Tai darted forward in a blur of motion, his movements a graceful combination of speed and precision as he shot towards Evie. She didn't flinch; her instincts kicked in, and in one smooth motion, she drew an arrow from her quiver, nocking it in the blink of an eye. As Tai closed the distance, she loosed the arrow with pinpoint accuracy.
But Tai was faster. In the last possible moment, he dove to the side, the arrow grazing his tunic as he tumbled to the ground, rolling back to his feet. He grinned, the thrill of the chase lighting up his face.
Evie laughed, already drawing another arrow as she shifted her stance. "You're too fast," she muttered, but there was no doubt in her voice. She enjoyed the challenge.
Before she could take another shot, Hirik charged forward with a roar, his two-handed axe raised high. His heavy footsteps thundered against the ground. Tai ducked out of the way just in time, his daggers flashing as he aimed to strike at Hirik's unprotected side. But Hirik was ready; he swung his axe downward in a wide arc, narrowly missing Tai.
"Do better," Hirik grunted, his eyes gleaming. His stance was low and sturdy, every movement deliberate and precise.
Tai quickly spun away from Hirik, using his momentum to backflip and roll onto his feet. He came up in a crouch, just out of reach of Hirik's axe.
"Much too slow," he said with a cheeky grin.
Evie loosed another arrow, aiming right for Tai. He spun and threw one of his daggers in the air, catching it just as Evie's arrow was released. The two projectiles collided midair, and both fell harmlessly to the ground.
"I love it when you're aggressive," he chuckled.
The three of them paused for a moment, catching their breath and grinning at each other. They had been at it a while now, Zevran and Oghren overseeing them, Alistair and Kieran watching them. Sometimes her father was there if he didn't have more pressing tasks.
The sound of clapping drew their attention, and they saw Zevran applauding.
"Well done," he said, joining them in the centre of the training yard. "But you three can read each other far too easily. You're practically predicting each other."
It was true; they basically only trained with each other. Or occasionally Oghren and Alistair. If Mareven and Shae were back, them too. But they were back so rarely. Sometimes Kieran joined as well, but not often. It was difficult with his magic; they tried not to advertise the fact he was a mage. They only trained with him indoors when they had complete privacy.
"And Evie, I think it's time you learned more than the bow. You need to be able to defend yourself in close quarters."
Evie wasn't sure how she felt about that. She liked archery; she'd never been in a real fight in her life. And she really wasn't expecting to be. She lived in the castle, surrounded by guards, surrounded by a city filled with more guards.
"What did you have in mind?" She asked.
"Something light, stilettos perhaps. Or a shortsword, customised to your size, of course."
Her father hadn't wanted her to learn close-quarters combat. There was no need. And she'd had no interest, so she hadn't bothered fighting him on it. She liked archery; it was fun.
"Hold on, Zev," Alistair said. "I don't think Evie needs to know –"
"Alistair, my friend, remember when we were down in the deep roads? It was a group of Darkspawn. Mareven is an expert archer, but close quarters was not her forte. Darkspawn flanked her, dragging her down while she tried to stab it with the arrow in her hand."
Alistair remembered; his heart had nearly stopped. Especially given they had been in the deep roads at the time. Right after that Mareven had started learning hand-to-hand and the short sword.
The thought of Evie fighting darkspawn made him feel ill. He just needed to remember she would never be in a situation like that. If, Maker forbid, another blight happened, he would ship her off as far from it as he could.
"All right, fair enough. If Evie's amenable. I'll have something made for her."
Evie nodded. But she doubted she would go into it with the enthusiasm she took to archery.
"Good work today, children," Oghren said, clapping Hirik on the shoulder. "Go get cleaned up."
The four of them made their way back inside to go up to their rooms to clean off the sweat and dust. They were planning to sneak out into the city today. Evie had a few things she wanted to get from the market, and she wanted to do it without a contingent of guards.
While most of the nobility knew she existed and what her relationship was to the king, most of the smallfolk didn't, with the exception of those who worked in the castle. What might have gotten out about her, she didn't know. But walking through the market with the Kingsguard around her wasn't how she wanted to do it. It attracted far too much attention.
-
A couple of hours later saw them in the marketplace. Tai and Hirik had wandered off, likely to look at the armourers. Kieran was at a stall that had quite a selection of books, and Evie was looking at lute strings. Near daily playing of her old one had worn them down. The sound was off.
"What is this?" She asked, looking at an unfamiliar instrument.
It looked a lot like a very large fiddle or vielle, but it had a strange wheel on it and a crank, with keys along the bottom of the central box.
"That is a hurdy-gurdy," the merchant told her, taking it down from the shelf. "I take it you've never seen one before."
