A Family Discovered

[Alexandra Sawyer]

The moment Alexandra had stepped off the ship that brought her to Goldcrest from her homeland of Abrea, the diminutive girl felt as though she'd been caught up in whirlwind.  Everything had moved so quickly, from being ushered down the gang plank with no clue where she was to go or how she was to get there, to the strange, yet oddly comforting young woman she'd stumbled upon that seemed to be more akin to a shark on the prowl than a kind, empathetic stranger.  

In the end, Alex had finally climbed the steps leading to the Enclave and made her way inside.  From there Alex barely had time to think.  She was pulled aside by a large man wearing armor and interrogated under the threat of violence.  The sudden aggression had driver her to tears of fear and distress, though when she was finally able to stammer out her story she found herself being dragged along by the arm to meet with another mage.  After a brief exhibition where she warily and nervously displayed her ability to manipulate unseen forces she was once again whisked away.  Her tattered clothes were stripped away and she was inspected for injuries or markings before being bathed and dressed in traditional Enclave robes.

Hours had passed and Alex still found herself being pulled this way and that.  It wasn't until a soft-spoken, elderly woman with a kind face and stern words for the orderlies who had been dragging Alex around intervened did Alex find a few moments of solace and the chance to tell her story to someone who looked as though they cared.  With a sympathetic eye, the woman listened and, once Alex had finished, nodded and called for one of the armed men to escort Alex to the quarters of her sister, Grayson.

The Chevalier issued a sharp rap upon the mage's chambers and stormed off without speaking so much as a word to the exhausted and utterly confused Alex.  She was watching the armored hulk of a man moving away with her jaw slack from surprise when the door opened.  Eyes widened as Alex turned at the sound staring at who was on the other side of the door.  She attempted to speak but no words came out.  All she could manage to do was stammer a few syllables as her mind completely froze up without so much as offering a single coherent word.

[Grayson Sawyer]

After the day she had had, Grayson could not help but crawl into the corner of her shared quarters with three of the seven kittens she was taking care of in secret behind the Enclave. Though there were no tears, the pout on Grayson's lips was more than a clear indication of how she was feeling right then.

One of the kittens had slinked it's way around Grayson's neck, nipping at her skin lightly while the other two were smushed together and was currently plastered to Grayson's face. Her chamber mates still weren't home yet so when the door was knocked, Grayson wondered why they were knocking. For a moment, she didn't get up, hoping whoever was at the door would go away so she could wallow in her self pity a little bit longer but the thought of letting the person on the other side of the door wait made her a little guilty so she got up, stowing the kittens away in the makeshift basket she made.

When she opened the door, a confused smile came to her lips. "Hello."

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex's breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of the young lady that was on the other side of the door. She felt her heart begin pounding in her ears and a flush of warmth rushed into her cheeks. A shaking hand came up to brush lightly at a stray strand of still damp hair that had fallen into her face. There was so much going on with her and she'd managed nary a coherent word.

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and took a deep breath. There was no stopping the tears the silently began to stream down Alex's cheeks as she stood, rooted in place. The near overwhelming joy of seeing the sister she'd never truly known clashed with the crushing sorrow of the news she would surely have to deliver.

At long last words finally came. She stuttered, stammered then coughed. After clearing her throat Alex took a deep breath and spoke to her older sister for the first time. "G-Grayson?" She said, eyes still wide and hopeful like a lost puppy. "I'm A-Alex. You sister."

[Grayson Sawyer]

The moment the words left the younger woman's lips, Grayson's confusion lifted and her smile lit up her whole face. What had happened earlier in the day no longer mattered. Her little sister, the person that made her childhood away from her family a little bearable with her letters, was here in the flesh. And so grown up.

Even though her joy encompassed her being, it didn't throw away from the fact that the young woman before her looked so forlorn. It didn't give her pause though as she pulled the smaller brunette towards her without even thinking. Whatever that had stopped her from being so close to other people just melted away as she hugged her little sister, happy tears streaming down her face.

