Bioware owns Dragon Age and all the characters, I own Melora, though, and any future OCs
An Apostate's Soul
Chapter Three: The Deep Roads!
Melora stared at the money she had, still wondering how she had managed to get enough in such a short amount of time. She waited for Varric and Isabela outside the Hanged Man with Fenris, Anders, Carver, and Merrill. Since her talk with Anders, she opened up more to him and Aveline, who had been busy lately with becoming the Captain of the Guard, so Melora felt she would be needed here.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Carver asked.
"It'll get Mother out of Gamlen's house... That's what I want..." She muttered the last part, her heart saying she lied with that. All she wanted was to have some happiness in her life. A few days ago, she and Fenris finally started seeing eye-to-eye about things that weren't magic related like slavers.
"Is it wise for you to even go?" Fenris asked.
"If I don't go, then I might as well be-"
"Sorry about the wait. Had to get a few things." Varric said. "Aveline still training?" He asked.
"Yeah. Let's go talk to Bartrand. You have the maps, Anders?"
"Right here," Anders said, giving them to her.
Carver blinked before furrowing his eyebrows. "What were you going to say earlier, Sister?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Let's just go." She sighed as they walked to Hightown where Varric's brother was waiting.
"Varric! Where did you get off to? And what are you plotting?" Bartrand Tethras asked.
"Bartrand! So suspicious! I have, in fact, brought us our future partner!" Varric said.
"What? Partner? You stupid, nug-humping dirt-farmer! Why did you go promising something like that?"
"Because if we don't get this expedition moving, Brother, then we won't have any profits to argue about, will we?" Varric reminded.
"Hmph... Maybe you have a point." Bartrand said, humming.
"I feel the love here. Feels like home." Melora teased, smirking a little.
"What I want is the coin to back up his words... You have it?" He asked.
Melora rolled her eyes and tossed the coin purse to him, wincing internally when he seemed to be entranced by the money. 'This is going to be a long trip...' She blinked when Leandra walked over, knowing full well she was acting.
"I need to know if you're taking Carver with you."
"I might need..."
"Of course. We need this money, Mother. I'll be fine."
"I can't lose you, Carver... You're all I have..."
Melora hid the hurt by looking to the sky as if she saw something interesting in it as Carver replied. "If you're still worried, I should go and she should hide."
She felt that barb drill itself deep into the wound from earlier and she masked her emotions. "He'll be fine."
"That's what you said before and I lost my darling Bethany." Leandra shot, her voice showing the hate while her face remained stoic.
Melora turned away and went to stand beside Isabela, having a hunch that she would rather deal with the rogue than her own mother. She learned to never, ever, speak up against her mother, in case she caused a scene. Deep in her soul, she knew her mother was still mourning Bethany and remembered that she was like this when her father passed away.
"Personal drama over with?" Bartrand asked as Carver joined back up. "The Deep Roads await!"
During one night at camp, Melora was on the outskirts of the camp, being sure to stay nearby in case something happened, and sat on some rocks. Holding a hand up, she summoned a flame, twirling it between her fingers and staring at the red and orange flame. She had withdrawn from most of her friends since they left, mostly out of instinct and mostly because she had to deal with her emotions. Glancing over when she felt similar magic, she was a little surprised to see Anders.
"Here you are. Most of our friends were wondering where you went to." He said, taking a seat next to her.
"... Sorry. I had to clear my head..." She said, sighing and dispelling the flame.
"No need to stop thinking on my behalf... I needed my own break."
Blinking, she nodded and instead summoned sparks on her tips. "About Mother... Sorry you had to hear that... It's not the first or the last time she will say that." Staring at the sparks, she frowned. "She blamed me when our father died and never stopped until Bethany and Carver were four. So, for an 8-year-old to have to deal with that, I've gotten used to just getting blamed."
"With Bethany, it wasn't your fault. I assume you had run into a hoard, so there was no possible way to predict that." Anders guessed.
Melora's sparks turned red for a split second before she answered. "There was. I could've run to push her out of the way. Or I could've made the ogre face me. That memory makes me remember why my mother hates me." Her sparks vanished as she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her forehead on her knees. After a few moments, she seemingly sealed up the previously escaping emotions and stood up. "I think they're ready. Let's go."
