Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Something brushed Jack’s nose, waking him from his nightmare. 

He squinted his eyes to avoid being blinded by the light that seeped through the branches, and felt another drop fall on his cheek. 

He rubbed away the dew and the last remnants of the dream from his face. He stretched out, yawned without covering his mouth, and dropped from the large branch on which he had spent the night. 

Of the fire he had lit for cooking, before which he knelt, only some blackened embers were left. Jack grazed the charred wood with his fingertips, and looked at the white and silver glaze that covered the embers with swirls and spirals. Any heat from the campfire was suffocated. 

Repeating movements that had become automatic, Jack covered the remains of the burnt wood with some stones, threw away the scraps of his dinner and went to the stream he had passed the day before. He had to wash his face, but he also wanted to stretch his legs, which had become numb from sleeping on the tree. 

When he saw his reflection on the water, he noticed the leaf that had become entangled in his hair. He grabbed it and brushed a hand through his hair to make any other unwanted guests fall off. Then he threw the leaf into the stream and watched it float away. 

The water of the river was too agitated to give him a clear image, but Jack didn't need to see himself to know that his hair was all crushed on one side and the shadows around his eyes darker than ever: the nightmare of that night still permeated his mind, even though the details were already fading. Not that he needed to know them, for that he just had to wait for a new evening. 

He remembered above all the feeling of despair, the same that sometimes weighed his heart down until he was left curled up on a branch for days, unable to get up or think of anything but the nightmare. Jack hated those moments. Luckily, it didn’t happen that often anymore. 

He let the air of the forest dry his face, then he got up, locked the dream inside a drawer of his mind, as he did every morning, and studied the position of the sun. 

It was later than he would have liked, if he wanted to make the most of the day, but regretting the lost hours was useless, so Jack left the corner of the forest that had hosted him for the night and went into the vegetation with caution. 

As he walked, he reflected with growing nervousness about his options. Once scoured the Old Woods, he had three paths available: the first, perhaps the one that inspired him most, was to go north on the Pilgrims Chain, and climb the mountains. He'd heard that it was winter for three-quarters of the year there. He didn’t mind the idea. 

The second option, less attractive, was to cross the region to the west and explore again the Barbaric Archipelago, in case he'd missed an island last time he'd been there. Without a map it was difficult to check all the rocks, beaches and islets, but Jack had no intention of getting money just to waste it on some piece of paper that wasn't totally reliable anyway. 

The third choice, the one Jack usually tried not to think about, to spare himself nausea and headaches, was to go the opposite way, leave the kingdom and continue the search in the eastern lands.

That perspective was too big, too scary for Jack to consider it feasible. 

Then what? What would he have done, if he hadn't succeeded there either? What was the next step? The whole world? 

No thanks, Jack much preferred the perpetually snowy mountains and dragon-infested islands. 

He spent much of the morning weighing those two remaining alternatives, trying to decide if it would have been worse finding out that his resistance to the cold had a limit at the worst time ever, or being chased by fire-breathing monsters. 

He carelessly followed an old path without getting too close, in the remote case that someone was wandering in that abandoned forest. 

The Old Woods weren’t as busy as those in the west, nor did they have the sinister fame the White Forest had, but on the other hand they were the perfect place for a quiet walk through the trees. 

That was why Jack stopped abruptly, when he felt the rare, unnatural sensation that pervaded his body and mind, after hours of cautious steps and increasingly dark thoughts. 

It was like the air was crackling. The sounds of animals one would expect from an abandoned forest were quieter, and the wind seemed to whisper. Jack clearly felt the back of his neck and his chest tingling. 

Magic. 

But why, Jack wondered, immediately becoming suspicious, was there such a strong magical source in that place forgotten by the kingdom? 

He accelerated his pace, holding back his instinct to fly, and followed the trail through a thicker patch of trees, until he stopped in a large clearing that wasn’t there before. 

He thought he was still dreaming for a second.

The tower stood tall and solid, gently caressed by the morning light. Branches of ivy spread on the white stone, but even from below he could see some healthy flowers that overflowed from the one large window that opened just under the pointed roof. 

Jack hesitated before rushing to examine it more closely. First, because two days before he had flown over the woods and hadn't seen any clearing, much less towers that reached the tallest trees. Second, he was pretty sure he was standing before a barrier. 

It knew it by the way the air, from electric as it had felt at the beginning of the trace, had become heavy, as well as Jack’s feet, and he suddenly found himself unable to take flight. 

He raised a hand tentatively, but the only answer he got was some sort of force, opposite as powerful, that prevented him from getting closer. 

If that was a way to discourage him from stepping forward, it was a bad idea, Jack thought with a smirk. They might as well have planted a sign saying, Watch out, super huge secret over here!

One thing was for sure: whoever set that barrier didn’t want anyone to discover the tower, and if Jack had found it by accident, it meant the spell wasn’t that strong. In other words, there was a way to get closer. He just had to find it. 

Jack thought about what he knew about magic. Intention was the key to everything, and what did the mysterious enchanter want to do? Keep curious people away? Well, Jack was going to stumble upon the tower by complete accident, then. 

He closed his eyes. 

The second attempt was more successful: his hand crossed the air, althought with immense effort. Even the handful of steps that followed exhausted him. After all, deceiving a spell wasn't an easy task. 

Jack was about to cheer, sure that he had overcome the hard part, but the sting of a bug put him in line. 

He looked at the tip of his index finger, to check if he'd had the worst luck in the world and had been attacked by a cursed wasp or something, and he realized his mistake. 

The barrier must have not liked Jack’s closed eyes trick, because what followed was one of the worst moments of his life. 

It wasn’t a bug, there was no puncture mark on his finger. It was just the beginning of a second spell, definitely less naive. 

A billion needles, that’s what it felt like, Jack thought as he fell to his knees gasping. Tightening his eyelids was useless against the pain, but if he wanted to keep going he had to be blind. 

Why didn’t he turn around and leave the clearing? The strong magic force that was rejecting him gave him new hope after weeks of failure, that’s why. 

Jack did what he could do best: he gritted his teeth and tried to pretend that everything was fine, even if the constant ouch-ouch-ouch that punctuated every second was making it nearly impossible. 

He forced his legs to move, his breath to continue and his determination not to collapse. Slowly he began to shorten the distance between himself and the tower, which instead of a few minutes, now seemed miles away. 

When he hit his forehead on the stone, his body was shaking and his knees threatened to give out at any moment, but Jack bravely grabbed the bricks. Climbing the tower with his bare hands didn't sound like a good idea to him either, but it was his only chance, since he couldn't fly. 

However, the barrier had yet another joke in store for him. As soon as Jack’s skin touched the tower, the pain that had forced him to proceed slowly intensified so much it teared an involuntary cry from him, and made him immediately retract his hands. Jack suspected that even with open eyes he wouldn’t be able to see much.

Then he got angry. 

He had enough of letting the search consume him. He had enough of reliving the worst day of his life every night. And that damned tower seemed to taunt him, daring him to climb it despite the sensitivity in his hands slipping away. 

Jack shouted again, this time to stay strong, and returned to cling to the cracks in the bricks. 

He was sure, he repeated to himself while climbing, that it would be worth it. 

*

The girl in the mirror looked extremely unhappy. 

A round and freckled face, framed by a mountain of red curls, stared pouting at Merida by the reflection. If it hadn't been for the hair, she wouldn’t even have recognized herself. 

The dress in which Merida's mother had forced her represented the antithesis of all her aesthetic taste: it reached her ankles, it was tight on the hips, it had long sleeves and it was suffocating to death. 

The fact that it had reflections of three colors and embroidery made of pure silver, didn't matter. It was still terribly uncomfortable. 

"Oh, this is absolutely perfect. You look beautiful," her mother’s voice came from behind her. 

Merida hated that word: perfect. Cakes were perfect, her shots when her mind was clear were perfect, the hills of Dunbroch orange-tinted by the sun were perfect. Her mother abused the word on her good days, and usually to refer to some poetry or the way a curtain and a tablecloth matched. 

"Sure, perfect for a funeral," Merida replied in a whisper. "Since all I can do in this dress is shut up and stay still."

She had known that something wasn't right as soon as her mother had hastily finished their history lesson to drag her into her own rooms, closely followed by three maids armed with boxes and mysterious drapes. Now she only had to find out why they had dressed her like that. 

Her mother didn’t hear the comment, or simply pretended to have her ears closed. Hard to say. 

"I was afraid it wouldn’t be ready in time, but here it is," she said, putting a silver medallion around Merida's neck. "A special dress for a special occasion." 

Uh-oh. Trouble coming. 

"Did I forget dad’s birthday?" Merida tried. 

"Of course not, dear, we have guests for dinner," her mother exclaimed. 

"Who?" 

Elinor went to rummage through the dresser by the window. "Lord Dingwall and his family. They’re visiting Grayfir, and they’ll be here any minute," she said. "Where did I put it? Ah, here it is." 

"I can’t quite remember, is Dingwall the one with the narcissistic son, or the one who shows his buttcheecks to people he doesn’t like?" 

Her mother winced, outraged, and turned suddenly as if she had been afraid that the maids were still there. From the mirror, Merida saw her putting a hand on her heart after hearing the word 'buttcheeks'. 

Elinor cleared her throat and attacked Merida’s hair with a brush, perhaps as punishment. No, definitely as punishment. 

"He’s the one who, uh, manifests his intolerance of enemies in a... peculiar way." 

"Ah. Got it. It's Lord Butt." 

When the torture was over, her mother put her hands together and sighed. "You remind me of myself when I was your age." 

Merida strongly doubted it. Elinor looked like she had been born already wearing her silk petticoat and a criticism on her lips. Sometimes Merida doubted they were related.

"Can we eat now? I’m starving." 

"Yes, now we can go downstairs. And remember to behave," her mother warned her.

Merida grimaced, but she mentally reminded herself that she had to endure it for a few hours, and that it was just another stupid, boring formal dinner. 

After going down to the entrance hall, they had just enough time to gather her brothers and settle next to Merida’s father, who winked at her secretly. 

Lord Dingwall and his entourage made their noisy entrance soon after, complete with choirs and drums. Talk about tacky. 

"Fergus, you old troll, I see you're still standing on your legs! Or should I say your leg?" were Dingwall’s first words. 

Merida’s father beat his old wooden limb on the stone floor with a fat laugh. "I see you’re ugly and rude as always." 

Dingwall passed a hand through the few hairs that covered his head like a white blaze. "Speak for yourself, you irritating goat!" 

"Son of Bror!" 

"Dragon dung!" 

Their increasing voices were getting rather alarming. Merida glanced at her mother, undecided whether to be worried or not, and caught her eye as she sighed. 

"My lord! I hope your journey has been pleasant," her mother said loud enough to interrupt the succession of increasingly unfriendly insults. 

Dingwall seemed to notice Elinor only then. "The trip was good, milady. Of course, if you don’t count the poor state of the main road... My carriage was this close to getting stuck in one of those damn holes." 

Fergus scratched his beard at the base of his chin. "I'll point it out to His Majesty as soon as possible." 

Merida didn't miss the whisper of a bagpipe player that followed: "If the king even bothers to send funds." 

Another voice hastened to silence the first, but everyone had heard it, and the atmosphere suddenly froze. 

Merida chewed on the inside of her cheek.

Even she, who never listened to the boring politics lessons, knew that getting funding for Dunbroch was harder than dealing with a donkey. 

Her mother extended her arms as if to hug the room. "Dinner will be served shortly, my lords!" 

She elbowed her husband, who gasped, went down the few steps that separated the hosts from the guests, surrounded Lord Dingwall’s shoulders, and began leading him to the dining room, barking out anecdotes from their youth. 

Merida joined the procession that was already following them, hoping that dinner would be less pitiful. 

It was a vain hope, judging by the disposition of the diners: her mother treacherously pushed her towards the seat in front of young Dingwall, a boy with a constantly disoriented look and hair as crazy as his father’s. 

Merida's brothers Harry, Hubert, and Hamish sat to her left, and her mother to her right, which foreshadowed at least three hours of shunning flying potatoes and comments about her bad posture. 

The main topic of conversation between the adults was the last banquet held by Lord Dingwall, according to the centuries-old Dunbrochian tradition of talking about what one had eaten while eating. 

Merida tried to have a conversation with young Dingwall, a sign that she was desperate. "So, did you do something interesting recently?" 

"Uh-uh," was his full response. 

Merida thought he could at least bother to divert his attention from the fly that was zapping around the chandelier, but perhaps she was asking too much. 

She fantasized a bit about training the next day, when she overheard something from Lord Dingwall. 

"...And it was at that inn — bad place, I don't recommend it — that I heard about the monster coming back," he was saying behind a half-empty goblet.

"Are you talking about the lake monster?" Merida enthusiastically asked, earning a stern look from her mother. Interfering in a conversation with a question was against etiquette. 

Dingwall didn’t seem to mind. "Aye, looks like the beast is back." 

"Tavern nonsense, it hasn’t shown up in weeks!" protested Fergus. He punched the table for emphasis, making plates and glasses tremble. "Last time I went out on boat with my men I didn’t see half a horn. Fishermen haven’t reported attacks for at least a month!" 

Dingwall chuckled while putting the cup down. "Well, apparently the beast is smarter than all of you. The innkeeper himself told me he saw it." 

Merida’s father mumbled something about chatty owners and immortal monsters. 

She knew how the matter tormented him. Sylvanir’s lake monster was an unknown creature straight out of Merida’s favorite legend. It had been infesting the lake near Grayfir for a few years now and it had the hobby of tearing fishermen nets and destroying boats. On one thing all the witnesses agreed: it was better to stay away from its tongue. 

Merida would have loved to see it, but unfortunately the access to the lake had been forbidden to her since she could remember. Still, she was sure she could have killed it, given the chance. Her aim had improved a lot. 

"So the glorious day is finally coming," Dingwall said, interrupting Merida’s daydream. 

Her mother solemnly nodded. "One more month, and the Duel of the Heirs will take place." 

Oh, right. That. 

There wasn't a day without Merida's mother reminding her of the main purpose of her life. 

By a twist of fate, the heir to the throne had disappeared a few months after birth, starting a mechanism established centuries earlier in case something happened to the future ruler. 

Merida heard that story at least once a week, so she was used to it, but she could still imagine how bizarre it must have sounded. 

How many other people grew up to be told their fate would be decided by their victory or defeat in a duel, at some vague point in the future? 

Only another person, she could suppose: her challenger, the Heir of the Archipelago, the one she would soon meet. 

Merida, as the Heir of Dunbroch, the eldest daughter of the family at the head of the region, had been prepared from birth for the fateful day she would have fought to become queen, but to tell the truth, the idea didn't excite her. Being queen sounded like a lot of responsibility. Currently she had only her parents and her region to account for, not the entire kingdom. 

Therefore, Merida looked down and pretended to be interested exclusively in what was on her plate, listening closely to what the adults were saying. 

"No offense, my lady," said Lord Dingwall in a tone that anticipated an imminent offense, "but are you sure this lass can beat a man from Berk?" 

Merida couldn’t help frowning. So she was a helpless little girl, while her opponent was a grown man, despite the few years difference between them? 

Her father waved a chicken leg in front of Dingwall’s nose. "Hah! Merida has been training since she can walk. She knows fencing, hand-to-hand combat and hunting. If she can't beat him, nobody can!" 

Merida smiled at him. He smiled back. 

"I have faith in her, my lord," her mother added. "We all do." 

Dingwall shrugged. "Aye, but let’s say she loses."

"She would still become a magnificent Lady of Grayfir," Elinor said patiently. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you’re so caught up in this dueling business, you haven’t thought about who will take his place alongside her as Lord of Grayfir, or as Royal Consort, even!" Dingwall blurted out. 

Merida's eyes widened. What? Consort? Was he talking about... 

"There will be a marriage," Elinor said conciliatingly. "With or without Merida’s victory. Which will be the result, of course," she added quickly. 

"As long as the marriage happens before the duel! Hard to reason with a queen," he commented as if Merida wasn't sitting two chairs away. 

Young Dingwall’s face became blurry. Merida had the feeling that it wasn’t something she had eaten that made her nauseous. 

"Mom, you've never told me I have to get married!" 

"Everyone gets married, Merida," she said, genuinely surprised. She glanced at the guests. "We’ll talk later." 

Merida squeezed her hands around the edge of the table. "No we won't. Not now, or later, or ever!" 

She jumped out of her chair, almost flipping it backwards, picked up her stupid bulky skirts and left the room, tired of hearing others talk about her future without asking her. Or at least looking her in the eye. 

"Merida!" she heard her mother shout. "Merida, come back here immediately!" 

But she was already halfway up the stairs to her rooms. 

Inside, she tore the medallion from her neck, pulled off that ridiculous dress, which she threw into a corner where she couldn't see it, and kicked the canopy structure of the bed.  

She had finally discovered a worse word than perfect: marriage! 

Her mother found her sitting on the bed cross-legged. "Where’s your dress?" she said, seeing Merida in her petticoat. 

She took the dress from the floor and shook it off to remove the dust. "You've been rude to our guests, leaving in such a haste." 

"Don’t care," Merida mumbled. 

Her mother went to sit on the bed, at a safe distance. She sighed, as if she had been the victim of that plot. "I really don’t understand why you’re so surprised about your marriage."

"Of course I'm surprised, it’s the first time the subject has come up!" 

Elinor raised an eyebrow. "What did you expect, a maiden life? A girl of your rank has duties." 

"I don’t want to get married," Merida said firmly. 

"It has nothing to do with wanting it, dear," her mother replied, equally adamant. "Also your father and I have already discussed about possible suitors." 

Merida jumped up. "You can’t do this to me!" 

Elinor also got up. "I can, young lady, I’m your mother!" 

"Well, I wish you weren’t!" 

The disappointment in her mother’s eyes made Merida feel a little guilty, but she tried to stay indifferent. 

Elinor lifted her chin. "I must return to our guests now. We will continue this talk tomorrow morning." 

She closed the door behind her, just before she could hear the exclamation of Merida’s anger, when she put her hands in her hair and began circling the room like a hungry caged animal. 

It was too much. Out of all the Heir duties she'd had to endure in sixteen years, this was the most unthinkable, the most horrible, the worst rule they wanted her to accept. 

No, Merida refused to bite her tongue and obey her mother’s orders again. By comparison, being queen didn’t seem so bad. 

Wait. Didn't Lord Dingwall mention something about being queen? 

Merida stopped walking in circles. Right! With a crown on her head, her mother would have never dreamed of forcing her to marry. 

But the duel was a month away, and every day was a risk. How could Merida avoid the wedding for all that time?

She leaned heavily against a canopy column, biting the skin on her thumb. She had no way out. The ideal would have been to disappear into thin air. 

Disappear. The answer was so simple that she burst out laughing. Not even her mother could arrange a wedding without the bride. 

Merida approached the open window. Beyond the trees in the castle park, the reflection of the moon shone over Sylvanir Lake. 

And while she stared at the waters under which the monster was hiding, with her hair and petticoat sleeves blowing in the evening breeze, Merida made a decision. 

*

Rapunzel was at a crossroads. 

She couldn't underestimate her opponent, or she risked being defeated and laughed at like last time, but she didn’t want to play too safe either. Being predictable would have been her undoing. 

The grandfather clock, the only source of noise in the room, punctuated every second at an inflexible pace. Time was also Rapunzel’s enemy. The longer she waited, the less confidence she had. 

Her challenger's eyes stared at her mercilessly, without worrying about making Rapunzel uncomfortable. She tentatively extended her right hand, leaving it hanging over a pawn. 

His eyes squinted until they were two thin slits. Rapunzel swallowed, and moved the pawn holding her breath.

When her move was over, the opponent raised his head with arrogance, bent over to take a pawn in his turn, and responded to Rapunzel’s bold attack. She bit her lip. 

This time her turn didn't last long: in a fluid motion, she slipped a piece that had been forgotten on the other side of the board. This way she had eliminated three enemy pawns, leaving the other player speechless. 

So speechless, in fact, that Rapunzel worried. Where was he looking? 

She tried to turn in the direction of his eyes, but all she saw was the wall painted with stylized mountains and deers. 

She turned her attention back to the game. Her breath stopped halfway between her throat and her nose. 

"Pascal!" she exclaimed flabbergasted. "You’re cheating!" 

Pascal’s scaly expression could have won a prize. The tiny chameleon put a paw to his chest and stepped onto the table they were playing on. He even dropped backwards, making the pawns bounce. 

Rapunzel still didn’t buy it. "That tile wasn’t empty two seconds ago. What happened to my First Counselor?" 

Pascal shook his head, feigning ignorance. It was Rapunzel’s turn to squint. 

"You ate it, didn’t you? Spit it out now, or I won’t play with you anymore," she threatened. 

Another motion of denial. A big problem, since the only available opponents left were her old dolls. 

Rapunzel leaned over the table, staring at Pascal with all the seriousness she had in her body. "If you don’t return it, I’ll tickle your belly." 

For the first time, Pascal seemed alarmed. He looked around, evidently panicking, but eventually opened his mouth and dropped the missing pawn.

Rapunzel triumphantly took it back and she put it in its place as she stuck out her tongue at Pascal. He did the same, but he was much better at it. 

A few moves later, the pieces eliminated had accumulated on the sides of the board, leaving those which would decide the game. 

Suddenly, Pascal turned his head, staring at something behind Rapunzel. 

"I'm not falling for it again," she warned him. 

However, Pascal didn't stop looking away, sitting perfectly still where he was. His scales became orange. 

Rapunzel realized that something was wrong. Confirming her suspicion, a sudden noise made her jump. 

It sounded like someone’s voice. 

After years of "Rapunzel, let down your hair!" she could recognize Mother's voice from a thousand sounds, and that wasn’t her. 

Rather, maybe it was time to put into practice what Rapunzel had been taught. 

She got up from the chair and ran behind the coat hanger, in a small dark corner not too far from the big window. 

She wished Mother had been there, but she had just left and wouldn't have come back home for a few hours, so in the tower there were only Rapunzel and Pascal. 

The chameleon, who had climbed on her hand up to her shoulder when she had run away, grew small near her neck, frightened. 

"Everything's gonna be all right," she reassured him, trying to ignore her own pounding heart. "You’ll see they'll leave us alone." 

Unfortunately, it became clear to both of them, as time passed, that the intruder was there to stay. The rustling was getting stronger. 

With cold terror, Rapunzel realized shortly after that someone was trying to climb the tower. She could hear fragments of bricks falling with a series of jingles on the stone, and a breathing sound getting closer. 

Rapunzel wouldn’t have been helpless, she decided. She dared to leave the dark corner to retrieve the first useful object available, then went back to hide, tightly squeezing the handle of a copper pan. 

From outside, the heavy breathing was joined by a few grunts of physical effort. 

Pascal was shaking on her shoulder, or maybe it was her who couldn’t stand still. 

A quick and decisive blow, Rapunzel planned while waiting for the intruder. The pan threatened to slip away from her sweaty hands. 

Just one more minute. 

Just a few more seconds and... 

And the heavy breathing turned into a gasp of pure pain. 

Rapunzel leaned out just enough to look at the window. She saw two pale hands clinging to the windowsill, but a moment later they were gone. 

She didn't have time to think. 

Rapunzel moved with so much momentum that for a terrible moment, she feared falling forward. The person she grabbed weighed her down, even though she was used to lifting up Mother every day. 

Despite all this, she didn't let go. 

For a few frightening seconds, Rapunzel stayed like that, folded in two on the windowsill to hold the intruder by the wrists, with Pascal’s paws uselessly grabbing her ankle. Then she pushed herself as hard as she could, and she hoisted the stranger into the tower. 

Once she had overcome the danger of falling, Rapunzel didn't hesitate to release that weight on the floor without much ceremony. She needed a moment to lean on her knees and catch her breath. 

"Everything... all right… Pascal," she said to her friend between a puff and another. Her hair was a curtain that obscured her vision. 

Pascal then turned his attention to the body lying face down in front of them, and Rapunzel imitated him.

It was difficult to make an opinion about the identity of the intruder, given how they lay sprawling, with one arm all bent and legs spread apart, so Rapunzel took courage and turned the intruder's body with a foot. 

He very vaguely reminded her of a protagonist from her old storybooks, but not a prince or a knight. No, he looked more like the younger characters, those smart kids who would escape trouble they got themselves into with clever tricks. 

A boy. Rapunzel took a step forward to see better, now taken by curiosity. 

He was wearing a short battered cape with a hood that covered his chest and shoulders, but even so, she could see how thin he was. A shadow around his closed eyes made him look a little creepy. 

Rapunzel, fascinated by his hair, as light as the bristles of a hairbrush, realized that she had knelt next to the stranger. 

Now what? 

She thought about what Mother would do. She would tell Rapunzel at least four times a day about the nastiness and selfishness of the people out there. People who would be afraid of her. Of her magical hair. 

Thinking about it, Mother probably wouldn’t have hesitated and let that reckless boy meet his fate, avoiding unnecessary risks. 

Yet Rapunzel had hesitated.

Her thoughts were cut short when the boy’s breath became sharp enough to sound like a whistle. 

Rapunzel looked for a wound, imagining that was the reason for his near-fall, and noticed that he had unnaturally dark, almost purple palms. Even the soles of his feet, especially the toes, were like that. 

In Rapunzel’s heart, two conflicting feelings coexisted. On one hand, the boy terrified her. On the other, she felt sorry to see him like that. 

"I can’t believe what I’m about to do."

Cursing herself for the situation she was getting into, ignoring Mother’s long list of recommendations, Rapunzel cleared the dining table of her latest pottery project and laid the body on the free surface with difficulty. She tried to limit the damage by tying the stranger’s chest with a sheet. 

The next part was the easy one. 

As always, singing the notes Mother had taught her had a calming effect, so when the song ended, the wounds healed and the glow of her hair faded, Rapunzel felt better. 

At least until the boy opened his eyes. 

"What’s—" He stopped when he saw Rapunzel pointing the pan at him. "Hey, careful with that."

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Rapunzel asked, doing her best to sound authoritative. From above the table, Pascal nodded at her. 

"How about this," said the boy. His voice was deeper than she expected. "I’ll answer if you let me go." 

"Absolutely not. I know you’re here to get me arrested!" 

The boy laughed, despite being the one recently healed and tied to a table. "Okay, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I can assure you that I’m not here to arrest you. Me, arresting someone?" 

He laughed again, as if he'd just told a witty joke. 

He sounded sincere, but Rapunzel had been warned several times about people’s lies. Even though he looked so different from the scary men Mother told her about... 

"Sounds… sounds like something a liar would say," she said, keeping the fearless tone. Too bad the tremble in her voice ruined the effect. 

"Than tell me, why would I want to arrest you?" 

Rapunzel chewed her lip. "For my hair." 

It was one of her first childhood memories, the warning that would become a constant in Rapunzel’s life: Mother's stern expression, with her index finger raised and her eyebrows all arched, was a vivid memory. A memory that hadn’t changed in nearly eighteen years. 

Mother had explained to Rapunzel that her hair had a power to keep hidden at all costs. People hated magic, they feared it, and would eliminate all its sources, thus hurting Rapunzel. According to Mother, magic was banished from the kingdom. 

The boy blinked. "What about your hair?" 

Oh no, had she said too much? 

Rapunzel was about to deny what she just said, then she saw the boy’s expression. There wasn’t fear, or disgust, in his blue eyes, but awe.

"I can’t believe it," he just muttered, looking first at Rapunzel’s forehead, then the strands of hair that started from there and descended to his hands, which were still wrapped. 

He looked at Rapunzel again, now in sheer disbelief, as if surprise was overwhelming him. "Magical blond hair. I can’t believe it. You’re..." 

"Rapunzel," she said, remembering that she hadn’t gotten an answer to her question. "Who are you?" 

"Jack," said the boy. He hesitated, then shook his head. "Jack Frost." 

"If you’re not here to arrest me, why did you risk your life climbing the tower?" 

"I happened to find this place, and I wanted to see the source of magic I felt." 

"Why do you care about magic?" Rapunzel asked, suspicious. 

Even tied up, Jack was able to shrug his shoulders. "I’d show you, but in this state..." 

"Alright, I get it." Rapunzel sighed, wondering if she was about to make a huge mistake, she untied the sheet and freed Jack’s hands from her hair. She held the pan a little higher. "Well?" 

Jack, who was studying his freshly healed hands, looked up and around. 

Rapunzel would have urged him to do something already, if she hadn’t felt something cold on the hand she was holding the pan with. 

It lasted a second, but what she saw before it dissolved was definitely a snowflake. And other flakes were falling around her in playful swirls.

Jack smiled at her expression, which must have been quite funny. 

Excitement took over the fear. "Are you doing this?" Rapunzel asked. "Do you have powers too?" 

"Magic calls magic," he replied. A thousand different thoughts seemed to flow through his eyes. "Look, since you basically saved my life, how about I pay you back?" 

Rapunzel was aware that he was taking advantage of her distraction, yet she couldn’t hold back the question. "Pay?" 

"Yeah, is there anything I can do for you? Something I can bring you, or someone you want to see?" 

Rapunzel stopped catching fresh snow with her fingers. Her gaze wandered instinctively to her favorite pillow on the bed, or rather, to the flyer hidden under it. 

It was too good to be true. And yet... Yet it also seemed so intentional, finding herself facing the perfect excuse who had climbed the tower at the perfect time. 

There would never have been an occasion like that, Rapunzel thought while twisting a lock of hair in her hands. 

"Well..." 

Never again. 

"I might have an idea." 

*

The sea flowed beneath them and all around was sky, as they challenged the wind. 

Hiccup’s favorite moment. 

His hands were half frozen, his butt was sore and his heart was racing, yet he wouldn’t have traded that feeling for anything else in the world. 

"I see Berk already," he said as soon as their destination was in sight. "All the Barbaric Sea in three and a half days. Not bad, huh, bud?"

Beneath him, Toothless grumbled cheerfully from his throat. 

Hiccup nodded and scratched his jaw on his favorite spot. "Yeah, I think it's a new record."

Framed by clouds, miraculously built along a side of Raven Point, the village of Berk overlooked the sea in all its reckless glory. The wooden roofs, damp from the late spring rains, shone in the early afternoon sun. 

In all his travels, Hiccup hadn't yet found a place like that. Or people like the Berkians. 

Toothless skillfully darted among the dark sea stacks, until he was flying over the docks, above the boats. Hiccup couldn't see the faces of the fishermen, but he imagined them turning dark as usual. Some would have shaken their heads, others would have locked themselves in their houses. 

They skirted the island on the western side and gained altitude. Toothless gracefully landed on the grass patch behind the chief’s house and watched as Hiccup got off his back and adjusted his prosthetic leg. 

"Go take a nap, bud," he said. "You know the rest. Stay away from people and sheep, don’t go inside houses and don’t try to fly by yourself." 

Toothless bumped his snout against Hiccup's back. He laughed and scratched the area just above the dragon's nose. "I’ll bring you some fish in a bit, alright?" 

Judging by the lick his hand received, yes, it was. 

The way from the house to the Great Hall was short, but also one of the busiest, and it took two minutes of wary glances and murmuring, for Hiccup to already miss Toothless's familiar presence next to him. Parting with him was always strange and unpleasant. 

Hiccup tried not to be bothered by those who turned around to avoid crossing paths with him, but it was tricky, when he knew everyone by name. 

Hoping that people would hide their disdain better was useless: the Hairy Hooligans were outspoken people, with no concept such as discretion or subtlety.

And just as Hiccup was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when he got to the hundred-year-old stone steps that led to the massive doors of the Great Hall, an imposing figure blocked his way. 

Stoick the Vast was first of all the chief of Berk, then Hiccup's father, and what he gave him was definitely a chief look. 

"You're back." 

Hiccup took a few steps back, but it wasn’t his father’s size, impressive even for a Hairy Hooligan, what made him uncomfortable. "I’m back." 

"You’ve been gone longer than usual. I was going to send a search team to find you." Stoick’s red eyebrows furrowed. "We need to talk." 

On the list of things Hiccup didn’t want to hear, 'we need to talk' was right below 'you have an incurable disease', and just a spot above 'I have terrible news'. 

"Listen, Dad. You won't ask me where I’ve been and if I’m here to stay, and I won't answer that I’ve been 'around' and that I’ll leave tomorrow morning, so we can avoid the usual waste of time. This way, you can go back to do your chief stuff, and I can go grab a bite," he said. 

He tried to walk around his father. 

"Hiccup," Stoick said, locking him in place by putting one hand on his shoulder, which was strong enough to trap a grown adult. 

"Dad," Hiccup replied. 

"The Duel of the Heirs is near. People are asking me if you’re ready, and I can’t keep lying, saying that the reason you’re always away from Berk is to train," Stoick urged. "It’s time to act like the Heir you are." 

Hiccup clenched his jaw. "I already told you, I’m not going all the way to Amberray to make a fool of you, of myself and of the whole archipelago." 

"You must at least try," his father insisted. "Think of your honor as a Hairy Hooligan." 

"That’s what I'm thinking of."

"Hiccup." 

"Dad." 

Stoick shook Hiccup's shoulder, that he was still holding. "There are rumors about you. Bad rumors. They say that you're hanging out with Magicknappers, besides dragons, and that they’re teaching you the art of spells." 

"I’m sorry that these rumors are tainting your reputation, but you have to let them talk," Hiccup said. 

He pushed his father’s hand away and climbed the steps without looking back, then slipped into the crack left by the open doors. 

The argument with his father had been awful, but it wasn’t the worst they'd ever had. It was just the same old story. The Duel this, the Duel that... Never a 'welcome back' or 'I missed you'. Never. 

Waiting for Hiccup inside the Great Hall were other looks of poorly concealed suspicion. Some didn't even bother to not look like they weren't staring daggers at him. 

Hiccup kept pretending they weren’t looking at him, and he went to fill a bowl of stew for himself. Lunch time was long-finished, so he only found leftovers in the now cold pot, but it was still better than the grilled fish he'd eaten for days. 

He ate the stew quickly, to get out of the suffocating heat of the Great Hall and back to Toothless, whom he found was busy cleaning his nails. 

"What do you say, should we somewhere no one can can stare at us?" 

Of course, Toothless followed him all happily to the secret cliff where Hiccup used to hide from his father and Gobber. They sat as usual: the dragon lying to the side, with Hiccup leaning against his warm abdomen. 

For a while he could pretend he wasn't running from his own tribe, and he looked at the clouds hanging over the sea constantly changing. He freed Toothless from the weight of the saddlebags, from which he recovered a charcoal pencil and the book he had been working on for five years. 

He was finishing writing a note about the hatching period of Skrill eggs — the result of a week spent in a damp and dark cave that had given him the worst cold of his life, as well as several slight shocks — when he heard footsteps behind him. 

Hiccup found himself looking at Astrid Hofferson's boots. She was one of the few people who didn’t whisper behind his back. Or maybe she had enough tact to not do it in his presence. 

"Hi," she greeted him stiffly. 

"Hi," Hiccup said. He noticed that Astrid was staring at Toothless, who at the moment was too busy snoring to growl at her. "Don’t worry, he’s tired and full of fish. He’ll be out for at least half an hour." 

Astrid barely relaxed her shoulders, but her hand didn't leave the handle of the axe she always carried with her. "...Had a safe journey?" 

"We stumbled into a flock of Gronckles in their mating period and we found a Coronian ship that tried to take us down, but we’re still alive," Hiccup said with his thumbs up. 

He put aside the pleasantries and cut to the chase, because he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Astrid had only come to chat. 

"What does my father want to tell me? That he's very disappointed in my behavior and threatens to throw me into the prisons of Berk, or does he want to apologize for what he said, and begs me to come home?" 

Astrid shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "Both, I think." She frowned. "He’s very worried." 

"If he keeps tormenting himself like this, he's going to end up with a permanent migraine." 

Astrid’s expression hardened. "He has every reason to be. You’ve been gone for five months. Five months, do you realize what it means? We almost started thinking you were dead. Do you even know what today is?" 

Hiccup went back to copying his notes. "The sixtieth day of spring?"

"Tere’s horns, Hiccup! The Duel of the Heirs is just a month away!" Astrid snapped. 

"I—" Hiccup put the book aside and stood up. The sea breeze ruffled his hair. "Listen. I have no intention of competing in the duel. We both know I have zero chances of winning, and even if all the gods came together and agreed to smite Dunbroch’s Heir, I'd be a terrible king!" 

"So you won’t even try?" Astrid said, irritated. 

Maybe because she seemed so offended, Hiccup also started getting exasperated. 

"You’ve known me since I was born. All my father’s attempts to prepare me have been completely useless. That girl, on the other hand, has been getting ready to take me down her whole life," he said. "No one will want a dragon’s friend as their ruler, Astrid! It's better for everyone if the Dunbrochian girl becomes queen, so why do you care so much?" 

Astrid went full Astrid Mode. She puffed her chest and pointed her finger aggressively at Hiccup. "You want to know why I care so much? Because I want one of us to be the guy who's going to rule all of Fewor, and especially this island, okay?" 

"Then you go to the duel, since you seem to really like the idea!" Hiccup exclaimed, waving his arms. "According to the spell, I have the right to give my place to whoever I want, right? Good! Great, then please, I leave you, Astrid Hofferson, the honor of facing the Holy Duel of the Stupid Heirs, or whatever it is!" 

He looked up at the sky, waiting for some divine sign of confirmation, but nothing happened. Obviously. 

"That’s not how it works," Astrid said very seriously. "And I'd never accept anyway." 

"Why not?" 

"Because you are the son of Stoick. You have inherited this right. You have been chosen by the gods. Taking your place wouldn't be right." 

Hiccup’s anger deflated. Arguing was pointless. "You knew you wouldn't be able to convince me."

"No, but I had to try," Astrid replied. She avoided his eyes, as if ashamed of the outburst. "And what are you going to do now?" 

"The Terrible Terrors begin to migrate to the northern islands around these days. I thought I might study their route," Hiccup said weakly. He looked at a random point behind Astrid. "...Or I could go to the eastern lands." 

Her head snapped up to stare at him. "You're leaving Fewor?" 

"I don’t know. Maybe it would help me avoid my father. Maybe it’s just a bad idea." 

Astrid squinted at the horizon for quite some time, then threw something at him. "Whatever your decision will be, at least take this." 

Fortunately Hiccup managed to catch the thing, otherwise watching it disappear into the waves would have been anticlimatic and frankly embarrassing. 

It was an amber pendant, embraced by a small bronze dragon that held the jem tight in its clutches. An insect was embedded in the amber, perhaps a bee. 

"I bought it from Gothi a while ago. A farewell gift, if you will," Astrid explained, uncomfortable. 

To say that Hiccup was blown away was an understatement. 

Astrid was one of the least tolerant people to magic he knew, probably second only to his father. The idea that she had climbed to old Gothi's hut and went shopping from a Magicknapper, was inconceivable. 

So that was a magical artifact. Hiccup looked at the amber with new awareness, realizing that it wasn’t just any trinket. 

"It’s infused with a little protection spell, nothing to worry about," Astrid said. Hiccup suspected that getting rid of it was a huge relief to her. "To be honest I think even one of Gobber’s dumb lucky rocks would be more effective than this, but I thought... well, you know."

Hiccup blinked, still shocked. In a corner of his mind, he thought that was the longest conversation they had in twenty years. "Oh. Uh, thank you." 

A hint of a bitter smile came to Astrid’s face. "You know, if you weren’t the chief’s son, and that dragon mess had never happened, maybe we could have been friends." 

The wind blew into Hiccup’s ears. Beside his feet, Toothless snored quietly. 

"Maybe." 

And without adding another word, Astrid left. 

Chapter Text

Merida realized she was in trouble the moment she stumbled into a hole.

That must be the divine judgment finally getting her back for running away from home, she thought as she got up. 

What else could it be? Merida had perhaps been a little hasty, but she wasn’t completely crazy: she knew how to survive in nature, otherwise she would never have left the morning after the banquet, before the first lights of the day could reveal her escape. 

Yet in those few days she had managed to lose her horse, which carried provisions, a spare quiver and the little money she had, she also had lost herself in that patch of trees too small to be called woods, and now she was without food, without money, and most important of all, without the courage to go home. 

No way, there was her mother's fury waiting for her in Grayfir, and possibly a wedding. 

Elinor was the one who had cursed her, no doubt. 

Merida crossed another large hole and straightened the bow on her shoulder. So far she hadn’t been able to test her archery skills, because the entire local fauna seemed to have vanished into thin air. If she hadn’t been hungry, she would have laughed at the new problem. 

As recalled by her thoughts, Merida’s stomach growled. Again. 

If nothing else, she'd had the good idea of ignoring Dunbroch’s fashion, which limited the use of trousers to workers, and had found herself a short woolen tunic, a dress of durable material, and a pair of trousers that would make riding more comfortable. 

Of course, if she still had a horse...

To distract herself from hunger, Merida reflected for a long time if she preferred to ride for hours wearing skirts, or to be stuck on foot with trousers. Mh. Tough question. 

Her thoughts were dangerously getting close to the last banquet, when she almost fell down another hole, making her silently curse her distraction. 

On closer inspection, the cavity in the ground was large, but shallow. Merida hoped it wasn’t a monstrously giant rabbit hole, or she’d better run screaming, because there were several of them in a messy row. 

A horrible doubt came to her. In that grove she hadn’t found a trace of an animal, and now she was standing before what looked a little too much like huge footprints. Maybe she really should be running. 

Punctual as death, a scream came to Merida’s alert ears. It wasn’t a scream of joy. 

Her common sense urged her to find another place for hunting, but a small voice in her head suggested that whatever creature had been there, it was large enough to feed a village. 

She nocked an arrow. 

The vegetation around became increasingly sparse, until Merida found herself in an area full of shrubs and bushes. 

The scene in front of her made her think she was hallucinating from hunger. 

Merida had seen sketches and some imaginative depictions on tapestries, but she never imagined that one day she would actually see a real giant. 

It looked as if part of a mountain had descended into the valley, animated with its own life. A cluster of stones and moss was moving in the clearing, rotating its arms made of boulders. A pair of lumpy legs held it up. 

In front of the giant, at a safe distance, a solitary figure brandished something shiny towards the monster. 

Was that a girl?

"I told you to let him go! He’s helping me, so put him down right now!" she was screaming. 

"You heard her!" shouted another voice. Merida’s eyes widened when she saw a person held tight in the giant’s left hand, wriggling between the smaller rocks that formed the phalanges of its fingers. "Believe me, man, you don’t want to get a taste of her frying pan." 

"Do you need help?" Merida asked the girl as she brushed her shoulder, after approaching carefully. 

The girl was very pretty. Her long blond hair stretched across the grass, and framed a pair of big green eyes. Now that she was standing next to her, Merida noticed that she was holding a copper pan. 

The girl jumped and almost hit Merida on the nose. "Oh! Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you! We got into this mess, and..." 

The giant wasn’t interested in her explanations. It threw its free arm forward, and one of the large boulders it was made of fell off. The two girls ducked just in time. 

Scattered around, there were many more bullets that had missed the shot. Gods, they were massive. 

"I’ll take care of it!" Merida exclaimed. It would take more than an angry pile of rocks to scare her, she was a hunter, a descendant of Sylvanir! 

She raised her bow and aimed at the giant’s hand.

The prisoner — a light-haired boy — saw her and struggled against the monster's tight grip. "Hey, easy! We’re trying to have a normal kidnapping here!" 

He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, when Merida didn’t lower her bow, but the arrow hit the crack between two rocks without hurting him. 

The giant opened its mouth, or rather, it lowered the stone that was its jaw from the rest of its head, and the deafening sound of an avalanche shook the earth. 

Merida looked around, covering her ears with both hands, looking for the source of the noise she'd heard, but saw nothing. 

"It’s just its way of screaming," the girl yelled in her ear. "It did it before." 

Merida was too stunned to listen to her, because while checking for any approaching avalanches, she had noticed a detail near a spot where the vegetation was thicker. 

A boy lay on the ground at the mercy of what could only be a dragon in the flesh. 

Did all existing magical beasts live in the area?! 

"Oh gods, he's going to be eaten!" 

Rapunzel smiled, which didn’t help Merida’s panic. "No, he’s fine. Well, except he’s unconscious." 

Merida stuttered the beginning of ten different questions, but the girl somehow understood what she was trying to say. "They flew here to help us, I think, but a boulder hit the boy in the head and they crashed." 

In fact, the dragon wasn’t turned to the guy lying down, but to the giant, against which it was growling angrily without moving. 

The other boy screamed in alarm at the giant, which was turning as if to leave the scene. "Where do you think you’re going?" 

"Is it running away now?" asked the blonde girl, distressed. 

"If the stories are true, that’s a mountain giant, and it's taking your friend to the peak where it lives to eat him," Merida replied. For once, she was afraid she was right. 

The girl seemed to be on the verge of fainting. 

"We’ll stop it, we’ll stop it before it happens!" Merida quickly added. "Look, uh...?" 

"Rapunzel." 

Merida put the bow on her shoulder and laid both hands on the girl's. "Rapunzel, I think I have an idea how to free your friend, but I need your help." 

"My... my help?" she said with a small voice. "What do you want me to do?" 

Merida smiled. "How good are you at making knots?" 

She quickly explained her plan to a progressively less terrified Rapunzel, but fortunately the giant, as well as vicious, was also slower than a snail.

"All right, I’ll do what you say," Rapunzel said, taking deep breaths.

Then they split, Rapunzel to one of the boulders thrown to the ground, Merida to the center of the clearing. 

"Hey, you!" she shouted loudly. "I thought you were a mountain giant, but maybe you’re an anthill giant, seeing how small you are!" 

The monster didn’t appreciate the insinuation, and moved heavily to face Merida, who picked up a random pebble and threw it against its chest. 

Believe it or not, throwing a rock at the rock monster didn’t work. 

It still managed to irritate it, though. Merida made a spectacularly rude gesture to the giant and did her best to stay still while it advanced slowly but inexorably towards her. 

"Rapunzel, go!" 

Before the giant could raise its arm to hit Merida, an unexpected obstacle made it stagger forward. 

Rapunzel was pulling her very long hair, which she had tied to one of the largest boulders following Merida’s instructions, her face red for the effort. 

The giant swayed back and forth for a few fateful seconds, before taking a tumble on its stomach. Upon impact, its hand opened up. 

"Jack, run, quick!" Rapunzel shouted. 

A gust of wind filled the clearing, and the boy named Jack flew away. Literally. 

Merida watched him raise his arms, and an ice sheet covered the ground under the giant, which was already working to get back on its feet, making it slip in a funny way. 

"Well, I’d say it’s time to say goodbye to our stone-hearted friend," Jack said after landing near Merida. She jumped away. 

Rapunzel caught up with them, followed by the blond trail of hair behind her. "Let’s get the unconscious boy and get out of here, before the ice wears off."

She went to follow Jack, but she stopped to look at Merida. "Are you okay?" 

Merida stared at her, burning betrayal pinching her chest. "All this time we were helping a Magicknapper?" 

Rapunzel made a strange expression. Disappointment mixed with sympathy. "I'll understand if you want to leave." 

"I could use a hand here!" Jack said to draw their attention. Merida saw him darkening when he noticed that she was hesitant. "Ah, forget about it." 

Magicknapper or not, Merida wasn’t one to leave a job half done. And also Rapunzel’s puppy eyes would have made her feel guilty for the rest of her life. 

"Fine, but I’m doing it to save you and that guy I don’t know." 

The most urgent matter wasn’t how to drag the unconscious boy away, but how to approach him without being reduced to ashes by the dragon, which in all that commotion hadn’t moved an inch. 

Unlike the giant, the dragon was different from the creatures Merida imagined. It was smaller, for starters, and its scales weren’t fiery red. Its pupils were two thin vertical cuts on forest green irises. 

It pointed its black snout at Merida, showing her its numerous teeth, its sharp claws nervously scraping the ground. 

She desperately hoped that the fire was also an exaggeration. 

"We just want to help him," Jack whispered softly to the dragon. 

Merida raised her bow for safety, but Rapunzel forced her to lower it, almost making her lose her grip and shoot an arrow at her own foot — a more common accident than one would think. 

"I think your bow makes him nervous," Rapunzel said in a whisper. 

The dragon closed its mouth and stared at Merida with hostility while widening its nostrils. 

"And I can’t be upset too?" she hissed back.

Rapunzel grimaced and crouched in front of the dragon. "Hello, Mr. Dragon, we're here to help, I promise. And you should know I always keep my promises." 

Merida couldn’t help but think that all that hair would burn very well. 

Unexpectedly, the dragon must have felt something in Rapunzel’s reassuring tone, and waving its long tail, it went around her without losing sight of her, revealing the body it was protecting. 

Jack went on to study his conditions. "Yeah, he took a pretty bad hit. He’s gonna have a bruise for weeks." 

"Not if I heal him," Rapunzel replied, nodding with new determination. 

Jack looked at her sideways. "Are you sure?" 

"Sure." 

Merida had no idea what they were talking about, but she had more pressing matters to think of. "We need to leave before the giant realizes it can crawl over the ice." 

They raised the boy in a joint effort, but before they could begin to seek shelter, the dragon came to them and turned to the side. 

Merida thought she had reached peak absurdity, when she helped the others to load the body on the back of the dragon. 

She didn’t miss the leather saddle fastened firmly to its back, but that was a question for later. 

"Now, does anyone know where we can hide?" 

*

Hiccup was flying. Nothing out of the ordinary, except that he wasn’t riding Toothless, and the clouds were golden. He was floating on his own, transported by the wind, towards the sun. He touched a cloud and watched it dissipate in the air with wonder. 

Then a stone hit him on the forehead with a loud thud, and the dream ended abruptly. 

He woke up startled by the unpleasant feeling of falling down, but he was lying on something hard. He couldn't lift his eyelids immediately, seized by a tremendous headache. 

"Oh look, he’s still alive." 

"I told you so."

Unknown voices. Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and looked in the direction they came from. 

A blonde girl was staring at him. "How’s your head?" 

Disoriented, Hiccup sat down. He was in a mold-smelling shadowy place, surrounded by three teenagers. An opening in the wall revealed thick trees and bushes, but guessing where he was exactly was impossible. 

The humidity and darkness reminded him of the Skrill nest where he had spent part of his last journey. 

Oh, great. Another cave. 

The girl was adjusting her long hair behind her shoulder, but she was still looking at him anxiously. 

Hiccup felt his forehead, ready to wince, but he felt nothing but the headache. "Better than I thought... Wait a minute. I remember you. And you too!" 

She was the same girl he'd seen waving at a mountain giant which was probably lost, while the boy was the one who had ended up in its rocky clutches. 

"If you two are here and safe, while I feel like my head is going to explode, it means that..." Hiccup grimaced. "Have I been out the whole time?" 

"It was terrible, at first I was afraid it had killed you instantly," the girl said, all sorry.

The boy nodded. "You went down like a rock. Um. Sorry." 

"But now you’re fine, I healed you!" the girl added cheerfully. 

Hiccup groaned. Great work, truly an unforgettable first impression. 

Next to him, Toothless grunted and aggressively licked his cheek. 

"For Ohl’s sake, Toothless, I already told you the face is off limits!" Hiccup protested, trying to protect himself with his arms. "Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. You?" 

"The dragon never stopped guarding you for even a second," the other girl intervened. She had red curls and a bow in her hand, and she seemed impressed, from the corner where she was sitting.

Hiccup scratched Toothless behind the ear. "Thank you, bud." 

The dragon gurgled happily and rubbed his nose on Hiccup's shoulder. He turned to the blonde girl. 

"You said you healed me, right? Thank you, though I don’t know how you did it." He pulled the corner of his mouth into a grateful smile. "Almost like magic." 

He didn’t expect her reaction. She squeezed her arms as if to protect herself and looked away with a guilty face, sitting down. 

This time Hiccup saw that her locks covered much of the cave floor. The boy shook his head, moving the hair that Hiccup had initially mistaken for light blond, but was actually white. 

Oh. 

"You are—" 

"Magicknappers, yeah, surprise. Now you can back up to the wall in panic according to procedure, go on," the boy said bitterly. 

The girl with the bow rolled her eyes. The other narrowed her lips. 

"Please don’t be afraid of us," she begged. 

Hiccup swallowed. "I’m not afraid." 

It wasn’t entirely true. Until a few years earlier Hiccup’s only experiences with magic had been his father’s endless spiel on how Magicknappers were a plague that haunted the kingdom, the attacks of dragons on Berk, and Gothi. 

The old woman was the only person with powers on the island, and she lived outside the village, in a shack precariously built on a side of Raven Point, overlooking the sea. 

Hiccup had heard that she'd been 'kindly invited' to stay as far away from the town as possible, when her powers had first manifested themselves in her youth. Which meant an eternity before. 

However, on occasions when someone became ill and no healer was able cure them, or someone wanted to acquire a magical object of dubious quality, there were people who defied the rumors and took that rough path, carrying some coin, or even Gothi herself back to the patient’s house.

Like all Hairy Hooligans, Hiccup had grown up learning to fear her staff, which she used to write down what she had to say, and her piercing gaze. 

Meeting Toothless had made Hiccup question all his beliefs, but there was still too much mystery surrounding Gothi, and consequently all Magicknappers, to have a defined opinion about them. 

The boy’s expression was the perfect image of skepticism. "Everybody says that." 

"I mean it." Hiccup raised his hands. "See? I’m not running. Also, Toothless didn’t attack you, so we're cool. Rather, how did you manage to escape from the giant?" he asked, forcing a casual conversation. Which was a bad idea, considering that Hiccup had never been good with that. 

The girl with the bow blew a curl off her forehead. "Rapunzel's good at tying knots," she said as if that explained everything. 

Hiccup looked at her for a more in-depth answer, but he totally forgot about it when he realized who he was staring at. 

"Wait. Hold on a second. You're Merida of Grayfir!" 

She stopped scratching her nose, caught by surprise. "...No?"

"Yes, you are! Red hair, a dress with the symbol of Dunbroch, the bow... You're the Heir of Dunbroch!" Hadn't been for the headache, Hiccup would have thought he was still dreaming. 

She crossed her arms. "A'ight, it’s me, but don’t shout it at the whole kingdom, eh? I’d rather not be dragged home right now." 

"What do you mean, did you run away?" 

"None of your business." 

"It kinda is, though, isn't it?" 

Merida looked at him, questioning. "Why would it?" 

Hiccup blinked. "You don’t know who I am?" 

Merida looked at the others. The girl, who apparently was named Rapunzel, shook her head and shrugged. The boy was sitting cross-legged with his back stiff, waiting. 

"No. Are you one of those inn-infesting bards who get offended when nobody recognizes them?" Merida asked.

Hiccup was starting to fear he was making a dangerous mistake, but it was too late. "I'm Hiccup Haddock, son of Stoick the Vast." 

In response, Merida burst out laughing immediately. "Aye, and I'm the Lost Princess!" 

To emphasize how absurd she found the idea, she continued to laugh, until her chuckle became breathless gasps. "Sorry, but you don’t look like a Berkian, much less the son of Stoick the Vast. And your clothes don’t help either." 

Hiccup's ears felt on fire, as he suddenly became aware of the state of his shirt and trousers, and how his black sleeveless doublet had seen better days. 

"Awkward," he heard the boy chanting quietly. 

Merida looked at Hiccup. She stopped laughing and her eyes went wide. "Oh, shoot, you’re not kidding. But you look nothing like your portrait!" she exclaimed with some indignation, which Hiccup found vaguely offensive. "You’re not seven feet tall, and you have even less muscle than my wee brothers." 

Hiccup assumed she was talking about some portrait by Berkian hand, carefully crafted to make him look like the perfect example of Hairy Hooligan. A strategy to intimidate the rival region, probably. 

"I get that a lot," he said ironic. He returned serious. "In theory we shouldn’t even see each other before the Duel of the Heirs."

"Oops. Can't do anything about that, I'm afraid," said Merida quite indifferently. 

Hiccup rubbed his temples. "This is only making my headache worse." 

Rapunzel elbowed the boy. "Would some ice help?" 

Before Hiccup could answer, he chuckled sarcastically. "He'll never accept it from me, Rapunzel." 

Hiccup thought ice would be a blessing, but asking it after that statement seemed rude, so he didn't.

A tense silence filled the cave. Someone sneezed because of the humidity. 

Rapunzel, who seemed unable to stand that unnatural quiet between them, raised a hand. "Um! Uh, we could introduce ourselves properly, what do you think? I'll start. I’m Rapunzel, and this is Jack. He’s taking me to Amberray." 

Merida’s face lit up with interest. "Amberray, did you say? Me too!" She cleared her voice. "My name is Merida and I’m headed to Amberray for the Duel of the Heirs. Here you go." 

"What's the Duel of the Heirs?" Rapunzel shyly asked. 

"It’s a challenge in the art of combat on equal terms between the firstborn of the most important families from the regions of Fewor, meant to decree who will succeed to the throne," Merida recited in an exaggeratedly solemn tone. 

Hiccup recognized those words; they were the exact same ones that his father had been repeating to him for twenty years. 

"Ooh, it sounds important," Rapunzel commented. 

"For my mother it sure is," said Merida. "Basically, in a month I have to be in the capital, where I'll officially declare my application as a duelist." 

"I thought that role was up to the eldest child of the current rulers," Rapunzel objected, moving a hairlock behind her ear. "I mean, in fairy tales it usually is," she added defensively. 

"Usually that's the case, but the princess disappeared when she was little more than a baby, and I doubt she’s gonna show up right now, after eighteen years of complete silence." Merida nodded to Hiccup. "So that leaves me and Haddock." 

"You can keep me out of this," he replied. "I won't fight in the duel. Oh, right. Hiccup and Toothless. Nice to meet you." 

That left Rapunzel and Jack surprised, but Merida looked shocked to say the least. "This time you’re joking, right?" 

Hiccup shook his head.

Merida looked first at him, then Rapunzel and Jack, then Toothless, then the ceiling of the cave, as if searching for support. "But... but I’ve been preparing for that day since I can remember... You can’t just announce something like that, as if it's nothing!" 

"I have my reasons, okay?" Hiccup mumbled, tired of having to explain the very good reason why he'd left Berk the day after his return. 

He had come up with the crazy idea of leaving the kingdom, while talking to Astrid. At the time, it had sounded impossible as soon as he'd said it out loud, yet he couldn’t get it out of his head. 

He'd spent the following days flying over Dunbroch, lingering near Mount Ohl with the excuse that it was just a reconnaissance flight of the border. He would have decided whether to make that jump when the time came. 

At least that was what he'd been repeating to himself until then. 

However, spotting Rapunzel and Jack in danger had temporarily put the hypothesis on hold. 

"I guess this will make things much easier for me," concluded Merida, uncertain. "I just have to hurry and go to Amberray, and do all the official stuff, and—" 

Her stomach suddenly growled louder than her voice. 

"You might want to eat something before you think about your big plans," Rapunzel said, smiling amused. 

Merida suddenly lost her enthusiasm. "I would have done that long ago, if Angus hadn’t left with all my supplies. I'll never eat the cakes I stole from the kitchens," she sighed. 

"Who's Angus, and why would he abandon you?" Rapunzel asked her, astonished. 

"He's my horse." 

"Oh." 

"Aye, he got scared shortly after we left, and he ran back."

"Is he going to be okay?" Hiccup asked. 

Merida wiggled a hand while she huffed. "Angus knows the way home like the back of his hoof. By now he’ll be in Grayfir stuffing himself with apples, interrogated by my mother to tell her where I'm going." 

"So you did run away," Jack said. 

Merida took an arrow from her quiver and pointed it at his face. "Watch it, Magicknapper." 

Hiccup thought he’d better stop the bickering before it could escalate. "I’ve got some supplies left in Toothless’s bags." He hesitated. "If you're fine with taking food from your rival." 

He wasn’t sure if it was a joke either. Having stumbled upon the Heir of Dunbroch still didn't feel real. 

Merida didn’t seem to care. "Excellent. Dinner offered by the enemy." She looked up at Hiccup’s face and rolled her blue eyes. "I'm joking." 

"We should light some fire if we’re going to sleep here," Rapunzel said, evidently delighted at the idea of camping in an uncomfortable cave. "We just need to find some wood." 

Hiccup peered outside the opening of their shelter. The trees were glowing with the faint warm-tinted sunset light. "Do you think it's safe out there?" 

"As long as someone doesn't step again on a mountain monster's sleeping face," Jack replied. 

Rapunzel squeezed the hem of her skirt. "Jack, I'm so sorry about that! I almost had you..." 

"Hey, hey, I was joking," he said quickly. "Just a stupid joke. We talked about that yesterday, remember?" 

Rapunzel nodded, but she still looked on the verge of tears. 

Merida invited herself in their discussion. "I’m sure you didn’t mean to. Did you?" 

"No, of course not!" 

"Then it was an accident," she said, lightly tapping Rapunzel’s back, making her smile gratefully as she wiped the corner of her eye. "It could have happened to anyone."

It didn’t take a genius to understand that Merida didn't exactly appreciate Jack, however Hiccup wondered why the same didn’t apply to Rapunzel. Sometimes people’s preferences made no sense. 

Jack got up. "How about this. You can stay here and eat with Her Highness, and Freckles and I go looking for wood." 

Merida squinted. "What did you just call me?" 

"See you later, Rapunzel." 

Hiccup had no choice but to leave the cave with Jack. At least, Toothless silently followed them, making Hiccup feel safer. 

He'd missed the fresh air. In addition to the sound of their footsteps in the undergrowth, the sounds of the birds spread from the treetops. 

At least that meant the giant was far gone. 

Hiccup bent over to pick up a twig, thinking about what to say. "Hey, uhm. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I was scared by you and Rapunzel." 

Jack discarded a stick by throwing it at the trunk of a tree with precision. "You don’t need to pretend to be my friend. Please spare us both the theatrics," he said dryly. 

It sounded a bit too similar to Astrid’s comment on the cliff. Hiccup stepped in front of Jack. 

"All right. Fine! I’m not used to people like you and I don’t really know how to act," he said. "But I’m trying. I can try, if you allow me. Otherwise it's useless." 

The shadows around Jack’s eyes darkened for a moment, as if he was remembering something unpleasant, but it lasted so little that Hiccup thought he'd imagined it.

"You’re a weird guy, Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup snorted. "I get that a lot as well. So, what did you want to talk about?" He saw the confusion in Jack's expression. "It doesn’t take two people to pick up a few twigs." 

A spark definitively replaced his remorse. "I'm offering you an advantageous arrangement."

It wasn’t what Hiccup was expecting. Honestly, he had no idea what someone with magic powers would want from him. "Go on." 

"I saw you flying on the dragon, before, and I was thinking we could kill two birds with one stone. Sorry. I swear they come out just like that, without me having to think about it." 

"Jack..." 

"Anyway. You use the dragon to move, right?" 

"We need each other to fly, but yes, we travel together," said Hiccup, who was beginning to see where Jack was going with that. 

"Would you fly us to Amberray?" 

Hiccup scratched his temple. The pain was slowly subsiding, and with some luck, it would have been gone by the next day. "I don't want to make a fuss, but first you make it clear you don’t care about my good intentions, and now you ask me this favor?" 

Jack became strange. He took a step towards Hiccup, who managed not to instinctively back away, and looked around several times. 

"The thing is... we’re going to Amberray because Rapunzel is the Lost Princess." 

The few twigs found by Hiccup fell to the ground with some noise. 

"But the princess is dead," was all he could say. 

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, people think so because nobody's seen her in years, but disappearance doesn’t necessarily mean death." 

"And since when is the princess a Magi—I mean, does she have magic?" 

"It’s a story the royal family tried to bury with oaths and threats." Jack’s expression became wistful. "The queen was sick when she was pregnant, but she drank a magical infusion and boom, magic baby. You call these Involuntary Magicknappers, I think." 

Just like Gothi. 

"Then where has she been all this time? And how can you be absolutely sure it’s her?" Hiccup asked. 

"I found her in a doorless tower deep in the Old Woods." 

"Rapunzel is a very common name in Corona," Hiccup insisted.

Jack extended his arms, exasperated. "How many other eighteen-year-old girls named Rapunzel with magical powers have you met? I just know, Hiccup. You'll have to trust me." 

"Wait," Hiccup said, caught in a realization. "Does Rapunzel know this?" 

"No, and it has to stay that way. Think if I told her. First of all, she would think I'm lying, then she'd leave on her own and get herself into trouble. It's better to give her a chance to figure things out, get to know her parents, and the princess matter will happen naturally."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "And coming up with a 'hey, did you know you’re the legendary Lost Princess?' right at the end is better?" 

"My plan has some flaws, you’re right, but what will you do?" Jack spinned a twig between his pale fingers with one hand. "You said earlier that you don’t want to fight in the Duel of the Heirs."

"I did."

"You look like you’re running from something," Jack remarked, sounding like he knew more than he did. 

Hiccup made a face. "Are you calling me a coward?" 

If his father had been in his place, or any other Hairy Hooligan, a fight would have already broken out. 

"Coward? No. Smart? Maybe." Jack smirked. "That one's still up in the air."

"Get to the point, please." 

"It’s obvious, isn’t it? We'll take Rapunzel to the capital within a month, and there won’t be a duel at all! Problem solved." 

If Hiccup had still had the firewood in his hand, it would have fallen again. 

Jack’s words resonated inside his head. No duel at all. 

His mind began to imagine what that would have been like before Hiccup could stop it: he wouldn’t need to leave the kingdom to begin with. He could have stayed in Berk, no training, no responsibilities. He could have given his place as village chief to Astrid — she wouldn’t have refused for sure — and have a normal life. 

No duel at all...

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why are you helping Rapunzel reunite with her parents? It’s a dangerous journey, and you won't get anything out of it." 

Jack’s expression was enigmatic. "...For the sake of the kingdom." 

He was lying, but Hiccup didn’t understand why. Whatever the real reason was, Jack didn’t want to reveal it, and Hiccup couldn’t do anything about it. 

"So, do you accept or not?" Jack asked. 

Maybe Hiccup should have thought this through. 

...No duel at all. 

He reached out to Jack. "All right. I’m in."

Jack hesitated before shaking his arm in the Archipelago style. 

"On one condition," Hiccup warned him. "No more stone jokes." 

For the first time, Jack let out a genuine laugh.

Chapter Text

Hiccup had been kind enough to offer them some of his personal supplies, Rapunzel reminded herself.

His sacrifice had been a big one, since the saddlebags attached to Toothless probably couldn't exceed a certain amount of weight, Rapunzel reminded herself.

Yet, as she used her teeth to pull the strip of dried meat with all her effort, Rapunzel couldn't help but miss Mother's hazelnut soup.

Finally, the meat tore in two, but Rapunzel could have sworn she felt the whiplash.

"Don't tell Haddock I said this, but this stuff is terrible," Merida said with her mouth full. Maybe she was chewing on a whole one.

Hearing this was a great relief for Rapunzel, knowing she wasn’t alone. "It doesn't have much flavor, does it?"

"I've never tried to taste the sole of a boot, but I suppose it would be the same thing," Merida said painedly. “And of course the only living creature I found in this damned place was a monster made of scenery.”

“So no meat.”

"Aye." Merida swallowed with difficulty. "Please, let's talk about something else. Tell me how you and this Jack guy met."

Rapunzel smiled as she remembered that day. "We found each other by chance. Jack had climbed my tower to check on the source of magic he felt, but had hurt himself in the process. I healed him, and he offered to return the favor. He said something about repaying a debt."

“Did you use… your hair?” Merida asked casually.

Rapunzel felt her smile deflate. She had seen Merida's expression clearly, as the healing magic had flowed through her locks with a golden glow that had lit up the cave, healing Hiccup's wound.

Jack had explained to her that no one would put her in prison as long as she didn't flaunt her powers, but he had also warned her that the vast majority of people thought magic was horrifying.

Merida saw Rapunzel become sad and shook her head. "I was just curious! And, uh, so you asked him to take you to Amberray?"

"I've always wanted to go there. Once, when I was little, a flyer for Veeta's Festival flew up to the tower. I read about the music, the food I didn't know, the games and fireworks, and ever since then I've dreamed of seeing it," Rapunzel explained with growing excitement. "Jack says that it's held at the capital to celebrate the beginning of summer!"

Merida laughed, but not in a mocking way. It sounded kinder. "I've heard about it. Must be fun, I understand why you want to go. So Jack is taking you to Corona... And you trust a person you practically don't know to guide you? What do you even know about him?"

"Not much," Rapunzel admitted. "I've tried several times to ask him where he's from, or about his family, but he's always vague. I don't think he enjoys talking about himself."

Merida looked skeptical.

Rapunzel sighed. "You don't like him."

Earlier, when Hiccup had woken up and there had been their exchange of introductions, Rapunzel had noticed that he and Merida shared a truly bizarre bond, as if they knew each other without ever having met.

Instead, the tension between Jack and Merida was very clear, and it was similar to that between Hiccup and Jack, but magnified.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I like him," Merida answered as she nervously nibbled on another strip of meat.

"Because he's a Magicknapper? But so am I, and you're nice to me."

"Do you know why they are called that?"

"No."

Merida clicked her tongue. "There. You immediately gave me the impression of coming from outside that world, and the fact that you don't even know this confirms it."

"Should I know?" Rapunzel asked, fidgeting on the hard floor of the cave.

"I'll explain it to you. Only gods can use magic, but there are people who undergo secret rituals to gain powers," Merida said. “It's kind of a tradition in their community.”

"So… that's a bad thing, in your opinion," Rapunzel said.

She smoothed some hair between her fingers, scolding herself for not asking Mother more questions before going out for the first time. She avoided saying out loud that she also didn't know much about the gods Merida was talking about.

"Not in my opinion. In everyone's opinion," she corrected. "They gain their powers through deception, Rapunzel. Using magic isn't something for mere mortals."

"But I've never done any ritual to be like this!"

"Sometimes it happens that a person receives powers randomly, and one day they manifest themselves. We call them Involuntary Magicknappers, and they're considered a little better than normal ones," Merida explained.

Rapunzel stared at the floor. There was still so much she didn't know.

Merida waved her third string of meat. "You're fine, Rapunzel! No offense, but having the power to heal wounds isn't as scary as being able to create ice out of thin air."

"I trust Jack. We traveled together for three days, and he didn't think twice before helping Hiccup when he was injured," Rapunzel said, determined to defend her guide. "Give him a chance, Merida."

She swallowed the last bite. "Yes, sure."

Rapunzel suspected that Merida had said this to make her happy, but she promised herself that she would change her mind at all costs.

Hers and Hiccup's, who had claimed he wasn’t afraid of Jack, but had never relaxed his shoulders while they talked, and had walked out with him keeping a hand on Toothless's back.

Merida changed the subject. "I should ask Haddock for a map when he gets back. If I don't visit a shop or market soon, I'll be out of arrows in two days," she mused aloud.

"Were you traveling alone? That's so cool," Rapunzel observed, impressed.

"It's the first time I've been this far away from Grayfir, but I'm used to woods and such."

Rapunzel had a fantastic idea, remembering the way Merida had hit the giant in the crack between two rocks. "Right, we have the same destination! You should come with us, we could use someone who knows how to fight!"

Merida opened her mouth to respond, seemingly displeased, but she must have seen something in Rapunzel that made her slump her shoulders and snort. "Eh. Why not."

Rapunzel smiled happily, and there was a moment of embarrassment when she rushed to hug Merida, but changed her mind at the last second, and they ended up banging heads.

She'd remembered the way Jack would jump every time he got touched, and she had the doubt that it was the same for Merida too.

"Sorry, I thought you wanted to shake hands," Merida said, rubbing her forehead. She stopped suddenly and opened her eyes wide with shock as she looked at Rapunzel's shoulder. "What's that?!"

Next to Rapunzel's neck, Pascal looked behind him as if searching for what Merida was pointing at.

"This is Pascal, we've been friends for years," said Rapunzel. 

"And what animal would he be?"

"A chameleon," she explained, satisfied that she knew something the others didn't, for once.

She had been just a child when she'd asked Mother what he was based on a description, assuming that she would never let her keep a pet.

Merida's shock quickly turned to scheming. "Do me a favor. Don't mention him to the others when they come back. I want to see their faces when they notice him."

“Um, okay?”

While they waited for Jack and Hiccup, they talked about their homes for a while. Rapunzel was immediately won over by Grayfir's description: an ancient town surrounded by a large forest, not far from a lake. She would have liked to see the fabled castle.

Instead, Merida couldn't find peace for what Rapunzel had told her about the tower.

"There are no doors or stairs to access? Not even one?" she kept asking, incredulous.

"Mh-mh."

"And how do you go out?"

Rapunzel scratched Pascal's little head, looking for the same spot that Hiccup had scratched on Toothless, unleashing a low noise never heard before. “Why should I go out?”

Merida stopped tracing the decorations on her bow with her fingers, stunned. "You mean you've never left the tower before?"

"The world outside is dangerous," Rapunzel replied, repeating Mother's favorite catchphrase.

"I'm not saying that a bit of healthy caution isn't useful, of course, but staying at home all the time…! I would die."

Thinking about it, Jack had also had a strange reaction when Rapunzel had mentioned that she had no idea how nice the grass felt under her feet. He had looked at her dubiously and muttered something incomprehensible, but he had made no comments.

Before Rapunzel could justify herself in any way, Jack and Hiccup returned with the wood, followed by Toothless.

Jack pointed to a rather large opening in the ceiling that would likely cause problems in case of rain. “We can start the fire there.”

Hiccup unloaded his handful of twigs. “Sounds like you have experience.”

Jack ignored the implied question and began preparing the fire, as Rapunzel had seen him do several times.

"Found anything interesting? More monsters?" Merida asked as Hiccup sat down to eat.

Rapunzel watched him tear the meat with his teeth, fascinated, wondering if he liked it, and looked away when she met his eyes. Both his and Toothless's were green. It was a cute coincidence.

"It's all quiet out there," he said. "Whatever you did to the giant, it ran away."

Merida winked at Rapunzel.

After starting the fire, Jack wiped his hands on his loose-fitting trousers that once must have been bright indigo but now looked closer to gray.

"Good news," he told Rapunzel. "Hiccup agreed to take us to Amberray."

It had been a while since she'd seen him in such a good mood. As the days had passed, in fact, his enthusiasm for the journey had waned, unlike Rapunzel's which seemed to grow endlessly, and he had started to say that at this rate they wouldn't reach the capital in time.

"Wait, you mean we're going to fly on Toothless?" she asked breathlessly.

"I have good news too," Merida added. "I'm coming with you."

The way Jack's expression went from optimism to despair was almost comical. "If this is a joke, it's not funny."

"I'm serious, and you can't refuse, because it was Rapunzel who asked me," Merida replied, crossing her arms.

Jack looked at Hiccup as if looking for support.

"I don't think Toothless could carry four people. Even just three of us will slow him down..." he said awkwardly.

“Oh, but Jack can fly, right Jack?” Rapunzel said.

Hiccup's voice drowned out everyone else.

"He what."

"Right, you didn't see it because you were unconscious," Rapunzel realized. "Jack can fly, and he's very good at it!"

Hiccup gasped as if he had been hit on the head again. "What use am I to you if you know how to fly? And please , can we stop bringing up that I passed out?"

Jack shook his head. "I can't carry a person. The effort would require too much energy."

Merida clapped her hands on her knees. "Well, then there's no problem!"

"I'm going out to keep watch," Jack muttered, standing up.

"I'll join you," Merida said following him just outside the cave.

"Absolutely not. One person is enough."

"Yes, but I can't sleep, knowing that the guy who let himself be captured by a giant is watching over us."

"Oh, whatever."

Out of the corner of her eye, Rapunzel saw Hiccup lean towards Toothless. "Go with them, bud, and keep an eye on them," he suggested. 

The dragon trotted towards the exit, leaving them alone.

Rapunzel snuggled closer to the fire, tucking her hair into a pillow. A wisp of smoke rose towards the opening in the ceiling in sinuous curls.

She assumed that Pascal would come out of her hair shelter to explore the cave when they'd have fallen asleep.

She said Hiccup goodnight, and he leaned against the stone wall in the most uncomfortable position Rapunzel had ever seen.

She was on the verge of falling asleep when she got startled by a shriek very similar to one she had heard earlier.

"What's that?!"

*

The gods had a strange sense of humor. Jack had finally found the Lost Princess, right when his hopes were dwindling, and though those few days had been accompanied by growing anxiety over their falling behind schedule, things had gone smooth.

Then the giant had showed up, and with it the other two Heirs, namely, the last people Jack would have wanted to continue the journey with.

At least Hiccup Haddock's presence had proved useful, thanks to his dragon.

Unlike someone else's.

Jack glanced over at Merida, who was focused on carving a decoration on her bow with a dagger that she had unexpectedly pulled out from her boot.

She seemed completely absorbed in her work, but Jack had already seen her jerk her head up at the sound of an owl a couple times.

It was a question by Merida that broke the silence. "So, Jack. Do you have a last name?"

She wasn't looking at his face.

Jack answered her as he watched the dragon clean his nails with his big pink tongue. "It's none of your business," he said, parodying her tone from when she'd spoken to Hiccup earlier.

Merida huffed loud enough to send the curls framing her face flying. Even in the evening darkness, the shades of red and orange were bright.

"I only asked for your name, not your life story. Are you always this rude?"

"Are you always this annoying?"

Merida grunted an unrepeatable insult and went back to her work.

Jack peered at the small piece of moon that he could glimpse through the thicket of the trees, thinking about the last time someone had called him by his last name. He had been an equally unpleasant person.

"Frost," Jack muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Frost," he repeated, forcing himself to enunciate better. "Happy now?"

"That depends." Merida set her bow aside and leaned toward him intimidatingly. As she moved, her hair almost seemed to catch on fire. It reminded Jack of those birds that puffed out their feathers to appear more menacing. "Rapunzel relies on you, you know."

"What are you trying to say?" Jack said defensively.

Merida's tone became deadly serious. "That if you try to disappoint her in any way, you'll end up with an arrow where the sun doesn't shine."

Pretty vulgar for a future queen, Jack thought, careful not to say it out loud this time.

He couldn't blame Merida for caring about Rapunzel. Aside from the fact that he was hiding the truth from her, Jack had actually come to like that girl.

He had even taken little detours to show her interesting things, like a frog pond, a flower clearing, or some strange animal.

After all, if they were proceeding slowly it was also partly Jack's fault, but he had soon discovered that it was impossible to say no to Rapunzel.

She was weird, exuberant, unpredictable and sometimes nosy, but she seemed genuinely happy to have him as her guide. She probably didn't have any better standards, but Jack preferred to pretend theirs wasn't an adventure built with secrets and lies.

"Why are you going all alone to the capital so early, without the traditional parade?" he asked Merida. He wanted to know who to blame for letting her get in his way at the worst moment.

"I'm running away from a wedding."

"Whose?"

"Mine, Magicknapper."

Jack wasn't expecting a straight answer, to be honest. It shocked him a little bit. "You’re getting married? To which of the many pretentious lords available?"

"No idea. They're all the same. What matters to me, is that I realized that if I stayed in Grayfir any longer, I'd be treated like a doll my whole life," Merida said. “The sooner I become queen, the better.”

"Mmh."

If only she had known that they were leading the personified end of that hope to her destination. Jack would have felt a twinge of guilt if he hadn't been sitting near one of Fewor's most annoying people.

Maybe a little less annoying than that Bunny guy... Yeah, he was... unbeatable...

"It's best if you take a nap," Merida said. "You're falling asleep."

Jack straightened up just in time before landing face first on the ground. "I'm awake."

"Not for much longer if you keep this up," she snorted.

Jack hated to admit it, but she was right: his eyelids were getting heavier and heavier and the temptation to close them for just a second was strong.

"Wake me up if anything happens."

“Sure thing, princess.”

It was going to be a long journey.

Jack laid his back on the ground and immediately fell asleep looking at the stars.

Millions of stars, glittering like beads on a dress woven by spirits. Stars in the sky, among the trees, between the blades of grass. Stars flashing all around him.

Stars with dark centers staring back at him.

Jack's heart sank. Those were eyes that stared into his soul, exposing his secrets and his lies.

Everywhere he turned, Jack saw only eyes on him.

His foggy mind barely recognized the absurdity of the situation; he was keeping watch with that girl, just a moment ago. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. 

A nightmare! Jack trembled with relief.

It was different than usual, but it was still a dream. He closed his eyelids and imagined himself alone.

When he opened them again, there were now stars where the eyes had been, but this time they were bigger and brighter than ever, shining with a hundred colors. Jack reached out and grazed one, causing a shower of dust-fine sparks to fall on his head.

He shook his hair with his hands and took one last look at the dreamy sky, wishing he could stay in that place where his imagination could do anything, but he had more important things to do.

Jack forced his eyes open.

He hadn’t slept much. The moon was a little higher than before and he could still hear the crackling of the fire in the cave, so at a rough estimate about twenty minutes had passed.

"Can't sleep?"

Rapunzel was watching him from not too far away, where Merida had previously sat. Pascal the chameleon was curled up on her frying pan, which was placed on the grass.

Jack sat back and rubbed his eyelids. "I was just dreaming."

"I told Merida to switch places. She looked tired."

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Did you do it so she wouldn't hear me stirring in my sleep?”

"It was a coincidence," Rapunzel said feigning ignorance. "But sooner or later they will know, if we're going to travel together."

"I guess so."

Jack didn't like the idea, even though it was impossible to avoid. After learning about his nightmares, questions would have followed and Merida and Hiccup wouldn't believe the tiredness excuse like Rapunzel. Having the same nightmare every day wasn't normal.

Aside from that, his nap had produced a dream unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The eyes stuff was disturbing, but Jack suspected he knew their meaning.

His chest and neck stung. This too was new. Jack would have checked under his shirt if Rapunzel hadn't been there.

At that moment, the dragon sitting near the cave entrance yawned loudly, causing Rapunzel's hand to snap towards her trusty frying pan.

"Gods in the sky, I forgot he's here too," she whispered to Jack. "He becomes practically invisible when it gets dark, huh?"

"Were you scared?"

"Yes, weren't you?"

"I have night vision like owls," Jack replied without batting an eye.

“Really—oh, that was a joke, right?” said Rapunzel.

"Good job."

She smiled softly. "Go to sleep, Jack."

Rapunzel relies on you.

Perfect, he really needed someone to remind him that he was deceiving her, Jack thought as he lay down on his side.

And now he had also involved Hiccup in this story. It seemed inevitable that Jack would ruin the day of everyone he met.

*

Elinor tripped over a toy. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, before stepping aside the wooden cart abandoned by the triplets and throwing a braid over her shoulder.

She resumed her walk: fast pace, skirts rustling behind her and enough thoughts in her head to fill all the barrels in Grayfir's cellars.

There was the matter of the lords, for one thing. Elinor had gotten rid of the Dingwalls by taking advantage of Merida's impetuous exit, and she had told them, with a thousand apologies, that the poor girl wasn't feeling well.

Their guests had only left the castle after being reassured that Elinor would consider Wee Dingwall as a suitor. That boy was incapable of holding a conversation, but his family was also the wealthiest in the region, apart from theirs.

Furthermore, Elinor had to deal with her people, dissatisfied with the new crop taxes just introduced which, according to the letter from Amberray, would serve the purpose of financing the Duel of the Heirs that would be held very shortly.

In fact, servants were needed in the royal palace, and flowers, entertainment for the illustrious guests from all over the kingdom, food, additional surveillance, masters of ceremonies, clothes...

The tax would only last for a few weeks, the letter said, but try explaining that to the people. Convincing a farmer that putting their business at risk was useful for a nobility ceremony wasn’t easy.

Elinor had therefore done her best to improve the mood of her people, arguing that Merida's accession to the throne would bring greater freedom to all of Dunbroch. 

Another arduous task, considering that at the moment there was no Heir in Grayfir.

Elinor stopped what had now become a march, and looked at the outline of the Pilgrims Range looming to the north from a window. Her chest felt like it was being pressed.

She remembered every detail about the fateful morning she had gone to wake Merida, even though she wouldn't find any other clues there.

Elinor's head had been heavy after the feast from the night before, but she had still forcefully thrown open the curtains of Merida's room. Not having heard her usual complaints about the sudden light, Elinor had thought that she must still have been angry about their little argument, and she had approached Merida's bed.

But she hadn't found anyone, just a thick black thread knotted around the post near the pillow, stretching from the bed to the tapestry hanging on the wall next to it. That masterful art piece depicted a map of Fewor, and someone had defaced it by crudely sewing a large X onto it.

Brushing her fingers over the hasty addition, Elinor had recognized Merida's clumsy hand instantly. She had never properly learned the art of embroidery.

The hours that had followed the discovery had been quick and confusing, but the absence of the bow, quiver, some clothes, her horse, and some kitchen supplies had been more than enough to confirm Merida's intention.

As for the destination, the X was worth more than any written message: the mark above Amberray left no room for doubt.

Since then Elinor had been counting the hours that passed. In her heart there was both anger and disappointment for Merida's petty trick, but also extreme anguish. She wondered if her daughter was okay, if she had come across some bad people who recognized her.

The Dunbrochians could lose a queen. Elinor could lose part of her life.

Still, she couldn't seem too upset, she thought, turning the corner heading to the south hall. She must prove to her people that she was in control of the situation, especially because no one outside the castle knew.

If the news had gotten out, panic would have spread like wildfire. The people would have lost faith in their family, and asked for the title of Heir to pass to another firstborn. Two centuries earlier they had come too close to that.

Elinor threw open the door, causing the maids to shriek.

"So, where is it?"

Maudie's cheeks were redder than ever, and she was shaking all over as she held onto one of the younger girls, who was holding a ladle like a sword.

Maudie tried to say something, but it was impossible to decipher a meaningful sentence from her stammering. She then slowly raised a finger towards the old cupboard next to the fireplace.

"Be careful, milady, please!" said a third maid behind them, standing still with her back to the wall.

Elinor guessed that they had been stuck that way for at least half an hour, before a passing guard had noticed them and informed her. If it hadn't been a habit, someone else would have taken care of it before inconveniencing her.

She walked confidently to the cupboard, before which she bent to examine it.

Just then, something came towards her, banging loudly against the glass.

The maids screamed in terror. One caught Maudie just before she fainted.

"There it is, it's the monster!" the girl shouted from the wall, covering her eyes. "It's come from the lake to eat us!"

Elinor studied the 'monster' that had opened his mouth to lick the glass, and she had to agree that it was indeed a mischievous little beast. One of three, to be exact.

Elinor opened the door, making Hubert tumble out, and he ran from the hall imitating a ferocious roar. Coming from his mouth it sounded more like a whining cat.

From the hallway came a quiet giggling.

Elinor directed an unimpressed look at Maudie.

"B-b-b-but it was right there, wings and tail and everything!" she stuttered.

"Dear, all you saw was a blanket, a rope, and a naughty child," Elinor sighed. "You can go back to your chores now."

"What if he comes back?"

Elinor looked at them from behind the half-open door. "Lock the cupboard."

She was thinking of going to her rooms to rest a little, when a chorus of bagpipes shook the whole castle. Fergus and their guests must have returned from their morning hunt.

Elinor almost didn't hear the guard who practically shouted in her ear, "Lord MacGuffin is asking for you urgently, milady. As usual. What should I tell him?"

Elinor's sigh was so loud that it felt like her soul was leaving her body. "I will receive him. Have him wait in the entrance courtyard."

Once she was left alone, Elinor fixed her hair and skirt, thinking that the lords' visits were causing her more problems than benefits.

Unlike Lord Dingwall, who had briefly seen Merida, Lord MacGuffin hadn’t had such luck. Since his arrival in Grayfir he had asked to speak to Elinor.

As she entered the hall, she passed Fergus, sweaty and breathless, who warned her.

"That clumsy Young MacGuffin has scared away almost all the animals. His father is in a very bad mood," he whispered between the barking of the hounds.

Fantastic. Elinor put a lovely smile on her face and went to meet them, while Fergus ran away to get himself cleaned up. She would have appreciated a little support, every now and then.

"I hope you will enjoy lunch," she told Lord MacGuffin, hoping the thought of food would be enough to distract him. "I had some Pineton specialties prepared."

He stared at her, or at least Elinor assumed he did. Between his thick mustache and equally bushy eyebrows, trying to read his expression was a gamble.

"Lady Elinor," he began, crossing his arms, "how much longer are you going to waste my time? The recreational activities your husband has been dragging us into for days can't go on forever. These hunting trips will depopulate the woods. Your musicians will wear out their fingers. You will run out of your best barrels. You're stalling."

Elinor realized that she couldn’t play the sweet, easy-going lady with him. She had to be resolute.

"Are you saying that you don't like our hospitality, our wine, our shows and our games? That we are making a mistake with our continued efforts to make your stay in Grayfir pleasant?"

She returned the stern gaze to the sender. "My daughter is confined to bed by a terrible disease. The servants must take all the necessary precautions so as not to be afflicted by the same illness. Believe me, I would be honored to have you meet Merida, but I cannot risk your health."

Young MacGuffin, big and bulky and awkward as ever, stood there still, one step behind his father, and didn't dare look Elinor in her eyes.

His father looked slightly uncomfortable, and brushed the pommel of the sword at his side. "I understand, of course, but making us come all this way and then forbidding us from going anywhere near Lady Merida…"

"Lord MacGuffin, do you care to live long? To see your son grow into a man and have a family of his own?" replied Elinor, stern.

"Is this a threat?" he said darkly.

"I'm not threatening you, the disease is. I'll make you talk to Merida, if you really want to, but then don't come crying to me, when you'll be covered in pustules and the fever will make you hallucinate."

The boy turned pale and muttered something incomprehensible. Lord MacGuffin dropped the hand from his sword. "...Pustules?"

"They won't leave scars on my daughter's face, if that's what you're worried about," Elinor said disdainfully.

He shook his head vigorously. "No, no, I didn't mean to imply that. Uh. It sounds like a terrible disease. I hope Lady Merida gets better soon."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to," Elinor said, turning away. She didn't want them to see her satisfied smile. "I'll see you at lunch."

Elinor was mentally celebrating her victory as she placed her foot on the first step to leave the courtyard, but a sudden and excited shouting stopped her where she was.

The front doors swung open with a bang, pouring a small group of guards into the courtyard.

"Milady! Your daughter's horse! He's back!"

Lord MacGuffin's eyebrows rose high enough to reveal his eyes, for once. "What are they talking about?"

Elinor didn't have time to make up yet another excuse. She grabbed the hem of her skirts and marched out, following the guards towards the castle stables. She didn't even care that her guests were coming too.

The first stall was occupied by three stable men and Angus, Merida's black horse. The animal was quite agitated, and shook his head restlessly, while the men tried to calm him down with carrots and brushes.

"Where is she?" Elinor asked.

One of the men climbed over the stall door to approach her. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered in the stables.

"The horse came alone, milady," he said.

He opened his mouth to say more, but he noticed something behind Elinor, who turned to find herself face to face with MacGuffin and his son.

"What story is this? Why is everyone flocking to see this horse?"

Elinor surrendered to the idea that the secret had now been revealed. She might as well gather information now.

"How long has he been back?" she asked the stable man.

“Just a minute, he came from the main road.”

Elinor didn't know how to feel. If nothing else, this ruled out the hypothesis that Merida had left the message to mislead them and was hiding in the Cinder Woods. However, there were other reasons to worry; along the roads one could be targeted by robbers and kidnappers.

Lord MacGuffin seemed to put two and two together. This time Elinor could clearly see both his eyes wide open. "Your daughter isn't sick, am I wrong? If this is her horse... has she run away?"

Elinor forced herself to pay attention to him. "Merida thought about leaving for Amberray a few weeks early."

"But she's skipping the traditional journey," he protested. "There is a ceremonial to follow, rites to perform!"

"It's too late now to think about the normal course of the Duel," Elinor sighed, feeling the weight of an entire region she couldn’t disappoint on her shoulders. "I just hope she's safe."

Her statement cheered up Lord MacGuffin, who straightened his back and energetically took his son by the shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about."

Elinor looked at him blankly.

"My son will find Lady Merida before she leaves Dunbroch!" he continued, shaking the boy, who looked perhaps even more confused than Elinor.

"I would be grateful if you could," she said slowly.

"Grateful enough to remember my son when the time comes to choose a husband for your daughter, I hope," MacGuffin exclaimed.

It took all of Elinor's self-control — which was a lot — not to make her grab a carrot and stick it up his nose. She would have preferred to marry Merida to a Magicknapper, rather than the son of that arrogant man, but she had no other choice.

"I trust you, then."

MacGuffin patted his son soundly on the back. The boy mumbled something with an anxious expression.

"Ha! There's no use worrying about the girl's advantage, son. How far could she have gone, without a horse?"

Chapter Text

When Merida opened her eyes and met the intense gaze of the dragon just a breath away from her face, she thought her end had come.

It wasn't a nightmare, the detail of the beast's warm breath moving her hair was too vivid for a dream, and Merida's fear too great to not be awake.

She was so terrified, in fact, that she couldn't even scream. She was going to be eaten by a dragon! What a horrible way to die.

"Toothless, you're scaring her."

The dragon flared his nostrils, blinked his scaly eyelids like a cat, and walked to Hiccup, leaving Merida to recover from the shock.

She sat up, groping for her bow without losing sight of the dragon, which now seemed more interested in scratching the side of his head with his large paws.

On the opposite side of the cave, lit by the lazy morning light, Hiccup, sitting cross-legged with a notebook in hand, was carefully examining Rapunzel's chameleon.

"I've never seen an animal like that," he said when Merida came to see what he was doing, almost to himself.

Pascal was giving Hiccup a snobbish look. Merida was amazed at how expressive he was. “He looks like a lizard mixed with a frog.”

The little animal didn't like her comparison, and scurried towards the exit of the cave all stiffly.

"Maybe it's a species found in the eastern lands," Hiccup speculated as he wrote something down. Merida glimpsed a charcoal sketch of a smug-looking chameleon. "When he woke me up, I could have sworn I saw him change color, like a Changewing. Really strange."

"Said the boy who called a fire-spitting dragon Toothless."

"He spits plasma, actually."

Merida shrugged. "Same thing. Come on, let's get out of this damp cave."

Outside they found Rapunzel asleep in a cocoon of hair somewhere between cute and creepy. Beside her, Jack was freezing blades of grass and wildflowers. Even the dew drops had become semi-transparent pearls.

Merida repressed the thought that the stems and petals covered in fine frost that glittered in the sun were beautiful.

"Did you sleep well?" Hiccup asked, distracted.

Jack scoffed and shook Rapunzel from her peaceful slumber. "It’s time."

She came out of her golden refuge and stretched, while Pascal climbed onto her shoulder. "Good morning everyone."

"Morning, Rapunzel," Merida said. "Let’s go, we've got a long way ahead."

They prepared to leave: they made sure that the remains of the fire were extinguished, they gathered their weapons — whether they were bows or pans — and formed a circle around the dragon.

Hiccup was looking inside the various leather saddlebags. He pulled out some flasks, which he weighed with an annoyed expression. "I need to fill up on water before we go."

"You can always fill them along the way. Sooner or later we'll find a river," Merida observed.

Hiccup shook his head. "It's always best to stock up. You never know. Also, the less we stay on land, the better."

"Why?" Rapunzel asked, curious.

Hiccup looked regretful of what he had said. Jack glared at him.

"People wouldn't, uh, like to see a dragon flying over their houses. They'd panic, and try to shoot us down," Hiccup said finally.

