AN: Hey guys this is JazzinAces, the other author of this story. As Tyira said we will be alternating chapters, and this one is mine! Yay! I would like to thank the people who have chosen to follow this story, it really makes us authors happy to know people want to read what we write. I'm not so sure if I'm happy with how this turned out as I was given a word limit by Tyira *coughcough*killjoy*coughhackcough* but I hope you guys enjoy it any way. Please leave a review and tell us what you think. It can be as short or long as you want and so, until next time my lovelies!
"Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed."
Joseph Addison
The early morning light did nothing to warm the ground as the sun stretched its majestic tendrils across the water and up the cliffside. Dawn's light reflected off the water pinning an old stone cottage in the yellow glow. It was a rustic house located in the Scottish highlands with woods stretching far off in any direction. Alongside the cottage stood a wooden, two-story-tall stable and a newer-looking windmill. The wind picked up from off the water, pushing the blades of the windmill forward ever so slowly. The sound of birds and the occasional whinny of horses created the soundtrack for this otherwise quiet place. The overall atmosphere was of a quaint little ranch in the countryside. However the people who live there break the peaceful picture. The sun had just passed the horizon when a startling cry sounded from the home.
"Boys!" a gruff voice called out, scaring the nearby birds away.
The cry came from a certain red-haired man as he awoke to find himself hog-tied on his bedroom floor. As he struggled against his bonds, a brunette stared at him sleepily from her spot on their bed, and the giggles of the three fugitives echoed from down the hallway.
"When I get out of this, boys, I'm going to skin-"
"Fergus, that's enough," the woman said tiredly, getting out of bed and walking towards the helpless man. Bending over, she began to undo the cleverly tied knots. Once the ropes were off, they sat together on the floor, still trying to wake up.
"Thank you, Elinor," Fergus said while rubbing his wrists, trying to regain the circulation the rope had cut off.
"Yes, well it's time we get this day started," his wife replied, and with that they left to get ready.
Outside of the house and in the hayloft of the stables, a fourteen-year-old lay sleeping nestled in the straw with a blanket over her, undisturbed by the happenings in her home. Her face, though slightly masked by a head of frizzy red hair, showed the serenity she felt in her sleep. It wasn't until the horse below her started to stir that she awoke. Yawning and stretching lazily, the girl then smacked her lips tiredly. As she looked around she remembered where she was and smiled happily before clambering down the ladder. Immediately when her feet touched the ground the red haired lass was met with a mop of black hair.
"Angus!" she cried in exasperation.
Said black horse whinnied joyously before nuzzling the girl's head. Reaching up to scratch his neck, the Scot whispered, "Good morning to you too, boy. You know, today looks like a nice day. Perhaps we could go for a ride later."
Giving her horse a quick smile and a pat goodbye, she made her way over to the cottage for breakfast. Once inside her house, the girl was immediately met with a sausage to her face.
"Hubert," she growled, giving one of her triplet brothers a death glare.
Before the fire-haired girl could do anything, Fergus called out, "Merida! How's my wee lass? Did the hayloft serve you well?"
From his tone of voice Merida could tell he was teasing her about the nasty habit she had of falling asleep in the straw. Deciding there was no point in arguing about it, she played along, saying, "Why, Dad, it was comfy as ever, especially the rats that constantly crawl across my legs. The only horrible part is how I always seem to wake up with a blanket over me. I wonder who it is that does that."
As she pulled out her chair to sit down, Fergus and Merida shared a wink. Across the table, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris sat playing with what was left of their sausage. At the head of the table Elinor sat reading a book, completely ignoring her food. Merida shifted her gaze back to Fergus. She and Fergus had always been close. He was the one who taught her archery, how to wield a sword like the knights of old, and he was the man who gave Merida her own falcon to train. Through all of this a bond was struck, and it was one that neither thought could ever break. The fiery girl picked at her remainder of her meal having been previously caught up in old memories. She pushed her plate away and gazed at her parents intently, as I willing them to look her way.
