Ch4: Stories and Legends

Just as Hiccup had started to walk on the path leading him back to Toothless, with the will' o the wisps as his personal guide, he heard his stomach making sounds of their own. Once again, he was hoping that right now, Merida had already caught a fish from the stream with an arrow, and started to have the fish cooked by roasting it over a warm fire. Hiccup also couldn't wait to hear the rest of the redhead's story, since he got interested from hearing about her family, the will' o the wisps, and a dangerous bear named Mor'du. Hiccup carried the basket over his right shoulder and was happy to see that Toothless did exactly what he was told with not moving around the forest and waiting for him to come back.

"Thanks for staying right here, bud!" Hiccup said, as he came forward and shortly rubbed his best friend's nose. "Now we should get back to Merida and her horse before they start to worry." He added.

Toothless nodded, and so he followed Hiccup from behind as the Viking went the same way out of the forest, and back to the stream, which he carefully walked across, with the basket still on his shoulder.

"Hiccup! It's good to see that ye've come back here in one piece, so I guess that there wasn't any trouble with findin' yer basket, huh?" Merida asked, while holding her bow with one hand, and an arrow with another fish in the other.

"Nope, it wasn't a problem finding the basket, as well as getting back here, because I got some help from those will o' the. . ." Hiccup trailed off, as he began to think hard for a moment about what helped him find his way back.

"Those will o' the wisps?" Merida said, as she laid down her bow on the ground, but not before she stuck the fish-wielding arrow at a nearby spot, and she started on making another fire, because the last one somehow went out.

"Yes, that's right, and I was going to say that, but I kinda forgot the name of them so quickly," Hiccup replied, before putting his focus on Merida's efforts to start a fire with two stones, which didn't seem to be working at all for her.

"Merida, would you like some help there, because it's probably going to take you all night if keep doing that," Hiccup added, then he turned around to face Toothless.

"Hey, bud, you wouldn't mind giving our friend a little help," Hiccup said, and he quickly started to think about a certain word he said right when after it came out of his mouth.

Was it much too soon for Hiccup to be calling Merida a friend, even though she did allow him and Toothless to stick around with both her and her horse for the night. Merida grew up in this land for her whole life, so she obviously knew it very well, and it wouldn't have been a bad idea to have her at least guide them through the land. Hiccup's thoughts about Merida were instantly interrupted when Toothless shot a fireball to the pile of sticks on the ground, which created a fire warm enough for all of them.

"Seems like yer dragon has managed to save me from possibly spendin' almost the whole night workin' on a fire for us, so please tell him that I said thanks." Merida said.

"I should probably make sure to do that right now before I forget," Hiccup replied, before looking over at Toothless. "Thank you for helping Merida out, bud." He added.

The Viking scratched the Night Fury under his chin for only a few seconds, which caused Toothless to give back his own affection, with licking his best friend in the face. Merida couldn't help but let out a few laughs as she watched the cute and adorable moment between Hiccup and Toothless happen not so far away in her sight.

"Now then, Hiccup, are ye gonna be all lovey dovey with yer dragon, or do ye wanna hear the rest of the story that I was beginning to tell earlier?" Merida asked.

"I still want to hear the story but. . ." Hiccup answered, as he took a seat on the ground, having his legs crossed. "I haven't eaten anything since this morning so. . ."

"Ye were hopin' for me to catch a fish for ye, right?" Merida guessed, and soon enough, she got back up on her feet, but not before grabbing her bow and another arrow.

"Yeah, but only if you don't mind," Hiccup replied, before turning to Toothless. "I would want my friend here to help, but he'll probably just eat the fish as soon he catches it." He added.

Toothless shot Hiccup a glare, but the dragon eased up when he realized that what the boy had said was right, because Hiccup needed to have something to eat too.

"No, I don't mind, Hiccup, but maybe later, I could give ye some personal lessons in archery, so that way, ye could be able to catch a fish on yer own." Merida suggested.

"Sure, I would like that," Hiccup said, while taking a look around. "Of course, it might be best to do those lessons when the sun is out, and not in the dark." Hiccup added.

"I agree, because ye won't ever find yer target at nighttime," Merida responded, while placing an arrow in her bow. "Now if ye excuse me, I have a fish to catch for ye."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." Hiccup said, giving her a grin as he looked up at her, but to his surprise, Merida didn't look back and kept walking over to the stream.

Hiccup was beginning to believe that Merida was upset with him for having her catch a fish, but he was sure that as soon as he learns archery, she wouldn't be anymore. Toothless laid down on the grass, right next to Hiccup, who decided to lay against the dragon's stomach for a while, until they both heard the sound of an arrow being shot.

