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Hope you enjoy this chapter my friends! Love you all!
Bioware owns, I swear!
Chapter 52 - Lost
Jinx pulled on the reins and her horse slowed to a stop. The gates of Redcliffe Castle had never looked so ominous before. Alistair ran to help her down but before he could get to her, she had already dismounted and was glowering at the guard at the gates who immediately knelt before her and the king.
"Your Majesties," he mumbled.
"Where is he?" Jinx growled. Alistair did nothing, but the thunderous look on his face said it all.
"The Arl is not here, Your Majesty."
"Not here? Open the gates immediately!" Alistair barked.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard hurried off to open the gates.
The iron gates swung open slowly and Alistair quickly ordered his guards to search the castle, while Jinx and he sped up the stairs into the main hall. Their footsteps sounded hollow on the stone floor. The whole castle was eerily silent.
"Please, my love. Sit and try to rest. The guards -"
"You grew up here. Are there any secret rooms?" Jinx interrupted him, greatly agitated.
She would not rest until Alexander was found. He felt pretty much the same himself so he led the way and they searched the dozen or so hidden rooms of the castle. Soon, they came upon the dungeons. As they were moving through the cells, a groan came from one on the far end of the dirt corridor they were walking along. They exchanged looks and quickened their pace.
A figure was lying on the floor. It was covered in dirt, blood and grime. The figure groaned again.
"Please," the voice croaked. "Some water."
Jinx stepped closer to the man and her breathing hitched as she recognized who he was.
"Thomas! Thomas Howe! What the fuck are you doing here?"
...
Alex was tired. He wanted to go home. He told Uncle Eamon but Uncle Eamon didn't smile at him anymore.
"Where is Auntie Jacklin?" He demanded. Eamon turned to the boy and forced himself to smile.
"She's in the garden, she'll be here soon."
The boy fell silent. He glanced at his uncle curiously. He didn't like the sour expression on his face.
"Where is papa? Papa not here," he said.
"He's coming soon. Ah! There's Auntie Jacklin."
The blonde dimpled at Alexander and took his hand. "Come, Alexander. Let us go play. Leave your uncle alone."
The boy laughed and took her outstretched hand and both of them left the room.
Eamon served himself a large brandy. A smile played on the corners of his lips. He would give anything to have seen the look on the Cousland bitch's face when they stormed Redcliffe castle only to find nothing. His smile deepened. They didn't know of this secluded property of his, so close to Orlais. It would buy him the time he needed.
"My husband." Her voice cut through his thoughts and he cursed the woman silently.
"What do you want now, Isolde?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"He is asking for his father too much. It's been two months now. Don't you think we should -"
"I did not ask for your opinion in this, did I?" He turned around to face her, the cruelty on his face making her cringe slightly.
But the look did not silence her as it had in the past.
"Eamon, I beg you. Return the boy now before it is too late. You cannot think you will succeed in this. This plan is insane."
He struck her with such force that blood spurted from her mouth and she fell to the floor. "Insane, am I? Insane? When you helped me plan this from the beginning? You little hypocrite!"
She moaned once and did not get up but she still spoke.
"The timing is all wrong. You are doing it wrong. There is a lot of fighting going on. We cannot cross the border," she whispered.
"I don't care about the timing. I don't care about the initial plan. I don't care about anything. All I care about is hurting that Cousland bitch," he spat out.
"They will find us. They will find us, and kill us for what we have done."
Eamon broke into hysterical laughter.
"Nobody knows this property exists. They will never find us," he cackled, a mad glint in his eye.
Isolde stood up and sighed.
"I need to tend to my wounds before the boy returns with Jacqueline," she said quietly.
"Yes. You'd better leave before I give you a black eye too," he chuckled.
Isolde stiffened and walked out of the room while Eamon's chuckled turned into laughter. She closed the door behind her but she could still hear his laughter. It followed her, all the way to their room. Silently, she closed the door and washed and tended to her broken lip while she thought about what had just happened. Her mind replayed the scene over and over again and she shook her head, trying to recompose herself. It did not work.
She could still hear him laughing.
...
Alistair looked up from his desk as the door to his study opened. There were dark shadows under his amber eyes, which now lacked the warmth and spark they had in the past. Teagan's frown deepened as he walked inside the room, closing the door behind him.
"I've brought a trunk we found in another one of his estates in Dragon's Peak, Alistair. It may reveal something yet."
Alistair nodded mechanically and his eyes went back to the papers littering his desk. Three months of agony had gone by, since the day his son had been taken. During that time he had willed himself to be strong simply because he had to be strong.
He had started to look through each and every paper he had found in Redcliffe as well as from Eamon's Denerim estate to see if he could find a clue to his whereabouts. There had to be something somewhere that would lead him to his son's whereabouts and he was going to find it. He could not bring himself to give up. He would not give up. Jinx needed him strong because she was broken. And he had to fix her. He had to fix everything.
They had come upon a slightly demented Thomas Howe in the dungeons at Redcliffe Castle who had babbled on and on about his father being held prisoner. A healer had been brought in to work on him and they had brought him to the Palace. He was quieter now but had trouble speaking coherently. Eamon had tortured him terribly and broken the man.
