The Promise

Blayden stood at the side of the bed that he had shared for the past five years with the woman that was the love of his life. He stared down at Lacy's peaceful sleeping form. She was so beautiful and his heart ached at the thought that this might be the last time in a very long time that she would be able to sleep so restfully. He knew today would be the day that he broke her heart and destroy whatever possible future they had together, but he did what needed to be done to protect her. She stirred in her sleep and he yearned to hold her one last time, to tenderly caress her stomach, but he knew that was impossible. He leaned down and whispered to her belly. "Good-bye, little one. It breaks my heart to know that I will never meet you; to never hold you or feel your tiny fingers curl around mine, but please know that I deeply and profoundly love you. I pray that I am leaving you safe and protected. That you will be allowed to choose the life you want and not be feared because you might be a mage.

He stood, looked at his beautiful wife one last time then drifted into the darkness.

When the news came that the Chantry in Kirkwall had fallen, they had found it interesting, but Blayden honestly didn't think there would be any repercussions in the small little village that they lived in just outside of Rainesfere. The Chantry had a small presence here, the Bann was a very tolerant man, and Blayden had a respectable career as Captain of the Rainesfere guard, but when the Ferelden Circle fell, their world became more chaotic.

Blayden's mother had been an apostate and his father Redcliffe soldier. His mother taught him how to control and use his powers while his father trained him to be a soldier. Since he had been taught to fight as warrior, he rarely used his powers which allowed him fit in easily and hide in plain sight. Even with the fall of the Ferelden Chantry he would have been fine if it wasn't for that one act of kindness that was now going to be his undoing. He could hear Lacy's voice in his head, "Blay, no good deed goes unpunished."

Late last night as Blayden made his way home from the castle, he had heard what sounded like the cry of a child coming from the woods. At first he thought it was just the wind, but when he heard it again he entered the forest to investigate. Not far in, he saw the glow of fire coming from the mouth of a small cave. He heard the childlike howl again; he drew his sword and cautiously made his way toward the opening. When he entered the cavern what he saw made his breath hitch in his throat. A young woman was lying on her back, her side had been sliced open and there was a large laceration across her throat. Blood was oozing out of both wounds. A young girl who looked no older than seven was kneeling beside the woman, crying out for her mother to wake up.

Blayden knelt beside the mother and checked for a pulse, but felt nothing. He quickly looked around the grotto to make sure they were alone. When he was assured that no one lingered in the shadows, he raised his hands and magically examined the woman. It was as he had suspected, she was dead due to lose of blood. He looked over at the child who had slumped against her mother's side. Blayden assumed it was from grief, but as he made his way over to her he saw a large pool of blood surrounding her leg and that was when he saw gash on her calf. Due to the large amount of blood that was on the cave floor he could only assume that the cut must have nicked an artery.

He eased the young girl onto her back and gently straightened her leg. She moaned, sat up and grabbed his hand, "P-please Ser… don't let those men come back…"

Blayden rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, my dear. I will let no harm come to you."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Blay replied and she timidly smiled at him. "What is your name?"

"Grace," she replied.

"That's a pretty name," Blayden said.

"My mom says I'm a walking oxy more something since I'm as graceful as a nug with its tail on fire."

Blayden chuckled. "I think you mean oxymoron, but I have all the confidence in the world that you will grow into your name. I'm Blayden, but everyone calls me Blay."

"It's nice to meet you Blay," Grace said.

"It's nice to meet you too. Now, Grace I need you lay back so that I can examine your leg."

Blayden lifted the hem of her skirt and scrutinized the wound. He had been right; the gash was deep and it had indeed cut open an artery. She was rapidly losing blood and he feared due to her small size she would lose too much before he could get her to the healer at Rainesfere Castle. He raised his hands over her leg as he gathered the healing magic in his hands before sending it coursing through the young girl's leg. He pulled back and allowed a small gash to remain so that when the young girl talked about the wound there would be evidence supporting her claim. He packed a healing poultice on the injury then lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the castle for the healer to look at her.

He had left her with the healer and had hoped that would the end of it, but when he arrived at the castle tonight the Castle healer pulled him aside stating that she urgently needed to speak with him. The healer was pretty elven mage from the Circle who was quick witted and most importantly an excellent healer. He had always liked Shalyn and considered her a friend.

She led him into a small room just past her office. She closed the door and spun to face him. "Blay, I have kept your secret because I like both you and Lacy and because I think you are an exceptional Captain of the Guard, but…"

"What secret are you referring to Shay?"

She raised her eyebrows and let out a sigh of frustration. "That you're a mage…"

"I'm a what?"

"A mage. There is no need to deny it. I've known it since I've arrived three years ago. I could sense it in you, but once when I was passing through the courtyard I felt the veil open. I looked around and saw you in the practice ring alone."

Blayden felt the panic begin to set in as his fear began to rise. His horror must have shown on his face because she gently placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "Your secret is safe with me. I never brought it up to you before because I could understand why you wanted to remain free from the Circle and I didn't want you to worry that someone knew your secret."

"So why are you bringing this up now?"

"The little girl you brought in, Grace, has been taken by the templars…"

"What? Why? She has to be only six or seven. Did she perform magic?"

