A/N: here's an un-beta'd Chapter 3. Hope you like it and please leave a review.
Chapter 3: Tabris
You have always lived under the heavy thumb of your human overlords, but when a local lord claiming his privilege with the bride shatters your wedding day, the simmering racial tensions explode in a rain of vengeance.
"Wake up, Melody!" was the first thing Melody Tabris heard that morning, and all she wanted to do was roll over and try and fall back to sleep. Unfortunately, all doing so did was cause the person trying to wake her to yank the covers off her and then yell in her ear, "WAKE UP, SLEEPY HEAD!"
Melody screamed in surprise, trying to roll away from the abrupt sound and ended up rolling off the bed.
"Ouch!" she groaned, getting to her knees to peer over the bed and glare at her cousin, Shianni. "Damn it Shianni! You couldn't have just let me wake up on my own?" She asked irritably as she stood up and walked around the bed to sit on it next to Shianni. Shianni just grinned
"Nope! Now come on Melody, don't tell me you've forgotten what today is?" She said. Melody groaned and flopped back on the bed.
"Don't remind me! Today's the day I get married." Shianni nodded and went over to the chest at the foot of the bed and opened it to get the dreaded wedding dress out.
"Yep! So get ready, your father wants you to be dressed, find Soris, and go meet your husband to be." Melody shot back up,
"He's already here? I thought I had until this evening at least!" she said, grabbing the dress and quickly putting it on. "I'll talk to you later Shianni!" She said as she grabbed a small money pouch for just in case and hurried out the door.
She was quickly making her way past the event stage when two older elves stopped her.
"Melody! Is that you?" The woman called to her before she could pass. Melody paused and turned to look at them, they were both greying with a good amount of wrinkles, but neither of them struck Melody as familiar.
"Do I know you?" she asked, walking back to them. The woman smiled warmly at her,
"Yes, though the last time we saw each other you were only about four years old. I am Dana and this is my husband Ian. We were good friends of your mothers, before she passed." she explained. Melody blinked in surprise before slowly grinning, glancing between them.
"You knew my mother?"
Ian nodded, "Yes, and you favor her greatly. Dana and I are here to congratulate you and give you this to help you start your new life with your soon to be husband." He held out a pouch of money, dropping it into Melody's open hand.
"Thank you! That's very generous." Melody looked at the pouch in disbelief, opening it up to see at least two gold pieces and quite a few silver and copper pieces. "Wow! Are you certain you want to give me all of this?" She asked, she knew that it must have been several months of savings for them.
"Of course my dear. Your mother would have wanted you to have it." Dana soothed. She looked around, "You best be off my dear, it looked like you were in a rush."
Melody started, remembering that she was looking for Soris.
"Oh, right! Thank you so much!" She said, surprising the two with a quick hug before she ran off again. She found Soris much quicker than she expected, finding him talking to their friend Arros.
"Soris! Arros!" She called as she ran up to them. They both smiled at her, though Soris's smile looked more like a pained grimace.
"Hello Melody, it doesn't look like you're struck by the same nerves as Soris here. He's been trying to come up with ways to ditch the wedding all morning." Arros laughed. Melody giggled as well, she didn't doubt that her cousin would try to do just that.
"Well, I don't blame him. I'm not exactly looking forward to being tied down just yet either. But I'm not going to run just yet. I still have to meet the man." She crossed her arms and turned to look at the sheepish Soris. "Now, you and I have to go get ready before we get into trouble." Soris nodded and the two bid Arros farewell, walking towards Soris's house in companionable silence.
"What do you think they're doing?" Soris suddenly asked, pointing towards a trio of two human men and one male dwarf. Melody frowned.
"I don't know, but let's tell them to get lost before they make any trouble." She steered Soris towards the group despite his struggling and protesting.
To Melody's surprise, the dark haired older human crossed his arms and gave a quick bow to them.
"Good day, I understand congratulations are in order for your upcoming wedding." He said, hushing his companions with a hand.
"Thanks." She said in surprise before remembering why she and Soris came over in the first place. "I would appreciate if you three would please leave so we may avoid any unpleasantness." She said, watching him cautiously. He and the Dwarf were both armed to the teeth and she wasn't, the other man also looked like a mage, which made her want to inquire about an old friend that had been taken to the tower, but she was more concerned about the group causing more problems.
The man crossed his arms and looked down at her in amusement. "Oh? What manner of unpleasantness are you speaking of?"
Melody scowled at him and at the blonde who was looking entirely to delighted with the conversation.
