I know I was originally going to make this a one-shot, but I love MacGuffin too much to leave alone... So I've decided to add on another chapter. I might add a third after that, but I'm not making any promises!

Anyway, enjoy! I'll translate for MacGuffin if I need to, just like last time.

Also, Ardan means tall fellow or high aspiration in Celtic. Just so you understand what you say later in the story...

~STCabbie~

Disclaimer: I don't own Brave. Unfortunately.

(xx)

'You did a decent job in winning the girl's heart,' Young Macintosh acknowledged gruffly.

The three young lords were sat outside of one of the tents, on a long bench. MacGuffin was gazing off into the sunset, not focusing on his surroundings.

'I don't know why my horse hated me, but oh well.' Dingwall scratched his head slightly. 'You could tell from the second you stood forward she was interested in you.'

'Ye really think sae?'

Macintosh was going to reply, but was interrupted by a horse coming to a stop in front of them. (Y/n) stood in front of her horse, arms folded across her chest.

'Mum suggested we all go out riding. To smooth over any hurt feelings, as she put it.'

'Is Merida coming?' Dingwall asked curiously. 'There's only one horse here.'

'Nah, Merida's busy playing with the triplets. Do you want to?'

'Might as well,' Macintosh agreed, standing up. 'Do you have horses for us to ride?'

'Of course,' the princess breezed, beckoning for the boys to follow her. 'We've got plenty of spares. It took me a while, but I think I found you all the best... match.'

The three boys shared a look. While they'd like to choose their own mounts, the princess knew them better than they.

Three horses were ready and waiting.

'Macintosh, you take the skewbald (brown and white patches). He's quite proud of himself; you should get along famously.

'Dingwall, you can take Mum's horse. She'll be good for you. Nice and quiet.

'MacGuffin, you can take the piebald (black and white patches) mare. She's a sweetheart. I've been riding her myself, lately.'

The three boys all pulled themselves up into the saddle.

'Hey, (Y/n), how do you get on?' Macintosh asked, looking down at her. 'You're so tiny compared to your horse.'

'Allow me to show you.' The princess pulled her horse towards a stack of straw bales, and used them as a ladder to mount her friend. 'And that is how we do it here! Now keep up - me and (H/n) like to ride fast!'

(Y/n) dug her heels into her mount's sides, and he charged out of the courtyard.

'Hey, quine, wait fur us!' (Hey, girl, wait for us) MacGuffin shouted, spurring on his own horse. Macintosh took off as well, and Queen Elinor's horse, not one to be left behind, followed the others. Her rider looked around him, confused, holding the reins incorrectly.

'Turn right on this path! I'll take you over Merida's archery trail.'

(H/n)'s curved around a pine tree. Looking over her shoulder, the princess found that MacGuffin was right behind her, and the other two boys were just beginning to appear.

'We gallop down this stretch! MacGuffin, follow me! You other two, go right again at the end, and follow the path! We'll meet up at the Fire Falls!'

The mighty beasts lengthened their strides, pounding down the dirt track, dust flying out from underneath their hooves. (H/n) flew over a large log and burst into another enthusiastic run. His mane whipped in the air and he whinnied in joy.

They reached the end of the path, which curved both left and right. Slowing to a trot, the first two riders folded to the left, and stopped to make sure the other two went to the right.

'Thank God, they're out of the way. I made them take the long route. If we hurry, we can get to the Fire Falls, and climb all the way up, before they arrive.'

'We're going to climb to the top?' MacGuffin repeated. 'Is that a good idea?'

'Merida's done it before,' (Y/n) grinned, tapping (H/n) on. 'She said it's easy enough. And I have full confidence that you'll catch me if I fall.'

MacGuffin flushed red, looking down as his mare eagerly followed the horse in front of her.

(xx)

'There they are!' (Y/n) squealed, rounding the bend. 'The Fire Falls!'

The magnificent waterfall cascaded to the ground, and the sound of streaming water filled their ears. The sun was steadily climbing in the sky, and the light glinted off of the droplets.'

'It's a sicht tae behold,' (It's a sight to behold) MacGuffin whispered in awe, craning his neck to get a better view. He slid off his horse, and approached (H/n).

'Do you want some help, Princess?' he asked.

'If you don't mind,' the young woman grinned. 'It's a bit of a fall to the ground.'

