Chapter 1 - Someday
Author's Note: Hi all! I have so much planned for this fic - and am honestly super excited to share this story with you. I hope you enjoy Emilia Cousland's adventures! Huge shout out to my amazing friend and beta-reader Ms Sticha for putting up with me and all my writing/idea bouncing. I would also be remiss if I didn't thank my husband, who is surprisingly great at talking to about this stuff (and has some pretty good ideas I've put to use).
For this first chapter, I've borrowed / rewritten a bit of chapter 1 from my other story about Emilia and Nathaniel, "Of Bows, Foes, and Alcoves." This fic is an AU of that one, but only the first two chapters will have any plot similarities.
- 9:12 Dragon -
A tight, dark, cold space. His young, slender body pressed between the stone floor and wooden bed. Covers draped over the sides, long and nearly touching the floor. Heart racing, breaths deliberately made slow and quiet.
"I can't believe we agreed to play hide-and-seek with your sister again, Fergus," Nathaniel whisper-shouted to his friend across the room.
"Shh! She'll hear you!" the young Cousland boy playfully reprimanded his friend.
A tiny voice shouted from down the hall. "Ready or not, here I come!" Her bare feet slapped against the stone floor as she ran down the hall. The sound crescendoed as she approached, then suddenly became silent; she had must have switched to walking lightly on her toes as she entered the room in which Nathaniel and Fergus hid. Shadows shifted and stopped just next to the bed. Nathaniel held his breath. She just has to find Fergus first. At eleven years old, he knew he was getting too old for this, but Emilia Cousland was about the most persuasive five-year old in existence. She stepped away from the bed. Hopefully closer to the chest.
The creak of a metal hinges filled the room. "Found you, Ferg!" the tiny voice exclaimed.
"Seriously! You went for the chest first!" her brother objected as he popped up from the cramped space.
Emilia rolled her giant green orbs at her big brother and pointed to the corner. "Those blankets came from somewhere," she stated matter-of-factly. "You can come out from under the bed now, Nate," the same little voice confidently announced her knowledge of his location.
Nathaniel shimmied his way out from under the bed. He had been growing a lot lately and had barely managed to fit. "How did you know I was under there?" His voice cracked slightly. It was a new, frustrating habit he hoped to soon grow out of.
The little Cousland girl shrugged. "No other decent place to hide in here."
With the child being this resourceful at the age of five, many wondered what she would be like when she matured.
"Nathaniel! Fergus!" Teryn Bryce Cousland, Emilia and Fergus' father called after them.
Fergus patted his sister on the shoulder lightly. "Guess we gotta go. Sorry, sis."
"See you later, Em," Nathaniel nodded to her as the two boys left.
The little girl could be heard from down the hall as she pouted and plopped down on the bed. "I wanna go fishing, too!"
The rest of the day had been spent down by the small lake just outside Castle Cousland. Bryce and Arl Rendon Howe, Nathaniel's father, had accompanied both boys for a fishing and camping trip. Nathaniel ended up with the catch of the trip. A natural hunter and fisher, Rendon had called him. It made Nathaniel feel so proud to hear his father boasting about him.
Next, the men taught their boys how to clean and cook the fish. Survival skills are important, Bryce had reminded them. Fergus' tenth nameday had been celebrated just the night before. Time to learn how to be a man, the teryn had said. At least learning to be a man is fun, Nathaniel smiled. Before sundown, the two young lads were required to make their own tents, after being shown how by their fathers. The four nobles sat by a campfire for a short time after sunset. Rendon and Bryce laughed about something, but Nathaniel and Fergus weren't paying attention to what it was; they were too busy wrestling. Fergus, though one year younger than Nathaniel, was stockier and winning as usual. Nathaniel always won when he came to being sneaky or subtle, and Fergus when it came to brute strength. Perhaps that's what their fathers were laughing at.
Eventually, the adults informed the boys that it was time they go to their respective tents and sleep. Wanting to make sure his son got settled in well, Bryce followed Fergus to his tent, and Rendon followed suit with Nathaniel.
"Hey, dad?" Nathaniel caught his father's attention just before he left. Something had been bothering him for quite some time now, and he was reminded of it every time the Howes visited with the Couslands.
