Somebody to Love
Chapter 12: At the Beginning with You
By BourbonCowboy
Merida was back in her apartment. She was not alone. Eugene lounged on her sofa, legs dangling off the end, appearing quite relaxed. Rapunzel was busy organizing a large bag with supplies that they may need for their trip. Merida watched the energetic princess with a fond smile. The red head leaned against the counter in her kitchen sipping a glass of cold water and letting her mind wander over the advertisement that she had pulled from the bulletin board yesterday.
The trio had spent several hours shopping for supplies and outfitting Merida with the tools that a scout would need. Eugene had shown her how to locate the Trade District, where she could buy, sell, or trade things interesting finds from her journeys. Then he has shown her the Guild District where she would normally drop off the ingredients that she had procured. Merida felt excited. No! Exhilarated! At the idea of heading off into the wilds of the world on adventures. She remembered listening to her father and his friends tell stories about their wild youths and how they sometimes would still feel the itch. Having been born female, she presumed that "the itch" was something she aught to ignore. Especially after that whole incident with the witch and the bear. Merida shuddered at the thought and wondered if this was perhaps a bad omen. Rapunzel noticed and paused in her planning. "Everything okay, Merida?"
"Och…I don't know." Merida put her glass down on the counter with a thump! Causing Eugene to jump on the sofa and stare over at her too. "At first when I saw the paper requesting water from the Fire Falls, I thought it was a sign of my Fate."
Rapunzel just looked confused. "What do you mean a sign of your fate?"
Merida sighed as she debated how to tell her new friend about how she had come to Camelot. But the story really began five years ago, when she had first tried to change her fate. But she had behaved so badly…she had almost gotten her mother and father killed! She had almost lost her mother and three brothers to be bears forever. All because she did not want to get married. It was almost laughable that now she was seeking with all her heart the right man to wed, a complete turnaround from back then. What would her new friends think of her if they knew of Merida's shame? But Rapunzel was gazing at Merida with just the right amount of worry and understanding. In fact, Rapunzel had shared her own history with Merida the night before as they lay on the floor in Rapunzel's living room. Rapunzel had disobeyed her mother's wishes, run away from home with a thief, placed herself in terrible danger…but in the end she had discovered something about herself that she never would have if she had just sat still and looked pretty – Rapunzel's words, not Merida's! In fact, ever since Merida had arrived in Camelot the recurring theme that was shouted from the rooftops, written on every page, whispered in every corner and sung in every song was this: be true to yourself. Merida decided that the first step in being true to herself was acknowledging that she had made mistakes in the past, but that she had grown from them. She was not the same girl she was five years ago. She had come to Camelot not just to find her true love but to find herself now too. Rapunzel and Vladimir had told her that Camelot was a melting pot of cultures and that had proven true wherever Merida went in the city. Merida firmed her lip and made a decision. But it was probably going to take some explaining. "Right. I think I must tell you the tale!" Merida proclaimed.
(Author's Note: If this was a movie, this would be the part where some rousing song came on as the montage began. But this is the written word. Feel free to bounce around to the music in your head.)
Eugene went to Vlad's apartment down the hall and came back with the Count himself carrying a small grey puppy, and a globe. Merida pulled down books that had magically appeared on the shelves in her living room that showed pictures of Dun Broch and talked about her culture. Rapunzel turned on some sort of magic box that began to whine and groan with the familiar sound of the bagpipes of Merida's homeland. Then Rapunzel placed an order on the magic mirror in the hallway to Tiana's Place requesting a Highland Special which was delivered by messenger fairy within minutes. Merida looked around her apartment at her friends and felt her cheeks begin to ache from smiling so much.
"Okay! Ye told me that one of the primary missions of Camelot is to foster the exchange of information and different cultures," Merida started, a little nervously. Catching Vladimir's eye and the gentle smile he offered, Merida felt better. She cleared her throat. "Yes well, I want to tell ye about how I tried to change my Fate and what that means in my land. Once upon a time, there was an ancient kingdom. It's name long forgotten. It was ruled by a wise and fair king who was much beloved. And when he grew old he divided the kingdom among his four sons that they should be the pillars on which the peace of the land rested. But the oldest prince wanted to rule the land for himself. He followed his own path and the kingdom fell to war and chaos and ruin. This is not just a story. Legends are lessons. They ring with truth."