"No, what does it sound like?"
He took a seat on his stool, setting it in his lap. He turned the crank and started pushing the keys. It almost sounded like more than one instrument was playing. It was an interesting sound.
"Is it very difficult to learn?" She asked.
"It requires patience and mastering its intricate maintenance demands... commitment. I take it you play music?"
"Lute and piano mostly, but I've learned the harp, fiddle, and organ as well. And I've... dabbled with the flute."
It wasn't her favourite instrument.
"I love music," she told him.
"More youth should. Music is a universal language," he told her.
"It is," she agreed.
She had always thought so. Music and art gave her soul flight. They could both stir emotion, stir the imagination, and convey so much more than words in a language you didn't need words to understand.
"Will you be purchasing the hurdy-gurdy?" He asked.
She nodded. "And these strings?"
"Excellent choice. I'll box them up. Would you like me to have them delivered somewhere?"
"No, thank you. I can carry them."
He delicately boxed them up. She was eager to get back to the castle and play with this hurdy-gurdy.
When he handed over the boxes, she thanked him and hurried over to Kieran. When he saw her carrying the oversized box, he quirked a brow.
"Maker, Evie, what have you bought?"
"Lute strings, and a hurdy-gurdy. Have you ever heard of one of those?"
"I've heard the name before; I couldn't tell you what it looked like."
"Well, when we get home, I'll be able to show you."
Kieran gestured for her to hand over her box so he could carry it for her.
"Such a gentleman, Kieran. Your soulmate is a lucky woman," she sang. "Oh, I promised Ben I'd get him a new book as well. Did you see anything he might like?"
"I did; it was called Shield without Faith. It looked like something he would be interested in. It was over there somewhere."
He indicated the far end of the table with his overloaded hands. Evie bought the book as well, holding onto it as they strolled along the rows of stalls. When they came to the armourers, there was no sign of Hirik and Tai.
"How many sovereigns do you want to bet we're all about to get into shit?" Kieran asked.
She shot him a flat look for that one. "They don't always get into trouble," she said.
Kieran didn't believe that for a second, and he almost laughed at how sincere she had sounded. Did she truly not see what troublemakers they were? And she wasn't entirely blameless either. But Tai was by far the biggest culprit.
Almost as if thinking of him had summoned him, they saw Tai and Hirik making their way towards them with a group of young men trailing behind them. They all looked annoyed.
"Good thing you didn't take that bet," Kieran leaned in and whispered.
"Smug is such an unattractive look on you," she retorted.
"Evie, tell these morons. We did steal the Grand Cerics robes. They don't believe us."
Evie looked at the men behind Tai. They looked rough, clearly disbelieving of the story.
"Why do we care what they think?" She asked. "We know what we did."
"We want to see them," one of them said, probably their leader.
"Then go to the Pearl and ask for Flora," Hirik grunted.
Tai grinned. "Let her know you're in need of a bit of divine punishment."
"You gave them to a whore?"
"Sold them," Tai corrected. "She has a patron who prefers authenticity."
They still looked a little dubious about the story, but their leader spoke again.
"We need a Chancellor's robe."
"Go get it yourself," Kieran told them.
"We can pay."
"You're guardsmen, aren't you?" Tai asked, a calculating gleam in his eye. "I need a guard's uniform. We can trade."
"Are you planning to impersonate a guard?"
"That's none of your business," Tai told him.
"He didn't ask why you want a Chancellor's robe," Evie pointed out.
"You get the uniform; we'll get the robe," Tai said. "We'll meet at the Gnawed Noble tomorrow afternoon."
They still looked unsure about it, but their leader nodded, and the group left them.
"Why do you want a guardsman's uniform?" Evie asked.
"I want to sneak into the guardhouse."
"Why?"
"Aren't you curious? Besides, it could come in handy one day."
Evie conceded that point. It could.
"Maker, Kieran, what did you buy?" Tai asked, falling into step beside them as they made their way back to the castle.
"This isn't mine," Kieran told them.
"A new instrument," she said, still pleased with her purchases and excited to try the hurdy-gurdy.
"We're not really going to steal more robes, are we?" Kieran asked. He saw the looks on their faces and rolled his eyes. "Stupid question. Don't know why I asked."
"So, same as last time?" Tai asked.
They nodded, though Evie was reluctant. The plan involved her having to play a girl having a crisis of faith. And with the Chantry knowing who she was, being the King's bastard daughter did grant her more consideration, and they would listen if she requested a meeting with the Grand Cleric.
"Are we doing it today or tomorrow?" She asked.
"Today. Let's just get your things back to the castle," Tai said. "Wear that frilly dress, the light pink one. It makes you look more innocent and vulnerable."
She hated that dress.