It couldn't be worth it, could it? Worth sacrificing her bravery and individuality for? No, her head shouted. Yes, her heart screamed.

She waited for the right opportunity, but it never came. He was always busy, servicing his island tirelessly though he'd already gone above and beyond what was expected of him. The old chief would have been proud of him; he seemed to have taken his father's words about serving his people to heart. She supposed words were all he had to hang on to from him now.

It was odd. Never in a thousand years did she think that she'd take a fancy to the young Viking chief. It might have been his blazing eyes or his crooked smile that made her stop for a second and catch her breath. But it definitely had something to do with the way his hair fell in front of his eyes, his silly little hand gestures and his general oblivious nature to the praise and admiration that followed him wherever he went.

Apparently he felt the same way; she'd heard the whispers following her like poltergeists as she walked the small streets of Berk. Women smiled at the princess before muttering sadly that it was such a pity she had to go so soon. It was true. Once the peace treaty and trade deals were signed with the Vikings she'd be back to Scotland, back to choose a suitor, she remembered as her heart sank. Now it was getting desperate really. The king was old and tired; he needed someone else to take over the kingdom and soon. Naturally, as the eldest, the burden was placed on Merida's shoulders.

She should really have expected it but no matter how much she prepared herself for it she couldn't stop the panic flooding her troubled mind as she realised exactly what being a queen meant. The seat beneath her in the Mead Hall felt unsure and uncomfortable as nightmares of childbirth, marriage and failure flooded her mind. The princess shook her head irritably and turned once again to her dinner. What she didn't realise was the chief was watching her intently from the other side of the hall.

"Talk to her," Gobber nudged him in the ribs, a great grin on his face. "She'll be gone soon, and anyway, doesn't she need a husband?"

"Please Gobber," the young man sighed, "not now. She's way out of my league anyway." The blacksmith rolled his eyes stubbornly and folded his arms, leaning in to talk more privately.

"You're just being dramatic. The pair of you have been like lovesick puppies the whole time she's been here; that's why you're always off on Toothless isn't it? So you don't have to face her?"

Hiccup let out a low groan, burying his face in his hands.

"How am I supposed to talk to her? She runs circles around me Gobber. It's ridiculous, it's stupid, it's -"

"It's time you got out there and did something about it," he deadpanned, giving him a shove with his good arm and sending Hiccup sprawling onto the floor. The princess's eyes focused on him, confused. He picked himself up quickly, brushing himself down and sending a death glare at Gobber who was grinning from behind his tankard of mead.

"Are you all right?" Merida asked, before hastily adding, "My lord." Hiccup waved his hand in dismissal.

"There's no need for that, really."

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence before Hiccup extended an arm to her.

"If you've finished with your meal, would you, uh, would you allow me to escort you back to the guesthouse? My lady?"

The princess's eyes widened but she took his offer gladly. She didn't show it of course. "That would be, most - welcoming. Thank you."

They exited the hall, everyone's eyes and whispers following them out. Gobber turned to Spitelout who was sitting a little further up the table.

"The lad's still got it in him."

~*~*~

"How are you Princess?" Hiccup was nervous. More nervous than he thought and now he was certain he'd said the wrong thing judging by the way her jaw clenched, her fingers gripped his arm harder and her expression went stony.

"Quite well, thank you."

"You seemed stressed earlier. I wanted to check everything was all right."

"I'm ..." Merida trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I'm worried. About going back to Scotland." When he asked why, and if there was anything he could do to help, she laughed. "You could marry me, but I don't know how much good that would do."

The young chief stopped in his tracks. "Did you just propose to me?"

"No," Merida shrugged and laughed again. "What I mean is that I have to choose a suitor to rule beside me and none of the clan's sons are exactly king-like material."

"- Right." He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed for some reason.

"You wouldn't want to rule Scotland anyway," she continued. "It's beautiful and it's home, but I don't want to be responsible for it. I just want to be, no, to feel -"

"Free."

The princess stopped walking and looked at him, partly in admiration, partly in astonishment. "How did you know?"

Hiccup signed and paused for a moment before replying, "Because I feel the same way about all, this." He gestured all around him, pointing out nothing in particular. "Berk is amazing. Life here is amazing. I just want more than it can give me. I feel like I'm being placed into someone else's shoes. Like this role wasn't meant for me."

