It was just another typical family dinner in castle DunBroch.
There I was, sitting on the opposite side of the table to my little triplet brothers, Hubert, Hamish and Harris, listening to Mum the Queen and Dad the King talking.
“I’ve just got wind today, Elinor, that our fine land is being visited upon by an evil sorcerer, called Horrag.”
My brothers stopped eating and gazed open mouthed in curiosity and fear at Dad, as did I.
“A sorcerer?” Mum asked. “Are you sure Fergus?”
“I most certainly am Elinor. It is rumoured that he can shape-shift and is out in the woodland.”
For a moment there was silence.
“Well, maybe someone should go out and face him,” said I. “After all I’ve –“
“No Merida,” Mum snapped. “You’re not going out into the woodland.”
“But –“
“I said no,” Mum said more thoroughly.
“Let her finish,” said Dad.
There was another moments silence.
“Very well. Say what you have to Merida.”
“I was going to say that I’ve ended up in life-threatening situations before. Remember Mum, the time when I ended up in the lair of Mor’du the bear. You had to rescue me when you had that bear curse put on you.”
“That’s all very well Merida,” said Mum. “But you’re still not going into the woodland – not while this Horrag is in there. One of these days you will go too far.”
“Your Mum’s right Merida,” Dad said.
“Thank you, Fergus.”
“But –“
“I’m not going to tell you again Merida.” Mum said very severely. “You are going to stay within the grounds of this castle. Now we’ll hear no more about it for now.”
I did not dare to press the matter any further.
Later that night, I was in my bedroom – deep in thought about the sorcerer lurking out in the woodland.
“I don’t care what Mum and Dad say,” I said to myself. “Tomorrow, I’m going to go out into the woodland, to look for Horrag, whatever it takes.”
So the following morning, I grabbed my bow and arrows and silently made my way out of the castle.
I then fed my horse Angus some oats and left the castle grounds.
“Mum and Dad will never stop me now.”
It wasn’t long before I reached the woodland edge.
I dismounted Angus and led him into the trees.
“The thing is, I don’t know which way to go,” I said. “Worst of all, Horrag could be in the form of anything. A tree, a bush, an insect, a leaf, a stone, even a ferocious hound, or some kind of wild animal. After all, Dad did say that the sorcerer is rumoured to be a shape-shifter. If only I knew which way to go.”
Suddenly, a trail of luminous white objects appeared out of nowhere.
“The wisps,” I said. “Maybe they’ll lead us to Horrag.”
That, I most certainly hoped. More than once I have followed a trail of will-o’-the-wisps and they’ve always led me to one destination or another.
“Come on Angus. We must follow them, no matter where they lead to.”
Angus and I followed the trail of wisps for over a mile, until we reached an open space with a tall standing stone in the centre. The trail of wisps ended there.
The sight of the stone filled me with dread. My worst fears were realized when it changed form.
In its place, there stood a tall figure – clad in a long, hooded black cloak.
The figure unfolded its arms and pulled back the hood – revealing the head of a man, around about forty. The man was bald and pale-skinned. He had a pair of dark eyes, a hooked nose, slanting black eyebrows and a menacing smile, which sent a chill down my spine.
I then noticed a gold ring – embedded with a luminous green gem on his right hand.
“Who dares to face Horrag, the shape-shifting sorcerer?” the man said in a menacing voice.
“I am Merida, first-born heir to the kingdom of DunBroch.”
Horrag’s smile became even more scary – scary and contorted. His eyes began to glow bright red too.
“Tell me why you are in these woods, so close to castle DunBroch,” I said. “State your purpose.”
“Tonight at full Moon, I will take the castle and destroy everyone within it. Once I have taken the castle, I will rule this land.”
I was horrified.
“Well Horrag, I bet you didn’t expect the Princess to face you in the woodland, did you?”
“No, I did not,” the sorcerer sneered. “But it makes no difference. I’m going to kill you anyway.”
“How do you plan to kill me?” I asked fearfully. “Are you going to turn into some kind of wild animal and gobble me up?”
“Yes Merida,” Horrag sneered more cruelly. “That is how I plan to kill you.”
“Not if I kill you first.”
I removed my bow and fitted an arrow.
“Go ahead,” the sorcerer said in the same sneery voice.
I fired my arrow at his chest, but it bounced off backwards.
“Huh!”
I fired another arrow, but without success. I tried five more times, still without success.
I was baffled. It was as if an invisible shield protected Horrag.
“You cannot kill me Merida. I’m surrounded by a protective invisibility shield, which no weapon can penetrate. You have your bow and arrows, I have magic.”
For a moment, I was drawn to look at the ring on the sorcerer’s finger. As I did so, a thought came to me.
“The question is,” I said. “Do you draw your magical powers from another source?”
“Why do you ask that?” Horrag asked in a less-sneery voice.
“Well, it is common for a witch or wizard to draw their powers from another source. Say and amulet, or a gem-embedded ring, like the one you wear.”
The smile on Horrag’s face faltered slightly and his eyes glowed dimmer.
“I believe you draw your powers from that ring. Without it, you would be trapped in human form, unable to change shape and with no protective shield.”
The smile left Horrag’s face and his eyes stopped glowing. For the first time, a wave of fear came across his face.
I stared at the ring again. As I did so, it magically vanished.
“NO!” Horrag said, with mixed tones of fear and anger in his voice. “This cannot be happening to me.”
“Not feeling so powerful now, are you?” I scoffed. “No longer feeling invincible?”
Lines began to appear on the sorcerer’s skin.
“Looking older too I see.”
“NO!”
“Maybe now I should kill you.”
I fitted my arrow and prepared to fire.
“NO!”
Horrag turned and tried to get away, but it was no good. He couldn’t so much as walk fast, not to mention run, because of his now-aged body.
When in perfect position, I fired. The arrow flashed forwards and pierced Horrag in the back.
The sorcerer screamed and fell to the ground. I went forward and pulled my arrow out of his back. I then turned him over to see if he was dead. Indeed he was dead.
I turned to Angus, who hadn’t moved an inch.
“It is over,” I said.
Suddenly, there came the mixed sounds of familiar voices and horses approaching.
Then Mum and Dad entered the clearing, along with the castle soldiers.
“There you are Merida,” Mum fumed. “What did I tell you yesterday?”
“It’s okay Mum.”
“It is not okay,” Mum said with more fury in her voice. “We’ve been worried sick.”
“Who’s that lying on the ground?” Dad asked with interest.
“That Dad, is Horrag.”
“Are you serious?” Mum asked more calmly.
“Yes, I am serious.”
“Tell us what happened,” said Dad.
“Yes,” Mum said. “And tell us how you recklessly got involved.”
I explained everything, down to the very last detail.
“So, Horrag wanted to rule the kingdom, did he?” asked Dad.
“Indeed he did,” I replied.
“Well Merida, it looks like I under-estimated you,” said Mum. “Again.”
“Once again you’ve saved the day Merida,” Dad said.
“Once again, I’ve saved the day.”
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United Kingdom • 36 years old