So I find myself with not nearly enough time to keep this thing updated like I originally wanted to. I will keep updating it, but I am not gonna promise deadlines. Between when I finish and how long it takes my betas to get back to me, I just cannot promise a set amount of time. Anyways here's Chapter 10!
Two figures sat around a long dead fire in the middle of a campsite, while a dog patrolled the outskirts. The man, who was giant in comparison, sat cross legged across from a woman, who sat perched on her knees in front of him.
Gweneira Hawke studied the man in front of her. He was large. No, large was an understatement. Sergio was large. Wraith was gigantic. He must be part ogre or something. Unlike Sergio, who's armor barely seemed to contain him, Wraith's armor seemed to accentuate his strength. She could see the muscles just beneath the armor, and it gave him a lean, predatory look. He was as motionless as a statue. He didn't even fidget. What bothered her the most was the fact that she had no idea where he was looking. He could be studying her just as much as she was studying him. His bizarre looking armor was primarily white with red highlights. The metal was of a kind she had never seen before. The golden part of the helmet, where the eye holes should have been, was unnerving because every time she looked to try and get a read on him, she found her own reflection staring back. It had to be some kind of glass.
After five minutes of staring at one another, the behemoth finally spoke. Gwen was so focused that when his deep voice registered on her ears, she jumped. "Where did Sergio go?" he asked in his Maker forsaken sexy voice that she could just listen to forever. It wasn't fair; she already had to deal with Fenris' voice.
"He went back to Val Royeaux to report back to his superiors. He wanted to ask why they were labeling me a Maleficar as well," she responded as nonchalantly as she could manage, not wanting to alarm a potential ally. She felt as though she did a good job of hiding her previous thoughts. He looked at her for an awkward span of thirty seconds.
"Oh right, I forgot I was wearing my helmet and you can't see my look of confusion," he stated. She could visualize the smirk that must be plastered on his handsome face.
"Do you mind removing it then, while we talk?" she asked, "I like being able to see a person's expressions when I'm talking to them." She reminded herself that it was not to look at his strong jaw or perfect nose.
"Sure," he responded with a shrug, "You've already seen it anyways." He reached up and gently twisted the helmet. There was a pop and a hiss as air escaped from somewhere she couldn't see. He lifted the helmet and set it beside his body. The first thing that captured her attention was the color of his eyes, which unfortunately when he was unconscious, she had never seen before. They were a deep dark blue that resembled the ocean. There was strength and determination behind those eyes, as well as a deep sadness. The sensation was vaguely familiar. Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted.
"What?" he asked, "Is there something on my face?" He smiled at her. It was dazzling. Gwen found herself involuntarily turn red at having been caught staring. She never blushed!
"No," she responded, "Just admiring the view." Now it was his turn to blush , and Gwen thought it was rather cute. "Do you have any questions?" she asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.
His face quickly turned back to its original color. "Oh right, I assume Val Royeaux is a city." She nodded in confirmation. "Then what the heck is a Maleficar?" If she could judge from his expression, he was genuinely curious and had no idea what one was.
"A blood mage," she replied as ominously as she could. His eyebrow rose in confusion. Gwen found herself giggling. Like a teenager! She couldn't believe it., and here she was, a thirty year old woman! She quickly schooled her features. "A blood mage is a mage who makes a deal with a demon in order to learn how to bend someone else's blood to their will. It is a shortcut to power and most of the people who do it suffer for it. They lack discipline and patience, both of which are very essential to the use of magic."
Now her curiosity was piqued. This man had no clue about what magic or demons or the Chantry involved. Who was he? She finally voiced a question. "Where are you from?" she asked.
Wraith gained a far off look in his eyes and after a few seconds he spoke. "Someplace far away," he sighed.
"Where?" she asked, "Across the sea?"
"Much, much farther than that," he said as he smiled a secretive smile at her. He was being deliberately vague.
"Well…" she hesitated, "How do you plan on getting back?"
He frowned at her and some of the strength left his shoulders as he slumped over. "I have no idea," he said dejectedly. At that moment, Gwen decided she did not like it when he was depressed.
She gently laid a hand on his shoulder and he made eye contact with her. When she was sure she had his attention she stated, "I'll help you. Do you know where to start? You said something about buildings made of metal?" He nodded at her. "There is a circle in Brynnlaw, I have business I need to take care of and they will probably have a library that might contain the information you seek." She stood up and offered her hand to Wraith. "Would you like to accompany me there?" she asked.
