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Due to the nature of his responsibilities, Urianger naturally kept his cards to his chest. Far too many secrets had been entrusted to him for him to be open and artless with his thoughts and emotions. He tried to come out of his shell multiple times—Moenbryda, his dearest friend, had helped him in their youth—but ultimately, he was a reticent person.
That is not to say that he never expressed himself. He felt surprise and amusement as much as the rest of his companions. He would certainly never forget asking Thancred, “Wait! Doth this mean that thou wert listening when I delivered my lectures on the pixies?” He’d been eager when Estinien joined the Scions, as they were close in age and he was looking forward to it. And, given that there were fewer and fewer secrets as time went on, he even allowed himself to smile at the loporrits as he pointed out how special their names were.
Today, however, he could not help the astonishment he felt upon seeing her inside the Waking Sands.
A little girl, blonde and fragile. He’d seen girls like this before.
Except in her eyes was an understanding far deeper and more frightening than anyone he’d met. She understood everything, all his secrets, all his fears, all his hidden wishes that he tamped down deep in his soul.
All from meeting his gaze.
“My name is Naminé,” she introduced herself, and Urianger noticed that she was glowing. Not metaphorically, not poetically, no, she was glowing. The light from her skin curled around her and when she reached to shake his hand, it wrapped around his fingers. His breath hitched for but a moment—the light touched his heart and soothed him in a way he hadn’t felt for such a long time.
“How did you come here, child?” Not even the Oracle of Light could glow like this, although those sensitive to aether could tell how pure Ryne or any of her predecessors were.
“I opened the door.” She released his hand, and that was when he realized she was smaller than the Leveilleur twins. This… Naminé, she barely reached his waist, while the twins easily came to his breastbone. It made her seem tiny—and mayhaps she was tiny; he couldn’t remember the last time he had come across a hyuran child so small. “I came from a world far away.”
Urianger knelt so that he could speak to her face-to-face. “From another shard?”
She tilted her head, pondering the thought. “I’m not sure. Perhaps.”
Of course. Not everyone knew that their world was sundered and that they were connected to the Source. Yet, it surprised him that she knew she was not in her home shard. Then it hit him—she had seen everything when their eyes first met, so she knew she was not at home. If she did not come from a shard, he wondered where exactly she hailed.
She had come so far, it would be rude not to welcome her. “Wouldst thou enjoy some tea, Naminé?” Thankfully, the Waking Sands still had some in stock, as he still made use of the building.
“With milk and sugar?” The hopefulness in her voice made his eyes widen. How very odd, that she should look so ethereal and yet so human. So very adorably young.
“If that is thy wish,” he agreed with a nod. He straightened and led the way into the kitchen. He didn’t come in to do much more than boil water for tea, but once upon a time, it had serviced everyone in the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.
“Thank you for the tea.” Naminé smiled gratefully and wrapped her hands around her mug. She did a little wriggle in her chair as she took her first sip, an act that made him chuckle.
“Dost thou like tea?”
“I’m new to tea!” she answered happily. “I’m… I’m new to everything, in fact. That’s why I went exploring.”
Urianger looked her up and down, and mentally frowned. “Without any weapon to protect thee?” Not to mention her dress and sandals were not built for exploring.
Naminé held out her hand, and the light shifted to form a glowing spear. “I can make any weapon that I need, but I’ve never actually needed one. People don’t see me.” The spear disappeared.
He had a feeling that there was something more to her last statement. “Then, perhaps, thou wouldst enjoy traveling with me and mine companions. It is not always a set number, but my friends and comrades are good people.”
“I’d like that, Urianger.” Her soft, sweet smile made the offer worth it.
The girl followed him around like a duckling. Naminé hid in the folds of his robes when he met people she wasn’t used to, although she was very excited to meet the twins, who were apparently close to her age.
Thancred was about to give him a friendly slap on the back, when he saw Naminé. The gunbreaker’s jaw dropped and he took an involuntary step back. “What the—?!”
Naminé, for her part, hid further behind Urianger until only her eyes were visible.
“Thancred, my friend, be not alarmed. This is Naminé, mine newest companion.” Urianger patted her head, which gave her enough confidence to leave the safety of his robes and nod to Thancred.
“I thought!”
“I know.” Urianger nodded decisively. “But Naminé is simply a young girl.”
Thancred shook his head. “I don’t think there’s anything simple about her. My apologies, little lady,” he said, addressing Naminé, “but you look a lot like Ryne, a girl we used to travel with. Well, before her hair and eyes changed.”
She nodded. “I know, I’ve seen her. I was surprised to see the similarities too.”
Urianger took hold of her hand, which she squeezed. “She will be traveling with us for the foreseeable future.”
His friend grinned. “I can tell this will be very interesting!”
Naminé also liked to draw and listened to Urianger whenever he lectured her on one subject or another. She was able to recall everything with perfect accuracy, and eventually confessed to the secret of her talent.
“I’m a witch with the power over memories,” she said one day, as they were sitting by a campfire. It was just the two of them for the moment, but she whispered her secret nonetheless. “I was born from the heart of a Princess of Heart, which is how I can control light. Only the Princesses of Heart are so pure.
“I was born only about four years ago. I could control certain people’s memories when I was born. My powers have grown since then.” After that, she didn’t say much more about herself, but Urianger trusted her. It was all right with him that she was reticent; he knew what it was like. To hold all the cards, to regret choices made, to try making up for it—they were the same.
“I am very glad they have,” he said, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. “For without them, thou would not have made thine way here.”
“I’m glad I met you, too, Urianger,” she replied, and leaned against him. “I think I needed someone like you.”
It warmed his heart that she thought so. “Fortune smiled upon me when I found thee in the Waking Sands.”
Her glowing smile made him feel very fortunate indeed.