47

Chapter Seven: In Which I Make A Life-Changing Decision.

"What do ya mean, you've been 'waiting for me'?" I demanded from the disembodied voice. "Oi! Show yourself!" I wildly looked around the cavern, searching for the source of the voice. I feel like I'm in some kind of fucked-up, fantasy horror movie. Any moment now, that person'll jump out and stab me in the throat. That's how this always ends.

The mysterious person chuckled. "There's no need to fear, dear girl, I'm not going to kill you." The voice was no longer booming, and I saw a figure step out of the shadows. It was covered in a long, black hooded cloak, so I couldn't see their face, but judging by the deepness of their voice, I'm just going to assume that this person is a dude.

"What's with all the cloak-and-dagger?" I asked mockingly. "Too afraid to show your face?"

"Only to others, my dear. Not to you." He reached up and pulled the hood down from over his head. He was indeed male, and he wasn't that bad-looking either, although he was probably a lot older than me. His eyes were two different colors, just like mine, but I could tell it wasn't from half-blindness. His right eye was blue, and his left eye was a bright orange. He had short-ish black hair, a little soul patch under his bottom lip, and he had several scars on his face. One ran over his right eye, and another ran across his nose, while the last one ran from his left temple to the middle of his jaw.

"What happened to you?" I asked. "Didja get in a catfight? Have a falling-out with a tiger?"

The man laughed. "You have a clever tongue, girl! I like you. You'll be perfect."

I looked at him like he was a crazy person. "Perfect? Perfect for what?"

He didn't answer my question right away. "If the information I was given is correct…you are blind in your left eye, are you not?"

"Okay, I'm getting a little freaked out here," I said cautiously. "How the hell do ya know so much about me? I'm pretty sure I'd remember you if we'd met before."

"We haven't met," the man said. "Which reminds me…" He took a deep bow. "Lokir, at your service, milady." He straightened. "Now, regarding your…limited sight… If given the opportunity, you would want to restore your vision, wouldn't you?" I gave him an "are-you-stupid" look, and he chuckled. "Of course you would. What would you say if I told you that I have a way for you to do just that?"
"If this is the Thedas version of the van, the rapist, and the candy…" I folded my arms across my chest. "I'm not buying it."

My reply took Lokir by surprise. "What…no. Maker, you are a strange one." He shook his head. "I have constructed a formula that can not only cure your blindness, but it will make you stronger than you are now. Would you like that, Amari?"

"Okay, I believe this is the part where I back away slowly…" I said, taking a slow step backward.

Lokir raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Do not worry; I am not going to force anything on you. Take my offer or don't…that is your choice." He sauntered towards the cave's exit, but stopped when he was beside me. A smirk stretching across his face, he leaned toward me and said softly in my ear, "But you will take it. Your curiosity…your desire for power will pull you to it." He straightened. "When you change your mind, I will be waiting for you here. Safe travels, my dear~" With that, he walked confidently out of the cave.

"What a creep…" I mumbled to myself, after Lokir was no longer in my sight. "Whatevs, I won't let the potential rapist get in my head." I turned to a wall and chipped off a few more crystals, stuffed them into my pack, then left the cave, heading back to good ol' Kirkwall.

*IN THE HANGED MAN*

Well, looks like it's back to the ol' grind. I walked into my favorite tavern in all of Thedas, picking up my guitar from the inside of the bar counter, where Corff was standing.

"Amari. On time as always," the bartender greeted. I winked at him.

"I'd never think of disappointing my boss," I said sweetly.

"Amari!" Anders' voice made my nose twitch. I wiped any expression off my face and turned around, to find the mage rushing up to me. "There you are! Where did you run off to? I was searching all over Kirkwall for you!"

I looked at him coldly. "I was exploring the Wounded Coast. Why?"

Anders sighed. "I thought I told you to stay in Kirkwall! The Wounded Coast is much more dangerous when you're on your own!"

"Oh, come off it, you douche!" I snapped. He blinked in surprise. "Stop acting like you care, and stop acting like what I do is any of your business. It'll save us both a lot of trouble."