"The allienge just isn't a good place for humans, or dwarves, to be. Especially during celebrations." She tried to explain.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but I have no intention of leaving just yet." The man said again. Melody gritted her teeth and tried to think of a way to get the group to leave without resorting to fighting, while she wasn't afraid of a fight, she wasn't stupid and even she could see that she and Soris were severely out matched.
"Then would you come to a compromise?" She ground out. Soris shifted uncomfortably next to her. The man just smiled and his eyes shifted to look at something behind her.
"She keeps her composure, even when facing down a group of unknown and armed men. A true gift, wouldn't you say Valendrian?" He asked. Soris choked and Melody spun around in surprise, only to see the elder Valendrian walking up behind them.
"I would say the world has more use for those who know how to stay their blades, and their tongs." Valendrian pointedly looked to Melody at the last part. He came to shake the man's hand. "It's good to see you my friend, it has been entirely too long since your last visit."
Melody looked at the two in disbelief. "Are these friends of yours, Elder?" She asked.
Valendrian smiled, "I would like to introduce you to Duncan, he is a Grey Warden and an old friend of mine." He then turned to Duncan. "But who are your friends Duncan?"
"These are some of my newest recruits, Duran Aeducan and Dylan Amell." He introduced the two. Duran put a hand over his chest and bowed his head, his face serious. Dylan flourished his hands dramatically and bowed low
"Tis a pleasure, simply a pleasure." He said, winking at Melody who stared at him oddly. She was not entirely sure what to make of this human.
"Now, don't think I didn't notice that you've been avoiding me and my question, Duncan. What are you doing here?" Valendrian cut in, clearly ready to have his question answered.
"I'm sure you've heard about the blight in the south? I've come recruiting, we need as many people as we can get."
Melody's eyes widened and narrowed in on Duncan. Valendrian must have seen her eagerness because he cut across her before she could say anything.
"I see. Unfortuantly you've come at an awkward time, my friend. We are about to have two weddings, today in fact."
Duncan nodded his understanding. "So I see. Don't worry about me for now, my companions and I can wait."
Valendrian pursed his lips and nodded, turning to Melody and Soris. "for now, treat these three as my guests. Now if you would, please take your places." He strode away. Melody and Soris turned back to the trio.
"I'm very sorry for my misunderstanding. Please, attend the wedding, there will be food and drink afterwards." She invited before letting Soris drag her away.
"I cant believe we just met some Wardens." Soris breathed.
"The head Warden and some recruits." Melody corrected.
Soris nodded, "right, well, lets take our spots, I only wish we could have met our intendeds before this."
"Melody! Melody! Oh, dear maker, what have I done!" Shianni yelled as she ran up to them looking pale and worried.
"What's wrong Shianni?" Melody asked in concern. Shianni looked around.
"I was greeting your intendeds when some humans came in, drunk and talking a bunch of shit. And i… oh, I hit the leader over the head with a jug of water and knocked him out!" Shianni moaned, sinking down to the ground and putting her hands over her face. Soris and Melody looked at each other in surprise before crouching down.
"Calm down sister, you've done this before. What makes this time so different?" Soris questioned. Shianni groaned and peaked up at them
"What's different this time is that the leader was the Arl's son!" Soris gasped and Melody's jaw dropped.
"Shianni! How could you?!" Soris groaned, looking to Melody in fear.
"I let my temper get the better of me and I didn't recognize him." Shianni admitted.
Melody soothed her hair back to try and calm her down. "Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out for now. Hopefully they were so drunk they won't remember."
Shianni bit her lip, "You think that's possible?"
'Knowing our luck, no.' is what Melody wanted to say, but instead said, "Of course. Now, it's time for the wedding, so let's take our places." She said, helping Shianni back onto her feet.
The three walked over to the stage where a very handsome young man stood nervously with a timid looking woman. Melody took a deep breath and marched over to him confidently,
"Hello, I'm Melody, you must be my intended, Nelaros." She introduced herself. Nelaros smiled at her.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Are you nervous?" He asked her, despite his happy face, his eyes betrayed his own nerves.
"Yes." Melody stated bluntly, surprising him and the girl next to him. "I'm not entirely sure I want to be married." She studied him and smiled, "But I think I can learn to like it." She sighed, winking at him to let him know she was not trying to be mean.
He laughed, "I am glad, I am nervous too, but already you have calmed me down." He gestured to the woman next to him. "This is Valora, she is your cousin's intended."
