I got me a beta reader now! Their name is coolgamer and I'm really happy I decided to try it out. I now this story doesn't get a lot of views, but I'm going to finish it, even if it kills me, and now I have someone to sent me annoying pm's reminding me to get my butt into gear.
Chapter 14: A Nest of Hawke's
It took well into the evening for the commotion outside pertaining to the bar fight with those soldiers to die down. Templars had, in fact, knocked on every resident's door to question them about a pair of suspected apostates running around. The matriarch of the family and her eldest daughter whom Aria and her companions learned was named Leandra and Willow Hawke, handled the armored men with a charm all their own and lied through their teeth like a pro as the twins, Carver and Bethany shuffled them into the back rooms and told them to be quite.
For obvious reasons of not really being suspicious, the pretty red haired chantry sister stayed out and opted to greet the Templar outside after Leandra and Willow assured they were mageless. Apparently the man in the suite knew her from the local chantry. The sister skillfully changed all subject from suspicious apostates to wrangling the men who put the other patrons of the tavern in harm's way by instigating the fight when whoever the mages were, were probably just trying to make their way back to the Circle after some assignment, since there was a Soldier, most likely a Templar in the three person group.
Then they were alone and the mother brewed them weak tea and fed them crackers. They were a bit stale and Aria didn't think it was right to take the food offered when they had a bit of their own. But Willow and Bethany were persistent and Leandra a gentle hostess. The elf couldn't help the awkwardly long stares she gave the mother as she poured tea for the trio and tag along sister. The older human woman held a sort of regal grace in her movements that many of the high class born mages from the Circle moved with. It was pleasant to watch and she simply couldn't help the air of ease and comfort that let her lower normally tense muscles. She would sit back and space out, much like she did as an apprentice when lessons were over.
It was a familiar and long needed habit that, while the concerned Alistair didn't seem to understand by glancing at her every once in awhile to make sure she wasn't sleeping with her eyes open or something like that. It let her drop the guard and tense aura about her that seemed to have grown around her. The mage was used to tension, but not a shield of it constantly radiating off of her like how it was ever since she was conscripted.
Aria felt like herself again. A mere child in the face of adult situations that she had little to no grasp over; the mother didn't seem to mind her spacey stare as she poured the drinks. Willow pulled out a stool and sat next to her, a smile played her lips as the two caught each other's eyes, both brown, but held this odd little amber colored spark inside them. Like warm magic weaving itself in their very eyes that assured each other of things they couldn't quite place. But there was a peace about them that Aria welcomed in this world of growing conflict.
And then someone cleared their throat and broke Aria away from her peace of mind.
She craned her neck to face Alistair. He looked sort of out of place with his almost dingy armor as he squeezed himself between the front entrance and Carver, as far from Morrigan as possible while the woman herself sat unaffected next to the red haired sister at the table.
"Something you'd like to say, hm? My unwitting man." Morrigan hummed through her sip, Alistair scowled as per usually whenever Morrigan said anything.
"We really shouldn't stay much longer now that people know we're here." He muttered, staring at Aria. She sighed raggedly. She'd rather not have to move until the sun was up and she was well rested.
"What's the rush? You mentioned needed to restock so you might as well stay another night or two to gather resources before heading out wherever you're headed." Willow's elbow rested on the top of the table as she set her head in the connecting hand. She gave Alistair a studious look that made the man frown.
"We uh, have our reasons." He bit back.
"And those would be?" Willow challenged. The blond warrior gave an exasperated groan before looking towards Aria for help.
"There is apparently word going around about the Grey Wardens. Bad words." She helped, but that only made the deep set frown on Alistair's lips grow. Oh, was that supposed to be a secret?
The family looked at them weirdly.
"Uh, right, you mean what they've been saying about the battle at Ostagar right? You know, I was there, I was in Loghain recruits, I got a little action there myself before we pulled out. Something about the Grey Wardens betraying the king during the battle so we had to strategically retreat." Carver pointed out with a smirk.
"Too bad too, I bet I could have done something to-"
"Yes, because you are so talented with that old broadsword of yours…" Bethany let out an exasperated sound. The corner of Willow Hawke's lips quirked at her siblings' squabble; set her eyes back on Aria who somehow ended up looking like the leader of the trio.
"Yeah, we've been hearing something along those lines ever since some of those soldiers and Caver came back. But what, pray tell, does that have to do with you three and that fight down at the tavern?"
Aria sifted in her seat uncomfortably before deciding to just speak openly. What the soldiers who attacked them had said still grated on her.
"Alistair and I are Grey Warden's. We fought at Ostagar and what those rumors are saying are completely false." The elf furrowed her brow as the warden by the door crossed his arms.
"That's an understatement." He snorted. The Hawke family stared between the two, though Willow seemed perfectly composed except for the rise of her eyebrows in surprise.
"So, what really happened then?" Bethany pondered openly.