Anders, on the other hand, was utterly lost at the switch. He only saw his commander do that a few times, but she, at the time, often let him know what was wrong. With Hawke, those answers weren't coming so easily now. And surprisingly, he found himself hating that fact, despite Justice saying to ignore her.
Melora panted after fighting an ancient wraith that, according to Varric, usually guarded treasures. She really wanted to kill Bartrand the next time she saw that dwarf, considering he had locked her, Anders, Varric, Isabella, Merrill and Carver in a room that had housed a red lyrium idol. Heading towards a side cave, her mouth dropped at how much gold was there. "I... Wow..."
"Let's hope there's a key that opens doors in that pile. And collect the best pieces we can carry so we can get out of here." Varric said.
She grinned and grabbed as much as she could fit into her small pouch, which was a lot in her mind, and grabbed the key to unlock the locked door. "I'm sooo moving out..." She mumbled.
Carver raised an eyebrow. "You mean help Mother reclaim the old house?"
"Yeah..." She sighed, hating him bursting her daydream as they entered a long hallway.
"This might be our best bet to get to the surface."
"How long?" She asked.
"If we're unlucky, maybe a week."
She raised an eyebrow. "And if we're lucky?"
"We stumble over Bartrand's corpse on the way."
Melora giggled softly and shook her head as they made their way to a familiar part of the Deep Roads. "This part looks familiar..."
"We're back where we started and in only five days... Not bad, eh?"
Melora nodded as she calculated how long it would take if they rested or not. 'It might be another two days without resting, three with...'
"Think we could... take a break? I feel... wrong..." Carver said slowly.
She nodded. "We can make camp if you're sick..."
"I'll wager it is the deep mushrooms we found..." Varric joked as Carver dropped to his knees.
"Oh, I think they were tasty."
"No... It's..." He said as he fell over.
Melora, being her, rushed over. "Carver!" She said, helping him to his elbow as worry and fear sank into her stomach.
"It's the blight... I can sense it." Anders informed.
The words sent her into a tailspin as she recalled Wesley, Aveline's Templar husband who had died. Her heart raced as Carver spoke the words she feared.
"Just like that Templar, Wesley. I'll be just as dead, just as gone..."
"There must be another way..." She searched her mind for any answers.
"I thought it was nothing... Hoped, anyway. Idiot!" He said.
Melora shook her head. "You're just as much an idiot as I am..."
"I'm not going to make it. Not to the surface, not anywhere. It's getting worse."
"You are and will... I won't lose you, too. I'd never forgive myself if I lost you too! Even if we bicker, you're my precious baby brother, Carver... I won't..." She bit back words that haunted her every night: I won't be strong enough to move on.
"There might be something we can do," Anders said. "I got the maps from my old commander and she said they might make a trip down to the Deep Roads..."
"Does that mean the Grey Wardens are here?"
"If the Grey Wardens are here, I know where. We can bring him to them."
"And what? Become a Grey Warden?"
She looked up and tilted her head. "Is becoming a Grey Warden a cure?"
"I suppose it is... But it's not without a price-one not everyone is willing to pay."
"That price being? Spit it out, will you?" She inquired.
"The process of becoming a Warden is... unpleasant. And irreversible... And it also means you might not see your brother again. He might survive the blight but at the cost of becoming a Grey Warden. It's not an easy life, trust me." Anders explained. "Then again, my commander made being a Grey Warden look like fun."
"What about you? You got away from them and you're not a Grey Warden anymore." Melora pointed out.
"I had my commander send me off with a grin... But eventually, the Circle will drag me right back. I have no illusions about that."
"How does one become a Grey Warden?" She asked.
"I can't tell you, but it's not something you can undo if you change your mind later." He explained.
"This just keeps sounding better and better." Carver's tone made him sound a little drunk at the beginning before it smoothed out.
"They might agree to it, however... Especially if who I think is leading them is... That's if we can find them in time."
Melora nodded and helped Carver stand. "If there's even a chance, we have to take it."
"Then I hope I'm right." Anders sighed as they traveled towards another dwarven hall, where he stopped them.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I think they're nearby..." He said before darkspawn showed up. "Or it could be darkspawn..."