Melody nodded politely to the timid looking girl, but was unable to say anything as the chantry mother walked up to the stage and started the ceremony.
She didn't get very far when the Arl's son and several other men barged through the crowd and up the stairs.
"Sorry Mother, but we're having a party and are short some female guests. But what do you know, here are some pretty ones who are already all dressed up for us." He said, leering at Melody and the other women around.
"This is a wedding mi lord!" The mother screeched.
"Ha! Don't pretend this is a proper wedding." The man Guffawed. He looked to his men.
"Now, we're just here for a good time with the ladies, aren't we boys?" He sneered, his men leering and grabbing two of the women. "Now, where's the bitch that bottled me?" He asked, his eyes landing on Shianni and quicker than she was able to dodge, he grabbed her.
"Hey! Let them go!" Melody shouted at him, stepping forward, her eyes flashing angrily. The men quieted down and turned to look at her.
"Now, here's a lovely feisty beauty." The Arls son growled. "Grab her too." He said. Melody ducked the arms of the man who tried to grab her, punching him in the gut and grabbing his head when he bent over in pain and smashing it into her knee.
"Melody behi-" she heard Soris start to yell before she felt a sharp pain on the side of her head and she blacked out.
Melody groaned as she started to come around again, she could still feel a sharp pain across her temple and could immediately tell that someone had hit her in order to knock her out.
"Oh, thank the maker you've woken up! We were worried for a moment the man hit you to hard." She heard Shianni say. Melody blinked a couple times, willing her eyes to clear up before she sat up.
"Uggg, where are we?" She looked around at the four others with her, she could see Valora, Shianni, Shavera and two other unknown girls in the room with her.
"Where else? In the Arls estate, though its certainly not for a tour." Shianni answered with a small, forced laugh.
"They locked us in here till they are ready for us." Valora whispered fearfully. Melody nodded, she figured as much. She looked around, and saw that there wasn't really anything in the room they could use for their defense.
"Well, don't make anything easy for them, but don't get killed either." She told them as she slowly clamored to her feet. "I'm going to think of a way to get us out of this mess."
All five girls jumped when the door burst open with a bang and several men came in.
"'ello wenches, we're your escorts for the night." The guard in the front sneered. Shavera, who had been fervently praying stood up and screeched,
"Stay away from us!" Melody grimaced when the man just scoffed and quickly swung his blade, slicing through her chest and killing her.
"Any more protests?" He asked pleasantly. The others shook their heads, their eyes wide.
"Wonderful, you take the cowering flower, Horace and I'll take the homely bride and the drunk, and you two will bind the last one, she's the scrapper." He instructed. Melody backed up as the other three were led away, leaving two of the guards to creep closer to her. Melody got into a fighting stance, but before she needed to do anything, she saw Soris standing in the door with two short swords over his shoulder and holding a sword.
"Soris?" She asked in disbelief. The two guards turned to look at him.
"Wha-, he's armed!" Guard one said, reaching for his weapon. But instead of brandishing his weapon, Soris slid it across the floor to her. Melody lunged for it and plunged it into the second guard before he had a chance to parry the blow. She ducked under Guard one's sword, rolled forward and jumped up in time to cut his head clean off his shoulders. Melody grimaced at the sight before turning and running over to Soris.
"What are you doing here? Where did you get these weapons?" She asked. Soris looked around and quickly beckoned her to follow him.
"The Grey Warden and his Dwarven companion lent Nelaros and I a few weapons to come in here and save you all. They said they would have come if it wasn't such a risk." Melody nodded before staring at Soris in surprise,
"Neleros came?" She asked. Soris nodded and explained
"Yes, he's keeping watch just around this corner."
The two raced around the corner only to skid to a halt, in the middle of the hall, standing over Neleros's dead body, were three guards. The five of them stared at each other for a few moments before Melody let out an angry cry and rushed to attack them.
"Get them!" one of the guards cried.
"Soris, take the left." Melody called as she brought her sword up to block a blow from one guard, dropping down low and sweeping his feet out from under him. She finished her turn and let the momentum launch herself at the second man, their blades clanging together several times before she managed to get in close and disarm his sword, before slitting his neck and turning back to the man she had tripped who had managed to stumble back to his feet. And dodged his sword, they slowly circled each other before Melody lunged again, pushing him hard until he left an opening in both his armor and his stance and sliced his chest open. Unfortunately she turned her back on the man, not realizing that she had quite killed him.
