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"Never put your faith in a Prince. When you require a miracle, trust in a Witch."
— Catherynne M. Valente (In the Night Garden (The Orphan's Tales, #1))
Chapter 12:Witch Of The Wilds
"Remind me never to get injured anywhere near you."
Standing up to clean the dead soldier's blood off her dagger, Zoë cast a discrete glance over her shoulder to Alistair, whose eyes were narrowed as he looked down at the stiff at his feet. The elven girl sheathed her dagger and turned to face Alistair with a grimace.
"Don't ever get injured around me, shem." She repeated with a shrug.
"W-What?" Cullen stuttered, eyes wide.
"He told her to remind him never to get injured around her." Natasha stated icily, arms crossed."So she did."
"Does the word 'insane' mean anything to you women?!" Alistair demanded, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"No." Natasha and Zoë answered in unison. The two women exchanged smirks before walking over to Jade who was looking closely at the map while they searched for the outpost where the Grey Warden treaties were supposed to be. Jade lowered the map and flicked her head forwards as a sign for everyone to follow her, though the group froze in place when Jory started rambling again.
"Did you hear that?! An entire patrol of seasoned men killed by darkspawn!" At his words, Natasha rolled her eyes but was whatever retort or insult she wished to give the pathetic excuse for a knight was interrupted by an equally annoyed looking Ser Gilmore.
"I have never, in all my years of knighthood, ever met someone as idiotic and cowardly as you, Ser Jory." The redhead spoke calmly but with more than just a little bit of venom in his tone of voice to make it clear to the other knight that he was purposely severely insulting both his pride and strength as a warrior.
"I am not a coward!" Ser Jory defended angrily."But this is foolish and reckless! We should go back now while we still have the chance."
"You sound like a coward to me." Jade retorted over her shoulder, hearing Valerie snort in both amusement and agreement.
"And an idiot." Natasha added with another roll of her eyes. Jory immediately turned to the mage and the huntress with an indignant frown on his face, crossing his arms over his chest in a poor attempt to look superior, which caused Valerie to snort again.
"I am merely just trying to stay alive!" He exclaimed, uncrossing his arms with a pathetic scowl."You don't see me fleeing, do you?!"
"Not yet we don't." Tamlen muttered under his breath. Jory turned to him with a retort on the tip of his tongue, only to stop short when he saw Tamlen raise a challenging eyebrow at him, practically daring him to say something in response, and very quickly, the human knight shut his mouth with a nervous gulp.
Alistair cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him."Know this: all Grey Wardens can sense the darkspawn. Whatever their cunning, they will not take us by surprise. That's why I'm here."
Daveth scoffed, raising an eyebrow."Oh, so we'll die, but be warned about it first?"
"How very reassuring." Jory snapped sarcastically.
"What on earth did Duncan see in these two dolts?" Natasha murmured to Regina, who shrugged in reply whilst her green eyes glinted with exasperation over Jory and Daveth's irrational fear about things that did not exist. That was when Zoë spotted something not too far up ahead of them and pointed in that direction.
"Look!" All eyes followed the direction of Zoë's finger toward the very outpost they'd now spent hours looking for. Jade gave the former city elf a curt nod of approval before the two of them ran ahead of everyone else and looked around for where the treaties could possibly be. Zoë tapped Jade lightly on the shoulder to get her attention and pointed at a nearby chest. The two women hurried over to the chest and knelt down to take a closer look inside, only to see it was already open and completely empty save for all of the dust and dirt gathered around inside of it.
"Well, well, what have we here?" A sultry voice purred. Jade and Zoë both twisted around to see an unfamiliar human woman descending down the staircase, her extremely light green, almost yellow eyes studying them closely as if she was sizing up a pair of cows for a slaughter. The woman was no doubt beautiful; her long raven hair was pinned up in a chignon as she swayed the hips of her lithe body in an almost seductive manner while calmly walking down the staircase and smirking at the two elves. Based on the staff behind her back, Jade figured she was what the shemlen might call an apostate.
"Are you a vulture, I wonder?" She continued, studying her nails with feigned disinterest in her tone."A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned?" Her smirk widened slightly."Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn-filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" The smirk slowly vanished from her lips as she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at the group of Grey Wardens."What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?"
"Intruder?" Zoë questioned, meeting the dark-haired woman's suspicious stare with her own."And just how are these your Wilds?"
The woman tittered in response as if the question was a funny joke of some kind. Both Cullen and Alistair shuddered at the rather frightening way in which she laughed and seeing their reaction only made her laugh a little louder before turning her attention back to Zoë."Because I know them as only one who owns them could. Can you claim the same, elf?" She didn't wait for a response from the elf, instead just uncrossed her arms and walked ahead of them."I have watched your progress for some time. Where do they go, I wondered, why are they here?" She slowly turned to face them, once again folding her arms over her chest."And now you disturb ashes that no one has touched for so long. Why is that?"
"Don't answer her." Alistair whispered."She looks Chasind and that means others may be nearby."
Hearing this, the woman laughed loudly and threw her arms up in a very exaggerated manner."Do you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?"
