The Aftermath

Serenity POV

"Papa?" I asked in a sweet little voice. I think I was four or five at the time.

"Yes, pup?" Papa was drinking tea, taking a little break from his paperwork.

"What was Aunt Serena like?"

Papa, startled, choked on his tea. "What?" he coughed out.

"What was Aunt Serena like? What did she look like?"

"…There's a picture, pup."

"No!" I stomped my foot, annoyed. "That tells me colors! How did she act? How did she talk? What was she like?"

"Pup…" Talks of my aunt were always sensitive things. Especially around Papa. "Why?"

"Because I talked to her."

"What?"

"In a dream." By that point, I had crawled into Papa's lap. I was still small enough then. "I dreamed of a lady who looked like Aunt Serena and she told me stories."

"How… interesting…" I think Papa was humoring me. "What did she say?"

"Not much. Just that you were being silly. Sillier than…" I paused, trying to remember. "Sillier than those times with soldiers and acorns."

He froze. "Soldiers and acorns?"

I nodded. "I was real confused, so she explained. She said that you used to walk in the woods, gathering acorns to throw at the Orle…" I stumbled over the word and paused to try again. "Or… li… jin… soldiers." I laughed. "I thought it funny! Is it true?"

"Pup." Papa was very pale. "When did I tell you about that?"

"You didn't!" If I had still been on the ground, I would've stomped my foot again, I think. "Aunt Serena did! In my dream! I just told you that."

"…We're going to Mother Mallol."

"Huh?" He gathered me up, completely ignoring the paperwork I had interrupted, and strode towards the chapel.

A session with Mother Mallol, another with healers, and yet another (a few weeks later) with a Circle mage followed the conversation. All it proved was a) no, I wasn't insane; b) no, I wasn't a mage; and c) no, a demon wasn't seducing me.

The mage (A kind older man with eyes that shone with power and cunning) came up with the best explanation. "She is sensitive to spirits. The dead reach for her and communicate for one reason or another. It's not an unheard of ability, but normally, it's paired with the mage talent. The danger comes not from the ability, for the spirits can do no harm to her without magic, but in whoever awakened it. For whoever that person is, they are older than the Circle itself, I think."

The sensation of flying… of being carried… of falling…

The sounds of shouts… of cries… of murmurs…

The feel of something gentle… of soothing cold… of soft feathers…

And pain… and darkness… and pain… and blackness…

The blackness gave way to a room. Mine? No. This looked like a guest room in the palace. Why was I at the palace? I should be nowhere near it.

And where were the quiet murmurs of life? Where was the servants' gossip, the shuffles of feet through the halls, the laughter of minor nobles? It was like a tomb.

"Serei?" Finally, something broke the silence. I looked over to see Cailan sitting by my bed, looking sad and worried. I tried to smile, to greet him, but I was too tired. "Sorry, Serei, for being an idiot," he continued. "But, in my defense, I don't think even you could have planned for what Loghain did." Loghain? What…? What happened, Cailan? How did the battle go?

A door opened and Maric walked in… but he shouldn't be here. He died five years ago, when his ship was caught in a storm. We never found the body… yet here he was, smiling sadly. "But your brother is still alive, Cailan. So are Serei and that amusing young elf." Maric smiled, proudly. Wait… 'brother'? but… Cailan's an only child… right? "There's still hope. Their odds are even less than the Rebellion's against the Orlesians."

"Then they'll be just fine!" Cailan laughed. Cailan? Maric? What's going on?

Maric was suddenly next to me, a gentle hand on my head… like that time I was very ill and he sat up with me. "You need to wake up, Serei." What do you mean? I am… aren't I? Maric shook his head. "No, Serei. This is a dream. You need to wake up. And, if you could, keep an eye on my youngest? He has… he has not had the life I wanted him to have. And I fear he never will, now." Youngest? But, you only had one child… you only had Cailan… "Wake up, Serei."

With a half-muffled gasp, my eyes flew open to look upon a low, bare ceiling. There was sound again: animals rustling through trees, someone moving around and humming some tune.

I was awake, in an unknown place, disoriented, and in a great amount of pain.

"Ah, you have awoken." That voice was familiar. I carefully sat up, noticing the clean bandages wrapped around me. My left hand throbbed, protesting the weight I put on it. There was the source of most of the pain. "Do you know where you are?" I looked to the speaker and recognized her. I had only seen that outfit on one person, after all.

