Merida's Suitors

By the time Team Fairy Castle returned to the capital, they were tired, and it was nearly 8 pm. When they entered the city, they turned over the care of the incapacitated to the city guards, save for Mark and Sam, whom Laura took up to the palace and laid them down in bed. The moment they touched the bed, Sam and Mark bolted upright.

“What? What happened. Things are a little fuzzy.” Mark said.

Sam shook her head, “Yeah, I remember standing over Hilde, then everything is a blank.”

Laura looked at both of them, “Sorry, but you were both incapacitated. I was actually wondering if you would be **** the whole time or not.”

~Pop~

Cassandra had come to give an explanation. “I said you would have to wait in camp the next day, and you will. You two are officially exhausted and have to recover. You two are allowed to roam the palace, but you will not be allowed to engage in any form of strenuous activity. Well, that affects the LARP at least. The two of you are free to indulge in other strenuous activities in the palace if you want.” Mark seemed extremely amenable to that idea, as did Sam, until Sam remembered what Allie said about the Walkthrough.

Laura glared at Cassandra and growled, “COULD YOU NOT CASSANDRA! Allie’s Walkthrough even said it would ruin things for them. I thought you wanted them to be happy!”

Cassandra looked nonplussed at Laura. “I do. Also, have you considered something? I know exactly how that TF works. Do you?” Laura glared at Cassandra but didn’t reply. “I didn’t think so. I don’t know if things will turn out good or ill for you two if you fool around. So, do as you want. Also, Laura, I didn’t say that they had to do those activities with each other. After all, it’s your night with Mark, Laura. I wouldn’t want you to be unable to have sex with him. As a note, in case you were planning on this, Laura won’t regain mana from sexy times with either of you until your exhaustion has worn off. She can get it from anyone else, of course, just not you two.”

“Fine.” Laura said through gritted teeth, “Could you please leave?”

Cassandra gave a slight bow and vanished.

~Pop~

Laura said, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go talk to Sadie to see if we can spend some of our Merit to get rid of the effects of those desserts on you two.” Laura went to open the door and found it locked. “What the… OH COME ON! Sam wasn’t supposed to stay the night!”

Sam got up and tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Guess, I’m stuck here with you both. If… if you two want to do stuff together, I can go take a really long shower.”

“No, Sam, I won’t do that.” Laura said, “If you aren’t comfortable with being in the room, then it isn’t happening.”

Mark said, “What if I wasn’t involved? Or only touched Laura?”

Laura replied, “Not helping Mark.”

“Actually, I think he might be…” Sam said hesitantly.

“What do you mean?” Laura asked, furrowing her brow.

“Well, my Practice Makes Perfect is a compulsion. Not a need, not a desire, a compulsion. Allie mentioned to me before that her Walkthrough requires us to specifically ask for help with a specific hurdle with Mark. She said if I fool around with Mark, I would mess up the Walkthrough. Which means I can’t do that. Not, ‘I don’t want to’, or ‘need not to’. I literally can’t bring myself to do it, at least with how strong the compulsion is right now. The thing is, I thought about both of Mark’s suggestions. I’m pretty sure I can do either of them. Whether Mark just watches or you are the center, Laura, I think we could actually do something.”

“Samantha… I don’t know how I feel about doing anything with you while you are compromised like this.”

Sam grumbled. “Laura, I literally added you to my hoard this morning. I’ve eaten you out before. You were going to have sex with Mark, weren’t you? If I wasn’t here?”

“I was considering it, yes.”

“Then how is it different with me? Outside of the fact that I might not be tying you up this time. Like, outside of using a strap-on, we’ve had sex, Laura.”

“It… well…”

“Laura, I don’t know what I want from you long term, but right now I find you super attractive. Yes, that is partially because of the baked goods. But that is only because you were already hot. So, what’s the issue if I ask you to eat me out? Mary’s done that. I was okay with it.”

