Rule Together

By Uniasus

4C in Fated

Too nervous to sit around the castle, Hiccup and Merida had gone for a flight on Toothless. They released the tension of waiting for their parents' decision by flying below the tree tops and dodging tree trunks.

It helped, a little bit, but upon their return to Merida's home and seeing the deliberations were over, much too early for the decision to simply pause until the next day, all that tension and painful hope of their future union came pouring back into their bodies.

Stoick was the one to step forward and announce the decision.

"Son, I'm gonna miss you."

Merida jump up and down with a happy cheer and then went to give her future father-in-law a hug. Hiccup just stood there, letting the idea sink in. He was going to marry Merida. He was going to move to Caledonia.

He was going to marry Merida.

The bubble of happiness in his chest was hard to quench, and indeed he was sure he showed it on his face, but he managed to be mature when he approached Fergus and Elinor. "Thank you for allowing me to marry Merida. I promise to take care of her."

"I know you will," Elinor answered, but it was barely heard by Fergus wrapping his arms around Hiccup and lifting him into the air and booming "Welcome to the family!"

##########

For once, leaving Caledonia didn't come with feelings of loss. Come a few months, he would be returning for his wedding to Merida. They were getting married!

Upon landing on Berk however, the same feeling that he had felt for at least a year, of a reluctant return until he could leave again, settled in his stomach. Usually the feeling faded after the first day. He loved Caledonia, loved Merida, but Berk was home and where he felt he was the most useful. In two years, he had become a community pillar. Caledonia was a nice break.

Only now, back on Berk and knowing soon he could no longer call the small island home, did he wish things were the other way around. That Merida was coming here instead of him going there.

Berk, with it's dragons and cold and endless problems, was part of his blood. He was going to do a lot of sketches to take back with him.

##########

It was, oh, maybe an hour after Stoick announced the alliance between the two communities before Astird and Stormfly came along side Hiccup and Toothless in the air. Dragons weren't hovering creatures, but still Hiccup was trying to find the best angle of Berk to save in his mind and draw later.

"You're getting married!"

"Yup."

And something in the way he said it had her eyes narrow and the Nadder's spikes rise.

"Why do you sound happy?"

"Because I love Merida."

"You've only seen her for a few days during the negotiations!"

Oh, right...

Hiccup turned from looking at the houses below to pay detailed attention to Astrid's face. Hair blown back by the wind, hands white tight on the saddle, and large eyes that held surprise, confusion. And betrayal.

"Just a few days with her, and you're leaving me. What does she have that I don't?" But Hiccup never got a chance to answer because Astrid took Stormfly into a dive and Hiccup didn't follow.

##########

Hiccup had always know his wedding gift to Merida would be a dragon. The problem was figuring out which one. Originally he had figured a Deadly Nadder would be a good choice; Merida and Astrid were somewhat similar in build so physically a Nadder would be a good match. He had tried to ask Astrid to help him choose one, she slammed the door in his face, and dragons must have their own gossip mill because half of the spiky dragons wouldn't come near him.

He settled on a Monstrous Nightmare instead.

Lucky wasn't fully grown yet. Fishlegs estimated another five years or so, but they were still learning about the dragon life cycle. Yet it was obvious that the young dragon would not quite reach the size of the other Nightmares. Malnutrition as a hatching, smaller parents, who knew, but Hiccup figured Lucky was a good size for Merida. Very affectionate too, and didn't need a head wrestle to clam her down. That seemed to be a male Nightmare thing.

"Are you sure you made a good choice?" Fishlegs asked while they washed their dragons. "I mean, don't you think a Gronkle would make a better choice for someone who has a limited experience with dragons? Sure, Meatlug's gentler than most, but as a breed they're the calmest."

"No, Merida will have no problem with Lucky. I think she'd find Gronkles too tame for her."

"Just what type of girl is she?"

"The one who rock climbs up a waterfall with a bow on her back."

##########

Stoick had insisted that Hiccup ride the boats back to Caledonia when they left for the wedding. No flying ahead and getting there days early, no delaying departure to get there the same time as the ships. No, he was going to say goodbye to his son soon and wanted all the time he could get with him.

