He had tried to get into the festivities but he was just feeling so low at the moment. He hung around long enough to hear King Fergus sing about the different ways he would slaughter Mor'du. He had excused himself after that and sought refuge in his guestroom.
He had been sitting there in his bed replaying the events which had taken place earlier. He had aimed the arrow and had completely missed the mark. He cursed his clumsiness, cursed his shyness, but most of all he cursed himself for not perfecting the art of archery.
He knew that she would pick Archery; she's always loved it ever since they were young. She said so the first time they had met.
Young Macguffin looked curiously on to the castle in the distance. His mother chided him, telling him not to lean so close to edge, His father had simply laughed. He couldn't help it! It was his first time traveling outside of their clan's land and he was curious about what Castle Dunbroch would be like. He wondered if it was huge, whether the land would be as pretty as their own but most of all he wondered if he would get along with the princess.
His mother had told him that the king had a daughter he could play with. He was happy to hear that! He didn't have any brothers or sisters and he never had time to play with kids his own age. His mother believed he had to study as much as possible. After all he would become the next lord to clan Macguffin.
The longboat docked and his mother grabbed his hand as she made sure he got onto the dock safely. Once on the dock she proceeded to look him over making sure his appearance was neat.
"Leave him be" his father said to his mother.
"Oh shush you! It's not every day we come over here, will you at least let me make sure he looks presentable." his mother told his father. His father huffed a little angrily and they proceeded to have a small argument.
There they went again thought Young Macguffin. Lately his mother had been a little more impatient than usual and he had noticed that she wasn't eating well. He thought that she might have been sick and that's why she had been picking on him and dad more than usual. Yet there were moments where he came into the kitchen and found her eating sweets.
"Do they always fight like this?" He heard someone say. He had turned his head and was greeted by a wolfhound who had decided to lick him. He gave out a yell and fell backwards.
He heard giggling and looked up to see a young girl no more than six laughing at him. His face turned red and in his embarrassment he had ran to his mother and hid behind her dress.
"Merida a lady does not laugh at someone else's expense." The Queen said. The little lass stopped her giggling and looked down shamefully. Her mother then said "Go on then, apologize to Young Macguffin."
He felt a large hand push him from behind his mother's dress. He heard his father say "Come on then lad, you know better than to go hiding behind your mother's dress. A real warrior hides from no one."
Young Macguffin nodded, he was a little embarrassed to be chastised in front of the queen. He turned to Merida ready to glare at her. He never got the chance to. She had thrown her arms around him and hugged him. He jumped slightly at the contact but was further surprised when she kissed him on the cheek. He was pretty sure that his face would melt off any minute now, he'd never blushed so much in all his 8 years.
She pulled away and giggled "Sorry" she said. She then curtsied "My name's Merida. "
He was about to introduce himself but she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the castle. He could hear his mother calling out to them to be careful! He looked behind him and saw his mother, father and the queen following behind.
Once everyone had gotten inside he and Merida had taken to playing hide and seek around the castle. He hid most of the time and most of the time she found him. When they tired of that Merida had grabbed her bow and arrow and said they would play outside.
"Can you shoot that thing?" He asked her. Eyeing her as she pulled back the arrow with all her might.
"Yes." She answered and let the arrow fly. It went upwards rather than forward and Merida looked a little disappointed.
"You're not very good at this." He told her. He chuckled when she glared at him. He found her expression funny and slightly cute.
She walked right up to him and jabbed a finger in his chest. "I may not be good at this right now! But I promise you that I'll become the best archer in all of Dunbroch!" she yelled at him.
"You promise?" he asked.
She nodded her head defiantly and he couldn't help but feel that she would make good on that promise.
She had. The next time they met she had beaten him and the other suitors. She had indeed come a long way from the awkward little girl she once was. She was now able to shoot her bow with ease and precision.
He cursed himself for not practicing archery more, then again her actions on the field today proved it wouldn't have mattered if he had won. She was still that bold lass he had fallen in love with all those years ago.