Merida lifted an eyebrow. "Did she say that now?"

"Yes... so... what do I do? I mean, I have no idea what I'll be in the coming months. None of us have ever gone out in public like that."

"I think you should just drop her and get over yourself." Edgar said as he put his hands on his hips.

"And I ken ye should shut yer mouth afore I punch out all ye teeth, ye disrespectful git." Merida growled, threatening him with her fist.

Higgs rolled his eyes. "Edgar, I know you're not fond of her but I mean... she's really all I have. She seems quite taken with the fact that I turn into different creatures, which is interesting."

"But forcing you to go out in public will only make it easier for that circus guy to catch you."

"Lad has a point there. Yer family has been avoiding that barmy bloke for a while now and an ye reveal yerself to the *ton ye will just give away who ye are. I dinnae like this idea... How about an ultimatum?"

"Like what?"

"Yer sister has to get married at some point and I hear she may do a double wedding with Catherine in July so that Kans can be human. Why dinnae ye invite her to that instead? It will be private and no one will judge ye an ye arnae completely human."

"That's a great idea! You're a genius, Merida."

"Yes, I know. In the meantime though, ye can invite her here and we will get her accustomed to yer forms and such."

"Um... should I do that or you?"

"Ye're the one who turns, not me."

"I meant the inviting part. I mean..."

"Well I willnae leave ye to it yerself. Dear laird lad, ye'd cause a right muckle problem an I did. Edgar and I will be there for ye and as long as she doesnae bring Gretchen every time, I ken it will be pleasant."

"Gretchen really isn't all that bad." He said with chuckle.

"I know, but I just hate dealing with her. She's too... up her own ass."

"She looks down on people so much she looks up." Edgar commented and then flinched because he thought he was going to get smacked.

"That's a good way to say it." Merida said with a chuckle.

"So... um..."

Merida scoffed. "Alright, I'll go and talk to her."

"Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me." He said with a thankful smile.

"Aye, aye..." she said waving him off.

**************************

Merida moved her dress around, unhappy to be in one of the finer ones that Higgs had bought her from before. They were still quite stiff and had too much going for them. Her simpler dresses allowed her a little more freedom but this was important business and Higgs needed her help. Edgar had wanted to travel along but Merida didn't want to hear him griping about what was going on. There was nothing anyone could do at the moment. She pulled on the reins of the horse and looked up at the simple two story mansion that had its back to the forest. It had ivy on the sides that was running into the front and although it was whitewashed nice and bright, it had an oldness and a coldness that Merida just didn't understand. The fountain in the front wasn't working and the drive was made of cobblestone rather than having gravel. She had only come to Elizabeth's once but she didn't remember it being so... secretive. Merida pulled the horse to go to the front of the house and dismounted. She smoothed out her dress and walked to the door, knocking on it.

The door opened and an older man answered the door.

"May I help you?"

"I hate to come unannounced, but I was wondering if I could speak with Lady Hinkley?"

"The lady is out on the hunt at the moment."

"The hunt?"

"Yes, she should be getting in soon. If you would like to wait for her in the drawing room, I can have Ms. Weebles entertain you until the misses gets back."

"Uh... sure, I guess."

"May I inquire of the name?"

"It's Dunbrough."

"Yes, ma'am. I will get Ms. Weebles."

The man led her into the house and she looked around. There were mounts of different types of beasts everywhere. They were tastefully decorated, but the amount kind of gave Merida the creeps. The butler motioned for her to sit on the chaise and he went off to find Gretchen. Not that Merida wanted to see her, but whatever would make this quicker.

"Dinnae take the lass for a hunter... She looks too weak to do it." She said, looking around and regretting agreeing to Higgs' request.

Apparently, this room was reserved for all the large beasties that had been felled. There was a bear in each corner, a lot of deer with large racks, a few rabbits and birds, a random polecat, and wild boar. Again, they were ironically decorated tastefully but it was a room full of dead animals and the eyes were boring into Merida's soul. The larger animals were the ones that Merida felt uncomfortably with. Especially the bears... it brought back memories of her own encounter with a bear when she was younger. They were starting to become rare in Scotland, but of course, she would be the one to find one and almost get killed by it. All three of her brothers had to protect her from that thing...

"Ms. Dunbrough, I didn't expect to meet you here... ever... Why are you here and without invitation?" Gretchen said, coming into the drawing room.

"Well, considering ye and yer lady came to our house uninvited, I kenned I'd offer the same."

"Fair enough. What brings you by? My lady isn't here." She said, sitting on the other small couch across from Merida.

"Aye, yer butler mentioned so... she's out hunting?"

"Lady Hinkley is very well trained in the hunt and actually excels better than most of the men she accompanies. They say how skilled she is is talked about amongst the men of the ton and I believe she even won an award. She took down that eight point deer right there."

"Isnae she a woman of versatile means. I do hope she doesnae expect Mr. Higgs to be engaging in such activity with her."

"Why?"

"Use yer noggin."

Gretchen thought for a second and then nodded. "Ah, yes, I see how that would be a bit of a problem."

"Good."