"Melody!" Soris shouted a warning before throwing his short sword like a dagger, barely missing her cheek before she heard it hit its mark. She spun around to see the man had tried to attack her with her back turned, but Soris had managed to throw the sword into his neck. She blinked in disbelief, turning back to Soris who looked equally surprised.
"You never told me you could do that!" She exclaimed at the same time Soris blurted
"Wow, I didn't think that'd work!"
The two stared at eachother.
"You mean you were just taking a chance? What if you got me instead?" Melody asked, aghast at the thought. Soris just shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
"But it didn't, did it?"
Melody just groaned and looked down at Nelaros's body. She scowled and crouched down beside him, noticing that his left hand was curled around something. She opened it and looked at it in dismay when she saw two wedding bands there, one clearly male and the other one female.
"Oh, Nelaros." She sighed, grabbing them and slipping them onto her right ring finger. She wasn't entirely sure what to think about him dying since just this morning she didn't even want to meet him, but now, now that she knew that he was the type of person to try and help someone he barely knew despite the fact that it could be a huge risk, made her wish that they had been able to get to know each other.
She stood up and started to March away, "Come on Soris, let's go save the others." She watched diligently as they passed through several rooms, they didn't get into any more fights since everyone just thought they were servants and didn't look closely enough to see the blood on them.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Soris asked after they came to their second dead end. Melody turned to him in irritation.
"What do you think? I've never exactly been here before." The two were about to start arguing when they heard Shianni cry out.
"Stop! Please, Stop!" She sobbed.
They both spun around and sprinted to the largest door in the Hall, where they heard her voice coming from. Melody slammed into the door, forcing it to fly open, her sword already flying through the air to cut down the two men that were laughing at Shianni's broken form on the ground.
After she dealt with them she knelt down to Shianni, ignoring Soris who was viscously slashing at the Arl's surprised son.
"It'll be okay, I'm here, Soris is here, we're taking you home." Melody whispered to Shianni, helping to straighten her dress and make her decent again.
"I wanna go home, take me home." Shianni whimpered, Once Soris was finished killing the Arls Son he came over and hovered over the two of them.
Melody looked up to him, "go find the others." She told him softly, Soris nodded, looking glad to have something to do and went to look in some of the side rooms.
"I'm going to pick you up now, okay Shianni?" Melody asked. Shianni nodded, looking at her so brokenly that Melody's heart broke for her. "on three then, one, two, three!" she lifted her cousin bridle style, being as smooth as she could. She looked up, relieved to see that Soris had found the other two and that they looked no worse for the wear.
"Are you two okay?" She asked, "Did they touch you?"
Valora shook her head. "No, they started with…" She trailed off and looked at Shianni sorrowfully, but not saying anything. Melody nodded.
"Good, that's good. Let's get out of here." She muttered and turned to Soris. "Can you lead us out of here?"
Soris nodded, "yes, Neleros and I came through the Servents passage. It's not far from here." He voiced before leading them all back to the alienage. They had only just stepped back in the allianage when they encountered Valendrian and the Grey Wardens.
"You're back! Oh thank goodness." Valendrian sighed in relief before he noticed the two who were missing and his face twisted in concern. "Where's Shavera? And Nelaros?" he asked. Melody just shook her head, starting when the human Dylan came forward, concern on his face.
"If any of you are injured, I am a healer." He said. Melody looked down to Shianni who still had her face buried in her neck.
"Shianni? Would you be alright having a man check you over?"
Valora walked over to put a comforting hand on her arm, "if you would like, I'll stay to make sure he doesn't do anything you don't want." She offered.
Shianni sniffed and nodded, shifting to be let down. Melody dropped her feet, but kept an arm around her to steady her.
"Yes I-I would like to be checked over." She looked to Valora and grimaced, "would you stay with me?" She asked.
Valora didn't even hesitate to agree. Shianni then turned to Melody, "Could we use you're house?"
Melody also agreed, anything to make her cousin feel safer. Dylan came closer, but stayed far enough away to keep Shianni calm before turning to Duncan.
"I'll be right back." He stated. Duncan nodded his understanding as the trio made their way to Melody's house. Valendrian turned to Soris and Melody and asked
"Now, what happened?"
"The Arls son is dead." Melody stated bluntly. She could she Duran nod his approval, but Duncan and Valendrian looked alarmed.
"Then you have little time before the Garrison show up." Duncan warned. Melody dipped her head in agreement.
