Sunday, September 07, 2014

Twisted Princess: Merida



Story: 

Merida tries to plead with her father but King Fergus and his men chased Elinor out of the castle. Merida retrieved her mother’s tapestry knowing that the only way to convince her father is to sew the tapestry back together, turning her mother human again. She pursued her father with the wisps leading her way. However, their harsh blue light garners the attention of Mordu. The wisp lead Merida to the clearing surrounded by the mystical stones, where she finds her mother surrounded by Fergus and her men. Fergus raises his sword to Queen Elinor and just as he’s about to strike, an arrow knocks his sword to the ground. He turns to see Merida running towards him with her bow in hand and the tapestry draped over her shoulder. She jumps between her father and mother and demands that he stop. She once again tries to explain to her father that the bear he insists on attacking is in fact her mother. But before she can plead her case, Mordu bursts into the circle, slashing and mauling the men at its perimeter. Fergus’s attention is immediately turned to Mordu. He picks up his sword and charges but Mordu knocks him aside easily. The gigantic bear makes its way through the group of men, clawing and throwing them aside until it reached Merida and her mother. Mordu raised its giant paw and slashed at Merida as she attempted to load an arrow. She narrowly dodged it but Mordu’s claws caught the tapestry she had draped over her shoulder and shredded it. Merida screamed in horror as the pieces of tapestry fell before her eyes. Through her anger and tears she loaded an arrow and shot Mordu in the neck. Mordu let out a fierce growl and attempted to backhand Merida but once again evaded the attack but ended up tripping on part of the tapestry and fell to the ground. Merida tried to get up as fast as she could but Mordu struck her with a fierce slash to her face that lifted her off the ground and sent her flying into one of the mystical stones. Her mother let out a terrifying growl and lunged at Mordu. Blood ran down Merida’s face from the lacerations caused by Mordu’s claws. Her vision was blurred and she was weakened by the loss of blood but she could make out that her mother was fighting Mordu. Fergus, holding his side, hobbled over to Merida and took her in his arms. As he picked her up, Merida told him that the bear that Mordu was fighting was Elinor and that he needed to protect her. Fergus looked down at his daughter and could see the sincerity in her eyes as she passed out. He looked over his shoulder to see Mordu throwing Elinor into one of the stones knocking her out. Fergus set down Merida and picked up his sword. He charged and lunged at Mordu, landing blow after blow but his attacks appeared to do nothing. Mordu slashed the sword out of Fergus’s hand and knocked him to the ground. Mordu placed a foot on Fergus, dug his claws into his chest, and let out a chilling roar in his face. Fergus winced and tried to get free as Mordu raised his giant paw. Merida’s good eye opened as she saw Mordu on top of her father. She let out a scream as his paw came down, tearing through her father. She reached for her bow and arrows and through teary and bloody eyes shot off 3 perfectly aimed arrows to Mordu’s skull, dropping the massive bear beside her father. Merida used her bow as a crutch and hobbled as fast as she could to her fallen father. As she kneeled beside his body wisps began to surround them. She clenched her father’s bloody clothes and gritted her teeth. The Wisps began to circle her, turning from a blue to a blood red. Elinor limped over and nuzzled her fallen husband. Merida looked up and noticed bits of the tapestry scattered around the clearing as the sun rose. She lowered her head knowing she failed to save any of her family. Her mother nudged her as if to say it’s okay. Merida put her arm around her mother’s neck as the sun rose. She looked into her mother’s eyes and could see that whatever was left of her mother had vanished. Merida stood up and three little cubs rushed to her side. Her heart was broken but she had to be strong. Although she knew that her brothers didn’t know her as their sister they were still drawn to her, as was her mother. Merida stood up, determined to find a way to restore what was left of her family and set out on a search to find the old wood carver. The Bear Queen was born!