A/N: This is just a short scene from a recent game that I thought would be neat to explore a little more. The Raven Queen is heavily influenced by Matt Mercer's interpretation, but I do portray her as more motherly as Maggie is still a very young & inexperienced cleric.
Comments feed the Mighty Muse and are always appreciated- hope you enjoy!
Maggie couldn't remember falling asleep. Despite the kindly worded suggestions from Maple and Vitali (and the less kind but still well- meaning one from Alyssa) she'd forced herself to keep her eyes open. She sat with her back pressed against the icy wall and pleaded with herself to wake up, please wake up, desperate to believe that maybe this was all just a bad dream.
But no matter how hard she tried to fight off the hunger and fatigue, the shock of the day clawed at her eyelids until she finally collapsed and gave in to an uneasy sleep. And since she did not know when she'd fallen asleep, she could not say how much later it was when a voice as smooth as glass called out to her.
"Wake up, Daughter. I wish to speak with you."
Even in her sleeping state, Maggie's heart lurched. She would recognize that voice anywhere, yet she still couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe her captors would be so cruel as to torture her this way. She scrunched her face up, curling into an even tighter ball as if trying to shield herself from further pain.
"I am not a tool of their deception. Trust me now, as you always have."
A small, persistent something within screamed at her to listen but she didn't want to let herself believe only to be crushed by the harsh reality. Maggie clamped her hands over her ears and for a moment it seemed as if the voice had gone away. But then there were two strong hands pulling her to her feet and her eyes flew open of their own volition.
There, towering over her, was the Raven Queen. And this was no illusion; her dark dress, sweeping wings, and expressionless white mask all unmistakably of the divine. Maggie stared up in open-mouthed shock before she dropped to her knees, head bowed.
"My Lady, I'm so sorry, I-"
"Hush. I said I wish to speak with you, but first you must listen."
Maggie nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground, the stone of the prison cell faded away to a vast expanse of darkness. An icy white hand slipped itself under her chin and lifted until she looked up. The Raven Queen knelt opposite her charge, her dress seeming to melt into the void surrounding them. The hand moved from her chin to cup her cheek, thumb wiping away evidence of her weakness still stuck to the freckled skin.
"I am surprised at you, Maggie Marigold. After so long sworn to my service, is your faith really that fragile? Have I ever given you reason to doubt?"
Maggie shook her head, face burning with embarrassment as she struggled to hold the goddess' gaze. "No, no, my Lady. I could never doubt you, I know that-"
"Then what has upset you so? If you do not doubt me, why do you despair?"
She sniffed, the question reopening the fresh wound of how she'd woken only to find her identity stripped away.
"They took everything from me. My temple clothes. My weapons. Your symbol. My magic, Your magic, the very gifts that You gave me! I've never lost them bef-"
The Raven Queen held up her hand, an irrefusable request for silence. "You have been sheltered, my Daughter. Always within the shadow of a temple, always surrounded by my symbol, emboldened by the magic you possess. But this has spoiled you, weakened the faith you claim to hold so dearly."
"No!" She cried, aghast at the accusation woven within the goddess' words though the voice was still soft, still as calm and detached as it had always been. "No, my Lady! I still believe, I still know that you are always with me."
"Then they have not taken everything. You have blood running through your veins, a beating heart within your chest, and faith in me. What more do you require?"
Maggie shut her eyes, twisted her fingers in the rough 'clothes' they'd given her. Guilt and grief swirled within her and she tried to steady her breaths, to take comfort in the Matron's presence. She'd trained for this, she could be strong, she could-
"I just want to help. But I don't know how to do that without my magic."
Because you're weak, A voice within her said, but she shoved it down as far as she could. That thought would not help right now, no matter how much truth it might hold.
At her words, the mask's mouth seemed to curl up slightly on one side. The Raven Queen held out her hands, pleased when her cleric placed her much smaller ones in them without hesitation. This was not the first of her children to question their path and it would not be the last. They all broke at some point, but She was only concerned with what they did afterwards. And while this little bird was fairly fresh to the terrors of the world, that did not mean she was ill-prepared to face them.
"My Daughter, if magic and weapons were all that made one worthy, then the little girl who wandered into my temple all those years ago would not have been spared a second glance. And we both know that is far from what happened, do we not?"
Maggie hiccuped and nodded, tears beginning to pool in her eyes once more as she felt the truth of her goddess' words wrap around her like a pair of protective wings. She didn't know whether to feel foolish or relieved. Instead, she simply settled on hope, clinging to the slightest possibility of their success as a lifeline.
"I know you are frightened, Maggie Marigold. There is no shame in that. Consider this a test of sorts, a trial by combat in more ways than one. And if you are to win, you must place as much faith in yourself and your companions as you have placed in me. I will never abandon you; do not give me cause to think that you have abandoned me."
Maggie nodded, tightening her hold to steel against what was to come. There was no telling what would come for them in the morning, but she was determined to face it with her head held high and the Matron's name on her lips… even if it stole the last breath from her chest.
"There's a good chance I'll have to fight against my friends. I might even be asked to kill them. My Lady, what am I going to do?"
Gracefully, the Raven Queen leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of the halfling's head. And though the mouth never moved, her final command echoed firmly throughout Maggie's mind just before the girl was pulled back into the nothingness of sleep's embrace.
"What you must."