9OK so happy to get this out! Thank you to Violet Therinin for all your help you dont know how much it means to me! Thanks to all the people who reviewed and those who read! I hope you like the new chap!
~Bubbles~
Marrie
My stomach was tied in knots as I continued to walk behind Layla; the memory of the day that would forever change my life invading every thought.
"Hey sleepy head wake up!" My head was pounding and Shianni's nagging voice did not help matters any. So in an effort to get rid of her I rolled over and pulled the blanket over my head. I realized immediately that it didn't work as she pulled the blanket from me."Oh come on, it's way past noon!"
I turned and glared at her with one of my "I'm going to kill you" looks, but Shianni just laughed at me, sat on the bed, and began shaking me. "Come on, I drank too and I am up and living." Ugh, that whining…now my head was not only pounding but it actually felt like it was going to fall off.
I sat up and deepened my glare. "Yes, but you passed out while I was still drinking. Why are you waking me up anyway? I don't have work today which is why I let you talk me into drinking with you and Alarith in the first place."
Shianni looked at me like I was missing something. "What?" I put my face in my hands as I puzzled over what I could have forgotten.
"You really don't know what to day is, do you?" I looked over at her like she was completely crazy but she simply laughed it off as she proclaimed with much excitement, "You're getting married to day!".
Oh, sod…
"So do you want to do that?" I snapped out of my daydream to find Layla looking at me with a worried expression on her face.
I shook my head in an attempt to completely bring myself back to reality. "Sorry, what was that?"
"I was saying that I have an old set of armor that would fit you, its from when I was younger and is still in really good shape. I'm sure that the Grey Wardens will give you a much better set once you're at Ostagar but you can wear it for now" Even her voice was etched with concern which was shocking to hear, especially from a human. I was unsure of what to say, I've never met a human like her before. "I would like that." I looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you."
The most kindness I ever got from a human was when the bar tender at The Gnawed Noble Tavern gave me a free drink for running a quick errand for him; well, I guess what Duncan did could be considered kind too but I would have rather gone with Soris and shared his fate.
Poor Soris; every time I think about him my heart just breaks. I think the worst part is not knowing for sure what his fate even was. I find myself constantly wondering, is he alive, is he dead, is he suffering…does he hate me…the thought that he might in fact hate me is probably the hardest for me to handle.
I once again shook my head, causing my blond hair to fly to the left and right. No, I will not think like that! I'm a big bad Grey Warden now and once I'm done doing whatever Duncan has planned I will go back to Denerim and use the Right of Conscription on Soris. Then Soris, Shianni, Papa and I will leave the Alienage and move far, far away from Denerim where we can be happy again.
I look up at Layla who had walked ahead of me and wondered to myself. What does life have in store for her? She will probably marry and have pretty green eyed babes with a husband who would be stupid not to love her. No, on second thought Layla doesn't look like the type to be content with staying home and raising a family. No, she's like me; a fighter, she would be far happier in the army, or even as a Warden.
Deep down there was a part of me that wished that Duncan had the stones to use the Right of Conscription on her, so that maybe when I did get to Ostagar I wouldn't be so alone. I pushed that thought aside; I'm already surrounded by humans, why would I want another one tagging along?
Just then I looked up to see Layla get knocked to the ground by one of her family guards. I quickly ran up to her to see if she was ok, but before I could reach to help her from the floor another hand shot out to give her assistance.
"Oh my lady, I am so sorry I didn't see you there!" The man pulled her off of the floor but even once she was up righted Layla's hand remained within his. I noticed the way that they looked at each other and it became obvious that he was more than just one of the castle's guards.
I raised my brow as I walked over to them, watching as they just stood there looking at each other, saying nothing. Ugh…how sickening. Unable to stand anymore of it I cleared my throat to break the silence, which startled the guard and he quickly pulled his hand away.
I noticed that Layla too quickly snapped her hands behind her back as she attempted to justify their touching."It's fine Sir Gilmore, accidents happen." She smiled at him and he smiled at her… by the Maker they look like fools.
Layla looked at me in surprise, almost like she had forgotten I was there. Her face turned bright red and now it was her turn to clear he throat. "Sir Gilmore, this is Marrie; she is the recruit that came with the Grey Warden, Duncan."
