Narrated by Aubrey
Early that next morning, when the sun was beginning to rise, Kaylee and I were woken up from inside our tents by Celtic war horns that blared. We scrambled to our feet and heard terrified screaming and chaos outside. Grabbing our cloaks, we headed outside, then a horseman rode up through our camp and proclaimed, "We have an ambush! There is a fleet of Camelot's ships coming our way!"
"How is this possible?" questioned Merida, surprised. "Arthur is dead!"
"I don't know, but we shall find out," said Mulan grimly.
"Rally up our forces!" Merida ordered the horseman. "War is here!"
I turned to Kaylee and whispered to her, "If Arthur is alive then that could explain Merlin's strange disappearance. Arthur must have not died from his fall, then he probably managed to get the Excalibur that fell where he did and then commanded Merlin. Arthur is probably attacking DunBroch not to help Eamon, but to just get revenge on all of us."
"You're probably right," Kaylee agreed.
The DunBroch army was quickly formed, and we all were going to be part of it. Everyone got fitted for armor, but because all the armor was too big for Kaylee and me, we had to go without, except we wore helmets. Then we were all equipped with weapons and horses. "Now this is the time to use your battle skills I taught you all," said Mulan. "May they serve you well."
We all joined the giant army, and Merida proclaimed in front of it, riding her horse that was pacing back and forth, "We shall fight as one, brave and strong, not only for our home and ourselves but most importantly for our families. Love truly makes us strong and courageous; for we have something worth fighting for, and it will not be in vain. I know we will conquer!"
Immediately, the army shouted with confidence, then Merida led the army toward the DunBroch Sea, and from the cliffside where we all stood, we saw the Camelot fleet advancing, and some of the ships were already anchored. Hundreds of solders riding horses and holding Camelot flags were approaching land, hollering out their battle cries. I felt my heart race and my palms grow all sweaty. It was cold and overcast out, but because I was so tense, I didn't feel cold at all.
"To DunBroch we shall fight!" Merida proclaimed with courage and valor.
The DunBroch army immediately started shooting arrows down toward Camelot's army, then we all started tearing down the bluffs, shouting our war cries. Very soon our army and Camelot's army clashed, and instantly, blood was shed. The scene roared with violet slashing, and men were being slaughtered in numbers within a few seconds. I never felt so fearful in my life; for I was terrified that my friends would get hurt, especially Kaylee. Everyone's lives were at stake, but I had to focus on what was happening now, not what could happen. I fought my hardest ever, finding that energy, strength, and courage inside me I knew God gave me, and I prayed He would protect those I love.
The sea was filled with blood along with hundreds of dead bodies of men and horses which was a morbid sight, making me feel so sick. My ears rang from the blood-curdling cries, and through the havoc, suddenly, I sighted Arthur. Momentarily distracted, a second later I was shot at my left shoulder, and it was the most painful feeling in my life. Pulling the arrow from my flesh made me nearly puke, and the agonizing pain spread down my arm, making it feel useless. I was bleeding awfully bad, and I was worried that it wouldn't stop. I had to only rely on my good right arm to hold onto the horse, and I forced myself to ignore the pain like a trooper. I spotted Arthur again, and now he was sword fighting with Lancelot. Then a few minutes later, I saw Arthur fall off his horse; for an arrow had hit him, and I realized it was Merida who had shot the arrow. Lancelot jumped off his horse and took up the Excalibur Arthur had dropped. And a moment later, Merlin appeared on top of a boulder, and instantly, he performed something incredible. With his powers, he shot a thunderbolt into the gloomy sky, which was so ear-piercing that it took many of the fighters by surprise and caught their attention. A lot of the fighting suddenly ceased. Then Merlin shot another thunderbolt into the sky, even louder, then he yelled out at the top of his lungs to the two opposing armies, "SILENCE!" Immediately, the fighting ceased all together, and Merlin began proclaiming, "There is no need to fight any longer; for DunBroch has won. King Arthur is dead!"
A moment later, the Camelot army surrendered, and Merida approached Merlin who was now standing at the bottom of the cliff, and she gave him a nod of respect and appreciation. Then she faced all the people and declared, "We may have won, but the truth is, we have protected Camelot as well. Lancelot, who had been Arthur's most respected and loyal friend, is really your destined king; for it was him who actually pulled the Excalibur from the stone, not Arthur. It is time that you all hear the truth. Now with your true, rightful king, Camelot shall be ensured protection, peace, and a just reign by a true hero who deserves all the honor and respect you can give him. I am more than proud to call him my friend. Hail to King Lancelot!"
"To King Lancelot!" cheered DunBroch and Camelot.
