Merida crouched low, waiting for her prey to reveal itself. A sickly doe, who had been tailing the herd for weeks now, barely surviving. Merida didn't need the doe to eat, she really didn't need to eat at all. It was more of a mercy.

The doe's head popped out of the fern, looking around. Beside it, a smaller version of her poked it's head out next to it's mother.

It's mother...

Merida loosed the arrow, deliberately missing, and watched the doe and her fawn sprint away. Something about a mother tickled at her memory, but she just couldn't put her finger on what that memory was. Ever since Merida had awoken in the circle of stones centuries ago, she had wanted -- no, needed -- to know what her missing memories were. It drove her nuts.

She turned around to see a black grizzly bear staring at her, head cocked, eyes wide, holding a fish in it's mouth. 

"What do ye want?" Merida said. 

The bear said nothing, just stared at her. 

She groaned. Another bear. Bears seemed to follow her wherever she went. One even followed her into the African Jungle once. 

"All right, come along, but don't slow me down. I need to get back."

Merida turned away, walking back the way that she had come. Soon enough, she came to a castle standing on a cliffside, slowly crumbling to the wears of time. No one had found it, it just stayed on that cliffside, a relic from another age. Merida carefully walked the fragile bridge and into the once-great entry hall. Pillagers from years before had taken anything of value, so all that was left was a few bricks, and the odd wooden plank. Merida had made it her home.

She turned around, the bear was still there, and it still had that fish in its mouth. She just rolled her eyes, and climbed up the crumbled staircase, the only one still intact. Surprisingly, the bear didn't break anything, it just followed her. Up through the stairs, and through the narrow hallways, the bear followed her, making no noise. Normally, bears lost interest when things got too boring, but this one was obviously different. 

Entering into a small room, Merida lit the torches with a wave of her hand. Centuries of practice had left her adept with her gifts. The bear dropped the fish, and Merida finally realized that it was not a fish, but a note.

She picked it up.

Hello, Spirit, the note read.

I hope that Björn didn't trouble you while delivering this to you. He can be quite annoying at times. 

You are wondering who this is from. You will have to wait a little longer, Little Sister, for wicked things are coming your way. I normally make it a habit not to get involved in these things, but there is one thing that I cannot ignore. You feel it too. Many Spirits are disappearing. You are as nearly as ancient as the hills which you inhabit. But you are still young in your powers. 

Many of the ancient Spirits are gone. In your youth, you explored them, cared for them, and eventually, became one of them. Will-o'-the-whisps, you called them. Leaders to one's Fate. They owe their prolonged existence to you, but as time went on, and as Man forgot them, they, one by one, disappeared, until only you are left. 

Do not mistake what I am trying to say. You, Spirit of Fire, are not a will-o'-the-wisp. You are much, much greater than you can ever imagine. 

Use Björn to help you, for you need as much help as you can get. Gather your gear for the cold, Little Sister. You are going to need it.

The note was unsigned. 

"Björn, are ye?" Merida said to the bear. "And ye are supposed to help me?"

The bear nodded, as if he could understand her. 

"Do ye need to eat, or are ye like me?"

The bear nodded.

Merida rolled her eyes, and grabbed a fur cloak from a pile in the center of the room. Björn lay down, staring up at her. Get on, his eyes seemed to say. I can take you where you are needed.

Merida grabbed a couple of blankets, extra arrows and her best bow, along with extra string if it broke, and climbed on Björn. He stood up, and Merida smiled. For some reason, this was where she belonged. On the back of a bear, and it seemed like on top of the world.

She patted Björn's side, and he turned around and walked down the hallway, stairs and onto the crumbling bridge. Every step that Björn took made stones crumble and fall to the sea below.

"Careful!" Merida cried. She really didn't want to make the long fall to the sea and get soaked. Björn hummed, and it kind of sounded like laughing.

"Ah, stop it. I'm honestly not in the mood to get wet today, bear."

As Björn stepped onto the grass, the rest of the bridge crumbled to the sea. "I'm never going back," Merida whispered. "Never going home..."

