The group covered their heads, dusting and debris falling from the ancient rafters above them as crashing and roars could be heard from the other side of the great wooden doors. The roar sent a chill to the bone, hair standing on end, adrenaline pumping as hearts beat faster. On the other side of that door was where they would fight the archdemon and, it was on the other side of that door that some would meet their end.
They had taken a moment to gather themselves, allowing the Redcliffe troops to make their way to them through the cleared halls of the cavernous fort. The fight to get to the top had been just as intense as the fights on the streets of Denerim. The stop was welcome, it gave them all a chance to catch their breath and, silently, Catheryn hoped and prayed for Riordan to come.
As she sat down, Catheryn couldn't help but think about the journey that had brought her to this moment. From the moment she had left Highever, she never would have imagined that it would lead to this, fighting on top of an ancient fort, against a tainted old god. It was a Dragon! She hadn't come across dragons yet! Had seen them from afar and had killing their offspring but this was a fully formed adult dragon! The very thing that the age she now lived in took it's name from! The very age that Loghain himself helped give birth too with the destruction of the Orlesian grip on Ferelden. This was madness! Her, fight a dragon? They were all clearly mad and this was just some far fetched dream that she was having, even if the painful throb in her head told her that that wasn't the case.
With a soft sigh, she barely had a chance to protest before her helmet was pulled off her head, locks of dark brown hair falling down around her sweaty face. The frown that had appeared on her features soon melted away as she felt Loghain's gentle touch, carefully tilting her head towards him, something that caused her voice to die in her throat, even in a moment like this. No words were uttered as he went about his next task, placing a poultice against the left side of her head, the cool a welcome relief from the hot throbbing that it had been doing. Closing her eyes for a moment, she turned her deep brown hues up to meet his icy blue depths, their gaze lingering for far longer than it should have done. Her fingers found his, gripping them softly and feeling him squeeze tenderly in return.
All around them, the surviving troops were taking the chance to gather themselves, the other companions helping with applying poultices and bandages whilst Wynne took some time to herself. She needed to recover as much of her magic as possible before this final fight and she had already used so much. She could feel her old bones, feel her age creeping up on her yet again. Idly, she watched Catheryn and Loghain, the tenderness in their moment together was heartwarming amidst all the devastation around them. It seemed almost unfair that it could all be over with so quickly and that either one was about to lose something even more precious to them. Part of her wished that she had given him more chance, regretting that her anger towards him had taken so long to die down. Whatever the sins of his past, the young warden had helped him face and defeat those demons and, despite her own misgivings, it was clear for anyone to see just how deeply he cared for her. It was still surprising to see so much warmth come from a man who could be so cold, but then, that was the beauty of love, it had the power to bring out sides in people that would otherwise be buried forever. She knew that better than anyone.
Taking Loghain's hand, Catheryn pulled herself up, the dizziness subsiding as her head gave a dull throb. The poultice had felt weird against her head, cool and wet and the scent of the herbs was a little over powering. The wave of nausea had also passed over her, a welcome relief as she didn't fancy throwing up in her helmet. She took stock of their situation, watching the men as they reattached their armour, all of them looking as weary as she felt. She felt sorry for them, there had been no amount of preparation that could have readied them for the battle that they had fought and there had been no warning that would have made the archdemon any more real and now, they stood by her side, ready to take on a foe that they could not even comprehend and all for the good of Ferelden.
There was another roar, followed by another crash and the sound of fracturing bricks filling the silence around them like cannonfire. They could not wait any longer, as much as they may wish it. Eyes glancing on the empty hallways behind them before their attention turned back to that great door. Catheryn turned her attention back to the hallway one last time, a wave of helplessness coming over her as she did so. She did not need the gentle touch on her shoulder, she already knew, Riordan would not be coming, which left it to Catheryn and Loghain to slay the archdemon.
None of Catheryn's nightmares were enough to prepare her for the horror that was coming face to face with the archdemon. As soon as they ran out on to the roof, it was as though the whole world had slowed to a stop. In that split second, it felt like even her heart had stopped beating. She couldn't even register the horror that was watching men be torn apart by the dragon, nor to watch one be trampled under foot.
Then, the world was moving once more, adrenaline pumping through the veins as the reality hit home. Their they were, face to face with the old god that had brought the Blight to the surface. It was nothing like the other dragons that she had seen, magnificent beings covered in scales, with wing spans so large, they blocked out the sun. This one looked as though the taint itself was making the dragon waste away, bones protruding in places there should have been muscle, where there should have been scales, there were boils and lesions. There was small comfort to be had in the fact that the archdemon was already greatly injured, with it's razor sharp teeth latching on to whichever poor soul stumbled across it's path, it's claws cracking the floor beneath it. With an almighty roar, the dragon belched blue flames that sprang to life, the cries of burning soldiers filling the night air with terror.
Even whilst injured, it was capable of moving at great speed and much effort was spent simply dodging out of the way of either teeth or feet as it lashed out. Catheryn couldn't blame the troops as they backed off, unsure of the best way to approach such a foe. Having lost so many of their comrades already, it was hardly surprising that their own nerve was beginning to fail. However, without them, the battle would be lost, there would be no way that Catheryn and Loghain would be strong enough to take it on by themselves.
Turning her attention from the archdemon for a second, Catheryn spotted the ballistae dotted around the edge of the roof. Usually meant to shoot enemies from down below, right now, they would be far more useful in this battle. With a shout, she directed the troops to them, watching as they all dispersed from the area just as she was knocked from her feet by the dragon. Winded and rolling over, watching as those great snarling teeth appeared above her, it's was on her face, hot and stinking of death. She could hear the rumblings of a roar building from the pit of its stomach, her body frozen, unable to move as she literally stared death in its face.
