She stared at the empty space that until just a moment ago had two occupants in it. She willed the image in her mind to change and blinked to clear her vision. The space was still empty.
That didn't just happen. I just imagined that. There is no way that I just saw Vaughan pull Nathaniel over … no. No. She shook her head to clear it and focused on keeping pressure on Fergus' wound.
"You can let go now. I will heal him," Irving's voice, rusty with age, finally registered in her ear. Apparently they had been trying to get her attention for a little while, because Greagoir was gently prying her hands off Fergus' shoulder. Her hands wouldn't work; she couldn't make them move, even though her fingers were slippery with blood. She stared uncomprehendingly at them until Greagoir's voice, sharp in her ear, caught her attention.
"Elissa!" She turned to Greagoir as if to say yes? But no words emerged. He stood and pulled Elissa to her feet. "Your brother will be fine. Irving's got him. Go to Nathaniel." The look on his face, a mixture of understanding and pity, looked so foreign to her that it took her a moment to comprehend what he was saying. Nathaniel? Nathaniel! Comprehension finally kicked in and she spun around and wiped her hands on her skirt before walking briskly to the railing. She gripped it with both of her hands and looked over the edge.
The first thing that caught her attention was that there was so much blood. Vaughan and Nathaniel were both lying on the floor motionless. Vaughan was lying on his back, one leg twisted horribly underneath him, and his eyes were fixed open, issuing a horrified expression at some unspecified point on the ceiling. She thought numbly that he must have died the moment he impacted with the stone floor. Nathaniel was lying on the floor as well, currently in a face-down position, although Anders and Zevran were right there. They were gently rolling him over and Elissa could see streaks of light leaving Anders' fingers and surrounding Nathaniel's prone form. Both Vaughan and Nathaniel, and now Anders and Zevran, were coated in a pool of blood that extended several feet out from where they were lying motionless.
If Anders is there, Nathaniel must still be alive! Suddenly, she couldn't move quickly enough and she ran to the end of the room, where the stairs to the lower level sat mockingly. Too slow! She slid down the bannister, jumping off and running across the floor to where Anders was casting. She slipped and nearly fell in the pool of blood, but righted herself as she skidded to a halt and knelt next to Anders.
She looked at Nathaniel; he looked so peaceful lying there, as if he hadn't a care in the world. His face was relaxed, his brow uncreased, and if it wasn't for the blood that had gotten on the side of his face and the swelling on his cheek, it would have been easy for someone to think he had just decided to take a nap. She looked at Anders, who wore a look of concentration unlike anything she had ever seen, even when he had healed Oghren when the dwarf had accidentally given himself alcohol poisoning.
"What can I do?" she asked quietly.
"You stay here. Zevran, I need lyrium potions. Strong ones. A lot of them." Anders continued casting, not looking up as Zevran got up and ran off somewhere.
"Here." Elissa looked up to see Greagoir, standing above her, presenting her with a handful of blue vials. "They're strong. Be careful with them." He looked at Elissa and nodded once. "I keep some on me at all times, just in case."
Elissa took them from Greagoir. "Thank you." She turned to Anders. "Tell me when."
"Now!" Anders was sweating and his hands were beginning to shake. "I'm about out of mana here." Elissa quickly uncorked the first vial and Anders tilted his head back. She poured the concoction into his mouth and he swallowed it completely in one gulp. After a second, the shaking in his hands stopped and he nodded as he looked back down at his work. "I'll need another one in about two, maybe three minutes. Be ready."
They continued on, Anders working nearly entirely around Nathaniel's head, and Elissa practically drowning Anders in strong lyrium potions. Elissa's focus narrowed to the two men on the floor except for when Zevran returned, many vials in his possession, and wordlessly handed them to her. Anders kept casting, but after a little while he tersely explained what was happening. "He has a cracked skull. I'm trying to heal it and keep the swelling down in his brain. He has a broken arm too, but until his head is fixed ..." He fell silent for a moment, then, "Now." Elissa uncorked another lyrium potion and poured it into Anders' mouth.
