Disclaimer:
I do not own Roland nor any piece of The Dark Tower Series. Stephen King has that honor. The story might have a few spoilers (books 1-6), so read at your own discretion. You have been fairly warned.
Chapter 01 – The Meeting of the White
On a dark street in a strange world a young lady was in a lot of danger. By the looks of her she couldn't have been more than thirty. Her sandy brown hair fell over her face, sweat ran down her brow. Gruff looking men were holding her arms on either side. They had her trapped. The man on the left was short and bulky, while the man on the right was tall and gangly. Standing in front of the young lady was another man holding a knife to her throat. This man was by far the most threatening. He was muscular, tall, and had too many tattoos to count, the most distinctive of which was a growling cougar on his right bicep. All three men wore red bandanas, wife beaters, and baggy jeans. The knife man leaned in close and the young lady could smell his rancid breath. She was breathing heavily herself. The bosom beneath her black shirt rose and fell in rapid succession. She needed a way out, anything.
Then amazingly, before the knife man could make his demand, something distracted the ruffians. It's hard to describe. All their attention was suddenly focused on something happening just to the right of them. They were only distracted for a few seconds, but it was all she needed. The women kicked the knife out of the first guy's tattooed hand and a roundhouse kick to the face knocked him on his back. Then, before the others could react she did a split kick, which hit both the men holding her arms in their respective groins. This was enough to make them loosen their grips on her. She turned to run but was stopped dead in her tracks. Paralyzed was more like it. Right in her path a group of people appeared as if from nowhere. No, appeared was not the right word, materialized seemed more appropriate. She was speechless.
As Roland's ka-tet entered this strange world they witnessed a crime in progress. Before they were fully there something unexpected happened. The woman with the knife to her throat overpowered the men assaulting her and then found herself face to face with the ka-tet. Roland felt déjà vu the instant that he saw her, but didn't know why. This woman wearing a black v-neck t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes immediately captured everyone's attention. Her waist-length hair still hung in her face and her breath was still too fast.
The entire group felt the power of the White in her presence. They were in awe of her, just as she was in awe of them. The young woman was still immobilized by her witness of their arrival when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Roland drew his gun and just as quickly put the gun back in its holster. The woman looked behind her where the three men were still lurking. The one who had been holding the knife was now holding his wrist with an agonized look on his face. The knife lay glimmering and forgotten in the gutter. Then all three of the would-be assailants fled in the opposite direction of the group, one leaving his scarlet bandanna behind.
The woman still speechless, looked back at Roland with wide eyes. Not a look of fear, but one of disbelief. Roland gazed back at this lovely woman with his pale blue eyes, still trying to figure out how he knows her. Jake was the one who finally broke the silence. "Wow you were so cool!" Jake exclaimed, sounding like the little boy he hadn't felt like in a very long time. "OOl." Oy barked, his bright eyes looking up at the group's new friend. This brought a smile to the lady's face and she went from lovely to beautiful. Her breath had finally slowed to a normal rhythm. "What an interesting do-" the young lady started, but did not quite finish that thought. As she was speaking she realized that it wasn't quite a dog, at least, not any kind of dog that she had ever seen. At the same time it did look strangely familiar. Her confusion didn't stop Oy from stretching out his long neck in order to be petted by his new friend.
"He's right shug, very impressive." Susannah commented. "I'm Susannah Dean, this is my husband Eddie, that's Jake and Oy, and the sharpshooter over there is our dinh Roland of Gilead.
Dinh, she had never heard that word before but somehow knew what it meant just the same. Her gray smoky eyes once again focused on Roland. Another smile lit her face as she fought against the shock that was trying to take over her body and mind. "My name is Sharon Delvian, I was on my way home. I teach Judo at a dojo about three blocks from here." Roland did not know what Judo was, but he figured it had something to do with her hand-to-hand combat skills.
"Cool." Jake breathed, obviously taken with the young lady. "Long days and pleasant nights sai Delvian." Roland affirmed, never taking his eyes off of her. "Please, just call me Sharon."
"Sharon." Roland obliged. "May we come with you, we should go somewhere else before we draw too much attention to ourselves. We must palaver." Roland's voice was gentle yet firm.