Tayte stood to the side as her father and Arl Rendon Howe conversed. She didn't want to interrupt her father when his friend came to visit. It had been years since Arl Howe took the time to travel from Amaranthine to speak to her father; she didn't want to interrupt unless she had to.
From afar, Tayte could barely hear what was being discussed. She heard mention of the darkspawn rising in the south and the king's call to arms, but couldn't make out the details. She sighed. She had asked her father to allow her to join the army at Ostagar alongside her brother, and had been flatly refused while Fergus was allowed to leave. Why does he get to go when I don't? He has a wife and child to look after. Tayte tried to rationalize the decision. Truth be told, she wasn't the best warrior of the Cousland line. Fergus, however, was a master at arms.
Tayte was startled by her father calling her over. She took a deep breath and composed herself, smiling as she approached Arl Howe and her father. Her father smiled in greeting.
"I didn't even see you there, pup" her father began. "You're not sneaking around the castle again?"
"No." Tayte replied. She surprised herself with her skill at hiding sometimes, and wondered why everyone thought she was being sneaky.
Bryce Cousland laughed. "You see what I deal with, Howe? She spends half the night slipping in and out of the shadows, only to deny everything."
Howe studied Tayte, eyeing her up and down in a way that made her uncomfortable. Thankfully, he stopped to speak to his friend. "It appears that she's become a fine young woman nonetheless."
Bryce clasped his hand on Howe's shoulder, smiling. "You would not know how hard it is to find a man that is interested in her these days, just looking at her."
Howe scrunched up his face in confusion. "What about that young man from the Bannorn that was here last summer?"
Tayte shrugged. "Didn't like the scar." She smirked at Howe, pointing out the obvious scar on her face.
"He said something about it being… what was the word?" Bryce thought a moment. "'Unbecoming' of a Teryn's daughter to be so devoted to fighting."
Howe snorted. "Did he know what family he was addressing?"
"He figured it out after a lecture from Fergus about our history." Tayte replied, chuckling at the memory. "He wasn't keen on staying after insulting the Teryn's family."
Tayte was beginning to relax, something she did very little among her father's company. Just as she thought the talk of darkspawn and war would be withheld until later that evening, one of the guards motioned to the Teryn.
"Duncan, ser."
Bryce nodded to the soldier. "Let him in."
Howe paused, a look of distress on his face. "Who is this Duncan?"
"He came a few days ago, unannounced. He represents the Grey Wardens in Ferelden."
Howe gasped in shock. Tayte had heard of the Grey Wardens: an order of warriors dedicated to fighting the darkspawn. They had been cast out of Ferelden over a century ago, and only recently returned. Tayte was surprised that a Grey Warden wouldn't be in the south with the King's army.
Tayte looked up to see a swarthy man clad in silver armor depicting the griffon crest of the Grey Wardens. He had a dark beard and his long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His face was grim, and he looked like the veteran of many battles.
Howe sputtered, trying to find a proper greeting. "Ser Duncan, I apologize, but this is highly irregular, meeting a Grey Warden."
Duncan held up a hand to stop Howe. "You may simply refer to me as Duncan. Grey Wardens cast aside their titles."
Bryce turned to face Howe and Tayte. "Duncan came here to find a new recruit." He looked at Duncan. "I believe you have your eye on Ser Gilmore?"
Tayte swallowed memories of the night she fought Ser Gilmore. She knew he'd make a good Grey Warden, but that meant he'd have to leave the castle…
"If I may be so bold, your daughter is also an excellent candidate." Duncan offered.
Bryce's jovial face disappeared suddenly, and he positioned himself between Duncan and Tayte. "Honor though that might be, this is my daughter we are talking about."
Howe crossed his arms. "I believe I once heard you call the Grey Wardens heroes."
"I don't have so many children that I'll see them all off to battle!" Bryce retorted, final.
Tayte simply watched the exchange, defeated. Duncan would have let her fight with the King's army, yet her father had denied her yet again.
Bryce eyed Duncan warily. "Unless you plan on invoking the Right of Conscription?" Bryce's displeasure of the situation was obvious.
Tayte secretly hoped that Duncan would conscript her, for reasons she didn't even understand. Shouldn't she be happy she didn't have to go to war? Unfortunately, Duncan seemed to apologize.