"So I was wondering," she started slowly, "if perhaps I could take Angus out for a ride in the woods today."
"Merida you don't know what might be out there at this time of year. All the animals are waking up," her mother warned with a stern face.
"But Mum, I've always been careful, and Angus hasn't been out in ages. He needs a good work out or I'm afraid he'll get all big and chubby."
Elinor looked to Fergus who just shrugged. "Let the lass go, I'm sure she'll be fine," he said indifferently.
Merida's mother sighed and looked back at her teenage daughter. "You can go, but I don't want anymore of that whiny tone. You aren't a three-year-old, Merida."
"Aye, Mum, okay, okay. I'll see all of you later then," Merida said over her shoulder, already half way out of the house.
Back to the stable she went, still in her old blue jeans and her Sheryl Crow t-shirt. By passing the typical safety measures she went straight to the tack, picking up the heavy saddle like it was nothing.
"Ready for an adventure, Angus?" she called out as she entered his stall.
With Angus' whinny echoing in her ear she placed the worn saddle on his back, tightened the girth, and mounted. Running her right hand over his neck Merida whispered, "Let's go chase our dreams, eh?" And with that they bolted out of the stable.
The part Merida always loved most about riding was the feeling she got in her gut. When Angus made a jump she felt like she was soaring as high as her falcon. The wind that whistled by her face whispered secrets about the land that not many know. Today as Merida rode through the woods she contemplated what her life would be like living somewhere else. What if her father wasn't in charge of this beautiful reserve they lived on? Or perhaps, instead of changing what has happened, adding a new twisted factor to it all? It was with these thoughts that Merida soon found herself in front of the famous Fire Falls. When Merida was a young girl, Fergus would take her to see this magnificent sight every so often, but after a certain point they just stopped coming. Merida's face was filled with pure awe as she stared up at the Crone's Tooth, a large pillar of rock that towered next to the falls. The mid morning light shone brightly on the weathered monument of nature, as well as the cliffside behind it. Patting Angus as a sign to stay, Merida made her way to the rock pillar as if in a trance, her red locks bouncing around her. Tentatively, she reached up the rock looking for a grip. Finding one, she put her other hand up with more courage. Before long the Scot was scaling the Crone's Tooth. As she pulled herself up, the sunlight finally hit her, lighting the fourteen-year-old's hair on fire. Heaving herself up the final bit to rest on the peak of the pillar, Merida was suddenly caught off guard by movement in her peripheral vision. It was like the sun had been residing in the shadows of the cliff and at that moment had decided to shoot off in a ball of furious fire. A wave of heat swept over Merida's face, but she didn't feel like it was burning. Whirling around she was just able to make out a speck of light as it made its way around a corner.
What was that? Merida thought to herself. Shaking her head, Merida moved to stand atop the rock. Moving carefully forward, the vermillion-haired girl cupped her hands, stretching them out to the fire that rained down from above. Her hands jerked at the coldness that touched them, but nevertheless she brought the cool liquid up to her lips. Smiling softly she threw her hands in the air and began dancing around, completely exhilarated by what she just did. Grinning like a madman Merida looked at the Fire Falls, a question still lingering in her mind. What had been the literal fire that went sweeping by her?
The teen arrived home just as the sun was setting behind her family's humble home. After putting Angus away, Merida ventured into the house. Just like this morning her family was seated at the table, except this time her dad wasn't there. Making a quick scan with her cerulean eyes, she couldn't find him anywhere, so instead she opted to sit down. As she filled up her plate she made another glance for her beloved father.
"Where's Dad?" she finally asked after several minutes.
Elinor replied without taking her eyes from her book, "It's Friday, dear."
Merida screwed up her face in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?" she questioned.
Elinor drew her gaze slowly up from her book. "Merida, what is your father's job?"
"He's a ranger, so?"
"And who does he meet with every week?"
"The council... oh," Merida said in realization. Her father was away at a weekly council meeting to discuss better ways to keep this land they lived on safe and well protected. Elinor just nodded her head and then turned back to reading her book.
