Young Macguffin's Perspective

He could hear Brandan calling after him telling him to come back but he chose to ignore his calls. He walked away needing some time to clear his head and really think. He wanted to ask the princess, no he needed to ask Merida what she genuinely thought of him. Sure she said he was special to her but that brought on a number of questions for him. How special? What kind of special? A close friend kind or the marrying kind? Was he someone she could spend the rest of her life with? Was it that this was temporary and she was only curious?

Galen was genuinely curious and that was a dangerous thing to him. Being curious led to seeking answers but would they be the answers he hoped for.

He sighed and noticed he had wandered just past the castle walls or rather he stood in the doorway that led to the outside. He looked towards the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set. Pretty soon he'd have to make his way to the throne room for dinner.

Would she be there?

He hoped so because he intended to put his worries to rest tonight.

But first he needed to return something to Brandan. If he was going to get the answers he needed, he was going to do it on his own terms without the help of silly charms of tricks.

Merida's Perspective

Merida slowly opened her eyes and realized that it was late. Her room was cloaked in darkness and she fumbled awkwardly to turn on a candle. She rubbed the drowsiness out of her eyes and thought that dinner would probably be over. She fought with herself whether to go back to sleep or sneak into the kitchen for a snack. Her stomach grumbled with hunger as she tied her curls into a loose ponytail. She checked a mirror quickly making sure everything was where it was supposed to be.

Merida then proceeded to quietly open the door, she stuck her head out a bit and listened for the sounds of people in the throne room. When she heard none she peeked down the stairs and found it to be almost empty. A few clansmen were chatting or writing letters most likely to their families back home.

She made her way to the kitchen and found it to be also empty. How late was it? How long had she slept? She took a couple of pastries and headed outside for some fresh air.

The air was cool and the quiet of the night was relaxing. She found an isolated spot inside the castle walls, it was a hallway that nobody ever passed through at night. She often heard the lady servants say it was too dark and too creepy to pass by there so they often avoided it. Merida on the other hand sought it out for peace, quiet and because you were able to see the stars from that particular spot.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. She hadn't felt this peaceful since the clans had arrived.

Merida flinched when she heard the familiar creaking of a door opening. She got up and hid round the corner. The door closed shut. She listened for the sound of footsteps heading towards her but instead heard a faint melody. It was beautiful, soft and gentle. It reminded her of Galen and her heart did a small somersault. She couldn't resist she peeked round the corner and found Galen himself sitting on the floor strumming a lute. He looked lost, or rather his expression was hard to read.

She walked towards him and sat next to him. He hadn't noticed her presence, she smiled and said "That sounds beautiful." She leaned on his shoulder, she felt him give a little jump and noticed the nervous smile that emerged.

"Thank you" he said. "Ah didnae see ye at supper, urr ye a'richt? (I didn't see you at supper, are you alright?)".

She blinked and answered "I'm alright was just very tired and needed to get away from Brandan's awful singing."

She eyed him warily as he strummed his lute "…You're not going to sing about wild flowers…. are you?"

He stopped strumming and turned to look at her seriously before responding "Ainlie if ye dinnae mak' me read anymair poetry (Only if you don't make me read anymore poetry)."

Both of them burst out laughing about the incidents which had taken place these prior days.

"Can you explain what was that all about?" she asked in between chuckles. She stopped her chuckling when she noticed he was not laughing with her anymore. She noted that he was gripping his hands tightly.

"Galen?"

"Princess." He said in a serious tone.

She took his hand and kissed it "Call me Merida, we know each other well enough."

"Merida..." he began. "Whit dae ye think o' me? (What do you think of me?)"

She was speechless, she wasn't expecting him to ask that. What did she think of him? She blushed bright red and she tightened the hold on his hand. He squeezed back and that small gesture gave her the courage to respond. "I think you're special to me."

"In whit wey? (In what way?)" He asked. "Am ah a special lik' a mukker or... Something mair? (am I a special like a friend or... something more?"

She turned to face him and said "More." She threw her arms around him and felt him tense up. Slowly she felt him relax and felt his arms snake around her middle. She kissed his cheek.

"You're special to me in the way that you frighten me. I feel like I can't breathe when I'm around you but at the same time when you're not there, it's like a piece of me is missing." She felt him tighten his hold on her. "You make my heart flutter when you smile at me and I feel peaceful when you're next to me. You balance me."

They separated from one another. He stood up and helped her stand as well. She was confused to say the least he had on such a serious expression. Merida felt her heart speed up when a small fear made its self-known. She feared he would now mock her words instead he took both her hands in his and looked at her. She grew shy under his gaze and tried to look somewhere else but he didn't let her. He had placed a hand on the side of her face and had made her look at him before he leaned down for a kiss.

"Merida Ye'r gey special tae me, 'n' ah dinnae think ah cuid bide mah lee wi'oot ye by mah side. (Merida you're very special to me and I don't think I could live without you by my side.)" Galen took a deep breath and said "Sae.. If ye'll hae me ah liked tae spend th' rest o' mah lee wi' ye. (So... if you'll have me I like to spend the rest of my life with you)."

He searched her face for any indication she would say no but instead felt something wet. A tear? He panicked "A'm sorry...i... Weel! (I'm sorry...I... well!)"

She shook her head and jumped into his arms. He clumsily caught her before she kissed him and whispered "If you don't mind my stubbornness from time to time I'd be happy with you by my side." She smiled at him and he smiled in return.

They embraced and held onto each other for what felt like an eternity or what should have felt like an eternity. Merida heard a loud YES! Coming from the door Galen had come out of earlier. She raised an eyebrow at him and he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed.

"Oor dads micht hae ower heard us juist noo (Our dads might have over heard us just now." He said quietly.

It was her turn to be embarrassed when she heard a familiar laugh (her father's) coming from inside the room. Realization hit her when she remembered Galen and Lord Macguffin were staying in this part of the castle. She whipped her head when she heard the door creaking open. Lord Macguffin and King Fergus came out both wearing the biggest grins Merida had ever seen. She hid her face in her hands wishing to disappear at the moment.

She let out a small shriek when she was lifted off the ground and had the air knocked out of her. She had been swept into a bear hug by Lord Macguffin.

"Welcome my future daughter-in-law to the family" he yelled enthusiastically.

She was mortified and she could tell Galen was as well; he was shrinking in on himself again. Lord Macguffin set her down before her father enveloped her in a hug of his own.

He sighed sadly but then smiled "Your mother is going to be so happy lass."

"As she should be!" Lord Macguffin said. "Well at least I don't have to worry about not having any grandchildren."

Merida and Galen both blushed bright red. Galen yelled "Da!"

Fergus and Lord Macguffin just chuckled at the young couple before they left to find the queen. She would surely be happy to hear such news.

"A'm sorry (I'm sorry)" he said.

She grabbed his hand again and smiled though embarrassed "Don't be. Something tells me things are going to get more complicated…...but I don't mind as long as you're there by my side."

He smiled at her before he pulled her into a hug.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this story =)! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I thank you for your reviews and your time. I am thinking about doing a part two to this story but i'm still undecided yet!