Prelude: Pup
Rowenna frowned, falling back onto her bottom and glaring at the fabric of her dress. Walking was hard enough without all this stuff around her legs. She considered screaming, before sighing and attempting to stand again. Now, what had she been doing before she fell?
Oh, yeah: looking for... someone. There were a lot of people here today, she thought with a frown. Her brow furrowed in concentration until she looked like a little thundercloud, as she tried to locate the faces she knew. Mother was talking with that woman who smelled funny, like that red stuff Nan sometimes drank after dinner. Fergus was with a whole group of older people, looking annoyed, bored and a little disgusted. Kril sat on his haunches, looking over the mass of people with a sigh before turning to stare at her.
Turning away from Kril, she looked again for familiar faces. Ok, there was mother. A few seconds later, she found Fergus and giggled as he shifted from foot to foot, eyeing a plate on the table before smiling, insincerely, at an older man. Kril sat patiently, head tilted to the side as he watched her intently- Oh! Father! She frowned, turning to check everyone in the room again. Nope, no Father. Where was Father?
Kril was still looking at her with soft, amber colored eyes. She returned his gaze a moment before asking,"Fa?"
Kril stood, shaking himself. Even with all the people in the room, he realized no one was paying any attention to the pup. He knew she was supposed to stay here, but she'd be better off with her sire than these folk. He nodded, once, sneezed and walked toward the door, looking back to see if she would follow. Most times, the door was firmly shut, but when Kril was in attendance at one of these gatherings the door was always left slightly ajar: Mabari may be incredibly smart, but they were still war hounds and the latches on the doors here were old and tricky. There had been a few times Kril needed to ask his bond-mate, Bryce, to let him out before the new policy was put in place.
"Fa." Rowenna's bright grin cheered the mabari, even as he agreed with her: Bryce was much more interesting than most of the people here. He watched her climb carefully to her feet, assessing her ability as she toddled toward him. She'd been walking a few weeks now, and had definitely improved. If they took things slowly, she could do this.
Kril sighed with relief as they both made it out of the room without anyone noticing. Sniffing the ground to catch Bryce's scent, he turned right, walking a few paces and then waiting for the pup to catch up. He'd stopped next to the hall guard, a man called Rion, who was bond-mate to Kril's litter-mate, Pike. The three of them grinned, human and mabari, as Rowenna's happy burbling filled the silent corridor.
Seeing no sign of trouble, Rion smiled down at the delightful daughter of his liege lord, following her father's mabari on, well, mostly steady legs. He made a small bow when she waved a tiny hand at him.
"Guess the pup misses her Father, eh Kril?"
"Whuff." Krill looked at the man, his head tilted to the side, waiting for Rowenna to catch up to him.
"Last saw him entering the treasury with someone. Want Pike to walk with the pup and you can go warn his Lordship? Or shall we let the Lady have her first real adventure?" Rion eyed the tiny girl and the distance to the treasury with a small, concerned frown.
Kril snorted and also eyed the distance. His bond-mates second pup was getting stronger and could probably make it, but she was also in one of those ridiculous sheaths of fabric humans made their females wear. If she fell because she was tired, she wouldn't crawl well. Then again, her wailing in he halls might get her out of wearing such silly things.
Looking up at Rion, he shook his head.
"Aye then. You'll be in our line of sight so if you have any real problems just give out two loud barks and Pike'll come help."
"Whuff!" Kril was happy with that. If something happened, Pike could sit with Rowenna and he could go for his master.
"Fa?" Rowenna asked, reminding Kril what she wanted.
"That sounded like a polite order to me, Kril. Let's not keep the Lady waiting." Rion smiled softly at the tiny, determined girl. Her white hair, fair face and jewel like green-blue eyes made her completely enchanting.
