Chapter 3

Trial by Fire

Spiros awoke to the feeling of cold water being splashed onto his face.

"Wakey Wakey!" Merida shouted as he sat up spluttering.

"What was that for?" He asked, clearly agitated.

"It's way past dawn, the other clans are on their way. They'll be here to train by lunch, and I want you to be at least a little prepared for your initiation." She grumbled.

"Initiation, what are you taking about?" He asked.

"In order to compete , you need to be a member of a clan. Since you weren't born here, you'll have to complete a trial to become an honorary member." She told him.

"What's the difference between an honorary member and a person who was born here?" He inquired, purely out of curiosity.

"Well if you pass your trial, your basically a member of the clan. The only things you can't do is own a house, join our military and you can't get married." She explained.

"Oh, ok." He said, standing up and stretching.

"If you managed to do a heroic deed, then you would be treated as if you had been born here. That rarely happens though." She added.

"I'll keep that in mind in case I decide to stay here." He told her, gathering his gear.

After strapping his shield to his arm, the duo began making their way to the Training Arena that had been set up near the docks. Various people were running around making preparations for the competition. Three large tent cities was being set up in a wide open field, one for each of the visiting clans. Various other forms of entertainment were being setup, like a makeshift outdoor theater and a large tent with an elevated wooden floor that would be acting like a ballroom.

"So is there anything else I should know about this competition?" Spiros asked the Princess.

"Well after we do the actual Shadow Seeker event, which is retrieving our clan banner from the catacombs, the rest of the day consists of smaller events. Archery ,dueling, a sailing race, among other things. However, during that part of the day anyone in our clan can compete although we'll probably be doing most of it." She replied.

"Wow, all that in one day?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Haha yeah, then there's the party which goes from dusk to dawn. It's tradition to stay up all night." She told him with a grin.

"Then everyone goes home that afternoon, right?" He asked.

"Nope, everyone will most likely be asleep for most of the day after the competition. They'll probably go home the day after that the earliest." She explained.

He chuckled before replying.

"Whoa, sounds like it'll be a great party."

"It always is, but that's not our priority. We need to win the Shadow Seeker event. Clan Macintosh has been on a winning streak for the last six years. Our clan hasn't even come close to winning since my Dad and his friend won when they were our age." She grumbled.

"Well, don't worry Princess, your ex's winning streak is about to end." He told her with a determined look on his face.

"That's the spirit!" She exclaimed as they arrived at the arena.

"So about my initiation, what do I have to do exactly?" He asked.

"Well, you'll face a random challenge in the arena while the clan elders and lords watch. If they unanimously approve, you'll be accepted into the clan. If you fail, you have to wait a year to try again. If you fail horribly, then you can never try again." She replied nonchalantly.

"Well, ok then." He murmured, clearly worried.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do great." She assured him as they entered the arena.

The duo quickly went to work, the arena was essentially a large circular sandpit filled with pressure plates. When someone stepped on a plate, a wooden practice dummy would spring up from the sand near the plate that had been triggered. The purpose of this was mainly for sharpening reflexes. Needless to say, Merida excelled at hitting her target, her arrows found their mark every time. Usually hitting the head or square in the chest. Spiros was quick on his feet, managing to strike every target with a shield bash or a swing of his sword. The duo moved almost in tandem, striking down their 'foes' in perfect unison before advancing closer to the center of the arena. Which was the safe zone, an area where there were no pressure plates.

Slowly but surely they cut a swath through their wooden adversary's and into the heart of the arena. Both of them were out of breath when they arrived, Merida immediately dropped her bow and began spinning around out of pure joy.

"Your incredible, the best swordsmanship I've ever seen! You might even be on par with my father!" She squealed.

"You really think so?" He asked, sheathing his sword.

"Of course, you were moving like..it...it was like you were in air!" She stammered, clearly excited.

"It was how I was trained, precision and fluid strikes can be more powerful then hard aggression." He explained.

"MACINTOSH!" a group of voices bellowed.

