The suitors came every year. The results were always the same. The answer was always the same. After three years, more suitors began to come, from all walks of life. Dukes from England proudly held their heads high, Princes from Ireland arrogantly walked through the large castle, trying not to show how awe-struck they were. A few princes from the Orkney Islands showed up, and the sons of the chiefs from large villages came, shyly, from the Shetland Islands. But one group of young men, from a cluster of small islands, drew the attention of the bored princess everyone wanted. They were… different. There was one who was overly confident. Big, but not overly so. He was short, and had shaggy oily black hair that fell to his shoulders. He wore torn pants, a shirt that reveled his few chest hairs, and a fur vest. Another was a large boy, around the size of Young MacGuffin, only a few inches shorter. He had short, sandy blonde hair and a pudgy face. His clothes were better managed than the other boys, and this one seemed much shyer than the other. A third boy, tall and lanky with long almost white blonde hair stood with the short one. He laughed obnoxiously, and always seemed to hurt himself, or cause a lot of noise. He couldn't stand still, and always received a pat on the back for his nonsense from the short one. There was a fourth boy that the princess almost overlooked. He was the son of the chief, but if you looked at him, you wouldn't have thought so. He was a skinny boy, and his clothes hung off of his frame. His hair was shaggy, but well-kept and fell just below his ears. His eyes took in his surroundings, and he didn't keep his awe to himself. He looked around with interest and the princess smiled a bit to herself. When he walked up with the other boys to greet the princess, she noticed a limp in his step. The princess bit her lip, wondering what had happened. But the thing that caught her interest the most, were the large, intricate helmets that were on their heads.

"Merida…. Merida…. MERIDA." Her mother's sharp whisper broke her concentration and she quickly swung her head, her fiery curls lashed at her face.
"Oh right," Merida stood up quickly, "Thank yew all fer being here. A would like ta invite yah all to a feast held by mah family, ta welcome yew all ta our kingdom. This year's games will be one ta remember. The event will be announced tamorrow morning. Please, fallow us ta the dining hall." Merida, her mother, and her father walked down from the stage they sat on, and the crowds parted to let them pass. The groups of men walked down the corridors, sizing each other up, silently determining who they would have trouble beating.

Dinner was terribly awkward. Everyone ate in silence. It was nearing eight when the fathers finally cracked, the ale was too much for them to handle. They grouped together, and sung songs. Many young men snuck ale for themselves, and Merida rolled her eyes. They would regret it in the morning. They would regret it now. Merida saw her triplet brothers, still small, wind their way through the chairs of the young men, and smirked.

When Merida's father started telling the first story of Mor'du, Merida realized that the thin boy with the limp had gone missing. She slowly got up, and walked behind her mother.
"A have tea go freshen up, if anyone asks tell them A was tired and went to bed, please?"
Her mother sighed, but nodded her head. Merida slowly made her way to the large double doors for her escape, but was blocked by the short boy in the helmet.
"Hey now, where are you off to?" His breath reeked of ale, and Merida shook her head.
"A need ta freshen up, so if yew don't mind, please, excuse mah." She shoved past him, but heard him call after her,
"All the challenges I win, will be in your honor babe!" Merida started walking down the long halls, her shoes clicking on the stone floors. Sighing in agitation, Merida slipped her shoes off and held them and her dress to keep it from getting dirty. She didn't want to face the wrath of her mother and Maudie. Slipping through the back doors leading to the stables, Merida sighed. She loved the feeling she got when she was outside. She walked into the stables, and over to her large horse Angus. She quickly found a brush from the drawers and began to groom her large Scottish Clydesdale.
"Well, aren't yew a pretty boy? Aye know yew love bein brushed." Merida smiled to herself as she silently brushed her horse's fur. Carefully she grabbed the small hair ties, and began to braid Angus' main.
A few minutes later Merida's silence was broken by a 'swoosh' at the window. Merida ran to the window, gripping the sill. Squinting out into the darkness, she tried to make out shapes. She saw the shadows move, deeper and deeper into the forest. She bunched her dress, lifted it above her knees, and plunged herself into the darkness of the Scottish forest around the castle.
She had only made it three yards into the forest until she couldn't see where she was, what she was doing. Merida closed her eyes and sighed in frustration.
"Damn et." She sunk down, crouching above the ground, still aware of the condition of the dress. Slowly Merida opened her eyes and instantly grinned at what was in front of her. There, floating a few inches off the ground, was a single blue Will-O-The-Wisp. Merida smiled down at the blue ball of whispering light, and dashed through it. One after the next, Will-O-The-Wisps light up at the feet of the princess.

Leaping over logs, twisting around trees, and pushing her way through bushes, Merida was determined to find her fate. Suddenly, she stopped. She was at the edge of a tall cliff, overlooking the swirling vortex of the inky ocean below. Waves capped and crashed against the jagged rocks below. A weird feeling rose up from Merida's stomach. Something was very off about this. A wisp appeared, its soft whispers calling her out three feet over the edge of the cliff. Merida took a small step, sank to her hands and knees, and peered over the edge of the cliff. Nothing was there, but the wisp wouldn't go away. Its soft glow illuminated Merida's face, and its haunting whispers still called out to her.
"Stewpid wisp." Merida grumbled under her breathe. The princess gathered her skirt, and began to stand up when she heard it. A loud crack sounded beneath her feet. She held her breathe. More cracks sounded, and the ground shook lightly. Merida chewed her lip and lifted up her foot.

Then Merida was weightless. She screamed, but her screams didn't go very far. The rushing wind ripped the air from her lungs, stole the power of her screams. Merida's head began to spin. She couldn't do this anymore. She closed her eyes tightly and prayed, to whoever or whatever was listening, that the end of her life would be short, quick, and painless.

