Making it up to the room where the tapestry room was, there was the huge tear in the fabric where Merida sliced her sword through what formed a rift between her and her mother.
"Mend the bond." Merida thought it over. "Mend the bond. Stitch it up. This'll change you back. We just need needle and thread."
Elinor got to work and checked a chest for some tools to stitch the tapestry back up before eyeing a bowl of apples hungrily.
"Mum? Mum?" Merida called out in confusion to see that Elinor was giving into her animalistic behaviors again, acting like a real bear once more. Magic always has the worst timing. "Oh, please not now."
As she tried to get Elinor to snap out of it, they heard familiar laughter outside before Merida clamped her mother's mouth to quiet her down. It was Fergus singing jovially to himself as he made his way over to their master bedroom to speak with his wife. This is bad, Magnus thought to himself with worry. Hurriedly, Magnus helped Merida out with ripping the tapestry from the wall to try and get it and Elinor out before the king found them. Unfortunately, the fates were against them as expected.
"ELINOOOOOOORRRRRRR!" camed the distressed cry of King Fergus, causing Magnus to wince. Shit, he knows, he panicked in his mind while yanking at the tapestry before the mighty king burst into the room.
"Merida. Magnus."
The bear-turned Elinor growled with a predatory stance toward Merida's father, who, of course, is unaware that the creature before him is actually his wife.
"Merida, get back!" He ordered.
"Dad, no! Stop! It's not what you think!" Merida tried to reason, only to be pushed back to the ground. Fergus drew his sword as Elinor continued to attack him, still under the wild and violent mindset of her animal form.
"Your majesty, stop! Don't hurt her! It's your wife!"
Both teens tried their best to stop the king from unknowingly murdering his own wife in his blind rage. Merida ended up getting scratched by Elinor as Magnus rushed to her aid.
"Merida, NO!"
With more swipes and swings of her sharp claws and great strength, Elinor knocked her husband into the wall, almost injuring him in the process. With a warning roar toward the duo, her eyes finally returned to her natural ones as she regained her bearings and backed away with terrified shock, absolutely mortified by her savage actions. What makes this worse than before is that she nearly killed her own husband in the confusion.
"Mum." Merida went to check if it was still her mother, who saw the scratch she gave her, growling with shame. "No, it's alright. I'm alright. It's nothing. It's just a little scratch! Mum!"
Devastated by what she had done and what she had almost become, Elinor completely fled the scene, charging out the door and into the hallways in dismay.
"No, wait!" Magnus tried to stop her, but it was already too late. He already knew by instinct that the queen had made her presence known by the other lords in process in her scared haste.
"Dad!"
"Count your stars, lass. Are you two alright? Are you hurt?" Fergus fondled his daughter's hair with concern.
"We're fine, sir. But that's not Mor'du!" exclaimed Magnus.
"It's true! It's your wife, Elinor!" Merida pleaded.
"You're both talking nonsense!"
"It's the truth!" The princess implored, trying to get her father to see reason. "There was a witch and she gave me a spell! That's not Mor'du!"
"Mor'du or not, I'll avenge your mother! I won't risk losing you too!" The Bear King marched out of the room to chase after Elinor.
"Please, stop! Listen to us! That's your wife! It's not really a bear! It's the queen!" Magnus screamed in desperation, trying to stop him.
"She's filling your head with malarky, lad. Now stay here. Both of you." ordered Fergus, shutting the door and locking them both inside as he took off on the warpath for the bear that he believes to have taken the life of his beloved wife, blinded by his lust for vengeance. He hands the key to Maudie, tasking her with staying put and not letting the two out under any circumstances.
"Listen! You can't!" Merida shouted. "That's your wife!
"Stop this! Right now! You can't do this! You're making a mistake!"
