Wow, I'm on a roll. This is like my third update in one week! This chapter is completely centered around Merida. This section (and all the sections after) in William's castle was all inspired because of my vacation. I saw a few medieval castles and that's how this section came to be. William's castle is based off of a castle in the Netherlands called Muiderslot. In reality that castle is much smaller compared to how it's described in this chapter but that's because the real castle was more of a getaway castle than a permanent living space, so I just made it bigger and added some other stuff to it to make it a permanent residence. We'll also be digging a bit deeper into William (like family and past)

This will be really random (I know) but noticed that a lot of you commented about how you liked that I incorporated stuff from the books (from Camicazi to using Dragonese) Would you guys believe me if I told you that I have NEVER read the books?

Nothing to report except for a lot of new characters. Enjoy!

Chapter #15: Welcome to MacInroy Castle

Merida's POV

At a full gallop, you'd be able to travel between my home and William's within a few hours but we were moving at a much slower pace since we were traveling with a large group and an entourage. Besides myself, Lord MacGuffin, Bhàtair MacGuffin, Lord Dingwall, Cailean Dingwall, Ewan MacIntosh, his wife Anna and his 3 year old daughter Katherine were all coming with us to the north. Bhàtair came with his father to represent his clan and Cailean came for the same reason. Ewan's father wasn't coming along because he had recently fallen ill and was unable to travel long distances and thus, it was up to Ewan to fill his role. Anna, however, came for a more personal reason. She was William's sister-in-law; her brother had once been married to his sister. Anna and Katherine were the only ones that weren't riding a horse, the two were traveling in a small carriage. That's partly why we were moving so slow.

It wasn't until the sun started its descent towards the west that we reached the village that was situated just outside William's castle.

The village was fairly large but all the buildings were simple, the walls made of wood and the roofs of reeds; the richer folk lived within the castle walls. As we rode down the road, the people came to watch us, trying to catch a brief glance of a lifestyle that could never be theirs. When I passed them, they all bowed. I looked at them and gave them a small that wasn't seen by them. Before I knew it, we reached the castle.

It was smaller than my home but still large and just like DunBroch castle, it was ideal for warfare. The castle had a square shape to it, a tower strategically placed at each corner. The walkway into the courtyard was first protected by a thick wooden door and then a drawbridge. If invaders did get past the drawbridge, not only were they met by another door, this one re-enforced with steel, but from high above in the gate house, the defenders would be able to pour hot oil or stones down at the attackers.

The stone courtyard was large with a fresh water well in the middle. I managed to get a quick look before turning my attention to the people waiting for us. To the north and east was the area where the MacInroy's lived. In the courtyard itself, all tucked away in the shadows, were shops and homes of the richer folk like the blacksmith. I also got a closer look at the towers and noticed that one, the one to the left of the gatehouse, wasn't attached to one of the parapets; probably for some battle strategy that I'd never understand.

After the look, I turned my attention to the people waiting for us. There were a lot of people, none of them staff, but the three in the front caught my attention the most. One was a man, probably in his late 30's or early 40's as a few grays had found its way into his slicked-back black hair. One thing that caught my attention were his eyes. While most people have green eyes, brown, or grey eyes, his appeared to be of a gold color. He was wearing a general's uniform, making him look noble and regal, any metal shining in the setting sun. Standing next to him was a woman.

The woman looked a lot like William with the same black hair and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a black skirt with an overskirt of a deep red; the bodice and trumpet sleeve the same red color. All the red fabric was decorated with flowers of a lighter red color with swirling stems of a dull green. The sleeves under the trumpet sleeves were black as well and puffed and the neckline was wide and black. Around her throat she wore a necklace with a large gold amulet, decorated with pearls shaped like teardrops. She was holding the hand of a small boy, probably around 4 years old.

William dismounted his black stallion but he had hardly reached the ground when the boy let go of the woman's hand and ran to him

"Uncle William!" William spread his arms out and let the boy run into them, lifting him up. He twirled the boy around, causing happy squeals to escape from him

"How's my favorite nephew?" William asked the boy playfully. The boy looked at him.

"Very funny, uncle. I'm your only nephew." William smiled,

"All the more reason." He gave the boy peck on his cheek. With the boy still in his arms, William walked to the woman, who smiled at him. They talked to each other quietly and gave each other a kiss on each cheek; that must be his sister.

As he talked to her, someone had helped me dismount Angus and William had put his nephew down. I slowly approached the two and William must have heard my footsteps as he turned around to look at me. He smiled and took my hand, pulling me gently closer to him and his sister. He spoke when I stood beside him,

"Christine, I'd like you to meet my betrothed: Princess Merida of DunBroch. Merida," I looked at him with surprise; that was the first time he had called me by my name, "I'd like you to meet my sister Christine."

"Your majesty." Christine curtsied low before me. I knew that the curtsy was custom but sometimes I didn't like it. I took hold of her shoulders and lifted her from her bow,

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I said with a smile that she returned, "And please call me Merida." I gave another smile; somehow I knew that Christine was very different than William. Behind us, Anna and Katherine had gotten out of their carriage and approached us, Anna readjusting her fur stole around her shoulders and neck. She looked at William.

Anna seemed to stiffen a little when William met her gaze and quickly shied away, turning her attention to Christine. They greeted each other happily and quickly returned to conversation like they had only been a day apart.

Before long, we all entered the castle, the walls lined with expensive and extravagant tapestries. I was shown to my chambers, which consisted of a few rooms including a bedroom, bathroom, and a room to relax. My belongings were brought up to my room and a few maids, who would attend to me during my time here, helped me change out of my dress into a more extravagant one, surprisingly fast too.

A large celebration had been organized to welcome me and the others to MacInroy castle. Lively music was playing through the hall as we ate from the finest food. I was sitting on a lifted platform at the head table with William to my left. Soon, dinner was finished and I looked at the empty space between the u-shaped set up of the tables, watching Christine' son (whose name was Seòras) and Katherine dance playfully to the music, cradling a chalice of wine. After watching the children for a while, I looked around the tables and my sight fell on Christine.

She had changed into a different dress too. Her skirt was gold with red embroidery while the overskirt, the bodice and trumpet sleeves were purple and decorated with gold flowers and green stems. The sleeves under the trumpet sleeves were the same as the skirt. That one dress cost more than what blacksmith would earn in 10 years. That came as no surprise. Not only were the MacInroys powerful, they were rich, very rich and that was something they liked to show off. They doused themselves in expensive wines and rare spices like pepper, bought the finest silks and the most expensive colors and miraculously William always managed to stay out of debt.

At one point during the evening, William stood up and announced that they were going to dance; I was his partner of course. The dance we did was very similar to the one that I danced with Hendry during gathering Jack and Rapunzel had organized but it was still different as that was a dance for the common folk and this was for the nobility.

I did the dance without flaw and William equally so. At the end of the dance, he lifted me but when I looked down, I didn't see William. I didn't see his black hair or his brown eyes. My heart started to pound when I saw the brown hair and green eyes of Hendry.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Merida is seeing Hiccup! It's probably not that big of a deal but the reason I didn't describe Merida's dress for the celebration is because the design was so complex with details and such that it became very hard for me to describe. However, I will post a picture of the dress I had in mind on my DA account, along with the dresses that Christine wears. Review, favorite, follow.

EDIT: For some reason a letter was removed from Christine's son's name. It's actually Seòras not Seras