"So…what you're saying is that in your culture, going against tradition and doing things your own way leads to destruction and ruin?" Eugene dead-panned. Rapunzel elbowed him in the ribs. "What?! I'm just saying!"
Rapunzel glared at her husband. "That's actually very common! Remember what Mulan told us about how she became a warrior maiden? People actually told her that everyone had to do their part to support the emperor – the men by bearing arms, the women by bearing sons. And look how great that turned out!"
Eugene raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I mean…that's just one example."
Rapunzel just rolled her eyes and looked at Merida, silently begging her to continue. Merida smiled again, momentarily marveling at how at ease she felt in the presence of these friends.
"He's not wrong, Rapunzel. I grew up hearing that tale. My mother would bring it up constantly to reinforce her lessons to me. Ye see, to me, my mother was so perfect. She never did anything wrong and there was zero way I could ever live up to her. I have been groomed my whole life to take over for her one day. Anyway, when I came of age my parents arranged my marriage to one of the clan lords' sons."
"An arranged marriage?! How awful!" one of Rapunzel's hands came up to cover her heart.
"Arranged marriages are a very common practice, Rapunzel," Vladimir offered gently. "You were quite fortunate to have met young Eugene there when you did. Had you not been spirited away as a babe, you would have grown up in the palace with your parents the king and queen. When you came of age, they would likely have arranged a marriage between you and the prince of another country to strengthen political ties, improve trade and security."
"Well I would NOT have agreed to it! How can you marry someone you don't love?" Rapunzel was getting quite worked up now. Tears started to glisten in her green eyes. Eugene walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Merida caught a look between Eugene and Vladimir and deduced that the custom of arranged marriages was not news to either man.
"It's okay, Rapunzel. I really should have agreed to it. That's what a good daughter, a good princess would do." Merida said. Rapunzel opened her mouth to argue, but Merida held up a hand to stall any further protestations. "I was selfish. I embarrassed my family, the clan lords and their sons. Then afterwards, I ran away. The wisps led me to a witch who gave me a spell that changed my mother into a bear."
"What an evil witch!" Rapunzel gasped.
"No, no! She was quite kind and helpful. She actually was not even practicing witch craft anymore when I stumbled on her cottage. She was more wood carving." Merida chuckled at the memory. "I was the one who asked for a spell to change my mum. I did not know what would happen. In trying to change my Fate, I almost lost everything."
Standing before the fireplace, Merida told her friends the whole tale from start to finish. She spared no details, including her own poor behavior. For their parts, her friends were a great audience. They gasped and laughed at all the right parts. Vladimir even proclaimed that no one could spin a yarn as well as a Scotsman after it was over. Merida thanked him and went on to explain about how afterwards she and her mother had formed a stronger bond. She talked about how she had spent five years traveling her land, spending time with the different clans and getting to know the young lords.
"Despite everything, I could not fall in love with any of them." Merida confessed.
"That may be true, child," Vladimir was scratching the sleeping puppy's ears idly. "But you must realize that all of the time you have spent amongst your people, learning from them and letting them get to know you has been for the good of your land? You will be a wonderful queen because you know your subjects and they will feel loved and protected because they know you. Your strong relationship with the young clan lords, who will one day rule their respective clans, will keep all of you bonded together. You need never worry about civil war during your rule. That is no small feat that you have accomplished before even taking the throne!" There was pride in his blue eyes. Merida remembered what Vladimir had said about the civil unrest in his country that had cost his adoptive daughter her entire family and knew that he spoke from experience. She felt warmth spread in her chest at Vladimir's praise.
"Well…so now I am here. In Camelot. King Arthur has tasked me with being one of his scouts. The very first thing that I see is an advertisement for water from the Fire Falls…" Merida began.
