Okay! so this was supposed to be the last Orzammar chapter, but I realized there was a few things I needed to do and by time I got to all but one, there wasn't enough time to do the crowning justice. I do have a goal to get this arc done by the end of the year, so keep your fingers crossed!
It took longer than expected to get home; there were already two(1) weeks needed to get from the anvil to Orzammar, but there had also been a little incident which slowed them. During one of the few times Terra had been awake, they tried to feed him and give him water, but he had stubbornly refused. His darkness had taken over again and Aqua was physically unable to hold up the barrier. In a moment he managed to get away into one of the smaller taigs. It took another solid week for them to find and catch him as well as rest up for their long journey home.
They returned to Jessie's house to find her showing Joshua how to knit. His brows were furrowed in concentration as he awkwardly tried to get his fingers around the yarn. There was evidence of a snack tray beside him with everything eaten except for the carrots; they had likely been there for a while. She spoke to him gently as his fingers wound the yarn around the needle. When she heard a commotion passing her driveway Jessie looked up, a relieved smile upon her face. News of the Warden being back in Orzammar had reached her ears before the party arrived, so Jessie had known to be out on the porch in order to greet them and give them an update on everything they had missed.
"Hey! So you're not dead after all!" She waved them over. "What happened?"
Aerith raced out from their cottage upon hearing Jessie's yells and looked at Terra. "So the dreams were right. Come on, we need to get him inside."
Kimahri, Stitch and Ava headed into the house. Aqua tried to follow close behind, but Jessie stopped her.
"What happened to you guys? You're down there a month and now you come back with someone unconscious? Palace guards found out you've been here and have been coming to check for you every day."
"It's a really long story, but we've got what we need to crown a new king. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to see what's going on with Terra."
"I know he's attractive, but you might want to keep your priorities straight." Jessie put her hands on her hips. "Aerith and Zack defeated everyone in the proving tournament, but with no Paragon supporting them, it was called forfeit. There's been a huge riot and the whole kingdom is under house arrest."
Aqua inwardly groaned. What more did she have to do to appease these dwarves? It felt like she had gone to death and back to get the approval of the Paragon Hiro. The least they could do was try to work together to end the blight while she was gone. And why did Jessie have to say something about the way Terra looked? She was right, of course, but hearing her say so made Aqua a little uneasy. As Jessie headed back onto the porch in the seat next to Joshua, Aqua tried to swat the idea from her mind. Terra was attractive, that was certain, but there was more to him than that. He was kind, determined and kept his focus. He had been with her every step of the way and she trusted him with her life- well, except when his darkness had taken over. But in every other situation, she trusted him completely.
"I still haven't decided on a king yet." She sighed.
"The palace goons should be here soon. Hope you have your decision by then."
Aqua nodded. Jessie gave a little wave before going back to Joshua's knitting lesson. When the Warden arrived at the living room, she saw Aerith had put Terra on the couch, as that was the only place he could rest without his feet hanging over the bottom. His breathing was hitched and shallow. Aqua placed her hand on Terra's forehead and realized he had a fever. Worry instantly engulfed her as she stared at the senior Warden. He couldn't go now, not after they had brought him home. Without even having to look, Aqua's hand held his, the new crown from Hiro gleaming in the distance on the table.
"He's stabilizing, but his body is showing signs of a lyrium addiction. The concentrations of it here are large, and his body has taken a lot of it in the last two months." Aerith reported.
"Is he going to be okay?" Aqua looked at the senior mage.
"The sooner we can get out of here the better. Being so close to all this raw lyrium and the home of the darkspawn can't be good for him. The only problem is that it's still winter up there."
Aqua turned to look at Terra. He was sleeping, but there was a pained look on his face. That was how he had spent a lot of his time during the last two weeks- sleeping or knocked out, minus the time he had managed to get away from them. She herself knew how close they had been to the raw lyrium, especially during the last month. As a mage, she had been able to utilize it's raw energy giving her power. But...Terra wasn't able to cope with that kind of exposure.
As she continued to look him over, her eyes drifted over to his lips. They were parted slightly, quick breaths going in and out. Those were the same lips she had kissed in order to get a scrape of lyrium off it. She had exhausted the veins beside her, and she wasn't sure if she could have made it had she tried running to another to tap into its power. Had he remembered it? He had said his memory beforehand hadn't been very good. Perhaps she got lucky. As long as no one else spoke of it, she never had to tell him.