"Okay, then, let's find a river, stock up on water and leave," Jack added impatiently.

Hiccup tapped his chin. "There's a waterfall not too far from here."

Merida opened her eyes wide, excited. "You mean the Fire Falls? Are they nearby?"

"On the opposite side of this mount, if I remember correctly."

For the first time in days, Merida felt her sense of adventure return. She would see the Fire Falls, after giving up all hope on it! 

"You seem happy to go," Rapunzel said.

Enthusiasm gave way to embarrassment. "Well, the reason I got lost, other than not having a map, was that I wanted to take a quick detour to see the waterfall," she admitted.

Jack clicked his tongue. “Too bad you didn't get lost just a mile further away.”

Merida stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ready to go?" Hiccup asked as he fumbled with the dragon's saddle.

Rapunzel, who had looked at the beast like it was a cuddly kitten from the first moment, swallowed.

“Hey, remember what I told you on the tower?” Jack asked her gently.

“That I would never feel ready, and I just had to jump.”

"Exactly. You'll have to get used to flying if you want to get to the festival in time."

Rapunzel nodded, even though she was staring at the saddle apprehensively.

Merida encouraged her. “You can sit in the middle, if that makes you feel safer.”

Rapunzel smiled gratefully at her.

Hiccup showed them how to get onto the dragon's back and where to place their feet. Merida thought it wasn't too different from riding a horse.

Rapunzel tied her long hair tightly around her waist like a belt, and sat behind him, with Merida completing the row.

"Hold on tight," Hiccup advised her. "You should be safe, but the back seat is the worst one, I think."

"Aye, captain."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and turned to Jack, who was kicking the grass while waiting for them. "Can you keep up with us?"

Jack laughed amusedly. "Do you really think I'm slower than a gods-know-how-many pound dragon carrying three people?"

Merida saw the blush on Hiccup's ears all the way over there.

"Come on, bud," he whispered to the dragon.

A pair of wings black as the night sky spread out around the three of them. Merida silently admired their subtle veins and color variations.

The dragon lowered himself, ready to take off, and beat his wings so hard that there were a few moments in which Merida truly feared she would fall even before leaving. Rapunzel loudly held her breath.

Merida clung to her without restraint, as the earth got farther and the wind swirling around them blew her own hair into her face.

She then heard a metallic sound, like gears moving, and the dragon gave one last powerful stroke of his wings.

"Everything okay back there?" Hiccup shouted.

The air was making Merida's eyes water, and she felt her head spinning ever so slightly. "Everything's fine. Rapunzel… Rapunzel?"

Merida leaned in just enough to see her face, and her frown caused by the effort of keeping her eyes shut made Merida smile. "Look around you, Rapunzel, we're flying!"

"No thanks, I think I'll stay like this for a bit longer."

"Come on, it's beautiful up here, it feels like you can touch the sky!"

Merida wasn't exaggerating to distract Rapunzel. After the take-off phase, they were now hovering steadily, pushed by the currents.

The trees shrank until they looked like moss, above which great clouds rose in white columns.

Rapunzel opened one eyelid at a time, uncertainly, before wincing and holding on with all her strength to Hiccup's shoulders. He made a small strangled noise.

"Ooooh. Oh no. No, no, no, no. Oh, shoot," Rapunzel squeaked all panicked, yet also seemingly unable to not look down. “We're much taller than the tower!”

“Aye, isn't that cool?” said Merida.

She could no longer see Rapunzel's expression, but her lack of response suggested that she didn't exactly agree. Oh well, she'd get used to it. Sooner or later.

Merida looked at the blue expanse above their heads, mesmerized by its vastness. She even spotted a hawk — or was it an eagle?

"If my mother knew I'm flying on the back of a dragon, she'd faint," she laughed.

"Mine too," Rapunzel agreed weakly.

As he had stated earlier, Jack floated gracefully next to the dragon, in a reclining position as if he were enjoying a nap. "Has anyone fallen down yet?"

"You wish, Frost," Merida said.

Hiccup stared at him, clearly impressed. "Flying people… Okay, that's normal. This is normal. Stop staring, now, Hiccup."

Jack lay on his stomach and pointed down. “Hey, that sure looks like a waterfall.”

Merida leaned out so far that she actually risked falling.

She'd really found Mount Ohl, she had just been on the wrong side. From its summit a great waterflow rushed violently down the mountainside, throwing itself into a stream that wound its way to the beginning of the grove they had left.

Hiccup directed the dragon to land between the river and the trees, forcing the girls to hold on tight again, and Merida didn't hesitate to slide off the saddle and run to see the waterfall.

Up close, the noise wasn’t indifferent, as were the sprays that landed on her face.

To see the start of the waterfall, Merida had to bend her neck completely, but there were rock columns from which the view was certainly better. One in particular was very close to the water.

Merida looked back. Rapunzel was helping Hiccup fill the water bottles while Jack rinsed his face.

"I'll be right back," Merida announced loudly.

“Wait, where are you going?” said Rapunzel's voice.

Merida stuck one foot in a crack and tested the rock with her hands. "I want to touch the waterfall. My father always told me about this place, but he said that only the bravest managed to touch it."

"Yeah, because all the other idiots fell and cracked their skulls open," she heard Hiccup retort.

"Oh really? Let her be then, Hiccup."

Merida was too busy to respond in kind to Jack. This wasn't her first climb, but she had never tackled something that size.

Soon she had her forehead covered in sweat, her arms begging for mercy and her fingers worn out, but the top was near. When she reached it, she heavily pulled herself up and remained on her knees for a few seconds to catch her breath, after which she easily stretched out her cupped hands to collect some cold water and taste it.

"You should try it too! It's… hm?"

She couldn't see anyone on the ground anymore. Merida thought for a moment that they had gotten tired of her and left her there, or that they were playing a prank on her, probably Jack's idea.

Merida looked around better, searching for the others, but she made the fatal mistake of not minding where she was stepping, and she felt the rock disappear under her boot.

She didn't even have time to open her arms before her back met something hard, which pushed her back onto solid ground.

Merida whirled around and found herself face to face with the dragon, standing behind her filling all the available space.

She let out a nervous laugh. That was close.

Hiccup sat on the saddle and was shaking his head. "What did I say about idiots? I can't quite remember."

"Well, it was worth it." Merida tentatively touched the dragon's nose. "...Thank you."

Toothless opened his mouth in a sort of pink, gummy smile. Unexpectedly, she found herself thinking it was cute.

"Let's go back down," Hiccup said. "But this time you'll come with us."

Merida accepted the ride, then followed Hiccup to a temporary camp site where two large fish were roasting on a spit.

"Lunch," he said.

As if called to attention, Merida's stomach growled. She studied the position of the sun, and she was surprised to see it high in the sky. Her climbing had lasted longer than expected, it was no wonder that she felt exhausted and hungry.

"Where are Rapunzel and Jack?" she asked as they sat down to eat. A fish bone had been left on a nearby stone.

Hiccup pointed his thumb towards the trees. "They said they'd take a quick bath before leaving. I think Rapunzel stayed nearby, but Jack went further into the woods."

"What about you?"

"I washed just before meeting you guys."

Merida touched her damp forehead. A bath would have been a relief, also because she had no idea when the next opportunity would be.

She finished her lunch and got up. "If you don't mind, I'm going too."

"Be careful."

Merida, who was already walking away, raised her bow.

She entered the trees, following the stream that flowed smoothing the white and brown pebbles. The dim light created by the leaves offered a more than welcome shelter, after Merida's physical effort, and the sound of water put her in a good mood.

She passed Rapunzel, who was busy laying out her damp hair under the sun, and gave her a silent nod.

Merida discovered that the stream became a large pond, big enough to swim comfortably in but too small to call it a lake, before turning back into a river and continuing its journey.

She jumped down a small slope, intending to wash off the sweat, dirt and mud there, maybe even swim a bit.

She was about to take off her boots, but she noticed some clothes left hanging on a branch. She recognized the dark rag Jack used as a cape, and she huffed in disappointment.

Then she had a doubt. His clothes were there, but there was no sign of Jack, either on shore or in the water.

"Frost, are you here?" she called out loudly, getting no response.

Had he changed his mind, after undressing, and followed the river? But then why leave his clothes in such an inconvenient spot?

A noise in the water caught Merida's attention, and she looked at the pond with a nasty suspicion.

The surface rippled unnaturally, and Merida no longer had any doubts about what to do.

She threw the bow and quiver aside, took off her dress, remaining in tunic and trousers, and quickly entered the water.

When she submerged her head completely, it took her a second to spot Jack's flailing form, stirring the water with his arms and feet in a cloud of bubbles. Merida grabbed him with one arm and kicked to resurface, hindered by Jack's reckless movements.

She dragged him onto the gravel bank, taking deep breaths. She heard Jack coughing and sitting up on his own, so he wasn't as bad as she thought. Merida went to retrieve his pants and she threw them at him, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.

"My shirt," Jack spat out. "...Please."

Merida passed that to him too. She watched the droplets fall from her own clothes as Jack got dressed.

"Are you alright?" she asked him when she no longer heard the rustle of fabric, turning to him.

Jack was kneeling on the cobblestones, trembling slightly, his white hair plastered to his forehead. His chest rose and fell rapidly. There was fear in his eyes, but he nodded slowly, looking at his pale hands.

"Hiccup lit the fire. Can you get up?"

"Yes."

Merida took his arm and helped him to his feet. Jack flinched as if he wanted to shake her off, but she kept her grip tight and didn't let go.

"You should have bathed in the river if you can't swim," she scolded him.

Speaking in the same stern tone that she usually used on her brothers felt strange. It was the first time she was yelling at someone else.

"I wasn't swimming," Jack said. “I was just… trying something.”

Merida wondered what one could do in a pond, other than wash, swim, or fish. “What in the gods' names were you doing, then?”

Jack seemed to suddenly come to his senses. He managed to escape Merida's hands. "Nothing. Forget it."

"Why won't you tell me?" she insisted, now suspicious.

"Just leave me alone."

Merida clenched her fists. Before she could think of any insults, she noticed a mark on Jack's collarbone, peeking out from under his shirt, darker than a bruise.

"What's on your neck?"

"Nothing," Jack spat out, quickly covering himself with a hand. "Go away."

Merida felt the tremor of anger shake her. She grabbed her dress from the ground, picked up her bow and arrows, and eagerly threw them over her shoulder.

"Fine!" she barked. "Stay here, then, but don't think I'm coming to save your ass next time you're drowning!"

She began to march towards the thicket of the woods, but she stopped halfway, and turned back to Jack.

"For once we weren't bumping heads," she said. “Why do you always have to ruin everything?”

Jack's blue eyes widened. His lost expression was the last thing Merida left behind herself.

*

Hiccup had thought he should go and check what was happening when he heard the screams, but Merida came out of the trees soon after, soaking wet.

She sat down heavily in front of the fire, and she began to wring out her dripping curls, which were the color of a Monstrous Nightmare when damp.

Merida muttered something about Magicknappers, between cuss words, so Hiccup quickly abandoned the intention of asking her what had happened.

"Uh, are you okay?" he only said.

"Yes!" she barked sharply. She then looked at Hiccup's face, and her cheeks almost returned to their original color. "...Sorry. I'm fine."

She resumed drying herself, all gloomy.

Hiccup exchanged an uncertain look with Toothless, but he knew that the dragon wouldn't have any useful suggestions: when it came to people, he was even worse off than Hiccup.

Rapunzel returned shortly after, her arms full of hair, and she crouched down with her back to the fire, before making the same attempt as Hiccup to ask if Merida was okay.

The last to return was Jack. He sat in the spot furthest from Merida, in a position that implied he didn't feel like talking.

And as he was bending to sit down, Hiccup thought he saw a twinkle in the corner of Jack’s eye. He didn't dare investigate.

A few silent minutes passed around the fire, interrupted only by the creaking of the burning wood. When everyone was more or less dry, Hiccup jumped into the saddle and motioned for the girls to come closer.

"Okay, we're leaving for real this time."

They quickly gained altitude, finally putting some distance between them and Mount Ohl.

Suddenly, Merida held her breath.

"Something wrong?" Hiccup asked, worried.

"I thought... I saw something on the top of the mountain. It almost looked like the giant from yesterday. Maybe I'm wrong."

"Maybe it was waving at us," Rapunzel commented. "Or maybe it was cursing us one last time for ruining its day."

She had spoken loudly enough to be heard from Jack, who was flying not too far away, Hiccup noticed.

It worked rather well, because he quirked the corner of his mouth into a half-smile, which was better than nothing.

Hiccup made a mental note that making Jack laugh lifted his mood. Then he wondered why he cared in the first place.

No one commented further as they flew over fields, villages and small woods. Seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours.

Hiccup, being Berk's undisputed Champion of Cold Silence, spent his time scanning the land that flowed beneath them. He could almost pretend he was having a normal flight, just him and Toothless.

Which is why he got scared when he heard Rapunzel speaking close to his ear.

"Merida fell asleep," she said, reminding him that he wasn't alone.

Hiccup peered over his shoulder, and there she was, a tangle of red curls resting against Rapunzel's back. With some admirable comical timing, Merida chose that moment to snore.

"No way," Hiccup said, astounded. "Until this morning she was looking at Toothless as if he's a terrifying monster, and now she's sleeping peacefully."

"I think she was very tired after wandering on foot for days," Rapunzel wisely observed.

"And what about you? Are you getting used to flying?" Hiccup asked, going back to lookout. Keeping his head turned was uncomfortable, and it was close enough to Rapunzel's face for it to become awkward.

"I think so."

"Good. You know, this is the first time we're carrying someone else. I was afraid it wouldn't work."

"Really?" Rapunzel said, curious. “Where did you say you're from?”

"Berk, in the Barbaric Archipelago," Hiccup replied.

Even just saying that name made him think of a dark blue ocean, rocky sea stacks, and wooden houses. He had to admit that not being forced to abandon it was a relief.

"Oh." There was a pause. “And is it very far away?”

Hiccup hesitated too. "I mean, it's on the other side of Dunbroch, to the west, across the Barbaric Sea. It would take days even for a dragon to get there."

Rapunzel's voice became unsure. “It's weird that I didn't know, isn't it?”

"Yes. I mean, no. Not for you," Hiccup stammered. Why could he never have a normal conversation without making a fool of himself? "Jack told me it's your first time out of the tower. You couldn't have any idea what's out there."

"Mmh. So what kind of place is Berk?" Rapunzel changed the subject in a very Hiccup-style move.

He snorted. "Old. Freezing. Terrible food. The people are even worse."

Rapunzel laughed. “It seems like an… interesting place.”

"You can say that. Even though I don't spend much time there anymore, ever since I met Toothless."

Hearing his name, the dragon raised his ears and tilted his head to give Hiccup a long-tongued smile.

"Really?" said Rapunzel.

"We've been traveling a lot lately," Hiccup explained. "We don't go very far though, we mostly explore the islands of the archipelago."

"To search for what?" Rapunzel asked. Judging from her tone she was very interested.

"Dragons," Hiccup said. "I thought we had practically made them extinct, but I discovered that there are still plenty of them. In the sea, in the caves, in the forests, in the glaciers... I once saw one inside Tere's Mouth. A dormant volcano," he added for Rapunzel's benefit.

At first he didn't hear any response, so he turned to check that Rapunzel hadn't fallen asleep like Merida.

Her eyes seemed to sparkle. Her mouth was half open, and her expression dreamy.

"It's amazing, Hiccup. You must have seen some wonderful things." She blinked a couple of times and showed a big smile. "Toothless is the first dragon I've met, but seeing many together must be cool. I wonder how many adventures you've had on your travels! It must be a risky life, but I envy you!"

Hiccup was little less than shocked.

He got thrown back in time, five years earlier, when periods away from Berk lasted a few days at most and people still didn't point to him as a traitor in his presence.

At the time Hiccup was so overwhelmed by the countless new experiences that flying offered him, by how much the horizons had opened up to him, that sometimes he would pour that unrestrained enthusiasm onto his father.

A bad choice. Gobber had told him that he had better keep his mouth shut, but Hiccup still held out a small hope that somehow Stoick would just understand.

Needless to say, hearing about dragon species unknown to Berk hadn't pleased him. Actually, learning that they were proliferating peacefully not too far from the island had sent him into a rage.

He had warned Hiccup not to cause panic by telling others about his discoveries, so since then he'd kept everything to himself.

Rapunzel nervously tucked a hair strand behind her ear. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away."

"No problem," Hiccup exclaimed quickly. "It’s just that usually no one cares about what I do, unless it's related to the Duel of the Heirs."

Rapunzel returned beaming. "I'd love to hear more, if you want to." And she added: "I'm happy you're coming with us."

"Yeah. Yes, me too," he murmured, still shaken. "You know, I have a map. I was thinking I could give you a quick course on Fewor geography when we get back on land. If you want to."

Rapunzel's smile could have outshone the sun.

Hiccup wondered if she would still look at him like that after finding out the truth.

*

Even while she was being lulled by the wind and sun, Merida had a nightmare.

She stood in the darkness, an empty, cold void that reminded her of the atmosphere of the cave, and she wasn’t alone.

A trembling boy had his back to her. He was breathing heavily, mixed with sobs, hunched over as if he were bearing an unspeakable weight. His clothes looked familiar.

A hood covered in frost.

Merida was paralyzed, which annoyed her deeply: she was the kind of person who acted, who screamed, not who froze.

Jack faced her, white hands covering his face.

"Stop it," Merida said, not sure if she was talking to him, to herself, or to the dream.

Jack lowered his arms, and there it was.

The mark was larger than in reality, dark as ink. It was expanding up Jack's neck, touching first his jaw, then his left cheek.

Jack was staring at a point behind Merida with dull eyes. She had always been wary of him, but now she was actually scared.

Before she could speak to him again, something burst out from his chest.

It was as if Jack's body wasn't capable of containing the mark anymore, and it flared out, gripping the air with strands darker than the black void in which they stood, as if endowed with a life of their own.

Merida didn't have time to scream when they came towards her, because she had forcefully opened her eyes, breaking her dream.

Rapunzel was watching her with her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Is everything okay? I thought you were going to fall."

Merida looked around. Under any other circumstances she would have thought she was still asleep, because she was flying on a dragon hovering above a sea of pink and orange clouds.

"Just a dream. Did I sleep all afternoon?" she asked. She hadn't even realized she was so tired.

"You did, but don't worry, I tied you tight," Rapunzel said.

Merida looked down, imitating her. A thick golden rope wrapped around her waist.

No, it wasn't a rope.

Her face must have been very funny, because Rapunzel looked guilty. "Sorry, I thought binding you to me would be safer. If it makes you uncomfortable I'll untie it right away."

Merida couldn't stand to see her so sorry.

"Nah, the worst that can happen is that you start singing without thinking about it and accidentally cure a stomach ache." She leaned a little to the side. "Hey, captain, the crew back here is starving."

Hiccup kindly made sure to sigh loud enough for her to hear. “Is there anything else you're interested in other than eating?”

"Nope. Toothless wants to eat dinner too." Merida patted the dragon's side. “Right, little guy?”

She thought she heard Hiccup mutter something like "Little guy? She's never seen a Terrible Terror", but he still moved his metal foot attached to the mechanism that controlled Toothless's artificial fin, which Merida had many questions about, and they started to descend.

They stopped in a clearing, in yet another nameless forest. Merida stretched her back, already regretting the position she'd been sleeping in, while Rapunzel untangled the makeshift safety rope.

Jack landed with them in such a casual gesture that his flight turned into a walk with practically no interruption. Years of practice, Merida guessed, thinking about how she had learned to shoot one arrow after another fluidly.

Jack then realized he had Merida's eyes on him. She looked away and pretended to be interested in Toothless, who was shaking off like a dog.

Jack had the gift of irritating Merida with a single word, but at that moment she couldn't think of all the times he'd made her angry. Instead, she was reminded of his habit of shutting down completely as soon as someone asked him about himself, or the way he had chased her away when she'd seen his mark.

That same mark that was devouring him in the dream…

"I have an idea," Rapunzel exclaimed, snapping Merida back to reality. "Let's split tasks while we prepare the camp and cooperate!"

The only cooperation that occurred was the chorus of groans that arose from Merida, Jack, and Hiccup.

Rapunzel completely ignored them and pointed to herself. "I'll light the fire and cook dinner," she said. "Hiccup and Toothless will watch the area to make sure it's safe from giants and such. Jack and Merida will get something to eat."

If Merida hadn't liked her, she would have thought that Rapunzel's enthusiastic smile was annoying. It was hard to tell whether she couldn't read the situation, or if she was all too aware of it and was trying to improve the general mood.

Jack, who had already taken out two stones from his pocket, showed them to Rapunzel doubtfully. "Are you sure you know how to start a fire with these?"

She snatched the stones from his hand and waved them under his nose. “Of course I do, I've seen you do it plenty of times already.”

Merida understood what Rapunzel was trying to do, so she grabbed Hiccup's arm and hurriedly walked away with him. "Well, Haddock can come hunting with me."

"But I assigned this task to Jack!" Rapunzel protested.

He flew back up to go and sit on the top of a pine tree, without the slightest bit of regret showing. "I guess I'll keep watch," he said from up there.

He'd had the same idea as Merida.

Hiccup tried in vain to escape from her grasp, while she advanced undaunted through the fir vegetation. Toothless followed close behind, sniffing the air.

"You can let me go now," he said.

Merida let go of his arm and took up her bow. "Be quiet now. You'll scare the animals."

Of course, Hiccup stayed behind her making as much noise as possible, climbing over fallen trunks while huffing and moving low branches while whispering curses. "I'm not scaring anyone. Tell that to Toothless. I really think the local population will stay away from him."

"It will, if you keep talking," Merida hissed.

Her boots made the leaves crunch on the ground. It was pleasant to be under the shade of the trees again, listening to the familiar noises of the forest: the air rustling among the leaves, the chirping of birds, the cheerful gurgling of some trickle of water in the distance, the sounds of...

"Ow!"

Merida nearly slammed her bow into a tree trunk in frustration.

She whipped around to face Hiccup and grabbed him by the rumpled collar of his shirt. "Will you stop making a fuss? If you don't give up, I swear I'll use you as bait for a trap."

Toothless rumbled from his throat, displeased.

Hiccup took Merida's hands off of him and rolled his eyes. "Funny. This brings back memories of when my father used to take me hunting with him in the Bloody Forest."

"In the what?" Merida blurted out, confused. She'd never heard of that, even though forests and rivers were the only names she could remember from geography lessons.

"Berk's Forest. The Hairy Hooligans call it that."

The vague memory of a nickname of the woods on the Isle of Berk resurfaced in Merida's mind, along with the name its people called themselves. In the mainland they were usually called Berkians.

"Why?" she asked perplexed.

Hiccup adjusted his collar, annoyed. "Because some dragons live there... or because these kinds of cute names are in fashion in Berk. It doesn't matter. We're not here to talk about forests."

Merida sheathed her arrow, the intent to hunt temporarily put aside. "What do you want?"

"What happened at the Fire Falls?" Hiccup replied. "Jack seems upset, even though he's pretending nothing's wrong."

"What do you think happened? I saved his life, and he treated me horribly."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows slightly. “You saved his life?”

"He was drowning," Merida explained shortly. "I helped him, and at first he almost seemed grateful. Then…"

The image of Jack compulsively covering his neck flashed through Merida's vision. "...Then he told me to scram. He was probably doing some shady Magicknapper stuff and didn't want me around," she concluded, mumbling.

Her instincts were telling her not to talk about the mark. Or perhaps it was her guilt over the strong feeling that she had seen something she shouldn't have.

Hiccup sighed. "You should ignore his powers, and try to get along with him. He doesn't seem like a bad person to me."

Merida crossed her arms, offended. "The reason I don't like Jack is because he's insufferable, not because he's a Magicknapper."

"Really? You mean it's a factor you don't take into consideration even a little?" Hiccup insisted, unconvinced.

Merida waved her arms in the air. "Alright, jeez, let's say that's not a trait that works in his favor!" she said. "So what? We grew up being told the exact same stories about their evil deeds, parents use them to scare children. You should understand!"

She vividly remembered her mother's threats that a wicked Magicknapper would take her away and cast some horrible spell on her. Most of the time it managed to convince her to go to bed.

Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless's head. "I remember those stories. Do you know which one is the most famous in Berk?"

"The story of Bror the Fetid?"

"The one about the dragon queen, and how she's been commanding her kind for seven generations from her hidden nest," Hiccup replied. "Dragons have been attacking the village for decades, carrying off livestock and attacking people who try to stop them. But when I met Toothless, I put those stories aside and gave him a chance."

"Jack isn't an animal you can train," Merida said.

"Exactly. He's a person you can talk to," Hiccup said. "You better do it, or this tension will infect everyone."

Merida kicked a twig, exasperated. She hated to admit it, but he was right. For the sake of the journey, she had to do something.

"Even if I tried, I don't think Jack wants to make up. He hates me now."

"Did he tell you that?" Hiccup asked.

"You know, you're starting to irritate me too."

"Merida…"

"Okay, I'll see what I can do," she mumbled. She pointed at Hiccup menacingly. "But only because I don't want to get a taste of Rapunzel's frying pan. Now shut it and let me hunt something for dinner."

She left Hiccup behind and readied her bow, hoping the talk wouldn't dull her senses too much.

Chapter Text

The plan that Rapunzel had nicknamed Collective Peace Operation had officially failed, but that didn't mean she was going to give up.

No sir, Rapunzel would make those two get along, even if Merida wasn't there at the moment and Jack was sitting on top of a pine tree.

Luckily, Rapunzel had years of climbing experience. She lassoed one of the highest branches with her hair, and began to climb.

She approached Jack with caution, walking in balance on the branch where he had taken refuge. He was sitting with his legs casually dangling while looking absorbedly at the indigo horizon of the evening.

Rapunzel sat down next to him. She studied his slumped shoulders, his slightly bowed head, and the dark shadows around his eyes.

"You're sad. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Jack shook his head, a look of bitterness heavy on his features. "Merida's right. I always ruin everything."

Him agreeing with Merida was the last thing Rapunzel expected to hear, to be honest. It was also the first clue as to what had caused them to argue that morning.

Rapunzel was dying to ask what happened, but she knew Jack well enough to know that questions didn't work. He wasn't as eager to talk about his days as Mother was.

With him she had to be a listener.

It was spring, but the needles of the branch on which they sat were covered in bright white snow. Jack stopped turning a pine cone in his hands and threw it away. "I can't let Hiccup be my friend, I can't let Merida help me without making a scene, I can't even—"

He was looking at Rapunzel with pain in his eyes. She was unpleasantly surprised by the way his voice broke.

"I am your friend, Jack," she told him reassuringly. She thought it was strange that after the days spent together, it wasn't obvious.

The torment on his face said otherwise. “All this…” he made a vague gesture. "Kindness, it's confusing. I'm not able to simply accept it."

"Why?" Rapunzel pressed. The universe was reaching out to Jack, yet he hesitated.

"Because I'm scared," he confessed, looking into the distance. "The last time I had friends, it ended badly because of me."

"I'm sorry," Rapunzel said softly. "But do you remember what you told me before leaving the tower?"

Jack sighed in resignation. "You just have to do it. Using my own words against me, huh?"

"Maybe this is a new opportunity," Rapunzel said with a hint of a smile. "But it's up to you whether to accept it or not."

"Well, one thing's for sure. I'm done with Merida. She hates me."

"That's not true," Rapunzel protested automatically, before thinking of the open hostility Merida exuded whenever she was within five feet from Jack.

"She does. Sorry, could you leave me alone for a while? I'd like to sleep a bit before dinner," Jack said, exaggerating a yawn.

Rapunzel looked at Pascal, sitting on her shoulder, but he twisted his mouth as if to say that he knew as much as she did.

She certainly couldn't stand there and watch Jack try to take a nap, so she climbed down the pine tree and reached the fire she had managed to light. It had taken her sweat, prayers and scratched fingers, but the flames that caressed the air were worth it.

Hiccup and Merida returned just in time before the sun fully set, the latter with three fat birds slung over her shoulder.

"So," she said, dumping them by the fire, "what do you think?"

"Isn't three a little too many?" Rapunzel wondered.

Hiccup, who was following Merida while picking some leaves from his hair, nodded at Toothless. "The third's for him."

The dragon opened his mouth, showing bare gums, and a good amount of saliva.

"Where's Frost?" Merida asked with a certain stiffness in her voice.

Rapunzel glanced at the pine tree, unsure. "He's sleeping up there. He said he would rest before eating, but you're back already..."

Merida's face darkened.

"Let's let him be for a while," Hiccup said conciliating. "I'm sure he'll come down when he smells the food."

However, although they took their time enjoying dinner, when only a single portion of pheasant was left on the spit and embers had formed under the fire, it was clear that Jack wasn't coming to eat.

Merida was livid. She was staring at the flames as if she wanted to put them out with her gaze, or make them blaze until they'd burn the pine tree. Even Hiccup looked embarrassed.

Rapunzel somehow felt compelled to distract them, so she checked around for inspiration, until she noticed Toothless, curled up like a cat.

"How long have you and Toothless known each other?" she asked Hiccup, who blinked, taken aback.

"Five years, more or less."

"Really? I thought you were friends since ever," Merida commented.

Rapunzel agreed: she couldn't imagine Hiccup without Toothless, and vice versa. Those two were perpetually together.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Sometimes I forget about it too. My old life before him doesn't even feel like it ever existed."

It sounded like the beginning of a story. Rapunzel crouched against the fallen trunk that some other traveler before them had moved to make a bench. 

Merida threw a stick onto the fire, sending sparks flying. "I imagine those years before becoming the Dragon Lord were similar to what I'm going through," she said. "Training, politics lessons, etiquette, rows and rows of lords to meet who don't give a crap about you, other than your lineage."

"And ceremonies, speeches, looks of hatred and envy and expectation, but never anyone who seems genuinely glad to see you," Hiccup concluded with a sardonic half-smile. "Classic Heir routine."

Rapunzel was starting to regret bringing up the subject. Talk about distraction!

Yet there wasn't sadness in their expressions. Rather, a sort of resignation mixed with a tiny sparkle in their eyes. And it wasn't due to the fire they sat around.

Merida turned her gaze to the starry sky. "When I become queen, all of this will end. I'll be free to do what I want."

"You'll also have to rule, though," Hiccup reminded her.

Merida shrugged. "It can't be that difficult. A sign here, a sign there... No lesson can prepare you for the real thing anyway."

Hiccup looked like he wanted to comment on that, but he stayed silent. Rapunzel guessed that he had a different opinion than Merida.

"By the way, how far are we from Amberray?" she asked.

"Let's see," Hiccup murmured as he rummaged through his saddlebags. Toothless didn't even raise an eyelid, and kept on snoring.

Hiccup knelt next to Rapunzel, spread a large scroll on the grass and looked with satisfaction at her enchanted expression.

Rapunzel had never seen one, but some of the words written in tiny handwriting, such as lake, river and mountain, were unmistakable.

A real map!

The name Fewor in the upper right corner was written a little larger, next to the symbol of a four-leaf clover on a purple and orange background, which Rapunzel had already seen printed on the title pages of her books.

The sea surrounded the kingdom on two sides, to the west and south. A mountain range separated it from the lands to the east, except for a short stretch with a dark dot in the middle that Rapunzel assumed was a city. The map was full of those.

Hiccup tapped a group of islands to the northwest. "This is the Barbaric Archipelago. The largest island is Berk." His index finger moved inland, along a thin line that divided the kingdom in two. "The one to the north is Dunbroch, where we are now, and the one to the south is Corona, where we're going."

Rapunzel was about to ask what the large blur that abruptly interrupted the border line was, but then she read a familiar-sounding name.

"Mount Ohl! This is where we met, right?" she exclaimed. "And these are the Fire Falls."

"Where are we now, Captain?" Merida asked.

"I'm not a—" Hiccup sighed and showed them a spot between the mountain and a hilly area. "We're somewhere around here."

"It's not much far from where we started," Rapunzel observed, slightly disappointed.

She looked for Amberray's name on the map, and found it in the center of a small island near the southern coast, surrounded by a large bay.

Rapunzel could have placed her hand on the scroll, and her fingertips and wrist would have touched Mount Ohl and the capital. Instead, between the mountain and the point indicated by Hiccup there wasn't even space for a fingernail.

She couldn't help but feel discouraged.

"Your tower should be here in the Old Woods, according to Jack," Hiccup said, changing the subject, perhaps after noticing her frustration.

Rapunzel knew that strategy well, but she was grateful nonetheless.

Pascal scurried across the map to see what had caught her attention, like a giant green monster flying over the kingdom with quite the judgmental expression.

"Oh, no! The legendary Pascal the Devourer is attacking us!" exclaimed Merida, who must have had the same thought.

Rapunzel gently moved him aside, laughing.

Merida patted her shoulder, sounding optimistic. “Hey, we've made more progress in these two days than I would have in a week, and we're still a month away from the festival!”

In the same and yet opposite way to how Mother's bad mood always managed to make Rapunzel's day more gray, Merida's encouragement warmed Rapunzel's chest.

“Can you show me where you come from?” she asked.

Merida took a twig from the ground and pointed it at a small square not far from the largest surface of water in the kingdom, apart from the sea obviously. "Grayfir is right here, between Sylvanir Lake and the Cinder Woods."

"Is Sylvanir a person's name?"

Merida nodded. "If you want I can tell you about Sylvanir, heroine of Dunbroch, founder of Grayfir, the one who defeated the lake monster."

"It sounds exactly like the stories Mother used to tell me when I'd ask about leaving the tower," Rapunzel commented anxiously, even though she was already making herself comfortable, followed by Hiccup.

Merida cleared her throat. "Hundreds of years ago, at the time of Sylvanir, Grayfir was smaller than a village and only four families lived there. They had moved after their village was burned down by dragons, when they hadn't yet been driven out of Dunbroch — no offense, Toothless."

He stretched while lying down and placed his tail in front of his face.

"The four families were convinced they had found a new home where they could live in peace, but they didn’t know that a horrible beast lived in the waters of the lake they were fishing from."

The dancing flames cast sinister shadows across Merida's round face, making her look a little creepy.

"At first they thought that the torn nets, destroyed docks and missing boats were just accidents, or that bad luck had followed them. Then, one foggy morning, Sylvanir's father disappeared after going out saying he would find the cause of the damage, and wouldn’t return home before solving it," she continued gravely.

"Sylvanir was the eldest of nine children, and had always preferred to hunt for food in the forests, because all those stories of accidents had made her terrified of the lake, but after her father's disappearance, she knew she couldn't back out."

The pace of the story was becoming even more exciting, so much so that Rapunzel was craning her neck towards Merida.

"Sylvanir abandoned her fears, took up her oak bow, and stole the boat of one of the other families to go secretly to the lake. She set sail, and shouted at the top of her lungs for the waters to give her lost father back, until..." Merida spread her arms wide. "A monster as tall as a mountain, with a crown of curved horns, purple and red scales and two pairs of eyes with horizontal pupils emerged from the depths of the lake, threatening to capsize the boat.

"When it saw that Sylvanir was aiming her bow at it, the monster opened its jaws at her, showing its long tongue made of spikes as sharp as blades, still stained with blood."

Rapunzel held her breath.

"Through tears, Sylvanir cursed the beast for killing her father and prepared to strike, but as she shot one of her raven-feathered arrows, a huge wave lifted the boat.

"Sylvanir desperately begged the goddess Tere, who protects hunters, to guide her arrow."

Rapunzel was on her toes. She'd begun chewing on her nails. 

Merida had a talent for storytelling: she knew which words to emphasize, which gestures to use to mimic events, and she had no hesitations. She had even used her hands to make a monster-shaped shadow appear on a rock.

Hiccup, who had probably heard that story before, was proof of that, because he was listening as silently as Rapunzel was.

"And did Tere answer her prayers?" she asked.

Merida closed her eyes. "Tere is above all the goddess of power, and it so happens that Sylvanir didn’t know that she belonged to the oldest and therefore most important family in Dunbroch. My family. So yes, the arrow went straight into the monster's eye, killing it instantly, and from then on it no longer tormented the locals."

"Her family must have been proud of her," Rapunzel commented with admiration.

Merida reopened her eyes, now overshadowed by melancholy. "Unfortunately the wave had overwhelmed Sylvanir, who couldn't swim, and she drowned in the lake. Her spirit has always protected Grayfir from danger... at least until some time ago."

“Did something bad happen?”

Merida lost her storyteller attitude and scratched her cheek. "Recently there have been some incidents very similar to the ones in the story, and people have started saying that the monster is back. It went on for a while, then normality returned for a while, but it seems like it was just the calm before the storm."

"Because he was sick," Hiccup interjected. “And he's not ferocious, Stabby is just a baby that wants to play.”

Merida's eyebrows disappeared beneath the curls on her forehead. "Stars above, Hiccup, you must be joking."

"A small community of Iron Tongues lives in the lake," he confirmed. "You didn’t know?"

"You mean dragons? In Dunbroch?!" said Merida, astonished. "But they all disappeared centuries ago, when people went into hiding thanks to the Cinder Woods and Grayfir was the capital!"

Hiccup shrugged. "Iron Tongues live underwater, they're aquatic dragons. I guess they never left," he supposed lightly.

Rapunzel wasn't sure if she was allowed to laugh. "You called a dragon named Iron Tongue Stabby?"

"He'd injured himself on a shell, we found him crying on the rocks on the way back to Berk a couple of weeks ago," Hiccup explained. "I cleaned his wound, bandaged it and said goodbye."

Merida was speechless, or rather, the only words that came out of her mouth were referring to some conversation she had overheard at a banquet. Or something like that.

Rapunzel had other thoughts on her mind. “If they live at the bottom of the lake, why have they been seen by people?”

Hiccup pressed his lips into a thin line, any hint of a smile gone. "Iron Tongues usually stay in the depths, that's true, but it can happen that young inexperienced dragons feel attracted by the humans on the surface."

He looked straight at Merida.

Rapunzel flinched. “So what Sylvanir killed… was a baby dragon?”

"It could have literally been blown out of proportion as the story spread by word of mouth," Hiccup said.

Merida was unnaturally still. She looked at her hands. "It doesn't matter. It's just a story. It's probably not even true anyway."

And yet, Rapunzel thought as she made her usual comforting nest of hair, when they went to sleep, she had a feeling that it wasn't what Hiccup had tried to imply, true story or not.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw that from the pine tree, Jack was looking in their direction.

*

The light filtering through the water would have been beautiful, if Jack hadn't been too busy dying to notice.

He was kicking with all the strength he had left, twisting his arms as if to grasp the water, but he wasn't moving an inch. Actually, the luminous reflection that followed the motion of the waves above his head seemed to move further and further away.

Jack should have known that sooner or later one of his stupid ideas would backfire on him. However, he was willing to do anything to find what he was looking for.

Sure, drowning wasn't exactly at the top of his list of best ways to die, but when had life ever been kind to him?

Jack stopped moving. His lungs felt like they were about to explode.

Suddenly, the reflection of the sun shattered, broken by someone who had dived in the water.

Merida, her cheeks puffy with air and her hair floating in a fiery red cloud, swam up to Jack and took his wrist.

He was pretty sure that in any other context he would have had tears in his eyes; by now he had thought he was a goner.

As usual, Merida wasn't smiling as she looked at him. Well, Jack couldn't expect too much, he supposed.

Then the situation reversed, and he felt himself being dragged down again. Merida's iron grip crushed his hand as she carried them to the bottom.

Jack struggled to free himself, his heart filled with terror, but there was no way. The blade of betrayal sank into his chest.

Why was she doing this? Jack knew Merida didn't like him, but killing him was too much even for her. She had saved him last time, hadn't she?

Oh.

Jack peered into the black abyss Merida was dragging him into.

Yep, that was another nightmare.

Making that scenario a fun one was going to be difficult, but Jack did his best and imagined a huge fish, with a glowing antenna on its forehead and scales that glittered like precious stones.

The giant carp emerged from the bottomless depths and headed straight for Jack, who grabbed its dorsal fin and let himself be lifted up. He no longer felt the grip around his wrist.

The fish jumped out of the water with a leap, and Jack discovered that the reflection he had been longing for until then wasn't the sun, but the full moon.

He blinked heavily and wiped his eyes.

His mind was starting to slow down, if it took him this long to recognize a dream, even if it was the second unusual nightmare he'd had.

Jack left the pine tree and flew to the ground, pushed by the empty feeling in his stomach, and as he imagined he found two skewers of meat waiting for him near the now extinguished fire.

He bent down to pick them up, and caught Toothless's bright green gaze staring back at him.

Jack placed his index finger on his lips and slipped back on the tree, where he ate his solitary dinner while looking at the stars.

The moon was there, still and eternal.

Jack threw the stick away and glared back, because that was how he always imagined the moon looking at him. That bastard.

It was all his fault that story had started, right? He had never made things easy for Jack, never listened to his prayers, never given him comfort. Jack felt perfectly entitled to curse him under his breath.

Manni, North had called him a long time ago, so now Jack had a name to add to the insult. God of change, but above all of making life hell for his chosen ones.

Irritation kept Jack in a state of half-sleep until the first light of dawn, when Rapunzel awoke, stretching her arms from her golden cocoon, as she always did when the sun came up.

Merida and Hiccup did the same shortly after, with Toothless following last.

Jack joined them, faking casualness, but as soon as Merida saw him, she turned around after taking her bow and arrows and disappeared into the thick of the woods muttering something about breakfast. Hiccup shook his head.

Rapunzel glared reproachfully at Jack. "Why did you disappear last night?"

"I think I overslept," Jack said. "Sorry."

He wasn't sorry. Avoiding Merida as much as possible had become his new goal.

What made him feel guilty, however, was the outburst that Rapunzel had witnessed the evening before, when Jack had revealed his fears to her. He didn't want to bother her with his personal problems, but at that moment he hadn't been able to hold back his despair. He was ashamed to talk about his past troubles.

Rapunzel pouted, but she didn't see through Jack's lie.

Merida returned less than half an hour later, bringing with her another pheasant and some eggs.

It was yet another meal filled with deafening silence. Jack could almost hear the grinding of gears in Rapunzel's mind as she glared between him and Merida.

"Eat slowly, Merida," he pleaded finally.

She swallowed the last large mouthful. "Don't worry, Rapunzel, I won't puke on your back while we fly."

"Uh… thanks?"

Once they finished eating, they all jumped on Toothless's back, except for Jack, who called the wind to him and rose from the ground.

The air that pushed him to his liking was familiar and comforting, like the embrace of an old friend. Jack spinned a couple of times, pierced a cloud and approached Toothless, who had reached the currents to stabilize his flight.

"We need to stop at the nearest town," Merida said from her seat in the back.

"We just left," Hiccup reminded her.

Merida showed him her almost empty quiver. "If you want to eat something other than your dried meat all day, you'd better find a market."

"Aren't archers able to make their own arrows?" Jack let slip.

"Did someone speak? Or was it just the wind?"

Jack didn't even make an effort to answer.

"And for the record," Merida continued, staring straight ahead, "I know how to make arrows, but I prefer quality ones, not those made in a hurry because someone doesn't want to stop for a moment... And also Rapunzel has never seen a town. Right?"

Rapunzel's eyes sparkled with excitement. She gripped Hiccup's arm and shook him lightly. “Please, please, please…!”

"Alright, as long as it's a short stop," he agreed. "Otherwise don't come and complain to me that we're late."

Merida and Rapunzel threw their arms in the air and cheered.

They weren’t very far from the next settlement, and after less than an hour they were flying over a hilly area, where terraced fields preceded a modest-sized town that developed on the highest hill, on top of which stood a castle.

Toothless's shadow snuck in among the fruit trees on the terraces, making some farmers look up. Hiccup performed a series of maneuvers that took them under the cover of the clouds, but Jack had a feeling that the hottest topic in the inns that evening would be a huge black bird.

They chose the back of a farmhouse to land. Apart from a few hens that ran away in fear, there was no one there.

"Everyone's working in the fields at this time," Hiccup said, answering Jack's unspoken question.

Just at that moment, they heard a female voice from the farmhouse. “Dear, is that you?”

"Or almost everyone," Merida said. "We have to move.

Hiccup turned to Toothless. "Stay hidden, but close enough that you can hear me if I call you. Alright, bud?"

Toothless's pupils were larger than usual, and Jack wondered how much he actually understood from those directions. He thought Hiccup talked to the dragon like some people talk to their pet, but maybe Toothless was a better listener than Jack thought.

They watched him as he leaped onto the roof of the barn — it was unlikely anyone would be looking right up there — and they took a path that led to the main road.

Jack raised his hood, trusting that his white hair could be mistaken for light blond.

"Wait," Merida said, stopping dead in her tracks. "You can't walk around like that."

She was pointing at Rapunzel, who looked down at her calf-length skirt, her dirt-stained feet, and the frying pan hanging on her hip from a strap, next to an embroidered pouch.

"Sit down for a moment," Merida told her. “Do you have a ribbon?”

Rapunzel took one out of her bag with a questioning look, and settled herself on a wall.

"Are you tying her hair? Good idea," Hiccup said.

They observed Merida at work, while she removed the little leaves that were caught in Rapunzel’s hair and divided it into three sections.

"Wow, you're always dragging it around on dirt and grass and mud, but other than the leaves it looks freshly washed."

Jack had never noticed it, but Merida was right.

"Shouldn't it?" said Rapunzel.

Merida snorted. "If I did the same, I'd look like a nest with legs by now."

"Maybe the magic protects them," Hiccup said.

He looked at Jack as if for confirmation.

"I don't know, everyone's magic is different," he said. "But it makes sense."

Merida finished l by knotting the ribbon tightly at the end of a long, thick braid. Styled like this, it showed off the other braid better, the short brown one, which Jack always forgot about because it was usually hidden by the blonde mass.

Rapunzel jumped down from the wall and rocked her head, moving her hair that now reached her ankles. She smiled big.

"Thank you, Merida. It's beautiful."

"No problem. Better to attract less attention, am I right?"

They then reached the main street, crossed by a considerable flow of people alone, in groups, empty-handed or with carts, baskets or animals.

"This is Elmaze. We're in the King's Hills," Merida announced.

She nodded towards the road that continued uphill, up to the imposing door that opened into the walls that surrounded the city.

From below, the castle at the top looked even more impressive. It was built of large dark stones, and the towers were wide and low, unlike the sleek architecture of Corona.

The blue and black arms of Dunbroch and that of Fewor flapped on the flags of the gate, which was guarded by two soldiers who were stopping those who entered.

"Shoot," Merida said. "In Grayfir they only check people who look suspicious, but here they're more careful."

"Maybe you should stay outside. We'll bring you the arrows," Hiccup offered.

"They won't recognize me," Merida said. "I doubt my mother spread the word about my escape, and I'm not the only red-haired girl in the region. No, what bothers me is that we'll have to make up names, the reason we're here and all that stuff."

Meanwhile, the queue to enter was getting shorter. Soon it would be their turn.

"I'll do the talking, then, since the people here are convinced that the Heir of the Archipelago is a huge guy," Hiccup said. “I'll focus all attention on myself.”

He'd made that plan, yet he didn't seem too keen on the idea, Jack thought, adjusting his hood.

Their turn came and they introduced themselves to the guards showing off their best innocent expressions, while one of the soldiers was telling something to his colleague.

"I swear to Veeta, that thing was bigger than a cow, black as a crow, and it fell in the middle of the apple orchards," he was saying with wide eyes. "You didn't see it 'cause you were distracted."

The other guard rolled her eyes. Apparently the conversation had been going on for longer than necessary.

"Go tell that to Lord Macintosh, if you're sure you saw it."

"Aye, so he'll put me on night shift again."

"Then shut up... Good mornin', what brings you to Elmaze?"

That sudden change of topic seemed to surprise Hiccup, who opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before replying. "Hi. We're travellers. We came to buy supplies."

The guard waved them through, and again, Hiccup hesitated.

Merida pushed him through the door. "Thank you, have a nice day!" She let go of Hiccup and put her hands on her hips. “You almost blew it.”

“I wasn't expecting them to let us go so easily.”

Merida rolled her eyes. "C'mon, let's go."

The town was a swarm of busy-looking people walking briskly through alleys, carts and stalls. A great variety of shops lined the cobblestone streets worn by centuries of stepping, and everywhere they could hear chattering, shouting from vendors and the creaking of wheels.

Rapunzel was speechless. It seemed as if she didn't know where to look, overwhelmed by noises, colors and smells. "There are so many people."

"It's market day," Merida commented.

Jack worried that being in the middle of a real crowd might disorientate Rapunzel. "Everything okay?"

Maybe he was worrying unnecessarily. She was the picture of joy.

"I'm just…" she said without finishing her sentence.

There was nothing that didn't deserve her unconditional interest, whether it was a sign, a flower vase, a dog wandering around looking for generous tourists, or a hat that stood out from the crowd.

Merida placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Just try not to get scammed. Many merchants wouldn't hesitate."

"Oh, there's no danger of that. I don't have any money."

"Speaking of which." Merida turned to Hiccup and held out a hand, palm up.

He raised an eyebrow. "Ah, right, the horse ate your money, or something like that."

"I swear I'll pay it back to you with interest when I become queen."

Hiccup reached into his pouch and handed her a small jingling bag. "Don't spend it all."

"Yes, Mom."

Hiccup heroically ignored the nickname. "Do you know where to find some arrows?"

Merida looked around for a moment, then pointed to a more internal area of the market. "Over there I see a blacksmith's stand. We can try there."

"Then lead the way, Definitely-not-the-Heir-of-Dunbroch."

"Sssht, someone's going to hear you!" Merida exclaimed, alarmed.

Hiccup pointed at two people yelling at each other over a crate of vegetables. "I doubt it."

“Should we do something to separate them?” Rapunzel asked, watching as they looked like they were about to throw hands.

Merida was already going towards the stall she was interested in. "Nah, it's just a heated negotiation."

"I feel like I'm in Berk again," Hiccup commented somewhat nostalgically as they walked away. "But here no one's betting on who will win the fight."

The market area that developed internally, in a beautiful square surrounded by sculpted columns, hosted the less popular goods, compared to the crowded food stalls near the door. Simple or worked fabrics, shoes, books, glasswork and craftsmanship of that kind were being sold.

As a result, there were less buyers around, and Jack covered himself as best he could with his hood. It had been quite some time since he'd wandered around a town, among people, without using the usual shortcuts on rooftops. Lately he'd concentrated his searches towards uninhabited places.

As Merida had guessed, the goods of a wood merchant were displayed next to the blacksmith, and among small sculptures and tools were the arrows. A stuffed crow watched over the stall from a perch.

Behind the counter, a wrinkled, hunchbacked old lady stared at them with bulging eyes. She looked at Jack first, making him immediately uncomfortable, then she looked at the others too.

"Nice little thing you have there," she told Hiccup, referring to a pendant on his belt.

Jack had never noticed it. It was a tiny amber sphere embedded in a metal dragon with something even smaller stuck inside it.

An Eye of Sheh. A pretty weird accessory to carry around.

"Uh, thanks," Hiccup said, embarrassed for some reason.

Merida eagerly placed a couple of coins on the counter.

"A bunch of arrows," she ordered without even saying hello or please.

Jack had the immediate, intense feeling that Merida, although she posed as a well-traveled woman, had never made any purchases before.

Of course, why would she? She was a Lady, she just had to ask and anyone would bring her anything.

Jack allowed himself to find her a little more unlikeable.

The old woman wasn't upset in the slightest. "It's four silver coins for a bunch, sweetheart," she stated in a vaguely bored tone.

"Four? That's practically stealing!" Merida protested loudly.

The saleswoman held out her arms. “Do you see any other carvers around?”

In fact, there were no other stalls like hers nearby.

Merida stomped her foot, indignant. "It's not fair!"

"Nothing's fair in the economy, dear. There are only people who sell, people who buy, and people who, if they don't shut up pay, get reported to the guards for obstructing commercial activity," the old woman replied, nodding towards a soldier on horse that was passing nearby.

Hiccup leaned in to speak in Merida's ear. "Just pay for them and let's leave, Mer—merchandise like this isn't in much demand, it seems."

Jack refrained from slapping a hand to his forehead. He had almost announced Merida's name to the entire market.

Rapunzel, unaware of their exchange, was meanwhile staring at the guard with the looks of someone who has never seen a horse in her life.

Jack thought that leaving that town without getting into trouble would be a miracle.

Merida added two more coins to the pile, muttering insults that would have made a Hairy Hooligan blush.

Luckily the old woman was hard of hearing, or more likely she was used to being called certain names, and she took the money before moving the arrows for Merida to take.

She reached out to grab them, but the merchant's bony hand closed around Merida's forearm.

"There's a fountain with the bust of King Frederic at the end of that street to the south," she said urgently. Her wide eyes gave her a crazy look. “You must be there by noon.”

"What—"

"Hurry up," urged the old woman. "Destiny can still be changed."

And as if nothing had happened, she put her hand over her mouth and began screaming at the top of her lungs, like the conversation had reached its natural conclusion. "Ornaments! Cutting boards! Wonderful carved sculptures at half the price!"

They collectively decided to slowly back away.

Merida shook her head. "That hag is crazy, as well as stingy! I just gave money to a crazy woman."

"She seemed sincere, though," Rapunzel said, biting her lip.

Merida glared at her. "I won't listen to her suggestion."

"Well, I am," Hiccup said.

"Are you serious?! It could be dangerous."

"That's the point, maybe that old lady just asked us for help," he retorted.

Merida threw her arms in the air. "Whatever, I'm checking out the stalls. You'll find us here at noon. Rapunzel, let's go."

Rapunzel looked uncertain, but she followed Merida, glancing at Hiccup intermittently.

Jack squinted at the sun. "South road, she said?"

Hiccup looked surprised to see him still there. "You're coming too?"

"I'd rather end up in some trap, than walking around with Lady I'm In Charge."

They took an empty street between two columns, ending up in a neighborhood decidedly quieter than the frenetic crowd in the heart of the market. Had he been alone, Jack would have climbed onto a roof and continued from above.

"Do you think we're really headed for trouble?" Hiccup asked, reminding him that he had company.

Jack turned his head to see his thoughtful expression from behind the hood. "Yeah, I think so."

For whatever reason, Hiccup smiled. "Then I'm glad you came with me. We could use some magic."

Jack's mind took him back to the conversation with Rapunzel on the pine tree. "You're the only one who thinks that."

Hiccup stopped in the middle of the street, forcing Jack to do the same.

"What's the matter with you, Jack? Why can't you let anyone be your friend?"

Jack thought it wasn't fair to look at him with such compassion. He didn't deserve it.

"I can't talk about it. You would hate me."

“Is it something you've done?” Hiccup said. "I'm sure you meant well, whatever it was, or that it was an accident…" he hesitated, uncomfortably. "Even if someone got the worst of it."

Jack blinked. “Do you think I killed someone?”

"No!" Hiccup said. "...Maybe?"

Jack laughed despite everything. Hiccup's grimace was too funny. "I can't believe you'd trust me enough to excuse murder!" He shook his head. "No, I didn't kill anyone."

No, but what you did is almost worse, said a cruel little voice in his head.

Hiccup was clearly relieved. "Oh. Oh, good. Okay. Good."

They started walking again.

"It would be easier if you hated me, though," Jack sighed. "If you looked at me like an ugly slug and called me Magicknapper like Merida does."

“Easier for who, exactly?” Hiccup snorted. "For her, for me or for you? Sometimes I don't—oh, Tere's horns."

"What?"

Hiccup gestured with his chin forward, towards a dead end bordered by a really high wall.

Hidden in a nook between the bricks was the half-bust of a distinguished man with a moustache, a beard and a crown, watching over the jet of a fountain that dived into a small tub.

"Calling it a fountain is pretty generous. It looks more like someone taking a p—"

"That's not the point," Hiccup interrupted. "Look around, if anything happens we're trapped."

As if summoned by his words, voices echoed in the empty alley.

Jack acted without thinking twice: he glanced over his shoulder, where the voices were coming from, and after making sure no one was already there, he grabbed Hiccup by an arm. He concentrated the wind around them, and lifted them to the nearest roof, ignoring Hiccup's hands that were tightly grasping his shoulder.

As they softly landed on the faded tiles, the wind dispersed.

Hiccup's hair was messier than usual. "Next time at least warn me...!" he gasped.

Jack gestured for him to be quiet and crouch with him, looking down, where two women were carrying baskets.

They started washing laundry in the fountain, chatting in the meantime. One passed a small object to the other, but other than that they acted like normal washerwomen.

"That's all?" Hiccup whispered. "Two ladies cleaning shirts?"

Jack checked the position of the sun. It was high above their heads, so it must have been about noon.

It seemed impossible that the carver had wanted to send them to that precise place for nothing. Unless she was only interested in fountain gossip.

He focused on hearing exactly what the women were saying, even if the sound of the water didn't help.

"Is everything ready for this afternoon?" asked the one on the right.

"Yes, it'll be a nice surprise," the one on the left replied.

Okay, they were talking about some party. Jack started to get to his feet.

"And it will also be the last one for Macintosh, if all goes according to plan," one woman laughed.

Hiccup's lips parted slightly. Jack was frozen on the spot.

The two washerwomen continued with their work, gossiping about this or that mutual friend, adding a good dose of raucous laughter. After that they collected the laundry and left undisturbed.

Maybe he had misunderstood, Jack thought. Maybe he had just interpreted those words the wrong way.

Hiccup didn't seem to feel the same.

"Let's go back to Merida and Rapunzel," he said, wiping the dust off his knees. "I think our stop in Elmaze is going to last longer than expected."

Chapter Text

As Merida had promised, they found her and Rapunzel in front of the carver's stall.

Great, Hiccup thought, so they could ask how the heck she knew there was going to be a secret meeting at the fountain.

Except the stall was no longer there. Where the counter full of goods had previously been positioned, now there was an empty space.

"We asked the blacksmith nearby," Rapunzel said when Hiccup asked about it. "Apparently the old lady packed up her things and left while we were wandering around the market."

They sat on the stone steps under a monument, nibbling some meat buns that Merida had bought for everyone. Hiccup had taken his money back, absentmindedly thinking about what he would do when it would inevitably run out: at that rate he was going to arrive in Amberray completely penniless.

“Macintosh rules this city, right?” he asked her.

Merida licked some salt from her fingers. "Aye. He's one of the many lords of Dunbroch."

Rapunzel raised a hand. "What does a lord do? How does it work?"

"The title is given by the king to the most deserving families, which usually means the oldest and richest in the region," Merida explained. "The lords control the towns and nearby villages. They don't have much power, because they always have to answer to my family, therefore to the king, but if something happens in Elmaze, Lord Macintosh will find out."

“So… someone wants him dead to take over the town?”

"Probably. Or because he's an obnoxious twat. That'd be understandable."

"Merida!"

She shrugged. "It's true though."

Hiccup stood up from the step. "This afternoon, they said. It could be any time."

"Hey, hey, wait," Merida stopped him. "We have a capital to reach, remember? Weren't you the one who told me we can't waste time here?"

"But if no one warns Macintosh, he could be killed!" Rapunzel said.

"It's none of our business," Jack said, surprisingly. "In fact, we risk getting involved."

Hiccup guessed what — who — he was referring to. If anything happened to Rapunzel, whatever reason Jack was so determined to bring her to Amberray, it would cease to exist.

"Let's vote," Rapunzel suggested. "Who wants to leave?"

"There are four of us, it will end in a draw," Merida observed raising her hand, perplexed. Jack, who had joined the vote, looked equally doubtful.

Rapunzel smirked. "Who wants to foil the plot?"

Three hands were raised: Rapunzel's, Hiccup's... and Pascal's.

Jack frowned. "Since when do we let the chameleon boss us around?"

"To be fair, his intelligence is definitely superior to yours," Merida offered. She crossed her arms. "And how do you guys plan to do it? I can't just storm into the castle and announce to everyone that there's a plot to take out Macintosh," she argued. "The last time he saw me I was four, he'll think I'm just some random scoundrel looking for attention."

"He doesn't have to know," Jack intervened, apparently resigned after the vote. "We can stop the attack without anyone finding out."

"That way there won't be any risk of your parents hearing that you're here, Merida," Hiccup added. "We could ask the servants if they saw anything suspicious, for a start."

"I know where to find information," Jack said confidently.

Merida shook her head, exasperated. "I think we'll make the situation worse, but I guess I have no other choice."

They set off, led by Jack, through the streets of the town. In particular, they walked along the secondary paths, the ones frequented by locals, which tourists and visitors weren't interested by.

Hiccup didn't know what Jack was looking for, every time he poked his head around corners and searched the alleys with his gaze, but when Hiccup's good foot began to bother him, Jack stopped in front of a courtyard surrounded by some narrow houses.

A group of children had taken possession of it, and was playing with squeals and giggles.

"Kids? You want to ask some brats about the possible assassination?" Merida asked skeptically.

Jack wore a crooked smirk. "Adults don't pay attention to it, and often do or say things in front of them without thinking about it, but children are like sponges. They might know something without realizing it."

Hiccup appreciated his reasoning. He would never have thought of it, and that strategy revealed an unsuspected wisdom from Jack.

They approached the children, with him leading the way, but they didn't seem too pleased to see four strangers invading their territory.

"Who are you?" asked one of the older kids, a little girl around eight years old with a muddy chin and braided hair.

Rapunzel, clearly fascinated by the colorful group, bent down at her level, leaning her hands against her knees. "Hi! We're just travelers looking around."

The little girl squinted. "Mmm. And what are you looking for?"

"Information," Merida said unceremoniously.

Rapunzel elbowed her.

"What? I've never got anything from my brothers by being nice," Merida defended herself.

A boy pointed at her. "Why aren't you wearing a petticoat like other big girls do?"

"Cause it makes riding a horse uncomfortable."

"Where's your horse?"

"...He ran away."

It was enough to make the children even more suspicious. The younger kids hid behind the taller ones, frightened.

Hiccup raised his hands. "We just want to ask if you've seen anything strange in town lately," he said, hoping to sound reassuring.

He'd never managed to gain respect from the children of Berk, even though he was the son of the chief, and those kids seemed to be of the same kind.

A very small girl stared at him without shame. "I'm not telling you anything at all, Skinnylegs."

Hiccup suddenly remembered the reason why every time he stumbled upon children in Berk, he'd cross the street. When he was a teenager, his peers used to laugh at him — some still did to this day — but the younger kids were ruthless, and knew where it hurt the most.

Jack looked like he was having a great time. His shoulders were shaking from how much he was holding back his laughter.

He pointed at Merida, Rapunzel and Hiccup and took a step forward. "Actually, I'm here because these three are boring. I wanted to do something fun."

He ignored the protests behind him and looked around. "Who's the boss here?"

The little girl with the muddy chin clapped a hand on her chest. "That's me."

"Well, what do I have to do to join you?"

She crossed her arms. "For starters, you need to put your hood down. My mom says people who hide their faces are untus… untrusr… unsun… Are no-good."

Hiccup looked at Jack's reaction, waiting. However, Jack immediately uncovered his head, revealing his white hair and making the children widen their eyes. Some opened their mouth theatrically.

The word Magicknapper passed from mouth to mouth, ending up in Muddy Chin's too.

"You have magic," she concluded, astonished.

Jack shrugged. "I did what you told me. Now can I play with you guys... or are you too scared?"

He'd gone from indifference to defiance in an instant, with admirable mastery. Hiccup didn't imagine Jack had an actor side.

The little girl was absolutely outraged by the insinuation. "Nothing scares me!"

"If you say so."

She puffed out her cheeks, annoyed. "Okay, I'll let you play with us if you can win a game."

"So he has to play with them... in order to play with them?" Rapunzel whispered.

"Children's reasoning?" Hiccup whispered back.

At that moment, Jack was pointing at them. "Can they join us? If we don't invite them, then they'll complain all the time and be a pain in the butt."

"Who's the pain in the a—?" Merida started protesting, before Rapunzel stepped forward.

"Please!"

Muddy Chin wrinkled her nose. "Fine. Do you know how to play?"

She then proceeded to explain the rules of a team game in which the objective was to get hold of an exceptionally dirty handkerchief, also known as flag, and manage to tie it in a knot.

"Pushing, biting, scratching, spitting or whining is forbidden," Muddy Chin barked in a tone worth of a commander. She glanced at another child. "Stick it in those troll ears of yours, Stennis!"

Hiccup thought that little girl would have terrified even a Hairy Hooligan, although in any Berkian game, those things would have been mandatory, not prohibited.

Muddy Chin looked back at the four of them. "You got that?" she said harshly.

"I think the rule about no whining is going to be broken soon," Rapunzel said in a small voice. "By me."

Muddy Chin divided the group to create three teams. She pointed to the one with the fewest members. "You'll play with Orla's team."

A small chorus of complaints rose from the kids.

"Why do we gotta take on the weirdos?"

"Because if you don't do what I tell you, I'll kick you, that's why."

Hiccup had a sudden flash of his childhood: Muddy Chin was the spitting image of Astrid as a child. Just kinder.

"Ready, GO!"

What followed were some of Hiccup's most miserable minutes.

One would have assumed that even just the height advantage, since almost all the kids reached his hip, would have given him a huge advantage. Instead, the little pests knew how to run between his legs, trip — which Hiccup found out at his own expense didn't count as a ban — and step on his feet.

It didn't take long to find himself out of breath, forced to lean against a wall to rest for a moment.

Rapunzel joined him shortly after, holding her side. "I thought they were adorable at first, but they're actually ruthless. Are all kids like that?"

Hiccup gestured vaguely. "I just hope the game's going to end soon, or we'll be late," he said between heavy breaths.

They stayed in the sidelines long enough to see the handkerchief pass from hand to hand, be thrown in the air, and fall to the ground.

Between Muddy Chin and Jack.

No one dared lift a finger, everyone was looking at the two of them, who were busy glaring at each other.

Without warning, she sprinted toward the flag, and Jack flicked his hand to the side, causing Muddy Chin to slide across the ice that had appeared beneath her feet.

Jack caught the girl before she hit the ground, quickly picked up the handkerchief and tied it, winning the game.

Their team broke into cheers.

Muddy Chin shook Jack's hand off her shoulder and looked at him with hostility. "It doesn't count, you cheated!"

He waved the handkerchief in front of her nose. "You didn't say magic was forbidden, so I won fair and square."

"But it's… it's… it's obvious that you can't use magic!" Muddy Chin exclaimed, struggling to find the words.

"Does any rule say that?"

"No."

"Then accept defeat." He held out his hand to her. "My name is Jack."

"He's right, Mor," said Orla. "You don't wanna admit that for once someone was smarter than you."

Mor rolled her eyes and shook Jack's hand. "I can't give up my position as boss to you, though."

"Of course not. Can I ask you a favor, then?" Jack said. "Is there anyone among you who works at Lord Macintosh's castle?"

Three or four children raised their hands.

Hiccup didn't miss Rapunzel's confused expression, but for the moment he focused on what they were saying.

"I help out in the stables."

“I watch the fire in the winter.”

"I help my dad in the kitchen," Mor said.

Rapunzel looked more and more perplexed.

Jack became serious. "Does anything special have to happen at the castle this afternoon? Like a party, meeting, or something?"

"There's Lord Macintosh's birthday banquet this evening," said a snotty child. “But it'll be after dark.”

"If he's anything like my mother, he'll spend the afternoon supervising the preparations for his own party," Merida said. "There will be servants everywhere. Plenty of occasions to do something in the general chaos."

Jack looked at Mor again. “When you're late for work, is there a way to get in without being seen by the adults?”

"There's the old empty well."

She explained that, on the mornings when she overslept, she would go to a poorly guarded part of the walls, where an opening protected by an easily removable grate led to a dry well in a servants' courtyard.

"I use it because no one pays attention to me, but they don't know you guys, so you'll have to stay hidden," she pointed out.

"Thank you."

"Don't tell anyone I told you," she threatened, becoming rude again. "Otherwise…"

“You'll kick us?” Hiccup said.

"I'll keep it a secret if you don't tell anyone that a Magicknapper asked you questions," Jack said.

They shook hands one last time, and finally left the children.

Jack must have made an impression, because several waved their hands, genuinely sorry to see him go.

Even sadder was Merida, who sniffed as they walked away from Mor and the others.

"They remind me of my wee brothers," she said. "I miss them."

"What are their names?" Rapunzel asked kindly.

"Hamish, Hubert and Harry. They're five years old."

"Are they triplets?" Hiccup said.

Merida glared at him. "Something to say?"

"No, of course not," he quickly replied.

Merida had misinterpreted his curiosity, but she had very good reasons for doing so.

In a historical moment in which the succession to the throne depended on the victory of a firstborn, having numerous children guaranteed the families of the Heirs greater possibilities: if something had happened to the eldest, there would have been someone else to take their place.

Needless to say, having two or three children at once was as lucky an instance as it was rare. There were spells to increase the probability of having twins, but that practice was seen with extreme distrust.

As a result, natural twins became the subject of gossip, even though they weren’t at fault.

And if Merida's brothers were triplets... Hiccup could only imagine how many malicious rumors she had heard over the years.

He also thought of the Thorston brothers of Berk, who at least had earned the nickname of scourge of the island for different reasons. However, sometimes Snotlout Jorgenson would still accidentally make a joke about it.

Rapunzel interrupted that reflection. "I didn't know children worked at the castle."

The information had evidently shaken her.

"Only those who have to help their parents," Merida said. “They're usually the ones who come from large families.”

“And they have to work to do that?”

"King Frederik's predecessor put a limit on working hours, and the law prohibits hiring those under the age of five," Merida reassured her.

It didn't help.

"That's still too young!" Rapunzel exclaimed, with an eagerness Hiccup had never seen in her. "Is it like this everywhere? Even in Grayfir?"

"My family can afford to pay them more," Merida said uncertainly.

Rapunzel looked at Hiccup, distressed.

"I used to help in the forge, but people my age put out fires started by dragon attacks," he said, feeling guilty for giving her bad news. "I'm sorry, Rapunzel, but it's very common."

She looked shocked.

Jack, who hadn't spoken yet, made a sarcastic noise. "People aren't able to feed their families, and what does the king do? He raises taxes for the Duel of the Heirs."

"How do you know that?" Hiccup said.

"I overheard some conversations at the market. Farmers don't exactly say their complaints in hushed tones, you know."

"The tax will be removed after the Duel anyway," Merida said.

"Yeah, so it can be brought back to pay for the celebrations and the coronation after the Duel, and so on," Jack retorted.

Hiccup had to admit that he was right.

The long periods spent away from Berk had made him a stranger to political matters, since his father didn't have many opportunities to talk to him about those, but Hiccup supposed that the months before and after the Duel would be very delicate from that point of view.

He was still reflecting when they arrived at the place indicated by Mor, near a sort of empty basin.

"It was supposed to collect rainwater once, I guess," Hiccup said, testing the rusty iron grate blocking the access.

He discovered that it was only placed there to give the illusion of an inaccessible entrance, and he set it aside. Behind it was a narrow, dark tunnel.

"I hope Mor didn't play a prank on us and that it doesn't lead to the castle sewers," Merida said, bending to enter.

"It would be funny," Jack commented following her. "And appropriate for a petticoat-less lady like you."

"Shut up, Frost."

Hiccup and Rapunzel exchanged looks of silent exasperation, and headed into the tunnel.

It was quite claustrophobic, not to mention the smell. Hiccup felt like he was descending into the bowels of a large dragon with a serious case of bad breath — don't ask.

After an interminable time, the tunnel began to bend upwards, making walking more difficult. At least it was brighter.

Merida stopped dead in her tracks, creating a chain of noses slamming into backs behind her.

"Here it goes up."

Iron pegs had been mercifully installed along the wall of the well, which the four carefully climbed up.

When they got near the exit, they waited for Merida to check outside.

"All clear," she announced after a minute, so they climbed out of the well.

They were in a courtyard surrounded on two sides by a porch, in the center of a small herb garden guarded by one of those dragon puppets used to scare birds away.

There was no one to be seen around, but voices could be heard from the distance.

"Now we just need to find Macintosh, and keep an eye out for assassins," Merida said, avoiding to step over the plants. They slipped under the porch and studied the row of closed doors.

"Where—?"

“Did someone mention my name?”

*

Merida looked at the person who had emerged from behind a half-closed door as if she had seen a large cockroach.

Rapunzel wondered what was so horrible about this tall, broad-shouldered young man with black hair that reached his chin.

"Young Macintosh," Merida said through gritted teeth. "What are you doing here?"

He ran a hand through his shiny hair. "What am I doing here? It's my castle. What are you doing here?"

"Um..." Merida struggled.

Young Macintosh raised his eyebrows. "Wait, that symbol on your dress… that hair… and the bow! You're—"

Merida rushed to cover his mouth. “Here in secret, so shut it.”

"He's smarter than he seems," Jack commented, impressed, without bothering to lower his voice.

Young Macintosh took Merida's hands off him. "To do what?" He jerked his head to the side, brushing his long hair out of his eyes. "I thought we were supposed to meet in a week, when I'd present myself as a suitor for your hand."

An evil smile appeared on Jack's lips. "Merida has been looking forward to meeting you, my lord."

She glared at Jack like she wished him to spontaneously catch on fire. "Yes, no, I mean, I wanted to get to know you without having to follow protocol. You know, with all those conversation rules it's impossible to talk."

Rapunzel would have found her convincing, if she hadn't said all this while clenching her fists.

Young Macintosh thought about it for about half a second. "It makes sense. My charm surpasses etiquette."

"Maybe not that smart," Jack said. Hiccup stepped on his foot with his own metal leg.

"Who are these… bizarre individuals?" Macintosh asked, looking them up and down.

"Her bodyguards," Jack replied promptly.

He didn't seem impressed. "You're telling me you three are warriors?"

In response, Jack uncovered his head enough to reveal a bit of white hair. "It takes more than brute strength to protect a noble lady."

"Why don't you show me the castle in the meantime?" proposed Merida with forced courtesy.

She went to Macintosh, who was still gaping at Jack, grabbed him by the arm in a grip, and dragged him towards the door he had come from.

Macintosh was persuaded to give them a guided tour of the castle, during which they could look around carefully for anything or anyone that looked suspicious. It was immediately clear that no one would pay attention to four strangers accompanied by the young lord: they were all too busy preparing for that evening's party.

Rapunzel was impressed by the enormous amount of rooms, halls, corridors, courtyards and towers in the castle. On the walls hung paintings and tapestries in great numbers, and Rapunzel lost count of the windows after fifty.

Macintosh was more than happy to tell Merida about his heroic deeds, although she was more interested in asking about his father's friendships.

"And where is he now?" she asked him as they explored the corridors used by the servants.

The number of attendants was another thing that had surprised Rapunzel: all busy and in a hurry, including a few children struggling to keep up.

The conversation about working children had left a bad taste in her mouth. Rapunzel remembered what it was like to be so young, what mattered to her and what her interests were. Earning some money to help Mother wasn't one of them.

She looked away and did her best to ignore them. Instead she listened to what Young Macintosh was saying.

"My father will be somewhere rehearsing his speech for the dinner in his honor," he replied disinterested. "These are the kitchens."

They had entered a large room with a high ceiling, probably the warmest and most crowded place they had visited. There was a loud melody of orders, pots whistling and knives chopping.

"I always come here for a snack before my afternoon work-out," Macintosh explained.

He snapped his fingers to get the attention of a busy woman with a long braid peeking out from under a handkerchief, who quickly grabbed a tray when she recognized the person who had called her.

She handed Macintosh some steaming dumplings, half-bowing. "My lord."

He grabbed one, stuffed it in his mouth and walked away without offering them any. "You must see my archery skills, Merida," he said with his mouth full.

He led them outside, into a much larger courtyard than the one they had snuck in from. A few guards were spear dueling in pairs, watched by servant girls who commented on the training with snorts and giggles.

When they saw Macintosh, they crowded around him like bees attracted to a large flower, calling out for him.

He shamelessly ignored them and took a bow and quiver from an attendant.

At the end of the courtyard there were some targets painted in concentric circles. Macintosh positioned himself in front of one of them, legs spread, expression focused and bow tense.

"We should be with his father," Hiccup said to Merida, annoyed, as Macintosh prepared to shoot with a soundtrack of female voices. "Instead we're wasting precious time with the Dunbrochian version of Snotlout."

"Snot-who?"

"Forget about it."

Meanwhile, Young Macintosh had shot the first arrow, which stuck halfway between the edge of the target and its center with a sinister hiss.

"Test shot, test shot," he said through clenched teeth, giving a forced smile aimed at the girls. They erupted into delighted squeals.

"We could leave him here while he's distracted, and run away," Jack suggested.

"Like that, without even saying goodbye?" Rapunzel said.

Jack squinted. "Was that sarcasm I just heard?"

Rapunzel smiled. "Maybe."

"Then we need to take advantage of when he's looking at the target," Hiccup said. "Which is now!"

They tiptoed away from the training grounds, masking the sound of their footsteps with the chatter of Macintosh's admirers.

They were about to pass through the arched doorway when the giggles became alarmed cries.

Rapunzel turned to see what had caused the sudden change in atmosphere, but she could no longer see Young Macintosh.

The girls had gathered around something, between frightened screams, and Rapunzel understood where he was.

"He's over there," she told the others.

They ran towards the servants, forced to elbow their way through.

"He suddenly collapsed!" A girl said with tears in her eyes.

Macintosh lay on his back, his features disfigured with pain, writhing on the ground.

The attendant who had given him the bow rushed to see what was happening. He turned the boy onto his side and examined him.

"I don't understand, he was fine just a second ago," Merida said, frowning.

The man raised a small dagger stained red. "He was mortally wounded!" he exclaimed in shock.

He put Macintosh on his back again and showed everyone the small wound on his chest, under his half-unbuttoned shirt. The girls screamed in terror, but a couple of more lucid ones ran away talking about a doctor.

Merida frowned. "He's barely bleeding. It's not—"

"Someone has made an attempt on the young lord's life," said the attendant, undeterred. He darted his eyes towards the desperate admirers. "Maybe from an unrequited girl?"

"Wait, slow down," Merida intervened. "It's a little early to make random accusations. Where did you find that dagger?"

"Right here, next to young Macintosh's body!"

Merida continued to ask him more questions, doubtful, with Jack and Hiccup listening intently.

Rapunzel turned her attention to the still agonizing boy. It hurt to watch him gasp while he clutched his…

"Stomach!" Rapunzel exclaimed over the ongoing discussion and the murmurs of the audience. "He's holding his stomach, not the wound on his chest! It must be something he ate that's making him sick."

A thin man with thick black hair strode to the scene of the accident, accompanied by a couple of well-dressed people.

"What's the matter? I've heard of—for Isur's sake! Son!"

The small crowd moved aside, creating a passage for what must have been the man they were looking for. Lord Macintosh took his son's face in his hands.

"The doctor is on his way, my lord," said the attendant.

Rapunzel could no longer stand by and do nothing. Whatever the cause was, whoever was to blame, she could help.

"Let me heal him," she said to Lord Macintosh as she held up the braid Merida had made for her.

"Rapunzel, that's not a good idea," Jack hissed.

Lord Macintosh looked at her. “Are you a healer, little girl?”

"Not exactly." Rapunzel swallowed. "But magic could save him."

It was as if she had just announced that she wanted to tear the boy apart and eat him. The girls screamed even louder, and Lord Macintosh shielded his son with his body. "Stay back, Magicknapper!"

Rapunzel felt an emptiness in her stomach, and everyone's eyes on her. Shame, fear and regret made her cheeks burn.

"I just wanted…"

Someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Rapunzel," Merida said in her ear. "The castle doctor will take care of it."

Everyone was focused on Young Macintosh, so they easily got away from the growing crowd of people who had come to watch.

Rapunzel still felt the knot in her stomach, but she grabbed Merida's arm. "The woman who makes Macintosh's snacks. We must find her."

Merida nodded, serious, and without the need to say anything else, the four went back to the castle kitchens, zigzagging among the people who were going in the opposite direction to their destination.

In the kitchens everything was exactly as before, so it was possible that the news had not yet arrived. Someone gave them a curious look, but no one stopped their work.

"That way!" Hiccup said. "The cook with the braid!"

Maybe shouting it for everyone to hear wasn't a wise idea, because two things happened: the woman dropped a ladle and ran towards a secondary exit, and the rest of the staff looked at them in bewilderment.

"She tried to kill Young Macintosh!" Merida intervened, triggering a reaction from the servants.

Several hands tried to grab the fugitive, but she chased them away with a hastily retrieved rolling pin.

Jack called the wind to him, sending clouds of flour flying everywhere, and jumped over tables and people. Rapunzel, Merida and Hiccup also took off in pursuit, struggling to dodge all the people.

Seeing herself being followed, the woman overturned a large table, creating a sudden obstacle that only Jack and Merida managed to climb over, one flying, one with an athletic leap.

With the space around the table occupied by people, Rapunzel and Hiccup had no choice but to watch the scene from behind the table: Jack had exaggerated with the wind and had ended up hitting the wall at the back of the room, while Merida finally managed to stop the woman on the run by tripping her with impeccable timing.

"You poisoned Macintosh, didn't you? And that attendant is in on this!" Merida questioned the cook after grabbing her by the collar of her dress. The kitchen hung in tense silence as everyone present watched.

The woman bared her teeth. "Let me go, or you'll pay, you meddlesome girl."

"Not until we have an answer."

“Do you want an answer?” She stuck her hand in a large pocket of her dirty apron. "There it is!"

Rapunzel could do nothing again, but Jack, who until then had been rubbing the shoulder he'd just hit, was quicker than anyone else, perhaps helped by the wind.

He pushed Merida away roughly, receiving the stab intended for her.

The kitchen blade sank into his side with a noise impossible to forget, in an instant that seemed to last hours.

Every detail in Rapunzel's surroundings became more vivid. The sound of water boiling in the pots. The light coming through the windows illuminating flour and dust. The smell of a thousand dishes being prepared for that evening's dinner. Hiccup's scream next to her. The sweat on the foreheads of the people who had grabbed the woman, taken the knife away from her (when had she extracted it from Jack's side?) and pinned her to the ground.

Now that everyone had gathered around the woman, Rapunzel and Hiccup were able to walk around the overturned table and run to Jack.

"I'm fine," he was weakly telling Merida while she held him up, her face pale like his. “I just… got stabbed a little bit.”

"You think this is the time to joke?" Hiccup exclaimed.

From under Jack's cloak Rapunzel saw a red stain quickly spreading across his shirt.

"You're going to be okay, Jack," Rapunzel said.

She untied her hair with difficulty because of her shaky hands. She didn't have much time before he'd bleed to death.

A man with a flour-stained mustache bent down next to them. “Need help, kids?”

His voice was so gentle that she almost burst into tears. "We should set him on a table," she said instead.

The man straightened the table, now clear of plates, containers and utensils, picked Jack up and placed him delicately on it.

Rapunzel was vaguely aware of the chaos behind them; judging by the glimpses of conversation she overheard, the woman had been rushed away, and someone had gone to inquire about Macintosh's condition while the others cleaned up the chaos caused by the scuffle.

The rest of the staff were looking at them with vague fear. Rapunzel did her best to ignore the stares that seemed to pinch the back of her neck, and she smoothed her hair over Jack's wound.

He was still awake, and he was staring at the ceiling taking deep breaths with a frowning face, as if he was in pain with every breath of air.

As she had done when they first met, and when she had healed Hiccup's head, Rapunzel sang with all her heart, closing her eyes to make the people who were looking at her disappear.

She wasn't yet used to doing it in front of strangers who weren't Mother: until now Rapunzel had always sung only for her, in the privacy of the tower, but this wasn't the time to get stage fright.

With each word rolling off her tongue, reciting the song Mother had taught her over the course of many evenings lit by the fireplace and the stars, Rapunzel concentrated on the strain she was placing on her diaphragm, and her vocal cords vibrating to the rhythm of the desperate yet hopeful melody.

The glow behind her eyelids told her that the magic was taking its course, and that everyone would see what she was.

Several people held their breath.

Rapunzel reopened her eyes as the last note left her mouth, in time to see her locks turning blonde again, the gold-like hue flowing back to the roots.

An astonished silence filled the kitchens. Even the pots seemed to whistle softer on purpose.

Rapunzel looked from the dazed expressions of the servants to Jack's face, who showed her a weak smile as he gave double thumbs up.

"Better?" she asked him.

Jack checked his side, brushing aside her hair. "Better."

Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Merida breathed a sigh of relief in unison, causing a few giggles from the staff.

Rapunzel pleaded with the man with the dirty mustache. "Please don't make us leave. My friend is safe, but he's still weak, he needs to rest."

The cook looked first at her with controlled surprise, then at Jack, and something in his expression changed.

He turned to a boy who was still holding a half-peeled potato, making him gasp as if he had forgotten where he was. "Go to the housekeeper, and tell her to make up some excuse for not letting anyone into the room next to the stairs to the third floor."

"But Arran, that room was prepared for Lord Macintosh's cousin," a young woman objected. "She'll never accept it."

"Wilma owes me a favor." Arran scratched his chin. "Several favors, actually. She'll listen to me."

He even offered to carry Jack again, given his condition, but he categorically refused, in a flash of embarrassment that Rapunzel had rarely seen him show.

Arran led them through a labyrinth of corridors used by staff and secret passages hidden by tapestries and furniture, to a room with two beds. They helped Jack lie down on one of them, after having drawn the curtains of the only window that overlooked a sunny garden.

Rapunzel didn't know how to thank Arran. He had witnessed the chaos caused by them, not to mention magic, and yet he'd lent them a hand anyway.

"Thank you so much," she told him as the others settled into the room.

Arran gave her a smile that warmed her heart. "I had to help Mor's friends," he said, nodding towards Jack. “I'd recognize those jam stains anywhere.”

Rapunzel followed his gaze, and only then noticed the handkerchief sticking out of the pouch on Jack's belt. She was too shocked to say anything else.

"If you leave very early tomorrow morning, when everyone is still hungover from tonight's banquet, you should be able to avoid being seen," Arran advised.

Rapunzel obeyed her instinct, and hugged that kind-hearted cook, who returned the gesture with delicate pats on her shoulder. Rapunzel imagined the flour prints he was leaving on her sleeve.

She said goodbye to Arran with many thanks and closed the door behind her.

After the confusion and agitation of the last few hours, between crowded markets, bustling castles and dangerous chases, the calm in the room seemed unnatural. 

It was clear that it had been intended for an important guest: the sheets were perfectly ironed, folded blankets had been placed at the ends of the beds, there were no cobwebs on the ceiling and the air smelled of lavender.

Hiccup had sat down on the spare bed and was rubbing his face, while Merida was still standing staring at the floor.

Rapunzel saw her shaken, and took her hand to calm her down. "Macintosh will be fine, I'm sure the doctor realized it was a stomach problem."

"I'm not worried about that idiot," Merida snapped, looking at Jack. "But the idiot sitting here."

He grimaced from the bed he lay on, propped up on a pile of pillows. “Never a nice word from you, huh?”

"Merida, leave him alone," Hiccup said dryly. "He had a fish knife stuck in his body just ten minutes ago."

She ignored them both, and pointed her finger at Jack. "Why did you do it? Why did you get in the way? You knew what was going to happen."

"I did my duty as your bodyguard," he said ironically.

The joke sent Merida into a rage, and she raised her arms in the air as if she wanted to cling to the sky and shake it in anger.

"What is your problem?! It's impossible to talk to you without you spouting some unfunny crap!"

Rapunzel slid towards Hiccup, intending to ask for support to stop those two before they'd fight again, but he motioned for her to stay still and not say anything. Rapunzel complied, supposing that letting them argue heatedly — the understatement of the century — might be an alternative method.

Jack frowned irritably, accentuating the dark shadows around his eyes. "I returned the favor and saved your life, okay? You could just say thanks, instead of making a scene like usual. Why are you angry?"

"Because," Merida spat out as she took a few steps left and right, "it doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense that you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself for me, but if it did, then everything I ever thought I knew wouldn't make sense instead!"

Rapunzel didn't follow all that, but she kept on listening.

"All those stories, those rumors about Magicknappers would be a lie. Everyone is convinced that you are evil people who don't care about anyone's good but their own, and you seemed to fit the part perfectly, Jack," Merida continued.

"But now I don't know anymore. Maybe the stories are wrong. Maybe my father, my mother, the lords and all of Dunbroch are wrong. Maybe…" she said with growing fervor, apparently more addressed to herself than to others. She looked at Hiccup. "Maybe fear really did turn a young dragon into a monster."

"Okay, that wasn't the speech I was expecting," Jack said. “Was that a very weird way of apologizing?”

"I…! Maybe!" Merida exclaimed, still red in the face.

Rapunzel saw Hiccup cover his eyes with his hand and mutter something.

It had been quite a bizarre apology, but what surprised everyone was the laughter that came from Jack himself.

"You know, you can be funny when you're not insulting me, milady," he coughed, holding his side.

"Will you stop with this nickname already?" Merida said. "Why do you keep calling me that if you know I hate it?"

"Why do you call me Magicknapper?" Jack retorted.

Merida's face went from red to a deep pink. "You could have told me it bothers you. I would have stopped right away," she grumbled.

“It would bother anyone.”

Rapunzel was too happy that they had made peace, albeit in a strange way, so much so that she jumped on Merida's neck, risking making them both fall.

"I'm so happy for you guys!" she said practically vibrating with joy. She composed herself and looked at Jack with her hands on her hips. "Now show me your side. I have to clean the blood off it."

She tied her hair at the back of her neck with the ribbon and took a step towards the bed.

"Wait!" Jack and Merida shouted.

Rapunzel stared at them both, perplexed. While they had clarified, it was still a little early to read each other's minds.

"The wound is gone, it won't hurt," she said uncertainly.

Merida looked like she was biting her tongue. Jack was looking around as if searching for a way to escape.

"Listen to Rapunzel, Jack, and let her check you," said Hiccup, who had meanwhile risen to his feet.

For a moment, it looked like Jack was going to run out the window, but then he relaxed his shoulders with a sigh.

"Okay, but do what you have to do first, and ask questions later."

He took off his cloak, then pulled the stained shirt over his head, and Rapunzel understood why he had hesitated.

Chapter Text

Rapunzel, Merida, and Hiccup's gazes burned on him, and Jack forced himself not to cover his chest. Instead, he gripped the sheets beneath him between his fingers.

A thousand thoughts seemed to flow in the eyes of each one of them, changing their expressions in different states of mind.

In that labyrinth of emotions, Jack wondered what he would have felt in their place. Disgust? Definitely confusion.

The mark started on his chest, slightly on the left, and spread across his abdomen in sinuous spirals until it reached his collarbone. Jack was still wearing his pants, but he knew that it continued on his left thigh as well.

The shape was vaguely reminiscent of some lightning scars Jack had heard about, but his was dark, practically black.

"What is that?" Rapunzel finally said, dumbfounded, completely ignoring Jack's instructions.

"It's the trace left by a spell," he replied, trying to speak lightly. "Pretty ugly, huh?"

Merida had to sit down. "Someone casted a spell on you? Who did that?"

Jack looked at the lines on his palms. It was easier than holding Merida's gaze. "That's the funny thing. I don't know. It could be the purpose of the spell, because in my first memory I woke up with this thing forming, and powers I didn't know about."

"Your first memory?"

"It's from… a few years ago. Before that there's nothing," Jack said.

Rapunzel covered her mouth with her hand. “But why would anyone do this to you?”

Jack grimaced. "I have no idea. There's some kind of unwritten rule in the magical community against casting spells on people, so whoever did this really didn't like me." He hesitated. "Maybe I did something, or I made the wrong person angry. So yeah, I had to learn to hide the trace, because if I kept it in sight no one wanted me around. Bad omens and all that."

Hiccup looked nauseated. "But you remember your name, don't you?"

Jack shook his head. "I guess erasing something so intrinsic to a person is practically impossible, but I was given my surname."

He hoped no one was curious enough to ask him who did. He wasn't ready to bring back certain moments yet.

Rapunzel also sat on the edge of the bed. "And besides this you don't remember anything?"

"Sometimes I do get... sudden flashes. It usually happens when I'm doing or seeing something specific." He risked a look at Merida. "Like taking a bath in a stupid pond."

Her eyes widened. "The waterfalls."

"Drowning always felt familiar to me," Jack said. “I don't know what that says about my past.”

They all fell silent, but it wasn't one of those silences full of unsaid things and the usual embarrassment. This was one of concentration, to process new, enormous, terrible informations.

Rapunzel stopped wrinkling her skirt. "I have a secret too." She smiled a little. "Even though it's not as big as yours, Jack. You know, I was starting to think I might keep traveling after the festival, instead of going straight home."

Merida interrupted her babbling. "Why, were you planning on locking yourself in the tower again forever?"

"No!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "Well, not really. But I've found that I enjoy exploring the kingdom, visiting towns, and meeting new people."

Jack was grateful to her for changing the subject. The mood was starting to get too heavy for his liking.

“It's not as scary as you thought, right?” he told her, mindful of the very first days when it was just the two of them, which Rapunzel had spent jumping at every sudden shadow or noise.

"Yes, there are dangerous but also beautiful places, and strange people like the lady in the market but also kind people like Arran," Rapunzel said. "I think Mother exaggerated her stories about the outside world. She even said I wouldn't last half a day out, but here I am," she concluded proudly.

Merida snorted. “It seems like your mother was wrong about a lot of things.”

Rapunzel's smile faded, replaced by a genuinely surprised expression. It almost seemed that a simple comment thrown out there without thinking too much had shocked her.

Merida raised an eyebrow, but she didn't comment on that change. "Alright, it's my turn. Once, when I was little, I saw a wisp in the Cinder Woods."

"What's a wisp?" Rapunzel asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

Merida brought her hands together. "A small blue flame more or less this size that shines without burning. It is said that wisps are the spirits of those who died before fulfilling their destiny, so the goddess Sheh prevents them from crossing the Door of the Night and entering the Celestial Palace,” she explained, pointing to the ceiling. "Anim takes pity on them, and turns the spirits into flames, so that one day someone will offer to complete what the deceased wasn't able to."

Rapunzel's mouth formed a perfect O. "Did the wisp you met speak to you?"

"It just whispered something I couldn't make out," Merida shrugged. "But maybe it's because I was little and wasn't ready to take on someone's fate."

"Are there wisps in the Barbaric Archipelago too?" Rapunzel asked Hiccup, who thought about it.

"I suppose they're what we call troll lanterns. According to legend, they are lights used by trolls as they dig the earth to hide what they stole. If you see one you should remember where it was, so you can come back the next morning and find a treasure."

“Troll treasures?” Merida chuckled. "Come on, that's ridiculous."

“And your story of the spirits of the dead isn't?” Hiccup replied, offended.

"I wonder what they're called in Corona," Rapunzel mused. "Jack, do you know anything about it?"

"I think I heard about it from some peasants," he said. "But with a creepier meaning. Something about vengeful souls that used to haunt the area that was reclaimed many years ago."

"What do you mean by reclaimed?"

"It means it was a swamp that has been drained to be turned into cultivable fields," Jack said. "There's only a small swampy area left near the border with Dunbroch, but much of Corona's land is now fields."

"Unlike Dunbroch, which is almost entirely covered in forests. That's why the region's economy is based on wood and game," Hiccup added. "Instead Corona trades mainly in cereals, fruit and stones and minerals."

