Just in case you missed it, the first chapter has been rewritten. If you haven't already, I would check that out before reading this one. Thanks for your time. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave me a review when you're finished. Thanks!
He was having an argument with a mage when he first saw her. Her hair was a chestnut brown, a deep color which contained subtle red-orange highlights accented by the sun. It was tied back in a ponytail that suggested it was quite long, and quite a few strands had escaped and been disregarded, left to frame her face. Those strands contrasted with her pale skin, the shade akin to that which you would expect of one who spent their days inside. She was close enough that he noticed her eyes were a dark blue, almost bordering into violet. They were rimed with dark circles at the bottom.
"I was even going to name one of my children after you. The grumpy one." He told the mage, proud of his ability to joke even while distracted. The mage, however, was not amused.
Her lips, an impossible shade of red, twitched upwards at his comment, and for a moment he thought he saw her eyes sparkle in amusement. Finally there was someone who appreciated his humor. The mage stormed off, and she stepped forward, obviously wanting to talk to him. He noticed that she carried a cane, held out in front of her when she walked, and it skimmed the ground side to side.
"The one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together," he informed her.
"I know what you mean," she replied. Her voice was light and slightly melodic.
"It's like a party. We could all stand in a circle and hold hands. That would give the darkspawn something to think about." He said.
"We could sing songs," she suggested, "and the power of our voices would compel them to join us, thus effectively ending the violence." There was that same, brief twitch of her lips again, almost gone before he even noticed it.
"Speak for yourself," he told her, "I think most of our voices would drive them towards violence."
"That bad, hmm?" she asked. He nodded solemnly. "A pity. And I thought I had just solved all of our problems there."
"Ha. If only it were that simple." He replied. "We haven't met, have we?" He knew they hadn't. He definitely would have remembered her.
"No we haven't," she started.
"You must be the new recruit Duncan sent word about," he interjected, overcoming his distraction. She nodded, sending the loose strands of hair flying in different directions.
"I'm Emmaline, a pleasure to meet you. You must be Alistair."
"The one and only. At least I hope. I'm not sure I would like having two of me running around."
"That mage certainly seemed like he thought one of you was more than enough. Mind you, he didn't seem like the nicest sort, so I'm not sure I would take his opinion. What was that argument about anyways?"
After wandering the camp and running into everyone but Alistair, I was relieved to discover that he actually existed. I was starting to think that this was some kind of bizarre Grey Warden hazing ritual or a test of the competence of the half-blind recruit.
And I found an unexpected bit of humor in all of this, his comments provoking a small smile from me as I couldn't help but go along with him. This was almost comforting, and I couldn't help enjoying his company right from the beginning. It wasn't surprising to either of us that I had a lot of questions, and they all came tumbling out as fast as I could think of them. Alistair patiently answered all of them, from the expected, 'So what do Grey Wardens do, exactly?' to the practical, 'What can you tell me about the upcoming battle?', and even the personal, 'Could you tell me a little about yourself?'
When I was finally done asking questions, he asked one of his own.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?" he asked hesitantly. I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.
"I don't, but I can probably save you the trouble. You were going to ask about my cane, right?" I said.
"Yes, actually. How did you do that?" he asked.
"I get asked a lot. Yours was more polite than most, though, even if I did stop you from finishing." I told him. "I suppose I owe you it, considering how much you have told me. Besides, you should know anyway. I carry this cane because…it is embedded with a lightning rune that electrocutes whoever I touch with it." He blinked.
That was obviously not the reason, he thought. But at this point it would be borderline hypocritical for him to call her out on it. And he couldn't blame her for keeping things to herself. After all, he had kept quite a few things himself. She shifted in place a little, looking nervous about his reply.
"That would be quite handy in a crowd," he reasoned. This time a real, full smile spread across her face and reached her eyes. And he realized that she was beautiful.
"It's really the reason why I was recruited," Emmaline informed him.
"I can see why. Duncan has a little-known hatred of crowds." He said.
"That would explain so much," she replied. "Honestly though, it is enchanted, though not in the way that I said. It can turn into a sword. I use it like this because I have an eye disease that causes slow deterioration of night and peripheral vision. I wasn't going to let that stop me from learning to fight, and then there were…circumstances that led me here. Duncan saved my life.
"I'm not asking you to take my word on my abilities. I'm just asking you to give me a chance. Don't automatically hold this against me or think that I need protection. Wait until you see me in action before you make any judgment."
There was a trace of desperation in her voice, and Alistair knew all too well about not wanting to let circumstances that were beyond your control define you.
"Duncan obviously thought that you have proved yourself enough, and he is an excellent judge of character. That's enough for me."
I let out a small sigh of relief, and felt an immense rush of gratitude towards Alistair. I nodded my thanks, and he seemed to understand. Moving on, I couldn't help feeling a bit apprehensive about the Joining ceremony, whatever that was. I trusted Duncan though, and I was starting to trust Alistair. If they said it was necessary, then it was.
After finding Daveth and Ser Jory, I was able to move through the camp with a bit more ease. It was mostly flat, predictable ground, and I was able to ignore most of the stares that I was receiving. It was a bit annoying, and a bit frustrating, but I guess that I understood them. I was not what they expected. But then again, none of them were what I expected either. Even the prisoner trapped in a cage for deserting was far less cowardly or frightened than one might expect. He was just hungry, and I felt sorry enough for him to make sure he was fed.
We made it back to Duncan eventually, and my dog, Mouse, greeted me customarily by licking my face, and then promptly tried to greet Alistair the same way. I held back a giggle.
"Down boy, down." I ordered him, and he complied obediently. "Good boy." Then I turned to Alistair.
"I'm sorry about that," I apologized, "I guess he likes you."
"I guess I can't blame him," Alistair replied, and I smiled. Duncan had been watching us the whole time, and I was worried he would be mad about the interruption. But he smiled a very small smile, and I got the impression that he was just happy that I was talking and smiling again. I was too, for that matter, and I decided that I liked Duncan. Maybe being a Grey Warden wouldn't be so bad.
But that small moment ended quickly and Duncan explained the tasks that must be performed before we could begin the Joining. We needed three vials of darkspawn blood and some ancient texts, all to be found in the Wilds.
As we started towards the entrance to the Wilds I was briefly reminded of something that Duncan had said to me.
"The pain will start to go away in time, and there will be times where you will be so distracted that it won't feel so unbearable." He had told me.
It was still there, the horror and sorrow, the memory of my destroyed home and family, of betrayal. But I had been kept busy enough so far that it started to numb. I'd be able to find enough distraction here. Maybe the Grey Wardens would be enough for me. Maybe in time these people would become enough for me. But it was all wishful thinking.
None of it mattered if I didn't survive the Joining ceremony.