Hiccup was touched by the need to pack what they could in the three week journey. Toothless would laze on the deck, Thornado swim through the water beside the boat, other dragons of other vikings alternating between decks and sky, and the two of them would just sit and talk. Sometimes about shared memories, or Stoick would talk about his wife and Hiccup would share tales of Merida. There was also a rather lot of chiefing talk. Hiccup hadn't been due to take over for years yet, had no reason to learn anything specifically from his dad, but now that he would be a king instead of a chief Hiccup was freaked out of his mind.

"The title may be different, but the job's the same," Gobber told him and so Hiccup had gone to Stoick to share everything he could. It would do to be well prepared, and he was surprised at how chiefing worked. Just like he manipulated metal and leather, Stoick manipulated people.

"I don't know if I can do this," Hiccup admitted, not for the first time, as the shore of Caledonia appeared on the horizon.

"Well I know you can," Stoick answered, also not for the first time. "You're my son, your mother's son, and the viking who changed the course of Berk's history. Recon the Gods want you to do the same thing here."

Change Caledonia? But it was perfect just the way it was.

He tried not to think about the fact that it never snowed here hard enough to bury you.

##########

There were representatives from all four clans, as well as neighboring kingdoms, and five ships of vikings at the wedding. But Hiccup didn't have the time to take in the mixing of cultures, the similarities and differences between Norse men and Celtic men. He was too busy watching Merdia the entire time, hand sneaking out underneath the table to touch her wedding gown to prove that yes this was real.

She kept doing the same thing, so Hiccup knew she was just as dazed as he was.

They said their vows, consummated their marriage, and yet it still didn't feel real. Not even when they were given their own suite of rooms, or flew through the sky on their dragons (Merida and Lucky were bonded fast). There was nothing different, aside from the addition to Lucky, from most of his visits to Caledonia.

And then came the day when the vikings of Berk left.

Hiccup stood on the edge of the dock, hand on Toothless's back, as he watched the sails fade away. There went his friends, his family, back to Berk and home. A journey he would never take again.

He never thought he'd miss that rocky island.

Merida came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and planting a kiss just before his ear.

"You okay?"

"I miss them already."

"I understand. I would feel the same way if I was watching my parents sail away from Berk."

"I didn't think I would miss Berk at all."

"Why wouldn't you, it's your home."

"Was. Was my home. Now, it's with you."

He leaned back against her and together they sunk to the wooden planks. Toothless curled around them, Lucky around him.

Hiccup knew the feeling would get better with time, but for tonight, and probably the next three months, it would be hard. It was nice to know he had support here. He closed his eyes, slipping into a nap as Merida played with his hair.

##########

Despite being married, Merida still had to attend princess lessons. And sometimes, Hiccup attended them too. While a prince didn't need to memorize poetry (though he found the poems Caledonia had fascinating), he did need to know how to speak properly, how to host, and the history of the clans. Because, as Elinor was always pointing out, the people of Caledonia were his people now and people he would be ruling in the future.

It still blindsided him sometimes. That he was now a prince. His life (aside from it now being in a stone castle instead of a wooden hut) wasn't that different. Hiccup still went for rides on Toothless, still went exploring with Merida, coupled on top of the Firefall. No one at the castle treated him any differently than they had for the past two years. And while the lessons were the result of him now being a prince, he just saw them as interesting. More things to learn and use for the future.

But sometimes, when he and Merida had ventured to the edge of the kingdom, to where people weren't as familiar with them and thus did not treat them as neighbors, he was reminded that some day, and some day soon, they would be his responsibility.

The idea had freaked him out a bit on Berk, knowing that he was the next chief, but at least he knew Berk. Knew it's people and it's land. He thought he had learned a lot about Caledonia from all his visits, but his lessons were showing him that wasn't the case. There was still so much he didn't know.

He was supposed to rule, as king (which sounded a lot more imposing that village chief), over a people and a land he knew very little about. Hiccup would be lying if he said that did not scare him.

Merida always seemed to know when the thought would strike him and she'd calm him with a kiss to his cheek. "Don't forget, we'll rule together. What you don't know, I do, and what I don't know, you do. The wisps said we're fated to be with each other, remember? That includes ruling this land."

He always felt better after that, until the thought entered his mind again days later.

##########

What surprised Hiccup was the lack of an Astrid counterpart. That is, Astrid was upset at his marriage but no one here seemed to be upset with Merida's marriage to him.

