Unexpected Friends
When Amelie roused, she was amazed that she was in a bed, an actual, proper bed. Upon further inspection she found that she was wearing an excellent quality nightgown and her hair had been put into a simple plait at the nape of her neck. The room was no cell either. The floor had rugs, the walls had hangings. Light came from softly glowing lamps, for there were no windows. The room was warm, despite no hearth.
Next to the bed there was a jug of water on a small table. There were chairs, cupboards, even a bookcase. It was more a guest room than a cell. Amelie could think of no explanation. She hadn't expected to be in Fort Drakon again but this was unlike any prison she knew of. She poured out a glass of water and sipped it delicately. It was cool and fresh.
There was a tap at the door and a man about her own age came in. He was dressed in a blue mage robe and Amelie recognised taint in him. A Warden? Something else, something worse?
"How are you feeling, Amelie? I was angered by the damage Anora's brutes did to you. Unfortunately I had to let them live." He smiled at her familiarly, as if he were an old friend.
"Do I know you?" Amelie asked.
"Oh! I apologise. Of course you don't recognise me, I was forgetting my change of appearance. It's Avernus, Amelie."
Amelie's eyes widened in shock and horror. She had been told of Avernus' death more than a year ago. Levi Dryden had sent word to Amaranthine. How could this be?
"I see you wondering. Now, it's plain you aren't eating enough and while you are in my care I shall feed you up. There isn't enough flesh covering that lovely skeleton of yours. While you eat, I shall explain."
Avernus collected a tray from someone waiting at the door and put it on the bed next to Amelie. It was piled with different meats, breads and cheeses, fruit, cakes and biscuits. He moved an armchair closer and settled himself down.
"Eat, Amelie. Your body is weak and you need sustenance."
She regarded the food with a mix of hunger and revulsion. Since Duncan's birth she had had less and less appetite. Eating had become a chore. She couldn't keep down anywhere near the amount of food she had consumed previously. Still, if he wanted her to eat, eat Amelie would, and let the vomit fall where it may.
As Amelie picked at morsels of bread, Avernus spoke. He explained that during the months she, Wynne and Morrigan had spent at Soldier's Peak he had first peeked at Morrigan's grimoires then studied them intensively. Knowing he did not have the years left to raise a son, Avernus had sent dream lures to trap a young male mage. It had taken several attempts before someone suitably malleable had shown up but Avernus had been prepared to try and try. Flemeth's methods had needed some changes but the new body had had a Chantry upbringing so was nearly was obedient as required. Amelie remained horrified and it killed any desire to eat but every time she stopped Avernus chided her until she took another mouthful. Once he had settled into his new body it had apparently been simple to slip away from Soldier's Peak without the Drydens noticing, leaving his useless old body for them to cremate.
"And now you are here, where ever here is," Amelie commented, concealing her disgust.
"Yes. I found a patron willing to provide the materials required for research."
"People, you mean."
"Among other items," Avernus agreed.
"Am I your prisoner or your patron's?" she asked.
"That is difficult to answer. I regard you as a guest. My patron regards you with loathing."
"That doesn't narrow down the list of possibilities," Amelie grinned.
"I suppose not." Avernus selected a crisp green apple from the tray and crunched into it. "I do so enjoy having a full set of working teeth again."
"Any further clues? Or will you just tell outright who is holding me here?"
Avernus paused in his eating. "I suppose it will do no harm to say that Queen Anora had you brought here. Or that she expects you suffer unimaginably in my hands."
"Are you going to satisfy her expectations, Avernus? I mean, you claimed me as one of your most successful experiments. Would it not be a waste to kill me?"
"This is the very matter which has been confounding me, Amelie. You are as perceptive as ever. I might learn much from examining your body and blood. Indeed, your blood might prove key in my current research. Unfortunately, you are not the same as the others here."
"How do I differ?" Amelie asked, barely able to breath.
"Well, I do not regard you as expendable. When we first met we disagreed over my methods and so forth but you did not kill me, merely recommended I try a different path. And you were right! On that different path I made a most useful discovery. Accordingly I gained respect for your insight and intelligence. I also respect your practical skills, fighting and the like."
"Thank you," she replied, unnerved.
"I have come to regard you as nearly my equal, someone who might contribute much by working alongside me as a partner."