Alistair sighed and his hands went up to his face.
"Thank you Teagan," his muffled voice came through his hands and Teagan shook his head sadly. "Please sit."
Just as Teagan was sitting down there was a knock on the study door and a servant came in when bidden to do so. She curtseyed before she spoke.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but the Queen - she will not eat again," she murmured quietly.
Alistair was already on his feet. He excused himself to Teagan hurriedly as he exited the room fast. Teagan's eyes fell on all the papers on the desk and his sad gaze scanned them. He picked one up and read through it.
Maybe, just maybe, he would find what Alistair's tired eyes couldn't.
...
"My love," Alistair crooned as he gathered Jinx into his arms. She was wearing a nightgown and had a stony expression on her face. Her eyes had a lost, haunted look in them.
"I cannot eat anything. I keep seeing him. Oh, Alistair, why? Why would he do this?"
He tried to comfort her, a lump in his throat, fighting back the tears of frustration and sadness.
"You have to eat. You are with child. Think about our baby, please."
Jinx sobbed harder in his arms. "I know, I know I have to be strong. I'm sorry, love. I just can't stand it anymore. I want him in my arms again."
He smoothed the damp hair from her face and cupped her chin, while he wiped her tears away with his other hand very gently. Then he kissed her softly. She trembled in his arms and then sighed, breaking away from the kiss.
"I'll have some soup, I promise," she said quietly and he gave her a smile, then bent down to kiss her again.
The soup was on a tray on the only table in the room. Alistair stood and brought it to Jinx. He set the tray on her lap and started to feed her. She protested vehemently but he shook his head.
"Let me take care of you my love, please."
...
Teagan's eyes widened. There it was, something he did not think he would ever find. A journal. One of his brother's journals that was in the trunk he had just recovered. He opened it and started to read avidly. The minutes ticked by as his eyes darted across the page. He stopped only once to shake his head, for he was getting a glimpse of his brother's true nature which was clearly upsetting him. Nevertheless, he read on.
Suddenly he saw something that made him smile. He stood up and hurriedly walked to the royal chambers.
Jinx had just finished eating and Alistair was putting the tray back on the table when Teagan entered unannounced.
"Teagan, what -"
"I found it, Alistair! He has an estate in the mountains near the border with Orlais. I never knew it existed! He must be there!"
Jinx made a movement to get out of bed but Alistair held her down.
"You, my love, are not going anywhere. You are carrying our baby. I won't let you come with us. It will get ugly and I don't want -"
"The hell I'm not!" Jinx fumed. "I'm going and that's final! Try to stop me, Alistair Theirin!"
"My love, please, I'm trying to look after you, I -"
"If you leave me here, I'll worry and get worse. I won't eat or sleep till you return, do you think you can live with that?" She snarled.
His face fell and she felt bad about the way she had snapped at him immediately.
"Alistair, you can tell Marcus to come with us. That way I'll have a healer with me to take care of me and the baby along the way."
"My love," he said in an agonized voice. "You're pregnant. I worry what this trip could do to you. I only want you and the baby safe - you know this."
"It's not like I'm heavy or anything. I'm starting my second trimester. I'll be careful, Alistair, please!"
"If I may make a suggestion?" Teagan interrupted. "Eamon did not take any guards with him. He obviously thinks he won't be found. How about just sending Marcus and Zevran with some guards to apprehend him and bring back Alexander? That way we can all wait for them to come here and you don't have to travel, Jinx. I could even go with them to make sure Alex is brought back safe and sound."
Alistair turned to his wife, waiting expectantly for her answer. He saw it then: the look that said that she had to give in. It was a miserable look to be sure, but he held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I'll not leave you, my love. I'll be right here waiting with you."
...
Eamon was watching the horizon from the roof of the estate, his gaze scanning the hills and meadows below when he saw the horses approaching. It was most fortunate that he did this twice a day, for as a warrior he had learned that he had to be prepared for anything.
For a brief moment he stared, disbelief in his eyes. Impossible! How had they found him? He cursed under his breath and ran all the way down to the main hall, not stopping for anything nor anyone. He did not dare waste time to see where Alexander was. He only hoped that he could make it out before they reached the estate.
Running down a flight of stairs he reached the vast basement, which was covered in dust and cobwebs. He lit a torch and ran around, his eyes frantically searching the floor for his lifesaver. When he finally saw the metal ring on the floor, a sigh of relief escaped his lips.
It took him a while to get the trapdoor open, but when he finally did, he stared into the pitch black darkness and hesitated. He did not know if the tunnel was safe, he only knew that it led to Orlais. But it was the only chance for freedom he had. Without thinking twice, he ran down the wooden ladder that was attached to the dark opening, closing the trapdoor behind him.
Once he reached the bottom he held up the torch firmly. The light pierced through the darkness and revealed the beginning of the tunnel. He grinned as he thought of what he was getting away with. Once in Orlais, he could do so much with what he had. His hand absent-mindedly went to his heavy coin purse, filled to the brim with gold sovereigns. He knew that he had at least one hundred and that would be enough.
