Disclaimer: I do NOT own Dragon Age or anything related to it.
"For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first."
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
Chapter 5:Betrayal
The sound of barking and growling rang through the blonde's ears as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed with a yawn. She rubbed at her eyes sleepily, blinking several times as the barking and growling continued. It was then that she noticed Leonard standing dangerously in front of the door growling and looking like he was ready to pounce on someone. He turned sharply to his perplexed mistress and nodded toward the door as if he was trying to warn her about something.
"What is it, boy?" Valerie asked, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself as she walked over to the door and pressed her ear to it. It almost sounded like there was some kind of fighting or arguing happening on the other side of the door. Lowering her eyes, she put a finger to her lips as a sign for Leonard to be quiet and continued listening in for another minute before turning away to get dressed. Just then, the door burst open and she was knocked to the floor as a servant rushed inside, looking scared out of his mind.
"Help me, milady!" He cried."The castle is under attack-"
Valerie's hazel eyes widened as an arrow hit the poor servant in the back and she rolled aside to avoid his body falling on top of her. The archer who had shot him soon turned his bow on her as three swordsmen also ran into the room. Leonard barked loudly and pounced on the archer, ignoring his loud screams of agony as the dog's razor sharp teeth dug into the skin of his throat like a tiger's fangs. He was dead within seconds and soon Leonard was also making quick work of one of the swordsmen in order to protect his mistress.
One of the other swordsmen grabbed Valerie by the ankle as she tried to crawl toward her chest full of weapons and armor and roughly yanked her back. Raising her leg, Valerie kicked him right in the nose and then kicked out his legs. She rolled away from the other swordsmen's blade as it struck the floor where her head once was and balled her hand into a tight fist before punching him in the face. With both men momentarily distracted, she hurried over to her chest and quickly retrieved her armor and weapons.
The two men soon recovered and charged at her. She ducked away from the first man's blade and threw one of her daggers at him, smirking when it landed right between his eyes and killed him instantly. Letting out a yell, the second man swung his sword at her neck and she blocked it with her dagger. He tried to grab her, but the blonde rogue turned around and thrust her braid in his face, briefly catching him off guard and giving her just enough time to retrieve her other dagger from the dead man's face. She put two fingers in her mouth and let out a whistle, pointing at the remaining swordsman. Leonard growled obediently and pounced on him, killing the struggling man swiftly but painfully.
Valerie quickly put on her armor and grabbed her weapons before heading into the hallway where three more men were already waiting for her. Leonard immediately tackled one of the men and mauled him to death. Valerie spun out of the way from one man's sword, using her daggers to parry and counter his attacks while dodging another man's blade as he aimed for her neck. She twirled around her daggers, thrusting them both at the man closest to her. He gave a yelp as the blades unexpectedly sliced into his arm and fell to the floor after receiving a powerful kick to the head.
The other man swung his sword at Valerie's legs, evoking a squeal from her as she barely jumped aside in time and rolled away when he aimed his sword for her head. A small grunt came from Valerie as she managed to raise her leg and kick his sword out of his grasp. He hurried to retrieve it, but Valerie swept her leg across his, knocking him to the floor and then pinned him down with her foot. She picked up her fallen daggers and plunged them into his back, his blood splattering all over her face and armor as he let out a loud cry before death took him.
An arrow suddenly zipped past her face, leaving a small cut on her cheek. She turned around to see another archer aiming for her, but before he could fire again, someone's else arrow hit him in between the shoulder blades. As he fell, Valerie looked up and saw Jade had been the to put him down, the huntress lowering her bow and raising her head at Valerie as Eleanor ran to her daughter.
"Darling!" The Teryna cried, throwing her arms around her daughter."We heard fighting outside and feared the worst. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Mother." Valerie assured her."But what's going on?! One of the servants told me the castle was under attack."
"A scream woke me up." Eleanor explained."There were men in the hall, so I barred the door to hold them back for a time. If it wasn't for Jade coming when she did, they'd have already killed me."
Valerie turned to the elf."Jade, what happened? Where's Duncan?"
"I don't know." Jade said worriedly."Duncan wasn't in his room and I got separated from Tamlen before I found your mother."
"Did you see their shields?" Eleanor asked."Those are Howe's men! Why would they attack us?"
"It seems your father's old friend has decided to take advantage of the castle's nearly defenseless state and attack you when you least expect it." Jade said grimly."Looks as though you've been betrayed, your ladyship."
Eleanor gasped."You don't think Howe's men were delayed...on purpose? Why that treacherous bastard! I'll cut his lying throat myself when I see him!" She looked around frantically."Have you seen your father, Valerie? He never came to bed last night."
"What is he stayed up with Arl Howe?" Valerie whispered, trembling with worry.
"We must find him!" Eleanor exclaimed.
"I might also suggest checking up on your brother's wife and son as well." Jade said.
"Oh no, what if those men went into Fergus's room first?!" The Teryna panicked.