"I've got good news, Hiccup, it didn't take me that long to catch dinner for ye," Merida said, as she came in front of the Viking and his dragon to show them the fish she caught.

"I'll go have it cooked for ye too, but yer still gonna make it up to me by learning how to do archery tomorrow morning, so ye can catch yer own breakfast." Merida added.

"I know that I've said this already, but thanks, Merida, and so I promise that from now on, or after I've learned archery tomorrow, you won't have to catch a fish for me ever again." Hiccup replied.

"I'm glad to hear that, Hiccup, and luckily, it's not gonna take a long time for yer fish to be cooked either, so ye shouldn't have to wait a while for it to be done." Merida said.

"Honestly, a cooked fish isn't the only thing I can't wait for, as I'm still wanting to hear the rest of your story, but you and I should probably eat our fish first." Hiccup responded.

"Yes, because it's much better to be tellin' a story without havin' food in yer mouth, and just so ye know, that's one of the things my mother has taught me." Merida reminded.

"I'm sure that you feel very lucky to still have your mother in your life, because mine passed away when I was just a kid, and I still believe that her death was my fault." Hiccup revealed.

Right when Hiccup had said all of that, just as she was about to take a bite of the fish she caught, Merida lowered it down from her mouth, and gave a look of sadness.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Hiccup, but why would ye think it's yer fault that yer mum died, like she didn't pass away after giving to you, did she?" Merida asked curiously.

"No, luckily, she didn't, although it was quite painful for her, and she was around to take care of me, that is, until a dragon raid happened in my village. Even though I was told to stay inside the house, I went out anyway, most likely because a thunder storm was happening on the same night too, and she would always make me feel safe and protected." Hiccup explained.

"Hiccup, ye shouldn't keep blamin' yerself, since all of that guilt isn't goin' to help ye out with anything, but did ye and yer father ever talk about it?" Merida asked, before taking a bite out of the fish.

"He's told me many times that it wasn't my fault, but I still manage to feel gulity that I distracted her from saving the livestock from the dragons." Hiccup answered.

"Ye know, Hiccup, there was actually a time when I almost lost my Mum, it wasn't so long ago from now, and that's really what my story is about." Merida mentioned.

"Oh, really, then I guess that I'm going to finish eating this whole fish quickly so I can get to hear the entire thing as soon as possible." Hiccup announced.

"Hold on, Hiccup, ye can still get to listen to my story while yer eating that fish, so there's no reason why ye shouldn't take yer time with it." Merida reminded.

"Alright, but I was just thinking that it would be nice of me to give my full attention to you, and not be focused with doing something else." Hiccup responded.

"Well, if ye really want to finish eating it, take yer time with making slow bites, and no matter what, don't stuff the whole thing down." Merida advised.

"I'm guessing that it was your mother who told you both of those things? Either way, those are good tips for eating at the dinner table." Hiccup complimented.

"I learned both of them during my lessons, and there have been times when my Mum would repeat those tips so that I didn't forget them." Merida mentioned.

"In the past, even though I was told to do something by a lot more than one person, I would still not listen to them, and do the exact opposite." Hiccup said.

"Were ye always the local troublemaker in the village back then, or did ye just not like being told what to do and what not to do by people?" Merida asked.

"Neither, but since I was the only child to my parents, they didn't want me to get into any trouble, such as run off somewhere and get myself hurt." Hiccup answered.

"When I was a child, before my brothers were born, my parents would let me go off into the forest, but only if I accidentally shot an arrow that went there." Merida said.

"Wow, so Merida, even when you were young, your parents trusted you enough to let you go to places on your own? Don't you think that wasn't a good idea?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm sure that my Mum and Dad were always worried while I was gone, but they'd know that I would eventually find my way out and come back to them." Merida replied.

"Well, for me, unless either my mother or father had their eyes on me the whole time, I couldn't be allowed to spend time at any place on Berk all by myself." Hiccup said.

"That must have been such a shame for you, and I don't mean to ruin this whole conversation we have goin' here, but would you like to hear the story now?" Merida asked.

"Oh, absolutely, Merida, but I still think that I should eat the rest of this fish before you even start, since I don't want to make any interruptions for you." Hiccup responded.

"Alright, but while yer doing that, I'll just. . ." Merida trailed off as she turned around to look for her horse. ". . .spend some time with Angus until yer done." Merida finished.

