The Road Less Traveled
A Brave AU
Disclaimer: All characters are copy write to Pixar and/or Disney. The idea and some of the names are mine.
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Chapter 1: Welcome to DunBroch
The day had started out normal enough. Rising at dawn to feed the chickens and the few sheep and cattle he kept around the old farm. Having his normal breakfast of eggs, oatmeal and coffee. Lots of coffee. Then, on to the 'barn' to work on any of his projects for the day.
But that was the problem.
He didn't have any projects.
As a matter of fact, business had been dead for a few weeks…
"'Sigh', I just donnae know how I'm going to stay on top of all these expenses come winter…" he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"BARK!" answered the dog at his feet.
He turned and looked down at his scruffy, four-legged companion. He smiled and leaned down, scratching the tan and white mutt behind his ears. He readjusted the red bandana around his dog's neck.
"Donnae worry boy, I would never get rid of you."
"Bark!" came the happy reply.
"Come on, Dodge, let's get out here and get some air? What do you say?" he asked, opening the driver side door to the truck.
The dog eagerly jumped inside, taking his place in the passenger seat.
Laughing, the man got in and fired up his engine. The truck rumbled to life and the two took off down the road.
They went along, enjoying a nice afternoon drive in the beautiful Scottish countryside. It had turned into an abnormally warm summer day. The summers were usually a fairly even temperature, but today felt muggy and the man was happy for a working air conditioner. But his canine companion was happier with a rolled-down window.
"BARK! BARK!" And he let his master know!
The man glanced over,
"It's too warm for the windows down, Dodger. Sorry."
The canine whimpered and pouted, nudging at the man's elbow as he drove.
He laughed at the dog's persistence, but pushed him away with his arm.
"Okay, okay! I'll roll the windows down. Just donnae do that when I'm driving! I could wreck!"
He rolled the windows down and Dodger stuck his head out, tail wagging excitedly.
The two drove a little while longer before turning down the road to the old highway.
The road soon turned to gravel, and dirt and he slowed his speed.
Looking up ahead, he saw something along the side of the road. He slowed even more.
Dodger tilted his head, asking in his own way,
'Why are we slowing down?'
"It's okay, boy, I'm just being cautious." He patted the dogs' haunches.
'If not a little curious.' He thought with a grin.
The thing on the side of the road was a trailer. A horse trailer, by the looks of it; the truck pulling it, parked right in front. He wasn't too shocked to see another vehicle out on the old road. While not too many people traveled it, the farmers used it for hauling and some of the younger folks would come out here to race.
Thinking it was a farmer stopped ahead, he slowed to wave and say hello. So, imagine the surprise on his face when he drove passed and saw a very young, very attractive and very frustrated red-headed lass step away from the front of the truck, kicking the front grill as she did so.
It was then that he noticed the blue colored-smoke rising from the hood.
He grimaced.
That wasn't a good sign.
"I think our normal day just got a little more interesting." He said aloud.
Hearing Dodger make a whimpering noise, he turned and looked at his faithful canine,
"Looks like our drive just got cut short today, Dodge. You okay with a rescue mission instead?"
"Bark, Bark, Bark!" came the happy reply.
The man smiled and ruffled the dog's head.
"Good. I thought so too." The man answered back.
He turned the truck around and headed back towards the woman and her vehicle. He pulled off to the side of the road, facing the truck and trailer. He turned to Dodger.
"You wait here, boy. Let me see if I cannae do something to help the lass…"
Dodger whined, but obeyed his master's command, sitting in the front seat to watch.
The man got out of the truck and walked up slowly, unsure how he needed to approach this.
The young woman was seated against a thick wooden post, her knees up to her chest and her head bowed in resignation. As he came closer to her, he could hear the faint sound of curse words and various expletives being muttered in frustrated tones. He grinned a moment, before forcing it away. He didn't want her to think he was an insensitive jerk, after all.
"Um, excuse me, miss? Are you alright? Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked tentatively.