"What you do IS my business," Anders insisted. "Your my assistant, of course I care about your safety!"

I tilted my head, looking at him innocently. "Oh, so if I wasn't your assistant, you wouldn't give a rat's ass what happened to me, right?"

He grimaced. "That came out wrong—"

"I'm nothing but an extra pair of hands to you!" I growled. "Well, you don't have to waste your time worrying about me anymore. I think my time as your assistant is done. I'll find a way to help the mages on my own. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a job to do." I pushed past him onto the little stage Corff had built for me, leaving Anders dumbstruck and speechless. "Hey there, all you lovely Kirkwallians," I called, putting a bright grin on my face as the tavern's patrons eagerly turned to me. "It's me again! You ready for some music?"

"Yeah!" the crowd cheered, raising their mugs.

"That's what I like to hear!" I positioned my fingers on my guitar. "This song's for all you girls who are about to make the mistake of loving some dumbass guy!" I ignored Anders as he tried to catch my gaze, choosing instead to start the song.

"Hey good girl,

With your head in the clouds,

I bet you I can tell you what you're thinkin' about.

You'll see a good boy,

Gonna give you the world,

But he's gonna leave you cryin' with your heart in the dirt.

"His lips are drippin' honey

But he'll sting you like a bee!

So lock up all your love and go and throw away the key.

Hey good girl,

Get out while you can.

I know you think you've got a good man…

"Why, why you gotta be so blind?

Won't you open up your eyes?

It's just a matter of time, till you find…

He's no good, girl, no good for you.

You better get to gettin' on your goodbye shoes and go, go, go…

Better listen to me, he's low, low, low…

"Hey good girl.

You got a heart of gold!

You want a white weddin' and a hand you can hold!

Just like you should, girl.

Like every good girl does.

Want a fairytale endin', somebody to love.

"But he's really good at lyin'!

Yeah, he'll leave you in the dust.

'Cause when he says forever, well, it don't mean much.

Hey good girl,

So good for him,

Better back away, honey, you don't know where he's been!"

"Why, why you gotta be so—"

"Amari!'

The sound of my name made me stop. Frowning, I peered into the crowd…only to see Garrett pushing his way towards me. My eyes widened. "Garrett!"

The crowd began to boo loudly, glaring at Garrett, angry at him for interrupting the song. "Quiet, you drunkards! I'll keep singing after I speak with my brother!" I snapped, setting my guitar down and hopping off the stage. The reply I got was a few grumbles as the crowd went back to drinking.

I ran into Garrett's outstretched arms, hugging him tightly. "You're back! I'm so happy to see you, Big Brother!" I cried.

Garret hugged me back just as tightly. "It's so good to finally see my little sister again. I've missed you, 'Mari."

I let him go, looking around the tavern excitedly. "Where's Carver? Did he come to see me too? Man, I can't wait to hear about all the stuff you did in the Deep Roads! I bet Carver was awesome, showing you guys what he could do!" I tilted my head, staring at Garrett when he remained silent. His gaze was fixed on the floor, and he…almost looked on the verge of tears. "Gare…? What's wrong?"

"Carver…didn't come back with me," Garrett murmured.

I frowned. "Oh. Well, where is he? I wanna go see the little brat."

Garrett swallowed hard, expression turning pained. "You can't see him anymore. Our little brother, he…he didn't make it."

"What…?" I took a step back, eyes widening in horror. "You mean…he's dead?"

"It was the blight," Garrett explained. "He was killed by the taint."

My expression twisted with rage. "Why didn't you save him?! Grey Wardens are always in the Deep Roads, right? Why didn't you try to find them?!"

"Amari, I—"

"You were supposed to protect him! You let our little brother die!" I screamed, taking a step toward him with tears falling down my cheeks.

"I did the best I could!" Garrett yelled, tears falling from his eyes as well. "You think I wanted to see my brother die?! It was like Bethany all over again!" He took a deep breath. "Even if there were Grey Wardens down there, we wouldn't have found them in time. I protected him the best I could!"