Lancelot walked over to Merlin then handed the old wizard the Excalibur, bowing down to him with respect. "No one should ever have this except you. Now no one shall ever control you again."
"Thank you, my son," Merlin replied, laying a gentle hand on Lancelot's shoulder. Then with his power, he dispersed the sword into sand. "Thank you for saving Camelot. You have done well. You will make a fine king."
"Thank you, Merlin," Lancelot replied. "And thank you all," he added, turning to all of us. "I couldn't have done it without you."
"And I thank you all for helping to save my clan," Merida chimed in. "DunBroch shall honor you all for centuries to come."
"As with Camelot," Lancelot added.
"I guess all the prophecies have been fulfilled," I said, turning to Kaylee. "Now we can all go home."
"We shall celebrate tonight at my castle," said Merida. "And everyone is invited."
"Now you have a kingdom to run," said Merlin, turning to Lancelot. "Oh, and here, give this to Guinevere," he added, handing Lancelot a potion. "This will break her enchantment."
"Thank you, Merlin," Lancelot replied, dipping his head with appreciation. Then he turned to Merida. "Guinevere and I shall be there at the celebration tonight."
"Excellent!" Merida responded with glee.
After the Camelot army retreated, led by Lancelot, our army left the beach. From the clifftop, I watched all the ships sail away. The sun came out shortly after, and we were all so exhausted after fighting for about three hours. I was so thankful no one got hurt and was grateful that Regina healed my arrow wound with her magic. Once we got back to camp, we all bathed and relaxed.
That night we all celebrated at Merida's castle, and hundreds of people were already gathered in the courtyard, ready for the celebration. There was going to be a grand banquet, dancing, and games such as cricket, archery, axe throwing, and much more. We all had a jolly splendid time, and Merida's mother, Queen Eleanor, along with Guinevere and Lancelot, accompanied us the entire night. Merida told us that she had not seen her mother smile and laugh so much in a long time which made me smile. We had a marvelous time dancing to Celtic music; it was so much fun and was the best time I've ever had dancing. When Kaylee and I were taking a refreshment break, we saw a short, fat, big-busted lady who wore a tall, white wig with ringlets, and she had an elegant, poofy dress on. She looked like a stereotype of Marie Antoinette, and I convinced myself she was going to offer Hook a slice of cake when she was approaching him. But then she said with a chuckle and a blush, "Oh! Aren't you a handsome young man! Dance with me!" Suddenly, she grabbed poor Hook's arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor.
Kaylee and I giggled so hard, and I hollered out to Hook amusingly, "Have fun!" Hook certainly didn't look happy; for he had told us that he didn't know how to dance well, and that was why he refused to dance most of that night. He danced very awkwardly with the lady and looked very uncomfortable. Then he glanced toward our direction with an expression that I interpreted as, "Help me out here." Then the plump lady yanked him farther out onto the dance floor, and he disappeared into the crowd of dancers.
After the dancing, we all headed to the grand banquet, and my eyes nearly popped out of my sockets upon seeing all the endless kinds of food that was spread out on the extremely long dinner table, a table that could seat so many people at once. We all enjoyed the feast, and after we were finished, we all played all sorts of exciting games. My favorite was archery even if I was not good at it. After many more hours, the celebration was over, and we were invited to stay in the castle for the night and as long as we wanted. Very exhausted, we all retreated to our own chambers which were very large and luxurious. There was even a fireplace in each of them. Zelena, especially, was pleased that she didn't have to sleep in a tent any longer.
That night, I had another strange dream. In this dream, we were all fighting in battle against Arthur's army, and our army was losing. Then suddenly, the sun disappeared entirely, and it grew dark, foggy, and cold out. Now strangely we were not fighting Arthur's army any longer but instead, an army of knights with black armor riding black horses, and each knight was holding up a flag, but this time not with the Camelot emblem on them. Instead, each flag had an image of the wraith medallion, and instantly, I realized we were fighting against the Knights of the Golden Circle. That army kept growing larger by the second while our army kept getting smaller as if our army was slowing fading into thin air. I felt very cold inside, scared, and confused; for nothing was making sense. I glanced around in search for Kaylee and everyone else but did not see them. A moment later, to my alarm, I saw a hooded figure wearing a black cloak and riding a horse with blood-red eyes. The hooded figure had appeared in front of the opposing army. This hooded figure looked like the same figure I saw in my last dream, the figure whom I guessed to be Zophar. Then I saw the hooded figure hold up an object, and this object, to my terror, appeared to be the wraith medallion. And suddenly, something bizarre happened. Every single black knight, including each of their horses, turned into wraiths, and there were hundreds of them. Then our army was vanquished by them within a few seconds. And a moment later, I felt that same excruciating, burning pain on my hand. The wraith medallion's branding suddenly appeared on it again, then instantly, I felt my life being sucked away from me. Then when I suddenly heard a thunderous bolt, I woke up, sweating like crazy and breathing at a fast rate.
