[Fic] Merida's Coronation (Part 2 of 2)
Title: Merida's Coronation (Part 2 of 2)
Fandom: Disney (Part of my Disney Castle fanfic series, Adventures of the Anti-Princesses)
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,435 (this part)
Disclaimer: All of the characters and concepts contained herein are the property of The Walt Disney Company and Pixar. No money is being made from the publication of this work of fanfiction.
Summary: Merida learns that she is to become an Official Disney Princess. She is not pleased, but the other Princesses help her through it.
Author's Notes: This is part of a series of fanfics set at the Disney Castle. I will make a master post linking to all of them later. This part is set in late April through mid-May of 2013.
No further news about Merida's coronation came to the Disney Castle until late April, when she and all the existing Princesses received invitations to it.
The Walt Disney Company invites you to join in the merriment as we celebrate Merida's inner qualities of strength, bravery, determination, passion and confidence, the invitation read. Well, at least they got that bit right, Merida thought.
Then she noticed the dress she was wearing in the drawing of her on the left side of the invitation. Unlike the one from the booth at the toy fair, it wasn't completely covered with glitter. She even had her bow and arrows with her in the drawing.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, she thought. The drawing gave her hope that she would be able to keep her free, adventurous spirit alive, even under the marketing department's influence.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The coronation ceremony was planned for the second Saturday in May. It was a bright, sunny day with a brisk breeze, perfect for riding. An outdoor stage had been set up in front of the castle, and the people of the realm were gathered in front of it. Merida and Angus were waiting for their cue a little way off, away from the eyes of the crowd.
The Master of Ceremonies for this event, Lady Llewellyn, gave a short speech about how Merida was joining the proud tradition of those who had come before her, “princesses who, by virtue of their own qualities, inspire us, embolden us, and inspire us to be our very best.” She then introduced the existing members of the Royal Court, one by one, to cheers and applause. Merida knew that the procession was to start moving forward as soon as the last princess had been introduced. When the band and the pipers started playing behind her, she gently urged Angus forward. She resisted the temptation to canter up the road and leap down from horseback onto the center of the stage. Instead, she dismounted gracefully to the side of it and walked up to meet Lady Llewellyn there, with the standard-bearers from the four clans following her, as they had rehearsed the day before.
“Welcome, Merida!” said Lady Llewellyn. “We are all thrilled to be here on your very special day!”
“Thank you!” said Merida. “I'm so excited to be here!” With everyone cheering for her, it was true.
Lady Llewellyn read the royal proclamation. “Hear ye, hear ye, across the realms and beyond...”
Merida suddenly became aware of a kind of warmth and energy coming from somewhere. She recognized it as the adulation of fans in the corporate world, where, they all knew, this ceremony was being enacted by Cast Members.
“...that by virtue of her fiery spirit, independence, and her unwavering bravery, Merida is officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court!”
The cheers became louder. Merida was sure that some of them were getting through to her from the corporate world.
“And here to join in on the celebration of her daughter,” Lady Llewellyn continued, “is Queen Elinor.”
Elinor came out onto the stage, dressed in her regal robes and carrying a crown with an enormous green stone set in it. She joined Merida at the front of the stage.
“Merida,” said Elinor, “within you I see the best of our past and the best of our future. I'm proud of all that you are, and all that I know you'll become. I'm proud of you, my daughter.”
She placed the crown on her daughter's head, then embraced her. Merida returned the embrace. This moment was more wonderful than she could have hoped for.
Merida then turned to address the crowd. “I am strong. I am brave. I am Merida, and I am a princess!” She had a huge grin on her face as the banner on the castle unfurled behind her and rippled in the breeze. It read, Welcome, Princess Merida.
Her mother brought out her bow, which she posed with as the photo-taking began. She reveled in the opportunity to show off her love of archery, and the fact that she was being recognized and applauded for it, instead of being shamed and spoken of as eccentric and unladylike. Sometimes, dreams really did come true here.
The other Princesses came back to the front of the stage to join her for group pictures. Rapunzel congratulated her with a hug, which she enthusiastically returned. They all stood there together while their pictures were taken. After a few minutes, the others left and Elinor returned to the stage to have pictures taken with her daughter.
When they left the stage together, Merida said, “Thank you, Mum. What you said means a lot to me.”
“You're welcome, my love,” said Elinor.
Merida took her crown off and turned it gently in her hands. “It's lovely,” she said.
“My mother gave it to me when your father and I married,” said Elinor. “I had meant it to be your wedding present, too... but wedding or no, I won't have my daughter going off to rule a kingdom without it.” Elinor hugged her again. “I love you, Merida. You'll be a wonderful Princess.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Merida soon discovered that every Official Princess awoke every morning to find a letter, or sometimes a newspaper, somewhere in her chambers. These communications detailed the latest news from the corporate world related to the Company in general, and the Disney Princess line in particular.
