Elena scampered down the winding stone steps, her laughter echoing off the tower walls. Behind her, her older brother William cursed and threatened to sell her to Antivan slavers for interrupting whatever it was he had been doing with one of Cook's girls. Ever since William started noticing girls, he'd been no fun; he never wanted to play Grey Wardens and Darkspawn anymore, or teach her how to fight. Still, the look on his face when she's asked him if Father knew what he was doing had been so funny. And she'd never seen a human face turn that particular shade of red when he'd wretched his face up from the front of Giselle's dress. He'd been snuffling at the poor girl like some wild animal and her dress had been halfway up her legs. Elena didn't think it looked very comfortable.
He brother's shouts melted into the air behind her as she careened around a the final turn in the staircase. And smacked right into something solid.
"Ooph, careful there, lassie."
Strong hands gripped her shoulders, stopping her from tumbling down in a heap of limbs. She looked up to see a boy about William's age with brown hair and pretty blue eyes. He was tall as a man, but skinny like her, and his limbs seemed too long for his body. She wrinkled her nose.
"You talk funny." It was the first thing that came to mind–but he did talk funny; his accent was lilting and warm.
He chuckled and released her, tapping his finger against the tip of her nose as he spoke. "Perhaps you're the one to talks funny, lass. Have you ever thought of that?"
Elena frowned, working over his words in her mind. "Maybe," she conceded. "Who are you?"
The boy smiled again and she decided he had a nice smile–it spread wide across his face and reached his eyes. With a courtly flourish, he bowed.
"I am Ser Sebastian Vael, third son of the Prince of Starkhaven. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" He asked, lifting his head and cocking it to the side in a way that was decidedly rakish.
Elena dipped into a quick, messy curtsy like Sister Maryanne was forever reminding her to do. "I'm Lady Elena Melusine Claremont Trevelyan of Ostwick."
Sebastian righted himself and laughed, his bright blue eyes twinkling as they took in her short stature. "I think you're name is longer than you are, lass."
Before she could reply, her other brother, Henry, rounded the corner with two more boys that looked like Sebastian but bigger. Though Henry was only ten minutes older than William, he always acted like he was ancient in comparison.
"Seb! There you are," one of the boys–who must be Sebastian's brothers because they all had the same pretty blue eyes and nice smiles–called.
"I see you've met Elena," Henry said before turning to his sister. "Why don't you run along and play with your dolls?"
Elena's face went red–she knew he hadn't said it to be mean, but he always acted so superior, it was maddening. He was only five years older than her!
"I don't play with dolls, you numpty!" She bristled, glancing at Sebastian–she didn't want him to think she was a baby who still played with dolls, thanks to Henry's big mouth.
Henry frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Language, Elena. Father wouldn't like to hear you speaking like that." After a beat, his face softened. "Have you seen William? The five of us were going to the training yard."
"Can I come?" She asked, just barely managing not to beg. Her irritation momentarily sinking at the thought of coming with them to practice.
"What would a wee thing like you do in the training yard?" One of the older Vael boys asked.
She rounded on him, her slight shoulders shoved back and her chin held high. In a tone that was a near perfect imitation of her Orlesian grandmother she snapped, "William has been teaching me to fight, for your information."
That brought a chorus of laughter from all of them save Sebastian, and Elena stamped her foot in frustration. These stupid boys! They could never see anything beyond that she was a girl. Fine, she would get their attention and make them take her seriously.
"And I have seen William. He's upstairs, rutting with Giselle!"
Stunned silence filled the hallway, echos of the boys' laughter slowly dying on the stone walls. In truth, Elena didn't actually know what the word rutting meant, but she knew it had something to do with what William was doing. Before Henry could yell at her again, she turned on her heel and stomped away, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder as she went. For all her anger, the sight of Sebastian's smile and the warmth in his eyes as she turned down the hallway made her stomach feel bouncy and weightless.
He had such a nice smile.
As she lay in bed that night, all Elena could think about was Sebastian's pretty eyes and the soft burr of his voice when called her lass. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't keep the youngest Vael brother from her mind. With a sigh, she rolled onto her side. Outside her window, the night sky glittered over the ocean while a shooting star sailed by.
"Sebastian Vael, I'm going to marry you," she promised to herself, eyes following the star as it fell to earth, though she knew there was little chance she'd ever see him again.
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