Of course, it wasn't like she hadn't enjoyed it, in some way. Just thinking about how his arms had readily wound around hers brought a pink tint to her cheeks. No, she couldn't think like that. Aerith had a penchant for sniffing out secrets. Aqua couldn't let herself get sidetracked. What mattered now was the succession to the throne. She needed to figure out who to give the crown to. As she stood up to leave, she felt a calloused hand softly gripping hers. Aqua looked down to see Terra opening his eyes. From her peripheral vision, aqua could tell Aerith had dropped the dish she was holding and froze in place..
"It looks like he's- Aerith?" Aqua tried to leave the couch's side, but Terra's hand gripped her again.
"She's okay. I think she went back into the fade." He coughed. "As long as she doesn't attack anything, we'll be fine."
"Terra? You're awake." Aqua sat on the couch next to him.
"Barely. Are we back at Jessie's?"
She nodded. "We need to pick a king and get you out of here."
"I'll be fine, Aerith is one of the best healers in Ferelden. That's what Eraqus said."
Those last words stung. Eraqus. The darkness that had taken over Terra had mentioned their respected friend hadn't been so noble. He had killed a whole village for simply possessing the keyblades. The whole thing didn't sit right. Maybe there was a misunderstanding. Maybe it was an intimidation tactic. Unfortunately with the man having passed, there was no way to know for sure. He had been a Grey Warden for a long time. Who knew when the incident occurred.
"Speaking of Eraqus." Terra brought her out of her thoughts. "I..thought about him a lot. Had some nightmares that I wished I could talk to him about. Made me wish I could have given him a proper burial and gotten something to remember him by."
"I'm sure if we happen to pass Ostagar on our way to the Brecilian forest, we could stop by." Aqua suggested.
"Would it be too painful?"
"I...don't know."
"Me neither. But if we can cure Arl tidus, I wouldn't mind stopping by. It'll be easier if you're at my side."
"Let's find that cure first. Then we can decide where to go." She squeezed his hand.
Zack entered the room intending to greet his friends. Aerith was the first person he looked to, a flash of concern flashed over his face. He raced over to her and placed his hands on Aerith's shoulders, shaking her slightly. Her eyes were fogged over and her mouth slightly agape. Zack was calling her name to no response. Aqua tried once again to stand up, hoping to do something- anything but Terra continued to hold her hand, shaking his head. For now it was best to watch.
"When did she go into the fade?" Zack looked back at them.
"Just a few minutes ago. She hasn't moved since." Aqua reported.
"Not again." Zack sighed. He had placed his forehead on hers and whispered softly. "Ma Vehnan." (2)
All of a sudden, Aerith looked up at Zack and buried her head in his shoulder. He carefully wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back, continuing to speak elvish to her. The whole scene was a little surreal, and Aqua could feel herself drawn in with a blush. It was probably wrong to have been here to witness. They were sharing a private moment. Part of her had wondered what it was that Zack had said to get her out and how it had worked so well. Another part of her seemed to understand that it was something only Zack could do; they had gotten so much time to spend together alone since they had left and had likely gotten much closer. She once again felt a squeeze at her hand and looked back to see Terra offering a soft gaze. Instead of looking away, she forced herself to meet his eyes.
"I'm so sorry. I...must have slipped into the fade there. But there was a spirit who needed to send me a message."
"What did they want this time?"
"He said that Ava should mention our poison studies to some of her Red Jenny friends, along with a couple of other things." Aerith held her head. "Anyway, sorry about that."
A small blush crossed her cheek as she nodded to Zack, realizing that he was still holding onto her. He reluctantly let go, beginning to do a couple of squats and asking them how their trip was. Aqua replied in a few words, sparing most of the details as it was a long story. There would be time another day to tell it. In a perfect world, she'd never have to say anything about it or what she had been asked to do by the side of the anvil. Breaking apart from Zack, Aerith picked up a small bowl of broth and handed it to Aqua, as if asking her to feed it to Terra.
"Is everything alright, Aerith?" Aqua placed a hand on hers.
"Of course it is. We even won our tournament, although the win had to be thrown out." She hummed. "That poor dwarf looked sick with their whitened eyes and fever." (3)
Phil had sent out someone with blight sickness? He must have been getting desperate now, or else was hopeful that the disease would be passed to her friends. With Zack and Aerith fighting for Hans, he would have had to look for the best option. Someone with the blight sickness couldn't have been his only option. Of course, Aqua wouldn't have put it past Hans to have had a hand in what fighters Phil had available, either. That was the part of all of this that disturbed her. Hans could make a good king, but then he went and made decisive decisions that caused others to be hurt and die. On the other hand, Phil didn't even want the job; what would be his motivation for ruling well?
"Still thinking about who to give the crown to?" Aerith guessed.
