Chapter One

The castle walls were restrictive. Merida gazed out of the tiny bedroom window onto the courtyard. It had been over a year since she left DunBroch to live in her husband's kingdom. Her first memory was that the castle was huge and ominous, the tips of the cone rooftops like the end a new nail. There was nothing truly happy about the place. The thoroughbred horses in the stables grunted at Angus, and the stable boy, timid and frail in appearance didn't seem strong enough to care for himself let alone the horses. Aside from stone, the castle was littered with bits of metal and rotting wood.

It wasn't that Mathias was cruel. It was rather, due to the circumstances within in his kingdom, he advised Merida to remain indoors. Advised meaning, he shoved her in her chambers and locked the door. Merida had day and night, waited on her crimson covered bed, waiting for Mathias to return and allowing her out of this prison. However, the only sound she heard was the resonating footsteps that echoed outside the stone walls of her chamber. And no one came.

She wasn't even allowed to see Angus.

Silently, she peered at her bow which hid alone under the couch by the flickering fire. Mathias had ordered his guards to retrieve the arrows from her. Probably feared I'll attack him if I had the chance. Merida scowled at the thought, anger prickled in her gut.

Today, she watched as Mathias flung around his new sword pretentiously. His stupidly wide grin plastered on his face like a Cheshire Cat, and his long brown hair tied up in a loose ponytail was all tangled. Surrounding him was his group of pompous knights who just sat around all day and merely swung a few lazy attacks at each other, only to complain about the heat and the weight of their armour.

King Fergus and Queen Elinor had written to her with high hopes. Though her mother was strict before her transformation into a bear, she wasn't that much more lenient in the matters of princessly etiquette. Which quite frankly, Merida didn't have. Her father always asked whether Mathias was a good archer. Merida always spent hours contemplating whether a lie was better told than the truth. Her little brothers, barely wrote as they were too busy being hassled by Elinor about princely etiquette - and for that, Merida told them where to hide and when.

"Princess, your food."

Merida's serving girl, Annette, was from the south. She was also Merida's only friend for the past year. The girl was half a head shorter than Merida with dull blonde hair that was tied up in loose plaits at the base of her neck. Her soft blue eyes were a match with Merida's and she had an extremely expressive face for a reserved girl. They met on the first day, and since then knew everything about each other.

"Annie! I told you to stop callin' me that!" Merida beamed.

Annette placed the tray of food on the table which was next to Merida by the window. She dusted off her grey serving dress and rolled her eyes, "But that's what you are, princess."

"I am hardly a princess if my people don't even see me!" Merida exclaimed, falling into the seat Annette pulled out for her, "What's the point of bein' a princess if you're always locked up?!"

"Mathias is only trying to protect you. You know that," Annette stated as she pulled out a duster from the pocket of her dress and started cleaning, "Besides, there's nothing much to do around here anyway."

Merida grabbed an apple and chomped it, "And why's that?"

Annette raised her eyebrow, "Princess, don't talk with your mouth full."

"Jeez, you sound like my mother," Merida glared playfully, "But really, why's it so 'dangerous' out there?"

Putting down the duster, Annette scooted closer to Merida, dragged a chair with her and sat down. Her face inches from Merida's she whispered, "I heard the late King has gone mad!"

Question flickered in Merida's eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Rumour says, King Gallach has no interests in continuing this truce with your family. That's why he's locking you up," Annette murmured, her expression growing more and more intense.

"But that's not possible, he was there at the arrangement!" Merida hissed in disbelief, "I saw him sign that contract with father!"

Annette gave her a stern look, "And since when has Gallach ever fully obliged to such treaties?"

"I won't believe it!" Merida protested, standing abruptly, her chair tumbled backwards with a thud, "This is cannot be happening! I saw him at the arrangement, he signed that contract and he'd better follow it! This is just a rumour anyways! I won't believe it."

There was a tense silence, only the sound of Merida's pants filled it. Annette slowly rose from her seat and dusted it. She stood straight and poised in front of her, the tips of her mouth curved downwards.

"Then would you like to leave?"

Merida blinked, "W-What?"

