Linked (Big Four Fan Fiction) Chapter 3

    "Elders," Mum said with her smile pressed tightly into a line, "meet my daughter, Princess Merida of Dunbroch." Her look said 'I'll kill you later when no one else is watching.' A large, redheaded man with an unruly red beard stepped forward, with a smile, and even though it had been five years since I'd last seen him, I knew he hadn't changed at all.

    "Eh, Merida!" Stoick called cheerfully. "Are you still the best archer in the land?" In a lot of ways, Stoick, the Elder of Berk, reminded me of my own father. His support of my self-reliance was one of them. I beamed at this large, lovable man.

    "You know I am!" I proudly proclaimed, raising my chin and puffing out my chest.

    "Merida!" My mother hissed sharply. "Princesses don't boast." I opened my mouth to retaliate when a voice from behind me cut in.

    "Merida never really was too keen on being a proper princess." I whipped around, finding a teenage boy, a rather attractive teenage boy, standing behind me slightly in front of three other boys, presumably the leader's sons. He had messy dark brown hair that framed a square face, big green eyes only a shade darker than Toothless', and a long nose. I had to blink a couple of times before recognition kicked in; I couldn't believe it. It was only when the white-haired boy stared at me quizzically from behind the boy that I smirked and punched my old friend in the arm.

    "Better than you, Hic." I teased as Hiccup laughed and shifted his weight, rubbing his arm. I laughed as I realized that just because he was more attractive now didn't mean that on the inside he was any different. He was still the same, awkward, sweet boy I had befriended.

    "I still say that shoot-out was rigged." Hiccup declared, referring to the contest we had five years ago that I'd won, of course. It wasn't even close.

    "How can you rig a shoot-out?" I snorted, shaking my head at his foolish declaration. 

    "Oh, she just shot down your pathetic attempt at flirting." The white-haired boy said to Hiccup, but everybody except Hiccup and I seemed oblivious to his very existence. It wasn't as if they were simply ignoring him; they simply were unaware of his presence. I made a mental not to ask him about it later. The boy had thick, dark eyebrows, and mischievous features. Dark blue eyes peered at me from a rather oval-shaped face with big ears and a long nose. His mouth was quirked in a smirk and while he wasn't as blatantly attractive as Hiccup, he was of subtle beauty. I wanted to know him-- and slap that smirk off of his face.

    "And you are...." I trailer off, raising my eyebrows, watching as he reeled back in shock, actually stepping through one of the boys. 

    "Merida!" My father called jovially as he threw one arm around my shoulders. "Meet the Elders' sons: Dingwall, MacGuffin and MacIntosh." He waved over to each son in turn and I only glanced at them briefly; I didn't even register their appearances. I couldn't take my eyes off of the white-haired boy.

    "Nice to meet you." I said quickly and clearly, as I saw my mother nod in approval out of the corner of my eye. I finally took a moment to view my surroundings, finding that we were at the docks while the clans' warriors were unloading their boats around us into the castle. Traveling trunks and bags were everywhere, and of course there was Toothless.

    "Now, elders, us ladies are going to go to our throne room to prepare for your formal introduction. Come Merida." My mother said as she regally glided away with me bouncing along behind her, still staring at the white-haired boy when smack! I ran straight into my little brothers, and I tripped over them, all of toppling over into a tangled heap of limbs and red hair. Everyone gasped collectively as my brothers and I looked at each other. Then, the four of burst into a fit of laughter; I laughed so hard that I was crying and there was no longer any sound coming from my mouth as I flopped on my back.

"Merida!" My mother clipped for what seemed like the one hundredth time. I hastily scrambled to my feet, lest I anger the raging beast. The two of us resumed our walking towards the the throne room in the castle, and I was careful to not look back at the boy; instead I kept my eyes forward. When we were out of earshot of the men, my mother yanked me next to her by the arm.

"What are you doing?!" My mother exclaimed as we walked inside the castle gates towards the grand entrance. "Your foolishness will scare away your suitors. You need to be married!"

"Ugh, Mum!" I groaned and gazed at the sky, stomping my foot for dramatic effect. "I don't want to be married! I'm not ready! I've never had a real taste of freedom! I want my freedom!"

"Nonsense. You're just a child; you don't know what you want." My mother dismissed my pleas as we entered the throne room and we took to our thrones as servants scuttled around us. This was my mother's idea of "us preparing" for the clans formal introduction.

"I know better than you do." I grumbled, "All you've ever done is try to turn me into someone that I'll never be: you."

"That's enough Merida. Surely there was someone who caught your eye." I immediately thought of the white-haired boy. I shook that idea out of my head quickly. I didn't even know him.

"Elinor!" My father cried as he rushed to his throne on our farthest right. "They should be here any moment." My parents stiffen their posture as, sure enough, bagpipe music was heard and the heavy wooden door of the throne room were flung open with a loud groan.