Merida stumbled through the undergrowth, her eyes fixed on the glowing light ahead. Branches whipped her at face and hair but she was numb to everything except the soft beckoning of the wisps. They were leading her deeper and deeper into the forest, away from the castle and the clans and her mother. She had followed the rules of the games - maybe now the Queen would acknowledge her wishes. Thunder growled overhead and she shivered in her torn dress.

Suddenly the wisps seemed to disappear in front of her. She stopped, snapping her head up to see where they had led her. Across the clearing a dark shape rose up from between the trees. A tall box, adorned with windows and a glowing sign above the doorway. A house, perhaps? She thought.

"Why would the wisps lead me here?"

Carefully Merida inched towards the strange box, nervous excitement rising in her stomach when she noticed it was blue; the bluest blue she had ever seen. A part of her longed to reach out and touch it, to see whether it was real or not, to see how it would feel under her skin.

The sign above the doorway became clearer as she drew close, showing strange words she couldn't understand.

POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX.

Angus whinnied nervously from the trees, startling her. She had all but forgotten he was there. Giving him a smile of reassurance, Merida closed the gap between her and this strange object, surprised to feel cool wood against her hand. Without realising what she was doing, she grasped the metal door handle and pulled towards her, the door swinging open with not much effort.

"Medieval Scotland. Somewhere in the vicinity of the Highlands. Ruled by the Clan Dunbroch. Brilliant. Always wanted to go here."

The voice became louder as she pushed herself forward, her legs barely allowing her to move, eyes scarcely believing what they took in. The box was bigger on the inside. But that wasn't possible. Im the centre of the room there was a large structure containing instruments she had never even thought of before.

"What is this place?"

A man she had not seen before appeared from behind a pillar. He looked as strange as the box; tall, skinny, dressed in strange matching brown clothes and spiky hair. A grin spread across his face as he saw her.

"Hello!" He called down cheerfully. "How did you get in?"

His accent wasn't one she recognised. A foreigner. An invader. Merida bristled and her eyes swept the room for something to use as a weapon. "Who are you? An invader? A scavenger? Come to try and take over our lands?" Her voice echoed around the room. This place was impossible.

"What? An invader? No no no no no," The man laughed, rocking back and forth on his feet as he stood. "I'm called the Doctor. I'm a traveller, I mean you no harm."

"A traveller?" Merida frowned to herself. "But why would the wisps lead me here? They're supposed to help me change my fate!" She threw her hands into the air.

"Your fate?" The man asked, cocking his head to one side. She noticed his nose scrunched up as he did so. "Why do you want to change your fate?"

"My mother!" She laughed once, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly. "She wants me to marry someone I've never met, and she keeps trying to change who I am. But I'm not like her!"

Out of all the this she expected this stranger to do, it was not laugh, but he bounded down to her chuckling as if he knew some inside joke.

"See this place? Its called the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It can travel wherever or whenever I like." His face became earnest as he looked at her. "If you want to change your fate, I think I could help you."

Merida took a step back, disbelief colouring her face. "What do you mean, whenever?"

"Exactly what I said, whenever. I could go to the beginning of creation, or to the year 2005, then go back and have tea with the Queen of England - though last time I saw her she called me her sworn enemy, not sure what that was about. I could visit the diamond planet of Midnight or go to the furthest reaches of the Galaxy, where human beings have spread even there. So yes, I mean whenever." Merida could have sworn she had seen a flash of sadness in the Doctor's eyes as he mentioned 2005, but she dismissed it as her imagination.

"So you can go anywhere you like." Merida tested the words in her mouth. "How?"

"Well," The Doctor grinned, "I flick a few switches, some lights flash. Might be a bit too high-tech for you."

Merida scowled. "You don't know that. In fact, you don't even know who I am!"

"Right you are, maybe its about time you told me." He didn't seem fazed by her expression and continued to beam at her. "I've always wanted to be ginger."

The comment was so absurd that she laughed aloud. "I am Merida, Princess of Clan Dunbroch." If it was possible, the Doctor's smile got bigger.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Princess." He performed a small bow. "So, would you like to change your fate?" His eyes gleamed with excitement.

"You mean, I could come with you?" Her heart pounded in her chest. Come with him. And change my fate.

"Well, yeah, if you wanted to."

"Is it dangerous?"

The Doctor's smile faltered and his expression grew serious. "Yes. Sometimes my - companions don't come back."

The expression on his face told her why. Merida could see the damage these losses had done to him. It reminded her of when her mother had lost the babies years before the triplets had been born. She would spend hours in her chambers, not speaking or eating. Each child had left a hole in her heart. Would she do the same when her eldest didn't come back?

"I'll do it."

The Doctor recovered from his memories in a heartbeat and ran to the controls in the middle of the room. "Brilliant! Where do you want to go first? Spain? London? Or somewhere completely out of this world?" He raced around as he spoke, pressing down levers and turning wheels that started the tube in the centre to begin pushing up and down.

Merida thought for a moment. "I've always wanted to see where the Vikings lived."

The Doctor made a face. "Last time I went there they were all riding dragons. Maybe not the best time. How about something completely different from what you're used to? Maybe the Forest of Cheem? Or perhaps Raxacoricofallapatorius? Ha! Try saying that one three times fast."

Dragons? Forest of Cheem? Raxacorico- what? Merida tried to keep up with what he was saying but became hopelessly lost. The Doctor seemed to love showing new worlds to people. He was so changeable and intense. It made her wonder how he had lost those he travelled with.

"Doctor," She asked, making him turn. "The last person you were with. Your... companion. What happened to them?"

He turned back to the controls. "She was vaporised. Fell into the Titanic's nuclear storm drive. She sacrificed herself and saved the ship." His voice was thick with emotion. It must have been recent.

"I'm sorry," Merida climbed the steps towards where he was standing. "She must have been very brave."

He turned and gave her a small smile. "She was. They all are. I can see it in you too." The Doctor tapped at a clear window and it brought up an image of Angus waiting outside for her. "What shall we do about the horse? Last time I tried to take a horse with me I was attacked by clockwork robots in pre-Revolutionary France."

"Angus!" Cried Merida, rushing back down to the TARDIS doors. "Wait a moment, Doctor." She pushed through the doors again and ran to her horse. "Go home, Angus. This is one journey you can't go on. I'm going to change my fate." She gave him one last nuzzle before she turned towards the box again, marveling in its impossibility.

"TARDIS." She whispered. "Anywhere in the world."

She didn't once look back as she went through.

"Doctor, there's just one more thing," Merida asked as she approached the TARDIS console. It was now making a loud vroop sound and the centre tube was becoming faster and faster. He flashed his beaming smile at her expectantly, like he knew what she was going to ask.

"Fire away, dear Princess."

She glanced up at the alien technology around her, trying to find her courage to face this new unknown life. The wisps had led her here for a reason, and she would make the most of it and change her fate. Her eyes finally found his.

"Doctor who?"