Kaylee woke up and asked me what I had dreamed this time, then I told her it. She looked a bit scared then replied, "Maybe you just dreamed this since we were in battle yesterday."
"Maybe, but this dream also felt more than just a normal dream just like my first one," I replied apprehensively. "I just have this bad feeling."
"Don't worry right now," Kaylee said anxiously. "Just go to sleep now, and make sure to have a good dream this time."
"I'll try," I responded, then I lay back down, and pretty soon, I fell back to sleep.
Narrated by Kaylee (continued)
The next morning, it was time to depart from DunBroch and to return to Camelot. It was a sad departure, but we would always remember one another. "You have a kingdom to run, Merida," said Regina with a proud smile. "Let this kingdom know that they may no longer have your father as king but that they have their former king's daughter. You will make a fine queen." Regina then embraced her.
"I will never forget you all," Merida replied with a smile and nod. "It has been an honor having you all as friends. Thank you for making peace possible in my kingdom. We shall all remember your hero ship for centuries to come. I owe it to you all, my noble and dear friends," she ended with a dip of her head.
"We all worked together to make hope possible," said Snow. "It takes strength and perseverance to get through the hardships, and most importantly, hope." She placed both of Merida's hands into hers and smiled warmly.
Merlin took us back to Camelot with a wave of his hand, then he provided us with enough gold to suffice for Facilier's overdue payment. "That bloody witch doctor doesn't need all that gold," said Hook angerly. "We are paying him way too much."
"If it will settle the overdue payment, then we will give him as much gold as he wants," said David.
"Let's just hope he does accept our overdue payment," said Regina grimly.
"It's never a wise idea to make deals with the devil in the first place," Hook returned.
"I had no choice," Cora chimed in. "I did it to save Regina. It was worth it."
We walked through the cobblestone streets and arrived at Facilier's tent. Then we slowly entered. Facilier's back was turned toward us, but he was aware of our presence. "So, come to pay an overdue payment?" he said, slowly turning around. His sinister-looking gaze rested on us.
"Here's your payment, now take it or leave it," Hook said as he tossed a heavy sack of gold coins at Facilier's feet.
Facilier took up the sack of gold coins and dumped all of them into his hand. He then looked up. "I warned you of a greater price if your payment was late. And it looks like you owe me more than just a few gold coins."
"Owe you more?" Hook questioned angerly. "We paid you more than enough!" he shouted. He then dashed forward and pushed the witch doctor against the tent wall and seized him by his collar, shaking him violently. "I will not let you, bloody demon, hornswoggle all of us. You're going to accept our payment. You hear me?"
"Enough, Hook," David ordered, as he grabbed him and tried to pull him away from the witch doctor. But Hook fought David's grasp until he finally restrained himself and let go of the witch doctor.
"What more could you possibly want?" Regina asked indignantly.
"Oh, I know exactly," Facilier replied, turning his burning gaze onto Aubrey and me.
"You can't have the sword," I made clear.
"Then I must do what must be done," Facilier replied. Suddenly, he magically levitated Hook off the ground and started to chock him.
"Stop!" Aubrey and I shouted. "It's not with us! Please, don't hurt him! We'll give you the sword!"
Facilier dropped Hook and approached us. "And can I trust your word that you will bring it to me when you retrieve it?"
"You can't have it!" Regina interfered, then she tossed Facilier backwards against the tent and appeared vines, entrapping him in them.
We all approached Hook who was still recovering, and David helped him up. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Bloody fantastic," Hook returned sarcastically.
Regina then turned her gaze to Facilier who tried fighting the vines, and she said to him, "Next time I'll turn you into a snake."
"Then do it now, Sis," said Zelena. "I'd love to see a magic show. Finally, we can get some entertainment around here."
"I said next time if he bothers us again," Regina replied.
"Oh, you were more fun as the Evil Queen," Zelena returned. "Sometimes you just need to let her out to play."
"I'm not her anymore, for I'm going to forget that she ever existed," Regina responded.
As we were all leaving the tent, Facilier shouted, "You will pay up, and I will get that sword!"
"Good luck with that," Regina muttered.
Once we were all outside, Regina turned to Aubrey and me then said, "You wouldn't really give up the sword, would you?"
"We only said that to keep him from killing Hook," I replied.
"I would have done the same," Regina said with agreement.