Chapter 1: I Get a One Way Ticket to Scotland.

Author's Note Part 1: Alright guys, so this idea was given to me by one of my newer readers: SPARTAN-626. And I have to say, his idea is one of the best ones that I've ever heard. I'll get to what it is at a later date, but as you can tell from the title… This story is just the beginning.

Now, since I've teased you about the future, I guess that I should tell you what's happening in this story. Much like all my other stories, it has the plot of "teen without parents gets thrown into another dimension and/or timeframe through accidental means"… But is it actually accidental? Well, you'll just have to read to find out.

(Yes, I've changed into an evil writer who teases my readers endlessly. A bit of a change since when I first started writing, isn't it?)

You know those times that you don't have anything on your mind, and you just randomly wonder, "Who am I?" And I don't mean the kind where you answer yourself with your name, who you're related to, and what you do during your life.. No, I mean the times where you actually wonder "who am I?" As in, "Why am I here in the universe?"

Take me for example. The name's Michael Daniels. Now, one look at me, and you'd probably just look away and continue on with your day. Why? Because I don't really stand out in the crowd, except for my ruined appearance. Yeah, living in the alleyways, not able to afford my own food so I'm forced to steal, your typical everyday street rat. However, unlike some of the others, I'm not the kind that would mug someone the first chance I get in order to get money or jewelry or anything. Heck, I've helped people who were being mugged before! But, I digress.

Anyways, my life is pretty normal as far as life for street rats go. Sleep, steal to survive, and always try to stay away from the cops so that you aren't thrown into an orphanage. Though with what's happening to me right now… I almost wish that I'd let the cops catch me all those times I managed to elude them.

Michael's POV:

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I mutter to myself as I wander around the area I'd found myself in. Now, usually when you go to sleep in a cardboard box, you expect to wake up, in the box. The company may have changed and there may be someone standing near you who mugs people, kills people, or rapes people, but none-the-less, you should wake up in the box. But no, instead, I woke up in some clearing, surrounded by different shaped rocks, which had a forest surrounding that as well.

Now, the only good thing is that had happened to me was that kept my clothes, as well as my other small possessions. That means that I'm still wearing my worn-out black combat boots, faded blue jeans that had tears in them, my black T-shirt which had a few tears and had splotches of dirt, but was covered by the dark green hoodie which was identical in appearance, and the silver wristwatch on my right arm, which still works. As for my appearance, I had to hold my watch just right, but was relieved by what I saw. I still had my Caucasian skin, black hair that was always flying all over the place, as well as my cobalt eyes. I let out a sigh at this, before lowering my arm, and looking around the area that I'm currently standing in.

"Alright, obviously I'm not in the city then." I mutter as I walk over to one of the rocks and notice that there are shapes etched into them. I run my fingers over them, confusion filling me. "Huh, you'd think that if these things were out in the open, some museum would send people to pick them up to look them over so that they could tell what they were, as well as put them on display for the public." I think out loud, realizing in the back of my mind that I don't recognize some of the "words" that were etched onto the rock beneath the other shapes that look like drawings. I continue to look at the rocks for a few minutes, before snapping out of it, and looking around the area some more, hoping to find something that would tell me how it is that I got from the cardboard box I was sleeping in, to a clearing in a forest who knows how far away.

"Damn it, if this turns out to be like something out of "The Mazerunner", and I've been dropped off here to survive… I'm a' cut a bitch." I mutter to myself, something that I seem to be doing quite a bit ever since I woke up. I let out a frustrated sigh, before I opt to just sit against one of the rocks and wait for a little to see if anyone showed up. While I do this, I take out one of the two things that are most important to me… My dagger. Now, there are two reasons this is important to me. The first, is because it's one of the only things I have left from my parents. The second, is because it's one of the two knives that I've been able to keep on me in my time as a street rat. (Granted, that's because it's my parents, but still.) The reason for this is because the two are the only ones that I didn't make. All the others I make out of materials I found on the street, and treat them like shanks and throwing knives. Needless to say, they've all gotten me out of tight spots in the past, and I still have a few slung through my belt.

