When Princesses Meet Dragons

Chapter 11: A Perfect Ending

So, from what I've seen of all the views on this story, it's been a tremendous success. I'm grateful to everyone who has followed and favorited this crazy adventure. However, all good things must come to an end, eventually. But, if you have any future suggestions for stories that I could do, let me know. I'm currently working on a Tinker Bell and Epic crossover, but I could always do more stories. Thanks again, everyone, for everything and I hope you enjoy this last chapter!

OOXO

Near a flower garden, in the towering city of Asgard, the home of the Norse deities, Rapunzel was staring into a crystal-clear pool, stroking her newly-grown, blond hair, still pondering over what had occurred a few hours ago. Even when she had seen the picture of the mysterious woman planting the flower, she still didn't know how her power could've revived. Could she have called it back anytime, just by desperately wanting to help someone in need? She shuddered, remembering, back in Scotland, when her step-mother tried to kidnap her. Had Gothel known that the power of the Golden Flower still resided in her?

Meanwhile, Merida and Hiccup were roaming the many paths of the same flower garden, marveling at the beauty of it all. Behind them, one of the flower bushes began to rustle. A few seconds later, Toothless poked his head out, with Pascal on his head. Entranced by the smell of the flowers, Toothless dashed to each bush, sticking his head in to fully catch the scent.

Unknown to the others, Loki was strolling through the same garden, wondering why Rapunzel had saved him. After all, she had been around the Vikings long enough to know that he was a devious trickster. Even if she hadn't heard about the Avengers thwarting his plan to take over the world, those primitive Vikings would have told her everything about him.

As he pondered over this, he spotted Rapunzel staring into a nearby pond. Before Loki could think of walking off, she looked up, having noticed him, and smiled. This having caught Loki off guard, his expression morphed to one of shock and surprise. No one had ever smiled at him before, except his step-mother. How could this mere mortal girl, who barely even knew him, act friendly to him? Then again, she had saved his life, without a second thought.

His surprise mounted further when Rapunzel gestured for him to sit by her. Wondering if she was either crazy or stupid, Loki joined her, wondering what someone would think if they saw him with her. They would probably think that he was going to harm her.

"You confuse me greatly, princess of Corona. Why, exactly, did you help me?"

"Well, I wasn't just going to let you die."

"Believe me, after all I've done, people would be glad to see me kick the bucket, so to speak. If you knew all that I had done, you would feel the same."

"That's a horrible thing to think. I would never regret doing what I did."

"You must be very ignorant, to say that without knowing what I did."

"Well, what did you do, then, if you don't mind me asking?"

Bracing himself for the onslaught that was sure to follow, Loki told his story, starting when he had found out that Odin and Frigga weren't his parents. Finding out that Odin had planned to use him as a link for a peace treaty with the giants, he tried to destroy Jotunheim, the home of the frost giants, to prove to his step-father that he was a worthy son, while also trying to kill Thor, since he was the one to inherit the throne. After that plan had failed, he had tried to take over the world from New York City, where he was thwarted by the Avengers who, he explained, were a group of superheroes.

As he told about his evildoings, the thought crossed his mind that he could lie to her. After all, the princess was too sweet and innocent to think that he would lie to her. However, the knowledge that she had saved his life made him reconsider, thinking that she deserved the entire truth. As he finished, Rapunzel was silent for a few moments. From what she had just heard, Loki was a tortured soul, desperate to have power, while wanting to feel loved, without feeling that he was being used. What he had all did was just to rule a kingdom of his own. However, that didn't excuse him from the fact that he destroyed countless lives to do so.

"Look, I'm sorry for all you've gone through, I really am. Believe me, I know how it is like to feel used. But that doesn't mean that what you all did was good. Although, I don't regret saving you. I know that you can be a good person. You just have to stop all this hate and regret."

Loki was silent for a few moments, while he struggled with all he had gone through, until now. His life had been turned upside down after hearing the truth about his parentage. He had felt deep loathing for Odin and dark jealousy at Thor for all this time. Now, thinking on Rapunzel's words, he wondered if he could actually change, turn back from the path he had been striding on. That's when he remembered how close he was to conquering Earth, how Thor and those pesky Avengers had gotten in the way. Standing up abruptly, he shot back,

"Even if you cared enough about me to save me, what's to say the others would do the same, after all I've done? Odin never loved me to begin with. The only reason he gave the throne to Thor is because he didn't want a Frost Giant to rule his pathetic kingdom. All I wanted was a kingdom of my own, to be recognized as a ruler, but those Avengers ruined everything for me."

"They only stopped you because you were killing innocent lives."

"Sometimes a few lives have to be lost in order to accomplish what you want. Thor loves Earth too much to notice that."

"You can always change. I know you can."

"Stop trying to get me to do something that will never come to pass. You are just a mere girl. You know nothing."

Before Rapunzel could reply to his retort, Loki stormed off through the garden, nearly running into Hiccup and Merida as they passed by. Backing up out of his way, Toothless growled at Loki, softly, until he passed by.

"What happened, Rapunzel? He didn't threaten you, did he?" Merida asked, worry laced in her tone.

"I tried to convince him that he should turn away from the path that he's on, but he wouldn't listen. I tried, but I couldn't get through. If only I could help him."

"It's not your fault, Rapunzel. After all, Loki is, and always will be, a trickster," Hiccup replied, wondering why Rapunzel couldn't see that she couldn't change anything about him.

Turning away, her eyes filled with guilt, Rapunzel stared back into the pool, a new thought crossing her mind. What if her power returned, specifically to help Loki? What if, whoever planted the Golden Flower, wanted him to be saved? Maybe whoever the mystery woman was wanted to give him a chance to change.

