Childhood Follies
"Guys! Slow down! Please?" Six little feet skittered across the marble floors of the kitchens and out into the castle yard, two pairs just ahead of the third. "Mia! Make him slow down! I will not be left behind!" The young voice filtered through the open air, servants and soldiers glancing away from their duties to enjoy the carefree sight of the children.
It was coming to the end of the warm season in Ferelden, and King Maric had called the summer landsmeet. The Bannorn, Nobles from every end of the country, and every sort of influential person had shown. It was, indeed, a very important meeting to grown minds, with a war encroaching on the horizon. Children, however, paid no heed to the musings of men. Their lives were nothing more than carefree frivolity.
"Beat you both!" The young boy threw his hands in the air victoriously, golden hair falling in his face. Without warning, a slightly younger child came from behind, tackling him to the ground.
"Mia! No fair! Get off!" He laughed as she sat on his back, holding his hands behind him.
"Now who wins?" Glowing with pride at her conquest she laughed, green eyes beaming with glee. The two laughed and wrestled as the third came prancing into the scene.
"Not fair you two! I almost muddied my slippers!" She pouted, sitting down on a fallen log as she wiped off the ruffles of her purple dress.
Halting their fun, Mia rushed to the side of her friend.
"Oh no! I'm sorry, Nora! Here, let me help." While she helped to scrape the little mud off of the dress, the young boy rolled around on the ground impatiently. He had no desire to partake in girlish pointlessness.
"So I win again, and no one even congratulates me?" With a sigh he stood, ambling over to the two.
"You know Nora's dad will be angry if she's dirty." The second girl pouted and batted her eyelashes as Mia cleaned the last of the mud off.
"Papa will scold me. Then I won't get to play with you two." The boy sighed, blowing a stream of air from his lips, chasing away a stray golden lock.
"Well, as long as we've stopped, I say we give Mia her birthday present now!" Almost instantly, Anora ceased her pouting and stood, rushing to her friend's side.
"Really? Wow! It's not my birthday until tomorrow though!" She beamed once more, jumping in excitement.
"Yes, but Cailan has training all day tomorrow with his father, so he wouldn't be able to be with us when you got it. I got papa to give me an extra allowance so we could get it together!"
Blue eyes smiling, Cailan thrust a small package out in front of him. It was no bigger than her fist, and hastily wrapped in brown paper from the castles kitchen. In an attempt to make it more festive, the two children had wrapped it in a blue hair ribbon and doodled on the side with charcoal bits.
Mia took it into her hands as if it were a gem to be treasured forever. The paper crunched as she slipped the ribbon off. It was her favorite color, and she was going to put it to use as well. Before opening the gift itself, she tried tying her unkempt hair back behind her ears. Seeing how difficult it seemed to be for her, Cailan stepped behind her, tying it into a simple, shaky bow.
Mia tore at the paper, exposing a small silver statuette.
"A Mabari?" her voice was excited as she held the statue in her tiny hands.
"Papa said we couldn't get you a real one. But Cailan found this when he went to the market with his father." Anora beamed with pride at the gift they had given.
"Th-thanks! I… I love it!" She beamed with happiness as she slipped the trinket into her trouser pocket. She had always wanted a mabari of her own, but her father had decided to wait until she was older and could learn responsibility for the creature. Until then, this would have to do. Leaping towards the two, she wrapped an arm around each one in a strong embrace, creating a group hug between the three.
From the direction of the castle kitchens some way off, a loud voice could be heard.
"You young'uns get yerselves in here! Ser Mac Tir has arrived for Miss Anora!"
"Aw, and we were just getting started!" Mia spouted out, her smile changing to frown.
"I'll race you there. Winner gets the first apple tart at desert!" As soon as he spoke, Cailin took off as fast as he could towards the castle.
"No fair! You're cheating!" Mia took off after him, ribbon blowing in the wind as she did so.
"Come on you two! I do not want to race!" Anora lumbered off after them, careful not to dirty the dress any more than she already had.
At the kitchen door, the cook had to dive out of the way to avoid being flattened by the two streaks that were the children. As soon as their wet shoes hit the marble floors, they slid and spun across them, winding up on their backsides against the far wall. Looking up at an awkward angle while lying on her tummy, Mia called out to the man standing in front of her.
"Hello, Ser Loghain!" Scrambling to her feet, she managed a simple curtsy.
