Swords and Staffs

7. Family, despair, and delay

Alistair:

I waited and waited and waited for Arlene to get to the bench, but she never came. I wondered if she had second thoughts. If she had thought this through and realized how dangerous our relationship really was. She had agreed to come that afternoon after our stroll in the woods and meet me by the bench. I had been waiting patiently for almost three hours and she still hadn't arrived. Strange. I started to worry.

What if she had been abducted by some fellow Templars on the way or if she had encountered some wolves on the way back home. I panicked and decided to approach the mage's camp to check on her. But I needed some sort of disguise.

They would know that I was a Templar if they saw how muscular I was, even though I may be skinnier than most of them. The mages don't miss a trick. They wouldn't hesitate to act if they saw me approaching their home. I darted to the Templars camp. I entered my tent and shuffled around in my drawers to find something that will be discreet enough to fool the mages. I found a large woollen cloak. This would hide me perfectly. I draped the cloak over my body and covered my face with the hood. I ran towards the mage's camp through the forest. When I had arrived, the guard spotted me and questioned my intrusion.

"Who are you? What do you want? Are you the merchant?" he asked.

"Umm, yes I am the merchant," I replied, making sure to sound as truthful as possible.

"The General is inside; you will find him up the fortress stairs and to the left!" he yelled from the lookout tower.

I entered through the gates to find her. I ran through the fortress entrance.

"Arlene!" I called from inside the main hall.

A murmur came from inside a bedroom.

I quickly opened the door and I had finally found her. In the corner, curled up on the floor, face moist with tears and her eyes not sparkly nor shiny. They were dull and grey as if all the shimmer and colour in them had faded away in her misery. She looked at me, her face drained and lost.

"Arlene?"

Arlene:

He looked worried and confused at the same time. I turned my back on him and continued to sob in the corner of my bedroom. I couldn't let him see me like this.

"Arlene? Are you okay?" he said. I didn't answer.

"This is my fault isn't it?" he started to look guilty. I immediately spun around.

"No, no! It's not you, it's me! It never has been and never will be you! Don't you dare blame yourself!" I told him. I didn't want him to think that he was to blame for this. It wasn't Ali's fault after all. He sat down on my bed and stared at the floor.

"Well, if it isn't me, then what is it?" his ocean eyes desperate and full of concern.

"It's about my mother..." I answered with a wobbly voice, eyes still stinging from the tears.

"Your mother?"

"My mother-she..." the lump in my throat began to rise again but I gulped it back down, I anxiously wanted to tell him. But I realized I couldn't speak.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"No." I finally was able to say, "I want to share with you. It's just I am trying to think of what to say. I am trying to gather my thoughts first." He got up from the bed and left the room for a minute or two. When he came back, he was holding a glass of water in one hand and a tissue in the other.

"Here," he gave me the glass, "Why don't you freshen yourself up first." I loved how kind and loving he was. He sat down on the floor with me. He grabbed hold of the tissue and started gently dabbing my face. He then folded up the tissue and put it on my bed.

"I will stand outside to give you some space, in your own time you can call me in. No rush" he slowly rose from the floor, walked through the open door and closed it softly behind him.

He was so patient and calm. So thoughtful and understanding. There was no wonder why I cared for him so dearly.

I got up and sat onto my bed. I got the tissue and started scrubbing my face with it, trying to remove the stickiness. I rubbed my sore achy, eyes and changed into some clean clothes that hadn't been worn for two days straight. I got up from the bed and grabbed the brush from the side. I wrestled with the knots in my hair and plucked out the twigs that I had acquired from my home-made nest.

"Ali!" I called, my voice nasal and husky. I heard nothing. I quickly glanced at the door. No movement.

"Ali!" I called again worried that he may have left.

"Alistair, where are you?" I screamed, tears started to build up in my eyes, he can't leave! Not when I am like this! I needed someone to accompany me! And he was the only 'someone' that was available.

Suddenly the doorknob turned. Alistair walked through the door baring tissues.

"I'm here. Don't worry, I was just getting you some more tissues just in case," he noticed my developed tears.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you. You know I would never leave you Arly! Not when you are like this!" he ran towards me and cradled me in his arms. I held onto him tightly, a few tears rolling down my cheeks. I desperately needed his comfort right now. He bent his head down and kissed me lightly on the forehead. "I will never hurt you" he whispered, the words muffling into my hair, "I promise."

I perked my head up and gave him a soothing kiss. After a couple of minutes, he said four words that I had dreaded to hear since he had arrived here.

"I should go now..." he said rising from the bed.

"No! Please don't leave!" he looked at me longingly and then I looked at him, eyes connecting. He bent over and lay beside me. I lay down with him. And settled down for a little while.