"You still haven't answered my question?"

"Because I'm here for yer lady, not ye. The butler kenned I'd be bored waiting for her."

"Well, she left about two hours ago and it doesn't take her long to catch something. If you don't want me around then I have other business to attend to."

"I believe I will be fine by myself. An ye get me some tea, I'll just pour myself a few cups as I wait."

"That I can do."

Gretchen left and Merida leaned on the arm of the chaise, looking around the room for a second. She wasn't sure if she would be comfortable with everything around but she didn't want to try and make small talk with Gretchen.

******************************

"Ms. Dunbrough... Ms. Dunbrough..."

Merida opened her eyes and blinked, finding Elizabeth standing over her. Merida sat up, realizing she had fallen asleep on the chaise she had been sitting on.

"Oh, bullocks, I'm sorry..." she said, rubbing her eyes. "I didnae intend to fall asleep..."

"That's quite alright, Ms. Dunbrough. I didn't intend to spend as long as I did out on the hunt. The deer was quite annoying..."

"Aye, those pesky things... By the by, ye dinnae have to call me Ms. Dunbrough all the time. Merida is fine. I'm not of status."

"Then you can call me Elizabeth, or Ms. Elizabeth if that's a little forward."

"I'll figure it out."

"What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ah, yes, I came to offer a bit of a counteroffer regarding Mr. Higgs."

"Oh?" she said, taking off her hat and sitting down. "How so?"

"Mr. Higgs told me of your proposal in regards to courting him and while it's an interesting idea, I cannot allow it to happen."

"Is that so?" she said, giving Merida a look.

Merida lifted an eyebrow, sensing an odd feeling in the space between them.

"Aye... The Northumberlys keep their secret a secret because it's not very palatable to the rest of society. Only a select few really understand it and an even fewer selection of people are willing to deal with it. The other reason, though, is because there is a very annoying man going around that has been trying to recruit the Northumberlys for a few generations. He knows their name but has no idea what they look like. He runs the side shows that come around one or twice a year?"

"Oh, I know him. I believe his name is Castel?"

"Something like that. Anyhow, if Mr. Higgs reveals himself at a party and that man finds him, he will hound the Northumberlys until the day he dies and to be honest, he will hound the people of the ton as weel. Can ye imagine every gathering having that Castel fellow going from person to person asking about the Northumberlys? He would make yer lives a living hell as weel as this family. It's just not possible."

"Considering he already seems to know where the Northumberlys reside, what's the harm in it?"

"He kens where they live, but not what they look like. He wants to recruit them for his silly side show to make a profit off of their misfortune. Ye cannae break the curse an ye cannae find love."

"Your argument isn't exactly... solid, Ms. Dunbrough."

"Weel, that's just one of the things but mostly it has to do with privacy. No one wants to see the Northumberlys as anything but human; they deny the curse exists at all and chock it up to fairy tale. Ye saw the way people were when Mr. Higgs turned into a mermaid. Do ye really ken they can handle something like a centaur? Or an ogre?"

"I see..."

"But, I mentioned I came to make a counteroffer instead. Fuchsia is getting married to Laird Graves soon and Higgs' uncle is also getting married. Kans is human only in July so most likely Fuchsia will get married in July as weel. Mr. Higgs wanted me to ask ye if ye'd like to come to both weddings as well as until then, come to the house as often as ye like an his transformations arenae as keen to the eye."

"What about coming to my house?"

"As ye like, as long as ye arenae going to make him go to town with ye an his transformation has messed with his body. He'll court ye any way ye like, but he cannae do it if his whole body changes."

"Why isn't he coming to ask me and tell me this?"

"Mr. Higgs is shy."

"Hmm... I'll have to think about it to be honest."

"Take ye time... I hope ye agree though."

"Oh?"

"Mr. Higgs has been fond of ye for a while now and with ye giving yer incentive, he is muckle worried ye willnae want him now. That family has gone through so much and tis hard for him to fathom a woman like ye wanting him... but going public with the transformations is just too much."

"I understand, Ms. Dunbrough. Tell him that I will send a letter with my answer to this arrangement."

Merida nodded and stood up, starting to leave the room when she stopped by the bears.

"Ye take these down?"

"One of them. You must have been surprised that I enjoy and actively participate in The Hunt."

"Aye, it wasnae something I expected."

"I adore the chase, the rush, and the kill. For a few moments in time, it's like it was back in ancient times. Just you, your prey, and the world. You might try it some time."

"I've done it before, isnae my cup of tea." She pointed to one of the bears. "Got bested by one of these beasties and I wasnae too fond of going out after that. There's verra few of them left. Soon have no more."

"True."

"Ye arenae going to try and make Higgs hunt with ye are ye?"

"I believe that would be quite cruel of me to make him, don't you think?"

"Aye, just making sure. Ye have a good day now."

"You as well."

Merida left the mansion and got back on her horse. She looked back at it and made a face. She wasn't sure what it was but there was something about that last conversation that didn't sit well with her. She shook her head, chocking it up to her imagination and the memory of her own bear encounter and went back to Higgs' mansion.