"Am I in the Wilds?" I asked. "I remember you from there, Morrigan."

"You seem to have kept your wits." Morrigan smiled, amused, watching me with her hawk-gold eyes. "You are at my abode again, this time as a much longer guest."

Ah… no wonder I had no idea where I was. "How long have I been abed?"

"Not over long. A few days. The corpses of your battle have not yet begun to decay." Her nonchalant tone was more than enough to tell me that she didn't care about those who had died.

Died… corpses… Wilds… Ah. "I am assuming, then, that the battle did not go well for us, if I am here and not there."

"Assuming that you did not mean for the darkspawn to win? Then yes." She shrugged, still uncaring, just relaying a list of facts. "The man who was to save your army quit the field. There is nothing left."

"So, all are dead?" Including Duncan and Cailan. …I must have had one of those weird dreams that scared Papa, then. That would explain why Maric was there.

"I believe I saw a handful of soldiers escape, but I imagine quite a few will perish before leaving the Wilds. It does not take kindly to trespassers." She moved away, then, to tend to something on the fireplace. A pot? "Of the Grey Wardens, only three remain, including yourself."

"I see…"

"You are over calm," she observed, returning her gaze to me.

"Am I?" I asked, amused. I didn't feel it.

Loghain betrayed us? Loghain betrayed us? But… but why? That… it made no sense. He was always loyal… he was always there, especially when someone needed him… he had never abandoned any of us, even when he had been angry…

So… Why?

"Perhaps not," Morrigan said, startling me out of my thoughts. "My knowledge of the people outside the Wilds is, regrettably, limited. But your fellow Wardens…" she shrugged. "Well, the elf has taken to dueling her shadow and the idiot has altered between grief and disbelief."

"Idiot?" That's right… she said three had survived…

"The male who was with you in the Tower."

"Alistair?" So, he was the second. "And the elf?"

"The one with the temper."

Only one elf I knew fit that description. "Agrona survived?"

"With that mutt." There was a slight growl at the end.

But I was proud of my 'mutt'. "Kaiser is a pure-bred mabari, Morrigan."

"He tried to bite me when I kicked him out!"

"I'd imagine so. Not too many would take kindly to a foot in the side. Or head. Or back. Where did you kick him, exactly?"

She shot me a withering look. "I suppose you must be doing very well indeed, to joke."

I returned it with a soothing smile. "Aside from lingering pain, I am fine." Physically. "Thank you, Morrigan, for taking care of my wounds."

"I… tis nothing, truly. I only…" She had a light blush now. "I only changed the bandages."

"But still, that saved me and you didn't have to. So, I give my thanks."

"Yes… well…" she looked uncomfortable; was she not used to being thanked? "Since you are awake, stand. I shall help you get dressed."

"My thanks again."

A few moments later, I walked out the door, into the Wilds. Kaiser saw me first, barking a greeting before pressing against my leg. It was always the same when I was abed for anything longer than a day. Especially if he was kept away from me.

"And here is the last of your order," Morrigan's mother said to the other two. "I told you not to worry."

Both of them seemed relieved to see me, but Alistair spoke first. "You're alive… I was sure…"

I smiled. "Let's try to not do that again, please?"

"That sounds like a plan." He managed a chuckle before growing sorrowful, a step away from tears. "Duncan's gone. The King… everyone…"

"I heard. I also heard Loghain played a part."

"More like not play a part," Agrona growled, clenching her fists. "He never charged. We fought, waited, and hoped, but he never came." There was a lingering note of despair in her voice. "His soldiers never came, so everyone died."

"His soldiers weren't in the tower as well," Alistair reminded me. "Was this planned? Did he mean to do all this? Why?"

"Power? The throne?" Agrona suggested. "Most of you shem desire those things, present company excluded."

"It's a possibility, but not likely," I mused. "He never seemed to crave more power. Of course, he also seemed loyal, so perhaps…" Perhaps he changed. Perhaps his loyalty snapped with Maric's death. Though, he did serve Cailan faithfully.

"And to think, we should be dead too." Way to remind us, Alistair. "If not for Morrigan's mother…"

"Do not speak of me as if I am not here, boy," Morrigan's mother cut in. All three of us jumped; we forgot that she was there!

"I'm… I'm sorry," Alistair apologized. "But you never gave us your name."

