Chapter One

"Okay. Almost finished for now." The boy spoke, wiping the sweat off his brow and stretching a little, hearing a crack in his lower back. He groaned a bit, but continued working on his family's farm.

The boy's name was Baltai Syr, the son of Balgair Syr, a hard-working farmer. He was sixteen years-old with short brown hair, shallow face, and a thin, but strong body. He worked with his father when he became twelve, which it was difficult work, with very rewarding and satisfying results. His body became used to the job and his father grew very healthy vegetables to sell to people passing by, which kept them in business. Sometimes, if his dad allowed it on some days, he would relax under the tree just outside of their house to enjoy the shade, especially during the hot days.

Baltai looked up at the tree and began to ponder if he should take a few moments to rest and cool off. He shook his head and thought that if he worked harder and a bit more quickly, maybe he would let him relax in the shade. Then again, it would just tire him out if he sped things up, so he just kept at a steady pace. Although, the shade was very tempting to him.

Suddenly, he heard a voice call out from the direction of their home.

"Baltai! You can take a break for now. I'll take over for the rest of today. You've done very well." The voice of his father spoke, the front door soon opening and Balgair started approaching him. His father looked pretty aged, almost in the late forties, but his body was still strong and his smile was warm as always.

"Are you sure dad? I'm not tired or anything. I can still work for a few more hours." Baltai said, visibly lying through his teeth with lines of sweat rolling down his face. He quickly wiped it off again and gave a small smile. He didn't want to relax and become lazy.

"I'm sure, lad. You can sit under the tree and catch your breath." Balgair said, giving a heavy pat on his son's shoulder. Baltai smiled up at him and nodded, walking towards the tree and sighing in relief to himself as he slowly slid down the side of the tree, his bottom hitting the ground.

As he relaxed and closed his eyes to catch some rest, he began to listen to the birds chirping, his father working, and strangely, the clopping of hooves, which seemed out of place, mostly because it was just one set of hooves, not more than one. This caused Baltai to open his eyes slowly and look at where the sound was coming from, setting his eyes on a girl with red hair on the back of her black horse.

Baltai waved to the girl and stood up slowly, in order to speak with her and maybe sell some of the family vegetables. Unfortunately, his muscles came back with a vengeance and as he walked towards her, his legs began to give out, making him fall flat on his face, hitting the dirt hard and embarrassing himself. Thankfully, the girl dismounted from her steed and ran to help him up.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, offering a hand, which Baltai looked up at her, his hair and face covered in dirt and grass, accepting the offer and grasping her hand, standing up slowly and smiling. Baltai wiped the mess off his hair and cleaned up the dirt on his face.

"Yes. I'm quite alright. Just took a bit of a tumble. I've been working on the farm and well, it's a long story. Thanks for the help." Baltai said, smiling still. He oddly looked at her hair, noticing an awkward silence until he began to speak again.

"I'm Baltai Syr. The son of Balgair Syr. What's your name?" he asked, holding a hand out. She hesitated before shaking his hand with a smile.

"Merida. It's nice to meet you, Baltai. Such a strange name though." Merida commented with a tilt of her head. Baltai gave a shrug and small laugh.

"Well, I guess my father chose the name, since they sound so similar. My father and I have been working at this place for years, so it's nice to see a new face here. Did you hear about our produce from a friend? Maybe you would like to buy some of it? The two of us worked very hard to grow the freshest ones around!" He said, turning his head to watch his dad, working the fields by himself.

"What about your mother? Does she help with the farm too?" Merida asked when she noticed just the two which, judging by Baltai's expression was a piercing question. He slowly looked at her, slight sadness in his face as his smile faded. It was a personal question and he wasn't very comfortable when people asked about his mother, which was an uncommon thing to ask, but it was hard to answer when it came up.

"My mom? She left three years ago." Baltai stated, almost emotionlessly, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

"I'm… Sorry to hear that." She said with sympathy in her tone, but Baltai slowly walked back to the tree, sitting down slowly. He sighed, looking at the leaves, thinking about his mother, and then looking back at Merida.

"What brings you here? Are you a traveler or a customer? You look a little short to be the former." Baltai questioned, scratching his head a little. Merida looked slightly offended, but ignored the remark. She leaned against the wooden fence, crossing her arms.

"Well, if you must know, I'm the princess of the Dunbroch kingdom. And it may be surprising to you, but I have been on a lot of adventures. I recently went on one not too long ago." She said with a slight smirk, obviously interesting Baltai, judging by his sudden reaction when she mentioned that she was both a princess and adventurer.

"You're a princess and you've adventured before? What was your adventure like? What's it like being part of a royal family?" Baltai asked a barrage of questions, leaning forward, wanting to hear more about her life and her experiences.

Merida smiled before approaching him and standing standing under the tree, beginning to tell him the tale of when she attempted to change her fate and the adventure she experienced with her mother, while also slowly getting into the story, following it up with hand gestures and facial expressions. This made him more engaged and before he knew it, time was flying by.

Balgair meanwhile, caught sight of the two from a distance. He slowly smiled as he watched them. It wasn't everyday where someone, a girl no less, would have a conversation with his son, what with the constant farming and the bustling.

The afternoon had passed as Merida spoke to Baltai and when she had finished telling him her adventure, he was put in a very good mood.

"Wow…" Baltai said, almost in a hushed tone as she smiled at him, knowing that he had been practically amazed by the tale. Something so magical and courageous seemed so unbelievable to him, but it had to be true.

Unbeknownst to Merida, this unfortunately inspired Baltai. Deep down in his heart, he wanted something more in his life than to be just a farmer. Possibly a strong warrior or maybe even a brave protector of the farm, fighting off wolves and keeping other wild beasts at bay. Sure, farming was very good and his father was proud when Baltai did excellent work, but Baltai always wanted to go on his own adventure, just like how his mother used to be an adventurer until she met his father.

"Oh! I should get going. I don't want my mother to get upset with me." Merida said, quickly going back to her horse, Angus, getting on its back. Baltai stood up and waved farewell to her.

"It was lovely to meet you, Merida! Make sure your mother doesn't turn back into a bear!" Baltai said with a smile and slight chuckle before she rode off.