The Big Four

Chapter 2

It was all I could do to keep my eyes open. We’d been riding this stupid dragon for hours. Or at least I assumed so, as it was obviously no longer midnight. The sun was starting to peek out.
Thankfully, the dragon seemed to be tiring. As soon as we reached land, I was going to collapse and sleep for a hundred years.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. When the dragon landed, Viking boy jumped off, pulling me with him. My eyelids drooped, but I just managed to stay awake.
I blinked. Focus.
We were on the beach of a small island. I had no idea where we were, but the haunted look on Viking boy’s face scared me.
“What is it?”
He turned to face me. “This is Dragon Island. At least, I think it is.”
“Like the Haunted Islands?”
“It is one of the Haunted Islands.”
“Oh.”
We stood there for a moment, but then I remembered how much I wanted to sleep. I yawned.
He nodded. “We need to rest. But we should find shelter first. If this is Dragon Island…”
“OK. Let’s go.”
We didn’t make it two steps.

---

A hard, cold wind knocked me clean off of my feet. Merida, too. Wasn’t it mid-July? Maybe we’d drifted further north than we’d realized.
A boy literally flew onto the island, carrying an unconscious girl in his arms. He looked extremely upset, and carried a strange wooden staff with him. His skin was so pale that it was almost white, and his hair was icy. The girl in his arms had long, blond hair. And when I say long, I mean long. It was currently braided and in a pile on the girl’s chest.
He didn’t seem to notice me or Merida as he sat the girl on the sand. Then he looked up – presumably to search for dragons – and saw us. He waved us over.
“What’s going on?”
“I really can’t explain,” the boy replied. “I’m Jack. This is Rapunzel. Can you help her? She just…”
“Just what?” Merida asked. Her eyes glittered in the dawning light.
He thought a minute before speaking, choosing his words carefully. “She passed out. She was… working too hard.”
I shrug. “If she just overworked, she’ll wake up in no time.”
He gives me a look that could freeze a city. “Who are you, anyways?”
“Hiccup. This is Merida.”

---

“Hiccup?”
“What?”
“Your name is Hiccup?” I can’t help it; a smile of amusement plays across my face.
Jack just frowns. “You didn’t even know his name?”
I shrug. “It wasn’t exactly at the top of our priority list, what with…”
Hiccup shushes me with a look. It isn’t exactly a good idea to proclaim to everyone exactly who we are and what we’re doing.
“What with what?"
“Things.” Hiccup crosses his arms, and I can’t help but notice how handsome he is.
Stop!
Jack raises a hand in surrender. “Fine. But, one question – um, how can you see me?”
I glance at Hiccup, wondering if he’s catching on any better than I am. His expression is just as mystified.
“I don’t sense magic in you. How can you see me?”
What now?
“Wait, what? Why wouldn’t we be able to see you? Are you normally invisible, or something…”
He lays Rapunzel on the sand and stands.
“It’s really complicated. Most people can’t see… A person like me ... unless they have magic in them. Or… Have you ever heard of Jack Frost?”
“No…”
He takes a step towards me. I take a step back. This guy is really starting to freak me out.
“Listen, this is really complicated…” He sighs. “I’m a spirit. Sort of. Probably not the kind you believe in. What are you, Gaelic?” He studies my face. “Probably.” He looks at Hiccup, who stiffens. “Viking? Yeah. Not the kind of spirit that you guys know of. It’s really super complicated.”
“Can you quit freaking us out by guessing our ethnicities and saying ‘it’s complicated’? Get to the point.”
“People can’t see me – or touch me – unless they either have magic in them or know about my story and think it’s true. For the most part, people can’t see me. And when they touch me, I… fade.” He hesitates.
I don’t wait for him to finish his thought. I whack him in the side of the face with a well-placed kick. It makes contact and he hits the ground with a thud.
Hiccup looks at me, amusement clear in his expression.
“What? He was getting really annoying.”

---

I wake up on a sandy beach. My hair is still in its braid, piled up in my lap. I groan and sit up.
Jack is lying unconscious on the beach a few feet away. A girl probably around my age stands over him.
I run over to him, and the girl stands back. I can tell she’s sizing me up.
Just like Mother.
I ignore her and lean over Jack. The side of his face is bruised badly.
Flower, gleam and glow;
Let your power shine;
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.
The bruise fades away completely and he wakes up. “Rapunzel?”
“Yeah. How’d you get that bruise?”
He glares pointedly at the red-headed girl.
“Hey, I wasn’t trying to cause trouble. He was being weird and annoying.”
I hear a twig snap in the woods nearby, and out walks a Viking. I’ve never met one in person before, but even I know that they’re deadly and cruel.
            Flower, gleam and glow;
The girl knocks me right off of my feet, snarling. “Don’t even think about hurting him.”
I groan. My head is dizzy. I’m afraid that I’m about to pass out again.
“OK,” I squeak.
Jack rips the girl off of me. “Merida!”
The Viking boy comes running and catches Merida as she trips backwards. “Jack!” he calls accusingly.
“OK, now I’m confused. All four of us are friendly. Right?”
They hesitate, but finally they all agree. “Yes.”
“Good. I’m Rapunzel. This is Jack. You two are?”
They glance at each other, which reminds me of the sketch I doodled while re-writing Romeo and Juliet.
“I’m Merida,” says the girl.
“Hiccup,” grumbles the boy.
I try to stifle the giggle, I really do; it just doesn’t work.
“Yeah, yeah, make fun all you want. I need a new name.”

---

I watch silently as the three talk. I can’t figure those two out – I’m not invisible or unreal to them. And yet they don’t know who I am, and they don’t seem to possess any magic.
Still. As confusing as this may be, it might be fate. We’re all here. We need four people to defeat the Haunteds; no more, no less. This could work out.
Or it could blow up in my face.
I had to take the risk, though, didn’t I?
“Listen.”
Everyone hushed immediately.
“This is really complicated-“ Merida rolls her eyes at me “-but yeah. Basically, there are these other spirits – like me, but evil – called Haunteds trying to take over the world. They’re normally just shadows, but there are lockets that can make them physical. They can only become physical beings through those lockets or on these islands. We have to get the lockets out of their reach, or they’ll paralyze the world. To do that, we need a team of exactly four people.” Everyone catches on to my meaning, and the sand is suddenly very interesting.
“Rapunzel?”
“Didn’t me helping you kind of become a thing when you flew me out of the tower?”
I smile at her. “Merida?”
She stares at the ground for a few more seconds.
“I don’t know…”
“Listen. Do you want the world overrun by fear?”
“Don’t try to scare her into anything,” Hiccup butts in.
“Fine. But if you don’t help with this, I might not find anyone else. Your worst fears will be realized.”
“Jack…” Hiccup growls.
“I’ll go.” Merida’s sudden reply almost seems… confident. “Even if we did make it home, my mother…”
She stares at the ground. Did everybody here have parent problems?
Hiccup doesn’t waste a second. “If she’s going, I’m going.” Merida looks up at him in surprise. He reddens. “You know, because I certainly can’t go home without my captive.”
Merida angrily stabs a stick with her pocketknife.
They obviously have history.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave tomorrow.”