"Even the strongest fall down sometimes, get up and stop weeping- you have so much to live for, my baby girl"
Chapter Twelve
Everything was dark, but warm. At least my skin was warm but it felt like the core of me was still freezing. I stared at the image before me and wanted to cringe.
The face was pale- almost sickly so. The dark eyes were bloodshot and there were darker bruises underneath them. The soft pink lips were parted drawing in the air and the markings stood out from the skin. But most of all was the swollen brand on the right side of my face; it was crusted with dried blood and scabbing over. Big slender ears drew away and were pointed down.
The servant number one was brushing my long hair out softly and chattering away in my ear. They had woken me up from my unfit-full sleep and told me that training would begin soon. Servant number two was going back and forth between a tan colored shirt and the brown shirt. The breeches lay on the soft bed long forgotten.
"There!" she said moving her small hands away from my head. She pulled my hair into a high ponytail and then tied off three other sections going down my long hair. It was weird to see my long bangs pulled into the ponytail. It reviled more of my baby bangs which now covered the marking on my forehead.
"How do you like it?" she asked with a hopeful light in her eyes. I shrugged and nodded, I wasn't in a mood to pretend to be mean or nice. She squealed with delight and walked over to her partner and helped her pick out the tan shirt.
The tan shirt was big on me and I pulled the long sleeves up to my upper bicep and the rest of it fell to my elbows. The breeches fit my hips nicely but it only fell to my knees. S-2 motioned for me to sit down again and I gladly did. I didn't have any energy. She wrapped my feet in a thick cloth that the Dalish used when it was summer and we wanted something on our feet. She left my toes and heel bare. It only reached up to my ankle. S-1 handed me a shawl and started leading away.
Servant two soon scurried away and I got lost following s-1. I knew now that if I ever wanted to run away that I could just hide away in one of the many winding halls that looked like they never ever ended.
"This way!" she yelled turning yet another corner. Soon I found myself in a beautiful court yard with huge trees looking down on you. Once again I was called to. I hopped over mounts of snow when she took a left.
My feet thankfully hit sand instead of snow and I pulled the shawl tighter. Servant one came running and handed me an apple.
"You only have a minute or so before you have to start training. I hope you do well!" she said with an innocent smile.
"What are your names?" I asked biting into the cold fresh apple; I closed my eyes in joy when the taste hit my tongue.
"I am Eli and she is Illin, but you can call her I." servant number two said.
"Thank you Eli and Illin." I said looking at the apple in my small hands.
"Hurry up and finish that. Our trainer is coming." Conner said coming up behind me. He also had two servants following him. One boy looked to be nine the other seventeen. The seventeen year old took the cloak that was wrapped around him. Illin took my shawl and the rest of my green apple.
The human women didn't say anything but stared us down. It was the woman from before when we trained for the Golden trials. She had almond shape eyes that were light green with brown in them. She had short light brown hair in a high ponytail with an orange colored headband that pulled her hair tightly away from her face. She looked down her long straight nose at us and it was turned so the light hit it perfectly. Her skin was flawless, not a scar or nick ever touched her it.
"I am Ziy'ha. You will follow every order I give you- even if it means to break a leg." She said pressing her thin lips together and moved closer. She handed us a long wooden staff and walked away. I blinked in confusion at her retreating back swaying her non-existent hips.
I looked down at the staff held loosely in my grip and wished I didn't have to fight anymore. I stayed with my eyes on the staff and closed my eyes. I took in the grains of sand at my feet, the way the cold air danced around, the smell of dew carried on the breeze. And the sound of a person moving stealthily behind me made it to my ears making them serve.
I snapped the staff up opening my eyes and kicked the person in my knee. The person easily blocked my kick and the staff in a fluid motion and snapped their own blunt weapon at me. I quickly and clumsily blocked it. The person kept hitting me with quick sessions to the knees, ankles, hips, and shoulders. I blocked half of them; the other half stung reminding me to be faster.
I faked to the right and kicked sand into the person's face. I brought my wooden staff hard onto the person's head breaking it- but thankfully knocking them unconscious. I let out a small cry out of the back of my throat as I panted. I looked over to where Conner was and wanted sit down and stay down.
Conner was fending off two attackers and he was doing really badly with the staff. He used his magic a lot tiring himself out. Red welts were forming on his skin and he was sweating but his eyes held his determination.
I ran quickly and blocked the blow that would have hit his side by crossing the now broken staff. I grabbed the person's weapon and kicked them near the thighs. The weapon easily cut into my hands making the weapon slicker.
"The right upper side is open!" I called out to Conner glancing at the one on one fight. My accent veiled my words making it seem like I was talking in the olden tongue. A sting hit me in the hip reminding me to pay attention to my fight. I ended up in a tied up battle with this person and just wanted to scream.
"Just" I gasped swinging the staff hard into the shoulder "Hold…" I got hit in the calf "The fuck . . . STILL" I grunted side stepping instead of blocking. Thankfully Conner moved with me and we switched sides. I was now back to back to him and facing a grinning foot soldier. I glared and kicked him in the jewels and started choking him. He was moving wildly and pulling at my fingers.
"Move!" I called out to Conner as the foot soldier stumbled in his direction. I jumped off him and watched them fall. We quickly then knocked them down, and they stayed down.
I was panting and leaning onto Conner and reached my hand out to touch his forehead. He was in bad shape with scarlet welts all over his body and sweat running down him. Regeneration magic rushed through my body and I held my hand over his forehead and recycled the magic rushing into me. My markings glowed softly as I watched the bright welts fade from his skin. He was healing me and I him.
"You're a mage?" He panted to me.
"No, every Dalish has some gift." I said looking up at the stormy sky. He opened his mouth to reply when Ziy'ha came walking over.
"You will do it again until darkness falls." She growled and turned away. I glared at her back and picked up the broken weapons at my feet.
"I'll take the left, you take the right?" I asked moving my sore muscles.
"Deal."
I thought I would die before the night came but I was grinning like a fool when the night ran her dark fingers in the sky. I fell to the ground and closed my eyes when Ziy'ha told us to stop. Conner fell down beside me with a groan and I think we would have stayed there if not for Eli and Illin coming with the two others.
"Come on." Illin said grabbing my hand and trying to pull me up. After a minute I got up and was handed a wet cloth. I gratefully held in to the brand and limped after them. I ate my dinner with drooping eyes and was falling asleep during bath time.
"It'll get better." Eli said closing the door softly as I wobbled over to the bed. I quickly snuffed out the candle and looked at the full moon through the window.
"Happy birthday . . . Fajra." I whispered looking at the sky and watched it reach its highest peak- the time of my birth- with tears in my eyes. I held tightly to the blankets around me and cried and cried.
"It'll be okay." A comforting voice said as the bed dipped. I threw myself at my shadowed man and cried myself asleep.