The sun shined bright and the gentle waves washed onto the shore as the eighteen-year-old Lincoln Loud and Stella Zhau drove into a familiar small Scottish town. The very one that shared the young man's family name. This was their last summer vacation before college and the young couple wanted to make it extra special by taking a trip together. "Welcome to Loch Loud, Stella," Lincoln announced as they arrived at the town's main entrance. Stella marveled at the surroundings of the quaint yet beautiful village as they drove along the stony path.

"Wow, Lincoln. This place looks so cool," Stella said, waving to the people who waved back at them while they drove past. "I still can't believe there's a whole town named after your family."

"It's pretty awesome, isn't it? And if you think the town is impressive, wait until you see where we're staying."

In no time at all, the couple arrived at the entrance of a grand castle. The same one that Lincoln and his family had stayed in the last time they were in town and that he was excited to show his new girlfriend. As they pulled into the driveway, stepped out of the car, and walked up to the front door, Stella gaped in awe of the castle's majesty. "So this castle really belonged to your royal ancestors?" she asked.

"That's right," Lincoln confirmed. "Would you like to meet them?"

"Wait, what?"

The young woman's confusion was temporarily put on hold as her boyfriend knocked on the front doors. Soon after, the doors opened and they were greeted by a man wearing a kilt around his waist, a crown on his head and a big, bright smile on his face. "Lincoln! Welcome back, lad!" he greeted the boy happily.

"Angus! It's so great to see you again!" Lincoln responded as the two old friends hugged each other. When they separated, Angus took notice of the young lady standing next to him.

"Ah! And you must be Stella. A pleasure to meet you, lass. Lincoln's told me all about you," Angus said as he shook her hand.

"Likewise. It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Angus," Stella responded. "Oh, wait. You're a duke. Should I call you Your Lordship or something?"

"Oh, goodness no, lass," the man said with a hearty laugh. "Please, call me Angus. I may be the duke, but I'm no better than anyone else in the village. Anyway, please, do come in. We've spared no time preparing the castle for your visit."

As Angus waved them inside, Stella wondered what he'd meant when he said 'we.' Her question was answered when a pair of ghostly children appeared out of nowhere and floated up to greet them. They looked just like Lincoln and Lucy, but much younger and dressed old-fashioned attire. Stella was practically petrified with shock, but Lincoln, on the other hand, seemed rather excited to see them.

"Lincoln! How wonderful to see you again, cousin!" said the little girl ghost as she and the other one floated over to hug Lincoln.

"Lucille! Duke! Glad to see you guys, too," he said back before turning towards his clearly startled girlfriend. "Stella, say hello to my ancestors. The original owners of this castle."

"Uh… hi?" Stella chirped out nervously.

"Delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Stella," said Duke as he floated over and gently kissed her hand.

"Um… yeah. You, too. Wow. Lincoln never mentioned that this castle was… haunted."

"Aye, but not to worry," said Angus. "The specters around here are as friendly as a newborn batch of wee baby seals."

"And three times as noisy."

Suddenly, another face rounded the corner of the hallway. A very sour and bitter face. One that Lincoln glared at upon making eye contact with. "Morag!" he said in a rather hostile tone.

"Lincoln!" the woman returned.

"Morag?" Stella questioned. "Isn't she the one who tried to drive out your family and take over the town for herself?"

"Yeah, and when that didn't work, she tried to kill us all," Lincoln recalled before returning his attention to Morag herself. "I have to say, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you'd been left stranded on a rock in the ocean surrounded by seals."

"I was, until Angus brought me back, only to face an even more horrid fate."

"She's our official royal caretaker, just as her great grandmother Aggie was when we were alive," explained Duke.

"Yes. Thanks to this dimwitted duke over here, I am now forced to spend all of eternity serving the very family that I despise so very much."

"Wait. All eternity?" Stella questioned. "Really?"

"Aye," answered Lucille. "For the crimes she has committed against our family, according to the laws of the Spirit Realm, Morag's soul has been bound in service to our family for all time. In this life… and the next."

"Wow," Lincoln exclaimed. "That is some serious punishment right there."

"I'll say," Stella agreed. "Remind me never to cross your family."

"Oh, Morag!" called the ghostly voice of a snooty-sounding little girl. "Would you be a dear and clean out the ice box? It reeks of old haggis!"

"Grrrr! If you will all excuse me… duty calls!" Morag growled as she stomped away in fury.

Now that the grouchy caretaker was gone, the atmosphere was back to being much friendlier. "It's so wonderful to have you back here, Lincoln," said Angus. "Lela's going to be so happy to see you again."