Angry and frantic, Merida grabbed whatever she could around the room to try and break the door down while Magnus sat this one out, remembering back when he shoved Mor'du back protecting Merida. He could try to attempt that, but the thing was that all of it was relatively new to him as he barely understood what was happening to him. Now matter what Merida tried, nothing she could do would get that damn door to open for them, much for her rage. Hearing the yelling outside, both teens rushed to the windows, smashing one open to see Fergus and the other clans riding on horseback into the forest on the hunt for Elinor.
"MOM!" Merida cried out in fear for her mother's life, breaking down into sobs, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
Greatly overwhelmed by everything, Magnus flopped down on his back, mentally punishing himself for his lack of action as tears started running down his own cheeks. God, how he must feel so useless, so weak and so vulnerable.
"I'm sorry. I've failed." He weeped.
"What?"
"It's my own fault. I'm so useless." confessed the defeated archer teen.
"Magnus, you're not useless." Merida tried to comfort him, but Magnus was not having it.
"YES, I AM!" He hollered at her, making her jump. "I'm completely useless! In spite of everything, I've done nothing to stop it from happening! That's all I've done! That's all I've ever done! Since I was young, I just sit there and let everything happen around me, expecting it to sort itself out in the end, but who am I kidding? I couldn't even stop Sean from flying the handle at me everytime I screwed up, all because I would've looked like a disappointment in my mother's eyes."
He laid down on the ground, letting the teardrops fall from his eyes.
"I couldn't even save my own father from the accident that killed him."
Merida gasped with shock. How she now had a new perspective about him. Her heart led her out to him, climbing down to wrap herself around him to comfort him as he was at his most vulnerable state. With that chip on his shoulder, Merida could see that Magnus was still struggling with his father's death deep down and watching it bubble up in such a painful way was most heartbreaking. Looking over at the torn tapestry, Merida was reminded of the deadline they were on.
Leaning down to his ear, she whispered, "You're not weak, Mags. Right now, I need you to be strong. I…..need you."
With her encouragement in mind, Magnus lifted his head up to see the tapestry, too, regaining his confidence as he stood back up and raced over to the door, squeezing his head through the window while Merida ripped the tapestry off the walls to get back to stitching it up.
"MAUDIE!" He yelled, his scream echoing through the walls. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! PLEASE HELP US! MAUDIE!"
Looking to his right, three small figures stepped forth from the darkness to reveal themselves as three tiny bear cubs. It didn't take a genius to figure out who they could be.
"Oh, god, no. Are you kidding me?" He groaned, recognizing them as Hamish, Hubert and Harris.
Once Maudie finally arrived at the top of the stairs with the key, she froze to see the three cubs, who looked back at Magnus before he frowned with determination.
"You know what to do." He reminded them.
The trio nodded in confirmation, looking back at Maudie as she stashed the key in between her breasts and backing away slowly. Then the boys made faces at her, causing her to run away in fear. Magnus rushed back to Merida's side to help her out as they both waited for her brothers to return with the key and set them free. Within a few minutes, while they didn't hear any bear cub noises outside, the door finally unlocked and opened to reveal Baltair standing there with the boys. Magnus was surprised.
"Don't ask how I got this and I won't ask about…..this." The loyal stable man gestured to Hamish, Hubert and Harris in their bear form. "Now go!"
Thanking him gratefully, the teens, joined by the boys, collected the tapestry and carried it with them out of the castle and hopped on Angus, riding out into the forest with Magnus at the reins while Merida worked on the rest of the tapestry. They had to reach Elinor fast before Fergus and the clans did or else it'll be too late. But Magnus knew Elinor wouldn't be quick enough to escape them all on horseback.
"Angus! Easy laddie!"
At last, Merida finally finished fixing the tapestry before they were stopped by another trail of wisps, guiding them straight to the bear queen in trouble. Racing through the trees and logs and not caring how chilly it was outside, they wouldn't stop until they'd reached the queen in time. Listening to the sound of loud chatter nearby, Magnus steered Angus into the path that led them right to the Ring of Stones where they all had poor Elinor tied down with ropes, leaving her completely defenseless. Just as Fergus raised his sword high about to deliver the finishing blow, Merida fired an arrow to stop her father as she and Magnus hopped off, standing in front of Elinor in a protective stance.