"Loghain abandoned us all to die even though Aria and I lit the signal beacon for his forces to flank the darkspawn. The bastard retreated and left us for dead and now he's spouting dirt across the names of my brothers and sisters at arms!" Alistair spat at the ground in anger only to look up at the sound of Aria getting to her feet to walk over to him. She placed hesitant hands over his crossed arms and untangled them.
"Alistair, yelling about it now won't bring Duncan back." She murmured and pulled him to her vacated seat. The small shack was silent as the elf pushed the much larger man into the provided stool with a pained look. With the man in his seat she pat his shoulder before taking stiff steps to stand where he had, ignoring the blisters on her feet and screaming arm.
"I was only recruited very recently from the Circle before the battle was fought…we lost Duncan, he was the…what did you call it Alistair?" she asked looking back up at him.
"Warden-Commander, he was our leader. We lost pretty much all of our Ferelden ranks except for the two of us."
"How exactly did the two of you wind up being the only survivors?" Willow asked.
"We were ordered to light the beacon at the top of a tower, we were out of the main battle and were only taken out by a couple arrows from the darkspawn that snuck through the main throng…At least that's what I can only suspect. I have a wound still healing that Morrigan told me was in fact from an arrow. We lost consciousness shortly after. Morrigan's mother Flemeth saved us at some point." Aria explained.
The siblings then looked to the witch who had been silently sipping her tea next to the chantry woman without complaint. She wrinkled her nose at their sudden attention on her.
"My mother is a mystery in and of itself. At this point in my life I have stopped questioning her talents." Was all she gave.
At this point the mother of the nest cleared her throat to gain the parties attention. She wiped her rough, but delicate looking hands over her patchwork apron with a maternal smile.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but it is late and I think if our guests want an early start tomorrow it would be best to go to bed now. Carver, Bethany, be dears and set out some blankets so they can sleep." Leandra asked of her twins, one of whom groaned in aggravation while the other dragged them off.
Aria laid wide awake once the packed shack and its inhabitants calmed down for the night. The red haired woman had gone back to the chantry for the night and her group had buckled down for the night on the floors of the Hawke family abode.
However, as brown eyes blinked lazily through the darkness as she listened to the soft snores of the people around her the sole elf could not find the strength to close her eyes and sleep.
A cold draft coming from the floorboards brushed through the blankets and across her scarred arm. Aria turned to it even though it was far too dark to see and sighed. Finally, she decided to just get up and get some fresh air.
Silently, she got to her feet and summoned a ball of pale blue magic. It flared out like a dim, but lit sun and hovered just over her shoulder as she stepped over Alistair's stretched out form and dodged the possibility of tripping over his armor that he had set nearby. Not feeling up to bothering with wrapping her arm, or wrapping the fur shoulder guards around her, or even putting on trousers at this moment. The elf simply slid her feet into her boots and made sure the high slits in the robes she wore were effectively covered with a cloak draping over a chair in the kitchen.
She was out in the crisp night air in a matter of moments and leaned against the door with a worn out sigh. Looking up into the sky, the mage marveled at the sheer number of stars and just stood there, staring.
It was silly maybe, weeks after leaving and still the world amazed her.
Pushing herself away from the door then, Aria wrapped the cloak tight and made her way towards the small river of water that ran through the village. The sound of dirt and dried grass crunching under her boots was the only sound around until they tapped onto the cobblestone bridge. She looked around the empty village, there were two Templars guarding the outside walls to the Chantry. She turned away from them and hiked herself up the side of the bridge and sat on its railing. Water rushed under her dangling feet as she stared down at the dark water before going back to staring up at the stars.
It was peaceful and Aria could appreciate that.
She wasn't sure for how long she had been outside in the biting cold silent and content. But the soft footfalls joining her on the bridge forced her from her own thoughts to turn to her right and be met with the friendly smile of the red haired sister from earlier.
They stayed there for a moment and just stared before the woman held out her hand.
"We never formally introduced ourselves, please call me Leliana."
Aria took her hand in a small shake.
"Aria." She murmured. The women lapsed into quiet again as they took back their hands.
"Those men, they called you Grey Wardens, is this true?" Leliana asked. Aria glanced over at the woman before sighing again.
"…I am." The elf furrowed her brow, unsure where this conversation would lead.
"Then you will be fighting darkspawn, yes? That is what Wardens do. I know that after what has happened to you, you will need all the help you can get, so I wish to come with you and your friends." The lay sister got to the point swiftly, her pale blue eyes giving the younger woman a pointed look, as if daring the elf to refuse her aid. Unsure of exactly how to answer the woman, Aria stared blankly.
"Uhhh…What?" she asked as intelligently as possible. Aria looked up at the red haired woman as she stood with the grace of what Aria imagined of a well bred lady, though her pale eyes held a cold, sharp wit to them, daring the elf to challenge her offer. It…honestly intimidated the elf a little bit.