"While we require any recruits we can find, I will not force the issue." Duncan said.
Bryce seemed to relax at that. He turned to Tayte, a hint of his smile returning already. "Pup, I need to speak with Howe and Duncan about our departure tomorrow morning."
"I thought you were leaving tonight?" Tayte asked.
Howe shrunk. "It is entirely my fault. Many of my men were delayed; they won't be here until later this evening."
Bryce nodded to Howe before turning back to Tayte. "I need you to tell your brother to lead Highever's army to Ostagar without me. I'll wait for Howe's men to arrive and leave in the morning."
Tayte nodded. "I'll go at once."
Tayte shot one last glance at the three men before she left the hall. The three of them were going off to Ostagar, possibly never to return alive. Only now did she realize why her father denied her permission to join the war. She wasn't ready.
Tayte walked through the halls of Highever castle, trying to find her Mabari hound. Fergus's son Oren liked to play with the dog, so she thought it might be a good idea to bring him along. Unfortunately, he was likely causing trouble somewhere. Mabari were too smart to be house pets.
Tayte was wandering the corridors almost aimlessly when Ser Gilmore rounded a corner and nearly ran into her. He grinned when he saw her.
"There you are; I've been looking all over for you."
Tayte chuckled at the informal greeting, unlike Ser Gilmore's usual formality. "Hello to you too, Ser Gilmore."
He looked puzzled, but he quickly realized what he did. "Oh! I'm sorry. I've been searching for so long I forgot my manners." He pointed down the hallway he came from. "I fear your hound has the castle in uproar once again."
Tayte sighed and held her head in her hand. "What did he do this time?"
Ser Gilmore smirked. "He broke into the larder. Again."
"That's the fourth time this week…" Tayte sighed again, causing Ser Gilmore to chuckle.
"I was sent to fetch you and tell you to reclaim your hound."
Tayte gave Ser Gilmore a quizzical look. "'Fetch' me? Which one is the dog?"
Ser Gilmore had his turn at sighing and holding his face. "Sorry. I've been trying to get your dog to listen to me. He only obeys his mistress."
Tayte rolled her eyes. "Mistress?" Ser Gilmore rubbed his face in embarrassment. "Why don't you just shut up and help me convince him to leave dinner alone?"
Ser Gilmore motioned Tayte to follow him. "Best suggestion I've heard all day."
Tayte followed Ser Gilmore through the corridors of the castle until they reached the kitchen, where the door to the larder was shut tight. Nan, Tayte's nanny and the cook, was yelling at two shivering eleven servants.
"Mistress, he won't let us near!" One of the elves whimpered.
"If I can't get into the larder, I'll skin both of your hides!" Nan shouted, brandishing a knife.
Ser Gilmore's eyes went wide. "Calm down, good woman. We're here to help."
Nan turned slowly, eyeing Ser Gilmore. "You." She turned further and saw Tayte. "And you! If you don't keep that dog out of the larder, I'm going to put it down!" Nan punctuated this by stabbing down with the knife, causing Tayte to flinch.
"Um… calm down." Tayte began. "We're taking him away."
Nan spun around, pointing the knife at the elves. "Get out of the way, make yourselves useful!"
Tayte slowly walked over to the door to the larder, followed by Ser Gilmore. When Nan was using her knife to cut potatoes instead of threatening servants, Tayte unlocked the door to the larder. She and Ser Gilmore slid in, trying to keep Nan from staring.
Tayte looked around the larder to see most of the supplies spilled all over the floor. Ser Gilmore sighed at the sight. "What a mess."
Tayte saw her Mabari sniffing in a corner, ignoring all the free food. That's odd, she thought. She inched closer. "Morfy?"
The hound looked up at its master for a brief moment, but quickly returned to sniffing what looked like a hole in the wall.
"Morfith, look at me!" Tayte said, raising her voice. Morfith registered that his master was behind him, and his short tail wagged. He spun around, his heavily muscled body tingling with excitement. He let out a bark, making a face that looked like a smile.
"What are you doing in here, Morfy?" Tayte asked. "You're giving Nan migraines."