"Who's Lela?" asked Stella. "Is she your cousin or something?"

"Not exactly," Lincoln answered with a smirk.


As if the ghosts weren't shocking enough, now Stella was standing in front of a real live ten-foot-tall dragon. And Lincoln was petting it! "Hahaha! I'm happy to see you, too, girl," said Lincoln as he rubbed the giant creature's snout. "How've you been doing? You've been taking good care of Angus and the village? Huh?" The dragon nodded happily and he continued to pet her and give sweet words of affection.

Meanwhile, Stella could only stand there and stare. "Ghosts AND dragons?! This place is just full of surprises," she said.

"Stella, this is Lela. She's the royal family dragon and Guardian of the Loch," Lincoln introduced her. "Lela, this is my girlfriend Stella."

The young woman stood frozen in fear as the great reptile came over and sniffed her with its enormous nostrils, trying to figure out what to make of her. Soon, she smiled and gave her and gentle friendly nuzzle, which put Stella more at ease. "See? I knew she'd like you," said Lincoln.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Lela," Stella greeted the dragon. When Lincoln had told her and the rest of their friends before that he had ridden a dragon in Scotland, she'd thought he was just telling tall tales. Now it turned out that those tales may have been slightly more truthful than she'd realized. "I hope we can be good friends," she said.

Just then, Lincoln got an idea. "Hey, Stella. Have you ever ridden a dragon before?"


Lincoln kept a firm grasp on one of Lela's back spikes as she carried him and his girlfriend around through the sky high above the village. Speaking of said girlfriend, she kept her arms wrapped tightly around Lincoln's torso for safety. At first, she'd been a little afraid to open her eyes, but when she did, she really got into the thrill of soaring through the sky, the wind blowing in her hair. "Woohoo!" she shouted excitedly.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Lincoln asked.

"This… This is the most incredible thing I've ever done! It's just like something out of that Viking movie! I love it!"

"Wait until you check this out!"

Suddenly, Lela started swooping down toward the village. The people below watched in awe and Stella held on for dear life as she flew down at breakneck speed only to pull up at the last second and fly past them. The villagers all cheered and Stella's heart was beating a mile a minute. "This is way better than any roller coaster!" she declared.

"I know, right?" her boyfriend agreed. "Lela's the coolest!"

The flying beast flashed a proud smile at their praise. Then she brought her two passengers back to the castle as she came in for a landing.


After their flight, Lincoln and Stella decided to let Lela rest back in her cave for the rest of the day. Truth be told, they were both ready for a little relaxation themselves. And what better place to relax than the Duke's private royal bedroom, which he had graciously allowed them to stay in during their visit? Since the bathroom attached to the bedroom had its own little jacuzzi, they decided to go for a nice soothing dip together.

Lincoln changed into his swim trunks and got into the tub first. He sat there comfortably, letting the bubbles soak into his shorts as he waited for Stella to join him. Finally, the door opened and there she stood. The love of his life wearing a sexy red bikini, smiling at him as she stood in the doorway striking a very seductive pose. Lincoln's eyes drifted up and down her body as he admired every one of Stella's beautiful curves.

Stella noticed the way her boyfriend was staring at her and decided to play with him a little. "Greetings, your majesty," she said sensually. "How may I serve you today." She gave a light tug on her bra strap, drawing attention to her rather prominent breasts, which she could tell Lincoln really enjoyed.

She strutted over to the tub and climbed in right next to Lincoln. Ever since they were kids, Stella had been a head taller than him and even after all these years, that glaring difference in height had remained, even while they were both sitting down together. He didn't mind, though. In fact, as far as he was concerned, it made her even more attractive.

He decided to try his hand at speaking like a romantic Scottish royal. "M'lady, you look as radiant as the shimmering waves of the loch herself," he said. She giggled at his adorable and flattering choice of words and speech pattern.

"Why, thank you, Sire," she replied with a Scottish accent of her own. "You really know how to make a lassie feel as special as the… um… bagpipes in the… moors of… Sorry. I've got nothing." The two young lovers laughed and gazed longingly into each other's eyes. The heat of the water was slowly heating up the passion of their hearts. They turned their bodies towards each other and grabbed onto each other's shoulders. "You know, I bet you would've made an awesome duke," said Stella.

"And you would've made a wonderful duchess," Lincoln assured. Then they pulled their bodies together and joined their lips in a loving, passionate kiss. Who needs royal status and power when you have somebody who loves you as deeply as Lincoln and Stella loved each other? Being with the one they loved made them both feel greater than any royal.