A/N: Alright, here is chapter six for you guys. It is rather long, but things are finally getting into motion and the next chapters should be more interesting and action-y. We are finally starting to branch more into the Reaver ark of this story. Thanks to all who follow, favourite, and review this story! I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter.
Traveller
Chapter Six
Trust
A tired sigh escaped my mouth, my arm going up to cover my eyes from the brightness. The sunlight felt warm on my face, and the bed felt so comfortable that I was starting to debate on just spending the whole day in it. Slowly, I dragged my arm off my face and rolled over, tucking my arm under the pillow as I forced myself to open my eyes.
I stilled, my eyes widening as I took in my surroundings. There was something really amiss here, my eyes travelling over the blank grey walls, the sound of the heater humming gently filling my ears. Carefully, I raised myself up into a sitting position, pulling the white comforter off myself as I swung my legs over the edge of my bed.
This...This was my apartment.
It was all the same, the grey walls with the one picture of a meadow above my dresser, the curtains only slightly drawn, a single ray of sunshine hitting the pillows on my bed, the little alarm clock on my nightstand reading that it was a little past noon. Slowly, I pulled myself up, glancing down at myself, running my hand down the front of the faded T-Shirt I used for sleep wear, a pair of black sweat pants and my bare feet.
It was all the same, like I had just dreamt the whole thing. Did I even go camping with my family yet?
Walking towards the window, I pulled back the curtains and looked at the world outside. I smiled at the sight of the tall skyscrapers and the busy little cars moving down the streets, off to work. It felt great to be back home, in a world I was familiar with and the idea of seeing my family and friends excited me, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease growing.
Everything in Albion felt too real to have been just a dream. Still, I decided to shake it off and wondered out into the kitchen. It was exactly the way I had left it, the counters spotless and a few dishes sitting in the sink. I wondered towards the fridge, looking at the number of little notes and memos I had put up there, one of them being the time and date for when I was supposed to go camping with my family. Though, under one of the magnets, was a note I hadn't seen before. It was folded neatly, my name written on the front. I plucked it out from under the magnet and slowly unfolding it with shaking hands, reading the two words that were written in neat handwriting.
Go outside.
I flipped the note over, trying to see if it said anything else. It was a rather odd note to leave myself, but my curiosity got the better of me. Placing the note down on the counter, I crossed the small area of my living room and headed down towards the front door. As I approached the door, it felt like my throat was closing up, my heart racing in my chest.
Slowly, I reached out and opened the door, peering down the hallway towards the stairs and elevators. It was rather dark, the lights off. There was nothing there, making me frown and shake my head as I turned to look towards the end of the hall where another window was located, which caused me to do a double take.
Nearly stumbling over myself, I quickly walked towards the window, placing my hands against the frame as I stared at the world outside. It was Albion, Bowerstone to be exact. I felt my arms start to shake, a heavy feeling settling upon my stomach as I stared with my mouth agape. The skyscrapers had been replaced with tall chimneys spewing black smoke into the sky and a distance silhouette of the castle in the distance. The shops and houses had been replaced with broken down and depressing looking houses, people walking around with sad and tired expressions.
What...?
I froze when I heard something click behind me, an unpleasant shiver running up my spine. Slowly, I turned around, coming face-to-face with the barrel of the gun. My world went black as I heard the sound of a gunshot echoing in my ears, accompanied by my own scream.
I was sitting up in my cot quicker than I thought possible, the way my head seemed to sway, my eyes wide open. My vision was slightly blurred with tears, though I could tell that I was still in Page's hideout, sitting behind the boxes on the hard cot. I gasped deeply, finding my breath again as I covered my eyes, rocking back and forth slightly.
Not again...I thought to myself, feeling my heart racing in my chest, just a nightmare. I'm fine. I'm safe...
Running my hands down my face, I shook my head as the nightmare started to fade. This was the third night in a row where nightmares plagued me when I would close my eyes, though this one seemed to trump the rest. I could handle falling off a cliff, even confronting a nightmarish version of Reaver, but this one...it gave me a sense of false comfort, hope, and ripped it away.
That's it, I thought to myself as I pulled myself up, raising my arms above my head to stretch out my back, I am done with sleep. I'll just stay up...or ask someone to knock me out.
I just started walking, head aching with lack of sleep and limbs heavy. I reached the main part of the sewers, entering into the main room of the hideout, noticing Page looking down at a map of Albion with a stern and serious expression.
Or, a more serious expression than usual. She was a stubborn and hard-working woman, something I admired, and I found myself liking her more as I remained in the sewers, even with her prickly and somewhat cold exterior. I managed to get two genuine smiles out of her over the week and a half I had stayed with her.
Still, she kept a hold of my weapons, even if she was being somewhat friendly towards me. It was rather frustrating, but asking her about it just brought up more suspicion from her, so I decided to let her decide when to give them to me.
Page glanced up when I wondered into the room, her frown deepening and her eyebrows pulling together.
"You look horrible," she remarked, her eyes following me as I walked towards the table, peering down at the map.
