"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. His name is my name too!"
"When ever we go out, the people always shout there goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt."
"Na na na na na!"
"Will you three be quiet! You are all insufferable with your horrid singing skills and annoying songs."
Jimmy stuck her tongue out at Morrigan as she sat by Cailan and Alistair, teaching them nursery rhymes to kill time at camp. The witch stood before the three, fists on her hips and scowling. It had been two days since they had left Lothering, heading towards Redcliffe. The weather turned miserable after the first day, a constant drizzle and gloomy grey skies tat wore at everyone's nerves.
"Don't be such a sour puss Morrigan," Jimmy drawled, clasping her hands behind her head as she stared up at the witch. "Just because you are grumpy doesn't mean everyone else has to be. Look at Fen and Sten, they are just sitting there, having a staring contest to see who is tougher. Duncan was tapping his foot to the song and I know Leliana there wants to learn more songs."
"Then sing less annoying songs," Morrigan sid through gritted teeth. "I have that John song stuck in my head and it won't go away. Sing something else or so help me."
Wisely Jimmy backed down, glancing at the two men sitting on either side of her. They both were pretending to be looking at something in the distance that no one else could see. Sighing she nodded her head and the witch left, muttering under her breath. "So. What kind of song do you want to learn now?"
While the two men argued over what song they wanted to learn next, she sat there, fiddling with her knife. She looked around there small camp, her eyes finally landing on the silver wolf who was laying next to Leliana. The red head had gotten used to him talking easily, just like the others. Slowly her thoughts wandered to what happened after Fen had ran off in Lothering.
"Um we need to go after him," Jimmy said, looking at everyone as they muttered among each other.
Duncan raised n eyebrow at her. "Give him to to cool off. Your friend was rather upset at these two's reactions of him. Give him time to calm down."
She frowned at the older man, her mouth opening to say something rude when she heard a high pitch scream. It came from the direction Fen went. Everyone looked at each other before racing off in that direction. She rolled her eyes, muttering to herself as she ran after them.
"Told y'all we needed to go after him," she grumbled. "Does anyone listen to me? Oh no, just because I'm an elf and the youngest I get treated like an idiot."
Alistair heard what she was saying and snorted, shaking his head at her. "That's not true and you know it. Everyone is just jumpy right now, with Fen showing us he is more than just a talking wolf and all."
"Well you all need to get over it. His magic is what saved Cailan and Duncan." She scowled at the ground as they made their way to the ramp that would take them onto the Imperial Highway.
The first thing she noticed were darkspawn, lots of them, trying to grab onto Fen as he guarded a pair of dwarves. The wolf was splattered in blood again, his face black from it. Quickly everyone jumped into the fight, taking on the darkspawn and helping Fen. Sten simply strode towards the monsters, his sword swinging as he sliced through them. Cailan and Alistair charged the darkspawn while Duncan darted through them, hacking and slicing. Like last time, Leliana and Morrigan stayed back, firing magic and arrows at the darkspawn.
With a sigh Jimmy jumped into the fight, taking on a shorter darkspawn. It put up a fight, jumping around her and trying to stab her. Thankfully she had two ruthless teachers that taught her all they could before traveling and she had her street smarts. Taunting it, she jumped around, waiting for an opening. Finally she spotted it and took it. Keeping an eye on it's own blade, Jimmy slipped in and shoved her sword into it's armpit, stabbing downward into it's heart. The darkpawn gave gurgle before toppling over.
While she had been fighting her little darkspawn, the others finished on what Fen had left. Happily she raised her fist in the air, about to crow about how she killed her first darkspawn finally. Suddenly, her stomach began to roll, giving her only a few moments to stumble away before it emptied it's contents. It was embarrassing, throwing up after her first kill like she was a chicken but she couldn't get it to stop until her stomach was fully empty. A familiar wet nose nudged her hand and she looked around, blushing.
Nobody was laughing or smirking at her. Alistair came up and patted her on the back while Leliana offer her some water. Duncan was looking at her with what seemed like pride and approval. Frowning at the man, Jimmy took a swig of water, rinsing out her mouth first before actually taking a drink.
"Good job," Leliana said, smoothing back Jimmy's hair. "I know how hard it is to face darkspawn but you did very well. Even the bravest of warriors shake in their boots at the sight of darkspawn."
"I remember seeing my first darkspawn," Alistair mused. "Most horrifying sight ever. Had nightmare after that but you get used to it, as horrible as that sounds."