Merida faked a record-breaking yawn. "If you're done with economics class, Hiccup still has a secret to tell. He's the only one left."

Hiccup became defensive. "I don't have secrets, my whole village knows what I've been up to since I was born."

Jack nodded at his metal prosthetic. “That seems to hide an interesting story… or have you always had it?”

Until that moment he'd never dared to ask about Hiccup's leg. It seemed too personal to ask someone he barely knew, and had he been in Hiccup's place, Jack wouldn't willingly talk about it to the first person who asked.

However, this seemed like the right time. They had almost prevented an assassination together, after all, they were beyond the strangers stage now.

Hiccup thoughtfully drummed his fingers on his thigh. "To be honest, it's not a very exciting story. It happened years ago, during one of my first journeys, just because I was too careless with a dragon I didn't know. I spent a few hours convinced that my new life would end early, but in the end everything was fine. Of course, if you don't count the metal leg."

"What about Toothless? You told us you've known each other for five years, but not how it happened," Merida insisted.

A shadow passed over Hiccup's face. "There's an old tradition in Berk. When a kid turns fifteen, they must sacrifice a dragon to Tere to receive good fortune for the rest of their life." He grimaced in disgust. "In reality this custom has practically fallen into disuse, given that with the constant attacks on the village one ends up killing a dragon anyway, but my father thought he would surprise me.

"I was still training for the Duel of the Heirs at the time, with very little success, but one of the dragon traps I had set in Berk's Forest had worked, and on my birthday they had taken me to the village arena for the ceremony. "

"And Toothless was the dragon you captured," Jack guessed.

"Yes." Hiccup's gaze became distant. "I'd never seen my father so proud of me. I had captured a dragon, and in exchange for sacrificing him I would obtain Tere's blessing for the Duel."

He smiled bitterly. "He couldn't have imagined that I would look into Toothless's eyes, and realize that we were in the same situation: trapped by circumstances. Cutting the ropes that bound him was the first good thing I ever did."

"And his tail?" Rapunzel asked. "Have you two had another accident?"

Hiccup's fingers stopped drumming his leg and curled into a fist. "No, that was my trap's fault. So I understand you, Merida. I also had my... rug-pulled-out-from-under-my-feet moment, even if it was a slobbering dragon's fault."

There was general laughter, then Rapunzel sighed as if she had been running for hours, before standing up and going to the dressing table by the window, where a bowl of water had been left along with some beauty products and a clean rag.

She wet the fabric thoroughly and approached Jack, threateningly. “Now you really have to let me clean it.”

For a second, Jack was too stunned to protest; he'd been so engrossed in other people's stories that he forgot he was still shirtless.

He almost laughed as he let Rapunzel wipe the blood away with the cloth. Her magic had done its duty, and he didn't even have a scratch now. The only evidence of the wound was his stained shirt and the dull pain pricking his side, but other than that he was fine.

He was fine, and no one had run away seeing his mark.

He was fine.

Rapunzel was delicately scrubbing away the blood, sitting on the bed next to him, and Merida and Hiccup were back to arguing about which legend was legitimate.

Maybe it was because they were no longer chasing a would-be assassin, and were sitting in a normal room with a roof, but the situation gave him a bizarre yet pleasant feeling of ordinariness.

"You should rest now," Rapunzel said when she was finished, wringing out the cloth after rinsing it in the basin. “It will help with the pain.

Jack didn't object, even though it seemed unlikely that he'd be able to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. However, if he wanted to be able to move, he had to make the pain go away.

He got dressed, turned on his side and closed his eyes.

And quite some time later, judging by the darkness behind his eyelids, Jack woke up.

He was surprised that he had actually slept, and for a long time, but above all that he hadn't had any dreams, good or bad. He wondered if it was a side effect of Rapunzel's healing magic.

The good news was that he felt significantly more rested, so much so that he wanted to stay with his eyes closed a little longer, to savor the moment.

Somewhere outside the room, a low buzz forced him to open them again.

As he suspected, evening had fallen, and Rapunzel was peering out the window through a crack in the curtains.

She saw him sit up. "Are you feeling better?"

Jack stretched to examine the state of his wound, and it seemed that just by straining it, the pain in his side returned.

"Kind of. How about you? It's been the most chaotic afternoon of the whole journey."

Rapunzel tucked a hair strand behind her ear. "I'm good. Very good, actually."

"You were cool today, when you offered to heal Macintosh in front of everyone. And when you saved me. Again," Jack said.

"I hope it doesn't become a habit," she said, embarrassed by the compliment. "But thank you," she added with a warm smile.

"I've been out for a few hours, haven't I? We should leave now that it's dark."

"Oh, don't worry, we all took a nap in the meantime," Rapunzel said.

Jack had a strange vision of the three of them sharing the spare bed, while he was snoring peacefully. He wondered if it had actually happened, or if Rapunzel had said it so he wouldn't feel guilty; it would have been typical of her.

Jack then realized that two people were missing.

"Where are Hiccup and Merida?" he asked.

"They're out here talking to Young Macintosh. Looks like he's made a full recovery," Rapunzel said.

This explained the buzz he heard. Jack had the fleeting thought of standing at the door to eavesdrop, but he scrapped it thinking of Rapunzel, who could see him, and the trust that Hiccup seemed determined to place in him.

The two returned shortly after, and Jack heard someone's footsteps moving away.

"Ah, you're awake," Merida said.

"What did Macintosh say?" Rapunzel asked, just as curious as Jack.

Merida blew out the curl that had slipped in front of her eyes. "For starters, your intuition about the poisoning was crucial, because someone reported it to the doctor as soon as he arrived, allowing him to treat Macintosh without wasting time."

Rapunzel blushed, making Jack wonder how often she got praise.

"They interrogated the servant who was babbling about his injury, and it appears he was an accomplice," Merida continued. "He had probably prepared the dagger in advance and made that cut while everyone was in a panic to throw them off."

"Does his father know we're here?" Jack asked.

"They all kept it a secret," Hiccup replied. "Lord Macintosh was too worried about his son to think about four strangers, and he's convinved that we've been sent away."

"There's one thing I don't understand," Rapunzel said. "I thought he would be the one in danger, not his son."

Hiccup scratched his head. "I've thought about it, and I'm afraid we misinterpreted the conversation at the fountain."

"They only said 'Macintosh'. They never said which one," Jack exclaimed, remembering the words of the two washerwomen.

"Exactly."

"But why? Wouldn't it have been more effective to eliminate the one who has power over the town?" Rapunzel said, scratching Pascal's chin.

Merida made the expression of someone who had just stepped on a particularly slimy snail (it had happened to Rapunzel on her first day outside the tower. A rather traumatic memory).

"I suppose it has something to do with my marriage," she said. "Someone didn't want Young Macintosh to have a chance at becoming the husband of the future queen."

“Someone loyal to another lord?” Jack summed it up.

"I don't know what else it could be," Merida said. "It raises some troubling questions about the lords' loyalty to my family, but I prefer to believe that the assassins acted on their own initiative."

Hiccup glanced at the window. "Well, now that we've almost solved the mystery, we need to figure out what to do next."

"What do you mean?" said Jack.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. “You can't fly, you're still recovering.”

"I'll make that effort," he replied, trying not to grimace as he thought about how exhausting it would be to fly in his state. "We can't stay in Elmaze, we risk attracting attention."

Merida crossed her arms. "Look, we've talked about this, and we all agree that you're not flying anywhere. You were the one who said that you barely have the strength to lift your own body off the ground, when you're healthy."

Rapunzel nodded firmly, and Jack realized he had no supporters. An idea came to him.

“I can still walk, though.”

“We should all walk, then!” Merida said, annoyed.

Jack heroically refrained from making a joke about ladies. "Better than staying here for who knows how long."

Hiccup seemed to be reevaluating his plans. "Until you can fly? It's not such a bad idea."

"Are you admitting that I'm right, Freckles?" Jack teased.

He rolled his eyes, but there was the shadow of an amused smile on his face. “Okay, but we'll take breaks every so often.”

"So are we leaving through the main door, or through the well we came from?"

Rapunzel, who seemed to have perked up at the prospect of the journey ahead, stood up. "I have an idea."

*

Merida couldn't believe what she was about to do.

Hiccup rubbed his hands on his pants, perhaps to dry them of sweat. “Are you absolutely sure this is going to work?” he asked for the sixth time.

Rapunzel pulled firmly and nodded. "If I can get Mother up the tower, I can get you guys down from here."

Merida hoped everyone in the castle was busy with the banquet in honor of Macintosh, otherwise they'd have a weird scene to look at.

The four of them were all looking out the window. Rapunzel had tied her hair tightly to a nearby stone gargoyle, thus creating a rope that led down to the ground floor.

"This is a bad idea," Hiccup said, looking down.

Rapunzel wrinkled her nose. "It's the safest way to leave without being seen."

"Get a move on, you three!" came Jack's voice, halfway between a shout and a whisper, from below.

Easy for him, all he had to do was manipulate the wind and he'd fallen gently to the ground like the first snowflake of winter.

"Ready, Merida?" Rapunzel asked.

"Mh-mh." 

Merida grabbed the hair, climbed over the windowsill, and carefully lowered herself down, placing her feet against the wall, encouraged by Rapunzel.

When her boots hit the ground, Jack let out a low whistle. "This isn't the first time you've climbed out of a window, is it?"

Merida thought back to all the times she had been grounded, segregated in her rooms, and had run away in the most disparate ways, to her mother's dismay.

"You're talking to a veteran of castle escaping," she confirmed proudly.

Then it was Hiccup's turn. Despite having witnessed Merida's agility test, he still seemed to show reservations.

Rapunzel said something to him too quietly for them to hear, with a reassuring expression, and Hiccup sighed, before imitating Merida.

She was pretty sure she'd heard him say a quick prayer to Tere before he started to descend.

"Come on, didn't you say you used to work in a forge?" she urged him on, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"In case you forgot, I remind you that I don't look like that portrait they showed you," he hissed.

He was already a third of the way down, when he misplaced his metal foot and slipped before Merida could shout a warning to him.

They all held their breath, but somehow Hiccup had managed to hold on, even though the swing had sent him crashing into the solid stone wall.

Merida grimaced as she thought about his knees.

"Everything okay?" said Jack.

"Yes," Hiccup said. "Stupid leg," he cursed in a lower voice.

While Jack had been sleeping, Merida had finally had the courage to ask him about the prosthetic.

She had introduced the topic by telling him how her father had lost his leg to a bear in the Cinder Woods when she was little, and Hiccup had explained to her that he'd built that peculiarly shaped prosthesis with his own hands.

Apparently when he wasn't busy exploring the Barbaric Archipelago for dragons, Hiccup invented stuff. A little bit of everything, he'd told her, from mechanical shields to enhancements for Toothless's tail.

"Although most of my projects stay on parchment," he said. "I don't have many opportunities to visit the forge nowadays."

In return, Merida had told him how she'd made her own bow when she had become old enough to use an adult-sized one.

She had let Hiccup hold it to look at the decorative wood carvings she'd made, explaining the meaning of each one.

“Is it oak?” he had asked.

"Aye, like..." Merida had said, and she'd darkened. "Like Sylvanir's. It seemed like a great idea at the time."

It had been her favorite legend, ever since her mother had told it to her to justify the ban on going to the lake. It was the story of a strong, brave girl, and perhaps even their ancestor, so much so that Merida had grown up hoping to become like Sylvanir.

Over time she had realized that it was most likely a tale made exaggeratedly heroic in order to highlight her family's ancient lineage, but Merida also knew that all famous stories were based on something real, and she'd remained convinced that Sylvanir had accomplished a valiant deed, whatever the circumstances.

But now Merida didn't even have that left. Now she was ashamed of having blindly idolized Sylvanir and felt like a stupid, naive girl.

Her whole life Merida had always believed everything the adults had told her, until the reality that she'd found outside of Grayfir had slapped her in the face.

Hiccup was right. Merida had never really given Jack a chance, and not because she found him annoying.

Jack, who was helping Rapunzel make her dream come true, knew how to play with children, found the funny side in everything and had lost his memory due to a spell.

She no longer knew how to face him after that revelation. She wasn't even sure how she felt about him. Had they truly forgiven each other thanks to Merida's clumsy apology?

Hiccup had read her blank look, still holding the ornate bow in his hands, and had returned it to her. "This isn't Sylvanir's bow. It's yours, Merida, and it's up to you to decide who to use it against."

Sometimes he sounded like her mother. Except Hiccup's words of wisdom were much more appreciated.

"Merida? Are you with us?"

She blinked, startled.

Hiccup had finished climbing down, and was miraculously still in one piece. Rapunzel also came down just then, lowering herself with her own hair, which she untied with a flick.

Merida had given up from the start on understanding how it was physically possible; it seemed that healing wasn't its only power.

"I was just thinking about what we're having for dinner tonight," she said, not entirely jokingly.

"That'll be a problem for later," Hiccup said. "Come on, Toothless will be worried."

Quiet as cats, they took advantage of the distant noise of chatter and music to cross the shadowy garden, hiding behind the hedges trimmed in the shape of animals.

The green area was bordered by a wall covered in thick ivy, and the only exit was a narrow gate watched by a guard. It was hard to tell, since his back was to them, but he looked a lot like the one who had seen Toothless at the town gates.

Merida and the others spied the guard from behind a large bush of purple and blue hydrangeas.

Hiccup pointed to the guard and raised his hands as if asking for opinions on how to get past him. Jack pointed to Rapunzel's pan and mimed a blow with a questioning expression. She shook her head decisively, horrified.

Merida had the crazy idea to go straight to the guard and pretend they were party guests who had gotten bored and wanted to leave discreetly.

She was about to explain her plan, when an unmistakable noise echoed in the garden: the guard was snoring loudly.

They remained speechless for a few seconds, then Merida slipped to the gate to make sure she'd heard correctly.

The guard was leaning against the wall to the side, one cheek pressed against the cold stone and his hands gripping his spear.

A bunch of keys hung from his belt.

"No wonder they always put you on the night shift," Merida whispered, slipping the keys off their hook.

She held them up for the others to see, and tried one at random in the lock, while they also approached gingerly.

For some miraculous reason, they had three strokes of luck: the guard was a heavy sleeper, the first key was the right one, and the castle gates were kept well oiled.

"Do you know what this means?" Merida said when they were far enough, once they entered the dark streets of Elmaze at a hasty pace.

“That now the gods will send us some horrible misfortune to compensate?” Hiccup suggested. "This is what usually happens to me."

"It means the news of your escape hasn't been made public. No one's keeping an eye out for a red-haired girl with a bow, and the guards aren't more alert than usual," Jack replied.

Merida nodded with satisfaction. “I don't have to hide, which makes traveling easier.”

"Good for you," muttered Jack, who had raised his hood as soon as they left the castle.

Merida bit her tongue to hold back a sarcastic comment. "Have you ever tried dyeing your hair?"

"No, and I don't want to be forced to change my appearance to please dumb people."

"Makes sense."

As evening fell, the city was shrouded in darkness, only partially illuminated by a few torches. They passed some latecomers returning from work, but other than that the streets were empty. Without the cheerful chaos of the market it was a little disturbing, and Merida noticed that Rapunzel always stayed close to her.

They passed through the town gates trying not to look suspicious and took the main road.

Hiccup whistled loudly, and Toothless jumped out of the bushes and rushed to lick Hiccup's face.

"Yes, yes, I missed you too. Have you been a good dragon?" Hiccup said in the same tone of voice Merida used with her horse.

Rapunzel scratched Toothless' jaw, unleashing a low, vibrating noise from his throat. "It's too late to continue now, we should find a quiet place to sleep."

Hiccup leaned down to look Toothless in the eyes. “Did you see a place like that while you were here, bud?”

Merida thought it was just a rhetorical question while Hiccup pondered where to go, but instead Toothless smiled one of his crooked grins and dived back into the bushes, causing everyone to rush to follow him.

He took them to an abandoned-looking area, near a ruined building that must have once been a house. The torn door and broken windows gave it a ghostly appearance.

They looked from the arch where the door had been and peeked inside, but they only saw rubble, cobwebs and a lot of dust. They weren't the first people to find that house, because there was no furniture.

"What a cozy little place," Jack commented.

"It's not like we're going to live here," Merida replied. "For one night it will be fine."

They opted to settle in the kitchen, near a fireplace blackened by the flames. Along the way, they had collected some wood, which they put inside.

Hiccup said something to Toothless, who opened his jaws and, with a sharp hiss, fired a bright shot into the wood, starting the fire.

Merida was speechless. “Why did you let us use flint if you could do this from the start?”

"I didn't want to scare you," Hiccup justified himself, embarrassed. "But now you know Toothless and that he would never hurt you."

The dragon sat down with a thud, and Hiccup rested his back on him.

They stood in a circle on the floor, in the room lit by the crackling fire that cast long shadows on the bare walls. Being far from the woods, they ate dried meat for dinner again, which Merida tried not to comment on. At least she understood the usefulness of the water collected at the Fire Falls.

Rapunzel worried about Toothless's dinner, but Hiccup reassured her that the dragon knew how to survive, and had definitely found something to eat while they were gone.

Merida hoped he hadn't eaten some cow nearby.

"Jack," Rapunzel said suddenly, "you know magic well, right?"

He used his sleeve to wipe his mouth and screwed on the cap of his flask. "I was waiting for this question. Shoot."

"Well, I'd like to know how magic works. How do you get it? Merida told me about a ritual, is it true?"

Jack nodded seriously. "People born in magical communities spend years learning from the local elders, untile a prayer ritual that is celebrated when they feel ready."

"What if one doesn't want to gain magical powers? I mean, that way they don't have to spend the rest of their life hiding it," Hiccup interrupted him.

"I understand why you think so, but imagine being born and growing up surrounded by magic," Jack said. "Every day, for years, with people who teach you how amazing it is, and how important it is. An innate part of your spirit."

"Oh," Hiccup said thoughtfully. "I get it. Kind of like how in Berk it's taught that hard, tasteless food is perfectly normal, and you just have to accept it as the truth."

"Something like that. Some people decide to go through the ritual when they're young, some when they're adults, some when they're old, but the ceremony is the same for everyone," Jack said. "You pray to a deity to grant you a little of their powers, and after a few hours boom, you have powers and long life." He glanced meaningfully at Merida. "So magic is given. Nobody steals anything from anyone."

Merida shrugged. "Alright, professor. I get the point."

She hid how that information, which she now took much more seriously, made her mental image of Magicknappers collapse like a house of cards. She tried to keep an open mind.

“Wait, wait, what do you mean long life?” Hiccup said, perplexed. "Do you become immortal? Are you immortal?!"

"I mean you age much more slowly from that moment on," Jack quickly explained.

Merida's eyes widened. "And how long have you had magic?"

"Uh, I think I was about fourteen or fifteen when I lost my memory, and it must have been... about twenty years ago, more or less?" Jack mumbled, counting on his fingers.

"More or less?" Merida exclaimed, struggling to grasp what all that meant. "And here I thought Hiccup was the old man of the group."

Jack looked as uncomfortable as they were. "You don't understand, I'm not an adult in a teenager's body!" he said urgently. "These last decades have just been… a little more diluted than a normal person's. That's all."

They took a moment to silently digest the latest revelation about Jack's mysterious life. Merida was starting to understand why he didn't like to talk about it: with every detail revealed, it sounded more and more absurd.

"Sooo do you pray to a deity of your choice to receive powers?" Rapunzel asked, changing topic. The reflection of the fire in her eyes brought out the spark of curiosity in them. "I admit I don't know much about the subject."

Even by Rapunzel's standards, not knowing deities was uncommon. "Didn't your mother ever tell you about it?" Merida asked.

"She mentions Veeta every now and then, but I don't think she's a very religious person," Rapunzel replied, fiddling with her hair.

"Then I'll give you a summary. I'm no expert, though, so you'll have to make do," Jack said.

"According to the myth, in the beginning this was a desolate and hostile land, where nothing grew and no one lived. Then the gods arrived, fleeing from their enemies."

"Sorry to interrupt," Rapunzel said, raising her hand, "but who were these enemies?"

Jack spread his arms. "I have no idea, unless someone here knows the legend better," he replied looking at Hiccup and Merida.

"The story leaves this detail vague," she said. "It probably means it's not important."

Rapunzel didn't seem entirely convinced, but she urged Jack to continue. "Then what happened?"

"The gods found refuge here in Fewor, because no one else dared to enter such an inhospitable land. I guess silk sheets hadn't yet been invented."

Rapunzel giggled.

"When the enemies left, four of the deities who arrived here, the Creators, decided to bless the land with gifts.

"Veeta, who you know from the festival in their honor, made it lush, and created almost all living creatures. Manni, god of change, ruled it with seasons, tides, moon phases, and other amenities like these." Jack's expression had hardened. "Sheh established bonds and affections among the creatures created by Veeta, and Anim gave them a soul."

"What happened to the gods after this?"

Jack shrugged. "They returned to their homes in the skies, and never returned. The only way to establish contact with them is through the ceremony I've just told you about."

“If Manni created the seasons, and you have your ice and wind powers, does that mean he gave them to you?” Merida asked.

He smiled wryly. "Yep, a nice gift from Moony himself. I always thought he gave them to me on his own initiative, to be honest."

"Why?"

"I doubt I would ask the most fickle deity to give me magic. As god of change, praying for some of Manni's power is like rolling a dice and hoping to get the highest number."

Rapunzel looked at the dusty floor. "Do you think I could do some spells too?"

“You kind of already do,” Jack said. "Unlike normal magic, spells are almost permanent."

"Almost?"

“If they're renewed by repeating the same words they were casted with — another difference — they can last forever, otherwise they weaken until they cease.” He absentmindedly touched his chest, where Merida remembered his mark started. "Also, if pronounced carelessly, you risk leaving a visible trace."

Rapunzel yawned. "But casting spells on people is forbidden, or did I misunderstand?"

"Yeah, but they can also be cast on situations, places or objects," Jack replied pointing to the pendant on Hiccup's belt. "Like that. Where did you get it?"

Hiccup looked at the small amber object. "It's a parting gift. It's supposed to have some kind of protection spell," he said with a strangely conflicted expression.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no?"

Hiccup stared at him, brow furrowed. "What do you mean no?"

“Whoever told you that was lying, man.” Jack shook his head. "That's an Eye of Sheh."

Hiccup looked particularly nauseated. "Which means?"

"There's a twin pendant, with an insect inside it that belonged to the same swarm. If you say the words required by the spell, it will light up when you point it in the direction the other is."

"It's a research tool," Merida exclaimed, impressed.

Hiccup still looked sick. He let out a long sigh and put his head in his hands, making his hair fall in front of his eyes.

"Maybe the person who gave it to you didn't know," Rapunzel suggested to cheer him up.

Hiccup shook his head weakly, and sat up with a resigned look. "No, this explanation makes much more sense than what Astrid said that day. I should have known it wasn't just a farewell gift. It was too weird," he groaned. 

Merida didn't know who this Astrid was, but to be safe she avoided asking questions. "At least it's nothing harmful."

Hiccup grimaced. "I was stupid. Now I'm sure someone from Berk is following me."

“Why don't you throw it away, then?” Merida said.

"I…" Hiccup hesitated. "It would be useless. They'll have figured out where I'm headed by now. I might as well keep it."

Merida didn't miss the way he had gripped the pendant tighter, at her suggestion, almost protectively.

Whoever had given it to him, Hiccup didn't want to part with it.

Sometimes Merida just couldn’t understand him.

Jack, in an unusual burst of affability, patted Hiccup on the shoulder. "Well, they'll never reach us, unless they're also flying on a dragon."

Hiccup had a grim expression. "Never underestimate a Hairy Hooligan."

Chapter Text

There were several causes for Astrid's headache. Four, to be precise.

“Are you really sure this is the right direction?” Fishlegs asked for the umpteenth time — Astrid had lost count after six.

She turned to him and showed him the Eye, which was glowing with an intense, warm light, making Fishlegs flinch as if she had thrust her axe in his face. "It's never glowed so bright since we left."

"If you want my opinion," Snotlout announced, anticipating some typical Snotlout-style rubbish, "that thing is broken. Why would Haddock go back now?"

Astrid resisted the urge to punch him on the head, which was her go-to reaction to whatever Snotlout would say, and she frowned.

"Look, I know it doesn't make sense, but we have no other choice."

She didn't need to add that she also didn't like at all the idea of following the directions given by that magical object of dubious legitimacy; everyone knew already.

However, she had seen no alternative when yet another day had passed without Hiccup returning to Berk.

Astrid had momentarily put aside her instincts, which were screaming at her about how bad her idea was, and had gone to old Gothi's hut, outside the village, where she had bought the Eye of Sheh.

So when Hiccup had finally decided to show his face in Berk, Astrid had wasted no time. While looking for him she'd come across Stoick, who had lost sight of Hiccup, and she had immediately realized where he was hiding.

Astrid's last attempt to convince him to come to his senses had failed, and deep down she'd expected it. Hiccup wasn't your typical Hairy Hooligan, but he had still inherited the Haddocks' legendary stubbornness.

Astrid had handed him the Eye and she had waited for the next day's dawn instead of sleeping, ready for action. Once she had been sure Hiccup was flying east, she'd taken the fastest ship for Dunbroch.

The first unexpected event happened when she had found that her friends had followed her on board. Apparently, they had been spying on her on Snotlout's initiative.

After much discussion, she had allowed them to follow her, with the promise of not wasting her time, and in a few days they'd reached the coast of Dunbroch, where they had bought some horses.

A true Hooligan would have faced the feat on their own legs, but this was no ordinary journey, and Hiccup had a dragon on his side.

They had crossed the Ultan — the longest river in the kingdom, flowing from Sylvanir Lake to Corona's fields — when the strangest thing had happened.

The Eye of Sheh had begun to glow brighter and brighter, but only when pointed south-west.

Why had Hiccup suddenly changed direction?

Snotlout raised his chin. "Well, I think this idea of getting Haddock and dragging him back to Berk is dumb." He looked at Astrid dreamily. "I always thought you should be the one to fight the Duel of the Heirs."

This time Astrid bonked him in the head.

He'd made her remember her last conversation with Hiccup, on the cliff. 

Ever since the day he'd freed that dragon, he had become distant, as if he no longer cared about Berk.

Astrid knew that he was considered a traitor by most of the village, and at the beginning she had joined that chorus: any sane chief would have exiled him from the archipelago for what he had done.

However, Astrid couldn't allow herself to let Hiccup abandon them completely. Amberray had been capital for seven generations, after the Duel in which King Frederic's ancestor had won, while Berk had never been capital even once.

Being separated from mainland by the sea, the Barbaric Archipelago was a small region, isolated from the rest of the kingdom, with its consequences. Trade was mainly limited to local products, customs didn’t leave their place of origin and news always came late.

But if Hiccup had become king, all of this would have changed. Berk would have become the most important town in Fewor and would no longer be considered an insignificant village of rude people.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that Hiccup was throwing away. Astrid couldn’t understand why he didn't realize it.

Despite all this, it suddenly seemed like he was heading south… towards Amberray.

What in Tere's name was he going to do? Prevent the Duel? Astrid had to stop him at all costs.

Tuffnut removed his fingers from his nose and leaned from the horse he shared with his sister Ruffnut. "Hey, there's a crossroads over there."

They stopped near a sign indicating two ways. One was supposed to join the main road to the capital, the other continued east.

"Your magic Eye-Thingy points that way," Snotlout said, reading the sign. "King's Hills."

He urged his horse to move forward, but Astrid stopped him. "Wait. I think I know how to get ahead of him."

"How can you be sure of where he's going now?" Fishlegs protested. "Isn't trying to get ahead of him too risky?"

Astrid put the pendant back in the inside pocket of her doublet. “It is, but I have a feeling.”

"Sooo where are we going?" Ruffnut asked, looking bored.

Astrid tightened her horse's reins. "We're taking the shortest route to Amberray."

*

Rapunzel was awakened by the bright light breaking through the window. She stretched and moved aside the patchwork quilt to get out of bed, while Pascal scurried up onto her shoulder.

The tower flooded with sunshine made Rapunzel smile: she loved sunny days.

She went to the window stifling a big yawn, feeling the effects of the previous eventful day, and she looked at the landscape outside.

Birds sang from their nests in the trees surrounding the tower. The sky was clear and an intense blue. The windowsill was almost too hot to touch it.

The animals were waking up as well; a few early squirrels were wandering around the clearing where the tower stood, in search of breakfast. Rapunzel wished she could run with them down there, and feel the grass tickling her feet.

…The grass? She had never walked on grass, how did she know how it felt?

All at once, memories of the last few days filled Rapunzel's mind, and she staggered backwards holding her forehead.

Jack. The giant. Hiccup. Toothless. Merida. The cave. Flying. The Fire Falls. Elmaze.

"Are you feeling well, dear?"

Rapunzel flinched and whirled around, finding herself in front of her Mother.

She looked as beautiful as ever, her eyebrows carefully plucked and her ink-black curls perfectly shiny thanks to her beauty products. She was looking at Rapunzel with vague surprise.

“I asked you a question, didn't you hear me?”

"I… Good morning, Mother," Rapunzel stammered. With each blink, she was seeing a different memory of her time outside the tower. "Why am I here?" she finally managed to ask.

Mother smoothed her hair and placed a basket on the table. "Because you're telling me what you want for breakfast," she said without looking at her.

"No, I mean." Rapunzel took a breath and tried to construct a real sentence. "I should be with my friends, near Elmaze. We have little time before the festival."

Gothel laughed. "Friends? What are you talking about, flower? I'm your only friend."

"But I…"

Mother sighed and placed her hands on Rapunzel's shoulders, a sign that she was getting tired of her daughter's nonsense. "Darling, do you really think you'd have the courage to leave the tower? You know the dangers out there, I've told you about them often."

Come to think of it, she was right. Willingly going out, alone into the outside world, sounded inconceivable. Rapunzel didn't have the guts.

As Mother always said, she just wasn't ready.

But those memories… they felt so vivid. And marvelous. Rapunzel's imagination was immense, but making up fights against magical creatures, three new friends ready to help her and towns full of wonders sounded too much even for her. 

They couldn't be really fake.

She freed herself from Mother's affectionate grasp. "I can't remember what happened, but I have to get back to them. I need to."

Gothel's expression soured. "This attitude is starting to get irritating, Rapunzel. Stop this nonsense right now."

"But I'll miss Veeta's festival…!"

"Rapunzel," Mother almost shouted, "you can't leave this tower, get it through your head. You just had a dream."

Rapunzel's resolve crumbled like a slice of pie under a fork. "A dream? No..."

Mother's expression sweetened. "Now will you tell me what you want for breakfast?"

Rapunzel was panicking. She ran to the window again, but beyond the sea of trees she couldn't see anything else, not even the mountains in the distance.

There was only an endless forest.

"Rapunzel?" someone called from a distance.

She was too busy wiping her running nose to answer.

"Rapunzel!" 

Someone grabbed her arm and shook her hard. "Rapunzel, wake up!"

She opened her eyes. The sun filtered through the cracks of the ruined house, highlighting the specks of dust in the air.

Merida was looking at her a little startled. "Welcome back, sleepyhead."

Rapunzel sobbed and threw herself into her arms, wetting her embroidered bodice with tears.

"Everything's alright?" Hiccup's worried voice asked.

"She must have had a bad dream," Jack said from somewhere to her left. "I saw her tossing in her sleep."

Helped by Merida's small pats on the back, Rapunzel regained some composure and wiped her eyes. Toothless could also tell something was wrong, and he came over to lick her hand. Rapunzel scratched his scaly nose.

"Sorry I jumped on you, Merida."

"Don't worry, everyone has nightmares," she said. "Jack was mumbling in his sleep too."

Somehow, he went paler than usual. “I mumble in my sleep?”

"Nothing coherent," Hiccup added, reassuring him. Jack looked decidedly relieved.

"You'll feel better after having breakfast, Rapunzel," Hiccup said as he stood up.

Merida made an agonizing noise. "Please, not dried meat again. I'd rather fast."

"We should have a big breakfast, if we want to walk all day," he replied sternly. "I'll go and see if a farmer can sell me something to eat. I'm not going back to the market, that's for sure."

"Are you going alone?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yes, better not to be recognized as a group. Together we stand out too much."

"Preposterous," said Jack, faking way too much shock to be convincing, "we are the most discreet group in the kingdom."

Hiccup walked out of the ruined house, money in hand, still laughing.

Rapunzel was really glad that Jack and Merida had found common ground. He was more relaxed and she was less grumpy. Rapunzel couldn't say it was her doing, but she was fine with it, since everyone's mood had improved.

Merida offered to braid Rapunzel's hair like she had done the day before, and she gladly agreed. The result was cute, and she loved how her hair swayed with her every move.

"What is that?" Merida asked, sitting behind Rapunzel as she braided her long locks. Jack was watching Toothless trying to catch a reflection casted by a shard of ice he'd created.

Rapunzel touched the small brown braid that brushed her collarbone. "I don't know exactly, I've always had it. Mother has never explained it, but from the way she jumps every time I go near something sharp, I think I cut it when I was little."

“And it turned dark?”

"Well, it doesn't light up like the rest of it when I use magic, so I guess it's lost its power."

"Better keep an eye out for any stray scissors, then," Merida joked.

Rapunzel chuckled. "Yeah."

"Say, have you ever actually used that pan against anyone?" Merida said when she finished the braid.

Rapunzel took it in her hand and twirled it (she still had the bruise from the first time she'd tried). "No."

"I was this close to being her first victim, actually," Jack added. Now he was waving some straw for Toothless' amusement.

"No way, I would have thought you had received a good ol' smacking on the head," Merida said.

Rapunzel feared they would start arguing again, but all that happened was that they stuck their tongues out at each other.

"I'm ready to use it, but I don't want to hit anyone if I don't have to," she said.

"You should still learn how to use it," Merida insisted. "Come here, I'll teach you."

Rapunzel followed her out of the house, curious, into what must once have been the backyard. A crooked elm provided some shade.

Merida searched through the bushes that grew wild nearby, until she found a rather thick branch from which she removed the few remaining leaves.

"I'd use my dagger, but it's best not to risk any accidents," she said. “Now show me what you can do!”

Nothing note-worthy, they soon discovered. Rapunzel waved the frying pan at Merida, who disarmed her in a few quick moves.

"Let's try again." 

Jack and Toothless had followed them and were watching the lesson leaning against a partially destroyed fence.

Rapunzel picked up the pan, struggling to hold it steady with her sweaty hands. She wanted to prove to Merida that she wasn't completely incompetent, but it was difficult, having no experience in combat.

Merida gave her a lot of helpful advice.

"Place your hands further apart on the handle." 

"Don't squeeze your weapon so hard, or you'll get tired quickly."

"Keep your legs loose."

"Don't let yourself fall when I hit you. Use it to catch me by surprise."

She showed Rapunzel some complicated moves, which she could do even with a simple stick, and she encouraged her every time she got disarmed.

Rapunzel still felt far from being decent, but dueling with Merida was fun.

So much fun, in fact, that she hadn't noticed that Hiccup had returned from his expedition, and was talking to Jack. He must have said something funny, because Jack was holding onto his staff in a laughing fit.

"Found something to eat?" Merida asked as she went to them, followed by Rapunzel.

Hiccup held up the contents of a bundle. "Eggs, cheese and bread. And you won't believe this, but do you know who sold me this stuff?"

"Who?"

Both Hiccup and Jack burst out laughing again. "Our guard friend! Today was his day off, which he spends helping his wife with the family farm."

"Did he recognize you?" Rapunzel asked.

"He sees too many people every day to remember me," Hiccup said. "What were you guys doing here?"

Merida rested the improvised weapon on her shoulder. "I'm teaching Rapunzel the art of the pan," she replied solemnly. "I can teach you too, if you want."

Hiccup cast a doubtful glance at the tree branch. "No thanks. I've always been terrible at this sort of stuff, I'd end up taking my eye out or something."

"Doesn't fighting before the Duel go against the rules?" Rapunzel observed.

"The only rule we have to follow is that we can't injure each other before then, even by accident," said Merida. "My mother told me there's some kind of spell that magically prevents us from doing so. Even if that seems impossible, if you ask me."

"Well, I don't feel like finding out," Hiccup said, shutting down the conversation.

"Let's go inside," Rapunzel said. “I know a ton of ways to cook eggs!”

They lit the fireplace again, on which Rapunzel made breakfast for everyone. The smell filling the room was enough to make her stomach growl.

"Jack, there's another question I wanted to ask you," she said as they sat in a circle eating. "Yesterday you said that people with magical powers age very slowly. I'm almost eighteen, but I look like you guys, and you're all more or less the same age as me."

"Magic is weird, there are more exceptions than rules. Maybe you're having a growth spurt before slowing down. Maybe not," he said after a pause.

"So you have no idea," Hiccup commented.

"I told you I'm no expert," Jack said with a shrug. "You should try asking an older Magicknapper."

"Do you think we'll meet some soon?"

Rapunzel would have liked to talk to someone with a lot of experience. They certainly would have had a lot of interesting things to say.

"Maybe," Jack said vaguely.

Rapunzel's hopes fell, but she vowed to do some research in the future, after the festival.

She remembered the nightmare from earlier, and for a few moments instead of bread she felt like she was eating a shoe.

"Hey, since the term Magicknapper is technically wrong, what should we call people with magical powers?" she said to distract herself.

Hiccup looked at Jack. "Do you know any synonyms?"

He shook his head. "Nothing I can repeat in front of a lady."

Merida rolled her eyes and stopped eating for a moment. "We could come up with another name."

"For example?"

"I don't know, Magical People?"

"Too long."

Rapunzel thought about it, amused by the game. "If magic is a gift from the gods, and the gods live on the stars... how about Starfolks?"

"It's okay, although no one will understand what we're talking about," Hiccup said.

"I like it," Merida stated. "It still makes more sense than the old one. Jack?"

"Whatever you like best is fine by me. Starfolks it is."

Rapunzel clapped. "Great! I hope I remember to use the right name from now on."

Hiccup had meanwhile finished breakfast and had taken out the map of the kingdom, which he was studying silently.

Rapunzel didn't want to miss the chance to get another peek of it, so she moved next to him to look at the dense pattern.

"Now we have to walk through the King's Hills, towards the border with Corona. It'll take a few days to reach it," Hiccup muttered to himself.

Jack came to see too. "There's no need to go all the way around. We can fly in this direction once I've fully recovered."

He was pointing to a dark spot that had caught Rapunzel's attention since the beginning: a large wooded area right between Dunbroch and Corona, inside which the border line disappeared.

"Absolutely not," Hiccup replied firmly. “That's the White Forest.”

"It'll be faster if we cut from there."

"Are you kidding me? Everyone knows it's cursed. We're not going there."

Merida leaned over to look over Hiccup's shoulder. "The White Forest? There are dozens of legends about that place, and the moral is always the same: stay away from it. It's no coincidence that neither Dunbroch nor Corona claim it. It's no man's land there."

"But we won't cross it on foot," Jack replied.

Rapunzel remained silent and listened to the debate, unsure of what to think.

Hiccup shook his head, resolute. "There are strange spells casted on that forest, it's not worth the risk."

"But we'd save at least two days of travel!" Jack exclaimed.

"Listen, I'm the one flying with Toothless, so I decide the route," Hiccup said.

Rapunzel had never heard him so categorical. She wondered what horrible stories he'd heard about the White Forest.

Jack raised his hands. "Okay, fine, I give up. But we'll have to walk fast, to make up for the lost time."

*

The road leading to Corona wound through the King's Hills like a long gravel dragon.

The sky had clouded over since they'd left Elmaze, making Hiccup fear that a downpour would surprise them before sunset. At least they didn't have the sun beating down on their heads.

They'd been walking for hours, only stopping every once in a while to rest, especially for Jack's well-being, despite him repeatedly claiming to be fine. For a quick lunch they'd had breakfast leftovers.

Hiccup walked in the middle of the group with Toothless, behind Rapunzel and Merida who were chatting, and in front of Jack.

Every time Hiccup looked down so as not to trip on the roughest stretches of road, Hiccup would see out of the corner of his eye the pendant dangling from his belt.

No one had commented on his choice to keep it, but Hiccup could well imagine they thought it was a stupid idea. Stubborn and stupid. He could have had that tattooed on his forehead.

Yet he didn't have the courage to throw the pendant away.

Hiccup was angry at Astrid for having unashamedly lied to him, but above all he blamed himself for really thinking that the Eye of Sheh had really been a gesture of friendship.

His only friend was Toothless, and he had to deal with it.

Although…

Hiccup would have been a fool and a liar if he'd thought that during the adventurous days spent with Rapunzel, Jack and Merida, they hadn't accidentally formed a bond. What kind of bond it was, he wasn't sure.

He did share a secret with Jack, and Hiccup was convinced that that guy desperately needed friends. Whatever trouble he had caused — and Hiccup was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with the real reason he was bringing Rapunzel to Amberray — Jack deserved a second chance.

He seemed immensely sad, even when he was acting silly, and alone. Maybe Hiccup's was just pity for someone who reminded him of himself.

Then there was Merida. Hiccup thought he knew everything about her already, having heard about her for years from his father's informants, but she constantly found new ways to prove him otherwise.

Furthermore, Hiccup had been positively surprised by the way she had ended up rejecting her lifelong certainties on magic.

Finally, Rapunzel. Hiccup had gotten to witness her healing powers after hearing about them from other people, and he was impressed. She had managed to save the day by healing Jack, unlike Hiccup, who had been as useful as a left sock for a second time.

First he'd fainted while trying to help someone in danger from a giant, then he'd ended up stuck behind a stupid table. And his father expected him to win a duel!

Hiccup was about to suggest another break, after noticing that Jack was rubbing his side again, when Merida exclaimed very loudly, "Isn't that the crazy old woman from the market?"

She was right. The one kneeling a little further down the read, in front of a blanket on which wooden objects were displayed, could only have been the old woman they'd met in town.

She saw Merida's finger pointing at her, and she gathered her stuff with a speed that suggested a certain amount of practice.

She slung the blanket over her shoulder like a rucksack and scampered off up a hill, leaning on a long curved stick, before Merida gave chase.

"Merida, wait!" Hiccup tried to stop her.

"What do you want to do?" said Rapunzel, alarmed. "She's just an old lady!"

She didn't listen to them.

The woman had no escape: she had reached halfway up the hill, but Merida stood in front of her belligerently, followed by the rest of them.

"You have to tell us how you knew about Macintosh's assassination," Merida ordered. "Were you an accomplice? Or did someone tell you?"

The old woman tried to go around her, without success, so she dropped the sack on the ground. "I just knew. Now will you let me go? I have business to take care of."

If she was surprised to see a dragon with them, she didn't show it.

"That's not an explanation," Merida protested.

Jack stepped forward. "I can feel magic in you. Does it have anything to do with this?"

The old woman raised an eyebrow, accentuating the lines on her forehead. "You felt it right, lad chosen by Manni."

Jack made a surprised and slightly offended face, but before he could say anything, Rapunzel intervened.

"Oooh, it's the first time I meet someone like me, after Jack," she said excitedly. "Maybe you can—"

"I answered your question, now let me go," the woman said to Merida, who blocked her path for the third time.

"So you knew it thanks to magic, am I right?"

The old woman sighed and leaned on her staff (stick? No. Definitely a staff). "Young people today," she grumbled. She then raised her screechy voice. "Aye, Sheh's blessing allows me to know people's fate."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "You can see the future?"

She waved a hand as if to swat an annoying fly. "I'm not some cheap fortune-teller, young man! I don't predict whether it will rain tomorrow. I can see the final destination of those in front of me," she explained hastily. She pointed the curved staff at Merida. "You, for example."

Merida remained silently waiting, frozen in place. Everyone held their breath.

The old woman looked at her critically. "I see that if you don't step aside in five minutes, you're going to roll down this hill. Painfully."

Merida huffed. "Ha ha. Very funny."

Hiccup leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I would listen to her."

"Shut up."

"Um, ma'am," Rapunzel said hesitantly. "Can I ask you a question about my powers?"

The old woman looked at her better, and her expression softened, smoothing out the sea of wrinkles. "Call me Witch."

"It doesn't… it doesn't sound like a name."

"Believe me, you don't want to know my real name."

Hiccup had heard the term Witch before. He'd read it in some old history book (which, looking back on it today, was more of an excuse to list the crimes allegedly committed by Magicknappers-slash-Starfolks), in a chapter dedicated to the years before the appointment of Amberray as capital.

It was the name people with magical powers used to be called.

Rapunzel wrung her hands nervously. "There are some mysteries about my powers. I was told to ask someone with experience."

The Witch abruptly passed the wooden staff to Jack, hitting him in the stomach with it in the process. "Hold on here."

She then took Rapunzel's hands between her gnarled fingers. "I'll be happy to answer your questions if I can."

Hiccup wondered the reason for such kindness, even though he had to admit that Rapunzel had that effect on everyone.

"I believe I was given magic by Veeta at birth, since I have the power to heal, but I don't understand why they chose me. Or why I look the same age as my friends, when Jack said that people like us grow slower ," She said.

The Witch tapped her chin with one of her long nails. "Mmmh, I sense some powerful magic in you, dear. The gods work in unexplainable ways, it's difficult for us mortals to understand their plans."

Rapunzel didn't seem particularly pleased with that answer.

"Don't worry about what's past," added the Witch with a wrinkly smile. "I see that your destiny is great and bright. Think about this."

It sounded a little too much like a clue to Rapunzel's origins, so much so that Hiccup was afraid that the Witch knew. His gaze darted to Jack, checking his reaction.

Jack wasn't paying any attention to their exchange. He was staring at the Witch's staff clutched in his pale hands, his face crossed by strong emotions like a stormy sea.

"Jack, are you okay? You look like a dragon who found an eel," Hiccup asked, turning everyone's attention to him.

Jack opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking. "This staff," he said without looking up, "where did you get it?"

"Somewhere in Corona, if I remember correctly. There was something that attracted me, about this old gnarled wood, that made me think it was important," the Witch said, thoughtful. "I've had it with me for years, but up until now it's only been useful as a walking stick."

"I need it," he spat out, as if involuntarily.

Hiccup had an epiphany. Jack was looking at the staff with the same pained and confused expression as when he'd told them about the spell mark.

The Witch looked at him. "It's not for sale, but I can make an exception if you all promise to leave me alone afterwards."

Jack's conviction quickly collapsed. "Oh. I don't have any money."

She shook her head. "Unlucky day, young man. Maybe next time."

There would be no next time, Hiccup thought. He looked once again at the desperation in Jack's blue eyes, remembering that that boy was willing to let water enter his lungs, just to see a glimpse of his lost past. Maybe that staff could have made him stop trying it again.

There was a problem, however: Hiccup's money was scarce and precious, given the distance that still separated them from the capital, and he certainly couldn't afford to spend it all on a staff, no matter how much Hiccup wanted to help Jack.

Merida tugged on his sleeve. "How's your wallet doing?"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected Merida to have the same idea as him, but it made sense, since she was the one who had pulled Jack out of the pond.

"Not good," he replied in a whisper. “And I have nothing of value, except…”

His pendant. Hiccup's fingers grazed the cold metal, not daring to untie it from his belt.

He was an idiot. He'd been given a way to be tracked, and he was being sentimental.

But it was all he had left of Berk.

Hiccup took two coins from his pouch and showed them to the woman. "There you go."

She clicked her tongue. "I want a gold coin, dearie. For the staff, and for bothering me."

"You're a heartless old hag!" Merida exclaimed angrily, expressing Hiccup's thoughts far too kindly.

He looked at the too-light pouch. "I can't give you more than that."

He braced himself to see the disappointment in Jack's face, but Merida spat out, "Fine, then."

She reached under the neckline of her shirt to pull out a round silver medallion. She tore it off her neck and let it hang in front of the Witch's nose. "Do you also accept trades?"

Rapunzel followed the swing of the finely engraved necklace with wide eyes. "Have you always had it with you? It's beautiful."

Unfortunately the Witch wasn't impressed by the jewel. "That's all?"

"Oi, this comes from the oldest family in Dunbroch, it was given to me by my mother, Lady Elinor herself!" Merida retorted.

"The families of Dunbroch have plenty of old trinkets like yours, young lady. There's nothing special about it."

Merida looked like she was about to punch the Witch. Hiccup was thinking of intervening before she made them wanted criminals in the entire region, when Rapunzel raised her hand.

"Um!" he said, lowering her arm. "Actually what Merida is offering you is, uh. It's a great deal, Witch, ma'am!"

She crossed her arms, half hidden by a fringed wool shawl. "You think so?" she said, sceptically.

"Yes," Rapunzel confirmed more firmly. "You see, before you is the future Queen of Fewor."

The Witch made a strange face. "Go on."

Rapunzel played with the bow on her collar, as if to buy time. "Yes, um. Since Hiccup is going to give up fighting in the Duel of the Heirs, Merida will become queen, as I said. So the necklace she's offering you isn't just any jewel, but one that basically belongs to royalty!"

As she spoke, Rapunzel's voice gained conviction, surprising Hiccup with her sudden gift in negotiation.

The Witch also seemed impressed, by the way she looked first at the silver pendant, then at Rapunzel's hopeful expression.

"Well, I could resell it in the future for an incredible price, in that case," she muttered under her breath.

"It's a real occasion, believe me. You're exchanging an object that will soon become very precious, for a simple wooden staff!" Rapunzel concluded with a passion not dissimilar to Johann the merchant's whenever he showed his new exotic goods to Hiccup.

This last statement completely convinced the Witch, who grabbed Merida's necklace and Hiccup's coins surprisingly swiftly, and she snapped her fingers. "Deal. The staff is all yours."

Rapunzel clapped her hands happily. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

The Witch placed the sack back on her bony shoulder. "If you have other goods to trade off, you can find me in my shop in the Cinder Woods. On Friday evenings everything is half price. No returns accepted. Have a lovely day, and so on and so forth."

And she left like that, without even saying goodbye properly, disappearing over the hill like some mystical apparition that Hiccup's mind had made up.

After a long minute of silence in which everyone contemplated the strange encounter, Merida burst out laughing.

"She's a crazy old lady, but a tenacious one," she explained to Hiccup, who must have been showing he didn't understand what she found funny.

"I don't know if I want to meet her again, do you, Jack?"

He hadn't let go of the staff for a single moment, as if he were afraid that someone might take it away from him, and was looking at them one by one with what Hiccup couldn't define, other than complete bewilderment.

"Why did you do it?" he said, his dark eyebrows forming a crease on his forehead.

"Because you were drooling over it like a dog with a bone," Merida said, annoyed. She was avoiding looking him in the eyes, Hiccup noticed.

Rapunzel beamed at Jack. "Merida's right, it seemed like you really needed it."

He looked at the staff once more, then at them, with renewed warmth. "I… Thank you," he struggled to say. "I swear I'll repay you one day."

"No need for that," Hiccup replied as he put the pouch away.

"Why not?"

Hiccup felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, ruining the cool impression he wanted to give. "Because giving gifts without asking for anything in return is what friends do."

Chapter Text

Two feelings were tearing Jack apart from the inside.

The first was gratitude mixed with hope: Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida still seemed determined to include him in their improvised group, despite his heavy past. They hadn't been shocked by Jack's mark or judged him as someone to avoid, since he must have committed some horrible deed to deserve the black swirls on his chest. Not only had they taken pity on him, but they cared enough to join forces to buy him the staff.

The second feeling was directly linked to the first. With every smile from Rapunzel, every encouraging word from Hiccup, and every kind gesture from Merida, Jack's heart ached at how much he didn't deserve all of this.

He was deceiving them all, making them think he was selflessly helping Rapunzel realize her dream, according to Merida, and get her rightful place on the throne, according to Hiccup.

And the worst part was that the latter suspected his ulterior motive, Jack was pretty sure of it, yet Hiccup acted as if he didn't care.

If he had known the real reason why Jack had searched for Rapunzel for years, he would never have called him a friend.

Jack shook his head and gripped the staff a little tighter. He had found out that it also worked well as a walking stick, as the Witch had said. The pain in his side would now only come back when he took a step too long, and with its support to lean on it rarely happened.

There wasn't really anything special about it, it was just a staff made of rough dark wood that was going to fill his palm with splinters, but the feeling of nostalgia that Jack had felt when he'd touched it was unbelievable.

As soon as he had received it from the Witch, Jack's mind had traveled to a distant day, showing him the clearest fragments of memory he had ever seen in all his attempts to remember.

The reflection of the moon on the water, the crunch of feet walking on snow, a deep voice, and the overwhelming, sudden feeling of a need to act immediately.

Jack was certain that the staff had played a key role in his past, but he had no idea what it was, or how it had ended up in the Witch's hands.

A village in Corona? Jack had visited them all, and the only one he felt remotely connected to was Hawthorne, which he had left after searching it brick by brick without success.

He should have asked the Witch for more information, on second thought, but at that moment he'd been carried away by his emotions and before he could realize what was happening, she had left in a hurry.

Jack was still thinking about it, when that evening they reached a small ruined village nestled between two hills. Only a few skeletons of houses were left, and they seemed completely abandoned.

"This is Ashire, the Fallen Village," Merida said as they walked down what must have been the main road.

"What happened here?" Rapunzel asked nervously.

Jack couldn't blame her. The twilight overshadowed the surrounding environment, making every corner the perfect hiding place for some hostile creature, and the only noise was an ominously whistling wind.

Merida straightened the bow on her shoulder. "It was destroyed during a battle between Dunbroch and Corona, when Grayfir was the capital. Nowadays relations between the two regions are more peaceful, but back then those internal conflicts were common."

"Peaceful is a pretty generous term," Jack said. "In all these years I've never seen a Dunbrochian and a Coronian person drinking together in a tavern."

"I don't understand. Why was this village abandoned? Didn't the inhabitants want to rebuild it?" Rapunzel asked. Pascal was hiding under her collar as if it were a blanket, his scales turning blue with fear.

Merida shrugged. "I don't know about that, I must've fallen asleep halfway through my mom's history lesson."

"There could be any number of reasons," Hiccup added, walking very close to Toothless. "Necessity, fear, superstition. People become desperate in times of war."

Jack looked at him sideways. “Speaking from experience?”

"I've seen people smear themselves with yak dung, thinking that would make them safe from dragon attacks," Hiccup deadpanned.

"Did it work?"

"Take a wild guess."

Merida pointed to a spot between some houses. "This means that no one will come to bother us if we camp here."

Yay, Jack thought. Dinner and bonfire in the middle of the abandoned, almost certainly cursed village.

Watching their backs, because even though there didn't seem to be a living soul around, that place was creepy — and for once it wasn't Jack's fault — they settled in the spot suggested by Merida.

The evening was warm enough to make it unnecessary to light a fire, a sign that summer was coming and they were ever closer to Corona, notoriously the warmest region of Fewor.

They finished the leftovers from Hiccup's purchased dinner, along with a few strips of dried meat. Jack hoped that this wasn't the main specialty of the Barbaric Archipelago, otherwise he would have felt infinite pity for Hiccup.

"I need a distraction, I don't like this place at all," Rapunzel said at one point, clutching her arms. If she hadn't had it braided, Jack was sure she would have locked herself in her cocoon of hair. “I wish we'd lit a fire, at least there would be a little more light.”

Jack thought he could help her. "You know, this is the perfect mood for a scary story. Anyone knows some?"

Rapunzel would certainly have appreciated a story; Jack had seen the sparkles in her eyes whenever she listened to Hiccup talking about his adventures.

And it was from him that Jack looked for support, trusting that he would take the signal.

Hiccup looked up from Toothless, who was leaning on his crossed legs to get scratches under his chin. "I suppose any fairy tale every child of Berk has heard counts as a horror story, but the most famous one is the tale of the Dragon Queen."

"You said she's been leading attacks on your village for a long time," Merida remembered. "Is there more to it?"

"Not much, actually. No one's ever seen her, so there are many contradictory rumors," Hiccup said.

He had lowered his voice, but if he was hoping to sound spookier he had a long way to go, in Jack's humble opinion. Trying to be scary while cuddling a dragon was daring even for him.

"Haven't you ever seen her?" said Rapunzel.

Hiccup spread his arms. "This is exactly what bothers me: I've searched the entire Archipelago in the last five years, but I've never managed to find her nest."

"It could be hidden by magic," Jack said.

Hiccup stared at him, baffled. "I'd never thought about it. Is it possible that a Magi—a Starfolk has casted a spell?"

"There are some places inhabited by Starfolks that are well protected from unwanted guests. It's possible that someone, for some reason, has done the same for the dragons."

Hiccup grimaced. "If that's the case, I hope my father never finds out. He already doesn't like magic, and if he knew that it's also the cause of all his problems…"

Rapunzel fidgeted on the boulder she was sitting on. "It's my turn to tell a scary story!" she announced excitedly.

Merida yawned. "Thanks Veeta, some variety. It's clear that Hiccup only knows stories about dragons."

"Hey!"

Rapunzel cleared her throat. "Mother always told me this one before bed.

"In the darkest depths of the earth, hidden under the roots of the trees and the burrows of the animals, lives the Wormonster."

She paused dramatically, probably hoping she'd impressed them, but Jack's only reaction was to force himself not to laugh.

Wormonster, really?

"It's an intelligent yet evil creature, which digs underground tunnels to move. Travelers must stay alert when they walk off the safe paths, because the Wormonster has very fine hearing which it uses to identify its prey," Rapunzel continued, very seriously. "If it hears the sound of footsteps on the surface, it comes out of the earth, fast as a snake, and devours the unfortunate person with its three mouths. Starting from the feet."

From the way Merida was biting her lip, Jack guessed that she was also resisting an urge. Hiccup was looking at Toothless as if to say 'did you hear the same thing I heard?'.

Rapunzel didn't seem to notice their skepticism. "As if that isn't enough, the Wormonster is picky with its meals, and prefers thin people, because it loves sucking the marrow from their bones, even more than meat."

There was a moment of absolute silence, in which Jack had to take deep breaths to keep from laughing.

Luckily, Rapunzel interpreted it as hyperventilating in fear. "Every time Mother told me about it, I had nightmares for days," she said happily.

It was Merida who gave in. "Rapunzel, I don't want to destroy a lifelong belief, but this sounds an awful lot like your mother made it up to keep you from leaving the tower."

"That's not true!" she said defensively. "You only say that because you've never seen the Wormonster."

"Have you seen it? Actually, has anyone here ever heard of this story?" Merida said. Jack and Hiccup shook their heads. "There. Look, I'm not saying that your mother lied to you for the sake of it, but I also think that she wanted to warn you about the outside world at all costs. That's all."

Rapunzel didn't answer, she just pouted and looked down at Pascal, who patted her leg sympathetically. Jack had seen people less expressive than that chameleon.

This wasn't the first time it turned out that Rapunzel's mother had been telling her lies, and Jack was starting to see a pattern.

Of course, that wasn't her real mother, since her parents were the current rulers of Fewor. Jack didn't know how Rapunzel had ended up in the tower, but up until that moment he'd wanted to give this Gothel the benefit of the doubt: maybe she was completely unrelated to the disappearance of the Lost Princess, maybe she had just found a little girl abandoned by the real responsible and had kept her as her own.

No, Jack's question wasn't by who, but how she had been raised.

For almost eighteen years Rapunzel hadn't set foot outside the house, and if it hadn't been for the external influence of the festival, she would have been happy like that. Now, Jack understood the concept of apprehensive parents, but that was a whole other level. Making up stories about marrow-eating monsters bordered on obsessive.

Well, the important thing was that Jack was going to save Rapunzel from those tales once and for all. In fact, they would both have gained something from the journey.

"Do you have something scary to tell?" Merida asked him.

Jack thought for a long time. In eighteen years he had seen enough horrors to fill a book, but he had to choose something appropriate.

"Once I was in a tavern in Corona," he began, setting an atmosphere of mystery. "It was a snowy night, and it seemed that an entire village had taken refuge there to drink and warm up. Among them was a drunken old Dunbrochian traveller, sitting far from the crowd."

If Jack closed his eyes, he could still see the scene, with the smell of roasting meat, the mead-fueled chatter and the dim light of the candles.

"We were the only people out of place in that tavern, so I sat down next to him and asked what brought him away from home. He told me that he was a traveling aquatic plant researcher, but also that he was trying to decide whether to give it all up."

“Are aquatic plants such a daunting field of research?” Hiccup said with a half laugh, before Rapunzel shushed him, engrossed in the story.

Jack shook his head. "He had just escaped from the Coronian Swamp, near the border with Dunbroch. Apparently he'd been there with his colleague for research, when they'd found themselves in front of a rope bridge blocked by a beast they had never seen."

He paused for effect. "He told me that it was a huge toad, bigger than a cow, that had looked at them with eyes as red as embers.

"The toad had spoken, asking for the answer to a riddle in exchange for leeting them through. The old man, however, told me that the question made no sense, it was impossible to solve, and when his friend had pointed this out to the toad, he'd gotten thrown down in the murky, cold waters with a kick."

Jack saw the same fear that had filled the old man's eyes reflected in Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel's.

"How did he escape? Did he solve the riddle?" Rapunzel asked anxiously.

"No, but he'd found a trick to ward off the toad," said Jack. The others looked at him in silent anticipation. “…And he passed out on the table before he could tell me.”

There was a collective groan of disappointment.

"I'm sorry about this guy's friend, but are you sure you can believe a drunken old man's tale?" Hiccup said.

"Well, a few days later I went to a town not too far from the swamps, and when I asked around about a giant toad with a hobby of blocking bridges, they told me it must be the legend of the Bargniff," Jack replied, understanding his disbelief. "It could be that the old man had heard about the legend and used it to justify his partner's death. Who knows."

Rapunzel shivered. "Poor researcher, what a sad ending."

"Your turn, Merida," Jack said. “If you think you can do better than this.”

She smiled at his challenge. "Aye, open those big ears of yours and try not to get too scared, Frost."

"I'm already shaking."

Merida started the story. "They say it happened two hundred years ago, in Grayfir. The lord of the time had three twin sons, and queen Eileen the Strict had ordered him to choose which of them would inherit his title."

"That sounds like the worst idea ever," Jack commented.

"I suppose the queen didn't want to make all three of them lords, or they would have outnumbered Corona's."

"There are still more lords than chiefs of the Barbaric Archipelago, but sure, fair enough," Hiccup mumbled.

"The lord of Grayfir finally chose the son he considered most suitable, on the verge of death, without imagining the disaster that his decision would unleash.

"In fact, while the new lord was the wisest son, the strongest brother, who had been convinced he was his father's favorite, felt betrayed by his own family, and that day he let himself be blinded by anger. He attacked the new lord in front of their recently deceased father, furious. The wise son had him banished from the castle, believing that mourning was driving his brother, who swore revenge as he left.

"He headed into the Cinder Woods, which at the time had just become the main source of lumber after the Old Woods had been abandoned. He had heard of a Mag—er, a Starfolk woman who could change people's fates by drawing on Sheh's powers.

"He found a cabin in the woods, where she offered him a spell to get what he wanted. Anyone else would have hesitated to accept an offer of magic, but he was willing to do anything to obtain his father's title."

Jack felt like he was in the cabin with them. Each word came out of Merida's mouth forming a melody-less song repeated expertly, suggesting that she had heard and told it several times.

"The spell turned the man into a beast, and from then on he enacted his revenge," Merida continued. "He began to attack the lumberjacks, massacring the workers who entered the forest. He hid in the shadows of the trees, waiting for his prey to be alone, and then he attacked without mercy. None of them survived. The neighboring villages and towns lived in fear that the beast would soon leave the forest.

"After weeks of attacks, the new lord organized a hunting party and went into the Cinder Woods to personally slay the beast. What he found waiting for him was beyond anything he could have imagined, but he quickly realized who he was facing.

"The man he'd grown up with had become a terrible black bear, immune to blades or fear. The young lord faced the beast with courage, even if his sword seemed useless."

Jack glanced at Hiccup and Rapunzel, who were focused on Merida. Rapunzel was covering her face with her hands, only letting her eyes show.

Seeing them so hooked gave Jack an idea.

Merida continued with the story. "Since swords and arrows could do nothing against the bear, the young lord used his wisdom and thought about the extreme measures his brother had resorted to.

"If a spell had changed his appearance, there had to be a way to break it. If blind rage had changed his brother, finding peace would return him to the way he used to be.

"The young lord then raised his sword, and solemnly proclaimed that the title belonged to his brother."

Rapunzel had her green eyes wide open, making them appear even larger than usual. "He gave him what he wanted?"

"Aye."

"And then what happened?"

Merida raised her voice and increased the pace of the story. "It is said that the blade of his sword glowed, lighting up the forest. The wolves howled and the men shouted in unison. The bear-man raised the paw he used to kill with one blow, mirroring his brother's gesture, and then…"

Just as Merida uttered a "Bam!", Jack spread his arms and made the shape of a bear magically appear before them, which mimicked Jack's position and pounced on Hiccup and Rapunzel, showering them with fine frost.

The two instinctively clung to whatever was at hand, which meant they grabbed each other, as their screams merged into one terrified, perfectly harmonious shriek.

Merida was very confused. Jack was bent sideways laughing.

"It's not funny!" Hiccup protested, shaking the frost off his doublet.

Jack was too busy cracking up to argue. He hadn't had a whole-hearted laugh like that in a long time.

Rapunzel took a deep breath with a hand placed on her heart, giving reassuring pats to Pascal, still blue with fear.

"But then the bear became a man again, didn't he?" she insisted.

"There are two versions of the ending," Merida said, shaking her head at Jack's giggle fit. "If you ask my father to tell you the story, he'll say that the beast remained as such and has continued to wander in the Cinder Woods ever since, after scaring everyone away. According to my mother, however, he returned to his human form, but by then he had lost himself, and his brother was forced to kill him."

She shrugged. "As she would say, the lesson is the same: listen to your parents, don't trust magic users, stay away from the depths of the woods," she said in a haughty tone that must have been an imitation of her mother.

"Oh." Rapunzel yawned. "Thanks for distracting me, guys. I think I'll be able to sleep now."

Jack's eyelids felt heavy too, and he settled down to join her in the dream world, hoping that his nightmares wouldn't include invincible bears.

He heard Merida agree with Hiccup to keep watch, a sign that she didn't feel completely safe in the village ruins either.

Several minutes had passed, maybe even an hour or two, when their voices became a background sound in Jack’s half-sleep. Judging by the noise, Merida had returned to add a new carving to her bow. Toothless' soft snoring was a constant hum.

They were talking in very low voices, it sounded like some kind of game. Jack let the sound of their voices lull him.

"Alright, my turn," Merida was saying, "Rumor Has It... you're left-handed."

"True. How do you know?" Hiccup said, mildly surprised.

"I know everything about you that could be useful in the Duel, and the hand you hold weapons with is a very important detail," Merida explained. "That's why I've learned to wield a sword with both."

"Well, sorry the time wasted learning it was completely for nothing, then," Hiccup said wryly. "Anyway. Rumor Has It… you're the best archer in the region."

"False."

Jack heard no response from Hiccup, and guessed he'd made a confused face.

"I'm not the best archer in the region," Merida said, "but in the kingdom."

Hiccup snorted. "Oh, of course, sorry. My bad. It's your turn again."

Merida giggled softly. "Rumor Has It... you once slayed a dragon that no one was able to defeat."

Hiccup hesitated. "True. Technically."

Jack now had the suspicion that his sleep-fogged mind was making him imagine their almost whispered conversation.

Merida made a sound of disbelief. "What do you mean it's true?"

Hiccup's voice became sad, almost ashamed. "Have you ever heard of the Whispering Death?"

"No. Is it some kind of dragon?"

"It's a rare species that lives in the northernmost islands, but there was this one dragon that used to attack Berk all the time. He'd become famous because he attacked people without stealing livestock, and because no one had been able to kill him for years."

"So you handled it, even if you didn't want to?" Merida asked, unsure.

Hiccup sighed. "One day I found him alone on an uninhabited island, and when he tried to attack me and Toothless, his wings gave out. I knew something was wrong, because he had passed out from the effort, in fact he had a bad infection in his mouth ."

Merida sucked in air through her teeth. "Ouch."

"I tried every remedy I know, I even looked for a very rare medicinal plant, but nothing worked," Hiccup said, bitterly. His voice cracked. "You should have seen him to understand, he was so sick... He had at least two more days of agony, before… so I... I..."

It was the closest thing to crying Jack had ever heard from him, enough to make him suspect again that he really was in a dream.

He didn't quite hear what Merida was saying, but Hiccup cleared his throat.

"Sorry. I've never told anyone," he chuckled uncertainly. "Whining isn't very Hooligan-like."

"Don't be ridiculous, you have more guts than your entire village put together," Merida replied. "It takes courage, doing what you did."

A few moments passed before she spoke again. "You know, you're totally different than I expected, even after finding out you're a skinny nerd." Jack couldn't see Merida, but he could hear the smile in her voice. "We're supposed to be sworn enemies, you and I, but… I can't hate you. I really can't."

"It's a nice surprise, for once," Hiccup mused.

Jack didn't hear the rest of the conversation, if there ever was one; sleep carried away his consciousness towards more disturbing scenes.

*

The sunlight, unnaturally dazzling yet cold, forced Hiccup to shield his eyes with a hand.

The arena was bathed in it, making it a white circle surrounded by packed stands.

Shouts of encouragement deafened Hiccup, but he already had his hands full protecting himself from the light, so he couldn’t cover his ears.

"Face me, Haddock."

Hiccup lowered his arms, revealing Merida standing in front of him, sword raised and hair like fire.

"I don't have a weapon," Hiccup replied. The noise made his voice almost too quiet even to hear it himself.

Merida pointed her sword at the ground, at the space between the two of them, towards something metallic. Hiccup picked it up and discovered that it was a typical Barbaric-style broadsword, with a bronze blade and a cross carved in the shape of Hideous Zippleback.

It was even heavier than all the swords Hiccup had tried to train with in the past. Holding it was so hard that he couldn't raise it enough to point the blade straight up.

Merida lunged at him with a war cry. Hiccup sidestepped, knowing he wouldn't be able to duel on equal terms, but he tripped and fell over, kicking up clouds of dust.

That action alone drained him of all his strength. Merida towered over him, impassive, her blue eyes cold and terrifying.

"Look at your people, Hiccup. What will they think of you?"

From the stands, Berk's faces stood out like tufts of grass in the snow.

Hiccup saw Astrid's anger, her friends' mock, Gobber's resignation, and his father's disappointment.

Merida brought the tip of her sword close to Hiccup's throat.

How had they gotten to that point? Hiccup thought they were allies, maybe even friends.

Toothless. Where was Toothless?

Hiccup struggled to his feet and staggered away from Merida. "Bud, where are you?" he called out. "Toothless?"

No familiar roar responded, and when Hiccup turned after hearing the clank of a sword falling to the ground, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Where Merida's face should have been, there was darkness. A black abyss covering her features.

She pointed a finger at him, and soon the entire audience followed suit, pointing to him as a single entity.

Those fingers scared Hiccup more than any sword.

"No…"

He backed away until he turned to run, but something or someone blocked his prosthetic foot, causing his knees, elbows and chin to hit the ground. He saw stars.

And not in a figurative sense.

Those were the real stars in the real night sky.

Hiccup sat up, still groggy from the nightmare, to figure out what was pulling at his left leg. What he saw was too absurd even for a dream.

For a moment he thought he was looking at a giant rat, but looking at it better, Hiccup realized that it resembled a rat: the face was elongated like a snout bristling with brown hair, framed by tremulous whiskers, with small black eyes and ears positioned on the sides of the head, like a human, but definitely larger.

It had broad hands with chipped claws, a hunched back, and a long, pink tail that flickered restlessly as it bent over fiddling with Hiccup's prosthetic.

A troll! A real troll, like the ones Gobber always talked about and that Hiccup had spent long afternoons looking for in Berk's Forest as a child.

For a few long seconds he was too shocked to react, then the troll tugged on his leg, and Hiccup acted on instinct.

He snapped his iron foot upwards, kicking it squarely into the creature's snout. "What the—let me go!"

"Ouch!" exclaimed the unlucky troll, rubbing its (his? Sure, why not) nose.

Hiccup took the opportunity to stand up and look around for Toothless. That lazy heavy sleeper was snoring blissfully, as were the others.

He shook the dragon energetically, while the troll checked the state of his sore nose. "Wake up, bud, it's time to fly away!"

In response, Toothless rolled over with a snort.

Fortunately, Hiccup's urgent call woke up someone else: Jack and Rapunzel began to get up with yawns and questioning murmurs.

"What's going—oh. Oh, not again," Jack said, gripping his staff with both hands.

To Hiccup's horror, more trolls had emerged from the ruins, all mouse-like except for one who looked more like a squirrel. About ten in total.

Even with their short height and clothes made of skillfully woven rags, they had decidedly menacing expressions painted on their little faces.

If there was one thing Hiccup remembered from legends about trolls, it was that they could be reasoned with; with caution and a big risk of getting your ankles bitten, but it was possible.

Hiccup decided to try. "Um. Can we talk about this?"

The troll at the head of the group raised his fists. "Chaaarge!"

Many things happened at the same time: Hiccup jumped back and fell onto Toothless, who finally honored them with his conscious presence, Merida woke up from the noise, a troll raised a straw from which he shot a dart, and Jack slammed the staff on the ground.

The ice barrier didn't appear in time to stop the projectile, which whizzed past until it lodged itself in Toothless' neck.

Hiccup winced. "Toothless!"

The dragon staggered for a few moments with his tongue hanging out, before collapsing like a sack of potatoes, causing the earth to shake. His broad chest was still moving, so he was breathing, to Hiccup's relief.

Meanwhile, Jack, Merida and Rapunzel were fighting bravely. Rapunzel was showing off the moves taught to her by Merida, who had instead taken up the bow but with poor results: the trolls slipped quickly among the ruins and between everyone's legs, making it nearly impossible to hit them.

Hiccup was amazed to see that Jack was creating beams of snow and frost with the new staff, using it as an extension of his arm. Two or three trolls were struggling to free their feet from the blocks of ice they were trapped in.

“The one with the blowpipe, get the one with the blowpipe!” Hiccup exclaimed to no one in particular, as he reached for the bag where he kept a knife that he used to sharpen charcoal.

Obviously, it was among the saddlebags that had been crushed by Toothless's weight.

With difficulty, regretting all the time he'd spent sketching instead of weight-lifting like his father would have wished, Hiccup managed to slide the bag out from under the dragon and retrieve the knife.

There was chaos around him.

Merida was shooting arrows along with curses. "These things are too fast," she said through gritted teeth, sweat beading on her forehead. "Jack, some magical help?"

At that moment, a dart hit Jack on his thigh.

Hiccup caught him before he hit his head on some rocks, but the damage was done.

"Damned moon," Jack mumbled incoherently before passing out in Hiccup's arms. He gently set him down on the ground.

He had to try again.

"Stop, stop, stop!" he shouted, trying to get the trolls' attention. "Whatever you want, we can discuss like civilized peop—uh. Like civilized living beings!"

"What. Are. You. Doing!" Merida hissed. Hiccup ignored her.

One of the trolls stared at him with his black eyes, his whiskers twitching. "Did you hear that?" he howled at his friends. "Let's get that iron leg!"

Honestly? Hiccup panicked.

Winged fire-breathing dragons? No problem. A bunch of determined trolls, however…

Hiccup instantly lost every ounce of courage and ran the opposite way, forgetting he even had a knife.

Running blindly he reached the ruins of what must have been a shop. There were still pieces of stained glass and a couple stone pillars, which Hiccup hid behind.

"Give us your leg!" he heard the voice of the troll he had spoken to before, perhaps the leader. He had an accent that made him slur every other syllable.

Why in Tere's name did they want it so much?

Somewhere outside, an exclamation of surprise was followed by an unrepeatable insult. With grim certainty, Hiccup recognized Rapunzel and Merida's voices respectively, and he was sure that the former had been hit by a sleep-inducing dart.

Hiccup took a deep breath and made a decision. He came out into the open with his hands raised, going through the empty archway of the destroyed shop.

The trolls perked up their ears.

"If I give you my leg will you promise to leave us alone?" he tried to negotiate.

The troll chief was followed by three of his companions, and looked at Hiccup with a grin that showed a row of small pointed teeth.

"I have a better idea," he said.

Hiccup saw one troll raise a blowpipe, but his reaction was too slow. He had just enough time to twist his arm and look at the red and white feathers sprouting from his skin, before his legs went limp.

Hiccup's mind was filled with cotton, making his thoughts slow and blurry.

"Hiccup!" he heard someone calling out to him. "Hiccup, where are you?"

His vision filled with dark dots. He only realized he had fallen when he hit his knee on a sharp stone.

Just his luck.

Chapter Text

"Give me room, I can't see."

"Ow! You elbowed me!"

"Shut up."

"I can't understand this thing."

As Hiccup gradually woke up, the ringing that filled his ears quieted down, letting him hear squawky, excited voices.

His eyes slowly managed to focus on the low ceiling of the room he was in, while a strong musty smell made him as lucid as if he got hit by a bucket of cold water. He remembered what had happened.

Hiccup had bad news for himself: his back was leaning against a damp wall and his hands were tied, and they'd taken away his prosthesis.

This last detail especially worried him. The idea that someone had messed with his left leg while he was passed out made him feel deeply uncomfortable, and an itchy sensation arose in his calf while he couldn't even touch it.

At that moment the trolls had their backs to him and were gathered around a long table, standing on some benches, as if looking at something.

Still nervous about his leg problem, Hiccup had to force himself not to panic like he'd done at the village ruins.

He took stock of the situation. He had been kidnapped by trolls, he didn't know if the others were okay and he was in no condition to run.

A pressure on his chest destabilized him for a few moments, then Hiccup took a few long, even breaths, and the feeling calmed, as his heart slowed.

Come on, he thought, this wasn't the worst trouble he'd gotten into, even though he was completely alone for the first time in a while. He just had to stay calm and think.

The room. He needed to try to understand where he had ended up. He could do that.

Hiccup looked around, mentally taking note of every detail, interesting or not. He'd already noticed the low ceiling and the humidity, so he had good reason to believe he was underground. In the opposite wall there were several nooks for battered statues that were missing noses, hands or the entire head. Some columns supported the weight of the room. Hiccup noticed shelves that he later realized were rows of graves with scant remains of bones.

He was in a crypt. Knowing that much at least reassured him a little. Of course, being taken to a place where you put the dead wasn't exactly the most cheering news in the world, but Hiccup's standards were very low at the moment.

However, something smelled bad, and it wasn't the mold.

Looking closer, Hiccup saw more than one detail out of place. The table wasn't a piece of furniture suitable for a crypt. In many nooks scrolls had been inserted as if they were bookshelves. A faded map of Dunbroch hung on the third wall.

Hiccup had a suspicion that that place, before becoming home to magical creatures, had been used for less than religious purposes in the past. An emergency shelter, or more probably, a strategic base in times of war. The same war that had reduced the village of Ashire to rubble, perhaps.

Now that he had clearer ideas, the issue of the trolls remained. Hiccup dug into his memory for everything he knew about them.

Legends said they had been created by Ohl, god of risk, therefore god of adventure, medicine, travel, insults, and so on. Ohl had taken inspiration from the works of Veeta, who had populated Fewor with all of its non-magical creatures. Just as Tere had created dragons and Sheh fairies, Ohl had done his worst by creating trolls.

Allegedly the god had spent the rest of his stay in Fewor searching for the only medicine in the world that didn't taste bad, but to no avail. He had pounded his fists on the ground in anger, raising what was now called Mount Ohl, and returned to his home in the stars along with the other gods. And they lived happily ever after.

Hiccup blinked. His mind was more fuzzy than he thought, and it was making him lose focus.

Trolls. What did he know about trolls that could be useful?

It was said in Berk that the Blood Forest was overrun with trolls, though few people had actually seen them. Those who claimed to have met one had all returned to the village with hazy memories, or hadn't come back at all, and people blamed their disappearance on trolls. Or dragons.

The forest was full of wild boars, wolves, ditches, poisonous plants and mushrooms, but it was always easier to blame the dragons and trolls. People found it comforting, in a way. And dying at the hands of a dangerous magical creature sounded way better than tripping over a boulder and hitting your head in the wrong spot.

According to myths, trolls were concentrations of malice and greed who played nasty tricks on those who bothered them, and had a passion for gold.

According to Gobber, they loved stealing very specific things, but it wasn't wise to trust Berk's blacksmith. He was skilled with a hammer, but questionable statements came out of his half-toothless mouth.

However, the fact remained that the obsession that group of trolls had with Hiccup's prosthesis was a mystery. He felt that if he'd understood it, he would find a way out of that mess.

"Not to interrupt this, but may I have a word with you?" he said aloud to drown out the chatter of the trolls.

The muttering stopped suddenly, and a dozen ugly rat-like faces turned to Hiccup, who gulped.

"Is that my leg on the table, by any chance?" he asked.

The troll chief stroked his whiskers. "It's one of the most unique human-made objects I've ever seen. Where did you get it?"

"I made it," Hiccup replied, struck by his interest.

There was a general buzz of excitement among the trolls.

"You're telling the truth," commented the chief, surprised.

It was a weird statement, and Hiccup was reminded of the rumors about trolls' ability to read minds. He hoped it was just gossip.

“Do you like these things—inventions?” he asked to buy time. He had to come up with a plan, quickly.

Another troll chimed in. "We are born and raised in the wild, surviving with the resources we find. Everything humans make is interesting!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, earning a punch on the shoulder.

Hiccup looked again at their recycled rags, bone necklaces and shell bracelets, and remembered that Gobber always said they stole socks. Maybe they did it because they were fascinated by knitted work?

If that was indeed the case, Hiccup had no difficulty imagining how exciting it must be for them to find an object as unusual as his custom-made prosthesis.

Whatever opinion he'd formed about trolls, that revelation softened it up a little bit.

“This is great news,” the chief said. "We have both the object and its creator. I think we'll keep you with us, so you can build us more things like this."

Hiccup was stunned for a good few seconds. What.

"You can't do that," he protested weakly.

They chuckled. "Of course we can, you're already tied up in our hideout," said the squirrel-like troll, hand in hand with another who was watching him raptly. Hiccup recognized the expression Snotlout would often give Astrid.

"I have a spare identical to this one in my saddlebags, I'll give it to you if you let me go," he tried to convince them, but the chief turned up his nose.

"I can sense your lie, human. There is no spare," he said, frowning. “You cannot deceive us with deception.”

Oh. At least that explained the rumors about mind reading.

Hiccup then turned to threats, despite hating himself for it. "Look, my traveling companions must have woken up by now and started looking for me. I hope."

The trolls looked at him, unimpressed. Hiccup had to admit that he didn't sound convincing.

"Okay, Toothless — my dragon — will be mad. He'll be really angry if he finds out you're holding me captive. He—he'll burn this place to the ground!"

The trolls smiled and nudged each other as if they knew something very funny Hiccup didn't.

Their chief snorted. "We are beneath a temple dedicated to Ohl, our ancestral father. Here we are safe from any threat."

Well, wasn't that just great.

Hiccup forced himself to remain calm. There had to be a solution, all he needed to do was stay focused. Now he knew the trolls' weakness to human inventions, but he also knew that they could magically detect lies, so deceiving them would be difficult.

He remembered something Jack had explained to him during the tiring walk from Elmaze to Ashire: lasting spells were based on an incantation thought in mind or spoken aloud, and to break them you had to guess what it was, based on the effects. If you understood the author's intention, you could deceive any spell.

Hiccup then deduced that whatever magic was allowing the trolls to sense lies, there must a way around it.

Easy, he thought sarcastically, he simply had to always tell the truth. Of course.

…But it was true. Just stick to the facts, right?

An idea popped into Hiccup's mind. It was as simple as it was dumb, and complicated to act out, but it was also his only hope.

"If you really want to keep the leg, you should know that it's also a weapon. So. Yeah. Be careful, and stuff," he said.

The trolls exchanged puzzled looks.

Hiccup hadn't lied, at least technically; it was a bit of a stretch, but he clung desperately to a memory from a few years ago, of one time when he'd been surprised by a guy who had tried to capture Toothless, and Hiccup had hit him on the head with his prosthesis, in lack of real weapons.

He hoped it counted anyway.

"You're not lying," the chief decreed. "Although it looks like a simple metal leg to me."

Oh thank Tere.

Hiccup eyed the crude weapons made from animal bones — at least he hoped they were — that hung from the trolls' vine belts.

"A powerful weapon would be useful for your ambushes on unsuspecting travellers," he added.

And that was a simple fact.

The trolls muttered among themselves. Hiccup heard a couple of "he's right, though" and "look, my axe is falling apart."

The chief crossed his hairy arms. "And how do you use this weapon?"

"We have to get to the surface for it to work," Hiccup replied.

Another subtlety: they had to get out for his plan to work.

Hiccup's heart raced, while the troll scratched his chin thoughtfully, and the others whispered, glancing at the prosthesis with renewed interest.

"He's telling the truth, Reginald," the high-voiced troll whispered to the leader.

“Come on, Dad, I want to see the weapon in action,” added a shorter troll.

Still distracted by anxiety, part of Hiccup was shocked to realize that this was an actual family. For some reason he hadn't thought of that.

Reginald (Hiccup knew he had no right to find it funny, but still) rolled his eyes.

"Fine, let's see what the human wants to show us." He glared at Hiccup. "But if he tries to escape he will regret it."

"I won't try it," he said confidently. He was starting to get the hang of it.

He convinced the trolls to untie him with some strategically placed affirmations, and he held out an expectant hand.

"What?" the squirrel troll grumbled.

"I need the leg to walk," Hiccup said. "Unless you want to carry me."

He rolled his eyes but handed him the prosthesis, which Hiccup clipped on under the curious gazes of the trolls. After getting it back he sighed in relief.

He then followed the trolls around the corner of a wall, revealing that the small crypt was L-shaped, and a hidden staircase with steep steps led up in a zigzag.

The temple above was modest in size, and it was the best-maintained structure in the village. A gap decorated a wall, but other than that and a few holes in the roof, the altar and statues were still intact.

Like all temples, it had no doors, according to the tradition of keeping places of worship symbolically open to everyone. Hiccup supposed that the wood board that was usually placed as a temporary door in case of bad weather had rotted away long ago.

They walked outside, into a large courtyard bordered by vertical monoliths so imposing they looked like they could touch the stars.

Was that the Arena of Dunbroch? Hiccup had heard of the place where the last Duel of the Heirs had taken place, but he didn't expect to find it in an abandoned village. The Arena of the Barbaric Archipelago was located in Berk, and it looked very different.

Hiccup wasn't the most devout person in the kingdom, yet the air of that place gave him goosebumps. He understood why the Arena had been built there.

Reginald stopped in the center and turned to him. "Show us this weapon, then. And hurry, we have to get back inside soon."

Hiccup couldn't believe his plan was working. Luckily none of the trolls had thought to ask him outright if he was trying to deceive them, otherwise he would have been doomed. He could have avoided the question, but even then it would have looked too suspicious.

"Okay, I ask you to sit still and keep your questions to yourself for now," he warned them.

This was the tricky part. If he was good enough, the trolls would let him do what he needed.

Hiccup pulled out his whistle from a pouch. It was a small carved wooden object that he'd gotten after realizing that having the possibility to call Toothless without making any noise could be useful.

Hiccup blew the whistle, which produced no audible sound… at least to humans: the trolls covered their large rodent ears with annoyed grimaces. Oops.

"Was that really necessary?" one protested, but was immediately silenced.

"Did you hear him? Let him do it. We can always hit him on the head later."

Breaking into a cold sweat, Hiccup mentally prepared himself for what he had to do now and silently prayed for everything to go smoothly.

“Dear trolls in the audience, let me tell you about how this amazing invention was made.” He moved his left foot forward to put it in full view, complete with a theatrical hand gesture. "I built it based on an old model that I updated to be more efficient. These parts are made of iron, while these are made of ash wood covered with a layer of..."

And he went on to talk about how he'd designed the prosthesis, putting in all the unnecessary details he could think of. The trolls listened intently.

When he noticed they were starting to get bored, he put his hand on the metal ring that went all the way around the leg, and activated the mechanism. The foot for everyday use was replaced by its ice version.

A chorus of oohs and aahs arose from the trolls.

The only skeptic was Reginald himself, who frowned and tapped his foot on the ground. "And how would this be useful in a fight?"

Hiccup hesitated. He couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. "Uh…"

"Why," Reginald said through sharp teeth, "do I feel like you're tricking us?"

Hiccup really hoped that Toothless was rushing to his aid right now, otherwise he would be in big trouble soon.

*

Merida wasn't superstitious. She wasn't the kind of person who made warding gestures, she didn't cover her head to hide from the gods whenever she cursed, and she didn't intentionally avoid what were considered signs of misfortune.

That time when she had seen a wisp she hadn’t run away, but she'd followed it. Or at least she had tried, even if most people agreed that the spirits of the deceased were dangerous.

Merida wasn't afraid of the dead. Only the beasts that roamed the forests managed to scare her.

That being said, the village of Ashire gave her the heebie-jeebies with every gust of wind.

Perhaps because she was influenced by the eerie atmosphere, she had even had a nightmare where she was in Sylvanir's place, facing a creature that kept changing from a huge fearsome monster to a small Toothless-like dragon, and back again.

Merida had avoided telling the others all the stories she knew about the spirits and monsters that haunted the ruins, decidedly scarier than those they had exchanged a few hours earlier, firstly because she didn't believe them, and secondly she didn't want to terrify Rapunzel further. 

However, getting attacked by vicious trolls had proved Merida wrong.

Her dream had reached the point where Merida had to quickly choose whether to shoot the arrow or not, when a loud crash had woken her abruptly.

She had then discovered that the trolls were very difficult to hit due to their almost unnatural speed, but now they seemed to have fled. Good, except that Hiccup was gone too.

"What do you see?" Rapunzel asked, almost hugging her copper pan.

She had been the first to wake up, but she was still groggy from the narcotic dart that had hit her, and every now and then she rubbed her eyes as if to see better.

Merida was kneeling by the footprints they had found around the ruins of a shop. "There were at least three of them. They ran up to this building — see how spaced the traces are? — and there was a fight."

Jack, gripping his new ice-shooting staff in a way not too dissimilar to how the Witch used to lean on it for support, looked around uneasily. "And then?"

"I don't know. It's like they disappeared—oh!"

Rapunzel and Jack craned their necks to see what Merida was looking at.

"What is it? Did you find anything?" he said.

Merida pointed to an unmistakable furrow on the ground, among the weeds that sprouted stubbornly from the lifeless earth. "It must be Hiccup's leg, look! That's the prosthesis, and these footprints are his right boot."

"Where do they lead?" Rapunzel asked anxiously.

Merida wrinkled her nose. "He left the shop, but his traces end there. I don't understand. Maybe the trolls carried him away?"

Rapunzel shuddered. Even Jack lost some of his indifference.

"Is he going to be okay?" she said, stroking Pascal's little head on her shoulder. The chameleon was still vaguely yellow with fright.

"I don't know," Merida admitted.

The most worried one of them was Toothless, who hadn't found peace since he'd woken up. He walked restlessly, sniffing the air, his pupils reduced to thin slits.

Merida felt sorry for him, so she gave him a scratch like she had seen Hiccup do many times. "We'll find him."

Rapunzel was bolder; she threw her arms around him and buried her face between the dragon's shoulder blades. "It's gonna be alright, Tooth!" said her muffled voice.

Toothless shook his head and snorted loudly through his nostrils, as if all that sappiness was making him embarrassed for them.

"You can promise Toothless we'll fix this mess all you want, but if we don't find Hiccup soon we might never see him again," Jack said.

Merida gave him a loud smack on the shoulder, reminding herself of a habit she got from her father, and she had a fit of nostalgia.

"Come on, you hopeless optimist, you can say you're scared for Hiccup, you know," she told him. "Do you want a hug too?"

Jack, who had jumped when he'd received the pat, quickly backed away. "Forget it."

"What do we do if we have no leads to follow?" Rapunzel asked. "And also, why did the trolls take Hiccup?"

"Definitely not to eat him," Merida commented. "They wouldn't get anything out of that skinny lad — don't look at me like that, you know it's true!"

Toothless pricked up his ears, standing at attention, and at first Merida thought her remark had offended him. However, the way he tensed his neck and his pupils widened told her that he'd sensed something, like a hunting dog would.

The others had noticed it too. "What did you hear, Toothless?" said Jack.

The dragon said nothing (thank the gods) but pointed his head in the opposite direction from which they'd come, and darted away, forcing them to run after him.

"Wait!"

"Slow down, Toothless!"

Merida always bragged about her speed, but even she couldn't keep up with a dragon's four legs. Rapunzel was even worse off, given the limited opportunities to run she'd had in the past.

Jack had the advantage. Now fully recovered from the stab wound, he flew next to Toothless, the staff clutched in his fist.

They crossed the ruins at breakneck speed, risking stumbling due to the little light offered by the moon, until they reached the outskirts of Ashire, where an old temple watched over a circle of monumental monoliths.

Merida recognized the Arena of Dunbroch from her parents' stories. Theoretically she should have remembered that it was located in Ashire, but she usually spent history lessons scribbling in the margins of her books, much to her mother's indignation.

Toothless rushed right towards the arena, but Jack stepped in front of him, allowing Merida and Rapunzel to reach them.

"If we attack now we'll end up knocked out like last time," he was trying to convince the dragon.

Merida peered behind the monolith where they were hiding. In the center of the area stood Hiccup, surrounded by trolls watching him.

She looked back at Toothless, who was currently being subjected to Rapunzel's puppy eyes, helped by Pascal's frown.

"Give us time to come up with a plan, first," she begged.

Toothless seemed persuaded, even if he kept jerking his ears towards the arena, from which Hiccup's voice could be heard.

"What's he doing in there?" Merida muttered. She leaned out from behind the rock to take another look, and saw out of the corner of her eye that Rapunzel had crouched beneath her to do the same, as well as Jack was floating to look above them. She even felt Toothless's weight pushing her to find a spot.

Hiccup was speaking loudly, like a bard reciting a poem or a ballad at a party, making his words clear and understandable even to the four of them.

"...And this is for calibrating the damper, to adapt it to all types of terrain," he illustrated, pointing to a small screw on his artificial leg.

"What is he doing? He'll get himself killed!" Jack hissed.

"To be honest, it looks like he has the situation under control," Merida observed, noticing how the trolls were in silent contemplation, enraptured by Hiccup's speech.

"Trolls can tell lies from the truth," Jack said. "I don't know what he's up to, but they get really offended when someone tricks them."

"Maybe he's buying time by waiting for us," Rapunzel suggested.

Hiccup had never given Merida the impression of being someone who asked for help, not even in situations of obvious disadvantage like that case. If he had come to this, he must have been truly desperate.

"Then we need to think fast of what to do," she said.

She was racking her brain for a plan of attack, when the trolls' attitude suddenly changed.

Merida was no longer listening to Hiccup's words, so she couldn’t understand what was driving them to close the circle around him and draw their weapons, but what she knew was that Toothless wouldn't appreciate their threatening behavior.

In fact, before anyone could stop him, the dragon rushed to his friend's defense, breaking the tight formation around Hiccup. He roared loud enough to make Merida's heart vibrate and opened his mouth, baring his teeth. The trolls panicked.

"Toothless, wait, don't hit them!" Hiccup said pressing both hands against his muzzle. "Oh," he added when he saw them, "you all came."

