Just to clarify, MacGuffin's words will be in the Doric dialect (but modern, so it won't match up to the original movie). If some lines are too... Doric to understand, I'll put the English translation in italics in brackets. I found an absolutely brilliant Doric translator on the internet, and I'll leave the link to it on my profile.
Small warning - in this story, you've got to love animals. I'm sorry, but it was the only event I could think of. It should prove entertaining, though...
Disclaimer: I do not own Brave (although I wish I did, God, I love that movie).
(xx)
Merida burst into the room opposite hers, red hair tumbling over her shoulders.
'(Y/n)!' she squealed, ripping the covers from the bed. 'You need to get up! We need to go riding!'
Then the queen strode in, skirt sweeping behind her. '(Y/n), it's time to rise! The young lords will be here soon, and you must make yourself presentable!'
The princess stirred, sitting up in her bed. Her (h/l) (h/c) hair curled around her head, looking like a fuzzy halo.
'Mother... Merida... What's the emergency?'
Elinor threw open the curtains, admiring the sunrise, and then dug around in her adoptive daughter's wardrobe, rifling through dresses.
(Y/n) dragged herself out of bed, yawning. Her (e/c) eyes glittered in the sunlight streaming through the window.
'There will be no time for riding!' Queen Elinor snapped, pulling a dress from the wooden wardrobe. 'Now, I believe this will do nicely. We must make sure that you look fitting for the young lords!'
'But, Mu-um!' Merida wailed.
'No buts!'
(Y/n) stretched, standing on her toes. 'Please, Mum? We wouldn't be long! And as soon as we get back, you can do whatever you want to my appearance.'
'You don't understand the importance of today!'
'We get it, Mum,' Merida wheedled. 'But we're quite good girls now, aren't we, (Y/n)?' As she talked, the redhead started pulling her adoptive sister slightly towards the open door. 'We wouldn't be long. And we'll even take extra care to keep branches and leaves out of our hair!'
'Well...'
As Elinor pondered, the girls took off down the hall, tip-toeing down the spiral staircase. Queen Elinor screamed for them to return, but her voice was lost in the distance.
Merida grabbed (Y/n)'s hand, yanking her through the Great Hall and outside into the courtyard.
Tents were everywhere. Tables were spilling over with silver platters of meats, cheeses and sweets. Maudie was balancing a tray of tarts, as per usual, and deposited them in the middle of a large table.
'Princesses, are you going out for a ride?' she clucked. 'It's the day of the Highland Games! You shouldn't be leaving!'
'Relax, Maudie!' (Y/n) giggled. 'We've already promised Mother that we're on our best behaviour, so there isn't much of a problem.' The girl threw an arm around the large woman's shoulders, squeezing in a friendly fashion. Meanwhile, Merida and the triplets were busy raking tarts into separate leather sacks.
The adopted princess looked quickly towards the sun. 'My word, is that the time already!' She grasped the woman's hand, shaking it up and down wildly. 'Lovely talking to you, Maudie, but we must be off! We can't have the boys' legs locking up during the Games!'
The triplets had already disappeared in the direction of the castle, and Merida was sneaking towards the stables, gesturing to her sister. In a dash, the second princess ran to the stable partitions, jumping onto a hay bale and then throwing herself onto her horse's back. His creamy coat glowed in the morning sun, and he eagerly matched Angus' pace as they cantered out of the courtyard and down the stony slope.
(xx)
'Aah, that was the best breakfast I've ever had!' Merida cried, sprawling on a large rock.
(Y/n) licked sugar off of her fingers, having just finished eating her last tart. Her huge horse, (H/n), lay behind his mistress, closing his eyes in contentment as she leant against his warm belly.
'Merida, we should probably head back. It'll be midday soon, and the lords are most likely at the castle by now.'
'Stop worrying! Angus and (H/n) can get us back in plenty of time. Besides, all I have to do is put on a half-decent dress and brush my hair a bit. You have to go in the bathtub and all of that.'
'Merida,' (Y/n) began, 'what was it like, being offered to those lords?'
The redheaded princess sighed, drawing a picture in the dust with a stick. 'Well, it was both terrifying and pathetic. I mean, it's like being put on display at a butcher's stall! At the same time, though, the three lords were all... awful! Young Macintosh only cares about his "good looks", which are actually pretty disgusting, by the way... He's a terrible loser, and he's got the biggest ego I've ever seen. The village girls scream for him!'
