Chapter 17
The last of the march to Highever was covered in silence after the events of last night. I wasn't sure what to say at the very least. I hadn't thought that much about my mother's death in years, how easily it could have been anyone else, how that could have been me one day. We finally made it to Highever, and I ignored how similar it felt to Denerim. The only difference being was that the alienage, while separated, was just as well kept as the rest of the city.
Despite my curiosity, I didn't want to venture any further. Nelaros was raised there, and I wasn't sure if word had been sent of his death yet. I don't think I could handle any tearful responses or go into detail about what had taken place in Denerim with any family members. We had spoken only twice, he was nicer to me than I expected, he had come to rescue me despite not knowing who I was. I looked down at the blood stained band on my hand.
Is that his blood, the shems that killed him, or the bandits from last night? I thought to myself, before quickly focusing back on walking.
I ignored the looks from the humans as we walked through the city to the Cousland estate, I heard whispers about me having weapons and armor, the blood still staining my skin from last night's fight and so on. We had also made it to the castle when we were stopped by three guards.
"Ser, my apologies for stopping you but it is illegal for elves to have weapons on them. We must request that either you hold your blades yourself or turn them over." One of them said, and I glared at the man who so easily assumed I was a servant.
"My apologies, but my companion will not be turning over her weapons." Duncan said to them. "Surely it isn't illegal for my fellow Grey Warden to carry arms, is it?" He asked, a small and pleasant smile on his face as he placed a hand on my shoulder lightly.
"Can she really be a Grey Warden?" One of the men whispered quietly, my ears twitching slightly as they picked up the sound.
"I've heard of them taking everyone in the past but I thought it was all humans now, not to mention a woman." Another whispered back to him while the man in front studied us.
He looked Duncan up and down, noticing the griffon crest on his armor. "Is there any way that you can prove this woman is a Grey Warden?" He asked him, as if I wasn't standing right there but I did get an idea.
"Here." I said simply, drawing the longsword from by belt and holding the hilt out to him. "It was the Grey Warden's crest on it, and it's my blade." I smirked as he stared at the pommel that had the griffin symbol engraved into it. It's not like anyone can get their hands on a blade crafted specifically for Grey Wardens, and I'm more credible with Duncan being right here.
I could see their eyes widen as they realized what the blade meant. "Please forgive our rudeness serah, but you do understand how this seems." The guard apologized, while simultaneously making an excuse for his behavior.
"Yes, because if I was an elf unallowed to carry weapons I would wear them only on my waist while in full armor." I answered, sarcasm dripping from my voice as I said it, putting the blade back onto my belt.
"We won't make the mistake again, have a good day Grey Wardens." The guard said, before all three saluted and left us.
"That will happen often until we get you proper armor, be sure to keep that blade on you." Duncan said to me, and I noticed the small smile on his face.
"I will, especially if it'll keep the guards off of me." I answered as we continued our way to the castle, with thankfully no more guards stopping us.