Disclaimer - No. I do not own anything from Dragon Age, as much as I'd like to keep Cullen locked up in my room. .
AN: Did you miss me? Would you all believe that this is the hardest part to right? I know how Delia's story ends, but getting it off the ground? UGH! She's as silent as the grave! - No that is not foreshadowing. Or...is it? /evil laugh Like what you read? Have guesses about what's going to happen? Leave me a review and let me know!
Chapter Three
It had taken Delia nearly ten minutes just to calm the child down after she'd woken up. Her screams and cries were so loud, that Delia was afraid she'd woken the sleeping children who were thankfully sleeping behind a closed door. There were cries for family, cries in fear of the templar standing just an arm's length away from her, cries in terror of the place she now was. In response to it all, Delia had an answer and a distraction.
"I know it may seem scary now, but nothing and no one is going to harm you here." Delia ran a comforting hand down the child's back as she was sitting in a tub filled with water.
"I'm going to use a little bit of magic to warm the water, Ser Cullen." Delia called over her shoulder, giving the templar fair warning.
"I...well...of course," came the reply, to which Delia stifled her desire to groan and roll her eyes.
Just what I need, she thought to herself. Someone who has no idea what they're is doing.
She rested her hand on the top of the water and felt the familiar pull of the Fade. Drawing a deep breath, she ran her fingers along the water and allowed the warmth of magic to fall into the bath, warming it to a more bearable temperature.
"How do you do that?" The girl asked, staring at her with wide green eyes.
"Lots of practice," Delia replied, lathering soap into the child's hair. "What name did your parents give you?"
"Penny," the girl replied, looking down at the bath water. She ran her fingers in the swirls of soap, drawing pictures and making patterns.
Filling a cup with water, Delia rinsed the soap out, checking to make sure she'd gotten Penny's hair fairly clean. She couldn't risk having more light and waking up the children. It was hard enough as it was as the small tub they were using was located in the dormitories.
"Well, Penny, I think it's time we get you out of this water, and into bed. You've traveled far and I'm sure you tired." Delia picked up the girl and had her stand on the cold stone floor.
"It's cold," Penny commented, folding her arms around herself.
"I'm just going to wrap you up in this towel, and I'll find you something to sleep in." Delia stood up and gave a look to Ser Cullen,to find that he had turned his back on the both of them.
"Someone could get hurt if you're not watching the mages at all the time, Ser," she said, brushing past him and going to one of the trunks used for new arrivals. She found a nightdress that would probably be far too big for Penny, and had definitely seen better days. But it would have to do. She hastily put the gown on Penny, combed her hair, and braided it. She paid no attention to the templar who seemed as if he had no idea of what he was doing.
"When did your recruitment end?" She asked, gently rocking Penny in her arms.
"Two weeks ago," the templar replied.
She inwardly groaned and took a seat in a rocking chair and continued rocking Penny to sleep.
"I guess the Chantry has told you all of the horrible things about us mages," Delia whispered, looking down to see that Penny had closed her eyes and her breathing was even.
"Foul and corrupt are they-"
"Who have taken his gift and turned it against His children," Delia finished. She stood up from the rocking chair and walked to the nearest empty bed. She gently laid Penny down and covered up with a blanket.
"Believe me, there's nothing you can say that I have not heard already." Delia stood to her full height and smoothed the front of her robes.
"You know the Chant?" Ser Cullen asked.
"We have Chantry sisters here and our own small room that is to serve as a worship area. We have the opportunity to hear it quite frequently. The children also attend services." She cast a quick look at the wall clock to see that there was still time to make it to the apprentice dormitories before light's out.
"Are you heading back to the dormitories?" Ser Cullen asked, following into step behind her.
"Yes," she replied, taking one final look at the children before making her way towards the stairs. She was surprised, yet thankful, that none of them had woken as she'd brought Penny inside. Delia made a mental note of speaking to Petra first thing to see how well the child fared when she woke.
"You're not worried about anything happening to the children during the night?"
"I'm worried about anything to the children at any time during the day, Ser Cullen." Delia clasped her hands in front of her and kept her expression neutral. "They have a morning routine and the older children look after the younger ones until Petra arrives."
"Petra?"
Delia tried to hide a smile. He certainly asked a lot more questions than most templars. "Petra is a Harrowed mage who looks after the children during the morning hours and helps them with their lessons. This way, I can have my lessons during the morning hours as well. I look after them in the late afternoons til bedtime. However, since I'm an apprentice I usually have a Harrowed mage with me then as well as the templar escort."
"Why are you allowed to watch over them even though you've not gone through your Harrowing?"
