Fierce

Merida x OC

(Set After Brave)

Years went by since the incident with the bears, and now Merida is of age to be married and become the Queen of Dunbroch. Though her father Fergus and her mother Elinor weren't sure if she was ready, they had hoped that she would marry someone. On the night of her coronation, an attack occurred upon the kingdom, and when all of the clans went into full battle-mode, Merida was taken captive by the mysterious Black Knight.

The day after Merida's kidnapping, she came face-to-face with the Black Knight, whom happened to be the grandson of Mor'du named Caden. When Merida realized that Caden was the one who has a stronger claim to the kingdom of Dunbroch, she would do whatever it takes to keep it from collapsing, even if it meant fighting against the young prince.

What Merida doesn't realize was that Caden's true reason for taking Merida was to protect her. Merida meant more to him than the kingdom that belonged to his grandfather...and the only way that he could protect her is by marrying her. Little did either one of them know was that love would blossom between two people whom were almost alike in personalities: both aggressive in battle, but both passionate in family and in love.

Can love conquer all?

A/N: Thank you for reading this story, and I'm sorry for the delay in posting any new chapters. Things have been a bit chaotic for me with work and school, and I've been trying my hardest to get back to writing. Not only that, with the COVID-19 happening, the state I live in shut down all of the schools for the rest of the year. Even though I will not be returning to the school I've been at for the current school year, it'll be hard to not see my students I've enjoyed working with. I promise to post new stories and chapters soon. Please bear with me, and I hope this makes up for it. Thank you, and happy reading...from Tessa Anne

Chapter 21

Soon the following next morning, Merida and Caden started to get their horses ready for their journey to find the very woman who had the power to turn anyone into a bear. They decided to take a couple of clansmen with them, as they were about to start their journey back toward DunBroch. As Merida tried to get on the horse, Caden came up to her and stopped her. "I don't think you should go, Merida."

"Caden, I will be fine. Besides, I am the only one who can lead you to where she is. I know the physician said not to ride on the horse in my delicate state, but I can ride in a carriage, so that should be fine."

Cradling her face in his hands, he pulled her in to kiss her lips. Pressing his forehead against hers and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Nodding her head, Merida moved her hands from his arms to rest on his back. "Yes, this is what I have to do. For our people, for Scotland, for our family. You and I need to finish what was started, and we need to do it together."

Kissing her again, Caden said, "Wherever we are, we'll do it together. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and our child, I swear it."

Lifting her onto the horse, Caden climbed behind her and held his wife in his arms. Soon, they were riding off into the forest to find the mysterious witch to help them in their journey.

As they rode on, neither Caden nor Merida expected to hear more horses' footsteps coming behind them. Caden pulled back on the reigns, and held his hand up to stop the fellow comrades. When they turned, Merida gasped in surprise to see her mother and brothers following along on horsebacks, and they were not alone. In fact, the entire guards from the Kingdom of DunBroch followed behind them...as did Merida's father, King Fergus.

Merida gasped in surprised, and let Caden helped her down from the horse. As they turned toward her father, Caden rested his hand on Merida's growing belly, in comfort for his wife, but also in protection for his child. When King Fergus and Queen Elinor stopped right in front of Caden and Merida, they got off of their respective horses, and walked toward the young couple.

Even though there was still some animosity about their relationship, Merida was feeling relief to see her father again, and hopefully on good terms. Her father looked between Caden and his daughter, and with tears in his eyes, he said, "I'm sorry, my daughter. I'm truly sorry,"

Merida shook her head, and moving toward him, she wrapped her arms around her father and held onto him. She cried in her father's arms, and replied, "I should be sorry, Father. I didn't want to disappoint you, but I cannot help who I love."

Pulling her back, he gently wiped away her tears with his thumb, and added, "I know, and all I want is for you to be happy. I may not like your husband, but I love you, my child."

Merida smiled, turning back to Caden, she moved toward him while pulling her father to join them. Turning toward the crowd, Merida's father spoke to his guards and bellowed, "We follow the Black Knight and the Princess of Dunbroch. We protect them with our lives, and protect the grandchild of Dunbroch!"

The guards cheered, and soon Merida's family got back on their horses, ready to follow. Caden helped Merida back onto the horse, and climbing behind her, they turned toward the crowd. "We are going on a search to find the abandoned kingdom of Mor'du. Once we get there, we will be able to find the answers we're searching for...but first, we need to find a witch..."