Lost and Found
Chapter 3
Saying "farewell" to someone is not easy, it was a hard and heart wrenching thing a person had to do. The last time Merrill had to say farewell to someone was her family when she was accepted to become the First of the Sabre clan.
It was a task she found almost unbearable to do since she was never to see them again until she reached becoming the Keeper of her clan, and even now she doubted she'd reach that milestone.
Now though? This hurt more than ever.
Malcolm had finally tracked down the clan a day ago and had prepared for the small journey to them. Of course the elf was joyful to learn her clan was close and home would be waiting for her. Yet she felt conflict within her heart when she looked at the family of Hawke, leaving them…
Bethany cried first, but then she was happy to see her new best friend finally be able to go back to her clan again despite her leaving. Merrill wasn't certain how she managed to compose herself and not bawl her little eyes out when she had to say goodbye to her. Carver, despite their short interactions, even hoped she'd stick around for a little longer.
By far though, the person she was going to miss the most is Garret. The poor boy looked so heart broken when she had to go, like someone telling him his pet just died. Sure he was putting on a brave face to show he was happy she was going home again, but even the elf could see the heartache in his eyes.
Thankfully Malcolm agreed to allow his son to journey with them to keep Merrill company. The journey was short much to their dismay, about half a day's trek towards the outskirts of Denerim. They spotted the clan ahead of them and after some careful instructions to his son, Malcolm announced themselves to the clan. Of course there was some hostility towards the human but upon seeing Merrill and after some charisma and charm Malcolm was escorted with the two into their camp.
Granted Merrill was happy to see the Keeper again, her mother figure hugged her in front of everyone warmed her up. It turns out the hunters were searching for the child for the days she went missing and were eventually forced to move on due to human forces threatening them.
Malcolm and Garret were allowed to stay in the camp for the night after the sun had descended behind the mountains, not wanting to risk being spotted by brigands or thugs during their walk. Merrill however despite her mother ordering her to remain in their tent, snuck out to see Garret one more time before he had to leave.
They both met up by the small lake near the camp site, sat on the bend in silence as the sounds of the crickets filled the silence for them. 'When are you and Malcolm leaving?', she asked softly. 'Tomorrow at sunrise', Garret answered weakly. Merrill's heart tugged at this, only a few hours remained before she had to say farewell to her friend, a friend who she became fond of almost instantly upon meeting him.
She felt her eyes watery at this, almost wishing Malcolm never found her clan even if it meant never returning to them. But this was her home, her clan was everything and even more importantly she would become their First in time and eventually their Keeper. 'I'm going to miss you', she whispered softly, sniffling. She heard him hiccup in response, his body shook as they sat there in silence. 'Me too…', he replied.
Then, Garret turned to her with a weak smile. 'Hey, maybe we'll see each other again? Ya know? In a few years, or maybe a few months?', he offered. A poor composition and a very unlikely one she realized as her clan would never risk Lothering again if the humans threatened them once, but she could see the effort he was making, trying to cheer her up. Merrill smiled weakly at his attempt none the less. Then he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a necklace and knelt down to her.
'Here', he offered. She looked to see a strange crest emblem on the small silver pendent, shiny and well cared for. 'Mother said this was the Amell crest back in Kirkwall', he explained. He took her hand and placed it in it, closing her hand. 'This is a promise between us, one day when we meet up we'll know', he promised. Merrill looked at the human, mesmerized by the steel of determination in his eyes.
Merrill nodded as she clutched the necklace, before she leapt and hugged him tightly.
Their cries were the only sound that resonated that night…
One last farewell and teary goodbyes, the humans left the clan, all the while the small elven child watched them disappear in the woods, still clutching the necklace around her neck. A promise that she will hold dear, her hopes for the day she'll see him again. Maybe not tomorrow, not a week or maybe even a year or two, but she knew deep in her heart she'll see him again…
A/N: Sorry for the delay on this, really lacking the motive for stories lately. But I hope you enjoyed these stories, thanks for reading. Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!
