Neve slowly opened her eyes, her vision hazy, she tried lifting her head but it felt heavy, her ears rang and the room began to spin, she rolled onto her side, breathing deeply to combat the wave of nausea that had just washed over her, it took a few moments for her to remember the previous night, to remember that she was no longer an apprentice, she had done it, she had passed her harrowing
"At least there's a good reason for feeling this crappy" she thought out loud
"Neve your awake, I was getting so worried about you, you've been asleep for hours"
"Jowen, what are you doing here" it was surely coming to midday, why wasn't Jowen in lessons she wondered sitting up in her bed.
"Seeing if my best friend is ok, I knew it was you that was going for the harrowing, I just knew it, I'm so glad you passed, what was it like? What did you have to do?" he asked, barely taking a breath.
"Jowen, you know I can't tell you, and slow down, your making my head spin again" she rubbed her temples
"You're not going to tell me anything, no little hints, but it could really help me, you know how much I struggle, you could help me improve, get better, then they won't make me…"
"Stop, stop right there, you will get better, have a little faith, you just need to focus, and relax, you know it's strictly forbidden for mages who have gone through the harrowing to speak of what they went through with apprentices, so as my friend, don't ask me again"
The hint of annoyance in her voice was not lost on Jowen, she was right of course, he worried too much in lessons, focused too much on what he could do wrong, if he could just relax,
"Your right, I'm sorry Neve, I'll come back in a little while, Irving asked me to help you pack up your things so that you can move up to the mages quarters, wont it be nice to have your own room" he gave he a small smile and left
Her own room, privacy, Neve smiled to herself, she hadn't had her own room since she was a little girl, before the night she was found, her smile faded, she had few memories from her childhood, her mother and fathers face were just blurs now, her mother had been pregnant, she was going to be a big sister, but it wasn't meant to be, a single tear rolled down her cheek before she composed herself and got out of bed, she made her way to the wash basins on the far side of the room and begun to peel off the robes she had spent the night in, there was a light knock on the door, startled she spun, grasping for the robes that she had slung over a nearby chair but relaxing when she had noticed it was Wynne entering the room,
"Well done my dear, I am so proud of you" she beamed "I have brought you a new set of robes to change in to, there are more in your room"
"Thank you Wynne, it all seems a bit surreal"
"I felt the same way after my Harrowing, it will take a few days to sink in, you will have 3 days to settle into your new room and new role, then the hard work starts, there will be no room for distraction anymore my dear, now is the time for you to master your talents, I've requested that you be placed under my guidance, your skills with creation magic are almost as well matched as Petra's, and she is a few years older than you, I think working closely with the two of us will help you master Spirit healing in no time"
"I'm nervous, what if I'm not as skilled as you all think"
"Nonsense, you will be fine, now get dressed I think your friend will return in a moment" Wynne gave her a light hug and left Neve to continue washing up.
She dressed and returned to her bed just as Jowen returned carrying two empty boxes
"Right where do you want to start" he smiled
The two of them began to pack up the contents of Neves dresser and bedside drawer, she didn't have many personal items from her time before the circle, but she had managed to accumulate a selection of books, mostly stories from the past, stories of witches, and heroines, stories she could get lost in.
The halls began to fill with the sound of footsteps, lessons were over for the day, the footsteps joined by the voices of her former roommates just outside the door
"I wonder if she's awake yet"
"Finn said he saw Jowen not long ago and that she's awake, and all ok"
"It's going to be strange not having her around as much, you don't think she'll ignore us now"
"No, it's not like her, I seriously doubt the harrowing would change her that much"
"You know apparently Sir Cullen said it was the cleanest Harrowing he had ever seen"
"Really? How many do you think he's seen?"
"I thought I overheard one of the Templars saying it was his first"
"Well let's be honest, Cullen would say it was the cleanest, we all know he has a soft spot for her, or hard spot shall we say" the group giggled as they moved further down the corridor and away from the door.
The last comment made Neve stop, she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment, she looked up at Jowen, he gave her a cheeky smile and a wink, causing her cheeks to burn more fiercely, surely it wasn't true, she was a mage, he was a Templar, he's not allowed to think of her in that way, is he? The thought caused a stirring in the pit of her stomach, her heart began to beat a little bit faster, the feelings seemed to raise a level of excitement in Neve, was she happy at the thought of Cullen seeing her in that way? She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head, tossed the last few items into the box in front of her and got to her feet.
"Ok I think that's it, let's go" she picked up the box and headed to the door, Jowen close behind her and made her way towards the next floor, the start of the next chapter in her life.