"I'll do what you said with taking my time, but I'll also try not to take so long either, I promise." Hiccup said, while looking up at Merida before taking a bite out of his fish.

Merida gave a quick thumbs up with her right hand to Hiccup after she got up from the ground, and made her way over to sit down with her trusty four-legged childhood friend.

"Sorry to bother ye, Angus, but there's no way that I'd want to be spendin' the next few minutes watchin' that boy eat a fish that he didn't even catch for himself!" Merida said.

Upon hearing that, Angus was getting prepared to swat Merida in the face with his tail, and unfortunately, the horse couldn't be able to do that, since the redhead was much closer to his head than his backside. Angus didn't seem to find the boy as a problem at all, since he was even willing to take up archery lessons from Merida the next morning, so that she wouldn't need to catch another fish for him anymore. The Clydesdale snorted in Merida's face, hoping his friend would somehow get the message that she was being a little too harsh about the company they had closeby, and luckily, it had managed to work.

"Yeah, I know that he's never learned how to use a bow and arrow, he told me himself, but does he really think that I won't have his attention if he's eatin' a fish?" Merida questioned.

Angus figured that the boy was just trying to be nice, since he and Merida hadn't ever met before, not to mention the fact that he knows she's also a Scottish princess. Merida turned around to take a look of how much progress Hiccup has done with eating his fish so far, and she was surprised to see that he was almost finished with it.

"Well, it doesn't seem like he's only doin' it to get on my nerves or anythin', and I have to admit that it was rather cool to feel the warmth of his dragon's nose." Merida said.

Angus was glad to know that the boy's dragon wasn't much of a problem for Merida either, despite the way that he just showed up, and almost scared the heck out of her.

"Anyway, as soon as Hiccup's dinner is over, I'm goin' to tell him the story of how I almost lost my Mum, and after that, we'll call it a night and get some sleep." Merida added.

Right after the horse gave a nod with his head, Angus and the girl both heard a rather loud noise which sounded most like a burp, and they turned their heads to where it came from.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Hiccup said, before bringing up one of his sleeves to his mouth so that he could wipe away any drooly spots he might have gotten from eating.

"Now that yer done, can I get to tell ye the story, or is there anything else that ye want to do?" Merida asked, while walking over to the grassy spot where Hiccup was sitting at.

"No, there's nothing that I can think of at the moment, so yes, you can now tell the story to me and Toothless." Hiccup answered, backing up a little to give Merida more space.

"Just so ye know in advance, I'm goin' to try and make this story as short as possible, because I'd like to get enough sleep so that I'll have lots of energy for yer archery lesson tomorrow." Merida reminded.

"I'm okay with that, since I don't think it's really important to hear every single thing, and it would be best for all of us to get our rest as soon as possible." Hiccup said.

"Glad to hear that from you, but I don't want to hear anythin' else from the time I begin this story to the moment when it's all over. Understand?" Merida questioned.

Hiccup gave his response with a simple nod of his head, and at the same time, he was telling himself in his head not to say a word or even raise one of his hands either.

"Now then, where was I?" Merida said, while thinking for a moment. "Oh, yes! Many years passed ever since my dad lost his leg to Mor'du, and as I grew up, I became more much free-spirited, and adventurous. That's why all I wanted was to have a free life, but my Mum preferred that I should focus on bein' a proper princess, since that title came with important duties and responsibilities. From the way that I saw it, with her endless lessons and high expectations, she was teachin' me so I could grow up to become just like her.

After I returned home from ridin' Angus on a day when I had no lessons, my Mum told me at dinner that the clans of Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall would be coming, and the Lords would present their sons as suitors to compete in a competition for my hand in marriage, and of course, I wasn't happy about it at all. My Mum came to my room and reminded me about the legend of the prince who ruined his own kingdom by puttin' himself first over others, and also warned me that a failure to marry could result in a war happenin' between the four clans, but I was still unhappy and unsatisfied with the whole arrangement.

A few days passed before the clans arrived, and to make me look ready and prepared like a princess should, Mum had me wear a tight formal dress. I wasn't impressed by any of the suitors presented to me, and a brawl soon broke out between the clans, which had my Mum disgusted, so she quickly put an end to it. She announced that only the firstborn of the great leaders may compete in the challenge, which gave me an idea of how to get out of the marriage, and since it was up to me to decide on what the challenge was going to be, I declared to the clans that it would be none other than my favorite hobby of mine, archery.

