This is a kinda short chapter for how long I've had them lately :/ Sorry, but I was at a loss for where to go with it.
Anyways, thanks SpartanDJB for that review! It was short, but I got a kick outta it. He really is turning out to be a jerk, isn't he? That wasn't part of my original plan, but it works for the story. He's like a teacher that cracks down on the kids that don't do their homework. Except more...deadly. And mean. And powerful o.o
Wolf's angry barks wake me from my sleep. He's growling at the door and his fur is bristling. "I've had enough of you today! Shut up and let me sleep, dammit!" He looks back at me and barks before he growls at the door again. Sighing, I roll out of bed and to the cold stone floor, shivering. I pull on my boots as I make my way over to the warhound giving a door a piece of his mind. Grabbing him by the collar, I start to pull him away when my door swings open at a blinding speed.
"My lady, help me! I-"
The servant's voice is cut off by the sound of something heavy slamming into his flesh. My eyes widen as he falls to his knees, then the floor. A broadhead protrudes from his back, spurting blood everywhere. My eyes flick up to the archer that shot him and without thinking, I let Wolf go. He leaps forward and slams into the man while I go back into my room for my bow and arrows. I hear the man scream, but push the thoughts from my mind as I pull my quiver over my shoulder. Upon returning, I see several men flood out of the adjoining rooms and the hall just outside, weapons glistening red. Oh Maker. They're...they're...
Wolf squeals, and I don't hesitate when I let an arrow fly straight into the man's neck. The force of impact sends him reeling backwards into one of his allies. My dog rips into the man the dead had fallen into when the door beside mine is practically thrown off its hinges. My twin, Aedan, bursts from inside, sword and shield in hand. He still looks half asleep, and he has his sleep clothes on, but he's awake, and that's good.
Aedan runs right past me, slamming into the nearest man at full speed. They topple over, but Aedan is on his feet first, and that's the end of the leather-clad man.
"Watch out!" he says.
I duck and roll beneath the dagger sailing for my throat, using the end of my bow to pull my attacker's feet from under him. He flips onto his back and I drive an arrow into his chest. Another of the men come after me, but I have the same arrow fired before he can so much as think about how he wants to kill me. His legs keep going while his chest is thrown back, knocking him to the floor.
"Check on Oriana and Oren," Aedan says. "I'll cover you."
I nod before dashing across the hallway, hitting the door with my shoulder to throw it open. I look around for the two, but what I find is horrifying. My brother and my dog are finishing up with the fighting, but I can't make myself help them. Oriana is lying in a puddle of her own blood, wrapped around Oren like she'd tried to protect him.
They're gone.
As I fall to my knees, I hear the sound of air splitting behind me, Aedan call my name, and that of a strange laughter, but I don't care. I let the sword hit me. I let myself die.
I bolt upright, looking around wildly. It takes a moment for me to calm my heart rate, to understand that it was just a nightmare. As I draw my knees up to my chest, I feel Alistair slide his hand up my arm, face a mixture of confusion and concern.
"What's wrong?"
"Nightmares," I say softly. "I...I saw Oren and Oriana. They were dead."
His eyebrows knit together and he sits up, resting his hand on my shoulder. "You dreamt of the night Howe attacked you?"
I nod once, shuddering at the memory. It was a complete and utter slaughter. All the servants and visiting nobles were killed. Few soldiers survived. It seems like the only people to have made it out of that castle that night were Aedan and I. So many people died...too many. I'm just glad to be able to say I killed that treacherous bastard. Howe got what he deserved. I made sure of it.
It's not as bad as it could've been though. If Aedan and I hadn't gotten off that tower, Ser Gilmore and our mother would've eventually died. The Blight would've continued unchecked because without Wardens, there isn't stopping it.
Life throws me as much shit as it can, but I've learned to look at what I have and take the problems in stride.
"I'm sorry," he says, frowning. "I'd make them go away if I could."