"Ah yeah," Jimmy said slowly, glancing over at Duncan, who merely shrugged at her in a way that told her to let them believe what they want. "Fen, are you alright? You shouldn't run off like that. Didn't you yell at me when I did that before?"
"Quit lecturing me," he grumbled, licking her hand gently. "Rub some of that water on my face, my fur is sticking."
"We will need to get you a brush," Leliana said mildly, watching Fen from the corner of her eyes as Jimmy washed his face. "Then we can groom that beautiful coat of your's, make it shimmer in the light. Maybe some soap as well to give you a bath."
"You are not going to treat me like a lap dog. Jimmy, tell her to stop looking at me like that. Why are you laughing? You traitor!"
Jimmy grinned at Fen, patting his head. "Oh come on, some rose scented soap and maybe some ribbons, you will be the most handsome wolf in all of Fereldean, you won't be able to get the females off of you, human and canine."
"Laugh all you want, both of you. I will chew on your clothes while you sleep."
While Jimmy and Leliana teased Fen, with Alistair trying to help the wolf out, Duncan had been talking to the two dwarves. The older man walked over, sighing and rubbing his face. This got her attention, wondering what he was bothered about now.
"The dwarves would like to travel with us," he sighed when Jimmy made a questioning noise. "I told them it would be dangerous but the older one keeps insisting."
"Let them travel with us," Jimmy said with a shrug. "We can keep extra gear with them in exchange for keeping them safe. Besides, they don't seem that bad."
"The youngest one is simple minded. He enjoys saying enchantment. It is very strange if you ask me but if you feel like they should travel with us, I will agree. Let us help them get everything packed back into their wagon, they already caught their horse."
After the wagon was packed and their extra gear stored away in the back they continued on with their journey. After a small debate on where to go, they decided the best place to head to was Redcliffe to see what was going on. Alistair had heard from one of the Redcliffe knights that Arl Eamon was ill and was worried about the man who raised him for a few years before shipping him off to the Chantry. Jimmy grumbled about seeing the man who treated her friend so cruelly but Alistair insisted so she agreed.
"Jimmy? Are you awake or are you sleeping with your eyes open?"
She jumped at Alistair's voice, shaking off her thoughts. "No I was just thinking. You guys decide on a song, I'm going to go talk to Fen for a little bit."
Leaving the two men to finish their decision on what kind of song they wanted to learn next she headed over to her wolf friend. He lifted his head at her approach, watching her with interest. With a jerk of her head he sighed and walked over, following her as she walked to the edge of camp.
She found a nice log to sit on and stared up at the darkening sky. There were so many stars already appearing. In the city one never really saw stars from all the lights. There was never really any peace and quiet either, the noise of the fake city overwhelming everything.
"So what are you exactly my friend?" she asked after a few minutes of silence. "You say you aren't a mage, which I can believe somewhat, but what are you really?"
Fen scratched his ear, glancing up at her as she glanced down at him. "If I tell you, you are going to overreact like you did with everything else. All we need is for you to have another panic attack like before."
"I am also interested in what you truly are," Duncan's voice sounded behind them causing Jimmy to jump. "If she overreacts again as you say, we will just knock her out again and place her in the wagon."
"Very funny you two," she groused, glaring at both males. "I've had a few surprises alright? Any normal person would react like I did, maybe even worse. Now Fen, tell me. I'll even tell Duncan to go away if you want."
"No no, that isn't necessary," the wolf said, staring off into the distance. He was quiet for a long time, long enough for her to worry he wouldn't say anything but he finally began to speak again. "I've watched you for a long time, Jimmy, even when you were a babe back in your homeland. I was tasked to watch over you and wait for when your fate would begin. The storm that brought you here was caused by a force that only the Dalish believe in anymore."
Jimmy watched him, noting that he still stuck to the story that she was from a land far away and ended up here when a storm destroyed her ship. She said nothing and kept her face blank so she didn't draw any suspicion from Duncan. Eventually she wanted to tell them where she was really from but that was best to leave for a later date.
"The duty to watch you was given to me by someone very powerful. I guess you would call him your grandfather, since your father was born from him. That is for another time though. As for what I am, I guess you could just consider me a servant of a higher being. I believe the humans have their Maker and the Dalish have the Creators. I am servant of one of the Creators, in a sense. It's rather difficult to explain."
