Battle Cry | Mericcup (REWRITE)

Chapter 7

Merida was awoken by a growl. She shot up, looking for her sword. She noticed that the rain had stopped and her fire had died down, but she cannot see the sword anywhere near her. There in front of her, stood the dragon who took her away from their ship. It was Hiccup's dragon. It dragon growled angrily at her. There across her, she found the sword lying. She calculated the chances that she will be able to roll and grab it.

The dragon growled at her again, slowly closing in. Merida summersault dived towards the sword, grabbing the hilt as she rolled. She stood at the opening of the cave now. The dragon turned, its tail following its movement. Merida ducked and raised her sword.

"Get back!" She yelled at the dragon.

The beast draws itself closer to her as she slowly steps back. Every time the dragon steps closer, Merida steps back. She didn't realize that she was out of the cave because her focus was on the dragon. The sun hit her eyes which made her squint. The rain last night had damped the leaves. She would have enjoyed the atmosphere if she was not stuck in this ugly situation.

She kept her sword pointed at the dragon, worried that if she let her guard down for a while, the dragon would launch to her and feed her to its hungry stomach.

Merida did not notice the boy standing on top of the cave until he spoke. "Escaping is pointless here if you have no dragon." Hiccup was staring at her with his cold eyes. She pointed the sword at him which made the dragon growl again. Merida have no idea where to point her sword at.

"Please, just stop this." Merida pleaded. "We don't have your mother!"

Hiccup jumped in between Merida and his dragon. He grabbed his sword and clicked a button, making it burst into flames. She was astonished. This was the first time she sees a flaming sword. Merida held her ground, gripping the hilt of her sword tighter.

"Did you really think I will believe you?" Hiccup growled before charging. He slashed his sword to Merida. But Merida was quick to block his offense. His blow was heavy and full of anger. Blocking his offense made Merida's sword feel heavy on her hands. It was surprising for such a scrawny guy. Merida made a mental note to not underestimate him.

The last time Merida actually fought someone with a sword was with her father. She realized that she was actually fighting an enemy. A real enemy. "I have no idea what you are talking about!" Merida yelled. "We did not take your mother nor even encountered you for the last ten years!"

Hiccup charged back. Their swords in between them as they pushed each other. They stared intensely at each other's eyes. Merida noticed the anger and longing in Hiccup. They were pushing each other, both were not ready to surrender.

They were fighting sword to sword that it echoed in the forest. The dragon was waiting for a chance to come in between them, but it seems like it knows that this fight was between her and Hiccup. Hiccup then kicked Merida's legs which threw her off balance. She fell. Hiccup pointed his sword to her neck, but Merida sliced it away with her sword. But before Merida could stand, the dragon pinned her down.

"Good job, Toothless." Hiccup said.

"Hiccup, please!" Merida pleaded. All she ever did was plead. That was her only chance to convince him that they were not aware of what he was accusing her kingdom of. He stared at her, surprised to hear his name escape from the maiden's lips. He did not answer. Instead, he mounted his dragon, Toothless, and went back to the village with Merida hanging on its paws.

Before she knew it, Merida was back again inside the dungeon. Merida did not thrash when she was brought back inside. Her body ached from the fight and from her hours of wandering around the forest last night. She knew she was defeated this time.

Once inside the cell, Hiccup locked the bars again. Merida sat on the floor as Hiccup looked down at her. His face softens and sighed. He turned to leave but Merida yelled again, "It's not us!"

Hiccup turned. "After ten years of peace between your kingdom and my tribe, why rekindle the fire of war?" He asked.

"I ask the same thing." Merida said. "After those ten years, why attack the clans? Why kill the clans? It was your people who started this war, not mine."

"Wha-" Hiccup scoffed. "After the feud between our people ten years ago, we did not step foot nor ever think about attacking anyone in your lands. It was your people who took my mother! It was your people!"

"How can you be so certain that it was our people?" It was Merida's turn to raise her voice.

Hiccup was getting annoyed. He knew this conversation will take them nowhere. "You've got dragons! How could you let them escape with your mother?" Merida asked. "I don't know who captured her, but whether it's my people or not, you should have gone after her."

"We didn't know." Hiccup groaned. "We didn't know until a letter was sent to us saying that she had stepped foot on your land, breaking the the treaty made ten years ago. It was signed by the king. But how could she step foot on your land? She had never left Berk for days!"

His tone was bitter. But Merida knew that her father would never send people to capture someone. What will they do to her if they ever did capture her? "Your father," Hiccup said. "Your father took my mother away!"

Hiccup was clearly frustrated as he brushed his hands through his hair. "If my father took your mother, it could be for a valid reason. You, Vikings, slaughtered two of the lords. And for what?"

"Ever since the peace treaty, we have never laid a skin on your people." He said. Merida was thinking thoroughly. She does not know what to do. If he was telling the truth, then Lord Macintosh was telling lies. But why would he lie?

There was a long silence between them. Hiccup wanted to leave, but he was still confused. He need answers. He knew his mother never left. Cloudjumper, his mother's dragon, had always been in its spot. She could not sail nor fly to the kingdom of Dunbroch without Cloudjumper because she had no reason to. It could only mean that someone took her mother away while she was at the village.

"Who-" Merida hesitated, breaking the silence. "How did you get the letter?"

Hiccup scowled at her. "A raven was holding the letter and landed right at our house. Is that not like the way your send letters?"

"Yes, but what exactly does this raven look like?" Merida asked.

"I don't know, princess! Have you not seen a raven before?" Hiccup exclaimed. "For the love of Thor!" He cursed.

"Does it have something in its body?" Merida asked.

Hiccup crossed his arms. "This does not solve anything." He turned to leave. The princess called for him, but he did not turn.