"Hmm?" Rendon responded shortly.
"Emilia is different than Delilah, isn't she?" Nathaniel's sister, Delilah, was seven and acted much more like a typical Fereldan girl. She played with hair, dolls, painted, and was even beginning to learn embroidery. Emilia Cousland was interested in none of those things.
Rendon chuckled. "Yes, she sure is, my son."
"She's fun for a girl. I like her." Nathaniel responded happily.
Rendon smirked a hesitated for a moment before responding. "Well, that's good, Nathaniel, because you're going to marry her someday." The arl released his hold on Nathaniel's tent flap and disappeared into the night.
Huh. Nathaniel rolled over on his cot. The eleven-year old didn't put much thought into it. He was still just a boy after all.
- Approximately 5 years later, 9:17 Dragon -
The sun had barely begun to set in Highever when the Howes arrived to visit the Couslands. Just enough clouds dotted the sky to make for what would soon be a gorgeous dusk horizon, though little Emilia Cousland would likely not take notice. It was the eve of her tenth nameday, which was part of the reason for her family having guests.
The banners and horsemen approached, but their numbers were fewer than Emilia had been told to expect. Typically Arl Rendon Howe would be accompanied by his wife, two sons, and daughter, though three members were absent. Only Rendon and his oldest son of sixteen years, Nathaniel, had been able to make it.
Bryce Cousland greeted Rendon with a brotherly embrace, and smiled as he patted Nathaniel on the shoulder. "The last time I saw you, you were still just a boy. Looks like you're almost a man now."
The young Howe's lips turned upward as he quietly thanked the teryn, his smooth voice having a slight toughness to it, like a fine leather.
Emilia lack of patience would not be ignored. Certainly not on the eve of her nameday. She tugged at Rendon's sleeves and in a demanding, confident, and slightly ornery tone, asked, "Where's Delilah? And Tommy? And Lady Elaine?" She crossed her arms and bored her narrowed emerald orbs straight into the elder Howe's eyes.
"Still the little spit fire, isn't she, Bryce?" the arl chuckled lightly. He nudged his friend jokingly before answering the young Cousland's question. "Unfortunately, my wife, Thomas, and Delilah all came down with some dreadful illness that we did not wish upon you. They send their regrets for missing your party, and wish you a happy nameday."
"Hrmph," Emilia threw her arms down so hard her clothes fluttered in the breeze and rolled her eyes. "I'll have to teach this illness a thing or two about ruining my nameday." Both her father and Arl Howe got a good laugh out of her comment, and Nathaniel simply turned one side of his lip up and shook his head ever so slightly. Emilia Cousland was - and would forever be - a force to be reckoned with, and everyone knew it. A strong force he would have to marry someday, and subsequently spend the rest of his life with. The thought occasionally crossed his mind, but he chose not to dwell on it. Emilia Cousland was still a little girl and had plenty of growing up to do in the meantime. He wondered how much she would change, but found himself hoping that she always kept the adventurous side of her. Nathaniel never spoke of the arrangement or his thoughts on it, though, especially not to Emilia. Rendon told him not to mention it to her until he was sure her own parents had informed her.
Early the next morning, Emilia made her way up to the battlements to watch the archers practice. She shut one eye, drew back her hand, and fired an invisible arrow from her imaginary bow, hitting the bullseye on the last light of the early morning moon.
"Another early riser, I see," the smooth, leathery voice greeted her.
Emilia turned and smiled, the morning sun giving a golden outline to her tiny, but formidable form and long chocolate hair. She hadn't spent much time with Nathaniel in the past few years. He and Fergus were always off doing "big-boy things" when they visited with the Howes. Emilia instead had to play with Nathaniel's siblings Delilah and Thomas. She preferred sword fighting with Tommy to painting with Delilah, but would spend time "learning to be a lady" with the latter whenever her mother insisted upon it. Nathaniel's sister was a few years older than Emilia and had taught her some useful things, like how to braid her hair. Emilia still hadn't quiet gotten the hang of it, but Delilah assured her that when her hair got a bit longer, it would get easier.
