Author's note: Didn't wanna leave it hanging in the middle of the Origin story for too long, so here's Chapter 2!
Warnings: Sexual assault (non-graphic)
Rating: Still T for now
Chapter 2
A Day for Decapitation
Vaughan.
He and his friends - escorted by personal armed guards - started rounding up the women, acting like he had the right to abduct their people for his purposes.
His "purposes" that he happened to be very vocal about, completely unashamed.
Soris was panicking. Niko was infuriated, stepping down from the stage to intervene. He didn't care who these noble pigs were. This was vile, and he was not going to allow it to just happen in front of him. How could this evil bastard walk in and expect to take people like they belonged to him?
They wouldn't even listen to Mother Boann.
"Hah! If you want to dress up your pets and play tea parties, that's your business. But don't pretend this is a proper wedding," Vaughan mocked in response to her protests.
Those words seemed to pierce worse than anything else.
Niko smelled blood, metaphorically speaking (at least so far). It was too much to hope for, but the looks some of the other elves gave this loathsome human made Niko think he might not be alone if it came to a fight. It wouldn't help of course. There were four armored guards here who would think nothing of cutting them down. Even all the bare hands of the elves would still just be flesh against metal.
"Don't worry. I'll return whatever's left in time for the 'honeymoon'," Vaughan promised the grooms, voice dripping with ill-intent.
"I'll kill you," Niko threatened vehemently as he took a step forward. That was his promise.
"I live in fear," Vaughan taunted, turning as the elf advanced on him. "Back to the palace, boys."
Niko saw the other man just in time to get backhanded, hard.
-o-o-o-
The next thing he heard was Soris' soft voice. "Can you hear me cousin. Are you alright?"
He opened his eyes and clutched his throbbing head when Soris helped him to his feet. "What happened?" Niko hissed.
Soris threw his arms in the air as he explained the mess. The elves were riled up over this, and Niko hadn't been the only one roughed up. The Grey Warden and Valendrian were currently discussing what to do.
"We should see if we can help," Niko insisted as he made his way over to the crowd, Soris in tow.
"That sounds dangerous," his cousin said, and Niko resisted the urge to scowl at him. "Let's see what they're talking about," Soris suggested instead.
It wasn't too much of a surprise that, though everyone was justifiably upset, there was a general assent that they couldn't do much about it. One of Niko's cousins, who was also Shianni's older brother, wasn't letting it go though.
"So we do nothing!?" he said. "They took my sister!"
"Where are the women now?" Niko demanded as he stepped forward. He felt the tone of the crowd change then. The resolve in his voice quieted the elves, and many panicked expressions turned to ones of expectancy.
"They're at the Arl of Denerim's place," Valendrian informed. "Normally, I'd counsel patience. Unfortunately, stories about the Arl's son and his 'appetites' are... most disturbing."
"Then we need to do something. Now." Niko was adamant. He'd go alone if he had to.
So many injustices.
"But what can we do?" Shianni's brother asked, helpless. Niko noticed he sported a black eye that wasn't there before the disturbance.
A tan, dark-haired elf spoke up. "I work inside the palace. I could sneak one, perhaps two others in through the servant's entrance. Nobody will notice an extra pair of elves around."
"We can be in and out before anyone knows the difference," Niko said.
That was the plan. Valendrian was behind them, Niko was glad. It was good to see that almost everyone was up in arms about this, instead of biting their tongues. Of course there were still some who protested, preferring that they let the girls endure their time with the Arl's son rather than bring more trouble down on the Alienage.
Duncan gently took Niko aside. "Are you ready for what you are about to do?"
"I'm enraged and murderous, how about that?" he snapped. He was so angry; angry at Vaughan, angry that the Chantry would do nothing, angry that no one outside the Alienage would care about their plight, angry that his cousin was in danger. He was even a little angry at Duncan because he couldn't get involved any more than offering them a good sword (much better than any of Niko's own weaponry of course).
"You must tame your rage," Duncan said and, unsurprisingly, the advice only stoked the flames of wrath in the young elf. "An enraged fighter makes mistakes, perhaps fatal ones. Clarity of thought is the path to victory," he implored.
Niko wanted to slaughter Vaughan and his men. But Duncan was right. He had to keep his composure, for Shianni's sake. For the sake of all the women that were taken.
He let out a frustrated sigh and looked to Duncan. "Will you tell me now why you came here?"