"I'll figure something out, I always do." Melody said softly. Just then the other woman that Melody still didn't know her name gasped and pointed,
"The Guards are here!" She then turned and scurried away. The remaining group turned to meet the on coming group of guards.
"Let us see what comes of this." Valendrian said. They watched as the group came to a halt in front of them.
"I seek Valendrian, the elder and administrator of the alienage." The Captain announced. Valendrian stepped forward.
"Here, Captain. I assume you are here in regards to the disruption today?" He asked.
"Don't play ignorant with me, elder. Justice will be had." The Guard growled. "The arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that flows throughout the entire estate! I demand names!"
Before anyone could say anything, Melody stepped forward. "It was my doing, sir." She said.
Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
"You expect me to believe one woman did all of that?" The Captain asked. Melody crossed her arms, her face sour.
"I don't expect you to believe anything, but it still stands that I did it to save myself and my friends."
The captain sighed but nodded, "you have saved many lives by coming forward. I don't envy your fate, but I applaud your courage. You'll wait in the dungeon until the Arl returns. The rest of you, return to your houses. "
Duncan stepped forward then. "Captain, a word if you please."
The Captain turned to regard him, "Yes, Warden?"
"I hereby conscript this young woman into the Wardens. I am removing this woman into my custody." Duncan declared.
"You can do that?" Melody asked no one in particular. The Captain pursed his lips, but looked resigned.
"I cannot protest your rights, but I do ask that you get this elf out of the city, today." He said before signaling the others to leave with him.
The group watched them leave before Soris gave a laugh in disbelief and hugged her.
"Thank you, for not giving me away." Melody hugged him back.
"Of course, cousin dear, you're my family, and family sticks together." She said. She heard Duran snort in disbelief, but ignored him for the moment.
"I'll let you say you're goodbyes, but then we must leave. I still have one more place to get to before we head down to Ostegar." Duncan said before turning to Duran, "Come with me Duran, we should stock up before we leave."
Melody watched the two leave before turning back to Soris.
"What will you do now?" she asked curiously.
"I plan to settle down with Valora. I think being married will be a lot better than I thought. But I'm staying out of trouble from now on." He swore. Melody grinned and pat his back.
"I'm happy for you. Keep your chin up and keep an eye on Shianni for me. I love you and I'll miss you." She hugged him tightly.
"I'll miss you too. It'll be really quiet without you to stir things up." He said, pulling back and walking away.
"This will be good for you, I think." Valendrian stated, bringing her attention to him. "You are such an adventurous soul, I was afraid you would wither away if you were forced to stay in one spot, much like you're mother."
Melody smiled sadly at the mention of her mother. "I'm not always sure. I hope she would be proud of me."
"She is, no doubt. She always knew you would be destined for greater things than just sitting in the alienage. I will miss you my dear, don't forget to come back and visit." He said before also leaving. Melody stood for a few moments before leaving to find Shianni.
When she walked into her house, she immediately saw Valora standing nervously next to Dylan, who was in the middle of casting a spell over Shianni. Melody watched in awe as the cuts and bruises all started to fade.
"Wow, that's awesome." She stated. Dylan smiled at her before turning back to Shianni.
"You'll all good and healed, you might experience some bleeding, but I've healed all the major damage and most of the minor damage. I'm also going to prescribe you a tonic to help with any panic attacks you have over the next few days and you also don't have to worry about being pregnant with the bastard's child." He diagnosed, digging through his pack and pulling out a few vials and several herbs, walking over to the corner table to put together the tonics.
Melody sat down on the bed next to her looking her over. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked. Shianni nodded and gave her a weak smile.
"Of course, nothing keeps me down for long, and the healer helped a lot." She said.
Melody smiled and said, "I'm glad, I came to tell you goodbye, I've been conscripted into the wardens and we have to leave tonight."
Shianni laughed, "Good for you. Finally getting what you always dreamed about as a kid. I'll miss you."
Melody nodded and gave a small kiss on her cheek, "I'll miss you too."
She got up and stood aside as Dylan gave Shianni and Valora instructions for the tonics before walking with Melody out the door.
"So, you're joining our merry little band of misfits are you?" He asked. Melody nodded, eyeing him warily when he started chuckling to himself, "It makes me think of the beginning of a joke where a dwarf, an elf, and a human walked into a bar."
Melody snorted. "I suppose, that leaves a wide range of things to joke about though."
Dylan nodded and laughed, "it does. Well, lets go find the other two and be on our way, if I heard right, you're to be out of the city by night."
Melody nodded and followed Dylan the rest of the way.