"Get back! That's my mother!" Merida ordered with defiance.
"Are you out of your mind, lass?"
"Mum, are you hurt?" Merida asked her captive mother. But the king took the opportunity to shove both teens aside to get to Elinor. While the two were held back to keep them out of the way, they quickly fought back as Magnus grabbed a sword of his own and assisted Merida in stopping Fergus.
"What are you two doing?"
Working together, the archer pair swiped their swords to force the Bear King back. Merida chops at her father's wooden leg, forcing him to the ground.
"I'll not let you kill my mother." She growled.
Then the transformed boys came and jumped right on their father like they always would, catching him by surprise.
"That's enough, boys." Magnus replied, calling them off.
"Boys?!"
Before the king could even ask for an explanation to their claim, everyone halted in place and both Magnus and Merida's hearts stopped when they all looked to see they had company. As everyone's attention was aimed at whatever approached the circle, their faces grew pale with fright as there he was standing before all of them. The great demon bear, Mor'du, snarling ferociously and standing on his feet with his claws and jaws out.
"Mor'du." Merida gasped with horror.
"KILL IT!" ordered Fergus.
Shouting war cries, the clans, Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall all charged toward the beast with their weapons to fight and murder the terrifying monster, but the bear was stronger than they were combined as it easily smacked everyone of them aside with ease, having the strength of ten men, after all. No matter their efforts, they were no match for the beast as none of them were able to get so much as close to landing a single hit or penetrating the bear's hide with their spears as many other fallen warriors have before them. Fergus managed to punch the beast in the face, ready to avenge his leg.
"Come on! I'll take you with my bare hands!" He thundered with his fists out at the ready. Sadly, though, he, too, was taken down by the snarling beast before him who then tossed him into a mithir like a ragdoll.
While Magnus attempted to free the queen with his sword, Merida, herself, tried to fight back with her arrows, but even still, Mor'du didn't so much as bat an eyelash and only turned his fury on her now, swiping his claw at her and knocking her to the ground. The princess screamed helplessly as the monster was right on top of her with his mouth of sharp teeth wide open, ready to bite her head off.
Seeing her daughter in distress, Elinor went into literal mother bear mode, snarling with anger as she easily broke free of her bonds and charged with lightning speed at the monster, shoving him off Merida as the two bears began to battle it out one-on-one, trading blows with their claws and biting at each other's flesh. Magnus rushed over to Merida's aid as Elinor defended her daughter from the demon bear as it tried to eat her. The bear queen was giving up that easy. As everyone watched, Elinor bravely fought back, not daring to back down, even for a second. And as Magnus sat there watching the battle unfold, his mind began to race.
"You never do anything right, do you, little shit?"
"Tell your mother about this and I'll fucking bury you! You hear me!"
"You're not worth shit and you know it."
"I need you to be strong."
At that moment, Magnus felt it in his heart that it's time for him to get off his ass and take action for once in his life. He's not going to sit around and let the madness happen. He needed to be brave and strong.
Once Mor'du forced Elinor to the ground, about to take a chomp at her neck, Magnus then suddenly jumped right onto the monster's back, yelling with determination. Taken by surprise, Mor'du jerked all around like a bull to force the attacker off him. Magnus even grabbed one of the arrows stuck on the bear's back and stabbed him in the eye, making him roar with pain, finally knocking Magnus to the ground. Now extremely angry, the giant bear attacked him now with his claws and teeth and brute strength. But even though Magnus sustained a few scratches and bites from his opponent, Magnus did not back down and bravely fought back against the beast, punching and kicking at him, avoiding the bear's own melee attacks. Merida watched with surprise and amazement to see Magnus fighting back.