Jade ran over to Fergus's door, using an arrow to pick the lock then kicked it open as Valerie and Eleanor rushed inside. The sight before them was completely appalling; Oriana lay motionless on the floor, eyes open and wide with horror as a dagger stuck out of her chest and an arrow from her leg most likely to keep her from trying to run, and Oren was surrounded in a pool of his own blood, arrows having penetrated his neck and chest. Eleanor fell to her knees beside her grandson's stiff, shaking and sobbing quietly in grief.
"No! My little Oren!" She sobbed into her hands."What matter of fiend slaughters innocents?!"
"Mythal have mercy on these poor souls." Jade whispered, shutting her eyes tightly and shaking her head.
Valerie clenched her fists as she knelt down next to Oriana and gently closed her sister-in-law's eyes."I'll make him pay for this." She growled.
"Howe's not even bothering to take any hostages." Eleanor said."He just wants to kill all of us. Oh poor Fergus, let's go, I can't bear to see this."
As she stood up to leave, Valerie noticed Jade's hands were folded and her gaze faced the floor like was offering some sort of silent prayer for Oren and Oriana. The raven-haired elf looked up, eyes narrowing as she gave a small nod that Valerie returned before exiting the room. They made sure to check on Lady Landra, Dairren, and Iona, but all three of them were already dead. Jade also mentioned passing by Nan's arrow-filled stiff before she found Eleanor while Brother Aldous and Mother Mallol didn't make it either.
With Leonard on their heels, the three women took down more of Howe's men and hurried down the corridor, unable to miss the sounds of fighting between Howe's soldiers and what little troops remained in the castle. Eleanor came to a stop, putting a hand over her mouth to hold back a sob over everything that was happening.
"Can you hear the fighting?" She asked, obviously still in shock."Howe's men must literally be everywhere!"
"Any ideas as to what we should do then?" Jade queried.
"The front gates!" The Teryna exclaimed."That's where Bryce must be!"
"And if he isn't?" Jade questioned.
Eleanor was silent for a moment, lowering her head as if in deep thought about something before looking back up with an urgent look on her face. She took Valerie by the shoulders and locked eyes with her."Listen to me, darling. We haven't much time. If we cannot find your father then you and Jade must get out of here alive. Without you and Fergus, the entire Cousland line dies here and if Howe's men are inside, then that must mean they already control the castle."
"How do we get out of here?" Valerie asked.
"We must use the servant's exit in the larder." Eleanor replied. She turned briefly to Jade, her expression a silent plea."If anything happens..."
Jade nodded."I'll make sure get out of here safely, your ladyship."
Eleanor nodded and turned back to Valerie."Do you hear me, Valerie? You must get out of here alive."
Valerie hesitated, but nodded."Yes, Mother. I hear you."
"Good." Eleanor said."Then let us be swift."
"The castle has fallen!" A terrified servant yelled as he ran up from behind a corner."I'm getting out of here!"
"No, wait!" Valerie cried, but the servant was already starting to flee when a lightning bolt suddenly struck him in the back and he fell dead to the floor. A female mage slowly sauntered into view, smirking at the three women after having killed the servant. The mage tapped her staff against the floor and raised a hand toward the ceiling as she used the Tempest spell, electrocuting both Jade and Valerie and knocking them both to the floor. Leonard barked angrily and pounced on the mage, trying to bite the skin of her throat for harming his mistress. The mage electrocuted him with another lightning spell and swatted him aside with her staff. She turned her attention to Eleanor, who was trying to help Valerie get up and in response, Jade quickly rolled to her feet and retrieved her bow. She shouted, grabbing the mage's attention, and shot an arrow in between the mage's eyes, killing her instantly.
"We must get the family sword from the treasury!" Eleanor said urgently.
"Then we'd better hurry." Jade stated.
They eventually found Ser Gilmore shouting orders to several of his men as they struggled to keep the doors closed. Valerie and Eleanor quickly rushed to him while Jade grabbed Leonard by the collar to keep him from following. She knelt down next to the dog, hearing him whimper as he leaned against her in sadness. Ser Gilmore whipped around to face mother and daughter as they approached, his expression that of obvious relief.
"Your ladyship, milady!" He cried."Thank goodness you're both still alive! I was certain Howe's men had gotten through!"
"They did get through." Jade stated, standing up and walking over to them with Leonard behind her.
"They killed Oren and Oriana." Eleanor murmured sadly."Ser Gilmore, are you injured?"
"Don't worry about me, your ladyship." The knight assured her."I'm just glad that you two are unharmed."
"Howe, that treacherous bastard!" Valerie growled.
"When I realized what was happening, it was all I could do to shut the gates, but they won't keep Howe's men out for long. If you have another way out of the way, then I suggest you use it quickly."
"Have you seen my father?" Valerie asked.
"When I last saw the Teryn, he'd been badly wounded. I urged him not to go, but he was simply determined to find you and your mother. I saw him go towards the kitchen, most likely to find you at the servant's exit in the larder."
"Come with us!" Valerie pleaded.
"Go with the Teryna and Lady Cousland, Roland!" One of the injured men urged as he struggled to keep the door closed before the knight could protest."You need to protect them! We're already injured and we'll die anyway! Just go and keep them safe!"
