Author's notes: Hey everyone! Thanks to all of you who took the time to review so far, your reviews mean so much to me!
Thanks to my magical worker, my awesome beta Dasque.
And finally, thanks to all of your reading! Hope you're enjoying my little tale!
The Architect woke up to the feel of cold steel on his throat.
"Oh, good. You are awaking. Soon you'll be on your way then. You're all packed and ready to go." The blade pressed more firmly against his neck, enforcing the order. "Get up."
Still a bit stunned, he got to his feet with some difficulty, Zevran's sword following his every move. He looked drained, weak and lightly dizzy. Leliana shoved a leather bag in his arms, the movement making the glass inside ring softly. He clung to it, pressing it to his chest as he looked around in confusion.
"What… happened?"
"Well, you did something really stupid and then almost died. I am ashamed to say that you probably owe both of us your life. Avernus is well, by the way… or he will be, shortly."
"Shiny!" Avernus exclaimed, still sitting in a pool of blood, staring at the ceiling and clapping his hands excitedly. "Make the pretty lights shine again!" Zevran shook his head, his gaze intent on the Architect.
"It is truly a testimony to his high intellect that he can still formulate semi-coherent sentences with the powerful substances that flow in his blood at the moment. Oh, and we will keep the cure, thank you very much."
The Architect bowed his head, shaking it slightly in defeat, before looking up again.
"And… the Commander?"
"She lives as well. Everybody is alive. Isn't it a wonderful day?" Leliana said, but the coldness of her tone did not match the playfulness of the words. Zevran motioned towards the door with one hand, his other keeping the sword on the Architect's throat. "Out. Now."
They crossed the deserted keep, Leliana and Zevran on each side of the Architect, weapons drawn. When the wooden double doors opened before them to let them outside, the stench emanating from the courtyard made the three of them gag and hold their breath. One hand over his mouth, the other clutching at the leather bag, the Architect gazed upon the grounds in shock.
Pyres, huge roaring pyres were scattered everywhere, with dozens of Darkspawn cadavers burning on each of them. Nathaniel, Anders and Sigrun were standing at the top of the stairs, hatred and disgust plain on their faces as they looked at him. Down the stairs, from the end of the steps to the huge and now broken courtyard gates, Grey Wardens were standing at attention, two ranks facing each other, the space in between forming a narrow way.
The Architect froze upon seeing this mockery of an honour guard waiting for him. Zevran pushed him mercilessly with the flat of his sword towards Nathaniel, who took a step forward to meet him, his eyes hard.
"These Grey Wardens," he said to him, his voice low and angry, gesturing to the men standing to attention below, "just tore an entire Darkspawn horde to pieces. And you are going to walk among them. They will see your face, feel your taint. And I promise you this: if, in any way, you abuse the powers of this blood that was freely given to you; if we hear only a rumour that you're building yourself an army of intelligent Darkspawn or that you attacked any human settlement, if we so much as catch whispers of another Mother you are unwilling to take care of yourself, I will unleash them upon you. They will track you down relentlessly, destroying every monster in their way, until they get to you, until they find you and end your pathetic existence for good." He stepped aside, clearing the stairs. "The only thing that kept you alive today is the promise of peace you brought with you. You better make it happen. Now leave. Don't make us come after you."
The Architect got down the stairs slowly, and walked straight in the middle of the Warden ranks, his head held high, looking straight ahead. The ranks closed behind him, the Wardens getting closer to him as he reached the gates. He kept walking until he finally was on the mountain path, and he heard the Wardens break formation behind him. He stopped, then, and looked down at the pack in his hands. He allowed himself a small smile.
This was still a victory.
Sigrun collapsed to the ground as soon as the Architect was out of sight.
"Someone take this heavy armour off of me," she sighed, her hands weakly tugging at the leather straps. "Anders, I think I opened the wound again."
"I told you not to do this," Anders scolded, kneeling next to her and unbuckling her armour. He whistled softly upon seeing the blood soaking her undershirt again. "I hope it was worth it."
