A/N: Let me just say several words about this fanfic. First off, this fanfic would be not be possible without one of the many random Skype convos with one of my friends, Britt. So thanks to her for her contribution for helping me out with this fanfiction. This was a result due to the fact that we were in the roleplaying world of Disney/Pixar and we decided to randomly roleplay this scene. I decided to make this a story out of the roleplay. In doing so, I had to cut, edit, and tweak things that didn't sound right or seemed awkward. I still think there might be more but apart from that, I think it's one of the best works I've done so far although it was collaboration in a sense.
It's also short too by the way. I was planning it as more of a one-shot thing and I'm glad it turned out to be that. By the way thanks to BriannaTheStrange for helping me out with minor info in this fanfic.
Lastly, I also apologize if it's terrible in advance but taking the optimist approach, that that gives me room to improve my writing. This is also my first fanfic I'm publishing here on . I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you for reading. Now onward, to the story!
The weather in Scotland wasn't at its finest as it was enduring a pain throughout. The pain that had spread all over the country. Of course, one would know from the sight of quick flashing of lightning and water sprouting from the grey clouds that it was a massive storm brewing about. It made the outdoor seem like a glum place to hang out especially if one wanted to venture in the Highlands.
However, within, the walls of the stony yet grand Dun'broch Castle, one could say the interior was calmer than the vicious storm outside. Of course, they could also be either wrong or right, depending on the part of the castle that they were roaming around in.
An observer would think they'd be right if they'd drop into a bed chamber where Queen Elinor, the head of castle, (along with her husband, King Fergus) was combing the locks of her fiery-haired daughter and also Princess, Merida. Another observer would say that they'd be wrong if they headed towards the direction of delectable-smell-of a-haggis-kitchen. Even from the castle's corridor, there was a huge crash. The crash wasn't caused by the thunder outside but rather the plates and silverware that fell onto the ground, followed shortly by a maid's defeated, agonized scream.
Moving along inside the castle's interiors, there were many rooms that were separated by vast corridors and passageways. One of the rooms within the castle that one would fail to notice was the library, or rather the study of the castle. Despite the fact that it was easy to spot at times, other times, it wasn't easy to spot.
The library was the gateway of knowledge and also a place where many of the inhabitants of the Dun'broch Castle had enjoyed their leisure time. The servants and cooks attended the room to look up on books about food and housekeeping duties while the royal subjects like Queen Elinor enjoyed browsing around in this room for books that would help with diplomatic matters as well as something to guide her young, unruly daughter by.
Additionally, inside the library there were many shelves littered with assortments of colorful covered books, two tables, one of them with a candlelight nearby the window. The other table was smack dab near the middle of the library where the couches were placed around it. There was also an unused fireplace nearby complete with a rug that was laid out in front of it. On top laid miniature figures including a snowy owl. There were also many paintings including one of King Fergus battling a black demon bear to the one with King Fergus, Queen Elinor, and their children, Merida and her three triplet brothers, Harris, Hamish, and Hubert, all baring their pearly whites in what seemed to be a polite yet poised smile.
The library was filled with silence aside from the uses of candlelight and the storm occurring outside. It seemed peaceful if one wanted to grab a good reading time. This was the not the case today as one of the bookshelves slowly moved outward. It seemed like there was nothing at first as there was no figures coming from within. Then three giggles were heard as three tiny, curly haired figures bounded out from behind it. Then one of them, the last one to get out, quickly shut the passageway. These three were the triplets, Harris, Hamish, and Hubert. The resident yet young Princes yet they went by another title: troublemakers. This was because they were all mischievous and resourceful. Something that drove them running madly? Sweets and other foods that they enjoyed massively at the dinner table with their family.
After closing the passageway, the triplets continued onward cutting across the fireplace and the seating area, heading towards the corridor. Sweets falling out of their processions but they had managed to go back and get at least one if it fell. Their miniature legs moved along carrying the distance that they were running. The first two triplets ran onward but the third one slowed his pace when he passed by a bookshelf.
