The Legend of the Wisp. Chapter 24

WARNINGS: Scenes suggestive of adult scenarios. One swear word.

"Jack!"

"Jack are you ok?"

"Come on Frosty, wake up."

Something wet and slobbery licked the side of his face, and the smell of fish wafted over him.

Jack groaned and blinked open his eyes. Sunlight hit the back of his retinas and he squinted in pain as his eyes adjusted. Bringing his arm up to shield his eyes from the light, he slowly sat up and got his bearings.

He was lying on the deck of the ship; Rapunzel, Hiccup, Merida and Toothless all gathered around him anxiously. It was sweltering hot and the sun was beating down on them, causing sweat to bead on his forehead.

He raised his head at the sound of the sails flapping above him and he realised the ship was sailing on the open sea once more – no sign of darkness or shadows anywhere.

"What – what happened?" he croaked, reaching out to pat Toothless' nose which was currently sniffing his hand.

"Pitch let us go." Merida replied. "He just disappeared and next thing we knew we were suddenly sailing out the other side."

"Everyone's fine now but we found you lying on the floor unconscious. Did he do something to you?" Hiccup asked in concern.

"I..." Jack found he couldn't continue. His mind was still a jumble with re-discovered memories and his emotions were a mess.

Looking down at his hand he suddenly spotted the rag tied around it, hiding the evidence of his deal with Pitch. He quickly withdrew it from Toothless' nose and stuffed it in his pocket, flinching as he felt Pitch's letters crinkle against his skin.

A soft hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked up to find Rapunzel looking down at him sympathetically.

"It's ok." She said softly. "You don't have to talk about it if you're not ready. I know how well he can mess with your head." A slightly haunted look passed over her face, before she suppressed it and helped Jack off the floor.

He nodded his thanks and stood awkwardly for a moment. "Thanks I...I just need some time. Just...shout if you need me." He began to wander towards his usual spot of the crow's nest but paused, a strange expression crossing his face before he changed direction and headed below deck instead.

The three of them watched him go in concern.

"Pitch really did a number on him, didn't he?" Merida voiced.

"He'll be ok. It will take a lot more than a few scary dreams to beat Jack." Hiccup said confidently.

"If he felt anything like I did, I don't blame him for taking some time to clear his head." Rapunzel shuddered.

The other two nodded grimly.

"I guess we should just be grateful Pitch had a weird fetish for hair." Merida rolled her eyes.

"Wait – how did you know he wanted my hair for everyone's freedom?" Rapunzel said in confusion.

"Your hair? He asked for my mine!"

"Hang on – he asked for something from both of you? He said if I gave him my necklace he would let us all pass through safely!" Hiccup interjected.

They paused for a second, the information sinking in.

"That bastard tricked us! He made each of us a deal for the exact same thing!" Merida growled.

"Why would he bother? What on earth does he want with a few pieces of hair and a necklace anyway?" Rapunzel frowned in confusion. Also, something was niggling at the back of her brain but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"I don't know but I don't like it. That whole thing was just plain creepy." Hiccup added.

"Well at least it's not like he can really do anything with them. Right?" Merida asked hesitantly.

"I don't see how. But at least he kept his promise and let us all go."

"Wait...what did he promise exactly?" Rapunzel asked them both, suddenly realising something and feeling her stomach drop.

"The safe passage of the entire crew through his realm..."

"Did he promise either of you we would have safe passage coming back?"

They all looked at each other, the panic clear on their faces.

Merida swore and began calling Pitch all the names under the sun she could think of.

Hiccup groaned and ran his hand over his face.

"I should have picked up on it...I should have been more careful! I've lived my whole life knowing about the importance of wording things precisely – I should have been listening out for it. "Rapunzel chastised herself.

"Why do you say that?" Hiccup asked.

"Er...I..." she came to a halt before sighing. She might as well tell them at this point.

"I...can't lie. It's another part of...you know. The whole magic thing."

