Mericcup

Chapter 15: Hiccup

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Toothless landed softly in the castle's courtyard, startling several kitchen maids.

"Oh! Hiccup!" Gobber called to me, tankard raised. "We were just havin' a drink. Come sit down with us!" Another man stood up from the table. Despite wearing a kilt, and having red hair, the man looked like Dad. I smiled and sat down, Toothless settling down on the ground next to me. The man stared at Toothless, wide-eyed.

"I think I've 'ad too much ale." He commented, his words slightly slurred.

"Oh, yeah sorry. This is Toothless." At the mention of his name, Toothless's head shot up under my hand. "He's my best friend, a Nightfury, and the Alpha of All Dragons." Toothless gave a toothless smile. Haha. This seemed to please the man for now and he slid a large wooden mug, filled to the brim with ale my way.

"Well, I've seen ma wife turn into a bear. Can't get tha' much stranger." He snorted and let out a quick, loud laugh. Who is this guy? He kind of reminded me of Merida. Where was Arrows anyway? "Did ah forget ta introduce myself?" I turned my attention back to the man as he stood up, slightly wobbling, and set a peg-leg on the bench. "I am Fergus of Dunbroch, the Bear Ki-Warrior, former King and current father to me daughter, Queen Merida. Call me Fergus." Wait, what? This is Merida's father? Well, that actually makes some sense.

"It's an honor to meet you, Fergus. My father spoke highly of you after the two of you met." I glanced at Gobber, who was now staring at the bottom of his cup. I miss him too.

"Aye, yer father was a great leader an' a great man. I'm sorry fer what 'appened to him." Fergus replied. "But this is no time to feel down. Drink some ale, celebrate! The treaty 'as been signed. I apologize for Macintosh leaving early, but Maguffin and Dingwall are still 'ere somewhere." Fergus lifted his pint and Gobber joined in. Both men looked at me expectantly. Sighing, I picked up my still-full mug and joined in on the toast. "To the treaty! To the Clans and Vikings!"

"And to Stoick!" Gobber chimed in. I found myself smiling at my old mentor as Fergus nodded.

"And to Stoick!" We hit our mugs together with a loud clank. Fergus and Gobber raced to the bottom of their mug and I took a half-hearted gulp. The sharp liquid hit my tongue and I nearly spit the drink out. How do they even drink this stuff? It's terrible. I swallowed the ale and felt it burn my throat. My body must not have been able to take it because I suddenly couldn't stop coughing, much to the amusement of the others around me. 

In between fits of laughter, Gobber managed to comment on my distaste for alcohol. "Aye laddie, you are his son alright! Yer father did the same thing when he first tried ale, but he got the taste fer it soon."

"Wait, seriously?" I asked, wide eyed. As far back as I could remember, Dad had been a drinker. It was hard to think that at one point he didn't love it.

"You should have seen him when he would be really drunk, Hiccup. It was a true sight." Gobber replied. I laughed along with Gobber and Fergus, thinking of my intimidating father stumbling and slurring his words.

"The last time ah saw Stoick drunk was when he tried courtin' that kind lass tha' came with 'im." He turned to me. "This was long before yer time, Hiccup." Wait, did he mean...

"Are you talking about my Mom? Her name is Valka." I questioned him. Gobber covered his mouth to keep from laughing even harder as he nodded at me. Oh ho ho. No way! I must have had a huge grin on my face because Gobber could no longer keep his hysteria to himself. Dad was drunk when he asked Mom out? That's too good! I need to get that story from Mom when I get back to Berk. I made a mental note to bring it up with Mom the next time I saw her.

"Lord Fergus! Lord Fergus!" A stout woman charged from the front gate, stopping when she saw Toothless. She screamed, seemingly forgetting whatever it was she needed to say.

"Get a hold of yerself, woman!" Fergus shouted, calming the woman. I had seen her before. Arrows was talking to her about something earlier. What did she call her? Marry? Mauve? "Maudie, tell me what's wrong." Maudie. That was it. Without taking her eyes off Toothless, who was ready for a fight, she pointed back at the gate. Fergus rushed ahead and I quickly followed. The small pile of dark blue, orange, and red we saw at the entrance turned the air around me cold. I hope that's not who I think it is. "Merida!" Fergus's voice was all the confirmation I needed as he knelt by his daughter.

"How - how is this possible? Merida she's... she's so strong. Who could've done this?" I asked Fergus as my heart fell into my stomach. I could hear the blood in my ears as Toothless nudged me and cooed.

Fergus looked just as fearful as I felt. He pressed an ear to Arrow's chest, listening for her heartbeat. No. No, that scene looks too familiar. I saw Mom with the same look on her face as she pressed her ear against Dad's chest during the battle against Drago Bloodfist. The battle where he died saving me from Toothless. I shook off the painful memory and focused on Arrows. A couple of seconds went by before Fergus sighed and looked back up.  "Don' you worry, Vikin' Chief. Merida's alive. Her 'eart still beats. The lass is tougher than ya think, and whoever did this ta her is going ta know it soon too." Fergus warned, looking me dead in the eye. I ignored him. I fell to my knees, having lost all feeling in my body. My head was pounding, but all I could do was look at Merida. The wound in her leg continued to bleed, and from the trail of blood behind her, she lost a lot of it walking here. Where was she, anyway? What did this to her? I got the answer to my last question right away. As Fergus lifted her in his arms, whatever she was holding fell to the ground. Maybe he was too preoccupied with Merida, but Fergus didn't notice. Toothless got to the object first and sniffed it. He whimpered and moved out of the way.

"Oh, no." I whispered as I picked up the familiar-looking blue spike. A lump formed in my throat and I felt like I would throw up. There is only one possible place this could have come from. Stormfly's tail. She's the only Nadder here since the Highlands aren't home to any kind of dragon species. "Astrid, what have you done?"

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Hey readers! It's been quite a while and I'm so sorry! Thank you so much for being patient with me. Let me know what y'all thought of this chapter. Any guesses for what could be coming next? What do y'all think Hiccup's going to do with Stormfly's tail-spike? Should he keep it to himself to protect his girlfriend, or should he expose Astrid's crimes and side with Merida?
Remember to vote and comment!!!