Chapter Fourteen
To the Tower
The next morning, Alim – the new designated second leader – took Lyna, Morrigan and Leliana and began walking toward the Circle at Kinlock. Knowing my mate was there and that I had already failed him by leading us the wrong way…
Fates, but I hoped he wouldn't blame me. I hoped he would understand… but I worried. According to the wiki, the uprising started a week or so – in estimate – after Ostagar. I was still out cold then.
And yes – Embers' idiotic Kelpie mate tried to follow her here. Cailan had taken him down the second Ember muttered the mans' name in fear. Maria had taken the corpse as food. No one had stopped her. Birds did like fish…
Alistair held me at night and whispered soothing things about how he was sure Cullen would love me… I hoped he was right.
About half way to the tower, it was confirmed that Ember was mated to Sapphire Sand and – as such – Cailans' alliance with the Vampires would stand as soon as Ember was named Queen of Ferelden. Sapphire had been overjoyed to have a second mate in her life. Her first had been another of the few species that had life-mates; Valkyries.
When Sapphire heard that I had encouraged the 'in-person' evaluation to see if that was the case (because Ember didn't have jealousy) and that Arthur had too… well the Blood Shadow Clan received better support from the Shifting Sands and I received a handmade crown; made by Sapphire.
It was beautiful – pure black-silver twisted around to look like infinite loops ending in a 4-point-star-shaped ruby that would rest above my brow. It was more of a circlet than a true crown, but it was beautiful.
I took to wearing it since I was actually a princess…
After all, I didn't want anyone saying that I wasn't worthy of my mates – and since one of them was a Prince, then it was only right that I kept my status as a Princess out in the open even if I didn't want it.
And by the time we were attacked by Zevran, we were already almost to the tower.
Aedan, Sten, Morrigan, Alistair and I had been walking almost all day. We were almost ready to call it… when the 'Ambush' happened.
A woman rushed up to us on the road; she was 5'6 with cropped blond hair, grey eyes and pale skin. She wore tattered rags and looked to be out of breath, but I sensed her mana – similar to Alim or Solona – and I knew at once what was happening.
"Oh; thank the Maker! Please, you must help us; they attacked the wagon!" she faked a frantic look.
Aedan glanced at me, "Is this that Ambush with the crow that you were talking about?"
I nodded, "One in the same. This is where we kill a shit ton of Mercs because they won't surrender. Want me to call in help or do you think we can handle it?"
The woman blanched, "Y-you…"
I killed her before she could run off to warn the others. Aedan sighed, "Call in help."
Rather than summon our friends… I called in Arthur. "Hey bro… I'm about to be ambushed…"
He appeared in an instant and said, "I'm guessing Zev?"
I nodded with pleading eyes, "You're faster and stronger and I've been walking all day… I'm tired and don't wanna deal with a fight."
He ruffled my hair and said, "Of course. Give me 5 minutes. Save Zev or kill him?"
"Save. I have a feeling he's meant for one of my friends so…" I shrugged.
"You got it." He leaned in and kissed my cheek before speeding off toward the Ambush. I heard a few screams and grinned at my mate, "They won't even see what's killing them – he's too fast."
Alistair pulled me close to him, "Well, as long as you aren't in danger, I can't argue with results."
Morrigan sneered, "You two are making me ill."
"Then don't watch," I quipped, "You have yours and I have mine."
Arthur returned and dumped a hog-tied assassin – complete with Apple in his mouth – at my feet and said, "Your prize, my darling sister. Need anything else?"
"Not at the moment. Thank you, Art!" I smiled happily.
Arthur shadow-stepped back to Denerim and I took us all into my house. We were done for the day as far as I was concerned.
I dumped Zevran in the middle of the living room. Everyone turned to look at us. Alistair said, "Are we really recruiting the Assassin that was hired to kill us?"
I gave him an innocent look, "But… it's just Zevran. He belongs to someone in our group… how could we possibly kill one of our friends mates? I mean… I wouldn't like it if someone hurt you."
He frowned, "Hmm. You have a point. But what if he's loyal to Howe?"
I held up a finger and leaned down to wake up the elf.
He groaned in pain, "… Who – where am I? I rather thought I would wake up dead; or not at all, as the case may be…"
"Zevran Arianni – do you still wish for death or do you want to live?"
