Chapter 37
"Ah, so the bitch finally arrives! It's about time you came back home, princess."
He's drunk, totally wasted, hammered. Call it what you will, but none of those titles describe the condition he's in. He is beyond all of them. It's reeking from him. Pouring from his breath and snaking its way through the air on its path to taint everything. It clings to every surface and makes everything sticky and disgusting to touch, even the air.
And what do I do? I just stand there, drenched, in the doorway, staring at him. My whole body is frozen, and it's not because of what he said. No, I'm used to getting called a bitch. It's because the water that's caused me to be soaked from head to toe is fucking cold, making me fucking cold, ergo causing me to be frozen. But not literally. If I wanted to kick his ass I could totally do it. Alcohol does funny things to you though, and he probably wouldn't remember what happened tomorrow anyways. So, I simply continue standing there, waiting for him to move out of the way or pass out.
"Well, don't just stand there, walk your sweet little ass over here and give your uncle a hug!" Gamlen spreads his arms wide for the hug he wants and the empty bottle of whisky he was holding slips from his hands and crashes to the floor.
Noticing that I wasn't making any move towards him, he tries to walk towards me and manages to stagger a bit and take something that resembles a step towards me before he loses his balance, and his arms, that were open for a hug, now flail about as he attempts to stay standing. With a grunt of effort, Gamlen finally caught his balance and glares up at me.
In all the time he had wasted parading around and trying to regain his composure, I hadn't moved a muscle or said a word. I was still standing in the exact same spot and in the exact same position. Hands at my sides, fists clenched, with water dripping from my hair and clothes. I was also shivering uncontrollably. "Andraste's tits, I'm so cold!"
My silence apparently offended Gamlen in some way, shape, or form, though, and he expressed his displeasure. "Maker, you are such a bitch!" he snarled. "You walk in here like you own the place, thinking that because you're working on some big shot job that goes into the Deep Roads that you mean something." Gamlen staggered towards me a bit more and by now both Mother and Garrett had heard the ruckus and were now appearing to watch what was happening. "You think that because you have skill that you actually are somebody in this Maker forsaken place. But listen here, sweetie, you are nothing! You will always be nothing!" He was closer now and the smell of his cheap alcohol made me want to throw up on him just to get this place to smell better. "You may have been some high rolling officer that called the shots in the army, but that life is over! Everyone from Ostagar is dead and your rank means nothing now! So, go ahead and strut about like you've got pride or, or...honor! But I know the truth!" Gamlen is now standing directly in front of me. His beady little eyes only inches away from my own. "And the truth is," he hisses at me, "is that you are just a stuck up cunt who couldn't even make a living by selling your body because no one would want you!"
Uncle Gamlen's lying on the ground now, squirming in pain with his eyes wide open in surprise. Now he has a broken jaw and nose caused by my fists as I teach him a lesson. His nose is gushing blood as are his busted up lips. He's trying to cover his face and block the punches I throw at him but to no avail. I'm hammering him with blows for what he said. Ribs break, skin will turn an assortment of colors as welts and bruises appear in the shape of my knuckles. Gamlen may be drunk, but he will never forget this night. This is the night where he learned one of the most important rules. 'Don't fuck with Luna.' He has also found out that he has every right to fear me.
I grab my uncle's shirt and drag his sorry, bloody, beaten ass along the ground before I open the door and throw him out into the rain. The door slams in his face and I quickly lock it, before placing my back against the door and slowly sliding down it. Gamlen runs at the door and slams against it with all his weight, trying to break it open, but the door doesn't budge and a second attempt doesn't follow.
His words hurt me. Even though I know they're not true, they still hurt. They will always hurt. It's the way things go. The way things are. It's life, and this is what happens sometimes. There's good and there's bad and you just take it in stride and only let your reaction to the good show.
Footsteps approach me, and someone kneels down in front of me. I don't look up. Not even when that someone linked their hands in mine or as I pulled away when the contact and movement hurt my wrist. I do breathe in sharply from the pain, though.
"Are you all right?" Mother asked. She has obviously seen my little brace I had made on the Wounded Coast, or she heard my gasp when she caused me to move my wrist.
"Sorry I didn't get here sooner," I said, forcing a smile as I ignored her question. "I forgot it was my turn to throw his drunken ass out."
"You should be," Garrett teased in a voice that made me want to kick him in the face. "We had to listen to his bitching for hours now."
"Don't worry," I sighed, "it won't happen again."
"Luna, you're shivering." Worry was all you could hear in Mother's voice. I still was having difficulty getting used to that. It's a little weird having her actually showing that she cares for me, and it'll probably take a while before I am used to it.
"The rain's cold and the wind's cold," I replied. "You kind of find both of them outside."
"And you were out in it the entire time? Do you want a blanket or something to keep warm with?"
"Aside from the few minutes spent in a cave? Yes, I was in the rain the entire time." I slowly rose to my feet, and my muscles screamed in the process as they stretched and found out that they had cramped up. "And no thank you. I'm not going to stay here."
"What? Why?" Garrett had disappeared and it was now only Mother and I in the room. "Of course he didn't stick around. He may fool Mother, but I still know he doesn't care about me. I don't think he ever will."