Hiccup blinked in surprise and Merida mouth formed a small 'o'.

"Ah. Well, that explains some things."

"No wonder yer wouldn't lie to sneak onto the ship!"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I just...wasn't ready. People knowing can make me feel kinda...vulnerable."

Merida and Hiccup's expressions softened and they looked at her fondly.

"Thank you for trusting us with this Punz...yer secret is safe with us I promise." Merida smiled, linking arms with her.

Hiccup nodded in agreement and gave her an encouraging grin. "Does Jack know already?" His eyes twinkled humorously.

She blushed and nodded slightly.

"Wha?! That snowflake knows?! I hope he didn't give you a hard time Punz, lord knows the mischief he could get up to."

"Oh he tried at first, but he stopped once he realised it upset me. Jack's actually very thoughtful. You know - when he wants to be." She fidgeted under Merida's piercing gaze and Hiccup gave her a knowing smirk.

"So what are we going to do about getting back exactly?" she asked, swiftly changing the subject.

Merida sighed. "I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Let's just focus on actually getting the ring for now."

"How long do you reckon it will take us to get to Agrabah?" Hiccup said.

"Not long." She replied confidently.

"How can you know?" he said in surprise. "We've never travelled this part of the Ocean before."

"Because it's there." She pointed over his shoulder.

Rapunzel and Hiccup turned to see a shimmering golden land appearing on the horizon ahead of them.

Sunlight bounced off miles of sand, creating shimmering waves of heat which were noticeable even from their position off shore. A city of cool white buildings was visible to their left and Merida shouted the order for the ship to change its course slightly so they could head towards it.

"We should be there by nightfall from the looks of it." Hiccup said triumphantly. "And with the goods we have in our hull, we should be able to make a fortune here – we have plenty of stuff that the people of Agrabah won't have seen before; or at least won't have had much access too. Don't you think so Captain?"

Merida's eyebrow twitched.

"Aye I agree Mr Haddock." She turned to Rapunzel.

"Would you mind giving me a moment with my first mate here? I need to discuss something with him in private."

"Oh. Oh yeah, sure. Come on Toothless, let's go find you something to eat."

The dragon gave a purr of happiness.

Hiccup watched Rapunzel and Toothless wander off before turning to Merida, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"What was that about Captain?"

Her nose wrinkled in annoyance again. "Not here. In my quarters."

He followed her into her room in bemusement, turning to close the door behind them.

Turning back to face her he was alarmed to find her suddenly extremely close, prodding his chest with her index finger.

"You did it again." She scowled.

"Wha – What did I do?!" he replied, startled. He also couldn't help noticing that she was very close and looking extremely attractive right now. There was something about her when she got angry that just made her look so alive...

"You KNOW what! You called me Captain! I keep telling you that you don't have to do that unless we're in front of the men!"

"Rapunzel was there..."he responded, distractedly. His eyes locked on her lips as she pursed them in frustration.

"That doesn't count and you know it! I swear to the gods Hiccup, if you do that one more time-"

She was silenced by Hiccup suddenly kissing her firmly on the mouth. She groaned as his hands curled into her hair and she reached her arms up around his neck.

He picked her up and she wound her legs around his waist, continuing to kiss him feverishly.

Hiccup hastily moved them towards her bed, kicking the screens out of the way and trying not to trip over the various clothing she had scattered on the floor.

Just as he reached it his foot caught on the rug and they both tumbled onto her mattress. Hiccup paused for a moment to look down at Merida, her fiery hair splayed out on the bed below him.

"Gods you're beautiful." he murmured.

"You're not so bad yourself" she replied seductively, teasingly flicking open a few of the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers reached to trace over the scars on his chest but she paused, her eyes going wide in surprise.

“Hiccup!”

“What? What is it?” he said in alarm.

“Your scars….they’re gone!”

“Gone? What do you mean gone?” he said in confusion.

“Well, not all of them…but most. And the others are faded. Look!” she pushed open his shirt wider and he sat back on his haunches to look down at his own chest.