At the sound of his voice, the young woman gasped and looked up at him, her eyes wide. He was taken aback, momentarily, at the stunning aquamarine colored eyes that met his. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He wasn't normally a man taken aback by a woman's looks but there was something different…special and beautiful in her eyes.
Noticing the red in them, too, and the streaks on her cheeks caused his brow to furrow. He hated seeing people upset. Especially attractive young women.
When she didn't answer him, he tried asking again.
"Are you alright? I mean, are you hurt?" he asked, stepping a little closer.
He wanted to offer her a hand up, but wasn't sure how she would take the gesture. People were fickle when it came to men acting like gentlemen. And he didn't want her to be suspicious of him before he'd even had a chance to help.
This time the woman gave a short, terse,
"No."
Then, looking down, she winced.
"I'm sorry…that was rude." She said, tiredly, gazing back up at him.
"I didnnae mean to snap at you like that."
She then shook her head and wiped at her eyes. She stood and forced a laugh.
"I'm fine, thank you."
She walked over to the truck and gave the passenger-side wheel a swift kick!
"That's more than I can say about this hunk of junk!"
"I've given this damn truck the best 10 years of its life and she picks today of all days to do this to me!"
He couldn't hide the smirk on his face, but to his credit, he forced back a laugh.
"Well, if you donnae care, I could have a look under her hood. Maybe I can fix 'er up for you."
The young woman turned to look at him, her eye brow was raised in question.
"What are you? A guardian angel?"
He grinned and shrugged,
"Something like that."
The woman gestured to the hood, dramatically,
"Then, by all means, be my guest! If you can fix this junkpile of metal, I'll be eternally grateful."
He smiled wider, nodding as he walked up to the truck. He noticed the hood was popped but the prop wasn't in place.
"You popped the hood already?"
She nodded,
"As soon as I stopped and pulled over. The damn thing started smoking and I panicked. I popped the hood to let the smoke vent." She explained.
He set the hood prop up so he could look down into the heart of the machine. He turned to her with a small grin,
"You didn't open it with the prop, though."
She sighed, shaking her head.
"I know! I'm sorry. Look, I only know how to check and change my oil and put window fluid in the little container. A smoking engine is little bit passed my expertise…"
His grin widened as he looked down into the bowels of the beast.
"I'm impressed you know how to do that much, miss. Most young ladies usually arennae taught that much vehicular care."
She stepped closer to him and shrugged.
"In my family we try to make things last as long as they can. Regular upkeep is part of that job."
He laughed in agreement.
"Wish more people had that kind of sense."
He reached down and pulled a small flashlight out of a holster clipped to his belt. He flipped it on and began looking at all the parts of the engine block and cylinders, that he could see easily. He checked the obvious things first, making sure all the caps were securely tightened.
When he got to the head gasket he noticed a thin layer of oil dripping its way down the sides of the cylinder and engine. He sighed and stood up.
"That doesnnae sound good…" the young woman worried at her bottom lip.
He pulled out his grease rag from his pocket and wiped his hands.
"Well, I wonnae know anything for sure until I can get 'er back to my shop and run a full diagnostic, but," he paused and offered another sigh,
"…it looks like it could be a blown head gasket or even some cracking in the engine block."
The young woman groaned, wincing and kicking at the ground in frustration.
"Well, that's just grand now, isnnae it?"
She muttered and rambled on, pacing angrily back and forth in front of him.
"Not only does the damn thing decide to quit on me today, but there's no way I can afford to fix it, anytime soon. And, now I've lost my one chance at possibly making a better start for myself in this God-forsaken town…"
His brows furrowed as he listened to her angry rant. Wanting to calm the red-headed volcano, he reached out and cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Uh, miss, I donnae mean to pry, but I donnae know what you mean? You've lost your one chance for something? Were you headed somewhere important?"
Trying to calm herself, the woman took a deep breath and tucked some of her loose hair behind her ears. She let out a deep sigh. Then she let out a laugh at the dismal situation.
