A couple hours after leaving the cave where Yavana had led Azariah, they were all now back on track and continuing to Minrathous. Azariah noticed Fiona looking down and almost like she was deep in thought, so she had Caramel walk closer to Fiona's horse and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Huh?" Fiona asked, suddenly being startled out of her thoughts. "Oh… sorry, Azariah. I'm fine, I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"I can't get what that witch said out of my head. I mean… could it be possible that my ancestor really was the last King of Arlathan? That would mean that I'm descended from royalty myself."
"Fiona," Azariah adjusted herself in the saddle. "If there is one thing that all my travels and adventures have taught me, it's that anything is possible."
"Fair enough, but you think it's true?"
"I can't say as to whether It's true or not. I mean, she could've just been messing with your head, trying to manipulate you into giving her Alistair, or… she could've been telling the truth, and you really are elven royalty."
"Elven royalty, ha!" Fiona laughed. "Those are two words you never hear together."
"But who says it has to stay that way? Isn't it about time elves took back their place in society?"
"Change won't come easy."
"It never does. I figured you would know that better than anyone. "Many fear change and will fight it with every fiber of their being, but sometimes, change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free."" Azariah looked back at Fiona seriously. "Morrigan told me that."
"So… what are you saying?"
"Nothing. I can't tell you what to do with this knowledge, but just follow your instincts; that's what has always worked for me." Azariah then had Caramel walk a bit faster so they were ahead a bit while Fiona's horse stayed walking at the same pace, and Fiona went back to her thoughts, now with Azariah's words in her head, too.
A couple days later, they all arrived in Minrathous and immediately set off for Aurelian's mansion with Dorian leading them since he knew the way. When they got to the outer gates, Fiona was the first to ask, "Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Yes, I'm positive."
"Really? Because it looks like it's been abandoned for a while." Azariah commented.
"I told you, I'm positive."
Luna kneeled down and took out her lock picking tools and began to unlock the gate, and once that was done, they rushed in through the gate and into the mansion. When they got inside, they saw that the entire place was completely devoid of any furnishings at all.
Fenris growled and grabbed Dorian by the collar of his shirt and looked him right in the eyes. "If you've been leading us on a wild goose chase, I swear I will kill you!"
"I haven't been, I swear! This was where he lived!"
"Fenris!" Luna scolded, and he let Dorian go.
Azariah suddenly yelled as she picked up a big piece of broken wood that was lying on the floor and threw it against the wall in anger.
"Easy, Azariah…" Fiona said to her calmly as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "We'll figure this out."
"How? If he's not here, then where in the Maker's name is he?!"
"Fiona's right." Snow said. "We'll figure this out, find Alistair, and set him free."
Azariah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize, I know how you feel." Fiona assured her.
"So, any ideas?"
Everyone was quiet for a moment before Fiona broke that silence, "Well, I have one…"
"What's that?"
"I told you back at Skyhold that Maric contacted me in my dreams. If I can somehow reestablish that connection, then I can ask him where he is now and also know for sure if Alistair is there, too."
"Last time you got burned, literally." Snow said, motioning to her arm.
"I know the risks, but I'd like to point out that it's the only chance we have." Fiona stated and walked over the nearest wall, sitting down and leaning back against it.
"Are you sure you can reestablish the connection?" Azariah asked.
"I don't know, honestly, but I have to try… for Maric and for Alistair."
Azariah walked over and placed her hand on top of Fiona's reassuringly, "I'll be right here."
Fiona smiled and placed her other hand on top of Azariah's before closing her eyes, and soon, falling asleep…
Fiona opened her eyes and she was in pitch blackness; she couldn't even see her hands in front of her face. "Where am I?" She asked herself, her voice echoing in the vast, empty void. "I must've done something wrong. This is definitely not the same place." She looked around and called out, "Maric!"
In the dungeon beneath Aurelian's home in Seheron, Maric and Alistair were both chained up since Alistair had attempted an escape for both himself and his father. "I'm sorry I couldn't free us." Alistair apologized.