"MacGUFFINS!" another group of voices shouted, although they sounded a little farther away.

"DINGWALLS!" The last group called out, they sounded the closest.

"Sounds like the others are here, and they're early." The Princess said with a sigh.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

Spiros followed his partner out of the arena via the way they had came in. Realizing that the pressure plates they had stepped on needed to be reset before they could be triggered again.

They arrived at the docks at the last of the boats docked. The first people he met were the Dingwalls. Lord Dingwall was a short man, with a big attitude. He quickly realized the Spiros wasn't from anywhere in Dunbroch.

"Who's your friend, Princess?" He asked.

"Lord Dingwall, this is Spiros, he's from Greece and will be undergoing his initiation within the hour." She explained.

"Well you better impress me boy, my approval doesn't come easy." He hissed before walking away.

"Seems like a nice guy." Spiros grumbled.

"Spiros, I'd like you to meet Wee Dingwall. He's the only son of Lord Dingwall." Merida told her friend, drawing his angry gaze away from the cranky lord.

"Not to mention a potential suitor for you, Princess. You look lovely as always." The whit haired boy said with a goofy grin.

"Thank you...um... you look...nice as well." She replied, clearly uncomfortable.

"Farewell my fair maiden, until we meet again." The strange boy told her with a smile before walking away.

After they got a fair distance from him, Spiros rolled his eyes.

"Weirdo." He muttered.

The Princess did her best to contain her laughter.

Then she led him to two tall broad shouldered men with blonde hair (one had a beard that Zeus himself might of envied). Merida curtsied before speaking.

"Lord MacGuffin, I'd like you to meet Spiros. He'll be undergoing clan initiation soon. I just thought you would like to meet the lad before your asked to judge him." She explained.

"It's an honor, sir." Spiros said before bowing.

"I look forward to see you in action lad. Give it your all, that's all I will ask of you." He instructed firmly.

"I will." The young greco replied.

The pig tailed man nodded in approval before lumbering off down the docks.

The second man walked up to the duo. He bowed to the princess and then garbled out some gibberish as extended his hand to Spiros.

"Um...I'm Spiros. What did you say your name was again?" He asked, shaking the young man's hand.

"This is Young MacGruffin. He's a wee bit hard to understand at times." The Princess explained.

"Ok then." Spiros replied.

The son of the lord said one last bit of gibberish before bowing again to Merida and going off to find his father.

"He seems...friendly." Spiros murmured, obviously confused.

"Hello Princess!" a voice cried.

Spiros turned to see who had said that.

He saw a broad shouldered boy that was a little bit taller then he was, and looked significantly stronger. He had a war hammer strapped to his back. The boy had short hair that was not exactly blonde but not brown either. It was rather a mixture of both. He had icy blue eyes that seemed friendly. Although, the way he carried himself. It seemed as if he was the exact opposite, something was off about this guy.

"Hello Jon." Merida said, shooting Spiros a quick glance as if to say:

"He's the one I told you about!"

"Who's your friend?" Jon asked, glancing at him.

"Oh him, his name is Spiros, he's just passing through. In fact he's going to be my partner for the competition." She explained.

"Nice to meet you." Jon said, giving the Greco a nod.

"Like wise." He replied half heartily.

"Princess, good to see you again." said a man with long black hair, blue eyes and blue war paint covering most of his face.

"Lord Macintosh." Merida said, curtsying.

"Ah is this the one we'll be judging later?" The lord asked, gesturing to Spiros.

"Yes my lord, this is Spiros." She replied.

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck lad." He replied before walking down the docks to catch up with his fellow lords. Behind him was a slightly younger more muscular young man who looked to be his son, he gave Merida a nod but did not stop to chat. He merely followed his father down the docks.

Spiros turned to the Princess.

"I'm assuming he's..."

"Yes, he's my ex. Young Macintosh." She replied.

"You deserved better." Jon told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks." The Princess muttered.

"Your welcome." He replied.