"Alex...oh my God I've missed you. I...oh my God." She was out of words to say.

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex tensed at the sudden, unexpected touch of her sister but she soon found warmth in the gentle, loving embrace. Her arms slipped around Grayon and tightened. She clung to her sister and the emotions flooded out of her in the only way they knew how. A hail of sobs racked her body as the tears flowed freely. She pressed her face into Grayson's shoulder, the tears soaking the fabric of her clothes.

Sadness mingled with the tears of joy. Alex was utterly exhausted and the relief of finally reaching the point where she could hold onto someone who, in spite of never having met Grayson, felt comfortable and familiar. She was, at least as far as she was told, safe for the first time in years, the overwhelming sensation of that flooded the rest of her already high emotions and it became more than she could bear. Letting out a soft gasp, Alex's legs gave out from under her.

[Grayson Sawyer]

Grayson heard the sobs and immediately was concerned. A thousand things occurred to her but the foremost thought was how Alex got here. She held on to the young woman until she sagged.

"Alex!" She exclaimed, her legs almost giving way themselves. She quickly pulled the other brunette into her room to place her on her bed. The little mewls from the basket distracting her only slightly as she ran around her room trying to find things to make the other woman comfortable.

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex held onto her sister as she was all but pulled into the room, only letting go once she felt the soft cushion of the bed beneath her form. Her hands came up to cover her face for a moment, her eyes squeezing shut as she attempted desperately to catch her breath and regain her composure. After a long while she finally lowered her hands, wiping at her cheeks and issuing a sigh.

"I'm sorry." She said, sniffling weakly. "It's been so long since..." Alex's head shook. She didn't even really know what it was she was trying to say. Every day had been wrought with fear and danger threatening at every corner. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept fully through the night or spent a single waking moment without the icy fingers of a creeping dread wrapped around her heart. "I only just arrived. I had to ask for help finding you."

[Grayson Sawyer]

When Alex finally calmed down enough to speak, Grayson sat by her side, pushing away the hair that had stuck against her sister's forehead. Her eyes widened slightly at the thought of her baby sister walking around Goldcrest asking for help before another thought invaded her mind.

"Did you come here alone?"

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex nodded slowly and pulled her legs up beneath her. Even though she dreaded the words she had yet to speak to anyone, let alone her sister, she couldn't help the small smile that came from Grayson's touch. Even in the worst of times she'd always had her family and they did what they could. Fear and worry may have been a constant in their lives but so too was love.

"I did." Alex said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I lost track of how long I spent on that ship." She confessed with a dry, mirthless laugh. "I started to think we'd never reach dry land." While she spoke Alex's eyes fell to the floor in front of her. She ran a finger lightly across the fabric that was around her knee, feeling the softness of its fibers. Even though few would consider her garment to be among the finest of clothes Goldcrest had to offer, Alex had never been clad in anything even of this quality. She certainly wasn't going to miss the tattered rags that had been stripped from her just moments ago.

[Grayson Sawyer]

Even without a reference point, Grayson couldn't help but notice how tiny Alex was in her bed. She scooted closer to her sister, not wanting anymore distance with family.

A small laugh was emitted by the mage before she looked at her sister with her next question.

"Why didn't mother and father follow you?"

[Alexandra Sawyer]

The question drained the color from Alex's face. She kept her gaze averted, unable to muster the courage to look at her sister. She knew this moment would come. She'd known it since that dreadful night where she had been forced to flee by her mother and father. The night she left them behind with tears in her eyes. They had lied to her. They had told her there would be safe passage to Goldcrest for all of them even after they'd only been able to scrape up enough coin for Alex.

For a brief moment Alex's lips parted and it looked as though she was going to speak. She halted before a single sound had escaped and froze. In an instant she erupted into mournful wails. She turned into Grayson, flinging her arms around her sister once more and clinging tightly to her as the words began to pour out of her with haggard, wheezing gasps. "I didn't want to leave them, I promise! They made me go. I wanted to stay but they wouldn't let me. The mage hunters were following us for months. They found our cabin, Mother hid me in a space we had beneath the floorboards and told me to stay silent, not matter what I heard." Her voice rose as the emotions reached a near fever pitch. She was now nearly screaming the words she'd been burying deep down inside for so long. "I should done something! I should have saved them!"