"… You were told I was coming on contract then? Blue hair; I suppose that makes you the princess that I was to capture."
"Loghain is on my side here – not Howes. Now, now, dear – come on. Answer my question. I don't want to kill you if you can be turned to our side. See, I know that you want to live and that you miss Antiva and that our group can keep the crows off of you. And what's this? It appears that I happen to have a few nice bottles of Antivan Brandy for you if you join us! My, my – isn't that enticing?" I grinned.
Zev looked considering, "… What makes you think I wanted death at all?"
"You chose to fight us with a few mercs. Now, I'm no genius, but knowing we had such a large group with a princess full of amazing magics… that sounds like courting death to me. Lucky for you, death and I have an understanding." I teased as I sipped the Brandy. It really was good; that was why I'd asked my sister to begin distilling more for me when she'd brought Alana to discuss runes with Sandal.
"… I suppose that does make it rather obvious. I suppose that I can only accept the offer of a lovely woman offering me asylum."
"Don't flirt with me, sweet. I'm married happily and already have a second man. My dear Prince gets so jealous of my affections; I worry that he'll finish what my darling brother started and kill you. Faren, see him to one of the empty rooms for me? Don't worry, Morrigan – he won't poison our food." I grinned and passed the mostly full bottle of brandy to Zev.
Alistair hoisted me back to my feet and put his arm around my shoulders. Zevran looked at him in amusement, "I take it you are her husband then?"
"What gave it away?" Alistair quipped drily.
I gave a small laugh and kissed Alistairs' cheek, saying, "I do love when you get possessive."
He flashed me a smile, "Is that so?"
I hummed an agreement then squeaked in shock as he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. He began walking toward the stairs, "Then I suppose we can call this me, staking a claim."
I laughed – knowing that this was mostly for show, but loving it, nonetheless.
In our room he set me down and I said, "You know this is going to cause my sister – if not the whole damn group – to talk… right? We're going to get ribbed like mad and people will want to know if our 'first time' was any good."
He flushed, "I… didn't think of that…"
I shrugged, "Actions and consequences, my love… we may as well give them something to talk about…"
He swallowed hard, "L-like what?"
"Well… we could always make out and give each other love-bites," I suggested with a mischievous grin. He said, "I-I… well…"
I pulled him in for a kiss and I guess that's where my plan was decided on.
When we came back down stairs for dinner, I had a very nice hickey on the left side of my neck. Alistair had a matching one.
Cailan looked amused – most did – but Solona said, "Did you two actually have sex or…?"
I gave her an innocent look, "What's the betting pool at?"
Faren barked a laugh, "Odds are on it. Only 2 people have bet against – Leliana and Morrigan. If they are right, then they split what amounts to 400 sovereigns."
"Wow – they're rich," I said in wonder.
Groans came from the table as people began paying up. I giggled.
Zevran spoke from his chair near the door, "So, Bella – you two are married but have yet to do anything?"
"What's so wrong with that? Waiting just makes the event more fun in my opinion – the anticipation can be quite trilling," I said, hoping to shut this line of conversation back down swiftly. Alistair squeezed my hand in his lightly – he was a touch person and that was how he expressed his love more often than not; a pat here, a squeeze there. It was… cute.
Zevran was incorrigible, "Is that so? I have found that the most thrilling thing is a massage – I can teach him how…"
Alistair shut him up, "Massages are something all young bastards learn, Crow – especially when we're tending to pampered Mabari."
I had to bite back my smile; my sister had no qualms, "Hmm – so… you've massaged my sister?"
He nodded – not seeing the trap… He said, "When she had been used as a pincushion in the tower of Ishal, I massaged her so that her muscles didn't get stiff while she recovered. The nutty old bat said it would help and I was just hoping to help however I could. So… 3 massages a day for a week and a half."
Ember looked like she would swoon and said, "Damn it… can't tease you for that. Oh well."
He looked confused, "Tease…?"
Cailan snorted, "He's so innocent that it's painful."
"Mmmh-hmm… so uh… want to tell me why you two haven't fully mated yet? I know Ember sealed it with Sapphire, but with you? Your threads aren't completely aligned yet – even if you've been telling us all otherwise." I called them out.
Ember cursed and Cailan just shrugged, "I'll take a page from your book – None of your Business."
I nodded, "So we're done talking about sex for now?"