"To find recruits," Duncan answered, which was what Niko had been hoping to hear since he met the man. "I had hoped to speak to you, but your elder outmaneuvered me," Duncan went on. "I suspect this is why your wedding was moved forward: in hopes that I might let you remain. Valendrian did the same thing when I came to recruit your mother."
So that was why. Niko frowned, a bit miffed with Valendrian, but he'd never speak ill of the Alienage Hahren. There were more important things to address anyway.
Upon speaking with him though, Duncan's suspicions were confirmed. The Elder admitted to pushing the wedding to shield Niko from being recruited. The young elf wasn't angry at hearing this though. He felt.. cared for. Valendrian had been trying to protect him and keep him amongst his own people after all.
"To be a Grey Warden is a noble calling," Valendrian told him. "But the path is lonely and painful. I hope you understand I had your best interests in mind."
"It's alright, Elder. I understand," he told him.
Because he did understand. They looked out for one another in the Alienage. That's why he had no choice but to go to the Arl's estate.
-o-o-o-
Their inside man got them in through the servant's entrance, smuggled weapons and all.
They moved swiftly, running into a few slight snags - the cook made them for bandits, but an elven servant named Adwen knocked him out. It put a wry smile on Niko's face. He was even more satisfied to nab some brandy and a bit of poison from the kitchen storage room. It came in handy in the dining hall when some idiots demanded he get them drinks. Niko was only glad to serve. He apologized for being so slow while he poured them their drinks, and the poison worked within seconds.
They found Nola dead.
The guards were openly contemplating the idea of violating her corpse when Niko and Soris walked in. Niko did his best to tame his rage as Duncan had advised, slaying them quick and efficiently with the borrowed longsword.
Niko was proud of Soris. He was clearly disturbed after the first kills, but didn't slow down. He'd never had to murder anyone before. But time was of the essence and they both knew that they could not pause.
They ripped through many guards on the way, and stole pieces of the ill-fitting armor for their own protection. It came in handy when they came face-face with a body guard wielding a heavy battle-axe outside Vaughan's room. Niko took him head on while Soris flanked him. The guard had a great deal of size and strength to his advantage, so Niko could do little more than maneuver around him with his speed. When Soris ducked a swing of the axe, he found a weak point in the guard's armor. He drove a stolen dagger into the man's knee, causing him to howl in pain and giving Niko the opportunity to make the killing blow. Quickly, they recovered and charged into Vaughan's quarters to find him, his two men, and Shianni.
She was held down, crying on the floor, her torn dress stained with her own blood from their rough handling.
"My, my, what have we here?" Vaughan turned to them, his tone theatrical and lecherous as he stood to fasten his clothes.
Niko's lip curled into a sickened snarl. The man was revolting.
"We'll make short work of these two," one of his half-dressed friends piped up, going to grab their discarded weapons.
"Quiet, you idiot! They're covered with enough blood to fill a tub," Vaughan pointed out. "What do you think that means?"
'So he isn't a complete fool,' Niko thought.
He glanced to Shianni curling in on herself on the floor, bruised and bleeding, her eyes full of fright and anger.
'He's still a dead man.'
"You tell me," The fire in Niko's eyes were focused on Vaughan as he gripped the hilt of his dagger. He wanted to rip off the man's arm and beat him with it.
"Alright, let's not be too hasty here," Vaughan said diplomatically. "Surely we can talk this over."
"No!" Niko raged. "I want your head, nothing else!"
He attacked, and Vaughan went for his blades, bringing them up just in time to clash metal with metal.
Vaughan had some training, but no experience in real life or death combat. He was also slightly inebriated and unarmored. He took a stab at Niko, who stepped aside from the blow and unleashed a series of messy but critical strikes against the humans. White hot rage gave him tunnel vision. He was letting his anger effect his precision, instead favoring savage bloodshed. But they still stood no chance against him. Niko got what he wanted. He finished the battle with a hard swipe of the borrowed sword and beheaded the Arl's son.
There was a thud as the decapitated head fell to the floor. Then the room - filled with the sick, metallic smell of spilled blood - turned quiet and tense.
"He... he's dead…" Soris said in disbelief. Now that they were no longer being constantly attacked, it was all sinking in for him.
They'd just killed people. The Arl's son was murdered at their hand.
He gave Niko a strained look. "Tell me we did the right thing, cousin."
