A Life's Worth

A Veering Life

Eloriel scouted ahead while the trio idiots chatted casually.

It's as if they have no clue there's darkspawn lurking in these swamps.

Duncan had sent the four of them out to the Korecari Wilds for a trial of sorts. They, with the company of a junior Warden (Alistair), had to go and collect three vials of darkspawn blood. It was obvious that they had to cut down the darkspawn, but ser Jory actually asked if they were hidden in the swamp! Then after he asked if Duncan could just give them the vials!

That idiot doesn't even know what a test is all about!

"Hey!" Eloriel called out as something moved in the corner of her eye. "There's something nearby." Alistair, ser Jory, and Daveth jogged up to her, practically making a circle around her.

"What on Thedas are you idiots doing?!"

"Protecting you of course," Alistair said with a flashy smile, his newly dawned armor gleaming in her eye. That annoyed her.

"It is our duty," ser Jory added in. That just irked her.

"You are, of course, a fair lady. We wouldn't want to scar that pretty face of yours," Daveth continued and looked down at her chest. "It's pretty much the only thing you've got."

Now she was pissed.

"Telir dara dina shemlems!" Eloriel yelled, ducking by the jerk Alistair. She may have been laughing along with him earlier, but now she knew not to socialize with him further, he was just like the rest of the shems.

How dare they try to protect me?! They're pathetic! I need no protection! Especially from though insufferable twits! They'll get what's coming to them! Protect me...protect me?!

Eloriel readied her bow in an instant as she caught the movement in the tall grass. As soon as a wolf leaped out, an arrow went through its eye and whizzed out of he head to the next wolf behind it, piercing it in the heart.

She turned to face the three shocked statues. "So? Do I need protection?" she asked with the innocence of a five year-old. Before the could respond however, she took an arrow from her quiver and struck it into the neck of a wolf who was about to bite her leg. She then took that arrow and used it to shoot down another wolf and continued to shoot until the remainder of the pack left.

Satisfied, she brushed off her hands and turned once again to the shemlems. "We should hurry on. I'm pretty sure the Blight caught up with those wolves."

"How do you...?" Alistair began.

"King Cailan let me borrow a book on the subject."

He quickly nodded and stood up straighter. "Well, uh, we should get going...?" He then looked at Eloriel with a funny look as if she was a hero or something.

"What?"

"Should we go?"

What? Isn't he the real Grey Warden here? Why on Thedas is he asking me?!

"Aren't you leading?" Eloriel asked with a slight tilt of her head.

Alistair awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh right, that. Of course. Let's just continue then."

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"All right, we've got the three vials," Daveth announced just as he handed Eloriel a tube filled with dark-red blood and the stench of rotting corpses. Eloriel had to pinch her nose as she dropped the vial into her quiver. "Good job, Daveth. You aren't half bad," Eloriel admitted with a smile and patted him on the back.

"How about me and Alistair?" ser Jory asked her from behind.

"Oh, um. Ser Jory, you're much better at fighting than expected," she said with a weak smile. She wanted to go off ranting about him, but he seemed to fragile.

"And Alistair?"

Eloriel looked at Alistair and shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Daveth snickered as Eloriel gave the Warden a sympathetic smile.

"Oh. Wow. Someone's trying to kill me with words. I think it actually may be working," Alistair said with a sigh, slumping forward and landing with a thud on the ground.

Well, he's over-dramatic all day, everyday, isn't he? Even I'm not that crazy....

Eloriel stepped back as memories popped in her head. 'Wah! Keeper! You can't make me clean my aravel! It'll kill me, I tell you!' That was a common thing for her to say during clanging days. 'Merrill, you are so mean! You don't care!' And all that because she got her in trouble. Well, she did tattletale on me that day. And many more. 'Tamlen! You can't just go and be a hunter without me! I thought we'd be crafters!'

"Hey, lady Eloriel?"

At the sound of her name, Eloriel looked up to see ser Jory.

"Yes?"

"You okay?" Daveth butted in.

"Yes, why?"

"Lady Eloriel, you're crying."

Panicking, Eloriel rubbed her eyes quickly. She hadn't realized that she was crying the whole time.

"I seem to be allergic to this flower," Eloriel lied, pulling out the wild flower the kennel master had asked her to gather. She had found it on a rotting log nearby where a squad of soldiers had died from a darkspawn attack. (She of course carried him back to camp, shocking the three shemlens further.)

She had locked eyes with Alistair, who had been looking at her with pity. She frowned as her heartbeat speed up and turned away. I don't need anyone's stupid pity. I've had too much of that crap.

"Alistair, are we going back to camp now?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"You have the worst memory," Alistair noted, a bit of laughter in his voice. "No, we need to find the ancient Grey Wardens Treaties."

Eloriel nodded, crossing her arms in frustration. I have a good memory! She began marching of in a random direction when Daveth held her back.

"Alistair says the old towers that way, sweetie."

Eloriel slipped her arm out of his grasp, her anger building up against the Grey Warden.

"Well, I know where I'm going. I always end up where I want to be. I am the best of navigation," she huffed, marching off again.

"So why are you here then?" he asked as the distance between them increased. "Did you really think this is where your life would end up?"

Eloriel stopped and faced him. "I'll get back on track. I always do."