Nalia woke up, and immediately bit back a cry of pain.
Her head was throbbing, and for a moment she had trouble thinking past the pain.
"Nalia! Thank the Maker, you're awake!" It was Shianni's voice that she heard first, and Nalia pushed past the pain when she heard the fear in her cousin's voice.
"Shianni? What's going on? Where are we?"
Her cousin's face was pale, and she kept glancing back at a door behind her. "We… how much do you remember?"
"What are you- oh… Oh no." The memories of the previous day, distant as a bad dream until that moment, came flooding back with terrifying clarity.
Shianni answered Nalia's last question. "We're in the Arl's estate. Doubt we're getting the tour," she added in an attempt at humor, but the wavering of her voice made the attempt fall flat.
Another woman leaned over, and it took Nalia a moment to recognize it was Valora. "They locked us in here to wait until that… bastard is 'ready for us'," the woman spat in disgust.
Nalia could feel bile rising in her throat at the thought, but forced it down. "Then we need to get out of here!"
"Forgive me if I don't hold my breath." Sofia, one of the bridesmaids for the wedding, responded to Nalia angrily. "The door is locked and solid, and we're unarmed!"
In the background, Nalia could hear another woman – Nola? – fervently praying, but ignored her. Shianni muttered unhappily about it, but Nalia ignored that too.
If the Maker was going to save them, he would've done it by stopping them from getting into this mess, but she wasn't going to take away someone else's hope by telling them not to pray.
Instead, she was going to find a way out of this mess. 'No shem will touch my people like that.'
Her companions seemed to think differently, however. Sofia spoke up again, saying, "Look, we'll do what they want, go home, and just… try to forget this ever happened!"
Before Nalia could even open her mouth to give a response, Valora added, "She's right. It'll be worse if we resist."
"So you would just… give in to the shems, just like that?" Nalia was full of disbelief, but it was quickly turning to anger. "Let yourself be violated and just try to fucking forget about it?"
"It's better than getting killed!" Valora glared at her.
"Someone's coming."
Immediately, the argument came to a halt, and all of the women turned towards to the door. Sofie was right – Nalia could hear footsteps from outside of the door, getting louder with every second.
In a low voice, she told the others, "If you see an opportunity, take it." Valora and Sofie were hesitant, but Shianni responded with a shaky nod. Nessa was still kneeling on the floor, praying.
The door opened, and a group of armored guards swaggered in.
"Hello, wenches," the man leading the group sneered at them. "We're your escorts to Lord Vaughan's little party." The urge to be sick rose again, but Nalia ignored it. She had to focus fully on finding a way out of this hell.
Suddenly, Nola stopped muttering prayers, and stood up.
"Stay away from us!" The black-haired girl shrieked, and then tried to charge past the guards.
"Nola, NO!" Nalia screamed, but it was too late. As soon as Nola had started running, the guards had drawn their weapons.
The other girls gasped and shut their eyes, turning away from the sight, but Nalia just watched in horror as the elven woman she knew collapsed to the ground, lifeless and bleeding.
As if nothing had happened, the lead guard gave orders to his men. "You, grab the drunk. Horace and I will take care of this one," he waved angrily at Nalia, "and the two of you can take the homely bride and the little flower cowering in the corner."
As the men approached Nalia, she trembled with rage. Without thinking, she threw a punch at the lead guard's face, only for him to catch her fist in his gloved hand.
"Now, now," he leered, "no need for violence. Prince Vaughan wants you the most."
This was followed by a blow to the stomach. The scream that had been building up in Nalia's throat died with her lost breath, and before she knew what was going on, Nalia had her wrists bound, her mouth gagged, and was being dragged through the halls alongside Shianni.
Nalia managed to catch Shianni's eyes, and realized that her cousin was just as horrified as she was. For the first time in what felt like forever, tears welled up in Nalia's eyes.
Everything began to blur together, and Nalia's breaths came fast and shallow. Everything was spinning, and she could barely tell when the guards came to a stop. Nalia felt herself get thrown against the floor, and looked up.
Vaughan Kendells stood above her and Shianni, leering down at them.
"Oh good, you managed to bring my two favorites of the bunch." Nalia heard the words but they felt like they were coming from a distance. Vaughan kept talking, but nothing else was coherent to the bound woman. Even when the man began to move towards her, nothing felt real. It was as if she was watching everything happen to someone else in a dream.
Nalia heard Shianni screaming her name as the woman was escorted into another room, but wondered why.
Then a door slammed open, and two new voices screamed her name.
