This is for Rinmaru's Scholar's Wanted.
This is an excerpt from the book Valient Thorn by Cassa Eluthian. It follows the story of a young human warrior who is rescued from death by a band of Kaleik minstrels. She sets out for revenge against her attacker, a gang lord who is attempting to take over the kingdom. She teams up with a few of her rescuers along with a dwarf whose sister was kidnapped by the gang lord, an alchemist they rescue from being murdered by some of his goons, and a sun elf who has his own mysterious reasons for helping them out.
…
Leyara tugged in irritation at the maroon silk dress with tassels and buttons set in gold she had been forcefully shoved into by Chel's sisters earlier that day. Her long hair was pulled out of her face to "highlight her pretty eyes" as one of the sisters had said. Oh, and her feet had been shoved into gold shoes that pinched her toes.
Overall, the former mercenary was very uncomfortable with her current situation.
"Remind me again why you dragged me here?" she asked Dannel who was walking beside her. He simply gave her a smug grin.
"You need to loosen up every now and then. I can't have you dying of a heart attack because the stress is too much for you." He answered. Leyara pursed her lips and looked away from the dwarf.
"Come on, Posey. Stop it with the long face. It'll be fun." Dannel said with a wink. Leyara frowned at his nickname for her, too tired to argue with him and try to get him to stop. She'd learned nothing worked.
And she would never admit it to anyone, but the dwarf cleaned up nicely. His tunic was ridiculously too low and exposed far too much of his chest, but he looked nice in his new robes.
Leyara gave him a sour look. "Until the day you must dance in gold shoes that are much too small for your feet, I do not want to hear you say anything about my face." She growled. Dannel chuckled, looking her up and down.
"Well, you clean up nicely either way, gorgeous."
She fixed him with a glare. "What did I tell you about calling me that?"
He simply grinned at her.
"I feel so exposed." Leyara complained. "I'm not used to all these layers of fabric. What if something happens? How am I to defend myself?" she said, glaring down at Dannel walking beside her. Without a word, he pulled aside her skirts to slip a pair of jewel daggers into the folds.
"I acquired them from a merchant just outside of town. I figured you would make a fuss about coming to a party unprotected." He told her. She blinked, stunned at his kindness. She admired the daggers where they rested.
"I have never fought with daggers before." She confessed. Dannel retrieved the daggers from her dress and showed her how to hold them.
"It's simple, the pointy end goes into the other guy." He said with a grin. That elicited a smile from the usually surly warrior and she gripped the blades tightly in her hands. Dannel let go of her wrists. "It's not much, but it's something in case you need them."
When the pair reached the large doors leading into the ballroom, Leyara paused to catch her breath. Dannel waited patiently for her. This was new for her; growing up in a mercenary camp left very little time for her to have fun. She knew Dannel meant well by forcing her to be his date to the ball, but it was a lot to take in.
"Everything will be alright, Leyara. Chel will be right through those doors to help if you start feeling claustrophobic." Dannel said, coming to stand by her side and taking her elbow. Leyara nodded curtly before motioning for the guards to open the doors.
The richly decorated hall was draped in gold and blue while people danced to the music from the orchestra playing to the right. Leyara stood rigidly in front of the doors, frozen in minor panic. She was a mercenary; she knew how to fight and how to lead, but dancing? She was lost.
Chel was waiting for them just as Dannel had said. The pretty blonde kaleik smiled at Leyara and winked at her.
"I knew Dannel would manage to get you to come." She said, her grin nearly splitting her face. She glanced down at the Dwarf. "For a former miner he cleans up nicely."
Dannel rolled his eyes but pulled the woman into a friendly hug anyways. "Good to see you again, Chel. I appreciate the invite to the ball."
Chel shrugged, mirth shining in her white eyes. "Well since I'm singing tonight, I wanted my friends here to hear it." She said, still smiling.
"But before that, don't you think you should enjoy yourself a little first?" A voice from behind her said. Leyara looked to see that it was Chel's husband, Hecktor, who had spoken. Hecktor bowed before taking her into his arms. Chel laughed boisterously as he spun her around the room.
Leyara couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous at how easily the pair fit together, not to mention Chel was a wonderful dancer. She glided across the floor and Hecktor complimented her quite well.
Leyara glanced around the room, feeling helpless in the situation. She knew how to take down many different foes, but dancing at parties was something she was lacking at. Manners and refinement were not in her repertoire.
"Posey, relax." Dannel said from beside her. He took her hand and gently led her to the dance floor. "I may not be the best dancer, but I'm one hell of a teacher." He smirked at her and placed one of her hands on his shoulder and the other in his own hand. His free hand came to rest on her hip. His head didn't quite reach her shoulders, but it wasn't as awkward as Leyara had initially feared it would be. He led her into the waltz and she was careful to keep from stepping on his feet.
As they moved somewhat gracefully across the room, Leyara couldn't help grinning cheekily at him and asking, "who knew dwarves could dance?"
Varric looked at her in mock offense. "We may be miners and warriors, but even the least coordinated dwarf can dance better than the finest human."
Leyara raised her eyebrow at him. "That can't be the truth." She told him. Dannel gave her a toothy grin.
"Lying through my teeth, Posey."
The pair fell into silence as Leyara focused on the steps of the dance and Varric focused on her. She had been growing on him since the moment he met her. She had been fighting off a small band of Eagles, her hair flying about her and her eyes blazing with both anger and exhilaration at the fight. Leyara was a little rough around the edges, but she had a good heart.
"I never thanked you for the daggers, Dannel." Leyara whispered, leaning in so her lips brushed his ear. Dannel suppressed a shiver.
"No need to."
"I want to." she protested. "Let me make it up to you."
Dannel smirked at her. "And just how do you plan to do that?" he asked. She shrugged, chewing on her lower lip. It was a habit Dannel found he enjoyed watching.
"Anything you want."
Dannel quirked an eyebrow at her, amused. "So you'll do anything?" he teased, heavy innuendo lacing his tone. Leyara resisted rolling her eyes at him. She opened her mouth to rebuff his question when a piercing pain in her chest caused her to hiss in pain. Dannel's eyes widened and he looked down. He swallowed hard.
"Leyara—"
She glanced down, already knowing what she would find. The tip of a dagger was protruding from her chest, just shy of her heart. Leyara gritted her teeth, feeling blood soaking her gown, and roughly grabbed Dannel's shoulder to stabilize herself.
There were cries of panic from the partygoers as several men in black seemed to materialize around the room. Leyara shoved Dannel away from her.
"Get Xeric." She ordered and pulled out the daggers he had given her earlier. Xeric, their resident alchemist, had promised to attend the ball to listen to Chel's performance. If Dannel could find him, he could hopefully help Leyara with her injury. Dannel nodded once before moving quickly to find Xeric. Leyara faced the assassin closest to her and raised the unfamiliar weapons. She had fought wounded before. The trick was not to remove the blade.
There were no sarcastic jibes from Leyara or her attackers; she simply stood at the ready, waiting for them to strike.