"I know I hardly have the power to help you separate yourself from Prince Mathias forever, but I can help you find a temporary escape."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

Annette heaved a sigh, "Pardon my opinion, but the royalty here are absurd and need discipline. You however, are an exception. I have wanted to tell you this earlier, but with the circumstances… It deemed rather difficult."

Well isn't that ironic, Merida suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at her friend's statement, "And…?"

"And… There's this place in the village where you can stay. Uncle owns it and I'm sure you'll be safe there. Plus, I doubt the guards will even notice you're gone especially after this whole year where you've basically been invisible to the rest of the kingdom," Annette hushed. Hesitantly, she gazed up into Merida's eyes, "Do you trust me?"

Without a second thought, Merida exclaimed, "Of course I do-"

"Shush! You don't want people to be suspicious!" Annette chastised.

"I thought you said the guards have forgotten 'bout me?!"

"They have, but Mathias hasn't!" she said seriously, "You're hair is too red and too DunBroch-like. Better cover it."

Annette rummaged around the closet and dragged out a dark leather cloak. It's hood was huge. She rushed over to Merida and shoved the cloak over her head and yanked the hood over her wild hair. Merida straightened herself out.

"What now?" Merida asked, she quickly grabbed her bow from under the coach.

"Don't take that," Annette frowned at Merida, "It's too noticeable and it'll hinder our movements."

"But this is my important bow! I can't just leave it!" Merida cried, hugging the item close to her chest.

Annette pursed her lips, "I know it's important, but we just can't risk it."

"But…" Merida gulped. It was either take this bow and be caught by the guards or worse Mathias, or leave behind the only thing that reminded her of her childhood. Merida teared up, "Then what 'bout Angus?"

"We're not going so far away. We'll be staying in the village," Annette smiled, "You'll see him, trust me."

With that in mind, Merida sighed in relief. Reluctantly, she carefully placed her bow and arrow under her bed, hoping nobody would find it. Annette grabbed her hand and quietly creaked open the door. There was nobody there along the long, stone hallway that curved towards a flight of stairs. The lanterns were out and the lack of light made the place eerie.

Confidently, Annette pulled Merida along. Down the stairs and into the open. Merida winced at the blinding sunlight that attacked her eyes. She gripped onto Annette's hand and they hurried away from the open and back against a stone wall. The guards were marching back and forth on top of the wall. The laughter could be heard from the courtyard and Merida feared the Mathias would somehow intuitively realise her escape. But the tight hold of Annette's hand reassured her.

"Here."

Merida was forced into a hole made from under the stone wall. The dirt puffed up from beside her and clogged up her breathing. Coughing violently, Merida felt faint. A pair of hands reached for her arms, their grip tightened as they heaved her out from under the stone wall. Sweat covered, the hands slipped around the flesh of her wrists.

Suddenly, she could breath.

"Are you alright Missus?"

Merida coughed and was about to rub her eyes, "You don't wanna do that Missus, your hands are dirty," the voice was a touch high and had a odd tilt of an unknown accent, "Here have some water."

A chill spread over her hands as the liquid flowed down her arm, soaking her sleeves. Merida rubbed her eyes and squinted. A blurred shape cleared and she saw a thin man with dark brown stubble scattered across his chin and ruffly brown hair. He was in presumably white rags and long tattered trousers.

"Where's Annie?"

The man stared at the wall, "Annette said she'll stay behind and keep 'em guards off your tail if they find out you're gone."

He smiled, his crooked teeth in full view, "Me name's Cedric, but you can call me Ced."

"Do you know Annette?" Merida queried, unsure whether the man was trustworthy. She pushed herself up and stood in front of him with stubborn eyes.

"I do. She's was a wee lamp when I first saw her," he chuckled to himself.

"Oh…" Merida paused, still uncertain, "It's wee lamb by the way, not wee lamp."

"Pardon me then," Cedric laughed, "We should get goin' now."

As the man wandered off into the thick woods, Merida stumbled after him, "Hey, where are we going?"

Cedric slowed down and waited for Merida to catch up, "We're going to the village."

"I know that!" Merida said, "I mean where exactly am I going to stay?"

They continued walking through the quiet forest. The birds were the singing softly and the rustling of the canopies sung with them. Every now and then, Cedric would push aside a straying branch or fern. Merida curiously peered at the abundance of white spotted mushrooms that sprouted from the sides of trees and across the woodland floor. The sunlight dimmed behind the clouds.