Now there was only a question as to why a little boy would be interested in the bookshelf itself. The wee little lad wasn't interested in the bookshelve or the books but there was one that caught his eye. More so, it the fact that one of the triplets had a secret: he loved the library. Hamish, unlike his two other brothers, who didn't see much for it other than a place to hide out and be read stories to, seemed to place value in the stories that were read to him. Unlike Hubert and Harris who didn't care, Hamish saw this place where he could come for sanctuary and glance pictures inside the pages of the books (if there were any of course). Another thing that he enjoyed doing was reading the words that he had no idea what they meant. Despite the fact he couldn't actually read, he enjoyed touching the edges of the printed pages of the book, running his miniscule fingers along it.
Today, he was eager to look up on books with animals in them. He wasn't sure which one specifically. Any animal type of book would do for today. Searching the shelves, he couldn't find what he was looking for and sighed. It looked like he failed to find what he wanted to look at. He was about trail after his brothers when he sighted a green book lying on a table nearby the sofa. He scurried over to it and looked at the cover. On it was titled: Scottish Fairytales: Fox Tales. He didn't know what it was but he beamed as he saw the foxes on the cover. An animal was on the cover and it was an interesting looking one at that. He opened the book but it dropped to the ground. He frowned at it, picked it up, and due to tiny-anger (developed from his father) slammed it onto the table, determined for it to stay there. THUMP! The table's wooden cry could be heard.
Meanwhile outside the library, in the castle corridor, another red-haired figure was passing along. Her curly locks bounced along her back as she moved with hurried steps. She was muttering something with the words, "Not the Queen," and "I refuse ta take those Suitors hand in marriage." If an observant stranger spotted her, they'd think she was uncanny because she muttering the words to herself. She, however, was far from that. As she passed by the entrances to other rooms, Merida was trying to make sure that she had distanced herself from far away enough from escaping the clutches of her mother. She wasn't ready to take after her mother, at least not yet.
She was relieved in having a way to escape her mother. She tried to figure out where to hide out next as she didn't want to keep going and landing in an obvious place that made her an easy target. The kitchens and the stables (her best friend and Clydesdale confidante, Angus resided) would be obvious giveaways. Sorry Angus, seems like I can't visit ye today. She was going to miss seeing his handsome face. She also knew the throne room was out of the question as her mother would surely find her there and drag her back into the "Ye goin' to have ta be a Queen someday" lecture. Shuddering at the thought of this, Merida wondered where she could go next?
As Merida was passing by in the hallway when she heard a loud "THUMP!" coming from the library startling her. It was that moment that the answer came to her. The library! Her mother knew she didn't like being there unless she was reading to her brothers. Raising an eyebrow, she poked her head into the library skimming the room when her eyes landed on a familiar face as she entered the room. "Was that ye that made that noise, Hamish?" she asked her brother. Hamish, who having opened the book successfully, almost squealed in fear and not because the thunder just screamed, "BOOM!" outside either at this time (though it did make a tiny contribution). The fear was because he hoped it wasn't his mother or his brothers finding out his tiny secret. His mother would rave about it and probably tell the whole family causing his brothers to snicker at him between helpings of haggis and baked sweets. If his brothers found out this alone, they probably wouldn't stop giggling at him for longer than an hour and making fun of him. Hearing the familiarity of his sister's voice, however, caused his wee ears to perk up. He turned to see her heading in his direction. He beamed, rushing towards her, and placed his hands up as if he wanted a hug, a gentle giggle escaping his lips. Merida stopped before him as she gave a soft laugh. The Princess then bent down and wrapped her arms around the young lad as she enveloped him into a gentle hug.
When they let go, Merida saw Hamish displaying her the book he found in his hands. It had a cover of many celtic designs although there was a picture of a fox on it. Her blue eyes peeked at the title. "Ah, the Fox and the Bagpipe." she said knowingly. He grinned, hoping she'd read it to him. He heard it once but it was from his mother when she narrated for him and his brothers."Ye want me ta read it to ye, eh?" she guessed, turning to face him with a smile. She gently nudged her nose against his with a laugh and bent down to pick the book up, then walked him over to one of the chairs, and sat down positioning her brother on her lap. He waited as Merida started flipping through the pages and then landed on. "Ye ready?" She wanted to know. He nodded eagerly and so she began narrating.