"I don't know. You're pretty wise, what do you think?"
Aerith sat for a couple of minutes before answering. Aqua continued to feed Terra his broth, and they could hear water moving in the pipes indicating that someone was in the shower now. The silence in the room was getting heavier to bear as she waited for Aerith's response.
"Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and let things play out the way they do."
"But that's the thing. My gut isn't pointing to one or the other. Hans wants to have the throne and Phil just doesn't want Hans to get it."
Suddenly there was a loud banging at the door. Jessie had warned them the palace guards would be coming and here they were. Aqua hadn't even had the chance to take a shower or get a proper meal yet. Terra and Aerith whispered good luck to her as she went to answer the door.
"Lady Aqua, you and your fellow Warden are expected to come to an emergency meeting of the Deshyrs. Please arrive in one hour in your best armor." The guard pressed a note from Hans into her hand.
A second later he was marching back toward the royal palace. Aqua could see the neighbors across the way pressing their noses to their doors so as to get a better view of what had just happened. She awkwardly waved at them, and just as awkwardly, they stepped away from the doors so as not to be seen. She mirrored them, now having far more important business to attend to than to start up any rumors as they were sure to do. Just how long had they all been stuck in their houses, anyway?
"What did they want?
"Terra and I need to be at the assembly hall in an hour. That's when we decide on the new king. We also got a note from Prince Hans." Aqua read it quickly to herself. "It's a petition. He is asking for us to choose him on behalf of the dwarven people."
"Wow, I hadn't expected that." Zack piped up
"Me neither. But...that's a good thing, right? It means he cares?" Aerith asked.
"Or he just wants you to think that." Zack answered.
"Either way, it leaves an impression." Aqua placed the note down.
The writing in the letter had seemed sincere, and the handwriting was absolutely exquisite- as if it had been written by someone who had learned to write for show. From what she had learned in the shaperate, not many outside of the noble class could write with such a smooth eloquence. It reminded her that she had a letter to Ventus to catch up on as well as something specific she needed to ask Mickey concerning the keyblade. They were all going to have to go on her to-do list.
"Aerith, I'm going with Aqua then." Terra slowly heaved his way up.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea. Your darkness could be triggered by a lyrium withdrawal. I refuse to put you or Aqua in danger."
"But Aerith, I was requested. Besides, Wardens are supposed to be there for the people, whether they want us there or not. And as we're in the middle of a blight, I'd say it's leaning to the former."
"Actually, considering how court topside has been chasing you off the map, I'm not sure that's quite right. Besides, Wardens aren't always as nice as you are." Her voice grew smaller.
Campbell's words about the Templars began to ring through Aqua's head when she heard the tone of voice Aerith used. Every Warden she had met seemed alright, but then every other Warden she knew was dead. Killed off at Ostagar. She knew they had been banished for a while and then pardoned by King Hermod, but she had never heard why they were pardoned or even banished in the first place.
The senior Warden slumped back on the couch with a groan. It hadn't been his conscious choice to go on lyrium, but he now had to deal with the fallout. Aerith giggled softly and placed a hand on his head. She was always like that, so motherly and kind. It seemed to come so easily to her as well; it was one of the things Aqua admired about Aerith. When this was all over, she hoped that something similar could be said of her.
"Tell you what, you can go today as a test run. If you can't control your darkness, you'll be on bed rest until we can get out of Orzammar."
"Thank you. But do you have anything for this headache?"
"I'll give you a small amount of lyrium now, but we have to start weaning you off. I wish I knew of something that would at least alleviate the withdrawals."
Aerith gave him some lyrium, and he lay back down. Coming down the stairs was Stitch and Zell. In his hands Stitch had his ukulele and began playing one of the songs from the musician he had grown fond of while he was here. Aerith recognized the song immediately as 'Heartbreak Hotel' and they watched as Zell came stamping by the doorway.
"I don't want to hear any sodding serenading you blue monstrosity!"
Looking up, Aqua could see Stitch climbing on the ceiling. Zell was looking up at him too, shaking a fist at their little blue friend. Stitch shot Aqua a cheesy smile before continuing to make his way to the opposite door. Zell took one or two steps into the living room afterwards and simply looked around at the four already there.
"Oh! I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I'll uh...see myself out."
Aqua began to laugh from seemingly nowhere. She had no idea why it was so funny, it just was. Her laughs soon turned to tears, however, as she realized just how much she had been holding in. Immediately Terra and Zack reached for her, but Aerith held out her hand to stop them. She instructed Zack to keep an eye on Terra while she took Aqua to get cleaned up. After all, the messenger had asked them to wear their best armor, and Aqua and her robes could use a cleaning.