Laura thought about it for a long while. “I’m sorry, Sam, but no. Things tend to get carried away, and something happens; I’m not being the one responsible for that, while Mark is like this. So, I’m saying no. You want that after the dessert is out of your system, and I’ll drag you and Mark to this room and make it happen. I promise that. But not while you are like this.”

Sam pouted but relented, “Can I at least cuddle you this evening, Laura? I can’t touch part of my hoard right now, and it pisses me off something fierce.”

Laura chuckled, “Sure, Sam. Sure.” The three got a quick dinner and went to bed with Laura in the center, and both Mark and Samantha snuggling up to her.

Team Lioness’s Pride had debated on what to do with Ethel and Ellen. As annoying as it was, they ultimately decided to make the trek back to their base, as having to deal with a prisoner and a defenseless Ellen seemed like a pain in the ass. It took them well into the evening, even with horses to travel that far.

Chloe greeted them upon their return and, thanks to Flora sending word, had prepared a cell for Ethel. She made sure it was comfortable but secure when it was made clear that Mary wanted to convert Ethel to their side.

Mary asked Chloe and Aubrey, “Could you two please take Ellen to your room, and don’t make it so she can’t get sleep. I really don’t want to hear about Aubrey being milked is what wakes Ellen up.”

Chloe nodded. “Sure, no problem. I can go over what happened with the upgrades tomorrow, and what I've made. You all look exhausted.”

That left Hilde, Flora, Merida, and Mary standing in the lounge. Mary saw the tension. “Merida, I’m going to go to our room for the night and let the three of you talk since it seems like there is something here to talk about.” Mary grabbed a drink from the bar and headed off to bed.

The other three women didn’t know where to begin. Hilde broke the silence after a few minutes. “Flora, I know this isn’t fair to ask of you, but I want to try to have a relationship with Merida, and I want your permission to do so.”

Flora scowled, “I figured that would be the case. I get that Merida made you attracted to her and probably even like her. I know what that feels like. But why should I be okay with this? I have to share Mark, why can’t I be exclusive with Merida?”

Hilde said, “Are you exclusive with her?”

Merida was the one to reply next, “Aye, she is, she’s no' been wi' onyone else besides me.”

Merigold told Merida, “That’s no' exactly true, an' ye ken it. Judgin' by Flora’s expression, there for a second she kens it, too.”

Flora replied, “I’ve been with Merigold.”

Hilde nodded, “I figured. I bet you even requested Merida pick another Merida who was into you, so you could have a three-way, didn’t you?” Flora’s mouth hung open, unable to respond to that. “How is that different than Merida asking to include me?”

Flora did respond to that promptly. “Because Merida was involved and was always going to be involved. You are asking to simply be with Merida.”

“Fine, we can include you. I picked up a kink for redheads yesterday. It was likely a factor in my sleeping with Merida. I guess I’m a bit less straight than I thought I was, or my new kink has a greater impact than I realized.”

“Wait, what?! You want to be with me, too?”

Hilde rolled her eyes, “Not overly at the moment. I’m just not opposed to sharing, like at all. In my old world, I probably would have shared my partner with another woman. That was normal. Since then, I’ve been on the show, which, as one might imagine, unless you want to become part of the harem, dating opportunities are rather slim pickings.”

Merida spoke up, “Hilde, shouldn’t ye be askin' me if I even want tae be wi' ye?”

Hilde shook her head. “No, because if Flora says no, I will respect that. I’ll probably be upset with you a bit for it, but I will respect that. I’m not asking you, Merida, because Flora needs to give me permission based on what she wants. If you want to reject me, then fine. But that should also be based upon what you want, Merida, not what you think Flora wants you to say.”

Flora thought about this for a moment. “Hilde, I would like to have a private discussion with Merida.” Hilde nodded and walked out of the room. “Merida, what do you want?”

“I… I dinnae ken.”

“Mary told me the same thing as Hilde, that I wasn’t exclusive with you anyway, because I did stuff with Merigold.”

