Disclaimer: I do not own any character, place or part of the Dragon Age universe, except my own character. They all belong to Bioware.
Hey everyone! A quick word from the author here. I constantly have at least half a dozen ideas running around in my head, and now I've decided I'd sit down and write a story about my Cousland. This is the Prologue, and I plan to write the full story and also, perhaps, an Epilogue and who knows? A SEQUEL! Depends on what my mind says of course. Anyway, this part takes place before Duncan arrives and all the "fun stuff" happens. Hope you enjoy it!
Word count: 3166
"I'm never getting pregnant," I said, wrinkling my nose, leaning in to smell a flower in one of the gardens at Highever castle. One of the maid's screams of pain still rang in my ears, and I was definitely never going to go through having to squeeze a baby out of my… ugh, no way. I could feel the sun strong on my partially bare back, and the wind ruffled my long auburn hair.
"You say that now, my lady: One day you're going to be dying for a child," said my maid, Lorelai, with a smile in her voice.
I cast my head back for a brief laugh. "I definitely am not! And I'm not getting married either. Not ever. It's too much trouble."
"But, if I may say so, my lady: love is strong. It conquers all."
I looked sideways at her with my light grey eyes. She was pretty, her brown hair flat on her back, her nose small, eyes heavily lidded and her lips an appropriate size. She offered me a smile.
"Not in my case," I said. "And stop saying 'my lady' when we're alone. We're friends and I-"
"There you are my lady!"
I stopped my sentence at the sound of a familiar voice, and found Ser Gilmore running towards me with a bright smile on his face. I returned it happily.
"Yes?" I said expectantly as he stopped in front of me. I raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Your father has asked me to join you in training the other knights today. Exciting isn't it?" He said with a big grin. I smiled and nodded.
"Indeed."
"And might I say you look absolutely stunning in that dress? Also in that dress I mean. You're always gorgeous. Er…"
His cheeks turned a little reddish and I heard Lorelai giggle. I shot her an angry look to silence her before smiling warmly at him.
"Thank you Ser Gilmore," I said. "Are the men prepared for training?"
"I believe so my Lady."
"Allow me to change then. If you wish you can accompany me and wait outside. Or you may simply wait with the other knights. It's up to you," I told him with a small shrug. He nodded.
"I'll just follow you."
"Very well. Let's go Lorelai."
"Yes, my Lady."
I took the lead the short distance back to my room, and then signaled for Gilmore to wait. When the door was closed, and just like I knew she would, Lorelai giggled.
"He is so in love with you!" she squealed as she helped me out of my dress.
"That's rubbish. He's simply being a gentleman," I said, surprised at her outburst, stepping out of the fallen dress, now standing in my corset and long pants and shirt.
"He's always finding ways to compliment you my Lady. And he's always blushing. The other maids have been speaking of it as well."
I gasped softly as she accidently tightened one of the laces on my corset instead of loosening it.
"Sorry," she mumbled briefly.
"What else do you maids discuss amongst yourselves?" I asked her, eyeing her in the mirror. She turned red.
"Oh, nothing of importance my Lady, the subject's merely come up a time or two."
I nodded slowly, looking at my reflection. My nose was luckily after my mother, and not the same crooked one that Fergus or my Father sported. My lips were full, also my mothers, but she had large round eyes, not the almond shaped ones I had. Both of my parents had blue eyes and mine were light grey. I had marked, high cheekbones as well, and that was definitely my fathers, as my mother had very low cheekbones.
The corset came off, but my shape was not any less pear, though my bosom was still a bit larger than average, though not pushed up so much.
In silence, Lorelai quickly helped me out of my remaining clothing and helped me into my armor: it was a pair of tight pants and a tight shirt with shoulder pads and leather greaves, the Cousland family crest embroidered on the front of the armor. I preferred to be as light as possible while still decent: I liked to sneak up on my enemies, and that was hard to do while weighed down by metal.
I put my hair up in a pony tail, but it still reached my waist. Finally properly dressed, though it really hadn't taken that long, I put my dual blades in their sheaths, and then my quiver of arrows on my back, picking up my bow and then going to the door. I smiled brightly at Gilmore. He'd been my friend for two years, since he'd first arrived shortly after my fifteenth birthday.
"All set," I said cheerfully. "You're excused for the day, Lorelai."
"Thank you my Lady," she said and neighed. I gestured for Gilmore to lead the way, and then we walked just the two of us, occasionally passing a guard.
"How's the search for a husband coming along, if I might ask?" he asked. I grimaced.
"Mother believes she's found several suited ones for me to meet, though father's against it. They'll arrive in three days."
"Not too excited about that, are you?" he asked with a smile. I rolled my eyes and bumped him gently with my hip as we walked.
"Of course I'm not. You can't force yourself to fall in love with someone just because it's convenient, and I'm not spending the rest of my life being some lords' toy."
"You know, it's refreshing for a woman to have such strong opinions. I think that's what makes the men respect you so much. You're both beautiful, confident, strong and a wonder on the battlefield."
