"You're back!" Kylo teased Merida, as she tied her horse to a tree.
"Only until I mend your clothes. Then I am leaving," Merida replied, as she carried the sewing kit in her arms.
They walked inside the cave. Kylo watched as Merida started sewing. He knew she was upset, but decided to wait until after she was done to talk to her.
"Here are your clothes," Merida said to Kylo. "Now if you will excuse me..."
"Merida, wait!" Kylo insisted, as he blocked her path. "What is wrong?"
She bit her lip. She could not hide her turmoil. Merida gazed up at Kylo and told him,
"I can't stay here. The suitors are coming tomorrow. I overheard the servants say that they will compete to see who will win my hand in marriage."
She turned her back on Kylo and bitterly added,
"Like I'm a prize to be obtained, and not a human being to love!"
"I see... Wait, servants?" Kylo uttered, pretending to be confused. Merida turned to face him and admitted,
"I am a princess, Kylo." She noticed he smiled when she said this.
"My fiery princess, you cannot run away from your problem. You need to face it and find a solution."
"I can't! I am only sixteen. I'm not ready to get married or be a queen!"
"That is not true," Kylo insisted, as he drew closer to Merida. She tried to take a step back, but he froze her in place.
"Let me go!" she pleaded with him. He stood inches from her.
"I can't. You're afraid, Merida. You do not want to get married or become queen because of what it represent to you."
"And what is that?"
"The loss of your parents. Being queen means that they will be gone, and the thought of that breaks your heart."
Merida closed her eyes. Kylo was right. As much as she was upset with her parents, the thought of them not being around terrified her.
"You also think it is not fair that your father got to choose his queen, yet you do not get to choose your king," he added.
"It is not fair!" Merida yelled. "I'm good enough to be queen, but not good enough to choose my king? It doesn't make any sense!"
"I agree with you. Show your parents that you are old enough to make the decision yourself." To himself, Kylo added,
"You can choose to marry me."
He stared intensely at Merida. How he wanted her! But that would have to wait until after they were married.
Kylo unfroze her and said,
"I guess I should get dressed."
"I will step outside, to give you privacy," Merida responded. She blushed when Kylo stated,
"If that is what you want."
She was tempted to take a peek at him getting dressed, but Merida thought better of it. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
"You can come in now," Kylo called out to her. Merida went back inside. Kylo's clothes were black, with lines of ribbing on his arms. She shivered nervously.
"What is wrong?" he asked, sensing her fear.
"Kylo, were you an executioner?" Merida questioned him.
"Yes," he honestly replied, knowing her thought. She wanted to know if he killed people as his "occupation".
"Where is your mask?"
"My last kill was personal. So I took off the mask before the execution."
"Did you kill your uncle?" Merida's eyes widened when Kylo said,
"No. I killed my father."
She tried to run away, but once again, Kylo froze her in place. The tears fell down her face.
"I had no choice, Merida. My master commanded me to kill him. Otherwise, I would have faced his wrath."
"There is always a choice!" she snapped. "Now let me go!"
"I can't, my fiery princess."
"Let me go, Magic Boy! Otherwise, I will..." Kylo raised his hand to silence her.
"Ssh," he commanded her. He unfroze her, and reached for his lightsaber. He crept slowly to the mouth of the cave. Kylo turned on his weapon. He sensed a presence nearby. No, there were three presences...
He extended his hand, and three little figures flew past him. Kylo turned around, ready to attack.
"Kylo, no!" Merida screamed, as Harris, Hubert and Hamish scrambled to her side. "They are my brothers!"
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Kylo turned off the lightsaber. His future queen had three little brothers, all the same age! He tilted his head and said as he pointed,
"This is Harris and this is Hubert. And..." He picked up the bottom of Merida's dress and added,
"This is Hamish."
The little boy trembled in fear. His two brothers joined him. Merida laid her hand on Hamish's head and assured him,
"It is okay, Hamish. He won't hurt you. He was trying to protect me."
The boy rose to his feet, still unsure about Kylo.
"Hello," Kylo greeted them, as he knelt on one knee. "My name is Kylo Ren. Would you like to see my lightsaber?"
"Yes!" all three boys shouted.
"Move back, so that you won't get hurt."
They obeyed, and he turned on his weapon. Their little blue eyes widened at the sight of it.
Merida was concerned when Hamish stepped closer to the weapon.
"Be careful," she warned him.
"He's fine," Kylo promised her. Hamish touched the hilt. He looked up at Kylo and asked,
"Is it broken?"
"My kyber crystal is cracked. That is why I have the vents, so that it won't break," Kylo explained.
"What an interesting question to ask!" he thought to himself. Kylo turned off his weapon and stood to his feet.
"Merida, we need to go home. Visitors are here!" Harris told his older sister.
"Oh no!" Merida moaned. The suitors arrived early!
"Don't be afraid," Kylo encouraged her. "Take your brothers home. You will think of a solution."
"I need my bow and arrows back," she reminded him.
"I need them, to trade for a pair of boots," he quickly lied. Merida huffed in annoyance before sighing.
"Will I ever see you again?" she asked, doing her best not to cry.
"What does your heart tell you?"
Their eyes locked, and Merida replied,
"We will see each other again."
"Then we will. Take care of your sister, boys," Kylo instructed the triplets before heading inside the cave.
"Let's go home, boys," Merida told them, not wanting to leave. She wanted to stay with Kylo. But now her brothers knew about him. If they told her parents...
"Let's go!" Hubert demanded, pulling on Merida's dress.
"Okay, we're going!" she snapped. They hopped on Merida's horse and rode back to the castle. Kylo waited until they were out of sight to emerge from the cave.
"Those boys are troublemakers. I like them!" he uttered, as he held Merida's bow and arrows. "Especially the youngest one. There is something special about him. But I will have to find out what it is another time. Now I need to get myself some boots, via a mind trick, and see who is my competition for Merida's hand."