“Merigold agrees wi' ye. I’m nae sure I dae, but she does.”

“Let me ask my previous question differently. If you could date both Hilde and me, would you want to?”

“I think I wid like tae try. I… I fin' her attractive, like I dae ye.”

“Would you be willing to compromise our exclusivity for that?”

“That depends. Whit dae ye mean by that? If ye mean a totally open relationship, naw, I wadnae be okay wi' that.”

“I don’t. While you aren’t the same person as Merigold, you can access her memories, right?”

“Sort o', she can block things aff, though onything that dinnae relate tae afore she joined us here is nearly impossible for her tae hide frae me.”

“Would you be comfortable with me doing things with any of the other Meridas?”

“I honestly didnae hae ony issue wi' it afore. I ken they are separate folk, but they are also a pairt o' me. So it’s a weird situation.”

“Good, because that is only one thing I wanted to know. If I find someone else I’m interested in later, would it upset you if I were with a non-Merida? Someone besides Hilde?”

“I dinnae ken… I cannae be certain. I can tell ye that I wadnae mind us, the three o' us, tryin' tae be a throuple, if that helps at a'.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know if I’m that interested in Hilde. I mean, she’s cute, sure, but I don’t know.”

“So, ye’re sayin' if I let ye be wi' the other Meridas wi'oot me, an' be wi' someone else, ye wad let me try tae be wi' Hilde?”

“The latter is more important than the former. It’s about fairness. I’m hesitant to say yes, even if you would be okay with me being with someone else. But something like this was always possible if we ended up getting a TF. So, if you are willing to be fair and okay with me being with someone else, then yes. You can be with Hilde. I consider being with Merigold and any future Merida a separate but somewhat related matter.”

Merida sighed, “Aye, go ahead.” Merida walked over and hugged Flora, who hugged her back, “One person got that. one ither person, I dinnae care whit happens, I’m no' openin' mysel' up tae mair folk mysel'. If things dinnae work oot wi' Hilde, then it is ye an' Mary for me.” Merida released the tight hug.

Flora raised her voice, “Hilde, you can come back in.”

Hilde reappeared a moment later. “So? What’s the answer?”

Flora said, “Reluctantly—”

Hilde cut her off, “No. I’m not interested in a **** yes. I’ve seen what happens when contestants have done that in the past. I want this, I really do. But I’m not taking a **** yes. I don’t need an answer this second, Flora. I’m not telling you my age exactly, but I’m more than three hundred; there isn’t a rush here. But until you can confidently tell me I have your permission, I’m walking away. Can you do that?”

Flora hesitated, then hung her head, “No. I don’t think I can.”

“If and when you change your mind, Flora, let me know. Until then, I’m going to get some rest.” Hilde walked off down the hall towards her bedroom.

Merida looked at Flora, confused. “I thocht ye said…”

“Yeah, but I said I was hesitant. I don’t feel like it would have been right to lie to Hilde about this. I am hesitant to let you be with her. I would say yes, but I’m still ****, and yes, I know that I’m not to be with anyone else, since you aren’t with Hilde.”

“Will ye actually consider it, or should I juist try tae put it oot o' ma mind?”

“I’ll consider it. I promise. Maybe I just need some more time. This was all sort of sprung on me.”

“Aye.” Merida walked over and planted a kiss between Flora’s cat ears. “I love ye, ma Kitty.” Flora smiled, flicked her tail once, hugged Merida, and leaned her head up to kiss her. Merida hugged her, then said, “I think I need tae get tae Mary. It is sort o' that time.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Merida.”

“Guidnicht, Flora.”

The two walked down the halls to their respective rooms. When Merida entered Mary’s suite, she found a table set for two with roses in a vase to one side. Two plates of chicken fettuccine alfredo with sides of steamed broccoli sat next to glasses filled with pinot noir. The firelight reflected off of Mary’s eyes as she stood up and pulled out the other chair for Merida to sit in. “For you.”