Again, Merida felt something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Longing? Loss?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Lead on, Björn," she said, and together, the two of them went into the woods.

* * * 

Björn leapt up, and caught the cooked fish in his mouth. Merida laughed, falling off of her log, as the bear made a great, big show of eating it.

"Don't play with yer food, ye nitwit! Just chew and get over with it."

Björn made a show of mocking her, paw up in the air, moving his mouth like he was talking. That made Merida laugh even harder. She took a bite of her own cooked fish, relishing in the taste. It had been a long time since she had eaten at all, and she loved it.

The fire was running low, and Merida couldn't set the dirt on fire, she had tried that. "I'll get some more wood. Don't ye dare eat any more fish, Björn. Ye've already had eight."

Björn pouted, and Merida stuck her tongue out at him.  She stood up, and walked into the woods, chuckling. Whoever sent her that note was right. Björn was a real pain in the butt.

Arms full of dry wood, Merida turned around to go back, but found that she was lost. She tried looking for her footsteps, but it hadn't rained in weeks, and the ground was bone-dry.

"You really shouldn't have left your bear, you know."

Merida dropped the wood, and spun around. No one was there. "Show yerself!"

A woman laughed. "It's not as easy as that. I can't unless you want dust in your eyes."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's just who I am. Dust-lady, you could call me, though that might be a bit rude."

"Who are ye?"

"Didn't I just tell you? I'm the dust-lady, the bringer of dust."

"How did you become this way?"

"Oh, it was easy, really. My daughter just cut her hair, and I fell out of a window. Poof! Dust-lady."

"Ye died?"

"Oh, you really are thick. Yes, Merida dear. I died. So did you, as a matter of fact. Left your whole family behind. Started a war. Yes, but you don't remember these things. You only appeared oh... fifteen years after the DunBroch castle was abandoned?"

"How do ye..."

"I do my research. Now, if I were you, I would go back to your bear, and stay out of this. You don't want more people dead because of your choices now, do you?"

"More... Ye know about my past."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do."

The dusty ground swirled around Merida's feet, and she jumped away.

"Oh, smart. You see, I would've dragged you down to the center of the earth, because, frankly, I know your type."

"Ye do, do ye?" Merida had to keep jumping around avoid the swirling dust clouds. 

"Yes, my daughter was like you. Carefree, thought that her life was terrible just because I was a little overprotective. She escaped like you did, and I almost killed her lover, too. But she just stopped me.

"Now, little Spirit, are you going to cooperate, or am I going to have to blow dust in your eyes?"

"Björn! Help! Björn, where are you?" Merida called out.

"He's not coming, Spirit of Fire! Can't you tell? You willingly left him, and he's mine now! Now, are you going to cooperate?"

"No! Björn! Help! Björn! Where are ye, Björn?"

"Oh, shut up! Can't you see that your bear is not coming?"

"BJÖRN!"

The dust clouds came together to form a woman in a dress, with a cloak, and impossibly curly hair. Her eyes were the only part of her that had color. Pale blue, and full of hate.

A bear came crashing through the foliage, full of rage. Björn stood up on his hind legs, and leaned towards the dust-lady and roared with all of his might.

The dust-lady shied away, glaring at both Merida and Björn. 

"Today, you have made me an enemy. Go! Go to wherever you're going! But here is a little bit of free advice: Do not trust her. She works for both sides, Spirit of Fire. She may want her world saved, but at what cost?

"Tread softly, Spirit of Fire. Tread softly."

The dust-lady blew away, and Björn looked at her as if to say, can you believe her?

The bear went down onto all fours, and Merida fell into his black coat, sobbing.

A/N: Hopefully this time I won't ramble. So, I'm glad that I had the idea of Björn, as he is so freaking cool... But more on that later. So, I don't really do this often, but I want you guys to comment on who you think wrote Merida the letter. Like I said, I never really do things, but I thought that I might try it.

This is dedicated to AlissaDonkers for having really, really good ROTBTD fanfics, and I can't wait to read her net update!

Vote, comment, and happy reading!

~Allie