My Prince, My King
Note: I obviously don't own any of this jazz. Simply an idea I had floating around in my head. What if the Cousland and Cailan had known each other long before Ostagar? This is simply a fanfic exploring that option.
Ariana picked up the discarded soldier doll and grimaced. Where had he disappeared to? She followed the trail of discarded toys down the hallway. She could hear the distant sound of her father's laugh as he sat in the King's study and it comforted her as she drifted further away down the darkening hallways. She wasn't a wimp. She and her brother had already begun to play with wooden swords, and he said that she showed a great deal of promise. That was after he'd finished pretend running her through with the sword about seven million times and she'd started crying because she'd never be a real fighter. He was a good brother when he wanted to be. She heard a giggling noise coming from somewhere nearby, and she slowed down a bit, trying to figure out where it was coming from. The noise stopped and she was left standing there clueless.
"RAWR! I've got you now darkspawn!" A voice boomed as the older boy jumped out from the shadows and pulled her down toward the floor with a growl. He had a bright smile on his face and he was clutching a darkspawn doll in his hand. He slipped it into hers as he stood up, taking the soldier away from her with a laugh. She quickly got to her feet as he stared at her triumphantly. She knocked the smile right off his face when she pulled the soldier doll from his hand.
"How come you always get to be the Grey Warden?" She asked with a pout, pushing the darkspawn doll back into his hands. "I want to be the hero this time!" Ariana smiled at him, hoping he'd play along. He was the prince after all. She knew that her father wanted them to get along. He would be her king someday, but it wasn't fair that he always got to be the hero. Just because she was a girl, didn't mean she wasn't tough too. There were women Grey Wardens, at least, she'd heard King Maric mention it once or twice in his stories. She did her best impression of a pouty face, and watched as Cailan blushed. She hadn't really expected it to work, but for some reason he just nodded his head. She'd seen Lily making the same face at Fergus from time to time, and he always seemed to give her what she wanted too. She was glad she'd noted it for later use.
"Fine. You can be the Grey Warden." He said with a shy smile, holding up the darkspawn doll. Ariana smiled triumphantly and sat down on the floor. Cailan followed suit, moving his doll across the floor as Ariana position her Grey Warden behind her skirts. "What's that for?" Cailan asked, peeking around her leg to see the doll, Ariana immediately shifted her small frame so he wouldn't see.
"Don't peek! She's getting ready to attack!" Ariana said with serious face, and Cailan immediately caught on, nodding his head and continued to move the Darkspawn doll along as though it were out for an evening stroll. Ariana giggled a bit at the funny way Cailan made the darkspawn walk. He opened his mouth to speak for the creature but Ariana shook her head at him urgently. "Darkspawn don't talk! Remember?" She said, and Cailan nodded, pursing his lips together tightly.
"Are you going to attack him or what?" Cailan asked, starting to run out of room for his darkspawn doll to walk, so he turned it around in the other direction.
"Die darkspawn!" Ariana yelled, her Grey Warden jumping out from behind her leg, which she was pretending was a tree. She made the doll jump on top of the darkspawn, the tiny sword jabbing into the other doll's cotton chest. She giggled as her Grey Warden kept poking the other doll, Cailan started laughing too, his eyes growing brighter as their dolls fought.
"Cailan!" Ariana stopped as she heard the familiar sound of Cailan's nan approaching. Ariana looked at the toys in their hands and scrunched up her nose. Cailan stood immediately as the woman approached with a stern look on her face. "Shouldn't you be busy with your studies?" The stern woman asked looking at the little girl with a deeper grimace.
"Yes Ma'am. I was simply… entertaining Miss Cousland here, while our fathers are talking." Cailan said with a blush. He'd been caught. Ariana blushed deeply and Cailan smiled, giving her a playful punch on the shoulder before he left under Nan's watchful eye. Ariana grinned to herself as she looked at the dolls in her hands. She liked it when they visited the King. She smiled and squeezed the Grey Warden doll in her hand, dropping the darkspawn one on a nearby table as she headed back toward her families' guest quarters.