Merida was rather speechless but moved to sit in the chair. “Mary? Whit is a' this?”

“Dinner, I thought that much would be obvious.”

“Aye, that much is clear. I mean, why…” Merida gestured around at the various, clearly romantic vibes Mary was going for.

“Because I care about you, Merida. I always have. I figured you would be rather down after yesterday, so I wanted to do something nice for you.”

Merida picked up the wine and took a deep whiff, then sipped it. “Weel, I’m surprised. Oot o' curiosity, did ye mak' this yersel', or wis it magicked up?”

“A bit of both? You know how we ordered from Shang’s even though it’s closed?”

“Aye…”

“Well, apparently, I can set a filter for any dish I’ve ever made before. So I picked one of those. My understanding is that it is an exact recreation. Not the wine, I just picked something that would pair with the meal.”

“Huh, that’s… interestin'. I’m wunnerin' if there are ither things we could order…”

“Are you thinking about your dad’s fudge?”

Merida’s eyes went wide. “Ye remember that?”

“Are you kidding? His fudge was the best. Also… dessert is already on the side table. It was going to be a surprise but…” Mary let the sentence hang as Merida reached over and lifted the tray lid. There were two small plates, each with four pieces of fudge on it.

Merida put a hand over her mouth. She was breathing heavily and reached out for a square. “Dae… dae ye mind?”

“Go right ahead,” Mary said with a smile.

Merida picked up a square and bit into it. She savored the flavor. Oh, God, this is exactly richt… Merida had silent tears of nostalgia trickle down her face. Merida stood up and walked over to Mary, grabbed her face, and kissed her. “Thank ye sae much.” Merida took her seat and wiped her face with her napkin. “I thocht I wad never hae it again. He never wrote doon the recipe. I asked for it a' the time, but he wad aye tell me the same thing.”

“He’d give it to whoever you married. I remember.”

“Shame ye cannae get it.”

“Who says that?” Mary said playfully as she picked up a fork and started to eat her meal.

Merida looked at Mary incredulously. “There is absolutely nae way he gave it tae ye afore he died. Nane.”

“You’re right. I thought about asking Cassandra to get it for us. She probably would if I asked.”

“Please! Mary, I wid love tae be able tae share this wi' ma mam.”

“Well, there is another option now. One, I think I would rather take than ask Cassandra.” Merida paused mid-bite, confused about what Mary meant. “I thought I might just ask him for it myself.”

“Mary… whit dae ye mean?”

“Well… I won’t be able to do it just yet, but I was thinking about copying Sam’s Secrets of the Ancestors. In theory, it could allow your dad to give it to me himself.”

“That… that wid be really nice. But Mary, if by the end o' the show, he hasnae visited, please juist ask Cassandra. It wid mean too much for ma mam tae be able tae hae some. I dinnae want tae miss the opportunity.”

“Of course. Merida, there is another reason I wanted to have a nice dinner with you tonight.”

“Oh?” Merida put a piece of chicken in her mouth.

“Merida, I know everything here is weird, and this might seem like a formality, but to me it really isn’t. Will you be my girlfriend?” Merida slightly inhaled her food and started to have a coughing fit. Mary moved to get up, but Merida was okay a second later. “You okay?” Mary asked as she sat back down.

“Aye, ye juist caught me aff guard.” Wadnae be the first time.

After waiting for a response for several seconds, Mary said, “Soooo? Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Merida looked at Mary across the table. Holy cow! She seems super nervous. Why am I hesitating? Of course, I want to be with her. I thought I made that clear. Why is it so hard to say that, though?

Merigold answered the question she asked herself, “You know why. Because you feel like she abandoned you, or maybe that you abandoned her. Ask her about it, clear the air. I know you talked with your mom about this, but you need to talk with her.”

Merida sighed, “Mary, afore I answer, can we talk aboot somethin'?”

