Maybe I'm Afraid... (Mericcup)

Chapter 4

Merida raced to the Fire Falls, determined to beat her new friends. The falls, of course, were not their legendary orange color, but a light blue. The wind as blowing the tall grass around her legs. This was why Merida chose to wear leggings under her dress, she hated the feeling of grass against her legs.

The second she reached the base of the falls Merida began climbing the towering rock in front of it. Over the years she had begun timing herself, breaking her personal record each time. She was nearly to the top when she reach a resting point. While catching her breath, Merida looked at the fluffy clouds in the sky. Her eyes landed on two dragons flying through the air. They seemed to spot her as well. They flew over to Merida, hovering next to her as she continued climbing. "It's about time ya got here," The redhead joked. "Actually, we got here a while ago. You weren't here yet so we flew around the cliff," Astrid said, crossing her arms with a smug expression.

Merida rolled her eyes and continued climbing. "What are you doing?" Hiccup asked, flying along side her. "Well, If you must know, I'm climbing," she said mater of factually.  "We can see that," Astrid said, "But why are you climbing?" Merida's hands were starting to ache. "To reach the top. Is tha' not obvious?"

Hiccup let out a short laugh, "No, it is. Is there any particular reason you want to get to the top?" Merida opened her mouth to answer, but her hand had begun to slip. She tightened her grip. "How 'bout ah tell you after I get to the top?" It was more of a statement. The two dragons flew next to Merida as she climbed for a short while before they each rest on two separate rock towers.

Merida had almost reached the top when it happened. She grabbed an unstable ledge. It crumbled in her fingers. Her hand hurt; Merida was vaguely aware of a sharp pain across her palm. She was holding on with one hand. The ground seemed so far away. There was nothing in her hands now. Her scream was drowns out by the rushing wind. The sounds were joined by another.

Toothless had caught her, holding her by her arms. He gently released her on the ground. The princess grasped her bleeding hand. A pool of deep red formed in her cut palm. She couldn't wipe it on her dress; her mother would be worried. "Are you alright?" a voice asked. Merida looked up. She'd forgotten that they were there. "Here," Hiccup said, "Let me."

He took her hand in his own; his finger tips were cold and her's were smaller than his, but not by much. The blood spilt over into his hand, staining his fingerless gloves. Merida had to bite her lip to keep from wincing. Not only was she shaking like a leaf, she was unable to fully register what had happened. She felt another presence leaning over her shoulder. She assumed it was Astrid or a dragon or Angus.

"It's a deep cut," Hiccup said after examining it, "Probably best to have someone at the castle patch it up. Soon. Before it can get infected." Merida opened her mouth to protest, but Astrid agreed with Hiccup. Knowing she would not win, Merida obediently mounted Angus, careful of her cut hand. Astrid and Hiccup mounted their dragons and the group began through the forest.

They moved at a slow pace; none of them felt extremely rushed to return to the castle. Now that she had calmed down, Merida began to reflect upon what had happened. She should've known better, the rocks and ledges she always relied on were bound to wear out eventually. She had never tried climbing while talking to someone either. She never considered how distracting they would be. 'It really is distracting,' Merida thought. 'Hiccup's constant talking to that magnificent beast and that warm laughter was enough to distract anyone,' she reasoned. 'Not to mention his stupid, crooked smile or his wind swept hair. He should really so something about it...' Yes, Hiccup is very distracting, especially when he's flying right next to someone who needs to concentrate. Merida's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find it in her to confront Hiccup about how distracting he was, but realized she couldn't.

"Are you alright Merida?" Hiccup asked. "What? Oh. Yes, I'm fine," Merida said quickly as she was ripped from her thoughts. He had noticed the look on her face and thought she was in pain. She found it sweet that he cares, but quickly caught herself and pursed her lips as she made Angus move at a slightly faster pace. She needed to think and that wasn't safe to do with people around. She moved a few paces in front of the others, leaving Hiccup and Astrid throughly confused.