It was true – the ugly red scar had practically vanished, and his lighter ones were gone completely.

“What in the gods names….”

“Rapunzel.” Merida said breathily, her voice filled with wonder.

“What?”

“It must have been Rapunzel’s hair! When she was singing to stop the fear infecting us…it obviously wasn’t the only thing it healed. But why hasn’t it healed them completed?” Her fingertips lightly danced across the ghostly scar Hiccup had been left with.
Reaching up to catch her hand, he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently.

“I imagine it was because she was using her magic on so many people at once – it would have diluted her power. But as much as I am grateful to Rapunzel, I feel we’re getting a bit off track.” He fixed her with a heated gaze, sending a delicious shiver down her spine.

"I love you Merida. I've loved you for a long time."

"I wish you hadn't waited so long Hiccup." She sighed.

"I just didn't want to put you in an awkward position. You've spent your whole life fending off unwanted advances and – "

"This isn't unwanted Hiccup." She cut him off firmly. "It's the opposite in fact. You do realise I love you too yer big idiot? You've no idea the sort of effect you have on me."

He looked slightly stunned for a moment before grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh is that so?" he replied mischievously, leaning down to nuzzle her neck. "Well I guess I had better start making it up to you then...Captain."

"Hiccup!"

***

"Jack...Can I come in?"

There was a soft knock at the door and Rapunzel's voice drifted through it.

Jack sat up from where he was lying on his bed, hastily trying to flatten his hair.

"Sure." He called out.

Peeking her head around the door she wrinkled her nose.

"Do you boys ever clean in here?"

"We clean!" Jack protested. "...sometimes."

She picked her way across the floor, careful not to trip over any of their clothes or weapons which were scattered around like traps.

Settling carefully on the edge of Hiccup's bed she sat opposite Jack, looking at him searchingly.

"I just wanted to see if you were feeling any better. Are you ok?"

He shrugged, unable to meet her gaze.

"You can talk about it you know. I mean...if you want to." She hesitated, unsure if she was welcome or not. He continued to stare at his feet.

"Maybe I should go..." she said apologetically, starting to stand.

"Wait." He grabbed her wrist and she froze.

"I...do you know anything about the kingdom of Burgess?"

Surprised at the sudden change of subject she slowly sat back down as Jack released his grip.

"Burgess...oh, that's the fourth kingdom I could never remember the name of! I know a bit about its history yes. Why do you ask?"

"Can you tell me about it?"

Something in his tone caused Rapunzel to pause. There was a desperation there – a distressed eagerness that revealed this wasn't just an offhand question.

"Well..." she began carefully, wracking her brain for anything she could remember. "It's a kingdom mainly full of forests and it snows there quite a lot, but the summers are said to be beautiful. The rulers are King Charming and his Queen Cinderella."

Jack looked up, his eyes going wide. His father was alive! As he tried to wrap his mind around that, he chose a safer question to ask: "He's married?"

Rapunzel looked at him curiously. "Yes...now I think about it, it would be his second marriage actually. He lost his pregnant wife and young son in a tragic accident at sea some years ago and was in mourning for a long time. He married his current wife about...oh it must have been 3 years ago I think? It caused quite a commotion amongst the royal families."

"Why?" Jack asked curiously. He still wasn't sure how he felt about the knowledge that his father had re-married. He was glad he was happy he supposed, but his heart ached at the idea of someone taking his Mother's place.

"Because she was only a scullery maid. It's quite a lovely story actually – neither knew who the other was when they met and they fell in love. She's not the first commoner to marry into royalty but it's a rare enough occurrence to cause a stir when it happens. I remember Gothel wouldn't stop going on about it... I think it's quite romantic myself." She added.

"Anyway, they've had a couple of children since – a boy and a girl I think. The kingdom is pretty happy and peaceful from what I remember from my lessons. It is one of the four largest Kingdoms so obviously it has a relatively large navy, but the King hasn't travelled by sea since he lost his family...Jack what's wrong?"

