((Sorry for the late update. I have been suffering from writer's block, but I tried writing this chapter anyways. Hope it is good enough and that you like it. Also thank you Kat's Imagination for the idea! It helped me think of something new. Well here is chapter six, Enjoy!~))

Chapter Six: A New Suitor

Getting along with Jack had turned out to not be as hard as Merida had thought. He was like her in many ways and wasn't like her in many others, but they evened out.

A month had already gone by after meeting each other. They had come a long way to get along, or at least for Merida to begin to like him and not hate him.

Queen Elinor was pacing back and forth. She had received a very unique letter, from a far off land. It was from the Haddock kingdom. It was the fourth well known kingdom around, but it wasn't as close as the Kingdom of Burgess and Rapunzel's castle.

"What is wrong Elinor? You have not stopped pacing around the room?" Fergus asked his wife.

"It's the letter we received Fergus..."

"What about it?"

"It is from the Haddock's, from Stoick" she mumbled.

"And what does he want?" Fergus asked calmly. He had no idea why his wife was acting the way she was.

"He wants to offer his son as suitor for Merida" she explained, "but Merida already has...well Prince Jack."

"Well then tell him that. Let's just write back to him" Fergus shrugged.

"Yes, it would have been that easy, if he wasn't on his way here already."

"What?!"

"It says here that he would leave this letter to a friend to send after he was about a day away."

"Then he is almost here!" Fergus exclaimed.

Elinor only nodded and sat down on the bed. She wasn't sure what she would do.

"Well he can't expect anything. As far as he knows she could be married" Fergus continued.

"But she is not married yet..." Elinor pointed out.

"She is engaged!"

"But not married!" Elinor retorted. "You know how Stoick is Fergus! If he sees an opening he will take it! Merida not being married with Jack is an opening, even if she is engaged...even if the wedding was a day away he would see it as a chance."

Fergus stayed silent for some time. "I guess we must talk to Jack's parents..." he said.

"They'll understand" she sighed.

"But what about Merida. The poor lass has just began to get along with Jack."

"I said I will let them know of what is happening, but that does not mean I am forcing Merida into anything. I will let her decided" Elinor said. "I will let her and Jack know later."

Fergus nodded and headed out to no where in particular.

"So who taught you archery?" Merida asked Jack, who was sitting next to her on the small hill, filled with snow. She had placed her cloak under her to keep her dress from getting wet.

"Some person my dad hired...he didn't really have the time to do it" he answered. He was sitting on his cloak too.

"Ah, my dad taught me since is was a wee lass. I was really bad, but I got better and now I am the best in my kingdom" she spoke proudly.

"As you say, but now you have competition" he grinned.

"Who?" she asked surprised.

"Me of course" he exclaimed.

"Oh!" she chuckled, "I'd beat you anytime" she challenged.

"Oh really?" he raised a brow.

"Yup" she chimed.

"Then let's do it. Right now" he suggested, while getting up from the ground.

"So you want to go back and challenge me?" she asked.

"Yes" he nodded.

"Alright" she agreed.

Merida and Jack walked over to their horses and rode back to the castle. They arrived shortly, not having traveled far from it.

They quickly set up the arrow shooting range with the spaced out targets and went back to take their places.

Merida took her bow and arrow, while Jack grabbed a spare one that she had in the stables.

"Ladies first" he offered.

"No, be my guest" she gestured for him to go first.

"Don't say I'm not a gentleman" he said as he stepped forward and shot the first arrow.

"A gentleman would not have let a girl let him go first, regardless" she smiled as his arrow fell just about an inch out of the bulls eye.

He groaned but went on to the rest. When he finished he smiled confidently at himself. Out of ten targets he had hit seven right in the middle. He bowed to Merida and went to sit back and watch her go up.

Before she shot her first arrow she blew some hair out of her way. She then turned to him and smirked, letting him know he was done for, but he just rolled his eyes and nodded for her to start. She kept her eyes on the target and released her arrow. It zoomed straight into the red circle. She went on to the rest of the targets, not missing one.

"But he does let the girl win on purpose" Jack called over to her when she plainly won.

Merida laughed, "oh, what a gentlemen" she mocked.

Jack chuckled, "You really are good" he said.

Merida smiled brilliantly and went over to him.

"C'mon, I am getting hungry" she said pulling him from the arm over to the kitchen.

Jack followed close behind. He smiled to himself. He was really happy that they had finally begun to get along. Now getting married would be just like he had hoped, with someone who liked him just as much he liked her, or at least he hoped it would get to that point. The wedding was months away, so he hoped that by then he could have won her over.

They both sneeked in to the kitchen and stole some food. They then ran over to the dinning hall to eat it.

"That was a close one! Maudie almost caught us" Merida sighed in relief as they entered the hall, to find her patents there.

She hid the apple she was munching on, and the rest of the food she had, behind her back.

Jack just gave a sheepish smile. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. DunBroch."

"Hi mum, hi dad" Merida mumbled as she swallowed.

Fergus just laughed and Elinor sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and take a seat please, both of you. I have something to tell both of you."

"If it is for the food, I and sorry mum. Just don't get mad at him" Merida politely asked of her mother, asshe set down her food on the table.

"No it is not that. You two have been put all day, I presume you must be very hungry. Go on" she smiled. "I have something to tell both of you...that has to do with the marriage."

Merida was taking a bite of a pie and stopped herself. "W-what is it?" she asked, revealing that she was still troubled by the subject.

Jack only looked up at the Queen and waited for her to answer.

"You remember Stoick right?" her mother asked, "and his son Hiccup?"

Merida nodded slowly, not sure where her moyer was going. "But what does that have to do with me getting married?" she asked.

"Well..."

For the first time Fergus spoke instead of Elinor. "Stoick wants to present Hiccup as a suitor for you, for marriage...and we can't say no because he is already on his way."

Jack stiffened at the news.

Merida looked from her father to her mother and back in disbelief. "You have to be joking!" she demanded, pushing up tom her seat and slaking her hands on the table.

Fergus shook his head and Elinor avoided her daughter's eyes.

"No! I will not go through with this!" she yelled as she ran out of the room.

Jack watched as she left, unable to do anything. He thought of going after her but thought it wiser to just leave her alone for some time.

"Ah... Fergus, what will we do?" Elinor asked.

"Wait and see what happens."

"Um...may I ask what happens to our arranged marriage?"

"We spoke to your parents and they have agreed with us" Elinor began.

"On what?" asked Jack, not showing his worry.

"That we will let Merida pick who she wishes to marry. I am not forcing my daughter into anything" Elinor explained.

"She gets to pick?" he asked, making sure.

"Yes, you will have to win her heart" she said and then added with a smile, "you have the advantage so far."

He smiled back and nodded. He now had a reason to go after her. Her parents weren't forcing her into marring anyone, she could pick.