"Alistair, you have nothing to apologize for." Maric assured her. "I'm the one who should be sorry. All of this happened because of me…" Suddenly, Maric had a flash of Fiona calling out his name, and he shook his head as he blinked. At first, he thought it was because he had been missing her more than usual lately; every time he looked at Alistair, he was reminded of his mother. When it happened again, though, he suddenly got the feeling that she was trying to reach out to him. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on that feeling.
The next thing Maric knew, he was in the same room where he had talked to Fiona before, but he didn't see her anywhere. "Fiona!" He tried to call back.
Fiona suddenly heard Maric's voice very close by and yelled, "Maric!" When he called again, she realized that the noise was coming from the beneath her. She kneeled down and felt the ground; it was hot, as if there was a fire beneath the surface. She started banging on the floor repeatedly as hard as she could until it suddenly collapsed under her and she fell into the room. She heard Maric shout her name again and she quickly got up and saw him through the flames. "Maric! Oh, thank the Maker!"
Maric then did something that Fiona hadn't expected, he backed up as far as he could before running and jumping right over the flames to be on the same the room as her. He looked at her, looking surprised, almost as if he was shocked he'd actually managed to do that, and they both laughed before embracing each other. Maric sighed contently for the first time in a long time as he held Fiona close to him. "Oh, Fiona! I've missed you so much!" He ran his fingers through her hair.
"I've missed you, too!" She sobbed as tears rolled down her face. She then broke away from the hug just enough so she could look him in the eyes, but still have her arms around him. "I'm sure we don't have much time again, though. So, I need to ask, where are you? We're at Aurelian's mansion in Minrathous right now, but you're not here."
"He knew you guys were coming, so he had all his slaves and followers pack up everything and moved us to Seheron."
"Us?"
"Yes, Alistair is with me!"
"Oh, good! At least you two are together! That was the other thing I needed to know!" She placed her hand against his cheek, and he smiled at her in response. "We'll be there soon and we'll get both of you out of there, I promise!"
"I know you will! I have faith in you!"
Just then, everything shattered around them as they were both forced out of sleep suddenly and violently.
Fiona jolted awake, "Maric!"
"Whoa, easy!" Azariah said calmly. "Relax."
Fiona panted until she got her breath back, and Luna spoke up first. "Since you woke up screaming Maric's name, I'm guessing, you talked to him?"
"Yes." Fiona said and stood up. "Alistair is with Maric, and Aurelian took them to Seheron because he knew we were coming."
"Let's get to Seheron, then!" Azariah said, hastily.
"Right!" Fiona agreed.
"Wait, what?!" Fenris spoke up. "I know you're both eager to find Maric and Alistair, but Seheron is a warzone, especially this time of year."
"I know, and I know that's why Aurelian went there; it makes perfect sense. He's using the warring state of Seheron as a shield, he thinks we won't dare follow him there, but he's wrong." Azariah said. "He obviously doesn't know that I'd cross the void itself for Alastair!"
"But how are we getting there?" Cullen asked. "As you might recall, Isabela's ship is gone."
"Actually, while we were travelling, I told Zev to bring the ship here; they should be at the docks by now." Isabela said.
"Isabela, consider that reward I owe you not cut in half anymore!" Azariah said, happily, and ran out of the mansion with everyone following her. They all quickly got to the ship, except for Dorian.
"Come on, Dorian!" Snow called from up on the deck.
"I'm not going with you!" He shouted so she could hear him.
"Why not?!"
"The reason I came was because I've been meaning to come back home anyway! I need to do my part to try and change things around here!"
"What about Iron Bull?!" Luna called, "Aren't you two together?!"
Dorian gave them a sad look, one that Fiona recognized; it was the same look she gave Maric when he asked her all those years ago if he'd ever see her again. "Just tell him… tell him that I'll see him again someday!"
"Move it, you worthless seadogs!" Isabela barked to her crew in the background.