Melora fought right by Carver, keeping tabs on him and guarding him if need be before they fought off all the spawn, Anders slicing through one, revealing a silver-eyed, red-brown haired woman.
"Hey, Anders..."
"Jaya, fancy meeting you here."
"You know me, I love exploring... I thought you were dead"
"That's just a rumor... But, I didn't come to catch up with you, Jaya."
An eyebrow rose as she looked to Carver, who was being held up by Melora. "I see... Just when my day couldn't get better... Another recruit." She sighed and brushed back a strand of her hair before her face turned serious, surprising Melora. "Hope you know this isn't a kindness or pity... We Grey Warden's aren't a charity... It's part of some rule or something..."
"If Carver dies, it's on your head." She threatened, glaring at Jaya. "Carver's a fine warrior. You'll be stupid not to recruit him."
"Trust me when I tell you..." Anders tried to intervene.
Jaya, however, took a few moments to scan the boy up and down before smirking slightly. "He's not 'fine', but 'suitable'. I can tell he has untapped strength... Besides, Anders, you seemingly forgotten my own husband?"
Anders rolled his eyes and nodded. "True."
Jaya smiled softly at a memory. "Alright, we'll take him and let you know. I'm not gonna follow that rule of 'sealing off contact with kin'. That's sodding heartless... I feel old all of a sudden."
Anders chuckled. "You? Old? Never."
"Then... I guess this is it... Take care of Mother..."
"I promise..." Melora said as a Warden came and took him so she didn't need to support him.
"You're just saying that because I recruited you myself." Jaya said, glancing at the boy before sighing. "He's stable, I can feel it. By the way... I'm Jaya Theirin, Commander of the Grey."
"Wait... Queen Jaya?" Isabela teased.
"Well, look who it is: Isabela. Weren't you on a ship?" She teased back with a smile that Melora was surprised to see.
"Lost it." The rogue shrugged
"That's the fifth one already... Alistair will start demanding you send a payment next time..." She sighed with a head shake before facing Anders and Melora. "By the way... If you ever are back in Ferelden, drop by Denerim... I'm sure my husband would enjoy the company, despite having the twins and myself... See ya." She then turned and ordered the group to head back to the surface, making sure that the boy was taken care of.
Melora, on the other hand, was confused at how the woman had held herself. "Are you sure she was your commander, Anders? She seemed peppier than most Grey Wardens."
"That's just her, Melora. Jaya has always had that upbeat attitude. From what she told me, she had been dealt a terrible hand at first." Anders explained. "And it's how she was when she recruited me."
Isabella nodded. "Back when the Blight was going on, she was constantly moving forward. Maybe that's why she got her love, huh?" She asked Anders with a smile.
"I believe she knew him before everything happened, so it was inevitable." Anders explained with a nod as they made their way towards another exit.
"She's married?" Melora asked, clearly wanting to learn more about this woman.
"Yes. I believe he's the King..." Isabella answered. "My, my. I remember that one night... we had fun..."
"'Had fun'? Rivani, don't tell me you..." Varric said.
"Of course, he had to be asked, but he was up to it. I saw and felt their love, it was beautiful. Since then, I knew he'd never stray from her." Isabella said, a kind face on as she remembered. "It's truly a deep love that is rare to find in this time."
"Wow. Did you sleep with not only a king but a Grey Warden? What was that like?" Merrill, bless her, asked as if it were a sleepover or something.
"Daisy, I wouldn't ask again... Just, don't." Varric commented. "I think they're lives need to stay private."
"Agreed. I'd like to keep my respect for her and him high." Anders agreed as they got to the surface. "There we are... I know Jaya will send word to me and I'll let you know about it as soon as I can, Hawke." He said, heading towards his clinic while the others went their own ways.
Melora gulped and made the trek towards Gamlen's place, preparing for the outburst that might wake even Ferelden itself. She placed her staff outside, knowing she wouldn't need it inside. She gripped the coinage she gathered and opened the door.
I had to edit this so many times it is ridiculous. Stroud's dialogue wasn't what Jaya would say, yet she had to also sound like the Commander of the Grey she is. But, I see her teasing Isabella and even Anders.
~~Kiwi~~