The Saga Begins: Chapter 3

Merida stormed angrily into her room and banged the door shut. Her red curls flew and bounced as she threw herself face-first onto her bed, crying out in frustration. There were some days when being a lady had its benefits. But not now. Not today. Today, dinner had been rudely interrupted by her parents’ announcement that she was to be wed soon. Yes, she loved her parents--especially her father, as the two were alike all the way down to their looks, red hair and blue eyes and all. But she and her mother were complete opposites, always butting heads over everything. Elinor was tall and straight, with long brown hair and very proper ideas about how the daughter of a lord should be raised. Ideas that, unfortunately, involved betrothal.

In another storm of fury, Merida reached for her sword and rolled to her knees to begin hacking at the sturdy frame of her four-poster bed. It was something she often did when she was upset. Across the room, the door swung open, and she dropped her sword and glared at her mother as she entered the room. “Betrothal?” she yelled, clutching at the scarred bedpost. “Marriage?”

Elinor ignored her and walked across the room to an unused chessboard resting on the shelf. “Once, there was an ancient kingdom,” she began, picking up the board.

Merida groaned and slid off her bed onto the floor. “No, Mum, not th’ ancient kingdom…”

“It’s name long forgotten,” she continued, “ruled by a wise and fair king who was much beloved.” Here she picked up the white king piece and held it up. “And when he grew old he divided the kingdom among his four sons, that they should be the pillars on which their piece of land rested.” She took off the four knight pieces and balanced the chessboard on top of them. “But the oldest prince wanted to rule the land for himself. He followed his own path and the kingdom fell to dark outside forces.” She pulled out one of the knights, and the entire board fell to the ground, scattering the pieces.

Merida glanced over as the black and white soldiers settled. “That’s a nice story,” she said patronizingly.

“It’s not joost a story, Merida,” Elinor said sternly, looking down at her. “Legends are lessons; they ring with truth.”

“Och, Mum.” Merida rolled her eyes and turned away, glaring at the cold ashes in the fireplace.

“I would advise you to make your peace with this, Merida. The lords are coming in a few days to present the suitors--”

“It’s not fair,” she snapped, interrupting her mother midsentence. She heard Elinor’s skirts rustle as she crossed the room.

“It’s just marriage, Merida,” said Elinor, exasperated. “It’s not the end of the world.”

Merida leaped to her feet and slammed the door on her mother’s back with a heavy bang. “Joost marriage,” she growled. “Joost marriage, she says! Aye, and ah should be expected tae give mah hand out like a roasted pig! AAGH!” She kicked out at her bedpost, sending a lancing pain through her toes. Fear began to taint her rage as the full implications of being married began to hit her. She’d be tied down to her responsibilities, no riding, no archery, no freedom. It was like a heavy weight had been slapped across her back without her consent. How could they do this tae me?!

Holding off on her furious pacing, she sank onto her bed, mind racing. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be some way to talk to Elinor and convince her to turn away the suitors.

Ah could run awae.

The thought was fleeting, and the audacity of the idea caused her to reject it immediately. Where would ah go? ‘S not like ah can put up a tent in the woods.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it might be the only way to escape betrothal. She had a horse, and she had money. Nobody would know that she was a runaway princess. The possibilities were attractive. Besides, she didn’t need to leave permanently, just long enough to teach her mother a lesson -- which would be a while. The plans began forming in her mind, and she tried to stifle them, but a hot rush of rebellion rose within her and for a moment her reason deserted her.

“It’s mah life,” she said aloud. “Ah should be allowed tae change mah fate, aye?”

Nobody answered her. But in those few short minutes, she had made her decision.

***

The sun had only been down for a few hours when Merida made her move.

Peeking out of her room, she paused and listened to the innards of the castle for any hint of movement. Her parents’ room was close, but she could hear nothing. Her bag swung heavily from her shoulders as she slipped out the door and closed it quietly. Perfect. Couldn’t even tell she was gone.

She tiptoed down the stairs, watching the hall for any servants that happened to be up. The dying fireplace silhouetted the snarling bears standing dead and stiff around the room, painting their black silky fur in a ruddy glow. She glanced away from the beasts, remembering all too well the encounter with the demon bear Mor’du when she was a child. It was in that battle that her father had lost his leg, and he told the tale so often that everyone in the castle had it memorized.

Merida flew down the hall, clutching her quiver so it wouldn’t rattle, keeping her footsteps light and quick. She didn’t run into any trouble until the front gate, where she knew two guards stood on either side of the door. Aw, blast it. She’d been hoping for better luck but her fortune had been turned on its head. Now she had to get close enough to the gate to be able to open it fast enough and ride away without getting caught. Brilliant. Merida went back down the hall and up a side staircase to start Plan B.
Upwards she climbed until she passed a window big enough for her idea to work. She carefully unlatched it and pushed it open, letting the cold night air rush into the stone hallway. Carefully sliding an arrow out of her quiver, she set it on her bow, pulled the string back, sighted once more, exhaled, and released it on a straight course for the armory.

An enormous crash reverberated through the night as the arrow struck shield, sword, breastplate, anything and everything that would make a loud noise. Below, she saw the silhouettes of the guards rushing forward to investigate the noise, and she followed her cue. Bolting back down the stairs, she slipped out of the front gates and raced across the soft dirt of the courtyard, heading for the stables, whistling as loud as she dared. Angus pricked his ears and his head shot up, nose quivering.

There was no time to lose. The sentries were calling for help, searching for the source of the commotion. Merida vaulted onto his back, the pack banging against her side, and dug her heels into his sides. Angus went roaring across the courtyard, straight at the outer gates. By the time the guards noticed them, it was too late. He only paused a moment to kick out the board blocking the gates and shoved them open, charging across the stony bridge and into the shadowy forest beyond. Merida looked over her bouncing shoulder at the receding castle and felt a surge of anger and fierce defiance. Castle DunBroch was only visible for a few more moments before the pair plunged into the woods.

The undergrowth snapped and hissed as her horse battled her way through, panting lightly, stumbling in the darkness. Ah should have brought a lantern or somethin’. They didn’t have to go far, though, only deep enough into the trees to be out of the reach of her parents. Then she could camp out overnight and wait until morning to escape into the outer reaches of Cesaret--

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted as Angus slammed to a halt, neighing in fear. Merida clutched tightly to his mane and looked at the path in front of them, searching for a bear or a wolf that might have spooked him. Instead of a hairy, snarling beast however, she saw a small orb of blue light, like a wisp of smoke, pulsing and flickering.

Merida caught her breath. A wisp!

Something faint stirred in her memory, a recollection of the benevolent figures leading her through a golden, sunlit forest. Whatever people around these parts wanted to believe, she knew that the wisps were benevolent creatures, and to see one now was extremely good luck on her part. Nobody moved for a heartbeat, as the wisp stared at Merida and Merida stared at the wisp and Angus snorted nervously, dancing to one side. Then, slowly, one after another, a line of wisps sprang out of nowhere, marking a meandering path through the dense forest. She slowly urged Angus to follow them, much to his reluctance and disapproval.

The sounds of pursuit faded away, leaving only the quiet sounds of nighttime to roll and throb in Merida’s ears, keeping her wary and alert. But the wisps never wavered, and as soon as she drew near to one, it would sigh and vanish as quickly as it had appeared. Where they were leading her, and why, she had no clue, but she was grateful for the little spirits’ company. Eventually the last one faded away, and she was left looking at a large clearing with a small, bubbling stream running like liquid silver in the moonlight. The perfect place to hide and camp.

“Thank yu,” she whispered aloud, but her words were met with silence. The wisps were gone.