The trio began making their way back towards the arena, where Spiros would face his initiation challenge. Jon and Merida quickly began a lengthy conversation. Jon also had the audacity to put himself (physically) between the Princess and Spiros, effectively cutting the Greco out of the picture. He simply walked in silence next to the Princess's crush as the two talked up a storm. It quickly became apparent that she really did like this guy a lot, and the feeling appeared mutual based on how Jon was acting. Spiros detached himself from their two way conversation and let his mind wander off to other places. He attempted at recalling occasions where this exact predicament had it occurred, sadly he was unable to do so.

"Lad!" an elderly voice bellowed, pulling Spiros out of his thoughts.

Standing before him was an elderly man with thick grey hair and bright blue eyes. The man's face was heavily wrinkled and he had bushel of hair growing out of his ears and nostrils. He wore a robe with the Dunbroch clan emblem on the chest and carried a wooden staff in one hand, a thick wisp of mist was rolling off the top of the staff as if it were a smoking chimney.

"Grandfather, I see your up and about." Merida said with a smile.

"Aye lass, ever since your father began accepting the old ways again, I've had a reason to go out from my humble abode every now and then." He explained.

"It appears my little...misadventure really did change things around here." She replied with a laugh.

"That it did young lady, that it did." The old man said with a hefty laugh. He then turned his attention to Spiros.

"So I'm guessing your the one my granddaughter has told me about." He said with narrowed eyes.

"Yes sir, should i gain acceptance into your clan, I'll be Merida's partner for the Shadow Seeker competition." He replied, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The elder suddenly got a far away look in his eyes.

"Ah yes, the competition. If only Seona were here today..."

"Grandfather!" Merida snapped.

"I'll die before I forget what happened, no matter what your parents believe!" He snarled before storming off.

Merida crossed her arms angrily with a groan.

"Well his kilt will be in a knot for the rest of the day." She grumbled.

Jon looked at her uneasily, he then decided to speak:

"Um...who's-"

Merida cut him off with an agitated look.

"Listen, if you needed to know I would tell you. However, the fact of the matter is you don't. So don't bother asking." She shouted before storming off as well.

"Whats her deal?" Jon asked, turning to Sprios.

"I don't know, you two seem like such good friends. I would figured you of all people would know." The Greco replied harshly before leaving as well.

Jon, confused about the entire situation, threw his arms up in frustration before sitting down at the edge of the dock.

Spiros managed to catch up with Merida, she still had her arms crossed in anger. It was clear that she was holding something back. Whether it was tears or a fit of rage remained unclear.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that...my Grandfather should know better then to bring her up." She replied, then she looked back at the docks. Her eyes full of worry.

"Is Jon mad at me for snapping at him like that?" She asked.

"No, I think he's more confused then anything." He told her.

"I better apologize to him later, after I cool down a little more." She murmured.

"Sounds like a plan, I'm sure he'll understand." He assured her.

"Are you ready?" She asked, turning her gaze to the Greco.

"Not quite." He replied, turning his gaze to the sky.

"Visilis!" He shouted.

The cry of his Griffin rang out across the landscape, a blur shot up from the castle grounds. It climbed high into the sky before swooping down over the arena and docks. The creature landed in front of the duo with a thud. Much to the alarm of several people, including Lord Dingwall and his son who readied their weapons.

"Don't fret princess, I've got this. YAHHHHHH!" Wee Dingwall screeched charging the Griffin who turned its head to the oncoming threat and roared, knocking his attacker over.

"Son, are you alright?" Lord Dingwall asked.

"What?" His son replied.

"Everyone please, this is Spiros' mount. He's perfectly tame, no need to make a big fuss." Merida told the distressed warriors.

There was a collective sigh of relief as weapons were sheathed, soon everyone went back to their lives. Lord Dingwall and his son locked eyes with Visilis before heading to the arena.

"Thank you for not tearing him to shreds." Spiros said after they were out of earshot.

"Squawk." The creature sounded almost...ashamed.

