Operation Phoenix

Chapter Fourteen

Merida breathed deeply, letting out a wavering breath and twiddling her thumbs together. She tapped a foot in beat with it, anxious and a little afraid.

She was fidgeting... she never fidgeted.

Hiccup had offered to come with her but she'd declined, explaining that this was something she needed to do on her own. She didn't know how it would play out if he was there—and frankly she didn't want to know.

There was a click and a loud creak before the door in front of her opened. At first, she thought there was no one there and that maybe a ghost opened it for her, but her eyes fell to a small boy—around the age of seven—with thick, curly locks of red hair.

She rolled her eyes. "Hamish, let meh en."

The boy chewed what Merida deducted as gum and blew a small bubble out of his mouth. He said nothing and only stepped aside, revealing two other boys of the same height and stature. Immediately they flung themselves at their older sister, excited to see her more than anything. It felt like she was being attacked by a bunch of bear cubs.

"Agh! Hamish! Hubert! Harris!" She shouted, stumbling inside and nearly tripping on the threshold.

"Merida!" She heard someone shout, and soon found that she was being lifted into an enormous hug. She instantly knew who it was by the smell of pine and the feel of stubble practically grating her cheek.

"Da-had!" she gasped out. "Yeh saw me jest two daes ago."

"Ah wes seck th' last time yeh visited me, Ah couldnae give yeh a proper greetin'!" Her father whooped in his thick Scottish accent (where of which nobody knew had originated. Both her parents and her brothers spoke that way, so naturally she would've adapted the dialect, but they weren't anywhere near Scotland so the fact that the family spoke that way made no sense at all).

"Oh Fergus dear, put her down er yeh'll crush her teh death." Eleanor piped as she stepped closer to them, almost floating. She was so elegant, even the way she walked was like some sort of queen—and not in a bad way.

"Ets fine mum," Mer choked, as her father put her down to the floor again. "I kinda deserve et anywae."

Eleanor looked confused for a moment, but Merida didn't allow her mother to process anything else as she walked around the house in an attempt to recover from what she'd just said. "Sooo, how's theh family, theh... erm, theh jobs... Dad, yeh git any progress on theh house yer team es buildin'?"

Her father opened his mouth to answer but she was talking too fast to let him.

"Mum how's theh teaching job goin'? Any new recruits fer theh Runner's program? How're Hamish, Hubert and Harris doin' en school? Stell gettin ento trouble like normal?" Mer walked backwards to the kitchen bar and stole an apple from the fruit bowl, tossing it around between her hands.

Her brothers looked at each other with confused faces, not knowing why the hell she was acting so weird. Their reactions reflected their parents perfectly.

"Merida, are yeh feelin' alright?" Her mother stepped closer, a hand hovering out towards her.

The redhead dodged it and side stepped into the living room, the fireplace roaring behind her as their brown couch and loveseat acted as a barrier between her and her family.

"Ah, yes!" She laughed in a nervous tone, a little too quickly. "I jest... need teh talk."

Eleanor looked at her daughter, her brows pensive and all her fingers steepled together against the opposite hand. She knew that her child was a bold, brave person, and seeing her so awkward and almost... afraid, only meant the situation was serious. It wasn't often that Merida came home to 'talk'. If she did, it was because she was leaving for another Run, but it was obvious that's not what she was here for. The brunette narrowed her eyes and without breaking contact, only said, "Hamish, Harris, Hubert, leave us."