(Author's notes: Someone hug me and tell me everything's gonna be okay.)

"THIS IS NOT PART OF THE DEEEEAAAL!" Hiccup shrieked as he held on to the reins for dear life, trying his best to keep their path in check, though the large black bear didn't need steering. Elinor knew her way and ran as fast as her meaty legs could bring them as wolves leapt from the labyrinthine trees.

"What!? Yeh wanted ter go for a little Sunday ride!?" Merida cackled behind him as she shot a wolf that was tailing them.

Hiccup's heart was hammering in his chest, never having faced any real assault in his whole life. To think that any moment, a real, living wolf with claws and teeth could come jumping at him from any direction and maul him to death.

His breath misted right at his face as they sped through the frozen woods, barely seeing the path ahead with the flickering lamplights swinging to and fro.

"Sod off!" Merida shrieked at the wild beasts and whacked one with her bow off that was holding on to the side of the sled.

"You're crazy!" Hiccup yelled over the deafening wind.

"Yeh should'a thought about that earlier, princeling!" she laughed, seemingly enjoying the whole matter and spun about in the small space of the sled, shooting an arrow here, even punching a wolf with her gloved fist, of Hiccup could believe his eyes.

"They'll get tired soon enough!" she called to him, her wild red hair now flowing free from her cap.

"Are we going the right way!?" Hiccup said agitatedly, feeling his hands stiffen about the reins, the tug and yank of the great bear steered him, if anything.

"Yes, we're right on—argh!"

Hiccup heard the snarl and the sound of something clamping down, of fangs on flesh. He knew she was taken with her guard down before he could turn his head. But Hiccup let go of the reins and bolted aside to grab her, anyways.

"Meredith!" he screamed and took a firm hold of her foot as she was pulled away, now dangling off the side of the sled, upside down.

She was screaming and in the dim light, he could see that a wolf was clamped down on her shoulder, dragging against the snow.

"Get off her!" Hiccup yelled, holding on to her leg, not daring to reach for the other in fear of dropping the wildling girl.

As she yelled in pain, there was a great roar and in the corner of Hiccup's eye, he saw her great black bear snarl and whirl back against the side of the sled, slashing the wolf away with her great claws, the wild hound disappearing into the speeding distance with a sharp dog-like whimper.

But their driver turning sent the sled veering off-course.

Merida came hurtling back toward him and Hiccup tried to catch her as the sled overturned and the only sign of Elinor being her muffled roar as the sled dragging her off.

They were plunged in the dead of night as the lanterns smashed against the snow, putting out their flames. Hiccup felt like he was spinning off, stomach churning like it would when falling, everything slowing down and speeding up at the same time. He would say that his life flashed before his eyes, only he couldn't remember anything at all.

The moment was blank, and he felt weightless, though his fingers tightened on Merida's coat of pelts.

Then he crashed on the ground.

Wind knocked out of him, Hiccup felt drowsy and fell right into the darkness he so avoided.

"…it's Merida."

"No! No, no, no!" Merida stomped her foot as she surveyed the ruin of her sled. It was more or less intact, it still would work, but to see her beloved tool of livelihood in such a state made her more upset than the wound she clutched on her shoulder.

The moon was bright and shone over the trees by then, the snow illuminating the scene.

She waded over in the knee-deep snow, a mitted hand over her right shoulder, wincing slightly. It hurt, yes, but she thought it less important. The bite may not even be as bad, given she had worn more than a couple of layers of that day.

"Elinor!" she suddenly recalled. She had fall a bit out sorts, waking up in the snow, "Mum!"

A raspy call of the bear answered her and she padded her way over the other side of the upturned sled.

There, a black mass lay, speckled in the white of the snow. Elinor was a huddle of fur, tied up in the leather straps of the sled, blocks of ice tossed around.

"Are yeh arigh'!" Merida gasped and hurried over, finding the buckles and untangling her. Elinor made a worried grumble and nudged at her middle, pointing out her shoulder.

"Jus' a scarp, ah promise…" Merida waved her off and pulled away the last of the bindings.

