Bioware owns Dragon Age and all the characters, I own Jaya, though...

The King's Rose
Chapter 27: Final Battle and Returns!

Jaya slipped on her armor and just needed the boots when Anders burst in. The two were almost inseparable, except for when she needed a bath or something. She bonded with Anders to a point she saw him as another brother, as he bonded with her to see her as a sister. Even Alistair said Anders was worth the trust of him, the King, to protect her. She grinned softly. She hadn't told her husband that a Howe was apart those he trusted. "What's up, Andy?" She asked.

"There's another Disciple here and they want to speak to you." He informed, clearly still stunned there were 'talking spawn'.

"Alright..." She sighed, slipping on the boots and taking her equipment with, following Anders to see her recruits aiming their weapons at the spawn. "Stand down. We'll hear it out and then kill it." Holding her hand up, she showed distrust. "What do you want? Speak before I kill you."

"The Mother wants the Warden to come to her. The Mother is curious to it's intention towards the Father." It said.

A grumble came from Jaya before she sighed. "Alright. We go to the Mother. I'll slay her and possibly this 'Father' figure." She said before nodding to Velanna, who iced the darkspawn in its spot. "Now, don't go anywhere..." She joked before turning to her recruits. "Alright, I think a party of four will do. The rest are to stay here incase it's another trap. I'll be taking Oghren, Anders and Nathaniel. The rest, use all you can to defend the keep... Make them work for it." She stated, seeing them nod, knowing that Velanna had 'accepted' that her sister was beyond saving. Jaya knew, however, the lie behind it and worried if she should be left with this responsibility, but had to have trust in her. "There will be no knowing what we face down there, but those that are staying and those that are with me, we have one goal: find and destroy the darkspawn, whether it's here or underground. The Wardens stand for peace and justice as well as the only line between spawn and those on he surface. For the Wardens and for Ferelden, we must survive." She said before they left.

"That might've moved me to sodding tears if I hadn't known you, Jaya." Oghren commented. He and his own wife, Felsi, had finally reconciled and he swore that he'd be there for not only his own child, but his godchildren. "Say... Can I have a pony?" He asked.

Anders blinked. "A pony?"

Jaya chuckled. "Oghren... You're drunk again... No pony today. Once you and Felsi show me this kid of yours, I'll see if Alistair will give you one." She promised.

Nathaniel leaned over to whisper. "You serious? The last thing he tried that on died."

"That was a wolf, not a horse, Nate. Completely different things, last thing I knew." She said back, grinning as they arrived to a large graveyard of sorts and she was shocked to see a dragon guarding where they needed to go. "Andraste's horsefeathers... A dragon..." The mage and rogue looked close to fainting while Oghren and Jaya chuckled at their looks. "Relax... I've dealt with bigger, actually." She claimed. "Sadly, no help from ballista this time. Anders, try to keep her from moving." She said.

"How? It's a dragon." Anders pointed out.

"Exactly. A word of advice: stay away from her mouth and claws. She hates cold, though." Jaya informed, doing the opposite of what she said, climbing up the tail and sinking a blade into the dragon's side. She should've known that the beast wouldn't like that, but she was flung off, the dagger dragging with her as she curled into a ball and spun in the air, something she learned mid-battle against the Archdemon after nearly being thrown from Fort Drakon seven times. As she got closer to the ground, she counter-spun until she slid on her butt, gumbling. "Stupid dragon."

"You alright, Jaya?" Nathaniel asked, making his way towards her.

"Yeah, peachy... Just got thrown off a flipping dragon." She said sarcastically as she brought her bow out. "Well, let's see..." She saw the place where her dagger had been, seeing a seeping wound and got an idea. "Anders! Aim for that wound!" When the blonde mage looked confused, she fired an arrow in the spot. "That spot! Try to do something... magical or something!" She knew spells from travelling with Morrigan and Wynne, but she didn't know names or anything. Wynne didn't believe her knowing would help and Morrigan was... Morrigan. Her train of thought ended as she rushed to shove Oghren out of the way of the dragon's left back foot, leaping to avoid it herself.

"Thanks for that!" He shouted, going after one of the feet still on the ground and leaving Jaya to her thoughts.

Scanning the area and her surroundings, she really wished they were fighting on something that gave her a good place to attack. A barren plain was the opposite of helpful before she blinked. 'That's it... Barren...' She grinned and looked at Anders. "Anders! Use a cold spell on the ground! I have an idea!"

