Whispers. They started in the front of the group where the pack of young noble girls grazed the edge of the dance floor that had been constructed beneath the trees of the Couslands' rear courtyard. The best gossip always did; only filtering itself back to Elissa in the rear when those constructing the lies deigned the rest of them worthy of being blessed with their reception.
Highever's daughter heard each phrase rustling like a heavy breeze through the silken skirts of Ferelden's future wives and mothers; Arlessas and Teyrnas. And one of them who could be queen.
Competition started early; all claws and fangs.
"Don't be seen talking to her."
"Her family comes from nothing."
"Sure her father's a hero, but that title means nothing."
"She means nothing."
Eyes like forest moss flicked out through dark curls toward the young woman in question; slender, blonde, impossibly graceful in her turn around that dance floor in her father's arms, despite the obvious whispers around her. Despite the eyes she knew had been watching her from the moment she stepped into the room; waiting for her to fall.
Anora was everything Elissa herself was not. Everything she wished she could be; if only to please those who seemed to believe her name and her sex were all she had to offer, and yet those who surrounded her shamed Anora based on her name and heritage.
It was ludicrous.
"Why?" She spat the question out before she realized she'd spoken aloud, only truly coming to understand what had happened when the group around her froze and those leading the pack turned suspiciously narrowed eyes in her direction. "She's nobility now, whether she wishes to be or not. I doubt she even wants to be here. I certainly don't, and it's my home you're mucking about in. I don't see what harm can come from talking to her. If her previous station is what gives you pause, Chalise, then I can assure you that living beneath your financial standards is far less contagious than whatever it is you might catch next time you go sticking your tongue in that Templar's mouth behind the Chantry's hedges."
The raven-haired beauty's eyes narrowed and she cut through the whispering sea of teenage débutantes to where Elissa stood. "You wouldn't understand, Cousland. You're far too busy picking twigs out of that tumbleweed on your head to take any interest in the way the world actually works."
Elissa's eyes flicked up to glance the auburn-licked, brunette curls on her own head, then back down to the distinctly shorter girl spitting venom in her face; then she smiled. "The world works the way we say it does. And I say there's nothing wrong with going over and introducing ourselves. Whatever she was, she's here now. She's going to stay here. None of us gain anything from belittling someone who's done nothing to earn that revulsion to begin with. At least wait until she looks at you wrong or wears the same color as you to the Satinalia Ball before you start digging in."
Somewhere through her speech, Elissa turned her eyes away from Chalise and passed them over her perfectly coiffed head and across to the other girls in the group. "I'm going over to introduce myself, seeing as our fathers have been friends for ages and this is my family's gala. Who's coming with me?"
A few seconds ticked past and no one moved. Chalise stood chuckling and haughty, arms folded across her chest. "Go ahead, Elissa. Just keep adding to the list of reasons no one is ever going to marry you."
Her green eyes rolled in her head as Elissa turned and trudged through the chattering group of girls she'd previously been a part of, to where the blonde girl now stood, alone, near Eleanor's flower boxes.
Who says I want to be married?
She could feel the girls' eyes now on her. She could hear their whispers. But she didn't care. She never had. Today was no different than the thousands before it, but it could be different from the ones that came after.
It could be the beginning of something amazing.
"Anora Mac Tir? I'm Elissa Cousland. Welcome to Highever. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."