Jimmy stared at him, frowning slightly. "So, you are a servant to some god? Yet you are following me around, making sure I don't die? That sounds like a wonderful job for someone of your status."
"Remember what I told you when I first met you?" Fen growled. "You are very important and I am honored to watch over you and guide you."
Duncan pondered on the tidbits of information Fen gave him. "Sounds reasonable to me."
"Wait a second," Jimmy said, turning to glare at the man. "You believe his story, no questions asked, yet you questioned everything I said when you first met me? It's because he is a wolf isn't it? All silvery and shiny and gold eyed."
"I believe him because he has been nothing but honest with us when asked," Duncan said. "As I recall, you were anything but honest when I asked you questions. Besides, stranger things have happened in this world, like Flemeth. I have a feeling she is more than what meets the eye and she knew Fen well enough. Use your mind and see the clues around you."
"Yeah you are all just ganging up on me," she grumbled. "Well, I have more questions but I'll leave them for later. Fen, you aren't off the hook anytime soon. I'll corner you again, in private, and ask more questions."
Quickly she got up and strode away, heading to Alistair and Cailan, who were joined by Leliana. As she walked over to them, her mind whirled with even more questions. Fen knew her grandfather, some higher being by his words, so would that mean he knew her parents? If he knew them, maybe he would know what happened to them to leave her all alone.
She shook off the questions, giving her friends a smile instead. "Well have you guys picked any kind of songs you want to learn?"
"Teach us a love song," Leliana piped in, grinning as the two men groaned. Jimmy grinned back at her, settling down on the ground so they made a circle.
"I have a song that even you two will like," Jimmy said, elbowing Alistair. "And if you don't like it, I'll teach you some new games that are common on my homeland."
She ran through the few songs she knew, finally picking on she heard playing in cars as they drove by. It had taken a few days of convincing but she had finally made Tink-Tink find it on his cray computer. It had a lovely rhythm and easy words.
"Well you only need the light when it's burning low," she sang, swaying to the music she heard inside. "Only miss the sun when i stars to snow. Only know you love her when you let her go. Only know your high when you're feeling low. Only hate the road when you're missin' home. Only know you love her when you let her go, and you let her go."
As she sang, others in the camp listened. Leliana was smiling, swaying along with Jimmy and bumping the men on either side of her so they grudgingly swayed. On the other side of camp, Morrigan listened, staring off into the distance. Sten stared at Jimmy in his usual scowling way so she gave him a large smile that caused him to grumble and turn away. Duncan had been talking to the dwarf, Bohdan, and they both paused to listen for a few moments before resuming their conversation. She felt Fen lay behind her, sighing contently as he got comfortable.
"Only know you've been high when you're feeling low. Only hate the road when you're missing home. Only know you love her when you let her go. And you let her go."
She finished the song, glancing at the three around her. Leliana clapped her hands, claiming it was a beautiful heart breaking love song while the two men laughed. Their reactions made her smile and laugh, shaking her head as Leliana scolded them. Finally, after sitting around joking and teasing, Duncan told them to get some sleep. Acting like children who didn't want to go to bed, they groaned and whined, earning a frown from the older man but also a slight grin.
Curling up in the small tent she managed to get out of the dwarves, she laid her head on Fen, staring at the top of her tent. Already questions began to swirl around her mind. How was it that she was a Grey Warden when she never went through the Joining? Who sent Fen to watch over and and bring her here? What would happen at Redcliffe when they got there? Her gut told her all those questions would lead to even more questions and less answers. With a sigh she snuggled into Fen's side, slowly falling asleep.
The trip to Redcliffe was long and boring. Thankfully the rain went away for good, leaving them with bight and sunny days. During the day Jimmy walked with Alistair and Leliana, talking about everything and anything. Occasionally one of the others would join them. When Sten walked with them, she tried to teach him games like I Spy and such but the qunari never would play. After a few failed attempts she started asking him jokes. For a sullen, straight forward man, he did get the concept of jokes and humored her on occasion by answering the jokes.
Morrigan enjoyed battling tongues with her. The two would insult each other the best they could until the witch would laugh and give up, leading to more civil conversations. Every evening at camp, Duncan resumed her sword work, teaching her the best he could with Alistair and Cailan's help. Once Sten joined in and Jimmy's lesson was ended with more bruises than she ever had before. The qunari was a rough teacher.
