A story I have been planning a long time, thanks goes to Narcosynthesis who has been discussing the characters with me for months. The prologue is short, the following chapters will be at a normal length.
And as normal I don't own any of the characters, I'm just the puppetmaster. Enjoy!
"Sabine!" The lady called, "hurry up," the old woman lifted the puff and powdered her nose and brought the rose to her hat, but she couldn't attach it before her chambermaid brought the pins.
"Sabine!" Cecilie called again.
"Lady Cecilie," a breathless groan followed the girl's yell.
The lady stood up, despite her wobbly old knees and walked towards the constant pained moaning that was coming from the hallway.
"What is it?" She said in an irritated voice, "you know the count is expecting me and..." She turned quiet when she saw that her words would do no good. Sabine laid dead on the floor. She hadn't had a chance against the poisoned arrow that had been shot through the window and pierced her head. An arrow that had surely been meant for Lady Cecilie herself.
She kneed by the dead girl and moved some of the crimson locks out of the face.
"I'm sorry, Sabine," she whispered, "the Grand Game comes with a price. I'm sorry you had to pay it."
"Mama?" a pair of blue eyes looked at the corpse on the floor as the little red-haired toddler took a few wobbling steps towards Lady Cecilie. The old woman immidiately sprang to her feet and lifted the child up, carrying her out of the room and into the little closet that had served as bedroom for Sabine and her child; the air inside was still sweetly smelling of Andraste's Grace.
"Mama?" The child asked again and tried to struggle against Lady Cecilie's grip but the old lady held her still.
"Your mother is dead," Lady Cecilie said, even though she knew that the toddler in her arms couldn't possibly understand what she was saying.
"MAMA!" The girl bellowed and started crying, "mama, mama, mama."
"Be quiet!" Lady Cecilie eventually yelled and shook the girl softly but felt bad immidiately after and pressed the girl to her bossom.
"I'm sorry, little one," she said, "I'm sorry."
The count had to wait, Lady Cecilie spent her evening rocking the crying child in her arms, whispering constantly in her ear. The other servants eventually found Sabine but didn't even need to ask what had happened; instead they were happy that it hadn't been one of them but the Fereldan girl, the outcast.
The toddler had eventually fallen asleep in Cecilie's arms but when the old woman got up to put her down, she woke up and started fussing.
"No," Cecilie told her and the girl looked up in surprise, "I can't hold you constantly. It is time for you to be a big girl now." Cecilie was aware that the girl still didn't understand but continued to talk anyway, "You only have yourself in this world, so you need to grow up and be strong fast. Do this, Leliana, and nobody can ever hurt you."