"I have something I still have to do." It was a lie and not a very good one at that. Mother saw right through it, but she didn't push the subject anymore.
"Just...be careful, okay?"
I gave her a nod and she slowly turned away and went back into her room, leaving me to my thoughts. A dangerous thing to do sometimes. "Oh boy, what a night this has been! The best part is, is that it still hasn't ended! Yippee!"
Moving silently, I entered the room that Garrett and I shared and retrieved my cloak, hissing as I was forced to move, and use, my broken wrist once more.
"With the amount of times you hiss and spit," came an insulting voice that was, of course, Garrett's, "you'd think that you were a cat."
"And for being the son of a powerful mage, you'd think you'd have some balls and skill, but you're just a pathetic pussy."
I donned my cloak and pulled down the hood. "This should offer me some protection from the wind and rain... for a little while at least."
"Maker, you're such a bitch," Garrett breathed as I passed him, saying the exact same thing that Gamlen had. "Well, would you look at that. Gamlen and Garrett both start with the letter "g" and both of them are complete assholes. Coincidence? I think not!"
I was going over to my wooden chest to put Olivia's letter, which I had successfully managed to keep dry, inside it so that I wouldn't lose it. As I opened the chest something reflected a bit of the dim light in the room and caught my eye. I placed the letter inside and gingerly picked up what had reflected the light. It was a small, heart-shaped locket with a silver chain. "I don't remember owning any jewelry other than the necklace Zach gave me. Where did this come from? It certainly is beautiful, though."
Not wanting Garrett, the greedy bastard, to see the locket and demand that I sell it, I quickly stashed it away in the same spot I had put the letter. That way I would remember that it was there even if I didn't know where it had come from. Once both of them were safe and in a place where they would be remembered, and seen, I locked the lid and made my exit from the room and then from the hovel.
Gamlen had disappeared, which was a good thing, but I knew that we would never get lucky enough from him to be murdered somewhere in the back alleys by a local gang of thugs. Hawkes aren't known for their luck, just their skill. Well, Father and I were known for our skills at least. Garrett's just known for being a complete dickhead.
"Ah, rain. How much I've missed you," I whispered aloud before walking towards the safest part of Kirkwall, Hightown.
Though I almost died in the process, Aveline, Fenris, Isabela, and I did manage to kill all of the bandits that were plaguing those streets. "And all I got for that was just a story. No scar thanks to Anders, and I believe he worked hard at making sure of that."
The rain was relentless. It continued to pour down and its sound was deafening at times. The wind was also continuing to be a nuisance as it constantly blew my cloak off of my shoulder, exposing me to the cold. I was having difficulty keeping the cloak on me in the first place with one hand of mine out of commission. But now, with the wind and rain, it was damn near impossible.
Trying to use the houses, mansions, of Hightown as a shield worked a little bit. Every now and then one of them would be in the perfect spot to block the wind for a short time, and then some buildings just made things so much worse. How this is possible is beyond me, but it did happen, and it sucked.
The worst part about this little trip through Hightown was that I didn't know where I was heading. I was just walking through the streets disconnected, clearing my head with the rain, and diving for cover behind buildings to avoid the wind. No conscience thought went into my location or my destination. I was just merely moving on instinct while zoning out and sifting through things that had happened and needed to be done in an attempt to form a plan for tomorrow.
"Anders said he wanted to come with me when I give Ser Thrask his daughter's letter...which means we should go there sometime in the afternoon, when it's busiest. The templars won't be able to study everyone as closely as they'd like to when there are a lot of people. Also, that locket. I know it's not mine...maybe Anders will know. It's a long shot that he does, but it's still a chance."
A steady, rhythmic, tune was being played as the rain continued to 'plunk' against every exposed surface as I walked on. I had yet to pay attention to where I was going. Only when I realized, by instinct, that there were no more buildings in the immediate area, did I look up to see where I was.
I was in a courtyard with the golden statue of Andraste looming above the Chanter's board. "The Chantry? I didn't think I had walked this far. But I was in need of a safe haven and a place to rest. I guess the Chantry fits those classifications quite well."
Without a second thought on the matter, I slowly began to make my way across the courtyard and toward the stairs that lead to the overly elaborate, Chantry doors.
A loud hiss came to my ears just as an arrow stuck itself firmly in the ground before my feet.
Several figures started to emerge from the shadows. "Thinking leads to distraction, which causes you to fail at being aware and, ultimately, surviving. Need to remember that."
"So, a beautiful woman decides to take an evening stroll in the rain to go and repent her sins at the Chantry," a large, hooded figure in front of me says. His voice is like gravel and it sounds like it's being choked on in his throat. He's carrying a bow and I assume he's the one that fired the arrow at me. There were also two men walking behind him as he descended the stairs closest to me. "That's almost poetic."
Turning my head to either side, I see that there are four others that have now appeared from behind me and slowly start to form a large, half circle around me. They made sure to leave more than enough room in the front of me so that the three walking down the stairs could complete the circle.
"What makes you think I'm beautiful? For all you know, I could be ugly," I called out to him.
The man with the bow chuckles, and soon the others join in with their own laughter, now that their leader has given his permission for them to do so.
