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Two chapters this time! :D
Bioware owns everything...etc., etc., etc...
Chapter 52 - On The Run
When they arrived at the cave, they carefully made their way inside, the blue glow of the glowworms making it possible for them to see in the half-light.
"Anders!" Faith whispered. She heard a sigh of relief and slow steps approaching them. Anders, Rilka and Merrill came into view. Faith rushed to Anders, while Fenris hurried over to where Rilka was standing.
"Thank the Maker it's you," Anders murmured, brushing his lips over the crown of her hair briefly.
"I brought you your pack," Faith whispered, handing it over to Anders. "Here's yours too, Merrill. We must leave as soon as Isabela arrives. I gave her some coin and told her to secure passage aboard a ship bound for Llomerryn."
Fenris had his arms wrapped tightly around Rilka, and he nuzzled the side of her neck. "I have your pack," he whispered hoarsely. "I took the liberty of packing all your things."
Isabela suddenly materialized before them and they all nearly jumped out of their skins. "I got us a way out, Hawke," she said, ignoring their surprise. "But the ship leaves port early tomorrow morning. It was expensive and hard to get. It's First Day tomorrow and there are lots of people aboard. There's to be a party onboard to celebrate, I was told."
"A party? For what?" Merrill asked, clueless as ever.
"A new year, Daisy. People celebrate to welcome a good year," Varric replied. "Don't you remember the parties in Kirkwall?"
"And what if the year is bad? How can they know it's good?"
Varric shook his head, grinning, while Anders rolled his eyes.
"We'll talk about this later, Kitten," Isabela smiled at Merrill. She then turned back to Faith. "The point here is that we'll have to spend the night in the cave. It's really cold, so we'll have to build a fire. I should imagine since we're far from the entrance nobody will see the fire from outside."
"Let's head further in," Faith suggested. "I don't want to take any chances. Orana, stay close."
They walked for a while, and the cave tunnel took a turn to the right, opening up into a large cavern.
"Uh, oh," Faith said as she eyed the spider webs along the walls.
"Great. I've missed shooting spells from my staff," Anders grimaced.
Faith whisked out her daggers; the rest already had their weapons drawn. They advanced slowly in the half-light. Suddenly a deafening hiss was heard and not one but two monstrous spiders dropped from the ceiling. One of them rammed into Faith, and she staggered; Anders caught her just in time and fired a winter's grasp spell directly at it. The other one made a beeline for Merrill and Orana who had been bringing up the rear. Orana took a step back against the cave wall, her eyes wide open with terror.
Rilka unleashed a firestorm spell that started to burn the creatures, while Varric delivered bolt after bolt into the creatures. Fenris gave his war cry, rallying his companions as he cleaved his way through. Merrill conjured up a tempest spell, followed by an earthquake spell in rapid succession. The spiders wobbled about, trying to get a proper footing.
At that moment the two templars who had been looking for the fugitive mages ran into the cavern.
"Halt, apostates!" The one in charge yelled, paying no heed to the spiders. His companion, however, noticed them.
"Dolleney! The spiders!" He screamed, drawing his sword.
Dolleney paid no heed and rushed forward, bashing his shield into Rilka, who fell to the ground in a heap.
Fenris gave a cry of rage and charged, rushing angrily into the templar, while Faith performed a vendetta movement at the huge spider in front of her. Anders cast a spell of paralysis on the two templars, and turned around quickly to aid his wife.
Isabela had managed to cut two of the second spider's hairy legs, and the spider spit venom at her, missing her now that it was injured. She laughed and managed to slice at its abdomen, then quickly backstabbed it. The spider screamed and curled up and died. Isabela jumped to where Faith was fighting the first one, lending her aid just in time, for Faith was tiring.
The spider screamed and scurried to the right, where the two templars stood paralyzed. It opened its maw, all fangs, and bit through the templar in charge, nearly severing his head in the process, then quickly spun around and bit the second templar. It was lashing out furiously at anything near it. Anders cast a lightning bolt at it and it jerked around, the smell of burnt ichor reaching the group. Faith got underneath it, ignoring Anders's screaming at her to stop and sliced its underbelly open, then quickly jumped out of the way as the spider collapsed beside her.
