A/N: I'm going to say thanks to the PM I recieved that made me want to finish this. It'd been half done for a while ... heh. Anyways. The points of views are Merida-Jack. Still dunno how to tell the difference ... Anyways. I've been gone a while, but now I have an idea for this plot sketched out better than before so enjoy!

"Ouch!" I drew back my hand and licked the droplets of blood off my fingers. Scowling at the sharp thorns I continued to pluck the berries and drop them in the basket that was my skirt.

The boys had been shoved off on me for the day, because for whatever reason my parents wanted them out of the castle. Normally I wouldn't mind, but the boys were impossible to entertain in the forest. About the only thing that would placate them was something sweet, which meant a good deal of wild berries. I planned to set up mounds for them to track down and get.

A squeal rang through the forest, and it wasn't human. Oh, what had they done now! I spun around and ran, albeit somewhat awkwardly with my hands holding my skirt. I followed the animal screams and laughter to find the boys literally playing (more like tormenting) a wild boar.

"Boys! Stop!" I yelled. They laughed and ignored me. "Stop it, or I'll pin ya down with my arrows!" They laughed but this time they scampered away in different directions, leaving the boar to spin around wildly and slash at the undergrowth. I took a few steps back, out of its line of sight.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the boar ran off.

"You know, I think you're brothers are pretty awesome."

I whirled around, arrow nocked and bow-string to my cheek in an instant, and the arrow tip pointing at the pale figure in the tree. He flinched back and held up his empty hands. "Whoa, don't shoot! . . . I never thought I'd say that," he said. I didn't move, my eyes narrowed. "I think you dropped your berries."

"Leave. Me. Alone," I snapped. "I don't know what blasted spirit you are, but attach yerself to someone else!"

He made a face. "'Attach myself to someone else'? That just sounds creepy," he said. "Plus, I don't really want to go back to being invisible. It's a lot more fun to talk to a person than to listen."

My teeth gritted together and I let my arrow fly. Immediately there was a ghostly blur and he was gone, staff and all. I heard laughter and looked around, another arrow on the string. I saw a blur and shot it. A moment later my arrow was tossed into the ground in front of my feet.

"Nice shot, but you'll have to do better than that. I've had a few centuries experience dodging things."

Scowling I picked up my arrow from the ground, my other hand still held my bow with the nocked arrow. "Hey, why'd you stop?" he sat down on a tree branch above my head.

"I like a challenge, not an immposible task," I told him. "Wait – centuries?" He shrugged. I stared for a heartbeat before turning away. I looked down at the spilled berries and then out at the woods. Great, first I had to find my brothers, and then I had to come up with a new way to entertain them.

Jack seemed to notice me looking. "I can give you a hand with those." He swiped his staff, making me draw my bow a little, and there was a gust of freezing air. To my amazement the berries rolled into a neat, tall pile, guided by little ice ramps. "There you go. You're welcome."

I was grinding my teeth so hard, I was surprised he couldn't hear it. "I could have done it myself." Stepping over them I strode over to where the boys had harassed the boar. I knelt down on the ground, "Now, where did ya little tricksters run off to, huh?" I was a fair tracker, but tracking down the boys was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

A shadow fell over me. "I doubt you'll find your brothers. I've seen them – Wish it was winter so we could all have some fun . . . Anyways, finding those kids won't happen. However, if you want a little help . . ."

"In Brighid's name what are you talking about? Are you sure a witch didn't conjure you up?" I demanded, not even looking over. He laughed and before I knew it an icy hand was gripping my upper arm and my feet weren't touching the ground. I yelped as I was pulled above the trees.

"Well, Merida, what do you think? Nice view, huh?" Jack asked me. I wasn't looking out; I was staring up Jack's face, quite annoyed.

"Put me down," I ordered. "Put me down, right now."

Jack was grinning now. "Aw, come on, you can't possibly be scared. You need to learn about this kind of fun. Have an adventure."

"I had plenty of this sort of adventure when I turned my mum into a bear!"

He stared at me. "What?"

"That witch tricked me!"

"That explains why you think a witch made me." Then his grin was back and somehow I was upside down. The blood rushed around in my head and somehow Jack's grip on me turned into me gripping him.

A moment later of air rushing around me I was right side up again. It took me a minute to get my breath back. "Please don't do that again," I said. "Can you put me down now?"

He made a face. "You're no fun."

I gaped. "You dragged me up in the air and went upside down – ach, I can't believe I actually just said that."

He thought for a moment. "Okay, I guess forcibly flying for the first time would be a little strange, even if you did have whatever problems with a witch. But admit it," he grinned and looked out, "from this view, the world is pretty amazing."

I turned my head. For a moment I was speechless. Trees that were once so huge were now merely bumps, the hills rose and fell in gentle curves, and the forest stretched on endlessly, all the way to the mountains and to the sea. The river cut through the green like a shimmering ribbon.

"Oh . . ." I breathed.

"Yeah, that was my reaction the first time too."