As Mor'du was about to bite down on his head, Magnus only grabbed at his teeth and forced the bear on his side as he lifted himself up and brought a solid smackdown onto the bear's head with his elbow, then grabbed at the bear's body to toss Mor'du into one of the mithirs causing it crack upon impact. This suddenly gave him an idea. But then the enraged monster took the opportunity to enact vengeance on his opponent, grabbing at his leg with his teeth and throwing right at the same mithir with great force, making him exclaim with pain, feeling the agonizing sting along his back. Then Mor'du charged at him, the force from the impact caused the large stone to crack some more as the monster slammed Magnus's body into over and over, despite Magnus punching at the bear's face in retaliation. At that moment, Mor'du let out a huge, loud roar right into the teen's face in anger, blowing his hair back with his rancid breath. While initially startled, his fear turned to absolute burning rage and hatred as he snapped open his own mouth, ignoring the saliva flying on his face and furiously roared back at Mor'du.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
After a few minor seconds of their little roar-off, Mor'du suddenly stopped for a moment to stare directly at Magnus, almost making an expression on his dead face as if he was caught off-guard by this act of defiance and refusal to submit. Then Magnus lifted his legs up to kick at the monster, sending him flying back a couple feet away. Merida and Elinor watched as the disoriented beast recollected himself to return to his feet and snarled at the princess and the mother, but before he could attack them, he suddenly heard a noise behind and looked behind him to see Magnus had broken the mithir off with the strength of a thousand armies and lifted it right above his head, staring back at Mor'du as he effortlessly held the heavy stone above his head with his newfound strength. The monster roared at him, knowing what he was about to do.
"Yeah? Fuck you, too!" Magnus cursed back at him as Mor'du then charged at him before he brought the humongous stone right down upon the demon bear, crushing him like a bug under its heavy weight.
Once the dust cleared, everyone watched with widened eyes as a blue light emerged from the dead bear's body, which grew and formed into a spirit. The spirit of a large, muscular man with a dark beard and locks and wearing a fur vest. It was him. The prince from the story before he became Mor'du. He appeared to acknowledge Merida and Elinor as he nodded, thanking them and then he turned towards the battered and bruised Magnus, sending him a wink before the spirit transformed into a wisp and disappeared from sight. Merida sent a thankful smile toward Magnus who only collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and worn out from the fight. Then they both noticed the approaching sunrise and they knew what this meant.
"The second sunrise." Merida gasped.
She ran for the tapestry on Angus's back and raced over to her mother, draping it over her back and waited for something to happen. For her mother to turn back into a human. With the sunlight almost covering the landscape, there was no such action taking place. Elinor was still a bear. Elinor's saddened eyes turned back into black, much to Merida's confusion. Her body quivered with sadness when it seemed the spell didn't work.
"I don't understand, I…." She stammered as her eyes began to sting with tears. Her sniffles turned into sobs when she fell to her knees, not caring if everyone was watching. "Oh, mum. I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I did this to you. To us."
It didn't look like Elinor understood her daughter anymore, because she was sniffing her hair curiously like any animal would, make her cry harder and hug her mother tightly.
"You've always been there for me. You've never given up on me. I just want you back. I want you back, mummy. I love you."
Magnus only watched the scene with a heavy heart and as the sunlight slowly painted the and around them all, he suddenly took note of the body shape underneath the tapestry started to shrink, making him lift an eyebrow. Merida started to feel a hand brushing her hair back and she jolted up to see her mother staring down at her with a smile. Only, she wasn't a bear anymore, she was finally human again. The princess's sadness was replaced with happiness at having her mother back.
"Mum! You're back!" She cried with joy as her mother laughed and smothered her with smooches. "You've changed!"
"Oh, darling, we both have." Her mother replied, giving her another kiss.
"Elinor!" screamed Fergus, overjoyed to see his wife again as he charged forward, tripping in the process because of his broken wooden leg, and embraced his beloved, bringing her into a kiss, which only made Merida cringe. Afterwards, she hugged her father tightly before remembering someone.
"Magnus!" She had completely forgotten about him. The redhead soon rushed over to him as he was still laid out on the ground, getting his strength back. "Magnus."