Angus lazily crunched up grass next to his mistress' feet.
'Young Dingwall? Don't even get me started on that toothpick! He's half the height of me, and has half the brains! He never would've won that stupid archery competition if Dad hadn't scared him.'
(Y/n) looked at her hands sheepishly. The more she heard about these lords, the less she was looking forward to meeting them. 'What about the third one?'
'You mean Young MacGuffin? He wasn't too bad. If I had to choose one of them, it probably would've been him. He's not exactly great though. Really tall, freakishly large... He's a bit like a small Dad, y'know. He's really strong. Doesn't talk much. A bit shy.'
Merida jumped up suddenly, clambering onto the rock. She called Angus over and scrambled up onto his back, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
(Y/n) slid over (H/n)'s back while he still lay, before clucking at him to stand up.
'I should really teach Angus that trick,' Merida smiled. 'Come on, then, Princess. I suppose we'd better get you prettied up for the lads?'
They started to gallop back through the forest, dodging thick pine trees and jumping over fallen logs.
'Which young lord would you say would be best... for me?' (Y/n) shouted over the wind.
'Well, knowing you, probably 'Guffin. He's a nice enough lad once you get to know him. I think.'
They shared no words for the rest of the journey, and by the time they reached the path to the courtyard, (H/n) was leading Angus. The palomino charged up the hill, silvery mane flapping.
As the two horses slowed to a canter, everybody in the courtyard started to yell. Merida flattened against Angus as he trotted into his stall, and (Y/n) slid right off her own steed's back, landing on the ground with a large THUMP.
Unfortunately, her left foot landed in an empty bucket. She flailed her arms in wild circles, before tipping over. Her eyes screwed themselves shut, expecting to hit the pebbled ground.
Instead, she found herself hitting something soft, yet remarkably solid.
"Are ye alright aire?" a deep voice asked. The second princess looked up into baby-blue eyes, slightly covered by a mop of blonde hair.
'MacGuffin!' Merida called. 'Thank goodness you caught her! Mother would've never let me hear the end of it if she got hurt.'
Young MacGuffin helped the girl to her feet. She quickly shook the bucket from her foot, sparing it a quick glance as it rolled away.
'Y-Yes, thank you, kind... sir for helping... me.'
The two smiled shyly at each other.
'My word, (Y/n), you've gone bright red!' Merida grabbed her sister's hand. 'Well, thanks again, 'Guffin! We must be off now! Skin to wash, dresses to wear, y'know! Bye!'
The girls took off, and Young MacGuffin was left standing in their dust, longing after the girl with the (h/l) (h/c) hair that had suddenly disappeared.
(xx)
'Mother, are you sure that fits right?'
Queen Elinor stood back, next to Merida, and cast her eyes over (Y/n).
'It all depends on which event she wishes the young lords to participate in.'
'Horses!'
Merida's eyes lit up.
Queen Elinor looked slightly taken aback. 'Horses? Oh, really, dear. Could you not pick something... that takes more strength?'
'But, Mother, a strong leader must be capable of taming dangerous beasts, least he stumble upon danger on his travels.'
Merida gave a low whistle and clapped her hands. 'That's deep, that is.' She rifled through the wardrobe, and eventually pulled out an ankle-length (f/c) dress, with (s/f/c) detailing around the waist and hem. 'This should do. Very easy to move around in. Still has a kind of princess-y look.'
One of the maids helped (Y/n) pull the dress on, and Merida shoved her sister down in front of the vanity to brush her hair.
'Wonderful,' Queen Elinor beamed. 'You both look lovely.' She folded her hands together and sighed. 'Come. We must not keep the lords and their sons waiting.'
Together, the three females swept out of the bedroom, and down the sweeping staircase. Their thrones had been polished until they gleamed, and Fergus was already sat in his own, chuckling as his triplet sons wrestled on their bench.
'My lovely girls!' he cheered, throwing out his arms. 'Can you hear the drums? The lords are fast approaching!'
'(Y/n)'s already met one of them,' Merida teased, elbowing the girl in the ribs. 'They seem very well-suited to each other.'
'Wait, what?'
The doors were thrown open, and several hundred men filed in, stamping their feet, pushing out their chests. The lords all snarled, showing their teeth, looking alarmingly like the large cats that roamed the moors. The three flags were placed, and Fergus rolled his eyes. The bagpipes rang out over the crowd. Dingwall called for his customary wooden crate to stand upon, and then the three clans cheered, knocking their spears on and off the cobbled floor, pounding on their muscled fronts.
