UNBOUND
(Submission for Dragon Age fan fiction contest)
"You did it," he whispered, his breath warm on my cheek. Limp in armored arms, I was carried from the Harrowing chamber. Someone grabbed my arm and soon the cold metal was replaced by the silky glide of fabric. Muffled voices swirled while smaller limbs rushed me away from my steel warrior. Even with eyes shut I could tell no living thing liked being in this dormitory. No scuffling of feet, no turning of pages; stillness prevailed just as the Templars intended.
A few minutes of sleep and I was back in the Fade. It was the only other place I'd been outside the mage tower. Shadowy figures drifted by, an indistinct mesh of people and places, some I recognized, but only for a second as they changed to inspire confusion. I took a few steps forward on the hard-caked ground when suddenly cinnamon stung my nose.
"Only dead girls love them," a woman said. Her voice drifted over me, a bit like healing magic mixed with the pull of entropy. She had my height and slight build, shorter maybe, with withered posture. She didn't look at me as she stirred a pot of steaming stew, the source of the spicy smell. Indifferent she seemed, perhaps, but definitely not vulnerable. I could feel the tickle of her energy behind my ears as walls of pitted wood decorated with shelves of rusted knick-knacks shimmered around us then became solid.
I reached for my staff causing lightning to snap over my curled fingers. "You demons never learn."
She chortled, "Demon?" Her laugh ended with a sharp glare, "Some things you'll never learn being locked up in that tower. Trapped like an animal you are."
"I'm no animal." A tempest of raging energy engulfed the shack and the woman. In an instant, the mirage became the dusty yellow sky and hardened dirt of the Fade.
"If only you could be free, my pet." The woman's voice echoed in the windless plane and I turned to see her crying blood. Red streaks drizzled down her cheeks as I lifted my iron staff.
"Ember, wake up." With a start, I opened my eyes to see my Willem smiling at me. Helm by his side and arm stretched over me, his face radiated pride. "You made it through. I knew you would."
I smiled back instinctively and stretched, knowing his casual air meant no one was watching. He always knew where people were. Always. The Templars were not allowed to fraternize with the mages. Hell, even the mages weren't allowed to fraternize with the mages, but there was never a shortage of trysts in the supply room or in the worst cases, infants given back to the Maker.
I focused on the honey color of his eyes and tried to forget the demon woman's voice. "Yeah, the Harrowing was a lot easier than I thought it would be, "I admitted. His smile lessened a bit and I continued, realizing what he must be thinking. "I mean, I fought the demon pretending to help me. The thing was wrong to assume I'd be so easily fooled into making a deal."
Willem's happiness returned and he leaned closer to my ear, "I never doubted, my love."
"Well, that I'm glad of that lest I have a sword through my heart."
He jerked away and said, "Not funny, Ember."
I sat up and kissed his cheek. He wouldn't look at me as I said, "Sure it is. Would it have been my heart or my gut? You tend to like sticking me with things."
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest before he pushed me back down onto the scratchy sheets.
"Oh, I plan on—"
In one quick movement his helm slipped over his head and he stood at attention by the door. How he moved in plate armor without making a sound was beyond me.
I slammed my eyes shut and pretended to sleep. The door clicked open, letting some escaping air from the hallway brush past me. The lock engaged with sharp clack. I silently recited all known uses of spider silk and venom before peeking.
"Clear," Willem whispered.
I tossed the maroon coverlet to the side and stepped across a woven rug to him. Engraving on his metal fittings sparkled in the candlelight as he removed his helmet once again, freeing his brown ponytail. I placed my small hands on his smooth jaw and spoke low, "I know we don't have time right now, but will I see you tonight? I have a room all to myself now. Big bed. No more sneaking into the broom closet."
His large arm circled me and pushed me into him, hard edges poking through my thin mage robes. "I'll be here."
His lips took mine as I relaxed into his embrace. My mind whirled as our energy collided – Templar magic was fueled with pure Lyrium, a powerful drug. I tasted it on his tongue and wanted more before he ended the kiss. I sighed, sinking my head into his breastplate. "Think we'll ever be free to just love each other without all of this hiding?"
"You know I took an oath."
"Take an oath with me." My voice resonated with defeat and the old woman's voice rattled my memory once again.