"I climbed the Crone's Tooth today," Merida said after and while, breaking the silence, "and drank from the Fire Falls. And, Mum, I saw the strangest thing. It was like a meteor almost with the way it burned by me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was though. I'm going to go back there tomo-"
"What's that dear?" Elinor asked glancing up from her book.
Merida sighed. "I was just going to ask if I could go out and explore tomorrow as well."
Elinor let out an exasperated breath. "Well you didn't get hurt today, so I guess you could..."
"Oh thanks, Mum!" Merida exclaimed, jumping up to hug her mother. Giggling like a schoolgirl, Merida skipped off down the hallway calling a quick, "Good night!" over her shoulder. Her mother just shrugged and went back to her book, while her brothers stared after her down the hallway.
The next day Merida rose early with her hair puffed up behind her, cheeks rosy with health and blue eyes bright with excitement. Throwing off her blanket, she quickly got changed and ran off down the hallway. Grabbing an apple, she waved a quick goodbye to her mother and sprinted out the door. Ignoring the need for a saddle, Merida mounted Angus with ease and off they rode into the woods again. It wasn't until an hour of riding had passed that the horse and rider once again found themselves at the cascading waterfall. Sliding off of Angus, Merida made her way over to the Crone's Tooth and started to climb it. With few difficulties and distractions this time, she soon found herself at the top again. Merida's eyes shone with disappointment when there was no sign of the fire she saw yesterday. Discouraged, she turned to climb back down the rock when she came face-to-face with a giant bird.
Merida stood frozen as their eyes connected. Merida knew this was no ordinary bird, for its feathers were a mixture of hues ranging from pale yellow, to golden like the sun, to orange like a fire, and down to reds the color of blood. The weird thing was that it appeared to have fire rolling along these colorful feathers. If the coloring wasn't enough to convince, the size certainly was. From where the bird was perched, the top of its head was seven inches above Merida's own. They held each others' gaze for what felt like an eternity, bold blue pouring into liquid gold, before the bird spread its wings and took off, leaving Merida alone on the rock.
The rest of the day all Merida could think about was the bird. What was it? Why was it there? And most importantly, what had been that strong connection, the burning passion that she felt when their sights had locked. When Merida got home she decided to look up any information regarding a bird made of fire. Back in her room the spunky redhead pulled out several books she had taken from her parent's room. The first one she picked up was considerably newer and was about all kinds of birds of prey, but there wasn't anything about the bird she had seen. The second and third were busts as well and at that point Merida was getting frustrated. Picking up the last book she studied if for a minute. It was leather bound, and the leather was old and wrinkly signaling that it had been much loved. Most of the text was intact, as well as the pictures and sketches scattered through out the brittle and yellowing pages. The final thing she noticed was the title. Across the cover or the book in neat gold lettering was written A Guide to Mythical Creatures. Merida wasn't entirely sure as to why she had grabbed this book, seeing as it was about creatures that don't exist. Then again, she thought, nothing that I saw seems to exist, so maybe this is the best place to look. Opening the book rather violently, Merida began skimming through page after page of the book. When she was almost to the end with not a single thing about the mystery bird she almost gave up, until her eyes landed on a colorful drawing depicting a giant bird on fire. Next to the creature in beautiful stylized handwriting was its name.
"A Phoenix," Merida breathed out her blue eyes going wide in awe. It was at this moment when she made the connection as to what was living at the Fire Falls that Merida made the resolve to learn more about it. And for Merida, that meant from first-hand observations.
The next day Merida rose with the sun again and practically sprinted down the hallway while struggling to put her shoes on. Snagging an apple from the table, she flounced by and planted a quick kiss on her mother's cheek. Skipping toward the door she passed Fergus who was making his way down the hallway and gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
Fergus stared dumbfounded before calling, "Where are you going?"
"To explore!" Merida replied around a mouthful of food.
And so she left, back to the Fire Falls.