"Of course we did," Niko answered gruffly, wiping blood from his brow. His anger had found its target, but it still swelled in him whenever he caught a glimpse of Shianni. The damage had been done to his kin already. There could not be enough penance for this crime, not even with Vaughan's death. Consequences for their own misconduct were inevitable, but it didn't matter to him at the moment. "What's important is that Shianni is safe."
"I'll go look for the others," Soris decided, wincing as he looked to their battered cousin. "Shianni needs you." He spared another glance at her as he left to search for the rest of the captured bridal party.
The door shut, and Shianni's sniffling cries broke the brief silence as they turned to heaving sobs. It was heart-breaking, knowing her pain went beyond any physical injury. Niko felt a terrible weight as he passed the bloody remains of Vaughan and his men, dropping to his knees on the floor next to Shianni.
"D-don't leave me alone... please," she sobbed, reaching for his hands. "Please take me home."
Niko felt the rabid fury unfurl in his chest and he clutched her hands firmly in his own.
So many injustices, he heard his father's voice.
Too many.
He wished he could kill Vaughan again and again. He wished Shianni could have felt what he had.. in that moment when he severed Vaughan's head from his shoulders. The fountain of blood spouting from the lifeless body had utterly filled him with a fleeting, yet powerful, sense of pure vengeance.
"Yes," he forced himself to speak through the haze of bloodthirsty rage that blurred his vision and sat heavily in his chest. "Let's go home."
"So much blood... It's everywhere. I can't stand to look at it," she turned her watery eyes to him, a spark of hope and retribution in them. "You killed them, didn't you? You killed them all."
He nodded, his gaze meeting hers. "Like dogs, Shianni."
"Good," her voiced wavered. "Good..."
-o-o-o-
"Vaughan's dead," Niko informed Valendrian and Duncan as soon as they stepped through the gates.
Valendrian's jaw clenched.
"Then the garrison could already be on their way," Duncan said. "You have little time."
Niko shook his head, feeling oddly numb now that his mission was over. Whatever consequences awaited him, he did not see a way out. They'd killed an Arl's son and a whole slew of guardsmen. The women were home, but he'd still failed Shianni. And Nola.
Nothing would mend this.
"I'm not sure what we should do," he admitted, and looked up to Valendrian with wide eyes when he felt the Elder's hand on his shoulder.
Shianni's brother ran up, frantic. "The guards are here!"
"Do not panic," Valendrian said, his hand on Niko's shoulder tightening before letting him go. "Let's see what comes of this."
Niko watched the Elder walk away to meet the guards. He hung his head, feeling Duncan's eyes on him.
His life was over...
"You will not stop justice from being done!" Niko heard the guard shout at Valendrian when he walked onto the scene.
'Justice has been done,' Niko reminded himself, clenching his fist. It was a small reassurance as his stomach did flips, much worse than the butterflies he'd felt at the wedding. Evidently, he was headed for a fate much worse than his unwanted marriage.
"The Arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that runs through the entire palace!" The guard said it in accusation, but Niko silently reveled in the memory. He did that to those bastards, and it was his only consolation right now. "I need names," the guard continued. "And I need them now!"
Niko didn't hesitate to step forward, his hard green eyes on the guard Captain. "It was my doing."
They were hesitant to believe he managed to do such a thing on his own, but no one was offering up any other names.
"We are not all so helpless, Captain," Valendrian said, managing to back Niko's story without even lying.
"You save many by coming forward. I don't envy your fate, but I applaud your courage," the man stated and then turned to the crowd. "This elf will wait in the dungeons until the Arl returns. The rest of you, back to your houses!"
Niko nodded tersely, resigned to this fate. The only thing he really had to look forward to now was getting to tell the Arl what a sick bastard his son was, if he got the chance.
"Captain, a word if you please," Duncan interjected.
"What is it, Grey Warden?" the guard asked, annoyed. "The situation is well under control as you can see."
"Be that as it may, I hereby invoke the Grey Warden's Right of Conscription. I remove this prisoner into my custody."
Many eyes turned to Duncan.
"You can do that?" Niko asked, lifting his gaze to the man, and he heard the hope return to his own voice.
"Son of a tied down-" The guard cut himself off and recovered his manners. "Very well, Grey Warden. I cannot challenge your right, but I'll ask you one thing..." The man pointed at Niko. "Get this elf out of the city. Today."