His gloved hand cupped the back of my head and made me peer up into his stern face, "We make the best of what the Maker gives us."
He motioned toward the door with his chin. I protested not with words but with a small shove of his gauntlet while grabbing my washroom satchel. By the time my fingers were pushing against the heavy oak door, Willem had been engulfed in shadow, only the sight glimmer of his sword hilt shone in the dark corner. And so it was as it had always been, a Templar stayed to watch, to guard and to spy.
As a child, they seemed terrifying; always enforcing the rules with stark metal faces and weapons at the ready. It wasn't until I saw how they can drain us of our mana that I truly understood their purpose. They were there to protect us, yes, but mostly they were there to protect people from us. The outside world didn't exist in mine, so I refused to let the Templars hold that over me. It wasn't until I met Willem that I saw them as more than imposing watchdogs. It turns out that some of them are just like us, brought to the Chantry as children and forced to live by the mistranslated edicts of Andraste.
"Ember! Come quickly!"
My eyes snapped up to find Farja, an elven friend from my elemental studies course waving wildly at me through the door crack. I dropped my bag and followed her. Silver hair and blue robes fluttered around her as she ran. Oh to be as graceful as an elf!
She slowed her pace at the intersection of two corridors. The hem of my skirt puddled upon the top of my bare feet as I stopped behind her tiny frame. The chilly air and small pebbles of stone beneath me forced my senses to become more alert. I glanced over to where she pointed. "Look, the Templars are guarding something."
A line of silver and a flash of fire was all I saw before hunks of burning flesh cascaded the hallway yawning before us. We both stumbled back and she cast a shield spell around us. Her magic repelled most of the gore. My hand went for my staff, but it was still in my new room. With a small incantation, I cast a paralysis glyph before us.
Hammering sounds of Templar troops deafened me briefly before the familiar grip of Willem's glove squeezed around my arm. He pulled me backward and away from Farja just as a group of mages emerged from the blast site with violent spells pouring from their staves.
Farja screamed then collapsed as Willem stole her mana.
"What are you doing?" I struggled against his hold.
"Ember. Stop. You must come with me." He drew nearer and begged, "Please."
Yelling erupted from the other side of the corridor along with sounds of swords unsheathing. Smoke from burning beams hit by stray fireballs rose and my eyes prickled. I chose Willem.
As we hastened away from the commotion, clumps of mages in colorful robes emerged from doorways asking,
"What's happening?"
"What's going on?"
"Are we in danger?"
"Oh, Maker! Abominations?"
No. I stumbled a little, toe throbbing from the impact, as I craned my head to see what that other mage had seen. Willem tugged my arm and we ran faster, away from the monstrous groans and screams increasing in volume despite our pace.
Endless flights of stairs we descended. Bloody footprints marked my path like breadcrumbs. My hand went numb until Willem released his grip as we slowed. Nerves reawakened sending needlelike pain through my limb. I cringed and flexed my fingers wishing for a staff to help channel my magic.
"We need to help them." I spat out while trying to catch my breath. Sweat made my robe cling more with each step.
He coughed and growled, "No, you need to get to safety."
I stopped. "What? No. Those are my friends, my family."
His eyes turned fierce. "I can't let you be killed."
A flare of annoyance spiked as I argued, "I won't be—"
"Yes. You will." His hands held my shoulders. "If you stay here I'll be forced to kill you. I don't have a choice."
Shock rippled through me, a mix of betrayal and fear. His tone softened, "There is a war out there, Ember. Bigger forces at work than just here, ones started outside this land. You need to go. Take this key and go!"
His conviction sparked trust and through shaking lips, I managed a weak, "Come with me."
"Go!" He pushed me forward with his Templar force magic and I knew what he said was true.
Clanking armor pursued me as I raced into the bowels of the mage prison past rotted cells and forgotten bones. A gate ahead signaled that I was almost there. Determined, I pressed on and refused to give in to despair. He loved me. He was protecting me by letting me go.
A few more painful strides before the key was in the lock.
"Found her!" I heard Willem say. I staggered and fell, knees and palms splitting. The key bounced only once. Air ripped from my lungs.
"What are you waiting for then?" I could hear the other Templar's sneer.
As my mana started to drain from Willem's Templar powers, a strange surge of hate and anger blasted through me. A voice rang in my ears as the demon contorted my body, "Now I am free."