Aerith held onto the Warden as she let her tears flow, the heavy burden wearing on her shoulders. It had been a long three months and Aerith could only imagine the things she had seen down in the Deep Roads, if Zack's story was anything to go by. Aerith also wasn't blind to the way the Wardens felt about each other. It had to be hard to see Terra going through both his withdrawal and facing his darkness. This was only the beginning. She hoped they would be able to make it when the symptoms really began making themselves known.
"Come on, you can change into one of my spare robes for the meeting. In the meantime, I'll get yours washed. I'm sure you could use a hot bath, too." Aerith grabbed out a long robe and presented it to her.
Aqua began to sob. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Aerith. We have contracts with the mages and soon the dwarves, but after this, I don't have any idea as to where to go. We hit a dead end for the cure for the poison, and if I tried going to Denerim to speak to Xehanort now, I'm sure I'd be taken and killed on the spot."
Aerith stilled her and wrapped an arm around her. "You had to hold all of this in when you were in the Deep Roads, huh? And it couldn't have been easy watching over Terra like that, either."
"He got away once during my watch. I was just so tired of holding the barrier spell up, and Kimahri and Ava had to go chase him down."
"Tell me all about it."
So Aqua did, starting from the beginning. She explained about how her nightmares had become more intense the closer they got to the Archdemon. She still took her turns on overnight watch, and how she had persisted keeping pace with everyone during the day. They would have rented chocobos for the journey, but they were kept by a surface dwarf near the opening of the kingdom and were not able to be taken that far into the Deep Roads. She talked about how much it hurt to see Terra tossing in his sleep, and how she had sat with his head on her lap, praying that he wouldn't fight them so when they stopped to give him water and food. It had been her magic that had subjected him to two weeks of nightmares.
Finally Aqua's tears had dried, but there was still the matter of the meeting to get to. Aerith had begun humming while holding her, combing through her hair with gentle fingers. It sparked a memory of when her real mother would do the same thing. She ached for the ability to curl up in a lap and fall asleep; to find everything right when she woke up.
"You can do this. Don't let those voices win. Besides, you're going to make it out alive." Aerith whispered. "At least, that's what I was told while I was in the fade."
"I want to believe that. But I feel like I'm so weak. It was my fau-"
"Don't say that. You are what you eat, right? It's no different with how you think." Aerith gently chided. "It's getting late and you're going to need to get dressed. Bathe quickly and I'll comb out your hair."
It was time to go, and as Terra and Aqua stepped out, they saw a chocobo with a small open carriage waiting for them. A driver held open the door for them and let them know he had come from Prince Hans. Terra helped Aqua in and she held his hand to pull him in. It was a tight squeeze as the carriage was made for dwarves, so Aqua ended up being pressed up against Terra. Her cheeks flushed as she tried to find a comfortable position.
"So, did Ven write a letter at all while we were in the Deep Roads?" Terra broke the silence.
"Actually, he did. Walt showed up right in the middle of a battle and I had to fight off all sorts of darkspawn to protect him." Aqua recalled.
"How is everything?"
"He's learning a lot and making a few friends, but he also said he's been having a hard time staying awake recently. He promised he'd talk to Mickey about it, but I'm worried."
"Maybe he's not used to lectures on magic?"
"No, I don't think that's it. The lectures in the circle are fascinating."
"Aqua, this might come as a shock to you, but not everyone is as much of a book worm as you are."
Aqua looked away in embarrassment. Anora had said something similar once to her, but her tone was more playful. She knew Anora was good at learning, but had a terrible time sitting through the lectures and would almost always fall asleep. She did the same while Aqua was studying in the library, usually creating lists or charts to help her remember everything better.
"It's not a bad thing, Terra." Aqua pouted.
"Never said it was. I just know Ven and am making a guess. Now don't look so sad. We're going to crown a king, remember?"
"I know. I still don't know who I want to pick. I just hope that I'll be able to figure it out."
"You will. Just remember that having a desire to do something makes you better prepared when that time actually comes. You've been preparing for this, so I have faith in you."
She nodded at his words with gratitude. She really had been preparing all that time for this one decision. There was one who was leaning further than the other at the moment, but perhaps when they got there they'd have a chance to hear one last appeal. His words struck her the more she thought about them. Wasn't that exactly what they were doing now? She had wanted to save her homeland. By choosing a king, they would be better prepared when the Archdemon did decide to make it's appearance.
"By the way." Terra looked her in the eye. "Did something happen between us? I have a specific memory, but I don't know if it happened or if it was a lyrium fever dream."