"That's that big rocky cliff you climbed at the beginning of the story! You climbed up there bare handed and drank from the falls!" Eugene proclaimed, excited. "See. I was listening." Merida nodded at him.
"Oh! I think I get it now!" Rapunzel smiled brightly. "You think its like a sign? That you should go back to the beginning. It's sort of like starting over!"
"I had not thought of it in that way," Merida confessed. As she thought about it though, what Rapunzel said made a lot of sense. All Merida had thought when she saw the advertisement was that it was like a giant will o the wisp flashing at her. She was unsure if it was a good sign or a bad sign and was grappling with the dilemma. "Mayhap ye are right. I need to go back to the beginning where I changed my Fate the first time."
"Yay!" Rapunzel jumped up and hugged Merida. "This is so exciting! I can't wait to go with you!"
"Ye…ye want to come with me? To Dun Broch?" Merida asked, both elated and apprehensive.
"Of course! Eugene is your scout trainer, so he's got to go. And I am dying to see some of these places from the book in real life." She waved her hand to indicate the multiple tomes lying open around the room. Several of them were open to pictures of the highland countryside. Merida thought to herself, rather smugly, that they depicted her homeland as both beautiful and mysterious. Rapunzel had wrapped both of her arms around one of Merida's and shook her gently. "I'm going to bring my sketchbook! It's going to be so inspiring!"
"How will you all get there?" Vladimir asked quietly, and Merida thought she noticed tension around the older man's normally twinkling eyes.
"I had thought we would go by mirror?" Merida responded, looking from Vladimir to Eugene.
The former thief stroked his chin in thought. "Mirror travel can be dangerous." Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "I have just the thing!"
"A boat?" Merida asked, incredulous. Merida, Rapunzel, and Eugene stood on Camelot's dock in the late afternoon sun. All three were equipped with backpacks of supplies for their adventure. Merida was once again dressed in soft doe colored breeches, sturdy boots, a long sleeved, ivory colored linen shirt with leather ties at the bodice, and a corset belt. Her wild hair had been tamed into a long braid, though several fiery wisps floated free to frame her round face. At her belt Merida wore a short dagger and her money pouch and on her back, for the first time in a long time, was her bow and quiver of arrows. It felt right. Rapunzel was wearing a soft lavender dress that ended mid-shin, no shoes, and for some reason unknown to Merida, the brunette was carrying a frying pan. Eugene was dressed similarly to Merida, though he preferred a leather vest over his shirt and he had a longsword strapped at his waist. Eugene winked at Merida's question and continued to swagger down the docks towards a tall ship that was anchored there. Proudly proclaimed in gold lettering on the side of the hull was the ship's name: The Legacy.
The Highland princess found her arm once again caught in Rapunzel's and soon she was being dragged down the docks towards the tall ship. Eugene was waving at someone on board. Following the gesture, Merida found herself looking at a handsome young man with an intense blue gaze beneath thick dark brows. His brown hair was long and tied in a tail at the nape of his neck. He appeared comfortable in the rigging where he was perched, holding on with one hand. The wind blew his clothes and hair, but this did not seem to bother the man much. He pushed a stray piece of hair from his eyes and then dropped with startling swiftness from the ropes onto the deck of the ship, disappearing momentarily from view. The sailor reappeared within moments, clasping forearms with Eugene and conversing with him in low tones. Merida found herself blushing as she leaned over to whisper to Rapunzel, "Who is that?" Rapunzel giggled and drug the red-headed princess up the gangplank to the ship's deck.
"Don't forget to touch the iron!" the sailor said, not unkindly. Merida followed his gaze to an iron horseshoe that was tacked up on a pole near the gangplank. "When boarding for the first time, before a long voyage, you must touch the iron. It's terrible bad luck otherwise." Merida and Rapunzel looked at each other, shrugged, then each took a turn touching the iron. Rapunzel giggled as she did so. Coming from a more suspicious people, Merida understood the sailor's trepidation. Ritual complete, the two ladies turned to face Eugene and the sailor.
