"Fergus!" Bryce calls down the hallway as he follows behind his son.
Fergus is surprised, for a moment, by his father's voice. He thought he was alone.
"I just wanted to remind you that Arl Howe and his men will be here tomorrow," Bryce says.
"Yes, I know," Fergus sighs softly.
He is looking forward to battling the darkspawn, and doing his part to end the blight, but he feels anxiety at the thought of leaving his wife and son. What if something goes wrong and his family needs him? What if his loved ones' lives are at stake and he isn't here to save them? He can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen.
"Is something wrong, son?" Bryce asks with sincere concern.
Fergus pushes his fears away and shakes his head.
"No, everything's fine," he answers with a smile.
It's probably just nerves, he tells himself. He has been in battle before, but he has never fought in a war.
Bryce is a bit hesitant to accept Fergus' response, but he does not question it.
"Alright, I will see you at supper,"
Fergus nods before his father walks off. He looks so dutiful in the way he walks and the expression on his face. Fergus wonders if he looks anything like that when he walks. Maybe he just looks like a big goof. That would not be surprising. It would be fitting with his playful and humorous nature.
Fergus continues on his way down the hall and into his room where his wife, Orianna, sits on their bed with a look of worry plastered on her face.
"Don't be afraid darling. I won't be gone long, you'll see," he tries to reassures her, although he can't assure himself.
"You can't possibly know that for certain," Orianna replies before taking a deep breath and blinking her tears away.
"Don't cry love," Fergus says softly as he steps closer, sits beside her, and places a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Orianna rests her head on his shoulder and the tears start to fall.
"I can't help it," she sobs.
Fergus places a hand under Orianna's chin and tilts her head up until she is staring into his dark brown eyes. He looks upon her with love. He places a warm, tender kiss upon her lips. He smiles softly as she places her hands on his shoulders and pushes him down on the bed, giving him one passionate kiss after another. Her hands caress the stuble that covers his chin. They travel along his smooth, pale cheeks and into his messy, dark brown hair.
"I found a rabbit, mother," they hear their son, Oren say from the doorway.
Orianna smiles at the sound of her son's voice even though he is interrupting them.
"It's a good thing he came along before your armor was removed," she whispers in Fergus ear with a soft giggle.
"Yes, he is a bit young to witness-" Fergus begins before Oren speaks again.
"Look at him! He's white and fluffy!" the young boy enthuses.
Oriana and Fergus both sit up and turn to look at their son who, they are surprised to see, is holding a real, wild rabbit that is squirming violently in an attempt to escape his grasp.
"Oren!" Orianna exclaims in alarm. "Put that thing down!"
"But mother!" Oren protests.
"Do as your mother says, Oren," Fergus insists, without the same level of concern as his wife. It's not that he doesn't care about his son. He just doesn't always see his wife's reasons for being so strict. Sometimes he feels as if she is being overly protective but parents must work as a team. If Orianna doesn't want Oren to do something than Fergus will normally stand beside her in her decision.
"Fine," Oren huffs as he drops the rabbit and allows it to hop away.
"Do you have any idea what kind of diseases that thing could carry?" Orianna frets.
"Now love, he didn't mean any harm," Fergus says as he rises from the bed and approaches his son.
Fergus looks over his son carefully. "No scratches or bites," he announces, to his wife's relief. "His clothes got the worst of it," he jokes.
Orianna stands and joins her family, getting a closer look at her son's clothing. They are ripped in places and spotted with mud.
"Fergus, that's not funny!" she scolds. "Come on, Oren, let's get you cleaned up," she says as she gently takes hold of her son's hand. "Fergus, can you please find that rabbit and take it outside before it causes any trouble around the castle?" she requests as she and her husband lock eyes.
Fergus sighs tiredly. He just wants to relax and spend time with his family, but he understands that this is important. There are a lot of things the rabbit could get into and a lot of people it could bother.
"Of course, love," he says before turning to exit the room. If he hurries, maybe he can catch it before it finds a good hiding spot.
"Thank you," Orianna calls just before Fergus is out of earshot.
Fergus wanders down the hallway, uncertain of where to go and where to look, when he bumps into his mother, Eleanor.
Eleanor steadies herself and looks up at the man who nearly knocked her over.
"Oh, hello Fergus," she says with a smile.
"Hello mother, I'm sort of busy," he replies as his eyes scan the area.
"Too busy to spend a moment with your mother? You will be leaving tomorrow," Eleanor responds with disappointment. She does not want her son to go away to fight those evil creatures.
"No, I just-" that is when Fergus spots the rabbit sniffing around, in a corner, right next to a crate that has just been emptied of all new guard equipment.
