The Viking and the Arrow~ Chapter 4

The Great Hall certainly showed that the Vikings had a strong sense of community.

There was one long table, which the majority of them sat at, and more tables and benches were placed close next to it for those that had no room at the table. The Highlanders sat at the head with the chief.  Merida sat beside her Mother and in front of Hiccup.

The feast was nothing like she imagined, the food had been edible, and the one cup of wine she had been allowed to drink was tasteful.

They talked amongst themselves; every now and then laughter would be heard in various places. Drunken men sung off-key somewhere farther down the table. It was just a normal tribe feast; the presence of the Highlanders and the occasion was almost forgotten.

From stories she had heard from her father and travelers, she expected to see men fighting to the death for the sake of dinner entertainment.

She had expected to see raw meat platters served, fresh from the killing, and was thankful to see none; she had seen enough blood for one day.

The stories had been wrong; however they had never been about this particular tribe. But weren’t all Vikings the same?

Stoick stood up from his chair and held up a hand. Eventually everyone ceased talking and looked to him. He announced that it was time for the council and the Highlanders to meet in order to finalize the agreement. The Clan Lords stood and so did the council members. They made their way into the Council Hall, a small room compared to the dining area. Right before the door was shut the others began talking again, as if they had just been on pause.

Silence and uneasiness filled the room. The man from last night, the one who show them where they would stay, brought a piece of paper forth and placed it on the round table in the center of the room.

“Now let’s get down to business,” Stoick said “you all know that eleven years ago we traveled to the Highlands in order to form an alliance. And here we are, eleven years later, our children are grown and of age. Both parties signed the agreement that day, the terms have not changed. Now the only signatures needed are my son’s and your daughter’s.” He looked both to Merida and Fergus.

Stoick called on Hiccup, and motioned for him to come forward, he handed him a black and grey writing feather and pointed where he should sign.

Hiccup hesitated, by signing this he would be marrying this girl who hated him, and quite possibly wanted to kill him, and very easily could if she wanted to. If he didn't sign it would likely result to a hot tempered argument that could possibly lead to a war, and he didn't want that. If he did this then he would be doing something that would actually help the village for once.

Reluctantly he signed his name on the line. Merida was then called forward.

Suddenly it was hard to breathe and it felt like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. She got to the table and picked up the feather. The line for her to sign on was under Hiccup’s. This was it. The decision that she made right this second would change her life forever.

Making up her mind she dropped the feather back onto the table and spun around to face the Viking council and her people.

"Ah'm nae signing it." she said. A gasp was heard somewhere in the room.

"Merida we talked aboot this." her mother said.

"Ah'm nae signing it ‘n’ Ah'm nae marrying a Viking."  She said as she crossed her arms and then glared at Hiccup.

"Merida ye have tae sign it."

"Do you want a war on your head girl?" Stoick asked

"Thare won't be a war if ye don’t start one.” Merida spat back.

“I am the chief of this tribe and a Highlander will not talk to me that way.” Stoick’s temper began to rise.

“Don’t talk tae mah daughter like that.” Fergus jumped into the growing argument, and so did the other Highlanders. The once silent room was now filled with arguing Vikings and Highlanders.

Hiccup watched what was unfolding before him. He was glad that for once that something wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t want to witness the beginnings of a war.

Suddenly Merida’s voice rang above the rest. Her attention was on her mother. “Stoap trying tae mak’ me like ye! Ah’m never going tae be like ye! Ah’m mah own person! I’m tired o’ ye telling me whit tae say, whit tae dae, how tae dress!” At this point the majority focused on Merida, but she didn’t notice. She didn’t even really hear what she was saying; she was talking out of anger. “Ye know whit, mother, maybe Ah shuid sign it! Because it seems that th’ only guid thing that wull come frae al’ this is Ah’ll be getting awa’ frae ye!”

The queen was taken back by her words. “Ye think this is easy? Giein awa’ mah only daughter-”

“Yes! Ah was never th’ daughter ye wanted! Ah’m dane pretending Ah wis. Ye don’t care; ye never care aboot whit Ah want! It’s always whit ye want, or whit ye think is best fur th’ kingdom! Ye don’t care aboot me, but that’s fine, because Ah hate ye!”

The queen looked as though someone had twisted a dagger into her heart. “Merida-” Her mother reached out to her, but Merida backed away shaking her head.

She didn’t want to hear anything her mother had to say. She ran to the nearest exist and out of the Great Hall. The Vikings didn’t notice as she passed by.

At times like this she would go to Angus, although he was just a horse he helped her calm down. But Angus wasn’t here, he was back in DunBroch. They had said that it wouldn’t be safe for him on an island that had dragon attacks.

And it was any safer for her? She didn’t understand their logic.

After she had gotten down all of the steps leading up to the Great Hall she was trying to decide where to go next. She noticed how quiet it was outside; no one was in site because they were all still in the Great Hall.