Ember nodded back, "I guess so… Sia stopped by and made dinner for us. It's chicken pasta."
I served myself and asked, "She have Alana with her?"
"That was why she stopped by – for Alana to play with Sandal." Ember said. Alana thought of rune-crafting as a hobby so it was 'playing' with.
Dinner was quieter after that – but not in a bad way.
When we finally arrived at the tower, I was a nervous wreck. We were unable to cross by boat because the waters were treacherous at night.
But I wasn't going to sleep when my mate needed me! By now, he had been in the hands of blood mages for over two months now. So, I sent all but Alistair into my house and did what any rational Jinni would do – I went up to the broken-down bridge and began teleporting across each broken piece.
Alistair was only allowed out of the house during this because of two main reasons. One, he was my mate and had asked. Two, he kept telling me reassuring words.
Once we arrived at the other side, I walked through the doors without a thought.
"I want two men stationed on that door at all… times…" Greagoir was 6'1 with salt-and-pepper hair, stern brown eyes, and tanned skin.
He looked at me in confusion, "Blue hair – are you a mage?"
I shook my head, "Try it old man. I am here as the Genie Liaison to the Wardens. I am Princess Avalon Angel Theirin and I am here to solve your troubles in the tower… I brought friends."
I waved my hand an everyone but Oren was brought from my house to stand behind me.
Solona jumped forward, "Hey, Knight-Commander!"
Alim threw an arm around my shoulders, "Greg! Long time, no see."
Alistair yanked Alim off of me, "My wife, Alim."
Greagoir was on edge – and I could tell that he was testing me as a mage at the moment. He relaxed, "How can you do magic – you're… not a mage."
Many Templars around us chattered hearing that. I snorted, "I'm a genie – look. I'll leave someone here to explain it all to you while we fight through the tower… Ember, King Cailan – you two will stay here."
Heads whipped around to look at the king – who was lightly holding his mate around the waist. Greagoir recognized him, "Y-your majesty." He bowed.
"I'd appreciate if you kept quiet that I'm still alive. Half the army saw me die – Genies have wonderful life-saving devices. On the blow that would have killed me, I was instead teleported to her house – a place very hard to reach without magic." Cailan grinned, "But yes, Ava – I'll tell Greagoir about Genies and Fereldens' alliance with them and the Vampires."
"Wait." Someone said, "She introduced herself as Theirin."
I nodded, "King Cailan has a half-brother – Alistair here; and the prince of the Blood Shadow Vampires married us, so… I'm Cailans' sister-in-law. On top of that, my half-sister is going to marry Cailan. He actually deposed of Anora already, it just isn't widely known."
"…I have a headache."
"And I have work to do," I quipped and began heading for the doors that led to the rest of the tower. I wanted to save my mate.
Alistair rushed to my side, "Ava, calm – we know he'll be okay; if you rush, you can't help him any more than… we'll save him."
"I beg pardon, but who are you here for?" Greagoir asked stiffly.
I shot him a chilled look, "Jinni have pre-destined mates. You may ask more from Cailan and Ember while I go save my mate. Cailan, I do not want to be fielding questions when I come back if they're ones you can answer. Answer his questions or I'm docking your fucking pay."
Cailan coughed, "Yes, Your Majesty."
I didn't care about him making it clear who was in charge – I cared about storming the tower. I said, "Open the fucking doors and let me through; I'll clean out your infestation and bring you First Enchanter Irving."
Greagoir motioned, "Let her in."
The guards at the door hesitantly opened it and I stalked through with all the wardens, Morrigan, Leliana, Sten and Zevran following along behind me.
I'd admit to being worried about my mate – and I knew my own 'selfish' desire to save him was how I would be able to use magic here… I prayed that I wouldn't be too late.
There were no demons… and no people… in the first two rooms – which were set up like dorm rooms filled with bunkbeds and nightstands… and a side room each that had two vanity desks and a chamber pot.
I looked at Alistair and he shook his head. I knew he was right – there was no point changing it now.
Past those two rooms, we came to some sort of open area – where many mages and children were gathered while an older human woman fought off a molten lava monster. I reached out and froze it solid. Heads whipped around to look at me.
The Older Woman spun with her staff held defensively – she looked to be in her late 40's to early 50's; so not really old, just older than the others gathered around her. Her hair, however, was silver-white and pulled back into a tight bun. It fit her, somehow. And her eyes were green and sharp, but wise. She said, "Who are you and how did you get in here… wait – I know you. You're the Genie Princess from Ostagar."