Now, my parent's dagger isn't like the normal kind where it's simply a handle and blade. Instead, it's called the Draco dagger. The blade is slightly curved, along with the handle. And the piece that connects the two is curved on both sides, creating a very nice design. (Picture link on my Bio for the dagger I've just described.) To make it even better, the reason that there are two of them is because each of my parents left me one, so I have two of them instead of a single one. Another thing to note is that these daggers aren't like most of the other Draco daggers. They're both the same size, but are larger than the average Draco dagger. Now, the reason for why this is, they never told me. But, they're both big enough so that their grips fit in my hand comfortably without myself needing to hold it slightly forwards so that I can hold it. Oh, and possibly the most important fact… They had no relation what-so-ever to Draco Malfoy.

After a few minutes of twisting it around in my hands, as well as flipping it back and forth with myself sometimes holding it by the blade, I finally hear a sound off in the forest. And it's not bird calls. Instead, it was the sound of a horse galloping, its hooves impacting the ground consistently. And if I remember correctly, horses don't live in forests… Which means that it must have a rider. With this thought in mind, I quickly place my dagger in one of the two sheathes at my waist, before running in the direction that the horse seems to be heading, hoping to cut off whoever's riding it so that I can talk to them. I burst out of the undergrowth to find myself right next to a piece of wood tied to a string, and hung on a branch. A second later, I register a whistling sound in the air, and turn to find an arrow heading straight for my head, with someone on horseback holding a bow a few feet behind it, their arm extended, telling me that they'd just released the arrow a second beforehand.

Years on the streets had honed my reflexes, so I'm able to react to the situation that I now find myself in fairly quickly. With the arrow five feet away, my right hand is already at the dagger on the left side of my waist. Four feet, and the dagger is unsheathed. Two feet, and my dagger is heading upwards in an arc. When the arrow is a foot away, my dagger reaches my target, and slices the arrow in half, changing the mass of the arrow, and causing the tip to fall slightly, going just past my neck and over my shoulder instead of impacting my eye, which I idly notice is where the bull's-eye on the target is painted. Meanwhile, the other half dips down as well, and impacts my chest. Luckily, I'd sliced the arrow so that I was hit by a flat piece of wood instead of a metal point, and it bounces off. That's not to say that I won't get a bruise from the speed that the arrow was originally going though. I let out a grunt when it impacts, before sheathing my blade and rubbing the area. "That's gonna hurt in the morning." I mutter, before another voice speaks up.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn' see you there!" A feminine voice calls out, making me turn to look in the direction that it came from and see A: The most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and B: the person who'd shot the arrow. And in case you couldn't tell, they were the same person. She has crystal blue eyes which are wide with worry and curly, fiery red hair that flowed behind her as she jumped off her horse. She had Caucasian skin which positively glowed, and was wearing a green dress that both showed off her figure, while at the same time not restricting her movement. She also had a bow slung over her shoulder, and a quiver full of arrows slung over her back. And one of the most noticeable things about her is that she had a Scottish accent. I notice all of this in the time it took for her to jump off her horse, and land on the ground. Hey, by growing up on the streets, you learn how to take in small details within seconds. Otherwise, you don't get the chance.

"Hey, no harm, no foul. I've had worse happen to me, and actually injure me." I tell her, waving my hand with a small smirk on my face. Hey, I'd rather not blow up on her in anger at being shot at, and have a good first impression instead. After all, how would she know that I was gonna walk out of the forest the second she let go of the arrow? That and it's hard not to smirk or smile on your face in the presence of a beautiful girl.

"Are ye' sure?" She asks me, making my smirk widen slightly at the Scottish accent, as it definitely added to her attractiveness. However, I mentally shake my head to get rid of those thoughts. Hey, I may have grown up on the streets for a while, but my parents still taught me well before they passed on.