"It's fine, Alistair. I don't want to forget them. If I can kill a high dragon and escort Orlesians to Denerim, then I can deal with nightmares." I smile at him anyway. "But thank you. That means more than you think."
"Good because I think it's time for us to get up," Alistair says. He kisses my temple before he starts throwing on his armor and weapons. Once he's finished, he heads out of our tent so I have room to get ready myself. I do so quickly, pulling my quiver haphazardly over my shoulder as I step out into the morning sun. I wince, shielding my eyes with an arm.
"The dogs are up," I hear one of the Orlesians say.
"Alistair, look! Attitude from a prick!"
He stifles a laugh while the guards pass with scowls on their faces. I plant my hands on my hips and hold my head high as I scan the rapidly breaking camp. Last week, after we found Theorn defending a group of families fleeing the Hinterlands from a darkspawn incursion (that I now have to go check on) we found Celene and her entourage where I predicted we would by Lake Calenhad. The three of us had joined their camp in the middle of the night, pitching our tents as far away from the Orlesians as possible before going to tell Celene we were here. Theorn doesn't look like he's awake yet, but he still has a little bit of time before he needs to be, so I decide it's time to go formally introduce myself to Warden-Commander Clarel. She somehow caught wind of me being forced into escorting the Empress, so she tagged along with a few of her Wardens.
"Off to find our brothers and sisters?" Alistair asks, falling in beside me as I start to weave my way through the Orlesian camp.
I wince inwardly, but keep my face carefully blank as we walk. "I don't consider them as such until they give me reason to."
Alistair looks forward, going mute for several minutes. While he processes that, I lead him through the militant part of the camp to the more disorganized, frivolous part. "You actually have a good point," he agrees, nodding. "They haven't done much to help us. Why should we consider them friends?"
"Exactly."
We cross through the rest of the camp and head towards the collection of three tents thirty yards out. Their campfire has long since gone out, but they seem to be fine with that as they sit around it and eat in silence. One Warden has the same set of armor as Alistair and I while another wears leathers similar to Cyrus', and the third wears the traditional blue and silver robes of mage-Wardens. As we approach their small camp, the mage gets to her feet, setting her bowl of whatever aside to smoothen her armor. Taking that as a sign from her, the man and woman get to their feet as well, turning to face us.
The mage with the shaved head circles around her friends to stand before them, and once we're close enough, she offers a hand and a sort of friendly smile. "I am Clarel, Warden-Commander of Orlais."
I shake her hand and return the half-friendly grin she offered. "I'm Elissa. Commander of the Grey here in Ferelden. This is Alistair."
She clasps her arms behind her back, saying, "This is Jackson and Aimèe."
"Morning," I say quickly, nodding to them in turn. The man, Jackson, is in the process of putting on his helmet and Aimèe is just giving me a blank look. "What brings you to Ferelden?"
"How old are you exactly?" Jackson asks, voice thick with a Nevarran accent and muffled by his helmet.
"Twenty-seven," I say, raising an eyebrow.
He snorts. "You're a young one."
"I've been over this with your Warden-Constable. I'm quite familiar with that fact, thanks."
"We don't normally recruit people unless they're your age back in Nevarra," he says. "It's strange to see someone that young leading."
"I'm not going to go back and let the Archdemon live just so I don't have to be the Warden-Commander," I snap. He puts his hands up innocently and steps back, nudging Aimèe to follow him. They begin breaking their tents down while Clarel sighs, running a hand down her face.
"I apologize if they offended you," she says, exasperated.
"They didn't," I say quickly. "I should've expected questions when I walked over here."
Clarel nods absentmindedly, relaxing a little. She zones out for a moment, and then snaps back to attention rather abruptly. "I hear you have just gotten married. Congratulations to both of you."
"Um...how?" Alistair asks, confused.
