Mother and Father never let her leave the estate, but she had tricked them. She wondered how long exactly it would take for them to notice that she was gone. They never let her have any fun, never let her come down to the village on market days so she could play with the other children. No, she was a lady, and ladies didn’t run around getting the hems of their skirts streaked with mud. Ladies had to be pleasant and sit quietly and sew pretty things with their needle and thread. Ladies had to stand still while they got measured for new gowns and ladies had to practice their diction so they wouldn’t sound common. Charlotte didn’t want to be a Lady; she wanted to go swimming when the days became too hot and not worry about who saw her in nothing but a shift. She wanted to climb trees and leap over bushes and play with mabari pups. But she could do that now, she was free! Free to do however she pleased, free to… hide behind a bush and watch a boy doing all the things that she wanted to but didn’t know how.
He never stayed still, always bouncing from one place to the next while he gripped a wooden practice sword in both his hands and hacked down imaginary foes as a puppy chased after him, trying to snap at his heels. Charlotte wanted to do that but she didn’t know how to ask him if she could play too. So she hid and she watched and the longer she watched the bigger her smile became. He was alright looking—for a boy that is—with blond hair that looked like spun gold when he leapt from the shadows and landed in the rays of the sun. Charlotte fingered at her braid of fiery hair and wished that she had hair that looked like gold and as engrossed in the thought as she was, she didn’t notice the puppy sniffing around her hiding place until it was too late.
The puppy growled at her and she toppled backwards onto her bum then scrambled back on her hands, the fear of getting bitten causing her heart to hammer at a rapid pace inside her chest. The boy shortly followed, looking her over with a curious eye before pulling the pup back by the scruff of its neck while murmuring soothing words to it. The pup sat by his feet and he smiled down at her as he offered her his hand to help her up. She appraised it warily; she had never held a boy’s had before, not for any reason. He almost looked a little bit sad when she didn’t take his offer of kindness straight away and his hand started to lower leaving her to make her decision quickly. She wrapped her fingers around his and returned his smile as he pulled her up off the ground.
Their hands dropped to their sides and he stooped down to scratch his dog behind one of its ears. “Don’t mind Ser Didymus, he won’t hurt you. He just likes to think he is tough, is all. You can pat him if you want, I promise he won’t bite.”
Charlotte hesitated as she crouched in front of the pup and slowly placed a hand lightly on the top of his head. Her heart pounded, she had never touched a dog before and her fingers twitched against his fur before she buried them into the thick coat and scratched her blunt nails along his scalp. She giggled, heady with the small action that had always been forbidden. It was amazing, she felt like she could do anything now and she stood, giving the boy a big smile as she offered her hand to him as he had done for her.
“My name is Charlotte. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
The boy took her hand in his and surprised her by raising it to his lips and brushing a kiss over her knuckles. “My name is Cullen,” he said in return.
She blushed, her cheeks almost blending into her hairline. She had never been kissed by a boy before and he grinned at her, showing a line of perfectly straight, white teeth.
“You have a good grip there.”
“Pardon me?” Charlotte looked down and saw that she was grasping his hand so tightly that the tips of his fingers were starting to turn red. She jumped back, mortified at her reaction to his gentlemanly gesture. “I am… I am so sorry. I did not mean to do that,” she stammered out and he laughed at her discomfort.
“It’s fine. What are you doing out here anyway? I’ve never seen a girl with a dress as fancy and as pretty as yours around these parts.”
Charlotte pursed her lips together to try and suppress another broad smile. “I’m from up the hill, you know…” she trailed off and Cullen nodded that he understood before she tried speaking again. “What were you playing?”
Here gave her an indignant look with a raised eyebrow. “I wasn’t playing anything. I was training,” he stated.
“Oh, well, what were you training for then?”
One corner of his lips curled up in a half-smile, “my skills with a blade, of course. Every Templar needs to know how to use a blade, and they need to know it well.”
“You want to become a Templar?” she asked and he nodded his head with a wide smile plastered on his lips.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s far better than being a farmer like my Pop and you get to protect mages and people alike, just like a true noble knight is supposed to.”
Charlotte looked up at him in awe; his words were said with such conviction that it made her wish that she could become something other than what had already been planned out for her.
“I wish I could do something like that,” she mumbled under her breath.
He looked her up and down, taking in her stooped shoulders and the small frown that tugged at her lips and he felt a pang of sadness for the girl—everyone should be able to follow their dreams. “Did you want to have a turn? I can teach you,” he offered as he held his wooden sword out to her.
Charlotte’s hands shook as she took it from him and he gave her a small waggle of his index finger. “Rule number one, keep your hands steady. You won’t be able to hold onto the sword for long if your hands are trembling.”
She nodded and stilled her hands only to jump when he placed both of his on her shoulders and pulled them back so she was standing straight. “Good posture is important. I would have thought that one of your standing would know that,” he teased.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Yes Mother,” she muttered under her breath and he chuckled. He taught her some basic stances next and then how to pull her arms up to align with her chest to use the blade to block oncoming attacks.
“You know, you’re actually not as terrible as I thought you’d be,” he remarked offhandedly. “You take direction well and if you practiced, you could become better.”
Charlotte beamed at him. “You really think so?” she asked and he knocked her under the chin with a knuckle. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t think it, little one.”
She frowned at that, he couldn’t be that much older than her eleven years, after all. “I’m one in ten and you can’t be that much older than me,” she accused while folding her arms across her chest.
“Two years older actually, and we all know that boys mature faster than girls so it might as well be four.” He poked his tongue out at her and she bristled a little before a small smile crept over her lips, only to be doused with her realization that the setting of the sun was almost upon them.
“I should probably be getting home before it gets too dark. Thank you, Cullen, for being nice to me.”
He gave her a small nod along with a smile in acknowledgment and as she turned from him to leave he gave a tug to her braid, causing her to look back at him while he cleared his throat.
“I, uh, practice here all the time. You’re welcome to come back… if you’d like that.”
Charlotte turned back to face him and placed her hands on his shoulders as she rose up on the tip of her toes to place a peck of a kiss on his blushing cheek.
“I’d like that,” she whispered, “thank you.”
***
Charlotte looked out over the inky blackness of the night as she rested her elbows on the wide lip of the window. She always thought it rather funny that the memory of that boy came to the forefront of her mind whenever she was feeling the slightest bit lonely, and here in this large keep, the loneliness resounded around her. He was the only person that she had met that hadn’t tried to turn in her into something she didn’t want to be. She had never gone back to meet him again of course, her Mother and Father had made sure of that. But at least one good thing had come from it—her Father, seeing her passion for sword play had relented and allowed her to start training with a set of practice daggers that had belonged to her Grandfather.
The rough sound of a throat clearing came from behind her and Charlotte turned to face the person it had originated from. She took in the man that stood before her, tall and broad-shouldered, strong jawline and a faint scar traveling over a set of well-shaped lips. She pulled in a shallow breath, he was very handsome. He looked her over with a curious eye before extending his arm and offering her his hand. “Forgive me; I do not think we have been properly introduced. My name is Ser Cullen, and I am to be your military advisor.”
Retour en haut
while playing aggro/direct.
so much fun to be had 
I mean his actual physical appearance, not just his wardrobe. The kinda tawny blonde hair and the amber eyes? I might just be biased because lions are my favourite animal and I've been known to youtube them for hours at a time but... I dunno. Anyone?