With a jolt, Nalia came back to herself, and she saw the noble, the shem, standing over her.
She snapped.
They had made the mistake of leaving her legs free, assuming that gagging her and binding her hands was all that was necessary. And now Vaughan and his guards were all staring at the two people who had just entered.
Nalia lashed out with one foot, catching the arrogant shem in the face and sending him tumbling backward off of the bed. Both of the guards went to him, and the two people who entered rushed over to Nalia.
"Nelaros, hold them off! I'll free Nalia!" The voice sounded familiar, but Nalia's mind didn't recognize it until Soris's face hovered over her, a dagger sawing away at the ropes holding her wrists together. "It'll be okay, Nalia, we're getting you out of here."
"Soris…" Nalia gasped out. The ropes snapped, and her cousin dragged her off of the bed.
"Quick, we have to help…" Soris trailed off in horror, and Nalia looked to see what had caught Soris's attention.
Vaughan. His sword out in front of him. Nelaros. Run through by Vaughan's sword.
"NO!" It took Nalia a moment to realize it was her own scream.
The arrogant human noble turned to face them, fury written on his face. "You brought this upon yourselves," Vaughan snarled. "If you just hadn't resisted, you could have all gone home and lived the rest of your pitiful lives. But instead, you're all going to die here!"
"Soris," Nalia said with an eery calm. "Hand me your sword." Her cousin didn't say anything, shakily handing over the blade. She looked vengeful, the torn white wedding dress adding to the image instead of
Everything that had happened filled Nalia with rage. The crimes against morality that Vaughan had committed, the terrible acts he had tried to do with herself and the other women, the murder he had just committed against Nelaros.
Nalia screamed and charged, and the world bled red.
When her rage faded, the mutilated body of Vaughan was scattered on the floor of the room. His sightless eyes stared back into Nalia's.
A hand on her shoulder caused her to flinch. "Nalia," Soris said softly. "We need to get out of here."
"Right," she whispered back.
"I take it your mission was a success?"
Nalia flinched at the question from Duncan as their group entered the Alienage. The man was standing not far from the entrance, and had approached the moment they arrived. Only when Soris leaned towards her did Nalia realize she had also unconsciously moved towards her cousin.
"Duncan was the one who gave Nelaros and I our weapons," Soris whispered. "Without him, we… we wouldn't have been able to get in there." Louder, he replied, "We got them back, but… not without loss."
Valendrian and Cyrion rushed over the moment they noticed Nalia and the others return. "Is everyone okay?" Valendrian asked. While Soris filled the Elder in on what occurred, Cyrion went to Nalia.
"Are you alright?" He looked at her worriedly, and Nalia couldn't even muster up a smile for her father.
"…No. Not now." Normally, she would have lied. Told him she could deal with it. But with what happened with Vaughan, with what she almost went through and what she did to the shem…
She couldn't pretend things were okay.
"Oh, my little girl." Ignoring the ripped dress she wore and the still-wet blood that stained it, Cyrion wrapped his arms around Nalia.
She shut her eyes tightly. "I will be, eventually." Nalia felt his hug tighten around her.
After a few moments, they broke apart. Nalia looked around, noticing that the other women had made their way back into the Alienage. That was good. It meant that Nelaros hadn't… He hadn't died in vain. Her fiancé hadn't just died for her sake, but to save the other women from Vaughan as well.
For a moment, it felt like things were going to be okay.
But then Valendrian and Duncan brought reality crashing back down around their ears.
"If what Soris says is true, the guards will be here any moment." The Elder's face was grim, and Nalia bit her lip. Now that it was said out loud, there was no surprise. It made sense, but for some reason the idea that her actions had consequences hadn't occurred to her.
Duncan stepped forward. "With a noble dead, the guards will be forced to find someone to blame. It seems likely that they will be aware that an elf was responsible, and if no one comes forward…"
"It will turn into a witch hunt," Nalia spoke up. She heard Soris gasp, and her father sucked in a breath. But she knew what had to be done.
"Soris, go and hide. Father… you should, too. Vaughan's… the blood on my dress got onto your clothes." Before she even finished talking, both of the men were shaking their heads.
"Nelaros and I were the ones who came to rescue you. If anyone should take the blame, it should be me!"
Cyrion placed both of his hands on Nalia's shoulders. "I failed to protect you once today. I won't do so again." Desparately, Nalia looked at Duncan and Valendrian for help. Fortunately, both men understood and intervened.
"Cyrion, you will do no good by going with your daughter. If you take responsibility for this crime, all you will do is add one more name to the list of those who have died today." Despite Valendrian's words, Cyrion stood firm, refusing to leave Nalia.