"Yeah, I managed to split it in half. I mean, you didn't actually shoot two arrows, and I only managed to block one did you?" I ask her, turning in a circle and pretending to search my body in hopes of both getting rid of any tension, as well as get on better terms with her as well. It works, as I hear her let out a light giggle. I turn to face her with a small smirk in place.

"No, no. Ye're fine." She tells me, a smile of her own on her face.

"Well that's a relief. I'd hate to have lived the past few years dodging knives and daggers only to get killed by an arrow shot by the first pretty girl that I've seen." I tell her, my smirk changing into a wide smile. She simply smirks back at me, but with no sign of a blush anywhere.

"Oh yes, I'm sure that woulda' been horrible." She says, sarcasm present in her voice, before she gets a quizzical look on her face. "But, what kind of life do ye' live that makes it so ye' need to avoid weapons?" She asks me. I simply shrug in response.

"I've been living on the street for a while now. You learn quickly that when you're living that kind of life, you have to watch out for the more… unsavory folk." I tell her, making her face change to one of sympathy.

"Ye've been living on ye're own?" She asks, getting a nod from me in response.

"Yeah, my parents died a few years back. I wasn't too keen on going to an orphanage, since from what I've seen, they're not really a nice place to live. I mean, the people running it have to try and keep an eye on all the kids at once, as well as the fact that they can't do that all the time. Meaning that for the kids that think they're "all that" think that they can get away with putting down the other kids, and sometimes going as far as to get physical. And in some places the adults completely look over it when it happens." I comment, disdain clear in my voice when I talk about the less than friendly orphanages that are present where I'm from. Unfortunately, the kids don't talk to the police or anything, for fear of what would happen to them if they did, and an investigation was conducted only to turn up nothing. (Note: I'm simply going off the kind that you see in thosekinds of movies and books. I am not saying that this happens in all orphanages. So please don't take this the wrong way.) When I tell the girl about them, she seems to be shocked, as well as angry. Though I can't really blame her for that.

"But tha's not right!" She exclaims, to which I simply shrug in response.

"Not all orphanages have enough adults to look over the kids. As for the ones that simply ignore it... Well, I can't really say much except for the fact that not all people are nice. As shown by the kids at those orphanages who pick on the other ones." I say, though there is sorrow in my voice for the kids who have to go through that stuff. The girl standing in front of me continues to seethe, before she seems to realize something.

"But wait, the closest town is two days away. What are ye' doing all the way out 'ere?" She asks, making me pause, and I think about what she said, before I sigh.

"Honestly? I don't really know. I went to sleep last night in an alleyway, the normal for me unfortunately, before I wake up in a clearing over that way." I say, gesturing towards the clearing in question. She looks over in the direction, before turning back to look at me. "Yeah, so as far as I know, I was drugged, taken away, and dropped off there for either a reason, or to die. Though why someone would want to kill a nobody like me, I don't really know." I admit with a shrug, though on the inside was a completely different story. Did she say two days away?! With cars, planes and trains, she should be able to reach that town in a few hours! Wait! What about those rocks back there that had runes on them? I'm almost certain that a museum would want those in its collection. So the only explanation is… I blanch a little, before speaking up again. "Say…" I start out hesitantly. "You said the nearest town was two days away right?" I ask her, getting a nod.

"Tha's right." She responds with a raised eyebrow, no doubt wondering why I'm asking her.

"Well then, since I've been taken here from there, could you tell me where I am now?" I ask her.

"Well, righ' now, ye're in the forest." She says with a smirk, making me give her one of my own in response despite how panicked I am on the inside. Hey, I almost always have time to appreciate sarcasm. "But, righ' now ye're just a few minutes away from the castle of my family and clan, the Dunbroch's." She says, just solidifying my thought process when she mentions a castle and her "clan".