The final blow never came though, as the next second, it was roaring in outrage as the lances began to hit home, one penetrating deep into the archdemon's side, blood pouring from the wound and soaking the ground below as it rose up briefly before crashing back down against the wall of the Fort, causing the ground beneath them to shake. Catching her breath, Catheryn pushed herself up, thankful for whoever had fired at that precise moment. The archdemon was cornered, this was their chance.
If only war were as simple as that. Just as the archdemon had taken its tumble, darkspawn began to appear on the roof, clearly drawn to the frantic cries of their leader. The numbers were much thinner than they had been but, they still provided adequate distraction, the Redcliffe forces engaging them in battle, the deadly, camouflaging Shrieks letting out their shrill and bone chilling cries as they crept up on the unsuspecting, attacking them from behind with their dangerous razor-sharp claws. The ballistae lay forgotten as sword clashed with axe, the snarls and growls of the darkspawn matching the grunts and war cries of their opponents. The noise on top of the roof was almost overwhelming.
Both Catheryn and Loghain had left them to fight the darkspawn, their entire focus now on the archdemon. They were both exhausted, blood soaked through a wound to Loghain's arm, whilst Catheryn limped heavily on her wounded leg, gritting her teeth against the pain. With a joint nod, they rushed the beast, swords raised high, shields in front to block against those monstrous teeth. Even this badly wounded, it still had some fight in it and every time one of them rushed in, every time a blade sank deeper into the archdemon, the more it would thrash and kick, it's roars of pain and frustration calling more darkspawn to the battlefield as they rushed to protect it. A shriek appeared behind Loghain, engaging him in a furious battle, it's claws moving at lightning speed as it tried to shred away at his armour. Luckily, the plate armour did nothing more than bounce the attacks off, but that didn't stop him being overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attack. With his back turned, the archdemon poised itself for an attack and that's when Catheryn took her chance.
Plunging a sword into it's neck, the archdemon roared as she pulled herself up on to its neck, her sword glinting in the light of the fires all around them as she drove the blade deep into the archdemons skull. She had missed the brain, she knew this the instant that it threw her off, causing her to crashing into the stone wall, a pained cry leaving her lips before she spat blood on to the floor. As she pushed herself up, she noticed it flailing on the ground, unable to move. One final blow was all it would take, one final blow and this entire nightmare would be over with.
'Catheryn, wait.' She lowered her sword for a moment and watched him approach, pulling off her helmet as she did so. She knew this had been coming and yet, her heart wasn't ready for it.
'Loghain...'
'Catheryn, please, you have to let me do this, it's something that I need to do. This is the time where you are unable to protect me from my fate. You are not destined to die here...'
The world around them fell silent for a moment as the words hit home, her own protests dying on her lips as she saw the look in his eyes. She saw the resolve and suddenly, everything made sense. She knew she had no right to beg him to do any differently, she knew she had no place to ask him to let her go instead. The tears that had threatened to fall all but vanished as she stood tall, nodding her head to acknowledge that she understood.
Loghain watched closely as the understanding came to her, the warmth in her eyes and her ability to accept the situation managing to remind him of every single thing that he loved about this woman. She was remarkable and, if it hadn't been for her, these last few months wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful as they had been. He had been truly blessed when she had come crashing into his world and now, in his last act, he could make sure that, whatever might happen as a result, that she would live to see out the rest of her life and the Ferelden wasn't robbed of her warmth too soon.
He stepped closer to her, cupping her face gently, stroking the soft cheek with his thumb, lost in her deep brown eyes one last time.
'Promise me one thing Catheryn. Promise me that whatever happens, you will live a full and happy life, that you will see out the rest of your days until you are old and grey. When the time comes, when you are an old woman and you pass over, I will be waiting for you.' Again, Catheryn paused, seeing the look in his eyes and letting a sad smile come to her lips. She nodded softly. 'I promise.'
With that, Loghain kissed her one last time. It was deep, it was passionate and it was over far too soon. If he had the choice, he would have stayed there in that moment until the darkness consumed them all, but he knew that wasn't to be the case. Pulling from the kiss, he turned to face the archdemon, his sword raised once more as he charged towards the great beast.
Once again, the world seemed to move in slow motion, Catheryn watching helplessly as Loghain drove the sword into the archdemon's abdomen and sliced from stomach to throat. She ignored the fights all around her, her own sword clattering to the floor as she lost its grip. No tears fell as she watched him, there was only pride and it swelled inside her. Proud that she had had the chance to love and cherish this man and proud that she had been given the chance to see his final act for his beloved Ferelden. The tip of the sword buried deep into the archdemon's skull, a blinding light escaping from it, causing Catheryn to shield her eyes as she watched. She watched as Loghain struggled, watched as the archdemon and his own soul battled each other. In those last few moments, all she could think about was the pain that he was in, how much he was suffering and how she wished it would end.
Then, with a final explosion, the world was illuminated by this great light and the last thing Catheryn remembered was her hand reaching out to Loghain before the world faded to black.
A/N: The chapters following this will be the epilogue and, I have written two as, I really wasn't sure which one to use to end this fanfic. One is the bittersweet sad, yet happy ending and the other one will basically lead to more Catheryn and Loghain should people ever want it...or if I want it...because I'm not really done with this pairing yet.
Either way, feel free to read both and make the decision about which one you will use to end the story with.
Once these two have been posted, this fiction at least will be complete. Any feedback or reviews are greatly welcome as, I would like to know if people have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it and I do hope that this will prove to be a fitting tribute to Ser Grumpalot, Loghain MacTir.
