DAO: Remember Me Ch. 8

Ch. 8 Crush

Violet squinted as a bright ray of sunshine beamed through the shed's window. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over to find Alistair still asleep next to her. She smiled, watching him sleep for a moment. He was snoring softly. She thought he looked so peaceful. Two years had passed since their first encounter and a week had passed since his heroic rescue at the well. She felt a sudden urge to do something for him – something to thank him and show how much she cared for him. She thought hard. Her stomach growled and she quickly hunched over, grabbing her stomach to stifle the sound. She didn't want to wake him up just yet.

She gasped excitedly as she realized the perfect thing to show him her thanks. She slowly slipped off the hay stack, carefully watching Alistair as she did to ensure she didn't wake him. After quickly brushing off some stray strands of hay from her dress she tip toed out of the shed and hurried toward the kitchen. The Chantry was still. She figured the brothers and sisters would be awake soon though to prepare for the day.

The sun's rays pierced through one of the windows and lit the statue of Andraste behind the Alter. She looked around again, checking for any movement, and then crept toward the statue. As an elf, she was always self conscious about associating with the human gods because they were (more or less) forced to back in Denerim, but she was in an especially good mood that day and figured she could make one exception.

She looked up at the woman's face. The features were so detailed that it felt almost eerie to stand before it. She had a sudden urge to run before the statue actually dropped her head to look at her with her pale eyes. Violet shook her head to rid herself of the foolish image. There was a reason she wanted to be there, and she wasn't going to let a childish fantasy scare her away. She clasped her hands together and continued to look at the statue.

"Lady Andraste," she whispered, "…um… Thank you for helping me escape from the bad men. Um… thank you for helping me find this Chantry. And thank you for Alistair." She dropped her hands and smiled at the statue. She thought the woman was smiling back at her.

"Okay, then," she muttered. She hurried over to the kitchen and peeked inside. The room was unoccupied as well, but she figured she wouldn't have much time. On her way to the back door she grabbed one of the stools in the corner and carried it with her. She closed the door behind her and positioned the stool next to the water pump. There was a table against the wall that had several dirty pots stacked upon it. She gathered as much as she could carry and placed them by her stool. It took her multiple trips, but she finally had them all piled on the ground. Violet then laid a long towel out next to her. She stopped for a moment to look around. She was forgetting something.

"Soap!" she said and went back into the kitchen. She searched all over the kitchen, but couldn't find it.

"And just what in Andraste's name are you doing here?" came a stern voice. Violet jumped and looked to the doorway to find Sister Linda standing there.

Violet turned to the young brunette meekly. "I… am looking for the soap… I wanted to scrub the pots…" she said quietly.

Sister Linda raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to do that? You know that's Alistair's job; not yours. You tend the garden outside with Sister Renee."

The little elf looked down and bit her cheek before continuing. "I… wanted to do it for him… so he doesn't have to today."

The woman was still confused. "And why is that, may I ask?"

"I wanted to do something nice for him… to say thank you for being nice to me and helping me."

Sister Linda smiled coyly and crouched down so they were at eye level. "Are you sure it isn't because you have a crush on him?" Her light blue eyes shimmered with amusement.

Violet's eyes widened and she blushed. "No!" she protested, but something gnawed at her heart. She cared for Alistair very much, but she didn't understand what adult crushes were. Perhaps she did have a crush?

"Tell me, little one. Do you care for him very much?" Sister Linda asked, still smiling.

"Yes," Violet replied immediately.

"Do you always want to be with him? You don't want him to ever go away?"

"Yes," she said again, just as quickly.

"And would you be sad if he played with another girl more than with you?"

"Yes!" she huffed. She didn't like the thought of having someone take him away from her.

The sister giggled. "Would you say you love him?"

Violet's eyes softened as she grew pensive. She thought about her parents then; how they held her in their arms at night. As they cradled her and her mother sang sweet lullabies they would look at her with warm smiles. Just before she drifted off to sleep, her parents would always tell her in their most tender voice, "I love you, little one." In a soft whisper as she closed her eyes, she would reply, "I love you too," and nestled into her mother's arms.

Then, she thought of Alistair; how she cuddled close to him every night. How he stroked her hair and comforted her after her nightmares. She felt safe next to him and tailed behind him whenever she could.

Most of the time they were doing chores around the Chantry, but when they had time to play, he never ceased to amuse her. Sister Linda had given her two ragged dolls for her birthday once. She ran to show Alistair immediately and asked him to play as the brave knight while she pretended her doll was a damsel in distress. He was reluctant at first, but she persisted and he eventually humored her. They quickly made it a priority to play with them every day after their chores. Alistair made sure of that.

Violet loved that Alistair played with her so much. Even when he wanted to sneak around to play tricks he let her tag along. He was hesitant to let her follow at first with this too, telling her that she wouldn't be sneaky enough. He learned that her stealth and senses were a lot better than his, though (especially at night), and quickly took advantage of that. He soon nicknamed her "partner in crime," which she accepted proudly. He would be known as "Mr. Stealth." Violet giggled when he claimed that name because he was always the one who tripped over a vase or walked into a door during their "missions." Obviously, the loud noise would alert the Chantry folk and they would catch the children in the act.

Alistair had become her new family and she felt that nothing would ever change that. Her parents taught her to always love her family and friends because they would always protect and care for her. She pictured Alistair as her older brother. Up until now, that is. She couldn't deny it. She did love him. Was it a crush though? She wasn't sure.

"I love him," she said, finally.

Sister Linda sighed at the sincerity of the ten-year-old's reply. She leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You know, you could marry him when you're older." She pulled back and watched with amusement as the little elf's eyes lit up.

"But I'm an elf!" she exclaimed.

"Nothing stops true love," Sister Linda said simply.

Violet blinked. "…Does that mean Alistair and I could live happily ever after? Like in the stories?" She thought of the princesses that would marry and live in a big castle with their prince. The pictures in the books Sister Linda read to her looked so lovely. She wouldn't mind having the same ending one day.

Violet grew excited when Sister Linda nodded. "I'd really like that," she squealed.

"You'd really like what?" Alistair said sleepily from the doorway. He was rubbing one of his eyes as he entered the kitchen.

"Oh! Nothing!" Violet replied. She fidgeted with the seam of her dress. She wondered why she was so nervous. She was usually so comfortable around him.

Alistair eyed her suspiciously. Sister Linda noticed, though, and said, "I was just asking her to run to the store and buy more soap." She placed a couple silver coins into Violet's hand. "No detours, okay? Come straight back." Violet smiled, gave her a confident nod, and was just about to reach for Alistair's hand when Mother Eloise's voice shrieked Alistair's name. The three flinched. "I suppose you better see her, Alistair."

He looked at Violet nervously, then back to Sister Linda. "What about Violet?"

"She will be fine. The store is just across the street." She patted his head as she stood up. "Best be on your way now. Both of you," she said, and ushered them out of the kitchen.

Alistair looked back at Violet for a moment and said, "You heard her. Straight back okay?"

Violet smiled. "Promise." He smiled back. A hint of uneasiness lingered in his gaze, but another call from Mother Eloise forced him to turn and jog away.