Elinor rumbled again.

"We're fine, we'll get the sled fixed and—"

Merida snapped up when she realized what Elinor wanted to say.

"Where's the lad!?" she shrieked and looked around, wading back out in the snow, leaving Elinor to stagger back to her feet and regain feeling in her legs.

"Prince!" she called out, forgetting his name, "Princeling! Hickory!?"

Nothing.

She looked about the desolation of the crash, not even noticing her right arm hanging limp at her side.

"Hiccup!" she said in a moment of realization, peeking behind a tree and continuing on.

A few moments later, she caught a spot of the brown fur of the vest he wore.

"Don' be dead, don't be dead…" she muttered to herself as Elinor joined her. She found him half-hidden in the snow, the piled up white mess hiding him from view.

Elinor carefully pawed him to his back, the prince's face pale and his lips nearly blue from the cold. Merida knelt down at his side and tucked her hair behind her ear to lean down and listen to his breath.

"He's alive," she whispered in relief.

Merida looked up once more and surveyed the area, taking a moment to frown disappointedly at her sled.

"Yer paying fer that," she huffed and proceeded to tug him out of the snowpile. They would have to stop there for the night whether they want ot or not. There were no signs of the wolves, and if they were brave enough to try again, Merida was secure in knowing she has that sword from the princeling's belt.

She propped him up against a tree after wrapping him in a woolen blanket she fished out from under her upturned sled and secured a proper fire, throwing easthat sword from the princeling's belt.

She propped him up against a tree after wrapping him in a woolen blanket she fished out from under her upturned sled and secured a proper fire, throwing easy kindling into the merry flames.

Elinor sat near it after they were all set up and Merida plopped down beside her, Hiccup's sword on her lap. She pulled it out of its scabbard and knew it was sharp. The blade shone in the light, not a scratch on tis surface and its hilt inlaid with bright blue lapis lazuli, a shade Merida had never seen on anything but the sky on certain winter days.

"Heh, didn' seem ter know how to use it, though," she chuckled to Elinor, recalling how he just seemed to fall away at the sight of the bear.

And at the same bear's continued prodding, Merida set the admirable blade aside and proceeded to tugging off her layers to check her shoulder. She hissed at the sight of reddened flesh around the gashed bite, dragging across her freckled skin and still bleeding into her undershirt which she had pulled aside.

Elinor's eyes widened and she made fussing sounds.

"I'm arigh'! I'm arigh'!" Merida said stubbornly, pushing her aside with her other arm before she might decide to lick the wound clean.

Merida took in sharp breaths as the cold air played on her uncovered skin despite the dancing flames in front of her. She had half a mind to let the wound remain in open air to freeze and deal with it later. That would do no good, though, when she thought about how a thawed fish looked like and how it would translate on her flesh.

Elinor kept rumbling and cooing and Merida waved her off, pulling out her emergency purse of medical whatnot. The Sami had taught her much on how to survive in the frozen wilderness, and ever since she remained in Norway, she learned a lot more by herself.

"I'll fix it lat'ur when we get things…" she mumbled as she pressed on her wound, wincing, then looked around in the mess, "…sorted out."

Merida eyed her sleigh, pulling out a flask of rum from the purse, "Ter think, I just paid it off."

Biting into the collar of her coat, she poured the alcohol right on the wound, groaning in pain. Elinor rested behind her so she could lean back to ease the sting. Merida spat the cloth and sat there, breathing heavily, the corners of her eyes welling up. She tossed her head back and rested on Elinor's side, her arm shaking and the hand that held the flask quivering lightly.

"This is all his fault…" she hissed, letting out muttered profanities which the bear highly disapproved of.

After a bit, when the pain faded, or perhaps when her nerves got the hang of it, Elinor nuzzled Merida's cheek comfortingly and made an inquiring mutter.

"O' course ah don' want ter help him ani'more," she grumbled, turning to Hiccup, who was still out cold.

No look matched Merida's furious stare at that moment, and it seemed that her hair seemed to flicker brighter than the flames.