"No I'm not mad, he started it." His human companion replied.

The Griffin sighed with relief.

"Now, if you would hold still for a moment. I need my weapons." The Greco instructed, opening one of the saddle pouches.

After grabbing two knives and a single spear, Spiros instructed the Griffin to head back to the stables. Then he and Merida made their way back to the arena to find that it had been radically changed.

The sand pit was now an actually pit that had been lowered in a sinkhole that was about twenty feet deep. Spectators stood on the edge, looking down into the dimly lit pit trying to see what challenge awaited Spiros. The Elders stood on an elevated platform that sat on the northern edge of the pit.

Elder Dunbroch was there, and he still looked pretty upset about his standoff with Merida. Elder Macintosh was standing next to his fellow elder. The elder's extremely long and thick white hair and cataract ridden eyes made Spiros unsure as to how the man would judge him if he could barely see. This Elder had a staff as well, except his was topped with blue crystals. Elder Dingwall was sitting down at the edge of the platform. The elder was bald and sat in a hunched over position. He leaned on his iron staff, looking very weak. Finall Elder MacGuffin joined his fellow Elders on the platform. He had a staff made of bones. He also wore a bear tooth necklace and had various wooden charms braided into his long grey ponytail. The clan lords joined the Elders on the platform, with each lord moving to stand next to their respective elder.

"Come on,I've got to get you down there." Merida told her friend as the Lords called for quiet. She quickly picked up a crossbow and readied a zip line bolt. She fired it into the center of the pit and then tied the line off the line to the nearest tree. She then handed him a small chain with a handhold on either end.

"There you go, your all set." She said.

"Thanks, I'll do my best down there." He assured her.

"You'll do great, just stay sharp." She instructed.

He nodded, then he had an idea as he slung the chain over the rope.

"You know, a kiss for luck would be nice." He said as slyly as possible.

The Princess rolled her eyes.

"You don't need luck!" She replied with a snicker, shoving her friend down the zip line.

Spiros was now speeding into the pit, once he was a few feet off the ground he let go of the chain and dropped to the floor in a crouch.

The sand began shifting at his feet as he heard the Elders pounding their staffs on the platform. He saw someone cut the zip line he had used to get in as the ground began to rumble even more. Instinctively, he drew his sword and readied his shield. Then the sand at the heart of the arena began turning into a vortex. The Greco back flipped out of harm's way as a monster emerged from the sand.

It had blood red scales, purple serpent like eyes, long fangs at least as thick as a tree and just as long. Two forelegs, and lizard like hands with long serrated white claws. It resembled a large snake as it made the rest of it's body visible. It had no hind legs, but it did have three tails. Spikes tipped each of the tails and ran up the spine and stopped toward the back of its short neck. Venom dripped from the creature's jaws and sizzled as it hit the ground. The smell of rotting flesh and sulfur overwhelmed Spiros to a point at which he felt ill. It noticed the spectators above and shot a jet of fire at them via its nostrils. Then it turned its attention towards our hero and roared so loudly it shook the walls of the pit.

"No need to worry Spiros, he's only a baby Lindworm. Not even technically a dragon, just watch out for his venomous bite!" Merida warned from above.

This baby was probably about the size of a small ship and took up at least half of the arena. It's jaws we're so huge it could easily swallow a trio of cows whole. Spiros put up his sheild in order to keep himself alive as the creature shot a jet of fire at him. Surprisingly, he escaped relatively unharmed. The serpent hissed before snapping at him with its jaws. He quickly rolled out of the way and lunged at the serpent with his sword. He struck the creatures neck with the edge of the blade but it merely bounced off as if he had struck a boulder.

While he thought about what to do next, one of the serpent's tails wrapped sound his ankle. He yelped as the serpent hoisted him into the air and threw him into the wall. Spiros dropped the floor with a groan of pain.

"Oh, that one must of hurt!" Young Macintosh shouted.