At a nice pace we lowered down to the ground. I was worried Jack might intentionally drop me, but I alighted gently on the ground. Slinging my bow over my head, I brushed off my hands and said, "Well, that was interesting. Now I have ta find my brothers."

Jack reclined against a tree. "Good luck with that."

"Uh!" I turned away and began striding off.

"So, what are you going to do when you find them? I'm taking it the berries you're ignoring were part of an idea to keep them from breaking stuff."

"By the time I find them, I'll have ta think of something else," I replied.

"Or, I could hold on to them and then help you with whatever you were planning. I mean . . ." He drifted in front me of, grinning. "You are the only one who can see me."

I put a hand on my hip and glared at him. "If I say yes, will you let me search for my brothers in quiet?" His grin and expression agreed. I sighed through my nose. "Then yes. Now stop talkin', will ya?"

He chose to whistle instead. As I followed the boys' various trails through the woods, Jack Frost walked behind me about two feet above the ground. He'd turned his half cloak into a basket like I'd done with my skirt and carried the berries. I wondered why he'd do something that.

He kept whistling. It was a wild, fast-tune that changed notes often yet always managed to repeat. Despite myself I found I was humming along. The tune wasn't even Scottish, but something that was probably from whatever far off land he hailed from.

The boys' trails led deeper into the woods, crisscrossing repeatedly. I had an uncomfortable feeling they were in the direction of the old kingdom. Maybe Mor'du was dead; that didn't mean the place didn't still have ghosts. I followed the most central of the trails I could. It had to lead me to them eventually.

It was growing later in the day, and I began to worry about getting the boys back before dark. They were only kids, and how was I supposed to explain how I lost my brothers?

There was a sudden squawk that rang through the trees. I froze and fingered my bow, ready to load it if need be. Jack stopped whistling. There was another squawk followed by a peel of familiar laughter.

"I think you found your brothers," Jack said rather unhelpfully.

"I ain't deaf," I said, marching in the direction of the sounds. I wove through the trees and undergrowth to see the boys had found some poor birds nest, and they were playing a game of catch with an apple right in front of it. Often coming a bit close to hitting it, and causing it grief.

I stopped where they were unlikely to see me and waited. The moment their backs were turned I leapt out and tackled one of the curly haired rascals. "Gotcha!" The other two stared at me. I stood up. "All right. That's enough of you runnin' off. And remember, you're not to tell mum." Under my breath I added, "She'd have a fit."

Suddenly a shadow fell over me. I looked up, annoyed, trying to figure out how to yell at him without looking like a loony-bird, when Jack Frost said, "Is that fleet supposed to be there?"

For a moment I was confused. What fleet? The four clans weren't meeting, and only altogether did we really have a 'fleet'.

"Stay here," I said, and hastily climbed the tallest nearby tree. I pushed the leafy branches out of my way and stared out to sea. My eye widened. "By the . . ." Hundreds of ships spread out over miles were coming from the horizon. I thought they weren't ours, only I couldn't make them out clearly.

Jack plopped down in a nearby branch. "So I'm guessing that's a no."

"We don't have that many ships!" My heart fluttered. "This is a problem – I gotta warn da – who are they, even?"

"I'll find out." Then the strange spirit was off soaring towards the sea.

"I don't need yer help!" I yelled after him, cross. I didn't want him around, much less to help. Still fuming I slid down the tree and grabbed the boys. "Home, now," I said.

They protested, obviously. I didn't care and made sure all three of them headed back home, no matter the size of the headache it was giving me. I was as tight as my bowstring. Invaders from the south I'd heard of – but from the sea? Were these strange fair folk sailing from their own realm to reclaim the realm that was once theirs? That would explain the spirit boy appearing and taking over the monolith circle.

If that was the case, how were my people supposed to win this?

"Okay, problem." I hovered around the ships, their sailing winds perfect for keeping beside them. I might not be the wisest on Scottish customs and clans, however I could see. And I could see that there wasn't a scrap of plaid on these ships, and there were shields hanging off of them. Several of the prows were carved in the shape of dragons.

These flaxen hair people were vaguely familiar. They reminded me of those in the area north of where I'd woken up. And, judging by the contents of the ships and the men, they were now coming to Scotland. And it was definitely not to make peace and love and all that nice mushy stuff.

So, an invasion. Normally I had a don't get involved policy . . . mainly because I couldn't anything, being invisible and all. This time around; well, I like Scotland. It was a pretty neat place, had a good connection to the Moon, and there was that princess who could see me. I'd like more than two days of being known.

I quickly wiped a nice ocean blizzard (hey, it's not like I don't take opportunities when I see them) and sped on the winds back to land. Right, now to warn miss 'keep away from me, spirit' red. That might prove a challenge.

A/N: I want to keep some historical context for this, so I'm putting in some Celtic references - unfortunately it'll be mainly Irish Celtic since I'm stronger there, but the principles are almost exactly the same and I know Brighid was worshipped all over. I hope you got a hint of who the invaders are, and I'm very excited to see how well I can develop this idea. Perhaps I'll bring in more guardians, if I can fit them into a role befitting the time (so, maybe Pitch). Anyways. That's all.