"Why does there always have to be stairs?" I hear the shout of Alistair hot on my heels. I know he's just as pissed off as the rest of us. To know that Duncan, the King even were down there fighting. We're stuck having to light a sodding beacon. It is the cool head of Cullen that leads the way up the stairs. I am getting tired, my legs are burning and I am caked in Darkspawn blood. "Stop complaining, Alistair." I want to look over my shoulder but I know he's grinning like a fool. He wanted some action and well, we're getting it.
We hit the top of the Tower. There is only a single door standing between the three of us. Cullen hesitates, he looks between the two of us and I nod. I wasn't ready for what might have been on the other side. He is hesitating, we know what comes with hesitating but with one single nod from Alistair he takes it as an okay to open the door. He takes a few steps down from the door and lifts his leg. With a full force kick the door swings open and we move. A spell is working itself into my mind but it is the lovely surprise of being sprayed by Ogre spit that catches us in our mid run. I shake it off, feeling disgusted. The smell was worse even and I watch as Cullen reaches over his shoulder. He crouches down and Alistair moves to the other side of me. He too is preparing for an attack. Somehow three against one very large Darkspawn doesn't seem fair. Well fair on our part.
I duck when he reaches to grab for me. I feel a hand turning me away as I weave the spell through my finger tips. The Chain Lightning forming itself within my palms as I stand up. I don't want to unleash it but I realize those men were once Templars. They can take the hit. I smirk, my lips curve into a small smile and I turn. I unleash the chain straight for the beast. He flinches as it spreads through his body. "Now!" I shout for them and they attack with full force. The Ogre hesitates in his stepping and wavers. The shock of surprise on both men's faces that the beast was tipping over was priceless. Until Cullen pushed Alistair out of the way. They skid across the cool stone and smack against the barrels surrounding us. I hear a chuckle coming from the both of them. "We work well together." Alistair moves to his feet, shaking off the adrenaline we were all feeling.
A few quiet moments of gathering what we needed to light the beacon I glance over the ledge. "Do you think they'll respond?" I ponder this aloud. Cullen moves to my side. He too looks over the ledge. "It is the King's order, isn't?" He knew just how uneasy were all feeling. Relying upon a single man and his army to win this tide of war. Some how that pit in the bottom of my stomach seemed to get worse. "So what now?" I ask, resting back on my heels. Alistair is sitting upon the ground before the beacon. Everything was lit but I know he was worried. More worried for Duncan's sake than the army below. "We wait." He says looking up to me. I smile weakly but we are all tired. I want to collapse on the cool marble and just take a nap after all that fighting.
"How…" The words leave Cullen's lips but we all feel it. That cold, dark feeling creeping over us. The doors below burst open. Alistair moves to his feet quickly. He glances over his shoulder to tell us to prepare but it is too late. He is knocked down by a set of arrows lodging themselves in his shoulders. I want to help but it is Cullen who grips my arms. "Run, Solona." He shoves me behind him. "Hide!" He shouts for me but I can't move. My feet start to work on their own and I'm running for the barrels. I land behind them. I work a spell of magic when I hear Cullen's grunt. He falls to the ground. His warm colored gaze locks with my own and I am terrified. I move to get up. To crawl to him.
Before I can I feel a rush of wind hitting us. I am blown back, my head knocks against the wall. I suddenly realize everything goes dark. The last thing I remember was a large bird gripping my fellow Grey Wardens. Leaving me behind in the process.
A wet slimy thing touches my check, my neck, my eyes and now it runs itself across my face. I grimace as I try to stand up. A whimper is heard but my head is killing me. I reach behind and touch my hair. It is matted down by blood. I realize it is my own. "Ow…" I wince when I fix myself up into a sitting position. My vision focuses and before me is a Mabari. The same one I helped save. The same one I supposed to be imprinted with at the end of this battle. Turns out he decided to do this process himself. The lazy grin upon his face makes me smile. My hand brushes against his head. "Hey boy…" I cough when I feel him curl up next to me. His head resting in my lap. I sigh and close my eyes. I know I shouldn't sleep but I am tired. Worn out from the battle but it is the urgency in the beast's licking that makes me realize I really should get up and move.
Then it hits me. I'm all alone, I'm up on the Tower. Cullen and even Alistair are no where to be found. My feet waver under me but I take my steps easily. I start to shift through the dead bodies but I know I won't find them. I find the door leading down to the lower floors but I stop before it. Falling to the steps, I wrap my arms around my legs. "I'm alone." The whimper at my side told me otherwise. "We should get out of here, yes?" He nods and I remember the old stories of Mabari. How they are quite intelligent. I don't feel so alone now.