"Sorry that was a bit over dramatic, of me."
She took another deep breath to calm her nerves,
"To answer your question, I was more or less on my way to a job interview…well, a secondary interview I guess."
"An interview that you need a horse for?" he grinned.
She blushed but explained,
"Well, you may have noticed, but I'm not from around here. Being new in the area and needing money for bills and such, I looked into some of the open positions at the Academy. They had one available for an archery instructor and when I showed them all my awards and credentials, the job was mine."
"Archery's more of an elective for the students." The man stated.
She nodded,
"It is."
He pursed his lips.
"Not a lot of money to be made if you're only a part time instructor…"
The woman shrugged,
"I know. I need something else that'll help me pay the bills…that's where this little jaunt in the countryside comes in."
She paused and sighed. She pointed back to the horse trailer.
"There's also opening for a new equestrian instructor at the Academy and I wanted to put my name in the running for that position too. I talked to the headmaster on Thursday, after my other interview and he said that he and some of the other board members would be at a competition near Kintore, showing their own horses and some of them judging."
She paused and rubbed her eyes,
"He told me I was welcome to come and show them my skills there, but if I failed to show that they'd go with a more 'seasoned' instructor. Angus and I were on our way up, so I could show them what we could do..."
She huffed and leaned against the side of the truck, bowing her head.
"The worst part of all of this, is that I know I'm the best candidate for the job! And now, I wonnae even get a chance to prove it thanks to this hunk of scrap metal…"
She turned and punched the side of the truck, hard.
He could see tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes again, as she turned her face away. He felt awful! Sure, it wasn't his fault her truck broke down, but he still sympathized with her.
She covered her face into her palm, trying to fight back the emotion.
As he watched her start to break down, he rubbed at the back of his neck. It was a nervous habit that he would do when he was anxious. He'd done it since he was a child. Not wanting to see her upset, he decided to do something to help. He stepped beside her and tapped her shoulder lightly,
"You know, miss, I could haul you and your mount up to Kintore."
She looked up at him, shocked.
"You would do that for a stranger? Why?"
"If you're living in town, we're practically neighbors already. And we take care of our own around here." He offered her a smile.
"Come on, you unhook the trailer hitch while I move your cab out of the way. I'll haul you both up to Kintore and come back and get the old girl and bring her to my shop. See what the damage really is."
He started to walk back to his truck and get the rig ready for a tow. She followed him over and stared at him in awe.
"But you donnae have to do that. Why would you?"
He laughed.
"I told you, we take care of our own out here."
"BARK BARK!" echoed the excited reply of Dodger.
He looked up with a grin,
"See, Dodger knows."
The young woman didn't know what to say…she pursed her lips, tears threatening to fall again.
When he stood back up from setting the towing cable in place, he was surprised by two arms being thrown around his wide shoulders.
"WHOAF!" he voiced his surprise at the contact.
"Thank you so much! You donnae know what this means to me!" She thanked him, giving a tight squeeze with her arms.
Her bear hug had him pressing hard against her chest and he felt the heat rise in his cheeks. Quickly, she let go and rushed back to her own truck to unhitch the trailer.
He watched her go, shaking his head at his own odd behavior.
Moving her broke down truck out of the way and hitching up the horse trailer to his cab hadn't taken long at all. About 30 minutes later, the two…well, four if you counted Dodger and Angus, were ready to head out.
The woman climbed into the passenger seat and was greeted by a happy bark and sloppy wet kiss from the four-legged shotgun. She laughed, but the man swatted the dog's haunch warningly,
"Dodge, no! Bad Dog! You donnae just lick new people! You have to let them get to know you first."
He looked at the young woman apologetically,
"Sorry about that, he's not usually so affectionate with new people. I can make him ride in the bed…"
She turned and looked at him with a mock appalled expression. She then giggled and scratched the dogs' ears,
"Oh, donnae you dare. He's fine just where he is! Besides, I grew up on a large farm. I love all animals."