Amelie blinked rapidly, startled again. "I, er, I don't know what to say."
Avernus sighed. "My patron also wishes you to have a lingering, excruciating death so disapproves intensely of the proposed partnership." Avernus stared intently at Amelie with his new blue eyes.
She nodded slowly. Avernus was saying that Anora and the patron were different people.
"I am my patron's house guest and that places me under a considerable obligation. But enough of this serious talk! Have you seen dear Sophia recently?"
"Sophia, who I met at Soldier's Peak?" She didn't ask, The demon I killed?
"Yes. I must say that she was a most delightful guest. Always bringing me little surprises, and such a charming conversationalist, so sharp. There are times I quite miss her company." Avernus fiddled with the meat platter. "I do wish you would eat more, Amelie."
Thoughts were racing through Amelie's head. Avernus might be a centuries-old murderer with a hunger for blood magic and demon lore, but it seemed the old Grey Warden loyalties held true. He could be an ally. He might have changed his body but perhaps he still felt bound by obligation and oath to the Order. Clearly, he was not free here either, possibly trapped as he had trapped Sophia Dryden's body and the demon within it. Given Avernus' nature, he might not have even cared, as long as he were given the tools and materials he needed for his experiments.
I'm lucky he considers himself under an obligation to me, Amelie mused. I'd have thought saving my life and my child would have released him from that, but he doesn't agree, it seems.
"I must go now. I will leave the tray. When I return, I want to see all that food gone, Amelie. And don't forget to rest! You need plenty of pillow time too." With those words Avernus stood and hurried out.
Amelie picked through the meat. In the middle of the pile was an amulet with a Tevinter rune inscribed upon it. She didn't recognise the rune and wondered how far she could trust Avernus. Should she risk wearing it? Could she risk not wearing it? Decision reached, Amelie fastened the amulet around her neck. Next, the pillows. Hidden within she found two rings - her own colour changing ring and another that seemed to hum with taint. More of Avernus' compound magic? Again, Amelie felt she had little choice. The Warden mage might be lost to common humanity but she did not judge him feline enough to toy with her in this manner. She believed that she had gained an understanding of Avernus during her confinement at Soldier's Peak. Amelie felt that at this point he was genuinely trying to help her. Why and for how long were two entirely different matters for consideration. Amelie's mission here was to stay alive while waiting for 'rescue'. She dare not hint anything of the sort to Avernus in case he was playing a double game. Right now she didn't believe she could gain anything from pondering the mage's motivations other than a sore head. Especially when there was another matter she couldn't deny.
Amelie couldn't keep her mind away from Alistair. Seeing him again, in the audience, not close but definitely attainable, had nearly wrecked her. He had been haggard and thin, with rancid hair and beard, with a gaze that pierced her heart. Continuing the speech had been beyond hard. Amelie had tried to pour all her feelings into her eyes and voice in the hope he would understand her regret and sorrow. She thought perhaps Alistair had. His expression had changed. Amelie had longed to jump down from the platform to kneel at his feet and beg for forgiveness.
That wasn't the plan though. Duty came before love, always. Amelie had had an intense need to do something, anything. She saw him push his way through the crowd as the guards came for her. It was a matter of moments to remove her sword and throw it to him. Amelie had been hoping that Alistair would understand all she was trying to convey with this single action, when a lifetime might not contain words enough to explain.
She hadn't seen clearly what happened next. A guard had hit her, and behind him Amelie had seen Alistair tense. She recognised that particular tension. So did Oghren. Even as Alistair had been drawing Starfang and preparing to charge, the dwarf had shouted a warning. Amelie had only caught glimpses of subsequent events as the guard continued to beat her. Alistair had shrugged off the wardens like they were straw men, had forced his way onto the steps.
On the one hand, he was going to ruin their plan, she had thought. On the other, he had gone berserk when he saw her getting hurt. Surely that had to mean he still cared for her? Perhaps he didn't love her any more but maybe he didn't loathe her either. It was a hope that sustained her through the savage beating.
Amelie remembered the last time she had looked at her reflection. Avernus was right, she was too thin. Her stomach growled and she built a beef and cheese sandwich. She'd need all her strength soon. Food then sleep. Just the like the mage ordered.
If she was lucky, she would dream.
