It was dinnertime for the royal family in the clan of DunBroch. But while dinnertime with her family was one of her favorite times of the day, Merida was not enjoying herself tonight. She loved to eat, and used to have a habit of scarfing down her food and not being ladylike, while being reprimanded by her mother for it. But tonight, Merida just sat in her seat, slowly picking at her food, and barely ate anything since she sat down at the table.

Although she had managed to put on a good face during her daily lessons with her mother during the day, Merida felt slightly sick since she woke up in the morning, and tonight she felt much worse. She felt very hot, certain that she was running a fever, and she had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach that didn't make her want to eat any food. And while she generally loved the noise and excitement that occurred during dinner, with her father telling stories and the family's Scottish deerhounds Seamus and Donnan barking and making chaos with her father and brothers, tonight the slightest amount of noise she heard really bothered her.

Merida kept her eyes on her plate and continued to pick at her food when she heard Elinor tell Fergus "You know, Fergus, since the lords and their clans have left DunBroch, Merida has made a great deal of improvement in our lessons for the past few weeks. I think her speech to the lords showed both of us just how much we have influenced her, since it was her first time of acting like a ruler."

"Aye, dear," Fergus replied. "Like I've said before, she really does take after you, what with the way she gave her speech." He and Elinor exchanged a smile across the table, then he turned to Merida and said, "We're both very proud of you for how you've changed since the lords' visit, Merida."

Merida looked over at her father and smiled weakly, due to her not having so much energy. When she didn't say anything after that, Elinor looked at her and said, "Merida, dear, are you all right? You haven't eaten any of your food since we all sat down at the table."

"Well, I…" Merida began, but she was suddenly interrupted when she heard the familiar barks of Seamus and Donnan. The two deerhounds raced over the table and jumped all over Fergus, licking his face and trying to steal food from his plate.

Trying to speak over his laughter as the dogs cornered him, Fergus said, "Come on! Stay outta my food, ya greedy dogs!" He could barely say anything else as he tried to shoo them away while they were barking like mad. Then Seamus and Donnan quickly turned away from Fergus and headed towards the triplets. Both dogs stood up on their hind legs and placed themselves between the triplets, with their front paws on the table. Before anyone else could speak, they quickly dove at their triplets' plates, which contained haggis and had not been touched by the triplets.

During the chaos with the dogs, the triplets started laughing at their behavior, happy that the dogs were eating their food for them. Fergus also laughed at what Seamus and Donnan were doing, while Elinor was watching with horror at everything. As she stood up from her place at the table and tried to pull the dogs away, Merida placed her hands over her ears and was shaking with annoyance at how much the noise was bothering her. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, so she stood up and slammed her fists on the table as she yelled, "Can't we all just have some peace and quiet at the table for once?!"

Once she let those words out, her entire family froze at their spots and just looked at her, their mouths agape. Even Seamus and Donnan stopped what they were doing and suddenly ran from the room, whimpering some as they did.

As her family starred at her, Merida suddenly felt horrified. She placed her right hand to her head and said, "Oh…I, I'm so sorry, everyone! I didn't mean to yell, it's just that all the noise was bothering me because I haven't been feeling well all day." She quickly sat back down in her chair and let out a very loud cough that sounded like a person would have when ill.

Elinor immediately became concerned and asked Merida, "Do you feel hot at all, Merida?"

"Yes, I do, Mum," Merida answered.

Elinor walked over to Merida and placed her hand on her daughter's forehead. Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Oh, my! Indeed, you have a very terrible fever, lass!" She turned over to Fergus and said, "Feel her head, dear!"

So Fergus walked over to his wife and daughter and placed one of his large hands on Merida's forehead. His eyes also widened when he felt the heat coming from Merida's head. "Yes, you're right, Elinor. She's definitely ill."

Merida could only just sit in her seat, feeling low on energy, as she heard what her parents said. Then she heard Elinor tell her, "Why don't you go on up to your room and rest, dear? I'll bring you some tea in a few minutes. Do you want anything at all to eat?"

Merida weakly shook her head. "No, I really do not feel like eating now. I'd rather rest." She stood up from her seat and started to slowly walk away from the table. But she didn't get much further when she suddenly felt herself falling to floor and fading into unconsciousness. Luckily, Elinor was right in front of her as she was walking and quickly caught Merida before her body hit the floor.

