9:36 - DRAGON
Amell woke with a start, another nightmare no doubt, but this time she couldn't quite remember it. Strange, for a mage, but lately everything had been more strange than normal.
That is, if living in a soul crushing Tevinter prison, with iron bars slathered in magebane and Maker knows what else could at all be considered normal.
She looked toward Lily's cell and could just make out the sister's breathing in the moonlight. Why did they keep her down here? After all these years it was clear the Knight Captain no longer saw her as a threat. Her cell was rarely locked, and on the few occasions it was, there was some sort of party for the Templars. It was obvious the Knight Captain was more likely protecting Lily from any drunk and devious Templars than he was protecting them from her.
Was Lily meant to keep an eye on her? Was it a punishment? A reminder at what Lily had thrown her lot in with, and why she still languished in this prison?
Kena stood up and stretched. Her bones cracking and her muscles both protesting and delighting at the movement. She hadn't felt energy like this in ages! What was in that mead Gustav had given her? Was it another test?
Her heart started racing, she checked her breath for the scent of any poisons, but there was no poison she could recall that made its victim energized before death. Although it had been years since she'd properly studied anything.
A slight metallic taste sat just behind her tongue, what was it? It was quite familiar. Kena tried to remember, but it had been so long down here that she was finding it difficult. The only other thing that had a metallic taste was...
A lyrium potion? No…
Except, that's what the taste was. The familiar bloody after taste of lyrium. Kena felt her skin prickle, why would Gustav feed her mead tainted with lyrium? Or was it his own personal supply? Perhaps in his arrogance he had messed up, given her something he shouldn't have.
Kena couldn't remember what casting a spell felt like, and even if she wanted to try, the iron bars of her cell were treated with enough magebane to pull the Maker himself off his seat.
She paced around the cell, her legs stiff from disuse, and she racked her brain for any idea on how she could use this to her advantage. Should she try and cast? She felt better, stronger than she had in ages, but she didn't feel like she could cast anything strong enough to break out. Not with the oppressive force of the magic suppression in her cell.
She paused, looking around frantic.
"Don't mess with me!" she yelled at the demon that must be waiting nearby.
Lily rolled over in her cell but remained still.
Kena bit her tongue, was this a dream? She shook her head and hit herself against the temple three times. Opening her eyes, she looked around, she could smell the mold on the walls. The stink of Gustav's cologne still stuck in her nose.
This is real.
Suddenly, just out of her peripheral, something caught the moonlight and glinted.
A key?
Kena scurried to the far corner of the cell and picked it up, twisting it in the moonlight. It was most certainly a key. Polished from constant use and perfectly placed for her to find.
As if Andraste herself had sent it from heaven.
But how could this be? She looked over at Lily, debating whether she should wake the sister up or not. What if Lily reported her? Took away her chance at freedom?
The key probably wouldn't work anyway, that would be too easy, too convenient.
Kena resolved to first try and unlock her cell. If that worked, she'd think about waking Lily.
Quietly walking over to the cell door, Amell stretched her arm through and around the bars, awkwardly attempting to unlock the cell from inside.
Her heart leapt into her throat at the satisfying click and release as the door swung open, nearly dragging her with it.
This can't be real.
Kena was suddenly acutely aware that this was all too easy, it had to be another illusion. Some complex, sophisticated trick by a demon of desire to trick her into possession.
But what would be the point? There was no one here, no one asking for her help. It was only her, and the open cell door, and freedom just outside the halls.
She ran.
The hall was hot with summer's humidity, but it felt good. Her lungs burned, she was so weak, but she knew she could make it. She could already feel the crackling of energy around her. The lyrium was strengthening her, outside of her cell, the bars couldn't hold her back anymore, and with no Templars around, her magic was flowing back with a vengeance.
Her blood felt like fire, and her brain was buzzing with euphoria.
She laughed aloud, unable to contain her happiness.
And out of nowhere a heavy gauntlet thrust out from around the corner and slammed her hard in the chest, sending her crashing to the stone floor.
Kena's world was spinning, she was so close to exiting the dungeon, all she needed to do was turn the corner and she'd have been on her way up, up and out.
"Stupid bitch you actually fell for it!"
She gasped in a breath, the air having been knocked out of her, but even in her confusion she recognized Gustav's gravelly voice.
The Templar stepped out from around the corner, it was still dark, but she could make out his hulking silhouette in the dim light. He lit a torch on the wall, filling the small space with a warm orange glow.
Gustav's gleeful face leered down at her.
He looked demonic.
Kena wobbled her way back to her feet, and felt the crackling of magic fill her arms, reason and logic replaced with rage. She summoned a cone of flame with all her might.
Gustav laughed as it fizzled out.