The king stood, silencing the crowd.
'So!' he began, gesturing to them all. 'Here we are! Uhm...' He faltered, stammering for words. 'The gathering of the clans...!'
Elinor rubbed her brow with her dainty fingers. She stood up, stepping beside Fergus. 'For the presentation of the suitors!'
The clans cheered, making a noise with the spears again. Merida looked at the crowd in disgust, slumping down in her seat. (Y/n) looked on nervously.
'Clan Macintosh!' Fergus announced.
'MACINTOSH!' the clan echoed.
Lord Macintosh sneered around him. 'Your Majesty, I present my heir and son.' Young Macintosh flicked his fringe from his eyes, cracking his shoulders and back, looking at the two princesses with a smoulder. 'He defended our lands from invaders, and using his own sword, vanquished a thousand foes.'
The clan cheered for their young leader, who was busy waving around his sword, making flirty faces at the girls sat in front of him. Merida snorted in disgust, looking away from him. (Y/n) glanced back and forth between her sister and the boy worriedly.
'Clan Dingwall!'
'DINGWALL!'
The small men dropped from his crate. 'I present my only son, who besieged ten thousand Romans, and a whole armada singlehandedly! With one arm, he was...' The small lord trailed off, and from behind a freakishly tall, tanned, muscled man, pulled a scrawny blonde boy with a dazed expression on his face. 'With one arm, he was steering the ship, and with the other he held up his mighty sword, and struck down a whole attacking fleet.'
Merida tried not to laugh as Lord Dingwall waved about his son's skinny arms, making him resemble a startled chicken.
'Clan MacGuffin!'
'MACGUFFIN!'
'Good Majesty, I present my eldest son.' Young MacGuffin stepped forward slightly, looking like a deer caught in the hunter's eye. He brightened up as he saw (Y/n), who in turn sat up straighter on her throne.
'With his bare hands,' Lord MacGuffin continued, 'he vanquished two thousand foes.'
Young MacGuffin produced a small log, holding an end in each hand. Still looking nervous, he snapped the log clean in half, without using much effort. Lord MacGuffin clapped his son proudly on the shoulder, smiling through his moustache and beard.
'My boy took down ten thousands foes!' Dingwall shouted.
'Lies!' someone else cried in response.
'Who said that?!' Dingwall thundered, peering through the crowd of muscled men. 'I heard that! Come on, say it to my face! Or are ye scared, simpering jackanapes, 'fraid to muss your petty hair?'
'At least we have hair!' Macintosh shouted.
'And all our teeth!' MacGuffin added.
Young MacGuffin grinned, leaning towards his father. 'If he were a wee bit closer I could lob a gibber at him, ken?'
The crowd let out a sound of confusion at his odd language.
'And we don't hide under bridges, you grumpy old troll!' Macintosh imitated the fairytale beast, stomping around.
'You wanna laugh, eh? WEE DINGWALL!'
Young Dingwall snapped his head towards Macintosh, and launched himself at the lord, biting into his shoulder. Every man started fighting, with Young Macintosh waving about his sword, and Young Dingwall chomping on someone's knee.
Elinor glared at her husband, who stood up with a disappointed sigh. How he'd been enjoying the activity! 'SHUUUUTTT IT!'
The clans hushed. While Fergus started on a speech about showing peace, the triplets popped up from underneath one of the flagstones, lugging up a mace with them. Giggling quietly, they dropped it onto the nearest man's foot, before disappearing under the cobbles again. The man screamed, and the fight started once more.
Lord Macintosh tossed something over his shoulder. It hit a chandelier, which fell from its chain onto the floor. A group of men then jumped on his head.
Young Dingwall had found his way onto somebody's shoulders, and was merrily punching him on the head.
Young MacGuffin seized a bench, which two men were holding onto, and began to spin it in wild circles, hitting other men in the process.
Merida grumbled to herself, growing bored.
'MacGuffin is certainly... strong, isn't he?' (Y/n) whispered.
'I told you,' the redhead snapped. 'I wish they would stop being so childish.'
Queen Elinor, sick of the noise, quickly absorbed all and any attention to herself.
'Now that is finished, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!'
(xx)
The festivities had began. Outside on the grass, men of all size and stature threw about heavy weights and lengthy logs, cheering for each other. The maids never stopped, constantly passing around food and drink, flirting occasionally as they went. Maudie was stood by her famous pastries, flirting with one clan member that wanted an extra marmalade tart.
