I'm really excited for what's coming up next in this story.

CHAPTER 8

It wasn't that she'd never seen anyone die before, because she'd watched her own mother put an end to Mor'du in the glen, only a few months prior. But that had been clean and swift – he'd been crushed under a boulder in the midst of battle.

And there were plenty of ailments for which there was no cure. And casualties of war. And accidents that often left people dead or severely maimed. Her own father had lost his leg in battle. Countless men had died in the kingdom of DunBroch before, many just as violently as this one.

But none as preventable and none as irrefutably her fault.

"Whot was his name?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper as one of the soldiers offered her a fresh mount.

"Cynwrig, mi'lady." the soldier answered, dipping low to offer the princess a boost into the saddle.

Not even trying to look dignified, she bit her lip. "Thank ye."

And for the first time since she'd been tall enough to grasp a horse's withers, she let him give her a boost into the saddle of Cynwrig's steed.

He didn't particularly want to dive headfirst into a battle, but his tendency to do that was one trait he had inherited from Stoick. It was and always had been the viking way. That was how he'd met Toothless, after all, by sprinting into the fray.

But before he reached her, she began her retreat.

A familiar flash of ginger caught his eye as they soared past the clearing, and his stomach dropped.

"Astrid!" he called, urging Toothless faster to catch up with her.

He found her grimacing in pain, and it didn't take his eyes long to pinpoint why. Protruding from her bicep was a single arrow, which looked to be fairly deeply embedded in her flesh, crimson staining the fur and leather armour she wore.

"What happened?"

"Ambush," She said through gritted teeth, sounding very much as though she was mentally scolding herself for not having been able to avoid it. "I know you don't want a war - I don't either - but they're savages and murderers, Hiccup. It was nowhere near a fair fight."

He frowned, leaning low to get a closer look at her wound.

And his stomach sank as he recognized the bear symbol painted on the shaft of the arrow.

The very same arrow that had been pointed at his own face just a few days earlier.

A combination of guilt and dread hit him like a punch in the gut.

That should have been me.

At the first glimpse of ginger at the gates, Elinor had sprinted from her seat at the window that overlooked the courtyard. Her knuckles turning white as she gripped her skirts so fiercely that she almost tore them in her haste to reach the bottom of the stairs. Fear gripped her insides like claws of ice, and for a moment, she hesitated.

What if. . .

No, she mustn't.

Angus had come back without is rider several times before, and this time would be no different.

And with that, she pushed through the grand oak doors and out into the courtyard, stopping dead and giving a strangled cry at the sight of the blood splattered across her daughters face.

Her knees buckled under her weight and she didn't even seem to notice as she collapsed in the mud, her hands clapped so tightly around her mouth that she could nae even breath. She didn't even seem to register her ladies in waiting as they scrambled to her side to help her back to her feet.

And then Merida looked her way and Elinor's breath caught in her throat.

She was alive.

Overcome with relief, Elinor almost laughed, suddenly remembering to breathe once more. Scrambling to her feet, she nearly pushed her ladies out of her way as she strode across the courtyard towards her daughter, trying her best to look stern despite the tears of relief welling up in her wide brown eyes.

"Er, hi mum." Merida said softly, sliding off the horse carefully.

Her freckles stood out stark against her fair face, which was as pale as Elinor had ever seen it, under all the blood. Normally so fully of life and vigour, passion and strong will, the princess returning with the soldiers hardly even seemed a shadow of the headstrong girl that had run off to the glen that morning.

"Whot have ye done?" Elinor asked gently, taking her daughter's face in her hands to inspect her for injuries.

"It's not-" Merida choked, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes filling with tears, she bit her lip and threw her arms around her mother, burying her face in the rich green fabric of her gown as her shoulders trembled with a repressed sob. "I'm sorry – I won't – do i' again."

"Come on," Elinor said gently, putting a protective arm around her daughter and leading her back inside the castle. "That's a good lass."

And with that, everyone sprang back into motion and the soldiers lead their great warhorses to the stables, and the ladies hurried from the courtyard in pursuit of their mistress.

A wooden ladle in her mouth, she did her best not to grimace too noticeably as Gobber pulled the arrow from her arm. Of all the battle scars she could have ended up with, a simple arrow hardly ranked on any viking scale of impressiveness. The scar that would be left by the extraction would be more impressive than the scar left by the arrow itself.

"I'm so sorry, Astrid," Hiccup said, putting a hand over hers.

She shrugged noncommittally with the side of her body that wasn't in the midst of being bandaged.

"They hid like cowards," Astrid said. "What more could you have done? Besides burn the forest to to the ground so they've got nowhere left to hide, I mean."

And with that, her eyes narrowed.

As Gobber finished bandaging her arm, she murmured her thanks.

"C'mon," she said, grabbing Hiccup by the hand as she lead him out into their war encampment – right to Stoick's tent. Announcing the both of them, Astrid didn't even hesitate before dipping inside.

Hiccup frowned.

"Astrid, Hiccup," Stoick greeted them fondly, his eyes narrowing when he spied the fresh bandage on Astrid's arm.

"I don't know what's they're playing at." Astrid growled. "They goaded us out here by attacking our ships without provocation. Now that we're here, they're hiding like cowards and trying to pick us off one by one."

Stoick frowned but nodded, bidding her to continue as he absentmindedly stroked his fiery red beard.

"Let's see if they actually know how to use those weapons they tote around."

Hiccup felt his blood run cold.

"We'll burn down the trees," Astrid's voice cracked, and she paused for a moment to swallow her anger and frustration. "Let's see how well they fight when they have nowhere left to hide."

I always appreciate hearing what you have to say, so please review.

I'd love to hear what your favourite part of the story has been so far. And your predictions for what's going to happen next.

Also, I'm working on another story as well, called 'Fate Loves the Fearless', which is a RotBTD Hogwarts AU. There's a link on my author profile, if you're interested.