"Hello, young lady Cousland. Er… How has your birthday been thus far?" He inquired uncomfortably. He obviously thought that this was not the sort of frivolity that young ladies should be partaking in.
"Fabulous! Look at the gift I got!" She proudly held up the small statue of the Mabari, now sporting little muddy splotches.
"Hello papa." Anora spoke like a young lady as she skipped gingerly into the kitchen.
"Come, Anora. We must be heading home. Say goodbye to your little friends." He was rigid and awkward, following some unspoken code of manners.
"Goodbye Cailan, Mia. Happy birthday." She curtsied to her friend, then strolled out of the kitchen, hand in hand with her father. As they exited the castle, they could hear her father chastising her for the mud on her slippers and dress.
"You are in the presence of Royalty! I expect you to remember and respect that fact!"
"Yes Papa." She responded somberly.
Mia rushed over to the cook, tugging on her apron.
"Nannette! Nannette! Has my father returned from the landsmeet yet?" Her green eyes were wide with anticipation, the hopeful thought of her father returning to her before planned creeping into her mind.
"Not yet, child!" Nannette spoke, pulling the apron out of the childs hands. "There are apple tarts on the table. Take one. ONE, I said. Keep quiet, sit at the table and stay out of trouble until the landsmeet is finished." The two children grabbed a tart, sitting only until the cook turned her gaze back to her work. At the first opportunity, they hurried out of the kitchens, Cailan pocketing an extra tart as they rushed for the stables.
"I win!" Mia cajoled, hopping as she entered the stable.
"Only cause I didn't want to crush the tart!" He revealed his prize to her, flopping down on a bale of hay in the corner.
This corner of the stable was obviously their favorite place to hide. Among the hay that scattered the ground were small toys, bits of charcoal, and little hand-made clay figures. All things that children entertained their time with.
"You took an extra! Brilliant! You always were sneakier than me!" She flopped down across from him, hay getting tangled in her long black ponytail.
"It's yours. Since it's your birthday." He offered it up to her, standing and placing it on her lap.
"R…really? Thanks!" She held it in her hands and bit her lip contemplatively. It was obviously a bad habit of hers, as a small pink scar was starting to form under her lip. It was almost unnoticeable, except to those who knew of its existence. "Here. You take half. I can't eat a whole 'nother one!" She snapped it in two, holding a piece of it back to him.
"Nora would be running back to Nannette by now, telling her how we took more than we were supposed to." Cailan laughed, sitting down next to his friend.
"It's not her fault. Her father isn't very nice to her. I bet she doesn't even get sweets at home. The only reason he lets her play at all is because your papa is king." Cailin chewed his half of the tart, not really thinking about the problems of Anora and her father. "Then he takes her away almost as soon as she gets here. Papa says it's cause he's just putting up pretends." Cailin laughed at her word.
"Pretenses." He corrected her.
"That's what I said!" She slugged him in the arm. "Just cause you're a year older doesn't mean you know everything." She pouted a little, popping the half tart into her mouth.
"Sorry Mia…" It was quiet for a moment.
"You don't think her papa will take her away for good, do you? She… She's my best friend. And I'd miss her…"
"No, he won't take her away for good. And what am I, mabari food?" Playfully, he shoved her over into the hay bale, laughing. She laughed as well, and spoke as she sat up.
"No! You're not mabari food! You're my best friend too, dummy! Even more so! I'd be more sad if papa took me away from you for good."
"That won't happen. You're my best friend too, Mia. I promise." Pinky out stretched, he put his hand out to her. "Let's make a pact."
"A pact?"
"Yeah. A pact. It's like a really important pinky promise. Let's promise that we'll always be together. No matter what happens."
"I like this pact." She smiled at held her pinky out for him as well. "Say it all formal and such. Make it your first official promise as prince!" She could not contain her excitement. It was a fun game for the two of them to enjoy together. He laughed at her happiness.
"Alright, alright. I, Prince Cailan Theirin, make a pinky promise pact as my first official promise that I will always be with Lady Imenia Cousland of Highever. I will never beat her too horribly, but I also promise to never let her win." Mia laughed as he continued. "It will be my duty as the older best friend to protect her from Nannette and anyone else who comes between us. We will always be friends, and we will never ever be apart. Well, except for when her family is home in Highever and not here at the castle." He stood, and finished his decree in an official voice. "Thus instates the first official promise to the people by Prince Cailan Theirin!" The two laughed, and joined their pinkies together in the sacred bond of childhood.