As usual, Fen stayed by her side for most of the day, leaving on occasion to patrol the area around them. Every evening he slept in her tent with her, letting her use him as a pillow. She would never say it but she was glad he stayed with her at night. Having always slept around her old friends, the thought of sleeping alone was unnerving. Once she woke up to find Fen gone and she panicked.
"Fen?" she called softly as she quickly crawled out of her tent. "Fen where did you go?" When the wolf didn't answer she sat next to Leliana's tent, her eyes darting around for him.
"Why are you sitting by Leliana's tent?" Fen asked when he appeared at her side. "Isn't it a little cold to be out here?"
"Where id you go?" she asked, her voice higher pitched in fear. "You left me all alone in that tent! What if something came in and killed me cause I was all alone?"
"I had to relieve myself. Would you have me rather used your pack instead?"
"Oh," was all she said and she blushed, staring at her feet. "Sorry. I just- I don't like to be alone at night. It's not something I'm used to."
Fen sighed and herded her back into their tent. She curled back up against his side, staring at her hands. They didn't say anything about that night but Fen never left the tent again without waking her up first. She was grateful he didn't bother her about her irrational fear and they left it alone.
Finally, after almost a week of walking, Redcliffe was in sight. Alistair eagerly pointed it out to her, the blob in the distance. "We should be there by tonight or tomorrow morning," he eagerly said. "I have mixed feelings about returning but it will be a safe place for us to stay at for a few days."
"I agree with you," she replied, stretching. "No more camp food! Maybe I can get some more stuff there as well. Travelling in the wilderness doesn't get you much unless you are attacked."
A few times they had ran into bandits and darksawn. The bandits were easier out of the two, they were more concerned with trying to bully their way into getting their stuff. By the time Jimmy entered the fight, the bandits were either dead or running away. She felt left out but lways made herself feel better by looting their bodies.
The darkspawn made Jimmy shiver. The few times they encountered them she had to fight one or two. Unlike the first fight, she didn't puke anymore. Still she had shivers after every fight and refused to check their bodies for anything. She left that to the others.
"No stealing," Alistair warned, frowning down at her. "You know stealing is wrong so don't take anything."
"Fine," she grumbled. "You are such a spoilsport, you know that? I can't promise my fingers will listen to me but I will make sure I give them a good lecture tonight."
Alistair stared at her for a few moments until he realized she was teasing. Shaking his head he patted her on the back before hurrying to catch up with Duncan. She watched him go, pleased she had a trustworthy friend like Alistair. It was nothing more than that, they were all her friends. Yet Leliana enjoyed teasing her, asking who she found most attractive out of the group. Such talk made Jimmy want to vomit and she always told the red head so.
She eyed Redcliffe as the blob got closer and closer. A uneasy feeling filled her gut, like something bad was going to happen there or something bad already did. Already she knew the Arl was ill but she felt like something even worse had happened. She couldn't remember what happened in the game, she never paid much attention to it, and she began to wish she had paid attention or even played once.
"Fen there is something wrong with that place," she muttered to the wolf. "I feel it in my gut. Whatever happened there is not good."
"It'll be alright," he said. "Regardless of what happened, you have your friends and myself at your side. Hopefully anything that is happening there will be over by the time we get there."
She nodded but still felt uneasy. With a shrug she decided whatever happened there would be handled, one way or another. She told Duncan her feeling and he took her warning, cautioning everyone to be alert. With hands ready to grab their weapons, they walked towards the castle. Whatever was going to happen would happen.
Notes:
Snowy days and busy days are always hard on my writing time! It didn't stop me from finishing this chapter though! HAHA! So the first song is one we all know and I've had it stuck in my head since I watched a youtube video, Little Bunny Foo Foo by Besty Lee. Her videos are quite funny!
Song two is Let Her Go by Promise I think. A very good song! So Jimmy got some answers yet it left her with even more questions! Will she ever get her answers?!
Mendi: As always I enjoy your reviews! I think Fen is far too old to turn into a prince haha. He does know Flemeth though, for a very, very long time hehe. I've watched some interesting animes and youtube videos hehe, very depressed I finished Attack on Titan. :(
drau: YAY! Ahem, for Fen being a spirit like the Lady of the Forest, maybe he knows her, maybe he don't hehe. He is very old though so he was around when the whole curse started!
zeezle: I'm glad you like it :)
Farwel all! I'll see you in the next chapter!
"Cry! I'll make you cry! Splash!"