She stopped recalling her political lessons in alarm as Jack had suddenly turned away from her to hide his face. She moved over to sit on the bed next to him and turned him gently, yet firmly towards her. Silent tears were streaming down his face.

"It was me Punz...his son. It was me." He choked. "Mother – Snow White – she survived long enough to give birth to my sister Emma but she died. It was all my fault..."

"Oh Jack..." her heart ached for him, and she pushed aside her surprise at his revelation for now to focus on comforting him. She pulled him into her arms and stroked his hair gently, like her Mother used to do when she was little.

She could feel him shaking, silently fighting the tears as he pressed his face into her shoulder.

"The Princess of Atlanterra – she took us in and raised Emma as her own child. I stayed on as a servant but we began to look too much alike – she was worried the Prince would find out and divorce her. She made me take a potion; made me forget everything. I didn't want to leave her...I swear I didn't. You have to believe me."

"Shhh, it's alright. I know." She soothed, her mind racing with all the new information.

They stayed like that for a while longer, Jack taking comfort in Rapunzel's presence and allowing her soothing touch to calm him. Eventually he sat up, feeling embarrassed but better for having let it out.

"Thank you...for listening. I'm sorry to have broken down like that on you."

"It's not a problem Jack. Don't ever apologise for needing to talk – you can always come to me." She smiled encouragingly. She paused before asking carefully. "Can I ask...how come you suddenly remember all this? Why now?"

He hesitated. He wanted to tell her about his deal with Pitch. He did. But she was looking at him with such care and she had been so sweet taking care of him...he couldn't bear to see that expression turn to one of disgust or disappointment.

"I guess something happened when Pitch was messing around with my head...he must have unblocked them or something."

"Well at least something good came out of that whole thing then." Rapunzel said brightly. "This is good news Jack! You have a family! A sister, a father and two new half-siblings! Isn't that something to be happy about?"

"I...yes, I guess you're right." Jack said, feeling her enthusiasm infect him. He hadn't actually given himself much time to think about it, so caught up as he was in a whirlwind of emotions. But she was right – he had a family!

There was still a sense of dread and guilt lingering in the back of his mind since he had caused the shipwreck in the first place, but he pushed that aside to focus on his sister. He knew now that Emma was better out of the hands of Vanessa and she deserved to be re-united with their father. A determined expression fell across his face as he came to a decision – he would do whatever it took to rescue her.

"We can go find her once we leave Agrabah." Rapunzel smiled, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it gently.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" he asked in surprise.

"Ah, that would be telling." She tapped the side of her nose and winked.

He grinned back. "You think Merida would mind taking a detour?"

"I don't see why not. We have to sail right past Atlanterra on the way back anyway."

He smiled back and her before looking down and realising they were still holding hands.

Noting the direction of his gaze, Rapunzel let go of his hand, pretending to cough in embarrassment.

"Are you ready to tell the others?"

"Sure...I guess it's better out in the open. Where are Mer and Hic anyway?"

"I'm not sure. Last I saw them, Merida wanted to talk to Hiccup alone about something."

"They'll probably be in your room. We might as well go tell them now then, I'm sure they've finished talking about whatever they wanted to discuss."

They both hopped up from the bed and made their way back on deck, heading towards the room Rapunzel and Merida shared.

Rapunzel opened the door and her eyes were immediately drawn to the large screen – knocked over and lying haphazardly on its side. The lack of screen allowed her eyes to drift, unhindered, towards Merida's four poster bed...

Jack let out a grunt of surprise as Rapunzel backed up into him, practically shoving him out of the door and closing it behind them.

"What?!" he asked in confusion. "Are they not done talking or something?"

"You could say that." Rapunzel said, grinning secretively. "Did you know that Hiccup's freckles go all over his body?"

"What? Of course, we do share a room after all, but why do you...oh. OH. No way!"