On the Wednesday following the coronation, Merida found a thick stack of papers on her bedside table. The topmost page was on official Company letterhead, with a prominent header reading Disney Consumer Products - the division responsible for the Disney Princess line.
It was a letter regarding the depiction of her that had been on the invitation to the ceremony. It said that that picture had been intended only for a single use, namely, for the ceremony. It went on to explain that they often changed their art styles to meet their needs at the time, which everyone already knew. The one sentence that stood out the most was: “We have no intention of changing who Merida is.”
What's this all about? Merida quickly leafed through the rest of the papers. The second one down began with a side-by-side comparison of her adventure dress with her sparkly dress from the toy fair booth. As she read it, she realized that it was a petition entreating the company not to force her into the same sparkly, perfect mold as all the other Princesses. In the upper right corner was a summary indicating the number of people who had signed it: 229,571.
The rest of the pages were all news articles discussing the fact that the petition had been successful, and had led to the Company issuing the official statement that Merida had read first. She was overwhelmed. All these people were defending her position and standing up to the Company on her behalf, when she had no way to do that on her own. She found herself shedding a few tears of relief and gratitude.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Hey, Merida!” Tiana hurried over to Merida when she entered the royal council chamber later that morning. “You go, girl!”
“Only an Official Princess for four days, and already you're making Company history,” Jasmine said. “You should be proud, Merida. Nothing like this has ever happened to any of us before.”
“This is the best news we've had in a while,” agreed Belle.
“Can you believe it?” said Merida. “I was so happy I cried.”
“We told you we would accept you just as you were,” said Aurora. “It's nice to know that the Company has agreed to do the same.”
“Did you notice what your director said about you?” asked Rapunzel.
“Of course I did,” said Merida. “What a lovely thing to say.”
“You know what this means, right? Not only is your director looking out for you, but so are thousands of other people who like you for you. That really is something to be proud of.”
“Don't be too quick to assume this is over,” Mulan spoke up. “There's still a good chance that you've won the battle, but not the entire war.”
“Be that as it may,” said Merida, “I'll be ready for it. With all those people on my side, I know I'll be brave enough to be myself and make my own fate.”
Fandom: Disney (Part of my Disney Castle fanfic series, Adventures of the Anti-Princesses)
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,435 (this part)
Disclaimer: All of the characters and concepts contained herein are the property of The Walt Disney Company and Pixar. No money is being made from the publication of this work of fanfiction.
Summary: Merida learns that she is to become an Official Disney Princess. She is not pleased, but the other Princesses help her through it.
Author's Notes: This is part of a series of fanfics set at the Disney Castle. I will make a master post linking to all of them later. This part is set in late April through mid-May of 2013.
No further news about Merida's coronation came to the Disney Castle until late April, when she and all the existing Princesses received invitations to it.
The Walt Disney Company invites you to join in the merriment as we celebrate Merida's inner qualities of strength, bravery, determination, passion and confidence, the invitation read. Well, at least they got that bit right, Merida thought.
Then she noticed the dress she was wearing in the drawing of her on the left side of the invitation. Unlike the one from the booth at the toy fair, it wasn't completely covered with glitter. She even had her bow and arrows with her in the drawing.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, she thought. The drawing gave her hope that she would be able to keep her free, adventurous spirit alive, even under the marketing department's influence.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The coronation ceremony was planned for the second Saturday in May. It was a bright, sunny day with a brisk breeze, perfect for riding. An outdoor stage had been set up in front of the castle, and the people of the realm were gathered in front of it. Merida and Angus were waiting for their cue a little way off, away from the eyes of the crowd.
The Master of Ceremonies for this event, Lady Llewellyn, gave a short speech about how Merida was joining the proud tradition of those who had come before her, “princesses who, by virtue of their own qualities, inspire us, embolden us, and inspire us to be our very best.” She then introduced the existing members of the Royal Court, one by one, to cheers and applause. Merida knew that the procession was to start moving forward as soon as the last princess had been introduced. When the band and the pipers started playing behind her, she gently urged Angus forward. She resisted the temptation to canter up the road and leap down from horseback onto the center of the stage. Instead, she dismounted gracefully to the side of it and walked up to meet Lady Llewellyn there, with the standard-bearers from the four clans following her, as they had rehearsed the day before.
“Welcome, Merida!” said Lady Llewellyn. “We are all thrilled to be here on your very special day!”