Morfith tapped his paw against the hole in the wall and barked. He looked up and wagged his tail, likely expecting to be praised for finding a new way in.
"I think he's trying to tell you something." Ser Gilmore piped in.
Tayte was going to mock Ser Gilmore for mentioning the obvious when she saw what he meant. As Morfith was being distracted, a rat larger than a human head poked in through the hole. It scurried out, followed by two more. Tayte gasped as more of the rodents poured in. She wasn't afraid of rats, but these ones were bigger than her face.
And they had very sharp teeth.
Tayte gulped and took a step back. "Uh, I didn't exactly bring a weapon…" Ser Gilmore took the hint and drew his dagger. He pointed it at the nearest rat, which was baring its teeth and hissing.
Morfith noticed that the larder was overrun, and sprung into action. Before Tayte could move, two rats had been eviscerated. Morfith spat out the head of one of them and clawed at another. Ser Gilmore had to crouch down to slice at the rats, causing them to flee.
Tayte held her head in her hands, berating herself for not bringing a weapon. So much for peacefully finding my dog. She was standing in the middle of the larder, and sighed as she watched her dog tear the poor hungry rodents apart. Ser Gilmore was huffing, not used to bending over in armor to slice at rats.
After several long minutes of listening to terrified squeaks and Ser Gilmore's panting, the last of the living rats fled through the hole. Morfith barked down into the hole, no doubt echoing down the passage. Ser Gilmore stood up, huffing as he sheathed his dagger.
"Have fun?" Tayte chided.
"I didn't see you helping out." He responded.
Morfith barked happily. Tayte turned to see him covered in blood. She sighed and cradled her head in her hands. What a day.
Ser Gilmore excused himself as Tayte stayed to clean up Morfith. She used a towel she found in the larder, scrubbing the fur of her hound the best she could.
"Stay out of the larder from now on, okay?"
Morfith sighed. Great, now he was doing it too.
Tayte decided that Morfith was presentable and pointed to the door. "Come on, Morfy."
Master and dog passed through the larder door to find an angry-looking Nan wielding a half-cooked leg of chicken.
"There he is! As brazen as you please." She cried, raising her hands in exasperation. "And what was that commotion!"
Tayte opened the door a bit farther and pointed at the corpses. "Rats."
Nan growled. "At least they're all dead." She turned to the servants. "Get in there and find something that hasn't been ruined yet!" The elves began to tumble over themselves to get into the larder. "And don't get blood on the food!"
Tayte was on her way out when she realized that Morfith wasn't following her. She turned around to see him sitting in front of Nan, tail wagging happily as he eyed the chicken leg.
"No. I'm immune to your so-called charms." Nan stated.
Morfith tilted his head and whined. Tayte sighed.
Nan stood perfectly still, staring into the dog's eyes. Tayte knew that was a mistake, no Ferelden could look into a dog's eyes and still deny them. Nan visibly weakened and tossed the chicken leg down. "Fine. Just don't say that Nan never feeds you."
Morfith ravenously devoured the chicken leg, likely seeing it as a reward for driving off the rats. When he was finished, he barked and trotted over to Tayte.
Nan sighed. "Thank you, my lady. We'll take it from here."
Tayte nodded and left with Morfith. Once they were out of hearing range of the kitchen, Tayte looked Morfith in the eyes.
Morfith looked back. Suddenly, Tayte forgot what she was going to say. She sighed and continued to walk. Morfith smiled and wagged his tail as he followed.
"Papa, is there really going to be a war?"
Fergus smiled at Tayte as she walked into his room before addressing his son Oren. "Yes, my boy. There's going to be lots of darkspawn, and the king's army is going to stop them before they get here."
Oren frowned. "Before they get here? How am I going to get a sward?"
Fergus laughed with his wife, Oriana, as Oren tried to figure out what was so funny. Even Tayte chuckled. Fergus knelt down, trying to contain his laughter. "That's 'sword,' Oren. I'll bring you back the mightiest sword I can find."
Oren turned and saw Tayte watching from the doorway, looked down and saw Morfith. "Morfy!" He shouted, running to tackle the dog. Morfith absorbed Oren, dragging the boy into the room while he hugged tight. Morfith wagged his tail and licked Oren's face.