Anders continued working for quite some time. As Elissa fed him more lyrium, he became chattier. He also started to make less and less sense, and he started shaking his head periodically, as if to clear it. Each time he shook his head Elissa looked at him and noticed his eyes got more glazed. By the time Irving had managed to find his way to where they were working, Anders was fully babbling and Elissa wondered if he could see any more. Irving took one look at Anders and immediately took charge. "Greagoir, he's addled. I'll take over healing."
Elissa looked up to see Greagoir nod before the Knight-Commander dragged Anders up off the floor. Anders started yammering at Greagoir about how they never hung out anymore and how they really needed to go get a pint sometime and did Greagoir want to do it now before they went back to the Tower and locked him in solitary again and did Greagoir like scarves? Greagoir shook his head and grabbed Anders around the waist with one hand, pulled Anders' arm over his shoulder with the other and half-walked, half-dragged Anders out of the room in a cloud of words and lyrium. Elissa turned back to Irving, who was working on Nathaniel's left arm.
"Anders did a remarkable job with Nathaniel," Irving said as he cast over Nathaniel's forearm. "The swelling is down, which is amazing considering the fall Nathaniel took. At this point all we can do is wait to see when he awakens." He finished casting on Nathaniel's forearm and started checking his ribcage and legs. After he finished his examination, he leaned back. "He can be moved gently now," he announced. "All that can be done has been done. All that's left is to clean him up and wait."
-0-0-0-
Two days. Two long, agonizing days. Elissa shifted in her seat as she continued to watch Nathaniel's chest rise and fall shallowly. He hadn't gotten worse; once Anders was more or less his normal self, he had checked Nathaniel and declared that he needed time to continue to heal before he would wake up. Elissa knew from the look in Anders' eyes, however, that his body could give up on him anyway if he took too long to awaken. She refused to leave his side in case he woke up or, Maker forbid... No. He would wake up. He had to.
She leaned forward and stroked his uninjured cheek as she talked softly to him. "When you wake up, we'll get away from this Maker-forsaken city. We can go back to the keep, pack our traveling gear, and get away for a while. Maybe I can take you to Soldier's Peak. You can meet Levi Dryden and his family and we can all have dinner together, talk about how good it is to not be considered nobility." She traced his jaw and brows while she spoke. "We can go hunting – I know you enjoy that." Her voice was cracking, so she closed her eyes and cleared her throat. Once she felt like she had better control of herself, she opened her eyes and continued. "It'll be nice to be able to enjoy being outdoors for a change, don't you think? Maybe we can go swimming if we go to a lake." She smoothed his blankets, then picked up his hand and held it between hers. "Just … wake up soon. I miss you." She lifted his hand to her face, pressing his warm skin upon her lips. She held his hand there for a while before gently lowering his hand and tucking it into the blanket to keep it warm.
She heard a cough behind her, and so turned her head to see who was there. It was Fergus. He stepped into the room and sat down on the chair closest to the side of the bed that she was sitting on. She only spared a glance for her brother, preferring to watch Nathaniel's breathing and letting the slight motion of his chest reassure her that things would be all right.
Fergus stayed silent and Elissa watched Nathaniel breathing. It took several minutes of uncomfortable silence before Elissa heard Fergus clear his throat again and begin speaking.
"I think tomorrow will the the last day of the Landsmeet. Some of the nobles have asked whether you would be attending."
Elissa answered the question that Fergus didn't ask. "I don't think I'll be there. I need to be here if... when he wakes up. Has there been a problem with Eric and Erlina representing the Wardens?"
"No, not at all." She heard a rustling from the direction of Fergus' chair. "They're doing better than some of the established nobles." Elissa nodded to show she understood. There was a pause, then Fergus spoke again. "How long have you been training them?"