Jade could see the hesitation in Ser Gilmore's light green eyes as he obviously didn't want to leave his men behind, but the pleading look on Valerie's face as well as his fellow knight's urging him to leave forced him to agree. He nodded tersely and followed after them after sparing a small glance of both regret and sorrow toward his men.
Eleanor and Valerie burst into the larder, looking all around for Bryce and praying he was alright while Leonard, Jade, and Ser Gilmore barely managed to catch up with them
"There...you both are." A weak voice said."I was...wondering when you'd get here..."
"Bryce!" Eleanor gasped, rushing to his side. The Teryn was clutching onto his side, bleeding badly and hardly breathing."Maker's blood, what's happening?! You're bleeding!"
"Howe's men.." He managed to croak."...found me first...almost did me in right there."
"Why is he doing this?!" Valerie sobbed as Ser Gilmore knelt beside her.
"He can't get away with this..." The Teryn growled."The king will...ugh."
"Bryce, we must get you out of here." Eleanor stated.
"I...won't survive the standing, I think." He shook his head.
"That's true!" Valerie protested."You'll be fine! Just get up!"
"Oh, my darling girl..." Bryce gazed lovingly at his daughter."If only your will alone could help make it so."
"Once Howe's men break through the gates, they will find us." Eleanor said."We must leave quickly!"
"Someone must reach Fergus." He whispered."Tell him what has happened."
"You can tell him yourself." Valerie growled.
"I...wish I could." He wheezed.
"Bryce, no!" Eleanor shook his arm desperately."The servants' passage is right here. We can all flee together and find you healing magic."
"The castle is surrounded." He lowered his head."I cannot make it."
"I'm afraid the Teryn is correct." Duncan said as he sheathed his sword and entered the larder with Tamlen right behind him. Jade hurried over to Tamlen and buried her head in his chest as Duncan knelt down next to the Couslands."Howe's men have not yet discovered this exit, but they surrounded the castle and getting past them will be very difficult."
"You are Duncan, yes?" Eleanor asked."The Grey Warden?"
"Yes, your ladyship." Duncan said with a nod."The Teryn, Tamlen, and I tried to reach you sooner."
"My daughter and your other recruit Jade help get here." She explained."Maker be praised."
"I am not surprised." Duncan's eyes briefly flickered toward Jade but his full attention was on Valerie.
"Are you doing to help us, Duncan?" Valerie queried.
"Whatever you plan to do, it must be quick before they get here!" Eleanor said urgently.
"Duncan, I beg you..." Bryce wheezed."Take my wife and daughter to safety."
"I will, your lordship." The Grey Warden nodded."But I must ask you something in return first."
"Anything." The Teryn promised.
"What is happening here now pales greatly in comparison to the evil now loose in the world. I came to your castle looking for more recruits and the darkspawn threat demands that I do so."
"I...understand."
"Are you talking about me?" Valerie cut in
"You all fought your way through Howe's men. I believe the Maker's intentions are clear. I will take the Teryna and your daughter to safety at Ostagar, your lordship, to tell your son and King Cailan what happened. Then, your daughter and Ser Gilmore both join the Grey Wardens."
Bryce gave a weak nod."So long as Howe receives justice... then I agree."
Duncan turned to Valerie and Ser Gilmore."Then I offer the two of you a place to fight with us within the Grey Wardens."
"I accept your offer." Valerie answered quickly.
"As do I." Ser Gilmore nodded.
"Bryce, are you...sure?" Eleanor queried.
"Our daughter will not die of Howe's treachery." The Teryn stated."She will live and make her mark on the world."
"Darling, go with Duncan then." Eleanor lowered her head sadly."You have a much better chance to escape without me."
"Eleanor-" Bryce protested.
"Hush, Bryce." She told him."I will kill every single bastard that tries to through that door, but I will not abandon you."
"I love you both so much." Valerie said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Then live, darling." Eleanor hugged her briefly."Become a Grey Warden and do what is right."
A loud banging sound suddenly rang out and instantly everyone knew Howe's men had finally gotten through. Duncan grabbed Valerie by the arm."We must go, they've broken through the gates."
Valerie nodded slightly, feeling Ser Gilmore squeeze her hand gently as they fled. She gave one last heartbroken look at her parents as a single tear ran down her cheek before leaving. Eleanor hugged Bryce tightly to her, waiting for a few minutes until an axe hit the larder door and she slowly released him. They exchanged small nods and Eleanor slowly drew her bow, waiting for the door to finally be knocked down before she let her arrow fly.
She took down at least twenty or thirty of them, but in the end gave into her exhaustion and fell to her knees, not even bothering to defend herself as one of the men kicked her across the floor and all Bryce could do was watch. An evil chuckle was heard from the doorway as none other than Rendon himself sauntered into the room, smirking evilly at the scowling Eleanor and Bryce. The arl laughed loudly and raised an amused eyebrow.
"My, my, what do we have here?"
As one could expect, he showed them absolutely no mercy and bloodcurdling screams could be heard for hours if not days.
Oh, here come the waterworks!;(Please excuse me while I cry my eyes out and you know, remember to review, leave constructive criticism, but no flames!
Next up: Chapter 6:Wounds