MacGuffin grabbed her by the waist again, and gently lowered her to the earth. They both blushed before focusing again on the water.

'See that rock face? That's what we climb.'

The towering hunk of rock stretched way, way up. The smooth top hovered just next to the Fire Falls. With a determined look on her face, (Y/n) started towards the rock face, latching onto the edges as she tried to find a stable foothold.

'Ah can't believe we're gyan tae div this...' (I can't believe we're going to do this...) MacGuffin watched as the princess started crawling up. Every time her foot slipped, his heart would jump in his chest. 'If ye're gyan tae bide quickenin ah'll hiv tae help ye.' (If you're going to stay alive I'll have to help you.)

He quickly followed his "betrothed" and started scaling the rock himself. It was surprisingly easy - Merida really hadn't been lying.

'Look, 'Guffin, I'm almost at the top! Hurry up!'

The blonde man climbed as quickly as he could, and swung himself up onto the top. Ever the polite lord, he reached out a hand to help the princess up. She dusted off her skirts and pushed back her (h/l) hair from her eyes.

'By the Gods, it's beautiful up here...'

'Nae as stotter as ye,' (Not as beautiful as you) MacGuffin whispered to himself.

The princess looked at him, smiling as he looked at his feet sheepishly. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she thought.

'Hey, 'Guffin, come and drink from the Falls. Dad always said that only the bravest warriors dared to drink the fire.'

'I'm hardly the bravest warrior,' MacGuffin mumbled quietly, but he cupped his hands under the water regardless. Together, they swallowed several mouthfuls of the liquid, enjoying the feeling of it running down their throats.

'This is truly brilliant,' (Y/n) sighed, looking out across the moors. She could see the tips of the trees, and in the distance, the outline of DunBroch Castle. 'I've never seen such lush scenery.'

'DunBroch is known throughout the clans to have the nicest land,' MacGuffin said lightly. He sat down on the rock surface, looking thoughtfully to the sky. 'You're lucky to live here.'

'I know,' the girl replied, sitting down herself. She swept her legs to the side, resting on her right hand. 'I've not been here long, but already I've explored as much of the forests as I'm allowed. Merida's shown me everywhere; the standing stones, the witch's cottage, here...'

'How long have you been here?'

'About two years.'

'How did they find ye? If ye don't mind me askin'.'

(Y/n) sighed, and twirled a lock of hair around her finger. 'Elinor and Fergus were away on a tip up North, trying to claim some more land for their kingdom. Word had gotten around about the Bear King coming to visit... A group of bandits had captured me when I was but a girl. They decided to ambush the king and queen. I was dragged along with them.'

Caught up in the story, MacGuffin didn't realise that he'd began fiddling with (Y/n)'s hair. It soothed her slightly, and she continued.

'Needless to say, they weren't victorious. They were slaughtered by Fergus and his guards. They managed to find the camp we'd set up, and I was still there. Elinor felt sorry for me, and persuaded Fergus to take me in. I'll be forever grateful to them for saving me. Without them, I would've surely starved to death.'

'Did those bandits ever hurt you?' MacGuffin asked, rather sharply.

'No, actually. I think they just kept me as a trophy. We had a mutual agreement - I would cook and clean if they left me alone. It worked.'

The princess looked up at her companion curiously. 'That reminds me. Technically, we're betrothed, yet I don't even know your name.'

'Ardan.'

'I see. I think that suits you rather well.'

'Thank you, Princess.'

'Just call me (Y/n), and I'll call you by your name.'

'That sounds like an excellent proposition.' Ardan thought for a moment. 'If you were taken in by bandits... what happened to your real parents?'

(Y/n) froze. 'They killed them. The bandits, I mean. I was about four. We bred prize-winning mounts for the king and queen of DunBroch. That'd been my family's job for generations. They heard about our mounts and wanted some for themselves, but when my father tried to fight, they killed him, and then my mother.'

As tears leaked from the girl's eyes, Ardan pulled her gently into his lap, and wrapped his large arms around her.

'I thought they were going to kill me as well, but they didn't. They decided they'd keep me and use me to bear them children as soon as I was old enough. If the king and queen hadn't rescued me when they did... I'd have already given them at least two babes by now.' She sobbed quietly. 'Since then, I've lived in fear, thinking that any surviving members from the main camp would eventually hunt me down and take me back.'