I giggled, batting my eyelashes at him and putting my hand on his bicep, walking closer to him. "Perhaps you should be the one I marry. Keep up this flattery and I might jump you."
He laughed, and I knew it was highly inappropriate to say so out in public, but it was fun. "Oh don't worry so much. I'm only joking. About the jumping you part, anyway," I said, remaining close to him. "It would be easy marrying you. We've known each other for a while and I trust you. What's better than that?"
"Attractive as the thought may be, I'm sure it would never be allowed for someone of your status to marry someone of mine. Not by your mother, anyway," he said. The stone under our feet had turned to grass, and we were now close to the training area. I stepped away from him again.
"You're probably right, but none she finds for me is going to be right either. Not unless he is the most handsome man alive, has a great sense of humor, is sensitive, caring and romantic and also a brave and capable warrior, will I marry him."
"Yet you'd marry me. That is quite a drop," he teased. I laughed.
"Oh don't be so hard on yourself. You fill those criteria quite well, and you know it. Otherwise I wouldn't be spending as much time alone with you as I do."
"Thank you, my lady," he said out of reflex.
"It's Summer," I corrected him in a whisper, encouraging him to use my name, both of us stopping in front of the men who'd lined up. There were about twenty of them, and this group was fairly new.
"Good afternoon men," I said with a smile. "Today we'll be training your archery skills and your sparring just a bit. For that I have ser Gilmore beside me."
I gestured him. "We'll start with archery, because as you hopefully know, being able to shoot down your enemies from a distance saves you a lot of trouble and possible tragedy. So, whip your bows out and line up in front of the targets."
Immediately they all turned to do so. I put one of my arrows between my fingers and put it to the bow, waiting for them to line up before I demonstrated. I stood straight, holding the bow out with a straight hand. I put the arrow there and brought it back until the string was tense. Then I assessed how far away the target was, and arched the bow up very gently before I let it fly. It hit bulls-eye perfectly. The men looked surprised.
"Well done, my Lady," said Gilmore. I smiled at him.
"Thank you ser. Does anyone need a second demonstration? If so I'll come to you and show you. Otherwise, fire away!" I shouted, so everyone down the line could hear. "Oh, and never point it at a friend. Bad things have happened because of that."
No one called out at first, and I didn't expect them to. I walked back and forth the line slowly, inspecting their postures and if they hit their targets. While walking, I sometimes commented on them.
"Very good Jonathan… William, aim a bit higher… Markus, aim a bit lower… Christopher, your arm needs to be less relaxed: very good…"
Occasionally I'd also demonstrate again, or ask them to aim and then help them with where to hold their limbs. Clearly some of them were better than others, but I made sure to compliment at least one thing about them. After about half an hour, I called out to them.
"Alright, well done men, but let's move on to melee training. Put away the bows," I called, and they scurried off and put them back on the racks. I looked sideways at Gilmore and smiled, giving him a wink. When they returned, I pulled out my blades.
"Some of you surely prefer to use two blades such as these," I raised the blades up and twirled them quickly between my fingers. "Or a single, large one such as Gilmore's," I continued. "We'll show you some strong and weak points in both of our choices. Gilmore if you'd please."
I turned sideways to face him as he pulled out his sword. We took normal postures with our weapons.
"Now, if Gilmore was to swing at me," I said, awaiting for him to do so. "Seeing as he has a two handed sword he needs more space and momentum, but his sword also comes much closer to me without him having to be as you can see, it'd be, potentially, very fatal," I said, jumping back as the sword slowly came swooshing towards me. "But if I dodge it, then his body is twisted sideways, and I can jump in and stab him like so," I demonstrated, bringing the blade close to him without actually harming him, "Before he has time to swing it again. However, Gilmore also possesses elbows so he can stun me if he wishes to do so, and then he might kill me if I'm not fast enough."
We went back to our original positions.
"A definite weak point for me since he uses such a large sword is that if he holds it right, it might be hard for me to get an opening but-"
"Can you demonstrate in a real fight?"
Surprised by the interruption, everyone turned to the quickly reddening questioner.
"I'm sorry!" he spluttered.
"No, it's quite alright. Does anyone else wish to do so? I'd be happy to show you what you'd like to see," I said, not realizing the exact meaning before everyone laughed. I blushed softly. "I meant in training, perverts."
Some nodded. "Very well, then. Ser Gilmore, shall we?" I asked him with a smile.
"We shall," he said, smiling just as brightly.
Both of us watched each other, slowly circling. We were both patiently waiting for the other to attack first. I decided I might as well, so I twirled in a circle, bringing the blades in towards his left arm. He blocked it with his sword and sent me staggering back, his sword coming down towards my head with crushing force. Metal met metal as I reached up and blocked it, his strength testing my arms. My upper lip curled as I pushed him back, delivering a flurry of attacks that he blocked, but only barely. I rolled out of the way as his sword came sideways, and then I tripped him by kicking his feet. He fell with a grunt and I quickly jumped up on top of him, pinning him down and holding my blade to his throat with a smile, breathing quickly.
