Merida was outside with her father earning how to shoot an arrow. Her father was just recovering from the bear attack that took his leg and now he wanted to teach his daughter how to defend herself in case she was in any danger. Merida pulled the bow back, let go, and finally got her target.

"I DID IT!" she said excitedly.

"Good shot, Merida," said Fergus praising his daughter for her good aim. She was a natural for this, hopefully there wasn't anybody that had a problem with it. Fergus smiled at her and encouraged her to shoot another.

Elinor watched nervously from her spot behind them. She wasn't sure exactly how to feel about Merida learning archery, but she was scared for when she got hurt. She loved her daughter and wanted what was best for her.

"Mum, did you see my shot? Wasn't I great?" chirped Merida as she looked over at her mother. Elinor smiled an unsure smile but reasured her that she was doing okay.

"You did wonderful dear," her mother said looking over at the letters that was just delievered to her. "Are you sure you want to keep practicing archery?"

"Yes mummy, I love it." she giggled a bit. She looked over at the letters that were delievered, but thought nothing of it. Her mum was just popular being the queen and everything. She took the letters and looked at Merida after reading the first lines of each of them.

"Really isn't there anything you like more? Maybe making a great cake with me?" asked Elinor. It wasn't that she totally opposed the idea she just wanted Merida to remain safe from harms way. What if she hit her head with the bow? Or... Oh she knew she was being silly.

"Elinor, the girl seems to be enjoying herself, so if she wants to keep practicing, she can." said Fergus.

"Oh Fergus I'm just worried, what if she gets hurt?" said Elinor. "Besides you think this would be proper, with the lords sons coming?" Her voice was low with the last couple of words not wanting Merida to hear.

"Oh nonsense, she'll be fine." said Fergus, "Besides, little boys like girls they can compete in sport with."

"Oh really I don't recall you saying that back when we meet as children," said Elinor her eyes twinkling at him. The same boys that competed for her hand, had all came over once and meet her before. This was an annual thing and once every 5 years their sons would come.

"The Lords and their sons have arrived, your majesty," said one of the servants to Fergus.

"Ah, excellent. Bring them forth."

That was when Merida saw three men coming toward her father. Then three women were soon standing next to her mother. Finally 3 boys were standing in front of her. A little boy with a chubby body and thick honey blond hair was pushed forward. Next time was a boy with some blue war paint on his chest. Then a boy with spikey blond hair with a dazed look on his face stood next to him.

"Ah, Merida, look. Here are some boys who've come to play," said Fergus to his daughter.

Merida looked over at the boys, not knowing what to think. Why were they here? It couldn't be just because she needed some playmates. She looked at her parents who were talking to there parents. Finally she looked at them.

"Hi! What's your names?" she asked the boys curious. She studied all 3 of them before deciding that they would alright playmates. Nothing serious was really going to come out of this right?

Out from the middle the boy watery eyed boy stepped forward. "I'm Torrance!" said the little boy in blue war paint, "I'm the bestest fighter in all the Highlands!"

"No you're not, that's my fathers job," said Merida with importance. This boy didn't know what he was talking about. The little boy in the blue warpaint, Torrance, stuck his tongue out at Merida. The other two laughed some.

The chubby boy started to speak up.

"I'm... I'm Ian," he said quietly. She heard him alright though. He seemed nice just maybe a little shy though. He had on a shirt with his kilt on looking at the ground.

"Hi Ian," she said upbeat to the boy. He looked up and smiled at her, he thought she was pretty.

"Name's Abernathy," said the spikey haired boy, coming out of his daze. He was in his shirt to with his kilt over it. He then gazed back off looking at the Scottish hillside.

"Hi Abernathy," said Merida looking over at him. He seemed pretty nice too.

"Well now that yer all introduced yerselves, hows about you wee ones play for a bit?" said Fergus. He looked at the other lords who each were telling him to try to get her to play with there sons. Fergus only rolled his eyes. She was only 7 for crying out loud.

"Dad," she said motioning toward Fergus to stoop down to her level. "I don't want to play with them. I want to play with you. I don't like Torrance that much. He said he was a better fighter then you."

"He's just play'n touch, my dear," said Fergus patting Merida on the curly haired head. "I'll still be here if ya need me."

Merida looked down disappointed but she knew that it was no use. Besides he was going to be right here talking with what must have been Abernathy, Torrance, and Ian's fathers. They all looked like older versions of the boys in front of her. There mums were talking to Elinor as well, so she was in safe hands.

"Wanna see how I shoot an arrow?" asked Torrance. He reached down and picked up Merida's bow and arrow and shot at the target. He had got it on one of the outer rims. "Beat that."

She looked at him with disgust and easily made it on the board on one of the inner rims while his was on one of the outers. Ian and Abernathy let out a surprised chuckle. Torrance was quite shocked to see the redheaded girl beat him and then he started to cry.

"What happened?" asked Lady Macintosh running over to her son with her husband at her heels. She looked at the target confused and then at her crying son.

"That girl beat me," Torrance sobbed. He was beat by a girl! That was a terrible thing...

"Oh I'm sorry son. She just probably had more practice then you. I bet if you work just a little harder you'll beat her," said Lady Macintosh reassuring her son. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Abernathy, Merida, and Ian are started to giggle at bit at his reaction to this.

Behind them King Fergus and Lords Dingwall and MacGuffin laughed along with there kids. Only Lord Macintosh seemed angry at this. Why did the princess even practice with a bow anyway?

"Shouldn't she being learning how to sew rather then play with a bow?" asked Lord Macintosh to the king.

"After our encounter with Mor'du, I'm not tak'n chances with my girl being defenseless." said Fergus, "Besides, she enjoys it."