I could not help but laugh as I noticed the surprised look that Gilmore wore upon his face…he looked as though his eyes would pop out. He composed himself quickly and nodded at me and smiled. I took this opportunity to size him up. He had a nice figure, he had to be a warrior as he didn't look like the rogue type. "So you're the other guy Duncan's going to look at?"
He adjusted his posture so as to stand tall, showing the amount of pride he had in being given the opportunity to test for recruitment. "This is such an honor for me I will not let The Wardens down!"
I had to roll my eyes at his over-the-top enthusiasm as I turned to Layla. "Can we just get this over with?"
Layla smiled at me and turned to Ser Gilmore, "Is there something that you needed Ser Gilmore?"
The man looked over at me with confusion then turned to Layla. "Oh yes, I am sorry I did not tell you sooner your mabari hound Chance got into the larder again, and Nan is throwing a fit. Your Mother sent me to get you to handle the situation.
Layla shook her head. "Okay, so lets head down to the kitchen before Nan kills something." With that we made our way down a different path. I took a deep breath to calm myself, and ran to keep up with the humans.
The longer I was around Ser Gilmore and Lady Layla the more obvious it became that something was going on between the two of them. It may not have been in any "intimate" way but just the way he looked at her it is as if the Maker's great sun rose and set on her ass! Layla looks at him in this shy "I don't know what to do with myself type of way". Humans…
So on our way to the kitchen all you can hear was screams and a deep set bark. I was never really a fan of dogs, but from what I can tell from this dog I might become a dog lover. The kitchen was in an uproar and the elven servants were running around not knowing what to do with themselves. The woman who Layla called Nan started hollering at us just as we walked in the door. Layla tried to calm her down with apologies but that didn't quiet her any.
The old hag was really beginning to piss me off so I said "Why don't you lock the larder up better?"
Apparently that was the wrong thing say because she turned to me, red faced, with veins popping out of her head. It reminded me of Valendrian, the elder back at the Alienage. "Who is this? The new help, talking to me like this?"
Layla tried to step in front of me but I pushed her aside, and glared up at the old lady. Layla placed her hand on my shoulder and for some reason it calmed me. "Nan this is Marrie Tabris she is here with the Grey Warden who is looking for recruits, as a matter of fact she is a recruit herself."
The old hag's face went up in shock then back to her angry stare, Nan then let out a breath in defeat. "Just get the mutt out of here." And with that we found the dog whose name is Chance.
Chance was not what I thought he would be at all I thought that since he belonged to the spoiled daughter of a wealthy noble he would be some powder puff, but Maker was I wrong. When we opened the door there he was, this big mammoth of a dog! When he saw Layla he stopped what he was doing and trotted over to her wagging his tail innocently. I laughed at the sight of this, but Layla looked down at her faithful companion and gave him a stern look. "You are in trouble this time my friend!" Chance looked down and whined, drawing his tail between his legs. This caused the angry look on Layla's face to soften some and she patted his head.
Suddenly, there was a noise from the corner of the room but apparently the dog and I were the only ones that heard it…I'm guessing due to the size of our ears. Layla began to say something but I shushed her and pointed to the corner of the room where the sound came from. Chance turned his body and a low growl came from his chest.
"What is it?" Sir Gilmore asked with confusion in his voice. Then all the sudden a group of giant rats came running from behind the sack of wheat. Layla pulled out her sword and shield, as did Ser Gilmore. I had my daggers on me and pulled them out quickly as Chance and I cut a path through the invading rats. When the "battle" if that is what you want to call it was over there were at least fifty dead rat bodies.
"How in the Maker's name did these get in here?" Layla questioned excitedly, looking like she could be sick at any moment.
I laughed at her and patted Chance on the head. "They're not that bad, we get a lot of them in the Alienage, some of the elves will even eat them if they got hungry enough."
Layla looked at me in horror, I laughed again. Ser Gilmore walked over to Chance and patted him. "It looks like Chance was here to get these nasty beasts out!' Chance barked in agreement and walked over to his mistress and tilted his head to wait to hear what she had to say.
Layla looked down at him and smiled, "I didn't doubt you for a second!"
Chance gave a happy bark and began to roll on the floor.
"Okay, so what so we do now?" I asked Layla as I waited to get on with whatever it is we had to do.
Layla smiled at me and turned to walk to the door.
Okay, so don't answer me...
OK so here it is! Hope you like it! Please tell me what you think! I love reviews!