Spiros snarled as he got up, bringing up his shield again as the serpent sent a jet of flames straight at him. The wave of heat would be enough to make most pass out, but the Greco held on clinging to the edges of consciousness. He could smell the sulfur and burnt venom in the air. It made him want to gag. Then he felt a sharp pain as the creature used it's spiked tail to cut open his leg. Blood began flowing out of the wound almost immediately at an alarming rate.

There was a the sound of distressed murmuring amongst the crowd, but Merida started shouting words of encouragement at her friend.

"Come on, show 'em what your made of!" She shouted.

The young Greco went on the attack, surging forward and leaping up and stabbing one of the serpent's eyes as it prepared to shoot out another jet of fire. He back flipped out of range of the creatures claws but had to roll of to the side as the monster tried to impale him in the chest with one of its tails. Then he noticed another tail coming in from his left, he promptly sliced the spike tip off with one swing and then put up his shield again as the creature hit him with another jet of flames.

The third tail managed to sneak up on him from his right. It whipped up from the sand and quickly reached around and drove its spiked tip into his shoulder blade. A wave of pain shot down his shield arm from his shoulder to his fingertips. However he managed to keep his shield up despite this. The serpent continued its attack with the jet of fire, slowly backing its prey against the wall. The heat from the fire was so great the sand in front of Spiros was beginning to turn to glass.

Merida watched this from above, still cheering her friend on, but growing ever more concerned. She readied her bow just in case things got out of hand. She quickly notched two arrows and got into a firing position where she would target the back of the serpent's head, should she be forced to fire.

"Looks like Macintosh has this year in the bag!" Jon said to Young Macintosh.

"It appears so my friend." He replied.

"Come on lad, don't give up!" King Fergus shouted, surprising almost everyone.

Down in the pit, Spiros' arm was weak from holding his shield up for so long. He heard a collective yelp of fear as he felt his arm give way and his shield dropped, but he quickly recovered. Merida saw her friend's strength wavering and took a firing position.

"Come on Spiros!" She shouted, not wanting to have to intervene.

"Princess, if you fire, he fails!" Elder Dingwall bellowed.

"So be it, you old coot." She grumbled to herself.

Then the serpent ceased it's hellish bombardment. Spiros quickly dropped his shield, only to find that the serpent was surging forward. He grunted as the creature rammed him with it's head, knocking him backwards and into the wall. The serpent hissed and used its tail to lift the Greco up and slammed him into the ground several times before retreating just a little. Then it prepared to finish our hero as he tried to get up.

Spiros' ears were ringing, his eyes stung as he tried to blink out the sand. He could hear the collective chatter of the crowd above. They were all hurling insults at him and the princess. Things like:

"The weakling does not belong!"

and

"Fate refuses to grant victory to outsiders, especially in The Pit!"

The Greco did his best to stand up straight as the serpent readied another jet of fire. From above he heard Merida shouting at him to put his shield up. Instead he waited, when he heard the screams of the crowd he reacted. He did not put his shield up at first, he dropped to one knee and drove his sword into the ground. He felt the cursed chain wrapped around his arm tighten to an extreme. He put his shield down towards the ground as well, it appeared as though his arms were making an arrow shape pointing at the ground. The flames hit him head on, but... they did not burn him. They wrapped around him in a diamond shape. He felt the heat and he could smell his bangs as they burned. However, the rest of his body remained intact.

He felt the chain tighten even more, to a point where he could feel his arm about to snap, he stifled a scream of pain as the creature ceased it's attack. Once the roar of the flames drowned out, the Greco noticed the crowd was now eerily quiet. He rose from his crouched portion, his shield charred, but relatively intact. He yanked his sword from the ground and noticed that the blade was now glowing red hot from the intense heat. He too was sweating, but the cool air of Dunbroch made his weapons steam. Ceasing the opportunity, The Greco threw his sword into the beasts forehead. The blade sunk through the serpents scales with ease, unlike before. The monster wailed in agony. Up in the crow, Merida breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know how her friend was still alive, but she was glad she hadn't fired her arrows.