Elissa counted back. "Two, maybe three months? Of course, Erlina was already well-versed in politics." She shrugged. "In the event that Nathaniel and I needed to leave the Ferelden Wardens, we wanted the others to be able to take over immediately." They both fell silent again and Elissa, for her part, was feeling distinctly awkward about Fergus being in the room with her.
"You can say something, if you'd like." Fergus' voice was tired.
Elissa did look up at this statement. She met Fergus' eyes. "I … don't know what to say," she admitted. "Our last few meetings haven't gone well." Understatement of the year. "I don't even know how to address you."
"I'm sure a few choice terms come to mind," he responded, his voice dry as he shook his head. Elissa tried to smile in response, but she was sure what came to her face could only be described as a grimace. "Listen," his voice and expression were unsure now, "I know you've been through a lot. We all have. Seeing you at the Landsmeet, both of you ..." He sighed and turned his head, tapping the armrest of his chair with nervous fingers, "I see that you are important to each other. And then, watching Nathaniel save my life again and then protect you, risking his life like that, well..." He turned his head to look Elissa in the eye. "I can't promise anything. I'm not anywhere near a place where I can forgive what his father did. I need time to work out how I feel about all this." His voice had taken on a pleading tone and his fingers were still tapping their jerky rhythm. "I mean, you're my sister. I'm really worried that you're making an enormous mistake here."
Elissa slowly nodded. "I understand. But if it is a mistake, it's mine to make." She shrugged again. "I'm not forcing you to make any choices, you know that." She waited for him to acknowledge her with a nod before continuing. "This relationship I have with Nathaniel is something I need. I hope that you can at least respect that once you have decided how you feel about everything." She fell silent and waited for him to react.
He looked thoughtful when she finished speaking and took some time to ponder what she had said. When he was finished thinking, he stood and handed her a scroll. "This is for Nathaniel when he wakes up. You can look at it if he ..." his voice trailed off then as he looked at her face. "I'm sorry. That was insensitive. Get some sleep. You look like you haven't slept in the past two days." He hesitated, then put an unsure hand on her shoulder. "I'll try, Elissa. It's the best I can do."
Elissa covered Fergus' hand with hers and managed a small smile. "It's enough," she said simply, then let her hand fall away as Fergus quietly left the room. She looked at the scroll that was now sitting in her lap and debated a moment before setting it aside. Nathaniel can read it himself when he wakes.
Since she hadn't slept the previous two days, she decided to lie down and at least try to follow Fergus' advice. She settled herself on the bed and carefully arranged herself so that she could see Nathaniel breathing. She watched him for a little bit longer as she fell asleep.
-0-0-0-
A groan invaded her ears, causing her eyes to open. She looked to the sound to find its source, only to realize that it was Nathaniel groaning. Immediately awake, she sat up and turned to face him just as his eyes fluttered open.
He looked at her with surprise and horror in his eyes. "Where are we? The fall..." He closed his eyes and swallowed heavily, then opened his eyes again. "Am I alive?"
Elissa could no more have stopped the smile on her face than she could have stopped the sun from setting. "You're alive." She greeted him back to the world of the living with a careful embrace and an enthusiastic kiss. Once she was satisfied that he was well enough to reciprocate, she squeezed him gently. "We're in the palace in one of the guest bedrooms. You've been unconscious for two days. I'll call for some food." She helped him carefully sit up against the bed cushions and then rang for a servant.
When she turned back toward the bed, Nathaniel had the scroll in his hand and was looking at it curiously. "From Fergus?" he asked, indicating the seal upon it. Elissa nodded, and he broke the seal and unrolled the vellum. He looked confused as he read it before handing it to Elissa. "Has he changed his mind about us?" he asked.
"No, but he's willing to think about it and try now," she replied. "Why, what does it say?" She read the scroll.
Fergus had reinstated the ownership of the Amaranthine property to Delilah's son.