"Jim, you remember my wife Rapunzel?" Eugene introduced Rapunzel with a wave of his hand. Rapunzel smiled and shook hands with the handsome sailor. The man, Jim, looked down and took note of Rapunzel's lack of footwear with obvious chagrin.
"It's good to see you again, Rapunzel. Don't you think you'll be wanting shoes for the journey? The deck can be very slippery." Jim said somewhat gruffly.
"Oh I'll be fine!" Rapunzel waved off his concern with a flick of the wrist. Jim just nodded and let it drop. His grey/blue eyes flicked to Merida. She wanted to squirm under his intense stare, but was too much her mother's daughter. Merida held her stubborn chin high and tried to school her expression to neutrality, giving nothing away of her thoughts. Jim's gaze took in her wild, waving curls, the strength of her arms, the curves of her body, and the resolve in her sky blue eyes. He nodded, apparently pleased with what he saw.
"Jim, this is Merida, the king's newest scout," Eugene supplied, "Merida, this is my buddy Jim Hawkins. He's captain of The Legacy and a former pirate!"
Jim's and Merida's eyes widened simultaneously. Jim turned an angry glare on Eugene and exclaimed indignantly, "I was never a pirate!"
"You sailed on board a ship run by pirates in search of pirate gold. Sounds like a pirate to me." Eugene was unapologetic, as per usual.
"The ship was captained by an officer of the royal navy! The pirates let a mutiny and…oh never mind." Jim rubbed his eyes tiredly then the side of his face. Finally he looked back up at Merida and offered a small smile. "I promise, ma'am, I'm no pirate. The rogue here tells me that you need passage out of Camelot?"
"Yes, Captain," Merida let the whole is he or isn't he a pirate thing go…for now. "We sail for Dun Broch to obtain water from the Fire Falls. Can you take us there?"
"Let's go down to my cabin and consult the charts." The captain offered. The foursome trooped across the ship's deck, down a flight of stairs and down a narrow galley hall to the captain's quarters. It was nothing fancy. The captain appeared a man of simple comforts. Merida noted a book and a pair of reading glasses on the small bed attached to wall on the right. There were a few sea chests, presumably for clothes and personal treasures. A large desk with ledgers, several ink pots and sharpened quills sat before a trio of bookcases full of seafaring charts on the left-hand side of the room. In the back of the room was a dining table with seating for six, atop a handsome red and gold rug beneath an ornate golden chandelier. Jim went straight to one of the glass-door bookcases and began rummaging around inside. Merida's eyes strayed to a few photographs on the wall next to the desk. Leaning closer, she saw a handsome woman with the captain's brown hair and big eyes. The woman was wearing a white bonnet over her head, a golden locket over her burgundy and cream dress, and a gentle smile. Merida didn't have a chance to view the other photos closely, though she thought that the bespectacled man in the next one had a certain canine-like appearance. In the next moment, with a grunt of satisfaction, Jim produced a scroll and unrolled it on his desk. Merida and Rapunzel leaned in close and Merida felt something stir in her chest as she recognized a familiar landmass in the middle of the blue ocean. She was grateful in that moment that her mother had been so insistent that she learn her geography as part of her princess training.
"Well, madam, I do believe that I can get you there and back again in no time at all," Jim said quietly, one square finger tracing a path along the map. He picked up a sextant and fiddled with it for a few moments before pulling out another chart, this one showing constellations, which he overlaid atop the other map. Jim muttered to himself something about tides and easterly winds before nodding again. "We have only to wait for sunset. I'll have a porter show you to your quarters, so you can get settled in. Then you all can join me on deck at sunset for the departure. You won't want to miss it." He clapped Eugene on the shoulder and the two men headed out the cabin together, talking animatedly. Merida distinctly heard Eugen ask the other man "Have I ever told you the story of the three-legged goat?" Rapunzel just giggled and rolled her eyes before giving Merida a gentle nudge. The two women stepped out into the hall where a sailor was waiting patiently to direct them to their cabins. They were to have adjoining rooms. Neither room was very big. Merida's had a bed, a sea chest, and a small vanity with mirror. Merida placed her bag and weapons upon the bed and considered herself adequately unpacked. She stepped back into the hall and poked her head into Rapunzel and Eugene's room. Of course, the brunette was unpacking and arranging personal items all around her tiny cabin. Merida found her new friend's idiosyncrasies quite endearing. The redhead leaned against the doorframe and listened as Rapunzel prattled on about everything being in the right place and how it made everything seem so much homier. Before long though they became aware of the sound of the ship's bells calling all hands to deck for departure. Merida and Rapunzel followed the general scuffle of sailors up to the deck.