"Well, you're certainly not a noble. They would have asked what I wanted by now." He's at the bottom of the stairs and is completing the circle with the two others behind him. "As for your question, only people with extremely good looks or extremely deep pockets carry themselves as proudly as you do." The man with the bow breaks away from the circle and takes a couple of steps towards me. "I'm gonna wager that you've got both," he added rather creepily.
I folded my arms and took up a casual stance. "In case the accent didn't tip you off, I am a Fereldan refugee. That means I've got no money." I may not be able to see the bastard, but I can feel the stupid smile that crosses his face at my smart assed remark. It made my skin crawl. "Perhaps there is a reason why I have a hood to hide my face, too."
"What? Do you have an ugly facial scar or something?" his smile turned into a perverted grin, making my blood itch. "I'm sure you'll find someone to look past that, Sweetheart."
"Don't call me that!" it's dark and cold and raining, but I can still tell and feel his eyes wondering where they shouldn't. Fake laughter pours from my lips, "Hell, even my mother tells me that only the Maker could love me. My own mother said that, and she hasn't been proven wrong yet."
"You think I care?" He takes more steps towards me, stopping when he's directly in front of me. "You tits, ass, and unarmed; and tonight, I'm feeling a little lonely.
"I'm not unar—" terror runs through my body as I realized he's right. "I am unarmed! When did I remove my swords! I don't even remember setting them down!"
I'm thankful that my hood obscures my face and that it's dark so that there is no chance the man with the bow can see my eyes wide open with fear and shock. Images, memories, flash before me. I remember the click of the door's lock as I turn it, and the crash that follows after when Gamlen throws all his weight against the door. Then, I remember what has doomed me at the moment. Before I slid down the door, I had unbuckled the leather straps securing my swords to my back and set them on a table besides the door. I was worried about damaging my swords and hurting myself on them, but when I had left, I completely forgot about them. "Maker curse you, you fucking piece of shit, stupid ass, son of a bitch! How the fuck do you forget your own damn swords! And what's with all these fucking men that only want to rape people, huh! Don't they have something better to do!"
"So how about you and I go into this alley here and have a little fun?" The man with the bow is still too damn close to me and still has that perverted grin on his face. My rage at him and myself has me coming up with many scenarios in which I smash all his teeth in, rip off his ears, and stuff them down his throat. This is after I break all his arms and legs, and before I leave him face down in a puddle.
"Go fuck yourself!" I spat at him.
"Oh, don't be like that..."
I somehow hear movement behind me even with the rain and spin around just in time to duck out of the way of an incoming fist. Before the fist's owner has a chance to pull his arm back, I grab his wrist and use all my strength as I smash my free arm into his elbow, shattering it and leaving his arm at a very awkward angle. The man howls in pain as his brain realizes that his elbow is shattered, and that it does hurt. My own wrist screams in pain, but I ignore it as I shatter the same guys kneecap with a swift, strong kick.
He went down hard, crying and screaming as he fell; and as soon as he was down I moved around him and brought my foot down on his neck in to finish him off.
Another one came at me as soon as his buddy was dead, the blade of his dagger flashing just a hairsbreadth away from my face.
"No!" the man with the bow cried out, "Don't kill her!"
His warning, or order, was not needed though. I had already snatched the dagger from my attacker's hand and buried it in his stomach. Then, I began to rip it up through his body. Flesh and cloth parted, letting his blood and organs escape as the dagger cut through him before it finally encountered muscle and bone that held it fast.
Shoving him to the ground, I spun around to see what was coming, from where, and with what. "Two down, five to go." Something smashing into my face made me lose my focus momentarily and caused me to recoil and cry out in alarm. I could taste the metallic, warm, sticky blood in my mouth.
Quickly regaining my balance and composure I looked up just in time to catch the second blow to my face in my hands. The guy that had actually managed to hit me was a big guy. He had very broad shoulders and was extremely tall. He was practically qunari size with a beat up greatsword on his back. "That could come in handy."
Throwing his arm to the side to put him slightly off balance, I quickly rushed forward to seize the sword off his back and turn it against him. I wasn't able to get anywhere near his back, though, because someone grabbed me from behind me and held me tightly. I struggled in vain against the strong arms that held me before another blow landed on my face, causing my nose to bleed this time. Qunari man struck once more and this time it was in the stomach, causing me to lose my breath and had me gasping for air before his next blow came.
"Make her pay for killing two of us!" the leader called. He was staying out of the fray and sending his lackeys after me. "Coward! Can't even face an unarmed woman!"
Qunari man came at me to land another blow that clearly had more force behind it because of his boss' orders, but he got too close and my leg shot out in a good, strong, solid, kick below the belt. He doubled over and before he recovered I smashed the back of my head into the face of the person holding me. The arms wrapped around me loosened, and I managed to tear myself free.
Without wasting any time, I moved to Qunari Man and grabbed the hilt of his greatsword with both of my hands. Pain spread from my wrist like wildfire up and down my arm, and it was becoming difficult to ignore. I buckled down, though, and did my best as I jerked the sword off of his back and brought it crashing down on the guy who had held me.
His chest split open and blood shot out of the wound. With an agonized cry, he fell to the ground, his hands desperately trying to keep the blood in. It wasn't going to work. He had a minute, maybe two, before he bled to death.