"Are... Fine!" He gave up trying to figure her thinking out before casting one of his ice spells on the ground, surprised at how the dragon didn't expect it and, therefore, was distracted enough for him to see Jaya try and climb right back onto the dragon. To help, he tried to freeze the dragon's tail and legs, but it had flown up, knocking everyone down. "Commander!" He called, seeing her still trying to climb up as Oghren and Nathaniel joined his side. "Maker's breath... Is she trying to get killed?"

"Nope... This is nothing. She did worse when we fought the Archdemon." Oghren commented before paling. "Then again... It didn't fly last time cause Riordan sliced its wing."

While they were worrying, Jaya had used her dagger and sword to climb up to its neck, sinking the left blade in and causing the dragon to begin plummeting to the ground, swinging her body to the same side to avoid the hit on the nearby building. That was until she realized she was within grabbing distance for the dragon and, just as the beast was about to grab her, she used her abdominal muscles to pull on the dagger, making the beast falter it's pattern as it landed roughly a few yards away from where the fight had begun. Jaya had unfortunately not pulled the dagger out quick enough and was thrown off upon impact. When she looked up, she froze when the dragon raised her head enough to get a bite of her when a fist of ice crushed the beast's mouth.

"Nice shot, magey." Oghren said as Anders healed any wounds she had gotten.

"Thanks. I needed that." She sighed. "Oghren... Remind me of this the next time I want to go and battle something." Getting up, she dug through a few things to get some dragon scales for more armor. "If anything, I might just stick to training the guards..." She grumbled as they made their way half-way when a emissary stopped them. "Get ready!"

"That's the person called the Architect! He took some of my blood." Anders informed.

"So... What pleasure do I have with meeting you?" Jaya raised an eyebrow.

"We have a common enemy in the 'Mother' you seek. Allow me to aid you and I will cease attacks on the surface. I understand you go through a 'Joining' to become what you are. I intend on the same thing for my brethren. If I give them what you call 'willpower', they will stop chasing Old Gods. I tried that on one, but it began what you ended: the Blight." The Architect said.

"YOU caused the Fifth Blight?!" Jaya gasped. "You unintentionally killed our last king and previous Warden-Commander! Why would I allow that to continue?!"

"I am trying to save my own kin. Do you believe we enjoy seeking out an Old God just to get killed on the surface? We do not want to, but we are forced to."

Jaya thought on it and in retrospect, that made sense. If the spawn stopped seeking out the Old Gods, there'd be no more Blights... But then there'd be no need for Grey Wardens. Would she sacrifice what her order stood for just to prevent more death? Her mind agreed that it peace was what Wardens stood for. "Alright... I'll send some future recruits to you, so long as a Blight can be prevented. If there is one, I will come and kill you personally." She said, glad to see that her friends shared the same look she had. Heading farther down, she had dealt with five ogres and at least fifteen hurlocks alone, twenty genlocks included and swore off dealing with the darkspawn once this was done. As the four went deeper, they could sense a very dark taint and Jaya flinched when she recognized the feeling. "I hate to say it, but we're about to deal with a broodmother."

"You mean one of those fat things from near the Anvil?" Oghren questioned to a nod. "Great."

"But we're not in the Deep Roads... Are we?" Anders asked, clearly lost.

"No... That's the wierd thing. Perhaps this 'Mother' had gotten used to it? I don't know." Jaya said as they were soon face-to-face with a rather... small broodmother. Jaya swore she fought bigger ones in the Deep Roads. Then again, this was a 'freed' spawn and was probably different. She inched closer before moving to the left to avoid a tentacle that had appeared mere seconds later.

"I want to hear the song again... The lovely music that the Father took from me!" It said, screeching near the end.

Jaya flinched before chuckling. "If you behave like a good thing, I can make things sing for you..." She threatened before dodging another tentacle and rushing towards the body, remembering how she defeated the broodmother in the Deep Roads. However, that one was fatter and slower than the 'Mother' and it easily grabbed her and threw her aside, making her finally skid to land beside Anders. "Nugrunner… Anders, do something about those things, Oghren, cover my back and Nate, keep things off of Oghren." She was glad that they obeyed her orders as she kicked a flask of frost to immobilize the Mother and a path to it, rushing through and spinning to dodge those Oghren missed as she lept to climb up the back, driving her dagger into the side before kneeling to give her leverage as she drew her sword across it's back, getting flung off and rotating to block an attack. Jaya then brought a spare dagger out just as the darkspawn was about to take her arm off, saving it, but losing the dagger in the process.

