Another of my one shots on the Elissa Cousland story. I already had requests to post more after A Warden's Burden
so here it is. :) Special thanks to my sister for reading them all and encouraging me to put them up.
/
Things were most definitely not right. Eyes of emerald slid open to the sight of a greying stone wall covered in splatters of crimson and the familiar scent of blood and death in the stale air quickly filling her nose in an instant. There was a chill – no, her clothes were missing and the concrete floor beneath her was cold and unwelcoming against her skin. The sides of her head ached wildly, but Elissa pushed herself up from the floor with a groggy groan.
Gaze settled on the bars of the cell she sat in and she sighed inwardly at her inability to see that something like this would happen. Elissa had let them take her as long as they let Leliana and Anora out peacefully. Loghain only wanted her, anyhow, and used Howe's death as his reasoning. Bastard! She scoffed at the thought. In this wretched place because her sword finally, finally came down on Howe. It wasn't even in the revenge, she had actually given the man a chance to retreat. It was for the same reason she gave herself to Cauthrien, instead of putting up a fight. How would it look if the Warden was going around, killing Loghain's followers and supporters, just before the Landsmeet?
A scream, twisted with agony and pain echoed through-out the halls. It was unexpected and caused her to jump a bit then shiver. What were they doing to the poor man who cried out? What had she gotten herself into? She should have just fought her way out and thought about the rest later. There was also the stray fact that she had been immensely out numbered.
"You look like you've been dragged through ten kinds of shit, my friend." She turned to the deep voice that echoed against the bare walls. In the corner of the cell next to her sat an older man with long dirty locks of hair and an unkempt beard taking over his face. "What did you do to get yourself in here?"
"I.. killed Rendon Howe." Elissa heard the pride of the fact within her own voice – it almost scared her to be so happy of taking another life. He deserved it, she tried to tell herself, but it still did not make it feel right.
"That's a crime?" The man laughed. "Sounds like a public service to me! Still, they'll hang you for it."
"Lovely.."
Elissa jumped at the sound of the metal clanking and creaking as the door to her cell was unlocked and opened wide. She soon found a pair of guards hovering over her. "Let's go pretty thing." One said, snatching her up by the arm and in one jerk brought her to her feet.
"Come to kill me already?" She asked the man with a dry tone. "Could your fake king not even come do it himself?"
"Oh, my dear." The other guard laughed and she saw a flash of silver. His steel gauntlet covered hand came flying and forcefully slammed into the side of her face. The pain seared where he had hit and she could feel the blood beginning to drip down her skin, and the coppery taste of the blood within her mouth. Her eyes rolled into the back of her heard and she heard the guards laughing voice in her daze. "No, King Loghain has a few things planned for the traitorous, king-murdering Warden."
/
Leliana, frantic and worried for the safety of her dear friend, did not stop running – hand tightly latched upon Anora's arm and harshly pulling her along – until she reached the room where Arl Eamon and her companions awaited them. "Terrible." She breathed out, heaving. Her face was wrought with enough distress for them to know something was wrong.
"Where is Elissa?" Alistair almost pushed Eamon over when he turned from the fireplace, looking for his lover, and was quick to point out the obvious that their leader was missing.
"I may have done… something horrible." Anora had already regained her composure and stood tall before them.
"May have?" Leliana stood fully, scowling down at the woman. "How can there be any doubt!"
"What have you may have done?" Alistair quickly asked, a twinge of panic in his voice, anxious to find out where his Warden was. Would they just shut up and tell him already?
"The Warden has been captured." Anora quickly explained, trying to ignore the heat from Leliana's glare.
"And this MAY have been your fault?" Alistair growled loudly.
"Ah, barely met and she already betrays us." Morrigan crossed her arms, staring the Queen down. "Her and Mother would have gotten along swimmingly."
"She handed us on a silver platter to Ser Cauthrien!" The bard exclaimed, still with a heavy grip on the woman's arm.
"Please, that does not matter now. What matters is getting her out of there." Anora yanked her arm away for Leliana. "It will be no easy task, but Cauthrien will take you to Fort Drakon. I suggest you leave now for the sake of your Warden."
/
Elissa had long since given up on struggling against the ropes the men had tied against her wrists – they hooked the rope up high enough so that she would hang there if when she had no more strength to stand... as she was now. She swore she heard the crack that time, before the frayed end of the leather whip sliced into her bruised and battered skin for the hundredth time. She almost gave them the pleasure of a whimper, but promptly bit her bottom lip hard to stop herself. The guards laughed at her. It had gone on like this for hours, the men taking the pleasure in watching her bare frame squirm and shake from the pain they inflicted on her. The Cousland woman did her best to not give them what they wanted, concentrating with everything she had to remain still and quiet through it all.
"Serves you right for killing Arl Howe, bitch." The man spat. "King Loghain demands justice."
Where she found the strength to dryly laugh at the man's comment, or grin at him in the twisted way she did, she was unsure. Elissa almost regretted doing so when she found the cold steel of a gauntlet against her face again.