How convenient, he thinks before stepping slowly in the rabbit's direction. He seems to have completely forgotten about his mother's presence.
"Fergus!" Eleanor exclaims just as Fergus leans down to grab the crate.
The sound of her voice frightens the rabbit and it dodges just as Fergus tries to trap it. Then Eleanor realizes what Fergus was trying to do and that she is to blame for the rabbit's escape.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry darling!" she calls as Fergus bolts after the rabbit, crate in hand.
"Come on you dumb rabbit! I'm trying to take you back outside, where you belong!" Fergus yells in frustration as he chases the creature downstairs and down a hallway.
He smacks the box down on the floor repeatedly in an attempt to capture the rabbit, but he fails every time. Then he stops as he realizes that the rabbit is nearing the front gate.
"Open the gate!" he orders the guards as he gets closer. He is breathing heavily and slowing down slightly.
The guards take a moment to look at each other questioningly but they simply shrug it off and open the gates. Often times they don't understand Fergus' reasoning behind things. He can be quite odd at times but, he is still to be the next Teryn when Bryce dies and they need to respect him and do as he says. Sometimes the guards wonder if Fergus would truly make a good leader. He is a good person. His heart is certainly in the right place, but he doesn't seem to possess all the necessary leadership skills. Maybe their doubt is misplaced- - -Nevertheless, they can't help but worry.
Once the gates are open Fergus waves his hands at the rabbit and tries to lead it outside.
"Shoo! Shoo!" he says firmly, but the rabbit simply sniffs the gate and looks at Fergus curiously. Fergus sighs and decides to try to trap it once more. He sets the crate down overtop of the rabbit and grins happily at his success.
"Well, that wasn't so hard," he boasts, forgetting all about the trouble he went through before he caught the poor thing.
Then his smile transforms into a frown as he realizes something. "I forgot the bloody lid!" he shouts in aggravation.
It takes tremendous effort for the guards not to burst out in laughter. Sometimes they find Fergus' absent-mindedness rather amusing.
"You there!" he calls as he turns his head to look at one of the two guards. "Would you be so kind as to fetch me the lid to this crate while I make sure it doesn't hop off?" he asks humorously.
He may be exhausted but that's not enough to stop him from having a sense of humor.
"Yes sir," the guard responds before walking off in search of the lid.
Fergus plops down beside the crate, leaving one arm on it to keep it in place, and huffs with discontentment. The guard immediately picks up on Fergus' unhappy state and takes a seat beside him. Fergus is fairly lenient towards the guards. He treats them as if they are friends more so than taking on the role of their boss.
"Is something the matter?" the guard asks with genuine concern.
"I don't know," Fergus sighs. "I've just been feeling uneasy lately," he admits.
"Because of the war?" the guard guesses.
"Maybe," Fergus responds with a shrug. "I'm not exactly certain what it is,"
There is a moment of silence before Fergus speaks again.
"I don't want to leave Oren and Orianna here, alone,"
"They won't be alone, sir," the guard assures him.
A soft and appreciative smile takes over Fergus' features.
"It's nice to know I can count on you to be there for them," he says.
"But it doesn't make you feel better. I can see it in your eyes," the guard responds.
"It makes me feel a little better," Fergus replies. "Just not entirely,"
The men sit in silence for a short time before the other guard comes running back with the lid of the crate in hand.
"I found it sir!" he calls over the thumping of his feet as they smack against the ground.
"Excellent! Thank you," Fergus responds gratefully as he stands up and takes the lid from the guard's hand.
The sound of wood scratching the ground can be heard as the crate slowly inches away.
"Oops!" Fergus says as he places a hand on the top of the crate and his cheeks turn a soft shade of pink. His inattentive behavior is starting to become slightly embarrassing.
"Don't worry about it, Fergus. We all make mistakes," says the guard who previously comforted him while the other searched for the crate's lid.
"Worry about what? I'm not worried," Fergus lies.
After brushing off the guard's comment, Fergus struggles a bit to get the lid under the crate without letting the rabbit out. Once he is done he lifts the crate and holds it with both hands.
"Well, I'm going to take this royal pain outside," he says as he exits the castle through the, still open, gate.
He only walks a few feet into the forest before kneeling down and setting the rabbit free.
Fergus begins to hear the faint sound of laughter just as the rabbit hops out of sight, but the laughter doesn't sound cheerful or pleasant. It sounds wicked. Then Fergus sees something move in the distance. It looks like a shadow as it rushes out from behind one tree only to hide behind another.
"What the-" is all Fergus has time to say before he is knocked back with incredible force. All he can see is a blinding white light before he loses consciousness and everything fades to black.