Disclaimer: I do not own Brave. This is written for amusement and I am earning nothing from it.

Brave

The Huntress

Chapter 2

Who Am I?

Before the age of five, I can not remember anything. It's like a blank hole in my memory . . .

"Mom?" the red haired child cried out as she stumbled in her small green dress. "Mom! Where are you?!"

She slipped and fell to her knees with a sob. Whimpering, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering with the cold. Several scrapes on her knees showed that this was not the first time that she had fallen, and her hair and dress were soaked with water. A pendent around her neck depicted three bears running in a circle, chasing each other. It was smudged with dirt, however, and hard to see.

The girls eyes drifted shut for a few moment before she jerked again, struggling to stay awake. Her breath puffed out into the cold air, turning to frost in front of her face as night drew in. Darkness was descending on the forest and all too soon night would arrive. She struggled to stand, to keep moving, instinctively knowing that if she stayed still she could freeze.

But there wasn't enough strength in her tiny body to carry her on and with another almost inaudible sob she lay on her side. Shivers ranked her body and her fevered eyes slowly slid shut. The shadows stretched and swirled, coming awake as they studied this new stranger that had stumbled into their midst.

From one of the tree tops a raven cawed and jumped off of his perch, heading deeper into the forest.

My pendent is all I have of my old life . . .

The old, graying woman growled and swatted at the raven flapping around her head with a scowl.

"Stupid bird! I'm coming already you old ball of feathers! Can't you give an elderly woman a break?!" She growled at the black bird.

The raven cawed in reply and continued on with the old lady following, grumbling to herself. The raven stopped when they came to a clearing and the old lady glanced around before turning on the bird angrily.

"You led me all the way out here, on a cold night too, just because you thought some pebbles were fascinating!" she said.

The raven shot her an annoyed look and took off, flying to the center of the clearing and glaring at the old lady as he hovered. The lady sighed and walked toward the raven, knowing that it was a lost cause. However she stopped with a gasp as she saw what the raven was hovering over.

There among the ferns was a small girl wearing a dress so green that she was almost impossible to spot at first glance.

It didn't look like she was breathing.

I can't even remember my own name . . .

A girl, looking to be about ten in age smiled and laughed and she dashed though the forest undergrowth easily. A bow was clutched tightly in her hand and a quiver of black fletched arrowed was strapped to her back. Her black and green dress flared around her like water. Miraculously, when she finally came to a stop, bent over with her hands on her knees and breathing hard but still with that smile firmly in place, there were no scratches to be seen on her. If a normal person had run through the forest like she had they would have been bleeding heavily.

Several targets were set up in front of her and she grinned, her bright blue eyes flashing happily. An arrow was swiftly pulled from the quiver and notched on the bow. Pulling back with practiced ease she let the arrow go, knowing it would be a perfect hit. The second and third arrows were sent flying seconds later, also finding their place in the center of their targets.

She continued this for several hours before the sun started to go down and she collected the arrows imbedded in the targets. Worn out, she decided that it would be better to walk home instead of running and so set off with an even pace through the thick trees.

Something rustled and she froze with a frown, looking around. Her eyes caught sight of a small, glowing ghost like creature staring at her. Memorized she stepped forward and held her hand out. The creature disappeared with another strange sound. Disappointed she was about to turn back to her path when several more popped into existence.

Her curiosity caught, she followed them. The last one disappeared soon after and left her staring in aw up at several stones standing tall and smooth in the center of a large clearing where nothing but grass grew. She was about to step out into the clearing when a raven landed on her shoulder and gave her a stern glare.

She sighed softly, giving one last longing glance back at the clearing before plunging back into the safety of the forest and out of sight, muttering to herself about adoptive mothers and their over protective ways of sending the pet raven to bring her home.

Seconds later a large black bear lumbered out of the opposite side of the clearing and sniffed the air thoughtfully before looking at the spot that the girl had been in just moments before with a growl.

Sometimes I wonder . . .

Within a large castle that lay just beyond the forest a Quean wept for her lost daughter. The king stood nearby, his head bowed and his arm around his wife. In front of them was a woven tapestry. In it a small girl with bright red hair and light blue eyes played in front of a fireplace with her small bow, smiling up at the two adults.

Just outside the door the three princes watched with curiosity. They had seen the tapestry only a few times, but they always wondered who the girl in it was. They didn't dare ask, however, and their parents never spoke of her. Not even their pranks could bring a smile to their fathers face on this day.

The lost Princess Merida would have been turning ten if she were alive.

Who am I?

A.N. Sorry it's been so long since I have last updated but I do have other obligations. If any of you have any ideas that can help me continue with this story that I would love to hear them.

This will not be a crossover.

Thank you all for reading. This is a very different style of righting to what I am used to. It's the first time I've tried it. Can you review and tell me what you think? I would really like some feedback.