"No, but the templars had been tracking her mother who was an apostate. They had pursued her to that cave where you had found her. From what I could get out of Grace, the templars attacked without even giving them the option of surrender. It was in the initial strike that her leg had been injured. Her mother yelled for her to run. She did as instructed and hid in a dark recess of the cave. She watched as the templars disarmed her mother by smiting her then they butcher her. They looked for Grace, but didn't find her. However, this morning they heard that a castle guard had brought a young injured girl to the castle to see the healer. They took her on the basis that if her mother is mage she will be one too."

"And the Bann just let them take her?"

"No, Bann Teagan was called to Denerim early this morning. I personally think the templars waited until he had left before ordering the guards to open up the gates."

"Damn it, these damn templars are out of control and are over stepping their authority," Blayden grunted as he ran his hands in frustration through his long brown hair.

"What authority? Who are they answering to now?"

Blayden shook his head. "I don't know. With the Circle fallen, where the hell would they even take her?"

"They haven't taken her anywhere, yet. Your guards refuse to let them leave the castle without either your or the Bann's permission."

"Oh, I'm sure the templars are taking that well," Blayden replied.

"About as well as the Archdemon enjoyed the feel of the Hero's blade, however they could do little about it since they were outnumbered. Your guards have them under surveillance in the west wing."

"Thank you for warning me. I appreciate it," Blayden said as he headed for the west wing grand hall.

He entered the grand hall in the west wing. Blayden quickly surveyed the room. Two of his men guarded the door. He saw Grace huddled on a cot in a corner of the room with two more castle guards protecting her. There were four templers sitting at a table near a window. They rose when he entered and stalked toward him.

"What right do you have holding us here against our will?" the largest templar demanded.

"What right do you have to take a little girl out of Bann Teagan's estate?" Blayden retorted.

"We have every right. She is a mage," the templar snapped.

"What proof do you have that she is mage?" Blayden questioned.

"Her mother was an apostate…"

"Just because her mother was a mage doesn't mean that she will be one. Until she shows signs of having magic, she does not fall under your authority. She is now an orphan thanks to you and she falls under the authority of Bann and you will not remove her from these premises," Blayden commanded as he looked over and saw Grace wide eyed, but moving closer to the confrontation.

The templar leader glared at Blayden and a smirk spread across his lips. "Oh, but she did use magic. She shot a fireball at me and that is why she received that gash on her leg."

Blayden felt shock ripple through him, but he reined in his emotions. "I don't believe you. When I found her last night she had just witnessed the brutal death of her mother, she was in pain and scared. If there was ever a time for her to lose control of her powers it would have been then, but she showed no signs of magic when I found her. So I'm sorry, but until someone other than the ruthless templars that slaughtered her mother witness her so called magic, she will not be leaving this castle."

The templar leader stepped forward into him and his fellow templars flanked his sides, all of them drawing their swords. "How dare you stand in the way of us serving the Chantry?"

Blayden drew his own sword and shield. His guards tensed as they followed the lead of their Captain and readied themselves for a fight. "How dare you presume to usurp the authority of this region's Bann without probable cause and no evidence?"

The lead templar struck first as he thrust his sword toward Blayden who easily parried it away. His guards quickly moved to his side as the templars advanced on them. The templar lunged forward again exposing his back, Blayden twisted to his right and jabbed at him from behind, but the knight pivoted away just in time to miss the blow. The sound of clashing metal was all around him, but Blayden remained focused on his target. If he could take out the leader he had a feeling his fellow templars would surrender.

Both of them crouched into a fighting stance as they began to circle each other. Again the templar made the first move as he swung his sword low towards Blayden's knees, he jumped over the blade, twisted around and delivered a hard blow to the templar's back with the pommel of his sword. The knight stumbled forward, but remained on his feet. He quickly spun to face him and swung his sword toward his head. He brought his blade up just in time to block the blow. Blayden pushed off the templar, backed up a step as they continued the dance… swing, block, attack, parry, the sound of steel clashing over and over again.

Sweat was pouring down Blayden's brow as he took a moment to glance around. He realized that three of his men were down and that his last remaining guard was at his side as the templars surrounded them and advanced. The rogue beside him disappeared into the shadows only to reappear behind one of the templars. The guard stabbed the knight in the side with one dagger and in the back with another. The templar went down with a loud thud.

The rogue was about to slip into the shadows once again, but he wasn't quick enough. A templar spun with his sword catching him in the shoulder and neck. The rogue stumbled than fell.

It was just Blayden now as the three remaining templars advanced on him. He knew he wouldn't be able to defeat all three of them at the same time without the use of magic. If he used a repulsion glyph or a freezing spell he would stand a chance, but then he would expose himself as a mage and he would destroy everything that he had worked so hard to conceal. He couldn't do that, he wouldn't. He would rather die as Captain of the Guard than endanger Lacy and his unborn child...his child...his precious, innocent baby that would be scrutinized everyday of their life if Blayden revealed himself as a mage. Hell the way things were now the templars just might hunt Lacy down and kill their baby without even waiting to see if the child possessed magic. He could not condemn his family to that. When he married Lacy he had promised to love and protect her. When he had met Grace he had promised to keep her safe. He was a man that kept his promises. So after a quick prayer to the Maker, he raised his exhausted arms to defend himself one last time.