The path was full of rocks and debris, the walls uneven and the roof seemed sturdy enough. He quickened his pace and hurried on, not looking back.
After some time, he noticed that there were roots poking through the ceiling, which told him that he had indeed left his estate behind and the wilderness was above him - he chuckled at this. His ears did not pick up sounds of any pursuit and he felt his spirit soar. Freedom and victory were both so close, he could taste them.
The hours dragged along and he arrived to a fork in the tunnel. He frowned for he did not expect this. He knew there was only one tunnel. Where did this second tunnel come from? He had bought this estate a long time ago, amused to learn of the tunnel then. As far as he knew there was only one long tunnel to Orlais, therefore, the fact that he was now staring at a second one clearly perplexed him.
He shook his head and took the tunnel on the right, hoping he was going the right way. He figured if he continued at this pace, he would reach Orlais in a day at the most, as the estate was right next to the border.
He wondered what would become of Isolde. Would they show her mercy? She would probably beg for mercy. The Cousland bitch would probably enjoy having her executed. His lips curled into a cruel smile. But she did not have him yet.
He would get her in the end.
...
"He's gone!" Marcus exclaimed as he met Zevran in the main hall, who had Alexander with him. The small boy was holding Zevran's hand tightly. "Took off who knows where. What do we do -"
"Messere, there's a trapdoor in the basement. Should we continue the search?" One of the guards interrupted.
He nodded at the guard. "See if he is there and come back and let us know what you find."
Teagan arrived practically dragging a sobbing Isolde with him. Jacqueline was quietly walking behind her, the arrogance gone from both her demeanor and face. Marcus almost felt sorry for her.
"Please, Teagan, I beg you. I had no choice. Your brother is a madman." Isolde's lower lip quivered as she spoke the words. It was swollen and bruised as well. He could tell that Eamon had been hitting her and pitied her.
"We'll see what the King and Queen decide to do with you and your sister, Isolde," he said quietly, a sad look in his gentle blue eyes.
"I would clap them both in irons," Zevran smirked. "But of course, that's just me."
"Ser, the trapdoor leads to a tunnel. My men and I walked some distance away from it, but it stretches a long way. What do we do?"
"We need to get the prince back to Denerim fast for now. Isolde, where does the tunnel lead to?" Teagan turned to the sobbing woman.
"Orlais. It leads to Orlais, Teagan."
"We can take care of it, right Zevran?" Marcus smiled at his lover. "We just need provisions and some money."
"Ah, who can resist going on such an adventure with you, mi amore?" Zevran purred and Marcus burst out laughing. Teagan smiled and handed Marcus some money.
"Oooh, that's generous. Thanks!" Marcus chuckled.
Teagan turned to three guards and instructed them to accompany Marcus and Zevran. Then he turned to the rest of the guards and asked them to bind Isolde and Jacqueline to return to Denerim.
"Farewell then, and may the Maker guide your steps," he murmured to his friends.
"I want Papa. I want Papa and Mamma," Alexander pouted.
"Yes, Alexander. Come, we're going home," Teagan whispered to the small boy, smiling affectionately at him.
"We'll get him, Teagan. Tell Jinx we'll get him." Marcus promised.
...
Eamon stumbled over some rocks and cursed. He dropped the torch and it rolled from his grasp into some spider webs. He could see the tunnel opened into some kind of chamber. Cobwebs hung from the roof and covered the walls. He picked the torch up and heard them coming before he saw them.
The hissing and clicking sounds of the giant spiders, all falling from the ceiling. There were at least half a dozen of them, and they were huge. He wet his lips nervously and cursed inwardly. Why hadn't he stopped to get a weapon?
The spiders inched forward, the light from his torch fell on their many eyes and they glinted. He held the torch in front of him like a weapon. He knew that he could not keep them away forever and panicked. Was this to be the end? Eaten by giant spiders in a Maker-forsaken tunnel somewhere?
He whirled around, jabbing the torch at them and they hissed, still inching their way forward. The six spiders had formed a circle around him and it was getting tighter.
Suddenly one of the spiders reared up brought its front legs upon him with such force, it knocked him to the ground and the torch fell right out of his hand but did not go out. He could see the fangs descending on him and he burst out laughing. He was going to die! After all he had gone through, this was the end!
At that moment, the whole chamber filled with a piercing white light that blinded him and caught the spiders, incinerating them completely. He heard their shrieks as they died and then nothing. Sitting up he peered through the gloom and made out a figure walking slowing towards him. He stretched his hand and his fingers reached the torch. Holding it up, the light revealed a pair of yellow eyes that were staring at him amusingly.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"
The mouth that had spoken these words opened to reveal sharp teeth and a mirthful laugh filled the room. He sat rooted to the spot unable to tear his gaze from the mouth that was growing till it was the only thing he could see hovering over him. The eyes turned orange and still the figure grew. He fought to stand but was paralyzed. Fear had gripped him and held him fast and his eyes widened.
And then there was darkness, and nothing more.
...