At least, until members of Clan Macintosh arrived for a visit.

"Why does he keep staring at me?" Hiccup leaned over to whisper in Merida's ear during dinner, subtly gesturing to a young man with long black hair with a fork.

She looked at the Celtic man, smiled at him, and he turned away, slightly embarrassed.

"That's Carrdoc Macintosh. One of the suitors my mum invited. A bit melodramatic, and I think my hair has less tangles. He's nice enough. The first to agree with me about choosing ourselves who we marry."

"So not a bad guy."

"Not at all."

Still, Hiccup didn't like the way he looked at him.

##########

Merida was doing something or other with Elinor, Hiccup wasn't sure what, but he had taken the time to give Toothless a bath at the river.

He was completely not expecting the arrow that flew towards his head.

Toothless reflected it with a wing and bounded into the trees. He pulled out Carrdoc, the other man kicking and screaming, and then proceeded to dunk his head in the river and hold it there. Hiccup knew the Night Fury would have no qualms about drowning the Celt and so rushed over. "Toothless! Drop him!"

The dragon waited an extra second before obeying, but opened his jaws. Carrdoc's head broke the surface, sputtering and gasping for breath. Hiccup pulled him onto the river bank, Toothless following behind him with bared teeth.

Once Carrdoc had cleared his lungs of water, he looked up at Hiccup, and to the viking's surprise, started to whine.

"It's not fair! I try so hard, and it never helps me get what I want!" He reached into the the quiver on his back for an arrow and then bite the shaft in two. "I mean, I'm obviously better than you, you can't even defend yourself, you have to have your dragon do it instead..."

In a flash, he flipped himself onto his back and threw a dagger at Toothless's throat. Toothless melted the weapon before it reached him, igniting both men's clothes. With a yelp, Hiccup jumped into the river. Carrdoc said something that sounded like 'as I am a failure, let me die in peace.'

Hiccup threw a handful of water at the young Macintosh. Getting the hint, Toothless splashed him good. Carrdoc, now wet and slightly pink, pounded his head into the ground.

Hiccup understood dragons a lot better than humans, he never realized that more until he moved to Caledonia and found that the villagers confused him more than the Berk variety and he missed the simplicity of dragons, but he couldn't help but take a guess at the reason for Carrdoc's actions.

"You like Merida, don't you?" he asked, sitting down in the mud besides the Celt.

Carrdoc turned his head to look and him and gave a dramatic nod.

"She's never really noticed you, hasn't she?"

Carrdoc shock his head.

As pleased as Hiccup was to hear that, it meant she had only ever had eyes for him, it wasn't something to tell Carrdoc.

"Sorry," he said instead.

Carrdoc deflated.

"If it makes you feel better, Merida didn't marry be because I have a dragon."

"So it's me as a person that she doesn't like?"

"Um...yes, probably."

He bit two arrow shafts this time.

"Hey!" Hiccup said, pulling the wood away to prevent Carrdoc from chewing on the ends. "You'll get splinters in your mouth."

"I don't care! My life is over!"

"That's not true. I'm sure there are lots of ladies who would love to be with you. Merida mentioned you were a favorite among the village girls when you first came to be her suitor."

"Really?"

Actually, Hiccup had no idea. He and Merida had never really spoken about her past suitors from other clans. Just like they had never really talked about Astrid.

"Yes. I'm sure you can find someone among them."

"If I don't, I'll be coming back for Merida."

"Okay. But I won't let her go." And really, Hiccup could tell that something about their interaction, but he didn't know what, had convinced the Celt that Merida was in good hands. Carrdoc might never not be jealous to some extent, but he could move on.

##########

"And what did you do today?" his wife asked as they laid in bed that night.

"Defended my claim to you."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

She snuggled into his side. "My big brave warrior."

"You know it," he said, kissing the top of her head.

And thus you have read the first option in the C universe of Fated, Hiccup moving to Caledonia. Not much culture here in this one, but I have some ideas to play with the next one. If you want a next one. I'll be expanding the different branches of the Fated universe (A, B, or C) depending on your outpouring of views/comments/kudos/how ever you show your love. And while I did have ideas, I won't turn away any one of you may suggest. No promise of using it, but I'll read it.