The mismatched group moved cautiously through the forest. Aeonar was on an island, a big one, but they wanted to make sure they weren't spotted before reaching shore.
Just in case.
Galel was near certain no one had survived the massacre.
And despite Amell's weakened state, she refused Galel and Jowan's offers to carry her. This, of course, made their escape much slower than Galel would have liked.
Jowan and Lily lead the group, their initial tearful reunion giving way to an awkward silence. They walked side by side, exchanging glances the way teenaged lovers might.
Galel had decided to give them space, trailing behind them. It also helped him make sure Amell did not fall too far behind.
"We're almost there," huffed Jowan as he pulled a low hanging branch out of Lily's way, "but I don't think we should camp for long, the templars may still come for us."
"I don't think the templars are going to be following us," said Lily, "if they were, they would've thrown us in cells as we slept. Something must have happened to them too, last night."
"Do you think they all… died?" Jowan asked, and his voice was uneasy, "We heard screams when we approached, what was happening?"
"You can't guess?" scoffed Amell, "The demon must've swallowed them all up, Xanthe'meck… Despair, whatever the hell you want to call him. He was ancient, older than Aeonar, and all he needed was John's little mistake to make the whole place into his perfect little nightmare. I bet every bastard in that damned place was swallowed into the fade, and if not that, then they're all dead or too broken to come after us. Fuck 'em all-"
"Kena!" scolded Lily, interrupting Amell's morbid monologue, "There were good people there… I can't believe John would-"
"Get revenge?" Amell sat down on a fallen log and took in a deep breath, "I'm tired. I need a break."
Jowan's stuttered awkwardly at Amell's foul outburst, and turned to face her, "We need to keep moving-"
"I didn't say you had to wait for me," she said tersely, before turning her face away from him, "go on, I'm not stopping you."
"Kena-"
"I'll stay behind, you two make it to the camp and get the boat ready," Galel interjected, and he gestured for Jowan to keep moving, "we'll meet you there. Start packing."
Jowan sighed and shot a guilty look in Kena's direction, "Be careful Kena, and you too Galel."
Lily looked cautiously at Galel, and the elf knew she didn't trust him.
The reunited lovers left quietly, and Galel found himself alone with Kena amongst the trees.
He approached her cautiously, sitting on the log to her left. The forest was eerily quiet now, and he wondered if it had anything to do with what had happened the night before.
He was certain there were no templars after them. Otherwise they would've been swarmed by the men by now. But it still troubled him. Asha'bellanar had not explained what had happened once she'd destroyed Xanthe'meck. He guessed that destroying the demon had closed the veil around Aeonar, and during the melee of the nightmare, they were trapped on the other side. Maybe still sleeping, or swallowed entirely into the beyond.
The thought sent a shiver up his spine.
"You don't have to wait here with me," Kena said, breaking the silence. She was refusing to look at him, instead staring into the forest's canopy. Her cheeks were flushed from exertion, which he thought made her look just a bit more healthy than the cadaverous, sun deprived woman he had first laid eyes on.
Her stomach growled loudly, and her hand darted to her belly.
Galel reached into his pack and pulled out a ripe apple. He and Jowan had gotten lucky, passing a wild apple tree in the mountains during winter; it was common knowledge that the sweetest apples grew in the coldest climates.
He held it out to her, "Here."
Amell's eyes went wide and she took the apple, immediately biting into it and chewing furiously. She took another bite, and another, and faster than Galel had seen anyone eat an apple before, she had devoured the whole thing, core and all.
She winced and doubled over, groaning, "Damn it. I need to learn to slow down."
"Are you ok?" asked Galel, unsure of what to do for her.
She seemed to be shaking. Was it from pain? She started making a strange noise in her throat, and it quickly turned into a cackle, manic and loud. She clumsily stood up, "Before Aeonar, I hated raw apples!"
She was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, wheezing quietly at what she apparently found so hilarious.
"Who hates apples?" Galel asked, unsure of what to make of the woman's strange mood, he was certain it had to do with her recent possession. Or perhaps that shove Asha'bellanar had mentioned.
