Merida awoke in a lush, green forest. She groaned, sitting up. She looked down. She was wearing the same green dress that she was when she had woken in the circle of stones, on her first day of life. Was this...

No, this was a forest, not the circle of stones. She stood up, and saw a little blue light. She smiled and started to follow it. Her black cape swished in the forest behind her, and she was glad that she had it. It was a little colder this time of year, and Merida never did will with the cold.

She had been so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice when the trail of will-o'-the-whisps had ended, leaving her in front of a small hill with a door and a couple of windows. She approached the door, and knocked.

An old lady opened it, one brown eye opened wider than the other she had a rather big nose. "Eh, oh, it's ye. Come on in, Princess, and I'll see what I can do for you."

Merida stopped down and entered the wood shop that had bears everywhere. All were wooden, and the little place was full to overflowing.

"I see ye are all stocked up," Merida said, handling a wooden bear plaque. "After I bought everything, that is."

"Aye," the old woman said, "and now business is bursting, thanks to ye! I don't know whether to curse ye or thank ye."

"Thank me, I think," Merida said. "Though it all up to you."

The woman grumbled, and took an axe from the shelf, and went over to a stump of wood. She raised it above her head, and brought it down hard on the stump. "What do ye want this time?" she asked. 

"Advice," Merida said, sitting down on a chair that was shaped like a bear sitting down. 

"Well, at least it's not another spell. That last one you requested was a little... odd."

"Aye, and that's what I've come here for."

The old woman looked up at Merida. "The one to try and stop the war?"

"No, the one that ye gave me as a charm."

"The protection one?"

"Aye."

"What's wrong with that one? Did ye break it, because I told  ye that those --"

Merida waved her hand around. "No, I didn't break it. It was stolen from me."

The witch approached Merida. "How in Mor'Du's --"

"That's the problem. He stole it."

The witch paused. "A whisp stole  one of my charms? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I was going to give it to my mum for her birthday, because she's been the target of assassinations and such."

The witch nodded, and turned back to her stump of wood. "And?"

Merida cleared her throat. "Well, I told Mor'Du to --"

"I have told you time and time again not to trust that whisp!" the witch said, spinning around with a chisel pointed at Merida. "He's bad business, all right. He tried to kill yer mum, yer dad, yer little brothers, you --"

"All right, I get it! I just thought that it might be nice to get some of the will-o'-the-whisps to lead Mum to it, that's all."

The witch calmed down a little. "Okay. Continue."

"So, before I was interrupted," Merida looked pointedly at the witch, "I said that I told Mor'Du about it. I forgot to mention that it was for my mum. I guess that he thought it was for me, and he... Stole it."

The witch rubbed her forehead. "That whisp is bad news, Princess. His infatuation with you will bring nothing but trouble!"

"I'm courting the young MacGuffin boy!"

"But does Mor'Du know that?"

Merida paused before answering. "Yes. He knows."

The witch threw her hands up in the air. "No wonder he took the charm, then! He is deeply  infatuated with you, lass! He will stop at nothing  to get what he wants! It's what happened before, and it's happening now!"

Merida looked down at her hands in her lap. This was all her fault. If she hadn't become friends (ish) with the witch, kept asking for spells, and hadn't spent more time with the whisps than normal people, none of this would've happened. 

"It's all my fault," Merida whispered.

The witch took her hands. "No, lass. We can play the blame game all we want, and won't get anywhere. But you can  fix this."

Merida looked in the old woman's eyes and smiled. "Thank ye."

"Come on, I might as well make some more protection charms."

Together, Merida and the witch exited the shop. The witch snapped her fingers, and they entered her brewing room.

"Do you have a necklace, ring or bracelet that I can use?"

Merida unclasped her necklace that Kendrew MacGuffin had given her and gave it to the witch.

She eyed it. "Getting serious are we?"

Merida blushed. "Just make the charm."

The witch smiled, and dropped into the full cauldron. "Ùisigeadh este rud-eigin dlùth-chaidreach muinge, toilich facer un dìon geas do anacail có idor è vestindo este. Gu farìa bi àrd, iomadh tang," she chanted.

"Did it work?" Merida asked.

The witch held up a hand, and slowly, very slowly, put her hand into the cauldron. Wincing, she pulled a red-hot necklace and presented it to Merida, smiling.

"Here ye go, lass. One protection charm, all ready to go!"

Merida took it, and clapped it around her neck again. "How much?"

The witch rubbed her chin. "Thirty gold, to be delivered next week."

"Done," Merida said, holding out her hand. The witch took it, and they shook.

"I should really be going. Thanks, cailleach!"

"I am not an old lady!" the witch shouted, but Merida was long gone.

* * * 

Merida was almost home, when he  appeared. Starting out as a will-o'-the-whisp, then turning into a man, Mor'Du walked alongside Merida for a while. He kept eyeing her necklace.

"Where did ye get that?" he asked.

Merida paused, but only for a moment. "The old witch. I told her that I lost my other charm, and she made me a new one."

"That has the MacGuffin crest on it."

Merida's heart raced. If Mor'Du found out...

"I found it," she lied. 

Mor'Du eyed her warily. "Come with me," he said.