When she reached the part about the bagpipes, he mimed the fox playing a bagpipe. Merida giggled as she watched him mimicked a bagpipe player, giving the lad a warm smile. Affectionately, she ruffled his curls before continuing on. Hamish didn't try to squirm as she did so. Hamish snuggled a bit into his sister, his curls touching her body. He seemed eager as Merida narrated about how the fox had found the bag and started to blow into and then moved to biting it and then groaning at the result. He clapped his hands a bit as he went back to adjusting himself and listening to his sister continue narrating the story.
"There was still a remnant of breath in the bag, and when the fox bit it the drone gave a groan, when the fox, surprised but not frightened, said—" the princess paused there, wanting to add dramatic effect. Hamish glanced curiously when his sister started to pause the story, he pretended to be absorbed in his thoughts about what was going to happen next. He made sure to take his time, then he brightened, and bounced up and down eagerly on his sister lap as if he were waiting to be called on in a classroom.
"Do ye wanna guess what he said?" she asked with a laugh, seeing him bouncing. "Ye seem rather eager." He nodded when he remembered what he was supposed to do. He started miming the fox realizing something, pretended to chomp on what seemed to be like a steak, and then went back to acting as if the fox just realized something. He paused, figuring out what came next. It took awhile as he sat there, lost in a thought.
Several minutes later, he brightened up when he mimed a bagpipe player. He giggled at this too and leaped off of Merida's lap and started air-bagpiping and dancing around the table. He did this for awhile as if he was enjoying some kind of royal ball that was being held despite nothing of the sort happening lately. Once he was finished, he clambered up onto his sister's lap.
Watching this, Merida covered her lips with her hand as she laughed at how cute her younger brother was. Gently, she leaned forward and pecked him on the forehead. "Aye, that's right! The fox said: 'Here is meat and music!' "She finished with a grin. Hamish applauded after this and beamed up at her. He was about to ask her to tell him another story of the fox when all of a sudden, he heard noises of scurrying of footsteps coming towards them. His ears perked up and this time knew it was. Before he could confirm it, there was a clang of dropped books and then the faces of Harris and Hubert popped out from behind the bookshelves. Hamish saw that they this time that they had brought their mini-wooden swords with them. He saw them whacking their mini wooden swords along the shelves of the library as they ran by, giggling madly. The two of them spotted Hamish and Merida, both Harris and Hubert glanced at each other, bounding over to them, also with delightful expressions on their face. "Ah, there wuid be the other two." The princess laughed, ruffling her brother's hair for last time as she gently picked him up off her lap and set him on the ground. "We can do another story later. Ye might as well go play for now." she told him.
Once they saw he was away from their sister's lap, Hubert and Harris both tackled Hamish to the ground in a brotherly affection. Merida chuckled at the sight of this enjoying the sight of her brothers being adorable wee lads. Once he was up, Harris and Hubert made a motion of swinging their wooden swords. Hamish responded by taking out his trusty wooden sword that he had buried within the shelves nearby, he held up his, crying in delight. His brothers noticing this grinned approvingly. With just one teeny tiny yet mischievous look from Hubert, the Triplets all charged their wooden swords in the air as they scrambled out into the corridor, Hubert leading the way.
Merida trailed after her brothers and watched them, an appreciative smirk on her face. I taught them well, she thought fondly. To her surprise, it was as if Hamish felt her presence as he turned around swiftly. She noticed that there was a giggly happiness etched upon his face. He, with a petite wave of his wooden sword, continued onward after his brothers. One would may assume that he was saying goodbye to her but to Merida, it was a whole other meaning. She knew that it a silent thank you and also his anticipation of doing another storytime together. She was just glad she could help make his day better and that he and his brothers were doing well. At least they'll have time ta grow up. She thought to herself before turning around and walking back into the library, still trying to evade herself from her mother, in doing so, she spotted through one of the windows that the storm had vanished out of sight. It was now was replaced by the cheery sunlight that streamed towards her freckled face, reflecting the calm that was met on her side of The Dunbroch Castle matching that of the Scottish Highlands outside of the castle grounds.
Fin