This woman was just getting better and better the more he was around her.
He laughed and patted his dog's back,
"Looks like you have a new friend, Dodge."
"Bark, bark, bark!" Dodger happily wagged his tail.
They started up down the road, driving in a comfortable silence. After a few miles, he heard the woman laughing quietly to herself. Curious, he glanced over at her.
"Something funny, miss?"
She chuckled lightly and nodded.
"You could say that…"
She propped her elbow up on the window panel, and placing her head in her hand, turned to him with a lopsided grin.
"It occurs to me, we donnae even know each other's names. You could be a deranged psychopath out looking for helpless victims to murder, for all I know."
He laughed and nodded,
"I suppose I could be." He paused and glanced at her with a smile,
"But the same could be true about you…"
She conceded with a laugh,
"True, true. I see your point."
They didn't say anything more and neither offered or asked the others name as they continued the drive. It wasn't long before they were pulling into the competitor's parking field, just outside of Kintore.
He turned off the engine and got out.
"Need to get this trailer off and get back before one of the constables decide to ticket your rig."
They worked in getting the trailer unhitched and her tack out of the back of his truck.
As he was about to climb back into his cab, she called to him,
"Hey! I just realized…I donnae know how I'm going to get back home…I cannae ride Angus and leave my trailer here."
He laughed.
"I'll be back as soon as I get your truck in my barn."
She raised a brow,
"Barn?"
He shook his head and sighed,
"Oh, aye! I forgot to tell you, my shop is at my farm. It's an old barn I converted so I could use it to do my work in. But donnae worry, it's a lot more sophisticated than you're probably thinking." He said with a wink.
She smiled,
"I'm sure it is."
She started to turn and walk away but stopped and faced him. She reached up and touched his cheek softly.
"Listen, thank you for everything! You really are a guardian angel."
He beamed and blushed, rubbing the back of his head,
"I didnnae do anything special, miss…"
"Merida. Merida Darroch1."
He looked up at her, dumbstruck. Even her name was beautiful!
"Merida…" he repeated the name slowly, letting it roll off his tongue.
He liked the sound of her name. And judging by the blush on her cheeks, she enjoyed hearing him say it.
Realizing he was staring too long, he coughed into his fist and looked down.
"Well…Miss Merida…I better get going so I can be back in time." He pointed to the black and white Shire pawing at the ground eagerly,
"And you need to get Angus ready for the show. He's a beautiful stallion. And you're stunning. I mean, you're going to be stunning out there. I mean…" he paused and shook his head,
"you're both going to do wonderful, I'm sure." He stumbled over his words.
Merida tried to hide her smile behind her hand, but failed.
Shaking his head at his awkwardness, he turned to leave. But she called to him,
"Hey, wait! Donnae I get a name to put with my guardian angel and his faithful companion?"
He gave her a roguish grin,
"You already know Dodger's name." he teased.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"I meant you, you big numpty [idiot]!"
He laughed and stuck out his hand for her to take. She took his hand in hers, firmly.
"I'm Shae." he said with a grin.
She raised a brow,
"Shae? Shae what?"
He shook his head with a smile,
"Just Shae."
She pursed her lips, still eyeing him with mock suspicion. Then she laughed,
"Okay then…just Shae…thank you for all your help today." she said, shaking the hand she was holding.
He smiled,
"Well, you havennae gotten rid of me yet, lass. I'm still coming back so I can take you home."
She raised a teasing brow at him,
"I didnnae know the men around this part were so fast and blunt…" she teased.
Shae blushed and backpedaled, trying to explain,
"Wait! I didnnae mean…"
Merida laughed.
"I know what you meant Shae…I was only teasing you."
She bit at her lip and smiled softly,
"Shae…I like it…"
He gave a quiet chuckle.
"I'm quite partial to it myself."
Shae cleared his throat and let go of her hand reluctantly.