"Yes, swooping is bad." He muttered under his breath. Natasha and Regina both rolled their eyes at him.
"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is!" Daveth cried."She'll turn us all into toads!"
"Witch of the Wilds?" The woman repeated with a sigh and shake of her head."Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" She turned back to Zoë and Jade, gesturing toward them with her hand."You two. Elves such as yourselves certainly do not frighten and cower like little boys. Tell me your names and in return I shall tell you both mine."
Jade stepped forward, arms crossed across her chest in a polite bow to the woman."I am Jade Mahariel and this my fellow warden, Zoë Tabris."
Zoë nodded curtly."A pleasure to meet you."
The woman smiled."Now that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the Wilds. You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose here, then? You sought something in that chest over there? Something which is here no longer?"
"Here no longer?" Alistair repeated impatiently."You stole them, didn't you? You're some kind of...sneaky..witch-thief!"
"And I thought I was bad at insulting people." Regina muttered to Natasha, who nodded in agreement.
"How very eloquent." Morrigan remarked, rolling her eyes."Tell me, how does one steal from dead men, fool?"
"Quite easily, it seems." He replied."Those documents are Grey Warden property. I suggest you return them to us at once."
"I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them." She retorted angrily."Feel free to invoke a name that means absolutely nothing here any longer if you wish, but I am not at all threatened by your presence here, warden."
"Then who removed them?" Valerie asked, stepping forward and ignoring Alistair completely with a simple wave of her hand. Morrigan turned to the blonde, her lips slowly twisting into a wry smirk.
"'Twas my mother, in fact." She answered calmly.
"Can you take us to her then?" Jade requested.
Morrigan nodded in something resembling approval."Now there is a sensible request. I like you."
Alistair stiffened slightly."I'd be careful if I were you. First it's, I like you, but then zap! Frog time."
"She will put us all in the pot, she will!" Daveth shook his head."Just you watch!"
Jory huffed."If the pot is a lot warmer than this stupid forest, it'd be a nice change in my opinion."
Morrigan rolled her eyes at the three fearful fools then nodded at both Jade and Zoë."Follow me, then. If it pleases you."
Morrigan led them to a hut where an old woman who was obviously her mother stood in front of a bonfire. The old woman looked up as they approached and crossed her arms when Morrigan gave her a small nod of acknowledgement.
"Greetings, Mother." She said."I bring before you several Grey Wardens who-"
Nodding, the old woman held up a hand to interrupt her."I see them, girl." She studied them all for a moment before pressing her lips together and nodding again in apparent approval."Hmm, yes, much as I expected."
Alistair snorted."Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?"
"You are required to do nothing, young man, least of all believe. You can shut your eyes tight or open your arms wide, but either way, you're still a fool." She stated calmly.
"She's a witch, I tell you!" Daveth never knew when to shut up."We shouldn't be talking to her!"
"Be quiet, Daveth!" Jory snapped."If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad or something?!"
"There is a smart lad." Morrigan's mother remarked dryly."Sadly irrelevant to the much larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will." She then turned to Jade and Zoë with a raised eyebrow."And what of you two? Do your elven and female minds give either of you a different viewpoint? Or do you believe as these foolish boys over here do?"
Zoë shrugged lightly."I don't think either of us are sure what to believe." Jade nodded her head in agreement.
The old woman smiled."A statement that actually possesses much more wisdom than it truly implies. Be always aware, or it is oblivious?" She scratched her head with a small shrug of her shoulders."I can never really remember. So much about you is uncertain and yet I believe. Do I? Why, it seems I do!"
Alistair quirked an eyebrow."So, this is a dreaded Witch of the Wilds then?"
The old woman scoffed harshly at his words."Witch of the Wilds, huh? No doubt Morrigan must have told you that. I know she fancies such tales, though she would certainly never admit it. Oh, how she dances under the moon!" She cackled at her own jest.
"They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother." Morrigan groaned, holding her head in her hands.
"True." Her mother nodded in agreement."They came for their treaties, yes? And before any of you begin barking at me, wardens, your precious seal wore off a very long time ago. I have protected these for you."
"You-" Alistair trailed off with slightly wide eyes as he slowly accepted the documents from Morrigan's mother."Oh, you protected them?"
"And why not?" She shrugged."Take these treaties back to your fellow Grey Wardens and be sure to tell them that this blight's threat is far greater than they realize!"
Jade nodded respectfully."We will. Ma serannas for returning them."
"Such manners!" She smiled widely."Always in the last place you look! Like stockings!" She waved a dismissive hand at the confused look on the huntress's face."Oh, do not mind me. You have what you came for now, don't you?"
"Time for you to go then." Morrigan stated, arms crossed.
"Do not be ridiculous, girl!" Her mother chided."These are your guests, after all!"
"Oh, very well." Morrigan sighed, uncrossing her arms and nodding at the wardens."I will show you out of the woods. Follow me everyone."
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Elven Translations:
Shems/Shemlen - Humans
Ma serannas - My thanks/Thank you
Next up: Chapter 14:The Weak and The Strong