Nathaniel and Anders rushed to pull her back while watching the thing flail around before it died. "Well, that was... interesting." Nathaniel said, grimacing.

"Bah. That was nothing. She rode a broodmother and sliced its neck open." Oghren informed.

Jaya grinned at her friend. "It worked. The thing died, though I was a little afraid Alistair nearly passed out when I climbed up."

"Little pike-twirler was lucky the elf was there." Came the reply as they returned to the surface. "Ahhh.. Air..."

"Yes, Oghren. Air. And sky..." Anders teased, seeing the berserker dwarf pale.

"Sod you, sparkle-fingers!" Oghren shouted.

Jaya and Nathaniel chuckled at the interaction while they arrived back to see that Vigil's Keep was damaged, but standing. "Well, this is one thing I'll be glad to leave behind..." Jaya sighed as she reunited with the others that had been left to defend the Keep. "Alright... I believe Garevel can see to the repairs as long as we have the material... Am I right?"

"Yes, Commander." He said.

"I'll be hanging that title up. Next time I visit, I'll be the Queen again. Is it weird that I like the idea, Oghren?" She asked.

"Nope." He replied.

"Listen to me, all of you... Once you leave here, remember that you are Wardens second and whoever you were before first. And we Wardens aren't immune to the taint forever. We will all soon be able to hear the voices the spawn hear... That's what is known as the Calling. It's where we go down to the Deep Roads and fight as many spawn as possible before dying." Jaya explained. "I had mine removed when I slew the Archdemon and my husband will be able to live slightly longer due to being around the epicenter of the Archdemon's death. That doesn't mean we'll live normally, though."

"We'll keep that in mind, Jaya... Now... Off I go to the Free Marches.." Nathaniel stated.

"Mind if I tag along?" Anders asked.

"One thing... No cats are allowed on boats." Nathaniel said.

"Aw... But, Ser Pounce-a-lot is a gift from Jaya." Anders pouted as the kitten rubbed against his leg, meowing.

"Say, maybe we can see if Delilah is nearby... If I remember right... She loves cats..." Jaya pondered.

"That is true... We'll have her watch the blighted thing until you return." Nathaniel agreed.

"Alright..." Anders said, petting the cat before Jaya handed him maps. "What're these?"

"If you're ever under pressure, there are at least three good entrances to the Deep Roads. Slay a few spawn until you're calm then head back to the surface." Jaya winked slightly. "Plus, it's nice after a Blight... Empty and peaceful." She turned to see her husband and his guards walking up. "Well, here's my ticket back to 'normal' life."

"I assume that everything's back to normal now, wife?" Alistair asked.

"As normal as it can get after two hoards attacked two different places, yes..." She replied before blinking. "Oh, forgot to mention one thing." Anders and the others turned to listen to her, apparently haulting their processes of leaving. "Once the corruption goes far enough, darkspawn are unable to sense you. Just be very careful if that happens. A newer Grey Warden might not be able to tell you apart from an emissary, an 'awakened' darkspawn like the Architect. Those will get into your mind very easily and make you think you hear voices when it's not your time... I had that feeling a few times during the Blight when I faced one." She finished.

"Same here. Though, that is very rare, love. It depends on the will of the Warden, remember?" Alistair corrected.

"Exactly... Also, be sure to write about anything you want. I'm gonna need something to keep me entertained when not doing normal things." Jaya teased before hugging those that wanted one. "'In peace, vigilance. In war, victory. In death, sacrifice.' That is one mantra I want you all to remember well." She waved them off before cracking her back. "I can't wait to relax..."

Alistair chuckled slightly. "You? Relax? I must be dreaming. But, I'll help you relax."

"I just might need help." She teased back.

Yay... 'Awakening' section is done... Since Morrigan was at their wedding, Witch Hunt is not needed, so I believe I'll just ad-lib the rest~ Also, this would've been done a few days ago, but the site went down. t(-.-t) Dishonor the horse of Fanfiction, please.
~~Skittles~~