When Merida arrived today, she left Angus by a nice stream where he could rest and once again made the climb up the rough rock. There at the top Merida rested cross-legged while breathing in the crisp morning air. Glancing over at the water that seemed to be burning she noticed a cave right next to the waterfall. Merida gazed curiously and gasped when the Phoenix came shooting out of the cave, crying out a singsong melody. When the Phoenix saw Merida sitting on the rock it was apprehensive to land, but after awhile of just sitting there the Phoenix decided Merida meant no harm, and landed across from her. Merida smiled gently as she stood up to approach the Phoenix. Using the techniques for falconry her father had taught her, Merida attempted to get the Phoenix to allow contact. It was very risky but because of her father's skill at teaching her, Merida finally was able to get to where she was only a few inches from the bird. Reaching up a hand Merida slowly touched the burning feathers. The Scot almost jumped in surprise. The fire, instead of burning her, created a weird tingling feeling on the palm of her hand.
At this point Merida couldn't contain herself. She started to laugh like it was her last day, bring up both hands to stroke the giant bird's neck. Merida could feel the muscle of the Phoenix's neck stiffen, but she didn't care. Continuing to stroke the soft feathers, she soon felt the creature relax. Tilting her head up to look in the Phoenix's eyes, she again felt the burning passion, the connection, the need to be by this creature's side. It was so different then anything she had ever felt, even compared to Angus. Slowly Merida rested her head on the Phoenix's beak, breaking off the eye contact, but she continued to stroke the feathers. In response, the Phoenix lowered its head as well, shifting so it could nuzzle its head against Merida's cheek. It was then that the Scottish redhead noticed the pattern of jewels around its eye. Eyes widening at the beautiful sight, Merida brought her hand up to brush against them. It was like that they stood, each holding the other somehow, for the remainder of the day. As the sun was setting, Merida made one last stroke before drawing away, turning, and climbing down. Merida rode home that night under the stars, thinking about the Phoenix and what it must be like to fly and be free like the Phoenix could.
The week flew by like that day. Merida would go out early and come back late. Together the Phoenix and Merida would play and dare together. A bond had been struck between them and it couldn't be broken, not even by death. One day Merida decided to see what would happen if she got the Phoenix wet. It was a terrible idea. The fourteen-year-old had stuck out her hand to cup some water from the falls and, turning, had hurled it at the creature. Screeching in terror, the Phoenix had jumped off, flapping its wings unsteadily. Merida couldn't help herself as she chortled at the poor bird. With a very humanoid expression the Phoenix launched itself forward and picked Merida up in its huge talons. Merida's laughter had turned to screams as she clutched desperately at the Phoenix's claws. It was only when Merida said she was sorry did the bird set her down, a triumphant look on its face. It would only be later that they would do that again, only this time it would be filled with a feeling of great exhilaration.
Before that could happen, though, tragedy had to strike. As Merida left the house one day, Fergus sat at the table contemplating what his daughter could be doing. All sorts of horrible thoughts crossed his mind, the worst of which had to do with them. Fergus furrowed his brows. There couldn't possibly be any of them out in the woods, could there? What if there was? Would he lose his daughter to those... things? These thoughts slowly dragged Fergus into a dark pit of which there was little chance of return. He wasn't going to let anything happen to his daughter, of that he was sure. Storming into his bedroom, he grabbed an old hunting bow and his quiver.
As he walked back through the kitchen, Elinor called out to him, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to make sure I don't lose my daughter," he called out roughly. With this last remark, he took one of the horses and set off into the green woods of the Scottish highlands. Fergus's face was pinched in anger as he rode. All he could think about was them. Those people... those tests... those things! Vengeance plagued his mind and when he finally reached the Fire Falls, his mind had completely snapped.
In front of him was a bush of red hair playing with a giant bird made of fire. It was like all the nightmares he had tried so hard to keep at bay were coming true, right before his eyes. Without a word, Fergus took his bow, nocked an arrow, and released.