"Why would you…I mean, it's kind of you…I have no clue why a woman of the chantry would want to join a bunch of obviously suspicious people on a journey that will definitely lead to more tavern fights." Aria admitted after stumbling over her words. The pleasant sound of the woman's playful chuckle was enough to keep the mage from her foot in mouth position. The sister made herself comfortable, leaning against the railing of the bridge she sat on.
"I understand your hesitancy, but do not fret. I knew when news of the army's defeat at Ostagar that whatever happened after words would lead to only ruin for this land. And now what with you and your Grey Warden companion showing up I finally know what I must do to help prevent the worst case scenario. I have hands, and I wish to help you Warden Aria." Leliana offered once more. Her features the epitome of serene. It unnerved the elf, that this woman could so calmly offer her aid in time where not even Aria was too sure as to what she was doing or where they were going.
Flemeth had simply sent them on their way with an idea. There was no guarantee she and Alistair would ever make it to his friend in Redcliff or make nice with the allies the treaties in her bag offered them. This could more than likely lead to the death by the hands of mere bandits and she didn't want to drag anyone else into this mess.
"Why…" Aria murmured to the woman at her side. "Why would you risk your very life on the slim chance any of us can make a difference? I'm not even sure what Alistair and I am leading Morrigan into and she was just as unwilling to leave her home as I am to killing the very things out to kill us."
Again, that easy on the ears, feminine giggle as Leliana faced the star filled sky. The inky blackness, only broken up by the occasional cluster of silver stars and quarter moon; dark clouds were once again moving through the night to block out the dream-like sight.
"The Maker told me so." Leliana finally revealed with a distracted smile, her eyes never left the sky and Aria wondered if she was lost in thought as the elf too looked up as if to see if she could see was the human did.
"I' m sorry..but I…" Aria sighed, turning away and back to the running water under her boots.
Andraste. She was a figure that left a bland, if not questionable taste in her mouth. Aria was raised in an Alienage, and though she had few memories she could recall vividly, the tales her mother told her of the elven pantheon were like a part of herself. Implanted into her very soul. It must be an elven thing since she would believe in them before anything the Chant of Light told her.
"Oh, forgive me for my brashness. I-I know it must sound odd, coming from a woman of the Chantry saying this not only to an elf, but a mage—but, I just…Would it help if I just explained?" Leliana leaned back against the bridge, catching the eye of the hunched over form, her eyes so clearly pleading and arm outstretched to grasp Aria's upper arm. The elf's eye twitched at the ghost pain and lay her own hand over the woman's to quietly ask her to ease her hold.
Aria sighed, but nonetheless smiled as she nodded her head.
"Please, it would shed some light on this…unusual request."
The young warden gave a more than conflicted face before caving in to the woman's plea and waved her hand for the woman to explain.
"It started with a dream. A dream the Maker sent me."
"It happened as I wandered the courtyard of the Chantry here. I passed dead bush upon dead bush until I came upon a single white rose blooming amongst the dry thorns and dead branches. It had grown until it out shined the dead or wilting plants around it and I thought 'How amazing, how determined that single flower was to find the strength to grow through the death that surrounded it.'." Leliana breathed as she recalled.
"And then it was like, through the dull light of the late afternoon, my vision was stolen and all I saw was darkness. But though it, that image of a pure white rose persisted, demanding my attention."
The woman turned to focus on Aria with a steel to her eyes, the elf pursed her lips, engrossed in her words.
"Look at the people here, Lady Warden. They are lost in despair and will only continue to do so until the darkspawn either come for them or they waste away, and this darkness, this chaos…it will only spread. The Maker does not want this for his children…nor do I."
"But…what does any of this have to do with my group, me being a Warden?" Aria all but groaned up at the sister, brows furrowed in confusion.
"If all you want is to help, to keep the spirits of these refugees up, you can do that from here, can you not? All they need is a kind word and reassurance. Wouldn't that suffice?" she asked.
"And you think just words will be all it takes to save lives?" Leliana challenged. Aria didn't know how to answer, her lips thinned and she looked down. She sounded like a child, thinking a few 'it'll be okay' or 'you're fine' would be enough to help these sick and poor people.
"But why ask me?" she questioned again. Leliana's smile grew.
"Because you are a woman leading your group." She said as if that explained everything. However, by the look of the Warden's face it clearly did not.
"Rose's are often what women are compared to, are they not? Tell me, do you know what white roses symbolize in the language of flowers?"
Aria simply shook her head.
"Purity, innocence." Leliana informed. "Young, unmarried women are often symbolized by white roses. In Orlais it was once a trend for young brides-to-be to be adorned with them to signify their youth and chastity to their soon to be husbands whilst she was being courted. And you Lady Warden," the sister giggled warmly as she lifted the elf's chin so the two could catch each other's eye. "look as if white would suite you very well."
Aria gaped silently at the woman, a nervous flush dusting her nose, though she doubted it could be seen through the darkness.
"I believe you are meant to do great things Warden, the Maker's work even. And I want to help."
"Please…" Aria sighed. "Just call me Aria."