Three days past. My legs are burning as I'm running. Sweat pouring over my eyes as I duck and weave past the flying arrows. Chasind Barbarians are following me. I feel my legs catch under me, the Mabari is growling at my side. I feel the urgency in his licks and I get back up on my feet. My lungs catch a single breath but I know I can't stop. I have to keep going. He is at my side the whole way until we come to a stop before a large cliff. Just so happens that I was at the bottom of it. I groan and turn around. They are standing before me. Three of them, their spears are out and the Mabari has taken a protective stance in front of me. I close my eyes, knowing that they wouldn't listen to reason. I bring in the veil and I feel my bones getting colder. I summon the Winter's Grasp as my hands glow with the same frozen force. I open my eyes and they don't move. They've seen magic before and I know who is at fault for that. "She's a witch!" One in the middle shouts. The other two look between them. "Kill her!" Without hesitating I let loose the elements. They stand before me, frozen to the ground. I fall to the ground, the soft dirt felt so comfortable under my knees. The constant licking told me I should get up. "We need to find our way out of the wilds." The Mabari nods, agreeing of course.
It doesn't take us long to find the stretch of road. The heels of my feet are bleeding, my hands are aching from the frozen spell I just used and I am so sodding tired. The faithful companion walks quietly at my side. He doesn't bark, whimper or lick me to death. He seems to understand that we need to find a place to sleep. But we keep walking, I don't try to rest. I keep going. Darkness creeps into the sky and I keep going. I buckle, my knees hitting the stone under me and I rest back. "I can't go any further." I mutter but the Mabari nudges my hand. "I know, I know that's your sign for telling me that we're almost there." A smile tugs at my lips but I sit up. I am still suffering from the nasty knock in the head. My eyes are blurry but that was just from being tired.
We walked for what felt like days. But it was late at night we finally see the lights of a settlement. I let out a breath of air, I want to run to the nearest Inn and crash. The Mabari starts to growl. I can feel the urgency in his voice to keep moving but it is dark. I can barely see three feet ahead of me. So I walk, walk and walk until I collide into a pair of hands. "There, there Miss. You should watch where you're going." I look up. He's a good foot or so taller than me and I realize just way the Mabari was growling. They were bandits, if not highway men. "I'm sorry but we can't let you past. Not unless you want to pay the toll." My eyes narrow. I didn't have time for this. "Ten Silvers, should do it." The Mabari growls lower, deeper and the wave of his frustration hits me. "No." I growl with him. "I will not pay you anything. Now leave me alone." I demand but the Leader sighs. He looks me up and down. "I'm sure we can come up with some sort of arrangement." My fists clench up at my sides. My nails biting into the palms. "No, we will not." As if he knew the answer, he reaches over his shoulder. He smiles sympathetically and I want to smear his face into the ground. "You really should have just agreed." They surround me and I reach within me. I reach for the most powerful spell I have at my disposal: Tempest.
The veil enters into the area. My eyes close and I start to feel the growing power within my fingertips. They grimace when the dog moves behind me. Watching my back and I don't mind, he will be protected just so long as he with me. My eyes open and the spell leaves my body as it slams them to the ground. Lightning forms in a wide berth circle around me. I fall to the ground. The last of my energy it seems has dissipated with that last spell. They are all unconscious around me. I hear the twitching of their armor as it sends the shock wave through them. Keeping them on the ground for now, stunning them.
I want to get up to my feet but I can't move. I am so tired. My eyes close as I lean over on the ground, completely tired. I hear steps somewhere in the distance. "Solona!" I hear my name being called and I want to turn around to see who it is that is calling me but I can't budge. A low deep growl leaves the Mabari. My hand touches him and he calms. A form lands at my side. "Solona, oh Maker you're alive." Cullen's voice cuts through the utter willpower I have to stay awake. "You're alive, oh Maker. You're alive." He picks me up. Both arms cradling me like a child. He ignores the two figures behind him. I want to fall asleep but I know I can't stay awake for much longer. "Thor…" I call for the Mabari. My hand falls upon his head and he licks it. Worried for me and I don't mind. "I'm tired." I mutter as I curl up within his arms.
I don't want to wake up but there the sound of growling. The shaking of the bed as the beast stands up next to me. I open my eyes slowly. "Thor… go back to sleep." I groan, turning over my side. "Solona… er… could you call him off of me?" I hear someone else's voice near the edge of the room. I open my eyes a little more and rub the sleep from them. "Alistair?" I speak his name as my vision comes clearer he is backed into the corner near the door. Thor's hackles up, the hair on his back standing straight up. I want to laugh at the sight but I know better. "Thor, come here." I pat the bed next to me and he changes his position to look to me. "It's okay. Alistair might be a mean man but he has the best intentions." As if he understood me, he backs down. He crawls upon the bed next to me. Resting his head in my lap, I realize I wasn't wearing my clothes. Instead just a simple shirt that was a little long for me. "So why are you here?" Alistair hesitates, watching the Mabari practically purring in my lap. "I uh… came to check up on you. Cullen has been frantic but Morrigan is treating him right now." My eyes narrow at the 'treating' and Morrigan parts.
