DISCONTINUED: Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons: The Apocalypse

Old friends

"We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip."

"Astrid?" I asked. She'd abandoned me... what was she doing here, anyway? She ran up and hugged me tightly, and it took a while before I hugged back.

She let go, still smiling happily, like relief washed over her. I just stared at her. She left me. She drove away. But... I ran away to begin with. I began to smile before she punched me in the face.

My cheek felt numb as her knuckles collided. "JESUS-" I began to mutter, then mumbled, "Why??"

"THAT was for making me think you were DEAD." She began, "Why would you run away like that? you're lucky to be alive! Wait... How are you still alive?" I brushed that part aside. I was just really happy to see her again. I was sick of new faces, honestly.

"Well, Merida here stitched up that gash of blood you might've seen. I've been with her not to long after we got separated." I said. She grimaced. Hugging me again, she muttered, "I'm just to glad to see you."

I cleared my throat as we let go. "So, did you find our parents yet?" I asked. I completely forgot about that.

But what scared me was her reaction. She gave a sorrow look and touched my arm. "I'm sorry."

"What?" I choked.

"look, I tried to get there in time but.." her voice crashed from holding back tears. She sniffed. "There was a loose board. There was this secret entrance. They must've wondered..."

I didn't want to hear anymore. "Did you see his body?" I asked sternly.

She tried to calm herself down. "Henry, I-"

"Did. you. see. a . body." I asked, cutting up the words to come across like I meant it. I'd never been so serious in my life.

She covered her face with her whole hands covering  the other, trying to fight the tears. She nodded slowly.

No.

No. He can't be dead. He's a natural, best in the business. There must've been a misunderstanding.

Of course I told myself that. But it wasn't true. None of it was, on my side. I had to face reality, and in that moment, I finally did.

My father was dead.

Merida:

Henry talked a lot about Astrid and how she was going to bring him to his dad. I expected him to be alive, though not Astrid. But I realized that the harsh truth was far greater of a burden, when Astrid dying already seemed awful to him. I didn't want to say anything, but I didn't see it coming anyway.

I spent a very selfish moment to myself. If Henry's dad was dead, what we're the chances of mine?

I shoved that thought away as I saw Henry march toward his little cabin in the health room. I debated going after him, but instead, I waited by his door, as if it made a difference. I guess It was in case I heard something. And My tent was burned in a fire so...

It took half an hour. It was 9 in the morning and everyone was repairing their tents, fishing, their daily routines when I heard the crashes. I jolted through the door to see him throwing a lamp against the hard wooden wall.

I jumped in front of him and ripped the lamp out of his hands. They were dripping with blood from the shattered glass of the lightbulb. He aggressively tried to loosen out of my grip, and successfully did, but I didn't give . up. He began shouting, No, he's not dead over and over. We were almost eye level, so it wasn't hard to grab him from the back and slowly drop him to the ground. I felt his pain. Because he was feeling it. It hurt, just to see him like this. I haven't cried since this started, I don't know y, but he did. Right now.