!" He grabs a stool and sits. His massive frame nearly fills the tiny room. "Ah. With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about!" What follows is a long pause. I avert my eyes nervously. My father adjusts, awkwardly clearing his throat. After a long, uncomfortable silence he looks like he remembers something. "Oh, I... brought you something." He presents a horned helmet. "To keep you safe in the ring."

I gape at it for a moment before looking up at my father. "Wow. Thanks." I say sincerely whilst I accept it, looking it over.

"Your mother would've wanted you to have it." He sounds heartfelt and honest. It is strange seeing this side to him. "It's half of her breast plate." He then taps his own helmet and smiles. "Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know?"

I eye the mismatched helmets, grimacing although I want to be thankful and proud of my achievements and how far I have come… But getting to this point came with consequences, and those consequences were getting to know these dragons.

He looks at me sternly. "Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal." He is beaming with pride. I squirm, then cleverly force a yawn.

"I should really get to bed. If I leave it too long, Merida will think I am a weirdo and try killing me, which she probably could." I laugh nervously.

We begin to talk over one another and I end the circle by saying. "Thanks for the... the uh, urm, the hat. Breast hat."

"Well… Uh… Good night." My father says slowly, slightly confused by the outburst.

He leaves the room awkwardly, leaving me looking and feeling more burdened than ever and I leave too after a few minutes.

I enter the house slowly and tiptoe up the stairs, but by the time I reach my door, my energy is drained from me and I enter my room sluggishly.

It takes me a moment to realise the candle hasn't been blown out. I look around the room and finally see the tornado of curls at my desk. I hear distinctive scribbling sounds and decide to clear my throat to get her attention.

She jumps slightly. "Oh, Hiccup! There you are" She has light bags under her eyes for staying up so late. "Look what I did though!" She holds up a scroll of paper landscape to show me a drawing of a hill and large pieces going around it in a makeshift circle. Behind it is a forest with a girl and a horse stood at the edge of it.

"What is it?" I ask, amazed. It isn't perfect, but it conveys emotion and memories. I can tell from the excitement and passion for it in her voice and expression. I smile at her.

She points to the stones. "It's… Well, I don't knae th' name for it, really, but it's a magical place near my home. Behind tha' is the forest where Ah practise archery." She points the horse and girl. "Tha' is Angus, me 'orse and that is… Me." Her eyes are beaming with pride. Then she shrugs and puts it down. "It's nowhere near as good as yoors, it's just… I wanted tae have a go… Ah was gonnae tae give up, but… Then Ah spilt ink on me and decided Ah had tae at least prove tae myself Ah could finish." She gestured to the black splotches on the white nightgown.

I dismiss her statement of it being bad. "It's wonderful, Merida, honestly. You don't have to compare it. If you love it and are proud of it, then it's perfect." I smile and she returns it.

"Well, Ah guess we should go tae bed now, eh, Hiccup?" She says as she walks across the room and clambers into her bed.

"Good idea… But can I confess something?"

"Sure, Hiccup, what's it 'bout?" She asks softly. I climb into my own bed and stare at the ceiling as I tell her what went on with my father. She doesn't respond for a while.

"Merida?" I ask, slightly worried.

"Ye won't dae it, Ah knae ye won't Hiccup." She said with finality, although I could hear the unease in her voice. "Right Hiccup?" She asked, with a tone somewhat nervous.

I paused and thought it over, then finally sighed. "I don't know. I need to figure a way out. I can't do this, but I can't just go up to my father and go: 'Oh! Heh-hey father! How ya doin' today? Eaten a good breakfast? Had fun at that pillage? Oh I am so happy you're finally proud of me, but just so ya know: I love dragons to bits and even have one as a pet, so I cannot go through with this deed that will gain me eternal respect from my peers!'" I said in a distressed voice.

"Yeah, well, Hiccup, we're gonnae dae summat, got it? Now go tae sleep. Sweet dreams." She yawned and tucked herself into bed to sleep. "Ye best get tae bed or else, Hiccup!" She growled in a quiet yet very threatening voice.

"Okay, okay!" I moaned and sighed heavily, directing the air to the candle, blowing it out. "Nuh-night, dear Princess."

"Nuh-night my dragon tamer in fur armour."