Looking up once more, Rapunzel spotted Thor and the Warriors Three approaching them. Not wanting to meet Thor's gaze, Rapunzel stared deeper into the depths of the pool, absently stroking her hair once more.

"We heard what you tried to do, Princess of Corona. I too want my brother to change, but he is hard to reach. However, you seemed to have touched some part of him that is still good. I hope your influence reaches him."

As Rapunzel gave a timid smile, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs crashed through the garden, brimming with news.

"Heimdall… said that… German ships… were seen on the… shores of Berk," Tuffnut wheezed, bent over to catch his breath.

"Yeah, that means… that you guys… can go… home," Fishlegs finished, looking like he was about to fall over from exhaustion.

"Well, we shall not dawdle, then," Thor replied, leading them all toward the Bifrost.

OOXO

Eugene had been pacing around the deck for an hour now. Several weeks ago, Rapunzel had gone to get Merida and her family, and had not returned. Having heard of a major thunderstorm, Eugene prayed that she and the others hadn't been killed. Suddenly, a cry from one of the sailors on the crows' nest signaled the approach of unfamiliar boats. Racing toward the front of the ship, Eugene saw that the ships had dragons' heads on the front of them, while the occupants looked like the type you'd see at the Snuggly Duckling. Having acquainted himself with them, Eugene asked if they had seen people who had been shipwrecked, as of late. One of them, an elderly fellow, who looked the type to always be cranky, cried out,

"Several weeks ago, some princesses crashed on our shore. Ever since then, they've brought bad luck to us all. Now, our chief, Stoick, along with several others, have gone missing with them. I think that it was a curse brought upon them by the red-haired one."

"Odin's beard, Mildew, will you SHUT UP?" Spitelout yelled, nearly having enough of Mildew's ranting.

"Do you have any idea of where they could be now?" Eugene asked, desperate for some answers.

"Not a clue. I want to know as much as you do, since one of them is my son."

Before Eugene could reply, a brilliant light lit up the distant shore of Berk. When the light died down, several people were clearly seen standing on the shore, waving to them. As they all quickly headed for the shore, one of the figures began to race down, calling Eugene's name. With utter shock, Eugene realized that it was Rapunzel and she had somehow grown back her hair. Quickly exiting the ship, Eugene raced down the beach and grabbed Rapunzel in an embracing hug, letting out all of his pent-up worries and anxieties.

"I take it that that's the princesses' husband?" a burly man, who had golden hair and was wielding a hammer, asked.

"Yes, I am. Rapunzel, can you please explain to me what happened while you were gone?"

To start off with, Rapunzel began to introduce everyone, Thor needing to be introduced twice because Eugene couldn't believe that he was a god. When she was telling the story, all of the Vikings crowded around Thor and the others, shooting off a dozen questions, asking what Asgard was like, and repeatedly bowing down before Thor.

As the story ended, Merida happened to notice that Scathach was nowhere to be seen. Glancing through the forest nearby, she saw, to her utter astonishment, that Scathach was approaching Loki. As Merida watched, her dragon began to nuzzle her head in his hand. Quietly watching the spectacle, Merida realized that Loki was actually smiling, the first genuine smile that she had ever seen. So that was why Scathach seemed to have had contact with people before.

"I had best be heading back to Asgard now. I would not want to keep my father waiting. I hope that we will meet again someday."

When Thor made his announcement, Loki was having an internal struggle. Should he make his escape while he still had the chance? The thought was just crossing his mind when Rapunzel's words crept back into his head. He didn't know why, but he couldn't just run, not after all that the two princesses had done for him. Sighing, he gave a goodbye pat to Scathach and went to meet his step-brother, the dragon whimpering all the while. As Loki came down, Thor seemed surprised that he would willingly go back to an Asgardian prison. As Loki grabbed the hilt of Thor's hammer, he shot a quick glance toward Rapunzel and Merida. In that one glance, he was thanking them for everything that they had done for him.

As they disappeared in a brilliant column of light, Scathach reappeared by Merida's side, staring up at the sky where the two gods had disappeared.

"We'd better go. Your parents have been worried sick about you, Rapunzel."

"I'm sure that they have been."

Before Merida could climb into the ship, she knew that she had to do something first. Approaching Hiccup, she said,

"Hiccup, I'm sorry about the threat I made when I first came here. I guess I had the wrong impression of certain Vikings."

"Nah, it's okay. I suppose after hearing your dad talk about all those fights with Vikings, you wouldn't have known anything different about them."

"Hiccup, you really are a great friend. I hope we meet again someday."

Before she left, Merida shot back around and hugged Hiccup, who returned it with great surprise. Smiling, Merida climbed into the ship and took one last look at Berk. Looking down on the shore, Merida and Rapunzel saw their dragons try to come after them, as their ship departed the shore.

"It's alright, Jack, I'll be back, don't you worry," Rapunzel called out.

"I'll be back to see you again, Scathach, as often as I can," Merida yelled, turning away so she wouldn't have to see the crestfallen face of her dragon.

As the Vikings yelled goodbye to the passengers, Merida climbed up to the crows' nest and waved as long as her arms would allow her, before the shore of Berk faded from sight. Staring at where Berk used to be, Merida stood up on the crows' nest for what felt like hours, her red hair billowing in the wind. She would come back to that marvelous place. For now, she had the kingdom of Corona, in Germany, to wonder about.

OOXO

The end! Man, I can't believe that this story is over. I don't know how long I've been working on it, and suddenly it's over! Well, I'll make sure to keep writing more stories. Until then, keep in touch!