Author's Note: To OriginalSharkBiteGal, this is a re-telling f the movie. So glad you enjoyed! :))
The Lords and there sons weren't as strange as Merida thought they would be, considering she had already seen them before. The first clan to present their suitor was Macintosh, and Merida recognized the cocky, self-centered air that hung around Torrence (Known just as 'Young Macintosh'). He was swinging his sword around, and Merida couldn't help but notice that when Lord Macintosh spoke of Torrence's exploits with the Northern Invaders, the story sounded a little made-up and overly rehearsed. And when the young man stared in the princess's direction, Merida grabbed the hood of her dress to cover her face.
The next suitor was the son of Lord MacGuffin. Merida recognized Ian, who looked even more nervous from when she met him as a child. And as much as she wanted to believe lord MacGuffin's story about how his son had vanquished the Viking long ships, Merida just couldn't bring herself up to do so. She did look at him though, as he broke a log in half.
The third and final suitor was a Dingwall. Now, Abernathy could pull off the dazed and mindless expression when he was younger, but as he grew with age everyone would be expecting him to be more focused on things. Merida felt a twinge of pity for both the young man and his father, even if Lord Dingwall was trying to hard to make his son sound like a vicious fiend, though his mannerism and appearance showed otherwise.
The most embarrassing part about the whole ordeal was that a fight had broken out between the clans, and Merida's father, King Fergus, joined in as well. As much as she tried to restrain herself, the princess couldn't help but keep laughing as Lord Macintosh was being bitten by Wee Dingwall.
Merida's mother gave her a stern look to quiet her down, and as she stood up, the young redhead couldn't help noticing how just by walking through the crowds the attention was focused on her. Everyone who saw her became quiet and still, and with every step her mother took, Merida kept hoping that this was a talent she wouldn't have to learn.
Then it was time for Merida to decide the first task in which the suitors would perform to see who would be worthier of her hand. There would be three tasks over the course of three weeks, and all the tasks were of Merida's choosing.
She stood up slowly, trying to pull off her best imitation of a lady. "I choose…" she began, folding her hands together, "…Archery."
Applause erupted in the masses of people, and all began to file out of the Great hall in preparation for the first contest. Merida was soon about to follow her excited father out onto the castle grounds when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"You know, Merida," her mother whispered, "that was the same task I chose as well."
Even though the princess wasn't on very good terms with the queen, she smiled anyway, and they both headed for the archery ground.
Ian MacGuffin went first, and the bow that was given to him seemed too small, therefore he had trouble pulling the string of the bow back to shoot the arrow. When he let it fly and it found its way to the outermost ring of the target. You could hear Lord MacGuffin shouting angrily at Ian.
Merida was reminded of how she had tried to teach him archery when they were younger. Still hasn't changed she thought.
Next was Torrence Macintosh, the arrogant and proud prince with the long black hair. Proud of what, Merida wasn't sure as his arrow just missed the center of the target by a few centimeters. He started a huge tantrum, and smashed his fists against the ground.
"Well, that's attractive," said Merida as Torrence threw his bow out into the sea of people.
The last suitor to fire was Wee Dingwall, with the arrow continuing to move out of his proper grasp. Oh, wee lamb Merida thought, though her father was feeling neither pity nor patience.
"Oh geez," he said, leaning forward in his wooden throne, "SHOOT BOY!"
With a scared jolt, Abernathy let the arrow fly, and to everyone's surprise, it hit the center of the target in a clean bulls eye.
The whole Dingwall clan cheered, a little exaggerated. They hadn't won yet, but they did have a bit of an advantage later on in the next challenges. Merida couldn't care less about whether or not he won; she was just glad she could have some rest after a very eventful day.