Merida had moved to a new town with her parents, and in the first evening she met a boy from their neighbour, Jack.
During the first weeks Jack had shown Merida what kind of place her new town was. They became best friends almost immediately, and they spent a lot of time with each other.
On their backyard, there was a forest, and a lake in the middle of it. They usually played hide-and-seek in there forest, Jack usually winning since he already knew the best hiding places. He didn't like being near the lake though, and when Merida asked why, he just answered that he didn't really want to talk about it. Merida didn't ask anything about the lake after that because it seemed to make him upset.
Merida's mother wasn't happy of them spending time in the forest: there were these poisonous plants and snakes! Well, at least she thought so. Her daughter always came back home as healthy as she left. Fergus tried to tell Elinor that, but she still kept nagging about it until Merida got older.
Merida also got to meet Jack's mother. She was as kind and loving mother as she seemed. She had the same brown hair as Jack, but also brown eyes. Jack must've gotten his blue eyes from his father, Merida thought. And she was right. She saw a picture of Jack's father, and he had the same eyes that were blue as the sky. Jack's mother was also pregnant, with a girl, and Jack was excited of becoming a big brother.
Jack never talked about his father though, but Merida didn't want to bother him by asking about it.
She found out that Jack and his mother didn't have much money. It made Merida very sad, and even though she hadn't known them for long, she gave her piggy-bank to Jack.
"I want you to have it" she had said, cheerfully and smiling. At first Jack wasn't going to accept it, but Merida made him to take it.
Their neighbourhood was really nice and there were playgrounds where they spent time too. Other kids bullied them a bit because they spent so much time together, but they didn't really care about it. Jack did pranks to the kids who bullied them though, just as a little payback.
When Jack's mother was taken to the hospital to give birth, Jack stayed few days with Merida and her parents.
"Are you excited?"
"Well of course I am! What did you expect? I am going to be a big brother!" Jack answered to Merida's question.
Merida giggled and said: "Big Brother Jackson!"
"Don't call me Jackson, I like Jack better!" and Merida just kept on giggling, jumping around the room, teasing him.
"Hey Jackson, what do you want to do? Jackson, Jackson let's climb on this mountain!" she said, while climbing on her bed.
"Ok, that's it!" Jack said, smirked and jumped on the bed too.
Merida screamed and jumped off the bed as Jack got on it. They started chasing after each other around Merida's room, laughing and screaming.
Downstairs, Elinor was knitting since winter was coming, and Fergus was watching TV next to her. Suddenly they heard a bang and screaming from upstairs.
"It's your turn." Fergus said and smiled at his wife.
Elinor put her things aside, got up and walked upstairs. She opened the door to Merida's room and before she managed to say anything, she felt how someone bumped into the door. Jack had hit himself on it and was now laying on the floor.
"My goodness, I am so sorry, Jack! Are you hurt?" she said and kneeled next to him.
"Yea, I am… It's not the first time something this happened", he said as he got up, holding his head.
"Ach… Let me look." Elinor said and checked him from injuries.
"There isn't even a scratch." she said, relieved.
"I told you." Jack smiled and then turned to look at Merida.
She was sitting on her bed and she smiled back at him.
"You always bump into things!" she said and giggled.
Jack stuck his tongue out and Merida did the same. Elinor sighed and let out a smile.
"Perhaps it's time for you two to go to bed, it's quite late and we're going to visit Jack's mother tomorrow."
In the second she had said that, both of them were immediately under their sheets, Merida in her bed and Jack on the mattress on the floor. Elinor smiled and turned off the lights.
"Goodnight you two"
"Goodnight mum!"
"Goodnight mrs DunBroch"
"Sleep well" Elinor said as she closed the door and went back downstairs.
There were few minutes of silence until Jack broke it.
"I'm not sleepy"
"Me neither" answered Merida.
There was, again, a moment of silence, until Merida continued:
"…what would you do if you saw a Wisp?"
"What's that?" Jack asked and turned to look at Merida confused.
"It's from the Scottish mythology, Will O' the Wisps look like small, blue fireballs. They're like fairies who lead you to your fate! My mum has told me stories about them" she said, quite excited.
"Fairies? I don't know, sounds stupid" Jack said, not actually meaning to be mean or anything.
"Ach, c'mon! What would you do? Tell me!"
They kept on arguing until they fell asleep, but kept the volume down so that Merida's parents wouldn't hear them.
The next day they went to the hospital to see Jack's mother. Jack couldn't stay still from all the excitement, so Elinor had to try calm him down a bit.
His mother was perfectly fine and so was the baby. She had beautiful brown eyes, just like her mother, and a tiny bit of brown hair. Jack got to hold her in his lap, and he looked happier than ever. Merida got to hold her too. She couldn't say anything else but tell how adorable the little one was.
"Do you already know name for her?" Elinor asked, smiling kindly.
"I am not sure yet…" she looked at her daughter who was now sleeping in her lap,
"I'll come up with something" she said and smiled.
They got home from the hospital few days later, and Merida came to say hello to the little baby girl almost every day.
When the winter came and the weather got colder, Jack and Merida weren't able to keep their windows open, and with that, talk so often neither. But they still played with each other outside after school, and of course they visited each other.
Jack loves winter, he had always loved it. But this year he seemed a bit uncomfortable outside in the cold. Merida tried to ask him why, but he answered the same way as he had answered about the lake. When she tried to ask about it again, Jack got mad at her. Merida didn't dare to ask about it again, so she apologized. Jack apologized her too, he didn't mean to get angry.
They made a snowman later that day. Merida borrowed her father's hat and scarf, while Jack got a carrot and some stones. They thought that it was the best snowman they've ever made.