"Pretty things, names are, but useless," she dismissed. "Some call me 'Flemeth', so let us go with that."

Flemeth…! "How odd you have the name of the demon-possessed wife of Bann Conobar Elstan," I commented with a nonchalantness I didn't feel. My ancestor, Sarim Cousland, had been the Bann's Captain and took over the castle upon Conobar's death. It's how my family acquired Highever.

She laughed, eyes dancing yet impressed. "A Cousland through and through. Ever wary, loyal, and manipulative, but with an open mind and acceptance of all things."

"You forgot stubbornness."

"So I did, so I did." Her smile was unnerving.

So, I decided to ignore her, returning my attention to my fellow two Wardens. "Are you two okay?"

"Aside from witnessing the utter destruction of the army?" Agrona asked bitterly. "Yeah, fine."

"I meant, physically." None of us are well, mentally.

She shrugged. "I'll live. So will the boy here, no matter what he thinks."

"You're implying I think?" Alistair quipped. "What a lovely thing to say."

"All three of you will bear scars," Flemeth warned. "My magic could only do so much."

"I am thankful you could do anything at all." I smiled warmly. "You did not have to."

"Indeed. So glad you remember that fact." She leaned over to whisper in my ear. "If I were you, I'd avoid fighting with that hand. It's scarred, badly, and you will endure a lot of pain if you try."

"You are speaking of my left?" I murmured.

"Phrase it like a question, yet already know the answer. One would think you were raised by me." She laughed softly. "Perhaps if I were a true healer, one who communicated with the benevolent spirits of the Fade, I could have healed it fully. As it was, I was only just able to prevent you from losing it."

I glanced at Alistair, talking softly with Agrona. "Do you have any gloves I could borrow?" My gauntlets, according to Morrigan, were still in the Tower. Somewhere.

"You wish to hide it? To try and keep him from seeing and feeling guilt?" she shook her head. "Regrettably, I do not. Keep it bandaged for now."

"You really think an Arl will believe us over a Teyrn?" Agrona snapped. Oh, what was going on? "A former templar, a city elf, and the noble of a fallen city? Really?"

"Agrona?" I asked, begging my leave from Flemeth. "Which arl are you talking about?"

"Some guy named Eamon. Whoever he is."

"Arl Eamon is the younger brother of the late Queen Rowan, wife of King Maric the Savior and mother of Cailan. He is the Arl of Redcliffe. The man is kind and honorable, if a little bit egotistical as most nobles are." I smiled slightly. "He and Loghain have been at odds with one another for the past… oh, decade or so." Loghain was furious when he found out Eamon was marrying an Orlesian. "And I feel the need to clarify that the fallen city is the only other Teyrnir of Fereldan. Or, in other words, I am of equal rank to Loghain." Especially now… Fergus… you were probably lost to the Wilds… weren't you… "But surely there are other allies we can call on as well." Eamon will not drag Fereldan into a civil war. He respected his sister too much to waste her sacrifices.

"If we had the treaties, we'd have three: Orzammar dwarves, Dalish elves, and Circle mages," Alistair said. "But we gave them to Duncan before the Joining." Right… Agrona had handed them to him with a smile.

"No. We have them." Alistair and I looked at Agrona, surprised. "Duncan gave them to me before…" She looked away, eyes glassy. "Duncan's dying orders were to use the treaties. So, that's what we'll do."

"Let's also visit Arl Eamon to see what soldiers he can spare. If all goes well, then we shall have his forces, along with those of the dwarves, elves, and mages."

"That, my dear Grey Wardens," Flemeth interrupted. "Sounds like an army."

"So, can we really do this?" Alistair asked. I think he was trying to wrap his head around everything. "Build an army? End the Blight?"

"Is that not what Grey Wardens do?" I asked back. "Stand tall, soldier. We're the Grey Wardens now. We must perform our duty."

"This isn't going to be like stealing from the nobles in Denerim," Agrona said. "This isn't going to be very easy."

Flemeth laughed. "And when is anything that's worth something?"

"I do not suppose, Flemeth," I began. "You have anything else you could offer? Advice? Potions?"

"Now that you mention it," she commented. "I do have one thing."

That's when Morrigan appeared. "The stew is bubbling, Mother. Shall with have three guests or none?"

"The Wardens are leaving shortly, child. And you will be joining them." wait, what?

"Such a shame… What?" Apparently, Morrigan hadn't been expecting it either.