"Sod off," she managed to grumble from her swollen and bloody mouth. It was not the first time she had said so to the guard and she tried to enjoy the fact that it pissed him off every time. Green eyes forced themselves open and she spat her own blood at him, laughing again. They were going to kill her anyways, she was sure of that. There was no reason in being nice to the men.
"That's it!" He growled, wiping the foreign red liquid from his face. In an instant she saw his sword pulled from its sheath and the pointed tip was dug into her leg. She cried out from the pain as he ever so slowly began to twist the blade – Elissa had never known she could scream in such a loud pitch, but she had also never known such pains from being tortured before. The man ripped the sword out when she rewarded his efforts with a handful of tears streaming down her face – while he had managed to get her scream and cry out before, these were the first tears he had pulled from her.
"That, my friends, is how you break a stubborn bitch like this." He rose his sword, as if in triumph, the few guards in the room laughing – one even clapping at his action.
"Now it's not often we have such a well endowed visitor.." The guard grinned, as he loosened and dropped pieces of steel armor onto the ground, each with a dreading and loud clink. Elissa was frozen with a ill and fear stricken face for the first time since the torture had begun. He meant to…
No, she wouldn't stand for that. Absolutely not. Her strength faintly returned to her, enough to began struggling against the ropes again, in hopes that they would loosen. All she needed was one hand or foot loose. She was stopped when a rough hand dug into her tangled locks and yanked her head to the side – his hot and rank breath was against the side of her face. "She's still got some fight in her, this should be fun."
His lips hungrily tasted her skin, down her neck and to her shoulder. Elissa shuddered in complete disgust and fear, no man had no right to touch her in such a manner. No man but her Alistair. She opened her eyes when the man stepped back, regretting doing so when she saw the man fumbling with the laces of his pants and the other men cheering him on – probably waiting for their own turn. Was this truly how fate intended for her life to end?
"Hey!" There was a muffled yell on the other side of the closed door, "You can't be in here, what are you—" It was followed by a loud scream from the same voice. The wooden door then flung open and smashed against the brick wall from the force. All went silent. Elissa stared hopefully at the doorway.
"What the hell is this?" The lead guard growled, trying to yank his pants back up from his ankles. The other three me in the room quickly ran out the doorway, but within seconds came flying backwards until they slammed in the wall and crumpled onto the floor.
"Should have killed me while you had the chance.."
Alistair came running through the door, Morrigan at his heels – they froze at the sight of the Warden, strung up, bloodied, bruised and beaten. Then there was the only guard who still stood, trying to hold his pants up by the laces and swipe his sword up from its sheath on the floor. A rage filled Alistair's eyes as heyelledloudly, running at the remaining guard and within one quick swoop of his sword, the man's head rolled across the floor and body dropped in a pile on the floor.
"Perhaps we should have brought Wynne." Morrigan groaned, rushing behind Alistair to the girl. He gingerly held her around the small of her back with one arm and cut the ropes that bound her hands up. When she was free, he scooped her up into his arms – like a knight, saving his princess.
Morrigan had already pulled the entirety of their injury kits from the bags, placing bandages upon bandages on the Warden's leg to cover the hole the sword had twist in. Elissa was sure she had been losing quite a bit of blood by the wooziness she felt or maybe it was from the pain in general. There was fabric wrapped tightly around her leg to hold the bandages, then Morrigan removed her cloak and draped it over the girl's bare body.
"I'm not … hallucinating, right?" Elissa asked, dazed and eyes rolling into the back of her head. She had not expected to see Alistair and Morrigan working together to save her, which made it seem all the more like a dream. But here they were, just in the nick of time before the absolute worst could happen to her.
"No, love." Alistair kissed her forehead, and they began their way out of the prison. He allowed Morrigan to lead so she could take out any one who they happened to miss in the Maker forsaken place.
"Thank the Maker." Was the last thing she said before the darkness over took her and she blacked out.
/
Her muscles ached wildly and most of her skin burned, most of all her leg screamed at her from the abuse it had been through many long hours ago. The dreams that plagued her sleep did not let Elissa forget what she had endured at Fort Drakon, by Loghain's cruel and harsh guards. She suddenly wondered if this was the dream and she had simply blacked out was again as she had many times during the beating. Her eyes fluttered open, a candle dimly burned in the corner of a large room – there were great stone walls, and familiar pictures upon the wall … there was no mistake that this was the room she shared with Alistair at Eamon's estate.
She vaguely remembered in her daze, feeling frail and helpless as the large man devoured at her skin. Just the thought made her completely nauseous. Then when he was going to .. Alistair and Morrigan had come to her rescue, hadn't they? She rolled onto her back, stretching her arm out across the soft mattress beneath her – and into a cloth covered leg. Her arm jerked back and she caught Alistair from the corner of her eye. He was sitting on the other side of the bed, leaning against the pillows with his eyes closed. With her touch, they shot open and she already knew he hadn't slept a bit.
