Missing Pieces Chapter 3
Author's note: The start of Chapter 4 will be the end of the recap of the Origin's game story. From there on out, it's my story of what happened after the Blight.
Eleanor and Aedan battled through the keep, finally finding Bryce in the larder near the servants entrance. "Bryce!" Eleanor cried running to him.
"My love…I'm sorry. I'm not going to make it. Where are the others?" He asked looking to Aedan as he cupped Eleanor's cheek.
"Ser Gilmore got them out. He is taking them to Redcliffe, Father. We must hurry. I will carry you out." Aedan said moving to pick him up.
"No, pup. The movement would kill me I fear. Take your mother out the servants entrance. Quickly."
"We can't just leave you here!" Aedan protested.
"You haven't any time. Howe's men surround the castle. It is only a matter of time before they find us here." Bryce said shaking his head weakly.
"The Teryn is right, I'm afraid. Howe's men haven't found this entrance yet, but they will." Duncan said appearing in the doorway behind them.
"Duncan, are you going to help us?" Aedan asked glad to see the Grey Warden.
"He helped me get here. He went to find the rest of you." Bryce explained.
"Yes, most impressive how you managed to make it here."
"Duncan, will you take my wife and son and get them to safety?" Bryce asked.
"I will, Teryn Cousland, but I must ask for something in return. I came here seeking a recruit for the Wardens. The Blight demands I leave here with one."
Bryce looked to Aedan. "My son will survive this treachery. Very well then. I give my blessing."
"Me? I'm going to be a Warden?" Aedan asked.
"Are you sure about this, Bryce?" Eleanor asked.
"It's the only way, my love. Our children will live." He said gravely.
Eleanor hugged Aedan tightly and held his face for a moment. "Darling, go with Duncan. I will stay with your father. I will kill every bastard that comes through that door to buy you time. I love you so much. Make us proud."
"Mother, no! You have to come. I can't leave you here." Aedan protested.
"There is no time to argue. Do as I say." She said sharply. "Find your sisters and brother."
"I am sorry it has come to this, my love." Bryce said to her.
"We had a good life. It is up to our children now."
"I love you both so much. I will find them and I won't let you down. I will make Howe pay for this." Aedan vowed as Duncan drug him to the entrance. He glanced back one last time and then he fled the castle with Duncan and Symon.
-0-
Sampson growled softly as the man approached. Isla still wasn't waking up and he was afraid. "Easy now, Sampson. I mean her no harm. I am only coming to help. Her purpose has not been fulfilled. She must survive this." Said the man as he moved to them. He gently reached down and laid his hands on the girl. He nodded in relief. "She will be alright." He cast a quick healing spell on her and then one on the dog. "Good boy, saving your lady like this. Come let's get her somewhere safer and I will see how the others fare." Sampson followed as the man gently lifted Isla and carried her to a small cave in the cliff side. He started a fire and laid her down near it. "Lay with her to keep her warm. I will return shortly." The man watched as the dog did as he asked. He then transformed into a hawk and flew out of the cave. Sampson gave a bark of recognition then. The bird was the one Isla had taken care of a few years back when she had found it injured.
The man returned a short time later. "It is a grisly scene, my friend. Come let us take her away from it." He extinguished the fire and lifted Isla up. She groaned in her sleep and he looked down at her. "I am so sorry, my child." He whispered as he carried her away.
-0-
Isla awoke the next morning and groaned. The light was bright and hurt her eyes. She tried to sit up and laid back down gingerly as her head began to pound and her vision swam. She lay still until the dizziness passed and then opened her eyes back and looked around. She wasn't sure where she was. It was a bright room with a low ceiling. The walls were a white stone. There was a recessed window with a wide ledge in the wall the bed was against. Isla slowly sat up and looked out the window. She could see the ocean in the distance. She frowned. Something wasn't right but she couldn't figure out what it was. She turned and slowly sat up moving her feet off the bed. She smiled at the dog who was sleeping on the rug.
"Hello, boy." She whispered and rubbed his ears. He sat up and gave her a happy bark. "Yes, I'm alright, I think. Do you know who I am?" She whispered to him. The dog cocked his head at her and gave her a scoffing bark. "No, that wasn't a question of your intelligence. It was a question of who I am. I can't seem to remember…" She trailed off. The dog whimpered and then ran to the door and scratched at it. She was going to get up and open it, but the door opened before she could stand.
She widened her eyes as a tall man filled the doorframe. "Ah, so you are up then. Tell me, how are you feeling this morning?" He asked with a kind and deep voice.
"I…don't know." She said as she bit her lip. Did she know him? She looked down and felt a blush creep up her face. She was in a man's nightshirt. Was he her husband?
The dog barked and whined at the man. "I see. That isn't unexpected with the fall she took. She will recover her memories in time." He said to the dog before turning back to Isla.
"You can understand him too? So I am not crazy?" She asked him.
He chuckled. "Some might think us so, but yes, I can understand him as well. And seeing as he is your mabari I would be surprised if you didn't." The dog looked at her with a hopeful look.
"He's mine?" She asked feeling that was right. She remembered a flash of him as a puppy knocking her to the ground and licking her face. "Sampson." She said and the dog bounced around in a circle with a happy bark. She grinned and hugged him as he leaned into her.
"And you? Do you remember your name?" The man asked watching her.
"I…no. I don't think so." She said frowning.
"Isla."
"Isla…Is…yes. That is my name. Do I…are we…this are not my clothing." She said and blushed again.
"No, they are not. I am Alaric. And you are not my bride. You took a bad fall off a cliff and Sampson here pulled you from the sea. I then carried you home. I did have to change your clothing, but you have no need to fear me, Isla." He said watching her. She looked down and nodded slowly, wincing as she did. "Your head is hurting?" He asked.
"Yes." She said quietly. He moved to her and placed his hands on her head. She sighed as coolness stilled the pain. "You're a mage." She said looking up at him.
"Yes."
"But you don't live at the Circle?" She asked.
"No."
"So you are an apostate?"
"Some would say that, yes." He asked watching her.
"I don't like that word. It makes me angry. I don't think a person is bad because they are born a certain way. I think it should be based on their actions." She said fiercely. Alaric smiled at her.
"You are not alone in your opinion, my dear, but it is surprising from someone who isn't a mage."
"I do not know why I feel that way, but I do. Thank you for helping me. Where am I supposed to be?" She asked looking up at him with puzzled eyes. His face clouded with sadness.
"You have no where to go now, Isla. I am sorry. Your family is gone. I couldn't get to them in time."
"My family…I don't remember them…I…Oh!" She cried and grabbed her head as pain threatened to pull her into the darkness again. Alaric moved and sat beside her and hugged her too him.
"Shush, Isla. It is alright. You will remember in time. Forgive me, I shouldn't have said what I did. You are safe here, and for now, this is where you need to stay. Consider me your uncle and I will take care of you and teach you what you need to know."
"I…alright, Alaric. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you. I…" She trailed off as the pain eased.
"I am sure you are hungry. Let's get you something to eat and then I will try and find you something to wear. We will do this one problem at a time, Isla, and it will be alright." He stroked her hair and sighed as she looked up at him full of trust. If he was only thirty years younger and she didn't have an important role to play, he could be a very happy man with her by his side.