She was covered in grime, blood and ichor, but she was safe. Anders gave a sigh of relief then ran to her side. "What the fuck was that? I want no heroic acts in the future from you, do you hear me?" He scolded.
Faith smiled up at him fluttering her eyelashes and Anders groaned, shaking his head.
"Anders, come here. Check on Rilka, please!" Fenris shouted. Anders trotted over to an unconscious Rilka, lying on the ground, her head pillowed in Fenris's lap.
After checking Rilka for any damage, Anders cast a healing spell over her. She soon opened her eyes, smiling up at Fenris, who smiled back, relief flooding his face.
The group turned to look at the templars. "I guess it serves them right," Anders spat out. "I felt the smite coming and had to stop it. I'm glad the spiders got him."
"I'll admit it was stupid to attack us while under attack from these creatures," Fenris said, his hand caressing Rilka's face tenderly.
"Fools. Did they think they would finish the spiders alone, without any magic to aid them?" Faith said, her lips curled up in a sneer.
"I brought some wine! Who wants a drink?" Isabela called out gaily.
...
They boarded the ship, having cleaned up and eaten some berries and drunk water from the underground spring in the cave. Even though nobody paid attention to them, they only gave a sigh of relief when they were safely on their way to Llomerryn.
The ship was much larger than Isabela's ship. They stood around on the deck, until it was time for them to eat.
The whole journey was uneventful and boring. The only good part was the celebratory party held aboard the ship for First Day.
"Dragon Age 38, now. How time flies," Faith murmured, a wistful look on her face. "I wonder if this year will be any better."
They were all gathered together in Faith and Anders's room, which was spacious and comfortable.
"With a war possibly starting all over Thedas? What would give you that idea, Hawke?" Varric chuckled.
"At least we'll be able to do some good by helping the mages!" Anders exclaimed with fervor. "I can't wait to fight in the front lines!"
Isabela rolled her eyes.
"Blondie, you should really tell your friend this isn't the time nor the place. What if someone walks past the door and hears you?" Varric scowled.
Anders scowled back at Varric, a hint of blue in his eyes.
"I can't go on like this!" Faith exclaimed. "If you cannot understand what we are doing, then maybe it's better if we go our separate ways!"
Anders's jaw dropped. "What?" He asked dumbly, the blue vanishing at once.
"I'm trying to keep you and everyone here alive, so we can fight when the right moment comes. But you seem to be intent on getting caught! I can't take it any longer! I'm done with this!" Faith cried.
"Love, I -"
But Faith interrupted him, tears of anger now streaming down her cheeks. "I know you would rather throw yourself at the templars right now and risk death or tranquility! You won't listen to reason!"
"Sweetheart, please -" Anders took a step, holding out his arms.
"Don't you dare sweet-talk me! I'm tired of it all!" And she rushed out of the room, leaving everyone standing there.
"And the stick-in-the-mud wins again," Isabela said quietly.
...
People were hugging each other on deck, celebrating the start of the new year. Faith wandered all the way to the rail, keeping away from the noisy, cheerful people, and gazed into the dark waters below. It was cold, she had not even grabbed something warm to wear. She shivered, and stiffened when she heard the footsteps behind her.
"Love," Anders said quietly. "I'm sorry. I -"
"Please don't lie to me. I know what you...what Justice wants," she said through clenched teeth.
"As far as I know, you want to help the mages too," he replied in a soft voice.
She sighed as she crossed her arms, not daring to turn and look at him.
"You have to believe me. I'm trying to control him. Sometimes it's just too hard. I'd hoped after the whole incident at Kirkwall that he would take his time to show up again. I'm sorry I was wrong." His arms encircled her, and she tried to shy away, but he held her fast.
"I'll try harder at keeping him at bay. I don't want us to separate, ever. I wouldn't be able to go on living without you," Anders added in a whisper.
Faith shut her eyes painfully. She had to keep it together, at least until they reached Llomerryn.
