Challenge Response #7 - Love
Let it never be said that the Aeducans are a functional family.
Title: How Far From Where We Started
Rating: K
Warnings: None
Characters: Aeducan (no first name mentioned), and both of her brothers, but primarily Trian.
Summary: A brief examination of the relationship between Aeducan and her older brother. What it was and what it has become.
Notes: For Challenge #7
She always knew her birth had been a complete surprise. She knew she had been an accident of happenstance and timing. And she knew her existence had shocked none more than her older brother Trian. It had been no secret that Endrin had been attempting to have a second child for years. But after so many failed attempts, it had been assumed that he had resigned himself to having only one heir. And then she had been born.
Many assumed Trian would have been indifferent to the fact of her birth: Trian was well into adulthood and preparing to eventually take the throne. They were drawn to each other, however, these two. It came to be that Trian was never seen without her. She sat on his lap at every Proving he attended; she played at his feet while he held meetings with deshyrs and the rare foreign dignitary. He even took her with him on his brief outings to the merchants in The Commons, and he never left a store without purchasing her a gift - usually one that she had chosen herself. One she found and clutched tightly in her fingers, showing him only reluctantly, as if it were a grand treasure to be shared only with the worthy. He would always laugh at her and pay the merchant double its worth, simply because the item brought her such joy.
He would carry her through Orzammar, lifting her high enough that she felt she could see from one end of the city to the next uninhibited. He told her stories, whispered in her ear. He told her of the Humans, of the Dalish, of the Mages. He told her of the Paragon Aeducan. He told her stories of the Surface: how the sun was brighter than any forge; how the wind blew stronger than any bellows; and how the sky was so vast as to be endless. She was comforted by the rumble of his voice, the smell of smoke in his whiskers. Eventually though, she would tire. She would lay her head on his shoulder and tangle her fingers through his beard, content to let him talk her to sleep. He never said as much, but she knew he loved her.
When she grew older, he became gruff and distant. On the rare occasion, he was even mean and spiteful. She never could understand it, though she supposed it was many things. She thought, initially that she must have offended him in some grave manner that she was unaware of. When her attempts to reconcile and apologize were rebuffed, she was utterly lost. The only other possibility to cross her mind was the birth of their brother Bhelen, the son of a common noble hunter. She dismissed it out of hand, however. Bhelen was lovable and adored by all, even Trian. She supposed it could be the favoritism their father showed her as his only daughter. That, too, she discarded, as that was how it had always been.
As each item was added to the list of possible causes of Trian’s ire and summarily rejected, she began to wonder if their father was simply exerting greater pressure on him to be more regal. If, with each passing year their father grew older, Trian felt the need to live up to Endrin's legend. She had asked him about it once, tears streaming down her face from some hurt he had inflicted. She had received a speech about duty and appearance and House Aeducan. She attempted to distance herself from him after that; perhaps his barbs would hurt less if he did not mean so much to her.
It stung, though, to be so suddenly denied his favor when once she had basked in it. She reacted (she felt) accordingly, growing sharper with him as well. She remembered one vivid argument when Trian had accused her of forgetting her place. She had snapped "Better to know my place and forget it than to be like you: forever knowing my place is last, behind even Bhelen in the hearts of our people and our father.". The glimmer of pain in his eyes haunted her nightmares for weeks.
When Bhelen told her that Trian wanted her dead, she refused to believe it. She could not believe that someone who had once loved her so dearly would kill her in cold blood. Bhelen pressed her though.
"He feels you're a threat to his claim to the throne," Bhelen said
"Impossible," she replied, "for I don't wish to rule."
"The Assembly, big sister, does not agree with you."
"Do you truly think our brother would kill me solely for the throne?"
As long as she lives, she will never forget the gleam in Bhelen's eyes as he answered: "He is an Aeducan.".
Title: How Far From Where We Started
Rating: K
Warnings: None
Characters: Aeducan (no first name mentioned), and both of her brothers, but primarily Trian.
Summary: A brief examination of the relationship between Aeducan and her older brother. What it was and what it has become.
Notes: For Challenge #7
She always knew her birth had been a complete surprise. She knew she had been an accident of happenstance and timing. And she knew her existence had shocked none more than her older brother Trian. It had been no secret that Endrin had been attempting to have a second child for years. But after so many failed attempts, it had been assumed that he had resigned himself to having only one heir. And then she had been born.
Many assumed Trian would have been indifferent to the fact of her birth: Trian was well into adulthood and preparing to eventually take the throne. They were drawn to each other, however, these two. It came to be that Trian was never seen without her. She sat on his lap at every Proving he attended; she played at his feet while he held meetings with deshyrs and the rare foreign dignitary. He even took her with him on his brief outings to the merchants in The Commons, and he never left a store without purchasing her a gift - usually one that she had chosen herself. One she found and clutched tightly in her fingers, showing him only reluctantly, as if it were a grand treasure to be shared only with the worthy. He would always laugh at her and pay the merchant double its worth, simply because the item brought her such joy.
He would carry her through Orzammar, lifting her high enough that she felt she could see from one end of the city to the next uninhibited. He told her stories, whispered in her ear. He told her of the Humans, of the Dalish, of the Mages. He told her of the Paragon Aeducan. He told her stories of the Surface: how the sun was brighter than any forge; how the wind blew stronger than any bellows; and how the sky was so vast as to be endless. She was comforted by the rumble of his voice, the smell of smoke in his whiskers. Eventually though, she would tire. She would lay her head on his shoulder and tangle her fingers through his beard, content to let him talk her to sleep. He never said as much, but she knew he loved her.
When she grew older, he became gruff and distant. On the rare occasion, he was even mean and spiteful. She never could understand it, though she supposed it was many things. She thought, initially that she must have offended him in some grave manner that she was unaware of. When her attempts to reconcile and apologize were rebuffed, she was utterly lost. The only other possibility to cross her mind was the birth of their brother Bhelen, the son of a common noble hunter. She dismissed it out of hand, however. Bhelen was lovable and adored by all, even Trian. She supposed it could be the favoritism their father showed her as his only daughter. That, too, she discarded, as that was how it had always been.
As each item was added to the list of possible causes of Trian’s ire and summarily rejected, she began to wonder if their father was simply exerting greater pressure on him to be more regal. If, with each passing year their father grew older, Trian felt the need to live up to Endrin's legend. She had asked him about it once, tears streaming down her face from some hurt he had inflicted. She had received a speech about duty and appearance and House Aeducan. She attempted to distance herself from him after that; perhaps his barbs would hurt less if he did not mean so much to her.
It stung, though, to be so suddenly denied his favor when once she had basked in it. She reacted (she felt) accordingly, growing sharper with him as well. She remembered one vivid argument when Trian had accused her of forgetting her place. She had snapped "Better to know my place and forget it than to be like you: forever knowing my place is last, behind even Bhelen in the hearts of our people and our father.". The glimmer of pain in his eyes haunted her nightmares for weeks.
When Bhelen told her that Trian wanted her dead, she refused to believe it. She could not believe that someone who had once loved her so dearly would kill her in cold blood. Bhelen pressed her though.
"He feels you're a threat to his claim to the throne," Bhelen said
"Impossible," she replied, "for I don't wish to rule."
"The Assembly, big sister, does not agree with you."
"Do you truly think our brother would kill me solely for the throne?"
As long as she lives, she will never forget the gleam in Bhelen's eyes as he answered: "He is an Aeducan.".