Chapter 3: Glimpses of a Childhood Past
Walking in silence, Zevran and Alistair began with the houses near the Chantry. The first two houses they checked were empty, at least as far as anything they could use in the upcoming battle. The next house they checked was Kaitlin’s, a young woman, girl really, they had met in the Chantry who was worried about her younger brother. Bevin had run off, looking for a way to fight the monsters that killed their mom. Alistair smiled a little as they entered; he was reminded of Starr’s home when they were growing up. Her parents frequently invited the lonely little boy to share a meal or some other family activity. This house had the same feeling of closeness, of family, the one thing he always wanted.
Noticing the smile, Zevran chose that moment to begin speaking. “My friend, I admit, you surprise me. Of all people to
have a mysterious, beautiful woman in their past, you are the last I would have expected.”
“I don’t, or is this your way of saying that with your
vast experience you have dozens of women in your past,” Alistair replied.
“At the very least, and not all women as you should know from the number of times you have rebuffed me. How you have wounded me. But I have to ask, is not the beauteous Starr a woman from your past? Considering how you were looking at her, I certainly got the impression you found her very attractive.”
“Well, yes, but she’s not a woman, she’s my friend,” Alistair started to reply, but Zevran interrupted.
“Not a woman? What did they teach you in that Chantry of yours? I assure you she is a woman. Maybe I will not be rebuffed for much longer, hmm?”
Alistair reddened, “That’s not what I meant. And you know it. I mean, yes, she is an incredibly beautiful woman,
now. She’s a childhood friend from my past; we haven’t seen each other in years. Why do you call her mysterious?”
Zevran smirked, “You haven’t seen her for years, you say. You are not the least bit curious; do you not want to
peel away the layers of the intervening events, leaving the mystery n
aked to your eager gaze?”
“Enough! Don’t talk about her like that,” So saying, he moved ahead, showing Zevran his back. Zevran just smiled and hummed, thinking that Alistair must be flustered to have the
assassin at his back...
As they neared the bedroom on the first floor, they heard a muffled noise from the armoire in the back. On alert, they stood to the sides of the armoire and then Alistair reached over and opened it. Out stumbled a young boy. “Bevin?” questioned Alistair. The boy nodded. “I’m Alistair, this is Zevran. Your sister is worried about you, what are you doing here?”
“My friend and I want to do something. To help. I thought maybe I could use my father’s sword, but it’s too heavy for me.” Bevin stared down at his feet.
Alistair remembered how bad he felt as a child, when he didn’t have a purpose, wasn’t part of anything, and thought for a minute. He also understood that Bevin wanted to feel he was avenging the death of his mom. The boy wanted to help defend his home, and that was admirable, but he was too young to be out fighting with the men. He thought back to some of the things he and Starr used to do to defend themselves from the bullies that constantly plagued them. “Hmmm, I don’t suppose you and your friend are any good with a catapult?”
Bevin looked at him rather sheepishly, “it depends. The Revered Mother doesn’t think so.”
“Tell you what,” said Alistair, “go back to the Chantry. Once I’m done with preparations for tonight, I’ll come get you two. We’ll go down by the lake and I’ll see what you can do. If you’re good enough, I have an idea. No promises, though. I have to judge your skill, first. Do we have a deal? Meanwhile, one way you can help is to let us use your sword tonight. I promise to give it back when the battle is over.”
“OK,” Bevin replied, after thinking about it for a minute. He gave Alistair the key for the sword and ran back to the Chantry.
After Bevin left, Zevran turned to Alistair. “Alistair, I am normally a practical person, and will consider using anything to achieve my goal. But a child? What, exactly, are you thinking?”
“I’m not going to put him in danger, Zevran. But his mother is dead and he wants to help defend the village against the creatures that killed her. He’s old enough that he doesn’t feel he needs to be defended like the younger children. I hope I can make him feel that he is helping to protect them by staying in the Chantry, as a backup to Teagan. Maybe it’s a stupid idea, but he doesn’t deserve to feel dismissed.”
“As you were, perhaps?” thought Zevran. Aloud, he said, “we shall see if it is stupid or not, but I respect your attempt. You seemed to handle him well.”
“I, uh, thanks. Let’s, uh, get the sword and move on.” Together they moved on to the next buildings.
Alistair and Zevran started searching empty buildings; Elissa and the rest of the group met Murdock in the center of town. “So,” began Leliana, “this is where Alistair grew up.” She looked around, and thought she saw an echo. “You know, I can almost see him, a little boy running around.”