Fergus smiled at Oriana while his son played with the dog. "I'll be back soon, my love."
Oriana frowned. "I wish victory was as certain as you claim."
Fergus stepped back and chuckled as Oren began wrestling with Morfith, the larger dog pinning Oren and mercilessly licking his face. He turned back to Oriana with a smile. "I speak the truth, love! We'll succeed, we have to."
Tayte smirked. "Would I be interrupting if I spoke now?'
Fergus laughed. "Perhaps you'll understand once you find someone special to you." He cracked a sly grin as he was regaining his composure. "Or have you already found her?"
Tayte sighed and Oriana held her face in her hands. Tayte shook her head at Fergus. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
Fergus chuckled. "It's not everyday I find my sister… 'experimenting' with another girl."
Oriana lightly punched Fergus on the shoulder. "Don't tell me you've never done anything unusual when you were young."
Fergus faked a grimace of pain and smiled at Oriana. "You got me there."
Tayte's eyes went wide. "I don't want to know."
Morfith trotted over to Tayte's side, and she gasped in horror to see Oren paying attention to the conversation.
"Don't want to know what? What did papa do?"
Tayte gave a frightened look to Fergus, who simply shrugged. Oriana bent down and held Oren's shoulder. "She just doesn't want to know what Fergus was reading last night. It was too boring for her."
Oren smiled, apparently finding a way to sympathize. "All my books are boring. Except the one about griffons."
Tayte remembered Duncan. She looked up at Fergus with a serious expression. "There was a Grey Warden staying here. Did you know that, Fergus?"
Oren jumped with joy. "A Grey Warden! Was he riding a griffon?"
Oriana knelt down again to tell Oren the sad truth about griffons as Fergus stroked his chin, deep in thought. "I heard he had arrived, but I haven't heard what he came for."
"He came to find a recruit." Tayte offered. "Father thinks that he's going to choose Ser Gilmore."
Fergus's joking manner had evaporated, leaving Tayte relieved that he wouldn't make any jokes about that night several years ago. "That makes sense." He mused, thinking.
Tayte checked to make sure Oren was still occupied before continuing. "Howe's men are delayed. Father needs you to lead the men to Ostagar ahead of him."
Fergus sighed. "I suppose I should be getting them ready, shouldn't I?"
"I would have hoped you stayed long enough to say goodbye, my boy."
Tayte turned around to see her father and mother standing behind her. Bryce gave Morfith a pet before walking in, and Eleanor smiled at Oren. Fergus smiled, trying to hide the dark look on his face only moments before.
Eleanor hugged Fergus suddenly, causing him to step back. She looked up at him. "Be careful, Fergus."
Fergus smiled. "I'll miss you, mother."
Bryce raised a hand into the air. "Why don't we bring some ale and wenches to see our glorious champion off?" Tayte gave a sideways look at her father, who chuckled. "For the men, of course."
"What's a wench?" Oren asked. "Is that what you pull on to get a bucket out of the well?"
Tayte sighed with relief that her father hadn't corrupted the boy just yet. Fergus smirked and shook his head. Eleanor and Oriana glared at Bryce.
"Oren, a wench is a woman who serves ale." Bryce said in a slow, deliberate manner. Maker forbid, Tayte thought. "Or a woman who drinks a lot of ale and then—"
A slap to the face stopped Bryce in his tracks as Eleanor recoiled from the blow. Oriana mouthed "Thank the Maker." Bryce gaped at his wife.
"Maker, it's like living with a pack of small boys. Shouldn't you be somewhere?"
Bryce smiled and turned back to Fergus. "Be safe, son. Maker willing, I'll be there a few days late."
Fergus nodded as his father and mother walked out. Tayte noticed that Oriana wanted to speak with Fergus and excused herself. Morfith walked happily along as Tayte returned to her room. She set out a bowl of water for Morfith, which he splashed around before drinking.
Tayte sat down at her desk and pulled out a book about the First Blight. If she was going to live during the times of a Blight, she might as well know what her father and brother were going to be protecting her from.
AN: Tayte is straight, Fergus just likes to... embellish. He can't accept that not everyone has an Antivan spouse. Just be glad he doesn't know Zevran...
