My parents had expected me to be a boy. Not because of the usual things like the size of my mother's stomach or the ferocity with which I kicked. After the twins my mother had smaller babies and Gideon and I had been calm in her womb, more playfully active than intense with our movements. It was really because all my siblings had been brothers.
My parents first born had been Auric. He stood tall and broad shouldered, a reflection of my father with his dark brown hair and deeper brown eyes. When my brothers and I were together he was our leader. His expression demanded it, not because he was oldest but because at the end of the day he knew the best for us. Without him we'd have been too foolish and reckless and we'd have all killed each other in our spats and fights. He was like a rock, and even when we beat him it did little to move him. There were days I screamed the most unladylike things at him, hated him with every fibre in my body. I still always loved him.
More children followed him of course, Bael was next, more level headed than Auric and probably the wisest out of us all. Davit followed. Then the twins came, Ferran and Killian. Mother said they had been born with the faces of angels, but when they misbehaved they were the rightful spawn of goblins. I personally never disagreed with that observation. People said my parents were blessed to have so many sons.
As I mentioned just before after the twins the babies were born smaller. Neil looked as though he had been born prematurely. Gideon was smaller still, and his kicking had been far weaker than anything my mother had experienced. Two years after Gideon was born (which isn't very long for a nymph) she was pregnant again, this time with me.
The smaller stomach and gentler kicks were somewhat expected this time. My mother had aged some since the birth of Auric and her body was fairly accustomed to carrying children by now. She took it all in stride, perfectly fine physically, though in mind a bit worried if she would miscarry. Funny how the idea of this pregnancy being different because it was girl she might be carrying never occurred to her or my father. Perhaps they had just grown too accustomed to having sons.
I remember my mother told me many times "I never really cared whether I had boys or girls, but by Navestal, I never dreamed that I would have seven boys in a row. When the midwife said I had given birth to a girl my first reaction was to ask her if she was sure I had."
Indeed the day I entered the world, wailing like a banshee, my parents had not believed they had just had a daughter. Some people in later years would scoff and say I was the unfortunate end to a very lucky streak of strapping sons. My family never believed that thankfully. I was seen more as an unexpected but lovely surprise.
My parents had decided upon my name before my birth. Rue. They thought at the time I would be a boy, and suspected I would be weaker than the rest of my brothers, even the slim and light-footed Gideon. I was given the simple, earthy name for that respect. It was the name of an herb which had the uncanny ability of growing everywhere, from the most fertile of earth to the driest patches of sand to within the crevices of sharply descending rock. They had hoped it would give me the resilience to manage whatever challenges found me in life.
My father had suggested they change my name when I was born to something more feminine, like Amantha or Elspeth, after my grandmothers. My mother had argued that it wasn't needed. Rue seemed to suite me she said. "I think Rue is a lovely name. It has good meaning for her. My little Rue."
And so I was named. Next came my raising. My brothers looked at me in a rather odd fashion at first I was told. Like I was too small and delicate to be played with. They must have had little to no idea of what to do with me. Davit had dared to hold me once when I was only three weeks old. He nearly dropped me and caused my mother to panic. She knew that dropping an infant was very bad, but somehow the fact that it was a girl made it appear even worse.
I was not a thing protected this closely for long though. My cries at times rivaled that of my brothers when they had been babes in their cradles. My brothers adopted a way of carrying me in front of them, arms crossed firmly around my body with my feet dangling at their knees and my arms stuck out in front of me, often grappling with their hold on me or grabbing for some small object or other. Only Auric and Bael had the mind to hold me to their shoulders like my mother and father did. I stood earlier in my infancy than all my brothers except Auric had. I even risked taking a few unsure steps, whilst holding on tight to the rim of a chair. Auric found that I was learning quickly and despite the jeers he must have received for it, he walked around with me, holding onto my hands and letting me take rather unbalanced and messy looking steps around the yard. I walked three months before my second birthday (the equivalent of seven months old for a human). Auric had called for my mother and brothers (father had been out hunting at the time), laughing with a mixture of excitement and shock. It could hardly be believed that such a tiny thing could move about on two legs, but there I was, laughing adorably with bubbling little gurgles and apparently finding the idea equally humorous to myself. My mother had her mouth agape and my brothers took great amusement in calling me towards them, each fighting for my attention and trying to get me to slowly hobble over to them.
I grew, and it seemed that my eagerness to walk had been a foreshadowing of my eagerness to catch up to my older brothers. Nymphs were a very small race, both in stature and number, it often being whispered that our time in middle earth was in its last few dozen centuries. My family lived within a fairly isolated clearing. The closest colony was a two days journey, upon a pony. Obviously, I knew few other females then, and my brothers were my closest friends and playmates. I learned to run fast upon my little legs and I often came home as bruised and muddied as they were. Gideon and I were closest, not only in age but friendship. I loved his spirit, he was bursting with life and although he was outnumbered by all my brothers in strength he was never without a smile or a laugh. I took to wearing his handed down clothes when I was as young as fifteen. I only owned two dresses at any given time in my childhood. Mother made no objection, so long as I still learned to cook under her teaching.
"I don't care if you dress like a man when you're out running around and whacking at your brothers with a sword. But you'll learn to become a passable wife, and I'll make sure you marry good." Whenever I came running in with a dirtied dress or had ripped the hem of my skirt she would shake her head a little and ask why I had not rummaged through my brother's dressers.
I was never sure whether she thought swordsmanship or fighting proper skills for me to learn, but my father encouraged me. I, for my own part, did not wish to be left out from my brothers or have them surpass me in anything. I was not as strong as them, given my slight form, but more agile and I thought quickly on my feet. In my later years, I matched them with the sword. Only Auric could win in our duels and manage to put me back in my place when my boasting grew too much. I lost nearly every time against him, and was never satisfied with my efforts until I had the chance to spar with him again and attempt to redeem myself. I cannot remember a single day in my childhood, before it ended so abruptly, in which I did not feel happy at some hour, if not the eternity of the day.
I was merry, I was brave, and I was resilient as my name foretold. I was Rue. I would find my place, no matter the circumstances. There was no challenge I would not be able to face. Not a band of dwarves. Not a dragon. Not the death of my dear family.