Chapter 6: Remember to Smile

Two months later, another school event was held at a large field that had various obstacles set up with bleachers full of people nearby.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Gene Lampman announced, holding a microphone while standing on a podium. "Welcome to the Women's Equestrian Club competition being hosted by none other than Disney Academy! Today, the two finalists will be squaring off in a one-on-one demonstration of their choosing. For the home team we have Merida DunBroch, who recently transferred from Disney's branch school Pixar Academy and is the daughter of DunBroch Furniture's CEO who's originally from Scotland. Though she may come from a wealthy family, she is quite gifted as a horse rider. So please welcome Merida DunBroch!"

The crowd wearing Disney Academy colors, which were gold red and black, cheered as a teenage girl entered the filed with long curly red hair blue eyes and wearing a dark green dress. Riding a large Clydesdale horse with a black mane and patches of white, she also carried a large bow in one hand with a quiver of arrows on her back.

"As for her competition," Gene said once the crowd settled down. "She hails from Warner High School and claims to be descended from a family of Knights that served at the Round Table in King Arthur's court. In fact, her father Sir Lionel Gaunnes serves the English Prime Minister Arthur Camelot who is descended from the original King Arthur. Thus, let me introduce you to Kayley Gaunnes!"

Though the crowd wearing Disney Academy colors booed, the rest of the people in the bleachers clapped politely as another teenage girl appeared who was riding a tan-colored horse. She had medium brunette hair in a ponytail with her bangs pushed back by a gold headband. Her attire consisted of a purple tunic, a yellow shirt underneath and blue tight pants with brown boots. Instead of a bow and arrow, she carried a spear in one hand.

"Now, we'll decide who goes first with a coin toss. If it is heads, it'll be Kayley and Merida if it's tails," Gene stated, making a coin appear out of thin air before tossing it into the air. Once it landed in his hand, Gene called, "Tails! Merida goes first!"

While the Disney crowd cheered, Merida steered her horse towards a dirt lane in the field that had targets set up along the sides on top of a wooden archway and at the very end. She then kicked her horse causing it to trot as she picked up her bow and arrow and placed an arrow into it. Aiming carefully, she managed to hit each target that came up including the one at the end when she made her horse halt. Everyone including the teachers cheered, while Merida smiled at them.

"Excellent demonstration!" Gene complimented. "Kayley will have to do much better if she hopes to beat Merida!"

So Kayley steered her horse to an adjacent lane that also had a target at the end, but with metal plates strung up. Kicking her horse into a trot, she aimed the spear at the first metal plate and threw it. The spear bounced off the other metal plates and hit the target. Then when Kayley tried to stop her horse, it stopped abruptly causing her to fall off.

While the crowd gasped, Gene flinched. "Ooh, that's going to cost Kayley a few points despite the amazing accuracy of her spear. We'll be right back with the final score after the medics deal with this."

As two people carrying a stretcher came onto the field, Merida got off her horse and ran over to Kayley who was struggling to get up.

"Are you all right, Kayley?" Merida asked. "Can you stand?"

"I'm fine," Kayley insisted, stumbling. "It's just a sprained ankle."

Merida then helped Kayley to her feet as the medics lowered the stretcher down. They placed Kayley onto it and walked away while Merida walked back to her horse with a guilty look on her face. But after remembering her mother's advice on smiling during these kinds of events no matter what happened, Merida forced herself to smile even when she was given the Women's Equestrian Junior Cup after all the points had been tallied for her and Kayley's demonstrations.

"That's my wee lassie!"

Surprised, Merida turned around and saw a towering man with a red beard and wearing a turquoise-and-black plaid suit. Next to him stood a woman who was a head shorter than the man, with brunette hair tied into a downward bun and wearing a green business suit and skirt.

"Da," Merida smiled, hugging the big man with the red beard. "I'm so glad you were able to come."

"Well, we thought it would be a good excuse to show you off to the business partners of our company's conglomerate who just arrived today," the woman said, nodding to three men and teenage boys that sat high up in the bleachers. "If you recall, Merida, their names are Dingwall Macintosh and MacGuffin whose sons have been attending Disney Academy with you."

Merida followed her mother's gaze and looked at the three men carefully. While the one on the left wore a green plaid suit and had white frizzy hair, the middle man was skinny with wild black hair and wearing a red plaid suit, then the one on the right had a green-and-red plaid suit on with a sand blond beard. The boys looked oddly similar to their fathers, despite being clearly younger, with the boy on the left having frizzy blond hair while the one in the middle had part of his face covered by wavy black hair and the boy on the right had a round face and short sand blond hair.

"I remember them, Mum," Merida said with slight irritation in her voice and then she noticed something. "Where are Harris, Hubert, and Hamish?"

A sudden cry erupted causing Merida and her parents to look toward a table where refreshments and various foods were assorted. Merida then noticed the sweets that were on the table were gone, and looked to a trio of red-haired little boys carrying several trays while a woman wearing a tan dress and light-brown jacket was chasing after them.

"Ah, Cripe," Merida's father sighed. "The boys have gotten into trouble again."

"Then what are standing there for, Fergus?" Merida's mother said firmly. "Go help Maudie."

Merida's father hesitated. "But Elinor—

"Please do it!" Merida's mother insisted. "I need to talk with Merida privately anyway."

"All right," Fergus replied and ran to catch up with the woman who was chasing after the boys despite limping while using a wooden cane for balance.

"You shouldn't push Da like that," Merida objected. "He can't run very far with that false leg of his, not after what happened with Mor'du."

"There is no need to mention that accursed bear in my presence, Merida," Elinor scolded. But seeing Merida looking startled, Elinor calmed down and said, "I'm sorry about that. It's been a long day for me and your father, having to pick up our business partners at the airport and discuss some important matters including you."

"Why is that?" Merida asked.

"Because now that you've turned sixteen, it's traditional in our family to choose someone to marry who is of the same class," Elinor explained. "But since we didn't want to rush you into an engagement with someone you didn't know, our business partners had their sons attend Disney Academy so you'd get to know them better."

"As potential suitors?" Merida couldn't believe what she heard. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was worried you wouldn't react too well to the news, and not attend Disney Academy altogether," Elinor said. "Now with that said, we are going on a trip to our family's ancestral castle in Scotland this summer so the sons of our business partners can partake in a series of games to compete for your hand in marriage."

"But…I'm only sixteen," Merida pointed out. "Most people don't get engaged till they're out of high school these days, even after college."

"Listen, Merida," Elinor insisted, pulling Merida closer to her. "I had to go through this at your age too. It was frightening for me at first, but I met a wonderful husband and had four beautiful children including yourself. Isn't that worth it?"

Merida looked away, staring off at her horse who seemed confused.

End of Chapter 6