Snow sighed sadly, "Bye Dorian!"
He waved at her while smiling sadly and watched as the ship pulled out of the docks and immediately set off for Seheron.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Maric had been jolted out of the dream by Aurelian as ice cold water over him. "Have a nice nap, Your Majesty?" Aurelian asked as he glared down harshly at him. "You contacted that little elven whore of yours, didn't you? That's how they found out where you two were before!"
Maric growled and made a lunge at Aurelian, but he was standing just far enough away to be out of his grasp, and he looked completely unfazed by Maric's outburst. "Don't you dare talk that way about Fiona! She is smarter and stronger than you think!"
Aurelian smirked. "That so? Well, let's test that, shall we?" He walked out of the cell and closed the door, then used a type of blood magic seal on it. "Let's see if she catches onto this, then!"
It only took about six hours for them to get to Seheron since it was not that far away from Minrathous. As soon as they got there, they saw major fighting happening on the beach. "Oh, what fresh hell is this?" Isabela sighed.
"We can keep the ship at a distance and take a couple lifeboats to the shore!" Azariah suggested.
"Good idea!" Isabela said. "Better to lose a couple lifeboats than the whole ship!" She helped them all gather what they needed and onto the boats, then lowered them down as she stayed aboard so she could personally protect her pride and joy, should the fighting spread.
When Fiona, Azariah, Luna, Fenris, Bethany, Varric, Snow, and Cullen got the shore, they had to fight their way through the warring groups that were on the beach, but managed to get through relatively unscathed; it was a good thing they all had plenty of combat experience. They headed further inland and followed Fenris since he was the only one out of all of them who'd been here before, and he led them straight into the city of Alam. They all split up to try to get information out of different people, and then met back up in the center of the city after a couple hours.
"Please tell me someone has something." Fiona said.
"Sorry." Snow apologized.
"Yeah, these people are so tightlipped you'd think they wouldn't even be able to eat because they never open their mouths." Luna joked.
"The only thing I was able to get out of them was something about Archon Davan's old mansion on the outskirts." Cullen added.
Azariah turned to Fenris and asked, "Didn't you say that Archon Davan is who Aurelian killed?"
"Yes!" Fenris answered, knowing where she was going. "Aurelian could be staying there now!"
"That's our lead, then! Let's go!" Azariah said, and they all took off to the outskirts of the city.
It took another hour or so before they found Archon Davan's old mansion, and for a place that is built in the middle of a warzone, it was well taken care of. That was also a good indication that someone was still living there. "Just going in through the front door doesn't really seem like a good idea." Luna pointed out.
"No, it doesn't." Azariah agreed.
"Over here." Fiona called to them quietly from around the side of the mansion, and they all walked over to see wooden door that looked like it led straight into the basement.
"Good job, Fiona!" Snow congratulated.
"Well, this isn't my first time trying to find a hidden entrance into somewhere I shouldn't be." She joked.
Azariah looked at the lock and then up, "Luna, could you-"
"Way ahead of you, sister." Luna said as she took out her lock picking tools and got to work, not even a minute later, the lock was off and the door was open. "Open sesame."
The seven of them then made their way down the steps and since Cullen was the last one in, he closed the door behind them so it looked like they hadn't opened it at all. At the bottom of the steps, there was another door with another lock, but again, Luna got them through it in no time flat. Through that door was the dungeon, and it did not take long for them to find Alistair and Maric who were still in the same cell.
"Maric! Alistair!" Fiona ran over and gripped the bars of the cell.
"Fiona!" Maric called back and tried to get over to her, but was restrained by the chains.
"Don't worry, we're getting you two out of here!" Fiona said and watched as Luna started picking at the lock. Maric tried to tell her not to, but she was then thrown back and her back hit the stone wall before he could.
"Luna!" Fenris cried, concerned and ran over to her.
"Dammit!" Fiona cursed. "It looks like he sealed the lock over with blood magic."