After some seemingly unnecessary thought, Cedric replied, "Annette's uncle works as a blacksmith in the village. That's where you'll be staying."

With that, they remained silent as they traveled through the woods.

By the time they arrived at the village, it was dusk. The sky highlighted pink and orange sprayed over the thatched roofs of the village. There were chattering and bickering, the animals whining for dinner, and entertainers creating laughter by the small well surrounded by instruments. The place was a mixture of aromas, dung, compost to jasmine and the sweet scent of freshly cooked food. Merida's stomach grumbled and a blush as red as her hair emanated across her cheeks.

"That over there," Cedric pointed to the house with weapons lined up in front of it, "Is where the Uncle lives. Now, he's a bit quiet, and a little hard to get to know, but you'll grow to like 'im."

Nodding, Merida struggled to maneuver through the crowd which surrounded a young man with white hair. Merida peered at him in curiosity, but was only to be dragged off further away. Cedric had a huge smile on his face when he entered the boiling hot room. The heat from the fire caused heatwaves to waver everywhere.

A gigantic man with a blond mustache and a viking helmet limped out. He was covered in sweat and his wooden leg appeared far too unstable for a person of his size to stand on. Merida gaped at him, and decided not to utter a word as she followed Cedric.

"AH! How are ya doin' Ceddie?!" the man exclaimed, giving Cedric an enormous bear hug.

"Gobber!" Cedric laughed, "I thought ye were off duty today!"

"I am. But we got a new apprentice, and Artair wanted him to be trained," Gobber boasted. In some ways, Merida felt that the Viking reminded her of her father, King Fergus.

"Now who's this young lady?"

Merida asserted herself and held her head high, "I'm Merida, first born descendant of the DunBroch clan in the Scottish highlands."

There was a brief silence, "Well, she's certainly a high spirited one."

Cedric let out a weary laugh, and peered at Merida's gobsmacked face. She stood dumbfounded at the fact that this Gobber man didn't know who she was. I'm their princess for goodness sake! She bit her lip to stop herself from retorting.

Gobber obviously didn't notice Merida's discontentment or chose to ignore it, "Since you're Merida of the Du… whatever, Artair is waiting for you upstairs," he turned to Cedric, "You cover for me, Hiccup's a natural, but he's a bit… on the weak side."

"I'll be right at it."

As Cedric dashed off into the workshop, Merida stood perplexed and abandoned as Gobber focused on the task at hand and started descending to the stairs.

He glanced at her, "Well, Merida are you coming or what?"

Merida jumped in surprise and nodded vigorously. She gripped onto her dress and followed Gobber up the wooden stairs. There was a low door and a small hole for a window that allowed light in. Gobber violently knocked on the door with his hooked hand.

A muffled groan was heard from behind the door and Merida felt her heart escalate. The knob creaked as it turned and the door opened revealing a middle-aged man with long dull blond hair like Annette's but deep grey eyes like slabs of steel. He was tall and slightly round around the cheeks but fit nonetheless, he had dark bags under his eyes screaming for the need of sleep. Merida pursed her lips.

"This here is Merida from Du… Du…" Gobber struggled.

Merida rolled her eyes, "Merida from DunBroch. Are you Annie's uncle?"

He didn't reply for a minute, seeming like he'd fall asleep any second, but a small grin graced his features, "Annie has spoken a lot about you."

"Did she?"

He nodded, "I'm Artair."

"So you're the blacksmith."

"The one and only. Well, in this village that is."

Artair turned to Gobber, "You should go rest, that leg of yours needs serious fixing."

Gobber shrugged, "I'm working on a new and improved metal leg. Speaking of which, I should check on Cedric and see if Hiccup hasn't burnt down the shop."

The two waved, leaving Merida standing awkwardly. She pulled down her hood and allowed her hair to spring like a live fire. Artair grinned, "Come in, make yourself at home."

So Jack has appeared... Briefly :P. Dreamwork's 'How to Train Your Dragon' is in this story too as well as Disney's 'Tangled' (but Rapunzel will come later). Thus this is sorta like a 'Big Four' fanfic, but mainly focusing on Jarida. Thanks for reading :).