Kril shook himself before heading towards the treasury, going slowly so Rowenna could keep up and use his back when her balance faltered. Rion made sure to keep an eye out for them, though duty dictated he also had to be watchful of the other corridor. Pike, though, continued to watch the huge mabari and tiny human headed toward the treasury: the pup was a lot more interesting than an empty hall.
Rowenna burbled and giggled, one hand on Kril, as she wandered along side him, sometimes noticing something interesting but determined to find her father. About fifty paces down the hall, at the corridor that lead to the sleeping rooms, she put her foot down on an uneven cobble and fell on her bottom with a grunt and sigh. A bit tired, she took the chance to rest and to inspect a really interesting leaf, which she held out to Kril so he could look at it, too. He checked it over very carefully, causing her to giggle when sniffing it made it to stick to his nose.
Rion watched as she fell, concerned until Kril sat with her, nodding to Pike that all was well. Pike's mate had birthed her first litter a few months ago, so he was familiar with this behavior, sending Rion a wave of happy, amused feelings. They both kept a careful watch while Rowenna sat, sucking on her left small finger instead of her thumb while playing with a leaf.
Finally rested, Rowenna used Kril's shoulder to help her stand on the cobbles. Once he was on his feet, they continued on their way to find her father. They made it almost to the door before she fell again, this time forward, skinning the palms of her hands on the stones of the hall with a whimper. Kril turned to her, forcing her to sit, before nosing her over and finding the scrapes. He licked them clean, causing her to giggle again and throw her arms around his neck. Once he was certain she wasn't hiding anything worse than scraped paws, he let her stand and continue on.
Finally, they came to the closed treasury door. Kril barked loudly three times, then two. This was his signal and shortly after a guard inside the room opened the door with a worried look.
"Kril? What is- By the Maker!"
Rowenna looked up at the guard, her finger returning to her mouth, eyes welling with tears. In a soft, quavering voice she asked, "Fa?"
Bron, the guard, spoke to another man in the room. "Justin? Can you knock on the vault door and get his Lordship?"
"Eh, sure Bron." Justin walked toward the inner door to give the message. From where he'd been, he couldn't see or hear who was outside the room, but there must be a good reason Bron would ask him to interrupt his Lordship and his guest.
Three strong blows with his fist soon brought Bryce Cousland, Teyrn of Highever, to the door. "Justin? What is it? You know I asked that Duncan and I-".
Before Bryce could finish, a loud, joyful "Fa!" filled the air, and Rowenna ran into the room, tripping over the dress, and landing again on her already scraped hands. Rolling up to sit, as tears pooled in her eyes, she looked up at her father with trembling lips and sniffled.
"Rowenna!" Bryce ran to his small daughter, lifting her in his arms and sitting at the nearby bench before examining her palms. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with your Mother."
Rowenna sniffled again and winced as her father picked out a small stone. "Fa," she said with complete conviction, her one word answer letting him know she didn't want mother, she wanted him.
Duncan chuckled, handing Bryce a small cloth he'd moistened with water from his flask. "I think she takes after your Lordship, Bryce. Will, determination, good allies, and knows her mind. You'll have some interesting challenges ahead of you."
Bryce took the items with a smile of thanks, cleaning her palms and making sure the small amount of bleeding was stopped. "Justin? Could you go to the Teyrna and let her know I have Rowi with me? Hopefully, before she tears apart the castle looking for her?"
"Aye, your Lordship."
"Thank you."
Bron grinned, looking at the man and the small girl now happily nestled in his arms, giggling as she tried to avoid Kril's nose.
Duncan was also smiling at the girl, who was being sniffled by a worried Kril. "So, I assume she is the ones the guards were referring to when talking about the pup? I'd thought, at first, something might have happened to Kril but he's definitely hale."
Bryce looked up from reassuring Kril, glancing at Bron who had turned a bright red and was enthusiastically examining a spot on the wall. "Bron?"
"Y-your Lordship?"
"Care to explain?"