Alex collapsed into a heap, leaning against Grayson heavily before slumping into her lap. She turned her face inward, pressing into her sister's stomach and sobbed. She had thought there were no more tears to be shed long ago but she was wrong. They came swiftly and suddenly, continuing with no end in sight as she gripped Grayon's robes. Two words repeated over and over under her breath, coming between the harsh sobs.

"I'm sorry."

[Grayson Sawyer]

The soft mewls came again and this time the kittens did too. They climbed over the bed and started playing around, batting at each other while Alex spoke. As the words came spilling out from her, an unfamiliar stirring started in Grayson's heart. It wasn't despair or loss. It was something that she couldn't really describe. She knew she was supposed to be sad; her parents were gone.

She barely knew them though, even through the letters, she always felt close to them but somehow the longing didn't really translate. Why was that?

Grayson cradled Alex's head, sounding soothing noises as she tried to comfort the young woman. The squeezing in her heart felt a lot more connected to how Alex was than feeling the loss of her parents.

"It's alright." She said softly, running her fingers through the girl's long dark curls. "It's okay."

[Alexandra Sawyer]

The hard, deep sobs that racked Alex's tiny body subsided after a long while. She clung to her sister as the emotions of years spent desperately running for her life and losing everything she'd ever known in the process slowly drained out of her. By the time she fell silent only a soft sniffle escaped. She didn't move, even as she calmed. The soft closeness of her remaining family was the only comfort she could hold onto. Her eyes closed, squeezing out the last remnants of tears.

Alex hadn't even begun to consider how Grayson was going to react. Her biggest fear was her sister would push her away, reject her for being cowardly and running away to leave their parents to die. Through everything she'd endured over the years she knew that, above all else, would be the final straw. Her heart wouldn't be have been able to withstand that. "Is it?" She asked weakly, sighing softly as she focused her mind on the gentle touch of her sister's fingers running through her hair. Grayson had spoke the words but Alex wasn't so sure of them. "I don't know if I can believe that anymore."

[Grayson Sawyer]

The thing that saddened Grayson more than anything was the fact that her newly found sister had suffered a tragic loss, and that caused her to tear up. As she listened to the cries from the smaller brunette, Grayson didn't want to even begin to imagine being in Alex's shoes. Not any more than she already had.

Having lost several members of the Enclave whom she was closer to, Grayson found herself having to wonder whether she would even survive had she had to travel to a distant and foreign land despite knowing the fate that befell the ones closest to her.

"In time..." Grayson responded with a mirthless smile. "I'm so sorry you've suffered." She offered, not knowing what else to say. Of all the things the Enclave had taught her, consoling another after a tragedy was not one of them. "You must be so tired. Why don't you rest and when you wake up, I will find you some food."

[Alexandra Sawyer]

Alex nodded slowly, her eyes still closed. She knew the nights spent in fear wouldn't easily fade but she was assured protection and a place to stay within the confines of the Enclave. It was more than she'd ever had even with her parents at her side. The only thing she could do was hope the coming days would continue to show the faint glimmer of hope she had been seeking for so long.

Doing as she was told was easy for Alex. At Grayson's prompting the small girl curled up on the bed and sighed heavily. Everything had moved so quickly and she found herself so exhausted she'd almost forgotten the letter still tucked away in her pocket. It remained one of only two items she had clung desperately to during her travels. Her eyes slowly opened and she pushed herself to a sitting position. "I forgot." She said, her voice soft as she dug into the gown's pocket and withdrew the strip of folded parchment. "Mother wanted me to give you this." She said, holding out the letter to Grayson. The letter was crumpled from weeks spent in Alex's possession. A smudge of faded red stained one corner.