They exchanged a glance, and Anders had to smile at the little twinkle glinting in her eyes. She winked at him and he shook his head in mocked disapproval.
"Did you see his face?" she laughed. "It was worth getting out of my death bed all right. Besides, you're the one that said we shouldn't let him see how much we've lost in the battle. I think he believes us invincible now… ow!"
"Sorry," Anders said hastily, applying another compress to the wound. "Now you go rest, and no protests! I want you on your feet again as soon as possible! There's no way I can run this place alone for long!"
Anders looked down at the courtyard and his smile disappeared. The aftermath of the battle was brutally gruesome. Wardens and merchants had resumed piling up Darkspawn corpses on the pyres, while others were preparing fallen Wardens for their final rest. Someone had already left for the nearest village to fetch the Revered Mother for the ceremony. There was no one talking, or even sobbing. Aside from the roaring fires and the clanking noises of armour being dragged, there was only an eerie, solemn silence.
One of the Wardens from Weisshaupt was climbing the stairs, heading towards them. Nathaniel went to him and they firmly shook hands.
"Anders, Sigrun, this is Senior Warden Eckart, from Weisshaupt."
"You Fereldans sure know how to make a Warden feel welcome," Eckart quipped, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. "We were told you could use some help here."
"Well, you were told right," Anders said, getting to his feet and extending a hand. Eckart shook it strongly. "We are very grateful for your timely arrival."
"Very," Sigrun nodded, grimacing, a hand pressed on her bandage.
"We received a letter from the First Warden informing us that there were some… unusual events occurring in Ferelden, and that we were to lend any support needed. Is this…" He paused, gesturing to the courtyard and the path the Architect had taken, "… kind of thing a frequent occurrence here?"
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Nathaniel said. "The Blight has left us with a real interesting mess to clean up."
"I see." Eckart seemed to ponder that for a while. "Well, the First Warden did specify that we were not to judge based on appearances. When can I meet this fabled Warden-Commander of yours?"
"She's… indisposed at the moment. We will let you know as soon as she feels better, of course," Nathaniel said courteously. "What other news did you receive from the First Warden? I must say he did make a lasting impression during his brief visit here."
"He sent word to the fortress that we were to find a successor for him," Eckart said sombrely. "He went to his Calling."
Nathaniel said nothing, but his eyes briefly flickered towards the tower before he bowed his head in respect.
"I have arranged for lodging for you and your men, Senior Warden," Anders said, gesturing to one of the Wardens to come and join them. "Someone will escort you right away."
"Thank you," Eckart bowed, then gestured his men to follow as he took his leave, entering the keep with his guide. Anders turned to Nathaniel.
"Well that's a new attitude from Weisshaupt Wardens," he said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I think I like it!"
"You better," Nathaniel said. "They look like they are here to stay."
Zevran and Leliana had gone back inside the keep as soon as the Architect was down the steps. They had other messes to clean up. They crossed the keep in silence, Leliana walking in front and Zevran following a few steps behind. When they got to the bridge's door, Leliana paused, a hand on the knob. She sighed and closed her eyes briefly before turning around to face him.
"I heard you, you know. When you talked to Alistair. I heard you putting yourself forward as a sacrifice to save her life."
"Leliana…" Zevran whispered, raising a hand to caress her cheek. She batted his hand away.
"Do not touch me," she warned. "You still wish to die? What we are to each other, it doesn't mean anything to you? It isn't enough to live for? You weren't even going to talk to me about this?"
"There was no time, cara. You know this. And you know how I feel about you. I just could not let her die. I owe her too much."
"You don't owe her your life. She would never have had asked this of you. She would have been so mad at you."
"Maybe, but she would have been alive. I do owe her my life, cara. You know how I was, how I felt, when we first met each other. She did not only spare my life, she gave me reason to keep on living. This kind of debt… it cannot be erased. I cannot be released from it. And I don't know... I don't know how to even start repaying her. It is weighing on me. Always."
