This is a story about a mother/daughter relationship. I'm writing this because today is Mother's Day. It's about Merida having a nightmare and Elinor comforting her daughter.
It had been a week since Elinor had transformed into a bear and then back into a human.
During that week, Merida learned from her mistake after cutting the family tapestry and giving her mother the cake that turned her into a bear. She and Elinor worked together to break the curse and became close.
Right now, it is a very stormy night in the kingdom of the clan DunBroch. The royal family was sleeping peacefully in their castle home. Well, almost everyone.
Merida was in her bed, clutching at her blanket tightly and tossing and turning in her sleep. She was also sweating and groaning in pain. She's having a nightmare.
Merida was in an open landscape in the middle of nowhere. The sky was overcast gray and rain was falling heavily.
As Merida was looking around, he saw her mother with her back turned. "Mum?" she asked. Elinor turned to face her, revealing that she is a bear.
Merida lets out a startled gasp when she sees her mother like this. She backs up in fear and bumps into her father, Fergus who is also revealed to be turned into a bear. "Dad, why do you look like that?" Merida asked fearfully.
Her triplet brothers show up. Even they have also become bear cubs. "Boys! Why are you all bears?"
At one point, she looks at her hands only to see they have been turned into bear paws. She gasps fearfully, then looks into a puddle and sees they she also turned into a bear. "No, no! NO!" She lets out a scream of fright, which can be heard miles away.
Queen Elinor heard her daughter's scream and rushed to Merida's room. She rushed in and saw her daughter flailing her arms and legs underneath the blankets and ran quickly to Merida's bed.
"Merida, wake up," Elinor said calmly as she shook Merida's shoulder. Merida then woke up with a jolt, covered with sweat and tears in her eyes. She looked up to see Elinor with a concerned look over her bed.
"Are you okay?" Elinor asked, placing a hand on Merida's shoulder. Merida then stood from her bed and began shaking.
"We were in the middle of nowhere and we, dad and Harris, Hubert and Hammish have turned into bears," Merida said. Then she threw her arms around her mother and sobbed into her chest.
Elinor wrapped her arms around Merida gently as she tried to comfort her daughter by saying, "It's okay, Merida. It was a nightmare." Merida didn't respond and continued crying hard as she held on to her mother.
As Elinor continued to comfort Merida, she said, "Merida, I promise that nobody in this family, not even me, is going to turn into a bear." Merida smiled tearfully.
"I'm sorry for all those things I did and said to you last week. Insulting you, cutting the tapestry and turning you into a bear. I love you more than anything or anyone in this world."
Elinor's smile grew and hugged her tighter. "I love you too," she said softly. Merida's tears nearly stopped, but her face was still wet.
"I wish I didn't have that dream. I was so scared that I needed you comfort," Merida said. She felt Elinor's hand rub her back in small circles.
"Everyone needs comfort sometimes," Elinor said. Merida broke the hug between her and Elinor and spoke, "Mum, will you please sleep with me tonight?"
"Of course, my dear," Elinor said with a smile.
With that said, Merida climbed back into her bed and scooted over to give Elinor some room. Elinor climbed in next to her daughter. Merida snuggled into her mother's chest and she held her close to her.
"Good night, Mum," Merida said sleepily. Elinor smiled at seeing her daughter at peace. "Good night, Merida," she whispered and closed her eyes. The mother and daughter held onto each other and slept peacefully throughout the night.
For those of you who read this, Happy Mother's Day!