"Agreed," Duncan said.
"Now, I need to get my men on the streets before the news hits. Move out!"
"You're with me now," Duncan said as he turned to face Niko, his newest recruit. "Say your goodbyes. We leave immediately."
"But what's going to happen here?" Niko asked, feeling thrown. He went from being doomed to be wed, then doomed to be imprisoned, and then doomed to be a Grey Warden all within a matter of hours. All he was quite sure of at this moment was that he was leaving is family. He'd always wanted to see more beyond the city, yes, but now it was actually happening, in such a way he never imagined, and he felt his world being turned upside down.
"For the moment they are fine. There are far more important matters arising that endanger more than just your people," Duncan told him. "I needed a Grey Warden and I found one. That conscripting you saved your life is only circumstance. You did what you had to do to accomplish your mission. We need people like you. Now quickly, say your goodbyes. Your life here is over."
Niko turned around to see the crowd had dispersed and his cousin, Soris, already shucked of his stolen armor, was approaching him.
"Thank you," the red-haired elf said quietly. "You really saved my hide back there…"
"What will you do now?" Niko asked him.
"No more daydreaming, I'm settling down. Valora's a good woman, and she has ideas on making life better for everyone here." There was some hard determination in Soris's voice that soon softened as he went on. "The Elder had the women take Shianni back to your place... Will you see her before you go?"
"Of course I will."
"Good luck, cousin. You've been my hero since we were kids. It's just official now," Soris admitted and they both smiled.
Niko reached out to grasp Soris's shoulder, squeezing gently before turning to walk to his home. He passed the Vhenadahl tree, slowing to run his hand over the rough bark, remembering the hot days spent under its comforting shade, and his desire to climb to the very top as a child.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ms. Surana, a woman he'd known his whole life. He had been friends with her son, Alim, before his magic was discovered and he was taken to the Circle. She was smiling at him, the lines around her blue eyes crinkling as she came closer to Niko. "This is the best thing for you dear," she said tenderly, reaching out to take his hand in both of hers and giving him an honest gaze. "But we're all sad to see you go."
"You're lucky that Duncan was here to help you out," a man next to them added.
"I think this is a good thing," Niko said, smiling nervously at both of them.
Ms. Surana touched his cheek, looking at him wistfully - perhaps thinking of her son - before letting him go.
He turned to see Dilwyn and her husband, Gethon, offering him tight smiles as he approached. "Maybe this is for the best," she offered. The words rang a little false to his ears, but Niko thought that it might be a truer statement than the woman believed.
Since he was introduced to Duncan, he hoped against all hope that he might be recruited. He hadn't wanted it to happen this way, and if it meant he could have saved Nola and Shianni from their fates, Niko would trade it all and just go to prison. But since he couldn't do that, maybe this really was for the best.
He stopped in to Alarith's shop to see his friend before he left. He'd already heard the news, and this time the shopkeeper let him linger for a little while, chatting and glancing over the meager displays as Niko beat away his inner apprehension.
"So you came to make a nuisance of yourself?" Alarith asked, though not without affection.
Niko smiled, a somewhat forced expression. "Don't I always?"
"Somehow none of this surprises me, you know," Alarith said, grinning slightly. And how could it really? He'd seen much worse in Tevinter, Niko was sure, though the shopkeeper never spoke much about it. But Niko knew what wasn't what he was getting at. He was probably referring to the fact that he got himself into so much trouble in one day.
"You know me," Niko responded, trying for humor but it faded fast. "Can't even have a wedding without some bloodshed."
"That shem got what he deserved," Alarith said. "You did the right thing... I just don't know if it will end here."
"I know," Niko said, worried. An Arl's son was killed by an elf and no arrests were made. Someone was going to get upset. And there were a lot of vulnerable people in the Alienage to take it out on.
Alarith frowned, staring at the countertop he sat behind as a tense silence stretched between them. "You should go quickly," the older elf told him. He looked up into Niko's eyes. "Just know that we're all going to miss you."
"I'll miss all of you too," Niko nodded to him and turned away. He paused to lay his hand on the doorframe, taking a last glance around the shop before shutting the door behind him.
"Good riddance! You were always a trouble-maker," one woman shouted at him as he walked away from the store. (Yes, even her. He'd miss her too.)
"It's going to be a lot quieter without you around," he heard one man mutter.