But this time, Nathaniel had torn himself away from Rendon. Or perhaps his father just wasn't awake yet. Either way, Emilia didn't mind his company. "Guess so," she simply replied as she quickly reloaded her imaginary bow and fired another shot at the quickly fading moon.
"Bullseye," Nathaniel stated proudly, playing along with her game.
Emilia lowered her arms and flopped them at her side, evidently discarding the imaginary bow. She rolled those precious, giant green eyes again. "Are you kidding? That was a horrible miss! Perhaps I should just stick to my daggers," she sighed.
Nathaniel grinned widely and pulled a bow out from behind his back. "Or perhaps you would like to learn how to actually shoot?"
The bow was ornate and had a odd blue hue to it. Emilia immediately made note of its beauty and wondered what it could have been made of. She quickly moved past the distraction of its appearance, realizing what Nathaniel had offered, and jumped and clapped excitedly. "Would I ever!"
The young man handed Emilia the bow, who held it with a surprising amount of familiarity. As soon as Nathaniel offered her an arrow, however, her brow furled in confusion. "How do I...?" she muttered as she tried to get the arrow notched in the bow and in held firmly and in the right place all at once. Nathaniel wrapped his arms around Emilia's and placed his hands over hers, guiding and steadying her aim. With the arrow perfectly trained on the practice target, Nathaniel instructed her to pull back on the bowstring and when to let go. The arrow may not have hit the bullseye, but it did hit the target, which was impressive enough for a ten year old girl.
"Wow! That was amazing! Thank you so much!" Emilia cheered as she lowered the bow.
"You're quite welcome, my lady," Nathaniel smiled warmly.
Emilia pointed adamantly at Nathaniel. "You're my new favorite Howe," she proclaimed.
The young man let out a chuckle. "Was I not already?"
Emilia pondered for a moment, pursing her lips to the side. "Hmm. I guess you were." She quickly switched the subject back. "Anyway, this bow is really pretty. Where did you get it?" the girl asked, examining it further, making note of the Howe crest as she gently ran her fingers across the wood.
"It belonged to my grandfather, and many Howes before him," Nathaniel stated proudly.
Emilia grinned and presented it back to him. "It must be special to you, then," she mused as her friend took the bow back into his hands.
"It absolutely is." Nathaniel's grin switched from ardent to wily as he placed the bow behind his back. "But this one isn't," he procured another bow, a smaller and simple one appropriately sized for Emilia. "Happy nameday, little lady Cousland."
Emilia's wide emerald eyes twinkled as her jaw dropped slightly. She quickly took the bow, setting it momentarily to the side as she practically tackled her favorite Howe with a hug full of gratitude.
That night when Emilia's mother, Eleanor, came to tuck her in, she was still so excited from all the fun she had had that day she could hardly settle down. Fergus and Nathaniel had taken her to the lake and spent the whole day playing with her. Racing the horses. Seeing whose mabari was better at finding the treats they hid all around. While taking a swim, they held competitions as to who was the fastest and who could tread water the longest. Nathaniel won at speed, and Emilia at endurance. Fergus was the best on a horse, though. Emilia knew he had let her win the race but she didn't mind it this time. Usually, she hated when boys did that; she wanted victory only on her own merits. Later, Fergus showed her some new sword techniques, and Nathaniel had helped her to fire a bow and arrow on her own. It had been the best day. And though she was still bouncing with energy, Eleanor insisted Emilia go to bed on time - knowing the child was sure to crash soon anyways.
"I wish I could play with Fergus and Nate everyday!" Emilia announced as she crawled into bed. Her mother chuckled, tucking the covers in around her. "Nathaniel is my favorite Howe. I told him so," Emilia admitted.
Eleanor sat down on the bed next to her daughter with a sweet smile drawn across her face. "I'm glad to hear that you like him." She tucked a lock of Emilia's hair behind her ear. "I hope it always stays that way, pup."
Emilia looked at her mother quizzically. "Why's that mom?"
"Because my dear," her mother whispered as she pressed that daily good-night kiss to her daughter's forehead, "you're going to marry him someday."
As her mother left the room, Emilia processed the news.
REALLY?!
The Little Lady Cousland slept soundly and peacefully that night, with a grin drawn from ear to ear.