I'm either hallucinating, or I've been thrown into the fucking past. I think to myself in fear, resignation, confusion, and bit of curiosity. Well, I guess that it's already better meeting… I didn't even ask her name… I think to myself, before facepalming myself. "I'm sorry, but I never really got your name." I tell her, making her look at me in surprise, before she lightly blushes in embarrassment.

"My name is Merida, and what might yer's be?" She asks me, making me give a small smile.

"My name's Michael Daniels." I tell her, making me look at her in confusion.

"Daniels?" She asks, making me rub the back of my neck when I remember that I'm now probably in the past, and Scotland at that, so my last name would most likely sound out of place.

"Yeah… I guess that you could tell by my accent that I'm not really from around here." I admit with a sheepish smirk, making her give a smirk of her own as she crosses her arms and leans her hip to the side slightly.

"Ye're right, ye're accent didn' seem like it was from around 'ere." She tells me, making me give off a sheepish smirk.

"Guilty as charged." I admit. "See, I'm from… America. Heck, that's where I was before I was carted off to here, so for all I know, I was put under constant drugs for weeks, or even months and they simply had me pumped full of nutrients so that I wouldn't die." I tell her, knowing full well that it could have been longer if I was sent through motherfucking time! I mean, there's no way time travel was a thing the night I went to sleep, so I must have been "put to sleep" for either a few weeks, or a few months… Maybe even years! If that's the case, then what the hell did I miss while I was asleep?! Then again, I guess it doesn't really matter seeing as I'm now in the freaking past! I remind myself.

"Ye're from across the ocean?!" She yells out with an excited smile on her face, making me give a small smile of my own in both joy, as well as relief as I'd just remembered that I have no idea what year it is now.

"Yup." I reply, just before she grabs my arm and pulls me towards her horse.

"Tha's great! Ma' family would love to meet ye'." She says, making me give a smile, despite my panic on the inside.

How the hell am I going to explain anything?! I didn't learn anything about this kind of stuff back in school before I went on to live on the streets! I think in a panic, before taking a few mental breaths. Calm down Michael. Just wing it, and see if you can get through this new predicament without too much going wrong. You've done it enough over the past few years after all, so it shouldn't be too hard. I think as Merida helps me onto her horse, and we start off at a gallop towards the castle.

Oh God was I wrong. I think, my panic from earlier returning when I see the castle, as well as the guards patrolling the wall. If I say one thing wrong I'll be skewered from all sides at once. I think, casting wary glances at the guards who are looking at the horse as we get closer. There's a mixture of confusion as well as relief on their faces. The confusion is most likely present because I'm with her while they're also feeling relief because Merida is returning unharmed. Oh, did I forget to mention that she told me on the way back that she's a freaking princess?! Yeah, the girl that has a bow slung over her back, and can hit a bull's-eye from over twenty feet away is a princess. Not your typical Disney princess now is she? (Heh, if only he knew…)

As we get closer, the gate rises and the two of us ride through the castle walls, Merida directing her horse, Angus, towards the stables. As we get closer, Merida slows the horse down, and jumps off. I quickly take the hint, and use my hands to push myself off of him into a backflip, landing perfectly on my feet much to the astonishment of Merida, if her facial expression is anything to go by. "How did ye' do that?!" She asks me with wide eyes that are filled with shock and awe, making me smirk.

"Well, the area that I was living in had a lot of close spaces, and because of this, we "street rats" had to learn how to get from one place to another." I tell her, before leaping up, grabbing a hold of the edge of the roof to the stables, and flipping up onto it so that I can lay on my side and continue to look at her. "So, what I'm doing here is called "free-running". Basically, it's a way of getting from point A to point B in the quickest way possible, while adding a bit of flare." I explain, before getting back up, and leaping off the roof, spinning as I do so. When I hit the ground, I tuck and roll, making sure that I don't take any injury as I stand back up and dust myself off. "Ta-da." I say with a smirk plastered on my face as I spread my arms out, before taking a mock bow as she claps a bit. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week. At least, if I'm allowed to stay that is. If not, I'm afraid you'll be looking through the towns in an attempt to find me. Very busy schedule after all. Attempting to survive, running from the local authorities so I'm not thrown into orphanages, what can I say? The life of a street rat is a busy one." I joke, getting another giggle from Merida. I'll admit, it's a very nice sound to hear.