“It’s waking visions, now, is it?” sneered Morrigan. “Or, since we are talking about the idiot, nightmares are probably a better description.” Leliana began to take umbrage and drew a breath to argue.
“Normally I am sure Redcliffe is a picturesque little town. Have you been here before, Warden?” questioned Wynne, in an attempt to avoid yet another squabble.
Elissa smiled at Wynne in appreciation, “I haven’t. I believe Fergus was here once with Father, but I’m not sure. I agree it is a pretty village.” At that point they reached Murdock. After discussing the current status of the village defense, and what was needed, Elissa directed the others. “Leliana, would you and Wynne go to Lloyd’s Tavern and see if there are any supplies or anything else that would be useful. Take Griffon with you. Sten, Morrigan and I will go talk to Owen and Dwyn. We’ll meet you at the top of the hill, near the windmill before talking to Ser Perth.” As she looked up in that direction, she saw a small figure on the path. For a minute she too thought she saw a child Alistair. Shrugging her shoulders, she motioned to Morrigan and Sten and turned in the direction of Owen’s blacksmith shop.
While Elissa was talking to Owen, Leliana and Wynne drew near the Tavern. Griffon gave a short bark and started to investigate a shed near the tavern, but Leliana called him back. Wynne saw a young boy rummaging behind the crates, he reminded her of somebody, but she put it out of her mind. She scolded Griffon, they were there to work, not play with any children he might find. The three of them continued into the tavern. Dealing with Lloyd took a great deal of time, so Leliana suggested Wynne and Griffon go on ahead and meet with the Warden, and they could then come by the tavern after they finished talking with Ser Perth. She might have some information by then.
Elissa and the others finished their conversation with Ser Perth and met Leliana at the tavern. Alistair and Zevran finished searching all the buildings, the only potentially useful thing they found was several barrels of oil in the village store. They headed back to the Chantry. Zevran decided to wait outside for the Warden while Alistair spoke to Bevin. Alistair came out with Bevin, after reassuring Kaitlyn that all would be well. “Zevran, we’re going down to the lake where Bevin’s friend is already waiting. Are you waiting here or are you coming along?”
“Ah, since I do not see the Warden, I will come with you for a little while. Then I shall return and wait for our lovely leader.” Alistair rolled his eyes and off they went, Bevin chattering about his friend.
As they approached the lake, Alistair could see a boy looking out over the lake, much as he used to do with Starr by his side. Bevin ran ahead, and as he got closer they both turned around to look at him. He was so surprised he stopped short. For a minute he thought he was looking at himself through the past, or a mirror that only reflected childhood, instead of Bevin’s friend. “Maker’s breath, looks like history is repeating itself, or maybe it’s like father like son.” He moved forward and introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Alistair. Bevin says the two of you want to help fight the monsters.”
“This is my friend, Marcail. He’s even better with a catapult than I am, even if he is younger. He’s only 7. His mother taught him. She’s kind of cool.”
Marcail crossed his arms across his sturdy little chest, “but she still wants me to stay in the Chantry like a
baby or a
little kid.“
“Well, let’s see what you guys can do. First, show me your catapults.” The boys handed him their catapults and Alistair looked them over with a ‘professional’ eye. “Looks like you’ve been taking care of your equipment, that’s important for every soldier.” Marcail relaxed and he and Bevin stood a little straighter, they were finally being taken seriously. “Now, go bring back some rocks. I want to see what you see as good ammunition.” The boys started looking at rocks, selecting some and discarding others.
Zevran stood back and watched. He didn’t miss the resemblance between Alistair and Marcail, and he knew Alistair saw it as well. “Well, this is interesting. I wonder . . . “ he decided to keep his thoughts to himself, and continued watching Alistair with the boys. He couldn’t help but respect the way Alistair handled them, friendly but with authority. He didn’t patronize or belittle them for wanting to help. He thought it rather a shame he didn’t carry some of that attitude into his dealings with adults.
Once each boy had a stockpile of rocks ready for inspection, Alistair looked over their choices. “Good eye, I always found rounder, smoother rocks worked better for me than rough and irregular ones. Save this, for target practice I want you to use the other rocks. See that buoy out there?” He waited till both boys nodded. “I want you to hit that. That’s why you won’t be using the better rocks; you won’t be able to get ‘em back. Bevin, you first.”