"H-Hi." He winced, sitting himself up and ignoring the pain.
"You were so brave." Merida complimented him. "I told you you weren't useless."
"Yeah, I guess I'm not." He agreed.
"I really couldn't have done any of this without you. Thank you." She then gave him a smack upside his head in a slightly disciplinary fashion. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"About what?" He asked.
"You know what I mean?"
"This is all very new to me, okay? I'm currently still learning about all of it." answered Magnus honestly.
"Well, I will say that that was intensely impressive. You managed to save my mum single-handedly and you defeated the great bear all on your own. Without a shield nor sword nor armor. You're truly a mighty warrior."
"You know, there's something I wanted to tell you for a long tim-"
"Will you just shut up and kiss me already?" She ordered him with a blushing face.
"I...I will." He shuttered, surprised by her request before bringing her to him and meeting her soft lips with his own passionately. Merida immediately melted into the kiss, bringing her arms around his neck while he put his around her waist. His emotions and hormones exploded like fireworks as he finally made out with his crush, the girl he's had feelings for for a long time. Who would've thought that the girl with the huge mane of red curly hair who abducted him when they first met would end up becoming his soul mate?
The king and queen both looked toward the two and, needless to say, both were really flabbergasted to see their daughter swapping spit with a commoner. But not just any commoner. The person who's been interacting with the princess more than anyone and has crushed the fearsome demon bear, Mor'du all by himself without a weapon or armor, despite having no specific combat experience or history. Meanwhile, all three of the lords' sons noticed this as well and a few were mildly jealous that the lovely princess has chosen her one true love and it's neither one of them. The two lovers finally broke apart to see the two monarchs staring, not that they even cared anymore, before Merida helped Magnus to his feet and brought him over to them.
Before they even had a chance to explain, Elinor, despite her current nudity, came over to bring Magnus into a deep embrace, catching him off guard and he made a blank look of awkward shock, realizing right away that the queen was naked, but said nothing yet. Merida noticed this, too, wincing nervously. They're just lucky she was still covered by the tapestry or else she'd have an entire audience of prying eyes.
"Thank you so much, Magnus." The elder woman responded, tightening her hug and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I owe a great debt. And I must apologize for everything. I, too, have been selfish, not just to my daughter, but to you as well. If Merida were to marry one day to someone, I'm glad if it was you. I hope you can forgive me."
"Of course." strained Magnus, trying not to stare at the older woman's naked body. As soon as Elinor broke away, Fergus lifted him up and brought him into an even-tighter bear hug, making him quietly squeal in pain as the already agonizing sensation on his body got worse, even showing him off to the rest of the clans as if displaying a trophy he had won in a competition.
"Now that's what I call a fearless warrior!" The Bear King declared proudly. "This man has single-handedly vanquished the dastardly bear, Mor'du!"
While everyone cheered with victory, Merida took that moment to remind her mother of something very important that she needed to know.
"Um, mum?" She asked, subtly gesturing to her mother's indecency, to which the queen quickly covered herself with the tapestry, blushing madly with embarrassment, upon realizing she was stark naked in front of everyone.
"Uh, dear?" She turned to her husband. "I'm naked. Naked as a wee baby."
She then frowned when the king, especially the lords who have come forward, were all eyeballing her observingly, almost as if to get a closer look at what's underneath.
"Well, don't just stare at me! Do something!" She hissed, making Fergus realize the lords were curiously gazing upon her as he exclaimed with offense, trying to shield his wife's body from their eyes.
"What the…!? Back your eyes, lads! Show some respect!"
All three lords quickly turned their backs to respect their queen's dignity while Hamish, Hubert and Harris, now human again themselves and naked just like their mother, rushed over to their mother and father. Merida only shook her head with amusement while cuddling Magnus, who then pulled out Elinor's tiara that he was keeping in his pocket and placed it on her head where it belonged and she smiled warmly with gratitude.
"Now that's what I call a wee naked baby!"