Qunari Man had yet to recover from the kick to the groin I had dealt him, so, with a couple of hindered steps from the greatsword's weight, I lunged at him with his sword, hoping that it would meet him. And it did, quite beautifully, too. The sword had gone right through the middle of his chest.
Letting go of the sword, whose weight my wrist could no longer bear, I looked for the man with the bow and the two others who had been standing next to him. My heart was racing and I was convinced that everyone could probably hear it over the noisy rain. I shook my head from side to side to clear the water from my eyes, thinking that, that was the reason I couldn't see my other attackers, but it wasn't. Very little is visible at night and even less is visible when it's raining. I could not see my enemies or hear them, and a small flicker of panic ran through me before I let it be extinguished by the rain.
"If I can't see them...maybe it works both ways. Perhaps this dark, rainy night will keep me concealed, too...One can only hope."
I froze and slowly turned my head in a continued search for the three remaining men I had yet to kill. I noticed a couple of pillars that supported a mansion's balcony by the Chantry and moved towards them, walking toe to heel so as not to make any noise. Puddles were everywhere across the courtyard, and one misplaced step could cause a loud, out of place splash that might alert others to your position. This, like the dark and rainy night, worked both ways as well. It could be your saving grace, or it could cause your demise under certain circumstances.
The balcony was just a few feet in front of me. "If I can make it there I might be able to slip into the Chantry unnoticed." Rain and wind silhouetted anything that was exposed. Crates had a square halo around them. Barrels and wagons that were left out also had a silhouette around them that was in the exact shape they were, making it easy to figure out what was lying around. As I was scanning my surroundings, however, there was a silhouetted shape I saw but was unable to determine what would make it.
"She's over here!" someone cried and my blood ran cold. The silhouette moved towards me, and I gave up on stealth. I tried my best to get the hell out of there.
I bolted towards the archway that lead to the Viscount's Keep where maybe I could find a guard or someone to help me. If I had any hope in my desperate little escape attempt though, it would have been thrown on the ground, kicked a few times, and then stomped on until it was nothing but a bloody pulp of despair. The reason being that, as soon as I got close to getting away, someone stepped out in front of me with their sword drawn. "I can't keep running anymore."
It was cold and dark and wet, and I was in pain and running out of stamina. There was no way from me to win this fight without getting seriously hurt or dying. There was also no way I was going to let myself get caught, however, so before the guy who got in my way had a chance to grab me, I swiftly altered my course and ran towards the stairs that lead up to the more expansive mansions of Hightown. With two creepy ass guys following me, the pressure was on.
"Fucking guards have to close the gate, blocking off the stairs that lead down to Lowtown from here! It's not like it keeps the thugs out or anything!"
The expensive mansions in Hightown are close together and offer few to no places to hide, but while working with Meran I discovered a hidden alleyway that leads right to Darktown. If I could make it there, then I would have a chance at getting away. Getting to there without them following me through the alley would be the tricky part. "By Andraste's unshaven twat, these smoke bombs better work in the rain, or I'm screwed!"
Remember how I described what hope I might have had would have been treated like when the guy, who is now chasing me along with the other one, stepped out in my way? Take that description, make it ten times more gorey, and you'll have an accurate version of what would have happened to hope when the guy with the bow stepped out on top of the stairs I was now racing up.
I had reached the middle of the stairs and had an arrow trained on me by the guy with the bow. Looking over my shoulder, I could see that the other two who had been on my heels were now at the base of the stairs, weapons drawn, and waiting. I had fallen into a trap, and the humor of it made me laugh rather morbidly. "I let these three distract me with their grunts while they laid the actual trap. What a fool I am! Well, there goes my plan of not getting caught. Fuck...I wonder if I get to keep my life if I surrender."
Tension on the bow that was aiming an arrow at me was relaxed as the guy holding it started laughing. "You were this close to actually escaping, you know? Still, you fell into my simple trap all the same." The arrow was returned to its quiver and he slowly started walking down towards me.
"I just killed four of your men easily and without a weapon of my own. Do you really think coming closer to me is a good idea?" I casually said in my badass tone. "Let's hope I can bluff my way out of here."
He's two steps above me and I can see his sick and disgusting smile clearly. "You won't be any more trouble, I'm sure."
The kick to my stomach comes out of nowhere, and there's no way for me to catch my balance. Pain sears through me as I crash down the stairs. Bruises will come, bones become bruised, wounds become worse, and blood trickles in my mouth. My head smacks against the stone floor of the courtyard once my fall is complete, and a memory flashes before my eyes.
"Well that didn't work out like you wanted!"
The darkspawn have surrounded us. A few of the men clad in armor with a red rose on them lie on the ground near us. My plan didn't work out. We still have others nearby, but the odds that they get here in time are slim.
The darkspawn have surrounded us, but they haven't attacked. Curiosity flows through me before I push it back and focus on the task at hand.
"What's plan B, Luna?" a soothing voice asks. It's Zach's and he's standing next to me, fallowing me into battle and helping me get through it without any care for his well being.
I hesitate. Plan B is not one I wanted to use. Beating the darkspawn is part of it, but so is extreme loss of life is as well. My regiment trusts me and there is no way I will let them die just to kill these darkspawn.