Merida woke up to the sound of Maudie rapping at her door.
"Princess Merida! Princess Merida! Yew need ta get up and get ready! It's time for the games! Princess!"

Merida jumped, and looked at her surroundings. She was safe, all in one piece. She checked her body for cuts. None. She shook her head. She'd think about it later. She had to get ready. She ran behind her changing wall, and yanked her clothes off of the top. She wore a green blue, knee length dress with a forest and green blue plaid sash tied loosely around her waist. She tied her hair into a braid with a black ribbon, and pulled on her short brown boots. Merida smiled at herself in the mirror. She was ready. She grabbed her long sword and sheath and strapped it to her back. Running quickly down the stairs she met up with her dad. She gave the large man a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave.

"Merida!"
"Yes da'?" Merida turned around and looked up into the warm eyes of her father.
"A love yah Merida. Be careful taday... A, uhm, aye got ye' somethin'." He brought his hands out from behind his back and held out the gift to his daughter. It was a silver crown like helmet that came down into a point for a nose cover. Emeralds encrusted every facet of the crown. Merida grinned up at her father and promptly hugged him tightly.
"Thank ya da'. A love et." The huge man grinned and wrapped his large hands around his daughter.
"Don' thank mah. Yer mum picked et out." Merida nodded. Her father gently placed the helmet on her head, and the duo walked out, her father holding the DunBroch clan flag. They took their places on the podium, Merida center stage. She looked out at the sea of faces. She felt all eyes searing through her dress. She began to sweat. She took a deep breath and began.

"A'd like ta start by thanking yew all fer staying through the nigh'. Taday will be a series of challenges between each other. The event is swordsman ship." Merida turned to her parents, and her other brought the flag.
"A would like to announce, the entry of Princess Merida, who will be competing fer her own hand." She smiled down at her daughter and handed her the flag.

Many gasps were heard. Mostly by those who had heard of rumors about a princess fighting for her own hand. It was just unheard of. Merida couldn't help herself. She scanned the crowd of scared young men, searching for one face. She found him, his piercing green eyes boring right into hers. He smiled lightly and nodded softly. Merida smiled shyly and waggled her fingers lightly. This did not go unnoticed to her mother, who looked down at her daughter, but remained silent. Merida climbed down the stairs and took her place in the crowd. Her mother cupped her hands together. Now, we've already matched men together. Let the games begin!

Hours passed, and the sun was setting behind the castle. Merida was up against Snotlout, who has, as he promised, declared every victory in her name. Snotlout had barely beaten Hiccup in the previous battle. He had taken advantage of his metal leg. Merida already hated him, and this fueled her fire to win. Snoutlout and Merida met in the middle of the circle.
"Now, I can't go easy on you babe. It wouldn't be fair. But, you're the sexiest competitor I've ever had."
"Sorry, but A can't say the same for yah Snottrout."
"Snotlout. It- it's Snotlout."
"Oops." Merida shrugged. She took her stance and Snotlout took his. Her father walked to the middle of the ring.
"Now. No killing each other. Ready, set, go!"

Merida flew backward, her sword was glinting in the light. Snotlout grinned and ran up to her yelling, his sword by his head. Merida swerved out of the way of the blade, and swept her foot along the ground knocking Snotlout to the ground. She stood up and went to end the challenge quickly, but he rolled away from her blow. She growled and crouched down. Snotlout smirked and the two met in the center. Swords chimed as they met. Ten minutes had passed, and Snotlout was wearing thin. Merida smirked as she circled the young man. She struck with the ferocity of her father. Her face twisted in anger and determination. Snotlout feebly countered the attacks. Merida was spinning and twisting, while Snotlout was dragging his feet. Merida ran to the center, Snotlout ran, the best he could, after her. Merida quickly turned around and swung her sword at him. He blocked it easily, their blades struggling in front of their faces, but what came next he wasn't prepared for. Merida slid their swords to her left, jumped, and round house kicked Snotlout. His helmet went flying, and he was laying on the ground. Merida put her foot on her chest, and pointed her sword at him.
"Tha' one was fer yew, 'babe'." Merida dropped her sword and held her hand out to the tired and sore man. He took it and she helped pull him to his feet. Her father stood beside her and smiled.

"A think yer answer is the same as last year?"
"Yes da', et is."
"Princess Merida has spoken. She shall remain husband free. Yew are all welcome back ta the castle fer a two day, after games party in honor of mah daughter's decision."

The party was fun. Merida was able to sneak ale for herself and got tipsy. Many men complimented her fighting skills. Many of them asked her to help them learn how to fight. But one, the boy with the limp, didn't ask for anything.
"Hello your majesty."
"N-no need to call mah majesty. Et's Merida."
"Okay. You were really good today, errr, Merida."
"Thank ye'"
"You're welcome."
"A don' think aye ever got yer name…"
"It's Hiccup." Merida giggled lightly.
"Like- like a wee lamb?" Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, his face almost as red as Merida's hair.
"Yeah, like a 'wee lamb'." Hiccup tried to mock Merida's accent. The two talked all night. They laughed, and Merida got him to try some ale, after much coaxing. They had fun together. They told each other everything. Merida told him of the run in with Mor'du when she was a young girl, and Hiccup told her about his child hood. They confided in each other about how their parents once were. They bonded.

When it was time for Hiccup to leave, Merida felt a weird feeling. A dull ache in her chest as she hugged Hiccup for the last time for a year.

Two months had passed since the games, since Merida and Hiccup's friendship, and Merida's chest still ached. And she swore sometimes, late at night, she heard Hiccup's voice outside her window. But she'd always shake her head. He lived too far away to do that. But there was still one secrete Hiccup had kept from Merida. And that was the most important secrete of her life.