"No, I should really --"

"Come with me. "

This, Merida could not refuse. Glancing at the worn path that would take her home, she grudgingly went with Mor'Du away from said path, and deeper into the forest, to a place that she had never been before. She was starting to get scared. It had been three years ever since Mor'Du had been turned into a whisp, and he had only changed slightly from when he was human. 

In other words, he was still violent, and that was the main reason why, even after all of his pursuing, Merida hadn't fallen for him, nor would she ever. 

"Where are ye taking me?" she asked. 

"Somewhere safe."

That scared Merida more than ever. She looked to the side, where she saw the faint outline of a black horse with golden eyes. The horse sprinted away.

If only I had thought to bring Angus, she thought. But she didn't. 

It was starting to get dark, the sun would be setting soon. And from experience, that was when the will-o'-the-whisps were the most dangerous. And she really, really wanted to go home, have dinner with her family, sew with her mum, spar with her dad and play with her brothers. But, she was too far away now to do any of that.

Glancing behind her, she saw that there was just enough light to find the witch's cottage again. She could go home tomorrow. All would be all right.

"We're here."

It was a clearing with a waterfall, and several stones carved to look like kings of old. 

"We're close to the Crone's Tooth and the Firefalls," Merida said.

"Correct."

Mor'Du turned to face Merida. "I know about you and that... boy," he spat. "What are you thinking, picking him?"

"I haven't picked  him, Mor'Du. We're just courting."

"And do you know what courting turns into?"

Merida shifted her weight. "Not all the time."

"But often enough. Merida," he stepped close to her. If he could breathe, she would have felt it. She stiffened and he continued, "I have told ye time and time again that I can take care of you."

"How?" she asked, shaking. "I am a human, and ye are a whisp."

The first star came out, but there was still some light left. Some safety. 

"We could have spanned that gap," Mor'Du whispered. "With time, ye would have been a whisp with me, and we could have lived out eternity together."

Merida backed away. "Listen you what yer saying. It's madness."

Night fell, and Mor'Du's brightness intensified. Many whisps appeared around them, and to Merida they whispered, danger, danger, run away lass, danger, we can help you, run away.

Merida prepared to do just that, but Mor'Du grabbed her arm. Merida gasped out of surprise. It was cold, and surprisingly tangible. She spun around.

"How did ye do that?" she whispered.

"Come with me, Merida. It's the last time that I will offer it." He looked down at her necklace, then ripped it off of her. Merida screamed, and pulled out of Mor'Du's grip and started running. She made it to the Crone's Tooth, and started climbing.

"Merida!" Mor'Du cried. "Merida, please, listen to me!"

Her charm was gone. How could a whisp, of all creatures, grab her arm and tear a necklace off? It was meant to be impossible. She looked up. Little blue fires lit an easy way to get up the sheer rock face. 

When she got to the top, Mor'Du was waiting for her. "I am your fate, Merida," he growled. "Look at me, really look at me! I love you, truly love you! Why can't you see that?"

Merida was so much in shock from the events that had happened, she stopped shaking and felt nothing. "I could look past you being a whisp," she said. "Even you being hundreds of years older than me. But the one thing that I cannot  tolerate is your level of violence, Mor'Du. You are a violent being, and I cannot be with that."

"You say that I am violent?"

Merida looked at the will-o'-the-whisp in the eye. "Aye. Ye are."

Mor'Du roared, and lunged towards Merida, she slipped off of the Crone's Tooth, but caught herself on a rock about five meters from the top. 

Eyes full of rage, Mor'Du transformed into a little blue flame and came to rest at Merida's eye level. 

"If you do not want to be with me, than you shall be with no one."

Merida met his gaze. She was terrified, but she didn't let that stop her. She was Princess Merida the Brave, Firstborn to Clan DunBroch. She had seen demons, had created them, and bested them. She had repaired her relationship with her mother, and being older sister to three wee daemons was no easy task, either. A will-o'-the-whisp couldn't really do that much to her. 

An afterimage of the sun suddenly filled her vision. Do not come to me yet, a woman's voice said. You are not ready. Find my handmaiden and return her soul to her. Only then can you come into my presence. Good night, my warrior. I am taking your memories for a reason. Sleep well.

"What do ye mean, yer handmaiden?" Merida yelled up to the sky. But all that was there was the moon. "And why do ye need to take my memories?"

The whisp at her eye level cocked its head. A sunburst fell through the sky and split into four pieces. One of the pieces, a little drop, splashed onto Merida's nose. She suddenly couldn't remember anything. What was her name, and what in Hel's name was she doing hanging on a rock?

She looked to the whisp, but it wasn't there anymore. In it's place stood a man, with hate in his eyes.

"No... Please..." she whispered, but it was in vain. The blue man closed his eyes, and she fell. She hit the ground, and all went black.

A/N: Okay, next chapter is in real time, what's happening with the Big Four and other stuff. Hope that you enjoyed this little thing, which was REALLY fun to write, especially the witch. Though, I had to translate the spell (using Google) word by word from English to Scottish Gaelic... Not fun, I don't recommend it. 

Sorry, me rambling again. I haven't done it in a while, so actually, I'm not sorry.

Okay, so this is dedicated to KTMB (again), but for good reason. Recently, she just did this thing and it was really cool and made me feel really awesome. *sniff*

All right, I'm almost done so bear with me just a little bit longer.

Vote, comment, and happy reading!

~Allie