"Well, tha's for ma' parents to decide. Ah, speaking of them, it's almost time for dinner. Come on, I'm sure they'll like meeting ye'." She says, leaving her horse in the stables as she heads towards one of the doors that leads into the castle. I follow close behind, trying to work through my mind how I'm going to get through this without giving anything away, and either being killed for technically lying, or thrown out to live in the wild if I end up slipping with the truth and seem like a madman. We walk through a couple hallways in the castle, before leads me into what I assume is the kitchen, and Merida grabs a couple apples from the table, cleaning them off and handing me one, while greeting the cooks. I get a few confused looks, but I've gotten used to it by now. Hey, for one I've had practice, and for another I can understand why they would be confused that I'm here. After all, it's not every day that the princess brings in a common street rat to the castle… At least I don't think so. Anyways, I gratefully take the apple, looking it over and seeing that it's whole. Yeah, the usual food that I eat consists of either food that was thrown out by other people, thus already partially eaten, or the times when I was forced to steal from a vendor. And even then, it was more ingredients than actual food, since they only make the food when someone orders something.

We continue through the kitchen, before Merida looks towards one table, glances around, places her apple in her mouth, and then walks over. I'd already seen the plate of cookies, at least I assumed they were cookies, and I watch as Merida grabs them, making sure to hide the fact that she's taking them from the cooks around. However, I notice a couple glance over and shake their heads with fond smiles on their faces. As we walk away, I swallow another bite of the apple, before turning to look at her. "You know some of them saw that right?" I ask her, making her swallow her own piece of her apple before frowning.

"I can't get away with anythin' around 'ere!" She exclaims in frustration, making me give off a chuckle.

"Hey, don't think about it too much. You told me you're the princess right? Well, if you think about it, the princess is one of the most watched people wherever they go. So, it's to be expected that there's always at least one set of eyes on you in case something were to happen. Though, I'm pretty sure that case doesn't apply to your personal quarters." I admit, taking another bite from my apple as she thinks about it.

"Ye're right… No wonder I'm always caught!" She exclaims, getting a louder laugh from me after I swallow the bite of apple.

"Hey, if I end up staying here for a while you can just ask me to do that kind of stuff for you. I had to learn how to sneak stuff away while living on the streets." I tell her, before letting off a sigh. "And even though it's useful, that doesn't mean I like the way that I had to learn it." I admit, getting a small frown from Merida before we enter the dining hall, and I hear the loud booming voice of a man talking.

Well, looks like dinner's started. I think to myself, just before we enter the room, and I get a good look at the people at the table. The one that immediately drew my attention was the man sitting at one end of the table, who was probably Merida's father, and who looked like he could take on about ten other men with his fists alone. He was dressed in the stereotypical male Scottish clothes, and had a large mustache the same color as Merida's hair, though a bit darker. However, what drew my attention was his left foot. Which had been replaced with a wooden peg leg. I wince slightly at the sight. Damn. Wonder what happened to his real foot. I wonder on the inside, before looking at the other people sitting at the table. The person sitting at the other end of the table was no doubt Merida's mother, since this seemed to be a family meal. She was wearing a long, emerald green dress, and had on a crown atop her brunette hair. She seemed to be eating her food much like other families, with a fork and knife, as opposed to her husband who was eating a turkey, or chicken, leg and holding onto the bone as he ripped the meat off with his teeth.