"Aww, the little mage thought she could burn the Templar?" he mocked. He took a lunging step toward her before she could react and grabbed her by the back of the neck, dragging her nearly off her feet as he laughed in her face, she nearly gagged, his breath reeked of whiskey.
"Fuck… you," Kena wheezed, trying not to lose her balance, but her shins were straining, and the stone cut painfully into her toes as she tried to remain balanced.
Gustav let go of her neck and spun her around, dragging her into a dark alcove just beyond the first cells. The torchlight barely permeated here, and he slammed her against the wall.
The murmuring began again, and Kena tried to force it out.
We can help.
Let us.
Just a moment, and you'll be free.
"Never," Kena gritted through her teeth.
"I say when or never, now shut up bitch," he growled in her ear, punching her hard in the thigh.
Amell cried out, tears filling her eyes at the pain, and the murmurs rose to a chorus.
He'll kill you if you don't do something.
We can help.
Don't you want to see him suffer?
Kena bit her tongue and thought of the cold stone floor, the pain in her chest, Gustav's metal hands squeezing the blood out of her arms.
She forced herself to think of anything but the demon's offers.
And how badly she wanted to take them.
"Just kill me and be done with it!" she begged, anger and fear intertwining in her mind like a confused and deranged form of panic. It was hard trying to drown the cacophony of demons pressing against the veil in her mind.
She could barely hear Gustav speak.
"I told the Knight Captain you weren't properly trained yet, I told him you needed testing," he yelled, but his voice sounded far away. He seemed weirdly excited by the interaction, and Kena felt sick to her stomach.
"Help! Help me plea-" Kena began screaming, but Gustav covered her mouth and violently shushed her.
"Stupid bitch! Shut up or I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Just then, there was a loud thunk and Kena felt Gustav's grip slacken, and then abandon her entirely.
She winced as she heard a crashing of armor behind her. Her hands instinctively shot up to cover her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Had she accidentally let a demon in? What had saved her? She was too afraid to open her eyes, to see herself as the abomination she always feared she'd become.
"Kena?"
The voice was muffled, shaky. Kena slowly opened an eye and loosened the hands around her ears.
"Kena are you alright?" Lily whispered.
Kena spun around, grateful and shocked all at once.
"Lily?" Kena rasped, dropping her hands to her sides. She was shaking, more surprised than in pain, and she breathed a sigh of relief at Gustav's unconscious body.
The demon's voices faded.
"What is going on here?!"
The Knight Captain's booming voice filled the hall, and the small troupe of Templars behind him began relighting the torches that Gustav had put out.
He went wide eyed as his gaze moved from Gustav moaning on the floor, to the emaciated mage and finally the small sister staring back at him.
He raised a confused, infuriated eyebrow.
"Sister Lily? Explain this please!" he ordered.
Lily pat Kena on the back and helped her stand upright, "I heard a commotion and saw Templar Gustav…"
"He…" Kena gulped, "he was..."
"He was trying to force himself on her!" Lily interjected, uncharacteristically loud.
The Templars all gave each other a knowing look, and the sick feeling in Kena's stomach returned, they didn't seem surprised.
The Knight Captain pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a loud breath, "Gather your colleague and throw him in a cell, I'll deal with him in the morning."
Kena hadn't realized Gustav was attempting anything of that sort, but she supposed it was better than admitting she tried to escape, and in hindsight, he was acting a little too excited about beating her up.
She felt sick.
"How did he take you out of your cell?" the Knight Captain asked.
"I, he gave me lyrium. I think-" she confessed, having a hard time focusing. She watched the other Templars gathering Gustav up, but the man was large, and they ended up dragging him by the arms up the stairs.
"And?" the Knight Captain pressed.
"He unlocked my cell," Kena lied, pointing back at the door of her cell wide open. Gustav's key still sitting snugly in the lock.
The Knight Captain seemed furious, but quickly composed himself as he turned to Lily, "There is normally punishment for attacking a Templar…"
"I understand," she said, bowing her head.
"Let me finish," he said sternly, silencing Lily, "but under the circumstances, I think we can overlook this... incident." He grabbed Kena by the arm and dragged her back to the cell, allowing her the dignity to walk in by herself.
Her legs didn't want to listen, so he nudged her the rest of the way in.
"Why not just kill me?" Kena asked. She heard the deafening clink of the lock falling back into place.
"We aren't murderers," The Knight Captain responded. "We do this for your own good, to protect the people of Thedas. You know this, magic exists to ser-"
"Magic exists to serve man, never to rule over him. I know the verse, I'm not an idiot!" Kena, whipped around to face the Templar, glaring so intently at him she saw his hand twitch toward his blade.
"But I'm serving no one here. What good can come from torturing mages in this hell hole?" she wailed.
The Knight Captain shook his head, either too angry or too tired to answer her question. He turned on his heel, leaving Kena to marinate in her rage.
