Chapter 1: Within my creation, none are alone
A small, curly headed blond darted in and out of the crowds in Lowtown. She whimpered softly to her self, frantically searching for anyone who might have seen her guardians. She ran all the way down to the Docks, stopping at the stairs to where their ship had been docked. It was gone. The girl fell to her knees; tears spilling down her face. I knew they didn't care, but I didn't expect them to abandon me. She shook her head.
This wasn't the first time she'd been abandoned by someone. First her parents had left her with their neighbor and never came back. That probably wasn't their fault, they were probably killed, but they were never found. The neighbor turned her over to the local orphanage. Some traders, who needed an extra set of hands, had adopted her. The traders eventually sent her to help out some merchants, the people who just left her in Kirkwall. The ten year old had just come full circle.
Blinking back tears, she stood up and looked around. There were plenty of people around, but who would take in a ten-year-old girl with no parents, no money, and no belongings aside from the clothes on her back and dagger at her hip? She started walking. Maker, if you're there, please have someone stop me. Have them stop me when I'm someplace that I belong in. She felt silly for praying, but that's what you did when you were in trouble, right? That's what her mom used to do. She walked into an area she hadn't seen before. The large, chained statues were a bit intimidating. She tried not to focus on them. "Hey!" A voice cried out. "Little girl!" She spun around, hand ready to reach for her dagger. A Templar. She dropped her hand. Her breathing became shaky. "What are you doing here? Where are your parents?" She shook her head.
"My parents are gone, serah. And my guardian left me. I don't have anywhere to go. But, could I maybe join the Templars? Please, serah, I'll be a good Templar, I promise." The words fell out of her mouth, and she instantly felt stupid again. Dumb girl, why would they take you in? No one else wants you. She bit her quivering lip and tried for force back the tears that were coming to her eyes. She hated crying.
"Come with me." The Templar motioned for her to follow, and paused for a moment. "Look, I can't promise you'll be able to join the Order, but we'll have to look for your guardians, and if we can't find them maybe we'll see about testing you." He began leading her towards a different section of the unfamiliar area. "What's your name anyways?" She smiled softly and looked up.
"Meridis, my name is Meridis. But my mom called me Meri for short." It was the first time in 3 years that anyone had bothered asking. Thank you, Maker.
"We'll figure it out, okay Meridis? It'll all be all right. My name is Knight-Commander Guylain." Her smile spread across her face.
The Knight-Commander asked for her name. She was home. And sure enough, a few short weeks later she had begun her training, and even had a bunk all to herself. And a roommate who was the strongest, most wonderful friend she'd ever known. Meredith Stannard.
Chapter 2: With neither blade nor shield
The two young blond women made their way down the stairs from their quarters, out to the courtyard to practice sparring. Meredtith stood almost a head taller than Meridis, her cool, stern eyes scanning her surroundings, a permanent frown pressed against the edges of her lips. Meridis walked with a spring in her step, a half smile tugging on the right corner of her mouth, and her soft green eyes glittering in the sun.
The two were quite good friends, despite the fact that they were two very different people. Meri didn't say much around Meredith, mostly because Meredith didn't usually feel like speaking. But when she did, Meri hung on every word. Meri saw Meredith as her first and most steadfast friend. And she was willing to do nearly anything not to lose that friendship.
Once the pair reached the courtyard they got into their stances, and with a gesture of Meredith's hand they began sparring. Both were great warriors. They were an even match for one another, even though they fought differently. Meridis was a very defensive fighter, preferring to use fights as a battle of stamina, she exerted energy mainly to block, and very seldom to attack until her enemy slowed and became tired. Meredith fought much more aggressively, focusing furious attacks to try to provoke her enemy into attacking. Always trying to stay just out of reach of her opponent's blade.
Meredith knocked Meridis over, placing her sword at her neck. Her frown deepened. "You need more practice. You should have seen that coming." She turned away, sheathed her sword, and began walking away. Meridis's face fell, but she forced a smile.
"Good job today Meredith!" Meredith sighed and rolled her eyes, still facing away from Meridis.
"You might want to stay out here and practice more." Meridis swallowed hard.
"Will do, see you later." Meredith was already out of view when she said it, but she shrugged and sighed. Meredith was just like that. It's all right, if I get better, she'll notice. Meridis put on a determined smile and went to work training.
Chapter 3: Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him