The young lord stroked (Y/n)'s hair gently. 'Don't ye worry. If ony bandits rype up, ah'll protect ye.' (Don't you worry. If any bandits turn up, I'll protect you.)

'I know you will...'

They looked at each other for a moment. Ardan cupped (Y/n)'s face with his hands, and kissed her, softly and sweetly, on the mouth.

Neither of them noticed the two other young lords standing at the bottom of the Falls, gaping up at them.

(xx)

Back at the castle, Ardan once again helped (Y/n) to the ground. The Princess smiled at the three young lords, and turned her attention to her faithful horses.

'If you want to go roughhouse or something, I'll take care of this little lot. It's time for their midday feed, anyway.' She paused, looking up to the sky thoughtfully. 'Or you could go to the kitchen and grab some lunch. I'm rather hungry myself.'

'Why don't you come to the kitchen too?' Dingwall offered.

'Thanks, but the horses have to come first.'

'Seriously?' Macintosh said. 'You can't be serious. They're animals.'

'Animals are people too,' the princess snapped. Honestly, why were men always so inconsiderate? Were they incapable of thinking of others? (Y/n) simply couldn't understand how Macintosh could be so arrogant.

'Ye twaa can ging an get some maet. Ah'll help groom the horses.' (You two can going and get some food. I'll help groom the horses.)

'I'm going to assume you told us to go on ahead,' Macintosh sneered. 'Ta very much!' He grabbed Dingwall by the hand and pulled him away to the kitchens.

'Honestly, he's so pig-headed!' (Y/n) grumbled, grabbing a brush from a bucket. 'You don't need to stay, Ardan. I'll handle this lot. You should just go grab some food.'

'Ah'd feel uncomfortable leaving ye alane aifter ye gotten cummat. Ah'll bide.' (I'd feel uncomfortable leaving you alone after you got upset. I'll stay.)

'You're sweet,' the princess beamed, throwing him a brush. 'Get started on Tarts. You can also groom Fae.' She gestured to the bay horse and the piebald horse, then to her own palomino and her mother's grey. 'I'll do (H/n) and Storm.'

They set to work, relaxing in companionable silence. About an hour passed, and (Y/n) threw her bush back into the bucket.

'Oh, my back hurts now. Curse these heavy hooves of yours!' She feigned anger at her horse, but smiled as he bumped her with his large nose, and snuffled into her hair.

'Come on, (Y/n), we need to go eat.' Ardan offered his hand to the princess, and she shyly took it, quickly marching towards the kitchens.

Dingwall and Macintosh were sat at a small table. Dingwall was poking at a marmalade tart absent-mindedly, while Macintosh was flirting shamelessly with Maudie.

'Maudie!' (Y/n) scolded as she strolled through the door. 'Control yourself! What would Mum think, if she saw you acting coyly with a mere boy?'

Maudie looked slightly ashamed of herself, before perking up. 'But my dear, I see you have no problem with public affection.'

She blushed furiously, unconsciously squeezing Ardan's hand. 'We're betrothed, Maudie, and we are of near the same age. There must be half a century between you and this jester!'

Maudie huffed. 'I am not that old, madam! Now if you'll excuse me, I must go find those wee devils that you and Merida call brothers.' She stomped off, huffing and puffing about being labelled old.

'Oops,' the princess giggled, sitting down at the table. 'It seems I upset Maudie.'

One of the chef's assistants brought over a plate of sweet treats, setting in the middle of the table.

'Thanks, Keera.'

'No problem, Princess,' the girl smiled before returning to seasoning some veal.

'Anyway, now that you're finished chatting up my aging nursemaid, let's discuss. First off, let's go around in a circle and say our names. Macintosh, you start.'

'I'm Gregor Macintosh,' he announced, puffing out his chest.

'I'm Shae Dingwall,' the small man said. He floated off into a daze again.

'I'm Ardan MacGuffin.'

'I'm Princess (Y/n) of DunBroch. A pleasure to meet you all!'

The four all shared a slight smile, before launching into over-exaggerated tales of bravery and skill.

Ardan held the princess to his side, melting inside every time she yawned from rising so early, or whenever she would rest her head against his broad shoulder, or when she would occasionally squeeze his hand.

'Ah'm tarry tae hiv been chosen bi ye.' (I'm lucky to have been chosen by you.)

(Y/n) grinned at him. 'Aye, ye are tarry indeed.' (Yes, you are lucky indeed.)