In a move that surprised Delia, the templar walked just ahead of her and pushed the large door open. He then proceeded to hold the door for her as she stepped over the threshold to the second floor. She felt sorry for him. His view of mages and how to behave around them proved him to be so innocent of the world around him. Once he was at the Circle long enough, he would be swayed by the view of the more seasoned templars. He would see her as nothing more than a threat...an enemy to the Chantry and to the Maker. He'd wish for her tranquility as much as the rest of the templars.
"That is a very long story, Ser Cullen. I do not have the time nor inclination to tell it tonight." Truthfully, she'd never really had to tell the story but once, and that had been to Irving. Ser Cullen was most likely to hear a convoluted version soon enough and that would be that. He wouldn't want to hear the truth any more than anyone else did.
"Well, then I guess I'll see you for our check in at breakfast?" Ser Cullen asked, once they'd stopped at the apprentice dormitories.
Delia shook her head. "No. Breakfast is at seven-thirty but we're allowed out of our rooms at six. You're to be here then. I'm surprised they didn't tell you all of this."
Ser Cullen shuffled his feet, clearly embarrassed. "I...I may not...that is…."
Delia chuckled and took pity on him. "It will serve you well, ser, to be a little more attentive in the future. We mages are a dangerous lot and not to be underestimated."
"You speak so condemning of your fellow mages?" Ser Cullen asked, looking at her in disbelief.
"I only tell you some of what you will hear during your time at Kinloch Hold. Whether or not your or I believe it, is a choice the both of us have to make." Without another word, Delia pushed open the door and closed it firmly behind her. She gave a deep sigh, her shoulders sagging in relief. She'd managed to keep it together long enough, but she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips, or the excitement that raced her heart. If she hadn't heard the other female apprentices walking around the dormitories preparing for bed, she would've jumped up and down or ran about the room laughing.
Finally, she thought to herself. I'm going to have my Harrowing.
"Glad to see you made it back," Keili commented, coming up to stand next to her. "Lights out will be soon, and I didn't think you'd make it in time."
Delia brushed off Keili's concern with a shrug of her shoulders. "Knight-Commander Greagoir gave me leave to stay with the children. I had time, so I made my way back up here."
She made her way over to a small bathing area which had a few cracked mirrors and benches. There were also tubs and basins for washing, which Delia was going to avoid for now. It was late, and she would need to be up early to meet with the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter. With heavy limbs, Delia took out the pins that held two braids wrapped tightly around the base of her head. The pins were laid on the table and she finger combed out the braids before reaching for her brush.
"I'll help you, Delia," Keili offered, holding out her hand. "You look really tired."
The young apprentice smiled and handed her friend the brush. "Thanks, Keili. I didn't expect to be this tired tonight. Today has been just like every other day."
"Mmmm, I don't think so. You finally have a templar to watch over you before you get to go through your Harrowing. You've probably waited a long while and it's created an undue amount of stress on you. Now that that matter is resolved, you can relax."
Delia looked at her face in the mirror and did notice that despite the her eyelids demanding she lie down, she looked happier than she had been. Honestly, the longer an apprentice was asked to wait was because the mages or templars had seen something that caused them to question whether or not they were a blood mage, or just not strong enough to complete the Harrowing. At least, that was what she thought. No one ever talked about what happened in the Harrowing, so they were all sort of guessing at what actually occurred during the event that took you from apprentice to mage.
"You're fortunate that your templar is so well looking." Kensi walked over and rested against the vanity. "It'll make it easier for you to have him around so much."
Delia rolled her eyes and kindly took the brush back from Keili. "You know that doesn't matter to me." She hastily braided her hair down her back and picked up the pins from the table.
"You can't keep this goody-two-shoes act up forever, Amell." Kensi tossed her blonde hair over her shoulders, and folded her arms beneath her ample chest. "You'll break one day. They all do."
"Kensi, you know as well as I that our lives here are certain. Only on very rare occasion do we actually get to leave here. I want to be a mage, so that I can do things and actually be a contributing member of Ferelden. When I leave here, it will be on my own terms. And entangling myself with an ill-advised relationship, especially with a templar, prevents me from doing anything." Delia placed her brush and pins in her trunk before quickly stepping out of her apprentice robes and into a nightgown. It had seen better days, and it the cool air on her skin caused her to have goose bumps.
Three knocks sounded at the door and it was the signal for lights out. The girls quickly dispersed to their beds, Delia almost diving into hers. The weather was turning cooler but the fires had yet to be lit. She pulled the covers up to her chin and curled up into a ball, the events of the day finally coming into realization. Today was her last day as just an apprentice. Tomorrow, she'd be a mage in training. Her lessons would be harder. She'd have to push herself in order to keep up. There were dreams she held close to her chest, that she'd never told anyone. But tomorrow, she'd finally be one step closer to having them realized.