Afterwards, everyone returned to the castle with Merida and Magnus staying near the queen to help keep the tapestry from falling off her body until they finally got her into a new attire. All was finally well among the clans. A great peace bringing them all together once torn apart by a huge rift and a clash of egos was brought back together. All it took was for the princess of Dun'Broch to help them see through their flaws join together not as enemies, but as allies. Because of Magnus's great feat, he has been painted as a hero, the one who defeated Mor'du and saved the queen and princess. As for them, things between them had got much better ever since the whole ordeal with the spell and the former turning into a bear. It allowed them both to be much closer to each other than they have been a long time ago. Not too long ago, they've been getting on each other's nerves, arguing about traditions, royal conventions and especially marriage. Elinor, having ever been the traditionalist, wanted Merida to learn and obey their regal customs and become the prim and proper queen she expected her to be someday, but Merida, of course, fought against her mother's opinions by wanting to do things her own way and was hellbent to have her own say in the matter, even if it meant risking the lives of others. But both women eventually came to see their fatal mistakes and how they affected each other, learning from them to help them better understand each other as a result.
So Elinor had come to respect Magnus more, but exactly as a loyal servant, but as a future son-in-law if the two were to ever marry soon. And Magnus never felt happier to be here right now, having met the Scottish princess and his misadventures with her made him feel more at home here in Castle Dun'Broch than at his real home in the real world. While Magnus and Merida were helping Elinor make a new tapestry that depicted the two archer teens and Elinor as a bear standing hand-in-hand together with Merida on the left side and Magnus on the right, they learned from Fergus that it was time for the three clans to depart and return home so they both rushed down to the docks to bid them all farewell.
Merida was receiving some unwanted attention from the Wee Dingwall who was giving her some smooches up her arms, making her increasingly uncomfortable by the little twig's exaggerated show of affection. Thankfully, Magnus had to pull him off here and remind him to control himself before he shared a group hug with the rest of the lords' sons, wishing them all good luck before the clans all set sail with Clan Dun'Broch all waving them goodbye. But then Fergus noticed that Hamish, Hubert and Harris had snuck aboard on one of the clan's ships as stowaways while all three hung from the mast, mischievously waving goodbye to their family, much to his annoyance. So he hopped onto a dory and sailed after the ships in his desperate and angered attempt to retrieve his troublesome sons. Then something underneath the water started holding onto the bottom of his boat and making him go faster. Merida and Magnus both shared a look, knowing exactly what was going on.
"He'll be back soon." He replied jokingly. Merida shook her head with a cackle before bringing in for another deep kiss.
From that moment, Merida was allowed to marry whenever she wanted to whomever she wanted and her biggest pick was Magnus obviously. They both rode their horses together to the top of the hill to get a good view of the lake and the sunset in the distance. It was a beautiful moment for the both of them. Months later, after Fergus managed to get the boys back, Magnus was knighted Sir Magnus the Brave. He formed a greater relationship with Elinor who had shared a more motherly bond with him. He and Merida even taught her some archery skills and while there had been a few setbacks, mainly Elinor almost accidentally striking someone with her arrows, it was mostly trial and error as it took time and patience for the queen to be adeptly skilled with the bow. But she was finally able to hit the target, albeit not right at the center, but it was a start.
After a while, Magnus had mustered up all the courage and asked Merida to marry him and she surprisingly agreed. While the king and queen arranged the wedding, Elinor, naturally, wholeheartedly handled everything to make sure it was going to be perfect and that everything was to go exactly as planned. With a few pre-wedding jitters taken care of, Magnus and Merida made it to the altar without messing up or making themselves look like fools and said their vows before the pastor announced them man and wife before Magnus gladly kissed his bride and newly-wedded wife. Elinor was the most overjoyed to see her daughter finally getting married.
Before long when it was time for the king and queen to retire and hand down their crowns, Merida was crowned as Queen of Dun'Broch at her coronation with Magnus by her side as the King and they both lived happily ever after.