Duncan's words had more of an effect. "If Nalia is the only one to be found guilty of this crime, I may be able to save her." Both Cyrion and Soris turned to look at the human, eyes wide in shock. "However, I can only do so for a single person. Should more than one person be found guilty, I cannot save them from their inevitable fate."
Where Valendrian's appeal had failed, Duncan's seemed to work. Both Cyrion and Soris nodded slowly, and the two quickly went to hide further in the Alienage. With all luck, the guards wouldn't search further when Nalia gave herself up.
Looking at the Grey Warden, Nalia finally gave a twisted smile. "Thank you for lying to them. I don't want more death on my hands." The human raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, a platoon of guards marched into the Alienage. The captain stopped in surprise at the sight of three figures waiting for him, one of whom was in a ripped and bloody wedding dress. He quickly recovered.
"I seek Valendrian, elder and administrator of the Alienage!" The words were barked out, the guard captain obviously angry. In sharp contrast, the Elder was completely calm.
"Here, captain," he replied. "I take it you have come in response to today's… disruption?"
The captain snarled. "Don't play ignorant with me, elder. You will not prevent justice from being done. The arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that runs through the entire estate! I need names, and I need them now!"
"And you shall have them," Nalia said in a weak voice. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward. In the silence that followed, she spoke in a strong voice. "I am the one responsible."
All of the guards looked at her in disbelief. The captain took in her appearance and scowled. "You expect me to believe one woman did this? Specifically, you?" Nalia froze in fear. No, they had to believe her. Soris, and her father, they couldn't get caught. She had to protect them.
"We are not all so helpless, captain." Valendrian's words were not subtle, and the captain shot the man a glare before turning back to Nalia, who sagged in relief.
"You save many by coming forward," the captain told her. "I don't envy your fate, but your bravery is to be admired." To his men, he ordered, "This elf will wait in the dungeon until the arl decides her fate. Let's go!"
"Captain. A word, if you please?" Surprisingly, Duncan spoke up and addressed the guard.
"What is it, Grey Warden? The situation is well under control, as you can see." The captain seemed none too happy about the interruption, but held up a hand to stop his men.
Duncan nodded in acknowledgement, but continued. "Be that as it may, I hereby invoke the Grey Warden's Right of Conscription. I remove this woman into my custody." The guard captain gaped at the dark-skinned man.
"Son of a tied down-! Very well, Grey Warden. I cannot challenge your rights, but I will ask one thing; get this elf out of the city. Today."
"Agreed."
The captain nodded. "I need to get my men on the streets before this news hits. Move out!" All of the guards turned, quickly making their way out of the Alienage.
That left Duncan, Nalia and Valendrian standing alone. Nalia, who was in disbelief, turned shakily to the Grey Warden.
"Do you mean it?" Duncan smiled at her.
"I do. As of this moment, you are a Grey Warden recruit, and cannot be held responsible for any actions you took prior to your recruitment." As Nalia teared up, Duncan added, "In fact, I actually came here today in an attempt to recruit you. There is a Blight coming, and the Grey Wardens need as many members as we can get."
"Thank you." The words were whispered, but Duncan heard them and smiled. "Thank you, thank you." Tears streamed down Nalia's face, and when she looked over at Valendrian, she saw tears in his eyes as well.
"I must admit, Duncan, I did not want you to recruit Nalia before. But now… Now I am nothing but grateful that you have done so." Valendrian reached a hand out to Duncan, and when the Warden shook it, the Elder clasped Duncan's hand with both of his. "You have saved a woman I think of as family, and for that, I cannot thank you enough."
"I accept your thanks, even if I will admit that my motivations are not entirely pure." Duncan turned to Nalia. "Now, I can only give you a short time to say goodbye to your family and friends, I'm sorry to say. If we want to be out of the city before nightfall, our departure must be soon."
Nalia could only nod, and Valendrian wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They turned, and went back into the Alienage to tell Nalia's family of how Duncan had saved her.
And City Elf Origin done!
If it's not obvious, the second half of this chapter came way easier to me. I haven't personally gone through any trauma, but… Well, let's just say I wrote the Vaughan-related parts the way I did for character reasons. I'm sorry if it reads awkwardly, but after this, everything should be much more similar to the quality of the latter half of this chapter and not the former.
This is also going up two days late, partly for the issues with the first half, and partly for other personal reasons. I will have an interlude up on time for sure next week, and with all luck (and work), I will get back on schedule!
Until next time!