"Stop stalling!" Kaim called out. "We need to do something before they decide to attack! What's the plan!"
"Come on, Luna," Zach urges quietly, "what's the plan?"
I didn't try to get up. I slowed my breathing the best I could. My heart rate decreased, my muscles relaxed, and I was allowed to remember a little more.
"Yeah, Luna, what is the plan, hmm? Don't you always have a plan?
"Luna's Rose has never been defeated. Today will be no different," I replied confidently.
"As you say, Commander," Kaim replied smart assedly, "but that's not a plan."
The darkspawn were slowly starting to move in, taunting us. There were fifteen of us standing inside the darkspawn's "circle." Seven others were on the ground with arrows sticking out of them. . We were greatly outnumbered, but there was still hope for all of us getting out of here alive.
"Thank you for volunteering, Kaim, you get to get the others."
"Uh...how?" Kaim asked. "We're kind of surrounded."
"Prepare yourselves!" I yelled loud enough for all my soldiers to hear. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a smoke bomb and hurled it at the darkspawn directly in front of us. The smoke took effect immediately. A few of the darkspawn were coughing from the smoke, others were blinded, and all of them were roaring with anger.
"Kaim! Go now, and flank with them from the east!"
He was gone as soon as I finished yelling out the orders, disappearing into the smoke towards the thirty men and women I had waiting a ways away.
"I think you killed her, Garth," someone said.
"Nah, she's not dead. Even if she was, I owe her that much for killing my four best men," Garth replied. I was able to recognize the voice. Garth was the guy with the bow, the one that had kicked me down the stairs and killed me.
"You're an idiot, Braz," said someone different. The voice was way deeper than I thought was possible for a human voice, and it sounded like he was the guy who had spotted me by the balcony.
"You try tellin' if someone's dead or not just by lookin'," Braz responded, and only now did I realize that he actually did sound like a complete moron. "It's not easy, Vaner."
"If it was easy, you still wouldn't be able to do it," was Vaner's sharp retort.
"That's enough you two!" Garth interrupted. "Drag her over into the middle of the courtyard. Maybe that'll wake her up.
"Poor sod doesn't know I'm not actually unconscious."
The darkspawn had surged forward at us as soon as the smoke bomb exploded. I had a few seconds to tell Kaim what I needed him to do before the darkspawn reached us. Whatever they had been waiting on was soon forgotten.
"Form up!" I cried, and my soldiers did so without hesitation.
We formed a circle with six archers in the middle protected by a ring of melee fighters. On my signal, the archers released their arrows and took out the Hurlock and Genlock bolters while the others, including myself, made sure none of the darkspawn got to them.
"Clear!" roared Kaidan, my best archer, her fire red hair waving angrily in the wind.
"Disperse!" was my answer, and we did so.
All of the archers had a melee partner to make sure they didn't killed while reaching for their arrows. The others fight on their own, but don't get too separated. To become isolated is to be killed. Everyone here knows that and their limits. That way they take down enemies that their abilities can handle. No one get's reckless in my regiment. I made sure of that.
Surveying the battle, I moved towards a pair of Hurlock Alphas that were closing in on Kaidan and her partner, Zach.
I ran towards them, moving with the flow of battle which kept me from being spotted by others. Occasionally I would land a few blows on an unsuspecting Hurlock or Genlock that would get in my way or were close enough for me to hit without having to stop. The sounds of darkspawn screaming as they died filled my ears as the battle progressed around me.
Zach had managed to disarm one of the Hurlock Alphas with his shield when I was just a few feet away. He ran his sword through its head as I appeared behind the other Hurlock Alpha. It had its axe raised high in a killing blow, but I slashed at his back with my sword, cutting through metal and flesh. The thing howled in pain, dropping its axe before all its movement was cut off by my other sword piercing its heart.
"Let the dead rise!" I called out.
In quick, uniform movement the seven soldiers that had been dead, killed by arrows, leapt up of onto their feet and made short work of the darkspawn that were nearby. The arrows that had been "stuck in them" had actually been held in place by their arms or armor.
They had been playing dead, and when they joined the battle we started making headway against the darkspawn's ranks.
I was playing dead, or unconscious actually, which is a very hard thing to do when your feet, and sometimes knees, are being dragged across the hard, cold, stone, wet ground of a courtyard. Not to mention the two idiots, Braz and Vaner, were dragging me with the intention of waking me up and were continuously jerking and dropping me to do so. Also, one of the idiots, Braz I think, was dragging me by my broken wrist. The pain was unbearable, but I disconnected myself from it all. "Well, plan A and B didn't work...time to go to C."
"Is this the middle of the courtyard, Garth?" Braz asked.
"It's close enough. The Fereldan princess here should be thankful that the rain has cleared away most of the blood from the men she's killed."
I crashed onto the ground once more and was barely able to keep myself from catching myself on instinct.
"Is she really a Fereldan princess, Garth?" Braz asks, proving that he's the idiot Vaner accused him of being.
"No, you idiot, it's an insult!" Garth was harsh with his response; impatience was bleeding from his words.
"But how is calling her a princess an insult?" Braz continued.
