The Darling and Brave Princess

Chapter 16: Fighting for My Own Hand

A/N: This will be a short and quick author's note. Just want to thank everybody for reading and voting and that I HAVE 100 VOTES! Not only that, but I hit 100+ followers, so YAY and THANKS A LOT!

The sun arised and there was a large brunch banquet. King Charming announced Darling's planned engagement. When Lance asked his daughter to rise (and hopefully give a speech on how lucky she felt for this opportunity) Darling just stood smiled and mumbled a, "Thank you."

The shock and horror on some of the princesses' faces were extreme. Ashlynn Ella put her hand over her mouth and was on the brink of fainting. Her parents approved of her rebellious yet true love with Hunter and now she was hearing about her friend's arranged marriage. Rosabella Beauty, Darling's BFFA, felt super duper sorry for her bestie. Every student knew that Darling only loved one, Chase Redford, son of the Red Queen. The pity they had for the princess could weigh as heavy as a golden throne.

What made matters worse was the idea of princes literally fighting for Darling's hand. Like literal sword fighting. In Dunbroch, archery was the typical challenge, but Lance knew his sons were better at sword fighting. Therefore, in the Charming Kingdom it would be sword fighting.

After brunch, everyone returned to their quarters to prepare for the event. Women were their best gowns and the men (excluding the suitors) wore tuxedos. Darling found another poofy, giant made upside down cupcake gown in her room waiting for her. Instead of putting it on and waiting for the event to happen, she slipped away from the castle, climbing down towards the arena. In her hand was her very own sword, pure white with a firm, light blue, leather handle.

Thrones and chairs were placed around a dirt pit in the shape of a circle. Bright green grass surrounded everything. In front were five thrones, Lance's and Merida's in the middle, Dexter's and Daring's on the right and Darling's on the left. Darling sneakily cut a slit in between the luxurious cloth and the golden framing of her throne. She carefully slipped her sword in and made sure it was hidden. The princess practiced getting it out from the throne a few times before returning to her chambers. The next step, was to alter her dress. She grabbed a sharp pair of scissors and started loosening the tight stitches on her four layer dress. It took a while, but now the dress seemed good enough. At around 12:30, Miranda came in to help the princess get into the "cupcake". Then the jewelry, silver earrings with blue and pink crystals, a chain tiara with matching jems and finally the pendant Merida gave Darling. Her outfit was complete and Darling's plan was set.

The games had begun 30 minutes after Darling finished revamping her outfit and throne, along with wearing silver leggings underneath her gown. Merida seemed nervous too as she tried her best not to fiddle with her fingers. Lance announced that Daring would be his champion to defend his sister's hand, though everyone knew that Lance would choose Daring.

The first to spar with Daring would be King Pershing's eldest son, Daniel. Daniel was average height with lightly tanned skin and dirty blonde hair. His black eyes glowed with confidence as he held his sword firmly between his palms. In five minutes Daring easily took Daniel down.

Next, came King Whittan's son, Tiber. Tiber seemed even more confident than Daniel. Probably thinks I'm getting tired, Daring assumed. Sure enough, in two moves Tiber was face flat on the ground.

Many princes came after the next failure and fell like dominoes. Darling held her laugh, it was sort of funny to see confident princes fall into the dirt, faces red with embarrassment. King Charming's mood descreased, if nobody won then no one would marry Darling and his plan to keep her destiny a secret would be ruined. To make matters worse, his wife's not so proper brothers came. Lance swore he saw Merida smile, and he was absolutely certain Merida invited them. Hubert, Harris and Hamish visited once or twice every few years to see their sister. Of course, they never mentioned her past based on strict orders from Merida herself. One misstep could mean war against Dunbroch again. "Er, mind if we sit here?" Hubert asked as he stroked his small orange beard.

Lance sighed and said, "Yes, you may sit there."

Harris spoke next, "So, er, Dexter, laddie, how's your arm? Still good at bookball?"

Dexter nodded, he was quite fond of his uncles. They were supportive, funny, and never judgemental. They didn't mind if Dexter was a bad sword fighter or that he wore glasses and had brown hair. (All Charmings inherit blonde hair and are flawless in every way, but Dexter inherited his grandma Elinor's brown hair. This caused the Charmings to dislike Merida even more)

"Darling, you look beautiful, you've got yer mother's looks," praised Harris, "Can you still dance the jig?"

"Thank you," Darling replied with a small smile, "Yes, I still can. Perhaps we can dance later? Did Uncle Hamish bring his bagpipes?"

Lance shot a glare at his daughter, princesses should only dance the waltz. He knew Merida's brothers were a bad influence. If only he never let them come visit, he remembered hearing the putrid sounds of bagpipes and shoes tapping rapidly against the white marble floor. Then, he would find footprints all over his red and gold rug.

Hamish asked, "So, where's the snacks and sweets? Oh, and by the way, me and they's wives and kids send regards. It a small trip, so they're still in Dunbroch."

Merida tried hard not to giggle, even now her brothers loved sweets, and she thought they learned their lesson when they became baby bear cubs. There was even more chatter from the three and after everyone settled down, the next challenger came, Michael Beract. The countless fights, Daring had been clearly doing a number on him. Darling watched anxiously, she had a feeling that she would be forced to marry Michael. The fight lasted longer than the others, much longer. Michael cuts both Daring's ankles with his sword and Daring falls. Everyone gasps, Michae had won. No, no, no! Darling screams in her mind, There has to be something I can do! I have to save myself!

A lightbulb glows above the princess's head and she flips her hair, time starts to slow and now was the moment. She grabs her sword from the thrown and cuts her dress down to a flexible short dress. She kicks off her heels and jumps down into the arena. Time turns back to normal again and she declares, "I am Darling Charming, daughter of King Charming, and I'll fighting for my own hand!"