“Merida!” she turned to see Grigor, Finlay and Airth running down the steps after her.

“Whit happened?”  Grigor asked when they caught up.

“Nothing, Ah…Ah didnae sign it.”

“Whit?”

“Ah’m nae signing th’ treaty.”

“Sae ye juist walked oot o’ thare?”

“It was mair o’ a run than a walk, but yes.”

“Nice.” His support of her actions made her feel a little bit better.

“No it’s nae,” Airth said “we need thaim tae be oor allies.”

She crossed her arms “A thought ye wur on mah side.”

“Ah am, but Ah think ye shuid really think aboot whit ye’r daein’, before ye dae something ye’ll regret.”

“Ye’r kidding me right? Ye think that Ah’ll regret nae signing that stupid treaty?”

“No, but Ah think ye’ll regret when something happens ‘n’ it’s yer fault. Al’ Ah’m saying is think o’ th’ others that wull be affected by this, nae juist yersel’.”

“Ye sound like mah mother.”

“Think aboot it, if ye don’t sign it, a lot o’ people cuid get hurt.”

Merida was taken back “Ye want me tae sign it? Ah can’t believe ye. Ye’r siding wi’ thaim ‘n’ her!”

“That’s nae whit Ah meant, Ah juist-”

“Don’t!” she snapped “J-juist lea me alone.” With that she took off out of the village with no direction in mind.

Grigor moved to go after her but Finlay stopped him and simply shook his head. Having known him almost all his life he understood what he was saying, even if he spoke no words.

Grigor then turned to Airth and hit him in the back of the head. “Wey tae go.”

“Whit? Whit did Ah say?”

He hadn’t meant to upset her, he just told her what he thought she needed to hear. None of them liked this situation one bit. They didn’t want to give up their friend to some Viking; and from what they had seen he was the poorest excuse for one.

If they had more time they could have come up with some elaborate plan that might have fixed all of this, but time is something that they did not have.

~:~

Meanwhile back in the Council Hall, shortly after Merida ran off, things had died down. Now they had a new situation presented before them, however the solution wasn’t difficult to come up with.

“It’s settled then.” Stoick said “Hiccup, go find her so she can say goodbye.”

“I don’t think I’m really the one who-” he looked to his father who was glaring at him. Stoick wasn’t in the mood to be questioned or disobeyed. “Right, I’ll just- I’ll just go do that.”

~:~

Merida was somewhere in the woods, where exactly was of no significance; all that mattered was that she was alone. Alone with the quietness of the trees, and the songs of birds, they wouldn’t tell her she was making a mistake.

She wiped her eyes. It felt like no one understood her side, not even her friends. Did everyone really expect her to just sign the treaty and give up her life? There was so much that she could do and wouldn’t be able to if she was married to some Viking.

Twigs snapped behind her, she turned around to see none other than Hiccup.

She scowled at him. “Whit dae ye want?”

“Nothing, I-”

“If it’s nothing then lea me alone.” she began to walk away but he followed.

“Wait, I just came to tell you-”

“Ah don’t care whit ye have tae say tae me.”

“I just thought you’d want to see your parents off.” He said quickly.

Merida’s heart stopped “Whit did ye say?”

“Your parents are leaving, I-I just thought that you’d want to say goodbye.”

“But Ah didnae sign th’ agreement! Thay can’t lea me here!”

“You can see for yourself.” He gestured in the direction that would lead her back.

She picked up her skirts and ran to the edge of the woods. She saw Highlanders loading up the longboats with supplies.

Spotting her father in the crowd, Merida desperately made her way to him.

“Da, what’s gaun on?”

“We have tae lea before th’ ice sets in.”

“Without me? I’m gaun back wi’ ye, right?”

“I’m afraid nae lass.”

“But Ah didnae sign th’ treaty. Ye have tae tak’ me home.”

Fergus laid his hands on her shoulders “Berk is yer home noo.” Not giving her a chance to reply he pushed her away gently and walked onto the boat, she followed him.

“Berk wull never be mah home! Ah don’t understand, Ah didnae sign th’ treaty, sae why dae Ah have tae stay?”

“Thay wantae make sure that we don’t go back on oor word.”

“But treaties are aboot trust! Shouldn’t thay trust us nae ae go back on oor word?”

“That’s nae th’ wey it wirks lass.”

“Whitevur Ah did wrong Ah’m sorry. Mah lessons kin be doubled; Ah’ll even cut back on mah riding time! Ah juist wantae go home. Please Da.”

“This isn’t a punishment, Merida. It’s a…it’s an honor, tae serve th’ kingdom like this.” Fergus had to force himself to say the word, it was still bitter on his tongue.

Someone called for his assistance; they exchanged a glance before he walked away.

“Thare ye are,” she turned to see the young Lords approach her “we wur beginning tae think that we wouldn’t git tae say goodbye.” Grigor said.