"Because," Vaner snapped, "she's just a lowly refugee. A nobody. Someone who doesn't have anyone that cares about her. So, to call her something that actually means she is something is an insult."
"I don't think I understand...but it must be lonely, not having anyone to talk to," Braz added quietly and sadly. It made me almost feel bad about killing him in the next few minutes.
"Shut up, will you! Vaner, flip her over!" Garth exclaimed.
Rough hands grip my arms and flip me facing up. The rain pelts down on my face, and I'm not sure I can keep myself from blinking. "Plan A: fight my way out and kill them all. Plan B: try escaping. Plan C: try plan A again...yeah...nothing can go wrong that, right?"
"Not looking so fearsome now, bitch!" Garth snarled. He grips my chin hard in one of his hands and pulls me up by it till I'm practically sitting.
My eyes snap open and a startled expression started to cross his face before I let out a cry of anger and pain as I smashed my fist against his jaw. He was knocked back and I quickly rose to my feet. One swift kick and Garth was flat on his ass, and I was ready to get even with him for kicking me down the stairs. But I never got my chance to exact my revenge. Dumbass one and Dumbass two grabbed me by the arms and kept me from getting anywhere.
"That's it!" Garth roared, spitting the blood out of his mouth. "You are going to die!" He reaches to his side, dropping his bow in his fury and grabs a dagger from its sheath that was hanging on his belt.
I shake my hair and the rain out of my face and stare up at him, defiant and proud of what I accomplished. "Time to go out with style I guess. This'll make one hell of a story for Varric, that's for sure."
Garth rushes forward at me, but stops suddenly, pain etched in his features as he goes tense. Looking over his shoulder, he drops his dagger and grabs at something near his shoulder. With a grunt of pain, he gets a hold on whatever it is that stopped him so. He moves his hand in front of him and sees that he is holding an arrow covered in blood; his blood.
"Wha—" Another arrow flies. I hear and see it this time, and it buries itself in his head and he drops like a heavy sack.
Braz's grip on me loosens with surprise that is aimed towards his boss dying without any indication at who did it. Varner, on the other hand, takes his chance to pull me in front of him, placing his sword to my throat. He's using me as a human shield.
"Come out where I can see you and set your weapons on the ground where I can see them, or the woman dies," Varner threatens.
For a moment there's silence before a heavily accented voice replied, "If I do this, do you promise not to harm her?"
"Maybe," Vaner said coldly, he wasn't promising anything till he knew he could get out of here alive with no one chasing him.
"Very well," the accented stranger said, "I will come out."
I struggled against Vaner a little to see how good or poor his hold on me was and found to my disdain that he was rather good at holding women as hostages and human shields. "Just take the shot!" I called out to the stranger, trying a new tactic. "I'll be fine!" I threw myself forward to make a point, to myself and Vaner, and he tightened his grip on me. A small pinprick of pain came from my neck as his sword broke the skin.
"Come on Vaner," Braz piped up, "there's no need for that. Garth's dead. We don't need to do this anymore."
"Shut the fuck up Braz!" Vaner yelled. "I always knew you were a softie, but this is pushing it!"
By now the stranger with the accent had appeared in front of us. I was just able to make him out, but even then I wouldn't be able to describe him. Hell, I couldn't even describe Garth; and he was in my face at one point.
The rain started to lesson until only a few drops would fall here and there, giving me new strength and determination to continue this ridiculously long fight.
"That's close enough!" Vaner shouted. "Drop your weapons now!"
"Let's turn the tables." I stopped supporting myself with my legs, dropping suddenly. Vaner felt the increase in weight and his response was to move his sword forward and try to catch me, or at least keep me as a shield. This is what I wanted him to do because before I crashed to my knees I regained my footing and head butted him in the chin. Pain shot through my head, but I didn't have time to pay attention. I quickly spun out of the way and turned back to face Vaner, who was still recoiling from the blow to his chin. He was never able to fully recover, though, since the stranger let loose another arrow that cut off his life.
Another arrow was in place and the string was drawn back and taut with tension as the stranger trained the arrow on Braz. Relaxing my stance, I moved over to Braz, holding a hand up to tell the stranger not to kill him yet.
"Garth was stupid for picking you," Braz joked nervously.
"Yes, and now he's dead. As are all his men, except for you," I responded bluntly.
"Something tells me that it isn't going to stay that way," he said quietly, looking down at his feet.
"Well, that depends. What's your story?" I asked and Braz looked confused for a moment, so I clarified. "Why are you here, doing this?"
"'My wife and kids' is the story Garth told me to tell...but that's not true. I'm doin' this type of stuff because of my sister and her daughter," Braz explained. "They got it pretty bad and it was decent pay workin' with Garth. I'm not proud of it, but I don't need pride. I need to make sure my sister and niece have food every day."
"Hmmmm...everyone needs somebody, and as you can see, I am not alone. I have friends," his story rang of a similar tune I hear all the time from the refugees. "One of which might be able to help you. Go to the Viscount's Keep tomorrow morning and ask for Guard Captain Aveline. Tell her your story and what happened tonight. Then tell her that a Hawke sent you and is calling in a favor."
"Uh...thank you, miss," he said with mixed feelings. "And sorry for the whole trying to kill you thing. It was just orders."