The wooden shaft went right through the bird's heart. Merida turned toward to source of the arrow, her face a mask of horror. When her eyes landed on her father, bow still in hand, the horrified and saddened expression turned to one of anger and vengeance. Her eyes burned with a blue fire of passion and her jaw set in place by her anger. There are those who say the need for revenge will only fuel more revenge. They are right.
"How could you?" Merida screeched, tears beginning to fall down her face, hands clenched at her sides.
"That creature is evil, Merida! Mythical creatures, those things," he gestured to the Phoenix which was lying on the ground, bleeding out, "that aren't even supposed to be here. Surely you don't believe in magic, just like how I raised you."
"You're wrong. They aren't evil. The Phoenix was the nicest living thing I'd ever met. Much nicer than you'll ever be. And they do exist. I've seen first hand. You can't change what my eyes have already beheld! I don't care what you say or how you raised me, I do believe in them, and I do believe in magic!" Merida screamed and launched herself at her father. Fergus couldn't believe that his only beloved daughter had turned on him so easily for a creature from nursery tales. It was while Fergus was distracted by these thoughts that Merida managed to get a hit in on him. Growling, he leaped at Merida by she was smaller, younger, and faster. The fight went on like this, each trying to get a blow in, but either evading or blocking.
From beyond the fighting hiding in the bushes, a pair of eyes glowed. The green tendrils of the underbrush were swaying weightlessly in the breeze as if they didn't know what was going on around them. A low growl emitted from the eyes' location and a giant black paw stretched out, crushing the bush into submission.
The disturbance in the bushes went unnoticed by Merida and Fergus. Both were so focused on their fight that a train could crash next to them and they'd keep going.
"Merida, why can't you believe me? You've always trusted me, haven't you lass?" Fergus questioned while gasping. His expression was one of hurt.
"I did, until you did that. You saw how happy I was with it and then you take that away, because you don't believe in mythical creatures!" The fiery lass swung a fist at her father, only to have it be blocked by his large arm.
Growling, Merida jumped back and attempted to land a kick on Fergus instead. Once again, Merida's attack was blocked. At this point, both of them were panting from exhaustion. With the little energy she had left, Merida sprinted at her dad and jumped, feet sticking straight out at her father's chest. It would have been a perfect hit, except that a giant furry black paw swiped through the air and struck Merida down next to the dying Phoenix. The pain blinded Merida. White light clouded her vision as she struggled to cope with the pain well enough to see. The only things that made sense, however, were the clanging of claws against metal and her father's cry of, "Mor'du!" Blinking several times, the pain finally subsided enough that she could see what was happening. Her father stood, sword drawn, facing a gigantic black bear. Merida had no clue that black bears could even be that big! The beast towered over her father as it bared its fangs, roaring in Fergus's face.
"I don't want to see you! I'm not your so called companion, so just give up already!" Fergus cried.
Merida sat up straighter, straining to hear her fathers words, but it was no use. From what Merida could gather, it seemed that the giant bear was some sort of mythical creature. Perhaps her father had a connection to the bear like she did to the Phoenix. At the thought of the Phoenix Merida jerked forward, standing up and stumbling towards the downed bird. The tears started anew as her sky-blue eyes rained down upon the fatal wound. Blood was seeping out from around the shaft of the arrow and Merida knew that there was no way to save the majestic bird.
"I'm sorry," Merida sobbed clutching the neck of the Phoenix. "All of this is my fault. I'm so sorry. I never wanted anything like this to happen!"
Weakly the Phoenix brought it's head up to nuzzle Merida's cheek, but no matter how tightly she held on or how sorry she was, Merida couldn't stop the Phoenix from falling limp in her arms. The bird lay lifeless. Try as she might, Merida couldn't hold back her tears. She cried a river during those few moments, the sounds of the fight behind her completely out of her thoughts. All she could focus on was the gray color that began to take over the Phoenix's body. The fire drained out of the feathers along with the colors. It was like the ashes left over from a fire. Then right before Merida's eyes, the body started to turn to real ash. First from the tail feathers then up to the claws, the wings, the beak, until all that was left was the dead eye staring back at her. Soon that was gone as well, lost on the wind. The Scot wailed, and within that, a song was sung. This song was filled with sadness, agony, loss, hatred, sorrow, guilt, and this tune was sung with so much passion it could have shaken the world. Fergus and Mor'du looked over at the sobbing girl and the dead Phoenix, their battle momentarily forgotten.
