This is my first Pellinor fanfic, so bare with me and be sure to give me lots of constructive criticism. Libros
Lost and alone, Maerad stumbled through a world of snow and ice. She felt burdened by some heavy weight, and she felt like she could never, and would never escape from it's cold clutches.
"Why?!" She screamed at the heavens. "Why me?!"
"I'm so glad you're back," a familiar voice said, and a hand that was cold enough to burn her ran down her arm in an entirely too familiar way. It was the voice that had bothered her for months, his name was Arkan.
"Maerad, wake up, wake up!" Cadvan's voice insisted, breaking through her nightmare.
Maerad woke up and looked around her surroundings as if through a fog, until the instant that she saw Cadvan. Suddenly her world was clear and she broke down into relieved tears.
"Did you have another nightmare?" Cadvan asked gently as he hesitantly patted her back, as if he was a little unsure of how to comfort her.
"It was worse than all the other ones," Maerad whispered drawing away from him and setting her head on her drawn up knees. "Arkan found me this time, and he said. . . well, it only matters that you weren't there, and no one could help me. I was all alone, again."
"I'm sorry," Cadvan said, and she looked up at him in surprise.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there," Cadvan continued, "I'm sorry you lost everyone-"
Maerad's hand covered his mouth and said,
"You have nothing to be sorry for. You never left me by choice, even when I was driving you crazy."
She let out a tiny smile at that, and he smiled a wide, happy smile because of her happiness. She marveled at that because he hardly ever smiled, but since she'd met up with him in the ruins of Pellinor, he'd smiled more often than ever before.
"You would have done the same for me," Cadvan responded.
"I hope so," Maerad whispered. "I couldn't leave you now."
"We will fight the Nameless One together," Cadvan encouraged her, turning her to face him and putting both of his hands on her shoulders, "Shoulder to shoulder we will stand, hand in hand and fight the Nameless One."
"Thank you," Maerad said, reaching her hand up to lay it on one of his hands. "I need you to stand by me. These nightmares have scared me more than anything else I have had to face. I'd rather fight a hundred wers than be stuck all alone with Arkan again."
Here she shivered violently, and Cadvan gently took her in a warm hug, stilling her and dispelling the cold from her body.
"Remember when we first met?" Cadvan asked her, rubbing her arms, trying to warm her up without scaring her. Feeling her small nod in his shoulder, her continued, "When I found you in that cow byre? I was shocked that someone in such a tiny, insignificant place could even tell that they weren't alone."
"How do you think I felt?" Maerad asked, pulling back and looking at him seriously. "I thought you were some dark spirit there to punish me for claiming to have the evil eye!"
"And then, when we were traveling, we argued so much at first," Cadvan said quietly, and then glanced at his sleeping pallet, "I'd better get to my bed."
"Wait!" Maerad exclaimed as he made to stand up, "Stay with me, just a little longer!"
Cadvan saw the fear in her eyes, and so he sat back down. Slowly, Maerad leaned her back against his chest, almost shyly. This was totally uncharted territory for her, but she needed his comfort.
"Then when we finally reached Innail, and you met Silvia and Malgorn for the first time," Cadvan reminisced, trying to bring to her remembrance happier times.
"Don't forget Dernhil," Maerad said softly, getting a sad look in her sleepy eyes.
"I'd never forget him," Cadvan agreed, slowly wrapping one of his arms around her. "We had to leave there all too soon."
His recounting of many of their adventures eased Maerad into a soft sleep, and he eased her onto his lap. Cadvan feared that if he stopped talking, or moved even, she would awaken once more. He reached down and brushed her soft hair from off her face, remembering when he had found her asleep on Ardina's porch. It was then that he had first come to a full realization of how much he had begun to care for the girl he traveled with.
"Someday I'll tell you Maerad," he whispered. "Someday I'll tell you how I feel, even if it kills me."
Leaning back against a nearby tree, Cadvan closed his eyes and slept.
Yeah, I know that wasn't very good, but it's my first try writing a Pellinor fanfiction. I have a second chapter for this, so if you want me to post it, please review. (Though I will probably do it anyway because I hate to beg for reviews.)