Somewhere Only We Know

Chapter 17: The Long Awaited Meeting

Rapunzel didn't want to be upset with Hiccup, but it seemed like she had a good reason at the moment, considering that he wrote in his most recent letter that him and Toothless would arrive at her tower before sundown, but the sun had come down a long time ago. Even though it was dark outside, Rapunzel preferred to stay wide awake and wait for Hiccup to come, since Mother Gothel wasn't around to scold her for staying up so late, and Rapunzel had done a good job of not waking up her mother since she was four years old. Rapunzel refused to believe that Hiccup and his dragon weren't going to show up, especially because Hiccup seemed so serious about leaving his home for good, so Rapunzel tried her best to convince herself that her tower and his village were only a great distance away. The young woman had to admit it was rather difficult to search for Toothless and Hiccup in the star-filled sky, so she felt it wouldn't hurt to take a break.

Pascal had been standing on Rapunzel's shoulder ever since Mother Gothel left, and he could tell from the look on Rapunzel's face how she was feeling. Rapunzel wanted to keep her mind off Hiccup and Toothless and focus on something else, but she usually did one hobby at night, and that's to watch the floating lights, which only came on the night of her birthday, and it wasn't coming until a few more months from now. All of a sudden, Rapunzel heard something outside, flapping, like a bird's wings against the air, but much bigger, and she quickly ran over to the window. Rapunzel took a moment to search for the source of the noise, but there was nothing, and she turned her attention to Pascal, who was a little frightened.

"It's alright, Pascal. I'm sure it was nothing." Rapunzel assured, but just then a loud thud came from the top of the tower, which startled the two of them.

Pascal quickly hid behind the nape of Rapunzel's neck as the girl looked around the tower for something that she could use as a weapon to fight back. It wasn't long before Rapunzel had chosen a frying pan from the kitchen, and she clutched it tightly before tiptoeing closer to the tower's window. Rapunzel barely managed to stifle a shriek when a pair of legs appeared, dangling from the roof and searching desperately for the window's ledge.

Even though she was scared that somebody was trying to break into her home, Rapunzel couldn't help but take a closer look at the person's footwear. They were wearing a pair of dark brown fur boots, which happened to be the same kind Rapunzel saw Hiccup wear in the nightmare she had last night. Although a part of her wanted to believe that it really was Hiccup who wore these same boots, Rapunzel wanted to wait and see the person's face to be absolutely sure.

When the person's legs began to swing, Rapunzel took a few steps back, but still readied herself to strike with her pan just in case this person wasn't Hiccup. A figure suddenly landed inside the tower with an ungraceful thump on the floor in a tangle of limbs, and the intruder soon got back up while brushing themselves off. This person currently had their back to Rapunzel, but when they finally turned around, Rapunzel's eyes widened as the pan fell out of her hands completely.

"Hiccup?" Rapunzel gaped at the boy for a moment, and before Hiccup even had a chance to speak, the girl ran forward and engulfed him in a big hug.

Hiccup was a little taken aback from Rapunzel's affection, since he expected her to be angry from the fact he made it to her tower much later than expected. Nonetheless, Hiccup reminded himself that Rapunzel was giving him a hug, and so he returned the affection by wrapping both of his arms around her back. As they embraced each other, Hiccup couldn't help but notice the long trail of her blonde hair, which he didn't believe Rapunzel mentioned in any of her letters.

Rapunzel probably must have felt embarrassed to write about her hair and how long it really was, so Hiccup didn't think it was necessary to be upset with her. When the two of them had finally pulled away from one another, Hiccup took a moment to get a look at Rapunzel, and he had to admit she was beautiful. All of a sudden, Hiccup realized that he didn't have all the time in the world to admire Rapunzel's beauty, he had a mission to bring Rapunzel to his village.