“Sure. What about?”

“When… when I muved awa. Weel… durin' the challenge, I talked wi' Julius.”

“Ah… the answer is yes. You moved away in early August. I called; it was the first or second week of September that year.”

“The second, if my mam’s timeline is tae be believed.”

“Well, after that, I called pretty much once a week for several months. What did your mom tell you? I didn’t get to see the visitations. Just the challenge.”

So… so she dinnae ken…

Merigold said, “If that is the case, ye NEED tae tell her. Even mair noo.”

“She said when ye called, my faither had juist passed awa, he wasnae even buried yet.”

“I… I see. I eventually found out what happened, but I thought you didn’t want me around because I had just pestered you so much you wanted to be done with a little kid like me. I didn’t know you hadn’t been told about my calls.”

“That’s… that’s the thing, Mary… apparently, my mam did ask me if I wanted tae talk tae ye, an' in my grief, I yelled at her, somethin' alang the lines o' ‘I dinnae want tae see him richt noo’, so my mam kept brushin' ye aff. I dinnae mind it. I dinnae see why she wad lie, though. I… I thocht ye didnae care. I vaguely mind my mam askin' aboot ye ance or twice several months later an' recall respondin' poorly. I wis upset wi' ye sae much back then; ye an' Julius wir pretty much my best friends. I kept askin' mysel', ‘Why winnae he call?’, ‘Why cannae he juist reach oot?’, when ye wir daein' it the hale time.”

Mary reached her hand across the table to grab Merida’s. “Hey, we’re here now. Merida, you were my first love. Not my deepest, at least yet, but you were my first. Truthfully, I still love you. It feels like a piece of me that I didn’t realize was missing has come back into my life. So, Merida Voguel, would you be my girlfriend? I know it took me forever to ask, but here I am.”

Merida nodded her head vigorously while grasping Mary’s hands tightly. “Aye, absolutely aye. I love ye too, Mary. I’m sae sorry—”

+2 VP Love Confession

Mary shushed her, placing a finger on her lips. “You don’t need to be sorry for anything. Let’s just be happy together, okay?”

“Aye.” Merida started chuckling nervously.

“What’s so funny?”

“I wis juist thinkin', Cassandra said she wanted tae gie us a happily ever after o' oor ain. Wi' the way ye wir talkin' afore, ye want tae ask my faither for the recipe at the same time ye ask for permission, dinnae ye?”

“Well, he'd better cough up that recipe as dowry for you, I mean, really?” Merida laughed at Mary’s exaggerated tone of voice.

“Gods, I’ve missed this. Ye could aye mak' me laugh. Sometimes at ye, but maist o' the time ye wir juist funny.”

“Thanks. In case you were wondering I missed your laugh. Oddly, I expected it to change, but it hasn’t; it’s still the same as I remember.”

Merida picked up her wine glass, “Tae a lifetime o' laughter.”

Mary smiled and clinked her glass against Merida’s. They both downed the remainder of their drinks. Merida then stood up and dragged Mary to the bed, pulling her into a passionate kiss as they lay down beside one another. Merida said, “Dinner wis great, thank ye for preparin' the desserts, they wir delicious an' perfect. I’m tired, though.”

“Merida, we have a lifetime together. I’m happy to just cuddle you right now.” Mary snuggled up and rested her head on Merida’s chest.

Merida was about to fall asleep when she remembered her new TF, and her eyes shot open. She was about to complain that Mary could have at least asked about the TF when she noticed that Mary was already sound asleep. I… I can complain aboot it tomorrow. Merida adjusted ever so slightly as not to disturb Mary as she lay her four tails around Mary like a luxuriously soft blanket.

(Author's Note: Current Standings, I broke up Quest CP from Bonus CP so it is more clear where things are coming from. Also while they have not be described yet Lioness's Pride has all their items hence the CP. Fairy Castle will need to actually spend their Merit before getting CP hence why it isn't included. Yet.)