Elissa was looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her father had told her someone was coming this day to become a knight. Someone her age. She was glad at the idea of having someone her age to train with, the others were too old, too strong for her and they didn't care about her. She was only a distraction to them.
"Are you ready, pup? We don't want to be late to welcome our guests."
Elissa looked at herself one more time. She hated to dress up for occasions but as the teyrn's daughter she didn't have a choice. She was a Cousland, she had to be presentable. She followed her father at the gate's castle where her mother and brother were already awaiting the newcomer. Elissa was nervous, it had been a long time since she met someone new, she was used of being alone all the time. Her brother must have felt her nervousness as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. She looked up at him and smiled.
"They're approaching." One of the guards announced. The carriage stopped, a door opened. A tall man got out.
"Bann Gilmore, welcome to Highever."
"Thank you, Teyrn Cousland."
As her parents and the Bann exchanged pleasantries, Elissa noticed a boy still in the carriage. He looked at his father before getting out.
"This is my son, Roland."
Her parents greeted him before returning their attention to his father. The boy looked around, his gaze fixed on Elissa. The boy was tall for his age; he had fiery red hair and amazing green eyes. She smiled at him. At first he seemed unsure but he finally smiled back at her. His father put a hand on his back and pushed him as they followed the teyrn and teyrna for a visit of the castle. She watched them leave, hoping they'd become friends.
ooooo
It was late and Elissa couldn't sleep. She stepped outside her room on the balcony and looked at the stars in the sky. She heard a faint sound coming from the garden; she looked around and saw a form huddled against a tree. She recognized the boy from the morning as the moonlight caught his red hair. Her heart stirred as she noticed he was sobbing softly. She felt sorry for him, knowing it must have been hard to leave his family behind to live amongst strangers. She wondered if she should go to him, console him. But maybe it was better to wait. She wasn't good with those things; she'd probably say something wrong and hurt him more. She watched him brush his tears away as he rose and headed back to the barrack.
ooooo
Roland was sitting in the garden, lost in his thoughts. He didn't notice Elissa's presence at first.
"Hi." She said, startling him.
"Hi." He replied shyly.
"We haven't been introduced yesterday. I am Elissa." She smiled warmly.
"I'm Roland."
"Father said you like to read." The boy nodded, a strand of red hair falling in his eye. "I have something for you." She handed him a book, their fingers touched and Elissa felt a wave of shivers in her hand. "It's about the Grey Wardens of old. I thought you might like it. It's my favorite." She felt the heat in her cheeks, wondering if the butterflies in her belly were the sign of a teenage crush. He fixed his green eyes on her, her cheeks now on fire.
"Thank you."
She swore she could have melt at his smile, his soft voice like music to her ears. She felt like a complete fool, standing there in front of him, smiling stupidly. But even though she tried to calm down and get a hold of her emotions she kept looking at him, her whole body trembling. She tried to look away but she was enraptured by his eyes. Time almost stopped for Elissa, she could hear her heartbeat accelerate, blood pounding in her ears. This can't be real, I can't feel those things. I don't know him. She tried to concentrate on the moment, slowly drifting back to reality.
"The captain told me we would train together."
"Yes." Elissa managed to mumble, hoping her voice was steady enough not to betray her emotions.
"I can't wait, then." The captain called his name, he rose and before leaving he looked at her. "Thank you again for the book."
Elissa smiled at him. She watched him leave, already impatient to see him again.
