Hiccup woke up unusually early the next day. He wasn't sure why he was so restless to get down to breakfast, but them he remembered his promise to the princess. Without meaning to, he grinned, his eyes still closed from drowsiness.

He dressed in record time and was down to breakfast second only to Merida herself. Cautiously, he sat himself down at the opposite end to her and quietly took a soft bread roll and smothered it in honey. The chink of the knife on his plate made the princess's head shoot up. Her eyes focused on him and she jumped up and sat directly opposite him, a smirk planted on her lips. Hiccup smiled down at his plate.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So..." Merida took a huge bite of the apple she was holding, chewed quickly and gulped it down. "When're we seeing this dragon of yours?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hiccup said dismissively, eyebrows raised. Seeing the princess's confused and quite frankly angry expression he grinned. "I'm joking. We'll go after breakfast."

"You're lucky you're a suitor," Merida grumbled, "it means I can't be as rough with you as I would normal people."

"Thanks, I think. No offence, but when I agreed to this I didn't have you down as the violent type." She laughed.

"You were picturing a prissy, pretty princess with perfect etiquette and manners to rival the Queen herself?"

"Well, I suppose so," Hiccup shrugged. "But you're much more interesting than that."

"Most people don't think so." Her voice was flat and her tone was depressed, dull. "They expect me to be, well, my mother I suppose. I just want to be who I am and someone'll come along and respect me for that. It's hard to fall for, this, I suppose," she gestured at herself, "but I can dream, can't I?"

"Hey - don't put yourself down like that," Hiccup said, almost angrily. "You've got great personality! Who wouldn't want to marry you?" Her eyes widened and he stuttered. "I mean, you'd be more interesting than, than most, you know, because most girls, they, they're just boring and don't have any character and, well, you're, you know, well, I..." He sighed and Merida laughed. "Let's go and see Toothless."

"Good answer," she grinned and led the way out of the Great Hall. They arrived at the dragon pens and Merida gasped, frozen on the spot. She certainly hadn't anticipated a cat with wings.

Hiccup saw her freeze he smiled and reached for her wrist, lifting her hand up to place it on Toothless's snout. When her long fingers made contact with the dragon's scales her face broke into smile and she turned to him.

"I think he likes me!" Toothless nuzzled her hand affectionately in reply and she laughed as he began to lick all over her dress.

"Toothless! How many times - that doesn't wash out! Oh gods..." Merida grinned at him.

"This dress has seen a lot worse than dragon spit, believe me," she smirked. "I've climbed the Crone's Tooth in this dress."

"The Crone's Tooth? As in, only the ancient Kings were brave enough to climb the Crone's Tooth?" She nodded with a smile. "That's - wow. I knew you were a different sort of princess but I didn't picture you doing that kind of stuff."

"I'll show it to you if you'd like," Merida offered and he nodded, "but after we've been for a ride on Toothless." She smirked and he sighed.

"I suppose we'll have to now, won't we bud? Can't refuse the Princess herself, can we?" Hiccup tickled Toothless's chin and the dragon smiled his toothless smile and scampered around like a cat. He hoisted himself into the saddle and clicked his prosthetic into place in the (what Merida assumed were) stirrups and offered a hand. Slightly hesitantly, she took it and settled herself behind him as he slipped on his flight helmet.

"You're going to want to hold on, Princess," he said and Merida huffed irritably.

"Seriously, stick to Merida; I can't stand being called Princess. Also, what the Hel am I supposed to hold on to -"

Toothless shot into the air like a bullet from a gun and Merida let out a strangled yelp as she fought to cling on to something but the only thing she could reach was the lean Viking in front of her. She wrapped her arms around him tighter than a vice and buried her head into his shoulder, her eyes screwed shut against the howling winds. Hiccup laughed a low chuckle which she felt against his warm torso.

"Open your eyes, Merida."

She had to blink several times to make sure it was real. They were above  the clouds and the newly risen sun was making the sky look as if it were washed in crimson paints, dusted over with fire and ash. The princess lifted one hand and trailed her hand in it, gasping, not realising clouds could be so cold. As she let herself go, she became filled with such a sense of wonder that she couldn't describe. The only way she could even try and explain it was saying that it was like she was a puppet and her strings had been cut.

"I never imagined flying could be so, incredible," she murmured to him. He blushed and hoped she couldn't see him.

"I'm glad you've taken to Toothless so well," he said. "Most people are much more apprehensive than you are. But then again, you're not most people."

"What d'you mean?" Merida smiled, leaning round to look at him.

"I - uh," Hiccup stuttered and she laughed, winding her arms round him a little tighter.

"Don't worry, I was just teasing."

After flying in a content silence for a minute or so, Hiccup said that it was getting late and they should be getting back or the others would wonder where they'd got to. Merida reluctantly agreed and they dipped through the clouds, back to the castle stables. He slipped off his helmet, slid off of Toothless's back and offered a hand to help Merida down. She took it and she dropped smoothly to the ground. He shook his hair free and she smiled; a lock had fallen right in front of his eyes.

"Here," she said gently, reaching to brush it back into place. His gaze followed her hand and his breathing rate seemed to go unsteady. She moved it back in a quick and simple flick of her wrist; she seemed to stay there longer than she needed to. The hand dropped to her side and Hiccup was ready to catch it in his own when they heard a shout, breaking the moment and making them whip around.

"Help! Help me - please!"

A blonde with an extremely intricate braid which had many pieces falling loose, a face darkened with ash and a purple velvet dress torn and ripped from brambles staggered through the trees and into view. Her vast green eyes were wide and terrified; Merida ran forward and supported her as she stumbled.

"It's okay, it's alright," Hiccup said calmly, trying to keep the situation under as much control as possible as Merida helped the girl sit down. "What happened?"

"My, my parents," she stuttered, "we were on our way here, to Dunbroch - and we were, we were attacked..." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "by dragons." She turned and was greeted by Toothless who was nuzzling up to her sympathetically and she held in a scream, backing away in terror.

"It's alright!" Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless's snout, rubbing it gently, "He won't hurt you!" Merida on the other hand, was watching the girl intently.

"How did you escape a dragon attack?" The girl exhaled deeply, turning to her right and smiling weakly at a blank space.

"I wouldn't have done, if it hadn't have been for Jack." Hiccup's brow furrowed in confusion, trying to squint at the thing the girl was looking at.

"Sorry, who?" The girl's eyes widened.

"Jack Frost, of course. He's immortal. A spirit. It sounds crazy, I know -"

"Jack Frost isn't real," Merida said calmly, holding the girl's arm to steady her, "He's a myth, a folk tale."

"He's not." The girl was on the brink of tears. "He's real. He's my friend. We've been talking ever since I was little and he's the only real friend I ever had. And he's standing right next to you. You have to believe that he is."

"I'm really sorry," Merida replied, her patience slightly wearing thin, "you're tired, you're incredibly stressed, we need to get you inside, get you some rest before you can talk about anything -"

"Merida," Hiccup said, his voice low, "she's right."

She looked up at where Hiccup was staring and her breathing stopped in her throat.

"Jack Frost," the white haired boy grinned, holding out a hand for them to shake, "A folk tale apparently. Nice to meet you."