"We can't leave our captain behind, can we?" Jack said.

"Are you okay?" Rapunzel asked, studying him as if searching for some horrible wound.

Hiccup seemed genuinely surprised by their concern. "I'm f—" 

"Liar!" howled one of the trolls while it ran towards them, swinging a club made from a femur. "You lying human! How dare you deceive our trust!"

Hiccup backed away. "In my defense, Reginald, you said you wanted to keep me prisoner forever. I had to improvise!"

It took Merida a few seconds to realize that he was talking to the troll: Reginald? Really?

"You set a trap for us," the troll shrieked, deaf to the apologies.

He quickly swung the mace horizontally, aiming for Hiccup's shins, but Jack's staff came between them. Reginald's weapon became covered in frost.

"Big words coming from someone who attacks people in their sleep," Jack said sarcastically.

Merida would have liked to listen to that conversation to see how it would end, but the joint attack of two trolls distracted her, forcing her to draw her dagger and block their blows.

Rapunzel came to help, armed with her frying pan. Her posture was much more confident, demonstrating that the lesson was already producing decent results.

"We should leave with Toothless," she said as she dodged a grappling hook made of ribs (cool).

Merida looked for the dragon, and she saw him firing plasma blasts at any troll stupid enough to come between him and Hiccup, who was currently trying to appease his wrath.

"I doubt Toothless is going to leave before he incinerates a few trolls," Merida observed. She had ended up back to back with Rapunzel. "Where's Jack?"

"He's still over there fighting Reginald."

Merida had just enough time to see them, and also perhaps a few ice bolts, before landing a kick on a particularly insistent troll.

“Do you know anything about trolls?” Rapunzel asked, before hitting it on the back of the head with the handle of the frying pan. "Sorry!"

“Nothing usef—may Anim get you!”

It happened in a fraction of a second, but Merida didn’t miss the red and white flash that whizzed past her with an ominous hiss, ending up stuck in the ground.

It didn't take her long to spot the culprit: she locked eyes with the troll while it was still lowering a blowgun. It must have seen something in Merida's expression, because it ran away without attempting a second strike, but she had already taken off in pursuit, zigzagging between trolls and ice patches.

"Johnatan, help me!" shrieked the chased troll.

Merida was just wondering who the heck Jonathan was, when she tripped and fell flat. Her dagger flew away.

Without needing to turn around, she knew someone had tripped her, but Merida forced herself to ignore her irritation and stay focused on her goal, leaving the weapon behind.

She hauled herself to her feet, took up her bow, and aimed at the troll with the blowpipe, particularly at its legs and feet. As she imagined, none of her shots were successful, and the scene from earlier was repeated. Merida ran, leaving behind a trail of arrows sticking out of the grass.

The troll risked turning around. "Too fast for the human, too fast," it sang mockingly.

Merida pulled yet another arrow from her quiver. "Too fast but too stupid."

The troll had no escape. It ran straight into a monolith, slamming its mouse-like face.

Merida took advantage of the moment when it was distracted rubbing its nose to nock the arrow. "Not another step. Drop the blowpipe."

The troll jealously clutched the weapon to its chest. "No!"

"Drop it!"

"I said no! It's mine and I'm keeping it."

"I don't give a damn about keeping it, just drop it!" Merida exclaimed, exasperated.

In response, the troll raised the blowpipe to its mouth, puffing out its chest.

Merida had no choice. She had started to loosen her grip on the bowstring in the instant before the troll blew, but something pushed her aside.

Someone.

Hiccup.

"Stop!" he shouted, perhaps to her, perhaps to the troll, or to both.

The arrow cut through the air, swift and merciless, and Merida watched it move in a second that seemed to stretch until it lasted entire hours.

The deflected trajectory pushed the arrow away from the knee Merida had aimed for, but not enough so that it didn't graze the troll's calf, and the troll screamed in pain at the top of its lungs.

"She hit me, I've been injured!" it howled louder than an army of bagpipes, so much so that one would have said its heart had been pierced.

The other trolls were not long in coming, and rushed to crowd around it with a chorus of worried exclamations, completely ignoring Merida and Hiccup, who were too shocked to react.

“Alberta, sweetie, what have they done to you?” shouted a troll with clothes made from a sheet.

"My leg, my poor, little, fragile leg has been shot," the one who must have been Alberta said, putting her arm across her forehead dramatically.

A couple of trolls quickly checked the wound. Even from there Merida could see that Alberta's calf was marked by a long, already red scratch.

"What happened?" said the troll who was facing Jack earlier.

The latter joined Merida and Hiccup, followed shortly after by Rapunzel. His hair was more disheveled than usual. "We were fighting, when we heard a terrible scream, then he left like I wasn't there," he whispered to Merida in disbelief.

"Reginald, look, Alberta got hit by the human."

"Grandpa," Alberta said tearfully, "I feel weaker and weaker."

"It's just a scratch!" Merida protested. "And not even a deep one!"

As if on purpose, at that moment a drop of blood fell from Alberta's superficial wound. The trolls at her deathbed screamed in horror. One dropped backwards unconscious.

"Oh, poor thing," Rapunzel whispered.

Merida, convinced she'd seen enough, looked around for Toothless, and she saw him not far away, bent over gnawing on Reginald's mace.

"We should get away while they're distracted," she suggested in Hiccup's ear.

He didn't look convinced. “Maybe we should make sure, uh, Alberta is okay.”

Merida sighed.

If Hiccup had pushed her at any point before their last conversation, when he had told her about the dragon he'd been forced to put down, she would have punched him in the face. Instead, she found herself unable to be angry at him.

Rapunzel seemed to feel the same, and tentatively approached the gathering of desperate trolls.

"Um, sorry," she said aloud. "If you let me, I can heal her. Can I?"

Reginald stared at her. To do so he had to stretch his short neck. "And let you approach poor Alberta like that? She was the one who hurt her," he said, glancing at Merida, who pretended she wasn't looking his way.

"I swear I don't want to hurt Alberta. I'll only use my magic to heal her wound," Rapunzel replied, convinced.

Merida was pretty sure that she had forgotten about the trolls' talent for sensing lies, and so did Reginald, because he curled his whiskers thoughtfully.

"Dad, let her do it," urged another troll.

Reginald looked at Alberta, still busy whimpering and wiping away invisible tears. "Can't you hold on until your mother prepares a medication for you?" he asked her.

"I can see my life flashing before my eyes," she said dramatically. "I have little time left."

The troll holding her rolled his eyes. "We wish," he grumbled.

Alberta miraculously recovered long enough to land an elbow in his ribs. "Shut up, Jonathan! You useless maggot!"

Merida made a mental note of the insult.

Reginald rubbed his temple, resigned. "Well then, do what you must," he conceded to Rapunzel. "But I'll keep an eye on you."

She knelt in front of Alberta, untying her hair. Her short brown braid swayed alone.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt," she reassured her before wrapping her hair around the wound, humming the notes of a melody.

Merida had already seen that show twice, yet she couldn't remain indifferent. Rapunzel's hair lit up the night as she sang of flowers and clocks.

"There you go," she said, moving her hair away from the scratch that was no longer there.

The trolls were stunned. Even Reginald was speechless.

"Amazing," he said, staring at Alberta.

She looked at her healed leg. "Huh, that wasn't bad. I didn't even have to drink any of Mom's disgusting concoctions."

An excited buzz spread among the trolls.

Reginald stopped picking at his whiskers. "Could it be…?"

Johnatan abruptly dropped Alberta and pointed at Rapunzel. "Our creator's mission! She did it!" he exclaimed.

"The human girl found the medicine!"

"The divine Ohl's search is over! Spread the news!"

Rapunzel was clearly embarrassed by the sudden attention. "What are you talking about?"

Reginald took her hands in his, forcing Rapunzel to bend over slightly. "Before returning to his heavenly home, the divine Ohl, our progenitor, long searched for the perfect medicine: effective and with a bearable taste. Your power is that medicine!"

"I don't think that counts as—"

“What a glorious day for our people.” Reginald was practically moved. "Thank you, young human, thank you!"

"Does this mean you won't try to kill us anymore?" Jack suggested.

"We will not attack the magical haired girl's friends," Reginald confirmed solemnly. He squinted. "Including the scrawny human who deceived us."

Hiccup, currently the picture of guilt, brightened up. “Do you accept a peace offering?”

Without waiting for an answer, he went to Toothless, or rather, to the saddlebags attached to his harness. He walked back to them and handed Reginald something.

"It's not like the one you wanted, but the mechanism is still interesting. It's been useful to me for years," he said.

Merida recognized a prosthetic leg, similar to the one Hiccup used, but this model was simpler.

Reginald looked at the prosthesis, dumbfounded. "You said you had a spare, but I felt your lie. How is this possible?"

"I lied when I said it looked the same as mine," Hiccup replied, embarrassed. "Subtleties that have been helpful with you."

Jack burst out laughing. "You mean you convinced them through half-truths? You're crazy, Hiccup Haddock."

"It didn't go that well," he replied. “I was about to become a pet for a family of trolls.”

Reginald passed the prosthesis to Jonathan, who took it as if it were a relic. "Thank you for this gift. We are used to taking what we want, not receiving it."

"You should stop attacking passersby and stealing their stuff," Hiccup said sternly.

Their stuff? So the trolls were interested in humans' items? Merida was dumbfounded.

Rapunzel raised her hand. "Speaking of that, why don't you start making deals with people who pass through Ashire? Maybe if you make an exchange, you could get a lot of nice things without using violence."

Reginald pricked up his ears, interested. "And what could we offer to humans? We're just trolls."

"The catacombs you use as shelter!" Hiccup said. "From a burial place they first became a strategic base during the war with Corona, then a home to magical creatures. Many people would be interested in visiting them."

"It's not a bad idea," the squirrel troll observed, impressed. "Reggie, we should think about this."

Merida agreed. She remembered certain researchers of legends and myths who had visited Grayfir hoping to obtain funding for their absurd studies. Such people would have lost their minds over that occasion. And maybe then the ruined village would become a popular stop, finding new life from its ashes.

Reginald looked at them one by one. "I didn't think this meeting would go this way. Humans hide more surprises than we could imagine."

"Well, now that we've cleared up the misunderstanding, we should really get going," Jack said impatiently. "It's almost dawn now, and we have to take Rapunzel to Amberray for Veeta's festival."

Reginald made a weird expression, as if Jack had said something strange.

He seemed to notice, and grimaced, but the troll shook his head.

"Have a safe journey," he wished them with apparent sincerity.

After Reginald and his family had finished saying goodbye to Rapunzel, between tears of emotion and promises to return to visit them, they finally left Ashire.

Merida didn't understand the meaning of Reginald's reaction, but one thing was for sure.

Whatever Jack had let slip made him sad until the village disappeared from sight, hidden by the hills.

Chapter Text

Stoick emptied his mug and looked at the drops of mead left at the bottom with disappointment.

The fires in the braziers of the Great Hall illuminated the room a little, making the atmosphere intimate and warm. A low, quiet buzz filled what would otherwise have been an uncomfortable silence, as the few patrons indulged in lazy chatter.

It all contrasted with what Stoick had in his head. His mind, in fact, was full of thoughts as grim as they were complicated. It was the worst feeling a leader could feel: helplessness.

Stoick wasn't conceited, but he had always been proud of his ancestors, of his work and above all of himself. Under his guidance the village was experiencing one of the most flourishing times of the last two centuries, thanks to his intuition and his determination. He had expanded the fish trade. He had distributed incentives to merchants to promote the goods of the Archipelago. He had ordered the construction of better anti-dragon defense systems — those catapults? The guy who'd designed them was crazy, but brilliant.

Stoick knew that his people were proud of him, and proud as ever to be Hairy Hooligans. There was already talk of how grand his funeral monument would be, of the ballads that the bards would compose to narrate his deeds.

In short, he was the best Chief Berk had seen in four generations, and yet not even he was infallible. No, Stoick's achievements included an exception called Hiccup.

He didn't know what to do with him anymore.

The glorious culture of the Hairy Hooligans revolved around three fundamental concepts: making do with your own resources, upholding the honor of the Barbaric Archipelago, and always giving your best in everything.

Hiccup couldn't care less about all three of them. If he didn't have the resources, he built new ones, he didn't have the slightest sense of patriotism and didn't commit to what he couldn't do.

He was the antithesis of the Hairy Hooligan, almost as if he did it on purpose to exasperate Stoick, who had spent fifteen long years trying to understand that boy.

It wasn't enough that he was small and skinny, even if he couldn't do anything about that, Hiccup had inexplicably grown taking a direction all of his own. He preferred forges and charcoal to arenas and swords, but above all he had never learned to be a Hairy Hooligan at heart.

And perhaps Stoick could have resigned himself to keeping him as he was, if Hiccup hadn't been the future leader of the village. Not only that, he was also the Heir of the Archipelago, therefore a candidate for the throne of the kingdom.

Stoick had tried every way possible. Kindness, threats, giving good example, prayers, teachers... Nothing. His son had gradually abandoned the few training sessions he followed, to lock himself in the forge or wander around the Bloody Forest in search of who knew what.

Then had come the dragon.

Night Furies were almost legendary in Berk. Whispering Deaths were equally feared, but those had been sighted several times, while little or nothing was known about the former. Even their true appearance had been a mystery, until a Night Fury had walked into one of the traps Hiccup once used to set up in the forest.

At the time, Stoick had thought it was a gift from the gods. The mighty Tere had looked down, she who had created the dragons before they'd turned against her, or maybe Ohl had blessed Hiccup.

With such an important sacrifice, Stoick had thanked the stars, convinced that this golden opportunity would finally encourage Hiccup to take an interest in his role of Heir. Stoick had then organized the ceremony with hope in his heart, without knowing that something would go terribly wrong.

He sometimes relived the scene in his nightmares. The entire village gathered at the Arena. The dragon tied tightly in the center. Hiccup raising the dagger, in the expectant silence.

And then a sparkle in his eyes that Stoick, having known him since he came into the world, had immediately glimpsed.

Hiccup and the dragon had looked at each other, and nothing had been the same again.

The rest of the dream usually proceeded at an accelerated pace, mirroring what Stoick had felt in that time of rapid and uncontrollable change. Hiccup cutting the ropes, the crippled dragon running away, him following, escaping Stoick's hands.

Those subsequent days that his son had spent more in the woods than in the village, the vague answers, the new bruises and calluses. Even when he was home, Hiccup had always seemed absent, as if his mind had been miles away.

People had started asking questions. The ruined ceremony had passed from mouth to mouth as an omen of doom, and Stoick had done his best to appear as confident as ever, despite the rumors about his son — which Spitelout, as his First Counselor, reported to him with almost sadistic care. Training, he answered those curious, Hiccup was undergoing special training in the Bloody Forest.

If only Stoick had known it was the truth.

It was a day like any other. Hiccup had told him that he was going on a journey to rewrite the Dragon Manual passed from class to class for generations. It was wrong, Hiccup had said, and he would correct it.

Stoick had tried to convince him to stay, that flying away on the back of a dragon was madness, and that he was going to get himself killed. Hiccup had replied that there were worse ways to die, and had left the house to mount the dragon and take off.

From that moment on, his journey seemed to never end. Hiccup came home every now and then for a few days of rest in which he still seemed absent, from how little he'd show his face around. In a way, he had never returned.

The dragon, needless to say, followed him constantly. That beast had taken Stoick's son away, and now it had the nerve to growl at anyone who came near, as if Hiccup belonged to him.

However, the last straw had been Hiccup's most recent visit, when he'd said that definitive no and, according to Astrid Hofferson's report, had even hinted at leaving the kingdom.

Stoick had been this close to finally giving up, but that evening Astrid had explained to him an idea she'd been planning for months, which involved using a magical object to track Hiccup wherever he was headed.

Astrid's plan was to follow him and make one last attempt to convince him to fight in the Duel, and if that also failed, take him back to Berk. By any means necessary. 

Stoick had faith in Astrid, he'd secretly considered her the best candidate for the position of Chief since she was seven, yet he doubted that even she could succeed in the impossible.

In fact, it had been over a week since Astrid had left, and Stoick hadn't received any messages, positive or negative.

He felt that if another week like this had gone by, he would take it out on someone. Also for this reason, that evening he'd taken refuge in the almost suffocating warmth of the Great Hall.

He was contemplating whether to go back to his empty house and get some sleep, when he heard the doors open. The person who had just entered didn't wait to announce himself.

"You've missed the best birthday party of the decade," Gobber barked, dropping heavily onto the bench next to Stoick, who frowned.

"What time is it?"

"Dunno. Two in the morning? Maybe three."

Stoick sighed. “I wasn't in the mood for crowds.”

Gobber smacked the table with his mug-included wooden hand, his favorite accessory for going out partying. “Aye, no word from young Hofferson, huh?” he said. "I don't know what she hopes to get by chasing Hic around like a dragon hunts an old sheep."

"What else could I do? If Astrid's plan works, however unlikely, so be it," Stoick said, exhausted.

"Hmm. And what is she gonna do if she manages to catch your son? He doesn't even want to be Chief, let alone the king," Gobber replied.

"I know, but I couldn't tell Astrid and the others to just let Hiccup leave, and do nothing about it!" Stoick said. He traced a vein of the table with the tip of his finger. "My hands were tied."

Gobber bumped their shoulders together. “Hey, do you know what I heard from Bucket tonight?”

"That he's got something stuck in his teeth that he can't get out on his own again?"

"The old Dunbrochian man he sells tuna to told him something's cooking in Grayfir." Gobber paused for effect. "Apparently their Heir is missing. Just like my left socks. Poof."

Stoick tried in vain to rub away the tiredness from his eyes. "Since when do you believe the rumors spread by fishermen?"

"I didn't at first, but then I heard the exact same thing from Mulch—"

"Who must have heard it from Bucket."

"—and then from Spitelout and Mrs. Thorston," Gobber concluded. "I was almost expecting Silent Sven to also tell me."

Stoick was actually starting to change his mind, even if he didn't want to admit it. "Why didn't Spitelout inform me, if it's true? He's the one who tells me all the news about the Heir of Dunbroch," he objected.

"He would have, if you'd come to the party," Gobber replied, shrugging.

“There's no way they lost the girl, she's the most important person in the region, after her mother!”

"Aye, incredible," Gobber said vaguely. "To let a young Heir slip out of your sight despite having been after him for almost twenty years, without being able to do anything. Go figure."

Stoick grimaced. "Fine, I get it."

"So you know what it means, if Merida of Grayfir is missing?" Gobber continued. "The Duel is in less than a month, and they'll be forced to appoint a replacement, who'll never have any hope of being ready in time."

"That would be a godsend," Stoick agreed. "If only Hiccup had a shred of ambition."

"You know you wouldn't be in this situation if you had other kids — I know, I know, don't look at me like that," Gobber said.

"I didn't say anything," Stoick replied, however aware of the expression he must have involuntarily made.

After Valka he hadn't remarried, although anyone in his right mind would have done so, at least to ensure the existence of one or more replacements for Hiccup.

Sometimes Stoick thought that perhaps it would have been good for the boy to have siblings, then he would put the mug down and repeated to himself that no, he wouldn’t do his Val wrong like that. Not even for the good of the archipelago.

Then he'd get depressed, because every time he thought about her, Stoick felt as lost as a leaf in fall. Magic had taken her away, and again magic, this time in the form of a creature, was taking Hiccup away. In fact, it seemed like it had already happened.

Stoick was the last Haddock left on Berk. His ancestors would have rolled over in their graves if they'd known.

“What else do the fishermen say?” he asked to change the subject.

Gobber eyed him suspiciously, but complied with his silent request. "It seems that Lady Elinor is trying to hide the truth by telling people that her daughter is ill, but no one's actually seen her in the last few days."

"Do you think she got kidnapped?" Stoick said.

"Well, if that's the case, this disappearance of Heir girls is becoming a serious problem," Gobber said skeptically.

Stoick nodded absently and remained silent for a few moments, watching the last people get up to go to sleep. He focused on the decorations of the columns and the elaborate tapestries hanging on the rock walls, which depicted the deeds of the most famous Hairy Hooligans.

If Astrid hadn't succeeded, Hiccup was probably never going to be immortalized together with their ancestors. Although in a certain sense, he had done something extraordinary already.

"Maybe it's too late for Hic," Gobber muttered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Let's say that by some miracle he changes his mind and fights in the Duel. Let's even say that he wins. What would the people of Fewor think, seeing that boy glued to the dragon? They'd accuse him of being a Magicknapper," he reflected.

"They couldn't help it though, Hiccup would use the dragon to defend himself," Stoick muttered, unsure of where Gobber was going with this.

He pointed his mug hand at his chest. "I'm not talking about the people. Hic would be back to square one if he were treated like we already do in Berk. He'd leave the throne in less than a month."

Stoick frowned. “Are you saying that no matter what happens, I have already failed?”

"I'm not blaming you," Gobber said defensively. "I'm just saying that, maybe, you're approaching the boy in the wrong way. Maybe you should try to act like he does. Do something crazy. Break the mold."

"I'm already doing something crazy listening to you," Stoick grumbled to hide his uncertainty. They both knew very well that Spitelout was officially his First Counselor, but it was Gobber he trusted the most.

Gobber chuckled and got up from the bench with a loud clatter. "Well, Chief, I'm going to go get some sleep. You should do the same."

"I'll stay here another minute."

"As you wish. 'Night."

"Good night."

When the heavy doors closed behind Gobber, Stoick sighed and took a moment to rub his hands over his face.

He would die from the stress before even seeing the ending of that story, for sure.

*

Fergus had a very important, delicate and urgent mission. He'd been silent for too long, leaving Elinor to be the rational one as usual, but now was his time to intervene. The problem was how to do it without making her angry. Fergus didn't want to be forced to spend the night in the stables.

He opened the door to their rooms enough to create a crack to peek inside.

Sitting on her favorite armchair by the light of some candles, Elinor was working on a tapestry that she held across her lap. Even from outside, Fergus could hear her mumbling to herself, as she always did when she was particularly agitated.

She was so focused that she didn't even look up when Fergus snuck in, even though she must have heard him unconsciously.

She jumped as she felt Fergus's rough hand smoothing out a strand of brown hair that had slipped from her updo.

"You came to ask me something," she said, putting the tapestry down.

Fergus then recognized that it was the one hanging in Merida's room, from which Elinor was removing the hastily stitched X symbol. Their daughter's last message.

"How do you know? You always know everything," Fergus protested. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing the knee of his amputated leg which was stinging for the oncoming rain.

"We've known each other since we were young, dear, I know when you want to talk," she replied, rummaging through her sewing box.

Next to it, the last few days' mail was strewn on the table: letters from lords denying having seen Merida, requests from commoners, invitations to summer celebrations, messages containing confidential information about the Heir of the Archipelago.

Somewhere in the midst of that chaos, Fergus knew there was the letter that had come that morning from Elmaze.

Elinor dedicated a couple of hours everyday to the mail, to check what had arrived at dawn and reply or send her own messages, therefore she had be the one to read Lord Macintosh's letter first.

From what he had written, it seemed that a few days earlier an attack had been attempted on his son: someone had tried to poison him and almost managed to escape.

Macintosh asked Elinor's permission to make a formal request to the king to exile the assassin, as was customary. Permission that she hadn’t hesitated to send back that very morning.

Fergus had been deeply upset when he'd received the news. According to the letter, the culprit was from Pineton, east of the Old Woods.

Lord MacGuffin's town.

Elinor had seen fit to send another message, to officially exempt the young MacGuffin from his search for Merida. Or rather, an implicit invitation to return to Pineton and stay there for a good while.

Fergus didn't like that whole thing at all. The intrigues between lords reminded him too much of old feuds, the ones that had inspired stories like Mor'du. Relations between Grayfir and the other lords weren't always idyllic, but even Fergus knew they had to stay united. It was the strategy that had allowed Dunbroch to not get crushed in the conflict with Corona, and to thrive from it thanks to agreements and compromises. At least, that was what Elinor always said.

Plot aside, which hadn't helped the current situation nonetheless, their biggest problem was still Merida's escape.

And that was why Fergus had come to the battlefield that in this case was their bedroom, armed with some good ol' common sense.

"Well, I need to talk to you," he said nervously. "I can no longer keep quiet."

Elinor looked at him expectantly.

Fergus cleared his throat. "The illness excuse doesn't hold up anymore. People are starting to worry about Merida's health, and word is spreading all over Dunbroch. In fact, I think it's already crossed the borders."

Elinor held Fergus's serious gaze. "And how would you advise me to act?"

"You're the Lady of Grayfir, I only got the title with our marriage," Fergus muttered uncomfortably.

“Are you dumping the decision on me?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. The left one, to be precise, which meant she wasn't teasing him like she did when she was in a good mood.

"Now don't put words in my mouth that I didn't say, woman!" he replied. "I'm just telling you what the mood is in town."

"If you're here to talk about this before I go to bed, it means you're trying to make me come to a decision out of exhaustion."

"Come on, we must do something! If someone finds out that Merida ran off into the sunset, there'll be a riot! People are also getting antsy because we haven't left for Amberray yet, you know?"

Elinor wound the thread around a spool with controlled precision, a wrinkle of irritation peeking across her forehead. The lack of common sense of others, including Fergus, was a major source of annoyance to her. "They know very well that a magical displacement is planned for the guests of honor. The same thing goes for Merida, even if we'd prefer to follow tradition. Heir permitting."

Fergus wrinkled his nose. He didn't like remembering the mysterious spell that would transport them straight to Amberray performed by the Magic Keeper, or as Fergus's friends called him after a few mugs, the court Magicknapper.

He would never understand the royal family and their obsession with magic. Special guards and trained spellcasters? Madness.

Fergus swallowed and scratched the stubble on his cheek. "We should tell them."

"Tell what? Remind everyone about the method of transportation? People will find another excuse to complain," said Elinor, busy with her sewing box.

"About Merida." Elinor looked up sharply. Fergus couldn't hold her shocked gaze and looked elsewhere. "People should know from us, before the truth comes out on its own."

The silent bewilderment on his wife's face made him even more uncomfortable, making his nice little speech an insecure mumble. "I mean, we could give our version. Contain the panic. Pretend everything is normal."

Elinor gravely stared at the tapestry in her hands. The outline of the small island on which the capital was located, connected to the hinterland by a long bridge, had been freed from the mark of black thread. "I had thought about this possibility, to tell the truth, but I didn't expect you to suggest it to me."

"So you agree," Fergus said hopefully.

"Not quite. I'm thinking about what the lords would have to say about the missing auspicious rituals. And honestly this issue worries me too. Merida hasn't even made the traditional stop on the Pilgrims Chain."

Fergus hummed. "I don't know how much the ceremonies could help. This story has been one disaster after another from the beginning. Think of the Lost Princess. Vanished into thin air after less than a year. Who knows what happened to that wee lass."

That period was hard to forget.

Fergus and Elinor had recently married, and he was still trying to get used to Grayfir, similar yet completely different from his hometown. Winter had come early and fierce, bringing heavy snows that had covered Dunbroch in a deadly white blanket. Corona was warmer, but the unfortunate event that would soon hit it had made the season cold and desolate there too.

The news of Queen Arianna's miraculous recovery had had plenty of time to reach the most remote corners of the kingdom, managing to become legend. The Magicknappers who had been clever enough to find the cure — some spoke of a spell found in a cursed tome, others of a prodigious plant — had earned a place of honor in the royal guard. The king's choice had caused quite a bit of indignation, but after a few months the chatter had mostly moved on to other topics.

Until that winter night.

The messenger had delivered the letter in person, handing it to Elinor's cold hands, momentarily torn away from the warmth of the fireplace. If he remembered correctly, Fergus had been on the verge of dozing off in a chair at that moment.

The message was short and brutal. The princess was missing, and her parents begged for help from every inhabitant of Fewor, noble or not.

For a while there had been a real general hysteria. Every parent of a blonde girl had been questioned. The access (and exit) road to the capital had been closed for weeks. Every influential person in the kingdom had been accused at least once. The new elite guard that had failed in its duty to protect the princess was dismantled.

With growing desperation, the king and queen had spent every minute of their time searching for their daughter, but as weeks had turned to months, and then years, it had become apparent that praying for a second miracle from the gods would be naive.

Fergus sometimes wondered if, deep down, the two had always known there was no hope.

A good year after the day Princess Rapunzel became the Lost Princess, Merida was born, with her round little face and easy smile.

A smile that had become increasingly rare, usually reserved for occasions when she could ignore her destiny as Heir and focus on her interests. All that time spent complaining about lessons, duties and reproaches, thrown away in the course of a banquet.

Fergus suspected he knew why.

Elinor sighed, bringing him back to the present. "For the love of Isur, don't compare Merida to the princess. I hate to think what would happen if we told everyone that she's traveling alone."

“No one knows, though, right?” Fergus corrected.

A sparkle appeared in Elinor's brown eyes. "I guess not. Are you suggesting that we should…?"

"Tell people that Merida is accompanied by a horde of guards armed to the teeth?"

"Perhaps it's not such a bad idea."

"Aye, and throw in a couple of bloodthirsty Magicknappers," Fergus suggested.

Elinor glared at him. "A little extreme, but I suppose it could work. We'll say that Merida is doing her best to get the blessings of the gods on her travel."

She spoke in a stern, detached tone, but the relief on her face was evident.

Triumphant at having achieved his hard-earned victory, Fergus patted his thigh. "Prepare a nice speech of yours, dear. We'll make Merida untouchable, and when the time comes, we'll be in Amberray waiting for her!"

*

It was a noisy night. The rain pattered on the colored glass of the windows, on the windowsill and on the roof tiles of the tower, accompanied by the whistle of the wind, creating a harmony of water and air. Every now and then, the drum of thunder drowned out all the sound.

There was a real concert going on outside, yet in Gothel's head everything sounded muffled, distant.

A single candle placed in the center of the table barely illuminated the room, which appeared unnaturally empty, without Rapunzel's ringing voice, and above all without the feet of golden hair scattered on the floor.

Was there anything worse than a chest without its treasure? Of a pedestal without a statue? Of a vase without flowers?

Gothel glanced at the grandfather clock. Midnight. The appointed time had come.

She brought the seashell to her ear, feeling its smooth, cold surface touch her cheek.

"I wish to hear the voice of the Magic Keeper," she whispered into the empty shell.

She knew that, somewhere in Amberray Castle, he was uttering the same spell.

"Gothel," greeted the velvety voice of her interlocutor, slightly distorted by the curves of the seashell.

She didn't bother wasting time with pleasantries. "Where's Rapunzel?"

Gothel heard a small snort on the other end. He was probably also rolling his light eyes. "In a couple of days she and her friends will be in Willoway."

Gothel had to stop herself from grabbing the candle and throwing it away.

Instead she just looked at her hands. The skin was already starting to stretch, her tendons were more visible. Gothel stared at that hateful spot that had appeared the day before, disfiguring her beautiful ivory complexion.

"Too many days have passed. Your strategy is useless," she said.

"My strategy takes time to refine," he replied. "Soon I'll be able to enter the girl's nightmares and strike with the right precision."

Gothel frowned, even though she knew that it could make it easier for the wrinkles to form on her forehead. "Soon isn't enough. You're getting distracted by your personal interests."

"They aren't personal, dear Gothel. What I'm planning will benefit all of us," he said.

He was always incredibly boring when he'd start with that topic. Gothel regretted bringing it up.

"Jack Frost plays a vital role, I can't afford to waste this opportunity," he was still babbling.

Gothel didn't insult him only because the time the spell put at their disposal was limited, and because after all she had two debts with that man.

He'd been the first person she had turned to, the day she had returned to the tower and after a few minutes of denial, she had given up to the idea that Rapunzel was gone. He had already helped her once, he was the only one capable of doing it again, thanks to his resources.

"Then hurry up and get Rapunzel back to me, or I'll have to go get her myself, and then I'll tell Frost everything," Gothel threatened.

His tone of voice turned cold. "You wouldn't dare."

Gothel suppressed a shudder. He was one of the few people she trusted, but also the only one capable of truly scaring her. His powers seemed immense.

"Fine, I'll give you more time, but remember that my patience has a limit, and you've already passed it," Gothel said, pretending not to be seeking comfort in the pale candlelight. A normal person would have believed her instantly.

He obviously wasn't fooled by the illusion in her words, and when the time ran out and Gothel lowered the seashell, she could still hear Pitch Black's deep laughter echoing in her ears.

Chapter Text

"Come on, just a quick break. A teeny weeny break. You won't even notice it happened."

If Rapunzel had been keeping track correctly, this was the twelfth time Merida was begging Hiccup to make Toothless land. She had tried everything, from pleas to threats, to no avail.

"We haven't been in the air for two hours, just be patient a little longer," was his reply.

"Sometimes you're really obnoxious, Haddock."

Rapunzel was positioned behind Hiccup and in front of Merida as usual, so she found herself between two fires. It didn't bother her, except when the two seemed about to get into a serious argument.

Rapunzel heard Merida stirring behind her. "We've been flying for five days straight. I can't stand it anymore. Can't we take a day on foot, like when Jack was recovering?" Merida insisted.

The person in question floated lightly beside them, his staff clutched in his hand and the wind billowing his cape. "We have to keep going like this if we want to get to the capital in time."

"You have it easy," Merida grumbled. "You can stretch your legs whenever you want, but we're stuck here. And also I'm getting bored. We're always in the clouds so we don't scare the people on the ground, and here everything's the same."

"Wha— boring? Flying on a dragon is boring?" Hiccup said indignantly.

Merida sighed. "It was great, sure. For the first forty-six hours. Now it's starting to get a little... monotonous. Right, Rapunzel?"

Uh-oh. Rapunzel always felt uncomfortable when they put her in the middle of the argument without warning. It didn't give her enough time to prepare a diplomatic response, and she was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"There's not much to do up here," she admitted shyly.

However, she didn't mind the routine that had naturally developed in those last few days.

After the bizarre encounter with the Ashire trolls, they had spent the entire time flying straight towards Amberray, stopping only for the night, and a couple of times during the day to rest their legs — and their backsides. Hiccup, who was more accustomed than them, had said that when he traveled alone he'd take short naps in the saddle, when Toothless managed to find a current that allowed him to fly on his own.

Unfortunately it wasn't possible with three people, but Rapunzel was happy to sleep on the ground; she was sure she'd never be able to fall sleep at high altitude.

Besides, she liked to camp with the others. They each had their own role: she cooked Mother's recipes, Jack got the wood and tended the fire, Merida hunted dinner, and Hiccup guarded the area with Toothless. They ate and exchanged stories, memories and jokes. After dinner, Rapunzel practiced her pan-fighting skills with Merida, making slow but steady progress.

If the moments on the ground were pleasant, that marathon flight was actually becoming repetitive. They could chat, and they had played cloud shape at least a million times, but there were few other options for entertainment.

"At least sleeping takes some time away," she added, uncertain.

She didn't want to reveal to everyone that in the last few days she'd had more nightmares than normal dreams. She supposed it was because of their adventures and the dangers they'd escaped, but it was making the moments when she closed her eyes a source of anxiety.

"It's obvious that flying with magic is more fun than flying on a dragon," Jack teased. "Because flying on a dragon is bo- ring," he added, dragging the first vowel.

Hiccup was more scandalized than before. "That's not true at all. Tell him too, bud."

He looked down for support, but Toothless shook his head and snorted through his nose. He even opened and closed his mouth, almost as if he was imitating Hiccup.

His equivalent of a pout, Rapunzel had learned.

"Oh yeah? Do you really want to see what we're capable of?" Hiccup said, determined to prove the others wrong. Another thing Rapunzel had noticed was that he was more competitive than she'd expect, especially when teased by someone. For Jack it was a source of endless opportunities for friendly annoyance.

"What are you doing?" Merida asked, clearly interested in the direction the discussion was going.

Hiccup settled himself better in the saddle and fiddled with the mechanism of Toothless's fin. "I think you're ready for a more… dynamic ride. It's probably best if you let your hair down, Rapunzel."

She blinked, puzzled. Securing Merida to herself when they were flying had become a habit. “Isn't this the time to keep it tied?”

Hiccup's shoulders shook with what must have been embarrassment as he turned to look at her. "I let you do it because I imagined nothing would happen as long as we're flying safely, but I think that if Merida fell, the force of the recoil would break your neck instantly."

Rapunzel quickly untied the hair and swore to herself that this would be the last time she did so. Merida chuckled, apparently complicit in the truth that Rapunzel had ignored until now.

Thankfully Hiccup turned to Jack, taking the attention away from Rapunzel's embarrassment. "Just please be ready in case something goes wrong. It won't, but. You know."

"Yessir," Jack replied. He looked at Toothless. "Hey, buddy, can you keep up with me?" he added quickly.

"Jack, wait, I'm not—" Hiccup started to protest, but the other gathered the strongest winds towards himself, bent his knees and accelerated as fast as an arrow.

Toothless flapped his big wings, and before Rapunzel could realize what was about to happen, he gave chase.

She held her breath as Merida clung to her, who clung to Hiccup, who Rapunzel prayed was holding tight onto the handles of the saddle. She didn't know what Jack might do if all three of them fell.

Toothless reached Jack and circled him in defiance, making him laugh.

"Good. Can you do this too?" he asked rhetorically, before spinning around and darting away again.

An instant before Toothless followed suit — because it was now obvious that the dragon wasn't one to give up a challenge — Rapunzel heard Hiccup mutter a prayer to Ohl.

She didn't take it as a good sign.

Toothless then gained the momentum to spin. Rapunzel felt a strange sinking feeling in her stomach, but fortunately the stunt didn't last long, and a second later they were upright again.

They didn't have time to recover before Toothless went back to following Jack, up higher... even higher... then around a cloud as tall as the tower. Obviously at breakneck speed.

Through it all, it seemed that Merida was enjoying herself, because the couple of times Rapunzel peeked over her shoulder, she saw her with a huge smile and a hand reaching out to touch the wind and clouds. Even Hiccup's protests sounded more exasperated than terrified, so Rapunzel forced herself to stop hiding her face in his back, so as not to look like a wimp.

Toothless was slaloming between tufts of puffy, gray clouds, flanked by a particularly cheerful Jack.

By the fourth turn, Rapunzel was already learning when to really hold on tight, and her heart started beating again, even if at a somewhat confused pace. It was beginning to be a bit exciting, actually. Rapunzel found herself waiting for every sharp movement of the dragon.

When Jack got tired of the chase, he gave them one of his best mischievous grins, and in the blink of an eye he dropped down, arms outstretched and eyes closed.

For a moment, Rapunzel was seriously afraid that he'd hurt himself, because the ground was getting dangerously close, but Jack regained control of the wind just in time to avoid crashing. He took off again and winked at Toothless.

Rapunzel knew what was coming next, and she joined Merida and Hiccup's chorus of groans.

Toothless dived down eagerly, folding his wings around his body. Hiccup flattened himself on the saddle, and Rapunzel imitated him without really knowing if it would be of any use.

If she had described the previous as crazy, the speed they reached now made her eyes water.

Rapunzel had promised herself not to scream, but she couldn’t help it. It was as if the sky itself was ripping the scream from her lungs.

At least her voice was joined by Merida's.

They wouldn't make it, Rapunzel thought, seeing with grim clarity their shadow on the grass becoming more and more defined. They were too heavy for Toothless. Too heavy. And too fast. She closed her eyes.

Then, a loud snap.

An invisible force crushed Rapunzel downward, causing her to hit her nose on something hard that her terrified mind guessed was Hiccup's back.

The fall had stopped suddenly. Rapunzel had to use all of her willpower to open her eyes again.

When she did, her heart swelled with a new feeling.

They were ascending gently, still staying lower than usual, in that space between land and sky that felt like a world of its own. It was late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set, turning the rain clouds orange and dark gray. The wind created running streaks across the grass.

Hiccup had told Rapunzel about the ocean, giving her even more reasons to dream of the festival in Amberray, which was located on a small island overlooking the sea. From the way he had described it, it sounded beautiful, not the nightmarish environment full of sea monsters that Mother had spoken of.

At that moment, Rapunzel wondered what a sunset like that would look like over the water.

Jack reappeared calmly, as if he hadn't just performed a deadly dangerous maneuver, and walked weightlessly on Toothless's outstretched wing.

"Maybe it's not as boring as I thought," he joked. The reckless flight had given a different spark to his eyes. Rapunzel had the sudden certainty that in a distant past he used to smile like that all the time.

Hiccup shook his head. "You're a bad influence for Toothless," he said. He didn't really sound bothered though.

"I thought we were done for," Merida commented, followed by, “we should do this more often.”

Despite everything, Rapunzel found herself agreeing.

"It'll slow us down," Hiccup said, but didn't rule out the idea.

"Well, it was fun," Merida said, "but now we really have to land."

"Again? Wasn't the spinning enough?"

"I'm telling you we have to get down."

"Why?" Hiccup said, exasperated.

"Because I have to pee," Merida said, equally exasperated.

Hiccup activated Toothless's fin mechanism and landed without another word.

According to his map, which Rapunzel had taken to studying every evening when she wasn't completely tired after training, they weren't too far from Dewel Woods. It was a forest sacred to Veeta, Jack had said, so logging was forbidden, which was why Corona relied on Dunbroch for timber; other than the Dewel Woods, there were no large forests.

The fact was that they found a secluded area near some trees. Merida quickly got off Toothless's back and entrusted her bow and quiver to Rapunzel.

"Didn't you go before we took off?" Jack said.

Merida stuck her tongue out at him. "Flying makes my throat dry, alright? I don't ask you how often you go to the bathroom."

Jack half-smiled. "Yeah. I forget I stand before a Real Lady."

"Oh, shut up," she said, and she disappeared into the trees at a hurried pace. Jack snorted a soft laugh.

It seemed that teasing Merida had become one of his favorite pastimes. The bickering between the two was frequent, but they had learned when it was time to stop, and if one of them went too far, the worst that could happen was that the other sulked for a few hours. Rapunzel doubted they'd spontaneously call each other friends, but the improvement from past arguments was so marked that in comparison they now had an idyllic relationship.

Hiccup was studying the shape of the clouds, frowning. “We've been lucky so far, but I think rain is near.”

"Do you know any shelters?" Rapunzel asked Jack.

"Around here? No. A building would be nice."

They exchanged ideas about how to escape the rain, until Merida returned.

"Guess what I found over there," she announced as she took her weapons back.

“More trees?” Hiccup said.

"A road. Or rather, a somewhat wide path," she replied. "But listen to this, there was also a sign with directions to an inn, not very far from here! And they offer dinner and a room for only two silver coins!"

"It's a scam, Merida," Jack said immediately. "In that same direction there will be a band of criminals ready to rob us."

"It won't happen," she insisted. "The inn is the Mad Squirrel. I stayed there with my parents once. So it exists."

"Only two silver coins? No way. There must be something sketchy going on," Hiccup said doubtfully.

"Look, I don't care if the place sucks. I just want to sleep at least one night under a roof, in a real bed. And eat something I don't have to hunt myself and cook quickly on a makeshift fire — no offense, Rapunzel,” Merida said.

"What do you eat in inns?" she asked. 

Merida put on a dreamy expression. "You'd love it. Warm pumpkin soup. Mushroom cream. Roast veal so tender you can shred it with your hands. Potato crusted salmon. Fresh bread. Apple pie. Rolls with..."

She went on like that for at least another five minutes. With each dish she added to the list, Rapunzel felt a hunger awaken in her that didn't even exist until a few moments ago: she didn't know what most of those things were, but her mouth was already watering. Certainly, at that moment they sounded more tempting than river fish, spit-roasted game and dried meat.

She looked at Jack and pleaded with her eyes. "That sounds great. We really can't stay for a night? We can all share a room."

He hesitated. "I'd have to cover myself with the hood all the time. I doubt they let Ma—Starfolks in."

Hiccup snorted. "With those prices they won't care about your hair, Jack."

Rapunzel took advantage of his support. "Please. We've been flying for days. And it's about to rain. Pleeease."

"Don't come complaining to me if they throw us out," Jack gave up.

Rapunzel and Merida cheered loudly.

*

While the owners of the inn might have turned a blind eye to Jack's presence, unfortunately a dragon wouldn’t have received the same treatment, so they had to leave Toothless where they landed.

On the other hand, the good news was that the sign Merida had seen mentioned a laundry service, so Hiccup gathered some clothes into a bag.

Merida was definitely relieved. Having lost her spare clothes after the escape of her horse, she had exchanged her now filthy brown tunic for a shirt from Hiccup a couple of days earlier. Merida wasn't afraid of getting dirty, but one of the few comforts of the castle she missed was having clean clothes that didn't smell like dragons.

Added to the pile were Rapunzel's pink blouse — she had also shopped at Haddock's — and the clothes he'd been wearing when they met.

Jack only gave him a pair of trousers, the lilac-turned-gray ones, since he'd had to roll up the hems of the borrowed pair at least three times, and they kept unfolding anyway. His hooded cape was undoubtedly the piece in the worst condition, in terms of wear, but the thin veil of frost that covered it seemed to offer protection from most external factors.

So, with a bag of dirty clothes ready and stomachs rumbling, they set off towards the inn, which they found easily by following the road.

The Mad Squirrel was a two-story building protected by a bright red roof, above which stood a weathervane in the shape of the animal it took its name from. The main structure was accompanied by a second lower building which must have been the stables, with walls partially invaded by a climbing plant.

Smoke was coming out of one of the two chimneys, and near the entrance there were two customers chatting, giving the place a more inviting appearance, compared to the idea of a shady place they had formed when hearing about the prices.

Merida nudged Jack. "What did I tell you? A normal inn."

He glared at her from under the hood he was hiding his white hair with. "Wait until you see inside, before you judge."

Merida pushed the creaking front door open, followed closely by the others, and she marched straight to the counter, where she placed two silver coins taken from Hiccup's funds. "A room for four."

"Please," he added from somewhere behind her, a certain note of reproach in his tone.

The innkeeper wasn't the big woman with red cheeks and messy hair Merida remembered. Instead, it was a much older lady who took the money from the counter. Merida noticed how the dirt under her nails contrasted with the cheerful colors of her apron.

"I only have rooms with two beds, dear," the innkeeper sighed as if it wasn't the first time she had to say it. At least she was more affable than the last old woman they had dealt with.

Merida blinked and glanced around: the interior was divided into a common area with a fireplace guarded by a couple of armchairs, and the dining area. A small group was playing with dices while waiting for dinner, while two or three other people were chatting and pointing to a portrait on the mantelpiece.

"How did you run out of other rooms? There are barely any people in here," Merida observed.

The innkeeper sighed again and drummed her fingers on the counter. "It's all my wretched nephew's fault. Ever since my daughter-in-law got pregnant and took some time off, he's been thinking about modernizing the management, whatever that means," she muttered.

Merida realized her mistake too late: once the conversation was introduced, the woman became like a flooding river.

"Let him do it, they said, he's the future of the inn, they said. And what did I do? I listened to them, may the gods forgive me!" she babbled more and more heartfelt. "First he's repainted the roof, well aware that within a month it'll be exactly as it was before. Then he's decided to renovate all the large rooms, spending a fortune. And now he's come up with that insane deal which only manages to make potential customers suspicious!"

This time it was Jack's turn to elbow Merida. She was already regretting not having turned around and said goodbye.

Rapunzel shook her head, swinging her newly braided hair. "Even a small room is fine, all we need is a couple of beds and a quiet dinner," she said as if the old woman's psychological well-being was enormously important to her.

It wasn't the first time Rapunzel was going out of her way to please others. Merida liked this gentle side of her, even if it made her a little pushy sometimes. However, she envied Rapunzel's unconditional kindness.

The innkeeper looked almost moved. "Oh, and here I was losing hope in today's young people. What a dear girl. Of course, if you kids are fine with a bunk bed I'll give you the nicest double room I have."

Merida knew very well that rooms were generally all the same, but evidently Rapunzel didn't, and she put on one of her warm smiles before happily following the innkeeper up the stairs.

The upper floor was a mess, the hallway full of woodboards and saws smelled of fresh paint, but luckily the room that the innkeeper showed them was neat. It was simple, as one would expect from the ridiculous price, but still clean. The two mattresses appeared spotless.

"Thank you, Mrs. Innkeeper," Rapunzel said.

"Call me Gill, dear," the woman replied. "Do you need our laundry service? My husband will take care of it."

She took the bag of clothes Hiccup handed her and started to close the door.

"The kitchen opens in half an hour. I'll see you then."

When she closed the door behind her, Rapunzel spread her arms and did a spin that spread her skirt like a large flower. "I like this place. Gill is nice."

Jack lowered his hood. "I wonder where this busy nephew she talked about is. Weird that we haven't seen him around."

"Don't be skeptical as usual," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe he works in the kitchen."

Merida took the opportunity, quickly climbed onto the rickety ladder of the bunk bed and sat on the top mattress. "I sleep on top."

"Oh, can I join you? It sounds like fun," Rapunzel said.

"So you'll leave me to share a bed with Mr. Longlegs? We'll barely fit in," Jack pretended to complain.

"Said the one who stirs in his sleep. Try not kicking me down, if you can," Hiccup said.

Jack's grin vanished instantly. He looked like he had just remembered something unpleasant.

"I was joking," Hiccup quickly said. "I won't get mad if you kick me by accident, Jack, really."

"What? Nah, I was thinking I'll have to ask Gill for some earplugs," Jack replied, turning carefree again a little too quickly. "Or I'll have to put up with thunderclaps all night."

Hiccup opened his mouth, shocked. For a moment he seemed unable to find the words. "I don't snore!"

He looked to the girls for help.

"It's true," Merida revealed. "You snore. A little bit."

"This is the first and last time we're stopping at an inn."

They rested for the time Gill had told them, then they went downstairs following the smell coming from the kitchen. Merida risked leaving her bow upstairs, but only because she had a dagger hidden in her boot in case of need.

The other guests had also gathered there and were sitting at the tables, finally filling the room with chatter, laughter and the thud of mugs placed indelicately.

The only element out of place was one of the customers: they were half hidden by a cloak, but their scaley hands with long claws were clearly visible. They sat alone at the table in a corner, with a void around them left by the other customers who were giving the stranger dirty looks, but it seemed that no one wanted to confront them. Or was brave enough to try.

Merida turned to find Gill. She saw her taking an order, not far away. The woman looked even more exhausted than before.

"I suspect the new management tolerates Starfolks," she whispered to Jack as they occupied an empty table. "You can show your head."

He hesitated. "Look at the way everyone's staring at them. I'd rather pretend to be normal and enjoy dinner in peace, honestly."

"Whatever…"

Rapunzel made an attempt to look at the unknown Starfolk discreetly, but failed miserably. "Are those really scales? Why don't we have scales?"

She almost sounded disappointed. Pascal nodded from her shoulder.

Jack, who sat hunched over to hide better, shrugged. "Why do I have hair like this and you don't? It's one of the scams of magic. Someone changes appearance, depending on the power received. There was..." he stumbled, before continuing. "Once there was a guy among the royal guards who looked more like a rabbit than a person. Another had feathers like a fairy."

Rapunzel opened her eyes wide, making them appear even larger. "Fairies exist?"

“There's a small colony in Fewor, but they're native to the eastern lands.”

"Starfolks among the royal guards? Are you sure?" Merida asked in disbelief.

"One of the king's whims," Jack muttered without further explanation, clearly annoyed.

Hiccup made a strange expression, but said nothing. Merida wondered if he had understood something she hadn't.

Of course, one thing for her to ponder was that the gods apparently enjoyed giving unnatural attributes to their chosen ones. More of a curse than a gift if it forced you to walk around covered from head to toe. Merida felt sorry for Jack's white hair, the shadows around his eyes, and his ghostly complexion, but all things considered he was lucky.

Gill arrived to interrupt her musings and took their orders. Before long a couple of kids brought the dishes.

Rapunzel watched them slip away with a conflicted expression. "Children work here too..."

"They must be Gill's grandchildren," Merida reassured her, her cheeks full of potatoes. "Look at the wee lads, they treat it as a game."

The kids returned to the kitchen, pushing each other and laughing as they ran between the tables. Rapunzel didn't look very convinced, but she didn't reply.

The food was excellent, perhaps because Merida had been eating simple meals for two weeks, and they chatted for a long time between bites. Hiccup described the volcano said among Berkians to be the place where Tere had lived in the time when the gods used to dwell in Fewor. Rapunzel amused them by making up absurd stories about the other guests. Merida told how her father had lost a leg in an unfortunate encounter with a bear.

"...So don't think you're special, Haddock," she joked to Hiccup. “Even if you've found some admirers among the trolls.”

"Never thought I was. In Berk it's weirder to still have all your limbs, and scars are seen as equal to a mole or a freckle," he said.

“So you definitely have some nice scars to show us, right?” said Merida.

She expected him to get embarrassed, but instead Hiccup laughed and pulled his shirt collar aside. Without his black doublet he seemed more relaxed, or perhaps it was the quiet atmosphere of the inn and the candlelight that gave that impression.

"A Terrible Terror gave this to me when he suddenly flew away while he was using my shoulder as a perch," he said. "Then I have a quite big one on my back from one time a Deadly Nadder tried to take me into her nest." He pointed to several other areas, focused on remembering the location of each scar. "Toothless — but it's small, and it was an accident. Monstrous Nightmare. Razorwhip. Skrill. Another Terrible Terror — those little guys can be really mischievous. Then these two are forge accidents."

"Cool," Jack commented. "Like a true Hairy Hooligan."

Hiccup grimaced. "Yeah, well. So far the only ones who were impressed were the trolls, as Merida said, and I almost got trapped in their lair for the rest of my days. By the way," he added uncertainly, "I never… I never told you guys anything about that time. Say thank you, I mean. For coming to save me."

"You'd have done the same," Rapunzel said confidently. She had just finished licking her plate clean.

"Yes, and you should have seen how worried Merida was. Another minute without hearing from you, and she'd have freaked out," Jack commented.

Merida pouted. He was the one speaking, and he'd been afraid as much as her!

"Oi, you were unconscious when the fog lifted and Hiccup disappeared chased by angry trolls. You weren't left with two people and a dragon unconscious, perhaps even poisoned, not knowing whether to run to help Hiccup or stay guarding your bodies,” she snapped, more harshly than she meant to. Someone turned to check who had raised their voice.

Silence fell on the table. Then Rapunzel hugged her tightly without saying a word.

Merida took a slightly shaky breath, inhaling her smell of flowers and sunny days. She'd put on a brave face in Ashire, playing the part of the adventurous hunter who had seen it all, but the truth was that she had actually been afraid, and for once not for herself.

When they broke their hug, Jack had enough tact to look genuinely sorry. "I probably would have freaked out too, if I had been you," he admitted.

"I'm mad at myself," Merida said. "I felt useless in the village, and the more I think about it, the angrier it makes me."

"Let's not think about it anymore, then," Rapunzel said.

And so they did. They changed the subject, and talked about strange or funny things that had happened to them, almost in a competition to see who could tell the craziest story.

By late evening everyone was relaxed; at one point even Jack had laughed so hard that his hood had slipped down, but he hadn't fixed it, and he had made friends with Gill's grandchildren in record time.

They teared up with laughter when the innkeeper rushed out after hearing noises coming from the roof, and chased after her famous nephew armed with a broom, for daring to try to remove the weathervane. According to her shouts, it was a historical relic that had stood tall over the inn for generations.

After this, someone, probably a penniless bard, took out a lute, someone else a flute, and a spontaneous performance began. To everyone's surprise, and perhaps even to her own, Rapunzel got up from the bench and went to the musicians' table, where she improvised the words to a song.

Merida was amazed. Up until that moment she had only heard Rapunzel sing the healing spell, and in a low voice, but what she was bringing out now was something completely different. It made her want to clap in time.

"She's good," Hiccup commented, impressed.

"Yup," Jack said. "Who would have thought that Rapunzel was hiding this talent."

Merida nodded. Despite the festive mood, she was decidedly sleepy: her eyelids felt heavy and her mind was foggy. It was nice and warm in the room, and she soon found herself hunched over the table.

"And what about you two instead?" she slurred, resting her cheek on her hand.

Jack and Hiccup stared at her questioningly.

"I know you have some secrets too," Merida explained. By Veeta, following a logical sentence was becoming a challenge. "I've seen you two talking when you think no one's paying attention, these days. I'm not stupid."

Their reactions were funny. Jack made an attempt to appear nonchalant, but the contents of his mug froze like a pond in winter, while Hiccup began drumming his fingers on the table.

"Us? Talking? You're seeing things," he stammered awkwardly.

Merida waved a hand. "I don't care what you talk about, it's your business. I'm not my mother, always meddling in other people's stuff."

Shortly after they decided to retreat and return to their room, where they fell asleep. Before closing her eyes, Merida thought briefly about dinner with the others. For once they had been able to let their guard down, without worrying about what to eat, where to sleep or to hurry and get back on the road as soon as possible. It had been nice, and Merida thought that once she became queen, she could do like her parents and organize parties and banquets.

She could spend dozens of other evenings like that, together with her friends.

The evening became night. Merida was so tired that she had no dreams, but after a while she woke up anyway, thirsty. She moved slowly and got out of the bunk bed, careful not to wake Rapunzel and the others.

When they had first entered the room, Merida had noticed a jug of water next to a bowl for personal use, but there was no guarantee she could drink it. It was wiser to go downstairs and see if anyone was still in the kitchen.

She left the room, crept along the hallway and went down the stairs. The inn was dark and quiet, but it wasn't scary: it was the same peaceful stillness that enveloped Grayfir Castle in the dead of night. It was even raining outside.

The tables were still occupied by a handful of night owls. Merida saw the bard from before strumming a few lazy notes on his lute, someone bent over their mug, and others asleep on the benches.

A girl was sitting at the counter. Merida didn't see anyone serving, so she took the stool next to her.

“Do you think I have any chance of getting a glass of water?” Merida asked.

The girl put her mug down and looked at her. She had a blonde braid and her warm clothes were all wrinkled. She was a little older than Merida, perhaps she had already reached her twenties. "The kitchen just closed. You're too late."

"Oh, too bad."

Merida then noticed the axe that was casually resting next to her stool like it was a walking stick. She studied its polished blade, fascinated.

"Barbaric Archipelago?"

"What?"

Merida pointed to the weapon. "The double-head is typical of the region."

The girl raised her eyebrow. "Are you an expert?"

"I studied all of—" Merida remembered that she was supposed to stay incognito, and she bit her tongue. "I like weapons. Um. Handicraft. Blacksmithing…?"

“Oh, are you the daughter of a blacksmith?”

"Aye," Merida lied. She needed to change the subject. "So, what brings you here? It's rare to see people from the Archipelago around."

The girl brushed away her bangs from her eyes. "I have a top secret mission. Don't ask," she confided.

Merida widened her eyes, curious. "You can't tell me something like that and not say anything else."

What could she be doing in Dunbroch? Only one thing came to Merida's mind: espionage work to send information about the Heir to Berk. About her.

"I really shouldn't tell anyone about it," the girl said. "Not even to people who can recognize axes. What about you?"

Merida didn't want to lie. Partly because she hated being forced to tell lies, partly because she liked that blonde girl. She had a stroke of genius, as she quickly thought of what to answer, and she felt inspired by Hiccup's strategy with the trolls.

“I'm going to Amberray for Veeta's festival.”

It wasn't a lie, just part of the truth: in the last few days an agreement had been born between her and Rapunzel to spend that day all together.

The girl looked surprised. "It's a long way to go, just for a festival."

"It's a long way from the Archipelago to here too," Merida retorted.

The girl smiled slightly. "Right."

Merida was hoping to get some more information out of her, so she decided to investigate. "Were you also attracted here by the inn's special offer?"

The girl sighed as if she had remembered something irritating. "No, we had to stop at the first place we found because some idiot twisted his ankle getting off his horse, and insisted that we sleep in a room instead of out in the open."

She muttered some typical Archipelago curses, enriching the vocabulary Merida had learned from Hiccup with new particularly imaginative insults.

So she was traveling with company. This was an unexpected detail: spies usually worked alone.

Merida asked her other seemingly innocent questions, but for some reason the conversation always returned to their interests, so after a while she gave up and talked to the girl about the fighting techniques from their respective regions.

It was clear that she was an expert warrior, and she told Merida about the dragon attacks on Berk, where she was from. From her stories it emerged that she'd risked her life several times.

"I'd like to visit it someday," Merida said.

The girl seemed less tired after their conversation. "I'd like to show you... Ah, I didn't even ask your name."

"Mmmmaudie," Merida replied, saving herself just in time. However, she felt an annoying pang in her heart at her second lie.

"Nice to meet you, Maudie." The girl offered her arm to Merida. "I'm Astrid."

Chapter Text

In the end Hiccup wasn't woken up by a kick, but by a voice.

The absence of Toothless at his side had made sleep an elusive prey that kept slipping out of his hands, making him jump at every noise, but after an hour or so his exhausted body had forcibly dragged him into a light sleep.

At first his mind idly registered the voice as part of the background noise he'd become accustomed to over the past few days: a kind of discordant melody composed of Toothless's snoring, the occasional calls of nocturnal birds, the creaking of nearly extinguished embers, and the confused whispering in Jack's sleep.

In fact, it wasn't the first time Hiccup had heard him talk. Of course, 'talk' was a big word; Hiccup had sometimes heard Gobber prattling on about lost loves and hungry dragons after passing out during Berk's banquets, and his blabbering still made more sense than anything Jack was mumbling.

Though there was something different this time. The words were as incomprehensible as ever, but the tone was unmistakably desperate.

Hiccup opened his eyes, and was met with darkness, instead of starry skies or treetops. He didn't have time to wonder where in Anim's name he had ended up, before he remembered that they were staying in an inn.

And if his memories weren't contaminated by tiredness, this meant that…

Hiccup turned to his right, and sure enough, there he was next to him. Jack, who was stirring in his sleep, his face frowning.

There had been a few moments of slight embarrassment before going to sleep, in which they'd had to decide who would sleep on which side of the bed they were sharing. Jack had chosen the spot towards the wall, Hiccup couldn't quite remember why.

Jack had also encouraged him to remove his prosthesis, which Hiccup usually kept on in case of a sudden escape.

“Isn't it annoying to keep it on all the time?” he'd asked.

“A little,” Hiccup had admitted. “But I'd rather be uncomfortable than waste precious time putting it back on if I'm, like, trying to run away from a giant.”

“What a Hairy Hooligan mentality,” Jack had snorted, and since he had kept on insisting, Hiccup had taken off the prosthesis, placed it against the leg of the bunk bed, and Jack had put his staff next to it.

He and that thing had become practically inseparable. When they stopped for the night Jack would absentmindedly touch the grass and rocks with its tip, covering them with frosted swirls. He often stared at the staff intently, as if searching for something he knew he wouldn't find, but couldn't stop trying to call.

Hiccup studied Jack's pained expression. He was still whispering in his sleep.

Hiccup was unsure. He felt bad that Jack was having a bad dream, and he probably would have been better off nudging him and pretending that he'd accidentally woken him up, but it was the first time Hiccup was hearing him speak with such emotion. A voice in his head scolded him for what he was — or wasn't — doing. Another told the first to shut it.

“Sorry,” Jack said suddenly, louder and clearer than ever. “I'm sorry.”

Well, that was depressing. Hiccup felt like a horrible person.

Besides, if Jack continued like this he could wake up Rapunzel and Merida, who were sleeping in the top bed.

Hiccup gathered his courage and reached out to lightly shake Jack's shoulder, and he sat up as soon as a finger touched him.

Hiccup's eyes were adjusting to the dark, and he could see his face when he woke up. For a moment, he looked like a different person.

“It's okay, you were just dreaming,” Hiccup reassured him in a low voice, fearing that he would hit him on the head out of fright.

“I…” Jack darted his eyes around the room, confused and scared, then relaxed his arms and dropped back onto the bed on his side. He sighed and rubbed both hands over his face. “A dream. Right.”

Hiccup couldn't help himself, even though he knew Jack was reluctant to open up. “You seem to have nightmares very often. Does it have anything to do with what happened to you?”

He didn't expect a real answer, but maybe it was because of the dark, the evening they'd just spent together, or the physical closeness between them, that Jack looked at a point beyond Hiccup's head and murmured, “It does. It's my past that keeps coming back so I don't forget what I've done.”

Just like Hiccup suspected. “And… is your lost memory somehow involved?” he dared to ask. He didn't like taking advantage of Jack's vulnerability, but curiosity had been gnawing at him from the inside out ever since their conversation back in Elmaze.

Jack drummed his fingers on the mattress. “Sometimes. Sometimes not.”

What kind of answer was that? It didn't help clear up the confusion in Hiccup's head, but he pretended not to be bothered by it.

“I don't want to insist,” he told Jack in a last-ditch effort to get him to talk, “but there really isn't even a small chance that I can get you to tell me what happened?”

For a moment, he thought Jack was about to turn to the side and end the conversation there. Instead, he just lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. Maybe so he wouldn't have to look Hiccup in the eyes.

“I was stupid,” he said finally, in an almost inaudible whisper. “Stupid and stubborn and naive, and I screwed up.”

That suppressed pain that made him frown and blink rapidly returned to his face, and Hiccup spoke before thinking. “It doesn't matter if you messed up something. Do you think I could hate you out of the blue? After plots, trolls and aerobatic flights?”

Jack said nothing, but from his doubtful expression his answer was clear.

Hiccup was a little ashamed at the vehemence that seemed to take over every time Jack showed a sign of sadness, but he couldn't help it, for some reason.

“You know what the worst thing is? I have no one to blame. It was all my fault,” Jack added, frustrated.

That was why. A failure. Jack considered himself a failure, and Hiccup knew all too well how that felt.

“Sorry,” he told him, realizing what he was doing. “I'm insisting and you clearly don't want to talk about it.” He hesitated before continuing. “But if it ever starts to feel like too much to bear alone… well… I'm here.”

Jack was impressed enough to turn his head towards him. Hiccup couldn't read the emotion his eyes were filled with. It wasn't exactly gratitude, although the hint of a smile that appeared on his cheeks was visible even in the semi-darkness. It was something more.

Affection?

Jack opened his mouth to say something. Hiccup instinctively craned his neck towards him to hear what he was about to answer, consumed by curiosity, but he never heard his words.

Because the door exploded.

Fine, it didn't literally explode like something hit by Toothless's plasma blasts, but it sounded more or less like that, when someone blew open the door to their room with hurricane force.

Hiccup was so scared that his body jerked involuntarily and made him fall off the bed with a thud, taking the blanket with him, and consequently Jack. Somehow, they managed to hit their heads against each other.

“Ah!”

“Ow!”

Hiccup freed himself from the blanket and looked at who had caused so much noise, his heart still pounding. “Merida? What are you doing up in the middle of the night? Where were you?”

She let go of the doorknob and ignored his questions to go and get the bow she had left at the foot of the bed. "We're in trouble."

Jack stopped rubbing his head where he'd been hit. “Oh, don't tell me. Do you have any other shocking news, like that Hiccup's best friend is a dragon and Rapunzel and I have magical powers?”

Rapunzel emerged from the bed upstairs with her braid all disheveled. “What’s going on?”

“I met a girl in the dining room,” Merida said, slinging the quiver over her shoulder. She looked straight at Hiccup. “She said her name is Astrid.”

He started to get up, but he forgot he wasn't wearing his prosthesis, which he reached for after staggering awkwardly. “Maybe she's not the Astrid I know,” he said all too optimistically.

“She's from Berk, she has a blonde braid and an axe and she has a secret mission,” Merida listed dryly.

“...She's the Astrid I know.”

Rapunzel climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed. “What are we going to tell her?”

A nervous laugh escaped from Hiccup as he bent over fiddling with the metal leg. “We're not telling her anything at all. We need to leave right now.”

“You sound like you're terrified by her,” Jack teased.

“Trust me, if you knew her, you'd be scared of her too,” Hiccup retorted, seriously. “By Tere, I don't even know how she found me. I suspected she was after me, but this is…”

Rapunzel picked up Pascal from the ground to put him on her shoulder, and took her frying pan. “She must have followed you thanks to that,” she said, pointing to the pendant hanging from Hiccup's belt. “What did you say it's called, Jack? Eye of Sheh?”

Hiccup clapped a hand to his forehead. “I completely forgot about that,” he exclaimed.

“Aye, I imagine how difficult it must be to remember you're wearing a magical trinket that allows another person to find you wherever you are,” Merida grumbled. “And since for some reason you insisted on keeping it, now we have to run away like criminals.”

“I don't think Hiccup's friend knows he's here,” Rapunzel said. “Otherwise she would have rushed into our room straight away, right?”

“Maybe,” he said, not very convinced. He didn't comment on that 'friend' definition. “Anyway, we need to get as far away as possible. If she finds me…”

Merida tested the bowstring. “We'll deal with it.”

Jack nodded and held his staff straighter, for once agreeing with her.

“No,” Hiccup promptly said. “You've never seen her fight.”

“And you've never seen me fight for real,” Merida replied.

Gods, now Hiccup had one more reason to hope he wouldn't run into Astrid.

They were about to leave the room, after receiving the all-clear from Merida while she peeked out the door, when Rapunzel jumped.

“I almost forgot,” she exclaimed. “I'll be right back, you guys stay here!”

They didn't have time to ask what she was talking about before she slipped out in a flash. She returned shortly after with their bag of clothes.

“They're still damp, but that's the least of our problems,” she said. “Now we can go!”

The inn was dark and silent. Their cautious steps produced a series of creaks that made Hiccup flinch at every unwanted noise, as they tiptoed along the hallway in single line. From some rooms he could hear whispers, from others the guests’ peaceful snoring.

Merida was right. Hiccup's fixation with the Eye was threatening to get them into trouble — again — and for what? A stupid magical pendant he'd given a symbolic meaning to, only because Astrid Hofferson had apparently had a minute of kindness, when she had actually been deceiving him.

Hiccup didn't even know what Astrid's plan was exactly, and maybe that was what scared him the most. Would she drag him to Amberray and force him to fight in the Duel if she found him? Or did she want to make him give up the title of Heir?

Hiccup had tried, during their last conversation on the cliff, but it hadn't worked. She'd said something along the lines of "It doesn't work that way." Did she know something he didn't?

“Hiccup,” Rapunzel whispered in his ear, behind him, “what kind of person is this Astrid?”

Hiccup almost let out a shriek. After he regained a heartbeat, he thought about it.

“She's exactly what my father wishes I was,” he replied. “Strong. Ruthless. The best in everything. As a child she was the first to be able to beat an adult, and since then everyone considers her the ideal Hairy Hooligan. You know, someone who always tries their best, who knows how to get by with their strength alone.”

“Mh-mh,” Rapunzel said.

Hiccup had turned to see her reaction, and caught a glimpse of Merida's expression.

“You talked to her,” he remembered. “What did you say to each other?”

“Nothing. We talked about fighting styles, which inns have the best food, and knots.”

Jack stepped out from behind her, perplexed. “Knots?”

Hiccup smiled despite the tension. “The Archipelago is often hit by strong freezing winds that can last for days. If you live there you have to quickly learn a way to keep your stuff from flying away.”

“Knots are also useful for fishing, aren't they?” Rapunzel chimed in, showing that she had listened to him when he'd talked to her over the past few days about life in Berk.

“Exactly. I didn't know you were interested in this stuff, Merida.”

She fiddled with the strap of her quiver. “I know something about the subject. You know, for hunting traps.”

Was it Hiccup's impression, or was she embarrassed? He realized that she might have gotten along very well with Astrid, and she probably had, until the time for introductions.

“Hey, it's not your fault we have to leave,” Rapunzel said, sensing something he hadn't. “You only chatted with a girl, you didn't know who she is.”

Oh. So her accusations towards Hiccup had served to hide her own guilt.

“I'm just sorry I won't be able to fight her,” Merida downplayed. “From what I've seen, and from how Haddock talks about her, she seems like a tough lass.”

They went downstairs in religious silence, keeping an eye out for angry blonde girls. Both the common room and the dining room were empty, and they quietly made their way to the door.

The good news was that it had stopped raining, even though the ground outside was soft and muddy. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, feeling more at peace after they went outside. “I'll call Toothless so we can leave.”

“It's a shame to run away without saying goodbye to Gill, though,” Rapunzel said regretfully.

Hiccup hastily rummaged in his pocket looking for the dragon whistle, with his mind elsewhere: he was calculating how many hours it would take to reach the border of the region.

The amber of the Eye of Sheh hanging from his belt caught a reflection, making it shine a warm-hued glow. Someone held their breath.

“Stop right there.”

Hiccup felt a cold shiver on the back of his neck. The last time he'd heard that voice, he had been reminded that his bond with Toothless was the only one that would ever exist in his life.

Astrid Hofferson stood behind them, blocking the door of the inn, with one hand holding Merida's arm, the other pointing the axe to her throat, and a look of cold determination.

“Use that whistle and you know what happens.”

*

Astrid had dared to start thinking that traveling in the company of her friends wasn't that bad, then Snotlout had put his foot in the stirrup wrong, and from that point everything had gone south.

The most common pasture in Berk was sheep, and in twenty years Astrid had seen many sheeps less melodramatic than Jorgenson. She'd had to sit through his unnecessarily theatrical soldier-wounded-in-battle scene, as he’d laid on the ground howling in pain, wondering what she had done to deserve this.

“Do you know how people around here deal with sick horses?” Tuffnut had whispered to her, before pounding a fist against the palm of his other hand in an eloquent gesture.

Astrid really wished to adapt to local customs, but Snotlout's family was too influential to get away with it.

“We'll stop just long enough to splint that ankle,” she had given in, already regretting that decision.

The others had exchanged relieved smiles.

They were looking for a place to camp, when they found a sign advertising a cheap inn nearby.

This had been Astrid's second concession — a record — mostly because she was exhausted by both the journey and her friends. Snotlout hadn't been silent for a minute, complaining about the pain that would prevent him from sleeping outdoors.

“With this humidity? It'll make my condition worse,” he'd replied when Fishlegs had pointed out that staying outside would allow him to search for certain medicinal herbs.

Fishlegs hadn't argued, as if he didn't want to find other excuses for not staying at the inn.

Astrid had started to have a suspicion. She'd already found it strange that Snotlout was playing the part of the mortally wounded man, instead of putting on his tough face and downplaying the accident like usual, but Fishlegs' listlessness had given her confirmation. They all wanted to go to the inn at all costs.

“It's ridiculous to stop right now, you all just want to waste time by lazing around,” Astrid had then said. “Snotlout, you can rest while on horseback. You could also ride with Fishlegs, if you really don't want to make an effort.”

“We've been going like this for days!” Ruffnut had complained. “My butt’s become square! My beautiful butt doesn't deserve this!”

Tuffnut had nodded in support.

“Just one night,” Snotlout had begged.

“Please, Astrid," Fishlegs had added, “We're exhausted. The horses are exhausted.”

In the end Astrid had been weak and she'd given up.

The inn was better than she would have expected for the price, and the kitchen had stayed open for them even though they'd come very late.

They had all gone to rest in the two small rooms the innkeeper had shown them, except Astrid, who had taken the opportunity to have a drink in the dining hall which was gradually emptying.

It was the first time since their departure that she was alone. She'd been enjoying the moment until a girl from Dunbroch had showed up, but Astrid had found to her own surprise that she didn't mind. Maybe because the girl wasn't one of her friends from Berk.

For a while Astrid had been able to pretend she wasn't on a mission while they had chatted, even though a thought had remained in the back of her mind like an inconvenient presence.

Hiccup. Astrid's magical pendant still glowed when pointed south, so she was increasingly sure he was headed for Amberray, even though he'd told her that he didn't want to fight. And Astrid didn't believe that he had suddenly changed his mind. No, the only possible hypothesis was that Hiccup had something in mind, some plan of his that could ruin everything.

Her friends had repeatedly expressed their doubts about Astrid's intentions once they would find Hiccup, in more or less subtle ways.

She couldn't blame them: following Hiccup wherever he was going was an absurd idea for her too, but she was equally convinced that it was her duty as a Hairy Hooligan to do something, instead of sitting idle like Stoick, waiting for some miracle.

She actually had a plan to stop Hiccup from whatever he was planning on doing, but she hadn't told the others about it. They wouldn't have appreciated it.

After talking to the girl named Maudie, Astrid decided to go to sleep, and she went upstairs to look for their rooms. She also thought about checking the Eye before lying down, as she hadn't done so in a while.

While she was trying to remember where their rooms were, an unmistakable voice found her ear.

“Do you think I could hate you out of the blue?”

Astrid's fighting instincts took over, pushing her to flatten herself against the wall, ready for action.

The voice spoke again, erasing all doubts left.

That was Hiccup. For sure.

Astrid couldn't quite hear what he was saying (it sounded like he was talking with someone) so she slipped into the empty room next to the one she guessed he was. It was one of the rooms being renovated, and she had to silently step over construction materials left lying around.

She put her ear to the wall, concentrating, and listened to what Hiccup said. Apparently, he was comforting his interlocutor for something that had happened to them. Astrid was surprised at the vehemence in his voice: she had never heard him speak that way to anyone.

“If this ever starts to feel like too much to bear alone… well… I'm here,” Hiccup said at one point.

Who was he talking to at that time of night? Why did Hiccup seem to care so much?

There was a pause, before a loud bang made Astrid gasp, followed by the thud of something falling to the floor.

It took her a few seconds to recover from the sudden noise. She could hear that the voices had become frantic in the next room without having to lean against the wall. However, to discern the exact words she was forced to return to her previous position.

“She said her name is Astrid,” said a new voice. She recognized it as Maudie's.

A brief discussion ensued about her and their intentions, but Hiccup was convinced to leave the inn. When it seemed that the others (Astrid counted at least three people with him) were of the same opinion, she decided to leave the building.

She didn't go tell her friends. If she wanted to take Hiccup by surprise, Astrid knew they would only get in her way.

She waited outside the inn under one of the windows next to the entrance, with her back against the cold wall.

She wasn't expecting to face multiple people, but she would use it to her advantage. In fact, when everyone snuck out, Astrid grabbed the last person who had closed the door behind them, and held her axe to their neck. Only then did she realize she had taken Maudie.

Hiccup's expression clearly said he didn't appreciate Astrid's threat, but he lowered the whistle from his lips.

“Leave her alone, Astrid,” he said seriously.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the people with him resting the tip of the wooden staff they were holding. Astrid took a quick look at those accompanying Hiccup: the one with the staff was a pale hooded boy, while the other was a girl with a braid that almost touched the ground, a kind of frog on her shoulder, a frying pan hanging on her side and a big bag in her hands.

Astrid still couldn't figure out who the heck they were. They looked like two runaways.

“Come with me and nothing will happen to her,” Astrid urged Hiccup.

“Don't do that, Hiccup,” the girl with the frying pan said.

He seemed to think really intensely before replying. Behind Astrid, the wooden door creaked in the wind.

“Okay,” he said finally.

Had he not been terribly annoying, Astrid would have appreciated Hiccup's unpredictability; it would have been useful in combat.

“I'll follow you,” he continued, “so we can talk about this.”

Ah, of course. She knew it had been too easy.

“The time for talking is over. The Duel of the Heirs is less than a month away. You must make the right choice, Hiccup, here and now,” Astrid retorted.

He shook his head. “I've already made it!”

A wave of anger made Astrid's hands shake. “Don't be an idiot! You don't know what you're talking about!”

It was a mistake. She had lost concentration, and Maudie was smarter than her: she hit Astrid's chin with her head, forcing her to step back.

Astrid shifted her feet to keep her balance, but her boot slided as if the mud had been as slippery as ice, and Maudie acted with the speed of an expert soldier.

“Oi! Only I can call him an idiot!” she exclaimed.

She pulled a blade from somewhere and swinged a swift slash as she turned to face Astrid, who was only able to parry the blow with the handle of the axe thanks to years of training.

They exchanged more attacks, all of which missed. Astrid had talked to Maudie for a while, and she'd gotten the idea that she knew quite a bit about fighting, but this was completely different.

Maudie wasn't an enthusiast. She was a warrior.

“Jack, can't you do anything to help her?” meanwhile the girl with the pan implored.

“They're too close,” said the boy named Jack.

Maudie knew how to move to avoid Astrid's axe, clearly aware of her disadvantage against a wide-range weapon, and her style was unlike anything Astrid was familiar with. In a way, it was a fun fight.

“Enough,” Hiccup called in an alarmed voice. “Stop it!”

They both ignored him, absorbed in the exchange of blows. Astrid hadn't trained with anyone other than a tree in days; she had missed it.

At one point Maudie was too reckless. She got too close, and Astrid managed to scratch her shoulder. The dagger fell to the ground.

She already knew she hadn't inflicted a significant wound, but their spectators couldn't know it, and the blonde girl flinched, stifling a worried shout.

Astrid used Maudie's moment of distraction to corner her against the wall, her axe raised.

They were both out of breath.

“Astrid! Stop!” Hiccup thundered with an intensity that almost reminded of Stoick the Vast's imposing tones.

She didn't look at him. “Why should I? Are you my Chief? My king?”

“Because—” he hesitated for a split second. “Because you're pointing your weapon at Merida, daughter of Elinor, Lady of Grayfir, Heir of Dunbroch.”

Astrid's expression was probably mirroring that of the girl Hiccup claimed was Merida.

“No,” Astrid said. “That's impossible.”

She looked at her opponent's bow, ignored until then in favor of close combat. The red curls. The fiery gaze of someone who wasn't used to losing.

It was really her. Astrid had to admit it. 

Well, she'd just lost, in that case.

She forced herself to lower the axe, furious, because she would never dare compromise a pretender to the throne, and she hated that Hiccup knew this limit of hers.

Whatever face she was making at the moment, Hiccup evidently thought the risk was over.

“I want to talk to you for a moment, Astrid.” He glanced at the other three. “Alone.”

Jack started to protest, but Merida interrupted him. “I agree, you two really need it. Well, we'll be waiting over there,” she said, urging the others to get back inside. “But don't try anything sketchy, Hofferson, or else. Thanks for earlier, Jack.” she added.

“It was no big deal,” Jack said, reluctantly following her, along with the other girl.

Astrid and Hiccup were left alone in the muddy courtyard.

She could no longer hold back her anger, and she swung the axe violently, driving the blade deep into a tree stump used for chopping firewood. She growled in frustration and kicked the stump.

“Damn it!”

Hiccup was gracious enough to let her vent, or maybe he didn't have the guts to stop her.

Astrid kicked the stump again. She didn't care if her foot would hurt the next day. At that moment she didn't care about anything at all, to tell the truth, other than her failure.

She'd been trapped by Hiccup Haddock, the same person who couldn't properly hold a shield or disarm an opponent. If Astrid couldn't convince him, the mission would fail.

“What do you think you're doing, huh?” she spat out. “What game are you playing?”

“I'm doing what's best for everyone,” Hiccup replied, looking in the direction of the inn. “I met some people, but I don't need to tell you where we're going, do I?”

Astrid imitated him, and saw the faces of his traveling companions stuck to the glass of the half-fogged window, peering out at them.

She rubbed her eyes. “...And you joined the circus with the Heir of Dunbroch?”

Hiccup laughed. Astrid was experiencing the biggest failure of her life, and he was laughing.

All she had to do was make one last extreme attempt.

“You're making a mistake.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “You know it won't work. We've had this conversation already.”

She took a deep breath, searching for words. “You don't realize what you're losing by giving up from the start — no, let me finish,” she stopped him before he could interrupt her, “Hiccup, use your brain. King. You could change anything, you could decide the fate of the kingdom, you could… Gods, you could stop the war with dragons if you wanted! And the sacrifices!”

Hiccup raised his eyebrows in shock. Even Astrid couldn't believe what she had just said.

“I thought you were smart, have you never thought of that?” she continued, encouraged by his momentary silence. “You really are an idiot.”

Hiccup's expression finally flickered. “A smart idiot?”

“The two things can coexist,” Astrid muttered.

“It's not that simple. I can't just take the throne and start doing whatever I want. I'd have to answer to the lords, the chiefs, or whatever,” Hiccup said harshly. “Stop the war with dragons? Don't be ridiculous, I'd have my throat slit that very night. If I'm a smart idiot, you're a naive genius.”

“What are you going to do, then? Go all the way to Amberray to ruin everything, or escort the Dunbrochian and be there to cheer for her when she becomes queen?” Astrid asked.

For the first time, Hiccup looked guilty. “That's not exactly the idea. It's more of a middle ground. My… friends and I have a plan.”

It was Astrid's turn to be perplexed. “Those three would be your friends? How long have you known each other for, two weeks?”

“Two weeks worth more than twenty years in Berk,” he snapped. He began fumbling with his belt. “Actually, you know what? Thanks for the gift, but I think I'll give it back. You already know where we're headed anyway.”

He threw Astrid something she grabbed easily. It was the Eye of Sheh that she had tricked him into accepting before he'd left. It had been a hideously sly Magicknapper move, but she couldn't say it hadn't helped.

And just like she'd been forced to extreme measures that time, today too Astrid had to move on to plan B.

“Perfect,” she said. “In the name of Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, I declare you under arrest.”

Hiccup gave her the satisfaction of looking both speechless and indignant. “What. You can't—you can't do that!”

“I have the Chief's permission to do whatever it takes to fix the mess you're getting us all into, and you basically just said you want to stop the Duel of the Heirs,” Astrid replied. “Now follow me and let's go back to Berk. We'll figure something out at home. Maybe you can hand the title over to someone with more sanity.”

“That's our captain you're talking to.”

Astrid whirled around, finding herself facing Merida. The scratch on her cheek had been cleaned so well it seemed completely gone.

Jack popped up from behind her. “Sorry, you two were taking too long. We were getting bored in there.”

“I have everything under control,” Hiccup protested.

The girl with the frying pan added to the conversation with a smile. “Is that why I heard the word 'arrest'?”

Irritated by the interruption and determined to carry out the plan, Astrid brought a hand to the axe handle. Before she could touch it, the wood was covered in freezing frost.

“I wouldn't do it if I were you,” Jack said, lowering his staff. He had removed his hood, revealing white hair with silvery hues.

Astrid stared at him in horror. “I don't even know why I'm surprised,” she hissed, directing a glare at Hiccup. “Of course you hang out with Magicknappers.”

He was putting the whistle back in his pocket at that exact moment. “Tell everyone I said hi,” he deadpanned.

“The next time we see each other we'll officially be enemies, Hiccup,” Astrid said through gritted teeth. “Remember that.”

Her friends went out to check where she had ended up only a few minutes later, when the frost had already melted, Hiccup's dragon was a speck almost indistinguishable from the night sky, and Astrid's pride was now deeply wounded.

“So what do we do now?” Fishlegs asked after she briefly recounted what had just happened.

Astrid took one last look at the star-dotted darkness, praying to Tere for strength. She put the Eye of Sheh back in her pocket, along with its twin.

“Now our journey continues. Amberray is still far away.”

Chapter Text

The two days following their departure from the Mad Squirrel inn were rather silent, but it wasn't the same silence of embarrassment and distrust that had characterized the first days of the journey. It was more of a reflective quietness, where everyone seemed to have something to think about on their own.

In particular, Jack had noticed that Hiccup had been more aloof than usual and he'd spent much of the time they were on the ground staring into space. It was clear that meeting Astrid had shaken him, but whether it was because of what they had talked about, the threat he'd received or something else, Jack couldn't say for sure.

In short, Hiccup had been in a bad mood for two days, and the more hours passed, the more Jack felt the urge to tell him something. Hiccup had tried to comfort him on more than one occasion, so he almost felt compelled to do the same.

They had only just resumed their flight, a little blinded by the early morning light of their third post-inn day, when Jack decided to step up — or rather, let the air current pull him sideways toward Toothless.

“How long until the border?” he asked to start the conversation.

Hiccup squinted, looking up at the clear sky. “We'll be in Corona in the early afternoon. It won't take long.”

He said it in a neutral tone that wasn't like him. Jack tapped into his sense of adventure. “So we're finally leaving Dunbroch behind. You've never been to Corona, have you?”

“No,” Hiccup replied, still monotone.

Jack nudged him lightly so as not to risk making him fall. “Cheer up, Astrid and the others will never be able to keep up with us.”

Hiccup glared at him. “I wouldn't bet on it. She managed to find us at the inn, even if we only lost a few hours in Elmaze and Ashire.”

“...It wasn't a nice reunion, was it,” said Jack. He really didn't know how to make the situation easier.

Hiccup gave a mirthless chuckle. “You know, knowing that the Duel won't happen,” — he glanced over his shoulder, where Rapunzel and Merida were listening with interest — “I really thought I could go back to Berk as if this Heir thing had never existed, but the more time passes, the more I realize I never had this chance.”

“Because everyone expects you to fight?”

“Because of that, and because if I don't, the entire region is going to hate me forever.” Hiccup stared wearily at the bright horizon. “It was a dumb hope. If I ever returned to Berk, it would be to stay in the village prisons.”

Rapunzel leaned out from behind him. “What did you and Astrid say to each other? You looked shocked at one point.”

“She tried to convince me by tempting me with the idea that I could stop the conflict between Berk and the dragons by becoming king. As if a crown on my head would magically give me the power to erase seven generations of unconditional hate,” Hiccup said bitterly. “No one liked me before, now I also have a warrant for my arrest. Even if I were the new ruler, I could go there, tell everyone to leave the dragons alone, and break the record of the shortest-lasting king in the history of Fewor.”

Rapunzel made a thoughtful expression. “It's a shame, though. It'd be nice if everyone had a dragon friend, like you and Toothless. The Barbaric Archipelago wouldn't be as isolated as you say, if everyone could fly!”

Jack tried to imagine dozens of Hairy Hooligans riding across the skies on dragons. He'd had less strange nightmares.

However, Hiccup turned his head to look Rapunzel in the face. “You're right,” he said, astonished.

Rapunzel pouted. “You don't need to look so surprised.”

“No, no, I just never thought about it.” Hiccup's gaze was lost elsewhere, far away, perhaps in the hypothetical scenario she had just theorized.

“Flying… it would open up a world of opportunities for the region. Opportunities no one ever dreamed of,” he continued with growing fervor. “The culture, the people themselves… the trade! Local products would reach every corner of the kingdom, and importing would get easier too.”

Merida, sitting in the back, leaned out the opposite side from Rapunzel. “Not to ruin the moment, but aren't you forgetting about the merchants? If people started trading on their own, they'd lose all their customers.”

“They'd also learn to fly,” Hiccup replied without hesitation, with possibly even more enthusiasm. Jack hadn't seen him like this in days. “And they would have even more work than before. In fact…”

“...They'd be the first to expand their business,” Rapunzel concluded, infected by Hiccup's good mood.

“Good luck getting the Hairy Hooligans to lay down the weapons and start packing," Jack commented.

The conversation ended there, but the spark in Hiccup's eyes didn't disappear for a long time.

Unfortunately, lifting his mood left Jack alone with his own thoughts, but above all with his problems. There was in fact a matter he could no longer ignore: his nightmares.

The one he'd had at the inn had been particularly bad, perhaps one of the worst in eighteen years.

It had started out like Jack's usual dreams, instilling in him a false sense of security; he wandered aimlessly in the wide and sumptuous hallways of the royal palace, illuminated by a moon ten times larger than normal watching him from outside the window. Disturbing, yes, but all stuff already seen before.

Then the scene had taken a strange turn. Jack had found himself in front of the usual closed door, but instead of opening onto a hall crowded with people with obscured faces, it had led him to the room of Elmaze castle, the one kindly given to them by the staff.

Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel were staring at him with disappointed expressions.

The question had been the same. The words had been harsh and full of disbelief mixed with horror.

"What have you done, Jack?"

He had stepped back, fatally struck by the question that came from the mouth of a Rapunzel with unrecognizable cold features, but his hand hadn't found any handles or doors. He was trapped with himself.

The unexpected outcome of the nightmare had destabilized him, and the question uttered by the one he hoped to call a friend had literally been a second stab in the stomach.

The pain was blinding. Jack had gasped, pressing his hands on the wound, and leaned his back against the wall, feeling his legs give way. The nightmare had mocked him, making him fall painfully backwards, the wall suddenly vanished.

Jack had struggled to stand up to look at the wound. He hadn't seen blood, but darkness gushing from his body, smoky and dense at the same time, similar to what marked his chest.

For a few moments, the fear had been so strong that he'd forgotten he was in a nightmare. When he thought about it later, when awake, this was the most worrying detail, since he was usually aware of it.

The others had moved closer, towering over him. Disgust disfigured their familiar features. There had been no need for other words, Jack knew what they thought of him.

“I'm sorry,” he'd cried, shaken by spasms of fear and pain.

“I'm sorry,” he'd shouted, as they turned and abandoned him.

“I'm sorry,” he'd begged, alone and scared in the cold, dark room.

“I'm sorry,” had been the words he'd still felt on his lips with a bitter taste, when Hiccup had woken him.

Somehow, Jack had managed to calm down. He'd then allowed himself a moment of vulnerability with Hiccup, before Merida had arrived with the news of Astrid's presence.

In a way he had been grateful. At least she had distracted him from what he'd just seen.

The next two nights he'd tried in vain to rest without actually falling asleep, but when his body had inevitably succumbed to tiredness, the following dreams hadn't been nearly as terrible as that one. It was as if his mind had lost its beat. This was also worrying.

Dwelling on it would do him no good, but Jack couldn't help himself, even if it brought him back to those moments of blind terror.

“Did you hear that?” Merida said suddenly.

“Hear what?” Rapunzel asked yawning.

“A noise… like a neigh.”

All four looked down. After the inn the terrain had become mostly flat, but despite this they saw no horses.

“Are you sure you heard that?” Hiccup asked.

“I'm sure,” Merida insisted. “But it sounded like it was close to us, not on the ground.”

Jack laughed. “You mean in the sky? You must have dreamed it, there are no flying hor—is that a horse?”

To be precise, it wasn't a real horse, but a convincing imitation. It galloped, whipping the air with black hooves, just as the rest of his body was black. Its frame was unhealthily emaciated and the eyes glowed yellow.

Jack had the sudden certainty he had seen it before.

Rapunzel looked away from the horse and turned to him, frightened. “What is that?”

Jack couldn't look at her face without his eyes returning to the creature on their own. “Magic.”

Merida nocked an arrow. “Aye, thank you very much, we hadn't noticed.”

“Maybe it's harmless,” Rapunzel suggested in a small voice. “Even with those… glowing yellow eyes.”

They waited a moment to study the horse's behavior, and it flew quickly, leaving a dusty trail behind. It neighed louder, and an instant later two, five, ten more of the same horses emerged from the clouds.

Hiccup triggered Toothless's tail mechanism. “I'd say it's time to speed up, bud. I don't really want to find out what it feels like to be hit by a herd in mid-air.” He tightened his hands around the saddle handles. “Hold tight!”

After a click of the mechanism, Toothless powerfully flapped his large wings and picked up speed. Jack followed them, keeping close, occasionally glancing back. The horses weren't doing bad either.

“How about a diversion?” he suggested to Hiccup.

“I'm afraid there might be more of them hidden in the clouds.”

“I was thinking more of a decoy. I want to see what they'll do if we split up.”

Hiccup looked at him, then at the herd at their tail. “Okay. Let's test it.”

Jack gave a thrust that made him slide out of the same air current used by Toothless, and he launched himself into a dive. The wind whistled in his ears.