"Well, word spreads fast through Orlais," she says. "You might be Fereldan, but my countrymen don't ignore people who do things like killing an Archdemon."
"Oh. Well, thanks I suppose."
I grin at him as she beckons us to follow her. She trails off, closer to the encampment of Orlesian nobles and soldiers. "I hear you are a mage, Commander."
"More or less. I'd rather stab things than waste energy using spells," I say.
"Ah," she says, nodding seemingly to herself. "You lead from the front, then?"
"You could put it that way," I agree, nodding myself.
Alistair nudges me. "I'm going to get us ready to head out. Are you okay staying here?"
"Yeah, thanks," I say. He smiles before leaving, shrugging his shoulders to situate his shield better. I watch him go, more concerned and worried than anything else, but I don't call him back. Instead, I look back to Clarel and force a smile.
"There are still darkspawn in Ferelden, yes?" she asks.
"In numbers I'd be embarrassed to admit," I say. Before she can offer any assistance, I wave her worries aside. "But it's fine. I know where they're coming from. It's just a matter of figuring out how to deal with them."
She raises an eyebrow. "Have you not thought to seal the entrance to the Deep Roads?"
"We seal all the entrances we come across, but these darkspawn aren't coming from one. They're pouring from the Wilds in massive raiding parties every few months from the reports I've been given. My Wardens in the Hinterlands have been doing their best to keep the holes in check, but whenever we close one, another seems to pop up out of nowhere."
Clarel nods, looking thoughtful. "I'd like for you to take me to the Hinterlands, then. Perhaps I'll be able to help you with this issue."
"I'd appreciate it more than you realize," I say. "I didn't kill the Archdemon only to have its little minions spring outta the ground and keep killing more Fereldans."
"I imagine so," Clarel says.
As I flip the clasp of my pack closed, Aedan rests a hand on my shoulder, brows furrowed. "I...I thought on what you said last night. I think it would be wiser for us to go to Orlais, and then send a message to Elissa and Alistair. I'm sorry that I tried to encourage us going back."
"Aedan..." I sling the leather bag over my shoulder as I stand. "It's fine. I already said-"
"But you were right the first time. We should go to Orlais despite the feeling of dread you have. It's more important than acting on a feeling."
I shake my head. "I've learned to act on my feelings. If we don't go back...I do not want to know what could happen. I wanted to go to Orlais to see if Justinia sent that order to Kirkwall, but it is foolish to think she'd condemn a friend. She's not that kind of person." I put my hand on his metal-covered chest, smiling. "Neither am I, and neither are you. Feelings like this tend to have some truth to them, so we would be condemning Elissa and Alistair to facing whatever it is warning alone. Elissa and Alistair are my best friends, and Alistair is yours. We can't leave them like that."
Aedan's face flattens out to a blank expression as he takes the hand I'm resting on his chest in his. He seems to be thinking, and after a long moment of it, he nods. "You're right, as usual. We stick to the plan then." He stares at me, eyes twinkling in the strange lighting that hangs over any mountain. They seem paler than usual, but it must be from the snow. It is everywhere, covering everything. "Have I told you that I love you today?"
"No." I cannot help my smile growing.
He grins at me. "Well I do. I love you, Leli. Always." He kisses the palm of my hand before pulling me into an embrace. I hug him back, hiding my face in his shoulder. His arms can make me feel safe no matter how scared and terrified and confused I am. He knows it, and is more than glad to offer the comfort when I need it.
I want to believe that everything will be fine. I so desperately do, but I know it will not. Life has a strange way of beating us down at every turn, like it's daring us to keep going. More than once, I have thought about giving up because I don't want to risk losing everything I gained in the past five years. I lost little and gained much. It is a dumb, trivial thing to want (or I think it is; Elissa and Alistair might disagree), but I am happy to say I found a family with the three Wardens, and they seem happy with it as well. Our little group is dysfunctional and we are probably insane, but it is better to be insane with your lunatic family than alone.