Here is the last chapter everyone. Thank you so much for reading this story and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you Isolde Auckley, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and Superfan44 for the reviews. No words need to be said about how awesome ya'll are. :D

Also, special thanks to Isolde Auckley for pointing out some mistakes in the last chapter that I was able to quickly brush up and fix for you other readers. :) Let's just say this illness is really affecting my head and I didn't even see them... ;D So, remembering that, if there are any more mistakes in this chapter, be sure to point them out 'cause I probably didn't see them. :D I'll fix any mistakes found if someone will point them out. :D

Okay, here is the last chapter! Please review and thanks for reading!

-Shire from CollieandShire

Chapter Seven

Brave

Marissa lay in the dark and blinked. Am I dead? She wondered. Mor'du had just come crashing down on her, why didn't she feel crushed or hurt or anything?

She blinked again, then reached up and rubbed her eyes. I can move my arms? This was too strange!
Marissa sat straight up and stared. It took a couple of seconds, then with a shout of joy she leapt up and screeched, "I'm back, I' m back!"

Indeed, she was back in the basement of the ruins of DunBroch with sticks all around her and light streaming from above!

"Thank you God, thank you!" she breathed a prayer, then raced towards the stairs and back up to where the rest of the class tour was.

She'd barely managed to reach the ancient throne room when her teacher, Mrs. MacDonald came around the corner.

"There you are Marissa, what are you doing?" she scolded, her brown eyes snapping.

Marissa skidded to a stop. "I was, well, I, uh…"

"And where did you get that dress?"

Marissa glanced down at the long, hunter green medieval dress and looked up at Mrs. MacDonald with a sheepish grin. "Ya wouldn't believe me."

~oOo~

After a long scolding from her teacher for wandering off and trading her school uniform for a gypsy costume, Marissa was all too happy to get to the gift shop. She purchased a book on the history of the DunBrochs and spent the entire bus ride home furiously flipping through it, looking for anything on princess Merida. She hoped that she'd find something to indicate what happened to the princess after Marissa had gotten transported back to the future, but all she found on the great bear incident was a legend.

There is an ancient Celtic legend of a bear of monstrous sized named Mor'du. According to the ancients Mor'du was once a man until he got a spell from a witch that cursed him forever. The story goes on that a young DunBroch princess killed the bear after it had tried to attack her, but historians believe the whole thing was made up by later decedents of the DunBrochs to amuse their guests as a one-upping contest.

"Aww." Marissa moaned.

"What's wrong Marissa?" Mrs. MacDonald asked, coming to sit on the seat next to her from across the bus aisle.

Marissa reddened and looked down, not sure what to say. "I, well, I-I was lookin' for something about, well…"

Mrs. MacDonald gently took the book from Marissa and read the excerpt Marissa had been reading. "Ah, the Mor'du legend." She nodded. "You know, you can read more about it in the book I have. There's a whole chapter on the princess Merida. Most historians believe she didn't exist but I don't think that's necessarily the case."

"Me neither!" Marissa exclaimed. "I think she was a brave lass with a mind of her own."

Mrs. MacDonald smiled and opened her purse, handing Marissa a book titled Legends of the DunBrochs: Tales of the Ancient Celts. "I wish you hadn't wandered off from the rest of us, Marissa. You would have heard the tour guide talk about the princess."

Marissa gratefully took the book and thanked Mrs. MacDonald for letting her borrow it.

Within no time she found the chapter about Merida and began to read. Though the chapter was littered with 'maybes' and 'it is believed', Marissa knew it was all true.

She was delighted to find out that what she'd told Elinor about Merida not being ready for marriage did have an effect on the queen-she delayed the marriage until Merida felt ready. In turn Merida became quite attached to her mother and their relationship blossomed.

Suddenly Marissa's eyes widened as her eyes caught a tiny paragraph underneath a picture on the last page of the chapter.

It is believed Merida was the one who wrote on the ancient scroll in the picture above, explaining why everyone should take every effort to mend bonds they broke with pride, selfishness or fear.

The words sunk into Marissa's heart as she realized they were the ones she'd said to Merida. Merida wrote that for me in hopes I'd read it in the future. The words also reminded Marissa of something else that needed to be wrapped up.

When the bus dropped Marissa off at the station she raced to her mother and hugged her tight. "I missed you, Mum." She whispered.

"Mum?" her mother laughed, hugging her back. "Since when have ya called me that? And where did you get that dress?"

"I just felt like calling you that today." Marissa stated as they walked down the road that led back towards their tiny farm. "I'll explain the dress later."

"How did your visit to our ancestor's ruins go today?" Marissa's mother asked.

Marissa looked up at the sky before she answered, tucking the loose piece of paper in the book her teacher was letting her borrow. "I learned a lot today, mother. I learned that to be a DunBroch means to be brave, to be strong, to be kind and to learn from your mistakes. Most importantly, I learned that when you do wrong to someone it's your job to make it right."

And Marissa knew that the paper within her book would do exactly that.

~oOo~

Dear Marissa,

You know that I forgive you and love you with all my heart. I know how hurt your heart was that day I left. I never once held that against you, I knew that you were scared for me and that was why you reacted the way you had. Don't ever forget I love you, my brave lass. Remember those stories I told you about the princess Merida? You're my Merida, lassie. You have a good heart and you will do what it takes to make things right. Thank you for writing to me, I love you so much that I had to leave to protect you and your mother. Take care of her while I'm gone.

With lots of hugs and kisses,

Daddy

The End

Special thanks are due, so here they are!

Special thanks go to:

Isolde Auckley, for reviewing every chapter and always having such good critiques and yet high praises. Thank you. :)

Superfan44, who also reviewed every chapter and offered much encouragement. Thank you so much!

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, who 'loved' every chapter. Thanks!

And to my sister Collie, who makes up the other half of the CollieandShire writing team. Thanks for always supporting me, even when you don't really get why I'm so excited over everything I write. :D

Thanks to:

Moonmessi

Merida37

KnifeInTheCrayonBox

Pimp'in Tapeworm

For following, reviewing, favoriting and all those wonderful things you did. :D

Thank you so much for reading my dear friends, until next time Guten Tag! ;)