A few horses, perhaps half a dozen, followed Jack in his reckless flight, skimming the treetops. He pushed himself, went back up and flew around towers of clouds, but he still couldn't outrun those beasts.

At yet another cloud bank, a new group of horses surged in front of Jack, forcing him to slow down sharply. Seen up close they were impressive: the consistency was halfway between dust and smoke, the nostrils were dilated and the eyes devoid of naturalness.

Jack felt the inexplicable feeling of familiarity again, even though he was convinced that if he had seen flying skeletal horses before, he would remember it.

Of course, as long as they weren't part of his lost memories.

Jack made the mistake of hesitating, as he swerved to the side to avoid the impact, and his gaze lingered on the horses in an attempt to grasp a detail that would clarify that feeling. A hoof hit his calf.

They may have looked ephemeral, but they were more solid than Jack had thought; the blow destabilized his flight enough to make him fall a few feet, before recovering from the surprise and flying up high again.

He shot up, passing among the horses, and from his position he spotted Toothless, busy not far away escaping the pursuers.

As Jack approached, he narrowly avoided a stray arrow that lodged itself between the ribs of a horse. The beast didn't even slow down, oblivious to the feathered shaft protruding from its sternum.

“Nice shot,” he told Merida, shouting to be heard. Her hair was a trail of flame.

She gritted her teeth. “Nice but useless. These things aren't normal creatures.”

“Have you tried hitting them in the eye?”

Merida seemed to consider it. “I'll try.”

Jack hadn't asked her if she thought she could make the shot, he knew she would have no problem aiming. Apparently she often practiced archery on horseback, and hitting moving targets.

In fact, Merida didn't even wait a moment to take a deep breath and gather her concentration, she simply nocked another arrow with an elegant gesture.

Bullseye.

For a second it seemed as if the horse hadn't felt the hit, then it neighed as if offended, and exploded in a puff of dust. Jack shielded his eyes with his arm.

“Watch out!” he heard Rapunzel scream, and he, like the big idiot he was, instead of making any sort of effort to get out of the way, lowered his arm to look.

He didn't know if the next scream came from him, Rapunzel, or even Merida, but Jack's vision suddenly went dark.

A wing as black as night covered the sun, the sky, and the horse that was about to bite Jack's neck. This time he was smart enough to move out of the way, and he saw Toothless perform a risky maneuver as he spun around, probably to the delight of his passengers. Some horses got slapped by the dragon's wings, and they flew away.

Jack was about to thank him, but the rescue had exposed Toothless to the teeth of another horse, which violently bit through his artificial fin with a metallic crunch that didn't bode well.

Hiccup had just enough time to curse Ohl's underwear before Toothless began to lose altitude at an alarming speed. The mechanism was now a useless chunk of iron.

Jack flew past Toothless's muzzle, which was clenched from the effort.

“A clear space!” he screamed in his ears over the wind. “Find a clear space!”

He prayed that the dragon understood him as well as he seemed to understand Hiccup, because the only idea Jack could come up with needed an area free of trees or similar obstacles.

Toothless spread his wings to slow the fall, but it wasn't enough. Jack gathered the winds to help him. A series of large fields opened up below them, and Jack held out his staff arm.

He had never tried such powerful magic so suddenly, but a ramp of ice shot out from the wood nonetheless, curving gently until it stretched across the field Toothless was falling towards.

Between the screams, the frantic urgency and the roar of the wind, Toothless managed to direct himself on the ramp and skidded ungracefully on the ice with a loud screeching of nails, trying to slow his rapid descent. Jack was the only one lucky enough to cover his ears.

At the end Toothless lost enough speed to drop onto his belly and let himself slide to the ground, exhausted.

When he finally stopped, Jack went to check on the others, who climbed off his back on unsteady legs. “Are you all okay?”

Rapunzel was especially green. “I think I'm going to throw up a little,” she breathed out.

Merida nodded without another word, brushing her wild curls out of her face. Even Hiccup looked shaken.

“What the—” He coughed loudly. "What the heck were those? What did they want from us?"

Jack looked at the sky, but there was no longer a trace of the evil horses. It almost seemed like a joke. “I have no idea, but they did quite some damage.”

He pointed to Toothless's tail, which was entangled with the wires of the fin controlled by Hiccup, who knelt down to look, his face frowning. He murmured a few words of comfort to the dragon, receiving a small snort in return.

“What's the diagnosis?” Merida asked as she helped Rapunzel walk on the ice without slipping.

Hiccup clicked his tongue. “The fabric is fine, but without the rest of the mechanism we're going nowhere. I need a forge,” he decreed.

Merida blinked and covered her eyes from the morning sun as she looked around her. “Do you think we've already crossed the border?”

Instinctively, Jack shook his head. “Not yet,” he said without thinking. Luckily, the others didn't notice how he bit his tongue.

“We could go back to the nearest village, to the east,” Hiccup said. “Or reach the next town by evening, continuing southwest.”

“While we're at it, let's walk in the direction of Amberray,” Merida said.

Rapunzel, who had seemed to regain a little lucidity at the word ‘town’, nodded. “I vote for the town too!”

“It didn't go so well the other times,” Jack reminded her. “First they tried to skewer me, then we almost became troll food.”

Merida waved her hand in a gesture of indifference. “Willoway isn't big like Elmaze, or dangerous like Ashire. It's on the border with Corona, but hardly anyone passes through.”

“Really? Why?” said Rapunzel.

“People don't usually leave their homeland unless they really have to.”

Hiccup stood up and gave Toothless a friendly nudge on the shoulder. “If we all agree, I'd say we can get going.”

The fields were bordered by paths like framed paintings, and assuming they all joined a main road, they took one at random. A few fruit trees provided shade, hiding their presence from the farmers.

As they walked, Jack jumped from side to side of the deep grooves left by carts and plows. The pieces of old roof tiles scattered by the farmers, which stood out on the ground with their warm shades of orange and red, weren't enough to completely fill the grooves.

There had been a time Jack would have hated those hours forced on the ground without being able to fly. Of course, he constantly felt the desire to let himself be carried away by the wind, but he had to admit that walking those paths accompanied by the songs of the birds and the voices of his companions of adventures wasn't too bad. Deadline or no deadline, Duel or no Duel, now Jack could only define their journey as such.

When he finished that thought, the others were still speculating about the magical horses.

“The point is, what deity granted someone the power to summon murderous animals made of black sand?” Hiccup was musing out loud.

Merida walked beside him, her arms crossed behind her head. “I was wondering that too. It doesn't sound like Veeta or Tere or Ohl. What do you think, Jack?”

He thought about it. Could it have been Manni's doing, the same moon that was shining huge and threatening in his nightmare? Jack wasn't sure, he couldn't make sense of the attack.

“Maybe it was the work of a Starfolk blessed by Anim,” he speculated uncertainly. “God of the soul and everything related to it, therefore beauty, the arts... and death,” he added for Rapunzel, who wasn't familiar with deities.

However, he noticed that she wasn't listening, but was instead silently staring at the path ahead of them. Jack hadn't realized how shaken she still looked.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Rapunzel raised her head with a jerk, as if awakened from an unpleasant dream. “I… yeah, I just… those things reminded me of shadow horses.”

“Of what?”

She bit her lip. “Mother used to warn me about them when I would throw tantrums to stay up late,” she said. “She'd tell me that they would come to take me away from the tower, hidden by the darkness. She only needed to describe their onyx hooves, the ashy manes and the eyes stolen from those who wander in the darkness, to make me rush to bed.”

Jack and Hiccup exchanged looks. Merida snorted. “Nice story. I'll tell it to my brothers next time I see them.”

Jack thought it sounded like yet another excuse to scare Rapunzel: don't stay up late, don't leave the tower, the only things outside are terrifying monsters. Be afraid.

Why? Was it really just overprotection, or was there something else going on?

Jack couldn't remember what having a mom was like, but he suspected there was something wrong with the person Rapunzel called mother.

He was still thinking about it when they came in sight of Willoway. Evening had fallen, shrouding in darkness the town built on an islet in the middle of an arm of river Ultan. To fight the night, dozens of torches were lit in various bright points that reflected on the water.

Hiccup said that he needed Toothless's presence to fix the mechanism, and that at that hour there would be almost no one around, at least not in the shops area, and pointed to the town walls. “How about we skip the gates this time?”

Merida studied the wall. “You want to go up there?”

He climbed onto the dragon's back. “Not me, but Toothless can do it. Right?” he added, turning to him.

Jack watched the three of them mount up and hold on tightly, while Toothless expertly inserted his claws into the slits in the wall. Once at the top, he gracefully jumped down. Jack followed him shortly after.

On the other side, they found a narrow and empty street bordered by tall, dark houses. An abandoned leather ball and a lonely clothesline made the scene seem frozen in time.

They made sure no one had seen them climb over the walls and walked along the streets, hoping to find a blacksmith's shop.

“This silence is strange,” Merida said after a while of searching. “Usually at this time there are drunkards leaving the taverns, workers returning home and things like that, but here you don't see or hear a soul.”

“Maybe everyone here goes to bed early,” Rapunzel said.

The road led towards a big building that must have been a temple, and Jack saw a pair of guards standing in front of it just in time to hiss “This way!” and incite everyone to suddenly turn and take a narrow side street. The change in direction took them to a crossroads, and they all noticed the plaque fixed above the window of a house indicating the shops street on the right.

Finding the forge was simple; Hiccup easily located the blacksmith shop, and they arrived at the door. There was no second floor, which suggested the blacksmith didn't live there, luckily for them. A beautiful wrought iron sign creaked above their heads.

Hiccup turned the knob. The door remained still. “Does anyone here know how to pick a lock?” he asked.

Jack shook his head. “If I have to break into a building, I usually go for a window or the chimney.”

“I'll pretend that was a joke.”

Merida took a step forward and knelt down to peer into the keyhole. “Do you have a tool with a curved tip?”

As Hiccup looked through Toothless's saddlebags, Jack made a surprised noise. “Did they also teach you how to lock-pick? What use would that be in the Duel?”

She half-smiled. “It has nothing to do with combat. It's a skill that can come in handy when you have a mother with the habit of locking you in your room for doing something.”

“Like?” Rapunzel asked.

“Like playing a prank on visiting lords. Or using the stuffed bear in the hall as a shooting target. Or  talking back when she's in a bad mood. Not necessarily in this order.”

Hiccup handed her a very small chisel with a bent tip. “How about this?”

“Perfect.”

Jack watched Merida work on the lock, wondering what else Hiccup was hiding in the bags. At this point he wouldn't have been surprised if he saw him pull out a whole catapult.

Finally, the door unlocked with a clack, and they carefully entered the forge. Inside was dark and the air heavy with the smell of fire and metal.

Hiccup ignored the candles scattered around and pointed to the furnace. “Toothless, if you will.”

The dragon opened his mouth and as they had seen him do before, fired a plasma blast with a hiss, lighting a fire in the furnace.

Now that there was more light, Jack could see the shop better. The hood above the furnace was blackened by years of smoke, as were the corners of the ceiling. A few tables were placed near the windows, and an anvil resting on a large log was the star of the room. The common thread of the furnishings was iron, present in thousands of shapes and sizes in the objects hung almost everywhere, giving the shop a menacing look.

Hiccup borrowed a leather apron hanging on the wall and began dismantling the structure around Toothless's tail, undoing several straps.

Merida wouldn't stop turning her head to look around. “I'll go have a look,” she said, pointing to one of the two back doors, behind which she disappeared.

Rapunzel followed her example, equally curious, and closed the other door behind her.

Jack was left to look at Hiccup working iron, so he sat on one of the tables after moving a set of pots, leaning on his staff. Toothless had curled up under the furnace, oblivious to the heat and the sparks.

It was nice watching Hiccup busy around the fire, Jack would have said it was almost relaxing. He wielded hammers and tongs expertly, as indifferent as Toothless to the smoke and flames.

Jack was so lost in watching, his mind clear of the thousand thoughts that usually tormented him, that he didn't immediately notice that Hiccup was asking him something.

“What?” he said, straightening his back, pretending he hadn't been about to fall asleep.

Hiccup was shaping the metal with a hammer in rhythmic strikes, not looking at Jack. “I was wondering if you… I mean, I was wondering what you were going to say that time at the inn,” he stumbled, as if the question had slipped out of his mouth but it was too late to take it back.

The inn. Jack's memories were a little hazy; the dream, and being abruptly awakened, had disoriented him, and his tiredness had made him talk about his past with more freedom than he had ever allowed himself before. He hadn't said anything compromising, obviously, but it had been a long time since he'd shown his tears to another person.

Hiccup saw him hesitate. “You know, when you had that nightmare. We talked… and you were about to say something, before Merida nearly gave us a heart attack,” he added.

To stall, Jack fiddled with an object taken at random from the table — a padlock.

The problem was that he also wasn't sure what he'd intended to reply when Hiccup had offered him his unconditional support. Thank you? You shouldn't? Or something else, something he didn't have enough courage to even compose in his mind before managing to express without dying of embarrassment?

Jack cleared his throat. “Me? Nothing. Maybe you saw me yawning and misunderstood,” he said, forcing a naive smile.

Hiccup didn't fall for the joke. He never did.

Jack ran for cover, before being subjected to another undeserved motivational speech. “What is that part of the mechanism for?” he asked suddenly.

It was enough to completely distract Hiccup and start a long and boring speech about springs, bolts and levers, full of words Jack had never heard.

He felt guilty for resorting to that cheap trick, but Jack knew he wouldn't be able to face it again. He wasn't ready, even though his secrets were slowly crushing him in a death grip.

Not yet.

Maybe in the future, Jack thought uncertainly. Maybe, one day he would be ready.

In Amberray, yes. At the festival.

Then Jack would tell everything from the beginning.

*

The back room of the forge that Rapunzel had been exploring had turned out to be some kind of storage room. It was square, and on three sides the walls were covered with shelves full of different objects, all made of iron. Against the free wall there was a desk almost completely hidden by papers from which some thin books stood upright, like an island she had read about in fairy tales.

Rapunzel had leafed through one, attracted by the leather covers she'd sniffed cautiously in fear of being seen, and she had discovered that they were registers. In orderly rows, orders and prices were reported in an unexpectedly orderly handwriting: Rapunzel had imagined the blacksmith as a large person, therefore with hands almost too big and awkward to hold a pen.

Aside from the aesthetic aspect, the registers weren't very interesting, so Rapunzel moved her attention to the shelves, and had been even more surprised, seeing the variety of creations lined up.

In fact, she'd never have expected to find intricate sculptures made up of pieces of iron bent into smooth curves as if the material had taken that shape on its own, or horseshoes with hidden engraved decorations, or jugs with handles curved into the shape of a swan.

Mesmerized by those true works of art, Rapunzel delicately took a horseshoe in her hand, ran a fingertip over the decorations and read the tag tied to it with a string, where the name of the client was written.

The horseshoe reminded her of the near-disaster that morning. Rapunzel hadn't told the others, but what had scared her most about the shadow horses was the fact that she had dreamed about them just the night before.

A bad omen, but Rapunzel certainly couldn't make herself look like a coward by talking about her fear. They would have thought she was crazy.

Then there was a small part of her mind with the horrible suspicion that she had somehow attracted those magical creatures. But she didn't want to reveal that either.

Mother would have reproached her for inviting catastrophes and ruining her good mood.

Mother… Rapunzel wondered how she was doing. Was she still angry about her running away, or had she forgiven her? Was she sad? Desperate, even?

Maybe not, because Rapunzel had left her a note, before following Jack, to explain that she would be gone for a while, that she was fine and would return soon. She hadn't specified her destination, in an impulse of selfishness.

So, maybe Mother wasn't distressed, but she was waiting for Rapunzel at the tower. Did Mother miss her? Probably.

And Rapunzel? Did she miss her?

Of course she did, she replied to herself with a note of reproach. She missed her pats on the head and her I-love-yous, but Rapunzel had to admit that the people she'd met recently were so nice and interesting that they often made her forget about homesickness.

Maybe it was because she was thinking of Mother, but Rapunzel thought she saw a little light outside the window, like when she looked out of the tower to wait to see her returning lantern.

She didn't have time to wonder who could be walking around in that deserted town so late, when she heard the front door of the shop open abruptly, interrupting Hiccup and Jack's voices in the forge, and a deep voice making a terrible comment.

“Well well well, looks like we found some more thieves tonight.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel didn't know who had just burst into the forge, but judging by the commotion that followed, they weren't there to say hello.

“Can we talk about it?” she heard Hiccup say.

Rapunzel exchanged a look with Pascal, who was orange with tension, and bent to crouch under the desk.

“Of course we can. Before a judge. You are all under arrest. Baird, get the handcuffs,” the unknown man replied.

When Toothless growled, the man's voice lost much of its arrogance. “What the—is that a dragon?!”

Rapunzel heard the high-pitched whistle she associated with Toothless's plasma plasts, promising a disaster: in a confined space like the forge...

“Toothless, no!” Hiccup shouted.

The whistling suddenly stopped. In contrast, Rapunzel's heart showed no signs of calming down.

Unfortunately, another familiar voice entered the scene. “What's going on?” Merida asked after coming out of the room she had been snooping in.

“Why didn't you stay hidden?” Jack groaned.

“Let's see, three intruders, a dragon and this strange thing you're building…” said the man, who at this point Rapunzel assumed was a town guard. “What is this, a weapon?”

“I believe the dragon is the weapon, sir,” added another guard who must have been Baird.

“Um. First of all, his name is Toothless, and he's not a weapon. Listen, we didn't want to do anything bad,” Hiccup explained in a desperate attempt. “I know, sneaking into here doesn't exactly make us look good, but we don't want to cause any trouble, really. So, if you let us—Jack, don't.”

Rapunzel wasn't sure what Jack had tried to do, but hearing his sound of disappointment, it couldn't have been anything safe.

“Like I've just said, you can tell this nice little story to the captain. Baird, cuff them.”

“But that's not fair!” Merida exclaimed. “Oi, stay away from me!”

“Let's just do what he said,” Hiccup stopped her. “We… we still have a chance to get out of this mess,” he added in a meaningful tone.

Rapunzel knew immediately that he was talking about her. She was their escape route. The problem was that Rapunzel's knees seemed to have become fossilized as they were, while she had been hiding under the table.

She wished she could jump out, run into the next room and take everyone by surprise, but Mother's voice kept echoing in her head, telling her that the guards would lock her in prison if they'd discovered her power. That she would end up in a dark cell. That people would look at her with disgust.

Rapunzel could only hate herself for being a coward, while she heard the click of the handcuffs, an irritated snort from Toothless, and the shop door being closed, leaving a desolate silence behind.

Only then did she manage to get to her feet. She peeked behind the door that connected the warehouse to the forge, and as she feared, everyone was gone. Even Toothless's new prosthetic had been taken away. The embers in the furnace still glowed yellow.

Rapunzel's vision went blurry, and fighting the tears that were threatening to fill up her eyes was too hard. Mother often scolded her for being a crybaby, but Rapunzel couldn't hold back for long.

She cried not only because her friends were going to end up in some horrible prison, but also because deep down she was afraid it was her fault. She had drawn the shadow horses’ attention after dreaming of them. It was her fault they'd been attacked and forced to land. It was her fault they'd entered the forge and had been discovered.

And she hadn't even had the courage to come forward and let herself get captured.

Rapunzel sank to the ground, feeling lost. Mentally clinging to the only source of light and heat that was the furnace, she hugged her knees with her arms, her back leaning against the anvil pedestal.

If only she were as powerful as Jack, as intelligent as Hiccup, or as strong as Merida...

She even thought she could hear their voices.

“You're a good-for-nothing, Rapunzel.”

She looked up, and found herself face to face with a particularly annoyed Merida.

“I'm sorry,” she replied automatically, but Merida huffed and crossed her arms.

“I see all that time spent teaching you how to fight was for nothing. Right?” she said to Hiccup, who Rapunzel hadn't noticed before.

He shook his head. The contempt in his eyes burned Rapunzel like fire. “At least we can stop pretending to like you. It was getting tiring.”

Rapunzel found herself slowly shaking her head, a cold feeling creeping up her spine. “No,” she whispered. Her voice sounded small and pathetic. “That's not true... This... this is a joke, right? It's one of your jokes, one of those usual jokes that I don't get until you explain it to me.”

She looked for Jack, and she found him exactly where she expected him: leaning against the wall, his staff in one hand and the other resting on his belt. A cruel grin on his face.

“I kept you around because you were kind of funny, but I'm starting to get bored. It's been nice while it lasted, and blah blah blah,” he said coldly.

Rapunzel was crushed by an invisible weight, which bent her towards the floor, taking her breath away.

“No,” she repeated with what little voice she had left, as the others turned their backs on her to leave. “Please…”

Rapunzel crawled across the floor without caring about the soot that was staining her skirt, but in less than an instant she was alone again, until…

“Flower.”

Rapunzel didn't even look at the face of the person who had called behind her; she simply jumped up and ran towards Mother's outstretched arms. Her mane of curly black hair, her nice perfume, the velvet of her dress, all felt wonderfully familiar.

Rapunzel released the hug to look at Mother's face, which looked a little clouded behind her teary eyes. 

Mother tucked a strand of hair behind Rapunzel's ear. “Not seeing you for so long was terrible,” she said, raising her perfectly manicured eyebrows.

“Sorry I left without saying goodbye,” Rapunzel replied. “But you would never have given me permission to have such a long journey!”

Mother pouted. “No, I wouldn't, and do you see why? Do you see where this took you? They've abandoned you, Rapunzel. All of them. I would never do that.”

“But…”

“Let's go home,” said Mother, unusually calm, “and forget all about this incident.”

Rapunzel hesitated, peering behind her shoulder. There was no one at the door of the shop, yet she felt a presence, as if the others hadn't really left.

Mother's hands on her shoulders tightened their grip a little. “You have to decide now, Rapunzel. Do you want to go back to the tower with me, or stay here and chase after people who will never want you?”

For a tense moment, Rapunzel felt herself being pulled from two opposite directions. She was about to ask Mother for some more time, because she didn't want to believe that all the good times spent with her friends hadn't been real, when an unexpected noise made her open her eyes.

Bam!

Rapunzel was sitting on the ground, her knees numb and her eyes swollen. The embers in the furnace were cold and black.

When she stood up, disoriented, and looked for Mother, she realized she had been dreaming. She wasn't really there with her. Rapunzel almost cried again.

However, if it had been a dream… the others hadn't left her, she thought with enormous relief. They had just been arrested.

Suddenly, the idea of prison didn't sound like the end of the world anymore.

Soon after, Rapunzel realized that the noise that had woken her was real, because she heard agitated voices shouting from afar.

She dared to stick her head out the door. She was surprised to see the indigo color of the sky, finding it hard to believe that she had slept most of the night, but what struck her most was that, for the first time since Jack had climbed the tower, she was completely alone.

She didn't hear any voices again, so she went out into the shop street to look around, and the mystery literally ran her over. 

“Ah!”

“Ow!”

Rapunzel fell to the ground, hitting a knee, along with another person. Something jingling slipped in front of her face, before getting quickly snatched back.

Rapunzel pulled herself up and looked at who she had collided with: a tall, athletic young man, with brown hair messy from the run and a nice straight nose. In his right hand he held a pouch that reminded her of the one Hiccup kept his coins in. It wasn't literally the same, but it was suspiciously similar.

“Sorry, Blondie, didn't see you,” the man said darting his eyes around, not looking at Rapunzel. His gaze finally landed on her, and he let out a low whistle. “Though maybe I should have. That's a lot of hair.”

Rapunzel was about to ask him if he was hurt, but a third voice made them both jump.

“Rider! Where are you!” barked someone Rapunzel recognized with a shudder as the guard from the night before.

The stranger looked first at the direction the scream had come from, then at the pouch, then at Rapunzel, and grabbed her hand.

“Um…?” 

“Let's go for a walk, shall we?” he said hastily, and before Rapunzel could give an indignant reply, he started running again, dragging her with him.

Even with the first light of the morning, the streets of Willoway were half-empty, and they only passed a handful of people. Rapunzel didn't get a good look at them, she was too busy keeping up with the man called Rider. She felt Pascal clinging for dear life to her brown braid and she hoped he wouldn't lose his grip.

Rider made them turn right, left, left again, then cross the street, and turn right again, then Rapunzel completely lost her orientation. She anxiously wondered whether she would be able to find her way back to the shops on her own.

Finally they stopped in front of a two-story building that looked rather shabby, making Rapunzel assume they'd reached the less wealthy part of the town: the doors and windows were barred with wooden boards, the curtain that offered shelter at the entrance was damaged by the weather and a vine invaded most of the facade. All that was missing from that place was a sign saying 'abandoned'.

Rider let go of Rapunzel's arm, climbed onto some rickety crates left nearby, jumped on the curtain and held out his hand. “Hurry up, Blondie, those two are faster than they look!”

Rapunzel ignored the hand and crossed her arms. “Why should I even follow you? I did nothing wrong.”

He smiled sardonically. “You're new in town, and that's enough. They'll stop you to ask a bunch of questions as soon as they see that crazy big braid of yours.”

Rapunzel protectively smoothed the hairstyle that Merida redid for her every couple of days. Over time, she'd started to enrich it by adding smaller braids. Since that moment had become an opportunity to chat, Rapunzel suspected that Merida was doing it to prolong the process, but she was happy about it.

“So I should come up there too?”

Rider wiggled his eyebrows. “Depends if you'd rather trust a charming stranger, or make friends with the guards.”

Rapunzel had no choice. She climbed onto the crates and let Rider help her, before he used the vine to get closer to a small window just under the roof, the only one barred from the inside. Rapunzel watched him push the boards with his hand, and was surprised to see that they all moved at once, revealing they were nailed into some kind of door. Rider skillfully passed through the window and Rapunzel followed him carefully.

They entered a dusty attic, populated with crates and barrels that looked like they'd been left there for decades. A small shelter had been created in a corner, with a makeshift bed and a smaller chest that served as a table. The light coming through the window they had entered through highlighted the dust in the air.

Rider pushed the boards back in place, making the room a little darker, and looked out through a crack. Rapunzel joined him.

For a few long seconds nothing happened, then a couple of guards armed with spears ran down the street in a wild race, risking running over a passerby. They didn't even spare the abandoned house a glance, perhaps deceived by all the boards blocking the entrances, and kept chasing until they turned the corner at the first crossroads, exchanging opinions in very loud voices about where the fugitive might have gone.

“And with that I got rid of them for at least half a day,” Rider commented with satisfaction.

Rapunzel didn't join in his triumph. She had recognized the voice of the man who had arrested Merida, Hiccup, and Jack, and her stomach had sunk a little more.

Rider noticed her expression. “What's wrong?”

“He took my friends. That man,” Rapunzel said without being able to stop staring at the corner he'd disappeared behind.

Rider nodded as if he understood perfectly. “Ah. You had the misfortune of meeting Terrible Tom.”

Rapunzel felt faint. “Terrible Tom?”

“He's the right-hand man of the captain of the Willoway guard. I'd never met a more stubborn guy than him before,” Rider explained. He abandoned the pouch on the chest-table and lazily sat down on the blanket that was supposed to resemble a bed. “They say he can make even the worst kind of criminals confess.”

Rapunzel tugged at her sleeve, biting her lip. She thought back to the dilemma Mother had posed to her in the dream.

“I have to help them,” she decided. “You seem to know the town well, Rider, maybe you could give me a hand?”

“Call me Flynn.”

Rapunzel took a deep breath. “Flynn. Please, I need someone who knows the guards and the area.”

Flynn grimaced from the spot he was sprawled on. “In case you haven't noticed, Blondie, the guards and I don't exactly get along, so… sorry, but I have a super busy schedule ahead.” He crossed his arms and settled himself better, as if preparing for a nap. “Now, if you don't mind, you can leave and go back to your business, whatever that is, you know where the exit is. Thank you and see you next time — no, on second thought, goodbye forever.”

For a moment, Rapunzel was too appalled to respond. First that guy had crashed into her, then dragged her across half the town, convinced her to follow him to a secret refuge, and now he wanted to pretend nothing had happened?

She could have told him several things. Spending time with new people, she had learned some less than nice words that Mother would have considered unbefitting of a proper lady, but in that moment Rapunzel found them very appropriate.

However, she suspected that Flynn was used to being called inventive epithets, so she needed to find another way to convince him. Otherwise, her friends would have remained at the mercy of Terrible Tom.

“Fine,” she chanted loudly as she marched towards the window, keeping her back straight. “Then I guess I'll go and tell my situation to this Tom guy. I'm sure he'll be happy to know that I've been bothered by the man he was chasing in such a hurry.”

She couldn't see Flynn's reaction, but the sound of someone sitting up real fast was unmistakable.

“It's been a pleasure, Flynn Rider,” Rapunzel concluded sarcastically, her chin pointed high and her hand already on the door of the hideout.

She didn't have to wait long for Flynn's response.

“Wait!” he exclaimed like he hadn't meant to, and in half a second he had already slipped between her and the window. “Maybe I was a little hasty. What did you say your name is?”

“Rapunzel,” she said, feigning indifference. She found out she was quite good at playing the calm and collected part.

“I can probably move some things in my schedule, actually,” Flynn said quickly. “Your problem sounds like an emergency. Why don't we take a walk while you tell me everything?”

Rapunzel put the act aside. “Can we go out already? Aren't there still guards around?”

“That's why we're going to the last place they'll come looking for me,” he said confidently.

“And that would be?”

“The market, obviously.”

*

It was Merida's first time in prison, and after five minutes she had come to the conclusion that she hated it. It was exactly like being grounded in her room, in Grayfir, except that she had to share her space with other people, perhaps even more restless than her.

“You know, I had a feeling things would end up like this for me,” Hiccup said the morning after their arrest, from his spot by the door, “but I was expecting another cell. One in Berk, with snow coming in through the bars and sheep bleating playing in the background, not…” — he gestured vaguely — “this.”

He looked at Jack, who was sitting with his back against the wall and his hands uselessly reaching for the staff they had confiscated from him. “Are you sure you can't do something?”

Jack tapped his head on the wall. He looked especially miserable: he'd said being confined in a small space was his personal torture. “For the thirteenth time, I am. Almost all prisons nowadays are protected by some anti-magic spell by order of the king, so at the moment my powers won't get us anywhere.”

To be fair, he had tried in every way.

After getting caught in the act by the two guards, they'd been taken to the dungeons of Willoway Castle, but not before being stripped of everything the guards had deemed weapons. Jack's staff and Toothless' prosthetic had then been included in the package.

As for the dragon, Merida didn't know where he'd been taken after an improvised muzzle had been forced on him, but she hoped he was okay. Hiccup's face as they'd watched him getting dragged away by a group of soldiers had been heartbreaking.

After that it had been their turn to be thrown into a cell with the promise of an interrogation for the following day: a square room lit from above by a low window protected by grates, the only furnishings being two piles of straw which were perhaps intended to suggest the idea of a bed, and a bucket that Merida had decided to believe was meant to catch a water leak. The door was made of solid wood, with a small panel at face level that opened from the outside.

Jack had tried to use magic on the door in several ways, but with no results. Even the little window had turned out to be immune.

Merida, who was currently looking at the small piece of sky visible behind the window, lying on the straw, sat up with a groan. “Can't you come up with one of your brilliant ideas?” she asked Hiccup.

He was usually much quicker at problem solving, but he was still upset about the forced separation from Toothless and had apparently given up on trying.

“If magic doesn't work, I doubt we'll be able to find a way to escape,” he replied dejectedly. “Our only hope is Rapunzel.”

Merida had mixed feelings about it.

First of all she hoped Rapunzel was okay. Merida had no doubt that she was perfectly capable of surviving a night alone, but it was one thing to get by in nature, another to wander around the town, which could hide unknown dangers.

The greatest risk, however, was Rapunzel herself: Merida had learned about her insecurities, and she feared that prolonged loneliness could lead her to do something rash.

That being said, no matter how much trust Merida had in Rapunzel, she wasn't sure how their friend would be able to get them out of that smelly cell. Her only weapons were a cooking utensil, some healing hair, and a grumpy chameleon.

Merida expressed her concerns aloud. “Not to doubt Rapunzel, but are you really convinced that she'll be able to free us? Isn't she terrified of prisons?”

Hiccup blinked and looked at Jack. “Is she?”

He nodded. “Her mother convinced her of some nonsense like that if anyone discovered her powers, she'd get locked up forever.”

Hiccup rubbed his temples. “I didn't know. That complicates things.”

“I believe in her,” Jack said. “You'll see that she'll find a way to get us out.”

“As long as they don't exile us from the region. Finding us again would be a problem then,” Hiccup replied with his usual optimism.

“They wouldn't go that far,” Merida protested.

After the ban on death sentences by the previous ruler, exile had become the extreme form of punishment. It was only reserved to the worst criminals, and it was a very serious consequence for three reasons.

It was permanent, because having a change of mind would have been seen as a sign of the ruler's weakness. Furthermore, getting exiled from one's region of origin meant being forced to take refuge in another, and relations between the regions of Fewor, although peaceful, weren't exactly idyllic.

To top it off, the verdict was pronounced with a magic spell, so that it wasn't physically possible for the condemned person to infringe the punishment.

Merida had also heard rumors of people who had been exiled from the kingdom altogether, but she doubted those rumors were true. It sounded a little exaggerated.

However, surely they wouldn't be banished for using a forge in secret, right?

Jack restlessly drummed his fingers on the cold floor, filling the cracks between the stones with ice. “Well, whatever they're gonna do to us, how long will it take? I'm tired of sitting here doing nothing.”

“I think that's what they want,” Hiccup said. “First they tire us out by keeping us here all night, then they interrogate us when we're too exhausted to resist.”

Merida dropped back onto the straw. “So we can only wait, now.”

She hoped that the end of their captivity, whether it would happen miraculously thanks to Rapunzel, or through interrogation, would come soon.

Everyone's sanity was at stake.

*

Had there been no stalls, Rapunzel would never have guessed that they were walking through the market.

Of course, it didn't help that the only comparison she could make was to the market in Elmaze, but the strong feeling that something about the town was unnatural made her think she wasn't wrong.

The elements were there. As mentioned before, there were stalls (not many, but Willoway was smaller than Elmaze. Right?) with vendors (who seemed to be in fits of sweating). There were the passers-by (who wandered looking anxiously around), there was chatter (in low, cautious tones), and finally there were the guards.

Numerous, dressed in neat uniforms and armed with sharp spears, which Flynn could identify with an expert eye and skillfully guide Rapunzel away from them.

However, when she saw out of the corner of her eye an old man arguing bitterly with a guard, she began to have doubts.

“What's going on here? Where are the street performers, the shouting merchants and all that?” she asked Flynn. “I noticed there was something strange last night too.”

He stopped pretending to be interested in the stalls. “You know the saying 'when the dragon's away, the sheep will play? They say it in the Barbaric Archipelago, up north.”

Rapunzel shook her head. She didn't remember ever hearing Hiccup say such weird things.

“Well,” Flynn continued, “it appears that Lord Dingwall's absence has given Coldfingers the all-clear.”

Rapunzel shivered. “Coldfingers? Is it a local euphemism for death?”

Flynn chuckled. “Depends on who you ask. No, even if it suits her, I'm talking about the captain of the guard.”

“She sounds… nice?”

“They call her that because her hands are always cold,” Flynn confided. “You know, for the handcuffs she carries with her.”

“And what does it have to do with Lord Dingwall?” Rapunzel asked. That name wasn't new to her: she vaguely remembered hearing it mentioned by Merida. Something about a banquet and an absent-minded boy.

Flynn quickly checked his reflection in an exposed mirror. “It has everything to do with it, Blondie. The old man left for the capital to attend the Duel of the Heirs, and for a week Coldfingers has taken control of the town. And of course, Tom has been waiting for the chance to do what he wants all his life. He’s the happiest of all.”

It felt strange hearing about the Duel from someone other than Merida or Hiccup. Rapunzel wondered if ordinary people were waiting for the great day with trepidation, or concern. She made a mental note to investigate later.

“Does Coldfingers want to take Lord Dingwall's place?” she asked.

“Worse. Apparently there's been an assassination attempt on Lord Macintosh's son in Elmaze, shortly before Dingwall's departure, so he advised the captain to keep an eye on the town.”

“But…?”

“Coldingers has been ordered to not let anything happen to his clumsy son, and she's gotten carried away. Those who aren't hiding at home are in prison, in fact,” Flynn explained. “She sees criminals and possible murderers everywhere. Do you know how they tried to take out Macintosh?”

Rapunzel quickly decided to feign complete ignorance. “No.”

Flynn leaned in and looked her straight in the eyes, as if to underline the gravity of what he was about to say. “Poisoning.” He pulled away from Rapunzel and shrugged. “Brrr.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. She had noticed Flynn's brown eyes, and perhaps because none of her friends, not even Mother, had eyes like that, her heart had skipped a beat.

She tried to compose herself. “Hey, I know what you're doing. You're trying to scare me into changing my mind, but it'll take more than some guards to make me give up,” she warned him with more confidence than she actually felt.

Flynn raised his hands. “That wasn't my intention, Blondie.”

“Mmm.” Rapunzel glared at him. “So, what brings you away from Corona, Flynn?” She didn't miss the surprised twitch of his eyebrows. “You don't have a Dunbroch accent,” she added.

“Oh.” He looked away, shifting his attention to a cart loaded with fruit. “I don't want to bore you with my life story. Let's just say… Amberray's security and I had a, uh, disagreement.”

Rapunzel thought of the money pouch he'd dropped before, so it wasn't hard for her to guess. “Because you're a thief?”

Flynn snapped his head to look around. “Say it a little louder while you're at it!”

“Sorry.”

Criminals, intruders and scoundrels were the three main categories of people Mother had always warned her against, yet Rapunzel wasn't afraid of Flynn. After all, she had found herself face to face with dragons, assassins, trolls, creepy old ladies and slugs. A street thief didn't seem like much to her anymore, she realized.

Besides, Flynn Rider was her best chance to free her friends.

Walking through the market, they came to a noticeboard covered in faded papers. Rapunzel saw some old statements from Lord Dingwall, advertisements for lost objects, and…

“Look at that,” Flynn exclaimed, approaching the hanging papers. “This one's new.”

Rapunzel focused on the poster that had caught his attention. It was a crude but effective charcoal portrait of Flynn, under the large letters 'Flynn Rider. Wanted Dead or Alive'. She found it slightly excessive for a thief.

“I didn't know you're so famous in town,” Rapunzel said. “I hope no one will report seeing you at the market to the guards.”

Flynn was still studying the poster. “Nah, they won't. If anyone told Terrible Tom or Coldfingers or whoever that they bumped into me, they'd get questioned about what they were doing in the market, if their goods were in order, if the seller gave them a receipt, why they didn't try to stop me, and while we're at it, how many times did they blink today. They'd find an excuse to arrest the informant too.”

“So everyone minds their own business here?”

“Correct. Amberray should learn something from them,” Flynn said. “Mh, there was less writing on the last poster.”

Rapunzel read aloud the handful of lines under the title. “Whoever will provide information on his whereabouts will be rewarded with one gold coin.”

Flynn snorted a half laugh. “Oh, that's it? How cheap of them!”

Rapunzel looked at him in surprise. “Can't you read, Flynn?”

He jerked his thumb at the poster. “In case you haven't noticed, I have more important matters to think about. Besides, I can read up to six words, Blondie. That's all I need.”

Rapunzel had a strong suspicion that he was referring to that 'Flynn Rider. Wanted Dead or Alive' of the title. “But reading is so much fun! And useful too!” she insisted.

Flynn lost his cocky grin. Seeing him so serious for the first time was a bit shocking.

“Look, I don't know where you grew up, but after twenty-three years spent in the worst streets of Amberray, among those going begging and the poor who steal from the poorer, one gets an idea of what his priorities are in life,” he said. “Please excuse me if I never found the time to learn the alphabet.”

“I'm sorry,” Rapunzel stammered, feeling her cheeks burn.

She'd done it again. She had spoken without thinking first, assuming that Flynn would change his mind thanks to her words, and she had offended him. For the first time, Rapunzel was glad her friends weren't there to witness the scene.

“Not to mind your business,” Flynn said, “but where are you from? You're not from here, otherwise I would have noticed you before.”

“The Old Woods. I was going to the capital with my friends, before they were arrested,” Rapunzel replied, acting cooperative to somehow make amends.

“If I can ask, how did it happen? Under what excuse were they taken away? I'll admit I'm curious.”

Rapunzel picked at her collar. “We snuck into a forge.”

“A forge? In the middle of the night?”

“We had to… fix something, so we could leave again.”

“And you weren't with them?” Flynn asked.

Rapunzel's stomach twisted and turned like a bug stuck on its back. “I was, but I… I was in another room. I stayed hidden.”

“Good for you.”

Rapunzel looked up to see if Flynn was being sarcastic; sometimes she still struggled to grasp other people's irony. He wasn't frowning like before, but he wasn't smiling at some joke either.

“You're more useful outside of prisons than inside with your friends,” he said as if he was explaining something obvious.

“I… guess so.”

“Anyway, the Old Woods are pretty far away,” he added. “Do you guys have a wagon or horses?”

Rapunzel bit her tongue. “Um…”

Flynn raised his hands. “Okay, okay, if you don't want to tell me it doesn't matter.” He looked at her for a few moments, rolled his eyes and sighed. “Follow me.”

Curious, Rapunzel followed Flynn into an alley near the market. Some voices were bouncing between the narrow walls and when the they turned the corner, they found some children drawing on the floor with chalk.

Rapunzel looked longingly at the white lines that decorated the stone in stylized houses, slightly too large people, and smiling suns. They reminded her of how she had covered every surface of the tower with paint over the course of eighteen years. She missed painting.

The children were adorable, with their hands all white from chalk. They even had some on their faces. Jack would have befriended them in a matter of minutes.

“Shoo, shoo! Don't you have anything better to do?” Flynn exclaimed, waving his hands as if to ward off imaginary flies.

The children ran away, filling the alley with squeals and giggles.

“Why did you chase them away?”

Flynn showed her the chalk he had picked up from the ground, then he knelt down and began drawing straight lines. 

Rapunzel crouched next to him, still skeptical. Flynn was drawing rectangles with other rectangles and squares inside.

It took her a while to figure out what they were. “Is this a map of a building?”

“Of the castle. Look, here are the dungeons.”

“I thought you had never been caught.”

“I haven't,” Flynn confirmed as he added the final details. “I've been to the castle several times, but they've never found me. Or rather, they've only found that some stuff was missing.”

Rapunzel gave him a stern look.

Flynn shrugged. “Do you prefer me to steal from shops, or from citizens' homes?”

“...No.”

“Good,” Flynn said, clicking his tongue. The drawing was complete. “Getting in will be the easy part, of course. I could get myself arrested during a failed attempt to pickpocket an unwary tourist, for example,” he suggested with a meaningful look at Rapunzel.

She tried to imagine the scene, but she had a hard time thinking of what excuse she could come up with to follow the guards and Flynn to the castle. Perhaps it wasn't the most efficient plan.

“I have another idea on how to get in,” she said. “You know all the access routes, right?”

“Yeah. Well, we'll think about that later. In the meantime we have to figure out how to get out. With all the people locked up there, there'll be a swarm of guards in the dungeons.”

Pondering how to deal with the surveillance problem, Rapunzel recalled the one moment, when her friends had been discovered, that seemed to have caught Terrible Tom off guard.

“Toothless,” she said. “If we find Toothless and free him, they'll let us through. But I think they locked him up alone.”

Flynn frowned. “One of your friends is called Toothless?”

Rapunzel coughed to hide her embarrassment. “Um, yes. He's... very big. And scary.”

“It's one of those things I'm better off not asking about, isn't it?”

Rapunzel nodded vigorously.

“Alright, we'll give priority to this Toothless guy, but first we'll have to get the keys to the cells.”

“Does Coldfingers have them?”

“I doubt it. She's always glued to Young Dingwall. Tom's probably keeping the keys.”

Rapunzel was starting to feel better, if not optimistic. With a plan ready and the possibility of freeing the others becoming more real, she felt they still had hope.

“Then let's go in, get the keys, find Toothless, free my friends and escape,” she summed up almost enthusiastically. “Thank you, Flynn. Without you I would still be in that forge.”

“You'll thank me when we'll leave the castle safely,” he said, before staring at Rapunzel's neck area with vague horror.

“What?”

“You have a frog on your shoulder.”

Chapter Text

As planned, at nine in the morning on the thirteenth day of the journey, Rapunzel walked past the carved doors of Willoway Castle, accompanied by the guard she had stopped on the way. 

It hadn't been easy, psychologically speaking; Rapunzel would never have imagined that one day she’d spontaneously turn to a town guard, and to intentionally lie to them of all things. In fact, Rapunzel had been more reckless in the last two weeks than she had been in nearly eighteen years. 

Her idea was simple, the poster had inspired her. She had cleared her throat and announced to the guard that she had information on the whereabouts of the elusive Flynn Rider. Luckily, the guard had believed her, and had agreed to take her to the castle to talk to a superior about it. 

Since Willoway wasn’t far from the border to Corona, Rapunzel was expecting the surroundings to reflect some architectural influence, but instead the castle had the usual low towers, ash-colored brick facades, and numerous loopholes. 

Inside, she was greeted by a rather welcoming atmosphere. The entrance hall was supported by columns made of precisely cut stone, alongside large carpets depicting glimpses of woods populated by running deer, wolves in pursuit, threatening wild boars, bears with cubs, squirrels with large tails and a myriad of different birds. The light came in through several windows made of shiny glass. 

Rapunzel was forced to lift her gaze from the carpets to follow the guard through a strategiccally placed side door, which opened onto a series of narrow corridors. The passage took them to a more modest room, compared to the entrance, furnished in an essential way, making Rapunzel suppose she was in an area of the castle used by the staff. 

At an empty table, polishing his sword, sat the man Flynn had called Terrible Tom, the captain of the guard's right-hand man, with his boots on the table. 

A plaque that looked like it had just come out of a carpenter's shop indicated that the desk belonged to the vice-captain. 

Behind the table, next to several wanted posters, a beautiful tapestry depicting a family had been set aside to make room for a map of the town. The river Ultan looked like a blue snake slithering past Willoway. 

Rapunzel focused her attention on Tom. He didn’t possess any particularly frightening features, as she had imagined after having only seen him from a distance. He didn't have large scars on his face, or a sharp beard cut, or chilling eyes. 

It was his attitude. The way Tom was sitting gave the impression he believed the entire castle belonged to him, while he stared at the sword he was cleaning with almost unnatural care with the same expression Merida made when she went hunting. 

Rapunzel was afraid of the man with the funny nickname. 

“This girl says she knows where Rider is hiding, sir,” the guard reported. 

Tom placed the sword on the table and looked Rapunzel up and down. “Huh, I don't think I've seen you in town before. Where did you come from?”

Flynn had warned Rapunzel about two things: first, not to remind Tom that he was the captain's subordinate, so as not to question his authority; second, that the thing he loved most in the world was flattery. 

One look was enough for Rapunzel to decide that she wouldn't resort to compliments. That man had arrested her friends with repugnant glee, so she had no intention of praising him, not even pretending. 

However, since Tom liked the feeling of having power over people, Rapunzel decided to play the part of the scared girl. The anxiety that his gray eyes caused in her helped a lot. 

“I've recently come to live here with some relatives after my parents died,” she made up on the spot. 

“And what's your name, miss?”

Something about the way he'd said miss made Rapunzel's stomach turn, but she told him her name anyway. 

Tom smirked and leaned back in his chair. “Well then, Rapunzel. Tell me what you've found out about Flynn Rider.”

To add realism to the act, she sighed and smoothed her skirt. It was showtime. 

“Well, it's a long story…”

*

Having spent most of his life — at least what he could remember of it — in the most remote and wild places of the kingdom, in his search lasting nearly eighteen years, Jack had learned how to calculate the time by looking at the color of the sky and the length of the shadows, therefore he knew for certain that breakfast was served around nine. 

Of course, calling a third of a loaf of bread and a bowl of suspiciously colored water 'breakfast' was generous, and Jack almost regretted the strips of dried meat. Almost.

“I don't know what they were expecting,” Merida said as she chewed her portion (it seemed impossible that no one had taught her not to speak with her mouth full, and yet here they were). “Did they want us to break into a fistfight for some bread?”

“I think it's another strategy to drive us to exhaustion,” Hiccup said grimly. “Poor breakfast equals more inclination to confess.” 

Merida wrinkled her nose. “Are we sure they want to interrogate us? I mean, they caught us in the act. There isn't much to confess.”

Jack was listening to the exchange in silence. His restlessness made the bread taste like sawdust. 

They had lost half a day since their emergency landing, and it was dangerously slowing them down. They didn’t have much time already, and now they'd have to make up for the night in prison somehow. 

“What would happen if no one showed up for the Duel of the Heirs?” he asked Merida. “If we don't hurry…”

“I think it can be postponed. Technically the Duel should only be officially resorted to after the legitimate heir's eighteenth birthday, but given the circumstances, they're planning ahead,” she said. “A date is decided for the presentation of the Duelists, which is usually on the same day of the actual fight. If I'm not mistaken, it's already been delayed in the past.”

Hiccup probably guessed why Jack had brought it up, and came to his aid. “Has someone ever explained to you what would happen if the princess, uh, showed up after her birthday? I've never thought of asking.”

Merida snorted. “Impossible. That wee lass vanished into thin air when she wasn't even one year old, I'm sorry for her but her parents had their daughter taken away from under them.”

Jack's stomach twisted, but not because of hunger. 

“I know, but hypothetically speaking,” Hiccup said, “is there a rule for this case?”

“If I remember correctly, she'd lose automatic access to the title, but not the right to fight to have it back,” Merida said thoughtfully.

“So she would become an Heir like the two of us.” Hiccup glanced at Jack.

He didn't like that talk about the princess. Resorting to plan B and having Rapunzel participate in the Duel wasn't what he wanted, not if he hoped to repair the damage done in the past. Rapunzel was supposed to return to Amberray before her birthday — and before the festival. 

“Well, it's a lost cause,” Merida added, stretching her arms. “I doubt she's living a peaceful life in some country cottage right now.”

In a way, she was right. The princess hadn't lived in a cottage, nor in the country. 

Jack felt sorry that he couldn't tell Merida the truth, even just to make a joke. 

*

Three guards were assigned to defend the northern corridor of the ground floor. Every morning at six, they stationed themselves at the two ends of the passage, the third in the center. Always the same three men. A tall and awkward one. One with blacksmith's arms. Another with a severe fear of spiders. 

They'd stay still for about an hour and a half, before their legs began to get tired, after which they would secretly gather at the corner that crossed the east corridor, half-open the window to light their pipes, and take out what they needed, glancing around to make sure they weren't being seen. 

Playing cards. 

And the game began. 

On average it lasted half an hour, the time it took for their breathing to slow down and for their mouths to gape in lazy yawns. Twenty minutes, if a smuggled bottle was involved. 

They weren't to blame for taking a nap; Terrible Tom subjected them to strenuous patrols of the town, looking for possible criminals, especially late at night. Arriving the next morning with heavy eyelids was understandable. 

So, with the window half closed, the guards snoring on the floor and a good wine already open, sneaking in was possible. 

There were other ways into the castle: less guarded windows, secret passages, forgotten sewer tunnels. But this was the best one. 

Unnecessarily risky? Yes. 

But it was also Eugene's favorite approach. 

At nine o'clock he heard the first sweet note of a snore from his position just outside the window, protected by the flowering bushes. Eugene craned his neck, and was pleased to see that all three guards were sleeping in awkward positions, following the script. 

He hoisted himself onto the windowsill and gently opened the window, careful not to make it creak. He climbed over with his legs, dropped to the floor, and looked at the trio of guards. 

What he was looking for was a few inches away from the buff guy's hand. Eugene grabbed the bottle, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. The flavor was intense, slightly spicy, linking it to Corona. How nostalgic. 

He put the bottle down with the smallest of clinks and walked away. 

Now Eugene had several possibilities before him. In the entrance hall, some swords of historical value were displayed, and it gave access to countless doors and hallways in which to hide. Lord Dingwall's chambers were filled with jewels, and barely guarded. The trophy room on the third floor, however, was a long way from Tom's makeshift office, and didn't offer many escape routes. 

Wearing his brightest smile, Eugene turned in the direction of the stairs. 

*

“...And my father never liked the smell of paint, he always said it made him nauseous, but only if he had recently eaten, so I think he had lunch late on the day of the accident, because otherwise I wouldn't know how it's possible that he fell from the ladder that day…”

Rapunzel was talking non-stop, constructing the most unnecessarily complicated story ever invented. Mother would have been horrified if she'd heard her babble like that. 

“...And my mother, my poor mother, only had time to return from work — she used to work in a shop in the town square, you know, one of those that sell pretty little objects for tourists at low prices? You must have seen a lot of them, do you travel often? — well, uh, she got back from work, and when she saw my poor father lying on the ground after the fall, you should have seen her expression, I had never seen such a shocked face, well, in a matter of few seconds she felt sick, and she fainted just like that, and all my attempts to help her were useless…”

Terrible Tom looked somewhere between fascinated and perplexed, his mouth opening and closing intermittently. 

Rapunzel knew that gesture, because she too sometimes would try to join the conversation between her friends without succeeding, ending up repeating the beginning of the same sentence several times. Usually it was Merida who noticed and gave her space (as much as she denied it, sixteen years of etiquette lessons were settled in her head). 

“...And then there was that terrible storm, which prevented me from reaching the town for days, it was really strong, the worst I’d ever seen, and I’ve seen many, my poor parents’ house was often hit by violent downpours, if you think about it it was a terrible area to live in…”

At the moment Rapunzel could do nothing but try to buy as much time as possible for Flynn, hoping the plan would work. 

After all, it had been her idea. 

*

The trophy room was located at the end of a large hallway which opened into two smaller passages on either side. Guarding its double doors were two soldiers who, unlike the three slackers in the northern corridor, actually seemed competent. 

Eugene knew that sometimes to fool someone seemingly smart, all it took were tricks so simple they were ingenious. 

He put his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice, hiding behind the corner. “Oh my Veeta, isn't that Flynn Rider entering Lord Dingwall's study?”

The guards exchanged worried looks. 

“Maybe we should go check it out too,” the one on the right suggested. 

The one on the left scratched her chin. “And abandon our place? Tom will hang us in the dungeons by the ankles, like two very ugly decorations.”

“He certainly will, if he hears that Rider has escaped him yet again,” the right guard replied wisely.

“Indeed…” The left guard thought about it. “Let's take a quick look, and if the others have the situation under control we'll come back here.”

Eugene watched them take the arched doorway away from him, satisfied. “Yeah, go and check, you never know.”

Opening the lock wasn't too difficult, since Eugene always carried his tools with him, just in case. With a click he'd never get tired of hearing, the mechanism yielded to his coaxing. The doors opened. 

The trophy room would have brought to tears the most impassive of criminals. Eugene didn't know where to start looking: generations of Dingwalls had accumulated their treasures in that room, from sports awards to gifts received from the other lords of Dunbroch. Rare stuffed animal heads watched over finely decorated armor. Bizarre machines with mysterious purposes seemed like monsters in the shadows, ready to ambush. Rows and rows of cockades lined the walls. A glass chandelier in Corona's style hung from the ceiling. 

Eugene walked around the room reverently, almost on tiptoe. 

He just had to grab an object of modest value and run away, making sure he was seen... or... 

Eugene, his hand already reaching for a small, beautifully painted vase, hesitated. 

Or he could take something worth enough to live comfortably for years, escape undetected, and leave Blondie to her fate.

Eugene was good at getting inside the places he chose for his jobs, but he was even better at getting out of them. It would have been easy. 

His day had taken a strange turn since he'd literally bumped into the girl. She had seemed a little weird, with those bare feet and the frog on her shoulder, and Eugene had taken her to the market to get rid of her by taking advantage of the crowd.

But he hadn't been able to. 

He had taken pity on her after seeing her big green eyes, swollen as if she'd been crying recently, and the way she had apologized when they had talked about reading. 

And now Eugene found himself faced with a loot that would make anyone break out in a cold sweat, more precisely facing a crossroads where making a choice should have been simple. 

With a sigh, he tore off the first cockade that came to hand from the velvet display panel, and left the trophy room. 

He threw the doors open as if he were at home at the exact moment the guards were returning. 

When they saw him they froze on the spot. 

He waved and went down the hallway he had come from. “Always a pleasure doing business with you!”

“What the—Rider!”

Eugene started running. 

*

Rapunzel was babbling like she had never babbled. Her throat was dry, but she needed to keep going. 

“...So I turned at the second intersection, as that kind lady who works at the bakery directed me to — I love their bread so much, the crust is always so golden, and they always say hi when I walk past it — but I think I misunderstood her, because when I turned the corner I found myself not in front of the mill, but in front of the tailor's shop, and I must admit that I had a moment of despair — I bet this has never happened to you, I mean, I imagine that the vice-captain must be more determined than that — and I was really afraid I would never be able to buy flour for my aunt, but I mean, I didn't stop to think that it's normal not to know inside out a town you've moved to recently…”

The guard who had accompanied her to the castle flinched in that typical way of someone who had just risked falling asleep while standing. Even Tom sat all hunched over, and every blink of his eyes lasted a little longer. 

“...And that's when I've seen Flynn Rider…!”

“Sir!”

This time all three of them jumped. Tom almost lost his balance in his chair. 

The person who had scared them was a soldier that had just rushed into the room, out of breath and sweating. 

“Sir, they saw Rider wandering around the castle. He seems to have stolen something!”

Tom stood up so quickly that his chair fell backwards. He made a noise somewhere between a growl and a laugh, and advanced towards the door. 

“Of course he stole something, it's the only thing he knows!” he exclaimed. “All guards to me! Find Rider and show him what happens to those who make fun of Terrible Tom!”

A great deal of confusion ensued. Rapunzel had to dodge the platoon of guards who emerged from two different doors and ran across the room. Tom started to lead them out, then went back for his sword. 

Rapunzel hoped that Flynn knew what he was doing. 

“Sir, what about the girl?” said the guard standing next to her. 

Tom barely spared Rapunzel a glance. She saw furious determination in his eyes. 

“You stay here, miss. You, with me, I need all soldiers. We'll continue this exchange of information later, when I'll be back,” Tom barked, already heading for the exit. 

“I sure hope not,” the guard muttered under his breath, before following him.

Rapunzel didn't have time to respond before the wave of guards who had rushed in on Tom's orders had already marched out, leaving behind only an open door and an abandoned boot. The clanking echo of their footsteps faded away, and in its place a pleasant silence was left. 

Rapunzel was completely alone. 

For a few seconds she was too dazed to even remember to breathe, then she took a breath of air and looked around. 

When she had told Flynn her idea on how to access the dungeons, he'd stared at her with skepticism. 

“Are you sure?” he'd said. “You'll have to do it alone. Can you?”

Yes, Rapunzel thought as she headed towards what she knew was the right door. To help her friends, she could. 

She had spent almost an hour memorizing the map of the castle, helped by Flynn, so she remembered that behind the door she would find a corridor that zigzagged and widened more and more. Rapunzel walked along it with one hand touching the wall, and the other gripping the handle of the pan hanging from her belt. 

“You'll come to some kind of high-ceilinged room with lots of iron doors on the right, but ignore them,” Flynn had advised her. “The room curves to the left three times.”

“Like a square,” she'd commented. 

Flynn had nodded. “You'll have to turn twice.”

Rapunzel walked down the hallway, heart pounding, comforted from the thought of getting closer to the others. The passage was claustrophobic, and when she reached the room with the doors on the right, she breathed a sigh of relief. 

The ceiling arched into a vault of chipped brick, as chipped were the creepy iron doors. Rapunzel heard several confused mutters and a few angry calls for freedom as she walked alongside the wall towards the back of the hall. 

“Where do I find the keys to the prison cells?” she had asked Flynn as they were studying the plan. 

He had tapped his finger on a small square bordered by the chalk drawing. “Coldfingers' office. Tom has a copy, but there should be another one there.”

“You said she's always with Young Dingwall, right? So…”

Rapunzel quickly turned left twice and scanned the wall for the office door. 

“She won't be there when you'll go for the keys,” Flynn had concluded, curling the corner of his mouth. “Especially if she finds out I'm paying them a visit.”

One door was wooden with a brass handle. It had to be that one. 

Rapunzel took a step, but froze when she felt something prick her shoulder. 

“Turn around slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them,” a voice commanded behind her. 

Oh no. 

With her hands raised, Rapunzel turned to face the person who had spoken. He was a fairly young guard with a hint of stubble on his chin and an ill-fitting tunic, and he was pointing his spear at her. 

“I think I'm lost,” Rapunzel awkwardly tried to explain herself. “You see, I was talking to the vice-captain, when there was a big commotion, and I got so scared I ran a—”

The guard brought the weapon closer to Rapunzel's face. “I don't care why you're here. No one can enter the dungeons.”

She swallowed. Unfortunately it seemed that the boy wouldn't be distracted by her chatter. 

“I thought Tom had called all the guards,” she protested then. 

“I received orders to stay here on watch no matter what directly from the captain,” he said. 

Rapunzel then noticed the bunch of keys hanging from his belt, and put two and two together. 

She tried to think hard to figure out how to get the keys and get rid of the guard, but having a spear pointed at her face made it difficult to concentrate. She immediately discarded the possibility of a duel; she had improved with the frying pan, but she couldn't hope to be more skilled than a soldier with a long ranged weapon. 

The guard started to speak again, but stopped suddenly. The expression on his face changed from cold determination to pure panic. 

“That's—is that a dragon?!”

Rapunzel was about to turn around, imagining a miraculous appearance from Toothless, before noticing that the guard wasn't looking behind her, but at her.

Pascal first checked behind him, then tilted his head and stared at the guard, who backed away, letting the spear slip from his hands. Now he had his back against the wall. 

“Please don't hurt me, I'm just doing my job!” he exclaimed, covering his face. 

Rapunzel and Pascal exchanged a puzzled look. The chameleon shrugged. 

She couldn't understand how anyone could mistake Pascal for a dragon. He was so small and cute, and he didn't have horns, or wings, or a fire-breathing mouth. The only species that small Hiccup had told her about were the Fireworms, or… 

Rapunzel had an idea. She lowered her hands and advanced towards the guard. 

“Have you ever heard of the Terrible Terror?” she asked, flashing what she hoped looked like an intimidating smile.

From behind the arms he was hiding with, the boy shook his head slightly. 

“It's the most feared dragon in the Barbaric Archipelago,” Rapunzel continued, imitating the measured tone Merida used to tell her scary stories. “It may be small in size, but once it has spotted its prey, it doesn't leave it until it has caught it. It's tireless, so much so that the Berkians think it's a scourge sent by the goddess Tere to punish those who have offended her.”

No sounds attributable to a human being were coming out of the guard's mouth. His whimpering almost made Rapunzel feel sorry for him, but she kept coming closer. 

When she got within a very short distance of the guard, Rapunzel stood as straight and imposing as she could, as if she were a creature coming from another world to judge mere mortals. Pascal supported her by scrutinizing him with his small protruding eyes. 

“And you?” Rapunzel thundered. “What have you done to offend Tere, She Who Rules Fire and Blood?”

“I… I…” stammered the guard, very pale. 

Pascal delivered the final blow: he opened his mouth wide and, with expert precision, flicked his tongue towards the guard's nose, who let out a loud shriek and collapsed to the ground unconscious. 

Rapunzel held out her index finger for Pascal to tap his paw on it, and bent down to pick up the keys that had fallen with a clatter. She didn't have the heart to leave the poor boy in the uncomfortable position he was in, so she laid him with his back against the wall. 

Before putting the plan into action, she had asked Flynn where he thought they could confine a potentially dangerous large animal. He had shown her a room bigger than the others on the map, explaining that everything that was confiscated from prisoners was stored there. 

Rapunzel visualized the mental map she had studied, and remembered that she had to continue down that corridor to the corner. 

When she found the door indicated by Flynn, she inserted the largest key into the lock first, and managed to turn it without finding resistance. Rapunzel stuck her head in, then entered the room. 

It was undoubtedly a warehouse, with shelves, cabinets and drawers full of objects stolen from the arrested people. Looking at the layers of dust on some, one would have said they had been there since the dawn of time. 

Rapunzel didn't waste more than a glance at the objects, because at the back of the room, chained to the floor by each of his paws, including his tail, Toothless had pricked up his long ear flaps. 

“Toothless!” Rapunzel exclaimed running to him. She touched the leather muzzle that prevented him from opening his mouth and stroked his nose. “Poor thing, they've left you here like a forgotten sock.”

She quickly tried the other keys on the padlocks that closed the chains, but she ran out of them without being able to open anything. Even the muzzle had a lock. 

Toothless grumbled with his mouth closed. Rapunzel looked at him dejectedly. “This wasn't planned. You didn't see where the key to the chains is, did you?”

Toothless flared his nostrils and smelled her hands. In that moment Rapunzel wished she was able to understand him and make herself understood like Hiccup did, as he only needed a look or a whistle to communicate with the dragon. 

Rapunzel had to think. If other keys existed, where could they be stored? She ruled out finding the ones she needed in the warehouse, also because searching in that chaos was out of the question. 

She could think of only one other place. Coldfingers' office. 

Rapunzel got back to her feet and hugged Toothless’ neck tightly. “I'll be back soon, I promise.”

He stared at her with squared pupils, until Rapunzel turned and walked out of the warehouse. She quickly returned to where she had been surprised by the guard, who, she realized with a shudder, was no longer there against the wall. 

Now aware that she didn't have much time left, Rapunzel opened the door with the brass handle. 

Unlike the vice-captain's improvised office, Coldfingers' was authentic. A light wood desk dominated the center of the room, surrounded by walls decorated with elaborately hilted swords. A painted coat of arms hung just behind the desk. 

Rapunzel paused to read the documents on the table: there were personal letters, reports with information on the wanted people and notes. She opened the desk drawers, and was lucky enough to find a second set of small keys, which she immediately took. 

She raised her head, ready to go back to Toothless and free him, but she almost screamed when she saw who was blocking the door, sword in hand and a triumphant expression. 

“Then it's true that Baird was defeated by a little girl,” said Terrible Tom. “I just wonder where the tiny dragon he told me about is.”

Tiny? Pascal wouldn't have liked it. “My chameleon is not a dragon, sir.”

“Pity, I would have liked to go down in history as the first vice-captain of Willoway to slay a monster,” Tom commented, raising his sword. 

Rapunzel was terrified. 

She was in an unfamiliar and hostile place, following a plan she and a thief had made that was going downhill, completely alone and unsure of what would happen to her, threatened by a man with a sword. 

Rapunzel was terrified but, she discovered with a little euphoria, even greater was the fear for her friends, still at the mercy of that reckless man with too much authority. 

Guided by a new inner fire, she took the pan from her belt, swiftly jumped over the desk and threw herself at Tom, who retreated perhaps more from being caught off guard than from the physical impact. 

The fencing lessons came back to Rapunzel's mind, and she twirled the pan guided by a muscle memory she didn't know she had. 

“Leave us alone!”

Tom was blocking her blows, although with some difficulty. Rapunzel figured she still had a few seconds before the surprise would wear off. 

He swung a blow that nearly severed Rapunzel's little brown braid. “You disobeyed my order and entered the dungeons without permission, you are in no position to tell me what to do.”

“I just wanted to get my friends out,” Rapunzel said as she parried another slash with the bottom of the pan. She grimaced at the clang of metal on metal that followed. “We made a mistake in using the forge, but we didn't want to hurt anyone. You would know if you listened to them, but you're…”

“Enough!” Tom barked. He made a complicated motion with the tip of the sword that Rapunzel recognized as a difficult move Merida had been trying to teach her, and the pan flew somewhere towards the door. 

Rapunzel was unarmed, but that didn't stop her from clenching her fists and standing tall. “...Instead you are just a bully who is taking advantage of Lord Dingwall's absence, and your captain's trust.”

Tom held his sword to her throat. He hadn't liked what Rapunzel had said, because his features were disfigured by the same expression he'd made when he'd been convinced he had the chance to capture Flynn. His hair was plastered to his sweaty forehead and his eyes were bloodshot. 

“Insolent girl. You dare insult a future captain? Well, I’ll personally make sure to have you locked in a cell of your own, where you'll never see the light of day again,” he spat out. “So you can spend the rest of your life feeling sorry for yourself knowing that your friends will suffer the same fate. Now hold your hands up and follow—”

BANG. 

The sound of a copper object being struck against something perhaps even harder vibrated in the air. 

Terrible Tom rolled his eyes back in his head and collapsed to the ground with a dull thud, revealing none other than Flynn behind him. 

He was still holding Rapunzel's pan, which he lowered as he looked at Tom in disgust. 

“Tch tch tch. Wasting time with a monologue when you have the criminal in your hands. Rookie mistake. The captain of Amberray would never do that,” he said dismissively. 

Rapunzel beamed at him and forced herself to stay still, even though she felt that every fiber of her body was itching to hug him. “Flynn! I thought you'd run away!”

“Run away? Me? What kind of guy did you take me for?” he said ironically. He handed Rapunzel her pan. “You lost this.”

She clutched the makeshift weapon to her chest, relieved. “Thank you. He was about to ruin everything.”

“So you couldn't find the keys to the cells? What are you still doing in Coldfingers' office?”

Rapunzel went to pick up the keys she'd dropped when she had seen Tom. “I was looking for these. Come on, let's go! I have to introduce you to Toothless!”

*

Merida had been pressing her ear to the door for a good half hour. “I'm telling you something's happening,” she muttered in concentration. 

Ever since they'd heard the sound of several hurried footsteps moving away, there had been an unnatural calm behind the door. No more barked orders or snippets of bored chatter from the guards wandering the hall. 

“Maybe everyone's on lunch break,” Jack suggested without looking up from his work. The crackling of the ice sounded like shards of pottery being swept away. 

“It's not even ten.”

“Brunch break?”

Hiccup rubbed his cold hands on his legs. “I don't know what the guards are up to out there, but we can't say for sure that someone won't come to interrogate us. At some point.”

Jack stood up and handed Merida and Hiccup his latest works, identical to the one he had built for himself. “I don't know if it'll work. It sounds like a crazy plan.”

Hiccup hefted the ice bat inexpertly. “The moment they pick us up for interrogation is gonna be our only chance to escape, and if magic doesn't work on the door, that doesn't mean it won't work on the guards' heads.”

While he tried to swing his mace like Merida had seen Astrid do with her axe, she avoided asking what they would do once they got out of the cell. It was one thing to catch the unfortunate person who would open the door by surprise, but the trick with the maces wouldn't work all the way until the exit of the castle. 

At least the plan included bonking a guard on the head, so she had that to console herself with. 

They were discussing which way to go in anticipation of their escape, when Merida silenced everyone after hearing a noise. 

“I think someone's coming…!”

The three exchanged a nod of agreement, each ran to their place on either side of the door and raised their ice clubs. 

The unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock. A mechanism opening. The shadow of a person about to enter. 

“...The right one, it's already the seventh cell we've tri—”

Recognizing Rapunzel's voice, Merida stopped just in time before giving her a painful blow, but the momentum almost made her lose her balance. From the opposite side, she saw that Jack and Hiccup had also lowered their weapons. 

Merida moved to face the door, where Rapunzel was still fiddling with the keys. “Rapunzel?”

It looked like someone had splashed mud on her skirt. Her hair was no better; several strands had escaped from the braid and stood straight up like bug antennas. Her face was still dirty with soot from the forge. 

Rapunzel saw Merida, and the dirt on her cheeks was pushed aside by her bright smile. “Here you are.”

Merida shook her head, still in disbelief. “You really did it… Rapunzel, you did it! I'm so proud of you!”

Before Merida could pull her into a hug, Rapunzel practically threw herself on top of her. From her reaction, it was clear that no one had ever told her anything like that. 

Under Merida's arms, Rapunzel wasn't exactly shaking. It was more like the uncontainable vibration of someone who wanted to say and do so much to be unable to express it all. 

They broke their embrace just in time to see a flash of black burst through the cell and fall upon Hiccup, who collapsed backwards under the considerable weight of a happy dragon. 

“Yeah, I'm alright. Are you okay?” he laughed while getting his face licked. 

Merida only then noticed that behind Rapunzel stood a fifth person, who was staring at Toothless with the look of someone who had never seen a dragon. 

“Who are you? Wait.” Merida recognized the quiff and straight nose. “I've seen your face on one of those wanted posters, while they were bringing us here! Rapunzel, did you get help from a thief?”

She stepped aside to introduce the unknown man. “Yes, without him I would never have made it this far. Guys, this is Flynn Rider.”

“I finally meet Rapunzel's famous friends,” he commented. 

Merida didn't want to, she really didn't, but she couldn't hold back the laughter that was trying to leave her throat. 

Rapunzel looked at Jack, who shrugged. She then looked at Hiccup, who shook his head with an oblivious expression as he stood up. She finally looked at Merida with a frown. “What's so funny?”

“Congratulations for trusting this lad, I wouldn't be able to,” Merida said.

The so-called Flynn Rider rolled his eyes at her. “I've heard this one before.”

Rapunzel still looked confused. “Of course I trust him. Flynn helped me so much. You should… well, you should thank him if I'm freeing you,” she said uncertainly. 

Merida had to stop another fit of sarcasm. She shot the thief a look. “Please, he even stole his name.”

Rapunzel looked at him even more bewildered. “What?”

“Flynn Rider is the protagonist of an adventure book,” Merida explained impatiently. “This man lied to you, Rapunzel.”

The thief had at least the decency to look embarrassed, even as he crossed his arms half-uncovered by the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt and grimaced at Rapunzel's hurt expression. “Sorry, Blondie.”

“I'm sure you had your reasons,” she mumbled. “Even though I've told you my real name.”

Jack threw his ice bat in a corner and nodded towards the door. “If you don't mind, can you two argue while we leave?” 

Rider (Merida supposed she had to call him that, having no alternative) snapped back. “He's right, we don't have much time before Tom comes to his senses.”

Jack raised his eyebrows and half-smiled in disbelief as they exited the cell and quickly entered the hall. “Did you knock out the vice-captain? I wish I could have seen it.”

He seemed to have regained his good mood, after the staff had been returned to him, just as Merida had been given the bow and Hiccup the mechanism for Toothless's tail, currently loaded on the dragon's back. 

“I gave him the finishing blow, but Rapunzel fought him all by herself,” Rider said, avoiding looking at her face. 

Merida, who was running next to her, squeezed her shoulder. “Good job.”

“Thank you,” Rapunzel said, red with embarrassment. 

They filed down the narrow passage to leave the dungeons. Merida couldn't wait to feel the fresh air on her skin and the sun in her eyes after hours in the dark, damp cell. She wouldn't have minded a flight on Toothless as well. 

She was still fantasizing about her newfound freedom when they arrived at the vice-captain's office. 

And they found a welcoming committee. 

“Tere's horns,” Hiccup murmured. “Everyone's here. Everyone.”

Toothless growled at the line of guards blocking the exit, their spears forming a sharp wall. There were at least a dozen of them, all looking at a woman in the front, waiting for orders. 

Merida had been taught to quickly assess the opponent in front of her, in order to develop a strategy even before one of them could take a step towards the other, and she immediately understood that woman wasn't to be messed with. 

She was imposing, enough to force those in front of her to bend their necks to look at her face, and to have a tailor-made uniform. In her right hand she held a worn-looking broadsword, and she was missing a chunk of one ear. Her eyes were so dark her pupils were barely visible. 

If she hadn't been terrifying, Merida would have thought that she was the coolest person she'd ever seen. 

“Coldfingers,” Rider muttered as if it were a curse. Then a charming smile quickly obscured the tension on his face. “Hey, look who's joined the party, the captain herself! How's it going?”

She glared at him, and Rider's confident expression magically vanished. Merida liked that woman more and more. 

“We can resolve this matter without making your situation worse if you cooperate,” Coldfingers said. She had a voice that inspired authority, yet the tonality was more delicate than one would expect from such a colossus. “But if you create more problems, you'll risk exile from the region.”

“No!” Rapunzel immediately exclaimed, alarmed. “Please listen to us! It's all a big misunderstanding.”

“You attempted to escape. Rider has been wanted for months,” Coldfingers replied. “There are two paths ahead of you: many years in prison, if that suits you, or…”

Rapunzel shook her head animatedly. “Please let us explain first…” She suddenly brightened and pointed to Merida. “Madam, this is Lady Merida of Grayfir. You can't arrest her without listening to us first!”

Coldfingers sighed. For a moment she looked like just a tired woman trying to do her job, but only for a moment. “You expect me to believe you, after using Rider to distract us from your intrusion?” 

“I don't expect you to believe me,” Rapunzel said seriously. “But Young Dingwall will.”

Coldfingers looked surprised. In fact, everyone in the room stared at Rapunzel with varying degrees of perplexity — Merida first and foremost. 

Rapunzel placed her pan on the ground and raised her hands. “Have him come here, and if he doesn't recognize Merida, then we'll let you arrest us all. I swear we'll accept any punishment!”

Jack was the first to follow suit, placing his staff on the floor even though it was clear he didn't like letting it go so soon. Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless's head, and he stopped growling and sat down. Merida gave up last and abandoned her bow. 

Coldfingers held Rapunzel's determined gaze (she surprisingly didn't catch fire under the captain's incandescent look), until she shrugged her broad shoulders. 

“Baird, call Lord Dingwall's son and bring him here,” she said at last. “Let's end this story once and for all.”

As the guard ran away, Merida approached Rapunzel as discreetly as she could. “It's a good idea, but there's a wee problem,” she said through gritted teeth. 

“Didn't you tell me you've met him two weeks ago at a banquet?”

“Aye, but he seemed more interested in the ceiling than in my face sitting in front of him,” Merida whispered. “I'm not sure he'll recognize me, honestly.” 

Rapunzel's confident expression faltered. “Oh. I see.”

And she didn't add anything else, which didn't bode well for Merida. 

The guard returned shortly after accompanying Young Dingwall. He had his usual unkempt light blond hair and dreamy gaze. 

“Oh,” Jack muttered from somewhere behind her. “Oh no.”

Young Dingwall looked at Coldfingers with vague displeasure. “I was sleeping.”

“My lord, this girl says she is Lady Merida,” Coldfingers said. From the hint of exasperation in her voice Merida sensed that acting as his nanny wasn't exactly her dream job. “Is this true? Is this Lady Merida?”

Young Dingwall let his vacant gaze wander over everyone present, right up to her. 

Merida silently prayed to all the gods, in alphabetical order. 

“I hope he's better with faces than I am,” Rider whispered softly. “I usually forget all new people after ten minutes.”

“Not helping,” Hiccup hissed. 

For a few long, tense moments, Young Dingwall stared at Merida without a sign of recognition. Absolute silence reigned in the room. 

Then he raised an eyebrow a quarter of an inch. 

“...That's not the dress you were wearing last time.”

Chapter Text

The best part was lunch.

Young Dingwall, Gods bless him, asked what was going on in his castle after miraculously recognizing Merida, and wasn't pleased to hear their story.

First they admitted they had entered the forge without permission, having not found it appropriate to roam the town with a dragon in broad daylight, and Dingwall agreed, then he ordered that dinner be prepared for his illustrious guests.

He put two rooms at their disposal so they could freshen up and rest from the night spent in the cell, before the meal was served. The captain of the guard, nicknamed Coldfingers, even personally apologized to everyone, after introducing herself as Brianna.

From the first moment she had reminded Hiccup of the women of Berk, with their impressive size and sharp gaze, so he wasn't too shocked when Brianna said she had Barbaric ancestors. She also answered Rapunzel's silent question, explaining that her ear had been injured by a wolf when she was little.

“And what happened to the wolf?” Merida asked with wide eyes.

“I ate it,” Brianna replied without batting an eye.

Hiccup was pretty sure she was joking, but Merida had a different opinion, and watched Brianna go back to work like a puppy seeing its owner leave.

At lunchtime they sat down with Dingwall in a sumptuous, high-ceilinged hall, watched over — to their great joy — by Terrible Tom, who looked at them as they ate the rich meal while gritting his teeth. Hiccup couldn't say he was sorry to see the thick bandage around Tom's head.

Dingwall was reluctant to join the conversation, until Rapunzel mentioned the carpets in the entrance hall to the castle, then his eyes lit up for the first time and he began to speak without barely taking a breath. When it came to animal trivia, he was a walking encyclopedia, challenging even Merida's hunting knowledge.

The only person truly out of place was the young man posing as Flynn Rider. Hiccup, Rapunzel and Jack had been introduced as Merida's personal escort, causing quite a few raised eyebrows, but Flynn had no excuse being there with her, other than aiding in the escape.

In any case, Dingwall hadn't directed his attention to him, so Flynn had ended up joining the group. Seeing him enter the dining room, Tom had opened his mouth to protest, but he'd closed it as soon as he'd seen Rapunzel casually tapping the frying pan on the palm of her hand.

Those handful of hours were so pleasant that Hiccup was sorry to have to leave, but they still had two weeks of travel to the capital ahead of them, so they had no other choice if they wanted to get to their destination in time.

Dingwall kindly gave them a bag full of coins, as well as food supplies for the journey and good luck wishes for the Duel of the Heirs to Merida.

The farewell between Rapunzel and Flynn was strange. She had suggested to Brianna to hire the thief as a security consultant, given Flynn's vast experience, and the captain had agreed after negotiating terms with him for quite a while.

Saying goodbye to Rapunzel, Flynn advised her to be careful who she blackmailed for help, because according to him ‘not all thieves were gentlemen like him’ and in response she gave him a friendly peck on the cheek which made him shut up for good.

“Don't make Brianna angry,” Rapunzel ordered in a tone so stern it had nothing to envy the captain's. “Or you'll deal with me.”

“Y-Yes ma'am.”

After saying goodbye, Hiccup attached the repaired fin that had cost them the night in prison onto Toothless's tail, and they took flight. At least they left Willoway behind with a smile.

After what couldn't have been more than a couple of hours, Jack asked Hiccup to land. He'd spent the whole time with his eyes glued down.

“Everything okay?” Hiccup asked as he activated Toothless's tail mechanism to lose altitude.

Jack was still staring at the flat landscape like a Deadly Nadder watching for prey. “We've arrived at the border with Corona.”

It wasn't really an answer, but Hiccup did as requested and made Toothless land. Jack put his bare feet on the grass and walked straight towards a low stone wall that was so crooked in some places it seemed to be holding up by magic.

They dismounted and watched Jack pace back and forth along a section of the wall, looking for something for a while, then he turned to them.

“I guess this is a good time to tell you something,” he announced, drumming his fingers on his staff.

For a moment, Hiccup thought he was about to reveal Rapunzel's identity to everyone, but it seemed unlikely.

“Should we worry?” Merida asked.

“No, but it'd be weird if I didn't explain it.” Jack swallowed. “So… A few years ago I got exiled from Corona.”

Silence. Then chaos.

“You what? And you're telling us now?” Merida exclaimed.

“Isn't exile reserved for those who commit the worst crimes?” Rapunzel said, upset.

As Jack endured the girls' questions, his forcibly relaxed expression lost all credibility. “It's a long story… A misunderstanding.”

Another piece was added to Hiccup's mental puzzle about Jack's past: the unforgivable mistake he'd been agonizing over for years had caused him to be permanently exiled from Corona.

But he hadn't killed anyone. And Rapunzel had something to do with it.

At that rate, Hiccup was going to get chronic migraines like his father.

“Jack, if you got exiled from the region, how will you come with us to Amberray?” he asked him to divert the conversation to another problem.

He looked grateful for the subtle help. “Do you remember what I've told you about spells?”

It was enough to at least distract Rapunzel from the possibility that Jack was a criminal. “That there's almost always a loophole?”

He nodded and stood up on the unstable wall. “The person who explained it to me was awful, but he was also the greatest expert in magic I've ever met, and he was right.”

Hiccup was beginning to understand where he was going with this. “Is there a way to get you across the border?”

“Yup. And that's where Merida comes in,” Jack stated, pointing to her.

She blinked. “What do I have to do with this?”

He rolled his eyes. “You're the only one who will agree to do what I'm about to ask without making a scene,” he said. “Now come here and push me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Give me a push and make me fall off the wall.” A spark of mischief twinkled in Jack's eyes. “It shouldn't be that hard.”

Bait taken. Merida strode over to Jack and unceremoniously knocked him on the knees with both hands.

Jack let himself drop backwards, and for half a second he disappeared behind the wall, staff included. Then he popped up and spread his arms. “Ta-da!”

The others exchanged glances.

“See? The spell says I can't cross the border, but technically I've been forced through it.”

Hiccup blinked. “That's it? The powerful magic to banish criminals the king doesn't want around, defeated by a nudge?”

Merida climbed over the wall and helped Jack up. “Aye, that wasn't very impressive.”

He brushed the dirt off his pants. “Actually it shouldn't be that easy. I think that over the years they've forgotten to repeat the spell, and it's gotten weaker in the meantime.”

“How lucky,” Rapunzel sighed. “I would have hated to leave you behind.”

Hiccup curled his lips into a half-smile. “Oh, I don't know,” he said. “We still have time for that.”

“Hey!”

They spent the rest of the afternoon flying over wide green plains, hiding up in the clouds whenever they spotted a village.

Rapunzel told in detail what had happened to her on the evening of their arrest and the next morning. Hiccup still couldn't believe she had managed to convince a thief to help her, when just a few days ago she would even apologize for how often she apologized.

That evening they camped near a small lake, which Toothless took advantage of to catch his own dinner, while they ate the food they'd been gifted.

Merida sank her teeth into the first bite of cheese scone and shook her fist at the violet sky. “This is incredible. May the gods be praised for dairy products.”

Rapunzel chewed with her eyes closed. “Yeah, too bad these things go bad fast. Today's lunch was… wow.”

Even Hiccup, who was used to the bland flavors of the archipelago and even considered pepper an exotic spice, had to admit that eating something different from the usual makeshift meals was a nice change.

“Don't get used to it,” Jack reminded them.

He wasn't much of a glutton, Hiccup had noticed. Even at the small banquet in their honor he had barely finished the contents of his plate. Hiccup wondered if it had something to do with the Starfolks' slow growth.

After dinner, as usual, Merida retrieved a not too crooked stick and pointed it towards Rapunzel, spreading her feet in a combat stance. “On your guard!”

Rapunzel grabbed the pan, jumped up and struck the same pose. “Bring it on!”

Hiccup was sitting on the ground with his back against Toothless's warm belly, studying his map. He was calculating how many days in advance they could reach their destination, when Jack elbowed him in the ribs.

Hiccup frowned. “Ow,” he said, still focused on the map.

Jack motioned with his chin for him to look up. “She's gotten good,” he observed.

Hiccup followed his gaze, looking at Merida and Rapunzel's training routine.

Something had changed. The metallic thuds of the wood hitting the copper of the pan echoed through the camp with particular intensity, and Merida was quieter than usual. Hiccup realized how hard she was concentrating.

Rapunzel blocked and landed blows with a new confidence, as if suddenly the idea of ​​accidentally bruising her opponent didn't scare her.

The duel went on for what must have been full minutes, until the stick was sent flying away, making several rotations in mid-air.

Merida watched it fall into the tall grass with her arm still outstretched. Both girls were out of breath.

“You disarmed me…!”

If anything, Rapunzel seemed more shocked than her. She looked at the pan in amazement. “I did? …I did!” she concluded happily. “I don't know why, but this time I could do that difficult move!”

Hiccup half expected Merida to sulk at her for getting beaten, but perhaps he was thinking about Astrid's reaction, because Merida patted Rapunzel on the shoulder.

“It's all in the attitude,” she explained with a big smile. “I was waiting for you to get to this point. Well done!” She bowed like an artist at the end of a performance. “Let's stop here for tonight. It's been a long day.”

They went to sleep shortly after, Hiccup curled up against Toothless, Rapunzel wrapped in a blanket of hair, Merida and Jack leaning against the same fallen log.

Hiccup watched the stars begin to emerge from the endless depths of the dark blue sky, and fell asleep before he could identify a single constellation.

Obviously, to crown that intense day he really needed a nightmare.

Dark, smoky shadows enveloped Jack, Merida and Rapunzel, threatening to take them far away, and Hiccup chased them in vain, slowed down by painful pangs in his left leg. He turned around to look for Toothless' help, but there was no one around him. Just endless darkness.

Despite the abstractness of the dream, Hiccup woke up with a start, his face damp with sweat. His confused mind reminded him faintly that they were near the Corona Swamp.

He sat up, and only then realized it was Rapunzel who had woken him. Her braid was messy, and he could have sworn her eyes were red.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Hiccup nodded, bewildered. The stars shone a little brighter. It was still late at night, and Toothless, Merida and Jack were sleeping peacefully, seemingly unaware of the two of them.

Rapunzel held out a hand to help him stand up. “Come here, if you rinse your face you'll feel better.”

Hiccup wondered what state he was in to make Rapunzel worry about his emotional well-being, but he followed her to the edge of the pond anyway.

Indeed, the cool water washed away much of the traces of the nightmare, and Hiccup took a moment to kneel with Rapunzel and listen to the chirping of the crickets and the babbling of the nocturnal fish in the pond.

“Can't sleep?” he asked her after a while. His voice sounded like Gobber's after one of his four-hour afternoon naps.

Rapunzel nodded. “I had a nightmare,” she whispered.

“Really, you too?”

“Mh-mh. I woke up when I heard you turning over in your sleep.”

“I see.” Hiccup looked at the faint reflections of the moon in the pond. “Do you feel like telling me about it?”

It wasn't a nice thing to think, but he needed to distract himself, and whatever Rapunzel could have said might have kept him from thinking about the feeling of helplessly watching the others disappear.

“It's actually not the first time,” she replied. “I often dream of waking up in the tower and realizing that…” she raised her head to the stars and took a deep breath. “That all of this — you guys, the journey, what we experienced together — never happened.”

“It must be rough.”

“After all the times I've had this dream you'd think I'd be able to figure out that it's just a nightmare, but instead…” Rapunzel shook her head, chasing away a bitter smile. “And you? Do you want to tell me yours?”

Hiccup was this close to declining the invitation. “It's just…” 

And, somehow, he ended up changing his mind. “It's just the result of what's happened in the last few weeks.”

Rapunzel's expectant silence encouraged him to continue. “I stepped in to help you and Jack with the giant, and all I got was a rock in the head, then when he got stabbed, I was stuck behind a stupid table…”

“I was there too, behind that table,” she reminded him.

“Yes, but afterwards you saved him with magic, and today — or yesterday, it's the same — you saved us from prison. What have I done in these two weeks?” Hiccup waved his hands in confusion. “I feel so…”

“Useless?” Rapunzel concluded, just before covering her mouth with her hands, embarrassed, with an apologetic smile.

Hiccup pursed his lips. “Worse. Like a burden.”

“But you're the one flying us, aren't you?”

“Toothless is. And if it weren't for his tail, which by the way I remind you was made like this because of me, I wouldn't even be of use to him.” Hiccup's hands went from grasping uselessly at the air to lying on her legs. “I like being with you, I really do, but lately I feel like I'm still a good-for-nothing kid trapped in my father's expectations, hated by the entire village.”

He tried not to think back to Astrid's expression of pure contempt, or the fact that they were now officially enemies. It hadn't been enough to be seen as a traitor for five years, now he was also a wanted man.

Rapunzel leaned in to meet his gaze. “I don't believe everyone hates you there, you told me about the blacksmith you worked with… and your mother? She'll definitely miss you,” she said, reaching out to tentatively touch Hiccup's hand.

“I don't know. She died when I was little.”

“Oh!” Rapunzel winced and pulled her hand away as if she'd been burned. “Oh, I'm sorry, Hiccup. I should have kept quiet.”

He shrugged. “Don't worry, I wasn't even a year old when it happened. And also she technically disappeared, but you know how it is. It was many years ago.”

“I'm sorry. Don't you remember her at all?”

“There was… I'm not sure, it's probably not even a real memory… But I remember a song. Like a lullaby,” Hiccup said, reaching out to the far corners of his memory.

Rapunzel smoothed her disheveled braid with a certain melancholy. “You know, I often sing to Mother while she brushes my hair. It's my favorite moment of the day: I always make sure her chair is ready when she comes home after dark.”

Hiccup finally turned to face her, confused. “You mean you sing like when you use the healing spell? While she touches your hair? Doesn't it activate your powers?”

“Nothing happens besides getting rid of a few wrinkles,” Rapunzel said curiously, as if she wasn't understanding the meaning of the question.

“And how often do you do this? Every day?” Hiccup inquired, growing suspicious.

“Well, not every single day, we skip some evenings when she's too tired or doesn't feel like it. Why?”

“Have you ever thought that she's using your hair for… for herself?”

Rapunzel stared at him as if he had just grown a second head like a Hideous Zippleback. “Of course not, it's just a thing we do. She taught me the song when I was little.”

“I think you should ask her about it,” Hiccup insisted. He didn't know how to make her understand there was something deeply wrong.

Instead of stopping to reflect about it, Rapunzel jumped up. Hiccup imitated her without thinking.

“Are you implying that Mother is taking advantage of my powers?” she asked.

“What's going on? What are you two shouting about?”

Hiccup hadn't noticed they had both raised their voices, quite a lot actually. Merida and Jack, looking pale and sleepy, were coming towards the pond, obviously worried about the loud tones. Hiccup was too caught up in the urgency to pay attention to them.

“It's not normal, Rapunzel. It can't be normal.”

“How can you even think of something so horrible?” she said, offended and perhaps even disappointed.

Hiccup was about to put his hands in his hair. “Because she's not even—!”

“What?” Rapunzel hardened her expression. Her eyes were still visibly red, even under the moonlight.

“...Because she's never even let you out of that tower, and I'm starting to think I know why.”

Jack and Merida were watching them, apparently unsure of what to do, as if hypnotized by the worst show of their lives.

“No offense, but it's none of your business, Hiccup,” Rapunzel said, upset.

He spoke before anyone could intervene. “It is, if someone's taking advantage of you.”

Rapunzel took a step back. “You know nothing about us! Just because you don't like your life, it doesn't mean you can feel free to try to fix other people's!”

A burning feeling sank into Hiccup's chest, crushing him in a grip so tight it took his breath away and made his stomach sink: betrayal. He wished he hadn't opened up to Rapunzel like that. Not if it meant getting backstabbed five minutes later.

Finding nothing intelligent to reply with, he automatically turned to gratuitous malice.

“Look who's talking, you're the one who's always desperate to be liked by everyone!” he spat out.

Merida placed a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder before she could answer him, and she glared at Hiccup.

“Stop it right now, both of you.” She pointed to the starry sky. “I don't know what's gotten into you, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to fight. We all need to rest now.”

*

At first Jack had been grateful that Hiccup and Rapunzel's argument had woken him up from his usual nightmare, which he hadn't been able to recognize as such until the end, but the next morning he realized there was really nothing to rejoice about.

The two were behaving normally, but in the wrongest way possible.

Jack, who had feared for more furious outbursts, was shocked by their behavior: they were pretending nothing had happened. In fact, they were even kind to each other.

At breakfast Rapunzel had asked to pass her the water flask with a please that had seemed to imply a threat, and Hiccup had given it to her with a you're welcome which had sounded more like an insult. It was unsettling, and the thick fog that had surrounded them since morning wasn't helping the mood.

Aside from that, Hiccup and Rapunzel weren't talking to each other, and they hadn't brought up again the conversation from the night before.

