Disclaimer: I don't own Fable (unfortunately).
Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, just before his face hardened, and he turned around, to face the Blind Seer.
"What do you want?" Reaver asked coldly, narrowing his eyes and placing a hand on the end of the gun.
"Fate has lead her to your ship for a reason Reaver," Theresa said calmly.
Reaver chuckled coldly then scoffed, "Fate. What the bloody hell are you talking about now Seer?"
"Her name is Alice, and she probably won't be talking to anyone anytime soon…she's a broken child."
Reaver sighed irritably, "What has fate have anything to do with this?"
"She's your future Reaver."
Reaver scoffed once more, "Don't be daft."
"You can push her away as much as you want Reaver, but any path you choose with still lead you to her," Theresa explained.
"If you haven't noticed, she'd a child!" He exclaimed.
"That is why, you'll raise her."
He pulled out his gun, aiming it at the Blind Seeress. "Don't toy with me," he warned darkly, his face darkening in a scowl.
"She's your responsibility now Reaver, for eternity, don't fight it."
"What do you mean eternity?"
"She'll stop aging during her twenties, that's all I can tell you for now." And with that, she was gone, and time went back to normal. The girl, Alice, immediately spotted the gun in his hands and whimpered, burying her face in her lap. Reaver gripped his Dragonstomper tighter, tempted to just shoot the girl and not have to deal with her…but he found he could not. With a slight growl he put away his weapon.
Reaver had gotten the chef to cook her something, and soon enough she was at a small table in Reaver's cabin…staring at the food in wonder. Reaver watched her from his desk. She ought to be hungry, she was all skin and bones. She stared at the food as if it were foreign, like she'd never seen proper food before.
"What did your parents feed you?" Reaver wondered aloud, and she looked up at his from under her eyelashes, then back down at the food. Then it made him wonder, had they ever fed her? Reaver stood up and walked over to the door opening it, seeing the storm had died down to only thunder.
"Davies!" Reaver called loudly, calling Alfie by his last name. Alfie immediately ran over to the captain.
"Sir?" Alfie questioned.
"Help Alice eat," Reaver ordered simply.
"Alice?" Alfie asked, then gave an 'oh' in realization. "Of course Sir."
Both men entered, Reaver taking his spot back at his desk, looking over paperwork. Alfie took the free chair besides Alice.
"Hey sweetheart," Alfie greeted in a soft voice. "Come on, you must be hungry, you have to eat something." Reaver looked up from his paperwork, cocking an eyebrow at Alfie's odd approach. If it were Reaver he'd just force it down her throat. Alice looked at Alfie, then looked curiously at the food, Roast lamb, with roast vegetables. To both of the mens surprise, she picked up the fork delicately, almost as if it would break at her very touch, then poked at the Roast potato gingerly, before deciding it was safe. She proceeded to pick it up with the fork and take a very small bite, chewing slowly. It tasted strange to her, but she liked it, taking a slightly bigger bite. Alfie smiled at her, "There ya go, good innit?" It took a while, but soon enough she'd eaten a portion of the food, not being use to eating so much. She picked up the goblet, which was filled with orange juice, something she'd never had before, but very much enjoyed. She took a long sip from it before placing it down. She let out a cute little yawn, and balled her fists, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"You tired sweetheart?" Alfie asked, rubbing her back gently, and smiled more when she didn't flinch away. She nodded slowly.
"Give her a bath and take her to bed," Reaver deadpanned, getting back to his paperwork.
"Ah, where will she be sleeping sir?" Alfie asked.
Reaver thought about it for a moment, "Bring a sleeping mat and some bedding in here for now. When we reach Samarkand we'll get her some clothes and other necessities."
"So, she staying, Sir?"
"For now yes," Reaver said in irritation. "There should be a sleeping dress in the wardrobe somewhere, just cut it for her," he dismissed, not looking up. Alfie didn't need to question why the Captain had women's clothing in his wardrobe, Reaver did bring women on board often. Alfie went to said wardrobe, searching through it before coming across a blue sleeping dress. He offered his hand to Alice, who looked at it hesitantly, before taking it and allowing him to lead her bellow deck. Alfie would have asked one of the shipmates who had children to wash her, but knew she'd trusted him, and would be frightened of the others. Alfie bumped into Wilkins on the way to the kitchen.
"Wilkins, could you cut this to size for Alice here?" Alfie asked, throwing Wilkins the dress.
"Aye I can do that," Wilkins confirmed. Alfie lead her into the kitchen, letting go of her hand to find a clean bucket, soap and a rag. Finding the objects he filled the bucket with warm water and beckoned her over. She walked over to him, looking at the big bucket filled with water. Alfie smiled at a fond memory of his younger sister. She was about Alice's age last time her saw her, and hated baths.
