Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 8: Merida

Rapunzel was definitely missing. 

Merida and Flynn had scoured the school searching for her, but to no avail.

"Do you think she ended up on the ship to Berk somehow?" Flynn asked.

"No," Merida dragged her hands through her hair. "I saw her just after the ship left. She was taking a walk."

"Now, nothing," Flynn shook his head worriedly. "Think something happened?"

"Without a doubt," Merida pushed away from the table. She and Flynn had gone to a small café for breakfast, but Merida wasn't hungry for food anymore. "I'm going to look for her in the Cistern. You should go to the Tower and submit a query asking for her."

"Okay," Flynn nodded. "Meet here at lunch?"

"Gotcha," Merida stood up, dusting crumbs off her boxy t-shirt. "If we don't find her, we file a report."

Without another word, the two of them dispersed, heading in opposite directions.

~ ~ ~

Merida nudged the entrance to the Cistern open, pausing to take in the familiar sights and sounds. The Cistern was an Elite-run place. Their way of keeping tabs on the flow of secrets through the more unsavory parts of Skyara. It was guarded by the Secrets Door, only letting honest people in. 

Merida remembered her secret. Rapunzel had been accompanying her when Merida was first introduced to the Cistern. The same old man who was still standing at the entrance had asked her for her secret.

She had been afraid to admit it. It something Merida had carried with her since she had first realized it. She knew she could never tell her mother or father, for they wouldn't understand. It had terrified her to admit it.

Helpless within the storm of her past, Merida felt herself being washed away by the tide of memories.

She stood outside the entrance to the Cistern for the first time. Before she met Elsa, before she knew about Jack and Rapunzel being Elites.

"What is this place?" Merida asked Rapunzel. The two of them were fifteen and fourteen respectively. 

"It's a safe house of sorts," Rapunzel explained. "This is the Secrets Door."

"Secrets Door?"

"You'll see."

An elderly man stood guard at the entrance. He had yellow teeth and gray hair. "Good morning."

"Morning to you too," Rapunzel answered rather cheerily. 

"You're welcome to come right in," the old man told Rapunzel. He turned to Merida then. "But you have to tell me a secret first. The door will decide if you are worthy. The deeper the secret, the better."

"Why would I tell a secret to a stranger?" Merida demanded.

"I won't tell," the old man promised, giving Merida a mirthless grin. "Your friend here had to do it. Everyone has to."

Merida steeled herself. A deep secret. Her deepest secret. One rose to mind. One she thought she would never admit. 

The man seemed to sense it. "Princess of DunBroch, right? The red hair is a bit of a giveaway. You must have a secret. Everyone does."

"If you want," Rapunzel whispered to her, "I can go ahead. I don't need to know your secret. I can just meet you inside."

Merida could have kissed Rapunzel for her kindness but instead she only smiled at her. "I trust you, Punzie. Stay."

"Of course." Rapunzel fiddled with a lock of her long blonde hair. "Whenever you're ready."

"My secret," Merida murmured, "is that... despite everything my mother, the queen, has told me about marrying a male suitor and all of the reasons I've given her to delay it, the true reason why I don't want to get married is not just because I want to be free or because I'm too young. They're important reasons but not the true one. I never wanted to marry any of the suitors my mother found because I prefer women."

There. She said it. Merida waited for any sign of disgust or anger on Rapunzel's face, but there was none. Only surprise.

The old man smiled, and for a moment, his appearance flickered and in his place was a young woman with bronze skin and warm eyes. It vanished though, and Merida figured she had imagined it. 

The man touched the Secrets Door and it swung open. "Welcome to the Cistern, Your Highness."

Once inside, Merida turned to look at Rapunzel. 

Her friend squeezed Merida's hand lightly. "Do you want to talk? You know, about that."

"Is there really much more to say?" Merida sank into a seat, and Rapunzel took one across from her. "Ever since I was old enough to understand romance, I knew I wasn't like others. Viking culture... the clans aren't very accepting of people like me. There are exceptions of course, but usually it's considered disrespectful because I won't reproduce. The bloodline ends with me. It dates back to some ancient time when survival was key in our kingdoms. So I hid it from everyone even though it was eating me up inside. I know that the First Kingdom is more lax about things like this, but I just couldn't—"

"Merida," Rapunzel said soothingly. "I would never judge you for something like this. Neither would Jack, Hiccup, Astrid, or Eugene. But it is your secret to keep. I won't tell anyone. Not until you're ready. I promise."

Merida could feel her eyes brimming with tears. Soundlessly, Rapunzel pulled her into a hug. 

"Thank you. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for someone to say that," Merida whispered.

"What else are friends for?" Rapunzel answered.

Merida laughed, and for the first time in her life, she felt truly free. 

A/N:

Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to update; this was a hard chapter to write. I know this story is not being very well executed thanks to my lack of planning, but thank you to all of you readers for sticking around this long. See you next chapter!