As they were preparing to leave, Jack approached Merida with the excuse of helping her put out the embers of the camp fire properly. Hiccup was distracted with Toothless's saddlebags, and Rapunzel was at the pond washing her pan (believe it or not, in addition to brandishing it against guards, she also used it for cooking when necessary).

Jack crouched next to Merida and ran a hand over the embers, covering them in fresh frost. “We have to do something,” he whispered to her.

She immediately understood what he was referring to. “I tried talking to Hiccup, but he said nothing happened between him and Rapunzel, and to forget about it. He added that if she doesn't want to get help, it's not worth it.”

“Nothing happened? They were having a shouting match,” Jack observed. “I won't be able to stand another two weeks like this morning, we have to find a way to solve this.”

Merida looked thoughtful, and she stared at the blackened embers. “You know, I never imagined I'de see those two fight like this. I think they hurt each other, so they want to pretend nothing's wrong.”

“Well, that way they'll never talk again.” Jack stood up and pointed at the pond. “Wish me good luck."

“Aye, I wish Rapunzel doesn't feel like hitting you with the pan.”

She wasn't entirely wrong. Last night Jack had seen what she was capable of.

Rapunzel was bent over the shore, scrubbing with a handkerchief. From her eagerness one would have thought she was taking out centuries of frustration on innocent copper. Even Pascal was watching her from her shoulder with apprehension.

Jack crouched nearby, leaning on his staff. “If you keep rubbing like that, you'll end up making a hole in it.”

Rapunzel gasped as if she hadn't noticed him, placing a hand over her heart. “You scared me.”

“Sorry. Is everything okay? You look… sad.”

“I'm fine,” Rapunzel said. She stopped cleaning the pan and sighed, slumping her shoulders. “Jack, do you think I'm desperate?”

She looked at him furtively. He wasn't sure how to respond. “Desperate is a big word.”

“But is it true?” she insisted, this time fully looking at his face.

Jack scratched his cheek. “You want to make a good impression on people, and there's nothing wrong with that. But… sometimes it makes you look exhausted.”

“So you think Hiccup is right.”

Jack shifted his grip on the staff from one hand to the other uneasily. “I'm sure he already regrets saying that. If you talk to him, you'll—”

“No.” Rapunzel pushed herself to her feet. “I don't like what he was saying about Mother, and I won't speak to him until he apologizes.”

Great.

Jack had the distinct feeling that if the fight had happened even just a couple of days earlier, Rapunzel would have already gone to Hiccup to beg for forgiveness on her knees. Something had changed in her after Willoway.

Seeing her determination, Jack gave up on convincing her, and returned to Merida.

“I have an idea,” he confided to her as she slung the quiver over her shoulder.

After she heard his plan, Merida stared at the horizon. “It's such a bad idea that it might work.”

“The hard part will be convincing Toothless,” Jack concluded.

“The hard part will be not crashing,” Merida replied.

*

Hiccup had just finished checking Toothless's saddlebags when he heard Jack's exclamation.

“Come and see this!” he was calling them from what was presumably the pond; nothing was clearly visible through the fog.

“What is it?” Hiccup said, annoyed at having to walk blindly for the few minutes that separated the small lake from the camp.

“Look at this,” Jack repeated.

Hiccup sighed, tightened the last belt of the bags, scratching himself on the buckle, and trudged in the direction Jack's voice came from, followed by Toothless.

He was leaning over the shore, squinting as if he'd seen something in the water. Hiccup joined him and Rapunzel, who had come to watch as well. The mist made the pond appear larger than it really was.

“Did you see something?” Hiccup asked, leaning over to look at the rippled surface of small waves.

Jack pointed to a spot in the water. “It's right there.”

Rapunzel frowned. “I don't see anything.”

Hiccup had to agree with her. Apart from a small dark fish, the lake seemed perfectly empty.

“Did you eat something strange last night? Do you feel shivering or dizzy?” he joked then, because there was something strange going on, and Hiccup felt the need to be sarcastic about it.

Jack straightened up, put the tip of his staff on the ground, and turned his back on the pond. “No, but thank you for your cooperation,” he announced enigmatically. “Merida, now it's your turn.”

“What?” Hiccup said, turning to where Jack was looking.

Merida, taking advantage of his distraction, had mounted Toothless, in Hiccup's spot, and was tinkering with the fin mechanism.

Hiccup lunged forward. “What are you—Hey!”

Merida had moved her foot into the right position for takeoff, and with a wide sweep of wings, Toothless flexed his powerful leg muscles and lifted off the ground, stirring the fog.

“Toothless!” Hiccup shouted. “You traitor reptile, what do you think you're doing? Get back here right now!”

From the mist came Toothless' roar, which was supposed to be a sound of reassurance, but it didn't reassure Hiccup at all.

“Jack, what's going on?” Rapunzel asked.

He moved away from her accusatory finger, hands raised. “We're doing this for your own good, guys. Why don't you have a chat? Stay here like good kids, we'll be right back.”

“We?” Rapunzel had time to stammer, before Jack bent his knees and with a push flew away, disappearing from sight.

Rapunzel groaned. She lowered her head, meeting Hiccup's gaze, who shrugged.

“Don't look at me, you're the one who started this mess,” he said. He kicked a stone, stubbing his toe on its edge.

Rapunzel clenched her fists. “Me? The others wouldn't have felt the need to abandon us here if someone had apologized.”

Hiccup spoke before reasoning. “Apologized for what, being right?”

He immediately regretted it, but it was too late, and he couldn't blame Rapunzel for turning away indignantly and crossing her arms.

However, he was forced to talk to her when he saw her striding away into the fog.

“Where are you going? They told us to stay here,” he called. He hesitated, but eventually he followed her.

“I'm going back to the camp,” Rapunzel replied without looking at him.

“It's too foggy, you'll get lost.”

“I know my way around perfectly,” she said, undeterred. “Leave me alone.”

“Oh yeah? The camp was west of the lake, do you think we're going west?” Hiccup said through gritted teeth.

Rapunzel stopped dead in her tracks and waved her hands. “By Veeta, Hiccup, sometimes you're so…”

“What? So what?”

“...Unsufferable!” Rapunzel exclaimed, raising her voice. Pascal, from her shoulder, had put his head between his paws.

“We'll see if I'm still unsufferable when you'll beg me to tell you which direction is right!” Hiccup retorted at the same volume.

Rapunzel started walking again, faster than before. “There won't be any need, and then you'll have to feel guilty!”

Hiccup pursed his lips in annoyance, but kept following her. Instinct told him to stay together, even though at that moment he would have preferred Snotlout's company.

In a sort of challenge to see who would speak to the other last, they continued walking, entering the fog with perhaps more confidence than they really felt. The surrounding environment was all the same, made up of low bushes, unusual shrubs and boulders of the same brown, preventing easy orientation. Hiccup thought darkly that the farther they got from the lake, the less sure he felt about which direction they were going.

They walked in perfect silence for several minutes. Too many minutes.

Hiccup was one step behind Rapunzel, and by now he was using the mesmerizing swing of her braid as a guide, not even stopping to try to figure out where they were. As if that wasn't enough, the ground had become soft and damp, and the air heavy.

“Enough,” Hiccup breathed when he couldn't take it anymore. “Enough, I need to take a break.”

He went to the first mossy boulder he found and tiredly dropped onto it. He began massaging his muscle in the space between the knee and the prosthetic leg, but even that didn't help the aching limb.

When Rapunzel noticed what he was doing, her expression softened a little. “Does it hurt?”

Hiccup closed his eyes. “It's this stupid humidity. In the archipelago the weather is drier, I'm not used to it.”

Rapunzel looked around, then frowned as if she was just now realizing how far they had walked. “It wasn't like this before.”

As Hiccup removed the prosthesis, he imagined having the map of the kingdom open in front of him. “I think I know where we are. We didn't go west, we went south.” He rested the prosthesis on the boulder and removed the protective socket he wore beneath it with a sigh of relief. “We ended up straight in the Corona swamps."

Rapunzel was silent. She was staring at Hiccup's missing leg.

He had a strange moment in which he didn't know whether to hide it and be ashamed, or flaunt his amputated limb out of spite.

Rapunzel spoke before he could decide. “I'm sorry.”

Hiccup felt his eyebrows move closer to his hairline. “Excuse me?”

Rapunzel tugged at her brown braid between her fingers. “I was walking randomly, and now you're hurting because of me,” she said, moving from the braid to wring her hands.

Hiccup avoided looking at her, feeling awkward. “I decided to follow you,” he muttered. “It's not always your fault for everything, Rapunzel.”

“But…”

“If you really want to help me, why don't you try using your magic on my leg?”

The suggestion had come out of Hiccup's mouth without having been properly processed by his brain, but he was so tired, and the air was unbreathable, and the scar was driving him crazy.

Rapunzel untied her braid with slow gestures, as if she were in difficulty. She crouched in front of Hiccup, who was still sitting on the rock, and timidly brought her hair closer to his leg.

“You don't have to do it if it bothers you,” he stopped her.

Rapunzel shook her head firmly. “It doesn't bother me, I've just never tried using my hair to relieve pain. I hope it works.”

She wrapped some of her blonde locks around Hiccup's leg, moving from insecurity to concentration, and began to sing. With each verse her hair shone brighter, in tune with the song.

The effect was immediate. The cramps decreased in intensity and frequency, eventually leaving Hiccup completely. Rapunzel finished the last note and opened her eyes again.

“Thank you. That's much better,” Hiccup said. He was helping her loosen the hair when he saw her expression. “Something's wrong?”

“I was thinking about what you said yesterday about Mother.”

“I haven't changed my mind,” he warned her.

Rapunzel opened her mouth, but closed it again. She took a deep breath and then spoke. “I don't agree.”

Hiccup was this close to telling her she couldn't possibly just disagree, not when her mother's intentions were so obvious and she didn't—

Oh. Hiccup realized that Rapunzel had cut the conversation short on purpose, so as not to argue again. That was… very mature of her.

“Then we have a mutual disagreement,” Hiccup said, playing her same game. There was no point in trying to reason with her, at least for now.

Rapunzel's eyebrow twitched with surprise.

Hiccup reattached the prosthetic leg, made an attempt to stand up, and was pleasantly surprised that he was able to put his weight on his left without feeling excruciating pain starting from the scar to his elbow. “Well, what do we do now?”

“Let's cross the swamp,” Rapunzel said. She saw Hiccup's face, and spread her arms. “Do you know how to go back? I don't. Jack and Merida are who knows where, and in this fog they'll never find us. We might as well move on, and leave this place behind us.”

Hiccup thought about it. He studied the white wall to which the sky was reduced, and tried to evaluate the light. “I think the sun might be that way. It seems brighter there. So we should go…”

Rapunzel pointed in the same direction as Hiccup. “This way.” She started to pick up her hair, but suddenly stopped. “Wait… I have an idea.”

She smiled at Hiccup, who looked at her in confusion. “Anything to get out of here.”

Rapunzel lowered her arms. “If I sing, my hair will light up, like some kind of torch.”

“And if kept loose it'll become a luminous trail as you walk!” Hiccup concluded, starting to understand. “It won't be blinding, but it's better than nothing. Maybe the others will see it.”

“Right? Let's sing, Hiccup,” Rapunzel said, regaining her enthusiasm.

“Wait, why should I sing too?”

“It'll be easier to keep in time with the music like this, and more fun!”

He shook his head. “Uh. No thanks.”

“Please…!” Rapunzel insisted, taking his hand in hers.

“I wouldn't be of any help,” Hiccup explained, growing more desperate. “I'm serious.”

Rapunzel showed off her best puppy ​​eyes. “Not even after I've helped you with the pain?”

Hiccup looked at her. She looked at Hiccup. Finally he sighed, rubbed his temples, and dropped his arms to his sides. “Mmmfffine. You start, I'll follow.”

*

The deeper they went into the swamp, the more the environment changed. The worst thing was the ground, a mixture of water and earth in which their feet sank up to mid-calf. If at first Rapunzel had found the feeling of the mud between her toes almost pleasant, after falling into it she had changed her mind. She didn't recognize at least half the tree species growing out of the water, and even the animal sounds sounded different from those she'd heard in the woods.

The fog, undisputed ruler of the swamp, was a white blanket that made the tree branches look like thin, creepy fingers reaching out.

Every time the glow from Rapunzel's hair dimmed, they started singing the lullaby again. Rapunzel had never sung together with anyone before, and she was fascinated by how Hiccup's voice sounded: in what he'd called ‘not being able to carry a tune if his life depended on it’, she found a certain beauty, especially when their voices merged together.

They were now finishing the song for the fifteenth time.

“...What once was mine.” Hiccup coughed and pulled his metal leg out of the mud with some difficulty. “You know, every time I take this foot out, I'm afraid I'll find it missing.”

Rapunzel, who had gotten to the point of having to hold her skirt up even though she had already tied it at the knees, huffed. “I was hoping Merida and Jack would have found us by now.”

“I was relying on Toothless's sense of smell, but this place stinks worse than yak dung. I doubt he'll be able to follow our trail.”

“Assuming they've landed, and aren't looking for us in the air, through the fog.”

“Honestly I'm not so sure they're even trying to look for us.”

Truth be told, Rapunzel almost felt like the mist was lifting, but maybe it was her imagination.

A few minutes later, however, it was evident that she wasn't mistaken; in the distance she could see something other than trees and mud.

When they got closer and Rapunzel realized what she was looking at, she quickly grabbed Hiccup by the arm and pulled him down to hide behind the shrubs. “Wait!”

He clicked his tongue and looked at his pants, which had gotten muddy even after he'd rolled them up. “What is it?”

Thankful that her hair was stopping glowing, Rapunzel bit her tongue and pointed at what she had seen, trying not to make a sound.

Hiccup's face would have made the others laugh.

“No,” he whispered. “No, that's not possible. It's not true. That thing isn't real.”

Rapunzel had never seen a cow, except in an illustration in her books, but she assumed that the creature's size was very close.

The giant toad sat in the mud, blocking access to a rope bridge suspended over a cliff that opened into the earth from left to right, until the fog swallowed it from sight. It had a beautiful skin color, with patches of sap green, forest green, emerald green and olive green, but what stood out most was the red of its eyes.

“It's a hallucination,” Hiccup muttered. “It has to be.”

“It's not, otherwise I wouldn't see a giant toad too,” Rapunzel said reasonably. “It's just like Jack's story.”

Hiccup rubbed his eyes. “Okay. Alright, so… Jack's story. How did it go…? There was a drunk man in a tavern — Tere, we're done for.”

“He was in the swamps with a friend,” Rapunzel came to his aid, speaking softly, “but they were attacked by the… Bargniff, I think.”

Hiccup gulped and nodded. “Right, they were attacked because they'd failed a trial or something.”

Rapunzel brightened. “A riddle! The toad had given them an impossible riddle.” If she hadn't been busy staying out of sight, she would have jumped on the spot. “We can do it, Hiccup, I'm sure we can solve the riddle together.”

He didn't join in the enthusiasm, and continued to peer at the creature from behind the vegetation. “No, it can't be that simple. That's what tricks its victims, everyone fools themselves into thinking they have a chance. Instead, I think you fall into the trap as soon as you're told the riddle.” It was his turn to light up. “Maybe I figured out what to do.”

“So you don't want to try to solve it?” Rapunzel asked, disappointed.

Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder. “You'll have to trust me this time. Can you?”

Rapunzel decided to do it. “You want to make sure we don't hear the riddle in the first place, right?” she said. “What do you have in mind?”

Hiccup stood up. “Follow me.”

And he came out of the bushes like that. Rapunzel thought for a moment, but only for the briefest of moments, that inhaling the swamp air had driven him mad, but she followed him anyway.

It was more difficult to pretend nothing was wrong when the toad saw them approaching. It raised its spotted head and looked at them with intelligent eyes. Inside them were horizontal pupils.

Hiccup stopped halfway between the vegetation and the cliff.

“Hey there,” he called out loud with forced nonchalance. “The Bargniff, right? Would you mind letting us cross the bridge? We're in a bit of a hurry.”

Now, Rapunzel was against judging people based on first impressions, especially if the people in question were actually magical creatures, but what the toad directed at them couldn't have been described as anything other than an evil grin.

“If you want to pass, you have to answer one question,” it croaked, licking its lips, or in this case, flicking its long tongue repeatedly.

Rapunzel felt a bizarre sensation: the moment the Bargniff began to speak, her feet had become heavy as boulders. Bad sign.

“What is the name of—”

“What?” Hiccup shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth. “Sorry, we can't hear you well from here.”

The feeling of heaviness vanished.

The Bargniff was dumbfounded. Rapunzel suspected it was the first time a potential prey had spoken to it as if it were just another street vendor.

The toad did perhaps what anyone would do, and raised its voice. “I said: what is the name—”

“You're too far!” Hiccup shouted, blocking the question.

“Yes, and the echo bouncing off your nice little mortal abysm isn't helping!” Rapunzel added, starting to understand the plan.

The Bargniff drummed a paw on the mud impatiently. “Come closer then!”

“So you can push us you down? I don't think so,” Hiccup retorted with perfect petulance.

The toad rolled its red eyes and leaped towards them. There was now just a few feet between them. “Is this good? So… what was I saying?”

Hiccup quickly covered his ears and looked at Rapunzel. “Run!”

She followed suit, and together they sprinted towards the bridge, rounding the Bargniff on both sides. If the toad said anything, be it the riddle, a surprised exclamation or a curse, they didn't hear it.

Running with both arms raised wasn't exactly the most comfortable way to escape, but the idea of ​​getting kicked and falling over the cliff kept Rapunzel moving forward across the slippery mud until they got on the bridge.

The rope structure wobbled dangerously as Rapunzel and Hiccup ran through it at breakneck speed. Their passage lasted a few terrifying moments, after which they reached land on slightly more solid ground.

Then Rapunzel tripped, or rather, something pulled her hair, causing her to fall.

She reached to cover her ears again, heart beating fast, and when she turned around she saw that some hair strands had gotten caught in the knots of the bridge ropes, right towards the end.

Worse still, the Bargniff was chasing them in great leaps, and was already halfway across the bridge.

Rapunzel could do nothing but step back and use both hands to frantically untangle her long hair, which was apparently trying to have her killed by a talking frog. For every knotted strand she untied, however, she found two more to free.

“Rapunzel!” she heard Hiccup shout now that she wasn't covering her ears. He had also turned back.

“Go, go!” she said, desperately pulling on her hair, even though he couldn't understand her.

Maybe he read her lips, because he lowered his hands and said, “No. Cover your ears.”

He rummaged inside his doublet, while she watched the Bargniff come closer and closer, her hands trembling against her head.

Hiccup pulled out a small knife from an inside pocket and held it to Rapunzel's tangled hair. Her heart sank when she saw the blade just a breath away from the source of her magic, as if she had accidentally missed a step on a staircase.

Before she could react in any way, however, Hiccup grabbed the rope and began sawing it with the knife.

Despite having her ears protected, Rapunzel distinctly heard the snap coming from the compromised structure. Hiccup cut the rope opposite the first too, and with a series of snap-snap-snap the bridge trembled and collapsed into the void, taking the toad down with it. Rapunzel distinctly saw the realization in its red eyes, dangerously close and yet too far to attack them.

With a croaking cry of terror, the Bargniff fell into the void, swallowed up by the unwavering fog.

Chapter Text

Hiccup and Rapunzel spent a few cautious moments contemplating the spot where the bridge had been, as if fearing that the Bargniff might jump out miraculously unscathed. When no giant toad returned to seek vengeance, Hiccup began to breathe again and dropped to his knees. His trousers were dirty with mud up to his butt and he was out of breath from running, but he was alive.

Rapunzel also sat down to rest. She was shaking a little. “That was close.”

“Yeah,” Hiccup agreed, not knowing what else to say. “Are you okay?”

“Mh-mh. You?”

“Yes.”

Rapunzel rubbed her eyes and pulled away the hair strands stuck to her sweaty forehead. “You know, for a moment I thought you were going to cut my hair, to free me. You gave me quite the scare,” she added with an uncertain laugh.

“Really? Sorry about that,” Hiccup said with sincerity. He sighed. “Actually, sorry about yesterday. I was being nosy.”

“What? No, I started it,” she replied while shaking her head.

Hiccup hesitated. “So… I guess we're even?”

Rapunzel smiled. “Evenly stubborn.”

Maybe with time he would be able to make Rapunzel realize how the woman who had raised her was taking advantage of her, but this wasn't the day. Hiccup secretly promised himself to try again, when she would be ready to listen.

They sat a little longer, shoulder to shoulder, exhausted, looking at the fragments of clear blue sky now visible, after the dust raised by the collapsed bridge had dispersed the fog.

Hiccup reflected on the fact that this had been his first fight with a friend. Adding it to his personal list of Things He Never Thought He Would Do gave him a bizarre feeling of pride.

“Looks like you two are still alive!”

Rapunzel gasped. “Wasn't that…?”

They turned, and were immediately overwhelmed by an avalanche of curls. Merida held them in a bear hug for longer than Hiccup would have considered within the limit of embarrassment, before letting them go. “We've been searching for you for hours!”

Her hug was followed by celebrations from Toothless, who thoroughly licked Hiccup's face despite his complaints. Rapunzel got a nudge from him and a… well, a toothless smile.

Hiccup let Jack help him to his feet and looked at all three of them. “What happened to you guys?”

If possible, they were even worse off than him and Rapunzel: their faces were scratched and their hair disheveled, but above all they were covered in mud from head to toe, making their faces barely recognizable.

Merida pointed to her quiver. Compared to what Hiccup remembered, it was missing several arrows.

“We had a fun encounter when we returned to land after losing sight of you,” she explained. “With the shadow horses.”

“Only this time they weren't horses, but those things looked like weird smoke dragons,” Jack pointed out, mimicking a large beast with his hands.

Hiccup found it deeply unfair that he had stumbled upon a murderous frog instead of some magical dragons, but he didn't admit it out loud.

Rapunzel scanned Jack and Merida for injuries. “Are you alright?”

“We almost drowned in the mud and we fell in some thorny bushes, but we managed to chase them away. It takes a lot more to beat us,” Merida minimized, albeit with a certain tension in her tone. “What about you? We were able to find you by following a loud noise, what was that?”

Rapunzel looked at Jack. “You'll never believe this.”

They quickly recounted how they'd found a way to outwit the Bargniff without — almost — falling over the cliff, resulting in a series of gradually shocked expressions.

“The thing is,” Jack said when he heard the whole story, somewhere between incredulous and amused, “I really wish I could say this isn't the craziest thing that's happened to us, but I have a feeling you two broke the record.”

Merida shook her head. “Imagine if we hadn't separated.”

“At least it worked. You made up, didn't you? All thanks to my brilliant strategy,” Jack said with a half bow.

Rapunzel narrowed her eyelids. “Was this your idea?”

“Yeah, you're welc—put that pan down!” Jack avoided the blow, but only because he could fly. “Rapunzel, I'm serious!”

“I'm serious too. Very serious!”

Hiccup watched them chase each other, together with Merida and Toothless.

“Should we stop her?” she said.

“Mmmh. Maybe later.”

Merida peeled a piece of dried mud off her arm. “So… how far are we to the next river?”

Hiccup grimaced. “Too far.”

*

Joyce Bennett's day couldn't get any worse.

She should have known the gods had in store for her one of those mornings that were better to be picked, crumpled up and thrown away like a sheet of paper, when she'd walked into the kitchen, still sleepy, and discovered that Abby had found her yarn balls. Joyce had hidden them months earlier, planning not to get to work on hats or scarves until at least next fall, but the layer of yarn that Abby had covered the kitchen with had seemed to suggest that she would have time for winter to arrive before she could clean everything.

She had spent more time on it than she wanted to think of, but the moment she'd gone out to feed the animals, she'd been faced with another surprise.

The hole dug under the chicken pen could only have been the work of a fox, and fortunately hers were intelligent and cowardly creatures, because Joyce had found the one missing chicken inside the house, and obviously she had tripped over it, dropping the dry laundry basket onto the doorway still muddy from the recent rainy days, so now she had to wash it again and fix the hole. All before lunch.

So, Joyce had put her soul at rest and had decreed it couldn't get any worse than this, so much so that the children had sensed her bad mood from a distance and had run away with the excuse of going to play with their friends. 

All Joyce could do was put the clothes back in the basket, get up with a huff and head towards the stream that ran at the edge of the farm, with heavy steps, and mumbling under her breath didn't help her cheer up.

She was so busy brooding about how much she wished she could hide under the covers and pretend that day was already over, that she didn't realize she wasn't alone until she had already rolled up her sleeves and started scrubbing.

From the opposite bank, four kids and a black dragon stared at her, still intent on wiping the dirtiest muddy faces Joyce had ever seen. And she lived with two children.

Before she could ask who they were and what they were doing on her property, Joyce saw it.

A tuft of white hair.

“Jack?”

*

“Are you really sure we can trust her?” Merida whispered, looking around skeptically and failing to be subtle about it.

Jack shifted his position and crossed his legs on the chair. “I know Joyce. You don't need to worry.”

When they'd arrived at the river, after a day spent riding Toothless praying to the gods for letting them find any source of water, Jack had recognized the farm in the distance, but he hadn't expected to find Joyce across the stream.

She had taken a glance at their state, and she had insisted on letting them into the house in that typical tone of hers that Jack had learned to resist, unlike the others, who had focused on the words ‘soap’, ‘sit’ and ‘lunch’ from Joyce's talk. Jack had surrendered for the greater good, also because the supplies obtained in Willoway were already almost finished, so they were a short step away from going back to hunt their dinner.

Still, Jack and the others had accepted the invitation with some caution, since they had become accustomed to lie, run away or generally watch their backs from the people they encountered. So Jack understood Merida's hesitation, but Joyce was perhaps the only person he didn't need to hide from.

The Bennett house looked more or less as he remembered it, with the table in front of the large fireplace, the herbs left hanging to dry giving off a vague smell of fields, the rug that had survived countless spills of liquids and the corner of the wall scribbled by the children.

Four bowls were placed on the table, and Joyce joined them. Jack barely glanced at the soup before attacking it with his spoon. It felt hot against his throat, but that was fine.

Joyce, having finished her portion with the inhuman speed of a busy mother, looked at him critically. Jack hated that look: it always managed to make him feel guilty for something he didn't even know he'd done.

“It's been many months since your last visit,” she said reproachfully. “The children always ask for you.”

“I've been busy,” Jack said, swallowing the last spoonful of soup.

Joyce glanced at Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

He almost strangled himself with the spoon. “No… I… no,” he finally decided. The others didn't know he'd been searching for the Lost Princess for eighteen years, and they had probably interpreted the question as a request for an update on the hunt for his lost memories.

Jack couldn't help but notice how they were watching him intently at that moment, drinking in every word of their exchange. What a bunch of snoops.

Joyce knew how to spot his lies, but even better, she knew he wasn't inclined to reveal his personal problems, and she seemed to understand the dynamic.

“Mh,” she mumbled with vague disapproval. “You haven't introduced me to your friends.”

There was an exchange of uncertain glances between the four of them, with meaning fluctuating between ‘what do we say?’, ‘should we lie?’ and ‘at this point we might as well say our real names’ that would have made even the dumbest of idiots suspicious.

Joyce waved a hand. “I don't care if you're hiding from someone, I won't tell anyone as long as you're not dangerous.”

Jack pointed at the others one by one. “This is Merida, Hiccup and… Rapunzel.”

He gave Joyce a meaningful look, and she didn't react to the last name, even though she had definitely made the connection with the Lost Princess.

She smiled at everyone, got up from the table and picked up the basket where she had put their muddy clothes after they'd changed into their spare clothes. “Well, you can rest here as long as you want. I'll go wash these for you.” She looked out the window. “So late,” she muttered, and walked out of the house, leaving them alone.

As soon as the door closed, everyone turned to look at Jack.

“How did you meet this woman?” Hiccup asked with the look of someone who had been holding back a flood of questions until the appropriate moment. “And why hasn't she batted an eye after seeing Toothless?”

Hearing his name, the dragon pricked up his ear flaps without raising his head from the corner where he was curled up. Joyce had looked at him like he wasn't much different from a large dog she didn't fully trust, but she'd let him into the house, where he'd made himself comfortable and scared the life out of poor Abby.

Jack fidgeted in the chair he was perched on. He automatically brought his hand to his neck to play with the edge of his cape, before remembering that Joyce had taken it away (the right word was confiscated) to wash it.

Of course, Jack had never revealed details about his life after his memory loss. He didn't have many fond memories of the early days, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to talk about it.

“She was the one who found me on the first day.”

“The first day you remember?” said Rapunzel, leaning over the table.

Jack nodded. “It all started the night I woke up in a pond in the woods nearby.” He traced the grain on the wood of the table with a finger, remembering the darkness and the fear. “I got out of it without drowning, but you can imagine how lost I felt, with my clothes soaked and not a shred of memory. Joyce saw me, brought me here to Hawthorne and took care of me. She was just a girl at the time.”

Merida raised her eyebrows at him. “A girl—? Oh. Oh, right,” she said, frowning. “I forgot about your age thing.”

She seemed uncomfortable, and Jack thought she must be still shaken after their battle with the shadow dragons from the day before. They had defeated them and emerged with only a few scratches, but Merida had seemed particularly creeped out by them.

He continued the story. “While I was recovering at her house, word got around that Joyce was hiding a Magicknapper. People started being awful to her, so I knew I had to start fending for myself.

“As soon as I felt better I searched the village for any clues to my identity, but no one seemed to know me, and without remembering my full name I was unable to find out anything about my family.”

Hiccup turned the spoon over in his fingers. “Maybe you're not originally from Hawthorne,” he suggested.

“That's what I thought too. I left the village and I've traveled all over the kingdom since then, but it was no use. I never found anything.” Jack pursed his lips in a bitter expression. “I don't know how I ended up in that pond, or who marked me and why. At this point I wonder if I ever had a home and a family to begin with.”

Rapunzel reached out to gently place a hand on Jack's pale fingers. For once, he let her do it and didn't pull away.

“You must have felt very alone,” she said regretfully.

Her sad expression made Jack move his hand away, as if her kind words had burned him. He didn't want any sympathy, especially not from Rapunzel.

“I'm not looking for your pity, I'm just answering the question,” he muttered.

Suddenly Rapunzel straightened her back and smiled. Jack knew that face: she must have just had one of her strange ideas.

“You know what?” she said excitedly. “After the festival, we could go looking!”

Jack blinked. “Looking for what?”

“Information about your past. I'm sure we'll find something together,” Rapunzel replied. “Merida will be busy being queen, but Hiccup, you'll come with us, won't you?”

“Uh. I guess. Yeah?” he stammered, startled.

The door suddenly flew open to save Hiccup, but on the other hand it made everyone jump.

Jack recognized those rushed steps, so he wasn't surprised when a child-sized hurricane rushed into the house, followed by his blonde shadow.

“Jack!” Jamie exclaimed as if his name had been a spell. “Mom told me you're back!”

He ran up to the table and jumped on his neck, so Jack could pretend to lose his balance after getting up and fall back into the chair. “Hawthorne's hero has taken down the swamp monster! Hooray for Jamie Bennett!” he announced theatrically.

Jamie laughed and let go, giving Jack a chance to look at him.

He had definitely grown since the last time he'd seen him: he was a couple of inches taller and his clothes were less baggy. He still had the same disheveled hair, mole on the cheek, and warm brown eyes, but now he was missing a front tooth.

Jack liked him very much, however, there was another reason why he returned to Hawthorne regularly.

Jamie reminded him of someone, but he didn't know who.

His little sister, Sophie, raised her arms at Jack, eager for attention. He picked her up and spun her around in the air, eliciting a few excited squeals.

“You've been gone a long time,” Jamie complained, waving the stick he used to play duels with — it was always the same one.

“Sorry,” Jack said, sincerely. “I would have come sooner, but I've had some… inconveniences.”

He nodded to the others, who had been watching the scene with interest.

Jamie's eyes widened. “Woah. You have friends now?”

“Okay, first of all, ouch. Second,” Jack said, “Jamie and Sophie, meet the inconveniences. The inconveniences, Jamie and Sophie.”

Merida stood up and nudged him. “Very funny, Frost. Hello, I'm Merida,” she added as she completely changed her tone, making Jack remember when she'd said she had younger siblings.

They exchanged introductions, and within five minutes Jamie seemed to adore everyone half as much as he adored Jack. Sophie fell in love with Rapunzel like with every pretty thing she saw, and she seemed equally enraptured by the little girl.

“Hey, look who came to introduce himself,” Hiccup said, looking behind Jamie.

Jack saw the kid slowly turning, finding himself face to muzzle with Toothless, who had come closer to see what all the fuss was about.

“Don't worry,” Hiccup added. “Toothless won't hurt you.”

Sophie ran to clutch Jack's leg, scared. Jamie looked petrified.

Toothless snorted through his nostrils so strongly it ruffled his hair, perhaps for fun. Or so Jack hoped.

Seeing that Jamie was still standing motionless with his mouth open, he stepped forward to go and reassure him, but Hiccup was quicker, and knelt next to the child.

“Um, first of all, why don't we put this down here for a second?” he said softly. Jamie let him take his stick without protesting. He reallly was more upset than Jack feared.

Hiccup then took Jamie's hand and slowly brought it closer to Toothless's muzzle, while the dragon looked at them haughtily. “There you go, like this. Let him smell you.”

Toothless let Jamie pet his nose, and the kid brightened, every trace of fear gone.

“A dragon,” he whispered, looking at his hand in fascination. “Sophie, come and see!”

Hiccup made her repeat the same action, but Sophie was still too scared of that creature much bigger than her, and immediately went back to find shelter behind Jack after stroking Toothless.

“Have you guys eaten yet?” Jack asked Jamie.

He gasped. “Oh, right. Sophie, come here.”

He took a ladle and poured some soup into two bowls, after which he looked first at them, then at the table, and finally decided to sit at the latter. 

He asked Hiccup lots of questions about Toothless and about dragons: did he really have no teeth? How could he breathe fire? How many dragons lived in the archipelago? What did they eat? How old was Toothless? What were dragon horns for? Did they prefer the heat or the cold?

“Do dragons drink?” he asked at one point, his mouth full of soup. “Because if they do, doesn't uh, doesn't water put out their fire, or plasma?”

Hiccup blinked and stared at the empty bowl. “You know, I've never thought about that.”

“Too bad dragons can't talk,” Jamie mused. “...Right?” And he looked at Toothless as if he might start arguing with them at any moment.

Jack knew that at this rate they'd be stuck in an endless debate with Jamie, so he turned to Hiccup. “Any ideas on what to do while we wait for our clothes to dry, captain?”

“Not your captain,” Hiccup retorted in a sing-song manner. By now it had become something of an inside joke between the four of them.

Merida raised her hand. “I've used almost all of my arrows in the swamp. I wouldn't mind a visit to a shop in the village.”

“Can I come with you?” Jamie begged, leaning over so much he almost fell out of his chair. “I can show you around!”

“Of course you can, Jamie,” Rapunzel said. “If your mom is fine with it.”

“Let's go ask her then.”

They told Toothless to behave and left the house. Outside they found Joyce busy hanging out the laundry, surrounded by clothes blowing in the wind. Jack intercepted a flying sock and manipulated the winds to return it to the basket before it hit the ground.

“Mom, can I go shopping with Jack and his friends?” Jamie asked loudly.

Joyce moved a sheet to see their faces. “Yes, honey, just bring Sophie with you.”

Jamie swung his arms and sighed as if he'd been asked to go working in a mine. “Fiiine.”

“You can go to the village by yourself now?” Jack said to distract him as they walked away.

Jamie puffed out his chest all proud. “I can go wherever I want, as long as I get home before sunset.”

“Wow, like the big kids,” Rapunzel said.

Jack didn't comment on the irony of the comparison between the two: Jamie could roam free as an eight year old, while Rapunzel had been confined to a glorified room and a half until eighteen.

The Bennett farm was a bit isolated from the rest of the village, so to reach it they took a path that followed the edges of the cultivated fields.

Hawthorne was definitely smaller than the towns they had visited so far. A few houses stood around a small square like sunflowers facing the light, and the passersby didn't have the frenzy that seemed to infect the residents of bigger towns.

Like every time Jack returned to the village, people recognized him by his face, and crossed the street. Mothers dragged their children away, old men turned up their noses and Jack pretended it didn't bother him. One would have thought that, after seeing him regularly for years, people would understand that he was harmless, but old prejudices were invincible.

The shop Jamie led them to was the general store, which hadn't changed a bit in eighteen years. Jack had rarely set foot in it, and when they entered and the owner's welcoming smile faded as he recognized him, he remembered why.

While Merida went to the counter and asked for arrows to replenish her quiver, Jack and the others browsed around the shop, which, being the biggest in the village, sold a bit of everything. All the time Jack felt the shopkeeper's gaze on him, even though there were several other people looking at the goods.

“It's not fair you get treated like this,” Rapunzel whispered to him, stroking a roll of colorful cloth, “while I'm not.”

“You pass for normal,” Jack replied. “Imagine if I had scales like the person we saw at the inn.”

Rapunzel was sulking. “There should be a rule not to treat Starfolks badly based on their appearance. I'll suggest it to Merida later.”

Jack couldn't stop his smile. She made it sound so simple.

Jamie tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. “You've seen a person with scales?!” he repeated in Jack's ear as he leaned down.

“Not in the face. They had—”

The shop door burst open, causing the bell to jingle furiously and the customers near the entrance to flinch.

The woman who had barged in, still clutching the doorknob, looked like she had seen a dragon.

Huh. Jack hoped that wasn't the case.

“They've found the Lost Princess!” she announced breathlessly, before running out without giving any further explanation.

Jack saw Hiccup do a double take while glancing at Rapunzel, but luckily she didn't notice. He met Jack's eyes instead, and he gave Hiccup a warning look.

Some people followed the woman out of the shop, but the strange thing was that almost most people didn't bat an eyelid and continued with their purchases.

Merida returned to them, placing the quiver on her shoulder. “Am I wrong or is something strange going on?”

“Yes, why did almost no one react?” Rapunzel said.

“Maybe we'd better check,” Hiccup said cautiously. He looked at Jack again. Jack shrugged.

Once out of the store, they didn't have trouble understanding where the woman had gone. The shop overlooked the square, which at that moment was filled with a small crowd of mostly unfamiliar faces who Jack assumed were visitors and travelers.

They jostled a bit and got to the front. In the center of the crowd of onlookers, an old man with a long gray beard was fiddling with something wrapped in a cloth.

He took a moment to make sure everyone's attention was on him, before throwing the cloth aside and revealing what it was hiding. In his hands he held a rather fat chicken.

“Behold, the Lost Princess!” the old man shouted.

The Lost Princess fluttered its wings, agitated.

Sophie giggled and clapped her hands in delight. Jack wondered if it was some kind of joke.

The crowd remained in a contemplative silence for a good few seconds, before someone spoke up, and a voice shouted from the back row.

“That's a chicken, Steve.”

As if a spell had been uttered, the crowd dispersed with various murmurs halfway between amused and bored, leaving a confused Steve alone with his chicken.

Rapunzel scratched her cheek. “That was…”

“Really weird?” Hiccup suggested.

“Pathetic,” Merida concluded.

Jack noticed that Jamie had assumed his Thinking Pose: eyebrows furrowed, hand holding his chin and eyelids half closed. “Do you know something we don't?” he asked him.

“I think old Steve has the Curse,” Jamie said gravely.

Something in his tone of voice made Jack imagine the capital letter.

Jamie placed his hands on his hips. “Actually, I'm sure that's what happened to Steve. Classic Curse symptoms.”

“Is this a nice way for the locals to say that old man is completely crazy?” Hiccup asked.

“There are no curses, only spells with good or bad intentions,” Jack corrected.

“But Curse sounds a lot better than ‘spell with bad intentions’.” Jamie retorted.

“He's right,” Merida whispered.

“What makes you think that man is cursed?” Rapunzel asked, looking at Steve, who was now walking away with the chicken under his arm, his shoulders hunched.

Jamie motioned for them to follow him, and headed in the direction Steve had gone.

“It's been going on for a few weeks now,” he explained mysteriously. “Suddenly, someone starts behaving very strangely, and they get lots of red dots on their hands and face, and it goes on like that for a few days. Then they go back to normal, as if it never happened, and they don't remember anything.”

“Spooky,” Merida commented.

“And we're following that crazy old man because…?” Hiccup said.

Jamie grinned at Jack, showing his missing front tooth. “We need someone who knows magic! Jack, you can help him, right? And figure out what's wrong!”

He glanced at the man walking unsteadily up ahead. The chicken was facing them, and Jack had the distinct feeling that it was staring at him. “We can take a look, but I won't promise you anything.”

They followed old Steve to a small house with the window shatters painted blue, with a beautiful wreath of woven flowers hanging on the door.

The old man went in mumbling incomprehensible words, but Jamie slipped in front of him before he could close the door.

“Steve, I want to introduce you to my friends! Can we come in?”

He was practically already inside, so all Steve could do was mumble something that sounded vaguely like an affirmative answer, and the small group entered the house.

Jack had never been there, otherwise he was sure he would remember that place. Some wind chimes made of semi-transparent colored stones jingled, catching the wind and casting rainbow reflections on the main room. An entire wall was covered with a mural representing Amberray at dawn, and many, many painted canvases were scattered everywhere. Everything needed for a normal home, such as furniture, seemed like an afterthought.

“Mr. Steve, are you an artist?” Rapunzel asked without looking at him, too busy admiring every corner of the room in awe.

The man sat down in an armchair and lit a pipe. “Sunset is the best time to look for worms,” he said unhelpfully. The chicken clucked menacingly from the cushion it sat on.

They stood there wondering what to do, a little awkwardly, until Jamie stepped forward, dragging Jack with him. “Steve, this is Jack. Well, you know him already, but I don't know if you remember him. We want to help you.”

“Hi,” Jack said, unsure of what to do or say.

Steve eyed him. “Magicknapper.”

Jack's jaw clenched and the hand holding his staff seemed to get colder. He returned the contemptuous look.

Up close, he noticed the red dots plaguing the old man's wrinkled face.

Rapunzel picked up on the tense mood and forced herself into the conversation. “What if I try using my hair?”

“That's a good idea,” Hiccup said, sounding relieved.

Jamie looked at Rapunzel wide-eyed. “Your hair?”

Merida winked at him. “Look and you'll understand.”

Rapunzel interposed herself between Jack and Steve, interrupting the staring contest, and managed to convince the latter to let her wrap his neck like a scarf. “Ready? Flower, gleam and glow…”

The others sat where they found space, someone on a chair, someone on the floor. Jack leaned on a windowsill, watching the scene as he thought of their conversation.

He had never said it, but he envied Rapunzel's magic. She was sun, health, light, flowers. People didn't usually think of winter as a good thing. Jack's pale skin, the shadows around his eyes and his white hair immediately marked him as an unnatural creature. Instead, Rapunzel was lucky enough to appear reassuringly ordinary, at least on the surface.

Jack hated being so conspicuous, but perhaps he hated himself even more for the envy he felt.

“What once was mine... Did it work?”

The man blinked. Three times. Four times. He looked at them with the most perplexed expression an old man could have. “Who are you? What are all these people doing in my house?”

Merida leaned in to whisper in Jamie's ear. “Distract him. Seeing a familiar face will calm him down.”

He nodded firmly and came closer to Steve, drawing attention to himself. “How do you feel?”

Steve spotted Jamie and Sophie, and immediately seemed less upset. “Oh, the young Bennetts… I'm fine, I'm fine.”

“You had the Curse,” Jamie explained. “You were acting strange, but thanks to Rapunzel you're back to normal! You don't even have spots anymore!”

“The Curse? You mean that sickness that's affecting the village?”

“It's not caused by magic,” Jack said. “And the fact that Rapunzel could heal you is proof of that.”

Rapunzel, who was having Merida help her braiding her hair, twisted her neck to look at him. “So it's an illness?”

“More than an illness, I'd say a physical reaction,” Hiccup pointed out. He turned to the old man. “Steve, what's the last thing you remember?”

He took a puff from his pipe, which he hadn't stopped smoking (gross), while he thought. “Let's see... Nothing happened yesterday, I worked all day, visited some friends, had dinner and went to sleep. I don't remember anything from this morning.”

“Did you eat anything different from usual?” Merida asked. “Seafood makes me feel sick, maybe something similar happened.”

Steve shrugged. “Bread and cheese, young girl. Hard to afford anything fancier these days.”

Hiccup scratched his head thoughtfully. “Jamie, can you list all the people affected by the Curse? Maybe if they have something in common we can trace the cause.”

Jamie cited several names, but Jack, despite having formed a general idea of ​​the residents of Hawthorne over the years, was unable to find anything that clearly connected everyone.

“It basically hit anyone.”

“We can start with Steve's dinner, in the meantime,” Merida suggested. “Everyone eats bread and cheese. Maybe that's the problem.”

“Sounds like a plan. Jamie, could you show us around a bit more?” Hiccup asked.

From Jamie's face it seemed so. “Bye, Steve, get some rest!” he shouted to the old man as they left.

“Wait,” Steve said. He looked at Rapunzel and hesitated. “Thank you,” he mumbled, and closed the door.

They stood staring at the flower wreath.

“Artists,” Jamie commented as if that explained everything. He raised his sword-stick and pointed at the outskirts of the village. “Onward! The bakery and the dairy farm aren't far away!”

Chapter Text

Not being the object of Jamie's undivided attention felt strange, yet Jack couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile, seeing the eagerness with which the boy pointed out to the others whatever he thought was interesting, ready to tell anecdotes.

Even Sophie hadn't insisted on being carried on Jack's shoulders as usual, instead she had preferred to pull Rapunzel by the hand all the way from the store to the bakery.

Along the way they got lost in further speculation about the mysterious evil that was plaguing the village of Hawthorne. Merida was convinced that food was the culprit, but Hiccup was skeptical.

“I've heard about poisonous plants and mushrooms, but bread or cheese causing hallucinations sounds unlikely,” he said.

“Maybe some people are more susceptible to get a reaction,” Merida replied.

Jamie, who seemed to enjoy hearing their confrontation, imitated their reasonable tone. “But then why has it never happened before? The whole village has been buying these things from the same families for generations. The Curse is new.”

Neither Hiccup nor Merida could answer him.

“He's a smart boy,” Rapunzel said so softly that Jack was pretty sure he was the only one who'd heard her. “But I guess he doesn't go to school, does he?”

“I don't think so, school is for rich people. Why that sad face?”

“It's just…” she sighed. “I was thinking about that man, you know, the one who helped us in Willoway.”

“The thief with the false name?” Jack said.

Rapunzel nodded. Her hand had already gone up to fix a hair strand in her braid. “I was surprised when he told me he couldn't read, but he also explained that it's normal. That… he didn't have time to think about these things. But I can't stop thinking about the possibilities he would have, with an education.”

Jack got lost looking at the cobblestones paving the road. “Do you think school wouldn't have made him a thief?”

“Maybe not, but in my opinion everyone should be able to read and write.” Rapunzel swung her braid, shaking her head. “I mean, Flynn couldn't even read how much the bounty was on him!” she exclaimed fervently.

“Everyone? Do you know how much work it would take to guarantee education for everyone? Building schools is expensive. Material is expensive,” Jack said, feeling a bit sorry for ruining her dreams.

“There's no need for a big building, the teacher's house would be enough,” she objected, “and add some sticks and containers with sand to write on,” she listed with surprising practicality.

“Not everyone can afford to pay teachers.”

Rapunzel thought about it so long that when she answered, Jack jumped.

“The queen should pay them,” she decreed firmly.

Thanks to how many new taxes on the people?, Jack wondered, pessimistically. Maybe he was wrong in being cynic, but the idea that the crown would take on who knew how many dozens of teachers seemed impossible.

Unless Rapunzel agreed to become queen.

Jack's goal was to bring her back to her parents, but to be honest he had never cared much about what would happen after that. Whoever was going to ascend the throne had a host of lords and village chiefs to take into account, and they would hardly be able to change things.

Even though... Rapunzel's determination, and some of her bizarre and innovative ideas, could maybe shine some new hope on the future.

“Here we are,” Jamie announced before Jack could answer her.

To say that the bakery was inviting would have been an understatement, not to mention an offense. The shop was more well-kept than many other buildings in the village, with the front painted a pale cream color, the crown glass windows expertly crafted and a sign that wasn't creaky.

The biggest impact was the smell: a scent of freshly baked products wafted from the bakery like the aroma of a flower attracting insects. The bread Jack usually managed to salvage was tough and tasteless, but sniffing the air brought to his mind the feel of soft crumb between his fingers, and the sound of crisp, golden crust breaking under his teeth.

Jack was so enchanted by the smell that, following the others into the shop, he forgot for a moment about the last time he'd been to the bakery, until he met the annoyed gaze of the baker's wife.

“You've got some nerve coming back here after what you've done,” she barked from behind the counter.

Jack remembered her well. She was a small woman, but she had always been intimidating.

A little boy with large glasses emerged from behind the counter, attracted by the arrival of new people, and smiled big at Jamie, Sophie and Jack, before noticing his mother's wary attitude and playing dumb.

Jamie stepped forward. “That time was an accident,” he said diplomatically. He gave Jack a knowing look. “Right?”

“Sure,” he lied.

Hiccup reached out to whisper in his ear. “What did you do that time?”

“I froze the whole shop floor,” Jack replied. “Skating on it with Monty and the other kids was a lot of fun, but his parents didn't appreciate it.” He shrugged. “Something about the temperature shift damaging the bread.”

Hiccup glared at him, and Jack didn't need to ask him why; put it that way, it might have sounded like he had intentionally tried to worsen the locals' negative opinion of him, yet that time he hadn't created the best ice rink of all time (with obstacles included!) to make himself hated. On the contrary, he'd done it in an attempt to amuse the baker.

Speaking of which, a blond man arrived from the back of the shop at that moment, cleaning his floured hands as best he could on his apron. “Is everything alright here?” he asked, then he saw Jack and immediately went hiding behind his wife. He had never stopped being afraid of him, after all those years.

She started to open her mouth, but Jamie interrupted her. “Hi, can we ask you some questions? We're investigating the Curse.”

“It's just an excuse so you and these foreigners can go snooping around,” the woman retorted.

Jamie put his hands behind his back, as he had probably seen adults do to exude confidence. “Then we're here to shop, and this is a normal conversation between customers and sellers, and I just happen to ask… um…”

“If you've changed anything in your recipes recently,” Rapunzel helped him. “New ingredients, maybe?”

The baker shook his head, still looking at Jack over his wife's shoulder. Not because he was short like her, but because he was hunching his back to hide better.

The woman crossed her arms. “Are you implying that we're poisoning our neighbors, our friends, our family, miss?” she thundered irritably.

“We're implying that something strange is going on here, and the trail leads to you too,” Merida said. “Or do you have something to hide?”

Even if they did have secrets, they certainly wouldn't tell her, Jack thought, but he didn't want to turn the attention back to himself.

Luckily Jamie also understood that the conversation was taking a dangerous turn, and he intervened to patch up the investigation. “If you say that you haven't changed anything about your bread, we'll leave right away.”

“We follow the same recipes handed down in the family for four generations, so no, nothing new. Right, Mom?” Monty said, adjusting his glasses.

She rolled her eyes and snorted affirmatively. Or at least Jack interpreted it as such.

“Then we're leaving,” Hiccup said, motioning the others towards the door. “Thank you and goodbye.”

The baker and his wife didn't say anything and just stared at them as they left, unlike Monty, who waved until they couldn't see him.

“Well, that went great,” Merida commented, giving the bakery a dark look.

“Let's hope the people at the dairy farm will be more cooperative,” Rapunzel said optimistically.

Jack had serious doubts about that, and when they reached the farm that was Hawthorne's main dairy producer, the owners, while less openly hostile, weren't much help.

“Are you sure? Not even a suspicious stranger you've spotted? A recent fight? An accident during production?” Jamie questioned one of the owners, after they were told again there had been nothing unusual.

The man shook his head without stopping stirring in the large pot he was working on. Throughout the workshop there was a bustle of busy people, all members of the same large family that ran the farm. The smell of milk and cheese was strong.

“There's always someone on watch since the robbery, and we haven't seen any intruders after that,” he said. “I'm sorry, Jamie, I can't help you.

At the word ‘robbery’ Merida tilted her head to the side. “Did someone steal your money?”

“Fortunately not, but some wheels of cheese intended for the banquet that's happening after the Duel of the Heirs have disappeared.”

Jack, Merida, Rapunzel, and Hiccup exchanged looks. Without using words, the collective message was clear: for a moment, they had all forgotten their destination. Jack blamed the delicious smell of bread from before.

“Who could have done it? Your prices have always been fair,” Jamie said, oblivious to their problems.

The man grimaced. “We've been forced to raise them after the new taxes were introduced, actually,” he explained. “Anyway, it happened, and we won't raise a fuss over a bit of cheese. We don't want to accuse anyone, you see."

Having nothing else to ask, they thanked the man and went back outside, to breathe some air that didn't smell like food.

Outside they stumbled upon the farmer's daughter, a tall young girl with red hair hidden by a wool cap despite the fact that summer was upon them.

“Hi, Pippa,” Jamie greeted, and he introduced her to the rest of the group.

“What did you want from my dad?” she asked, curious.

Jamie placed a hand beside his mouth and whispered conspiratorially. “I asked Jack to help me solve the Curse.”

Hearing about curses, Pippa looked around nervously. “And how's that going?”

“Terribly,” Merida said unceremoniously. “Now we have to find another lead.”

“Are you leaving already?”

Suddenly, Sophie stood on tiptoe and pointed at Pippa. “Moo! Moo!” she exclaimed urgently.

Rapunzel looked at her worriedly. “She didn't catch the Curse too, I hope.”

Jamie laughed. “No, Sophie wants to say hi to the cows. Can we?” he asked Pippa, who hesitated.

“I don't know, Dad doesn't like strangers around the cows…”

Sophie wrapped her arms around her legs and stared at her with the powerful magic that was the pleading gaze of a three-year-old.

Pippa sighed. “Oh, fine. But make it quick.”

She and Jamie then lead the group, heading for the stables.

Jack watched them chatting with satisfaction. For many years Jamie had had difficulty fitting in with the rest of the children his age in the village, due to the rumors about his mother that circulated among the adults: getting acquainted with a Magicknapper was frowned upon.

When he'd found out, Jack had done his best to resolve the issue, and it helped that the Hawthorne children loved him. Parents still turned up their noses when they saw Jamie playing with their children, but they didn't seem to care.

Pippa took them to the stables, where some of her older siblings were too busy with their chores to really notice them. The scraps of hay that littered the floor tickled Jack's bare feet.

As soon as the first white coat flecked with black spots came into view, Sophie darted towards the cows, releasing Rapunzel's hand.

“Moo! Moo!” she repeated, crouching next to a boy who was milking one.

“Here to see the animals again, Sophie? Where's your brother? Oh, hi, Jamie.”

Rapunzel, who had probably never seen a cow in real life, leaned over to watch the milking, curious. “They're even bigger than I thought.”

“They look like short-haired yaks,” Hiccup commented.

However, for once the most impressed person was Merida, who was looking at the milking process as if she were witnessing the meticulous work of a court craftsman. “Can I try?”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “Surely you've seen cows before.”

“Aye, but my mother never lets me near them,” she explained excitedly. “She says they're dirty and would make my clothes stink.”

The boy made way for her on the stool with vague amusement. “Sit here, town girl. Let's see what you can do.”

While Merida accepted the challenge and struggled to milk the cow, Jack listened to the conversation between Jamie and Pippa, who were exchanging theories about the Duel, after having heard her father mention it.

“I've heard that the Heir of the Barbaric… Ar-chi-pe-la-go… can uproot trees like they're flowers,” Jamie said, “the Heir of Dunbroch stands no chance against him.”

Jack bit his tongue, thankful for the new mental image of Hiccup hugging an oak tree.

Pippa tucked a tuft of hair under her hat. “If the king decides the Duel weapon will be, I don't know, bow and arrows, all that strength will be useless,” she replied.

“But bow and arrows wouldn't be fun!” Jamie protested.

“The Duel isn't supposed to be fun, Jamie,” Pippa said sternly.

“Well, I hope the king chooses swords anyway,” Jamie mumbled under his breath, so low that only Jack heard him.

Merida interrupted the confrontation by coming to them, after Pippa's brother had taken back his place at the stool.

“It's difficult,” she complained, pointing to the milk bucket, which had filled only the height of a few fingers during her turn.

Rapunzel encouragingly patted her shoulder. “You did good!”

Jack had an idea. “The cow probably doesn't trust you. Maybe you should let her smell you, kind of like with a dog or a cat,” he suggested.

The children looked at him perplexed. Jack winked at them.

Merida wasn't ill-thinking enough to get the prank, and she tentatively brought her hand closer to the cow's muzzle, while the animal stared at her with languid eyes. She sniffed Merida's hand, and after about half a second she licked it with her big pale tongue.

Taken by surprise, Merida let out a shriek that also made the poor cow jump, followed by laughter that filled the stable.

“Didn’t you know cows do that?” Pippa giggled.

Merida rubbed her hand over her clothes. “Aye, but I didn't think the reaction would be so immediate!”

Jamie turned to her friend. “Thank you for letting us see the stables. Now we really have to go. See you tomorrow at the fountain?”

“Uh-huh. See you tomorrow, and bye, Jack's friends!”

It took a while to convince Sophie to say goodbye to the cows, but eventually they found themselves on the path that led to the center of the village. While they took stock of the situation they sat on a low stone wall under an apple tree, from which they picked some fruits as a snack.

“Now what?” Jamie said, sitting with elbows resting on his knees and chin in his hands.

“What?” Sophie echoed him, kicking the wall with her short legs.

Jack turned an apple over in his fingers, looking at the yellowish specks on the green skin. “We could check the wells,” he suggested, not too convinced.

They thought about it, but eventually agreed to scrap the idea, since the entire village was using those without everyone feeling sick, and none of them would be able to tell whether the water was contaminated in some way.

Merida threw the stem of her apple behind her. “We might as well check the air we breathe,” she sighed in defeat.

Her eyes widened.

“Jack, didn't you say there's a forest nearby?” she asked excitedly. “Is it the Dewel Woods, sacred to Veeta?”

“Yup.”

Merida slid down the wall and motioned for them to follow her. “I think I know what happened.”

“We can't go to Dewel Woods when it's not a ceremony day!” Jamie warned, running after her. “It's forbidden.”

“I'm not going there, but to the old man's house.”

She didn't provide any more details, so they followed her back to where they started, where Merida pounded the door with her fists. “Open up, Steve.”

He almost got hit on the nose when he opened the door. “Wh—You again?”

Merida went in without waiting for an invitation and stood in the center of the room, arms crossed and expression determined. The others followed her inside, including Steve. His chicken was sleeping blissfully on an embroidered pillow.

“You haven't been completely honest with us,” Merida accused. “Something happened yesterday.”

Steve scratched his cheek and looked away. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

He had the word ‘liar’ practically written on his forehead.

“Steve, any clue could help us,” Hiccup said. “Or would you rather someone else get what you had this morning?”

Jamie nodded sagely. “Do you know that Isur will tie your tongue if you lie? My mom told me this.”

Out of threat, or more likely guilt, Steve huffed and pointed to the unlit fireplace. “You already know everything, don't you,” he told Merida.

She didn't go towards the fireplace, instead she crouched next to it, in front of a box from which she took a log after covering her hands using her sleeves.

She carefully placed the piece of wood on the kitchen table, as if it might come to life and bite her. “Here's the culprit.”

“Merida, are you talking about this log of wood?” Hiccup asked, speaking slowly, as if addressing someone with an unstable mind.

She paid him no mind and pointed to the pale bark. “This comes from a poplar tree in Veeta's woods, am I right?”

Jack recognized it only then. “I think so. Those poplars only grow there.”

Jamie held his breath. “Cutting down the trees in that forest is... is the worst thing you could do!”

“So the Curse is really magical?” Rapunzel asked, frowning. “And was sent by the gods?”

Steve's face became the same color of the bark, but Merida shook her head, making her curls bounce. “Veeta's poplars don't just grow in Dewel Woods,” she said. “There's an area in the southernmost part of the Cinder Woods the loggers keep away from, because of the poplars they call Death-touch.”

Steve plopped onto the nearest chair without noticing the palette with fresh color sitting there. “Stars in the sky…”

Merida glared at him. “Do you know what happens if their resin is ingested by accident?”

“What?” he squeaked.

“First you get a fever so bad it makes you see the gods watching over us from the skies,” Merida explained. “And within two days… boom!” She slammed her hand on the table, startling everyone. Even the chicken woke up and clucked in protest. “You're dead.”

“But everyone got better in the end,” Rapunzel replied.

Merida pointed to the fireplace. “Have you burned this wood to cook dinner?”

“I always boil the water I collect from the communal well,” Steve muttered. “You never know.”

Hiccup gasped. “So you breathed the burning resin, which is toxic,” he concluded. “You're lucky to be still alive!”

Merida drummed her fingers on the table and stared at Steve. “Nothing would have happened if you hadn't cut down those sacred trees.”

The old man, who had regained his color, looked like a full pot about to burst. “I didn't do it!” he finally vented. “It wasn't my idea!”

“But you knew where this wood came from, otherwise you wouldn't have hidden it from us,” Jack retorted.

“Of course I knew,” the man snapped. “Because of those damned new taxes all prices have risen, even that of firewood. I don't own a farm, I'm only a man of art, so I have to make do as I can…”

“And when you heard that someone was selling wood at a low price, you thought it was an opportunity to save some money,” Rapunzel concluded, compassionate. “I bet that's what happened to the other victims too.”

Steve put his head in his hands. “I was stupid.”

Jack felt sorry for the old man, but only a little. “It doesn't matter who came up with the idea, everyone should know it's dangerous,” he said seriously. “No one will believe two children, a Magicknapper and three strangers, but you're a village elder. They'll listen to you.”

“So you better get a move on,” Merida confirmed.

Steve got up from the chair with a remarkable leap for his age, and had such a determined expression that Jack didn't feel like pointing out the rainbow of colors imprinted on his behind.

They followed him outside, where their paths parted again.

“You did Hawthorne a great favor,” Steve said before leaving them on his word-of-mouth mission. “You... you're good kids.” He looked at them one by one, focusing on Jack too. “All of you.”

Then he set off towards the village square.

Jamie smiled wide enough to show the little window left by his fallen tooth. “I think we solved the mystery!”

“You were great, Jamie,” Jack said, still struck by the old man's words. “Now let's go home and tell your mom.”

At the Bennett house they found Joyce sitting by the window, bent over a dark rag armed with a needle and thread. It took Jack a second to recognize his cape, now cleaner and without the frost on the shoulder area.

Toothless was snoring peacefully exactly where they had left him, like a giant cat, but this time there was Abby to keep him company, curled up to sleep next to him as if they had known each other all their lives.

“Did he give you any problems?” Hiccup asked, referring to the dragon.

“He was asleep the whole time,” Joyce said. She broke the thread with her teeth and knotted it. “So, did you have fun?”

Jack recognized the strategy: it was the classic mom question thrown out casually with the purpose of gathering information and understanding if something was wrong.

“We figured out what the Curse is!” Jamie exclaimed, jumping with excitement.

Now that they had Joyce's full attention, they told her exactly what they'd done that afternoon. Sophie interrupted them with a “Moo!”, pointing out their stop at the dairy stables.

At the end of the story, Joyce seemed deeply upset. “Cutting down Veeta's sacred trees… What were they thinking?”

“We know why those who burned that wood got sick, but we didn't completely solve the problem,” Rapunzel mused sadly. “It's awful that people have gone so far as to violate a sacred grove, because prices have gone up.” She then raised her head and looked at Merida. “You know what could be done? Order that certain goods, like flour and wood, can't get more expensive!”

Merida blinked. “Oh. I'll keep that in mind, I guess.”

Joyce guessed the truth in that exchange, or she caught Jack's tense gaze, because she stood up and placed the sewing box on the table.

“Would you help me get everyone's clothes, Jack? They'll be dry by now,” she asked, handing him the cape, which he pulled over his head.

“Sure,” he replied, and they went out into the courtyard.

A brisk breeze had picked up outside, billowing the laundry on the clothesline like the sails of a ship. Jack tried to still the wind as if he had to control it to fly, but he'd always found the warm summer currents less cooperative than their winter counterparts, and he gave up.

Joyce showed him the woven basket where the clothespins went and they began to take down the dry laundry.

Jack waited patiently for the question that came when he was pulling Merida's dress off the line.

“That blonde girl is the Lost Princess.”

He waved away a bed sheet that was trying to envelop him. “She doesn't know, so don't tell her. Please,” he added.

“So she also doesn't know that you—”

“She doesn't,” Jack repeated quickly, unable to bear the thought of hearing the rest of the question.

Joyce folded the trousers she'd freed from the pins and looked at Jack with the same stern expression she used with Jamie when he got up to mischief.

Whenever she stared at him like that it made him regret confessing to her what had happened eighteen years ago. At the time she was about the same age as Jack, and perhaps that was the reason why he had confided in her, that night made darker by a violent snowstorm.

Jack had been on his way to his exile — he wouldn't discover a way around the spell until a few years later — and had stopped in Hawthorne to rest. Joyce had welcomed him back into her home, after months without seeing each other, and after seeing her eyes full of sincere apprehension, Jack had given up.

He'd told her everything. If Joyce had despised Jack after hearing his story, she hadn't shown it. In fact, she hadn't said anything at all, but she'd dried his tears and invited him to stay over for the night.

The next morning, when the storm had passed, leaving behind a cold blanket and a white sky, Jack had promised himself he'd never let anyone see him in that state again. Instead he would find the princess and solve his problems.

“Who are the other kids?” Joyce asked. And there was the random question technique again.

Jack felt compelled to inform her of Merida and Hiccup's true identities. After all, Joyce had the right to know who owned the pants she'd just washed.

Her stern motherly face faded into real amazement when he answered her. “Are you bringing all the Heirs with you?”

“Hey, that wasn't my plan,” Jack defended himself. “Hiccup and Merida just… happened.” He glared at the windswept clouds. “Someone upstairs must be having a nice fat laugh.”

Joyce adjusted her hair bun. “And what do those two know?”

“Merida knows as much as Rapunzel, but I told Hiccup that she's the princess. That's all,” he admitted.

“Don't you think they have the right to know?” Joyce said, frowning at him.

Jack carefully folded a pair of Jamie's socks to give himself an excuse not to look at her. “I'll tell them. At the festival.”

“You mean right at the end?” said Joyce reproachfully.

“Telling them now would ruin everything,” Jack said. “They'd never want to see me again. I'd rather have it happen at the end of the journey, when Rapunzel is in her real home.”

Little lines of worry formed at the corners of Joyce's mouth. “You seem to get along well. To be honest, you look different than usual, Jack. Less... sad.”

He didn't want to admit that he knew Joyce was right. That he himself had slowly noticed.

He couldn't admit it, because that would have meant acknowledging that the end of the journey would have been more painful.

Joyce sighed. “Oh, everything's going to be alright.”

She reached out, perhaps to stroke his head or cheek, but he pulled away and picked up the heavy basket of clean laundry. “Let's go back inside.”

He couldn't afford to pretend that Joyce was his mother. Partly because he'd known her since she was a young girl, and it would have felt strange, partly because he thought he would be a terrible son.

It hurt anyway.

He just hoped it hurt him more than her.

Joyce followed him across the courtyard, apparently with the intention of telling him something, but she stopped to look in the direction of the house. “What's going on over there?”

Jack followed her gaze. The front door was open, leaving free passage for people coming and going. Almost everyone was carrying something.

They quickened their pace, thinking above all of the children, made their way inside and found themselves faced with a curious scene.

Jamie and Sophie were still sitting in the kitchen, in front of the table where people were stopping to say a few words, leave what they were bringing, and then leave. They reminded Jack of adoring subjects lining up to pay homage to a king.

Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida watched the procession from the sidelines, somewhere between amusement and perplexity.

“What are all these people doing here?” he asked them as Joyce went to investigate the children. People usually steered clear of the Bennett farm, to avoid running into him during his visits.

A woman placed two fruit baskets on the table before leaving happily.

“Old Steve must have been telling people that Jamie helped solve the mystery of the Curse,” Merida said. She jerked her chin at the table. “And now they're coming to thank him.”

Jack looked at Jamie, who was having a bit of trouble juggling shy, awkward smiles at visitors and answering his mother's questions.

Meanwhile, Jack glimpsed Claude and Caleb, the twin sons of the general shop owner, dropping off a box of new candles.

He noticed that someone was missing. “Where's Toothless?”

Hiccup pointed to the bedroom door. “I had him hide as soon as we saw the procession of people coming. I doubt they'd tolerate a dragon.”

They waited for the line of pilgrims to Sacred Bennett Farm to end before locking themselves in, letting Toothless out of the bedroom, and breathing a sigh of relief. Jack helped Hiccup put their clothes in the dragon's saddlebags, focusing on every detail around — the scent of laundry dried in the sun, Toothless's warm skin, the leather of the bags dented by years of harsh weather — so as not to think back to the conversation with Joyce.

When they were finally alone, the table was so full of goods it looked like a pile of presents for a royal wedding.

“I don't even know where we're going to put all these things,” Joyce commented, holding up a bizarre hat with multicolored feathers, which Sophie insisted on wearing even though it was way too big for her.

Jamie pointed to a bag of dried fruit. “We can take some to the Dewel Woods, as an offering to the White Spirit!” he suggested.

“Is this White Spirit a local legend?” Rapunzel asked, curious.

“Something like that,” Joyce replied, sitting down. She picked Sophie up in her arms. “I was told it by—”

“It's the story of the spirit that wanders through the woods,” Jamie interrupted with an air of secrecy. “A pale phantom hunted by Anim to take him with the other souls beyond the Gate of the Night.”

Jack sat down on an empty corner of the table. “I don't remember this story.”

“It's just a myth,” Joyce said firmly. “I should have thought about Jamie's unstoppable imagination before I told him,” she sighed.

Hiccup became serious all of a sudden. “A pale white spirit, you said?”

He looked at Jack.

“I know what you're thinking, but it's just a coincidence,” Joyce said, guessing his reasoning.

“Didn't you find Jack right in the Dewel Woods?” Hiccup insisted.

“It's just a legend,” she repeated, a bit exasperated.

“All legends start from a fact,” Merida said. She made a face. “According to my mother.”

Rapunzel nodded. “And the last time we dismissed a story, we found ourselves running from a giant murderous talking toad.”

Jack didn't know what to think. He would never have made that connection by himself, but now that he'd heard the others' opinions, he was starting to have doubts. After all, one question he had never been able to answer was how he had ended up in that lake.

Jack's same doubt had darkened Joyce's face, and she glanced at Sophie in her arms. The little girl slept blissfully. “Jamie, could you go and weed the garden?”

“But I want to hear the story,” he gasped in protest.

“You've heard it a bunch of times before,” Joyce said. “But if you do me this favor we might eat honey sweets tonight.”

Indeed, there were enough ingredients on the table for a feast. Jamie didn't have to be told twice and took off, faster than a dragon in flight.

Whoever wasn't already seated took a chair. Joyce opened her mouth and hesitated before giving them an explanation. “I still believe this is just a fairytale. I hope it doesn't give you any dangerous ideas.”

“Please,” Jack begged. “It might be the first clue to my past in eighteen years.”

He didn't miss the sideways glance Hiccup gave him (Jack had always been intentionally vague about the exact amount of years he'd lived after his memory loss), but his urge to hear the story was too pressing to make him care.

Joyce sighed again. “This story was told to me by my mother, who heard it from my grandmother,” she said. “It's about two children, brother and sister, who used to play in the Dewel Woods, where adults didn't dare set foot, except during the propitiatory ceremonies for the change of seasons.

“One day they lost track of time while spending one of their usual afternoons playing, and night came. From the shadows emerged the Darkness Monster, who wanted to drag them into his home in the bowels of the world, to steal their souls.”

Nobody in the room said a word so as not to interrupt the story. Jack caught a glimpse of Rapunzel chewing on her nail.

“The brother knew nothing about magic, but he had the foresight to pick up a curved branch and knock the monster off balance, giving his sister time to escape,” Joyce continued.

Jack. still sitting on the table, felt his back stiffen, tense as a lute string. He felt light-headed, perhaps because every now and then he forgot to breathe.

He knew everyone was staring at his staff. The same staff that the Witch said she'd found ‘in a village in Corona’.

“And the brother?” Merida asked in a small voice.

“He turned to follow his sister, but the Darkness Monster attacked him from behind, managing to take his soul,” Joyce said, apparently struggling to keep her tone neutral. “Before he left with it, however, the gods intervened, snatched the soul from his hands and expelled him from the Dewel Woods forever. Since that day the brother's soul remained wandering in the form of a ghost, defending the forest.”

There was an icy silence for a few moments. Hiccup finally asked, “That's how it ends?”

Joyce checked again to make sure Sophie was asleep. “There's a part I never told the children,” she said. “The mother, when she learned of the end of her son, couldn't find peace for her loss. She went alone to the Cave of Anim, to implore the god of souls to give her back her son's, lost too soon.”

“But…?”

“She prayed until the end of her days, without getting what she hoped for,” Joyce concluded, a little abruptly. “Well, as you've heard, it's a fanciful legend, probably born from a loss that occurred many years ago.”

The more pessimistic and skeptical part of Jack wanted to agree, to add that it made sense; two children play alone in the woods, evening comes, they get lost and one is killed by a wild animal or something. And the Darkness Monster... it sounded a lot like a metaphor for the night.

Yet, even if Jack's mind, exhausted, consumed by almost two decades of ruinously collapsed hopes, clung to his reassuring common sense... even if the sense of duty, combined with guilt, pressed to impose itself on everything else, and have him focus on their destination... Jack felt, for the first time, that he had precious information. He'd heard of the Cave of Anim: it was located to the north, near the coast, a few days' journey away.

“It's a strange story,” Merida agreed, “but you have to admit there are a lot of elements that are similar to Jack's.”

She looked at him. Only then did he realize that he had jumped up, clutching his staff. The staff that had perhaps saved a life once.

He felt that the truth was there, at his fingertips. The thought of first finishing the journey to Amberray paled in comparison to the hope of finally discovering who he was and what had happened to him. The mark on his chest would finally have an explanation.

He met the others' sympathetic looks. “I'm sorry, I…” The words died in his throat.

“Don't worry, Jack,” Rapunzel reassured him. “A detour won't stop us from going to the festival. Right?”

Hiccup tapped his chin, absorbed in calculations that moved his lips without uttering words. “We'll get to Amberray just in time if we hurry, but we can make it. If we leave now…”

“Wait,” Jack exhaled. “We? I was thinking... I mean, I was thinking of going alone. We don't have much time.”

Merida shook her head. “We started this journey together, and obviously we'll finish it together, you dummy.”

Jack blinked. He stared at them in turn. “You guys are crazy.”

Merida gave him a crooked smile as she stood up putting her bow on her shoulder, followed by Hiccup and Rapunzel. “And you're only realizing it now?”

Chapter Text

A burning smell. The taste of bile on her tongue. The howling of the wind in her ears. Mud slowed Merida and covered her arms. She was in the swamps, she was alone, but she was armed.

The monsters attacked her from every direction, barely giving her time to breathe, while she shot arrows with smooth speed. She hit them in their yellow eyes, the only light coming from their shadowy bodies, and they crashed to the ground in a tangle of membranous wings and tails whipping the air.

When she thought she got rid of all the monsters, Merida ran, struggling through the mushy, wet soil of the swamp. With each step, foul fumes filled her nose with the stench of rotten eggs and blood.

Merida tripped over a root hidden in the mud and rolled into a thicket of brambles. The thorns tore her clothes and scratched her face. She stood up quickly, even if it hurt her hands, and realized that she had lost her bow, devoured by the mud.

A hiss made her turn back, finding herself face to face with one of the monsters. Large, golden, pupil-less eyes were staring at her. Like in a cruel joke, she was looking at a Toothless made of shadow and fear.

Merida pulled the dagger from her boot. She had no choice.

She had no choice, she repeated to herself as the monster lunged at her. She had no choice, she shouted to the wind as she raised the arm with which she brandished the dagger. The monster flickered in the dim light of the swamp the moment the blade struck it.

But it wasn't a monster.

It was Toothless, staring at her with one lifeless green eye, his body slumped heavily on its side, as if a single thought was trapped in his iris.

Why?

She wasn't sure she knew the answer anymore.

“Merida? Merida, wake up.”

She opened her eyes, blinded by the light of day. She saw Toothless's eyes again, and that was when she got really scared.

“No—get away from me,” she mumbled, struggling. “I didn't mean to do this. I didn't mean to! I…”

She felt herself losing her balance, and slid slightly to the side from where she was sitting. Toothless grabbed her arm with his… hands?

“Shhht, it's okay.”

Merida blinked several times, and each time the image in front of her took on more detail. She wasn't looking at Toothless's green eyes, but at Rapunzel's, who was sitting in front with her back turned to look at Merida. She was riding with her and Hiccup, as she had been for the past few days. 

The clean mountain air washed away the deadly smell of the nightmare, clearing Merida's mind and allowing her to focus on the rippling landscape below them.

Way below them. She had almost fallen.

Everyone was staring at her in concern, including Jack who was flying next to them, so Merida felt compelled to explain.

“I'm fine, I was… I was just dreaming,” she stammered, carefully adjusting herself in the saddle. She felt ashamed to have mistaken her friend for a dragon, so she said nothing more.

The others exchanged a puzzled look, but out of sensitivity for her, they went back to chatting as if nothing had happened. Merida was grateful.

She knew all too well what the dream meant, but it didn't comfort her at all. It was a repetition of what had happened a few days before, when she and Jack had been attacked by monsters while searching for Rapunzel and Hiccup in the Corona Swamps, just taken to the extreme to the point of becoming metaphorical.

That time the shadows hadn't looked like stallions, but like dragons, and not just any dragons, they had been all Night Furies. Merida had savored the sickening feeling of taking down dozens of versions of Toothless. Each monster she'd hit had let out a terrible wail, and Merida's treacherous mind had associated them all with Toothless, who was with them, so much so that she'd feared every single time she had hurt him by mistake.

The effect had been so strong it had made her sick, when all the monsters had been defeated. Jack had held her hair, while she was doubled over vomiting her soul into the mud of the swamp, and he hadn't commented. He had given her several pitying looks, though.

Eventually, even while exhausted, shaking, and dirty to her toes, Merida had had enough clarity to realize that this was the first time she had ever felt guilty for defending herself from an attack. And she hated it.

She'd had a taste of it with the trolls, when she had slightly injured one. At the time she had been too caught up in the situation to realize it, but thinking about it now, it hadn't been nice, seeing the panic in the little eyes of the trolls who had rushed to Alberta. It had made her feel wrong in a way she hadn't understood at the time.

Merida suspected where it all came from: the legend of Sylvanir.

It seemed like a century had passed since they'd talked about it, but it had evidently taken root in her subconscious. Questioning her beliefs had become a habit, and having met dragons and trolls, which she had always thought were evil monsters, had only worsened it. And so now she felt sick just thinking about hurting a magical creature.

She had once mentioned this change of mentality to Hiccup, who had replied ‘it's up to you to decide who to use it against’, referring to her bow. Well, apparently what Merida had decided was to worry a little too much.

Thinking about it was doing nothing but putting her in a bad mood, so she concentrated on the landscape they were flying over. The day before they had already left the flat planes of the central part of the region, to explore the mountainous area. There the morning temperature was less forgiving, also influenced by a sky completely obscured by pale gray clouds, and gusts of cold air whistled in their ears.

Being the only one with her eyes firmly fixed on the ground, Merida was the first to notice the town.

Silverwick was a gem of pale roofs nestled between the peaks of the Diadem, the small mountain range that stood to protect Corona from the cold winds of the north. Its streets wound up and down with stone steps, adapting to the morphology of the environment. A large building still under construction — a castle or a temple — was perched on a rise, watching over the town like a bird ready to take flight.

Maybe she was still groggy from the dream, but Merida thought she heard a tinkling tune drifting through the air.

“We've made it,” she told the others, who leaned over to look down as well.

Hiccup patted Toothless's side affectionately. “From Hawthorne to Silverwick in four days. Not bad.”

Rapunzel clawed at his shoulder and gasped, her eyes fixed on the horizon. “Is that what I think it is?”

Merida hadn't noticed at first, but beyond the town and the mountains, a gray-blue line could be seen, rippled and dark from the bad weather. She had seen the sea a few times before, on the occasions when she had accompanied her parents on visits to the Cinder Woods, which overlooked steep white cliffs on the western side, but she had to admit that it was still impressive, especially in flight.

Hiccup nodded. “The Archipelago Sea. Berk is that way.”

“Does anyone know where the Cave of Anim is?” Merida asked, eager to get down and stretch her legs, numb from the long journey.

“It should be somewhere in these mountains,” Jack replied, “and not too far from the town, since it's a famous place of worship.”

They then flew from one peak of the Diadem to the other, passing some impressive overhangs that opened between the steep peaks, sharpening their eyes. They checked every opening in the rock they could find, but none matched Jack's description: a large cave that served as a natural shrine honoring the dead.

“It must be more hidden than expected,” he said after yet another failed attempt.

“We could ask around town,” Rapunzel suggested. She pointed to the building under construction. “Back there looks like a good place to land.”

Toothless approached the town around one of the peaks, reached the spot she had indicated, and flapped his wings to slow down.

Merida slid off the saddle as soon as the dragon's legs touched the ground, nearly getting a slap in the face from his wings. She stretched her aching arms and yawned. Freed from their weight, Toothless shook his back and sat down heavily.

They had landed at the back of the building, which from up close was an empty shell of bare walls without a roof. There were no workers, so it was the perfect place to leave Toothless alone.

Hiccup turned the mechanism of his prosthetic foot to walk. “Well, let's go see what the locals have to say about the cave.”

“And get breakfast,” Merida added, walking with the others. “I'm starving.”

“When are you ever not starving?”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

They were about to turn the corner of the building, heading to the town, but a person blocked their path: a girl with beads in her curly hair accompanied by a large white dog.

“Hi!” she said, scaring them all to death. She showed them a basket of sandwiches that smelled wonderful. “I've heard someone's hungry.”

Merida glanced back at where Toothless was sitting. The dragon raised his head and slammed his tail on the ground, nervous.

Merida looked back at the girl, mentally preparing to panic and run away quickly, but then she saw the blue blindfold covering her eyes. So that was why she wasn't scared.

“And you're…?” Jack asked.

“Oh, right, I'm Agatha,” the girl said. She nodded to the dog she was holding by a sort of rigid harness. “And this is Pearl. We go around town every morning selling sandwiches. Do you want one? My grandma puts a delicious secret sauce in them.”

Hiccup had already grabbed the money pouch before Merida could beg him, and handed Agatha two coins. “Five sandwiches, please.”

“You're not from around here,” the girl commented as she handed out the food. “You have different accents. Are you traveling together? Are you tourists?”

What a curious girl, Merida thought. “Something like that.” She accepted her sandwich and then noticed the colored ribbons that adorned Agatha's wrists, from which hung small silver bells. An epiphany struck her. “Those bells are very cute, does everyone here wear them?”

She nodded. “That's how the wind makes our souls play music for the gods.”

“I see.”

She tilted her head. “Speaking of sounds, one of you has an iron leg, right?”

Hiccup raised his hand. Then he lowered it. “That would be me,” he said awkwardly. “Nice catch.”

“I'm blind, not deaf,” Agatha replied. Two dimples framed her smile.

Rapunzel stood up after giving Pearl a good scratch on the head, laughing when she saw the dog already aiming for her sandwich. “Hey, Agatha, could you give us directions to a place we're looking for?”

“Let's hear it.”

“The Cave of Anim,” Jack said. “Do you know where the entrance is?”

“Oooh, you're on a pilgrimage,” she commented. “The entrance is along the path to Rich Peak, past the inn. The road is wide enough for two carts, you can't miss it.”

“Great, thanks,” Jack said, ready to go.

“But you can't go there now,” Agatha stopped him.

“Why not?”

Her dark eyebrows arched sadly. Pearl rested her muzzle on her foot. “Last month a landslide blocked the entrance, and since then no one's been able to go in. That's why they're building the temple here,” she explained. “It's usually busy with workers, but today's their day off.”

Jack kicked a small rock away, which frosted over as soon as it hit his foot. “Of course, it had to happen now,” he snapped irritably.

“Maybe we'll find information about your family in town,” Merida whispered, sorry for his disappointment. She could only imagine how seeing the best chance of learning about his past crumble like that could feel.

Agatha turned her head from one to the other. "Is this very important to you?"

“It is,” Rapunzel said simply.

“Mmmh.”

Pearl raised her head and lazily wagged her tail. Agatha put her hand to her mouth, making her bells tinkle, and leaned toward them conspiratorially. “Don't tell anyone I told you, but I once heard of a second entrance to the cave.”

Hiccup frowned. “But it's not being used because…?”

“My grandpa said it was in the old mines nearby, which were abandoned before I was even born,” the girl said. She paused for effect. Pearl pricked up her ears. “Apparently they were cursed.”

Merida was seriously tempted to run and bang her head on the temple walls. Of course the old mines were cursed, never once did they have to cross the Valley of Eternal Peace or the River of a Thousand Laughters.

“Cursed in what way?” Rapunzel asked, more optimistically. “We got lucky last time. Remember Hawthorne?”

Agatha adjusted the basket of sandwiches against her side. “The miners said they were haunted.”

“By what?”

She giggled. “By the spirits of the dead, obviously!”

Hiccup made a funny face. “Obviously. Well, thanks for the breakfast… and the disturbing information, Agatha.”

She flashed them another bright smile. “It was a pleasure. Call for me if you're still hungry, when you get back!”

With that, she sauntered off, one hand holding the basket, the other the handle of Pearl's harness. Merida had time to catch a glimpse of the decorative knots that tied the girl's bandage behind her head, where it was adorned with more bells.

They gave one of the newly purchased sandwiches to Toothless and ate heartily, considering their next move.

“I think we'd better check the collapsed entrance,” Merida said with her mouth full. “Maybe we can use magic to free it.”

“Let's give it a try,” Jack agreed, though he looked dubious.

They finished breakfast and followed Agatha's directions towards the road she had mentioned, after asking Toothless to follow them, keeping away from the town center. Crossing Silverwick in their search for the inn (hoping there weren't dozens of them) they came across several inhabitants, all with ribbons on their wrists, who greeted them cordially as if they knew them.

Merida thought that compared to the population of Grayfir, notoriously always too busy or irritated for courtesies between strangers, people here were more relaxed.

However, she didn't lower her guard, remembering how many problems they had found in the towns they had visited, compared to the last few days in which they had purposely avoided towns and their distractions.

The houses of Silverwick had facades frescoed in bright colors like the ribbons worn by the inhabitants, and the entrance to the Broken Pickaxe inn had one of the most beautiful, with its detailed depiction of a great waterfall. The sign where the road climbed toward Rich Peak was unmistakable: ‘to the Cave of Anim’.

They left the town and its melody of bells behind and returned to the solitude of the mountain paths, where they reunited with Toothless. They ignored the written directions to the old mines and continued on, accompanied by the sound of the wind crackling in their ears and the call of a hawk.

“What a disaster,” Rapunzel said as they stopped in front of what must once have been the entrance to the cave.

Part of the mountain had collapsed, sending down boulders as large as a castle. The stone slabs on the road to the place of worship had cracked under the weight of the landslide.

Jack made a desperate attempt to create ice pillars that would push the rock like battering rams, but they broke against the force of nature. For a while, they all stood in silence, acknowledging the conclusion they'd been hoping against until the very end.

“Maybe a Starfolk with very powerful Ohl or Tere magic could clear the entrance,” Jack speculated.

“Or many Starfolks at once,” Rapunzel added thoughtfully.

“I guess so.” Jack shrugged. “Okay, let's find this side entrance. And hope we don't waste any time.”

They returned to the last sign they found, where the wide path branched off along the side of the mountain. The closer they got to the old mines, the more the path was blocked by the environment that was slowly taking back its territory; berry bushes sometimes hid the path and grass had grown back in the ruts made by carts.

At one point Rapunzel quickened her pace to walk alongside Merida. “I was thinking about something,” she said without taking her eyes off the rough ground so as not to trip. “The blocked entrance…”

“I know, I know,” Merida huffed, partly from the effort and partly from exasperation. “I'll have it fixed.”

Rapunzel looked relieved. “Calling a team of Starfolks won't be easy, but I'm sure they'd come running if a queen asked them.”

“Maybe,” Merida muttered.

Mentally adding Rapunzel's request to her list, she realized it was growing in a way that made shivers run on the back of her neck. Children's labor, the Starfolks' discrimination, school, fixed prices, and now the upkeep of the cave… The pile of work to take care of was becoming worrying, especially since Merida had started the journey early just to avoid having more duties imposed on her.

She wasn't expecting to be twiddling her thumbs all day, but it seemed that the closer the day of the Duel got, the more complicated business she would have to take care of as queen.

What was she getting herself into?

Rapunzel took her blank expression as fear, because she laced her fingers through Merida's and gave her a mindful look. “Are you still thinking about the nightmare from earlier?” she asked softly, so as not to be heard by the boys.

Merida blinked. “Aye,” she said. “For a second I couldn't distinguish it from reality.”

Rapunzel grew thoughtful, if not worried. “You know, I also…”

“Here are the mines,” Hiccup called out, interrupting her.

They had arrived in front of a tunnel that opened into the mountain, from which rusty rails stuck out like a long tongue of iron. The ivy was slowly eating away at the entrance, growing on the sides up to the boards that roughly blocked the access.

The interior was completely dark, and only the first few beams that supported the tunnel could be seen.

“Well, here we are,” Jack said, craning his neck to see better. “Ready to enter the dark, creepy hole?”

They exchanged a few nervous glances, but finally they pulled away the rotting wooden boards and walked carefully through the entrance, turning their backs on the light outside.

Sure enough, seeing a thing inside was impossible, and Merida was already longing for the town and its windswept streets. “I wouldn't mind seeing where I walk, you know.”

“I could sing to make my hair light up,” Rapunzel offered from somewhere behind her. “It worked pretty well in the swamps.”

“I'd rather not make too much noise,” Hiccup quickly stopped her.

Merida went to feel the rough rock walls. “Let's see if... Ah-ha!”

Her hand had met something cold, probably iron, and judging by the shape it must have been exactly the kind of support she was hoping for. By a rare stroke of luck, it was still holding a torch. “Toothless, can you hit this spot?”

“Don't overdo it,” she heard Hiccup advise the dragon.

There was a short hiss, then the tunnel was lit up for a moment by a white spark, and with a sound of flame and a little smoke, the torch ignited.

The plasma blast blew it off its support, but Merida was quick enough to catch it before it fell. “Much better.”

The light of the torch revealed a boring passage carved out of the rock, different from a normal cave only for the presence of more (empty) iron rings. The atmosphere was less dull due to the noises: a sort of low rumble produced by the mountain itself, accompanied by the whistling wind that filled the tunnel.

As they walked along the passage, these were joined by the dull echo of their footsteps and the clicking of Toothless's nails. Merida blamed her many dreams in which darkness was the protagonist, for the shiver she had to regularly repress.

“So these are the famous cursed mines,” Hiccup said after a while. Merida recognized an attempt to break through the surreal atmosphere of the place.

Jack clicked his tongue. “Just what we needed, to get a reminder of that. Really, a real blessing for the group's mood.”

And that was the irony Jack's self-defense system was based on. All that was missing was…

“Look on the bright side, if this place is haunted, the spirits can't touch us, right? Not like actual monsters, those would be a problem,” Rapunzel replied with desperate optimism. They all knew that trouble was always waiting for them around the corner.

Hiccup and Jack muttered a vague agreement, and then silence fell again.

The mine tunnel wound into the mountain in stretches that were sometimes straight, sometimes sharp turns, with the cart tracks dutifully following. In some places it was wide enough to fit two horse carts side by side, but in others it was so narrow Merida’s hand would tighten on the strap of her quiver until her fingers tingled. She focused on her own breath and sang the folk songs of Dunbroch in her head.

She was halfway through the ballad about Bror the Fetid’s quests when a white ghost with icy eyes suddenly appeared in front of her, dropping from the ceiling.

“What the—!”

Merida recognized Jack’s face half a second later, but the hand free from the torch had already shot forward in a fist, straight at his nose.

“Ow!”

“What in Ohl's name were you thinking?!” she protested.

Jack, who had fallen in front of her after getting hit, stood up and rubbed his nose. “You looked tense, I was just trying to distract you,” he said, his voice muffled by his hand.

Rapunzel had him lower it to check the state of his nose. “It doesn't look broken. Do you want me to use my hair on it?”

“No, no.” Jack glanced at Merida in a mix of regret and resignation. “I guess I deserved this one.”

They walked for at least four more eternities, until the tunnel widened into a larger room. The streaks in the rock walls sparkled as Merida's torch passed by, revealing what was left of the mineral deposit.

She looked around, eager to find the famous secret entrance. There were many side tunnels that split the path to choose from. "Any ideas?"

Rapunzel followed the direction Pascal was pointing his head to. “Let's check this room first.”

They spread out to look for clues as to where the entrance was hidden, their hands outstretched to press on the rock walls and their ears ready to pick up any telltale sounds.

Merida was examining a pickaxe with a broken handle in the hope it was some sort of key, when Jack's exclamation called them to attention.

“Hey, I think I found something.”

They followed the sound of his voice into one of the cave's openings, which curved before ending in a dead end.

But it wasn't just any dead end. Jack was standing in front of a slab of raw silver so large it completely blocked the passage.

Merida touched the material, fascinated by its streaks that looked like concentrated stars. She imagined that the bells of the people of Silverwick were made of it.

“They must have been really scared for abandoning a deposit that was still this rich,” Hiccup said doubtfully. “This thing must be worth a fortune.”

“I think the entrance to the Cave of Anim is behind it,” Jack said.

Merida knocked on the solid rock. “Here? Are you sure?”

Rapunzel spoke up for Jack, staring intently into the dead end. “I feel the same way, like this is a door.” She saw Merida's expression. “I can't explain it, it's like when you're in a room and you know there's someone else there with you, even if you can't see them. You feel they're there…”

“I trust you,” Merida said, “but what about our Mr. Rock here?”

“There could be a spell,” Jack said.

“Or maybe it's just a matter of force,” Hiccup suggested. “Silver isn't as hard as gold.”

They backed up the tunnel to give Toothless some room to maneuver, and avoid any unwanted shards. The dragon spat a plasma blast into the center of the slab.

Fiiii-BOOM!

It didn't move an inch, but the entire tunnel shook violently, a cloud of dust rose, and a fine rain of debris fell down from the ceiling.

The vibration took a while to stop.

“Let's… not… do that again,” Jack said in a funny voice, as if his teeth were still chattering together. At least, that was the case with Merida's.

“I agree,” Rapunzel yelped.

Hiccup, who had been holding on to a beam, let it go, swallowing hard. He didn't say anything but nodded, clearly stunned.

Jack snorted and stepped forward. He approached the wall again, toward which he tentatively reached out.

And as soon as his fingers brushed the silver, the slate vanished like smoke in the wind.