Before the competition began, I snuck my bow and arrow behind my throne, and as the suitors shot at the targets, I talked with my dad about each of them until one of the suitors, who was the son of Lord Dingwall, won by accident, striking a bulls-eye, and that's when I went off to the field and declared I will shoot for my own hand. Ignorin' my mother's protests, I struck a bulls-eye at the first two targets, and I smiled as I shot another arrow that went through the full length of Wee Dingwall's arrow and through the target, before turning around to face my Mum, who I could see was obviously furious, and she dragged me back to the tapestry room.

Right when we got there, the two of us had an argument about my actions out in the field, with my Mum calling me a child and me calling her a beast for trying to ruin my life, and while using a sword, I went over to the sewed family tapestry and made a tear between the spot that had me and my Mum side by side. My Mum took my bow and threw it into a fire, and I ran away, devastated, from the castle on Angus in tears, and we rode through the forest until we came across a Ring of Stones, and I soon saw a trail of will o' the wisps, which I decided to follow, and they led me and Angus all the way to an old woodcarver's cottage.

After noticin' a broom sweepin' by itself and hearin' a talkin' crow, I discovered that this old woodcarver was actually a witch, but she tried to deny it, and told me to leave, while threatenin' me with a lot of floatin' knives, and said that she wouldn't help me unless I bought any of her wooden carvings that she'd made. I offered to buy all of her carvings with my pendant in exchange for a spell that would change my fate, and so the witch gave in, conjurin' up a cake, and told me that she did this spell before for a prince who wanted the strength of ten men and got what he wanted, and somehow, I found myself back at the Ring of Stones.

I returned to the castle, and snuck into the kitchen to make the cake look presentable, and just when I was finished, my Mum entered the room, relieved that I was back home, and so I quickly gave her the cake as a peace offering, and after she had just a piece of the cake, she suddenly started to feel very sick. I took my Mum up to her room, while believin' that the spell was already taking effect, but after I got my Mum into her bed, she soon rolled off of it to the other side of the floor, while still bein' covered up by the blanket, and I began to hear strange sounds from under it, and I walked over to see if she was alright.

The blanket that my Mum was under started to get higher than me, and it finally came off to reveal that my Mum had transformed into a bear, which left me horrified, but with the help of my brothers, we managed to escape the castle without being caught, and we retreated back into the forest, to the witches cottage. The witch wasn't inside, but she did leave a message for me with a cauldron by using a potion, saying that by the second sunrise, the spell would be permanent, and the only way to break the spell was to remember this riddle "Fate be changed, look inside, mend the bond, torn by pride."

I began to panic, thinkin' that there wasn't another message for me, so l tossed the other potions into the cauldron, which created an explosion that destroyed the cottage, and as it started to rain, me and my Mum decided to take shelter in what was left of the cottage for the night. Durin' the night, I had a dream about a memory of me as a child with my Mum as we were both singin' a Scottish lullaby, and when I woke up, I saw that my Mum brought breakfast for both of us, with it bein' nightshade berries and water, but unfortunately, the berries were poisonous and the water had worms with it.

We came across a river, and while we were there, I taught my Mum on how to catch fish, which had us bondin' for a small period of time before my Mum headed into the forest, and when I caught up with her, my Mum suddenly prowled up to me, and acted as if she was about to attack me, but luckily, it didn't happen. The two of us saw a trail of will o' the wisps, which we followed, and they led me and my Mum to the ruins of a old castle, and I fell down through a pit to come into the throne room, and I realized it was the same kingdom from the story my Mum had told me about many times before.

I found an engraved stone of the King's four brothers, but a part with the fourth brother had been split, just like when I had cut my Mum apart from me on the family tapestry, and I realized that the witch's spell happened before, and that the brother was transformed into the raging bear Mor'du. When I turned around, there was Mor'du, who had been living in the ruins for all this time, and tried to attack me, but I barely escaped with the help of my Mum, and we ran away from the ruins of the castle until we were at the Ring of Stones.

I realized that if we didn't break the spell in time, then my Mum would become just like Mor'du, like a real bear forever, and I remembered that the witch told me I had to "mend the bond torn by pride", so I was sure that the spell would be broken if we went back to the castle and sewed the family tapestry back together. Peekin' into the Great Hall, we saw my Dad and the lords behind barricades, hurlin' weapons at each other, on the brink of war, and since my Mum was a bear, she couldn't do anythin' to stop them, so I walked into the room and told everyone that I'd been in conference with my Mum.

