The Caged Sparrow
Once there lived a boy in a cottage by the sea.
He had a mother, a father, and they were as happy as can be.
He was the light of their life, everything they ever wanted,
But he was born too soon, and the rest of his life he had to be careful.
He was sickly and small, too fragile for this world.
His parents were filled with sadness because all the boy wanted,
Was to go outside and play with the other children,
And it was the one thing he could not do.
So each day he sat at his window, the warmth of the sun taunting him,
Listening to the birds playing with each other as they flew by.
Desperately he wished for one to call a friend.
So his father brought him home a present one day, a little sparrow in a little cage.
This little bird lived with the little boy for many years, and he enjoyed the songs it sang.
For so long the bird and the boy lived together in harmony.
Yet, for a long time, the boy felt sad for the bird, being caged all it's life.
Forced to remain in a cage for his own happiness.
So, one day, when he was sure that it was right,
He opened the cage and let the bird free.
He knew he'd be sad as he watched his only friend fly away,
But it did the strangest thing.
The bird flew around the room, singing a song he'd never heard.
It was so beautiful, the boy couldn't help but weep.
He said his farewells, ready to be alone once more,
It did not happen.
The bird finished it's song, it flew back in it's cage,
For the bird was content to sing behind the bars it's always known.
Because it made the boy happy once, and would do so again.
- Excerpt torn from Tales Across Thedas, found tucked away in the Circle of Ostwick
A young maiden walks through a courtyard, all around her are cobblestone walls she's lived behind for most of her life. With trellis's strewn high with roses and tall marble statues that greet her as she passes, she loves it here. She always has. Drawn to the flowers that surround her she reaches out to them, smiling faintly at the soft, silky, touch of their petals. A feeling that has always comforted her, made her feel at peace. The sound of metal moving catches her attention briefly. She looks up at the guards watching her, never changing, never shifting. Gently, she waves at them. Some nod back at her in greeting, others remain almost as still as the statues in the garden.
For years, she's walked this same path. Each step she takes, watched with the utmost scrutiny. She rises in the morning at the break of dawn, comes down the corridor, retrieves breakfast from one of the servants, steps out into the courtyard, greets the guards, and heads out into the gardens for her studies. Her days never changing, sedimentary, always controlled and monitored to a point where even taking a step off the beaten path would cause the others around her to worry. For fear to arise. Which is why she's never strayed. Never stepped from the path she's meant to walk. Perhaps others would deem the constraints of her life to be too harsh, but not she.
She happily lives the life she's been given. Not everyone has had the same blessings as she. Being born into a noble family granted her certain niceties and commodities that plenty would kill to have within their grasp. Never mind that she never leaves except to accompany her parents to parties they often attend across the Free Marches. They have to keep up appearances, they've always told themselves. If they were to hide their daughter away completely, it would just make the other nobles suspicious. Make them question the lie. And that would possibly be worse than the truth.
Still, smiling to herself, she comes to the gardens. Her absolute favourite place in all the city-states of the Free Marches. She used to live outside of the manor, in Ostwick, with her parents and her siblings. They decided that it was best for her to learn in Kirkwall, where the guards are better trained to handle any mishaps. The guards she'd grown up with insisted she was more than capable to remain under their care, that was the first lie she caught her parents in. The nobles of the Trevelyan house weren't so much concerned with her safety as they were with appearances. Her "talents" could not be known to the other noble families. They would never allow that under pain of death.
Nevertheless, she's glad for it. Sitting down at the edge of one of the many fountains, she inhales the innocent scent that morning brings and relaxes for a brief moment. She spent much of her childhood playing with the dogs by the fountains and the roses such as those around her. No matter what was going on in her life, the gardens always made her feel as if none of it mattered, none of her hardships could worry her. It made continuing on much less difficult. Made her feel more at home than anything else.
"I have to ask, do you ever arrive to your lessons on time?" Someone asks suddenly from behind her.
Turning, the young maiden smiles brightly. It's one of her servants, her closest friend. Someone who's been with her since she was very small. Since Ostwick, before it all changed. A young Dalish elf by the name of Vera.
"I try," she starts, standing up and smoothing out her gown, "but how do they expect me to get any work done surrounded by such beauty?"
"From what I remember, you're the one who asked to have the lessons out in the gardens." Vera counters, giving the maiden a knowing look with a hand on her hip.
Quietly, she chuckles. "Fair enough. Though you can't blame me for wanting to linger."
"True, I cannot." The servant laments, shaking her head and gesturing down the path. "Come, the First Enchantress does not like to be kept waiting, da'len. And she's waited long enough."
Nodding, the young maiden smooth's out her dress one last time and leads the way as she ventures further into the gardens, allowing herself a moment's breath before her day truly begins. Hours of practice, hours of scrutiny, hours of fear, hours of whispers behind her, hours in a cage she'll never be allowed to escape. Seeing the First Enchantress sitting calmly on a stone bench with a book in her lap, she smiles; accepting that her life as a prisoner will be all she'll ever know.