"Would you rather wash yourself?" Alfie asked, not wanting her to be even more uncomfortable. She looked at the bucket of water, the rag, the soap and then back at Alfie. He frowned in confusion, had she bathed before? "You have bathed before right?" She nodded. "Do'u know how?" She looked at him for a moment, before shaking her head. Alfie smiled softly, taking her small hand in his. He took his coat off her, and frowned. All the poor girl was wearing was a dirty old tattered dress that looked as though it were handmade…quite badly too..and it barely fit her anymore. Her black hair was messy and teased. He looked at her cuts, making a mental note to fix them up afterwards. Gently, he pulled off her so called dress, and immediately she hid behind the bucket. He chuckled softly.
"It's alright little one. I have a sister about your age, probably older. I won't hurt ya." She looked around the bucket at him, he had a gentle smile. She blinked to him a few times before, in a blink of an eye, she jumped into the bucket, her head popping out of the nice warm water, making him chuckle more. He held out the bar of soap to her, which she looked at before taking it in her hand. She blinked at it in curiosity, trying to think of what her mother use to do with it before….she shook her head of that memory, which confused Alfie. He kneeled in front of her, taking the soap from her.
"Just hold it like this yeah?" he said, showing her what to do. Soon she began washing herself, as Alfie got to work washing her hair with shampoo and conditioner. Once she was done, Alfie grabbed the towel, opening it in front of her. She stood up, and Alfie wrapped it around her.
"Just wait here, I'll get your dress," he said, before rushing out of the room. Alice got out of the bucket completely, looking around her surroundings with wide eyes. Not too long after, Alfie returned, dress in hand. The sleeves and the length of the dress had been cut short. He helped her dry, before handing her the dress, which she'd managed to put on by herself. It was big, but the right lengths, Wilkins had even pinned it around the neck a bit so it wouldn't slide off. Alfie had gotten a hair brush too, and a ribbon Wilkins had made from the dress' fabric. He picked her up and sat on a chair, settling her on his lap as he began brushing any remaining knots from her hair. He dried it as much as he could with the towel, then brushed it once more and tied it into a braid that he'd learnt from watching his mother do it so many times. He looked at her cuts, which were healing, and didn't look infected. He stood them both up, walking over to one of the cupboards where all the medical items were kept, and took some healing cream. Gently, he applied it on every visible cut he could find, apologising when she winced. He took her hand in his once more, before leading her back up to Reaver's cabin. He knocked, and upon hearing 'Enter' brought her inside. Alfie brought her to the warm fire.
"Just wait here, I'll be right back," he left the cabin, in search for some bedding. Alice stared at the flames, mystified by them as they danced.
"Don't stare at the flames for too long," Reaver suddenly said, watching her with yet another goblet of wine in his hand. She looked at him in curiosity, there was something about him, that made her both scared, yet safe, but why? He raised a brow at her, wondering why she was staring at him like that. Suddenly, she began walking over to him, the heat of the fire leaving, replaced by the cold atmosphere that seemed to revolve around him…unless it was just before there was a storm still brewing outside. He watched her as she walked next to him, looking up at him with big eyes that glistened in the moonlight coming through the window behind him. Suddenly, to his surprise, she lifted her hand, placing it on his free one that rested on the armrest of his beautifully made mahogany chair. She just looked into his dark eyes, which drew him into her own. They were a blueish-grey, depending on the light. They could be a beautiful light blue, like pure blue sea water, but they could also be like the sky, filled with many storm clouds. He became lost in them instantly. Those would be the very same eyes he'd gladly get lost in for the rest of eternity….eternity? He snapped out of it. Eternity? I am Reaver! He thought bitterly. I refuse to change who I am! Especially not for one little girl! The door suddenly opened, and Alfie walked in, carrying a sleeping mat, several pillows and a nice warm blanket. Alice left Reaver's side, and for once he felt…alone? She walked over to Alfie, who was setting the mat down in front of the bed, which was at a distance in front of the fire, but close enough to still feel its warmth. To make it more comfortable, Alfie placed several pillows to cover the mat, then the rest at the head for her to lay on.
"Bet time," Alfie smiled, and she obeyed, laying down on her new bed. When she got comfortable, he put the blanket over her, then leaned down, giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Night Alice." To his surprise, she gave him a small smile, which he happily returned, before leaving the cabin. Closing her eyes, Alice soon drifted to sleep.
A/N: I hope you've all enjoyed this so far. Please feel free to put in any suggestions, I'm always open to idea's and opinions. Also if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I hope I got Reaver's character right. I wanted him to be as much like himself as I could. If he's not, don't worry, he will ;)