Fenella looked down at the rowdy scene below. In the great ballroom of the MacGuffin estate, her grandfather was battling his three large wolfhounds for his wooden leg. The largest tackled him to the ground, causing the young granddaughter to gasp with worry for her grandad. Being only eight years old, she was not aware that the dog would not do him any harm. She yelped when something touched her from behind.
"Shhh." The voice of her father hushed her fears. He picked her up and carried her down to Fergus, who was regaining his feet as the hounds ran away. Ian MacGuffin, still a young lord, was as tall and burly as his father-in-law, just slightly less boisterous. "Wee Fenella is afraid of yer hounds." He said in his soft voice.
Fergus smiled at his yellow-haired granddaughter.
"I was not!" She denied, embarrassed. Ian and Fergus laughed. The Great Bear King took her by the hand and looked to Ian.
"Go fetch Adaira and Teagan," He said. "I have an early birthday present for the wee beasties."
Ian nodded and went upstairs to retrieve his other two daughters. Fergus led Fenella outside, where they found a very unique sight for the winter. Throughout the courtyard there was a large amount of horses and soldiers. All were in a mood of merry-making, happy to celebrate the birthday of the three princesses. Young Fenella had never before met the other lords of the land, with the exception of her grandfather. All the different kilt designs and colors danced before her as soldiers attempted to woo the local girls with less than graceful dance steps. Fergus came to the horse stalls and outside were a few old lords he knew. He stopped to talk, not minding the bitterness of the chill. Fenella, however, felt the bite and tugged on her grandfather's kilt. He didn't notice, forcing Fenella to find another way to get out of the cold. A warm breeze floated out of the stalls and Fenella felt herself gravitate to it. A bubble of fear popped in her head when she realized that she was alone in the dark stable. She gasped loudly when she heard a snort and whirled to face it.
There, lying in the warm hay was one of Fergus' hunting dogs. She was curled up, her wooly tail draped over her nose. The snort had been a snore, Fenella realized and sighed in relief, only to become worried again, as her grandfather was still not present. At the smell of a strange human, the she-dog growled a soft warning. Fenella jumped and began to run out, only to run into Old Fergus.
"Hush, ol' girl, hush." He whispered to the hound, a strange gentleness in his raspy voice. He looked to Fenella. She nodded and held her palms up to the she-dog to show she meant no harm.
"Hush." She mimicked. Fergus smiled as he saw Fenella's confidence grow. Together they stepped nearer to dogs until Fenella could pet the dog's soft belly. Only now did Fenella see the six bundles of fur suckling at the she-dog's belly. Fenella giggled when a pup picked his head up and blinked at her. His little pink nose quivered in the old air still admitted by the still open door.
"Och, look at that, little lass!" fergus said happily. Fenella smiled at the sight and carefully pet the young dog's soft back. The puppy licked at her fingertips, delighting Fenella even further. Fergus smiled.
"You see, lass?" Fergus asked. "Every scary old dog begins as a puppy. A part of them never changes."
"Does that mean that every dog can be nice?" Fenella asked, confusion in her bright green eyes. Fergus nodded.
"Aye."
"Daddy, its so cold outside." A new little voice rose in the frosty air outside the stables. A little brown haired girl with blue eyes poked her head in, her nose red from the bite of the wind. "Och, Teagan, look, puppies!"
With that a red headed girl bolted in, her brown eyes wide with anticipation. Fergus waved for them both to come nearer.
"Ye see here, each of you may take a puppy of yer own." Fergus explained. Fenella did not wait to gently snatch up the little boy pup who had first acknowledged her presence. She held him up to her eye level and admired his strong little face. His dark grey fur stopped at his face, leaving his deep brown eyes to be outlined by a silvery grey. Excitedly, the momentarily calm pup wriggled in her hands, struggling to wash her face with over ambitious kisses. Fenella giggled happily and turned to show her father the pup. But he was not there.