Spiros took out his spear and did his best to stay on the serpent's blind side. He waited for the creature to snap at him with its jaws and when it did he drove his spear into the roof of its mouth. The serpent hissed in agony and thrashed it's head around. It managed to dislodge the spear with its thrashing, but the gaping wound it had left was now being infected with its own venom. The monster began to sway, it's legs buckled and it fell onto its side and then rolled onto its back, exposing a patch of shedding scales.

"Finish it!" Merida shouted.

Spiros rushed the creature's head as it thrashed and screeched, it's own venom tearing it apart from the inside out. It shot a quick jet of fire at our hero, but he managed to dodge it with a forward roll. The Greco yanked his sword out of the serpent's forehead, then proceed to climb up the side of its neck and onto its belly. Then he ran towards the weak spot, raising his sword above his head and bringing the blade down with as much force as he could gather. The serpent wailed one last time before falling silent. Spiros back flipped of the monsters belly as it began to dissolved into black mist. He swung his sword at the air twice before spinning it around in his hand and sheathing it.

The crowd above applauded, chanting the Greco's name. He merely sighed with exhaustion, not even the Makhai had given him that much trouble. The entire floor rumbled again, the arena was being lifted back upwards to the surface. When he arrived the crowd did not run in and congratulate him, they had to wait for the Elder's decision. The Greco dropped to one knee and dropped his gaze to the sand.

"Spiros, stand and be judged." Elder Dunbroch commanded.

He did as instructed, although he did feel uneasy. The Elders and Lords were sitting down at the edge of the platform. They had no emotion on their face, no hint of what they thought of him.

"Lords and Elders, stand now if you believe this young warrior has earned his place amongst Clan Dunbroch." King Ferus bellowed.

The Elders and Lords of Dunbroch and MacGuffin stood immediately. A few seconds later, the Lord and Elder of Macintosh stood as well. However both of the Dingwalls remained sitting. Spiros felt his heart sink as King Fergus' shoulders sagged, he prepared to speak again only to find that Elder Dingwall was getting up, on his own , for the first time in years. Lord Dingwall got up as well, he had a small grin on his face.

Suddenly, the color drained out of the world and time stood still. Spiros felt a strong bitter presence in the air around him. He tried to move but found that he was suck in place.

"Vanguard, hear my words. Come to my unmarked grave deep within the glen in two days time when the moon has reached the peak of its climb. We have much to discuss." a voice commanded as color returned to the world and time unfroze and things carried on as if no disturbance had occurred.

"Spiros, we commend you on your bravery in The Pit. From this day on you shall be a member of my clan!" Fergus shouted, the crowd burst out with cheering.

Then a shadow shot up from The Pit, and it swooped down onto the platform. Elder Macintosh stuck out his staff and absorbed the shadow into it. Then, resting at the stop of the staff, was a red snake hatchling made out of smoke. No bigger than a earthworm. The 'Lindworm' had been nothing more then the spirit of the monster , if things had gotten out of hand in the arena. Elder Macintosh would have been able to recall the beast for the lad's safety.

"You did it!" Merida shouted, running up to her friend.

"Yeah, guess I did." He replied.

"See I told you!" She said.

"Told me what?" He asked.

"You didn't need luck!" She reminded him.

The Greco couldn't help but laugh, but he staggered and the Princess came to his side. She allowed him to rest against her, the duo began making their way back to the castle. They walked in relative silence, then they heard a voice calling after them. It was Young Macintosh and Jon.

"Hey Spiros, just wanted to say: nice job!" Jon said as he caught up to them.

"Thanks." He replied.

"Looks like this year will be a challenge." Young Macintosh grumbled, obviously referring to the competition.

"Try to keep up tomorrow!" Merida told the duo as they turned back around and went to their tents.

"We should probably train some more." Spiros told his partner.

"I think the only one who needs training is me, you need to get some rest." She replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked as they arrived at the stables.

"Positive, you've earned your keep for today." She assured him, gently setting down in his bale of hay next to Visilis.

