When it was announced that the King would be seeking a new bride, Merida was not surprised. When she found out he would be holding a ball that even peasant woman were invited to attend, that had peaked her interest. Any ball held by the King would most likely be extravagant and lavash, two things she had never experienced in her life. She debated if she wanted to go. One one had she had spent the past four year taking care of her family farm and her two younger siblings, a night off would be nice. On the other had, she had no desire to be the latest disappearance in the King's string of missing wives. She had a family to take care of and a farm to till. A night off wouldn't hurt her though. She spent a decent amount of time thinking about it before finally deciding to go, she simply wouldn't meet with the King. She felt it was a decently clever plan, to enjoy the night and the festivities without the fear of somehow catching the king's favor. Not to mention men who were that attractive would most likely not look twice at her. There were plenty of other girls in the village that had the curves the King was probably looking for.

Preparing for the ball was easy enough, she convinced the neighbors to watch her brother and sister. Her neighbors were probably foaming at the mouth to see her disappear like all of the other queens, just the chance was enough for them to offer to watch her hell spawn siblings. Merida loved her brother and sister but she had only been 18 when her parents died and taking care of a 7 year old and a 10 year old had not been easy. They managed though, and Jeffery, her brother who was now 14, just managed to get into trouble.

The hard part had been getting a dress. Once upon a time she had had a Sunday dress for church but she had abandoned that notion the day her parents died and left them alone. She was a fighter now, not a believer and she had doubted she even fit into the old thing. It was another pleasant surprise when she found she did and a few well place stitches fixed it right up.

Everything was set for the night of the ball. She left early that morning so that she would have plenty of time to get there, packing a small coin purse and her dress with her she went towards the city. It was much busier and bustling than she had imagined but Merida assumed that was because of the ball, girls were buying dresses and broaches that might catch the prince's eye. She opted to spend her money on one of the hot baths, a small cost but something she could still enjoy and when the time came she made her way to the castle ready to enjoy the night.