==Alright! Time for a new story! I know this chapter may seem a bit choppy, but there is a reason for that! Enjoy the new Mericup story!==
Chapter 1
"Merida! Merida! Och, child, wake up!"
Merida awoke to the not so gentle nudging of her mother. The sun was shining and birds were singing: there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was a perfect day for sailing. Be that as it may, Princess Merida would have preferred to sleep a little longer.
"Mum…Why do I have to get up so early? We aren't leaving until high noon…" Merida rolled over and covered her head of curly fire with the extra pillow she had and closed her eyes. It seemed that Queen Elinor was waking her daughter earlier and earlier each day, and Merida wanted nothing to do with it.
"Merida, we must get ready. I need you to watch your brothers. This is our yearly campout, everything must be perfect. So… wake up."
With a hurried tug, Queen Elinor pulled the blankets off of Merida and pulled the pillow from around her head. She left both on the floor as she turned and walked back out the bedroom door and down the hall.
"Ugh…" sighed Merida in disgust. It wasn't too early, not sunrise thankfully. But it wasn't nearly almost high noon either. Merida rose and put on her favorite blue dress. She placed her quiver full of arrows and her bow around her shoulders, being careful not to tangle them too badly in her hair.
Then she went out to find her younger brothers.
Hubert, Hamish and Harris were in the kitchen, causing plenty of trouble for Maudie and the rest of the cooks and maids. They tried to run when Merida entered the kitchen, but the girl knew every hiding place the boys had. She plucked each boy up and carried them to the stables, where her horse, Angus stood happily munching on oats. As the boys tried to wriggle away, Merida set them upon Angus' back and began to brush her horse's mane quickly.
"Now boys, we're going on a little ride before we head out on the water. I need you to help me. You can run as wild as you want when we leave."
"Where are we going sister?" asked Hamish, who was the smallest of the three boys. It had been about a year and half since the "bear incident": when Merida, in a fit of desperation had unknowingly turned her mother and her three brothers into bears. Since then, Merida had gotten much closer to her brothers; Hamish the most.
"I dunno. Why don't you lead?"
When Merida and the boys returned to the castle Dunbroch, the final loading process began. Soon the royal family was waving goodbye to the staff and to villagers surrounding the castle, and the trip to the island across the outlet had begun.
True to her word, Merida let the boys run rampant on the large wooden vessel. She was more concerned with whittling another picture into her bow. She enjoyed feeling the warm sun on her face, and feeling the boat rock with each wave that hit the ship. She laughed when Harris tricked their father into tying himself up in the sail's extra rope and hid her amusement when Queen Elinor reprimanded her sons for their reckless behavior.
The ship ride from Dunbroch castle to the island was a fairly short one, but by the time the island was in view, Merida had grown bored of sitting on the ship. She had started to join her brothers in their restless actions when she spotted the large jutting rocks that signified the cliff that surrounded the island's southernmost side.
"Boys! Look! There is is!"
The next few hours were spent bustling about the ship in preparation for docking. Merida worked the hardest, running here and there, helping in any way she could. This was her favorite time of year- she had the freedom to do whatever she wanted for an entire week.
As the ship hit shallow water, Merida was the first person into the water and ashore. She helped pull the ship to shore and helped unload the tents. She set up her own tent and helped set up the dining tent. When her mother told her to go find something fun to do, Merida took off like a bolt of lightning.
"Freedom!" she screeched gleefully as she ran through the thickets and bushes. She ran until she reached her favorite place: a small creek that wound between two giant oak trees. Merida flung her shoes off. Carelessly, the princess jumped into the water, giggling as the cold liquid ran across her bare feet. She scooped up a handful of water and threw it in the air, shrieking with pleasure as the water droplets landed solidly on her hair and dress.
Suddenly, Merida heard a branch snap nearby. Her laughter died away, and she froze, listening intently for any possible signs of danger. After a few moments of silence, Merida edged her way slowly to the other side of the creek.
The air felt differently now. It was too quiet. Too tense.
There was a large bush in Merida's line of sight, and it obscured quite a bit of the forest beyond. Reluctantly she pulled the bush apart and met face to face with a young boy.
"Please don't scream." The boy said, lurching backward and crab walking away from the princess.
"What were you doing? Who are you? Why are you on my family's island?" Merida demanded, stalking up to the boy and picking him up by his light green tunic. He didn't struggle much after he realized Merida was taller than him by at least a head, and that annoyed the young girl even more than the idea that this boy had been watching her.
"I'm not going to ask again."
Suddenly there was a loud roar. Out of a thicket a few feet away came a large black, scaley winged animal. It bared its teeth and lunged for Merida.
Merida screamed. She dropped the boy and turned on her heel. She ran, without looking back, and without stopping to pick up her shoes.