"Earned my keep, what am I? A horse?" He asked with a laugh, digging through a saddle pouch for medical supplies.

"Haha no, I didn't mean it like that. The bottom line is that you've done enough for today. Get some rest, I don't need you driving yourself into the ground the day before the big competition." The Princess told him.

"As you wish, your majesty." The Greco replied jokingly.

The Princess sat next to him as he wrapped his wounds. She sighed before speaking up:

"I need to get something off my chest."

"I'm all ears Princess, fire away." He replied.

"Do you remember my...outburst?" She asked.

"At the docks, yes I do." He said after finding the supplies he was looking for.

"Well do you remember who my grandfather brought up?" She murmured.

"Umm..the name was Seona, right?" He asked.

"She was my sister." The Princess explained, looking very crestfallen.

"What happened?" He asked, looking at her. Wrapping his wounds could wait.

"She was born a year after I was. She was beautiful in so many ways. She was the exact opposite of me. She loved being mom's little princess. She was smart, polite, everything that I struggle to be." She told him with a sniffle.

"Go on, I'm listening." He assured her.

"We were best friends, I mean...we had our arguments but we were sisters. I still loved her, and although she was a better princess then I was. We still had those moments where it was just her and me against the world." The Princess's eyes were swelling up with tears.

"One day, we got in a really bad fight. She broke the bow my father had given me on my birthday, just before she was born. I got so angry, I let it all out. I blamed her for taking my place in the family, how everyone thought she was better then me. It all just snowballed from their, I told her that if she loved me and our family she would get out of my life. So that night, she ran away." She explained, tears running down her cheeks.

"Then a few days later, we found her cloak in a cave, all shredded up. She was gone, she died thinking that I hated her. Ever since, I've never told my parents what I told her that night. They would kill me if they find out I had driven their favorite daughter to death." She burst into tears, Spiros merely hugged his friend and gave her a shoulder to cry on. She did her best to continued the story.

"We hardly speak of her anymore, and few know that she ever existed. If I ever got the chance to speak to her again, I'd take it all back. All the things that made her run away, it's just one if the many stupid things I've done to my family. I turned my mum and my three brothers into bears! All because I was being stupid and selfish, just like I was the night my best friend ran away." She shouted before bursting into tears again. Spiros allowed her to stop sobbing before he began speaking to her.

"We all make mistakes. I'm sure your sister is watching over to know, and I'm positive she would forgive you, that includes your parents. They seem like very nice people, and I doubt they have a favorite child." He assured her.

She slowly stopped sniffling, sitting up and wiping her tears away.

"You..you really think so?" She asked, staring at the horizon.

He nodded.

She sighed shakily, then looked over at her friend.

"Thank you for listening, I think your the only person who knows that story who's not a member of the Royal Family." She murmured.

"Don't worry, I won't go around telling everyone. This can stay between you and me." He told her.

She nodded, still looking shaken up.

"I guess I'll catch you later. I've got to go take some music lessons with Mum." She said, standing up to leave.

"Ok, I'll catch you later...partner." He replied with a playful look on his face.

She smiled just a little before walking away.

He sighed and quickly finished wrapping his wounds. Then he laid down in the hay and decided that a nap sounded quite nice. As he fell asleep, he felt someone ruffle his hair, at first he thought it was the wind but it somehow...it wasn't, it was truly strange.

"Thank you." a voice whispered, the voice was similar to Merida's only...this one sounded just a bit younger. Spiros tried to ask who the voice belonged to but sleep swept over him before he could force his eyes back open.

He wouldn't remember the incident when he woke up.

A.N- Hello my readers. I do believe this was the longest chapter to date. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I greatly appreciate all the reviews I am getting and I will look to ensure that I address anything that reviewers point out. This has been my most reviewed fan fic yet and I'm excited to get to writing the next chapter ASAP. In the meantime, keep your swords sharp and your quivers full. Things are about to get interesting.

-Blu Wolf 23