I gave a curt nod in understanding before Braz turned around and ran out of the courtyard, lest I change my mind and decide to kill him after all, but I had given him an opportunity to repent his actions. I wasn't going to snatch it away from him just as it was in reach. Not even he deserved that. "He'd make a fine brute. Big and stupid. That's all you need when it comes to big guys who can do the heavy lifting."
"Do you really think it was smart to let him go?" the stranger asked as he came to stand next to me.
I didn't turn to look at him and just continued to stare out across the courtyard. Something about his voice seemed oddly familiar. "Smart, no. Kind, yes," I answered quietly. My voice no longer needed to compete with the rain, meaning that I had no need to speak as loud. "Aveline is a friend and the Captain of the Guard. She'll either punish him for trying to kill me tonight, or she'll see that he'd make a fine brute for her guards and hire him. Either way, he doesn't die needlessly."
"Like the ones lying dead in the courtyard?" his tone and accent were harsher than before. "Northern Free Marches, that's where his accent is from."
"They attacked me," I said quietly, "and they weren't planning on killing me first."
"I...I am sorry," he breathed quietly, realizing how harsh he sounded before he let out a bitter laugh, "Here I am getting mad at you defending yourself, and I haven't even asked if you are alright." The stranger slung his bow across his back and moved in front of me. I could just make out the gleam of white armor. "Are you alright?"
"Ask my friends and they'll tell you not to trust my answers to those kinds of questions," I chuckled, finally heading over to the Chantry, now that I was able to continue my walk.
"Oh, why is that?" he matched my pace and walked with me.
"Because I have a tendency to lie about them so that people don't worry or fuss over me. I hate to be trouble."
"That makes sense." The stranger and I had just reached the stairs leading up to the Chantry and began to ascend them. "Tell me, why did you decide to come to the Chantry at such a late and dangerous time?"
"I'm not really sure, actually," I hummed. "I was trying to run away from a storm, and my feet just led me here. It wasn't part of my plan, or any plan for that matter. I was just pulled here I guess."
"May I ask what kind of storm you were running from?"
"You certainly do ask a lot of questions for someone I haven't met," I teased.
"Well, I can remedy that." The stranger stopped and turned towards me and bowed slightly. "I am Sebastian Veal, prince of Starkhaven, though the Grand Cleric would probably prefer me to introduce myself as a brother of the Chantry."
"So we have met, my bad," I laughed nervously. "I just got my ass saved by a bloody prince! One that I killed mercenaries for, no less!"
"Pardon?" the confusion in his voice was obviously shown on his face, even if I couldn't see it.
"Luna Hawke," I said calmly. "I'm the one that..." "killed mercenaries for you. Yeah, that sounds like a wonderful explanation."
"Avenged my family," he filled in without making it sound like a big deal. "I must say that I didn't expect to see you again."
"Nor I you," I admitted, "but I have a funny way of bumping into people at the most interesting times. Like now, for instance."
"So you don't make a habit of running into the people you've only met once before?" he joked. "That's a good thing."
"You're telling me," I laughed. "Thank you by the way, for saving my skin. I greatly appreciate it."
Sebastian's laughter echoed off of the stone walls of the Chantry. "I'm glad I was able to help."
I stopped in front of the big, golden Chantry doors, the intricate detail on them depicting Andraste and the blazing sun that was a symbol for the Maker. It was quite amazing and a bit daunting if you thought about it for too long. Sebastian moved toward the doors and opened one, looking back to see if I was still following. The smell of incense wafted around me along with warm air, and I involuntarily shivered before giving Sebastian a nod and walking into the Chantry.
The door shut behind us with a muffled boom and both Sebastian and I were chased by the shadows that had been sent dancing by the candles as they flickered because of the wind. The candles just barely illuminated this place of prayer, but it was plenty to see by compared to outside. I let out a loud, relaxed sigh. The warmth, the smells, and the quiet put me at ease. Peacefulness was the only thing you could feel in here, and with it came a sense of security. Of safety, and I could finally let my guard down.
"You dodged my earlier question quite well," Sebastian said lightly.
"Indeed I did. Ask me again in a few minutes, and I will answer it."
"Why in a few minutes?" he asked.
"I'm almost positive that you are going to do your best to make sure all my wounds have been tended to," I chuckled.
Sebastian laughed at what I said. No doubt it was true. He emanated this kind and innocent nature that gave away his next move. A kind heart means that he cares, which also means that he doesn't let someone that's hurt slip away. He was a bit like Anders in that sense, save for the fact that Anders was more of a rebel than innocent.
"We've only know each other for two days, yet we have each other pegged," he said, his laughter fading down into a small chuckle.
"I'm just a good guesser," I joked.
"Very well," he said, a soft smile settling on his face, "follow me and we'll take care of all the wounds you don't have."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Reinforcements are coming from the south!" someone cried.
My soldiers and I had almost dispatched all the darkspawn that had surrounded us, their bodies scattered across the ground and their blood seeping into the earth, poisoning it with their taint. Killing them was a messy business and even though it lessened their ranks, it also destroyed the land. There is no escaping their taint for some things.
"Brutes, push them back!" I hollered "Archers, rain death from above! Do not let them move into this clearing."
