This is my very first attempt at fanfic (actually, writing anything outside of required English classes in school), so please don't be too harsh! :)
I plan on continuing to the end of the game, then will go back to the beginning to work my way up until this point. All major plot points will eventually be covered, as well as several optional ones. The princess will have different types of romantic encounters with various NPCs from the game, but she will ultimately end up with Ben Finn. This is one of the points where I feel their story would be likely to begin. The pace will probably be somewhat slow, but I hope it's not too boring.
I just had a fantastic time playing through Fable 3 and would like to put to paper some of the experiences and thoughts I had while making my way through it.
(The story begins near Aurora, after the princess and Walter have fought the Crawler for the first time.)
Falling...
Falling...
Blind in a nightmare landscape of unbroken black and shifting sand... Screaming wordlessly into gale winds... Sinking, drowning...
An insistent, low-pitched murmur caught my attention.
I focused on the sound and desperately sought for the source. There! Far above, something shimmered faintly. With a surge of hope and renewed energy, I clawed my way toward it. The small spark grew in intensity as I steadily made my way upward, and I could feel the sand begrudgingly loosening its grip. Without warning, the sky overhead exploded in a blaze of light. I winced and closed my eyes against the glare.
"Princess!"
That voice... I knew that voice. I struggled to pry my eyelids apart again. Although the brightness was less painful now, I still could not see. I slowly blinked a few times and tried to make out the blurry shapes floating nearby. One drifted closer and my vision sharpened. An unfamiliar woman with exotic body paint leaned over me and scrutinized my face with piercing eyes. "She's still alive. The other can't be far away."
The other... ? A cold sense of dread started to coil in my stomach. Where was I? Who was this woman? I remembered a shipwreck... then caves... and a terrible darkness... but before I could organize my thoughts better, someone else approached. An involuntary gasp escaped me when I saw sunlight shining though a fringe of unkempt blond hair.
"Ben?" I could barely make myself heard above the wind. My throat felt like it had been scoured raw.
He was alive! Or was I dead? He crouched down next to me and his silhouette filled my field of view. I had to know. I reached up and placed my palm against the side of his face. His blue eyes widened a bit at the unexpected touch but he didn't pull away. I felt warm skin; his heartbeat raced beneath my fingertips.
I'm fairly certain ghosts do not have pulses.
With a sudden pang of self-consciousness, I started to withdraw my hand. Ben stopped me by grabbing it in both of his and squeezing gently, and then it was my turn to be surprised. After the longest of moments, he dropped his chin and looked up through his hair at me, a small smile at one corner of his mouth.
"Taking a nap in the sun? Typical royalty. You had me worried there for a while." There was a sadness in his smile that belied the joking tone.
"I had you worried? We thought we'd lost you!" I croaked painfully. Then I remembered. "We- oh, Avo- Walter! You have to find Walter! He collapsed after we... after we left the cave. I tried to carry him, but I couldn't!" I choked back a sob. "I wasn't strong enough! Please, you have to find him!" Before I could try to sit up, Ben put a restraining hand on my shoulder. I had to bite my lip to keep frustrated tears from surfacing. If I started crying, I knew I would completely lose what little composure I'd managed to hold onto. I hated feeling so weak!
"Don't worry," he promised, "we'll find him." He placed my hand over his heart and held it there firmly. As I met his steady gaze, the grim determination I saw there convinced me that he would do everything in his power to help Walter. It was enough.
It would have to be enough.
Another wave of exhaustion washed over me and I realized I could no longer resist its pull. My message had been delivered and there was nothing left to do but recover. Recover, and prepare to face the creature again. I closed my eyes. As the far more benign darkness of sleep rose to claim me, I felt a lingering brush of lips upon my cheek. Scents of sun-kissed hair, sand, sea salt, and well-worn leather followed me into uneasy dreams.