"Spoiled little mages, haven't you heard? That's what Enchanter Maren always said anyhow, when I'd leave mine to rot under the bead," she chuckled, wiping her eyes. "Maker's balls that was the best damn thing I've eaten in years though, I'd forgotten what fresh fruit tasted like," she burped suddenly and covered her mouth, another small chuckle crackling in her throat.
Her expression went suddenly serious, and she met Galel's gaze, "You should just leave me here. They have my phylactery, and sooner or later, they'll find me again."
"Phylactery?" Galel was off kilter from her sudden mood swings, "I'm not familiar with it."
"It's a bottle of my blood. A stupid little bottle that acts like a leash. The Templars will find me with it, and once they figure out I've escaped…" she pulled her hand across her neck like a blade, and her eyes glazed over as she stared blankly ahead.
"That sounds like blood magic," said Galel, "are you sure they use it to find you? I thought your people forbade blood magic."
Amell's eyes went wide.
"Shit! Is it?" she said to herself, and then she sat back down, "those hypocritical nug shits!"
Galel wasn't surprised by the hypocrisy of the templars. Most people in power tended to function by double standards as a rule, and though the shemlan despised blood magic, why wouldn't they dabble in it to control their mages?
The ends justified the means it seemed, even with humans.
He felt the urge to assure her that everything would be alright, but that would be a lie. He didn't know what the future held, and it would be dishonorable to promise something he had no control over.
"Perhaps," he finally said, "or perhaps they'll assume you're dead. Along with the others."
"You don't know how the chantry is with its mages," she laughed coldly, "they're like a mabari with a bone."
Amell once again rose to her feet, and began to pace, "Tell Jowan…" she trailed off and sighed, "tell him… thanks I guess."
"You can't go alone," Galel protested. She was obviously in no state to be left on her own. Her mood was erratic, as was her energy levels. He thought about telling her what Asha'bellanar had said, but held his tongue. She was in no state to hear such things, and he was afraid of driving her further away.
And right now, they needed to keep moving.
"Stay with us, until you're stronger," he said.
"But the templars-"
"No use in worrying about that now," he said, harsh finality in his tone, and Kena went quiet.
He rose from his seat, "Come now, please, camp isn't far. You can make your decision in the morning."
Jowan stole quiet glances at Lily as they began to pack up the camp. She looked just as beautiful as he remembered, but also far more tired.
His heart ached at the thought of what she must've been through.
And then he remembered Kena's face, glaring at him outside of the Aeonar, and he felt his heart break even more.
"Jowan," said Lily, tearing him from his reverie. She was holding a small pan out to him, "Where does this go?
"Oh, I'll take it," said Jowan, grabbing the small pan and shoving it into a backpack. He turned back to face her, and she was studying his expression intently.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"Am I ok? Are you ok?!" he pivoted, squeezing her shoulders with his hands, "You don't need to worry about me, you should just rest Lily, I can pack myself."
Lily smiled and gave him another hug, and he squeezed her happily, "I'm fine Jowan, really."
Jowan's mind was still very far away, he couldn't get Kena's reaction at seeing him out of his head.
She probably blamed him.
Of course she does, you left her!
"Lily…" he said, pulling back to look at her, "is Kena, alright?"
He wasn't brave enough to ask outright, but she had looked sick, much worse than Lily.
Lily breathed out, and shook her head, "No Jowan, she isn't. She was a mage, and the tests never stopped for her."
"She seemed so angry to see me…" he began, and Lily's mouth formed into a straight line.
"Of course she is Jowan, you left her. Without a second glance or word!" Lily seemed upset on Kena's behalf, and Jowan felt utterly ashamed.
"I, I know," he said meekly, "I was just so hurt, I-"
Lily shushed him, and pointed to the trees, and a few moments later Galel and Kena emerged into the camp.
"Kena!" Lily called, waving at her.
Kena gave Lily a small smile, and began to busy herself with the fire.
You're a damned evil bastard, Jowan thought to himself, and tried desperately to focus on packing instead of what he'd done.