"In fact, ah don't think I'd help ani'one out ever again," she huffed, unsteadily screwing the lid back on the flask and putting it away, continuing with her bandages.

Elinor thought otherwise and nudged her disapprovingly. Merida understood. Hiccup could very easily die out here.

"I can live with that," she chuckled. The bear, however, knew it was no laughing matter.

"Well, then again, ah won't get a replacement sled fer years…" she mumbled, "This laddie's a prince, he can get me a sled tenfold, hm?" she said to Elinor.

"Maybe even a contract," she sighed, trying to ignore the numb pain on her shoulder as she carefully pulled her coat about her, wincing lightly, "We could…we could sell ice ter the palace, Mum…"

She laid back on Elinor, feeling warm and comfortable like she always did. She was glad to have Elinor around. She was not a pet. She was Merida's mother, though the Sami may recall her coming hom with the bear cub.

The bear cub was no more than an animal. Conscious, but not in aware in the way people are. Once she had come across the Living Lights, the will-o'-the-wisps, Saint Elmo's fires, whatever people called them, and found her mother among the spirits there, she realized that the bear manifested into something more than just a wild animal.

Whenever she got home in that Valley, Elinor would perhaps go to sleep, and her wisp would appear in turn. Most times, she remained as she was. The bear was somehow her shell in order to protect Merida whenever she was away, so she could come along and watch over her wilding child.

But there were times when Elinor's hold would weaken and she would be an ordinary bear once more, with no clue as to what is right and wrong. But the wild black bear was as tame as Merida's mother, but perhaps a little more difficult to manage especially around people or food.

Goodness knows what could happen if she snapped off at a hungry moment.

Merida remained in her position for a long while, longer than she could remember. As she peeked through her eyelids, though, she could see Aurora flitting across the sky like lazy iridescent ribbons.

The crunch of snow awoke her.

Elinor had fallen asleep and was slowly pulled out of weary slumber by a scent.

More correctly, scents.

But before Merida could sit up, which would have taken her a while, she felt a large hand with a fistful of cloth clamp over her face, the sounds of metal and shackles ringing in the air as in the same instant, Elinor was chained down despite her efforts and roars of defiance.

"Whoa! This bear is huge!" came an impressed cackle.

"BETTER HOLD IT DOWN, THEN, EH, SNOTLOUT!?"

Merida retaliated, screaming muffledly into the cloth and kicked, hitting nothing, reaching out for Hiccup's sword despite the aching of her arm it was near on. She felt the hilt, her fingers about to close in on the hilt when a heavy boot kicked it away, hitting her forearm.

"Sorry, can't allow that!"

Merida screeched, the force reverberating to the wolf bite as her feet were grabbed and tied like her hands, dragging her further away from Elinor who was muzzled now, as helpless as she.

She tried to scream Hiccup's name but she was sure that even he was taken down.

"Hold her down!"

"I am, are you blind!?"

"Stop it, both of you! Get the girl in the sleigh, the other one, too,"

"SHE started it!"

"Oh, shut up, Tuffnut!"

Hiccup was still out cold when they tossed him off to their sled. The impact awoke him lightly, like one would in the middle of the night, though still unaware of what was going on other than the faint sense of hearing and sight.

He saw the fierce light of torches and the silhouettes of their bearers as they moved about, no more than shadows, her view framed by the edges of a sleigh, the faint flicker of the Northern Lights across the sky.

"Get whatever you can salvage," commanded a voice, though it didn't sound like a man's. The leader fo the thief band came forwards as if to check on them in the sligh, no more than stolen goods.

Elinor roared faintly in the distance as laughter and bickering yammerings were heard.

"Hey! We got a sword!"

"Dibs!"

"We divide those later," said the leader, who was small in stature as her silhouette leaned down to check on them, but Hiccup could not see much of her.

She shifted her torch over them to see better and he recognized her features.

Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A stern expression.

He had her name at the tip of his tongue when she looked to him and saw him half-awake. She lifted her fist and the next thing he knew, he was back in the darkness.