Just a short story about Cordelia and her life [way] before The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. Hopefully you like! Please leave a review :)
The boy ran. He ran through the small space between two passing townsfolk walking on the main cobblestone road of Mejis. His left hand was clenched tightly in anticipation and his arms pumped beside him, propelling him faster away from his pursuer. In his right hand, he held a small rag doll whose button eyes dangled from breaking strings.
He skidded sideways around the baker's cart, careful not to accidentally hit any loaf or bun in the process. Behind him he heard his sister's cries.
"Pat!" Her desperate voice called. "Give it back!"
The boy just laughed, and continued on his way to the other side of the village. He felt practically invincible as he ran from his sister who was only a year younger than him. He jumped over a fallen bottle outside of the local bar, and turned around the side of the building.
Continuing down the alleyway, Pat began to lose his breath. He began to pant lightly, but did not lose his excitement. He followed the alleyway as it led towards the edge of town, towards the pathway leading to Cöos, and the witch that lived there by legend. Cordelia secretly hoped to catch a glimpse of her one day.
"Pat, I'm serious! I'm going to tell Father!" Cordelia yelled behind him from the entrance of the alleyway. He turned to look back at her flustered face, and stuck his tongue out teasingly.
While he kept his head turned towards his younger sister, Pat did not realise that he would soon run into a young man that was walking across the passage out of the alleyway. This young man did not notice the boy with a doll hooked in the crook of his arm racing towards him at an alarming speed.
It was only right before the impact that Cordelia yelled out once more, this time to take the attention of both her older brother and the young stranger, and that the young man turned towards the swift-moving boy.
For the first time since the start of their wild chase, Cordelia finally caught up to her brother. He was lying on the ground, rubbing his upper arm. Her doll lay beside him on the ground, looking up at her with a look that seemed to say, thanks for saving me, it took thee long enough.
Cordelia lifted the doll from the ground and tucked it gently into the front pocket of her small apron. She then shifted her attention to the two boys sitting on the grass before her.
"I cry your pardon." She said to the stranger on the other side of her brother. He looked up at her to acknowledge her apologizing for her brother. "He wasn't looking where he was setting his steps. And I was-"
The stranger laughed a bit, and smiled at her. "It's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going either."
Cordelia's cheeks flushed to the colour of scarlet when he looked up at her, and a warm, tingly sensation arose in the pit of her stomach.
The man's - the very young man's, to be exact, eyes were a kind brown, but when he turned his head fully, she noticed that half of his left iris was blue, like a storm over the ocean. His eyes sparkled at her, and she found herself not being able to draw her gaze from his easily. Luckily, she did not have to. He rose and turned to help Pat get off of the ground.
After Pat was standing vertically beside him, the young man turned back to Cordelia and gave her a large smile, one that seemed to radiate to her. The blush in her cheeks found a way to darken further before she smiled shyly back at him.
"I'm Alaric Varangot."
"I'm Pat Delgado, and this is my sister Cordelia." Pat introduced himself, and motioned to the girl standing beside him.
There was a short pause in which Alaric and Cordelia just looked at each other with a small grin on their faces, and in which Pat finally realized why his sister was acting so strange.
"Well we best get on our way." He said, grabbing his sister's arm gently, and pulled her away from the young man. "May we see each other again sometime. Long days and pleasant nights." He said it with only a small amount of resentfulness, but still with a smile on his face.
"And may you have twice the number." Even the standard response made the anger in Pat rise.
Cordelia tried to catch a glimpse of Alaric as her brother pulled her away, but was unable to. They left without saying anymore, and made their path straight home, Cordelia with more regret than Pat.
The following days Cordelia tried to find any excuses that would let her go back into town. She only managed to get out four times, and she used these instances to cross over the alleyway where she and her brother had first met Alaric.
None of the four times she visited it she saw him, but she lost none of the hope she held that she would see him again.
It was only one day when her father had gone to talk to the local blacksmith and Cordelia was left looking at all of the horses in the small paddock not too far away from the blacksmith's shop that Alaric decided to make his appearance.
Cordelia had taken an interest in one particular horse, the same colour grey as the pebbles that Cordelia always found when she visited the lake. She watched the beast flick its tail and hold its head up high as it trotted around the edge of the paddock.
Its eyes were a sharp deep green, a colour that stood out against its grey hair. Cordelia leaned forward onto the top of the fence and set her chin on top of her crossed arms.
"You know, I've heard stories about bad people that ride grey horses."
Cordelia twirled at the sound of the familiar voice. They had only met once, but she had not forgotten the smooth voice of Alaric. She smiled at the young man, and nodded her head in greeting.
"Alaric." He smiled when she said his name. It rolled off of her tongue easily. "Long days and pleasant nights."
"And may you have twice the number, Cordelia." He returned.
Cordelia blushed at the sound of her name rolling off his lips. Whenever anyone else said it, it was by her parents or her brother giving her something to do, or scolding her (although she tried to avoid getting caught as much as possible). It sounded nice when Alaric said it.
"You say bad men ride grey horses?" She asked him, trying internally to stop the blood from rising to her cheeks. It became near impossible at that moment, when he positioned himself leaning against the fence beside her. Their arms were very close, she noted.
"Yes. Bad men who steal children." He laughed.
She laughed as well.
"And they only ride grey horses?" She asked him once more. She had never heard this story before.
"Oh yes. Any other colour would seem too pleasant, don't you think?" He kept his face straight as he said this, but his eyes gleamed mischievously.
"But for certain." She kept her face straight for only a moment, but could not hold back the laugh that rose in her chest. The pair laughed together for only a moment before their joke was interrupted by Lucian Delgado.
"Who is this, Cordelia?" Her father's rough voice asked.
Cordelia turned to see her father standing behind the two, holding a new pair of horseshoes in his hand. He looked slightly angry, and Cordelia noticed his glare was pointed toward the young man beside her.
"Father." Cordelia spoke in greeting. "This is Alaric."
Alaric stepped forward to introduce himself. "Long days-"
"Yes, yes. I know." Lucian waved him off and turned back to his daughter.
"I instructed you to stay close by, not amble and socialize. I told you that I am rushed today."
Cordelia bowed her head slightly. "I cry your pardon, father. I only wished to look at the horses, for you said I may be able to ride soon."
Lucian gave her a doubtful glance before turning his attention back to the young who had not yet explained himself.
Lucian had dealt with many people in his days, and he knew that sometimes it was not worth hearing the lies that one would spew when given the direction to explain one's self.
"Run along boy." He said loudly and aggressively while giving the boy a hard look.
Alaric nodded in his departure, and quickly set off to the other end of the street, looking back only once to deliver a sympathetic smile to Cordelia.
She watched him go, but only until her father gripped her shoulder and turned her in the opposite direction. She walked swiftly until she was ahead of her father by a few strides, so she could think about how to see Alaric again, without being interrupted.
In case you were wondering, the grey horses are hinting to the Wolves of Calla... I hope you liked the first chapter! There will probably be only two or three more, because I don't want to make this too long. See that review button? I dare you to hit it!