Kena's dreams were empty. Blissfully free of whispers and the vivid recreations of reality that had haunted her for so many years.
And most of all, they were blissfully free of Cullen.
The sun's rays slipped into the tent and warmed her face through the chilly air. She sunk further into her bedroll, afraid she'd find herself back in a cell if she dared open her eyes.
"Kena?" Lily's voice whispered from next to her.
"Mhmm?" Amell grunted in response. She couldn't get enough of the feel of the bedroll beneath her and she relished in the warm blanket wrapped tightly under her chin.
"Hungry?"
At the mention of food, Kena shot up and saw Lily holding out a piece of bread and dried meat.
She took it and ate greedily, her stomach quickly learning to accommodate her rapidly growing appetite. Kena rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, they had managed to leave the island and were now camped quite safely in the hills. It would take a damn good tracker to find them, especially during winter.
Lily chewed on her own bread, sipping from a flask of water before passing it to Kena, who drank deeply.
"Where are the others?" Kena asked, clearing her throat and peeking out of the tent.
"Jowan and the elf, erm, Galel, have gone to make sure we weren't followed," she wrapped a blanket around herself, and her red hair bunched around her face like a crown. Seven years in prison hadn't taken much from her beauty, Kena thought bitterly.
Kena pinched herself.
"It's real Kena," whispered Lily, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I think you need to stop testing yourself now."
"Just had to make sure," laughed Kena, embarrassed, "I also need to pee badly."
Lily giggled, "I'll go with you."
Peeing in the woods was almost as unpleasant as peeing in a cold dungeon chamber pot. Kena's feet could feel the ice through her flimsy shoes, and her teeth wouldn't stop chattering.
They began making their way back to camp when Kena heard a strange voice from somewhere beyond the snow heavy trees.
"Psst, over here…"
"What was that?" she snapped, looking around.
"What? What was what?" asked Lily.
"Down here…"
Kena's eyes darted to a bush just ahead, and a glassy eyed nug stared directly at her.
"Yes, yes, look at me…"
Kena took a step back, pulling Lily with her, "That, did you hear that?" she said, frantically pointing at the nug.
Lily seemed frightened, her gaze darting around until she saw the nug too.
"I'm not talking to her…" it whispered again.
"Make it stop!" Kena yelled, pinching herself again.
"Maker, I can't hear it, Kena are you alright?!" Lily said, grabbing her friend by the shoulders. Kena was panicked, her eyes wild and afraid. Lily felt powerless, was she going mad? Lily looked at the nug again, and noticed it wasn't spooked, which was strange.
It hopped toward them, slowly.
"Stay back creature!" Lily yelled, standing between Kena and the odd nug. She wasn't sure if she too was going mad, but wild nugs were not the kind of creature to approach humans freely, unless they were rabid.
"I can help you, if you let me in…" the nug whispered, it's echoing warbled voice filtering directly into Kena's mind.
Kena shoved Lily out of the way and began hurling fireball after fireball at the creature.
The nug shrieked and burst into a spray of blood and gore. A noxious ball of smog swirled up from its corpse and released a stench like sulfur that burned the hairs out of Lily and Kena's noses.
She coughed, her brain burning at the psychic intrusion.
There was a moist crackle, and the air went heavy with gray smog.
Through the darkness lurched forth a haunting creature, legless and gray with a single, glowing eye trained intently on her.
"Amell…" it purred, "Despair did not appreciate you… but we could be beautiful together-"
"Don't touch her!" screamed Jowan, bursting through the thicket and hurtling a cone of cold at the demon, freezing it in place.
Galel wasn't far behind, a thick cloud of cold whipping off his staff and shattering the demon.
The encounter was over before it started, but Amell was numb. The group focusing warily on Kena.
"Are, are you alright?" Jowan began, but she didn't seem to notice his words.
Nothing would be the same. Even with her freedom from the templars, she was still hunted.
Her chest begin to tighten, her neck spasming, it was all so overwhelming, and she couldn't breathe.
The tears began to fall, and as if watching from far away, she felt herself plunge blindly into the forest.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who faved and followed my story! Next chapter coming soon!