“Note to self,” Hiccup whispered. “A plasma shot is not the first attempt to make.”

Merida crossed her arms, feeling personally offended by the rock. “Nothing happened when I touched it.”

For a moment she mentally advanced the hypothesis that the door only opened to those who deserved it, and questioned her conscience.

She wasn't even remotely an innocent girl, on the contrary. For one thing, she had never been an obedient daughter, or a good Lady. She had run away from home, she'd threatened old ladies (not that the Witch was more harmless than she was, but that was beside the point), she had lied, fought and argued.

Merida wasn't one to fret over the thought of other people's judgment, but the idea that the magical door might somehow be judging her life made her nervous.

“I have an idea,” Rapunzel said. She touched the door and got the same result as Jack. And it made Merida even more anxious. “I think it can sense our magic!” she said as if she found it funny. With a step that was more of a leap, she crossed to the other side.

Hiccup studied the contours of the door for a few moments, deep in thought. “Maybe if one of you keeps touching it, the two of us can get in, too.”

Merida quickly took a step back. “I'm not going there.”

Hiccup shrugged. “I guess Toothless and I will try first.”

Merida could do nothing but watch as the two slowly walked to the door, Jack watching with his hand still raised. Hiccup stretched out his left leg in a longer stride than the others, and crossed the entrance with a little jolt. Toothless followed calmly, almost bored.

“Are you still in one piece?” Merida asked, forcing herself not to turn and run to the exit of the mines.

Hiccup checked his arms. “It looks like it.”

“Merida, it's your turn!” Rapunzel urged.

A lump in her throat made her voice hoarse. “I can't,” she said. She could feel her feet, heavy as boulders, refusing to move. “I'm scared.”

The admission surprised her most. Her mother, who always insisted that a Lady shouldn't show fear, wouldn't have approved.

Merida was ashamed of how pathetic she sounded, but saying it out loud made her heart feel lighter.

“Scared of what?” Rapunzel asked, genuinely confused.

To answer, Merida fought the lump that seemed to choke her words. “That the spell will backfire on me. That the door won't let me pass. We're still in a place under the direct domain of the gods.”

Rapunzel seemed to have understood less than before, but Hiccup's lips tightened in pity. “I doubt the door has a brain.” He held out his hand to Merida in a silent invitation. “You don't think we have a clean record, do you?”

“We broke out of prison not even a week ago,” Jack reminded her, nodding.

Merida looked at them one by one, and somehow found in their eyes the strength to close hers, grab Hiccup's hand, and push herself forward.

She didn't feel anything. She didn't get smitten by lightning. There were no sounds of explosions, earthquakes, or any other catastrophes. Nothing happened at all, in fact.

Merida opened one eye at a time, but the only vision that awaited her was the continuation of the tunnel, the silver door that had reappeared behind her, and her friends who were watching her expectantly.

She sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

Even though it wasn't nearly enough to express how she truly felt, for now she made do.

They resumed their exploration of the tunnel with even more caution, now that they were officially in uncharted territory, especially given the obvious presence of magic. The flame of the torch revealed walls much smoother than before, as if a deity had pressed a finger into the mountain, melting the rock at their touch.

Luckily there must have been an opening on the other side of the passage, because after the door had closed they felt no lack of air. However, there was way more humidity, which added the sounds of water to the background noise that accompanied them.

Merida wondered how long it had been since the last time footsteps had sounded in the tunnel. They were probably the first people to venture down there in fifty years.

At one point, when Merida had lost track of time for a while, she saw something on the walls. At first she thought that the constant vigilance was causing her to hallucinate. However, upon closer inspection, she realized that she had actually seen what she thought: drawings.

“Look.”

The walls were decorated with an intricate pattern carved directly into the rock with unnatural precision. The figures were simple, almost childlike, but Merida recognized the profile of the Diadem, crossed by wavy lines that must have represented the wind. There were many depictions of daily life; the people looked alike, and they all had the same bells hanging from their wrists.

The drawings left a free circle around a large mountain, inside which a religious scene had been carved. Other people were gathered around strange pointed structures inside the mountain, on which the most famous constellations stood out, made larger to give them importance. One of these figures had a star on their heart.

They stopped to contemplate the new discovery in silence, each experiencing the emotion of the moment in their own way.

Merida couldn't know who had made them, yet she felt a bizarre and intense feeling of connection, in front of the carvings. She traced the drawing of the person with the star on their chest with the tip of her finger.

“Do you think the Starfolks made this?” she asked. Her voice came out strange. She blamed the echo of the tunnel.

“I think so,” Rapunzel replied in a whisper.

Hiccup mechanically stroked Toothless's head. “I'm starting to think that a clash with the locals was what drove the miners out of this place. They must have been attacked.”

“They were digging near a sacred site,” Jack replied. He pointed to the crowd surrounding the protagonist of the scene with their hands raised at the sky. “I recognize this pose. It's a ceremony. The Starfolks used the cave for magic rituals.”

Hiccup stared at him in surprise.

Jack cleared his throat. “Come on, we're wasting our time here.”

Ahead, the tunnel curved sharply, descending in steps worn by the passage of past visitors. The thought of being so deep in the earth made Merida's heart beat like a ceremonial drum.

When the steps ended and her boot hit the bottom, the splashing sound of her foot sinking into water made her jump. Apparently the area was partially flooded.

They waded through ankle-deep water until they found a sort of path of flat rocks to stand on. The dripping was getting louder. Rapunzel sneezed a couple of times.

Suddenly the tunnel opened into a huge cavern, as big as the courtyard of Grayfir Castle. The ceiling was so high it felt like being outdoors, but one detail in particular contributed to the idea.

They entered the Cave of Anim on tiptoe, under a starry sky indoors.

Chapter Text

It was no wonder the cave had become a place of worship, where earthly and divine life mingled until it was unclear where one ended and the other began.

Stalactites descended from above, merging with stalagmites like pillars supporting the natural temple, but the real protagonist was the glow diffused by the hundreds of crystals embedded in the ceiling, which reflected on the water that flooded the cave. It was like walking on the sky.

The path of flat boulders continued to the center of the room, where a larger rock platform supported an altar surrounded by crystals as tall as a person.

Merida barely managed to hold Rapunzel, before she stumbled backwards while admiring the ceiling. “Are those crystals magic too?”

“That's mirror-quartz,” Jack said, nodding. “They say Anim enchanted it during the birth of the kingdom so that it reflects the soul of those who look at it.”

“Have you seen it before?” Rapunzel asked curiously.

“I heard there's a room full of it in Amberray Castle,” Jack replied, then clenched his jaw as if he'd said something he already regretted.

They let Jack's umpteenth weirdness slide and headed for the altar: a pedestal of rough silver that still held the scepter and the ceremonial book, decorated with thick cobwebs.

The mirror-quartz formations rose from the rock almost white and ended in jagged points as clear as glass. Seeing them up close, Merida noticed the multicolored reflections enclosed between their facets, which shifted hues depending on the angle from which she looked at them.

Hiccup turned to Jack. “What's the plan? I mean, according to the legend Joyce told us, the mother in the story came here, but how do we know who she really was?”

“I have an idea,” he said. “I just hope it's not a total failure like usual.”

He wet his lips and took a deep breath. Merida looked at Rapunzel, who held up her hands as if to say she didn't know what was about to happen either.

Jack raised his head up at the starry ceiling, a pleading note on his face that betrayed the existence of failed past attempts.

“Listen up!” he shouted into the vastness of the cave. His voice echoed distorted by the stalactites and stalagmites. “Anim, Manni, or whoever cares to hear me! I need to know if…” He hesitated. “If my mother was really here. I've been looking for answers for years, so you owe me an explanation! At least this time!”

He continued his speech for a while, his tone growing more menacing, but when his voice broke and its echoes died in the rock, there was silence again. Jack was still staring unblinking at the ceiling, his eyes slightly red from shouting — probably — and his fists clenched.

Merida put a hand on his shoulder, unable to find the right words. “I'm sorry,” was all she could say.

Jack finally lowered his head and turned away from them. “I don't know what I was expecting.”

She thought back to the legend. “Joyce said the woman stayed here until the end,” she said, feeling hopeful. “If she moved to Silverwick, maybe we can find some information in a resident register or something like that.”

“Maybe, but it wouldn't be necessary if—” he growled, looking at the crystals around them in frustration. “If only those damned gods were more helpful!”

He punched the mirror-quartz as if it was the cause of his problems. Hitting the hard crystal must have hurt, but Jack didn’t seem to care about his scratched knuckles and just stared at the thin layer of frost that his fist had released.

When the natural temperature of the cave melted the ice, he let out a cry of surprise.

If he hadn’t, Merida would have thought she was dreaming.

The inside of the quartz had lit up with shapes and colors, as if the reflections had come to life: even if blurry and faint, the faces of different people followed one another in the facets. Their smiles stood out in the visions and were portrayed in happy moments, like dancing, laughing, or hugging so tight it was hard to tell which arms belonged to whom.

Jack was watching them, petrified. When the mirror-quartz revealed a woman with short brown hair and a little girl ice skating, he let out a strangled breath. He scratched the crystal, trying to grasp at the two figures, but the reflections had already vanished quickly as they'd appeared. Jack remained still with his hands still clinging to the quartz.

“Did you recognize them?” Rapunzel asked in a faint voice.

He nodded without turning around.

Partly because she wanted to leave him alone, partly because she'd had an intuition, Merida turned to another crystal and tried to touch it. A series of people, some familiar, some not, followed one another before her eyes.

Hiccup came up beside her. “Your relatives?”

“Aye,” Merida said, staring at the faded image of her maternal grandparents. They looked younger than she remembered.

Her attention was caught by a duo that appeared several people later: a big-bellied man rolling up his sleeves standing on what seemed like a boat, together with a girl who was wearing a quiver. He was holding nets and looked like he was showing her something.

Merida didn't miss the embroidered crest on the girl's skirt. She looked down at her own clothes, and there it was, the tree symbol.

The girl had a bob of brown hair and was beaming at the man, who had a web of laugh lines around his eyes. Merida wished she could have been there to hear what they were saying.

Hiccup must have made the same connection, because he looked from the girl to Merida's dress. “Is that…?”

She nodded. “Sylvanir,” she said without hesitation, though her throat suddenly felt dry.

The girl looked so happy, so young, so normal. Any expectations, any considerations Merida had had before seemed insignificant, in front of that girl learning to fish with a father who would die soon. She looked like so many young women she had seen in Grayfir — like her.

“Do you think one day what is happening to us will become just a story too? A legend no one will be able to deny or confirm?” she asked half to Hiccup, half to the cave.

He continued to look at the vision of the two people from the past and their silent laughter. “I hope not, otherwise I'm sure the bards would sing of Hiccup Who Didn't Know When to Shut Up,” he joked.

Merida's mouth curved at the corners in a quick smile. She didn't really feel like laughing. “Do you want to try?” she asked him instead.

Hiccup didn't look eager, but he touched the crystal as she had.

His family counted several large, imposing people with tough faces, all traits they hadn't passed down to their descendant. In this case, red hair was present more than once. Hiccup squinted at the women with a frown between his eyebrows.

“What is it?” Merida asked him in a low voice.

“I can't…” He sighed. “I can't tell which one of them is my mother,” he said wistfully. 

Toothless sensed his mood and nuzzled his hand. Hiccup looked at him fondly and scratched him behind the ear.

Merida touched Hiccup's arm with her hand. He took it in his and gave it a squeeze, before letting go of the crystal.

Rapunzel, who had been standing aside, silently watching the scene, came closer, stretching out eager fingers toward the mirror-quartz. “My turn.”

Hiccup jumped. “Wait, Rapunzel—”

But she had already touched the crystal, which made generations of big, burly Berkians disappear and replace them with well-groomed people. Rapunzel stared at them with enchanted eyes.

“My family…” she whispered, touching the face of a well-dressed man. Merida noticed the shade of brown in his hair that matched Rapunzel's little short braid.

Hiccup looked tense, as if the mirror-quartz might eat their friend at any moment. “I think we're done here. Let's go back to Silverwick,” he said nervously. “Jack, is that okay with you?”

Jack quickly ran a hand over his eyes and finally stopped looking at the crystal. “Yeah... Yeah, let's go.”

They left the Cave of Anim with its mirror-quartz behind them and returned to the lonely dim light of the tunnels of the old mines, everyone silently reflecting on what they'd seen. 

Merida wondered for the first time, looking at Jack's back as they walked away, if digging into his past had been a good idea. Maybe it was just the heavy cold feeling the crystals had left in her heart that was speaking, but she was starting to fear that Jack might regret what they were doing.

Merida didn't tell him her doubts. She knew he would never accept the idea of ​​letting it go, not when he was so close to finally discovering something. And it wasn't certain that his past also hid an uncomfortable truth. Merida was becoming paranoid, that was all.

They retraced their steps to the magical silver door, which Jack held open for everyone as they walked past it — even though it was the second time she passed through, Merida couldn't help but shiver.

They turned back to the big mining room… and found themselves caught in an ambush.

“Enjoyed the tour?”

Merida had only met her once, but Astrid Hofferson's face was impossible to forget, after they had faced each other in combat at the Mad Squirrel Inn.

This time she wasn't alone, but accompanied by her friends: a big blond boy, a short dark-haired arrogant-looking lad, and a pair of indistinguishable blond twins. There were five of them in all, and they were blocking the exit, weapons drawn and grim faces.

“Astrid,” Hiccup only said, shocked.

Jack seemed to recover a little from what he had seen in the cave. “How did you catch up to us without flying?” he said, almost offended.

The chubby-cheeked boy opened his mouth, but Astrid elbowed him hard. “It's none of your business,” she said harshly.

Merida had the impression that her fellow Berkians were uncomfortable with this answer; some shifted their weight from one leg to the other, some gave Astrid a nervous look.

Merida only then realized their condition. They all looked disheveled to some degree, but there was something about Astrid's half-undone braid and her dirty boots. About the strange, intense, almost mad light in her gaze. The others seemed afraid of it.

Whatever way the five had found to reach them, it must have been extreme.

Hiccup looked at them one by one. “You look terrible, Astrid. As if a herd of yaks trampled you.”

“I wouldn't have said that to her face,” Rapunzel hissed.

Merida caught a glimpse of the slight tremor in Astrid's right hand, before she used it to raise her axe and point it at Hiccup. “I'm going to ask you one last time. Come with me, or I'll have to force you.”

“You know I can't,” he said. “I… There's something I have to do.”

“I won't let you stop the Duel of the Heirs, whether you plan to fight or not!” Astrid replied.

That wasn't the answer Merida was expecting. “Hiccup, what is she talking about? Stopping the Duel?” she asked, confused.

He looked at her uncomfortably. “That's not…” His eyes darted from Merida to Rapunzel to Jack, as if he didn't know who to turn to for help. “She got it wrong.”

Merida couldn't believe him. She wanted to, but she couldn't.

The black-haired boy chuckled. “Someone's got secrets, huh? That's to be expected from Fishbone Haddock.”

Hiccup looked more lost than ever.

That was a matter for later, but in the meantime Merida pulled an arrow from her quiver and prepared to shoot. “Let us go,” she ordered, mimicking the tone her mother used when she wanted something from Merida's father.

She called upon her years of lessons in battle strategy and thought quickly, knowing that Astrid's response would come in a split second, and judging by her grim face, it wasn't going to be something like ‘Of course, sorry for the inconvenience’.

They were outnumbered, considering that Toothless would have little room to fight properly, and in such an environment they couldn't count on his plasma blasts if they wanted to get out of the mines alive.

Merida needed a distraction, and she found it just in time. The annoying boy who had been teasing Hiccup was bouncing an object she recognized as a smoke bomb in the palm of his hand. She got an idea.

“Watch out for that,” she said out loud, “if an absolutely natural gust of wind knocked it off your hand, that'd be a big problem.”

Before he had time to react in any way, Merida's sneaky suggestion was answered, and a sudden, strong cold breeze swept across the room, deflecting the trajectory of the bomb. No one could catch it in time.

“Watch out!”

Merida threw the torch at them and sprinted to the left without even looking at the impending consequences, tugging at Hiccup to urge him to follow her. Thick, clear smoke was already filling the room, clouding the way.

“Gah! I can't see anything!”

“That was my foot!” 

“But the exit is on the other side!” Hiccup protested, shouting to be heard over the chaos of angry, disoriented voices echoing through the rock. At least he was following Merida, just as Jack and Rapunzel were running after them.

“The one we came from is,” Merida replied, stepping into a random tunnel, fleeing the smoke, “but there must be at least one more, in case of accidents… I hope!”

“You hope?”

The tunnel they entered wasn't very wide, and a few large abandoned carts were sitting on the rusty tracks for who knows how many years.

“Hiccup Haddock!” roared Astrid's furious voice, not too far away.

“She's completely crazy,” Jack said, shaking his head.

“Now you know why she scares me,” Hiccup said.

Merida jumped into the first cart and held out her hand to Rapunzel.

“We don't even know where the tracks go,” she said uncertainly.

“We don't have much choice,” Merida urged. “Get on!”

Rapunzel made sure Pascal was still on her shoulder, glanced behind her, and climbed into the cart. Hiccup followed close behind, and together they managed to convince Toothless to join them.

Merida leaned over the edge and spotted Jack. “Oi, hurry up, there's still room,” she urged. The increasing sound of hurried footsteps suggested an immediate departure was due.

“I'll stay behind to slow them down, then I'll fly over to you guys,” he offered.

Merida leaned over just enough to grab him by his cape and drag him toward the cart. “We're not splitting. Just get on!”

Jack finally gave in. With a wave of his staff, the tracks ahead of them glistened with ice, and Jack gave the cart a push, before jumping aboard with them in the little space left.

“Hold on tight,” he warned.

For a few crucial moments, it looked like the cart didn't have enough momentum to move forward, but soon the tunnel tilted slightly, and the sloping tracks allowed the cart to pick up speed with a chorus of protesting creaks.

They couldn't claim victory just yet, though. New voices joined the clatter of the tracks, and Merida turned in time to see Astrid and her friends squeezing into another cart as well.

“You think you're the only ones who can take the Mineral Convoy? You're wrong!” one of the twins shouted.

“It's Mining, you knucklehead!” his sister scolded.

“I'm sure it's—”

“Shut up!” Astrid barked. She shifted her grip on the axe, and with a well-placed blow of its handle against the wall, she gave the cart enough push to move. “They won't get far.”

The slope increased slightly but steadily, and the carts reached a considerable speed, while the light from the room they had just left grew increasingly distant. Merida tried to look into the darkness they were running toward, but she couldn't see anything distinguishable.

“Get down!” Jack shouted at one point.

Merida obeyed instinctively, but her haste and the jolts of the cart made her forehead hit the edge, and she saw stars. While her head throbbed painfully, something hissed above her.

When she straightened up again, she saw Rapunzel paling. “Are they shooting arrows at us? Why? We haven't done anything wrong!” she added to their pursuers.

Meanwhile, one of the twins was reloading a small crossbow and whistling. Merida hated those things; they required almost no skill and had a bad reputation for being weapons for assassins.

The boy aimed the crossbow at them, but before he could shoot, their cart crushed them all to one side, almost threatening to tip over: the tunnel had suddenly twisted into a sharp turn, hiding them from each other.

“How did they find us?” Merida asked Hiccup, practically screaming in his ears over the wind and the sound from the tracks.

“You think I know?” he said at the same volume.

“You're the one who knows Astrid!”

Hiccup shook his head, or at least Merida imagined it was a deliberate movement. “I have no idea. It's like they knew where we were going before even we did.”

“They must have used magic,” Jack said. “There's no other explanation.”

Hiccup's face darkened further. “Astrid would never do that. She—”

Wisssh! An arrow missed his face by an inch. Merida was so shocked she didn't even scream. Hiccup stared at her as if he couldn't believe what had just happened either.

“Idiot, not him!” Astrid's voice came back to haunt them, along with the rest of her gang.

Toothless didn't appreciate the attempt, and before anyone could stop him, he shot a plasma blast at the enemy cart. It didn't hit their pursuers, but it did cause a stalactite to explode in a shower of debris.

“No, stop!” Hiccup exclaimed. “You could bring the mountain down on us.”

Toothless snorted loudly through his nose and glared at Astrid and the others, who shrank under his menacing glare.

The tunnel Merida had randomly chosen led them into an even larger room than the previous one, which descended into a sort of cylinder with tracks running down its full height, probably to allow the miners to use the carts comfortably. The workers must have taken away everything that could be useful, and Merida thought fleetingly that the lack of any sign of human presence made the atmosphere surreal.

Looking ahead, she noticed the tracks would soon split into two paths. She pulled the string of her bow, waited for their cart to pass the intersection, and shot an arrow at what she assumed was the mechanism to change the direction of the tracks.

“What was that? What did you do?” Jack said.

“Our friends will take another route,” she replied. With a jolt and several curses, Astrid's cart veered onto the alternate route, but unfortunately Merida hadn't calculated two things: the second set of tracks ran parallel to the first for most of its length, and that the fact they were weighed down by a dragon on board allowed the Berkians to quickly catch up.

The result was that the two carts found themselves running side by side.

“Come. Here!” Astrid growled, holding out her hands to Hiccup, who fortunately was quick enough to avoid her grasp.

In response, Jack swung his staff at her, but it was caught by the annoying boy, who grinned. “Nice stick. Mind if I keep it?”

He yanked the staff toward himself to grab it, to Jack's panic. 

“Let go, it's—”

A quick movement from Rapunzel, something metallic coming down on the boy's head, a low, terrible clang, and he fell backwards, the grin still plastered on his face, albeit a little distorted.

Rapunzel grimaced funnily. “Sorry.”

Jack clutched the staff to his chest. “Thanks.”

With a sharp jolt, the double row of tracks separated, leaving the two groups glaring at each other from afar — well, mostly Astrid. Merida looked around for a solution to the stalemate, as much as the increasing speed and the dim light allowed, but it seemed that their fate was now entrusted to the mine tracks.

The carts passed some columns of stalagmites, then Merida and her friends prepared for the moment when they would get close to the Berkians again.

This time, before anyone attacked, Toothless leaned forward and growled so loudly Merida felt an instinctive shiver down her spine. The twins ducked, shrieking in unison, the blond lad almost fainted, and even Astrid clenched her jaw and stayed away.

To everyone's relief, they separated again when they reached the lowest part of the excavated cavern and entered yet another dark and narrow tunnel. Very narrow. Merida's heart accelerated like a galloping horse.

Their pursuers had fallen further behind, as their tracks had made a couple more turns, though they were still going in the same direction. At least they seemed too shaken to try to catch up.

Rapunzel relaxed her arms, and color returned to her knuckles as she stopped gripping the edge of the cart. “You know, I'm starting to believe we can do this. We have magic and Toothless on our side, what else can stop us?”

The moment she finished her sentence, a light at the end of the tunnel shone on what awaited them in a few moments.

The tracks were old and located in a place that had been abandoned for decades, so it was no surprise that they weren't in perfect condition, and all in all they had done their job so far. However, the group's luck had run out, as the tunnel widened into a large section where the tracks crossed in mid-air over a chasm formed by a thick forest of sharp stalagmites.

The problem was that the tracks were broken right above the deadly void, and they didn't appear again before the other side.

Everyone allowed themselves a tiny fraction of a second to contemplate the next disaster they would have to avoid somehow, then Merida found her voice again. “We need to get on Toothless right now, he'll take us to the other side!”

“He needs more room to take off, and more time,” Hiccup replied, pale. “We won't make it by flying.”

“We'll crash!” Rapunzel said, all serenity gone.

“No,” Jack said.

He struggled his way through, climbed outside the cart, and braced himself with one hand and his feet, while the other hand held the staff, thus positioning himself in front. “We can make it, if we're fast enough.”

He sounded coldly determined, yet Merida wasn't affected by his confidence. “I don't know how we'll make it through this, but we're in your hands, Jack. I trust you.”

He turned to her just long enough to give her one of his smiles, the ones that usually hid a prank. Hopefully this wasn't the case.

He took a long, deep breath. The cart shook and shuddered as it ran along the tracks. The air whistled in their ears. The light was getting closer. Somewhere behind, the Berkians were following them.

Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel, the edge only a few seconds away. Merida could barely see that Jack was freezing the tracks in front of them, making the cart gain more speed. The positive thing was that the last part of the tracks pointed up, so they probably wouldn't fall right away, but only after a terrifying drop.

Jack gripped the cart tighter and bent his knees. The air currents gathered at their sides, pushing them with infinite force. It was a strange feeling, and Merida had no doubt it was Jack's doing.

“Ready!”

In response, the three of them screamed at the top of their lungs.

If the gods' judgment hadn't punished her before, when they'd passed through the enchanted door, Merida was sure this would be the time.

Before they knew it, their cart reached the point where the tracks ended and they took flight, though not on the back of a dragon this time.

For a moment, it was almost ecstatic. Later, Merida would distinctly remember sharing a look of disbelief with Rapunzel, before their trajectory knocked them down and the moment of paradoxical wonder ended abruptly.

The impact with the tracks on the other side was brutal. Sparks flew from the wheels, while Merida's teeth clattered and a sharp pain in her head blurred her vision.

One thought still managed to break through the painful haze of her mind: they had made it. They were alive!

Merida shouted her victory out loud, unable to contain her joy. “We did it! We really did it!”

She looked forward to thank Jack, but saw something that immediately sent her into panic again. They had landed in another silver mining cave, and a fallen stalactite was blocking the tracks.

Behind them, a clang of metal on metal indicated that the Berkians had miraculously survived the same experience, perhaps aided by the ice that still covered the tracks.

“Break!” Merida shouted, crushing Hiccup's arm — the one closest to her. “Breeeak!”

“This thing doesn't have any brakes!” was his reaction, so exasperated it was almost hysterical.

They were still reeling from the jump and the false sense of victory, and they had no escape. The cart slammed into the rock with incredible force, flipping forward in a somersault. The passengers were thrown out, and would have crashed somewhere, if something black and smooth hadn't enveloped them. Merida recognized the smell of dragon.

The cart was still rolling away noisily, when Toothless opened his wings and freed them from the makeshift shield. Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel scrambled to their feet, shaken but unharmed.

A hand reached out to help Merida. It was Jack, who judging by the way he stood relatively calmly, without the look of someone who had almost broken his neck, had had the presence of mind to fly away before the impact.

“Thank you,” Merida said, wincing. Every hard consonant she said hammered her aching head.

Jack nodded. “I told you we'd m—ah !”

He ducked, dragging Merida down with him, just in time to avoid the second cart from hitting them. She anticipated what was to come and pulled the dagger from her boot.

She spun around and slashed. Astrid Hofferson jumped back to avoid the blade. “I've had enough of you.”

“No way.” Merida stepped aside, and the double-headed axe missed, slicing through the air instead. “I could say the same thing.”

The Berkians must have managed to jump out of the cart, unlike them, and had them surrounded. One of the twins was still armed with a crossbow, which he was aiming at Jack, the other was swinging the end of a grappling hook at Rapunzel, who had let her hair down. Hiccup was left to face the big blond boy’s short sword. The smoke bomb guy was still unconscious and had been temporarily left on the ground nearby.

They were in a room similar to the one that led to the Cave of Anim, but this still showed signs of previous activity: a few shovels and pickaxes lay on the floor, where the stalactites were marked with dark streaks and scratches. Merida had a strong suspicion that this room had seen a fight before.

Astrid’s axe slashed through the air again. Merida avoided it and took advantage of her opponent's momentum to aim for her leg, but Astrid's reaction speed was exceptional, and she dodged the dagger.

Behind them, noises and voices suggested that more duels were taking place. Although she wanted to help the others, Merida forced herself to focus on Astrid, who was lowering her weapon at that moment.

She recognized the feint and blocked Astrid's kick, which was still powerful enough to knock her off balance. She didn't let herself fall and rolled to the side. Dust and dirt stuck to her clothes.

Like last time at the inn, she was at a disadvantage. Astrid seemed at one with her axe, while Merida certainly knew how to use a dagger, but for close-combat she preferred the sword. She had to find an alternative solution quickly, something her opponent couldn't predict.

Merida decided to risk everything with a potentially stupid strategy. After jumping up and exchanging more moves and parries, she pretended to collapse against the axe handle that Astrid was using to press against her dagger. Not that it was difficult, with her tiredness and her head still throbbing.

Merida fell again. The dagger flew away.

She reached for the bow she was carrying, while she felt around for the solution with her other hand.

Her fingers found wood. Merida wrapped them around the handle of a pickaxe. Definitely a more effective option against a large Archipelago weapon. She thought she saw the sudden understanding in Astrid's blue eyes, right before the anger, and a harsh resignation.

Then, pain. But this time it wasn't coming from her head.

Merida collapsed forward and screamed. She screamed in despair because her right shoulder felt like it was on fire, she screamed in frustration because in that very moment she knew she had lost, she screamed in anger because the blow had come from behind. 

And above all, she screamed in a last-ditch attempt to stop what would happen next.

“Merida!” came the three-voiced exclamation she'd wanted to prevent.

Hiccup ran toward her, but Astrid stood before him like an impenetrable wall. Without the slightest hesitation, he tried to hit her with a dirty shovel picked up from the abandoned tools. She blocked him with a simple gesture. The iron lightning of her axe narrowly missed him.

Clutching her bleeding shoulder, Merida looked back. The dark-haired boy had awakened, and was cheering Astrid on, still holding Merida’s dagger.

A chill ran down her spine. She had been stabbed with her own weapon.

Merida glanced briefly at her red-stained hand and gritted her teeth. It was the deepest wound she had ever received, yet it didn’t hurt as much as she expected. Maybe it wasn’t a good sign.

The duel in front of her was continuing, but wouldn't last much longer. Unfortunately, Merida knew that Hiccup didn’t stand a chance against a warrior like Astrid, and surely he was smart enough to know that. In the fear of that moment, Merida felt gratitude, like the light of a candle burning in a cave.

She had to admit that Hiccup was trying his best. He was swinging that shovel like a madman.

“That was a low blow, Snotlout!” he shouted. “You’re a coward!”

“Said the guy who wanted to run away from the kingdom,” Snotlout replied. “Too bad you changed your mind, we were so close to finally getting rid of you!”

The inevitable happened. Hiccup’s distraction had given Astrid the opportunity to act, quick and precise. Merida closed her eyes, letting her imagination picture the blade scraping her friend’s left arm. The shovel fell to the ground. Toothless roared as if the wound had been inflicted on him.

When Merida opened her eyes again, Astrid’s axe was pressed against Hiccup’s neck, ready for the final blow.

“Not another step,” she ordered, holding him back.

Toothless yelped painfully and lashed the air with his tail.

“It’s alright, bud,” Hiccup soothed him. “Stay still.”

The dragon had thin pupils.

“Do it for me, okay?”

A final groan, and Toothless stayed where he was.

Astrid was panting. “Good, now you three will follow us without doing anything dumb.”

The large boy frowned. “But he said to let—”

“Fishlegs, if you don’t shut up, I'll make you.”

Fishlegs looked troubled, but obeyed.

“What if we don’t follow you?” Jack asked seriously. The ground around him was a transparent sheet of frost.

Astrid brought the blade to Hiccup’s jugular in a meaningful way.

“You wouldn’t do that,” Rapunzel protested, threatened by the twin's crossbow.

“What makes you think that?” Astrid replied. “He’s not my family. He’s not my friend. He’s not even a Hairy Hooligan, if you ask me.”

Rapunzel looked desperately at Merida, who understood her cry for help.

Astrid wouldn't expect it. Merida's shoulder still felt like it was on fire and her arm was becoming numb, but she knew how to fight with her left hand. Including archery.

The pain or danger of the attempt couldn't stop her. She had a capital to get to.

But she hadn't considered Snotlout. Before she could even touch her bow, something hard and blunt struck her on the base of the head.

Her vision filled with dark spots, and Merida fought in vain against her closing eyelids.

Chapter Text

Pitch Black could count on one hand the number of times he'd lost his temper. He strongly believed that uncontrolled outbursts of rage were pointless and inelegant, if not harmful. Anger dragged the mind into an unpredictable storm of emotions, causing one to take reckless actions and make hasty decisions.

During his long life he had learned to stay calm, even when his plans failed unexpectedly: he couldn't afford to let centuries of deceptions, strategies, and alliances collapse because of one fit of rage.

With that being said, when the distance-observing spell ended and the last bubble popped silently, Pitch grabbed the edge of the basin and turned it over in one fluid motion with a growl. The water spilled onto the floor in a puddle of clear bubbles, spreading until it touched the carpet. Then it was the bowl’s turn to shatter against the marble in a crash of glass.

Not satisfied, Pitch gritted his teeth and kicked the three-legged pedestal over. The clang of iron echoed off the walls of his study.

He stepped over shards and water as he marched to the window, where he rested his hands on the sill and waited for the storm in his heart to pass. Below him, swarms of servants milled about the castle courtyard like ants at work, busy with the imminent arrival of the honored guests. Pitch looked at the shadows cast by his tower in the midday sun, finding comfort in those corners of darkness. 

When he felt he could get back to work without making any more victims, he snapped the velvet curtains shut and turned to face the mess he had caused, and the new problem he had to deal with.

He thought he'd made the perfect move by introducing himself to the Berkians in Hawthorne; Convincing the girl had been quite difficult, but in the end she had accepted Pitch's offer.

But instead, he thought as he squeezed the pedestal legs so tightly the veins on the backs of his hands stood out, that fool had ruined everything, betraying their agreement. She was supposed to capture Haddock and take him away, but she had decided to take them all. Unfortunately, including Jack Frost.

This unexpected event drove Pitch crazy: he'd touched the girl's steel mind and had grasped her most hidden fears, yet he'd found no clues that could have revealed her intentions. Had she only pretended to give him her trust, already premeditating to break the agreement? Or had it been a spur-of-the-moment decision?

Pitch straightened the pedestal and began to collect all the shards of glass. It had been a luxury good from the Topaz Isles. What a waste.

Another problem was explaining to Gothel that the princess was currently trapped on a boat headed to the isle of Berk. Gothel was an ancient and powerful woman, but most of all she was useful for matters where Pitch couldn’t get his hands dirty personally, and making an enemy of her would have been stupid.

Besides, keeping the princess away from Amberray was crucial; Pitch had managed to get rid of her once, yet the girl seemed drawn to the capital like a moth to a lantern.

But Pitch would find a way to get her burned by that same light.

He held up a shard of sharp-edged glass and smiled at his reflection, thinking about his next move. He hadn’t waited ages to let some teenagers derail his grand plans. Now he had to pick up the pieces and find a way to use the twists to his advantage.

And the illustrious guests soon to arrive would do the trick.

*

The door Elinor had chosen for the spell was modest in size, and connected the bedroom to the west hallway. Everyone in the room, from the fearful servants to a skeptical Fergus, had their eyes fixed on her as she followed the complicated instructions written in the invitation. The triplets were clutching Maudie’s skirt, already looking sad as if their parents had been gone for hours.

Maudie handed Elinor a small tray with a bowl and a paintbrush on it, staring at them as if they might spontaneously combust. Elinor dipped the bristles of the paintbrush into the purple mixture prepared for the occasion and drew one solid line on the doorframe.

She read the next step on the letter. The displacement spell required her to recite an incantation. Elinor grabbed the doorknob.

Fergus’s voice broke through her wall of concentration. “Dear, are ye sure it'll work?”

From the anxiety in his tone alone, Elinor could imagine him clinging to their luggage like an anchor, his red, untamed brows furrowed over his blue eyes.

She turned to him, and found herself looking at exactly what she had imagined, only the real Fergus was also nibbling on the nail of his thumb. Elinor resisted the urge to slap his hand just because she couldn’t let go of the handle.

“It’s not my preferred method of transportation, but it’s also the quickest,” she replied calmly. She couldn’t show concern out of empathy for him,  when the castle staff were there watching. “We’ll be hugging Merida again in a few minutes,” she added, unable to fully hide her emotion.

Fergus seemed to perk up a little. He squared his broad shoulders and gave a hopeful smile. “Then what are you doing standing there, woman? Go ahead and do this magic.”

Elinor shook her head slightly and returned her full attention to the door.

The brass handle was warming under her hand. Elinor forced herself to read the words on the paper before she could hesitate and let her uncertainty slip.

“Passage of souls, passage of bodies, passage of minds,” she chanted loudly and clearly, ignoring the pounding of her heart. “Do me your service, connect places and times in a single instant until my hand leaves you. Open up, and take me where I desire.”

A powerful gust of cold air seeped through the cracks around the door, rustling Elinor's beaded petticoat at her ankles. The handle grew hot to the point of being painful, but she gritted her teeth and held on to it.

Finally, the door shuddered, as if it needed to settle to become a magical passage. The wind died and the handle returned to a normal temperature. Behind Elinor, no one uttered a breath.

She opened the door, hoping she had followed the instructions correctly, and beyond the threshold, instead of the bedroom, there was an elegant hall at least half the size of the entire Grayfir Castle. She barely had time to digest the fact that she had performed a spell, though under the conditions set by the Magic Keeper, when a large group of guards in purple-crested helmets stood before her with raised spears.

Elinor stiffened her back and held up the invitation in her name, the royal wax seal clearly visible. “I am Lady Elinor of Grayfir, and I request access to the royal palace for myself and my husband, Lord Fergus of Grayfir,” she announced imperiously.

An older-looking guard peered at the invitation for a few long seconds, then struck his spear on the ground and stepped aside, followed by the others. “You may enter, Lady Elinor and Lord Fergus.”

She let her husband walk through, and he sighed before stroking the children’s curly heads, adjusting his grip on the bags, and walking to the door. He put one foot through, then the other, and looked at Elinor in amazement. “Still alive,” he said.

It was her turn. After kissing the children’s foreheads, she moved her grip to the handle on the other side of the door without ever breaking contact, so that she could also go to the other side. It felt exactly like moving from one room to another, without any particular sensations. And yet, she had just made a journey of days in an instant.

From the opposite side, Maudie looked at them with a trembling lip, exactly like the triplets. Elinor felt a pang of affection.

“Take care of the castle, dear Maudie,” Elinor asked her.

She gave Maudie one last reassuring look, then she closed the door and let go of the handle. The door was absorbed by the entrance they'd just come through: a pair of tall, solid wood doors with gold decorations.

Elinor turned around to take in her surroundings. Softening the shining marbles of the hall were several banners in the colors of the three regions hanging from the ceiling, and a long burgundy carpet that stretched under their feet, from the doors to the wide staircase at the end. In addition to the guards on either side of the entrance, other soldiers were positioned along the entire length of the hall.

Although it was considerably larger than the one in Grayfir Castle, Elinor found it rather oppressive, because her breath failed her when her gaze was lost in the dizzying heights of the ceiling, frescoed with vivid colors.

As Elinor lowered her head and inhaled a breath of air, new footsteps joined them. Another small group of guards escorted the two most important people in the kingdom, walking compactly and in rhythm.

Queen Arianna somewhat matched her handwriting, which Elinor had read a hundred times in their correspondence: elegant without becoming pompous, neat, pleasant. Her long brown hair was gathered partly behind her head in a simple hairstyle, and her dress was expertly embroidered, though of a different cut from the Dunbroch fashion.

She walked arm in arm with King Frederik, a tall man with excellent posture, his perfectly trimmed mustache and beard more gray than brown. The smile on his lips clashed with his eyes, which were filled with an immense sadness that seemed to be all contained in his blue irises.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elinor saw Fergus's awkward attempt to imitate the king's posture. She would never have admitted it out loud, but she preferred him hunched and natural as he always was.

As the royal couple arrived in front of the guests and Elinor and Fergus bowed, the queen's face creased with just a hint of wrinkles. “Welcome to Amberray. I hope the journey wasn't unpleasant.”

Before Elinor could stop him, Fergus nudged the king. “My insides are still all twisted up, but we're fine. Aren't we, dear?”

“This was our first instant journey, and I must say I can see the convenience of it now,” Elinor told the queen, ignoring her husband.

She nodded. “I imagine you're still tired from the new experience. We have rooms ready for you to rest in before dinner.”

The idea of ​​sitting on something soft tempted Elinor, but another urgent matter pressed to be discussed. “Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but we have one wish before we go to rest.” She looked at the king, barely holding back her haste. “We would love to see Merida as soon as possible.”

Elinor sensed something was wrong when the king’s brows knitted together. “Lady Merida? Is she not with you?”

The floor of the hall seemed to sway. “No, she's… she made the journey alone.”

“I'm sorry,” said the king, shaking his head. “She's not here.”

Elinor could no longer contain her shock and horror. “But she left three weeks ago! She should have reached Amberray by now.”

“She lost her horse but she's a clever lass, she must've found another way to get here,” added Fergus, darkening in a rare display of concern.

The queen held up her hands to calm them. “I'm sure she'll be here soon, if she's as skilled as you say. In any case, we'll send our soldiers into the town to find her, to facilitate her arrival.”

“...Of course. Thank you,” Elinor replied only, apparently having lost the conversational skills she prided herself on.

“What about the lad from the archipelago? Is he here?” Fergus asked.

Meanwhile, a couple of the servants took their bags and discreetly went to a side door.

Queen Arianna shook her head. Even her denial was elegant. “Stoick Haddock responded to our invitation by writing that he too would be joining us with the spell, but he had business to attend to before leaving.”

Elinor made a mental note of this, and wondered what Haddock had to do that was more important than the Duel of the Heirs.

Fergus made a noise of disbelief. “A Berkian taking magical transport?”

“It’s still more convenient, faster, and safer,” Elinor said with mild disapproval, though she was also surprised. The people of the archipelago were well known for their deep aversion to magic.

The queen regained her polite smile. “Many lords have arrived, and are joining us for lunch.” She held out her arm, and a maid came over quickly. “Now, if you follow Cassandra, she's going to show you to your rooms. We'll see you later.”

Normally, Elinor would have been happy to see the royal palace in all its magnificence, ready to take notes for any improvements to Grayfir Castle, but as they were led by the maid up the rose marble steps, her thoughts were elsewhere.

Not finding Merida had completely upended her expectations, and even worse was the feeling of cold that crawled up her spine. She wished she could do something, but she couldn't give the impression she didn't believe in the king's decision.

The maid opened the carved double doors to their rooms, where a couple of families would have lived comfortably, and Elinor was distracted for a moment.

A row of tall windows let in a beautiful natural light on the mosaic floor which had patterns that delimited a living area and a sleeping area. The first consisted of benches arranged in a square, made comfortable by a myriad of pillows, around a low table on which a vase of fresh flowers, a jug of bright juice and a tray of tarts awaited them. The bed was an imposing structure, draped with curtains embroidered with the region’s floral species.

After the maid left looking bored, Elinor picked up one of the two bunches of lavender from the bed pillows to smell it. “This is…”

“Ridiculous,” Fergus snorted, dropping onto one of the benches. The quantity and softness of the cushions completely masked any sound. “Who needs to have lavender under their nose while they sleep?”

Elinor caressed the blanket on the bed. “It’s a courtesy , dear, like offering to look for our daughter in town.”

“I don’t like this,” Fergus said grimly.

“Nor do I, but I honestly don’t know what else we can do,” Elinor sighed.

She winced when she felt her husband’s rough hand on her shoulder, then relaxed and kissed his cheek just above the beard.

“I’ll go with the king’s soldiers to find her,” he said.

Elinor had only the strength to nod and rest her head against his chest, where she could feel his heartbeat.

They used the time before lunch to recover from their magical journey, at least as much as their worries would allow. Elinor wished she’d brought her sewing box instead of the books she would never be able to focus on, and watched Fergus eat all the tarts without so much as a reprimand.

When the sun was high, the same maid from before came to escort them into the dining room, yet another colossal space mostly taken up by the longest table Elinor had ever seen, at which sat, in addition to the nobles of Corona, several lords of Dunbroch. She didn’t know the other diners, but judging by their furs, thick arms, braided beards and scars, they were the chieftains of the Barbaric Archipelago. Fergus warmly greeted some old acquaintances as they passed by.

When he saw Elinor and Fergus, the king looked up, interrupting the conversation, and pointed them to the seats to his and the queen’s right, next to the head of the table. “Ah, there you are. Please take a seat. Lord Macintosh was telling me about the events of three weeks ago.”

The assassination attempt. Elinor’s padded chair suddenly seemed hard as stone, and her gaze wandered on its own to Lord MacGuffin, who sat a little further away, stiff as a dead branch.

“Any involvement of the MacGuffin clan has been dispelled,” the queen reassured, sensing the general embarrassment, “and those responsible have been exiled.”

For a moment the only sound in the room was the clatter of silverware on plates. Even Lord Dingwall, sitting next to Fergus, looked uncomfortable.

Lord Macintosh smoothed his thick dark hair. Elinor was glad he'd avoided his usual face paint; she thought of it as a rather vulgar custom.

“You know, what happened to my son isn't the only… shall we say, oddity these days. When I was told about it I thought it was a joke, but it seems the ruins of the village of Ashire have become a tourist attraction.” Macintosh looked them over in turn, checking to see if he had everyone’s attention. “A tourist attraction run by trolls.”

Lord MacGuffin shook his head in disbelief. “How absurd! Whoever made up that story must have a great imagination.”

“Aye, and maybe the trolls charge ye a fee to get in,” Dingwall added, causing collective hilarity. “Is there a troll guard too? A treasurer troll?”

Macintosh raised his chin. “You laugh, but I passed through the village on my way here.”

Queen Arianna raised her eyebrows. “And what did you find?”

“Exactly what I was told, milady!” Macintosh exclaimed. “Those creatures demand everyday objects in exchange for a guided tour of the village catacombs, dividing the tourists into groups and all that!”

MacGuffin frowned. “If that’s the case, they must be stopped.”

The king became serious. “I will investigate what’s happening in Ashire. It was well known that the ruins were infested with trolls, but they’ve been elusive until now.”

“I wonder what’s changed,” the queen said thoughtfully. “As for our region, I’ve heard rumors of a mysterious plague in a village to the north.”

“I hope the death toll isn’t alarming,” Elinor said.

“Oh, no, there have been no victims.”

Elinor thought she had misheard. “Not one, milady?”

“None. It seems the symptoms weren't fatal, at most an annoyance made worrying by the unknown nature of its cause,” the queen replied. “But all is well now. It seems someone figured out what was causing the disease, and the village has since returned to normal life.”

“Do you know who was so clever?” Dingwall asked.

“If I knew, I would have made sure that person was acknowledged with my personal thanks, at the very least,” the king replied.

Elinor tried to force herself to participate in the rest of the conversation, since normally she could make the words come out of her mouth almost without thinking, but it was impossible. Her thoughts kept going back to Merida.

She let Fergus handle the socializing with the other guests, even though it was a risk, and spent much of the meal looking at the two empty chairs across from her, to the left of the rulers.

Lunch was shorter than the long meals typical of Dunbroch, but to Elinor it seemed like ages had passed. The sovereigns had informed them that a visit to the castle was planned for the afternoon, an activity that would probably take several hours.

“Lady Elinor,” the queen called after everyone had left their places at the table. “I would be delighted if you joined me for tea after the tour.”

Elinor wasn't in the mood for any more idle chit-chat, but turning down an invitation from the queen herself was out of the question, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It will be an honor, milady,” she said with a small bow.

“Wonderful. I'll send a maid to call you when the time comes.”

The queen gave her a shy smile, before following the king into different hallways.

The tour of the castle was led by a butler with a monotone voice, and it was exhausting. Every room, corridor, and staircase was three times longer than usual, and there seemed to be no end to the things to see. The tour of the grounds was particularly painful, and Elinor was convinced her shoes had worn out.

When they returned, a maid so old she could barely stand up came to her rescue, though Elinor felt at least thirty years older than she had at the before. She said bye to Fergus and followed the maid into a small, intimate sitting room, where the queen was waiting along with a large guard outside the door.

“Sit beside me, Lady Elinor,” she invited, nodding toward the velvet settee.

Elinor was surprised by her friendliness. She would have expected much more coldness from a queen, at least as long as they were practically strangers.

She took a seat and accepted the steaming cup that was offered to her. A tray of biscuits had been left on the table in front of them, as well as a bowl of cream so shiny she could see her own reflection in it.

Elinor went through the usual pleasantries. “I'm honored by your invitation, milady. Few can say they had tea with Your Majesty.”

The queen looked at the contents of her cup. A shadow darkened her polite expression. “I've wanted to speak to you since this morning.”

“We need to discuss some preparations for the Duel of the Heirs, I suppose,” Elinor said, sipping her tea. It was a variety she had never tasted. Strong and fragrant.

“It has nothing to do with this.” The queen clinked her cup on her plate. “I know you're worried about your daughter. You barely spoke at lunch.”

A little embarrassed for having been more transparent than she had imagined, Elinor fidgeted on the sofa. “I… I am worried, but I trust that Merida will be found soon.”

The queen looked at her intently, then set her tea aside and placed her soft hands on Elinor’s, who stared at her in surprise. “As much as I trust our soldiers, the chances of them finding Lady Merida are faint, I fear.”

Elinor gripped the handle of her cup, looking for something to hold on to. “Milady…”

“But,” the queen said, “perhaps there's another way to find out where your daughter is.” She looked around as if expecting to see someone lurking in the room, eavesdropping. “Tonight after dinner, when everyone will be sleeping, if you leave your rooms you'll find yourself in a hallway. There's a wardrobe near a potted plant. If you open its door, you'll find a secret passage.”

In a rare moment of utter shock, Elinor was at a loss for words. She had no choice but to listen to the queen’s instructions.

“If you take that passage you'll avoid most of the guards, but once you come out the other side, you'll have to be careful, because you'll find yourself in a guarded corridor,” she explained. “Wait until the guard turns the corner, then take the stairs on the left, which lead to the Magic Keeper's tower.”

At the last word, Elinor found her voice again. “Are you suggesting that I ask a Magicknapper for help?”

“Only if you want to.” The queen let go of Elinor’s hands to fix a lock of hair that was already perfectly in place. “Pitch Black has served the royal family for as long as I can remember, and he's never given me any reason to doubt his loyalty. He could help you, too.”

The queen’s advice had serious implications. The royal family’s use of the Keeper was one thing, but for Elinor it was different. Seeking magic, in secret, for personal gain… Fergus would have been against it, he preferred traditional methods.

“I know it’s not an easy choice,” the queen said. “And I should be the first to advise you against using such means, but believe me.” She reached for her heart to touch a beautiful necklace with a locket, the kind that could be opened. “I’m telling you this because these are the exact words I wish someone had told me a long time ago.”

For a moment, Arianna’s eyes filled with the same deep sadness as the king. Elinor winced, remembering that cold night when she had received the news that would change Merida's life before she was even conceived.

Arianna sighed. “In short, I know how losing a daughter feels like, as well as losing hope, and I would hate for you to go through that.”

Elinor’s mind was trapped in a confused whirlwind. “With your permission, I would go and think about what you've just told me,” she said.

“Of course. It's not a decision to be made lightly.”

Elinor got up, bowed, and left the room, perhaps more troubled than she had been before she'd entered.

“My lady,” a deep voice called.

Elinor turned, but instead of the nobleman she was expecting, she was facing the guard she had glimpsed earlier. She tried to compose herself and stared at him expectantly.

He was a large man, almost forced into the guards uniform, with powerful arms and a long, snow-white beard. Under his thick brows shone a pair of surprisingly youthful blue eyes, despite the wrinkles around them.

“I strongly advise against you asking Black for help,” he said seriously. He had an accent unlike anything Elinor had ever heard.

She raised her chin, slightly offended by the guard’s confidential tone. “And I imagine you have a good reason for making such a heartfelt suggestion.”

The man shook his head. “Black has been here for many, many years, but you must not trust him. His intentions are darker than him.”

In other circumstances, Elinor would have scolded the guard and asked to speak to his superior, but something in his childlike eyes made her stomach sink.

Elinor opened her mouth without finding an answer, before turning around and storming off, not even bothering to maintain a straight posture.

Dinner wasn't much different from lunch. Elinor did her best to appear engaged in conversation, but she lost her train of thought whenever she met Arianna’s gaze, although she never mentioned their conversation from earlier.

Evening came, mild and sweet as it could only be at the beginning of summer, and with it came the tiredness of the intense day that had just ended. In their rooms, Elinor waited until Fergus's breathing was heavy and regular, then she put on her dressing gown and tiptoed out, with only the rustle of her clothes to accompany her.

She followed Arianna's directions by opening the secret passage behind the wardrobe, she crossed a narrow hallway, avoided the security, climbed the spiral staircase and arrived in front of a door without a handle.

She raised her fist to knock, but hesitated, unable to believe what she was about to do. The truth was she'd known the answer from the first moment Arianna had told her of that possibility. 

She had to find her daughter.

Elinor knocked decisively.

The door was opened by a tall and terribly pale man, almost looking sickly as if he hadn't been in the sun for decades. His simple robes were as dark as his hair, and his eyes unnaturally pale. Elinor felt the urge to run.

“Lady Elinor,” Pitch Black said. “What an honor.”

His voice was as soft as the finest velvet, as clear as organza, as smooth as silk. Every word seemed charged with dormant magic.

“You know me,” Elinor said, implying the question.

“I know everyone who enters the castle,” Black said with a small bow. He stood aside, waiting for her entrance.

Elinor hesitated, remembering the white-bearded guard’s warning, then she went inside, resisting the urge to leave and never come back.

She didn’t know what she was expecting from a Magicknapper’s room, but it certainly wasn’t that… normality. Aside from a strange pedestal holding an empty basin, it looked like an intellectual’s study, with a tidy desk, shelves filled with books and scrolls, and a window draped with heavy curtains. Several candles lit the darkness.

“I've been told that you can give me the answer I'm looking for,” said Elinor.

“Finding your daughter won't be difficult for me — don't be surprised, milady, the news of her absence is already known to many,” said Black, anticipating Elinor’s question. “Come closer.”

She followed him to the pedestal, while Black took a jug from the desk and filled the basin with water. “Consider yourself lucky, milady, because I don't use such spells for anyone who knocks at my door,” he said, rolling up his sleeves.

He took from a drawer what Elinor recognized with surprise was a bar of soap, which Black rubbed with his hands. The water surface filled with foam.

Black then took another peculiar object: a large coal-black egg, which he pricked with an iron instrument. A thread of pale, translucent egg white dripped into the basin, while he spoke words in a low voice, concentrating.

“As the eye of the griffin searches the earth for its prey, so I see the soul and body of whomst I seek.” Elinor looked at the water without saying a word, and could scarcely hide her disappointment when she saw no change.

“Patience, milady.”

Black grabbed a thin-handled object that ended in a circle, like a magnifying glass without the lens. He dipped it in the water, lifted it, and lightly blew on it, as Elinor had seen Grayfir’s children do for fun.

The bubbles that came out weren't ordinary soap. Instead of a reflection of herself, Black, and the room, the delicate spheres contained dozens of copies of the same image.

Merida’s hands were tied behind her back, and Elinor couldn’t see her expression as she was led onto what looked like a boat together with other people, but seeing the cascade of red curls was enough.

“Merida,” Elinor whispered, reaching for a bubble, her arm shaking. “My child. Where are they taking you?”

“The man at the helm is wearing an Archipelago helmet,” Black said, his face showing no emotion.

A hot, unstoppable feeling rose in Elinor’s chest like lava waiting to erupt. Not only was her daughter much farther away than she’d imagined, but she was about to cross the ever-changing sea, headed for her rival’s homeland.

“What does this mean?”

“Stoick Haddock might know, but alas, he's not here,” Black said.

Elinor’s fists clenched. “Thank you, Master Black. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

She barely heard the Magicknapper’s goodbye as she slammed the door behind her and took the steps two at a time, her braid bouncing like a whip on her back.

She should have known Haddock was behind it. If he’d resorted to dishonorable tricks, Elinor would do the same.

With or without magic.

*

Astrid closed her eyes and breathed in the salty air, letting the wind sting her cheeks. Her shift had just ended, so she had gone out to enjoy the waves, eager to leave the days spent on horseback behind her.

She had won.

Astrid had achieved her goal, and she could finally relax. She could go to sleep, leaving her friends to guard the prisoners, close her eyes and forget about everything. Just a little longer, and they would be home. The end.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. Astrid had had plenty of time to sleep, but she'd had restless nights. At first she'd thought it was Snotlout's fault: she had harshly scolded him for stabbing Merida from behind, and he had defended himself by saying he'd had no other choice, but at least he had seemed ashamed.

However, even after that matter had been resolved, Astrid's mind was restless. Her job was done, until proven otherwise; once Hiccup was delivered to his father, she could return to her everyday life.

She had won.

…But then why didn't the fire burning inside her show signs of dying down?

“Land ahead!” Tuffnut shouted from the top of the rigging he had climbed. They'd found nothing better than a fishing boat captained by a grumpy old man who smelled of fish, but he knew the Barbaric Sea and had asked for little money in exchange.

Astrid looked around for Fishlegs, and she found him dozing off against some barrels. “Fishlegs!”

He woke up with a start. “What?”

“Who’s on watch now?” Astrid asked.

“Ruffnut. She’s probably filling those poor people’s heads with her chatter.”

“Tell her to bring everyone on deck,” Astrid ordered. “We’re getting ready to disembark.”

Fishlegs nodded and trotted below decks with several thumps of his boots on the woodboards. He returned shortly after with Ruffnut, Snotlout, and the four prisoners, excluding the dragon.

Merida had almost recovered from her wound, and was walking alongside the girl with magical hair, who was looking around warily like a Deadly Nadder guarding its nest. The Magicknapper boy, whose bad mood had only gotten worse the closer they got to their destination, followed with a grim face.

At the head of the group was Hiccup. Without the dragon by his side he looked smaller than usual, and much more unhappy. When he passed Astrid, he didn’t even look at her.

They all stopped to admire the outline of the island against the boundless sky, made more menacing by a blanket of gray clouds. As they got closer, the silhouettes of the statues of Tere and Ohl rising from the sea became more distinguishable. Astrid greeted that sight with relief.

The blonde girl held her breath, assuming the same expression of the strange little animal that perpetually occupied a spot on her shoulder. “Are we…?”

“Yeah. This,” Hiccup said without joy, “is Berk.”

Chapter Text

Every respectable Hairy Hooligan aspired to three fundamental ideals: strength, loyalty and resilience.

For the first, Hiccup had long ago given up — his muscle mass was about the same as that of a twelve-year-old Berkian. As for loyalty, to his clan and homeland, well, it left a lot to be desired. He had always prided himself on his tenacity, though, even if asking anyone in the village, they would have called it stubbornness.

Well, unfortunately, even that seemed to have completely run out by the time Hiccup had set foot on the boat.

It was a large fishing boat belonging to a cranky man from the western islands with a salt-caked beard, found at the last minute by Astrid. Hiccup and the others had been locked in a cabin that served as a storage room, guarded in turns by her accomplices, while Toothless had been given the hold.

The group's mood was perhaps the worst it had ever been. Merida, weakened by the wound in her shoulder which continued to hurt despite Rapunzel's intervention, had done nothing much but lie down and mutter irritably. Rapunzel, gods bless her, had tried to cheer them up with optimistic but useless encouragement.

And Jack… Jack hadn't said a single word. Even though his staff had been confiscated along with their weapons and Toothless' harness, he still could have used his powers, but he appeared to have completely given up, and his mood was getting worse as the days passed. He had always stayed seated, almost curled up with his head low, in a corner of the cabin that felt colder than the rest.

Hiccup couldn't blame him. They'd been sailing north at a steady pace, further and further away from Amberray, and with the festival only a week away, their time was practically up.

And it was his fault.

He had accepted the Eye of Sheh that Astrid had given him. He had chosen to keep it, even after he'd discovered its powers. He had angered Astrid by challenging her. He was the one she'd hunted down.

Because of him, they were all going to suffer the consequences, and Hiccup had been unable to hold their gazes the entire journey, so much was his guilt and shame.

Now his eyes found themselves meeting the familiar shape of the Isle of Berk, gray and imposing against the dark afternoon sky.

The anti-dragon lookouts sounded the signal announcing the arrival of an unknown vessel, and a swarm of dots poured down the wooden steps of the dock. When the anchor dropped, Hiccup had the impression that the entire village had come running to see who had arrived.

Snotlout gave him a rough shove to hurry him along, forcing Hiccup to follow the others onto the pier that got rebuilt at least once a week, after the dragons regularly set it on fire.

The crowd parted to let the last two people through. The sound of Gobber’s wooden leg was unmistakable. 

“Don’t ye have anything better to do than stick yer noses in here, you people? Shoo, shoo!”

Aside from a group led by Spitelout, all the other onlookers reluctantly left the pier, which creaked dangerously under the weight of dozens of moving Hairy Hooligans.

The other person stepped forward. Hiccup tried to blend in, but he could feel his father’s stern gaze on him. He wished for the docks to crack open and let the sea swallow him up, or for a hungry dragon to grab and carry him to a distant nest.

Astrid had other plans. She took Hiccup’s arm in a death grip and dragged him in front of everyone like a yak on display for judges in a contest. “I brought him back, as promised.”

“The dragon?” his father asked. His tone didn’t sound any angrier than usual, but it was hard to tell for sure.

“In the hold,” Astrid said. “What… what do we do with it?”

Hiccup’s eyes widened and his head snapped up. “Don’t hurt him,” he urged. He wished he'd sounded more intimidating, but in his current position all he could do was beg.

He finally met his father’s eyes. Hiccup was surprised by the dark bags under them, but they also held a spark of burning fury that looked about to burn at any moment.

“Take it to the cages in the Arena, I’ll deal with it later,” Stoick ordered Gobber, Spitelout and the other Berkians, before looking at Merida, Rapunzel and Jack. “Put these three in the Cavity, and send word to Lady Elinor right away. May Tere protect us when she hears her daughter's here.”

He shot an unusually hard look at Astrid, who tightened her grip on Hiccup's arm until he felt his own pulse throbbing painfully under her hand. “You two are coming with me.” 

As he was being forcibly escorted away, Hiccup turned to check on the others. Merida was struggling against the biceps of a woman who was trying to carry her away, even though the effort must have hurt her shoulder terribly. Jack was facing the other way and wasn’t fighting back.

Hiccup caught Rapunzel’s gaze, and she just gave him a sad expression, then Astrid turned the corner, and he was alone.

They walked through the village on the main road, which gave everyone who had been yelled at by Gobber a chance to gawk at Hiccup's misery. He was used to their judgmental looks, but today it felt like they were striking him like arrows.

Passing through the main square, he saw some people busy picking up the destroyed or half-burned beams from the remains of a house to pile them on a cart.

He gathered the courage to speak. “Was the village attacked?”

“Last night,” his father said dryly while avoiding looking at him. “Without Astrid and the others, putting out the fires has been a problem.”

Hiccup bit his tongue. Great, more guilt. Just what he needed.

They arrived in front of their house, but instead of heading toward the building similar to many other houses on Berk with its painted decorations around the door and the sloping roof, his father walked right past it.

A chill ran down Hiccup’s spine. Stoick wasn’t going to lecture him at home, as he’d thought, but he was taking them to the Great Hall. He would speak to him as a Chief, not as a father.

Stoick effortlessly pushed open the heavy, carved double doors, letting in a sliver of light that cut the stone floor like a white blade. At that hour, the hall was empty and sadly silent without the usual cheerful chaos associated with meals. The braziers were out and the cold drafts that followed every summer sunset were starting to come through the door.

Stoick closed them with a loud thud that cut off the three of them from the rest of the world, leaving only the eyes of the figures depicted in the statues and tapestries watching from above. He walked over to one of the long tables and leaned on it with both hands, his back to them and his broad shoulders hunched as if under some invisible weight.

“Why did you bring the other three here?” he asked Astrid.

“They would never have let us take Hiccup without causing us any trouble,” she said in a neutral tone. “I thought arresting them all would be easier.”

Stoick nodded, reached into his belt pouch, and handed her four shiny gold coins. “You did a good job, Hofferson. You can go home now.”

She looked at the king’s profile engraved on one of the coins, her expression thoughtful, almost sulky, before leaving. Hiccup didn’t miss the quick gesture with which she slipped the money into a random abandoned mug. Because Astrid was cool like that.

He was left alone with his father, who finally turned to face him. Hiccup gritted his teeth and held his gaze as it twisted from coldness to irritation, finally settling into pure anger.

“What’s gotten into you, Hiccup?” he snapped.

“I was—” Hiccup said, but was interrupted.

“Going around with those—those people, on the back of a dragon, possibly being seen by half the kingdom…” his father said, pacing back and forth. “Astrid wrote me that you want to stop the Duel. Do you have any idea what the consequences would be? Our relationship with Dunbroch and Corona is hanging by a thread, and you’re plotting to ruin something we’ve been preparing for eighteen years?”

He stopped pacing the same stretch of floor as if he needed to catch his breath, giving Hiccup a chance to desperately attempt to defend himself.

“We weren’t plotting, Dad,” he said. “We just want to do the right thing, even if apparently no one's smart enough to stop and think for a minute.” Fervor rose in his chest like lava inside Tere’s Mouth, heating him up. “Did it ever occur to you that this Duel thing is a stupid idea? Do you really think that me becoming king would change our position?” He pointed his finger at him. “It would only make things worse! It would drive us further apart!”

Stoick’s mustache twitched. “Did those three put this nonsense in your head?”

The heat was burning Hiccup’s face now. He had a fleeting thought that this must be how a dragon felt, when fire was just about to come out of its mouth.

“Those three are my friends.”

“You’ve known them for a month!”

“I know them better than I know you,” he spat. “And they know me better than anyone on this island does.” He pointed to the doors. “Let me go to Amberray, and we’ll fix everything! If we bring—”

“Enough!” Stoick roared at Hiccup, who flinched. He used to get yelled at at least three times a day, but his father had never been the type to shout and scream, unlike Spitelout.

“You’re not leaving unless I say so,” Stoick continued with rare fury. “Because you’re going to fight that Duel, and even if you lose, you’ll stay on Berk! No more of this senseless travel!”

He turned away making his fur cloak swirl behind him, without giving Hiccup a chance to reply, and marched toward the doors.

Hiccup clenched his fists until they hurt. 

It was too much. This was too much, and his father was walking away as usual, already having made a decision for him.

Enough, Hiccup thought. He would never let him interfere again.

“All you care about is that stupid Duel!” he shouted after him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got you covered: Mom didn’t just give you an Heir or a future Chief, she gave you a son too, you know?”

Stoick stopped, as still as one of the statues depicting war heroes and wise Chiefs in the hall.

Hiccup struggled to relax his aching fingers. “And I’m sorry, but it looks like I’m not good enough for any of those things.”

He hated the way his voice faltered until it cracked on the last word, making it sound like a final plea.

Stoick, still at the door with his back to him, grabbed the doorframe. For just a moment his imposing figure shook as if the tremor had come from his very soul, then he let out a breath that sounded like it had cost him everything. And he left.

Hiccup liked to think of himself as a calm guy. It was yet another contrast to the Hairy Hooligan temperament, more prone to reactions dictated by strong emotions such as passion, anger, or joy. Sure, it was a useful trait that could fire you up before throwing yourself into battle, but he didn't mind facing problems with a bit of clarity.

Or at least, that was what he repeated to himself mentally, as he filled the Great Hall with a single, instinctive cry of pure frustration. The last echoes reverberated between the stone walls, leaving his throat sore.

For the first time in his life, Hiccup had run out of ideas. 

He had no crazy, brilliant plans, no tricks up his sleeve, no friends to turn to for help. He was fifteen again, alone in an Arena facing an incapacitated dragon, a dagger in his hand and the feeling that he had done every single thing wrong.

The most cowardly part of him urged Hiccup to find a way to go to Toothless and fly away to distant lands never to return. Just a month ago, that had been his best plan. 

Then the others had come.

Hiccup sighed. No, he certainly couldn't abandon those idiots of his friends. They would never forgive him. He would never forgive himself.

“Now those are some impressive lungs,” said a voice.

Hiccup didn't need to turn around to recognize Astrid's sarcasm. He assumed she had been hiding behind the door, eavesdropping.

“Are you still here? What do you want?” he said, rubbing his tired eyes.

Astrid approached him with her usual soldierly pace. 

“The truth,” she said simply.

Hiccup turned just so she could see him looking at her suspiciously.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we met at the inn in Dunbroch,” Astrid continued, fidgeting with her belt, her gaze lost in the cracks between the stones of the floor. Despite having disappeared into a cabin for a whole day after they’d boarded the boat, she didn’t look rested. “You keep saying you want to make things right, but that’s all.” She looked him straight in the eye again. “Explain yourself.”

Now, theoretically Hiccup could have refused to answer; after being dragged onto a boat, he was pretty sure he had the right to do so. However, he also knew that if he denied Astrid an explanation, he wouldn’t walk out of the hall with every bone intact.

Besides, he had nothing left to lose.

He took his time before answering. He didn’t know where to begin. “You know the blonde girl, Rapunzel?”

First Astrid nodded. Then her expression changed completely, as quickly as the summer sky. “No.”

“Yes,” Hiccup said, understanding her reaction.

“No,” she repeated, almost angrily. “It’s just a coincidence she shares the name of the Lost Princess. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Jack says it’s her. He recognized her powers, or something like that.”

Astrid stared at him, shocked, if not offended. Then she found the nearest bench and sat down, running a hand over her bangs. “That’s why you were going to the capital… Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“And what would you have done if I did?” Hiccup huffed. He had actually thought about it, back at the inn, but had dismissed the idea.

“I don’t know…” Astrid said. “Maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Is Merida okay with all this?”

Hiccup bit his cheek. “She doesn’t know. Even Rapunzel doesn't know, actually.” 

She blinked and shook her head. “Don't you think they have the right to know? It's Rapunzel's life, and Merida's been preparing for the Duel since she was born. What's your plan, to force Rapunzel to become queen five minutes after finding out she's a princess?”

“I don't know!” Hiccup said sharply. “Look, I don't care if Rapunzel, Merida, or whoever takes the crown, as long as someone starts fixing the kingdom’s problems!”

Astrid’s eyebrows shot up. “Problems?”

“Yes,” he said heatedly. “We’ve seen from traveling around Fewor that there’s a lot of work to do.”

Hiccup had known that even before he'd started the journey, but after seeing all those new places and new people, his eyes had opened. He'd started to notice all the issues, big and small, that needed to be addressed.

“I thought you didn’t care about the kingdom. Looks like I don’t have to worry about that,” Astrid said, standing up from the bench.

Hiccup’s shoulders slumped. The fire from moments ago had died down, giving way to a depressing emptiness. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re stuck here, and unless the gods bother to take a look down here at the right time, we can forget about our plans.”

Astrid’s gaze began to wander across the ceiling of the hall, thoughtful. “Of course, it would be very convenient if I were granted first watch at the Arena where they keep your dragon. I mean, no one would dream of denying me that,” she mused aloud.

Hiccup stared at her in silence, unable to believe he'd heard correctly.

“And it would be very unfortunate if I fell asleep while I'm at home and missed my watch, right? But after the long and tiring journey to find the Chief’s son, it wouldn’t be surprising if that happened,” she continued casually. “Who would have the nerve to blame me?”

Hiccup’s mouth dropped open. He must have been hallucinating. “Astrid…”

“Don’t even try,” she warned, quickly switching from vague to menacing. “I don’t want to hear any thanks from you.” She clenched her jaw, frowning. “And I don’t deserve it.”

“But,” Hiccup stammered, confused, “but then why? You’d betray my father’s trust in you — and believe me, it's a lot. I thought he was the only person you truly respected.”

She glanced toward the doors. “Yeah, I thought so too.” She sighed before turning his way. “The thing is… I’m afraid I respect you a little more than I respect him, now.”

Hiccup noticed it wasn’t the usual contempt that was looking at him, but instead there was a new light in her expression. He wondered if it had something to do with the conversation she’d just overheard.

Astrid had defeated him, at least mentally. Hiccup was speechless, and he couldn’t even fill the void by thanking her; he’d taken her warning very seriously.

“You should hurry, whatever crazy plan you have ready,” she said.

Hiccup nodded feeling a strange lump in his throat, backing away until his hand found the doors, which he left behind himself.

Forget the gods. All he'd needed was Astrid Hofferson's mercy.

She was right, obviously. As soon as Hiccup had realized he was going to have her help, he'd gotten a pretty clear idea of ​​what to do. He just had to watch his back from the rest of the village.

The armory, where he suspected their stuff had been moved, was all the way on the opposite part of Berk, forcing Hiccup to crawl along the walls of the houses to avoid being noticed. He wanted to rush to free Toothless, but it was wiser to wait until nightfall, when the darkness would easily hide them from prying eyes.

Hiccup recognized his father's voice from the square. “...Just a misunderstanding, no need to worry,” he was explaining reassuringly to a few frowning people. In the front line, obviously, was Spitelout.

Hiccup left them to their arguments and ducked between two buildings. The armory was unguarded, so he was able to enter without any issues, making his way into that maze of swords, axes, spears, war hammers — crochet needles? — shields, maces and whatnot.

He found their weapons abandoned in a corner, and it was then that he realized that walking around with all that stuff would make him a traveling stall, but he didn't have much choice.

He slung Merida's bow and quiver over his shoulder, hung Rapunzel's frying pan to his belt, tucked Jack's staff under his armpit, gathered Toothless's bags and saddle, and when it came time to get his fin, Hiccup realized that it was torn.

Surely the Hairy Hooligans' rough manners were to blame, he thought irritated as he clicked his tongue. He resigned himself to adding another stop to his plan and sneaked out of the armory, doing his best not to sound like a scrap metal concert.

Gobber's forge had been his refuge for many years, until Hiccup had grown old enough to wander the forest without risk of death. Every kid was expected to do their part for their eccentric little community, and after being told “no” by everyone, the forge had been his only option. He felt sorry he hadn't had many opportunities to visit it lately.

Hiccup closed the door behind him, not without some difficulty, before putting aside his precious baggage and rummaging through the baskets and shelves he was still somewhat familiar with. He found the spare fabric he had hidden years before in a chest under a table, and worked on changing the old one using a large needle and the strongest thread he had to pierce the thick material that allowed the prosthesis to resist wind and wear for a long time. 

Once the repair was finished, he took a few moments to admire his work, satisfied with his fast job, before preparing to leave the forge.

He was passing by the table he had spent hours and hours working on as a kid, when he glimpsed a sheet of paper hanging on the wall out of the corner of his eye.

Hiccup remembered those drawings: it was the last project he'd started working on, never to be continued. His fingers traced the outlines that had been sketched in charcoal with the meticulousness and patience of someone who had a lot of free time.

He still had a few hours before it got dark. And nothing to do in the meantime.

Hammer. Tongs. The roughness of the leather apron string as he tied it around his waist. The fire in the furnace, only a timid flame at first. The blow of the bellows to make it grow.

Hiccup took the sheet of paper off the wall to place it on the nearest table, where he could refer to it more comfortably. When the heat of the fire filled the whole forge, he took the first bar of iron to put on it. He waited until the bar turned a deep yellow, then began to work.

He soon realized he was going to have some difficulty. Between one hammer blow and the next, Hiccup checked his old drawing, comparing it with his rough work; he'd been using the forge mostly for repairs to Toothless’s fin for years, and he was lacking practice. If he kept up this pace, he was likely to take twice as long as expected.

“What are ye doing here?”

Hiccup almost hammered his finger.

Gobber was watching from the doorway, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

Hiccup, still with the hammer raised and the iron bar threatening to cool down on him, wet his lips. “I…”

“That thing’s uglier than yer first nail,” Gobber muttered. He swapped the hook for the hammer-shaped prosthetic and walked over to the anvil, his wooden leg thumping under him. “Give it here.”

Without asking, he took the bar from Hiccup, who could do nothing but watch Gobber tidy up his work, muttering comments about how pitiful it looked, occasionally glancing at the drawings.

Hiccup was basically speechless. He would have expected a scolding, or at best a snort and an eye roll, before gettinh kicked out the forge, not spontaneous help.

Maybe Rapunzel was right that time in the swamps, he reflected, also thinking about Astrid's words. Maybe there really was someone in Berk he could count on.

Even though he'd been rudely pushed aside, Hiccup had to admit that watching Gobber was fascinating: he didn't fight against the iron like it was an enemy to be forced to bend at his will, but he handled it with the confidence of an old friend.

However, Hiccup couldn't sit on his hands like that, even though he would have liked to continue being a spectator and learn the art from Gobber, and he shifted his attention to the handle to build, about which he felt more confident.

They worked for a while in silence, both focused on their own task. Hiccup was beginning to remember why he used to retreat to the forge as a child: the back of the shop was free of the hustle and bustle of the village streets, and when he was there his mind went blank, focusing solely on what was in front of him. He was no longer the Chief's son, or the Heir of the Archipelago. He was just the blacksmith's assistant.

Hiccup didn't notice that night had fallen until Gobber lit the various candles scattered around the forge, then he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm and straightened his back. The hilt was ready to be assembled.

Gobber squinted, weighing the newly finished sword with some puzzlement. “I don't see what ye need a blunt blade for. Or that spring. Or a hollow hilt.”

Hiccup rummaged inside Toothless's saddlebags and showed him two small cylindrical canisters. “Do you know what a Monstrous Nightmare uses to catch on fire?”

“The gel from its skin?” Gobber looked at the drawings again, and his frown cleared with sudden understanding. He scratched his head. “I thought I was helping ye build something to escape.”

“I thought you were helping me as a distraction to make me stay,” Hiccup replied.

“Eh, that’s a lost cause.”

They laughed like they'd often done in less turbulent times, stained with soot, soaked in sweat and, at least in Hiccup's case, with sore arms.

With Gobber's help and his precious suggestions, after another hour they found themselves admiring the result of their hard work: a sword with a blade shaped like a hollow frame that could be retracted with a mechanism, capable of holding up to two bottles of Monstrous Nightmare gel or Hideous Zippleback gas.

Hiccup was particularly proud of the double lighter at both ends of the hilt, and showed it to Gobber. “Just a spark and boom!”

“Aye, aye, but not here,” he quickly calmed him down. He cast a critical glance to the window to check the dark sky where the stars were starting to show themselves. “You should go.”

“Yeah. Gobber…” Hiccup hesitated. What could he say to the man who had been his confidant for fifteen years before Toothless had taken his place, who had helped him despite his own unwavering loyalty to a lifelong friend?

“Stoick is my best friend, but I think yer old man needs a chance to see who his son really is.” Gobber grinned crookedly and gave him a loud pat on the shoulder. “Be careful out there.”

Hiccup nodded despite the lump in his throat. He strapped his new sword to his belt, gathered his things, and walked out of the forge without looking back.

Early summer evenings in Berk were pleasantly crisp, encouraging the Hairy Hooligans to gather around their home fires. As Hiccup walked through the village streets, he was accompanied by occasional fits of laughter, off-key chants, and flashes of animated discussion. As he passed his house, for a brief moment he wondered bitterly if his father was already looking for him, then he went straight past it and took the path that led to the Arena.

It was east of the village, less than a half an hour walk on a path overgrown with thorn bushes and rabbit holes, dug into the top of a high cliff. Hiccup associated it with several unpleasant memories, starting with all the awful training sessions as a child. Later it had become a meeting point for young Berkians, jumping to the top of his list of places to avoid as much as possible. More conflicting was his last memory, dating back to the day he'd freed Toothless from the ritual sacrifice.

All this to say that Hiccup descended the stone steps that led to the heart of the Arena with no small amount of anxiety. At least Astrid had followed her words with action: there wasn't a soul around. 

The net of thick chains above his head that kept the dragons from escaping rattled in the wind.

“Toothless?” Hiccup called, halfway between a whisper and a hiss.

A low groan sounded to his left. Hiccup abandoned all fear and ran toward the thick door of the row of cells from which the cry came. “I’m here, bud, I’ll get you out of there.”

There were no complicated locks sealing the door, just a log that any Hairy Hooligan could lift in their sleep.

Hiccup had a harder time, but Toothless’s cries behind the door encouraged him to push until his muscles felt like they were on fire from the effort, and somehow he managed to move the log, which fell to the floor with a couple of thuds.

Inside the dim cell, Toothless’s green eyes stood out, larger than normal and cut by narrow pupils. The poor thing shook his head, constricted by a muzzle, but he whimpered in relief when he saw Hiccup. He dropped to his knees and struggled with the muzzle until it came open, and he tossed it aside.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, pressing his forehead against Toothless’s rough, warm snout. “It must have been bad for you to be back in here.”

Toothless stared at him with pupils so dilated Hiccup could see himself in them, ears down.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said.

Toothless was more upset than he feared, because he didn’t start their usual game of tag when Hiccup put the saddle and bags on his back, but followed him out of the cell, eager to leave.

Hiccup took a peek right out of the Arena, at the top of the steps, checked to make sure no one was hiding in the stands and waved the dragon out. The saddle felt strangely empty as he mounted it alone for the first time in weeks.

Toothless spread his wings, evidently feeling much better now that they were in an open space.

“Wanna stage a little prison break?” Hiccup asked, clicking the mechanism of his tail.

Toothless roared as if to challenge the sky itself, and Hiccup had no doubt the dragon was confident enough for that to be the case. “Let’s go.”

The prisons of Berk weren't on the main island, instead they'd been built long ago on a small islet half a day’s journey from the village. The waters inhabited by Thunderdrums made sure that the prisoners couldn't escape by swimming, and the boat in charge of carrying supplies or any other necessities was made in a special shape to confuse the dragons and not get attacked.

The island took its name from the legend of Bob the Destroyer, who had passed away after ninety long years and equally numerous battles. According to the myth, when the gods had invited him to join them in their home among the stars, Bob, ascending to the skies, had come across a dragon and like any good Hairy Hooligan, had fought against it. In the fight he'd lost one of his famous ruined teeth, which had fallen into the sea.

The island was therefore named Destroyer Tooth, but only because Bob's Tooth was already the name of a popular family tourist destination.

Hiccup and Toothless arrived in sight of the prisons in time to catch a glimpse of the rising moon. The black stone fortress, affectionately known as the Cavity, stood tall and solid, defying the waves that crashed against the islet.

Hiccup patted Toothless on the neck and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Let’s blend in.”

A Night Fury wasn’t called that for nothing, and the dragon flew over the prison with only a faint snap of his wings to reveal their presence. Hiccup lay as flat as he could on the saddle.

The Cavity hadn’t been designed to accommodate a dragon's size, so they settled for a crash landing on the roof, where Hiccup dropped from Toothless’s back. Peering down toward the center of the fortress, he found out that the old building bordered an inside courtyard and was several stories tall.

Hiccup assumed there might be a higher risk of being seen from that side, so he turned to face the exterior. Below them were windows too small for a Hairy Hooligan.

Unless that Hooligan was named Hiccup.

He instructed Toothless to let his tail hang down the outside wall, then said a quick prayer to Ohl, grabbed onto the tail as best he could, and used it as a rope to lower himself down, while Toothless clung to the roof with his claws.

Judging by the chains hanging from the ceiling, the meager straw bed in the corner and the musty smell, he'd just entered a cell. Luckily, the barred door was open.

From outside, Toothless groaned in displeasure.

“We'll meet up later,” Hiccup promised, leaning out of the window, where the dragon was looking upside down at him. “I’ll go get the others and be right back. You wait here, alright bud?”

Toothless grumbled a little, but let him go without much fuss.

Hiccup stepped out of the cell and into a narrow hallway filled only by the howling wind. He walked slowly into the fortress, checking to make sure he was alone before turning each corner. He made it to the stairs to the lower level without passing anyone, and that was when a flash of intuition struck him.

The cells on the top floor he'd seen so far were empty, and Hiccup realized the others would be too, except for the one he was looking for. According to his father, the reason was that under his leadership, Berk was free of criminals; according to Hiccup, that was because nothing ever happened in that godsforsaken place.

So it meant there would be few guards watching over the prisoners, and it was no surprise that it had been easy, at least so far. He still would have to figure out how to get rid of whatever huge warrior was guarding the cell.

He walked the corridors of the fortress for an eternity and a half, until he heard a faint buzz coming from the last cell to check on the ground floor, the first one near the entrance. Disappointing, but practical.

Hiccup looked around, but there were no guards in sight, and the door was open. Okay, that was weird.

As he approached the cell he recognized his friends' voices, and quickened his pace. “Are you guys okay?”

The murmuring stopped abruptly, replaced by a single, surprised voice. “Hiccup?”

Rapunzel emerged from the cell, followed by Merida, and her face broke into a smile when she saw him. “Hiccup! You came!”

She ran to him, spread her arms, and engulfed him in a tight hug. Hiccup patted her shoulder a few times awkwardly, before hugging her back. She'd spent half a day in a dark, damp cell, and yet she smelled like summer. How was that even possible?

“Of course I came,” he said, nodding his chin at Merida, who didn’t return it and wrapped her arms around herself.

“You left us here to rot for hours,” she said.

Rapunzel released Hiccup from the embrace, allowing him to breathe again. 

“Sorry about that, I had to wait until dark,” he explained.

Merida shifted her shoulders reluctantly. Hiccup felt on his back the cold shiver of suspicion that she still hadn’t forgotten Astrid and Snotlout’s words at the Silverwick mines.

“And the guards?” he asked, also to change the subject.

“We've handled it,” Merida said dryly.

She pointed away from the cell, forcing Hiccup to crane his neck to notice the body slumped against the wall, which, after a moment of tense stillness, he found was still breathing. He opted not to ask what had happened exactly.

“Where’s Jack?” he asked.

“Still in there.”

Rapunzel grimaced slightly. “Maybe you can convince him, Hiccup.”

“To do what?”

A sigh. “To get out.”

Surprised, Hiccup stuck his head inside the cell. Jack wasn't hard to spot even in the dim light, betrayed by the silver reflections the pale moonlight radiated on his hair. Like he'd done during the boat journey, he sat in a corner with his arms folded, as if living in a reality separate from the rest of the world. His gaze, usually playful or at worst melancholic, now seemed dull.

“Hey, uh. Hi,” Hiccup said with some difficulty. Dealing with people was beyond his skills, unless they were a bad-tempered dragon.

Behind him, Rapunzel waved her hands in encouragement. Merida shook her head. Hard to tell who he should listen to.

“I came with Toothless, your staff is with him,” he continued uncertainly. “We can leave this place. Leave of the Archipelago.”

Jack’s hand tightened into a fist on his knee. “It’s no use now,” he said softly. “It’s too late.”

“You keep saying that, but it doesn’t matter,” Rapunzel said vehemently. “Never mind if we miss the festival… It takes place every year, doesn't it?” She flashed another smile, but Hiccup sensed it was less spontaneous. “The important thing is that we’re all together.”

Jack shook his head with a small movement. “Yes, but the Duel is once in a lifetime.”

Hiccup bit his tongue.

Rapunzel’s smile faltered. She was probably trying to understand where Jack’s disappointment was coming from. “I… I guess we’ll find a way to solve this too.” She turned to Merida. “Right?”

“Right,” Hiccup said, seeing as she was showing no sign of being willing to help Rapunzel. “If we can find a way to contact Amberray, the Duel can be postponed. Or rather, the official Duelists presentation day can.”

“See?” Rapunzel said, relieved. “So there’s no need to worry, Jack! Together we can—”

“No.” Jack leapt to his feet, so quickly it felt like the wind itself had lifted him. “It’s too late. And nothing’s going to change that!”

Rapunzel fell silent, taken aback. In fact, Jack had never spoken to her in that tone before.

Hiccup began to worry. “Jack…”

Merida stepped forward, suddenly alight with the same fervor. “Why not? Why would you just give up like that, even though Rapunzel doesn’t care about missing Veeta’s festival, even though we can push the deadline back? What’s your problem?”

“My—” Jack snapped, clutching at the air. “My problem is that I failed! Rapunzel’s birthday can’t be moved, dammit!”

“What does Rapunzel’s birthday have to do with this?” Merida asked, clearly irritated by Jack’s nervousness.

Rapunzel, no longer smiling, frowned. “Yes, it’s on the same day of the festival, but I said it doesn’t—”

“It’s too late!” he repeated. “You don’t understand, it’s too late! We won’t get there in time!”

Exasperated, Merida snarled, “Why should it matter so much?”

Hiccup would later try to justify himself by saying it had all happened too fast for him to do anything.

The truth was, he knew what was coming. But did nothing to stop it.

Maybe, deep down, he thought it was the best thing for everyone.

“Because,” Jack spat out as if the words had struggled for years before seeing the light, “she’s the fucking Lost Princess!”

Chapter Text

The Lost Princess…

Jack’s words echoed through the empty hallway, overwhelming Rapunzel like a storm. For a moment, it was the only sound, except for his tense breathing.

Merida looked from Rapunzel to Jack. “And you expect me to believe you? How can you be so sure?”

“Oh come on, she’s a girl named Rapunzel who’s been locked in a tower for eighteen years,” Jack exclaimed. “And I recognize her magic. That baby had the same powers.”

Rapunzel’s faint hope that she had misheard, or that this was all a dream, burst like a delicate soap bubble.

Merida took a staggering step back as if feeling weak, mirroring her state of mind.

Rapunzel watched Hiccup’s reaction. He gave her a look full of embarrassment and shame. “I’m sorry. The woman you call Mother lied to you.”

Merida flinched, horrified. “I knew you two were up to something! But to keep this secret like we’re stupid…”

“Merida…”

“No.” She put up a wall against every excuse. “You knew, and you didn’t say anything. How could you?”

The voices of her friends became muffled, distant. The prison walls seemed to close in on Rapunzel, choking her breath.

Her feet acted almost on their own and carried her out, away from the cold, damp cell, away from the discussion, away from a truth too big to fathom.

Before she knew it, she found herself on the wave-battered cliff, facing a horizon where water and sky blended together. The moon, surrounded by a court of stars, watched silently from above.

As much as Rapunzel breathed in the sea air, her vision was still clouded by a veil that made everything intangible. Her knees buckled, making her collapse onto the rough rock, seemingly the only solid element. With each wave that crashed on the cliff, cold droplets wet her face. She felt Pascal snuggle closer to her neck.

If she had received this news before leaving home, she wouldn’t have believed it, not with her view of the world from back then, narrowed to the shape of a tower.

But Rapunzel was no longer that person. Her way of seeing and experiencing things had shifted, during the journey, and it seemed like it was happening again. Only this time it was a violent, sudden change that swept away the beliefs that Rapunzel had painstakingly rebuilt from scratch, and it wasn’t allowing her to cling to them for safety.

The roar of the sea filled her ears with a somber echo.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she saw someone come and sit down next to her. The untamed red hair was unmistakable.

“How… how are you?”

Rapunzel simply shook her head, trusting that she could see her.

“I’m sorry,” Merida said sadly. “It must be a shock. I still can’t believe those… those two…” she trailed off without choosing an insult from her extensive repertoire.

“Are you mad at them?” Rapunzel whispered.

“Aren’t you?” Merida snorted. “Aye, I guess they had their damned good intentions, but the fact remains they’ve acted like idiots.”

Rapunzel secretly agreed. She didn’t doubt her friends’ good faith, even if keeping the truth from her for weeks was disrespectful.

She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t understand why Mother never told me.”

“Mothers,” Merida said dryly. “They always think they know better.”

Rapunzel wondered how it all had happened. From what she’d been told, the princess — or rather, she thought with a shiver not caused by the sea breeze, she — had gone missing when she was barely a baby. Somehow, Mother had found her. She’d have to ask her, when she could.

Merida threw a pebble down below, making it disappear against the crashing waves. “So what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to lose your birthright once you turn eighteen, but according to the rules, you’re still a candidate for the throne. Like I said before, we’ll find a way to postpone everything for a bit.”

Rapunzel finally looked at her. Merida was serious, her windswept red curls brushing her cheeks.

“Are you asking me if I want to compete in the Duel of the Heirs?”

She shrugged. “I think it’s only fair that you at least try.”

Rapunzel felt light-headed. Queen. It was such an unthinkable idea, and yet, according to Merida, also possible.

“But what about you?” she stammered, still shaken. “Didn't you say you need the title to become free?”

Merida winked at her. “Eh, you’d still have to beat me in the Duel first.” She turned to the horizon with a thoughtful expression. “I actually wouldn’t mind fighting for the throne. That’s what I was expecting to have to deal with, before Hiccup came and flipped my plans.”

Rapunzel tugged at her brown braid. She tried to imagine it: her arriving in Amberray, demanding her right to fight for the crown, somehow winning, and becoming the kingdom’s ruler. Even as she struggled to construct the scenario in her mind, a spark lit up in her chest, warm and pleasant. 

“I could do anything,” she whispered more to herself than to anyone else.

“That’s right, you wouldn’t need to keep adding to the list of things I'd have to take care of, but do it yourself instead,” Merida added with what was undoubtedly relief. “No pressure, of course, you can think—”

“I'll do it,” Rapunzel announced, standing up. “I want to try.”

Merida did the same. For the first time since they had arrived on Berk, she smiled. “That’s the spirit.” She held out a hand to Rapunzel. “Then may the best win.”

Rapunzel returned the happy expression and squeezed her hand, before feeling reality settle back in on her shoulders. “First I need to talk to Jack.”

Merida’s face darkened as well. “I have a feeling he’s in deep in this.”

Rapunzel pointed to the fortress. “Are you coming with me?”

“Of course, he owes us both some explaining,” Merida replied with a sort of fierce determination, as if Rapunzel’s attitude had affected her mood.

When they returned, they found Hiccup pacing up and down the hall, mumbling under his breath. Toothless had joined him, and was sitting there watching him, following his movements with his head.

When Hiccup saw them return, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Rapunzel with the same nauseated expression he'd had when they had stood in front of his father (a terrifying man).

“Rapunzel, I’m sorry…”

“Later,” she said nervously, without stopping.

Hiccup frowned by hearing her tone, and he fell silent.

Jack was still inside the cell. He was back to the position he'd been in all afternoon, still as a statue.

Rapunzel couldn’t see his face, but she could guess his state of mind. Even though she was still mad at him for deceiving her, it hurt to see him like that. He was her friend afterall, and she cared about him.

“Jack, please get out of there,” she said, speaking like she was talking to a wounded animal by instinct.

He was more cooperative than she expected, because he stood up and slowly walked out into the open, his jaw clenched and his gaze down.

“There’s the warden’s room that way,” Hiccup said, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “It’ll be warmer.”

It was indeed a cozy, comfortable refuge, contrasting the inhospitable surroundings of the rest of the prison: a still-burning fire pit stood in the center, topped by a blackened metal frame for hanging pots and pans. The rest of the furniture — a single table and chair, a wardrobe, and an unmade bed — was simple, but had all the comforts of home.

In silent agreement, they crouched in a circle on the floor around the fire pit, taking advantage of the heat cast on the stone. Toothless, who alone took up half the floor, curled up in the corner near the door, filling the room with his soft snores with admirable speed.

Rapunzel defied the silence that had fallen between them, since she was the one who was demanding an explanation. “I want to know everything.”

Jack stared at the flames for a long time, which reflected in his eyes, giving him a slight ghostly look. Then he blinked and took a deep breath, preparing for a demanding task.

“Then I’ll start from the beginning, so you can understand what happened,” he said, slightly hunching his back. He showed a sardonic half-smile. “And I know you’re dying to know my whole story.”

Was there more to it? Rapunzel thought Jack had told them most of his past during their stop in Hawthorne — at least what he could remember.