"I can't take it any longer, Anders. I don't want us to fight right now. It's important for us to remain hidden, and discover what is happening before we strike. It's called strategic planning. Justice was once a warrior. Surely he can understand that?"
"I don't know if he remembers anymore, love," Anders said sadly. "He isn't the Justice I once knew..."
"Well, he's going to have to, because I sure won't stand to see him interfere. I won't allow it," she replied, clenching her fists.
He said nothing to this, but caressed her, his heart heavy.
"I love you," Faith said. "But I don't want to see you lose yourself. I won't accept that. Ever."
She turned around, finally meeting his eyes. "And if it means dying in the process, so be it. But I won't surrender to Justice, nor let him control you."
He took her in his arms, his lips descending on hers and she kissed him back. When they came up for air, he smiled sadly and pulled her closer, embracing her tenderly. Justice stirred inside him at that very moment.
"I'll die without her for sure."
Would you kill yourself?
"Yes."
...
It took them nearly a month to reach Llomerryn. Rilka was ill the entire journey. When Faith realized that she was in the hold more often than not, she went looking for her, dragging Anders along.
"Cousin," she said in a soft voice. Rilka was lying on the bed with the covers over her, shivering slightly. Anders immediately focused on the furnace in the room and lit the coals. Warmth soon spread out and Rilka gave him a grateful smile. Fenris was sitting on a chair next to the bed, brooding.
"I didn't want to worry you, Cousin. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think it's a cold of some kind."
"What are you feeling? Describe all your aches and pain to me," Anders said kindly as he sat on the bed next to her.
"I can't keep any food down. Most of the food is disgusting to me. I think that's why I've caught this cold," she started to cough up some phlegm and turned her head, leaning over the bed while her hands clutched the mattress. Fenris quickly brought up a tin bowl and she vomited into it.
Anders frowned, he got up and quickly brought some white cloth bandages that were lying on the only table in the room. "Do you have any water?" He asked Rilka.
"There's water in a barrel there."
"A kettle or pot of any kind? I'll have to boil it first, to make sure it's safe for drinking," Anders said.
He got to work quietly, while Faith dampened one of the bandages and washed Rilka's face gently. When Anders was done with the water, he cooled it off a little using an ice spell, then handed Rilka a glass, asking her to take a sip or two.
"I'm going to perform a scan on you now, Rilka. Lie still, please," he smiled kindly as Rilka nodded, automatically grabbing Fenris's hand.
For the briefest of moments, Anders and Fenris's eyes met. Fenris had a desperate look on his face. He was clearly silently begging Anders to cure Rilka. Anders smiled kindly at Fenris, barely giving a nod, but Fenris understood and relaxed a bit more.
"Let's see what's wrong here," Anders said in a soft voice as he held his palms down and focused.
A blue-white glow emanated from his hands as he stretched them over Rilka's body, pausing over her stomach. His brow furrowed for a moment, then he smiled. His hands went over her body again, just to make sure.
"Will you be able to cure her?" Fenris asked anxiously.
"Um, no," Anders shook his head.
"What do you mean 'no'? I thought you were a healer!" Fenris's voice got louder.
"I can't cure a person if there is nothing to cure, Fenris," Anders replied, his smile turning into a grin.
"But even I can see she is ill! I don't understand," Fenris replied, his eyes full of concern.
"She isn't ill. It's a reaction. Her body is reacting. It's perfectly normal," Anders chuckled.
"For the Maker's sake, spit it out already!" Faith said impatiently.
"Rilka, you're with child," Anders said cheerfully. "Congratulations!"
Fenris looked at Rilka, his eyes full of awe, his mouth slightly parted. Rilka was looking at him pretty much the same.
"Oh! Fenris! Did you hear that? We're going to have a child!" She giggled and held her arms up.
And Fenris's smile and radiant happiness that shone on his face said it all as he wordlessly gathered her into his arms and held her close.
...
A.N. Yep...decided to make Fenris a father! I thought it would make him happy, poor guy. He never is happy in the game...time to change that! (Well, not a complete a total change, but there you have it...)
