"Hurry up, ya wee fish bone!" A cheery voice rang out into the woods.

"Hey!" A second voice pouted. "That's mean."

"I was just joking!" The first voice echoed back.

"Well you have crazy hair!"

The two nine year olds burst into a fit of laughter.

"Good one, Hiccup." The first voice choked through giggles.

"You really do have crazy hair though, Merida."

Merida laughed one more time and then sat up.

"It's not fair." Merida sighed.

"What's not fair?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"I have to get married to someone who competes for me."

"Why?"

"My mum." She replied.

Hiccup understood. She would be married to some strange person because they won a stupid challenge. "I promise I'll come back and try to win for you, If you want me to."

"Oh hiccup!" She squeaked.

"So… you want me to?"

"Please."

Stoik's POV

Stoik watched the two kids play around in the grass. He felt bad that he had to take hiccup away today. He had finally made a friend he truly enjoyed. Merida was struggling to teach Hiccup how to shoot her tiny bow. He laughed to himself as Merida dodged Hiccups stray arrow and it got stuck in the tree next to her. Hiccup was a tiny boy and didn't have many friends. Merida was brave, yet didn't have anyone her age. Two best friends, leagues apart with no way to communicate. Stoik made a promise to himself he would bring Hiccup back one day. Merida's long, red hair got stuck in hiccups mouth. He tried to spit it out. One he was finished, the two of them looked at each other, and then rolled to the ground in a fit of laughter. Stoik remembered those carefree days, playing with hiccups mother in the grass, not knowing that they would marry and soon enough, have a child. But she was gone now. He had to worry about Hiccup, not his dead mother. It pained him to say Valka was dead, but it was the only reasonable explanation. Dragons had taken her away when Hiccup was just a baby.

Hiccup's POV

Hiccup looked up at his father. Then he heard a slap behind him. "Hey!" Merida yelled to a fast teen who lives by the castle. "If ye weren't so fast ye would be dead meat…"

"Why'd they do that?" Hiccup asked, aghast.

"People can be annoying little creatures." She replied, her Scottish accent sticking out on creatures.

"Crea-tours.." Hiccup said playfully, trying to copy her accent.

"That's not how I sound!" She steamed, her accent blaring again.

"Soun-ed?" Hiccup giggled.

Merida finally gave into her smile as she laughed, "You sound funnier than me!"

"No you!"

"No you!"

Stoik's POV

Stoik watched the two playfully bickering. "Hiccup!" He bellowed.

"Yes dad?" He said as he walked closer to him, his eyes glued to the ground.

"Time to go, son." He replied as Merida's sad eyes met his. "Say goodbye to Merida." He forced. He didn't want to take hiccup away, but hiccup had to learn to be chief. He couldn't stay here forever.

"Bye Merida." Hiccup said, eyes still on the ground. Then he whispered so only she could hear, "I will come back, I promise."

"You better ya wee fishbone." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek.

—

3 years later

—

The sun crept to a bed inside the huge castle. There was a heap under the blanket with a big ball of messed up red hair at the top. The second the sun touched it a face appeared and the teenager sat up quickly. This was her day to be free. She grabbed her bow and arrows and ran down the cold, stone spiral stairs. She raced to her horse and jumped on his back. "Hurry up!" She cried joyfully, anxious to start her day. The black and white horse reared and raced out of the castle gates. She shot arrow after arrow at the wooden targets she had set up years ago, getting a bulls eye every time. She saw a purplish light from deep in the woods. "Is… is that a wisp?" She said to herself. She got off the horse and trudged into the direction of the light. There it was again, in the same spot. "Maybe I shouldn't go alone, I'm only 12 after all!" She whispered, panicked. "No." She thought aloud to help cam herself. "Hiccup would be brave." She felt silly thinking of her old friend, she hadn't seen him for 3 years. Soon she reached where she had seen the light. Nothing was there. She felt something brush her and she flipped around. Nothing was there. She felt another brush. "Hello?"

She asked, wondering what was happening to her. "Wisps?" She whispered, searching for them. She felt the air around her, it felt as if a huge bird had taken off. She heard a thump next to her. She looked over and she saw a limp white shape with wings and a tail. She moved the wing away from its face and saw…

"A DRAGON?!" Merida screamed.