Aleport, La Noscea, 1568
It was dim inside the tavern, lit by warm candlelight and what little sunshine wafted through the few windows. Faye sat in a chair with a blanket huddled around her, seated across a small table from the Highlander man who had been the first on scene to aid her and the injured boy who now rested on a cot nearby. Several Maelstrom soldiers stood around, keeping watch in their scarlet uniforms. The Highlander fiddled with the envelope Faye had been tasked to deliver with his massive hands for a moment before tucking it carefully into his jacket. "I'll deliver this to Mister Dawn for you. You're in no shape to deal with that and it's no trouble for me. We'll just get you home. You're lucky to be alive and well, and the boy's even luckier..."Â
At the mention of him, Faye spared a glance toward the young man before looking back to the Maelstrom soldier. "What about him?"
The large man pressed his lips in a heavy frown, offering a slight raise of his shoulders that may have either been a half-hearted shrug or a silent sigh. "He should make a full recovery and we've found no signs that he's been Tempered. You two are the only survivors. Everyone else is dead or... well, suffice to say, everyone's gone. The entire village was destroyed. I suppose that makes the boy an orphan now, but the lad looks just old enough to take of himself."
Faye only frowned at that, offering no response, deep in contemplation instead. She had never imagined how it would feel to lose her family and her home--she had never considered it a possibility. How would she feel. Lost? Alone? Scared? Vulnerable? Guilty? The man's words soon drew her out of her own thoughts.
"Don't worry about it. We'll find a place for him, yeah? Let's take things one step at a time and get you on your way back to the Shroud. We'll send a couple men to escort you. The roads should be safe--as least as safe as ever--but it's a precaution, you know... just in case. Don't want you runnin' into more trouble."
Faye spared another quick look back at the unconscious boy before turning to the Highlander. "I want to take him with me," she declared.
The Highlander raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden statement. "What?"
"My family has the means to take care of him, at least long enough to help him get back onto his feet. I'm sure my parents will agree to take him in at least long enough to find some place for him to go. One of your men can carry him, yes?"
The man scratched his head, still a bit caught off guard by the bold request. "Well, I s'pose I don't see why not. C'mon then, kid. Let's get you two home."
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