Sent as a prompt by thesxmmersword for Loghain training recruits! Hope you like it. :) Thanks to righteous-maximus for betaing it!
She was Orlesian. When Loghain looked at her he saw everything he hated. She was all hard edges, with eyes of steel and a gaze that could cut flesh. When Loghain looked at her he saw himself. There wasn't much of a difference anymore.
She spat at the ground when it was announced he'd be training her. He laughed at that. She hated him for the right reasons, for a battle where a dragon flew overhead and he won freedom for a nation at war. He liked to be hated by Orlesians for that.
"The Hero of River Dane," she had snarled.
"Warden Loghain," he'd corrected, but he'd been smiling.
When he trained her, she attacked him with fervor stronger than her skill. It seemed that she believed that her hatred would carry her to victory against him, but he had decades of experience and a calm mind on her.
"I'll wear you down one of these days," she would say in her thick accent, and he would smirk.
That was, until she beat him. She knocked the sword out of his hands. He'd always assumed she'd go for the kill if she could; he was glad to be proven wrong.
"On your knees," she ordered.
"No," he said. "I bend my knee only for the Queen."
"We have an Empress," she said, pridefully tilting her chin.
"I know," he said.
Her eyes widened and her expression darkened. "Ah."
"I'll recommend you to the Warden-Commander for your Joining," he said. "Since you've beaten me and all."
He turned to, picking up his sword with a grunt.
"Wait," she said. There was something in her tone that made him pause and listen.
"What?"
"Do you think I'm ready?"
He frowned. "Why are you asking me?"
She licked her lips. Her expression was still hard, but there was something else there too. "I want to know if you think I'm ready."
"Why do you care what I think?" he said. "Most of the recruits I come across dislike me; it's true, but you've taken it to a new level."
"I don't hate you!" she said, eyes widening. "I disagree with you, with many things, but you...have my respect."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. Of all things…respect. "You really want to know?"
"Yes," she said.
"I wouldn't have minded you by my side during the rebellion," he said, unable to keep the smile off his face.
Her expression soured. "Thank you," said said stiffly.
He dropped the shit-eating grin. "Yes," he said. "I think you're ready."
"Thank you," she said, meeting his eyes, their cold gazes connecting. "That means a lot."