The truth of it was that they were both right. Niko could admit it; he was a trouble-maker and always had been. The people in the Alienage knew him well. They watched him grow up, touting knives and sneaking about. They knew he was the sort of elf that could bring the garrison down on them, if not the next purge.
"I always said you were meant for something other than this place," he was told by another woman that he'd known all his life.
He smiled. Some people knew him very well. The woman's voice was both loving and firm. He could almost imagine his mother saying those words to him. He was really going to miss these people. Funny how all this time he'd wanted to get away and now that he was leaving, part of him wanted to stay.
His father was waiting outside their home for him, trying not to look despaired, but Niko could see it in his eyes. He approached slowly, reluctant to hurry along when he knew this might be the last he saw his father for a long time.
"If this is what the Maker has planned for you then I guess it's for the best," Cyrion noted sadly. "Your mother would have been pleased."
"You're not pleased?" Niko asked gently. All of a sudden he was just a boy looking for approval from the father he loved.
"I just wish there was another way. I dreamed of grandchildren, family gatherings and..." his father sighed. "I'm sorry. This isn't helping." He grasped Niko's arm and looked to him with watery eyes. "Take care, my son. Be safe. And wise. And.. well, you know. We'll all miss you."
Niko nodded, emotion clutching at his throat. "I'm going to check on Shianni," he said, and escaped to the door.
Valora and Nesiara were both in the front room, surprising him a moment before he remembered they'd been sent away with Shianni to take care of her.
"What happens now?" Nesiara asked when they were given a moment alone. "Your father said you're becoming a Grey Warden... You're leaving, aren't you?"
Niko stared at her a moment, surprised at how sad she sounded. She really had been looking forward to marrying him. He felt like he should feel guiltier about her. He'd never wanted the marriage. And though it stemmed from ugly events, Niko was glad he was being recruited instead.
"Sometimes fate is strange," he told her, his tone light.
"It is. You've been called to do something truly noble," she said. "I guess we'll never know what might have been."
'Better off that way,' Niko thought to himself. She deserved someone who would appreciate their union more than he would have. She really did.
He spotted Shianni near the bunk-beds in the corner of the room, waiting for him.
"You took all the responsibility of what happened," Shianni said, something akin to reverence in her voice as she looked at him. "You're amazing, you know that?" It reminded Niko of when they were children. Soris and Shianni had both always had a bit of hero-worship for him, just as he'd had for his mother.
"I did what I had to," he said.
"You always do," she replied, a distant look in her eyes. "They'll write legends about you someday. When the world was at its darkest, there you came, fire in your eyes, like something out of a storybook. I'll never forget that."
Niko's gaze softened on her, feeling tears prick the corner of his eyes. He ran a hand over the side of his face to hide them. "How are you?"
"I'm alright. As far as the others know, Vaughan just roughed me up. I just don't want them treating me differently, you know?" She sighed. "I love you cousin. Make us proud out there."
"I love you too, Shianni."
"Maker watch over you," she added, sincerity in her wide eyes. She pulled him into a hug and whispered to him. "We'll miss you."
Niko felt both relieved and anxious as he stepped out of his home with a small pack of clothes and what little coin he had. This chapter of his life was coming to an end. It felt right. But at the same time, there was so much that awaited him, so many unknowns.
And so much to leave behind.
His father was still standing outside their home, unsure what to do with himself. Niko embraced him. Cyrion was surprised, but he hugged his son close, fighting tears.
"Get going," Cyrion said then as they parted, his voice rough with reigned-in sorrow. "Before I embarrass us both."
As he headed for the gates, Niko glanced back at the dilapidated wooden houses, garbage, and puddles, all surrounding the proud Vhenadahl in the middle, rising up over everything else.
"Well," Valendrian said somberly as Niko neared the gates. "I guess Duncan got his recruit after all."
Niko looked at him, feeling a little lighter. Duncan had got what he came for and, well, Niko had gotten what he'd wanted, too. A way out. "There's a whole world out there, you know."
Valendrian noted the same childlike wonder in the lad's voice that he'd held as a small boy. It hurt, knowing he might never see Niko again.
"Indeed. It only saddens me that it has taken this for you to find it. If you'll excuse me, I must attend to our people. Goodbye, young one. Maker keep you."
Duncan and Niko looked to one another. "Are you ready to go?" The Warden asked.
"I am."
"Good. Then we leave for Ostagar immediately."