"Y-yes milord. Y-you see... she reminds a few of us of Kril, back when you'd first bonded and he tried so hard to follow you everywhere. She's such a fierce, determined little one. Absolutely adorable to boot." Bron was interrupted by a happy bark from Kril, and taking courage from it looked at his Lord to see Bryce was delighted.
"Well then, shall we make it official? Eh, Pup?" He looked down at his daughter, only to see that she'd fallen asleep in his lap. She was, as Bron had said, absolutely adorable.
Hurrying footsteps outside the door caused Bryce to put a finger to his lips as Eleanor, his wife, entered. "Softly, love, she's just fallen asleep."
Eleanor stood, looking down at her husband and daughter, with a relieved smile and a furrowed brow. "We'd just noticed the open door...," Eleanor closed her eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of her nose before letting out a huge sigh of relief, and reaching out toward her daughter. "I'll take her back-"
Grinning at his wife, Bryce held up his free hand with a shake of his head. "No, she worked hard to get here. Let her stay. I can watch over her and bring her back when we've finished. And, Eleanor, we need to either shorten her dresses or let her wear trousers until she's walking stronger." Bryce delicately opened one small hand to show the scrapes on Rowenna's palm.
"Too much like me, then. Mother has stories," Eleanor's eyes twinkled as she glanced quickly toward the guards and Duncan, "which I wont go into, of me at that age. I'll have Nan see to shortening the dresses and getting some of Fergus' old trousers from the attics."
She bent over her sleeping child, dropping a soft kiss on the silky hair, before addressing Duncan with a smile. "Duncan, it's good to see you again. Will you be staying the night?"
"If it is no trouble, your Ladyship. I had intended to give his Lordship a report of the situation down south and then head on to Denerim, but the roads were worse than expected. A room for the night would be most welcome." Duncan smiled, his glance returning to the charming child held in Bryce's arms.
Eleanor's soft, chiming laugh, startled him. "It's no trouble at all. I'll have the room you stayed in last time made up for you. Will you dine with us? Or, would you rather have your meal in your room? I must warn you, we have the Howes and Lorens staying with us..."
Duncan hid his grimace well, noting the quickly suppressed grin Bryce made at his wife. While most of the children of the families mentioned were fine, their parents tried his patience and diplomacy at the best of times. As tired as he was, he didn't relish meeting with any of them, and he was certain Bryce and Eleanor knew it.
"In my room, if you would? I am fatigued from my travels and fear a formal dinner was not, at all, in my plans."
"But of course, Duncan. I shall make your excuses. To be honest," Eleanor smirked a bit, lowering her voice in a playful whisper,"I think Bryce would try and use the same excuse, if he could get away with it."
Bryce laughed softly, mindful of his daughter resting in his arms. "How well you know me, love."
Softly brushing her fingers on his cheek, Eleanor straightened, turning slightly. "And now, I must return to our other guests. We'll see you tomorrow, before you take your leave, Duncan. And I'll talk Nan into making you some of those cherry travel pies you're so fond of, to take with you on the road."
Duncan bowed as Eleanor gracefully left the room, hearing a soft chuckle from Bryce.
"If you were the only one she was like that to, I'd be jealous," Bryce teased his guest. "She's a remarkable woman, though, and genuinely cares for people. She knows at least one thing each of our frequent guests enjoy, and tries to make sure the item is available when they visit. Lucky for you, my friend, cherries are in season right now."
Duncan smiled, nodding back toward the inner room. "For such compassion, may the Maker bless you both. Shall I continue my report then?"
"Yes. I'll bring the Pup with me," Bryce grinned at Bron, then winked at the startled Justin. "Though I doubt she'll remember hearing her first report." With that, he carefully lifted Rowenna and made his way, with Duncan and Kril, back into the vault.
AN: Thanks for reading. And huge thanks to DragonAgeWriter for reviewing and letting me know I missed a few rogue typos. Hope I caught them all, but if more are found, please let me know.