“As you know, after I woke up with no memory, I stayed with Joyce Bennett’s family for a while before deciding to leave in search of clues to my origins,” Jack said. “I wandered for months before I ended up in Amberray. By the time I got to the capital, my hopes were pretty much gone, because it had been a complete failure. That’s when they found me.”

“The royal guards?” Hiccup anticipated, his expression tense on his face as if he already knew what was coming.

Jack nodded. “A man named North was the head of the special guard that was created a few months before, made up of the Starfolks who had found the magical cure for the queen’s illness. I met him while I was wandering aimlessly through the town streets, and he asked me to join them.”

Merida’s mouth dropped, her hostile attitude momentarily put aside. “You used to be a member of the royal guard? I can't imagine it.”

“I didn’t think I was suited either, but North can be very convincing,” Jack said with a shrug. “Anyway, our job was to protect the royal family, especially the newly born princess. You,” he added, looking at Rapunzel.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before the words finally came out. “You knew me. You knew me before we met in the tower,” she said in a low voice.

Merida pointed an accusatory finger at Jack, distracting Rapunzel from the feeling that the floor had begun to wobble. “So that’s why you've been so sure Rapunzel is the princess from the beginning. You’d seen her before.”

“And after that? After that, what happened?” Rapunzel asked, feeling a strange anxiety tighten her chest.

Jack looked down. His fingers clenched into fists. “You already figured out how this ends,” he said to Hiccup, bitterness deepening his expression.

“I—I only have a theory,” he replied defensively.

“Go on, Jack,” Rapunzel insisted.

He looked off into the distance, as if he could see the world beyond the walls. “It was winter. That night I was supposed to guard your nursery with Bunnymund, but he didn't feel well. I told him he could trust me, that I could manage on my own.” He shuddered. “And he did.”

“The Magic Keeper had told me about a secret room somewhere in the castle, with walls made of mirror-quartz that showed the souls of those who looked inside. He'd said he didn’t know where it was, but that sometimes the mirror-quartz would call people to the room. People who needed to find themselves.”

Rapunzel remembered the attraction she'd felt towards the crystals in the Cave of Anim, and the unfamiliar faces she had glimpsed there.

“I was standing outside the nursery when I heard it.” Jack closed his eyes. He spoke as if going on cost him physical pain. “A voice calling my name. I… I swear I felt like I knew it.” He shook his head, his features distorted with regret. “I left my post to follow it, but I found nothing, and when I came back…”

Jack’s voice cracked. A part of Rapunzel wanted to run back outside to stop listening, but she knew she needed to hear the rest with her own ears.

Jack opened his eyes. “…You were gone.”

Rapunzel took refuge in the faces of the others. Merida looked frozen, Hiccup was nervous. Toothless was still sitting, but his eyes were now open.

“So that’s why you were exiled from Corona that day?” Hiccup said, frowning. “That’s… kind of messed up.”

“Sorry I've dragged you into this mess,” Jack said.

“What? No,” Hiccup mumbled. “I mean, helping you was my choice, not yours.”

The silence that followed big revelations fell again. Rapunzel felt the beginnings of a migraine stinging her forehead; it was as if the impossibly overwhelming mass of information, too inconceivable for her head, was pushing for an outlet.

She rested her elbows on her knees and covered her eyes, blocking out any light beyond them. Someone gently placed a hand on her back. Probably Merida.

When Rapunzel uncovered her face, she saw that no one had moved an inch. They were all waiting for her reaction.

She looked at Jack, who seemed even paler than usual, at least from what she could see of his bowed face.

She crawled to kneel before him. “Jack.”

He snapped his head up, showing the fear and pain filling his eyes.

Something inside Rapunzel switched. The smallest of the mechanisms in her mind had started to work, operating in a new way.

Because as shocked as she was by the pivotal role Jack had played in her first few months of life, and by the time they’d spent together without him telling her, as much as she would have every reason to hate him, she couldn’t help but think about what it meant to him. 

Hers was a guess, but there was a good chance Jack had finally felt accepted, among the royal guards, before he'd lost that too, and he’d had to live with an enormous guilt.

Rapunzel had had bad luck, sure, but he’d been left devastated.

“So you searched all over the kingdom for me? Alone?” she asked, her heart heavy at the thought of how he must have felt. “For eighteen years?”

Jack’s breathing became a little more labored. “I thought that by taking you back to your parents, I would make up for my mistake, that it would fix everything!” he explained vehemently. “It was my fault and I had to do something, so maybe they would change their minds, and I could go back to Amberray—”

Rapunzel hugged him tightly, abruptly stopping the stream of justifications.

She had acted on impulse: she knew Jack didn’t appreciate unnecessary physical contact, especially something as invasive as a hug. But she had a feeling that, just this once, he wouldn’t reject it.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” she said with a muffled voice, somewhere near his ear. “I’m not mad, and I don’t blame you. You didn’t mean for all this to happen.”

Jack let out a shaky breath, perfectly audible in the stunned silence of the room, before breaking down.

Harsh sobs shook Rapunzel, who was still clinging to him, and copious tears wet the shoulder where Jack had buried his face, as he completely let himself go for perhaps the first time in his life. Rapunzel wondered if freeing oneself of such a weight also brought a certain emptiness inside.

Little by little the tremors calmed down, like a summer storm, brief and violent, giving way to the sun, so Rapunzel let go of Jack, giving him the space to dry his eyes and catch his breath.

She thought long and hard about what to say next. When Jack seemed to have calmed down, Rapunzel decided that she needed to make things official, and for everything to be out in the open this time. “I'd still like you to accompany me to the capital. I have a Duel to fight.”

Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. “...Really? I mean… if that’s what you want, yeah, you can count on me,” he said, his voice still slightly hoarse.

Rapunzel smiled at him.

He smiled back after a brief hesitation, then turned to Merida. “I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me anymore. As soon as we get to the mainland, I’ll…”

“Are ye kidding?” Merida retorted. After Jack’s breakdown, her face had softened, losing much of the hostile look. “You wouldn’t survive a day without me.”

He looked like he was going to say something, but Merida forcefully ruffled his hair, obtaining the slightest hint of laughter from him instead.

“Hiccup, do you and Toothless still want to help us?” he asked.

Hiccup squeezed his shoulder, his eyes full of pride. “As long as the girls are okay with it, we’re in. Let’s do it.”

The excitement of the adventure ahead warmed Rapunzel’s spirits once again. “Then it’s decided: the journey continues!”

“And what about our tremendous delay?” Merida objected. “If people in Amberray don't see anyone arrive in a week, it’s going to be a mess.”

“We could send a message,” Hiccup suggested, tapping his chin with his index finger. “Something like ‘hey, we’re coming, don’t start without us’.”

Merida huffed in discouragement. “It’d never make it in time unless it was transported by…” she jumped and looked at Jack with wide eyes. “Of course!”

He blinked. “Of course what?”

Merida excitedly grabbed his arm (Jack stared at her hand in obvious confusion, but didn’t pull away). “We need some kind of magical message. Do you know of anything like that?”

“Uh, yeah, but nothing I know how to do,” Jack said. “We should ask someone who knows about that kind of stuff.”

“The village elder is the only Starfolk person around here that I know of,” Hiccup said. “Maybe she can help us.”

It sounded like a perfect plan, but he'd spoken with more than a little uncertainty, prompting Rapunzel to ask. “You think she won’t accept?”

Hiccup shrugged before answering. Rapunzel had learned by now there were different types of Haddock Shrugs, and this one indicated doubt. “She’s just… kind of… unusual, even for an old lady who’s lived in isolation for a few centuries, surrounded by artifacts and magic potions. So, yeah. Just don’t get your hopes up.”

“I think we should at least try,” Merida said, standing up. “You’re letting what other Berkians think influence you.”

Hiccup also jumped up, almost offended. “Look who’s talking! All right, then. We’ll go talk to old Gothi.”

As they got ready to leave — quickly, given the increasingly insistent grunts coming from outside, where they’d left the prison guard — Rapunzel noticed the object Hiccup was letting Toothless sniff, speaking to the dragon in a low voice.

Not recognizing the strange cylindrical shape with small dragon heads carved into the ends, she crept closer. “What is it?”

Hiccup weighed the object, smiling. “You’ll know when I have to use it.”

Rapunzel nudged his arm lightly with her elbow. “Come on, now I'm more curious than before.”

He chuckled. His expression was completely different from the one he'd had when they’d arrived at Berk's docks. “Trust me, the surprise is going to be worth it.”

“Hey, didn’t they lock Toothless up? How’d you leave the island?”

“I’m still not sure it wasn’t a dream, but it’s all thanks to Astrid,” Hiccup said, shaking his head. “She had a change of heart or something.”

“No way,” Merida gasped, appearing from Toothless’ opposite side.

Rapunzel, who couldn’t imagine a friendly and cooperative version of the axe girl, had no choice but to trust Hiccup’s words. Who knew if they’d ever see her again.

They snuck out of the fortress, stepping over the guard’s sprawling legs, and found themselves on the cliff whipped by a wind even stronger than before. They followed Hiccup, who led them around the rock to the southwest, where a small figure stood out against the horizon.

Rapunzel had to strain her eyes to make out the distinctive profile of the Isle of Berk in the dark. She thought about how it must have felt to be a prisoner locked there, forced to see her home every day from behind bars, visible yet unreachable.

They didn't waste any more time in chatter and got on Toothless, who took flight, leaving the island and the fortress behind.

It had been days since Rapunzel had last felt the wind ruffling her hair or heard the snap of Toothless' wings, as he swiftly glided over the vast ocean and the reflection of the moon on it. Rapunzel found it an extraordinary sight and decided that she liked the sea very much.

Hiccup whispered something in the dragon's ear, and when they were near enough for Rapunzel to see the individual houses of the village, they flew lower, close to the coast and away from prying eyes. When they came into sight of the peak that Hiccup called Raven Point, Toothless flapped his wings and flew up the slope opposite the village.

Rapunzel didn't notice the hut until they landed next to it. The modest little house seemed to rise from the peak itself, like a natural part of the environment, defying the void just outside the door. Traces of the path Toothless had landed on led down towards the village, following the profile of Raven Point, making it the most dangerous staircase ever.

“Watch your step,” Hiccup warned, and led the way to the hut after asking Toothless to wait there, since they couldn't bring an entire dragon with them; Rapunzel suspected the hut wouldn’t hold his weight, though she doubted he could even fit through the entrance in the first place.

Hiccup knocked on the door, and for a moment there was only silence, then someone finally answered.

After seeing several Hairy Hooligans, Rapunzel expected Gothi to be a six-foot-tall, extremely buff old lady, but instead they were facing a small, hunched woman, clutching a long cane that ended in the shape of a dragon head with an open mouth. Two silver braids framed a suspicious, intense look. Somehow, Rapunzel got the impression that she'd been waiting for them.

“Hi,” Hiccup said, clearly uncomfortable, “can we come in?”

Gothi squinted and stepped aside to let them pass. The interior of the hut was lit by a few candles, their flames reflecting on the various vials, bottles, jars and vases lined up on the shelves. It felt rather narrow but welcoming. The smell of various rows of herbs left hanging to dry filled the room and mingled with the one coming from the contents of a large pot that was boiling on the fire. A small open attic answered Rapunzel's question about where the woman slept.

Hiccup drummed his fingers on his legs. “So... you're probably wondering what we're doing here at this hour. Uh…”

Rapunzel glared at Merida, who rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “I'm Merida, this is Rapunzel,” — Rapunzel waved — “and this is Jack. You already know Hiccup. We're here for your goods.”

Gothi raised an eyebrow and looked at Merida with interest.

She glanced around. “Mind if we take a look?”

Gothi waved her arm, prompting them to approach the many shelves.

Rapunzel didn’t need to be told twice; the sparkle of the merchandise for sale had caught her attention from the moment she’d set foot in the hut. 

Upon closer inspection, she discovered seemingly mundane objects like spoons, combs, quills, paintbrushes, magnifying glasses, and hats. Others were more mysterious, like glass spheres, funny-looking bottles, and colorful crystals.

In her research, she bumped her shoulder on Merida’s, who was also busy examining the artifacts.

“Found something?” Rapunzel asked.

Merida seemed to notice an interesting object on a high shelf. “How about th—ouch!”

She'd made the mistake of stretching out her right arm, straining her recently injured shoulder, and now she was hunched over, looking a bit like Gothi, a grimace of pain on her face half hidden by her cascade of curls.

“Merida!” Rapunzel fumbled around her, sadly aware that she couldn’t do anything to help; she had healed the wound with her hair, but the pain still hadn’t gone away.

Jack and Hiccup rushed to check on what was happening, worried. “I’m so sorry, Merida. Attacking you from behind was cowardly of Snotlout,” he said.

She straightened her back squinting, a little paler than before. “I’m fine. It will pass with time, like it happened with Jack.” She looked at him, her wink ruined by the pain in her face. “Now we’re stab wound buddies. Isn’t it neat?”

At least it managed to make him let out a real laugh for the first time in days — Rapunzel had missed that sound.

Hiccup crossed his arms. “There’s nothing neat about it.”

Gothi stepped between them, reminding Rapunzel of her silent presence. She was holding something in her bony hand that she passed to Merida, or rather, stuffed into her arms. Then she walked to a small dining table, her cane tapping on the wooden floor, and with her foot she moved something from under it, dragging the object over to them. It was a low box of sand, and she traced something on it with the tip of the cane.

“What are those?” Merida asked, leaning over to look after checking the small jar she’d been given.

Rapunzel also didn’t recognize the angular characters, but they vaguely resembled the letters she knew, so she assumed Gothi was writing something.

“We still use runes here,” Hiccup said. He peered at the markings in the sand. “She’s telling you to rub that cream on the wound every evening. It should help with the pain.”

Merida looked at the jar with renewed interest. “Oh. And how much is it?”

“Nothing,” Hiccup interpreted for her, not hiding his own surprise. Gifts were obviously not a common gesture for the elder Starfolk. “You know, Gothi is a healer. Her power allows her to find the cure for any illness or injury and find out the cause.”

Rapunzel’s eyes widened. “All of them? Even those caused by magic?”

Hiccup tilted his head slightly, taken aback. “I don’t know… Can you?” he asked Gothi.

She added something to the writing on the sand. A single word. When Hiccup read it, he furrowed his brows.

“Maybe.”

Rapunzel was starting to get really excited, and she looked at Jack, unable to hide the smile that was pressing on her cheeks.

“What?” he said.

She took him aside and told him her idea. “She could help you with your mark!” she whispered eagerly.

Jack wasn't letting the enthusiasm get the better of him, and instinctively touched his collarbone, serious.

“I know you’re afraid to show it to a stranger, after everything that’s happened to you,” Rapunzel added, “but if Gothi is a healer, she’s probably used to seeing nasty wounds! Anyway, I just wanted to tell you. It’s your choice.”

Jack stared off into the distance, clearly conflicted. Rapunzel remembered what he’d said about how the other Starfolks treated him whenever they found out about his mark, the trace left by a failed spell. The rule people with powers had against performing magic on others made Jack an object of suspicion and malice, so Rapunzel understood his hesitation, but she also believed that getting rid of the mark would do him a lot of good, and not just physically.

“I guess it won’t hurt to try,” he said finally. Rapunzel had the impression he'd given in to please her, perhaps in a not necessarily conscious attempt to make amends for the past.

Rapunzel nodded in relief. “Then can I?”

“Go ahead.”

“Gothi,” she called, walking over to her. “Can you do something for my friend? He has a magical mark that he doesn’t know how to get rid of.”

The old woman motioned Jack closer with a finger with a long chipped nail.

He stepped forward nervously, looking around as if for an escape route in case something went wrong, and sat down on a stool while Rapunzel, Merida, and Hiccup stepped aside to share a bench that was a little too narrow for three people.

Gothi pointed to his chest. Jack followed the suggestion and took off his old frayed cape. He then began to undo his collar, when Gothi hooked her curved cane into him, unceremoniously pulling his shirt down.

“Hey—!”

Gothi’s expression darkened as she examined the black mark that was unnaturally curling up Jack’s chest. It disappeared downward under his shirt, but Rapunzel knew it continued all the way to his left thigh because he'd told her so himself.

The time Gothi took to study the mark seemed to last an eternity, weighed down by collective anxiety, until Merida grew impatient. “Well? Is there a cure or not?”

The old woman erased the writings she had drawn by running a foot through the sand, on which she wrote new incomprehensible words. Rapunzel craned her neck to look even though she knew she couldn’t read them, in the vain hope of finding an instant answer.

“She says there are two ways to get rid of a mark like that,” Hiccup read aloud. “The easiest is to ask the person who did this to Jack to remove it.”

“Perfect, if only I had any idea who did it,” he huffed.

“Or?” Rapunzel prompted.

“Someone with healing powers would be able to do it, but only a very powerful person.” Hiccup looked up from the sand to meet Rapunzel’s gaze.

She shook her head, desolate. “If I could, the mark would have disappeared when I healed his wound in Elmaze.”

The disappointment was clear on everyone’s faces… except Jack’s, who leapt up from the stool and slid his cape over his head as if nothing had happened. “That means my next goal is to find the bastard who did this to me,” he said, his voice muffled by the fabric.

“You took it pretty well,” Rapunzel commented, suspicious.

Jack finished dressing and ran a hand through his white hair to comb it, but ended up making it even more ruffled. “I've found out there’s a way to remove the mark,” he said confidently. “I couldn’t even hope for that before. It could have gone way worse.”

“Great, good for you, Jack, really,” Merida said. “But we came here for a specific reason.”

Hiccup clapped his hand to his forehead. “That’s right. Gothi, we need to send a fast message to Amberray. Can you help us?”

The old woman wrote something in the sand.

“As fast as possible.”

Gothi sighed and leaned on her staff a little more, before deciding to write more words.

Reading them, Hiccup quickly went from worry to relief, before settling on doubt. “She can’t help us,” he explained to the others, “but she says she knows someone who can. Only thing is they live in the Cinder Woods.”

Merida rubbed her eyes. “In Dunbroch?” she groaned.

“It’s not that far, just across the sea to the east,” Jack said. “How long would it take?” he asked Hiccup, sounding slightly defiant.

“Three and a half days,” he proudly replied in the same tone. “We’ll have plenty of time to send the message, even with this detour.”

Merida looked at Gothi in confusion. “I didn’t think anyone lived in the Cinder Woods, with the rumors of dead spirits and all that. Are you sure?”

Gothi nodded and wrote something down.

“Apparently there’s no real direction to this person’s house,” Hiccup told everyone. “She’ll find us.”

She? Rapunzel felt her mind fail to make an obvious connection, but of course she couldn’t tell what it was.

Hiccup sighed. “A trip to the haunted woods. Yay.”

Jack stretched his back. “Come on, it’s not the worst thing we’ve done.”

“No, I guess not.”

They prepared to leave, despite the night sky and the strong wind. Hiccup assured them that Toothless could see better in the dark than they could, so he’d have no problem finding a place to spend the rest of the night.

“As long as it’s far away from here,” he said grimly.

Gothi was kind enough to give them some of the contents of her pot, providing their next dinner, and watched them climb onto Toothless’s back with her piercing blue eyes.

The wind blew her braids, allowing the moonlight to reflect off a beautiful medallion engraved with a single rune that Rapunzel hadn’t noticed before.

“Goodbye,” she said, genuinely sorry to be leaving so soon. “And thank you for everything.”

When they were high up in the sky, Hiccup turned to take one last look at the village, now a cluster of bright dots. “Well, bud, say goodbye to Berk.”

The sadness in his voice cut off any comments from the others.

Toothless grumbled, and Rapunzel could have sworn it had sounded like a question.

“No,” Hiccup said. “No one there will ever want to see us again, not after we destroy Berk’s best chance at becoming the capital.”

And without another word, they flew off toward the black horizon.

Chapter Text

The fatigue from the intense day that had just ended practically nullified any attempt at conversation during the flight, making the four incapable of exchanging more than a few words about unimportant topics, combined with loud yawns. Jack had the opportunity to focus on his own thoughts and try to put some order in his mind.

He struggled to believe he wasn’t dreaming; it was difficult to distinguish what was part of reality and what wasn’t, even the fragmented reflection of a sliver of moon on the ocean, the mountains of fluffy clouds into which he dived together with Toothless, and the distant songs of some nocturnal dragon that was flying so high it blended with the stars. 

On the other hand, his awareness that the truth had come out was a real, factual memory, one that Jack couldn’t believe, after having spent weeks tormenting himself with the idea of ​​what would happen when Rapunzel and Merida found out he'd decepted them both.

And yet it had happened. The moment he feared had come, hitting him with the force of a hurricane, and for less than an hour it had felt as terrible as he'd imagined, even though in his imagination the events had always taken place at the festival. In the end he'd had no other choice but to tell the whole story.

Over time he'd convinced himself that after that moment nothing would ever be the same again, that the idea Jack had of himself and the others had of him would change.

Instead the world kept going on.

It seemed impossible, and a part of him even found it a bit unfair, but the truth had brought no sea change or divine revelation. Jack had simply told what had happened to him, and life was going on as it always had.

However, if on the outside everything looked normal, something still burned inside him, in a part of his consciousness so deep not even his winter powers could put it out. Jack had been freed from the grip of Rapunzel's imaginary accusations against him, but he couldn't stop wishing to complete his mission by bringing her to the capital. This flame was no longer consuming him from within, it was burning to shine on the path to follow.

Now Jack was determined to move forward not because of his sense of guilt, but because he knew it was what Rapunzel deserved. He couldn't stop thinking about her words: she didn’t need to forgive him, because apparently she had no reason to condemn him in the first place. After all, she had been the first person to believe in Jack and call him a friend, after what had happened with his former partners of the royal guard.

Jack wondered what had happened to them. He'd been kicked out of the region before he could witness the dissolution of the team, a consequence he had only heard about long after, and he didn't know what had happened to them. He wished he could see them at least one more time to apologize. He just hoped that wherever they were, they were okay.

Jack had to admit that a second reason why that inner flame burned was what he'd learned from old Gothi, the Starfolk woman in Berk. What he'd said to Rapunzel about hope hadn’t been so much to please her, he actually believed it: finding someone willing to get close to his mark would be difficult, but Jack refused to believe it was impossible. He would search the kingdom, no, the entire world for a healer powerful enough, and somehow he would solve that problem too.

Overall, his mood had improved dramatically, compared to the days he'd spent in total despair, unable even to make himself useful in escaping the prisons.

“Oi,” Merida said after an unspecified amount of time during which the sky had become a little more black, “how about we land over there?”

She was pointing to a roughly circular shaped island that overlooked the sea from the top of its cliffs, except for a stretch where the rocks sheltered a small beach from the cold north winds. It was mostly covered in woods, with a body of water in the middle.

Jack had a feeling he should remember that island for some reason, but his mind was blocking it out. He'd certainly visited it in the past, during his search for the Lost Princess.

Hiccup rubbed a thumb on the saddle handle, looking uneasy. “I’ve been there. I don’t like that place.”

They were circling the island, waiting for a common decision. Jack also let the currents keep him in midair.

Rapunzel leaned forward to get a better look. “That’s weird, I don’t see any houses, even though there’s room for a whole village.”

“An island big enough to be inhabited, but too small to attract attention,” Jack commented. “No one would bother us while we sleep there.”

“Let’s take a look,” Hiccup gave up, “but I'm warning you, if Toothless gets jumpy we're leaving immediately.”

“Aye, Captain,” said Jack.

Hiccup was so restless that he didn’t pay attention to the nickname, and simply asked Toothless to land on the beach.

The flapping of the dragon’s wings raised a cloud of sand that forced everyone to shield their faces. Jack freed himself from the wind and let it drop him to the ground. As the bottom of his bare feet touched the sand, he felt a kind of intense flow that seemed to permeate it like rain-soaked earth.

The others carefully dismounted, looking around the cove surrounded by shrubs and rock walls.

Jack knelt down beside Toothless’s muzzle. “Do you smell anything strange?”

The dragon sniffed the air first, then the sand with more interest.

“Do you?” asked Merida.

“There’s definitely something, but it’s not around us,” Jack said, standing up. He looked in all directions, but saw nothing of interest. “It’s like the island itself is emitting magic.”

Hiccup rubbed his eyes with both hands. “Perfect. The whole island is magical.”

Rapunzel came last, lifting her feet in a funny way between each step, her eyes fixed on the ground. “It’s cold!” she said with a big smile, as if walking on sand was a great discovery.

“Well, I vote we stay here for the night,” Jack said.

Rapunzel held up her hand. “Me too!”

Jack looked up at Merida for support. “Aye,” she muttered, though she continued to stare at the distant trees with a certain tension on her face. “But let’s stay on the beach.”

They built a small fire pit with some rocks they put in a circle and dry branches they found around, and Toothless helped them light it up. They poured Gothi's meat and potato stew they had collected in a large flask into Hiccup’s travel pot and set it to heat, before sitting around the dancing flames.

“I was wondering, how did you get Toothless back and free us?” Jack asked Hiccup as he handed out spoons.

He stared at the dirt under his nails. “Astrid,” he said softly. “She heard me arguing with my father, and she decided to let me go.”

Jack remembered the way Stoick the Vast had looked at his son at the docks. It had made him feel even worse, reminding him of King Frederik's face when he'd pronounced the sentence of exile. Apparently the argument between Hiccup and his father hadn’t been more pleasant.

He'd stayed by Jack's side when Rapunzel had run from the Cavity, with Merida following her shortly after. They hadn’t spoken to each other, but Hiccup's presence outside the door, as stubbornly constant as he'd always been since the beginning, had helped. Now that he was feeling better, Jack had realized it, and it pained him to see him upset.

Merida tested the tension of her bowstring, frowning. “So that means she won't try to stop us?”

“I don't think she will, but my father will probably leave for Amberray when he finds out we've escaped,” Hiccup said grimly. “Then we'll better avoid him at all costs.”

Rapunzel cleared her throat and clapped her hands. “Dinner's ready!”

She poured five servings of stew into some bowls and passed them to everyone, including Toothless. Jack studied the contents of his bowl, curious to see a traditional dish of the archipelago in person: small pieces of meat were floating in the brown broth, along with cubes of unidentifiable vegetables and pale pieces of potatoes. It definitely had a smell, he just couldn't say what it was.

He first met Merida's gaze: despite being a good eater, she was using her spoon to nudge a piece of meat with a dubious expression. Even Rapunzel's optimistic smile was faltering.

The only person apparently unaware was Hiccup, who brought a spoonful to his lips, chewed and swallowed without any immediate side effects.

Rapunzel seemed to steel herself after seeing that scene, and imitated him with a little too much enthusiasm to look believable, watched by Jack and Merida, who remained in silent anticipation.

Rapunzel swallowed with an unreadable expression. “Oh,” she said simply.

Jack decided to taste the stew, mostly to see what unspeakable flavor could be commented on with an oh, but when his mouth met the food, he was astonished. Nothing. It tasted like absolutely nothing.

Merida, who had also caved in, made an incredulous face that probably mirrored Jack's. “Oh.”

“I know,” Hiccup said, understanding. “Gothi's food is pretty spicy.”

Jack stared at him. He stared at Jack. With cold certainty, Jack knew he wasn't kidding.

“When we get to Amberray I'll show you the local cuisine,” he said, pointing the spoon in his direction.

Hiccup shrugged and they continued to eat the tasteless stew, which at least warmed their bellies as well as filling them.

After dinner, everyone was more relaxed. Merida went to sit aside with Rapunzel, to take off her dress and tunic and have the ointment applied to her shoulder.

Hiccup took out a map depicting the Barbaric Archipelago in detail from his bags, and he studied it alone until Rapunzel joined him, once she was finished with Merida. Jack watched him tell her various anecdotes about the carefully illustrated islands, and after a while she ended up snuggling next to him, her cheek pressed against his shoulder and her eyelids heavy. For once, he didn't seem the least bit embarrassed by the close contact. He even let Pascal curl up on his knee.

Jack tried to lie down, resting his head on the cape he had balled up to use a pillow, but the thoughts crowding his head were too noisy.

He noticed Merida pacing the shoreline barefoot, her head bowed as if searching for something in the sand.

She hadn’t asked Rapunzel to resume their evening training, but Jack wasn’t sure if it was because her shoulder still hurt, or because she had decided to stop now that the two were officially rivals.

He approached her, walking on the wet sand that sloshed with each step, leaving a trail of footprints. “Lost something?”

“I want to give Rapunzel the prettiest seashell I can find,” she said without stopping to look at him.

Without another word, Jack joined her, and for a while they searched the beach for any interesting shells, since most were flat and in various shades of gray or brown. Every now and then the cold water reached their feet.

Jack had to admit he still felt uncomfortable with Merida. He hadn’t forgotten the look on her face when he’d revealed Rapunzel’s true identity, and he was ashamed that she’d seen him cry like a child.

So, masking his fears behind a casual tone, he asked her a direct question. “Are you mad at me?”

Merida rolled a white spiral shell between her fingers, her pursed lips half-hidden by her voluminous curls, before answering. “I should be, or at least I wish I was. If all this had happened a month ago, I wouldn’t have thought twice about ditching you all and finding a way to leave this place on my own, even if it meant swimming across the Barbaric Sea.”

She ran a hand through her hair, moving it away from her forehead. “The problem, Jack, is that you’re my friend, whether you want it or not. Rapunzel’s right. I wasn’t there when she disappeared as a wee baby to see how things went, but even if you made a mistake, I know it wasn’t on purpose.”

She spoke quickly, stumbling at times, as if she were giving a speech constructed by dint of reasoning, then she sighed deeply.

Jack thought it unfair that everyone seemed to be able to leave him speechless so easily. All he could do was joke about it. “Your parents would have a heart attack if they heard you talking like that to a treacherous Magicknapper.”

“I stopped caring about my mother’s opinion when I was six, and my father…” She made a face, wrinkling her small nose. “He’s wrong about people like you.”

And there it was, the sentence that had pressed against Jack’s lips to get out, the night they'd spent at the inn, the one he hadn’t had the courage to say. 

He wasn’t ready yet. He buried those three words in a distant corner of his mind, like seashells swallowed by wet sand.

They stopped talking and continued searching. At one point Merida pointed to a spot a short distance away on the shore, lighting up. “That one!”

The sea had other plans, because a wave more determined than the others was about to crash onto the beach, threatening to take the chosen shell with it.

Merida noticed and made a move, but Jack knew she wouldn’t make it in time. With a swing of his staff, he froze the incoming water, which solidified around Merida in beautiful swirls.

She picked up the small pink seashell, which was conical in shape with many grooves along its spiral. “Thank you.”

“Mission accomplished. Now we can go to sleep,” Jack said.

She looked apprehensively in the direction of the mainland, where Hiccup was writing something in a notebook, somewhat hindered by the weight of Rapunzel sleeping against him.

“You go, I’ll keep watch until I get tired,” Merida said.

Keep watch against what, Jack wanted to ask, but he was too exhausted to argue, and went to his corner beside the dying fire, under the ocean of bright stars. Sleep took him away as soon as he laid his head down.

*

The screams woke Hiccup.

“Stop! It’s me, stop!”

His whole body spasmed, jolting him violently out of sleep, and he sat up. His mind was slower; before the residual fog of his dreams could dissipate, he had to focus on his surroundings. It was already dawn.

“No!”

Blinking rapidly, Hiccup saw who was shouting: Merida was lunging at Rapunzel, dagger in hand, ignoring the latter’s frightened cries. 

“Please, stop!”

Merida was deaf to the pleas, and swung the dagger down. Rapunzel rolled away just in time, before the blade sank into the sand. Toothless yelped, unable to help.

Hiccup finally woke up with a start. He cursed when he realized he'd taken off his prosthetic leg before going to sleep, wasted a bunch of time putting it back on, and staggered toward the girls.

Rapunzel’s green eyes were filled with panic as she dodged one swing after another. Merida's face was hidden by her hair, which was glowing as if on fire as the rising sun shone on it, and she looked like she was fighting for her life.

Jack came flying at that moment, the mark standing out on his pale naked torso — he was probably returning from a morning bath — and didn't hesitate to step in. “What's wrong with... hey!”

He'd placed himself in front of Rapunzel to shield her, accidentally allowing the blade to come close to his skin.

“Enough!” Rapunzel shouted again, terrified.

Hiccup intervened, stepping in front of Merida to grab her by the shoulders, squeezing tightly, and shook her. “What's wrong with you?! Why are you attacking Rapunzel?”

“Dark,” she stammered while struggling. “It's dark everywhere…”

She mumbled more disconnected bits of sentences. The mad light in her eyes scared Hiccup, but her confused attitude told him what was happening.

“Merida, stop! It was just a nightmare!” he shouted a breath away from her face.

She continued to look at Rapunzel, over Hiccup’s shoulder. He tightened his grip. “You’re awake now!”

Fortunately, it had some effect. Merida slowly stopped fighting. She was out of breath. Hiccup snatched the dagger from her hand. “You’re awake,” he repeated. “It’s okay.”

Merida nodded with a small shake of her head, finally meeting his gaze.

“Is it over?” Jack said from behind them.

Hiccup turned to check on Rapunzel. She was trembling all over, and probably too shocked to show any other obvious signs of fear, but she didn’t seem hurt. “Are you okay?”

She swallowed. “I… yes.”

“Rapunzel!” Merida exclaimed, as if she had just seen her. “I’m sorry, Rapunzel, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…!”

She burst into tears, to everyone's surprise. Rapunzel, despite having just been threatened by a sharp blade, rushed to comfort her.

“Shhht, it’s over,” Hiccup heard her whisper.

Merida took several breaths, still shaking.

“What's wrong with her?” Jack said, watching the scene. “Was she sleepwalking?”

Hiccup threw the dagger into the sand.

For some reason, he was sure that wasn’t the case with Merida.

He thought back to the nightmare he'd had in the swamps. He had wondered many times what would have happened if Rapunzel hadn’t woken him up. Deep down, he was starting to fear he would have had an attack similar to Merida’s.

Hiccup momentarily put his suspicions aside. The group didn’t need to hear his paranoid ramblings now. “Look, we all had a bad day yesterday. Now Merida, Toothless and I are going to go find something to eat for breakfast, and then we’ll leave this place, okay?”

For once, she listened to him. She dried her eyes, put the dagger back in her boot and stood up, brushing the sand off her clothes.

“Let’s go,” she said in a small voice.

They left Rapunzel and Jack to recover from the fright and went up the slope that separated the beach from the vegetation, silently entering the thick of the fir trees.

They stepped into a normal-looking forest, identical to many others in the archipelago, with very tall tree trunks and a carpet of grass, dry needles, and shrubs decorated with dew. Yet Hiccup had the feeling that something was wrong. Toothless’ ears wouldn’t stop twitching.

Merida, who was walking beside him, finally spoke. “You were right. There’s something wrong here.”

Hiccup couldn’t hide his relief. “So you feel it too. Maybe it’s the magic that permeates the island, like what Jack felt.”

“Maybe,” Merida said, looking around nervously. “Can you hear it?”

“No, what?”

“Exactly. You can’t hear the birds.”

Hiccup fell silent, listening, but it was true. The only sound was the rustling of the wind. It must have been the lack of morning chirping that had made him feel uneasy, without realizing it.

Merida adjusted the strap of her quiver. “Come on. The sooner we find breakfast, the sooner we get back to the others.”

She was still nervous. Hiccup was tempted to ask her about her nightmare, pushed by the suspicion that was slowly forming in his mind, but she didn’t seem in the mood to talk about it.

They walked into the forest in a random direction, at least in Hiccup’s case, since he was following Merida confiding she had a specific objective. He'd hoped that a morning hunt would calm her, but the unnatural silence made them jump at every trick of the light from the sun filtering through the branches, every snap of a dry twig under their feet. Hiccup felt rather useless, following her like an inexperienced puppy, so he began gathering wood for the fire.

Time passed, painting the sky blue and the earth green and gold. They hadn’t yet come across a single animal, not even a squirrel.

He almost tripped over Merida, when she knelt down to study the ground. She had quickly gone from nervous to irritable. “It must be a joke,” she snapped, shaking her head.

He noticed some bushes laden with dark berries. “Let’s get some blueberries and go back to the beach.”

She continued to grumble discontentedly, but imitated Hiccup, who had bent down to pick the berries after fishing a handkerchief from Toothless’s bags.

“Do you remember the last time we went hunting together?” Hiccup asked with a half smile.

Merida huffed loudly to move a lock of hair from her nose, her hands full. “Aye, you yelled at me for arguing with Jack.”

“You couldn’t stand to be less than twenty feet away from him. It seems like forever ago.”

“Good times,” she commented only half ironically. “I had no doubts about Starfolk people's morality, and Rapunzel was just Rapunzel.”

“I haven’t apologized yet. You know, about the Lost Princess thing,” Hiccup said. “So, uh, sorry.”

“I know you didn’t tell me anything because Jack asked you to. Let’s say you owe me a big favor and we’ll never talk about it again,” Merida said, getting back to her feet. She rubbed her palm on her leg and held out a hand to him.

Her response was very reminiscent of what Astrid would say. Hiccup thought back to their last conversation in the Great Hall, and the thought of never seeing her again and never being able to try to be friends made him feel sad.

Nevertheless, he squeezed Merida’s hand. She didn’t let go right away, but instead tugged him toward her and flicked him on the forehead.

“Ow!” 

Toothless’ body shook with the grumble that was his equivalent of a giggle.

Hiccup rubbed the spot with his left hand, since the other was still trapped in Merida’s. “Why?”

“Consider it a down payment on that favor,” she said, before dragging him with her to the beach.

They found a surprise waiting for them. Jack and Rapunzel were standing on the shoreline… or at least where the shoreline had been the night before. It now seemed to have moved a good few feet and the two were looking at something in the distance on the cliff.

“It’s low tide,” Rapunzel said as Hiccup and Merida came closer to look. “We didn’t realize when we woke up, but Jack says it’s been that way since dawn.

He nodded and pointed to the cliff. “I noticed it when I went to have a bath.”

There was a low and wide opening in the rock, hidden by the sea until then, with only a small stream remaining that disappeared into the cliff.

“It must be a cave that was inaccessible before,” Merida said.

Hiccup tried to squint to see inside, but it was too far away. It reminded him of the last time they'd been underground, when Astrid and company had ambushed them. “We all agree we’re not going into the dark creepy cave, right…? What is it, bud?”

Toothless had perked up his ears and craned his neck, his narrow pupils focused on the opening.

Hiccup could sense what was about to happen before Toothless moved a muscle, but his reflexes weren’t nearly as fast as a dragon’s, and his hands clutched at the air in vain as Toothless took off running. “Wait—Toothless, no!”

The dragon was heading straight for the entrance, and Hiccup had no choice but to run after him, the others following.

“Do you think he heard something?” Merida said, readying her bow.

“I don’t know!”

It wasn’t so much the idea of ​​Toothless wandering off alone that worried Hiccup; they didn’t get separated often, but he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, as long as it didn't involve flying. What made the back of Hiccup's neck tingle was what Jack had said about the island the day before.

There was something in that place. And Toothless was running toward it without hesitation.

When he reached the entrance, the dragon stopped and turned to them. Hiccup was about to sigh in relief, thinking his friend was waiting for him, but instead he wiggled his shoulders and entered the cave, splashing water as he did so.

“Come back!” Hiccup shouted after him. His voice bounced off the rock in a distorted echo. “...Bad dragon!”

Toothless pretended to be deaf, and no matter how much Hiccup called, begged, or threatened, he kept going forward. They ran through long, low, wide tunnels, never reaching him. Toothless had the nerve to stop every now and then, turn around to check if he was being followed, and then run off again.

Compared to the Cave of Anim, where mineral deposits, carvings, and cobwebs were abundant, the island's tunnels were damper and somehow more lively. It didn't feel like a place that had been abandoned for decades, but rather like being inside a creature that was still alive and breathing. The dripping of water onto the ground made a rhythmic sound, like the beating of a heart.

The further they went, the colder it got. Hiccup assumed with no small amount of apprehension that they were getting closer to the center of the island.

Even though he was anxious about any lurking dangers, part of him was curious about what was drawing Toothless into the bowels of the earth. It looked as if his senses were guiding him somewhere, seeing how he moved at ease, Hiccup just hoped his instincts weren't pushing him toward yet another mess they'd have to run away from.

“Look out!” Rapunzel shrieked at one point, grabbing his arm tightly.

Hiccup slipped on the wet rock, barely missing falling into the crevasse that interrupted the tunnel. He glimpsed the bottom, not terribly far away, but full of stalagmites.

He shot a stern look at Toothless, who had stopped with them. “Race's over, bud.”

The dragon looked at him with his intense green eyes, licked his lips, and jumped.

“Toothless!”

He spread his wings, allowing him to glide gently to the opposite side, where he stared at them, snorting through his nose. 

Hiccup knew that attitude very well. It was his way of mocking his opinion.

Hiccup crossed his arms. “Well? How do you think we’re going to get through now? We don’t have wings,” he exclaimed. 

He got his answer when Toothless moved his head and pointed it at the wall, where a passage too narrow for more than one person connected the two sides.

“You can’t be serious,” Hiccup said.

Jack chuckled. “What’s up with him today? He’s acting sassier than usual.”

Hiccup sighed, already resigned to the prospect of crawling along the wall and risking breaking his neck, and tested the passage with the tip of his toe. “I don’t know, but I hope it’s worth it.”

“Well, I’ll see you on the other side,” Jack said, before effortlessly soaring over the pit and going to scratch Toothless behind the ear.

Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel also slowly crossed that obstacle, until they reached the other side after many missteps and curses. As soon as they were all safe, Toothless slipped away from Jack's hand and resumed his playful trot.

“Look, isn’t that a light over there?” Merida observed as they followed the dragon's long tail.

Hiccup wondered how there could be light in the cave, but after walking around a column formed by a stalactite and a stalagmite fused together, he thought he'd stepped into a dream.

The tunnel opened into a huge room, even larger than the main room of the Cave of Anim. Some waterfalls roared nearby, diving into underground pools surrounded by vegetation of unusual colors, among which stood out clusters of crystals bright as torches, which shone in purple, blue and white.

And then there were the dragons. 

Dozens of them, everywhere, hiding in the plants, soaking in the water, nestling between the crystals, perched in the numerous openings along the walls like bees in a hive. Hiccup lost count of how many species there were, entranced by the many pairs of eyes staring at them. His mouth was so open that when he closed it, his jaw snapped.

Merida looked around, her hands clenched around her bow. “Where are we?”

“It’s beautiful,” Rapunzel said dreamily. “And the air feels… like it’s vibrating.”

Jack craned his neck to look at the dragon nests on the walls. “It’s magic. All around us.”

A young Deadly Nadder defied the wariness and came closer to examine them, its head jerking to scan them with one eye at a time.

Hiccup saw that other dragons had surrounded Toothless, curious about the newcomer, then he reached out to the Nadder trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, without looking scared.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jack said, uncertainly.

“We need to make them understand that we're not a threat,” Hiccup replied without turning. “All we have to do is…”

Suddenly, the Deadly Nadder raised its head, opened its mouth, and let out an alarmed cry at the top of its lungs, forcing Hiccup to cover his ears.

The call soon spread from dragon to dragon, regardless of species, producing a deafening cacophony that made Hiccup’s heart tremble. It was one of the least pleasant feelings he'd ever experienced, and it sent a primal sense of panic through him that momentarily reminded him of his fear of dragons before meeting Toothless.

Merida came closer, pressing her hands to cover her curls. “What are they doing?!” she shouted in his face.

Hiccup’s teeth were shaking. “I think they've identified us as intruders!”

Merida grabbed his arm and began to drag him away. Hiccup couldn’t get out of her grip. “Wait!”

“For what? For them to eat us for invading their territory?”

Hiccup looked around frantically. “Toothless is gone! I’m not leaving without him!”

Merida continued to pull on his arm, undeterred, even if her face was tense. “He’s smarter than the four of us put together, he’s probably already escaped.”

They all ran back to the tunnel they had entered through, but found more dragons blocking their way. Hiccup couldn’t stop worrying about where Toothless had gone.

A huge-horned Crimson Goregutter landed in front of them, shaking the ground, its red and purple scales glowing in the crystal light. It looked Merida straight in the eye and roared in her face. Hiccup was pretty sure his ears would be permanently damaged. 

Merida let go of his arm and swallowed, frozen in place.

Then, a hiss, barely audible over the discordant dragon call.

“Get down!” Jack shouted from behind them.

Hiccup couldn’t turn in time; Jack pushed him to the ground, barely avoiding something that whizzed past his head and collided with a blue crystal.

It was a long staff, held by a tall, thin figure who didn’t hesitate to use the momentum to swing the weapon around and bring it down again. Hiccup rolled onto his side, clumsily stood up, and drew his new sword. A click, and the blade he had named Inferno snapped open from the hilt, catching fire thanks to the Horrendous Nightmare gel.

The moment he raised it, the unknown person's staff crashed into it, forcing him to stumble back.

Hiccup managed to see long braids, before he had to react to another blow. Inferno hadn’t been designed to fight, and his lack of experience forced him to stay on the defensive.

Judging by the shouting, the crackling of flames, and the white flashes behind him, his friends were busy too. Toothless’ absence made him even more anxious: if he were there, he would have already rushed to protect him.

Hiccup realized that he'd been distracted too late. His mind, weighed down by ten different thoughts, had slowed his reactions, and the response from his opponent was not long in coming.

The staff painfully hit his hand, sending Inferno flying away. He instinctively covered his face with his arms, bracing himself for the impact.

“Hiccup!” Rapunzel shouted, alarmed.

He waited, and waited, trembling, unable to stay impassive at the thought of the attack that was coming next.

But nothing happened.

Hiccup risked lowering his arms to peek. The end of the staff was frozen in time, just an inch away from his nose. Behind the weapon, two wide blue eyes stared at him. A young woman with high cheekbones and brown hair was panting in front of him.

Just as the stranger had frozen, the dragons also stopped attacking. The collective howl stopped as quickly as it had begun.

Hiccup’s knees finally buckled, causing him to fall heavily on his butt after staggering on the spot.

A familiar roar came to clear his mind and lighten his heart, announcing Toothless’ arrival. His pupils were thin as blades and his teeth bared, but he looked okay.

The same couldn’t be said for the woman, at least not for long: Toothless had seen a human with her weapon aimed at Hiccup, and the glow between his jaws promised a fatal plasma blast.

Before he could shout for the dragon to stop, before his friends could get in the way, the woman spun to face Toothless, but instead of swinging her staff, she dropped it and collapsed to her knees. She had spread her arms as if she accepting her fate.

Toothless abruptly stopped his furious run and pricked up his ears, closing his mouth, as surprised as the rest of the group. The woman held out her hand for him to sniff it.

Hiccup stood up and glanced at the others, puzzled. Jack, the staff covered in fresh frost clutched in his hand, shook his head and scowled. Rapunzel, disheveled but unharmed, first covered her mouth with her hands, shocked about something, then leaned over to whisper in Merida's ear, who looked from Hiccup to the woman with wide eyes.

After Toothless had sniffed the woman profusely, she reached out with the same hand to his snout, with an ease Hiccup had never seen in anyone else.

“He doesn't like being touched by strangers,” he warned. “It won’t wo—”

Toothless closed his eyes and nuzzled her outstretched hand, making a low and unmistakable noise from his throat. Behind Hiccup, gasps of surprise confirmed his own reaction.

Hiccup was shocked. And a little offended.

“Who in Tere’s name are you?” he vented, waving his hands. “First you appear out of nowhere, set these dragons on us, try to beat me with a stick, and now you treat Toothless like—like some puppy?”

The woman stopped petting Toothless, who calmly walked back to Hiccup, and turned to him.

“You really don’t get it?” Merida said.

“Look at her,” Rapunzel added, her voice full of emotion.

What else was there to see? She was tall, the average height for the people of the archipelago, but too skinny to go unnoticed. Her clothes were patched in several places. Her face was unusual in shape, and there was something regal about it.

Her lost expression made her eyebrows crease, her thin lips slightly parted.

“Hiccup?” she said.

He brushed the dirt off his pants. “Yes, that’s my name. And you are…?”

She put a hand to her heart and breathed as if she’d just remembered to get air into her lungs. “My name is Valka,” she murmured, her eyes teary.

Oh, just like his—

Hiccup heard the distant echo of a conversation he’d had with Rapunzel long ago.

And also she technically disappeared, but you know how it is. It was many years ago.

Someone called out to him, but Hiccup couldn’t make out the words. The world seemed to be spinning around him. He felt like he was falling again.

It didn’t make sense. It didn’t make sense, she was too young…

For some reason, the woman’s voice — Valka’s — came through loud and clear. “Hiccup,” she repeated like a spell, “my Hiccup.”

Only one word managed to leave his mouth.

“Mom?”

Chapter Text

A million questions were pressing to be asked. Hiccup didn’t know what to start with, which of course meant they all came out at once.

“You’re not—I thought—this place is—and the dragons—and my father—” He ran his hands through his hair. “Oh gods, my father. When he finds out…”

Rapunzel came over and put a hand on his shoulder, looking sideways at Valka. “Breathe, Hiccup, breathe.”

He was breathing, he thought. In fact, it felt like his lungs were trying to take in all the air in the cave. However, he trusted Rapunzel’s advice, being the one who had received devastating news just the day before, and forced himself to slow his breathing.

Toothless, who had been sniffing the dirt around, approached him holding something between his gums. Hiccup was too shocked to complain about the drool covering Inferno, and he sheathed it. “Thanks, bud.”

Valka had one hand raised as if she didn’t dare touch Hiccup. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“Me neither,” he said carefully. “They told me you disappeared during a dragon raid.”

She smiled wistfully. “Things went a bit differently.” She saw Hiccup’s scratched hand and winced. “But before I explain, we need to put something on that wound. Follow me.”

She then led them toward the nests dug into the wall, which looked like beehive cells even up close, moving without hesitation. As she passed, more dragons approached and responded with enthusiastic nods and friendly sounds to Valka’s greetings.

To get up, they climbed a rope ladder that hung from one of the nests to the ground, except Jack, who flew ahead of them, and Toothless, who managed to climb with his claws just to stay close to Hiccup.

When they reached the top, they found themselves in a small but cozy shelter, equipped with blankets, a stone slab for cooking, a table with a stool, a bucket to collect water and a white crystal in a corner that served as a torch. A desk had been carved out from a nook in the rock, lit by its own small crystal.

“Do you live here?” Hiccup asked, speechless.

“Medication first, then the questions,” Valka replied.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but went to sit on the blankets as requested, while his friends examined the nest with interest, and perhaps vague suspicion.

His hand had only been scratched by Valka's staff, but he supposed he had to let her do it if he wanted the truth. She grabbed a flask and a cloth and sat down with him, before wetting the rag with the contents of the bottle. “...Can I?”

Hiccup nodded and allowed her to take his hand  and gently dab the wound. As he felt the rough skin of her fingertips, a pungent smell stung his nostrils in a familiar way.

“What's that?” Rapunzel asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Tide Glider saliva,” Hiccup and Valka said in unison.

He had to force himself not to look resentful. So her questions were allowed?

“You've grown so much,” Valka said softly, distracting him. “How long has it been...?”

“Twenty years,” Hiccup said in a whisper. “But you’re… I mean, no offense, but you look so young.”

“It’s a long story.”

Toothless groaned in sympathy and rested his head on Hiccup’s lap. He must have heard the melancholy in her voice.

Valka looked at the dragon with sad eyes. “He really loves you.”

“His name is Toothless,” Hiccup said. “Um, Mom, Toothless. Toothless… Mom. And this is Merida, Rapunzel, and Jack,” he added.

“Hi,” Rapunzel said from the stool she was sitting on next to Jack, who was leaning against the desk with his arms crossed. Merida nodded, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Valka smiled at everyone and sighed, letting go of Hiccup’s hand. He felt strangely cold.

“What did your father tell you about that night?” she asked.

Hiccup didn’t have many details to share; every time he tried to bring it up, his father would frown and drop whatever he was holding. After a while, he stopped asking.

He shrugged. “I don’t really know much, except that he lost sight of you during a night raid, and when the surviving dragons left, you were gone.” he patted Toothless on the muzzle. “Gone, as he always stressed. And he was right.”

He risked a smile, which Valka returned more warmly, before becoming pensive.

“I always thought the way we handled dragon raids wasn’t the right solution,” she said. “Responding to violence with violence wasn’t getting us anywhere, but every time I tried to make the rest of the village understand that, I was met with derision and insults in response.”

“So being the village fool is hereditary,” Hiccup said, surprised that he could see himself in the story. “Good to know.”

Jack snorted half a laugh. Merida shook her head.

Valka tilted her face slightly to the side, as if to listen to a distant voice. “Your father fell in love despite people’s skepticism. He said that unless Tere herself came down to earth to tell him he was making a mistake, he would marry me at any cost. Of course he didn’t understand my ideas, but he didn’t care.”

It was strange to hear someone speak of his father like that. Hiccup recognized his personality, but he couldn’t imagine him young, or madly in love.

“And then Hiccup was born,” Rapunzel continued enthusiastically. “I knew as soon as I saw you that you’re his mom. You look so much alike.”

Valka nodded. “Unfortunately, I had little time with you. It happened when you were a baby.

“It was a sudden raid. There was only one lookout at the time. They said he fell asleep, but it didn’t matter who was to blame, we had to defend ourselves from the dragons.”

Hiccup looked down at Toothless, who had closed his eyes but wasn’t snoring. It seemed like he wanted to distance himself from the story. Or maybe Hiccup was projecting his own feelings onto him.

“I stayed home to protect you, because as much as I wanted to change things, I wouldn’t let any hungry dragon near my baby boy,” Valka said, looking into Hiccup’s eyes. “And yet, when a Stormcutter came looking for food, I hesitated. I couldn’t help but think that if I really wanted to change the village’s mind, your father's first, I couldn’t react the way a Hairy Hooligan would.

“I let go of the axe and walked over to the Stormcutter.” She shook her head, almost amused. “He stared at me like he thought I was mad.”

“Aye, you do look alike,” Merida said. “You have the same kind of incomprehensible madness.” Despite the exasperation in her tone, she seemed impressed.

“I was afraid I was making a mistake, that I was going to die any moment, and I closed my eyes,” Valka confirmed. She became serious. “But when I opened them, still alive, something had changed.”

Hiccup frowned. The smallest sliver of suspicion crept into his mind.

“In a way, it was the signal your father was joking about, because it had to be Tere. I felt a… connection to the Stormcutter — to Cloudjumper — like I’d never felt with anyone else. Suddenly I understood exactly what he was feeling at that moment: he needed to take as much food as he could, crossing paths with as few humans as possible. And he understood me. After that, I knew I could never hurt him. He was just trying to survive, like me.”

If he hadn’t already been sitting down, Hiccup would have fallen a second time. “No way,” he gasped. “No way. You’re…”

“A Starfolk,” Jack finished. He didn’t seem particularly surprised. “When we were surrounded by dragons it was hard to make it out, but up here I can feel your magic.”

A single thought broke through the chaos in Hiccup’s mind: his father’s reaction.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Valka said quickly. “You wonder how Stoick took all this, but there was no time to calmly deal with it together. Or at least I didn’t give him that chance.”

“What do you—” Hiccup blinked. “You mean he knew—he knows?”

Valka sighed. Talking about it was obviously difficult. “When it was all over, and people were tending to the wounded and checking what had been taken, Stoick ran home. I explained him what had happened to me. At first he thought I was delirious from some mortal wound, but then he realized I was serious.

“I told him he couldn’t have a Magicknapper for a wife if he wanted to keep his reputation and his position as Chief. He understood what I was doing, and he… he begged me to stay, but…” Valka suddenly looked older, bent over with grief. “I had to. I had to leave, so no one would know what I had become. I did it to protect you both.”

Hiccup’s head was slightly spinning. It was too much, all at once. “So you left? And my father let you do it?”

Valka covered her face with her slender hands. “I’ll never forgive myself for leaving him like that, breaking his heart,” she said in a trembling voice. She pulled her hands away from her face and found the courage to hold Hiccup's fingers. “But can you ever forgive me?”

He felt dizzy. He wanted to say yes, but something was holding him back, and as he tried to figure out what it was, his gaze wandered to the vast cave that opened below them, with its strange lush vegetation and crystals glowing with hypnotic light. A flock of Gronkles flew past Valka's nest with a loud flutter of wings.

She followed the direction he was looking. “I had never felt so connected to a place before I found this sanctuary,” she admitted. She was still holding Hiccup’s hands.

“I think I get it,” he said. “For me, that place is on Toothless’s back, when we’re up in the clouds.”

He didn’t add that lately, the vision included three other people at his side. Partly because the people involved were present, and admitting it out loud would have been terribly embarrassing for everyone, and partly because he didn’t want to offend Toothless.

Valka gave him a look that was a mixture of shock and understanding. “How did it happen? Flying with a dragon… Isn't Stoick against it?”

Hiccup chuckled sarcastically. “I'll just say he doesn’t like it, but he can’t do anything about it.”

“I wouldn’t say anything, we just escaped his prisons,” Jack pointed out.

Now, Hiccup had never received a stern motherly glare, but the one Valka gave him couldn’t be anything else. “What have you done, Hiccup?” she said, letting go of his hands and placing hers on her hips.

“Why do you assume it’s my fault?” he protested.

“I think it’s my turn to get some explanations.”

Hiccup huffed. “Fine. We are…?”

He looked for any positive sign from the girls before spilling their plans, since he’d lied enough.

Merida exchanged a look with Rapunzel and nodded. “We’re headed to Amberray for the Duel of the Heirs.”

Valka gasped, looking at Hiccup as if expecting him to deny it. He shrugged.

“The Duel of the Heirs…” Valka shook her head, incredulous. “So the king and queen don’t have a child?”

“You don’t know?” Hiccup said. The story of the Lost Princess was known throughout the kingdom, so it seemed strange to him that she didn’t know about it.

“I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to anyone about the news from the capital, Hiccup,” Valka replied. Then her eyes widened, making him wonder if there was something on his face. “Oh, but that… that means you’re an Heir. You could be king…!”

Oh gods, no, Hiccup thought, feeling a sudden, strong urge to bang his head against a wall. Not that conversation again!

Merida must have read his expression, whatever it was, because she stood up from the floor and wiped the dust off her bottom in an exaggeratedly nonchalant manner. “Why don’t we take a walk around here while you two catch up on your lives?”

She nudged Rapunzel, who jumped and rubbed her arm. “Huh? Oh! Oooh. Sure, I can’t wait to see those cute plants up close!”

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

Jack followed the girls to the edge of the nest, where he stood as they climbed down the rope ladder. “Toothless, keep an eye on him.”

“I’m not five!”

“No, of course not,” Jack said in the same accommodating voice he’d used with little Jamie and Sophie. And he leapt into the void. Show-off.

When they were alone, Hiccup stood up, followed by Valka. He wandered randomly over to the desk, where some rough island maps had been abandoned, perhaps right after the dragons’ warning signal.

Toothless was watching him with one eye open, still curled up next to the blankets. That obnoxious dragon had really listened to Jack.

“What’s wrong?” Valka asked. “Your mood changed the moment I mentioned the word ‘king’.”

Hiccup waved his arms and hands convulsively, exasperated. “Why is everyone so obsessed with me becoming—no. No, it’s true, it’s not your fault, you can’t know that.”

Valka was looking more and more confused, so Hiccup decided to tell her everything, including Jack’s plan, how it went wrong, and who Merida and Rapunzel were.

“The thing is,” he concluded, “I’m just not cut out for this. At the moment the whole village hates me, and if they didn’t like me before this whole mess, now they’ll never even want me as Chief, let alone king. So no, before you ask, I’m not fighting in the Duel. As if I had any chance of winning.”

She said nothing, allowing him to vent.

“There are only two people who still believe I should do it,” Hiccup said. “My father, for a matter of family pride, even though he's the first to think that I'd fail miserably, and Astrid, who for some reason is sure that with a crown on my head I could magically solve all the problems of the kingdom, like the war with the dragons.”

He approached the edge of the nest overlooking the cave, slightly out of breath. Merida's red hair was visible even from up there, followed by the others’. They seemed busy playing with some Horrendous Nightmare babies. He hoped they were ready to put out a sudden fire.

Valka came closer to him, cautious as if she were approaching a particularly wary dragon.

“You make for a nice group. It’s unusual that you've become friends with your rivals, a dragon and a Magicknapper.”

“Starfolk,” Hiccup corrected. “And, well. I suppose it’s hard to survive one trouble after another for a month without learning to tolerate each other.”

“I think this Astrid girl is right,” Valka suddenly said.

Hiccup’s head snapped around to look at her. She was serious.

Valka stood beside him at the edge, her feet near the void. “It’s not about convincing people, it’s about being an example, and you’d be perfect for that. A king has a certain influence over his people, whether you believe it or not.”

“Rapunzel would be more suitable then,” he argued. “She’s the one with magic, after all.”

“That’s exactly why you’re the best candidate,” Valka insisted. She put her fingers on Hiccup’s shoulder, seeking his gaze. He read in her blue eyes a conviction he wasn't used to. “I can understand dragons thanks to the gift I was granted by the gods, but you didn’t need it. You are the first Hairy Hooligan that has flown on a dragon and formed a bond with the Starfolks. Who better than you represents the connection between our people, between the common and the magical?”

It was a new point of view for Hiccup, who had never given much thought to the consequences of his friendships, except to be exasperated by his father's reactions.

“And if I may say so, I think that the people of the archipelago would be more inclined to listen to one of them, than to an unknown girl from Corona,” Valka added.

Hiccup didn’t want to think about it. The sudden opening of another possibility had disoriented him, leaving him at the mercy of new uncertainties that fought with his established beliefs. He felt the need to grab the wall, the space beneath them suddenly vertiginous.

He had always focused on his inadequacy compared to his father and the village's expectations, convinced he wasn't good enough, instead of thinking about how to take advantage of the moment when all eyes would be on him.

But he couldn't do it. He didn't dare think of crossing…

“Rapunzel and Merida. The Duel is important to them too,” he finished out loud.

“At least think about it,” Valka said. She squeezed his shoulder. “Please.”

Hiccup forced a smile, or at least something that resembled one. “I will. Thank you…”

For what? For the unsolicited advice? For turning his mind upside down?

“...For trusting me. I think.”

She reached to touch his hair, but changed her mind and let her arm fall to her side. She straightened her back. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“Toothless had other plans for us.”

The dragon snorted at his name and the sarcastic tone.

Valka nodded outward. “Are any of your friends allergic to mushrooms?”

*

Merida thought she had lived the craziest of days after learning there were families of thieving and prickly trolls, before her last awakening.

She'd had the worst nightmare of her life, for starters.

She had dreamed of waking up in a room flooded with sunshine, exactly like one of those mornings she loved, when she had a day off from her mother’s carefully planned schedule. The air smelled of wisteria and magnolias, and the golden light of spring promised a few precious hours of real fun, between horseback riding, archery exercises and lazy breakfasts eaten under the shade of a tree.

She'd gotten up and dressed, ready to enjoy her freedom, not caring that the window was on the wrong side of the room, or that she didn’t remember owning the clothes she’d just put on. She had looked for stairs, but she hadn’t reached the Grayfir Castle dining hall. She hadn’t found her mother scolding her brothers for playing with their food, or her father scolding her for not letting him eat in peace.

Instead, she'd been surrounded by a swarm of strangers in impeccable uniforms, armed with scrolls of notes, fabric swatches and stacks of documents.

“Your Majesty,” a distinguished man had questioned her. “Have you made a decision about rates?”

Merida recognized the same nagging feeling of being unprepared for a history test. “Rates…? Rates of what?”

She'd felt like she should have known what he was talking about, but she’d missed a crucial piece of information along the way.

“Did you sign the papers I left on your desk?” an anxious woman asked.

“Um, I…”

She didn’t remember signing anything. Did she? Shoot, she’d forgotten.

Another servant had jostled the others for a spot. “The lords demand your response, Your Majesty, and urgently!”

“Surely you don’t want to keep them waiting any longer,” another had agreed.

Merida had reached for the back of a chair, but the entire room was a blur, practically a different world from the circle of insistent servants. “A-an answer for what?”

He looked at her as if he were talking to an ignorant child. “Your choice for a husband, of course.”

“Of course!” the woman echoed. “Your Majesty!”

Your Majesty.

The gnawing feeling that had formed around the pit of Merida’s stomach hadn’t boded well, especially for the carpets, so Merida had pushed away the servants, trying to escape from their reminders.

They hadn’t taken it well. They'd crowded together, placing themselves between her and the doors, so close together that there was no escape route. So close together that one’s shoulders got mixed with another’s, back to chest, chest to back.

They had joined together until the mass of attendants was nothing but a vaguely human-like tangle, bristling with arms and legs like porcupine quills, with a thousand eyes and a thousand mouths full of requests and advice.

“Your Majesty,” the monstrous entity had thundered in an infinite variety of voices.

Merida had backed away. She'd lost her balance and fallen. Maybe she'd screamed.

Then the darkness had come, thick and unstoppable, burying her in a sea of ​​black. Merida’s fingers had fumbled, reaching for a dagger. She'd gotten up and with a cry that had scratched her throat, she had attacked, lashing out again and again. Against the thousand voices that haunted her, against the creature, against…

Rapunzel, who had been watching her from behind the arms she'd covered herself with, terrified.

The guilt still burned in Merida's chest as she thought about it.

She suspected she knew the reason for the nightmare, even if she couldn't explain the sudden sleepwalking; the news that Rapunzel was the Lost Princess hadn't yet fully sunk in, but the immediate relief it had brought Merida was undeniable.

She would finally have a challenger, even if it wasn't the one she'd been training to fight against for sixteen years. She still wanted to believe that it was that normality that comforted her, and not some secret second option she didn't dare think of. She couldn't afford to let her mother plan the rest of her life, and the only way to prevent that was the one that led to the arena in the capital.

With the rude awakening behind her, she had decided to worry only about fully recovering from the wound on her shoulder, which was already bothering her less after the ointment — maybe magical, maybe not — had been applied. Instead she had to deal with another shocking revelation: Hiccup’s mother and her underground dragon lair.

And it wasn’t even lunchtime.

She had welcomed the opportunity to leave the two of them alone as soon as the conversation got heated. Partly because she wanted to get out of the crowded nest, but mostly to give Jack some respite, since his mood had become too similar to the deep sadness he'd been in when they first met him.

Merida had been honest when she'd told him she couldn’t be mad at him, and it pained her to see him so melancholic as he watched the interaction between Hiccup and his mother. Now that she knew why they hadn’t seen Valka in the mirror-quartz, she could only imagine how Jack felt. Merida could never forget the look on his face when he'd seen the visions of his mother and his sister in the crystal.

“Are you alright?” she asked him while they were distracting themselves with some baby dragons. She had kneeled next to him with the excuse of watching them play. The little ones seemed to love him, unlike Rapunzel, whose affectionate attentions had made more than one of them run away.

Jack, busy with playing tug-of-war using a twig, barely looked at her. “Yeah.”

Merida held back a sigh. She'd forgotten how difficult it was to get him to talk about his mood, whenever he was down and locked himself in a cold tower of silence.

The dragon won the game by managing to snatch the stick from Jack’s hands, but it fell from its oversized jaws. He quickly caught it and threw it a short distance away. The baby jumped enthusiastically in pursuit, alternating steps with brief flutters of wings.

“Do you think they’re fighting?” Rapunzel asked, worried, as she petted a big-bellied dragon with tiny horns that was more inclined to be cuddled. Pascal jealously glared at it.

Merida and Jack looked up at Valka’s nest-home-refuge. She and Hiccup were standing up, her hand on his shoulder, absorbed in an impassioned conversation. Even from a distance, Merida could see her friend’s troubled expression.

“It looks like she’s giving him a lecture,” Merida observed. “I don’t know if I’d listen to her, considering she’s been out of her son’s life for twenty years.”

Family honor or not, Merida was once again not understanding a mother’s motivations. From what she could tell, Valka had chosen to stay away from Hiccup. She supposed she couldn’t judge.

“She’s the second coolest person we’ve met, though,” she conceded, because she knew when to admit it.

Jack looked up from the baby, which was all playful nips and growls. “Who’s first?”

“Captain Brianna, obviously.”

“Valka lives with dragons, Merida,” Jack said, incredulous. “With dragons.”

“But did she eat a wolf?” she replied.

“You didn’t actually believe her, did you?”

Merida shrugged. “Think whatever you want to think.”

Jack rolled his eyes, and returned his focus to the dragon. At least Merida had managed to distract him.

She approached Rapunzel, who was still peering toward the nests and absentmindedly petting the baby on her lap.

“What if he decides to stay here with his mom instead of coming with us?” she said as if she were asking him from down there. “This place seems almost made for him.”

Merida picked up Pascal to give him some attention all to himself. The chameleon responded to the scratches by turning bright pink.

“I doubt Hiccup would do that, he sounded very sure when he said he wanted to take us to Amberray. And to be honest, he looked more confused than happy when he saw his mother,” she said. “I think he’d rather come with us and take his time to think, than stay here with a stranger.”

“It must be weird to know us three better than his own mother,” Rapunzel said, thoughtful but reassured.

Merida remembered her gift at that moment. “Right, I haven’t given you this yet.”

She reached into her pockets and handed Rapunzel the seashell she'd collected the night before. “Here.”

She stared at it as if it were a diamond. “How pretty, thank you.” And she put it safely in her embroidered pouch.

Merida still had trouble believing she was the princess who had disappeared so many years ago. She had no doubt that Jack was right about her, but it was hard to imagine that girl with her disheveled braid, bare feet covered in dirt and a passion for ‘pretty rocks’, forced into sumptuous clothes and heavy jewelry. Merida suspected she wouldn’t enjoy court life, if it was even remotely similar to the environment in which she had grown up.

A whistle called their attention.

“Hey,” Hiccup called, waving. He must have come down from the nest while they were distracted. “Are you guys hungry?”

“Aye,” Merida answered without hesitation, feeling her empty stomach groan in support.

They said goodbye to the baby dragons and walked over to Hiccup, following a scent that was inviting even though Merida wasn’t sure what to associate it with. At that moment, she found it a minor detail.

There was some space around a campfire, free of vegetation or crystals, like a clearing in a forest. Valka was keeping an eye on a small dented pot that was bubbling with mysterious contents, watched in turn by Hiccup and Toothless, who were sitting on the ground.

Merida, Jack, and Rapunzel followed suit, forming a half circle around the fire. Merida would have thought it dangerous to make smoke in a cave, but the one they were in was so large that the gray thread rising from the flames got lost before it reached the high ceiling.

“So,” she whispered to Hiccup as she took a seat next to him, “how did it go?”

He shrugged, which had at least four different meanings. Merida didn't have time to ask for details, because a steaming bowl was placed in front of her.

Something had been poured into it. Merida tilted the bowl left and right, examining the unknown liquid that moved, exposing unidentifiable solid pieces. For a moment, the smell hit her face, tingling her nose and making her eyes water.

She glanced at the others, who were visibly hesitant. She had to force herself not to laugh at Jack's funny nauseated face.

“Um…” Rapunzel said, uncertainly. “What is... this?”

Valka smiled at her as if she hadn't just handed them a portion of what looked like potential poison. “My secret soup. Go ahead, you must be hungry!”

“Secret because no one's lived to tell about it?” Jack whispered in Merida's ear, causing her to fake a cough.

Eating was less fun; she just couldn't bring herself to swallow the concoction. She caught a glimpse of Hiccup quickly raising the bowl to his lips, looking as if he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, and she stared in horror as he swallowed. She silently prayed for the gods to protect him.

Hiccup lowered the now empty bowl and gasped for air, his gaze slightly vacant, as if he'd had to swallow part of his sanity along with the soup. “It's… hot.”

At least he was still alive. Merida didn't want to look like a coward, and before she could change her mind, she ate it all in one go. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rapunzel and Jack doing the same with pained faces.

The soup was strangely slimy, and the solid bits she'd seen floating inside felt squishy like mushrooms. Maybe they really were mushrooms. Merida didn't give herself time to think about the taste, but she missed Gothi's stew with all her heart — a delicacy in comparison.

When she was finished, she felt like a different person. She understood Hiccup's expression now.

Valka ate her portion without flinching, making Merida wonder if she'd gotten used to it over time, or if she'd lost her sense of taste entirely. The only one who liked it was Toothless, who was licking the empty bowl. At least that explained something.

“Well,” Valka said, “how was it? It’s been so long since I’ve cooked for other people, I’d forgotten what it’s like to sit down together and eat,” she added wistfully.

Merida couldn’t think of words to describe the soup without hurting her feelings. She was Hiccup’s mom, after all, and she wanted to make a good impression.

“Where did you get these mushrooms? I haven’t seen any here in the Sanctuary,” Rapunzel asked, cleverly dodging the question.

Valka pointed up. “They grow on the island, on the surface. They’re the last food source left.” She shook her head with a small sigh. “Even the fish avoid the waters around here.”

Hiccup, who was currently paying some attention to Toothless, snapped his head up. “Wait, so that’s why dragons raid Berk? Because there’s nothing left here?”

He said it with a slight hint of offense that suggested that connecting the dots hadn’t gotten him anywhere near an answer he was satisfied with. Merida and the others fell silent, left out of the conversation between Berkians.

“The dragons need to eat, Hiccup. What else can we do?” Valka confirmed.

Merida thought her determined tone sounded familiar without being able to place it, before realizing that the answer was sitting right next to her.

“I don’t know, maybe not setting fire to the village houses twice a month?” Hiccup said sarcastically.

“I know it’s not an ideal solution, but it’s a risk we have to take.”

Hiccup threw his hands in the air. “So you’re helping them steal our cattle?”

Rapunzel leaned over to whisper to Merida. “I thought the Dragon Queen was, you know, a dragon.”

“I wonder if Hiccup’s father knows it’s his wife,” Merida muttered back, shuddering; she had only taken a glimpse of Stoick the Vast, but even though he'd reminded Merida of her father in size, she had to admit that his glare was intimidating.

“The raids were happening for generations before I came along,” Valka reminded Hiccup.

“So what? You didn’t even try to find an alternative?” he insisted.

“Enough. This conversation is over,” she said.

Oh, Merida had heard that one too many times before, and she felt a strong sense of sympathy for Hiccup, who snorted in annoyance and crossed his arms.

Breakfast continued with less delicate conversation, as everyone took the opportunity to ask Valka questions about life in the Sanctuary, until something large rustled the ferns behind them.

Merida had just enough time to turn and move her hand toward the bow slung over her back, before Valka got up and ran toward the approaching dragon: a large beast with two pairs of wings, a broad flat head, and yellow eyes with dilated pupils.

“Cloudjumper,” Valka said happily, “where have you been? You weren’t fighting with Halfwing again, I hope.”

She began to speak to the dragon in a low voice, as if isolated from the rest of the world, diligently listened to by him. Merida noticed the resemblance to a certain acquaintance, and couldn’t help but smile.

Jack leaned forward to talk to Hiccup. “I know finding your mother must be crazy, and I don’t mean to be tactless, but I remind you that we don’t have much time,” he said, drumming his pale fingers on his staff.

Hiccup blinked rapidly. “Yes…” He stood up. “You’re right, it’s late and we have a forest to get to,” he agreed, rubbing his eyes. “This has to wait.”

Jack looked relieved, even when Rapunzel nudged him. “Take your time to say bye to your mother, Hiccup.” She glared at Jack. “No hurry.”

He nodded, and after a brief hesitation he cleared his throat. “Mom,” he called with the uncertainty of someone speaking a foreign word for the first time.

Valka dismissed Cloudjumper with a nod and returned to them, leaving the dragon to turn his attention to a Toothless suddenly less cocky than usual.

“I'm sorry, but we need to go,” Hiccup said.

“I see. Do you have a scroll of transportation, or some other spell to get to the capital?” Valka asked.

Hiccup scratched the back of his head. “We’re going to the Cinder Woods, actually. Gothi told us of someone who can help us send a message to Amberray about us getting there late.”

Valka’s expression softened. “I won't keep you here any longer, then.”

The preparations for departure didn’t take much time; everyone was eager to get going and didn’t waste time in idle chit-chat. Valka showed them another passage hidden by the vegetation, which they could easily fly through. She was also kind enough to offer supplies of mushroom soup, but Hiccup quickly declined the courtesy, claiming he couldn’t increase Toothless’s load. She agreed, and Merida mentally thanked the stars.

“Then… I'll see you,” Hiccup said when they were ready to leave the Sanctuary.

“Be careful,” Valka advised. “Legend has it that the heart of Cinder Woods hides unknown and dangerous magic.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Merida said.

Toothless stretched his shoulders, making them bounce in their saddle, and spread his black wings. He'd seemed a little sad to say goodbye to Cloudjumper so soon.

Hiccup was the last to turn his back on Valka as she watched them go, leaving her alone — so to speak — with her dragons.

As promised, the hidden passage allowed Toothless and Jack to pass through it comfortably, managing to fly over stalagmites and crevasses like the one they’d found before, and soon they were out in the open air, their hair tousled by the sea breeze. Merida breathed in, savoring the smell of the ocean.

“We’ll find some rocks to rest on in an hour or so,” Hiccup announced, unknowingly taking on the role of the Captain they often joked about. “So be ready for a long flight.”

Merida relaxed as best she could, now feeling comfortable in her seat in the back row. She was considering taking a nap, since the nightmare hadn’t made her night easy, when she remembered what had happened that morning.

Maybe she wouldn’t nap after all.

She hoped she wouldn’t have a repeat of the recent disaster; she had a dark feeling that the bad dreams weren’t over, and she suspected the next one would torment her with soups and stews.

Chapter Text

Toothless exceeded everyone's expectations, taking half a day less than predicted to reach the western coast of Dunbroch, and they came within sight of the cliffs with the midday sun burning their heads. Maybe their dragon friend was in a hurry to finish the journey so he could return to the Sanctuary, maybe he wanted to impress them, or maybe he was simply getting used to flying with three people on his back.

Merida had explored the eastern part of the Cinder Woods countless times, alone and with her father, hunting and on horseback, but the height gave her a new spectacular point of view. It seemed as if the sea continued onto the land in a bright green expanse that adapted to the geography, creating waves of trees. The forest was vast and extended as far as the eye could see, all the way to the foot of the Pilgrims Chain, which stood out along the northern horizon.

As Toothless approached, Merida could see in the distance a modest village that had developed where the coast, instead of rising steeply, sloped more gently toward the sea. A small fleet of merchant ships and fishing boats rested in the harbor, watched over by a large wooden column carved in the shape of a dragon that stood tall in the central plaza.

The Broken Bridge stretched out over the sea for several feet before ending abruptly, like an arm of stone.

“That’s Alderport,” Merida said, pointing to the crowded dock. “The statue was given to the village by the Chief of Berk two hundred years ago, when the dragons were driven out of the region, and it’s supposed to protect the coast from invasion, or something. The fishermen from the village still trade with the islands of the archipelago.”

“No way, you actually remember a history lesson,” Jack teased, flying close enough to her to be heard, but still a safe distance from her fist.

“If a story involves dragons, of course I paid attention,” she retorted.

Toothless grunted in displeasure.

“You’re right, bud, that statue isn’t very… accurate,” Hiccup said.

“How can you be sure? Maybe it’s some kind of dragon you haven’t discovered yet,” Rapunzel suggested, patting Toothless’s side.

“Maybe,” Hiccup said, unconvinced.

“And to think that one of your ancestors gave it to the village,” Rapunzel said. “How did that bridge over there get destroyed?”

“It was supposed to connect Dunbroch to the nearest Barbaric Archipelago island. It would have been the longest bridge in the kingdom,” Merida explained. “Work started around the time the statue was donated, but it stopped before the bridge was halfway done. Some say the architect’s death was the cause, or Starfolk sabotage, or a lack of funds.”

They watched the unfinished bridge for a few silent minutes, like spectators at the funeral of a respected fallen soldier, until Merida grew tired.

“Can we find a place to land?” she said, her bottom hurting so much it had become numb. “So we can have lunch.”

Jack showed one of the smirks she had learned to fear — or appreciate, depending on the case. “Why don’t we just go straight to the village and buy some food there? We always have to hide, sometimes it would be nice to not care and walk around with Toothless in plain sight.”

Hiccup shook his head. “I get your point, but then the locals would think that dragons are back for revenge and destruction. It would scare them.”

“That’s the point. It would be fun.”

“We’re not flying over Alderport just to scare some fishermen.”

“But—”

“Captain’s orders,” Hiccup said, exasperated.

Jack and Merida exchanged a surprised look; the captain joke was supposed to include Hiccup’s firm denial, but it looked like he’d just turned it on them. Rapunzel giggled.

“Toothless, let’s find a better spot,” he asked, pleased with their reaction.

They avoided the village and skirted the cliffs until they found a cove that would offer them more privacy. The forest loomed behind them like a silent but imposing presence.

Merida, who had perfected her technique, slid off the saddle with a soft thud while Toothless was still landing, dodging flapping legs and wings. She stretched out her arms with a sigh of relief, feeling her back and shoulders crack. Hiccup spread out a blanket on the grass and they sat on it, improvising a picnic.

Merida sat cross-legged on the corner of the blanket that depicted a naval battle. “What’s on the menu?”

“…Dried meat… some crackers… or Gothi's stew,” Hiccup said, rummaging through the saddlebags.

“The stew's still good?” Jack asked skeptically.

“It’s food from the archipelago, in a well-sealed container it will last a few more days,” Hiccup said with some resignation.

“You know what I’m missing?” Rapunzel said dreamily. “Mrs. Bennett’s soup. Or the Willoway scones. Or Agatha’s sandwiches. Or…”

“The stew is fine,” Merida cut in, interrupting the nostalgic flow that was making her stomach cry.

She thanked Hiccup for the bowl he passed her and began to eat without thinking about her regrets. Seeing the unappealing dish had reminded her of the vivid nightmare she'd had the night after eating it for the first time: she had come to the logical conclusion that a little indigestion was to blame. At least it hadn’t happened again, even if her dreams had been troubled for several days now.

They finished eating without wasting precious time in small talk and gathered their things, and they walked until they reached the edge of the Cinder Woods.

“So, should we just… wander until we find the person Gothi was talking about?” Rapunzel said, looking at the treetops with a hint of uneasiness readable on her face.

“She said she’d find us, so I guess so,” Merida shrugged.

She was the first to advance into the thicket, and she stayed at the head of the group the rest of the way.

The Cinder Woods were named after the dragons, which were fought back to the sea, as the statue in Alderport testified. Merida’s father had told her when she was little that their fiery breath had burned the tops of the fir trees, but the trunks were too tall and strong to be consumed by the flames, and they protected the people of Dunbroch, even as ash snowed down on them.

They had previously been known as the Woods of Sheh, the goddess of fate — among other things — so the tale of the souls of the dead wandering around looking for someone to grant their wishes was fitting.

Merida wasn’t afraid of legends, at least not when it came to these woods. Everything there was familiar, from the color of the tree trunks, to the variety of berries dotting the bushes, to the sound made by footsteps on the ground, to the calls of birds.

At first she let her instincts guide her, which pushed her to look for animal tracks as she had done hundreds of times before. Everyone was walking without worrying about making too much noise, so she found no game.

Then Merida heard a distant, faint gurgling, and decided to change direction to follow the call of the water, her friends following without objection, assuming that whoever they were looking for might live near the stream.

The river flowed happily and babbling over a bed of pebbles and mud. A fawn was drinking peacefully from the opposite bank, but their arrival scared it away.

Merida knelt down, dipped her hands in the clear water, and rubbed her face to cool it. “Time to get out your bottles, you all.”

She grabbed the one Jack threw her and dipped it into the stream, scaring a few small fish, then began to screw the cap on.

That was when she heard it.

The familiar tune of the woods, made of water, wind in the leaves, and singing from the treetops, was interrupted. A quiet sigh magically covered every other sound.

A whisper. A voice.

Merida whirled around. Her friends were watching her reaction with some puzzlement, except Toothless, who had pricked up his ears and was looking around warily.

“Did you say something?”

Jack looked serious. “No. Did you hear anyone?”

Merida nodded and stood up. It seemed to her that the sunlight was no longer hitting the woods, but maybe it was just a cloud casting a shadow as it passed.

Then she heard the same breathy murmur again, and this time she saw it.

A small turquoise flame glowed without burning the grass it hovered over, next to a nearby boulder. Merida had the distinct feeling that it was watching her, calling to her.

Merida pointed a trembling finger. “A wisp,” she stammered.

She felt like a child again, who got away from her mother’s scolding and adult talk, away from the camp built for the lords’ annual hunting trip. Too far away. She hadn’t been able to understand the spirit’s words then, but maybe now…

“Let’s follow it,” she said, stepping forward.

Hiccup stopped her, grabbing her arm. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Aye, let me go.” Merida tried to shake him off, but to no avail.

“Didn’t you say that wisps look for someone they can entrust their unfinished fate with?” he insisted, reasonably. “We don’t have time to take on another mission.”

Merida managed to free her arm from his grip. “Then think of it as a troll lantern, as you called it, if it makes you feel better. I want to see it up close.”

As if to back up her words, the wisp glowed a little brighter, still standing where it was.

Rapunzel leaned in and spoke into Hiccup’s ear. She looked halfway between fear and curiosity. “Maybe it will tell us where to find the person we're looking for!”

Merida took advantage of their distraction and walked briskly toward the flame, ignoring her friends’ calls.

The wisp flickered, its tongues of fire moving as if to invite her closer. Merida could now distinguish the beautiful shades of blue, and hear its faint voice.

The spirit sighed again in its high, almost childish tone, and even though she couldn’t make out any human words, Merida understood the meaning deep in her soul: the wisp wasn’t dangerous, and it wanted to be followed.

She reached out instinctively, deaf to the alarmed exclamations behind her, but before she could touch it, the flame vanished like light blown out of a candle.

Someone tugged at Merida, forcing her to straighten her back. She found herself face to face with Hiccup’s anxious expression.

“Are you out of your mind?” he scolded. “Do you seriously think you should go around touching the spirits of the dead?”

She blinked, slightly surprised by his reaction. He looked genuinely scared. “I was just…”

“Look!” Rapunzel said, pointing forward. “There’s another one… or maybe it’s the same one from before.”

The wisp wasn’t far from where it had disappeared. Merida couldn’t help but take that as a loud and clear message.

“It wants to show us something,” she told the others, recognizing the pleading note in her own voice.

Hiccup was still wary, and jumped when Jack touched his shoulder. “We have no other options. Unless you have any ideas.”

He swallowed and patted Toothless’ neck. “Okay. Just don’t try touching it again.”

They'd decided to follow the wisp, but that was easier said than done: it would go out every time Merida and the others got close, only to reappear a little further away, whispering what she took to be encouragement. Now, Merida was no expert on spirits, but she had the impression that it was enjoying itself.

They went deeper into the woods, until the crashing of the waves on the cliffs was just a memory. Merida was too focused on the chase to look up and try to figure out which direction they were going, but whichever it was, it wasn’t frequented by woodcutters or hunters.

“Where did that come from?” Jack said, breaking the breathless silence they had been forced into while running.

Merida finally looked up, and was shocked to see the small stone cottage built to hug an oak tree — or maybe the tree had stubbornly grown out of the building. The branches shaded the cottage, which stood slightly lopsided under the weight of time, covered in a generous layer of moss.

The wisp crackled a few steps from the door, whispered its last arcane words and with a flicker vanished into thin air, as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind a few blue sparks and a vague smell of cookies. When it disappeared, a ray of light returned to illuminate the cottage.

“Is that it?” said Rapunzel, almost disappointed. “No extraordinary spells, no monsters to escape from? Just a cottage in the woods?”

“Don't count your dragons before they hatch,” Merida warned her.

“Grrrawr?”

“It's just a figure of speech, Toothless.”

They approached the cottage cautiously. There was no sound from inside, and the curtains obscured the small round windows.

When he got to the door, Hiccup hesitated. “Should I knock?”

Merida stood in front of him and without further ado, pounded the door with her fist. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

“What are you doing?!”

She listened for an answer. “I'm waiting for our mystery lady to open the door for us, obviously.”

However, nothing came from inside that could be interpreted as a sign of life.

“There you go,” Hiccup said, exasperated. “If she was here, she's not coming out now.”

“Maybe she's out,” Rapunzel speculated.

“Doing what, shopping at the Mushroom Market?”

Jack stepped between Merida and the door, and had the bright idea of ​​turning the handle. The door creaked open in protest. He stuck his head in.

“Let’s go.”

“Great,” Hiccup grumbled as they tiptoed in. “Add break-in to the list, sure, why not…”

“Technically, it’s not a break-in; the door was already open,” Rapunzel pointed out cheerfully, closing it behind her.

Inside, they didn’t find the atmosphere one would expect from a small house; there were no armchairs, coffee tables, or rugs. It looked more like a chaotic craftsman’s workshop, with a pile of carved wood knick-knacks leaning against one corner, a workbench half-covered in shavings, and an unreasonably large couldron dominating the space.

The oak tree, its large trunk carved with strange runes jutting from the center of the room toward the ceiling, cast a shadow over the cottage, like a perpetual twilight. The short walls made the room too small for Merida’s taste.

“I don’t see anyone,” Rapunzel whispered.

“Then why are you whispering?” Jack hissed.

Merida ignored them. The work in progress gathering dust on the counter had caught her eye, even though it was only a bear sketched out from a block of wood.

Then, an epiphany. Or rather, a suspicion.

“Wait,” she whispered. “The house of someone who lives in the woods… A pile of carved objects… This old people smell…” She jumped, her eyes wide. “This is the Wi—”

The door swung open, letting in the scent of the woods, along with a few dry leaves. A short, hunched figure stood in the doorway.

If Merida had already connected the dots when she'd seen the workshop, the cloud of white hair, the frayed shawl, and the web of wrinkles only confirmed her theory.

The Witch was holding a woven basket in one arm, and in the other hand she was gripping a short walking stick with the usual stuffed crow mounted on top (a bit tacky, to be honest).

“Ah, customers. Welcome to my humble…” She narrowed her eyes, frowning. “…It's you four again.”

“Hello,” Merida said. “We’re here to—”

“Yes, yes, I understand, lass.” The Witch placed the basket on the workbench and entered with a weary gait, although helped by the stick. “You’re late.”

“You knew we were coming?” Hiccup asked, interested. “Because of your foresight powers?”

As she passed by him, the Witch waved her bony finger under his nose. “Are you calling me a fortune teller?”

“Uh, no. Sorry.”

She leaned her stick against the cauldron and when she clapped her hands twice and muttered something, a dozen small, timid lights came on in the shop. Merida noticed they were emitted by many fireflies closed in different jars scattered around the room.

The Witch prepared for… something, Merida couldn’t figure out what exactly: the old woman rolled up her sleeves, before lighting the fire under the cauldron with a snap of her fingers that made some crystals burn where there should normally be wood, then she poured the contents of some bottles taken apparently at random from an open shelf into the large container. She began to stir using her walking stick, always watched over by the stuffed crow.

“Well? What brings you to my shop?”

“Wha—didn’t you just say you were waiting for us?” Merida protested.

The Witch rolled her eyes, still stirring. “I knew your journey would bring you here to bother me again, but I have no idea what you want from me, dearie.”

Before Merida could respond, and rudely at that, Rapunzel spoke up.

“Gothi sent us here,” she said. She was staring at something hanging from the old woman’s neck, visible as she held her arms up. A pendant.

The Witch paused. Her face seemed to show new wrinkles, and the amused sparkle in her eyes faded. For the first time, she didn’t seem in the mood to joke or insult them in jest.

Then she took a long, deep breath and placed the ladle-stick sideways across the cauldron, gripping the edge with her hands. “Of course.”

Merida felt as if a piece of the puzzle was missing, fallen to the floor and now lost. “Did I get distracted at the wrong time?” she whispered to Hiccup.

Hiccup’s brows were furrowed. “She’s wearing a medallion just like Gothi’s.”

He made at least three funny faces, as soon as he finished his sentence. At the end, his expression changed to a shocked look that Merida couldn’t interpret, leaving her even more confused than before.

Rapunzel put a hand to her heart. “You two knew each other, right?” she said with delicate kindness.

The Witch snorted with a wistful smile. “We knew each other like trees know the sun, like the moon knows the stars, like fire knows air, like rain knows earth.”

There was certainty in her voice, but also a lot of pain, the same kind of deep hurt that sometimes darkened Jack’s face. The kind of pain that has taken years and years to take root in a someone’s heart.

“It’s been so long since I last heard her name, I thought I’d forgotten it.” She stroked the pendant, touching the rune engraved on it.

“Well, Gothi is doing perfectly fine, you can find her just outside of Berk,” Merida said, her doubt still not entirely resolved.

The Witch closed her eyes. “Oh, I’ve dreamed many times of going back to her… but I can’t.”

“Why not?” Merida wondered.

Rapunzel stepped on her foot (not that a bare heel on a boot hurt much). “Can you tell us what happened?”

“Bunch of nosy ones, aren’t you,” the Witch said with a hint of her usual irony. She clicked her long, chipped nails on the rim of the iron cauldron, as if to buy time.

“There were no Magicknappers on Berk when I was born. Your ancestor, Eira the Merciless, had driven them all out,” she said, looking at Hiccup. Her lips twisted into a grimace. “Yes, she’d completely cleaned out the Archipelago.”

“Until you came along?” he asked.

“Until Gothi came along,” the Witch corrected him. “Ohl must have seen her courage and passion for medicine, and chose her, giving her some of his power.”

Hiccup was a little pale. “I’ve only heard of Eira from the tapestries in the Great Hall. Was Gothi around even back then?”

The Witch raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling us old, young man?”

Hiccup hesitated a second too long, and she clicked her tongue in offense. “Young people these days.”

“Did you get magic without asking, too?” Jack said, bringing the conversation back to its original track.

“I got it the old fashioned way,” she replied. “I couldn’t stand the thought of Gothi remaining young while I was being dragged to my death, so I searched the secret library of Berk for manuscripts confiscated during the years of the Magicknappers hunt…”

“Hold on,” Hiccup interrupted again. “There’s a library in Berk?”

Indeed, the idea of ​​a Hairy Hooligan poring over books sounded unlikely. Berkian literature wasn’t exactly widespread in the kingdom.

The Witch waved her hand in a casual gesture. “Under the Great Hall. Move the tapestry of Bror the Fetid, press the rune stone for ‘knowledge,’ go down the stairs, and you’re there. Can’t miss it.”

Hiccup looked like he needed to sit down for a moment. Too bad there were no chairs in the lab.

“Where was I? Oh, right. I studied the Magicknapper scrolls—”

“Could you call them ‘Starfolk’?” Rapunzel said. “You know, we thought of that name because it’s more correct, and also nicer for—”

The Witch crossed her arms. “If you don’t shut it, I’ll end up kicking the bucket right here in front of you before I finish the story!”

“…Yes. Sorry,” Rapunzel squeaked, her cheeks bright red.

The Witch cleared her throat, making an almost inhuman sound. “I studied the forbidden scrolls, and prayed to the gods for days on end, asking for their favor. I didn’t turn to any one deity in particular, I was too desperate to be picky.” She paused. “By sunset on the fourth day, I collapsed, exhausted and hungry. I woke up in Gothi’s arms, and she was staring at me in shock, asking what I had done. I didn’t know it at the time, but she had sensed magic in me. Since that day, I have been able to peek into people’s destiny.”