The sun was disappearing over the western horizon, the colors of sunset blending into the ocean as though the sun was actually dipping into the waters. Rapunzel disappeared from Merida's side, off to wrap her arms around her husband's waist as they watched the sunset together. Merida smiled fondly at the two and turned her gaze back to shore. The ships hands had cast off and Camelot was slowing slipping away from them. All around sailors were bustling about their jobs. Merida had some experience with ships, having sailed many times in the last several years visiting the young clan lords. But those ships had been toys compared to the massive sailing vessel upon which she now stood. How far could she sail on a ship like this? Past the horizon to a new world? What lay just beyond her sight at the edge of the world? Merida felt her heart hammering in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she imagined the adventures that were waiting for her. It was a part of her soul that she had purposefully forgotten for so long as she tried to squeeze herself into the role of perfect princess and now it refused to be ignored. She breathed in the salty sea air and felt it inflate her lungs until she was certain she could fly away. Merida closed her eyes to better appreciate the feeling of weightlessness.
"Careful, ma'am," a soft voice said from beside her, "Wouldn't want you to float away now, would we?"
Merida opened her eyes and felt her feet more firmly beneath her. The wooden planks of the deck held her firmly to the ship's surface again. Blue eyes met stormy gray. The captain was watching her curiously. Merida refused to be embarrassed. She would not blush to be caught enjoying this simple pleasure. She was not sure what to think of the captain. He was handsome, that much was obvious. As captain of a ship he must possess the same desire for adventure that she did. Could this be her true love, the one she had been searching for? If so…the timing was terrible! She had just arrived in Camelot! She was off on her first adventure with the scouts. It was too soon to fall in love! She felt herself lock her heart away as surely as if she had plucked it from her chest and closed it within the sea chest at the end of her bed. Unaware of Merida's internal struggles, the captain stepped closer.
"The Legacy will take you all the way to Dun Broch and back, ma'am. When the last ray of sunlight disappears, we will ride it back to the land of your father. It can be a bit disconcerting the first time. I shall stand ready to catch you should you swoon." Jim offered pleasantly.
"That is quite alright, Captain, I do not faint easily," Merida replied steadily and without malice, "I am no wilting flower. But I welcome your company all the same."
Jim laughed. It was a pleasant, warm sound and Merida found herself smiling with him. The two fell into companionable silence as they watched the sunset. Across the deck, Rapunzel nudged her husband in the ribs and pointed none too discreetly. "Don't they look totes adorbs?!" she stage-whispered. Eugene rolled his eyes but chuckled, "Please don't ever say that again, babe." The last tendril of the sun's warmth began to disappear. Jim stepped closer to Merida, his stance wide and he placed a steadying hand on the princess' waist. "Hold on cause here we go!" Merida took a deep breath as she felt a strong magical presence.
Stepping out from one of the warehouses on the dock, the young Viking chieftan paused to watch the departing ship, leaning against his dragon's dark hide. He was wondering how well he would be able to incorporate what he learned about shipbuilding in Camelot to what he was doing back home. His eyes could just barely make out the silhouettes of some of the sailors and passengers on board the ship. The setting sun seemed to set one of the passenger's hair aglow. As he squinted to see better, the last ray of light disappeared beyond the horizon…and it took the ship with it! One moment the ship was there, the next there was nothing but a ship-shaped puff of smoke. "I don't s'pose I'll ever get used to magic," Hiccup harrumphed. With one last glance at where the ship had disappeared, Hiccup slid into the saddle and he and Toothless flew back towards the Castle.