"Perhaps this is what the darkspawn were waiting for," Kaidan said as she let an arrow fly over the clearing towards the darkspawn reinforcements. She had been nowhere near me a moment ago, yet she was standing right beside me now. She was sneaky like that.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," I responded before throwing myself at a few more darkspawn and cutting them to ribbons.
The reinforcements were starting to push us back. There were too many for us to handle, and with that playing dead trick I had up my sleeve already played, I had nothing new. We just had our weapons and our skill. It was going to have to be enough.
Just then, a Fereldan horn rang out across the field and the roar of more soldiers glided down the hills and filled everyone and everything's ears with its ferocity. Kaim had certainly taken his sweet time to get my reinforcements, but he didn't pick a too shabby time at bringing them to the fight. Maker knew we could use them now.
"Let's not allow our dear friends to take all the glory!" I cried.
We all had a new strength that had been brought with Kaim. Our fight had slowly been turning in the darkspawn's favor, but now that our numbers were a bit more than before, we now had something the darkspawn did not. Hope. And it was going to carry us to victory.
The men and women under my command, command of a Hawke who had proudly codenamed their regiment Luna's Rose, surged forward to face their threat. Steel clanged, blood spilled, cries of pain rang out, and death came. As the last darkspawn fell, blood gurgling in its throat, we stood victorious, looking out across the clearing, taking in its change in both sight and mood.
"Well done, Commander," Zach said as he came to stand beside me, slipping his hand into mine.
I turned on my toes and planted a passionate kiss on his lips, "How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my name?" I breathed against his skin.
"As many times as it takes for me to get tired of hearing your beautiful voice," he said softly, returning my kiss.
"When will that be?"
"Never." I could feel his smile as our lips were pressed together.
"What a romantic!" I heard Kaidan tease.
My only response was to wrap my arm around Zach's neck and pull him closer to me. "I love it when a plan works out," I thought as my weariness melted along with my heart.
Sebastian knew quite a bit about treating wounds, I'll give him that. He actually reset my wrist (the bone shifted out of place from either hitting Gamlen or the scuffle with Garth and his men) and gave me some herbs that turned the screaming pain I was feeling into nothing more than a dull throb. The small cuts and scrapes I received had some sort of salve rubbed across them, it smelled of elfroot and spindleweed. At first it stung, but that also faded. He was nowhere near as good as Anders was at healing others though. With or without magic.
"I was unaware that brothers of the Chantry were so educated in herbology or treating wounds," I said once Sebastian had finished.
"They're not," he replied with a smile. "It was either take herbology...or learn more about 'how to resist the temptation of women.'"
"No brainer then?" I asked, returning his smile.
"Definitely."
I hummed with amusement. Sebastian and I were in a room that was in a section of the Chantry not meant for the ordinary citizens that came here to pray, repent, confess, or whatever type of business they might have here. It was just a few doors away from the rooms that some of the initiates shared and on the opposite side of the hallway where the brothers and sisters had their rooms.
"So, not to bring up a bad topic," Sebastian started, and I already knew what he was going to ask, "but what storm are you trying to find shelter from?"
"One of jealousy," I sighed.
"And who are you jealous of?" he continued, not realizing what I really meant.
"You seem to have mistaken me," I said calmly. "It is not I who feels jealousy, but it is because of me that two of my friends do."
"Are you sure they're just friends then?" Sebastian had the tone of voice and way of making you spill your darkest secrets just by the kind and raw emotion you could hear in his voice, I realized this a little too late. "Surely friends would not fight over you."
"They would if they are on opposite sides of...a conflict."
"What sort of conflict might that be?"
"One that haunts both of them," my answers were getting smaller and vaguer. I have a feeling that Sebastian sensed this or figured it out and desisted with the questions.
"I hope that their jealousy brings less trouble to you then," he said, his serious and questioning tone gone, replaced by one of a light and good nature. "It almost got you killed already."
"No," I corrected him, my lighthearted tone reasserting itself, "my stupidity was what almost got me killed. I thought I could walk the streets of Hightown, unarmed, and get away with it."
"Well, that means you returning to your home is out of the question," he said with a small smile. I was about to interrupt and argue, but he held up a hand to silence me and continued. "So you may have my room for tonight and I will take one of the spare rooms. That way no one will bother you."
"I guess...that I have no real option then," I chuckled, "seeing as you'll find some clever way of keeping me here."
"Right you are," he said, teasingly. "If you'll follow me..." That smile of his grew just a little as he held out his arm for me to take.
Sebastian led me further down the hallway to his room. It was small, but it had enough room for a writing desk, a dresser, a bed, and a small book shelf. Once inside Sebastian lent me a shirt and pair of trousers he didn't wear that often and allowed me plenty of time and privacy to change out of my wet clothes, which he hung up to dry somewhere. Then he bade me goodnight and slipped off into the hallway to one of the spare rooms he mentioned.
The silence was welcoming, and as I slipped under the blankets on Sebastian's bed, I was only allowed a couple of seconds to be grateful that I was in an actual comfy bed that had a real mattress, covers and pillows before my weariness forced my eyes shut. Sleep was very welcome after tonight's ordeal.