"Wynne." I nodded to the potential companion. "I take it you remember that Genies have pre-determined mates? One of mine is trapped at the top of this tower. You can either come with me and save him and Enchanter Irving and thus save the circle – or you can wait here while me and my group do it ourselves. I'd prefer you join us because I'm not stupid enough to turn away a healer, but this… I understand if you wish to look after the children."
She lowered her staff, "I'll join you. Petra and Kinnon can watch the children while I leave the barrier up behind us."
I thought it over, "I will also leave Lyna Mahariel and Alim Surana here with them – it's… best that we don't have all of our wardens in one group anyway. Better to be safe than to be sorry. Leliana, you stay back too… the children might like having a minstrel to ease their worries."
Leliana nodded and took the lute that I passed to her and motioned for the kids to gather around her. Lyna and Alim didn't argue – Alim just said, "Thank you, Commander."
I knew why. He may not have liked the circle, but he didn't want to see it – and thus everyone he'd grown up with – fall. Solona patted his shoulder and exchanged a look with him before we began heading off.
Wynne asked as soon as we were out of hearing range, "Who is your… mate?"
"A man – templar – by the name of Cullen Stanton Rutherford. I wish I had come to the circle first; had I but known… I chose to save the Dalish Elves from a plight against werewolves. I apologize for my late arrival."
She shook her head, "I am merely glad someone came to save us at all, child. You cannot be blamed for this. Uldred can take all of the blame."
I didn't correct her – focusing on killing demon after demon. It was odd; they didn't seem to see me most of the time – and when they did, it was all focused on where my magic core was. It was like they could see my magic, but not me. I worried that meant they would try something – like possession. Could Genies be possessed?
I never knew a genie that could, to be honest – and there were many types of Demon and Daemon in Elysium. However – I couldn't know for sure until one tried on not only me, but at least 4 other Jinn with a good cross-section of backgrounds. For example; what if Banshees – as technical spirits – couldn't be, but mermaids could. I'd be immune, but not my cousin. I doubted Dragonkin could be possessed as they were half-beasts, but I could be wrong…
Focusing on logistics calmed me a bit and took my mind off what was going on, so I continued thinking about it. I knew Jinn could be affected by Demons and Daemons; I'd once had a really nasty run in with a Succubus who really didn't like that I couldn't grant their wish for someone to die.
But the demons that we were fighting here seemed somehow… different. Not weaker or stronger but just very different. Like they weren't supposed to be demons. And logically, I knew they weren't – they were twisted spirits.
It was on the second floor that I had my first encounter with a Tranquil. I knew the cure but wondered if it would even be wise. For one, he chose it voluntarily. For two… emotions were like any other muscle – if you didn't use it for a long time, it could be devastating to regain.
I chose not to have Solona or Alim call a spirit to undo this – it had been too long and this man had made his choice.
Solona commented to me as we moved through the tower, "You were looking at Owain pretty hard there – must be… different to see a Tranquil."
"Huh? Oh – not really. They're similar enough to the Faceless Ones. No face or emotion. No, I was considering curing him – but he chose it and may not be able to handle getting his emotions back after so long. See, emotions are a delicate thing – you really need to use them to be able to use them. After too long… you get a screaming mess. Faceless Ones can make people 'Tranquil' on request – some older beings are just done with it, you know. So, I know the reverse consequences – when people get their emotions back."
"Your people can… cure Tranquility?" Alim asked.
I blinked, "Uh… so can yours. But it's really not my place to say just yet – Wynne discovering that information is what really starts the events of the third game." I said.
"… You won't explain?" Alim asked.
"Not unless the Fates allow it. Though, I will be reversing a lot of rites in Kirkwall." I shrugged, "Most of them on Harrowed mages."
"That's illegal," Wynne hissed.
"Meredith is nuts." I returned.
The climb through the tower was nerve-wracking for me – I kept dwelling on the fact that I had magic and my mate was being tortured. Would he be alright? Would he hate me?
I guess it really was no surprise that I was too distracted and kept taking hits. Alistair kept trying to block them but… to no avail.
And when it came time to finally face sloth, none of us were too surprised that I took a really hard hit and got knocked out as we entered the room.