He approached Lily and ordered her back into her cell, Lily obliged. She seemed shaken and nearly tripped over a loose stone in the flooring. Kena was grateful, but how had such a small sister managed to knock Gustav out cold?
The Knight Captain managed to grab Lily and stop her from falling, the sister clutched at his arms and chest, and he helped steady her on her feet. She shakily thanked him before quickly entering her cell.
He locked the door behind her. "Let's keep this locked for a few days, Gustav had few friends, but just in case," the Knight Captain said, he sounded almost fatherly toward Lily.
"Of, of course Knight Captain," she stuttered, "thank you."
The Knight Captain gave both women a look of pity and left. No doubt to do damage control and make sure the rumors of the rapist Templar didn't spread too far outside the prison. If there was one thing that Templars and Mages shared most, it was their love of gossip.
Kena was too furious to see clearly, it never occurred to her Gustav had planned that for her. She felt useless, angry... weak.
She cursed and plopped down on her bedroll, the iron bars once again draining what little energy she had left.
"Kena?"
"What?!" Amell hissed, she wasn't angry with Lily, but it was so hard controlling her emotions within the cell.
"Come here," the sister ordered.
"Why?" Kena looked over suspiciously.
Lily had an odd grin on her face, made more ominous by the dancing torchlight.
Kena looked down at Lily's proffered hand, and saw she was holding a key through the bars. She tossed it into the air and caught it, playfully wiggling it between her fingers.
"How? How did you manage that?" Kena whispered excitedly, darting over.
"Once we make it out of here, I'll show you how," she said, slipping the key back into her sleeve.
Kena suddenly remembered Lily tripping, that had to be the only way she managed to swipe it off the Knight Captain.
"You sneaky rogue!" Kena whispered.
Lily smirked and gestured for Kena to lower her voice. "I'll need your magic, if we're to make it out alive," she said, her voice so low Kena almost couldn't hear her.
Kena nodded, but another thought occurred to her.
"Why not help me escape earlier? Why now?" she whispered, she had a hard time hiding the bitterness in her tone.
Lily bit her lip and looked at the floor, twisting her fingers together in a nervous way, "A few months ago, I had a dream. Me, and Jowan, on a farm."
"A dream?"
"We were happy. Free," she looked up at Kena, wiping tears out of her eyes, "I've lingered here, punishing myself, letting myself be tormented. And for what?" Lily grabbed the bars and looked directly into Kena's eyes with a fierceness the mage had never seen before, "I've suffered enough. And so have you." Lily let go of the bars and picked up her journal, "I've been planning for a while now."
The sudden memories of Lily journaling, listening, roaming the halls all began to click into place. The sister was far more cunning than she let on, though Kena wasn't surprised, considering their history.
"It's taken me a long time, this prison is Tevinter make, and they do know their chains," she rubbed her arms, as if a chill had gone through her. "I knew it was only a matter of time before Gustav slipped up, I saw him, watching you, watching the other female mages. He was sick, a beast, and I knew he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer," she patted the place on her arm where she'd tucked in the key, "this was the last piece, and now, we have it."
Kena felt bile in the back of her throat at how close she'd come to something so terrible.
Lily seemed pensive, she stroked her chin and looked at the small window. The moonlight illuminated her face in a way that reminded Kena of the stained-glass paintings back at the Circle.
Lily closed her eyes, and began chanting, her voice low and melodic:
"No longer are we hunted. We shall never again
be prey, waiting to be struck down.
Let us take up the blades of our enemies
and carve a place for ourselves in this world..."
Kena had never heard that verse before, but it was oddly fitting for what they soon faced, "What verse is that?"
Lily opened her eyes, "I only read it a few months ago, the Canticle of Shartan, Andraste's elven companion. It was struck from the official Chant, but the Aeonar is good for a few things. Some very old scrolls are stored here."
The thought of the Chantry removing verses at their whim angered Kena, why couldn't they just decide to free mages then too?
How convenient for them.
"So, what now?" Amell asked, not interested in hearing anymore about the Chant.
Pulling a small vial of lyrium from under her skirt, she handed it to Kena, "Drink up, I don't think this will be easy. But since when has anything worthwhile been easy?"
Kena took the vial, staring at the swirling blue liquid, "I hope this isn't another dream."
"It's not, and soon we'll both be able to forget this place," Lily nudged the vial toward Amell's lips. The mage closed her eyes, downing the potion in one gulp. The bloody taste stuck to the back of her throat and set her blood on fire once again.
Kena opened her eyes, half expecting to be possessed, but she felt amazing instead.
Even if it was a dream, she didn't care. This was something she could never say no to.
"We escape tonight," Lily whispered.
And at those words, for the first time in a long time, Kena smiled.
Thank you for reading this far! This story has an ending, I promise, we just gotta make it here!