"Nightmares," I muttered, placing my hands against the table and leaned forwards slightly, "I haven't been able to get no more than a few hours of sleep."
"What about?" Page asked, sounding interested. I glanced up at her, rubbing my hand against the side of my face.
"I can't remember much of them, really. I remember one that I had fallen off a cliff, the other involved Reaver, and the most recent one was that I was back home. The last two involve me getting shot, and all of them end when I die," I said, some tears building up that I managed to blink away.
"You have been shot before, and you are far away from your home," Page said, sounding oddly comforting, "nightmares are understandable."
"I guess so," I muttered, nodding my head, "still, I need a distraction. Is there anything that I can help with?"
"I don't know if I would trust you with some tasks," Page said, a slight smile crossing her face, "the state you are in. You look like you might fall asleep on your feet."
"I'm fine," I insisted, chuckling slightly.
"I doubt that," Page said with a sigh, "still, I do have a task for you."
"Really?" I asked, tilting my head. Page usually just told me to continue to rest and heal, brushing me out of the way when I would ask if she needed some help.
"It isn't anything too dangerous or overly important," Page said, "I had gotten word that Reaver is looking for new house staff, it seems that he may be staying a while. I figured that you should think about changing your appearance, change your hair or something," Page said, then gestured towards me with a slightly amused expression, "it would also get you out of those clothes."
I smiled, "they are pretty gross..."
Still, I couldn't help but wonder about what she had said about Reaver. I had thought that once he believed that he had killed me, he would slink back to where he had been hiding. Why was he staying? I am sure Page would be wondering that as well, though she didn't seem to bring that up. Still, the idea that he was waiting for me was downright terrifying.
"I thought that I would send someone with you to Bowerstone to make sure that you don't run into trouble," Page continued, the hope of getting my pistol back dwindling slightly. "You might remember him, he was there when we found you."
I paused, thinking back a couple weeks to my confrontation with Reaver and what had followed after.
"Blue eyes, blond hair?" I asked, Page raising her eyebrow slightly.
"Yes," she said, "have you met before?"
"Educated guess," I said with a shrug, "I might have opened my eyes when you guys brought me down here, I remember seeing a pair of blue eyes and blond hair, though I was running a fever apparently and might have hallucinated the whole thing."
"I see," Page said with a nod, "still, I might as well apologize if he annoys you, though in your sleepless state, you might find some amusement from him."
"Oh?" I asked, a small grin passing my face, "is he funny?"
"You forgot devilishly handsome," a new voice chimed in, making me jump slightly as I turned to look behind me.
A man that looked a little bit older than myself walked towards the two of us, a grin on his face. Some of his blond hair fell into his face, familiar blue eyes meeting my gaze with some amusement in them. I was about the same height as him, which was odd, seeing as shortness seemed to run in my family.
Had I grown while I was here?
"Seems you healed up nicely," the man said, breaking me out of my wondering thought train, sticking out his hand for me to shake, "Ben Finn."
"Bryn," I said with a nod, shaking his hand with a small smile. I removed my hand from his, glancing back towards Page, who seemed to be looking at Ben with mild annoyance. Did they not get along? Though, if Ben was aware of her annoyance, he didn't seem to pick up on it much.
"You two should go soon," Page said, "the shops should be open by now, though I wouldn't stay out too long. Meet me back here when you two are done."
"Straight to business, I see," Ben said, Page giving him a look as she started to head towards the back of the room. I watched her go for a few moments before I looked over at Ben, who started to lead me towards the exit of the sewers. I followed after him, some excitement building up inside me at the idea of being outside for a while, though I was a little anxious about it as well.
"So," I started as Bowerstone Market was coming into view, "did Page send you to make sure trouble doesn't come my way and to help pick out dresses, or did she send you to make sure I am not the one causing trouble?"
I glanced up at Ben with a small grin on my face, one which he returned with a chuckle.
"I see you have acquainted yourself with Page fairly well," he said, a sigh escaping my lungs as I shook my head.
"What do I have to do to get her to trust me?" I asked, "I'm letting her keep my weapons until she feels ready to give them back to me, I don't pester her too much, and I do whatever she asks of me. Do I need to drop Reaver's head on her desk or something?"
"Well, that would certainly be a start," Ben said as we walked into the slightly busy market, my eyes looking around for any familiar faces that might cause some problems, "Page has a hard time trusting people, I would give her some time."
"I guess so," I muttered, some of my sleepiness dissipating into irritation and some fustration. I managed to swallow that for a bit as I took a glance around the market, looking towards one of the shops that had a picture of a mirror on the wooden sign above the front door, taking a guess that it would be the place to get a new hair style.
I glanced towards Ben again, giving him a small smile. "I'll try and see if I can keep things quick, I don't think waiting around for me is the most interesting thing."
"Well, I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed it, but I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you," Ben said, making me fight back the urge to roll my eyes as I headed towards the shop. Then again, I really couldn't blame Page if I thought about it. She had a right to be weary of me, seeing as I have been lying to her. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with her.
