Here is the second chapter and I thought I should get a bit of the O'Dunbroch family up in her'! So yes, hope you enjoy my sweet princess Merida and her great fucking fam in this semi-filler-like chaper~
A large cloud of red curls peeked out from under her daughter’s duvet that made Elinor smile, its good to have the lass back but honestly her old habits have gotten worse with her time away from home. Wandering to the far side of her daughter’s room she throws open the curtains to let in the soft light of the morning “Wake up, Merida!” she sing-songs in her soft lilt of a Scottish accent.
A soft groan sounds from under the hill that is her daughter “Merida, now. You have to help your brothers open up the shop. Your father and I have been up for hours.” she tsks, shaking her head and pulling the covers to her daughter’s feet that curl up with her whole body into a fetal position “Och, mum!” she complains, her pillow slamming over the impossible rat’s nest of red hair.
Elinor sighs “If I dont see you downstairs in 15 minutes young lady, trust me, you will not want to know what I plan to do.”
She exits the room and smirks to herself behind the closed door to her daughter’s room, proud for that quick motion she got out of Merida as she left, probably her daughter popping her head up to glare at the closed door. It took nothing more than five minutes for their to be clattering above her head, now in the bakery’s kitchen with her husband.
“Tis good tae have me wee bear back.” her husband mentions as his large, strong hands kneads another batch of bread dough. Her husband, Fergus, an immigrant from the highlands of Scotland had the thickest accent of them all while she, a first generation american had a more hidden accent. Their three boys never spoke much, not that they needed to, they spoke amongst themselves in looks while their eldest, Merida, took after her father with her thick accent no matter how many times Elinor tried (and she tried) to teach her the proper pronunciation. Phonics was lost on that spit fire of a daughter of hers.
Elinor smiles softly at her burly husband and gives him a sweet pat on the arm “Aye, ‘tis wonderful. No one missed her like you did.” she says softly before going to the stove to start on the filings for their sweets.
Fergus lets out a soft laugh just as the angry clattering comes closer, down the stairs and there stands Merida, rowdy red curls wrestles into a long braid down her back and in an acceptable tee-shirt and jeans, “Ah’m ‘ere!” she greets chipperly and runs to hug her father from the side “Hey, Da! Missed ye!” she announces happily and kisses his cheek with a soft hop just to reach his height before grabbing for her cloth apron that read ‘Red Hot For You’ (her grandmother’s idea).
Fergus laughs “Och, Eli! Look who decided to wake up, sleepin’ beauteh!”
Merida tosses a smirk over her shoulder “Da, I ‘ad a long trip! ‘Tis no’ mah fault.”
Elinor simply rolls her eyes at the two before pointing at Merida “Oh no, dear, not this morning. You only have to open the shop, my love. Your brothers are out in the front now setting up the displays.” she directs and Merida grins toothily “Aye, mum.”
Elinor is left laughing softly as her daughter skips out of the back and into the store “Merida is too obedient, is she sick?” Fergus asks his wife but she simply shoots him a cheeky grin “No, love, she just knows I let her sleep in. She’s happy to have very little work but she will be gettin’ it once Granny comes back from across the street.” she laughs and Fergus joins her this time “Aye, that old biddy is a slave driver."
“Who is an old biddy, son-in-law?”
A grown man the size of fergus has never jumped so high. Elinor giggles, as if she hadn't been married to this bear of a man for years and had, once again, just met him “Hello, mummy.” she greets, turning back to the compote in the large industrial pot in front of her “How was Berk’s?”
“Oh, they were doing fine. Will be doing better soon with that artisan of a son back from school.”
“Stoik’s boy? Oh that's nice, he’s been out of state as well, hasn’t he?”
Fergus frowns “Oh no, ye arenae gon’ buy more bear carvings are ye?”
Granny turns to Fergus with a frown “And if I am? The boy has a gift.”
“Whats his name again? Hiccup? What a sad thing to name a child.” Fergus tsks, shaking his head as he rolls out the dough for cutting.
“He’s grown out of his name certainly, he’s a fine young man. Tall, strong, dashing-”
“Too young for an old hag like you…” Fergus adds and she turns on him with a scowl “Come again!?”
“Oh please! Would you two stop this foolishness? Merida’s back after months at school and you’re still bickering?”
Granny smirks her craggly grin as she shrugs “Once a meat head, always walkin’ with a head full of meat.” she taunts, leaving the back of the shop. Fergus shoots her an annoyed glare though its wiped off his face quickly when he sees the fierce look on his wife’s face and he sighs, setting up a tray for the oven.
Elinor gives a triumphant grin before going back to her own work.
~
Merida hums to herself as she buffs the last table. She looks over her shoulder at Hubert, Hamish, and Harris; just to make sure they don’t cause any trouble so early in the morning. They are diligently filling their respective displays before Harris shoots Hubert a mischievous smirk “Aye! You two, dorn’t. even. think of et.” she warns and they deflate, Hamish looking a bit lost but quickly catching and and pouting at his brothers. She grins, “Hamish, you too. Nae revenge till break time.” her brothers nod diligently, always listening to her like a second mother.
Merida spares a glance at her wrist watch. She shifts to whistling the tune she had stuck in her head before, moving to the door of the shop and turning on their neon sign but it starts to glitch and she has to smack it a few times. Tough love is always what she resorts to with everything honestly, and like this blasted machine, its gotten used to her rough nature and knows to do what she says once she starts smacking it. Smiling triumphantly, she puffs out her chest proudly before her eyes catch something across the street.
She raises a brow, smiling and throwing Hiccup a wave. It doesn’t surprise her at all he’s grown tall and muscley, she expected it to happen honestly with all the hard work it takes to be a wood carver “Huh, so he’s back.” she mutters, fighting the urge to give him a once over. The boy has certainly grown.
She doesn't even get a chance to fight much longer though because she’s struck with the giggles when he almost falls from leaning on his broom.
“Oh, wee lamb!” she laughs into her hand, glancing up as he waves back and she remembers days when he would make the same crooked little grin. Its so nice to know such a fine boy is still such a...Hiccup.
She turns away from the window to help in the back, ignoring the way the boys sneak over to the door, probably taunting the poor lad across the way. As she makes her way to the back of the bakery she jumps slightly as her grandmother comes up behind her “My, my, look who's woken up!”
Merida gives an unlady like yell “Granny! Ye need tae stop that! Scared me out of me givvies, ye did.” she sighs, turning to the older woman and giving her a hug “Good mornin’.” she greets and her grandmother smiles, patting her back.
“Och, lassie. Welcome back.” she says warmly before pulling away from her granddaughter’s embrace “Now you listen here, there will be no more sleeping in for the rest of your stay. You live here, you work here, understood?”
Merida straightens up “Aye, aye, ma'am!” she laughs, moving to the back to pick up any slack her parents have left with their constant flirting.
Granny smiles and shakes her head with fondness as she cackles softly to herself in her witch like way at her granddaughter’s barely contained fire. “What will the summer bring for two late blooms?” she wonders idely before going to wrangle up her grandsons.