Too timid to venture out on her own, Fenella anxiously waited for her sisters to choose their pups. After a few moments, their pups were chosen and Fenella motioned for them to follow her. The triplet princesses carried their puppies out into the cold, each wrapping them up in their coats to keep them warm. Outside the stable, Teagan gasped in awe.
Out of the forest rode two horsemen, or horsewomen to be correct. The two riders were the great Lady Elenor and Lady Merida. Both rode with their hair wild and free. Teagan had always loved her grandmother, and had wanted to be as secure a rider as she was ever since she had first seen the stables. Ever since, she had begged her parents for a horse of her own, so that she might learn to be as graceful as Elenor was atop a beast, both bodies to seemingly become extensions of each other. The fantasy faded from her eyes when the two women drew up in front of them.
There to greet the two women was Ian. He happily snatched up Old Angus' reigns and Merida slid off right in front of him.
"I see you and Da let the girls have their birthday surprises, eh?" She said, kissing him softly on the cheek. Ian laughed lightly, in his way.
"Aye, but I thought that we should wait for you two to come home before giving them the rest of their presents."
At the sound of the word 'presents', all three sisters looked up happily. Elenor laughed at the anticipation and patted Ian's shoulder.
"Och, Ian, there you go, spoiling the surprises." She said in good nature. Ian grew red, still unused to the teasing in the newest half of his family. Merida gave him an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder as she moved forward to her daughters. Teagan rushed forward first to show her mother her puppy. The little black pup tried to struggle free from the uncomfortable grasp, much to little Teagan's disdain. Merida carefully took the young pup and motioned for Teagan to come near.
"Watch me. You take his back paws in one hand and support his chest with the other. This way he feels safe, like you're giving him a little hug all the time. " Merida clenched her little daughter in her arms, hugging her with mock ferocity. Teagan squealed and broke free, still careful to hold her puppy correctly this time. The group, lead by Fergus, Elenor, and Adaira, processed inside the MacGuffin castle. The trio ahead were the first ones to see the feast sat before them at the large table. Roast hog, large pitchers of milk at each end, equal sized pitchers of beer for the men were sat in the middle. But nothing could eclipse the centerpiece. A large baked and roasted and basted ram, the meat imaginably so tender that it could fall off the bone by giving it a simple tug. Already seated were the Triplet Princes of DunBroch. All three were roundabout twenty years old and had physically grown greatly. Manners-wise, however, they were still very much the same. Hamish, now distinguishable by the small beard he was growing, was mid-bite into a cake when they entered. The other two of his brothers had their hands in their laps, their eyes glancing enviously at their brother. Both had just recently married a pair of sisters and had to be on their best behavior.
"Hamish, it's getting cold outside, go out and fetch the mother and the rest of the pups out in the stables and take her into the kitchen." Fergus ordered gently.
Soon the meal was underway and Merida nudged her husband to stand up. Ian nodded and rose, ready to give a speech.
"I-I thank you all for coming to, uh, celebrate the eighth birthday of our three princesses, Adaira, Teagan, and Fenella. Uh," He hesitated, not sure what to say next. Merida nudged him gently.
"The presents." Her voice whispered. Ian nodded.
"We will now commence giving out the presents?" Though it came out as a question, the servants brought forth the gifts from the visitors. Hamish's gifts came first. He had been in England, trading goods for the past year and had brought back many treasures. In the small jewelry box, the servant presented, were three jeweled journals. Each a different shade of dyed leather, they had the name of each girl embedded in the thick hide. All three girls smiled happily, for they were all just beginning to learn their letters and loved writing.
Jewelry came from Hubert and Harris, their wives had picked out beautiful necklaces and bracelets for their newfound nieces. Adaira especially loved the mother of pearl necklace she received from Harris and his wife. From Ian's sister the girls received new dolls (Ian's sister, being a widow, had less and less money and was forced to live with her brother). And from the Macintosh clan, the girls recieved new quilts. The Dingwall clan presented bows for each daughter. At this gift, all of the adults exchanged humored glances. After the presents, dessert was brought out and conversation recommenced.
"So. Mum, why are all the soldiers here?" Adaira asked as she bit into a cake. Merida smiled nervously.