Maybe I should confront her about it...I thought as I walked into the shop, noticing some of the hair styles lined up on some model heads, my eyes landing on some chairs in front of mirrors.
"Can I help you?" a woman asked, walking towards me with a polite smile, though I could see some of the disgust on her face at my appearance. I'd probably react the same way, seeing as I had spent a week in the sewers of Bowerstone Industrial.
"I'm looking for some help..." I said, gesturing to my head. The woman started to nod in understanding, her smile becoming more sympathetic.
"Of course, dear," she said, gesturing towards one of the seats in front of the mirror, "please, sit!"
I took a seat in front of the mirror, avoiding to look at my reflection as I looked down at my pants. Though, curiosity had me looking up into the mirror. I frowned at what was reflected back at me, the woman in the mirror blinking when I did, her mouth twitching slightly when mine would. Though, she looked thinner, my usually fleshy cheeks looking a little hollow, dark rings under her green eyes, dirt and grime on her face. Her black hair looking messy and in need of a wash, my gaze moving down to my neck where I saw the scar where I had been shot, a few other cuts and scratches on my face.
I did look horrible.
The woman came up behind me, looking at me in the mirror also. She had a thoughtful expression on her face, hand on her chin as she hummed slightly.
"Oh, I have just the thing!" she exclaimed, "we will pull it up, dye it pink. It has quite the popularity in Millfields, and in with the current fashions."
I stared at her in the mirror, trying to picture what she had described, and shook my head rather harshly. "No, please! T-Thank you, but I was looking for something more practical...I really do like my hair colour."
"Alright, as you wish," the woman muttered, "though I don't understand why you would try and avoid current fashions. Regardless, I am very good at what I do, and I'll find you something just as good!"
"This is proving to be rather interesting after all," I heard Ben pipe in, making me turn to give him a glare as the stylist started to work.
It felt like forever before I deemed myself ready to return back to the sewers, my hair now cut slightly shorter and pulled up on top of my head in a bun. It worked nicely at keeping it out of my face, and I finally got out of the shirt and pants and into a somewhat restricting dress and a black coat. I would eventually be concealing a weapon on my person, anyway.
Ben proved to be a bit on a flirty side, though he seemed to have a witty comment about something or other. He reminded me of Darren, my brother, and I found myself wanting to be away from him a little more. Still, it was nice to have someone to interact with. It made me wonder about Isobel back in Brightwall, and I made a mental note to go and visit her when I had some down time.
It was reaching mid-day when Ben and I made it back into Industrial and back into the hideout. Page gave me a small smile when I arrived back, making me give her a tired one in return.
"You look good," Page said with a nod, looking back down at the map as Ben walked past me to stand at the other end of the table.
"So, do you have any new information?" he asked, Page glancing up at him with a sigh.
"The factories are up and running again," she said, glancing over at me for a few moments before continuing, "I am going to send in some of my people to see what Reaver is planning, though I am reluctant to do so after what happened the last time. I doubt it will be long before I am called to the Royal court room to oppose one of his ridiculous ideas and I would like to know what he is planning before that happens. I just hope that they will be more careful this time while they are getting information."
"What if you had someone there to protect them?" I asked, the wheels starting to turn in my head, "let me do it."
"No," Page said, giving me a hard look, "you will just be putting yourself in danger, you may look a little different, but you are still recognizable."
"I am reluctant to show up on his doorstep as well," I said, "I don't necessarily like the feeling of being shot, but think about it. He probably believes that he killed me, and if I show up alive, scars and all, it might be enough of a distraction to allow your people to situate themselves."
"There is too much of a risk that he will kill you," Page said, "I understand that you wish to help, but this isn't the way to do it. It is reckless and impulsive."
"Let me do this," I said gently, stepping towards her slightly, "I want to help."
"Why are you so willing to throw yourself back into the line of fire?" Page asked, turning to face me fully, "Reaver shot you a week ago, I don't understand why you are so persistent on doing this."
"I want to earn your trust," I said, looking into her eyes, "I know how to handle myself, and I can be fairly persuasive if I need to be. I'll try and convince Reaver that I am not his enemy, competition, or any of that. I'll try and get him to teach me how to shoot, or find another way to work for him, that way I can watch over your rebels."
Page shook her head, "you really want to do this? You do realize that if this goes wrong, you will be putting not only your own life in danger but a number of others as well."
"I understand," I said, "and I will try my hardest to not let that happen, but you have to let me try."
"This is a suicide mission," Ben spoke up, looking over at me, "you might as well paint a target on your head as well."
"I know, but I lured him here. I might as well try and help fix some of the mess I made."
"I can't believe I am even doing this," I heard Page mutter as she walked away from the table and started to dig around in a box, pulling out my familiar holster, my pistol hanging off the side. She approached me, holding them out for me to take, "you have a week to try and convince Reaver to work with you. You will return back here, regardless of if he accepts you or not. Do you understand?"
I nodded my head, taking the pistol from her and started to secure it at my hip again.
"I'll try my hardest not to let you down, Page."