She told herself it's a lie. That she was using him and it meant nothing, but the pang that twisted in her gut screamed otherwise. It was a wonder how a man she had only known for a night could do so easily what her husband had ostentatiously refused. Waves of emotion flooded her with a sea of remorse. It pained her to watch him leave. The temptation of a life she could have faded with every step he took. Her leg twitched with thoughts of running after him and succumbing to the weak side of her that she believed had been left behind in Amaranthine. Her leg trembled again, this time by force as tiny hands clutched onto the loose fabric that hung from her waist. The little voice that anchored her and gave her strength tugged her free from a senseless fantasy.
"Mama, who was that man?" Kirah squinted as the templar's form fell from view.
A faint smile formed as Kamali bit her lower lip. "Just a man we owe our lives to." A gentle breeze brushed against her cheek as gently as his hand had the night before. With a soft exhale Kamali lowered her head and whispered "Thank you Ser Bevan."
"Thank you Ser Bevan." The little girl repeated as if ending a quiet prayer.
Kamali's eyes glistened as she rubbed light circles on her daughter's back. With her free hand, the red head rubbed her face in a dire attempt to physically remove all memories of the young templar from her mind. It was futile, but for now she could pretend it worked.
Taking her daughter's hand, Kamali surveyed their surroundings. "Come on little one. It's not safe here anymore, we must keep moving."
"No!" Kirah tore her hand from her mother's grasp. "You keep saying that! Why won't you tell me what's going on? I want Daddy, I miss him." The young girl stomped her feet and puffed her cheeks as her face twisted unpleasantly.
Mouth agape, Kamali drew in a sharp breath. She wasn't prepared to have this inevitable conversation before Ser Bevan arrived and now she was even more flustered. Fidgeting with her crimson hair, Kamali knelt, matching her height to that of her daughter's. "Sweetie, now is not the time for this, but I promise I will explain later."
Querulously, Kirah dropped to the ground, crossing her legs and arms in the process, refusing to budge. Even in this stubborn ire Kamali couldn't help but think her daughter as precious. Obstinacy ran in the family after all; especially when it came to the women. Sighing, Kamali bunched the little girl's threadlike hair, moving it aside to reveal round hazel eyes; eyes that always reminded her of Abbas. "You know I love you right?"
Kirah offered her mother the controlled smile of a troubled youth. Kamali saw the distress laden beneath her daughter's exasperated gaze. Abbas meant the world to Kirah and in a readily discarded life she was the jewel in his eye.
"Daddy Daddy don't go!" Little hands tugged at his long tattered cloak.
"Ah my little wildflower, but I must. You do enjoy eating don't you?" Abbas' shimmering brown eyes became hidden with an ever widening smile.
The little girl mimicked her father's expression with eyes pleading ever so innocently. "But I enjoy you more!"
"Love, can't you do something about our daughter? This one makes it near impossible to get any work done." His laughter filled their tiny home.
"She can't help it, she loves you."
Abbas hoisted his little wildflower into his arms and lovingly rubbed his nose against hers. "And I love her, forever and ever."
"Mama, did we leave Daddy because of me…because of this?" Kirah raised her hand, palm facing a small rabbit running along the forest floor. A flash of light kindled at her fingertips. The swift footed creature slowed its pace, its speed dramatically reduced. "I don't even know how I do it." The little girl's face wrinkled in disarray.
Kamali chewed on her lower lip. How does one explain this to an eight year old child? "You remember what I told you?" Busying her hands, Kamali pulled the oversized cloak around her daughter, swallowing the little girl in frayed fabric. "Last night, what did I tell you?"
Kirah diverted her gaze from her mother and ejected a tiresome sigh. "You said magic was a gift. It doesn't feel much like one." The little girl stared at her hands as if they were horrifically deformed and held the power to poison anything it touched.
Taking her daughter's hands, Kamali lowered her head, capturing Kirah's attention. "That's right, it is a gift. You, Sweetie, are gifted. You are special."
"Daddy's always telling me I'm special!" The little girl brightened; eyes naive and hopeful. "He'll understand if we show him. Let's go Mama! We have to go find him!" Kirah shot up earnestly, preparing to undo the distance her mother exhaustively fought to create.
"No, Kirah!" Kamali grabbed onto her daughter's shoulders with an abrupt force. Her tone took a daunting turn as her steel eyes stirred in distress. "We can't go to him. Your father will take you away. We'll never see you again. Is that what you want? To be imprisoned and forgotten by the world?" Kirah cringed, body pulling into itself. Taking a deep breath, Kamali pressed a thumb in between two distraught crimson brows and shook her head in regret. "I'm sorry Sweetie." Both mother and daughter regarded one another, both wearing matching grimaces. "There are things in life that most do not understand and they take ludicrous actions because of it. Trust that I am only trying to protect you." Kamali stroked her little one's cheek reassuringly with the back of her fingers. "Magic is a gift little one, don't you ever forget that."
Hazel eyes scanned the patchy forest floor as a young mind registered her mother's words. "I'm sorry Mama." Tiny arms wrapped around Kamali's neck. "I love you. Please don't be mad."
"Oh Sweetie, I'm not mad, merely worried." Kamali embraced her daughter as tightly as her arms would allow, determined to not let anything separate them, especially not a supposed father or asinine Chantry beliefs. "We shouldn't dawdle little one. Let's continue before we spend away more daylight."
With daughter in tow, Kamali quickened their pace. Paranoid chills crawled along her skin as Kamali eyed their surroundings. The air turned ominous once again; this time the glares she felt trailing her were not as custodial as its predecessor.