"You heard me. Or are those pretty ears just for show?"

"My many thanks," I said quickly, glancing at Alistair and Agrona. Surprise was freezing them, for the moment. "But if Morrigan does not wish to join us, we cannot possibly force her."

"How very kind of you," Flemeth said. "But her magic will be useful. Besides, you will not want to get lost in the Wilds; she knows them better than you did your castle."

"Have I no say?" Morrigan asked, incredulous. "Really, Mother-!"

"You've been longing to leave the Wilds for years. Here's your chance. As for you, Wardens-"

"Lady Flemeth, I will not be fool enough to swear she'll never come to harm with us. We are doing something very dangerous," I interrupted. "But I will do my best to make certain she returns to you as unharmed as I can manage."

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but won't this add to our problems?" Alistair asked as Morrigan distracted her mother again with questions. "Out of the Wilds, she's an apostate."

"Alistair, if you didn't notice, the 'witch of the wilds' title implies Flemeth is a mage as well," I replied with some tart. "It's a very good thing she wasn't chained in the Circle when we were dying in the Tower, yes?"

"Point taken."

"Well, perhaps this will be slightly more enjoyable than I feared," Morrigan said, bringing my attention to her. "Allow me to get my things. It shan't be long."

"Giving in to your mother?" Agrona mocked.

Morrigan gave her a dark look. "You try arguing with Mother and winning." She stormed into the hut.

"It's not wise to rile a mage," Alistair warned Agrona. "Though, I admit, it's probably a lot of fun."

"Do you want to try and convince Kaiser to leave something in her pack?" Agrona asked seriously.

…I get the feeling I'm going to be the mediator for a little bit. "Kaiser. Do that and I will be most displeased." Kaiser barked and licked my hand in reassurance.

"You're ruining my fun!" More like I'm trying to prevent civil war in the group!

"I am at your disposal, Grey Wardens," Morrigan said, exiting the hut. "If I may, I would suggest a village to the north as our first destination. 'Tis not far and it serves as a trade hub for the highways."

"Already taking control?" Agrona grumbled. "Damn, she moves fast."

"Or I could be your silent guide," Morrigan continued through gritted teeth.

"I personally would prefer you to speak your mind, Morrigan," I replied warmly. "Another opinion is always useful for finding all sides of a situation."

"Wise words, but you'll regret that!" Flemeth laughed.

A parent's easy chastisement, but something was (again) off about her laugh. "I don't suppose you have any advice?"

"About the darkspawn?"

"About anything."

She smiled. It barely reached her eyes. "Keep your mind open. No path is darker than when one's eyes are shut tight."

"Can you cook, Morrigan?" Agrona asked. Uh oh. Have they been talking?

"I can, yes," Morrigan answered, confused.

"Good! You can cook. Make yourself useful like that."

"Morrigan, you don't have to cook, if you don't want to," I reassured.

"No, I don't mind," Morrigan replied with false cheer. "I also know at least fifteen different poisons. Not that I would suggest tis at all related to cooking."

"Oriana, my sister, once told me that poison making was remarkably similar to cooking," I said, nonchalantly. "But, we are to leave soon, Morrigan, if you wish to bide your mother farewell."

As she did, I whispered to Agrona, "Is there something I should know? Are you two going to kill each other?"

"I'm just pissed she mocked me because I broke down crying," she answered. "I'll behave a little better. And I won't kill her if she doesn't try to kill me first. Promise. If only because I owe her mother."

I sighed, relieved. "Okay. Thank you."

"Don't worry, noble. I know better than to completely isolate an ally. At least, on purpose." She looked past me. "Looks like she's done saying goodbye. Let's go."

Morrigan lead the way out of the Wilds and to Lothering. Agrona continued needling Morrigan with slowly-dulling barbs throughout the trip. Kaiser and I played mediator. Alistair remained absolutely silent, often staring into space. He worried me, but I figured it was just sorrow. Like what I experienced when Highever fell.

I understood well what it was like to lose everything.

Author's note:

Well, here we are. Next chapter is Lothering through Agrona's POV. Well, Lothering and the Camp Scene. Next chapter is probably going to be significantly longer that the others, but we'll see.

This was written surprisingly fast. I suppose that's what happens when you're so used to working. Bah, college. Why must you destroy my free time?

Okay, if you have any suggestions for improvements or what not, let me know, if you please?