Then came the last three. From what I could tell from where I was standing, they looked to be triplets, and only a few years old. They had hair similar to Merida's, and one was slouched on top of the table as his father was talking. After the five seconds it took me to notice all this, I re-focused on everything else, and heard the sound of Merida's father talking come back. "The biggest bear ye've ever seen! His hide littered with the weapons of fallen warriors. His face scarred, with one, dead, eye." He says, and I hold back a laugh when I see another one of the triplets rest his head on the table, as the third mocks his father, trailing a scar shape on his face, while mouthing the same words.

Guess the guy tells this story every meal or something. I think to myself in amusement, before he continues his story.

"I drew my sword, and-" He's cut off as Merida rushes forwards and ends up between the second and third triplets, continuing the story for her father, and making the first triplet fall to the ground in shock when she suddenly appears.

"Whoosh! In one swipe his sword shattered. Then chomp! Dad's leg was clean off! Down the monster's throat it went." She says, slinking backwards to add effect. Her father looks on when she does this with an upset look on his face.

"Aww. That's my favorite part." He complains. But, Merida ignores him, and continues the story, looking over towards me as she does so. She started clawing at the air towards me to signal something, which I understand immediately, and give a smirk and a nod as I slink closer to the table, no one but Merida noticing me. Hey, you don't think I only learned how to hide from people who were far away. I had to learn to hide from others who were within inches of me.

"Who has never been seen since. Roaming the wilds, waiting his chance for revenge…" She trails off, and I pop up, giving off my imitation of a bear. Which, after living off the streets (Yes. That's my reason for everything), you learn how to mimic animal sounds very well in order to either turn away people, or send them chasing off in another direction.

"~Roooaar!~" I exclaim, waving my hands wildly while bending my fingers to make them look like claws. My bear-like roar makes everyone sitting at the table jump a foot in the air, which to me was quite an accomplishment with Merida's father's size, as me and Merida start to laugh in amusement. "Aw man! Thanks for that Merida." I thank her, wiping a few tears from my eyes as I do so.

"Merida! Who is this?!" Merida's mother exclaims while the triplets glare at me, though I notice the amusement that's present in their eyes. Meanwhile, her father is looking at me as if I had two heads. Then again, I did suddenly show up roaring like a bear to go along with his story, so I guess that's to be expected.

"Mum, Dad, this is Michael Daniels." She tells them, walking over to stand next to me as I give them a shit eating grin and wave.

"Y'ello." I greet them, both loving the reaction that I'm getting, as well as nervous from it. Aw man, I hope this goes good. I think, hoping that I won't immediately be thrown out of the castle. Then again, my status as a "peasant" won't really help me with that. I think in regret. Coming here into the middle of the castle of royalty as a peasant… Yeah, not one of my greatest ideas.

Author's Note Part 2: Well guys, here's the first chapter to yet another one of my new stories. Now, for all of you yelling at me about the whole peasant and royalty thing that I touched on at the end there, and how Michael shouldn't even be in the castle, I'll get to that next chapter. I'll give you a hint. It has to do with what shall follow this prologue, and the idea that was given to me by SPARTAN-626. But, I'll get to that at a later date. For now, let's go over the chapter!

So, in this first chapter, Michael finds out that he's supposedly been thrown back in time, as well as thrown into Scotland. Now, I honestly look forwards to future chapters where I'll be able to touch on more that Michael learned during his time on the streets, as well as when we reach the archery contest. I have plans for that point in time, and if you saw during the movie, there's also a fair that happens before the actual archery tournament. Meaning I can do quite a bit in terms of Original Chapters.

I also apologize if my attempt at writing out Merida's accent was a complete and utter failure. However, this is my first time attempting to actually write out an accent, so make sure to tell me how I did. That way I'll know if I should change anything, or continue writing it as I did in this chapter.

Well, I think that's about it for this chapter. I look forwards to the reviews that I'll get, if any. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this, and I hope to see you all next time!