"Well, Welcome to DunBroch*, Miss Darroch. I truly hope you enjoy living here."
Before he turned to leave she winked at him,
"You know, I think I could learn to like it here. There are already some thing's worth staying for…"
And they both smiled.
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Yay! Chapter 1 is done and chapter 2 is on the way (hopefully by New Year's)! 😊
I'm excited to bring you all a new Brave AU. It's going to be kind of cheesy and such but after all the crap I've put the character's through in "The Ties That Bind", I wanted to go cheesy LOL!
I wanted to do this chapter without revealing names right away, but it's supposed to be the same character personalities from Brave and "Ties", so I also kept/will be keeping the same names. Sorry, but Young MacGuffin will always be Shae MacGuffin to me now…even if Disney/Pixar give him a different name LOL!
You may have noticed that Shae has a pet dog named Dodger…yes that's supposed to be the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist/Oliver and Company 😊
I have in mind to do a lot of Disney character cameo's in this. As a matter of fact, this is going to have quite a cacophony of various characters from Disney movies and shows in it, but I'm not calling this a crossover, as the main focus is still on the characters from Brave.
I'm going to try to keep this as realistic as possible, as it is set in modern Scotland. They may make references to folklore, fantasy and magic elements, but it's more in a historical context. Also, I am aware that some people in Scotland (all over the world, actually) still worship in the Celtic religions of their ancestors, so I will try to be culturally aware of that as I work on aspects of the story.
Okay comments on the chapter from me:
Merida's last name is Darroch in this story. Darroch is a Scottish surname that derives from the Gaelic word for 'oak'. I was trying to find a Scottish last name that meant 'bear' and the most common one I saw that was close would have been MacArthur which mean's 'son of Arthur' and the name Arthur mean's 'bear/ bear-like'. I really didn't want to call her, Merida MacArthur so I picked a name that kind of fit with DunBroch from Brave since her official title is: Merida, First Borne descendant of Clan DunBroch, in the movie…
Also, it ties back to…well, "Ties" because of Shae's analysis of the Fae pendant she wears and her being like a tree in the scenes in that story. So, I thought it was a nice Easter egg 😊
Also, there is a reason for Shae not giving her his last name yet, but it pertains to later on in the story. It will make more sense in upcoming chapters, so just wait and see 😊
I wanted to leave you all with this one last bit: I already posted this teaser on tumblr and on deviantart but I wanted to include it at the end of this for the readers on fanfiction and Ao3 (which I now have an account at LOL)
The Road Less Traveled: A Brave AU
Merida Darroch just wanted to get away from her old life. As far as she could! How was she to know she would end up in a cozy little place named DunBroch, surrounded by a whole host of odd, but friendly sorts. After her initial trial and errors as a first-time instructor, Merida finds that she is learning more about herself through her students and new friends than she ever did back home on her family's estate.
With early complications and through a comedy of errors, she befriends the town's most notorious bachelor, Shae MacGuffin. His notoriety isn't due to philandering or that sort, but because he is the soft spoken, tender-hearted mechanic that the town relies on for all their tune-ups and breakdowns.
But he's hiding his own skeletons, too.
Everyone in DunBroch knows his secret, though. Everyone. Except for the newest addition to the Academy staff. What is a young woman to do when the one person she feels the closest to, in this new place, is the one that everyone is warning her about? He seems harmless enough. Everyone seems to like him…Hell, they can only say good things about him! Besides…they're only friends…right?
Join Merida, Shae, the cast of Brave and a whole host of other Disney guest stars as they weave through the daily grind of life in the little Scottish town. Where fife is about ups and downs, making choices and living with consequences of wrong ones. Making new friends, leaving old ones behind, and who knows…possibly finding love along the way.
I hope you enjoy this little hook I wrote, and I hope you'll stick around for the upcoming chapter! 😊
Peace and Blessings Upon You!
1 Darroch: Scottish Last name meaning "oak"