"Which means he knew we were coming." Azariah added. Just then they were all suddenly surrounded and grabbed Aurelian's men before Aurelian himself appeared.
"You would be correct." He replied to Azariah's comment. "I didn't come to Seheron because I thought it would keep you all away. In fact, I was hoping you would come, because what better way to get rid of you then by making it look like you all just got caught up in the war here."
"You won't get away with this!" Fiona growled. "Even if you do succeed in killing us, there are others who know about you, and they won't let you live!"
Aurelian walked over and smirked. "You must Alistair's mother, Fiona."
"What? You are?" Snow asked, surprised.
"The most important secret in her whole life that she even kept from tell her own son." Aurelian said, and Fiona bowed her head sadly. He then lifted her head up by placing his hand under her chin. "I can see why Maric fell for you, though. You are quite the beauty for an elf." Fiona glared at him tried to bite him since her hands were being forcefully held behind her back, but he pulled his hand back before she could. "Feisty, too!" He chuckled.
"Leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" Alistair yelled, and Fiona was a bit surprised to see him trying to stand up for her, but happy too, since it meant he did care about her after all.
Aurelian motioned towards the cells to his men. "Lock them up for now! Let's let them all enjoy their last moments together, shall we?" He then smirked at Fiona again, "But not this one, I have special plans for her." He then left with the ones holding Fiona, dragging her out with them, while the rest of his men did what he told them to. His men took their weapons from them before tossing them all into the same cell and slamming the door, which magically resealed itself once it was closed.
As soon as Azariah was in the cell, the first thing she did was crawl over to Alistair and hug him, and leaned into her, but couldn't hug her back. "Sorry I can't hug you properly. My hands are a little bound right now."
"I don't care, I'm just so happy that you're alive!" She kissed him and he responded immediately. When they heard a bang on the wall, they looked over and saw that Maric was slamming himself against the wall behind him, trying desperately to break the chains on his wrists.
"We need to get to Fiona, now! Before that monster does something to her!"
They all looked around for something to use, and when Azariah spotted a bent piece of scrap metal lying on the floor just outside the cell, she reached through the bars and grabbed it. She then rushed over to Maric and slammed the piece of metal between the wall and the flat sheet attaching the chains to it. She put her foot against the wall and pulled on the scrap metal as hard as she could, and the others came to help. Soon, they had the chains free of the wall, but Maric's hands were still behind his back, so, Azariah then slammed the scrap metal into the middle of a chain link, and did that a few times before it finally broke and Maric's hands were free.
"Thank you!" Maric said, and she nodded before grabbing the piece of metal and doing the same thing for Alistair. He rushed over to the bars and rattled them desperately. "Please tell me one of you knows how to undo a blood magic seal so I can get Fiona and finally have Aurelian's head on a platter!" He growled.
They all looked at Bethany, since she was now the only mage there. She saw them all looking at her, but backed away. "Oh, no! No, no, no! I know what you're all asking of me and the answer is no! I will not use blood magic, I have never gave into using it before and I will not now!"
"But Bethany… this is an emergency! We're going to die, and Fiona is in danger!" Azariah pleaded. "Just this once!"
"No!" She shook her head insistently. "If a mage does it once, they tend to do it again and I will not go down that path, ever!"
"Dammit!" Maric cursed as he banged his fists against the bars.
"Don't worry, we'll figure something else out," Luna said confidently. "And that woman knows how to handle herself."
Meanwhile, upstairs, Aurelian had his men bring Fiona into his chambers and then made them leave so he could be alone with her. "You know, I saw you from a distance at Tilani's party, but I didn't know then that I was looking at King Alistair's mother."
"And just how do you know that?"
"I've taken some of your son's blood from him, and there's a reason they say that blood is life; once I looked at you closer, I could sense the blood that you two share."
"That witch Yavana wanted Maric and Alistair's blood, too! Why?! What's so important about their blood?!"