"Yes," Merida whispered and her eyes grew hazy in the fading light. Her hand slipped down his arm and gripped onto his hand instead. She heard a sharp intake of breath before the hand she was holding laced it's fingers with hers defiantly and decisively. "That's exactly it."

It was too easy, too quick, to get back to the guesthouse. It was directly next to the Chief's own house and the space between the two doors seemed like a void. It sounded stupid, but then again, Hiccup thought helplessly, wasn't everything, when you were feeling like this?

"Thank you," she murmured, "for walking me back." He mumbled that it was no problem before noticing that her hand was still gripping his tight. Taking a breath to steady himself, he took the other hand that was hanging limply by her side.

"You can visit," he said, his voice low and husky. It made her legs feel weak. "Honestly. Whenever you want."

Merida laughed sadly. Being a queen wasn't going to allow many visits or holidays. Nevertheless, she accepted his offer with a half-hearted smile. He saw through that in a flash.

"Or I'll come to the Highlands," he added quickly, holding her hands just a fraction tighter. She blinked slowly, confused.

"Why would you want to visit me of all people? I'm not exactly the most dynamic person out there. You've got much better options here."

Why was she referring to Astrid now?

"Believe me," he muttered, "You're the most intelligent, witty, honest and, yes, dynamic person I've ever met. I wouldn't want to listen to anyone else. You see me in the meetings we have. We never get anything done."

"What's that got to do with it?" She released her hands from his grip and looked at the floor. He followed her round, his gaze fighting for her attention.

"We never get anything done because I don't care what the others think about the situation. I care about yours. You act on impulse; you don't care about what others think of you."

Merida turned away entirely now. "How would you know? How could you know anything?"

"I'm a quick learner. And, if you'd let me, I'd like to learn more about you. The real you. Not the you that's been trained to do this their whole life. When I heard tales of the girl with the hair of fire, who split an arrow at thirty paces to avoid marriage, I wanted to meet her for who she was. Not what she was trained to be. I want you to let me see who she really is. What she'd be doing in this situation."

"The problem is," the princess wiped her eye, "that the girl you're talking about doesn't know what she'd be doing in this situation. She's confused, upset and thinks she's going insane."

"Well," Hiccup took her hand gently in both his own, soft as the light that was falling on her face from the candles in the windows, "maybe we should see how she'd react. If she's never tried, she'll never know..."

His gaze was still, steady and unfaltering. Hers jumped and leaped with her heartbeat; she didn't trust herself at all. This wasn't normal, it couldn't be, surely he could hear her heartbeat drumming an unsteady rhythm against her chest? It was like climbing the Fire Falls. She was ready to fall, for everything to go to dust and for it to be the end of her, but on the other hand she couldn't stop now. It was too close, too close to what she desperately needed. It wasn't even thinkable for her to stop now.

"Well?" The young man whispered in her ear as his hand skirted from her hand to along her arm and then to her shoulder. "What would she do?" She didn't say anything to stop him, so his actions were surer when he cupped her cheek in his hand. Her eyes shone wide and round, like an alternate light source themselves. He was too close now. She could feel his quickened breath on her cheek.

Suddenly, she heard and felt nothing, yet she also felt everything.

His lips were soft and sure against hers and without her noticing it her hands were clasping, gripping onto his shoulders like he was some kind of life support. They moved together, completely and totally as one. Everything felt right, strong and free. Damn this man and his feathery hair, his crooked grin and his all-too-perfect lips.

It must have been an age before they broke apart, their foreheads pressing together hard. There was a moment that passed as she registered what had happened, then surely and decisively she moved a hand to the back of his neck, weaving her fingers between his hair that always fell into a mess.

"She would do this."

And again, they were entwined, stronger than the ropes holding the sails of the ship that brought her here, a tangled, fantastic mess of everything that's right with the world.

A/N An announcement. I've had this Wattpad account for a year! I can't believe it either... As it was a special occasion, I decided you deserved a one shot. I'm going to start work on a new Big Four fanfic soon too, but I don't know how quickly that'll be up. Anyway, I hope you liked this one as much as I liked writing it. (For once, I loved it. It just flowed nicely. Any other opinions?)