Finally fading out of unconsciousness, Merida opened her eyes. She peeked up towards the ceiling and quickly realized that she was finally in her room. She also sensed something cold and wet on her forehead, which she realized was a wet cloth. Then she glanced to her right and saw her mother's face.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Elinor said as she smiled at her daughter and removed the cloth from her forehead.

"Wha-when did I get here? What happened to me?" Merida asked.

"Your father carried you up here and put you in your bed after you fainted in the Great Hall," Elinor answered.

Merida felt very shocked at what she just heard, but she didn't have enough energy to sit up. "I fainted?" she asked quizzically.

"Yes, dear. I guess you're ill enough with such a high fever that you felt lightheaded and so you fainted from that."

"Mum," Merida began, "I honestly did not intentionally raise my voice at dinner. It's just the noise was really getting to me since I feel ill, and I wanted it to be quiet-"

Elinor leaned down towards Merida and gently put her finger on Merida's lips and said, "Merida, sweetheart, you don't need to explain that. I am not disappointed in you for using that kind of behavior. When people are sick, it's not always easy to put on one's best behavior. And staying in bed so much when you are sick, even for a princess, does not mean that you are lazy. You need a lot of rest and peace in order to get better, so you shouldn't be hard on yourself for the way you are acting now or have earlier. As I said, I'm proud of you for the changes you have made in yourself for the past few weeks, so you have nothing to apologize for now."

Elinor smiled down at Merida again, and Merida weakly returned the smile. Then suddenly they heard the door open and looked over in its direction. There they saw Fergus, who peeked in and saw Merida awake. "Ah, she's finally awake." He walked over to them and asked Merida, "Are you feeling all right, sweetheart? Your fainting gave both your mother and I a fright."

"I still feel ill, of course," Merida answered, making an effort to sit up a little bit. "But hopefully, not so much to faint again, especially so soon."

The door creaked open some more, and Merida and her parents saw the triplets and the dogs there. The boys started to walk into the room, but Elinor quickly walked up to them to stop them from coming closer to Merida.

"No, no, boys." She walked in front of them and held out her arms to keep them moving forward. Then she took them in her arms and said, "Your sister is very ill, and I don't want you to catch what she has. So you shouldn't come close to her for quite a while."

The boys looked over to Merida wearing sad faces, and Merida could only smile at them. Before they could take a chance to run over to their sister anyway, Fergus walked to them and joined them. He grabbed Hubert and Harris in his arms while Elinor took Hamish in her arms. Fergus said, "Come on, boys, you heard what your mother said. We have to let Merida rest now, so let's go."

Both parents started walking out of the room with their sons as Seamus and Donnan remained at the door. Once they were out, the dogs started walking into the room. Elinor noticed this and started, "No, Seamus and Donnan, we have to let her rest-"

But Merida quickly objected and said, "Let them come in for just a moment, Mum."

Elinor sighed. "All right, but don't let them stay very long."

Once her parents and brothers left the room, Seamus and Donnan walked over to Merida's bed. Smiling mischievously, she patted her bed, motioning for the dogs to jump up, which they gladly did. As they looked at her, Merida said, "Sorry for scaring you in the kitchen, lads. I wasn't mad at any of you, I just wanted it to be quiet since I don't feel well."

Seamus and Donnan barked, as if they understood what she said and had no hard feelings from earlier. They walked over to her and licked her face. As they did, she found it hard not to giggle some. But she quickly pushed them away because she was afraid of what Elinor would do or say if she what they were doing.

"Come on, lads, off the bed." Seamus and Donnan quickly jumped off the bed and looked over at Merida. She looked back at them and said, "Don't worry, when I'm better, you can do more of that all you want…and at dinnertime, too." She winked at them as she said the last sentence.

Both dogs barked happily before they turned around and ran out of the room. After watching them leave, Merida realized how tired she was, even though it hadn't been too long since she woke up after having fainted. So she rested her head back onto her pillow and fell asleep shortly after she closed her eyes.

Merida woke up after sleeping for several hours. She didn't feel any better than she had from earlier in the evening, but she just had the instinct to wake up. She looking over at her window and saw that it was dark outside, making her realize that it had to be well past midnight now. She felt her stomach rumble, knowing by now that she was hungry. But she wondered if anyone would actually be awake by now who could get her some food.