At this Lord Macintosh rolled his eyes but they continued there conversation. Lady Macintosh joined Elinor and Ladies Dingwall and MacGuffin. All of them were talking about child rearing, while the men talked about hunting trips.

"I just get anxious whenever my daughter is using her bow and arrow." said Elinor, "She might get herself hurt doing so, but my husband and my daughter are quite persistent in it."

"If it is any cons.. I feel the same way about Ian. He just wants to play with weapons, I know that he's supposed know but I expected to him a little more older," said Lady MacGuffin her sentences a little choppy. She came from a northern land were Doric was spoken, she did pick up on Scots easy though. Apperance wise, she was a small lady with wavy brown hair to the small of her back. Her dress was a burnt orange color. "He isn't that good at Archery though, maybe Merida can teach him a thing or two."

"I just wished Abernathy would pick up a weapon. Only me daughter Lilas is interested so I know exactly how you feel Elinor," said Lady Dingwall, who was much more attractive then her husband. She had long blond hair that fell to her knees like wheat. Her eyes were hazel and her dress a pretty golden yellow color.

Lady Macintosh nodded her long orange tinted hair stood out next to her pale green dress. Instead she was watching the children play with each other.

Meanwhile, Merida was helping to teach Ian how to shoot an arrow. He hadn't even picked it up and there he was trying with Merida's bow. She had shown all of them how to do it.

"You might need a larger bow Ian, but just try it with mine. Just draw it back over to yer cheek and let go."

"Stay on?" he said saying the few scottish words he knew. He didn't know how to keep the arrow on the bow to even make it go straight. He might as well been carrying a spear.

"Just pull back a little more and keep yer eye on the target." He had done what she had said and it flew right over the target...

"Thats alright, I didn't get it the first time either." said Merida. She remembered her first day when she tried it. She also saw a will o' wisps but that was a different story. Nobody would believe her anyway.

"Never figure it out," he said again. This was important for him to know if he was going to be a solider like his dad. Everybody was going off to do different things. Abernathy had taken a small nap in a near by field. Meanwhile, Torrance was by himself picking flowers. Abernathy watched him do that before walking up to him.

"Why are you picking flowers?" he was done watching Merida and Ian shoot.

Torrance was shocked to see Abernathy had waken up. He didn't want anybody to catch him picking these. They were going to be for his mother when he had got done with them.

"Stupid flowers!"

Torrance threw them to the ground and crushed them with his feet.

"I wasn't going to be mean honest!" he said holding up his tiny hands defensively. "Are they for your mum?"

And that was when Torrance started to cry again.

"I'm sorry," said Abernathy trying to calm him. He didn't need his mother to come back and his mother coming with his. He didn't want to be in trouble, especially with another baby on the way. Behind them Merida and Ian stopped in the middle of what they were doing.

"Does he always cry like that?" asked Merida to Ian who had noticed this. Both of them stopped to stare before going back to the lesson. Those boys were no fun if they didn't want to try archery.

"I just meet him," said Ian before he shot again. This time he made it on the outer rims.

"Yer doin great, by the way." Merida complimented.

"Thanks," he said blushing some. He wasn't entirely used to girls yet, he only had one sister named Lainie. "How do you make it in the middle?"

"You just focus yer eye in the middle and shoot straight." Merida took her bow and arrow and shot in the middle.

"Wow," he said watching her in amazement.

"Well it takes practice." said Merida.

He looked down at the bow not very confident in his abilites with a bow. Both of them looked curiously over at Abernathy and Torrance arguing about something in the distance.

"Why are you such an airhead anyways?" asked Torrance, frustrated at Abernathy's constant spacing out. That was all Abernathy was doing since he came, was space out.

"I'm not an airhead! I just like to day dream. You're the one who likes to think about himself," he said now mad. He didn't care if he was going to be in trouble now or not.

"I do not!" Torrance protested.

"Tell me then, who were you picking those flowers for?" he asked curious. He took a peek at Merida and Ian still practicing archery. They had thankfully gone back to what they were doing.

"Mummy," he murmured.

Abernathy looked doubtful however, "Who is is really for? You could have told me it was for you mum when I asked."

"I was to embarrassed," he muttered.

"Why? It's not like your giving them to a girl our age," he said even more confused. What was embarressing about this? He was a 7 year old boy that clearly wanted to give his mother flowers.

"Speaking of which, It looks like Ians really taking a shining to Merida," said Torrance. He wanted to give one flower to give to Merida. You know to forgive him.

Abernathy looked over at them a bit disgusted. All he did was grow up with girls and now he was watching Ian liking Merida. She was busy showing him how to shoot in the middle. All of his arrows were on the outer rims, while hers were decorating the middle.

"Yer doing better, Ian. You almost got it to the second ring." It was true his arrow had landed in the third ring the closest one to the middle. She had hugged him, happy for him. His face grew warm as she hugged him.

"How come I can't do it like you can?" asked Ian, still trying hard to make it in the middle. He had gotten everywhere else but there.

"Some of us are better at it than others, I guess," she said smiling. He was going to be good with other stuff as he got older. Why was it so important for him to learn archery?

"You're really good at this," he said blushing some. He watched as she kept shooting and having him practice. With Abernathy and Torrance they were still watching them. This was going to be a long week together.

Okay, so when Merida and her suitors first meet. I don't think that I need a disclaimer any more, honestly if I owned anything it would be canon. Now, I'm taking request for stories. Please suggest a one shot or nothing really past 3 chapters. I'm going to be writing on my vacation while on the plane and I would like some suggestions.

Special thanks to the girl on the roleplay, albinotanuki, that did this with me! I had fun tweaking this around.