"I win," I said in a giggle. The men roared as they realized I'd won. I knew I'd been lucky: Gilmore had defeated me when we dueled privately several times.
"Well fought my lady."
"Thank you." I stood and helped him up.
"Alright, there you go. Now find a partner and begin dueling. Ser Gilmore and I will help you if there is help needed."
While they teamed up in ten pairs, I stood beside Gilmore, absentmindedly rubbing a sore spot over my chest. He'd stunned me with the blunt end of his blade and it hurt.
"Are you alright my Lady?" he asked, eyeing me. I nodded, explaining. "I apologize."
"It's alright Rory," I said, lowering my voice so the men wouldn't hear, using my shorter version of his name, Roderick. "Will I see you later?"
He winked at me. "Of course."
"I'll look forward to it then."
Gilmore and I often had private 'training' sessions, though we'd only rarely train our skills with blades. Most often we'd talk or hold each other or kiss, but never further than that. I'd developed a crush on him a few months ago, and he'd confessed to me that he'd fallen in love with me the minute he'd seen me. So, luckily it worked out to both of our benefits. We kept it strictly secret, however.
We began helping the young knights and didn't speak again until we met later in the evening: I'd bathed and let my hair hang loose, wearing a white night gown that was tight around the bosom but loose everywhere else, reaching my ankles. I'd been sitting at my desk, reading, when there was a subtle knock on the door, and then it'd opened and closed. I smiled when my hair was brushed to the side, fingers gently grazing my skin and soft lips were pressed to my neck.
"Hello to you too," I said softly. The lips disappeared.
"I apologize for my eagerness," he said. I stood and walked away from the chair, looking at him. He was out of his armor and wearing a simple short and trousers, as well as boots.
"Nothing to apologize for," I said, extending my arms and embracing him. He wasn't much taller than me, but far more muscular and wider. "I've been waiting for you."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier. I had some errands to run, but I've been looking forward to seeing you in private all day."
I leaned back slightly, smiling at him. His light blue eyes met mine.
"As have I," I replied. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, butterflies appearing in my stomach. I returned the kiss and let his tongue meet mine. He tasted slightly like oranges. He pushed me back slowly, and mindlessly I let him guide me until I realized where we were headed.
"Not the bed," I mumbled against his lips. He kissed me again.
"Why not?" he whispered.
"I must remain pure."
"We don't have to elope, just-"
"Passion might overtake us, Rory," I said softly, meeting his eyes. He nodded.
"You're right, of course."
We kissed again, his hands roaming over my body to eventually linger at my hips. Both of us jumped, gasped and struggled to look decent when it knocked on the door and it quickly opened. Thinking quickly I said: "So if you'll consider helping me train the knights again in two days, I'd appreciate it, Ser Gilmore." I looked at him. He looked confused for a second, then nodded.
"Of course, my Lady."
"Am I interrupting?"
I looked at the person in the doorway: mother.
"No, Ser Gilmore here was just leaving."
"Good night my lady, your ladyship," he said politely and was then gone. I smiled at my mother, struggling to look innocent. I begged my lips wouldn't be too red from when Rory had sucked on them.
"Hello mother," I said. "What can I help you with?"
She came in and closed the door, her grey hair looking darker, like it had before it turned grey, in the dim light.
"I wanted to speak to you about your future."
Damn, that could never end well.
"Precisely what part of my future? I take it when it comes to husbands and such?" I said.
"Well, yes," she said. "Have you thought about what you're looking for? Honestly it's very hard to find an appropriate spouse for you."
"In all honesty mother," I said with a sigh, pushing the covers on my bed aside and getting under them. "Don't find me one. I want to fall in love by my own accord."
"What, and run off with some commoner? You're a Lady, darling, there are certain things expected of you."
"Yes, well, everyone's also expecting a Lady to sit on her husbands arm while looking pretty, and being to no proper use at all. Neither of us are like that, mother."
"I just think it'd be best if you would find a nobleman of some sort."
"Don't expect too much mother," I sighed. "Maker knows none of the men you've found for me have been anything but greedy cowards."
She frowned at my words. "Darling be nice, please. Just try and see if you can't find someone."
I gave her a fake smile. I was annoyed at her for continuously trying to set me up, and for interrupting my time with Gilmore.
"You know what, get the King to consider me his wife and we'll talk."
"That's not funny, Summer. King Cailan is already married. You know this, you've met both him and his wife Anora several times."
"Yet he's the only one of them I've liked so far."
"Ugh, I give up. We'll speak of this tomorrow. Good night sweetheart," she said, blowing out the candle before leaving. I rolled my eyes before pushing myself further under the covers, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep.
Of course none of the suitors were suitable. One of them had a breath worse than a drunken dwarf, another was nearly three times my age and the third was so void of emotions he might be Tranquil.
The day after they'd all left, was the day everything went wrong.
A Grey Warden named Duncan arrived, my home was attacked, my family, ser Gilmore and everyone I'd ever known were most likely killed, all because of Arl Rendon Howe. That was also the day my old, almost carefree self died.