"So you met that wicked, little trickster, did you? What did she fill your head with? Stories of dragons and seeking to preserve life?"
"Stop dodging the question! Answer me!"
"All you need to know is this…" He walked closer and looked her right in the eyes. "Tonight, you are mine!"
Fiona's eyes widened in terror, flashes of when she was a child and being abused by a perverted lord in Orlais, chilled her to the bone. She had tried so hard her whole life to repress those memories, but she couldn't help but have them come to the surface now. After all, the way he was looking at her… it was the same way that the count had looked at her, as a tool to fulfill his sick, twisted desires.
Back down in the dungeon, they were all desperately trying to think of a way out, when suddenly, the sound of a crow call came from close by; then, it appeared in front of the cell and shapeshifted. "Morrigan!" Azariah said, happily. "Maker, am I ever so happy to see you! Why are you here, though?"
"You were all taking forever on your trip, so I went to Tevinter to try and find you. I found Dorian and he told me what happened, so, I'm here, and now I can see you that you really need my help."
"Yes, we do! Aurelian trapped us all in here with a blood magic seal! Can you break it? Please?!"
"Let me have a look." Morrigan examined the lock and the magic surrounding it very carefully, then nodded as she said, "This is a simple seal; a mere apprentice of blood magic can break this." She used a bit of her own blood and quickly broke the seal which opened the door.
"Thank you!" Maric said as he rushed by and headed to the stairs.
"Who was that?" Morrigan asked.
"My father!" Alistair answered as he rushed by also, chasing after Maric.
"Long story." Azariah then said and grabbed her sword and shield before following them.
Up in Aurelian's chambers, he had Fiona pinned against the wall and she was still struggling hard, which only made him smirk. "It's good that you have so much fight, the feisty ones are always the best ones." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, but as soon as he did, something inside Fiona just completely snapped. Her hands clenched into fists as tightly as possible as her magic caused electricity to arch around them. She remembered the very moment she had killed her "master" by using her magic on him after having years of repressed anger come shooting out in a firestorm that burnt him alive.
"Never again…" She growled lowly. She suddenly used the electricity in her hands to fling Aurelian across the room, and he hit the opposite wall hard. "Never again!" She repeated as her magic wild and lightening seemed to completely envelop her, her grey eyes burning with rage and hatred. "I will never let a man take advantage of me again!" As soon as she said the word "again", all the magic she had built up was unleashed and caused the roof to collapse on top of her and Aurelian, burying them both in debris.
From down the hallway, Maric heard the roof collapsing after killing the last of Aurelian's men in the way and ran towards the sound, praying Fiona was alright. He ran into the door, but something was blocking it. He didn't let that stop him, however, and kept slamming himself into it with all his strength until it finally gave in and he saw the utter destruction in the room. "Fiona!" He called as he saw her not far away, covered in parts of the roof from her waist down, and appeared unconscious. He ran over and quickly began digging her out, and he heard her groan. He looked at her and saw her slowly open her eyes. "Fiona!" He put his hand behind her neck, looking at her worriedly.
She looked up at him, "Maric…? Wh…what happened…?" She asked weakly.
"I don't know." He gazed over at Aurelian who was completely covered in debris and appeared completely lifeless. "It seems you managed to kill Aurelian, though." He looked back down at her and smiled warmly. "You are definitely stronger than he thought you were."
Fiona gave him a weak smile and leaned up, kissing him on the lips tentatively for a moment before pulling away. Neither of them said anything more as Maric helped Fiona slowly to her feet, and they walked out to go meet up with everyone else and leave Seheron.
Underneath the pile of rubble, however, Aurelian regained consciousness and growled as he watched them leave…
––
I thought I'd leave you all with a bit of suspense, and this chapter is a bit longer than the others, so there's that! Do not fret, though! I already know that the next chapter will be the last, and how it's going to go! I have it all in my head, and will type it out as soon as I can! I even have an idea for an epilogue, so stay tuned for that, also!
See you in the next chapter!