"Kaleigh!"
A mop of dark brown hair plopped down on the door that was hiding it.
~Please don't find me,~ Kaleigh thought miserably.
"Kaleigh Lynn Trevelyan!" the voice shouted again.
~Full name…Nonnie must have been searching for me for quite some time.~
Heaving a sigh, sparing the old woman more headache, Kaleigh stood and opened the stable door. Kaleigh shook the straw and dust from her skirt and hair as she exited the building. Kicking at the ground almost petulantly as she walked, Kaleigh all but pouted as she searched out her one-time nursemaid.
Kaleigh didn't know what the old woman could want with her. She hadn't needed Nonnie to watch over her in nearly two years. She was pretty sure her parents kept her on out of loyalty. Nonnie had been her nursemaid, her elder brother's nursemaid, and their mother's nursemaid. She was, more honestly, a valued member of their family.
"Young lady, where have you been?"
Kaleigh was pulled from her musings by the older woman. "In the stables, Nonnie," Kaleigh replied. "Where else would I be?"
Nonnie grabbed Kaleigh's hand and began pulling her toward the main hall of the manor. "You must come quickly," Nonnie said urgently. "Your father calls for you and he must not be kept waiting."
The two women marched quickly across the green yard. "Why, Nonnie? What is it?" It was always quiet in their little section of the Free Marches, even with the horrid happenings with the mages and templars.
"I do not know, my lady," Nonnie said, her voice thick with tension. She looked around them quickly. "But I fear he means to send you with your brother."
A look of confusion crossed Kaleigh's face. Her older brother, Colten, had gone to the Templars five years ago, shortly after Kaleigh had turned 13. They received letters from him but hadn't seen him since then.
"Send me to the Templars? Why? I've shown no interest in joining them."
The two reached the door and Nonnie stopped before they entered. Kaleigh couldn't decipher the look on the old woman's face. "I wish I could tell you what your father plans, sweetling. But you know your father. If he doesn't want one to know his thoughts, he will hide them."
Kaleigh nodded her head and Nonnie opened the door to the house. Nonnie led Kaleigh into the main room where her father and mother were waiting. Kaleigh looked at her mother, hoping to glean some information in the woman's eyes.
Nothing.
~Since when is Mama so good at hiding her thoughts?~ Kaleigh thought.
Kaleigh turned to her father expectantly. "You wanted to see me, father?"
Matthias, patriarch of the Trevelyan family, nodded his head once and walked to his daughter. He stood tall, seeming to steel himself for a fight.
"You have heard of the tragedy in Kirkwall and the fall of the Circles?" he asked, straight to the point.
Kaleigh nodded her head. "Yes, father. By all accounts, the fighting has been horrific."
Matthias began pacing in thought. "Divine Justinia is calling for a meeting between the Mages and Templars. She wants to restore the peace between them." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Your brother will be there, and I want you to go there as well."
Kaleigh's expression was one of pure shock. "You're sending me to see Coulten?"
"I'm sending you to assist Most Holy in her endeavor to bring sanity back to the Chantry," he corrected her. Matthias turned to his daughter. "Once the Divine has concluded her business, you will accompany your brother and join the Order."
Kaleigh stared at her father in disbelief. She had known that as the youngest, the chances of her being sent to either the Order or the Chantry were incredibly high. In secret, though, she had hoped that as their only daughter that they would take her wishes into consideration. And neither prospect appealed to the spirited young woman.
"As you wish, father."
His daughter's answer obviously surprised him. Matthias had been prepared to fight and argue with the girl. "Good," he replied in relief. "Go and ready yourself. Be sure to wear your light armor. The journey to the Temple should be safe, but one can never tell in these times."
Kaleigh bowed her head and turned away from her father. Before ascending the stairs to her room, Kaleigh caught the eyes of her mother and eldest brother. Both seeming forlorn at the patriarch's decision.