He smiled and stood to join her. He gripped her hand firmly and said, "Absolutely."
A Few Hours Later:
Dominic examined the woman in front of him. She strode at a leisurely walk through the dense forest. She didn't even hesitate;, she seemed to know where she was going. Her black curls bounced in the wind while she absentmindedly reached down to stroke her dog's head. There was a bounce in her step. She did not look like a previous prisoner or almost rape victim. He hadn't mentioned what he interrupted, nor had she. She just thanked him in general for saving her. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to pry. She probably hoped he didn't realize what he interrupted. For some reason, Dominic found his eyes wandering to her ass and he swiftly gave himself a mental kick. He didn't usually have this problem. He had seen women before, but none had gotten his attention, not like her. He mentally shrugged and decided to start up a conversation.
"How do you know where we are going?" he asked.
She just glanced back and shrugged. "The short answer… Magic. Want the long answer?" she asked, probably smirking even though he couldn't see her face.
"Nothing else to talk about, so sure," he stated, trying to draw the conversation out.
"My father was an ex-circle mage. When a mage becomes a part of the Circle, a vial of blood is drawn and then enchanted, so the mage can be tracked no matter where they go. It is a rather hypocritical use of blood magic. When I was captured, they drew my blood. My father taught us a technique to back trace our blood, in order for us to properly defend ourselves against blood magic and the Chantry," she explained. Dominic figured it was a very watered down version so his mind could grasp the gist of it. Very thoughtful of her.
"The only reason to have a universal tracker is to stop a person from ever escaping, right?" he asked for clarification, his mind working a mile a minute. She turned and nodded to him. "You can heal and do so much good in the world… Why keep people like you locked away from the world? Doesn't make much sense to me," he said absentmindedly, as if he was merely thinking out loud.
She responded to his monologue anyways. "That's what most of us say. I've done a lot of good in my life and not once have ever made a deal with a demon. The Chantry states they lock us away in order to protect society from our evils," she stated.
Dominic couldn't help the laugh the came out of his mouth. "That's stupid, that's like saying I am going to lock up every human ever, because they can potentially kill the person next to them," he stated with a heavy amount of disbelief.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't make the rules, I just tend to break and avoid the ones I don't agree with," she laughed and threw him a smile over her shoulder that left him dazzled.
He could hear the roaring of a river not too far in front of them. They stayed in silence until they came to its shores.
"It's too deep and the current is too strong," she quickly observed, "We'll have to find a way around."
Dominic stood at the edge of the river and looked down. It was raging pretty fast, but it didn't look deeper than six feet. "No we don't" he corrected, "I can carry you and the dog."
She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. Those violet eyes of hers trying to judge whether or not to believe him. The dog - Boomer was his name, he remembered - just walked up to him and sat down in front of Dominic. At least the bear-dog had faith in his abilities. He easily shouldered the two hundred pound dog and Hawke looked at him in amazement.
"Hoist me and I'll zap you with lightning," She threatened him and to reinforce her statement, her hand started to crackle with electricity.
He felt his eyebrow raise underneath his helmet and an amused smile slowly crossed his features. "What do you suggest, oh, mighty Master of Thunder?" he loudly asked whilst gestured vaguely around.
She looked at the river and then back at him. Slowly, a smile came to her lips.
"Kneel," she commanded. Dominic found himself reflexively obeying. As he came down on one knee, he found himself at her height. She strode forward and looked at the dog on his shoulder.
"Don't give me that look!" she argued with him, "You know I don't like being hoisted!"
She put one foot on his knee and quickly scrambled into a sitting position on his opposite shoulder. She was amazingly light. Easily fifty pounds lighter than the dog. "Hold on," he told her while he found himself smirking. She instantly wrapped her arms around his helmet, steadying herself and making sure not to blind him. "Got a good enough seat?" he asked.
"Oh most definitely," she responded with a slight waver in her voice. Dominic smiled beneath his helmet.
"I wasn't talking to you," his voice was full of mirth as he looked towards Boomer. The dog huffed in what sounded suspiciously like a laugh in response and nodded. Gwen playfully smacked the side of his head, but she quickly tightened her grip as Dominic crossed the threshold and stepped into the raging waters.