Zevran stayed long enough to see each boy try to hit the target. Neither hit it, but they did alright. As Alistair continued working with them he decided to go back to the Chantry. On the way, he passed Starrelena. She appeared to be looking for something. “Or someone, perhaps?” thought Zevran.
Approaching the lake, she saw Alistair with Marcail and Bevin. She stopped to watch, a melancholy smile on her face. If Zevran had seen her, he would have seen the shadows back in her eyes.
Finally, Alistair looked at the boys, “Guys, you have some skills. Here’s what I have in mind. You will stay at the back of the Chantry, up behind Bann Teagan.” They looked at him with disappointment on their faces, but didn’t say anything. “Bann Teagan was always good to me, and I don’t like the idea that he will be all alone as the last line of defense if any monsters get past us on the outside.” At this, Bevin and Marcail looked more interested. “The two of you can climb on and behind the altar; if the door opens, and a monster is coming in, you shoot at it. You need to be fast as well as accurate. Don’t wait for the perfect shot, even a missed shot will slow it down. And if it steps on the rock it could slip, slowing it down even further. This will give Bann Teagan a better advantage. Can you do this?”
Marcail and Bevin looked at each other and nodded. Alistair continued, “I know it’s not glamorous, there will be a lot of waiting, and you may not have the opportunity to actually shoot at one of the monsters. That doesn’t make what you are doing unimportant. A lot of soldiering involves waiting and just being ready. Let me know right now if you aren’t willing to do this.” Both boys grinned and nodded their heads. “OK, then. Gather up your ammunition, and we’ll head back to the Chantry.”
As Marcail went to pick up his rocks, and gather some more, he saw his mother watching them from the path. “Mom!” he yelled and ran toward her, “Alistair said we can help Bann Teagan.” In his excitement he grabbed her hand and started pulling her back to Alistair. Alistair turned around and when he saw Starr, he couldn’t help it, his jaw literally just dropped. “Mom, this is Alistair.”
“Hello again, Alistair, I see you’ve met my son. Marcail, Alistair and I were best friends when I was growing up here.” As she looked at Alistair, she braced herself for what she might see.
Alistair recovered himself, somewhat, “S-Starr, um, why don’t I tell you the plan while Marcail and Bevin finish up?” At that Marcail left them and Alistair took Starr’s arm and moved them closer to the water and farther away from the boys. “So, I guess a lot really has happened since we were kids.” He couldn’t help the faintest hint of reserve from creeping into his voice.
“Alistair, there is a lot I want, even need to tell you. But not here and now, after the battle, where we can sit down and talk in some privacy. I promise you, Alistair, if you can wait I will answer all of your questions.” She looked at him, apprehension in her eyes.
“I never thought she would look at me like that. What could have happened that she would be worried about me?” Aloud he said, “Starr, we were always friends. I can’t imagine anything changing that. So, after the battle, maybe over a beer?” He was happy to see her relaxing with every word. “Hey, I didn’t see them around, where are your parents?”
Starr walked a few steps away. “My parents and Nana-lin died when I was 12. They were with another merchant when they were all attacked by bandits on the road outside Denerim.”
Alistair moved beside her, pulled her down to the ground so they were sitting next to each other and put his arms around her. “I am so sorry, Starr, I wish there was something I could do. You and your parents were the closest thing to a family I have ever known.”
“It’s okay, Alistair. I miss them, but I usually think of them when we were living here in Redcliffe. Do you remember how we used to sit like this whenever the other was sad or upset? It’s kind of nice to know some things don’t change.” They just sat like that for a few minutes, taking comfort in each other’s company and watching the boys finish gathering their rocks.
Marcail had been watching them out of the corner of his eye as they talked. They seemed to like each other. When he saw Alistair put his arms around his mother, he didn’t know how he felt. He liked Alistair well enough, but that was his mom. He and Bevin looked at each other, Bevin shrugged. Without saying anything, they decided they had enough rocks. They gathered up what they had and walked over to Alistair and Starr.
“Well, looks like you boys have enough. Time to head back and get organized; pick the best spots to attack from; and talk to Bann Teagan about our plan.” He stood and held out his hand to Starr, helping her up. “Did you know that your mother and I got yelled at by the Revered Mother and two of the Sisters when I was your age?”
Marcail looked up at him at the same time Starr said “Alistair!” Then he grinned, maybe he still liked Alistair after all. He and Bevin walked ahead, elbowing each other along the way.
Modifié par QueenPurpleScrap, 18 décembre 2011 - 09:30 .
Retour en haut