As she chuckled at the man's joke, the triplets grabbed the platter of tarts and dashed away, leaving a gaping Maudie. She quickly gave chase, and ran after them until she slipped on a particularly muddy patch of earth and fell onto her face.
Several girls performed a traditional Scottish dance on their own raised platform, skirts swishing as the leaped through the air.
There was tug-of-war, bagpipes playing, even a straw bear being raised and lowered for the children to beat with sticks.
Sadly, the festivities soon ended. The metal bear horn rang out across the moors, and Fergus's deerhounds howled along with it.
'It is time!' Fergus shouted.
'Tamers, to your marks!' Elinor announced. She looked excitedly at her husband, and then to her daughters.
For the animal challenge (which had never been done before), the three young lords had to successfully tame a semi-wild horse.
Macintosh was first. As he stepped towards a horse that was being held back by three of DunBroch Castle's guards, the girls swooned and sighed. He stepped up to the horse.
'Nice to meet you, horsey lad! Now, here's how it goes. You obey me, I get a princess, we go home 'appy. Alreet?' He reached out to grab the horse's face, resulting in the animal crying out in panic. It reared suddenly, nearly slashing Macintosh in the face with it's sharp hooves.
'MACINTOSH, YOU'RE OUT!' Fergus bellowed.
The young man screamed, throwing himself at the ground, beating his fists into the dirt.
'How attractive,' (Y/n) said sarcastically.
'That's what I said!' Merida chuckled.
Dingwall was second. He shuffled through the wooden gate, and looked about gormlessly. A chestnut (ginger) Shire horse was being restrained this time. His eyes flashed dangerously and little Dingwall wandered forwards, accidentally bumping into the stallion's broad chest.
Needless to say, Dingwall was soon being chased by the horse, who tried valiantly to grab the small human's kilt in his teeth.
'DINGWALL IS OUT!' Fergus shouted. 'And somebody catch that horse!'
Finally, MacGuffin stepped into the pen. He had a bay Shire, who was cautiously stepping away, ears flattened against her head.
'Settle doon,' he said gently, edging forwards. 'Ah won't hurt ye.'
The horse, having backed right up against the fence, took to cowering slightly.
'Ye can trust me. Besides the princess fair go nivver like me if ah wasn't nice tae ye.' (Besides, the princess would never like if I wasn't nice to you.)
Lulled in by the smooth Scottish accent, the mare took a hesitant step forwards, snuffling cautiously at the man in front of her.
'Honestly, ah won't herm ye.'
With that, the horse licked MacGuffin's outstretched hand.
'Well, blimey. MACGUFFIN WINS!'
Clan MacGuffin roared, clapping each other on the shoulder.
Young MacGuffin looked confused as his father dragged him from the pen, clamping an arm around him, a huge smile on his face. 'I won?' he repeated. 'How?'
'The horse let you touch it,' (Y/n) said gently, walking away from her makeshift wooden throne. 'That was the challenge.'
'Ma Dhe, ah didn't think ah fair go win!' (My God, I didn't think I would win!)
(Y/n) giggled, looping her arm through his. 'Congratulations. You did an excellent job. Those three animals were specifically chosen to be difficult. You've impressed me today.' With that, she grinned at him, unhooking her arm and almost floating over to where her own horse was waiting for her.
'There's no straw bales for me to get on,' the princess realised. She was caught by surprise when two large hands gently clamped around her waist, lifting her up onto (H/n)'s back.
'Aire ye ging,' (There you go) Young MacGuffin smiled. 'Ye're re gye licht.' (You're very light.)
'I'm probably not very light,' (Y/n) mused. 'You're just unbelievably strong.' Realising what she said, she blushed deeply, busying herself with (H/n)'s fringe.
'Ye can un'erstn me?'
'Of course,' the princess smiled. 'My own nursemaid hails from near your lands. She taught me your language.'
MacGuffin smiled, hesitantly stroking (H/n)'s glossy neck.
Merida came striding up, and she patted her sister on the leg. 'So!' she chirped. 'When's the wedding?'
'MERIDA!'
(xx)
Finally brought myself to finishing this one-shot! I developed a large fangirl crush on Young MacGuffin when I watched Brave, so I decided to give him his own little one-shot, because he really doesn't have many. I hope you enjoyed! Please review!
~STCabbie~