“Thank you!” said Merida. “I'm so excited to be here!” With everyone cheering for her, it was true.
Lady Llewellyn read the royal proclamation. “Hear ye, hear ye, across the realms and beyond...”
Merida suddenly became aware of a kind of warmth and energy coming from somewhere. She recognized it as the adulation of fans in the corporate world, where, they all knew, this ceremony was being enacted by Cast Members.
“...that by virtue of her fiery spirit, independence, and her unwavering bravery, Merida is officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court!”
The cheers became louder. Merida was sure that some of them were getting through to her from the corporate world.
“And here to join in on the celebration of her daughter,” Lady Llewellyn continued, “is Queen Elinor.”
Elinor came out onto the stage, dressed in her regal robes and carrying a crown with an enormous green stone set in it. She joined Merida at the front of the stage.
“Merida,” said Elinor, “within you I see the best of our past and the best of our future. I'm proud of all that you are, and all that I know you'll become. I'm proud of you, my daughter.”
She placed the crown on her daughter's head, then embraced her. Merida returned the embrace. This moment was more wonderful than she could have hoped for.
Merida then turned to address the crowd. “I am strong. I am brave. I am Merida, and I am a princess!” She had a huge grin on her face as the banner on the castle unfurled behind her and rippled in the breeze. It read, Welcome, Princess Merida.
Her mother brought out her bow, which she posed with as the photo-taking began. She reveled in the opportunity to show off her love of archery, and the fact that she was being recognized and applauded for it, instead of being shamed and spoken of as eccentric and unladylike. Sometimes, dreams really did come true here.
The other Princesses came back to the front of the stage to join her for group pictures. Rapunzel congratulated her with a hug, which she enthusiastically returned. They all stood there together while their pictures were taken. After a few minutes, the others left and Elinor returned to the stage to have pictures taken with her daughter.
When they left the stage together, Merida said, “Thank you, Mum. What you said means a lot to me.”
“You're welcome, my love,” said Elinor.
Merida took her crown off and turned it gently in her hands. “It's lovely,” she said.
“My mother gave it to me when your father and I married,” said Elinor. “I had meant it to be your wedding present, too... but wedding or no, I won't have my daughter going off to rule a kingdom without it.” Elinor hugged her again. “I love you, Merida. You'll be a wonderful Princess.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Merida soon discovered that every Official Princess awoke every morning to find a letter, or sometimes a newspaper, somewhere in her chambers. These communications detailed the latest news from the corporate world related to the Company in general, and the Disney Princess line in particular.
On the Wednesday following the coronation, Merida found a thick stack of papers on her bedside table. The topmost page was on official Company letterhead, with a prominent header reading Disney Consumer Products - the division responsible for the Disney Princess line.
It was a letter regarding the depiction of her that had been on the invitation to the ceremony. It said that that picture had been intended only for a single use, namely, for the ceremony. It went on to explain that they often changed their art styles to meet their needs at the time, which everyone already knew. The one sentence that stood out the most was: “We have no intention of changing who Merida is.”
What's this all about? Merida quickly leafed through the rest of the papers. The second one down began with a side-by-side comparison of her adventure dress with her sparkly dress from the toy fair booth. As she read it, she realized that it was a petition entreating the company not to force her into the same sparkly, perfect mold as all the other Princesses. In the upper right corner was a summary indicating the number of people who had signed it: 229,571.
The rest of the pages were all news articles discussing the fact that the petition had been successful, and had led to the Company issuing the official statement that Merida had read first. She was overwhelmed. All these people were defending her position and standing up to the Company on her behalf, when she had no way to do that on her own. She found herself shedding a few tears of relief and gratitude.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Hey, Merida!” Tiana hurried over to Merida when she entered the royal council chamber later that morning. “You go, girl!”
“Only an Official Princess for four days, and already you're making Company history,” Jasmine said. “You should be proud, Merida. Nothing like this has ever happened to any of us before.”
“This is the best news we've had in a while,” agreed Belle.
“Can you believe it?” said Merida. “I was so happy I cried.”
“We told you we would accept you just as you were,” said Aurora. “It's nice to know that the Company has agreed to do the same.”
“Did you notice what your director said about you?” asked Rapunzel.
“Of course I did,” said Merida. “What a lovely thing to say.”
“You know what this means, right? Not only is your director looking out for you, but so are thousands of other people who like you for you. That really is something to be proud of.”
“Don't be too quick to assume this is over,” Mulan spoke up. “There's still a good chance that you've won the battle, but not the entire war.”
“Be that as it may,” said Merida, “I'll be ready for it. With all those people on my side, I know I'll be brave enough to be myself and make my own fate.”