Leliana stared at him hard for a long while, a guarded expression on her face.
"It isn't that I don't understand, Zev. Believe me, I do. It's just…" She shook her head. "Maybe we should… talk about it some other time. Let ourselves cool off a bit."
"But you know how I feel about you, yes? How important you are to me?"
"I do," she smiled, but he saw with worry that the smile did not quite reach her eyes.
She turned around to open the door and they crossed the bridge in an even deeper silence than before. Inside the tower, they found Avernus giggling, happily drawing some strange symbols on the floor with the blood that was still surrounding him.
"Oh, no, this won't do at all," Zevran said hastily. "This has potential for true danger."
"Hey, Avernus," Leliana said softly, as if she was addressing a child. "How do you feel?"
Avernus seemed to ponder that for a while.
"Hungry," he finally said, looking up at her.
"All right, wanna come with me to the kitchen?" she said, extending a hand.
He nodded, grabbing her hand, and stood up. "I need to… to change, first," he mumbled, walking behind some screens and unbuttoning his bloody robes.
"He already looks like he's beginning to come back to his senses. Most impressive," Zevran said, his eyebrows arched.
"Well I'm going to take him to the kitchens, keep him out of your way. It should give you enough time to clean up."
"Yes. Some blood, two bodies. It shouldn't be too long. Will you… will you meet me in our room, afterwards?"
She looked at him and he saw with relief her expression softened visibly.
"Yes. Of course."
Alistair did not leave Kaylee's side. He watched over her resting form as the light coming from the bedroom's window grew dimmer as the day went by, until full darkness finally settled in. Someone brought him a tray of food at some point. He barely took any for himself, letting Justice eat most of it. The spirit didn't talk to him much, letting Kaylee's body rest as much as possible. Alistair was kneeling by the bed, his arms resting upon the mattress, his fingers intertwined with hers.
That's how Anders found him when he entered the room later that night.
"Any changes?" he asked softly, closing the door behind him. Alistair shook his head, his gaze not leaving Kaylee's face.
"So I've studied the glyph tracings Nate brought," Anders said, taking place in one of the chairs at the foot of the bed. Alistair's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"That was quick."
"Yeah, well that's not exactly a good sign."
Alistair sighed audibly. "It wouldn't have worked."
"No," Anders confirmed. "The stasis glyph would have overpowered the healing glyph, paralysing the regeneration of the blood as well. They can't be combined." He paused, staring at Alistair intently. "But you couldn't possibly have known that, could you?"
"I didn't. I didn't even know what Nate had in mind."
"And yet you let it happen. You set him free." Anders shook his head. "You were almost a Templar, so I really don't think I have to lecture you on the dangers. You're aware of them, maybe even more than I am. I just want you to know, I really, really want to. I've got that whole speech prepared."
"Not necessary." Alistair smiled tiredly. "I know of the dangers very well. It's not up to me. She trusts him, and I trust her. It's as simple as that."
"I can still… trace that regenerating glyph. It should work well on its own."
"Do it," Alistair nodded as he stiffly got on his feet and stepped back, stretching. "The sooner she's back to her former, lovely self, the better. For everyone."
Anders got on his knees and set to work, tracing the glyph around and under the bed where Kaylee was lying still. When the drawing was done he slapped his open hand on the ground, and the glyph started glowing in a faint blue light.
"For what it's worth, your Majesty," Anders said, getting to his feet, "I know Justice well. I do believe he's worthy of her trust."
Alistair looked at him for a long time, an unreadable expression on his face, before extending a hand and shaking the other man's firmly. "Thank you," he said softly, before turning away. Careful not to disrupt the drawing, he knelt next to the bed again and took Kaylee's hand back in his.
A soft smile played on Anders's lips as he gently closed the door behind him. It was heart-warming, really, to see that his amazing Commander had found a man so worthy of her love, a man to love her back as deeply as this one did. If such a love could exist, then surely all hope was not lost.