"What do I use them for, Mama?"
"What's that?" Considerably distracted, Kamali's eyes darted every which way, attempting to locate the glowers she felt on them.
Kirah lifted her hands to her mother with child-like wonderment. "If these things I can do are gifts, what do I use them for?"
"For good sweetie, you use them for good." Smiling warmly, Kamali messed her daughter's persimmon hair.
"Like protecting the country from bandits? Like the Constable does?" Filled with sudden excitement, Kirah picked up a stick and slashed the air in front of her. "Hi-ya! Take that bad guy! Constable Amell fears nothing! Pah-pah-POW!" Blissfully, the little girl swung her wooden 'sword' wildly about, explosive words and joyous merriment accompanying every swipe.
Silver eyes glistened as Kamali observed her daughter playing happily. Far too much time had passed since her little one had the chance to just be a child. It was nice, almost forgetting about…
-CRUNCH-
Kamali's attention snapped to what appeared to be a grouping of nondescript cedar trees. The sounds of leaves crumbling beneath a creature's footfalls were barely audible above her fretted heartbeat. Pulling her daughter close, Kamali drew her sword, holding it shakily in front of her.
Amongst the breaking foliage, low growls resonated through the air. Kamali began to panic, her uneven breaths turning more into pants with each passing moment.
Both mother and daughter gasped as a small grey dog jumped in front of them. Its keen yellow eyes followed their clumsy movements as feet stumbled on rocks and twigs. In a blur of fur, the dog spun around, tail towards them, lowered its head, and barred its teeth. Saliva dripped menacingly from its jaws as it returned to its low threatening growl.
In a flash, three large wolves circled the group, each with their fangs exposed and snarling. Their fur were matted with dirt and tree sap. Their claws were a contorted mess of length and sharpness. As hysterical fears enveloped Kamali entirely, her head jolted frantically between the three wolves, eyes not knowing where to rest.
With a heightened gnarl, the yellow eyed dog lunged at the largest of the pack, digging its teeth into the creature's neck. Violently, the dog trashed its head about, successfully tearing at the wolf's flesh. Kamali startled as a bolt of lightning whizzed pass her hip. Looking down, she saw her daughter with eyes closed and arms extended, sparks of various lights trickling at her fingertips.
After hitting one of the wolves with lightning, Kirah promptly paralyzed the other. The yellow eyed dog continued its ruthless attack, teeth gnawing at any part it came in contact with. The wolf with a seared side began hanging its head low and backing away. A dark glow surrounded the creature as it whimpered in a way Kamali could only describe as horror.
Taking a deep breath, Kamali walked, or tried to, as calmly as her limbs would allow to the paralyzed wolf, trying desperately not to buckle under her own nerves. Clasping her eyes shut, she lifted her blade and brought it down in one fell swoop. Pools of blood painted the lifeless creature as its body convulsed with a final physical cry.
Kamali stood in shock, unable to grasp the current situation she found herself in. Kirah shot off another bolt of lightning as the seared wolf gained misplaced confidence, incapacitating it for good. A few feet ahead of them, the yellow eyed dog stood victorious over its adversary, blood dripping from its jaw.
Keeping her daughter safely behind her, Kamali locked eyes with the dog, yellow intensely examining silver. Her heart felt as though it was going to tear its way out her chest. A harsh wind blew and the sound of something large hitting the forest floor filled Kamali's ears. Instinctively, she turned in the direction of the sound. When she saw nothing, Kamali returned her sight to a now empty pathway. Kamali spun around frenziedly, eyes desperately trying to find the yellows ones it was looking into just moments earlier. The dog, their savior, was nowhere to be found.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Kamali looked down at her daughter. Oddly, Kirah was smiling, expression bright with pride. "Mama! Mama! Did you see me? I'm awesomer than the constable!"
Kamali let out a laugh like exhale. "Yes Sweetie, I saw you."
As if a ray of sunshine broke through the heavily covered forest, Kamali brightened with immense hope. All of her fears and qualms were replaced with an overwhelming sense of peace. She was in this with her daughter as much as her daughter was in it with her and that was the greatest feeling she could have imagined.
In the furthest reaches of the Kocari Wilds, where templars have yet to gain the courage to enter, stood a hut of no real significance. Some of the wilder folks tell tales of its occupants. They believed it to be the home of one deemed the 'Witch of the Wilds.' The more skeptical ones saw it as just a hut, home to a crazy woman and her beautiful daughter.
"Mother, I did as you asked of me. Yet, I do not understand the purpose."
"Ah my sweet Morrigan, give it time. You will see, the moon dances for no one."
"T'is seemingly pointless. The girl is but a child. What use do we have for such a fool creature?"
"Use? Yes, what use? For she is destined to fail and you are her guide! Do as your mother tells you and make sure she arrives…whole. Wouldn't want to upset dear old Flemeth, now would we?"
Five years later…
At the edge of what looked more like an over sized puddle than a lake, Kirah held onto the loose parts of her patchy shirt and bent down with hopes that the final trap she had left to check had seen greater success than the previous four. Her mouth took a downwards turn as she saw a familiar sight. The cage was empty and so would the stew, now turned broth, her mother was preparing back at their hut would be.
Kirah shoot up and spun around readily as she heard light footsteps approaching from behind her. A dark haired girl with cunning yellow eyes who wore rags for clothing stood there with a knowing grin.
"T'would be wise for one not to linger in these parts." The girl spoke with the most celestial yet devilish tone Kirah had ever heard. "T'is not safe for one so fragile, such as yourself."