"My knight in shining armor."
"You're awake. Oh, El.." Alistair quickly and tenderly gathered her into his arms and pulled her into his lap. His arms were warm and welcoming, they put her at a certain peace no one else could ever do for her. She let the tears fall, sobbing into his shoulder and allowing herself to break in his presence for a second time. "What in Maker's name did they do to you, love." His voice sounded rough and horse, as if he had been doing quite a bit of crying himself.
"Just your normal torturing afternoon," She tried to sound light hearted about it, through the sobs, but did a terrible job of doing so. "It could have been worse." She mumbled against his warm skin. It was truth, had he and the mage not showed up when they did, it would have truly been much worse.
"Elissa," he spoke softly and she enjoyed and melted to his warm breath against her neck. "You don't have to answer, I know it's too soon … but that guard. He was. I mean.. did he.."
She watched him calmly as he stumbled over his words in the adorable way he did – regardless of the subject – but when she realized what he was talking about she placed two fingers gently against his lips and shook her head. "No. Thank Maker, no. You appeared just in time." She lowered her head and paused for a few moments. "Loghain's men are cruel and sadistic, Alistair. This can't go on like this."
"I'm sure justice will be done when we've brought Loghain down to size."
"Alistair, she knew what was going on. She handed me right over to Cauthrien. What if you had gone with me instead? They would have had both Wardens and one being the heir to the throne."
"I don't want-" Alistair was abruptly cut off.
"I have to ask you to do something you don't want to do, love." She lowered her head, hating to even ask him to fight with her on this… when the whole time they had been coming up with ways to get him out of becoming King. Asking him to fight for it pained her heart more than being in that prison. " I'm sorry, I won't force the issue."
His fingers gently lifted her chin to make her look at him. "Please tell me why."
"I was there to rescue her from her father and still she fed me to his dogs. What does that say about what she would do to Fereldan? She may have always been Queen, but it was Cailan who ruled and made the decisions for his kingdom, not Anora." He stroked her cheek as she spoke, which made it difficult for her to concentrate. It also made it difficult to decide if she was saying out of anger towards Anora's actions – but, even if she were, what she spoke to Alistair was true. "I just want you to think about going for it. You may not believe it, but there is an amazing man inside of you … an amazing king. You would never let yourself be pushed into doing wrong; you would stand up for what is right for your kingdom no matter who threatened it. Not the Blight, not Loghain… you would not sell your savior out, leaving her to be beaten, killed... or worse." She closed her eyes and a single tear slipped down her cheek. She instantly felt his fingers wipe it away.
"You sound so certain, so sure about this. I'm no leader, no noble… I rather like following."
"My Alistair." She cooed, green eyes full of such admiration for the man before her. "You, my love, have a heart of gold. You stand for all that is good in this teetering nation. It does not take being raised as a noble to make a good man. I have met many, many noble men and none stand up to your greatness."
Alistair gaped at the sincerity of her words, the intense gaze she held on him. He was sure she couldn't have been talk to him, tell him he was this wonderful thing. Should anyone had been basking the other in compliments of greatness, it should have been him to her. Yet, here they were with her words echoing in his head. "Where do you see all this?"
"Every time I look into these eyes," She gently kissed the bridge of his nose, "listen to you speak," she kissed his lips, "and watch your everyday actions."
"You certainly know how to flatter a man's ego." Alistair grinned down at her, but inside his head he was battling the thought of agreeing with her. But where would that leave them? "El, if I do this – they… they'll want me to marry someone of high blood, produce an heir."
"Well.. I'm not saying… But…" Elissa suddenly found herself stumbling over her own words, "I am the last of the Cousland line." Never in her life did she think being born into her once pampered life would be as much of a blessing as this. It would make her Queen sure, but that wasn't what mattered. It would keep her with her Alistair if he became king. That was all that mattered to her.
"But an heir? It's almost impossible for a single Grey Warden to produce a baby… but for two Grey Wardens? I'm not even sure if it has ever been heard of!" Alistair's arms tightened around her. "And the things they would put you through for not being able to… I can't lose you like that, not anyway.."
"Love, what these snobby nobles will say to me means nothing as long as I can be with you. Certainly they can't do worse than what I've already been through? The only thing I can think of that would be worse is losing you." Elissa ran her fingers through his short, sandy hair and leaned to his ear. "Plus, who's to say I won't give you a child? Maybe the other Wardens didn't give it as much practice as I'm willing to."
"Is that so?" He asked with an intrigued grin creeping onto his face. "If you are by my side, I feel I can do this… that I can do anything! Perhaps we could get started on that practice?"
Before Elissa had a chance to giggle at his comment, he moved forward – which laid her backwards onto the bed, with him hovering closely over her. "My Elissa, I love you." He whispered to her before showering her face with the light touches of his lips, teasingly, than kissed her deeply.