She met them on the dock. “Ye knew that Ah wid have tae stay here ‘n’ ye didnae tell me?”

“We juist found oot tae.”

“We wanted tae come find ye, but thay wouldn’t let us.” Airth looked at Merida apologetically and fiddled with his hands. “Ah’m sorry aboot whit Ah said before; Ah didnae mean tae upset ye.”

“It’s alright, Ah know ye didnae mean tae.” She looked at all three of them “Ah’m…Ah’m gaun tae miss ye guys.” She grouped them together in a big hug.

It came time for them to board their ships so they said their goodbyes. Airth was first, giving her yet another hug and apologizing again for before. Finlay was second, giving Merida one of his rare moments where he actually spoke. Grigor was last.

“Goodbye, Mer.”

She punched him in the arm “Ye know Ah told ye nae tae call me that.”

“Ah know. That’s exactly why Ah did, fir old time’s sake.” He looked past Merida to Hiccup who was watching beside his father further up the dock. “’N’ if that little runt tries tae dae anything, try nae tae kill him. We didnae want this tae al’ be fur nothing ‘n’ stairt a war.”

“Ah’ll dae mah best nae tae.” With a final hug he left.

After he had helped the person who called him away, Fergus came back and joined Elinor by her side on the dock.

“Are ye sure Ah cannae juist sneak ontae th’ boat. By th’ time thay notice we cuid be long gaen.” Merida made one last attempt to persuade him to let her go home, but he shook his head.

“Ah wish it wur that easy.”

“Wull ye even come visit?” she knew that the question was ridiculous, he was the king; he couldn’t just go visit her if he took a notion to. Things didn’t work that way.

“O’ coorse Ah wull, whenever Ah kin.” But he was her father and he would cross stormy seas, and travel to the end of the earth for her.

Merida threw her arms around his neck and he responded with a big bear hug.

“Ah’m gaun tae miss ye sae much.” She whispered.

“Nae as much as Ah’m gaun tae miss ye lass.” He let her go and kissed the top of her head.

Next thing she knew the triplets had jumped onto her, clinging to her so they couldn’t leave. Merida convinced them to let her go and they stood in front of her while she crouched down to their level.

“Ye’ll see me again before ye know it.” They gave her a look that questioned her statment. “Ah promise.” They tackled her into a hug before Maudie called them. “Be guid, kin ye dae that fur me?” they looked to one another before nodding.

Merida stood and dusted herself off before turning to the queen.

“Mother.” Elinor subconsciously prepared for another verbal attack, but none came. Surprisingly Merida had nothing to say to her. The anger she had towards her before had now depleted into almost nothing. She was far too tired to work up the energy to fuel new anger either. “Have a safe trip.”

With that she turned on her heel and left. It would be easier for her and everyone if she watched them leave from a distance. She went up the wooden walkway that was attached to the cliff side.

By the time she got to her spot the longboats took sail, headed home, without her. On the decks she saw figures moving, they were waving. She meekly raised a hand and waved back. 

When they got far enough where she could no longer see them her hand fell to her side. She stayed on the walkway until the longboats had disappeared over the horizon and the sun had begun to set.

They’ll come back. She told herself. Once they realize what a mistake this treaty is, they’ll come back for me.

~:~

After Merida had said her farewells, Stoick went to say his short goodbye and to wish the Highlanders a safe journey. Hiccup was told that he was to watch Merida and make sure she didn’t get into any trouble. How was he supposed to keep her from getting in trouble? If she wanted to do something then she would do it; it’s not exactly like she would listen to him.

He followed her up the wooden ramp, but kept a respectable distance. He had watched her wave goodbye, and even when it was certain that they could no longer see her she remained.

Now the sun was shedding its last rays of light for the day and the longboats were long gone. By now Hiccup had sat down, glancing at her every now and then, she still stood there watching the horizon, waiting for them to come back.

“Is thare something ye wanted? Or are ye juist gaun tae sit thare ‘n’ stare at me?” she asked suddenly.

Had she been aware he was there all this time? He quickly stood and brushed himself off before she looked at him.

“I just thought I’d take you back when-whenever you were ready.” It was already starting to get cold with the absence of light, it would be best to go back now.

“Whaur am Ah staying?”

“With me and my dad.”

Merida glanced back at the water one last time before following Hiccup into the village.

Chief Stoick’s house was farthest from the sea and closest to the Great Hall; by the time they had got there night had fallen.

He led her inside and up the steps to a room. When Merida walked in she noticed that it was considerably smaller than the one she had back in DunBroch.

“This will be your room for now.”

“Fur noo?” she questioned.

Hiccup’s eyes dropped to the floor and he played with his hands “You know…until we’re…..married.”

“Oh.” Merida said realizing what he meant “Ah think ye mean ‘til thay realize this treaty is a bad idea ‘n’ come back tae git me; because Ah’m nae ever going tae marry a Viking.” With that she shut the door in his face.

“…or that.”