Trapped (A Big Four Story)

Chapter 10

Jack Frost's P.O.V

They thought there was an exit. All because the food refilled. I shook my head.

I had been awake all night, attempting meditation and failing, and I noticed the food refill and change its variety. I knew who did it and I knew he didn't need a door to do so.

I watched them argue and agree with each other all day long. It made me slightly sad that instead of playing together, they were working on how to escape from an inescapable room.

They were interesting to watch, and amusing. Each one with their own special quirk or habit, such as Merida absentmindedly counting her arrows repeatedly, or Hiccup every so often taking his dragon drawings out and then putting them back in when he notices someone looking. And Rapunzel, even if she doesn't look like she's doing anything, is always doing something with her hands.

I had never wanted anyone to believe in me as much as I wanted them to believe in me.

I sighed as I watched them. They were getting tired and yet they still searched for an exit. In the end they gave up, and rightfully so. However, Fishbone wouldn't quite let it go, suggesting more ways in which they could find the door. Frizz was having none of it though, but that might be because she was drunk, and let's face it, she's a royal pain when sober. Rapunzel was awake but biting her tongue, whether it was out of politeness or reluctance to interfere, it was a wise decision.

A very long time after their argument, Frizz started getting shifty. I took notice of this while Fishbone didn't. Frizz looked around herself frantically, eyes wide. She looked like she was having an argument with herself before she asked Fishbone where the bathroom was. I burst out laughing along with Hiccup. She must've really needed to go, because there is no way she would have willingly asked him that if she could hold, not to mention when they had been stubbornly ignoring each other.

"Just go to the corner over there. That's where I go." He said nodding to where I was stood. "Eww." I stated simultaneously with Frizz. I shuffled away, wiping my bare feet, as she came stumbling over.

--=--

I spoke to the Moon that night. Not that I got a response or anything. But I aired my thoughts anyway:

Why us four?

Where are we?

What are we meant to do?

How do we get out?

Have I met these children before?

Why did Merida see me for two seconds?

Why?

You know, the usual thoughts. I was going to lose my mind in this box if I had to stay there long-term.

As the sun began to eradicate the darkness surrounding us, Rapunzel awoke from her sweet slumber. She went and ate some fruit at the table before surveying the room once again. Looking to the walls and back to her food, her face lit up and a smile broke out. She skipped merrily to the didning table and began emptying bowls of blueberries and blackberries, grinding them into eachother with cutlery. She took the bowl with her over to the wall and began painting. she did this for ages, producing a largescale piece of work, but she could only reach so far up the wall. She wished she was tall enough to paint the tops of the trees she had spent all morning on, she paused for a second consideriing her problem before she looped her hair and attempted to throw it over the bars which were attached to the ceiling. She missed, over and over again, but her determination only increased.

I enjoyed watching her work; the painting, her thoroughness, all of it. In fact I was admiring her skills when I realized I could help. I caught the piece of hair she'd had just thrown and threaded it through the bars on the ceiling. She was surprised when this happened but nonetheless continued creating an intricate system of weaving that would allow her to reach parctically anywhere in the room. I watched her for the rest of the morning, each smudge of paint, or in this case berry juice, carefully placed on her canvass.

Hiccup's P.O.V

I woke up that morning to colour. Shimmering gold above my head and purples directly in front of me. I glanced at Merida slumbering peacefully in a corner and left to find out what had happened. I discovered Rapunzel, engrossed with what she was doing. She had painted a discoloured forest to scale with the actual size of trees.

"Wow!" She jumped when she heard me and descened to the ground in greeting.

"Morning!" She excalimed daintily. "When...How did you do this?" I asked.

"Well... I got up this morning, ate some breakfast, then I just thought, 'Isn't this place a little bland?', so I used the juice from the berries as paint and did a little bit of art. Ta dah! You guys were still asleep and I mean, if this is our home for now, we may as well personalize it." Her smile never faulted throughout her speech, but even that couldn't distract me from the network of hair on the ceiling. She noticed my gaze and began explaing it.

"Back at the palace, Mother and Father had a room for me where I could paint all I wanted. It was large but there were plenty of hooks on the ceiling which could support me for the larger pictures."

"Wow. Hey, Rapunzel, you realize what this means. It means we can search the ceiling and the tops of the walls for a way out."

"I know. I covered this wall before I painted it, there was nothing there, but I'm going to need some help reaching the other side. When do you want to start?"

"Right away!"

--=--

Merida's P.O.V

My head was foggy when I woke up, and the sun was already high in the sky. Hiccup and Rapunzel were talking in low voices over the other side of the room. I closed my eyes again, but then I realized what I'd seen: the forest. Admitedly it was out of colour, but it was still a forest. I stood facing it, nostalgia rising up inside me, but when I went to touch it, the cold stone of confinement met my hand instead of freedom.

Slightly resigned, I went over to the others. "Mornin'."

"Hey, Merida! Me and Hiccup were talking about art. Do you paint or draw?" Rapunzel seemed more animated than usual but she still looked sad, if you looked close enough.

"Ahh, me? No, I don't paint... or draw. But I do sew." I replied hastily.

"Oh, okay. It's just that we were going to decorate the walls and make them more appealing. You don't mind us doing that, do you? If we're going to be spending a while here."

"No, I don't mind. But why have you given up your search for the 'door'. With your hair we could search the ceiling and..." I stopped talking when they looked at each other sadly. "Oh."

Rapunzel P.O.V

I didn't want to tell her. But I didn't have to anyway. She just sat down when she figured out that we'd checked the ceiling for a trapdoor. I pulled her up and brought her over to the table, talking about what animals to put in the forest.

She nodded and asked if she could sit alone for awhile. I didn't want to leave her but I had no other option. Hiccup was detailing the forest with a pencil he had so I joined him, but sometime later he went to sit with Merida. I watched them from my vantage point near the ceiling. They shared some bread and talked quietly together, I couldn't hear what they were saying but it would've been rude to eavesdrop anyway. I turned away when Merida started crying.

I did the same thing earlier when I realized we were stuck here permanently. I'm sure Hiccup went through similar motions. I sat back and sighed. This is life.