"Morrigan?" Alistair settles himself in one of the chairs by the window. "Yeah the woman we ran into the woods a few days back." He runs his fingers through his hair. He wasn't wearing of his armor, just simple clothing. "Cullen is having problems…" Alistair looks up. His gaze was just as tired as my own but I suddenly feel myself panicking. "What is wrong?" He drifts his gaze to the Mabari. "You don't know how Templars are trained do you?" I shake my head. No one in the circle did. They were just those silent statues in the doorways. Only they watch our every move. "They are trained to counter a Mage's spells. Sort of a Tank on the battle field. But when they take their vows they are slowly given raw Lyrim." I knew what that would entail. "He's addicted to it?" I ask and Alistair's gaze returns to my own. "With the Taint in his blood he is able to hold it back but Morrigan is slowly helping him off of it." Why would she help? I ponder this as my gaze drifts to the hound resting in my lap. "She is helping because she knows that her ass is on the line just as much as our own." He answers my question without having to ask it. "He'll be fine. Give him a few days and he'll back on his feet. It's just… difficult now for him." He moves to his feet. "Alistair?" I look up to meet his eyes. They held something behind them. Fear? Despair? Sadness? Loss? "Are you alright?"
He looks away as his fists clench at his sides. "I'm fine, Amell." I move up. My feet hitting the warm floor by my bed. I realize I was wearing nothing under the very large shirt and ponder as to who undressed me. Shaking the thought I come up behind him. My arms wrap themselves around his waist. I press my head against his back. He is reluctant but I hear the soft sob leave his throat. "Duncan did what he thought was best." I speak against his back. "I might not have known him for as long as you, but he was a good man. He saved me from a life that I didn't deserve." I squeeze my arms a little tighter when his hands touch my own. "I am sorry," I mutter against him. "I am sorry that you are in pain. He had you, he had you and you have his memories. He would want us to complete this task for him." His sob breaks free. His hands leave my own as they clutch for his face. He lets loose something I had a feeling he had been holding in for days now. After a few quiet moments of standing there, he moves away. I let go, my hands falling to my sides. "I would like to go to Highever when this is all over with. Have a proper funeral for him." I hear the whimper of Thor on my bed. "May I go with you?" I ask of him. He is surprised to hear my offer but a smile is there. This time it's his lazy grin that reaches his eyes. "I would like that."
Lothering was nothing like I thought it would be. I wander through the dust filled streets. Hearing people argue, watching as children run rampant and most of all the arguing of Alistair and Morrigan behind me. They haven't stopped since we decided it was time to leave. With the recruited members of Sten and Leliana… it was slightly embarrassing to hear them yell at each other. Cullen on the other hand some how drowned them out.
We stop before the Bannorn. I know that the path that laid ahead of us was a dangerous one but I am glad I did not have to do it alone. He looks down to me. "Are you alright?" He wonders aloud. I shrug, hearing the snarling from Morrigan for something Alistair had remarked upon. "I'm fine, what of you?" He seemed distant since the attack on the Tower. Since Morrigan had to slowly help him with his addiction. He doesn't seem the same. I wonder as to why that was but I know better. He would dance around the subject until we are alone. "Headache but nothing new." He gives me his secret smile and I return it. "Come on, we've got some daylight to burn." I laugh at his words but I know he's right. "We have a hard and difficult path ahead of us but I'm glad you're alright." His hand reaches for my own. He squeezes gently and I return the squeeze.
A/N: Okay, so those awesome people who keep leaving me reviews! They deserve some shout outs! So first off: Sandradee27: Well I figured he'd be like that. You know since he's all the only one who is survives out of all of his comrades. He has to be confident, cool and just so there. Though there will be some moments in the all too distant futures where he'll probably question himself. Haha and yeah, I figured there will be some funny moments between Alistair and Cullen. Where Solona is just chatting with Alistair and rumors start to fly that they are seeing each other. AND BAM Cullen is like tackles Alistair. Which should just be great. Xmaster: Sigh I know. But he just seems like that kind of guy. Ya know the kind that is like okay fixes this by hugging? maybe? no? okay won't don't that. Haha yeah. Cullen will do something about later. DarkMage6: Don't we all, darling, don't we all! Much love to all of you who left me reviews! I adore you all! ;)
Okay I know this was kind of a short chapter and I added my own twist to this. It's A/U so you know, that's what makes it great. There will be some funny moments in the future and more Cullen/Amell action tooo.
And I do not own Dragon Age: Origins that credit goes to Bioware! :)