"Dad, I don't know what happened between you two, but you have a bond. I can feel it. Don't sever this bond by killing one another, for it will hurt the one who lives as well. Please. It hurts so much," Merida all but whispered between sobs.
Fergus dropped his sword and sank to his knees. Memories came back to him, flashing across his mind in colorful pictures. Fergus wanted them to stop, but the memories kept on coming. A stone house. Four objects. The mouse that moved. Questions, questions, and more questions. Then a proclamation.
"Congratulations, my boy! You're a companion to Great Bears! We had a suspicion you were, given your family's companion history, and you're lucky that a Great Bears mentor lives just down the hill. Why don't we go see him now?" an overly cheery, stout, bald man asked a nine-year-old Fergus.
Fergus just nodded his head absentmindedly too caught up in his own thoughts to process what was happening. What's a companion? What're Great Bears? Would he get to meet any? All of these questions were answered when they reached a quaint little house at the bottom of the hill. The man knocked lightly on the door only to have it opened instantly by a large man with a scruffy beard.
"A new apprentice for you, Mac," the bald man said.
The bearded man grunted, eyeing Fergus closely, and then led them around the back towards the woods. Mac whistled and two gigantic black bears came trotting through the woods, though one was definitely smaller than the other.
"These are Great Bears. They're a type of mythical creature that the Society protects. This one here," Mac gestured to the smaller one, "is Mor'du. He's going to be your companion creature."
Fergus and Mor'du's gazes met and neither could deny that there is a connection between them. The logical part of Fergus's small brain couldn't compute this, though. He was always told creatures like these only existed in fairy tales.
"No," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "No. Mythical creatures do not exist! I don't believe in magic like this. I'm in a dream right now and I'll wake up soon. None of this is real. Make it stop. Pinch me. Anything! I want to wake up now!"
When nothing happened, he opened his eyes to see the shocked expressions on everyone's face. Fergus's eyes blurred with tears and he turned and ran away. That was the first and last time he saw Mor'du, but Mor'du never stopped following him, hoping that Fergus would recognize him before the bear died. For that's what happens to a companion creature without a companion. Eventually the creature will die, and Mor'du was at that point now.
Fergus looked up into the eye of the previously rabid beast. Now the bear just looked defeated, as if he had nothing left to fight for. Fergus choked on his sobs as he felt the connection that he had severed so long ago reignite.
"I'm sorry, my friend," Fergus whispered, his gaze now on the ground. Mor'du slumped to the ground beside Fergus and lay there. In the distance Fergus could vaguely make out the sound of Merida's sobs, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He was completely exhausted. It wasn't until he heard his daughter gasp that he looked up. The ashes of the Phoenix were forming together by some unseen force, and slowly from those ashes a new life was being formed. Fire sprouted from the grey dust, slowing forming itself into a new shape. Soon the Phoenix stood proud before them all, born anew just like in the tales, and called out. In Merida's head a proud voice sang a song that said All is forgiven.
Two months later showed Merida at the train station with her family. The spunky girl was to take a train to Perth before changing and taking one down to London, England. She had never been outside of Scotland before and she was looking forward to the adventure. In London she would meet up with her mentor from the Society with whom she would live with until she got the hang of things. As Merida got aboard the train, all the worries came rushing in on all sides, but she pushed them off with the thought of seeing her Phoenix again soon. Shoving her way to the back of the train, she leaned against the cold railing, waving to her family as they became specks on the distant platform. Fate had been nice this time, thought Merida as she sat in the train. For it had been and now she was off to experience the freedom of a member of the High Flyers.