I sniffled, glaring at my feet. "It wasn't enough," I grumbled. My mother's face flashed in my mind. The best we can do…is never enough. "I'm leaving," I said suddenly. Not even waiting for a response from, Garrett, I marched to the door.

"Amari, where do you think you're going? You've got a song to finish!" Corff yelled from behind the bar.

"Fuck off, Corff! I'm going for a walk, go ahead and deduct my pay if that'll satisfy ya!" I growled back, storming outside and slamming the door on the way out.

*IN THE WOUNDED COAST*

And then, I suddenly found myself in the Wounded Coast, staring at the opening of the cave where I encountered Lokir. Crazy thoughts were racing through my scrambled mind.

What if Lokir isn't lying? What if he can cure my blindness? What if he really can make me stronger? If I'm stronger, maybe I can protect my loved ones better. Maybe I can stop them from dying all around me. Maybe I should accept his offer…

What have I got to lose?

My legs started moving of their own accord, my mind foggy with grief. I wandered into the cave, instinctively navigating through until I found the exact spot where we first met.

"Amari Benett…" I turned to see Lokir emerge from the shadows again. "Well now, you came back quicker than I expected. Have you reconsidered my offer?"

"I have." I was barely aware of my own reply. "….I accept."

A dark smirk slowly stretched across the dark-haired man's face. "That is music to my ears, dear girl. Come here…I'll administer the formula immediately." In my haze, I didn't even think to question his dark smirk or the sly tone of his voice. Only one thing was on my mind: become stronger…fast. So, I slowly walked up to him, stopping just a few inches in front of him. "Hold out your arm." I held my arm straight out. Then, Lokir pulled something out of a small sack. It was a container. Opening the lid, he pulled out…was that a syringe? Do they even have those here? Anyway, he tossed the container carelessly to the floor. Normally, I would have made some smart-ass comment about littering, but I wasn't exactly in a normal state of mind. I hardly even felt it when he stuck the needle into my arm, injecting whatever that glowing purple stuff was into my bloodstream. …Okay, the fact that the stuff was GLOWING should have put up some red flags. But there was no turning back now…

Just as Lokir finished the injection, a wave of pain washed over me, making me cry out and fall to the floor. The agony pulsed, as though it was in tune to MY pulse. And with every wave, the pain grew, until my cries turned into screams.

"Ha ha! Yes! It's working!" I heard Lokir yell triumphantly. "All my research, all my experiments, all my hard work…it's paying off!"

My vision blurred. From my position on the ground, I saw bright purple flames rising from underneath me. I looked at my arms, only to find them covered in flames as well. Why aren't I getting burned…?

"AMARI!"

Another voice shouted from my right. Anders…?

"You bastard! What did you DO to her?!" he growled.

I can't feel the pain anymore.

"I made history! You could never understand!" I heard Lokir reply.

"You will never touch this girl again."

Anders' voice suddenly became much deeper, and it boomed around me. There was a flash of bright blue, and Lokir fell silent.

Why is it so hard to see? I feel like my mind is slipping away…

"Amari?" I could hardly feel Anders' arms around me as he lifted me onto his lap. "Amari, can you hear me? Stay awake, darling. I'll heal you, just look at me…" He breathed in sharply. "Maker preserve us…what happened to your eye?"

What's he saying? I can't hear very well, either.

"What did that psycho do to you…?" Anders said softly. "Don't worry, I'll help you. I'll get you somewhere safe, and…"

I'm so sleepy…Anders wouldn't mind if I napped on his lap for a while, would he?

"Oh no. Don't close your eyes! C'mon, Amari, stay with me…"

That's it, mortal. Don't listen to that silly man. Close your eyes, sleep well…and be born anew.

Well, if you say so…

"Shit! Amari, look at me! Dammit—"

Can't hear you. I'm just gonna listen to that other voice in my head and go to sleep for a while… Not sure where that voice came from, but that's okay…goodnight…

"Amari!"