As she kept thinking, she suddenly turned to her right, and to her surprise, saw her mother sitting down at her bed and sleeping there with her head resting on the bed. Merida realized that her mother must have wanted to stay with her even while she slept because she was so worried about her after fainting earlier, and smiled, realizing indeed just how much her mother loved her.

Merida leaned forward as much as she could and gently shook her mother's arm and stroked her hair as she said, "Mum? Mum, wake up."

Elinor opened her eyes and slowly sat up. After she yawned, she said to Merida, "So you are awake again. Do you feel hungry by now?"

Merida slowly nodded her head. Elinor smiled at her and said, "Well, I can go get you something to eat now, if you'd like."

Merida eyes widened in surprise. "But Mum, it's very late. Are you sure you want to do this now?"

Elinor kept smiling as she said, "Merida, dear, don't worry about the fact that it's late now or what I should be doing at this time. You are sick, and so you need to be taken care of until you are well. Yes, I am tired, but I love you, and I want to do things like for you so you can get well. Merida, being a ruler of a kingdom is a very important job, and part of it can include putting other people's needs before your own. But even still, in a situation like how you are feeling now, I have to come to realize, more than ever, that the most important job I have is being your mother. You and your brothers mean the world to me as well your father, and there is absolutely nothing that I wouldn't do for you."

Merida smiled as she felt tears brim her eyes. Even now, since their journey together when Elinor was a bear, Merida had learned to be more selfless and not think so much about herself. But she saw just how much her mother did in fact love her, especially with what her mother had just told her, and she felt that she couldn't have asked to have a better mother.

"Thank you, Mum," she said, not knowing what more to say after that.

Elinor gently kissed Merida's forehead. Then she looked at her and said, "You don't feel as hot now as you did before."

"Well, maybe because I am getting the best care from you." Merida said and smiled.

Elinor smiled back and kissed Merida's forehead again. "Now why don't I get you some soup, bread, and tea? Do you think you can eat that?"

"Yes, Mum," Merida answered.

After her food was brought to her, it didn't take too long for Merida to eat and drink everything. She didn't have the energy to eat very fast, but she was hungry enough to eat everything in a fairly short time.

Elinor, who had stayed in Merida's room with her after she brought up her food, asked Merida once she finished her meal, "How was it then, dear?"

"Very good, Mum. And now I feel ready to go back to sleep."

"Good." Elinor briefly hesitated before she asked, "Would you like me to stay with you tonight, Merida?"

Merida became very surprised after hearing her mother's question. "But aren't you worried that you'll get sick, too, Mum?"

"Yes, dear, but I'm more worried about how soon you will get better or what may happen to you in the future before you do. I just asked so I could be close to you in case something happens to you during the night and you can't take care of yourself."

Merida felt very touched at what her mother just told her. "Then yes, Mum, I do." After Merida finished making herself comfortable, she thought of something.

"Mum?"

"Hmmm?"

"Will you please sing our old lullaby to me?"

"Of course, dear."

Merida closed her eyes as she heard Elinor sing the first line of the lullaby "A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth." Then she remembered her recent of memory of when she was a child and sang the lullaby with her mother. Almost immediately after Elinor sang the last line, "Maighdean uasal bhàn," Merida felt herself drifting off to sleep, though she was awake enough to feel a tender kiss on her forehead and hear her mother whisper, "I love you, my brave, wee lassie. I'll always be right here."

Merida smiled and continued to smile for some time after she finally fell asleep.

So here's my third story for Brave, which is another one primarily between Merida and Elinor. I really do enjoy writing stories about these two. :D Though some inspiration from this story came from Ceikaiyia Cheeks's story "I'll Always Be Right Here," I did have a story idea like this before I read hers. And even before I read it, too, I wanted to pay homage to Elinor's line "I'll always be right here" by making it her last line in this story as she comforts Merida while she is still ill. And like my previous story, I used the same names of the dogs that were first named by Scotch-Irish Rose. I know we don't see Merida have interaction with the dogs in the film, but I like to think of them as the family's pets, and that she would love having their company whenever possible. I think it probably stems from the fact that I am a dog lover myself. :)

Hope you all like this, and please leave a review if you do. ;)