She could play the whole thing off as an illusion, a fantasy that his lyrium-clouded mind had concocted. But not only did she know the truth would eventually come out, she kind of wanted to know how he felt about it. Their time together had been brief, but the more she caught his gaze, the more her heart leapt up to her throat. It was threatening to leap out now and shout the hopes that she had been suppressing.
"What was the memory?" Aqua swallowed hard.
"You...kissing me so passionately. Tongue and everything." Terra blushed, obviously just as embarrassed as she was. He spoke in a low tone so the carriage driver couldn't hear as much of their conversation.
"What would you say if I said it was a fake?" Aqua fiddled with her hands. They were far too close in this carriage for such a talk. Or perhaps it was the best place. She hadn't figured it out yet.
He paused for a minute. They were almost at the assembly hall now. How was she supposed to focus if he hadn't given her an answer? Terra hadn't been known to be as good at recalling facts, but his comprehension of important ideas and concepts had impressed her from the start. He knew how to read between the lines and was a lot smarter than he let on.
"I guess, it would make me wonder if you ever had the same kind of dream about me." He shifted in his seat a little. "Have you?"
"I…don't dream much besides the nightmares." She admitted, releasing a breath.
Terra's eyes cast down, his face turning to the ground. There was an inexplicable pain in her stomach, as if someone had stabbed her there. She gently took his gloved hand and held it in her own. At her touch, his eyes whipped up to meet hers, confusion and hope mingled about in them. They only had a short amount of time, so she was going to have to make this quick. He deserved to know the truth.
"That's not to say I haven't been curious though. I've never been one to open myself up like this; I hid behind my books." She was slightly trembling now, but his hand gave a reassuring squeeze.
"Aqua?"
"I'm willing to give it a shot if you are."
His face changed when he realized exactly what she was saying. Gone was the confusion he had carried just a moment before. A smile lit up his face as he wrapped his arms around her. As the carriage was made for dwarves, it didn't leave much room for the both of them, but that was maybe a gift in disguise. Aqua gingerly placed a hand on his breastplate. In the stories, this was the time for the hero and his lady to share a chaste kiss.
But Terra didn't seem to know how those stories went. One of his hands went up to her chin as he claimed it between his thumb and index finger. With a small tug, he pulled her in closer and kissed her with such fervor that she gasped. His lips were warm and much softer than she imagined. Her hand slid up to his neck subconsciously as he pulled her closer.
Aqua pulled away first, her cheeks laden heavily with blush. All at once, she could feel butterflies fluttering around in her stomach as a small giggle had found its way past her throat. In that moment, she was so beyond happy, and she knew it was because of him; he had been her companion through so much. He chuckled too, their hands intertwining as they sat. Aqua was grateful the dwarves had been put on house arrest and there wasn't anyone else out here to pay attention to the event that had just transpired. Their first real kiss should be special; something shared between the two of them alone.
The carriage stopped. They had arrived and Terra leaned over her to open the door for her before the driver could get down. She glanced back at him once more before getting out, her hand never leaving his. With his free hand, he held the crown that hiro had made and handed it to her.
"It's time to end this. Then let's decide what's going to happen to us." Terra murmured.
"Oh…" Aqua looked at the crown. "Before we do that, since we're out...there's one more stop I need to make after all of this is done."
"As you wish." He nodded. "But before we go in, I need to know, Aqua. I love you and I know you're going to do well in there."
She gasped, looking away from him while she collected her thoughts. Terra was an earnest man. But to reveal his heart so frankly to her- that was the last thing she had expected. He would likely want an answer. As her mind began pulling up any insecurities about whether the small crush she had developed was real or not, her heart began to sing. In this one moment, she bit her lip and returned to meet his gaze. Perhaps it was time to do something without overthinking it.
"I think I love you too."
"You think?" Terra playfully raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. I'm still not sure if it's real or just all in my head. There's just too much going on right now. But I want to believe I do."
"I'll take it." He smiled warmly before taking her hand once again.
She was grateful for his extra support. Once they entered the assembly, there would be no turning back.
Woohoo! the big reveal is done and we'll be able to move out from here. Hope you guys liked it! Notes time!
1 So...yet another mistake on my last chapter that I did end up going to fix. So far they have been in Orzammar for about three months.2 Ma Vehnan is Elven for "my heart"3 These are common traits of someone with the beginning stages of blight sickness. For those of you who have played the game, this is supposed to be in reference to the casteless dwarf origin, but as I've never played that one, I was a little fuzzy on the details. You may have noticed the other origins I alluded to in earlier chapters.