The lords demanded to see my Mum, but I told them to be quiet, and I saw that my Mum had snuck into the room, and froze into a still position so that she wouldn't be seen and attacked, so with the help of my Mum, I gave a speech about how the clans were once enemies. When they were threatened by the Northern Invaders, they joined together to defend their lands, and when they won the war, the clans made my Dad their king for bringing them together and made an alliance, one that was forged in bravery and friendship, and still lived to this day.

I admitted that I'd been selfish, tore a great rift in our bond, and there was no else to blame but myself, but I knew that I had to make things right by amendin' my mistake and restoring our bond, so just when I was about to announce my decision with whom to marry, I saw my Mum shakin' her head. With sign language from my Mum, I told everyone that she had decided to break tradition because she felt in her heart that we should be free to write our own stories, follow our hearts, and find love in our time, and both the Lords and their sons agreed to this.

I noticed a guard starin' at my Mum and so I managed to get rid of everyone by telling them to go to the cellar to celebrate, and once they were all gone, my Mum and I headed to the the tapestry room, but not long after my Mum began to look for a thread and needle, she was acting like a wild bear again. When my Dad came into the room, my Mum attacked him, and did a small cut on my right arm, but she quickly snapped out of it, and upon seeing that she harmed both me and my Mum, she left, and I tried to tell my Dad that the bear was his wife he refused to listen, and locked her in the tapestry room for protection.

I called out to the castle's maid Maudie to come and open the door, but then my brothers showed up, and I saw that they turned into bears from eatin' the cake, and I asked for their help to get the key from Maudie, and soon enough, they got it and released me from the tapestry room. The four of us rode on Angus while I sewed up the tapestry, and soon a trail of will o' the wisps led us to where my Mum had been captured by my Dad, as well as the other soldiers, and I fought my Dad to stop him from killing my Mum, but then, Mor'du appeared, and everyone's attention was brought to him.

Mor'du fought off my Dad and all the other soldiers who attempted to kill him, and just when he tried to attack me, my Mum rushed in, savin' me just in time, and fought Mor'du for a while before bashin' him against a weakened stone pillar, which fell and crushed him to death. I saw a wisp emerge from the stone, and it showed the human form of the fourth brother, and he gave a nod with his head, as if it was in acknowledgement and gratitude He then flew away to live with all the other wisps, and as the sun started to come up, I realized it was the second sunrise.

I rushed over to my Mum, and put the sewn tapestry on top of her, and it didn't seem to work, from seeing my Mum's eyes changed, I believed that the spell had become permanent, and I had failed, so I tearfully hugged my Mum and apologized for everythin' and told her I loved her. Suddenly, I felt a human hand touching my hair, and I looked up to see that my Mum was human again, and my brothers were also back to being human, but the difference is that my Mum had the tapestry to cover herself, and my Mum and I reconciled, before all of us headed back to the kingdom. A few days passed, and durin' that time, me and my Mum had worked on a new tapestry until one day, we were called to the docks to say goodbye to the Lords, and after, we rode on our horses to journey around Scotland, making our bond stronger than before. . .the end." Merida said.

She took a deep breath to relax herself, especially after talking for such a long time, before facing Hiccup and speaking up again. "So, what did ye think of it?" Merida asked.

"I'd say that you're already an expert in telling a story, but what were all of the things that you've learned from that whole experience?" Hiccup questioned, curious.

"I've learned that puttin' a spell on my Mum was a rash and stupid thing to do, and also when I saw the clans fightin', I realized that my Mum was right all along. My actions were truly causin' problems between the clans that could have developed into wars, and my duties and responsibilities are important, because they effect not only my life, but also the lives of others, such as the lives of the other clans. I've realized that one day I will rule a kingdom, but if I'm going to be Queen, then it's important for me to put the needs of others before my own." Merida responded.

"I should make sure to remember that when I take over my dad's position as chief of the village, and I know that he'll have me prepared for it." Hiccup mentioned.

"Yes, that's a good idea, well anyway, it's late, and I'm sure that all of us are tired, so we should put out the fire and get some sleep right now." Merida suggested.

"I agree, and maybe sometime tomorrow, I could tell you the story of how me and Toothless not only became friends, but also brought peace to my village." Hiccup offered.

"Of course, Hiccup, I'd like to hear that story," Merida said, before taking a look at the campfire. "You know, this fire is just going to die out, so we can just leave it alone."

"Okay then, goodnight, Merida, and I can't wait for my archery lesson tomorrow," Hiccup said, before laying himself down next to his dragon's chest, and closed his eyes.

"Right back at ye, Hiccup." Merida replied, as she laid down next to Angus, and closed her eyes too, with both the humans and their friends eventually falling asleep.