Bleary eyed, I sat up slowly on my bedroll. Realizing my head ached, probably from a lack of sleep, I grunted as I tried to stand up too quickly and mentally slapped myself in the fore head. Seriously, I thought, what the hell is wrong with you? He is one man in a sea of men in Ferelden, 9 of which you are surrounded by right now, minus Caden. Trying to shake off the image in my mind of his eyes I grabbed my socks and boots and slipped them on. No, I told myself, no. You will leave that man alone. Haven't you done enough damage?
"Kora, you ok in there?" I heard Caden whisper from my tent flap. I grunted and pushed the flap open.
"Yeah, just couldn't sleep," I whispered as I squinted at the intrusive sun. He grunted his agreement.
"Neither could I. Sometimes being a warden I have some serious nightmares but being a warden AND a twin is completely mucking up my beauty sleep!" Caden smirked and handed me a bowl of something warm. I took it gratefully and walked over to the fire with everyone else. I had forgotten Caden and I shared dreams some times, feeling a bit embarrassed at that thought. I'm sure they were more nightmares to him, I smirked to myself as I sat down. Catching the tiny mage's eye that I found yesterday, I smiled and winked. She grinned and kept eating.
"So, to go over the plans we laid out last night," Duncan began as we all continued eating, "Kora, Caden, Bran and Rafe will go into Lothering. Kora, you will go in fully armed and armored with no helm posing as the mercenary leader. Everyone else will wear their helm at all times. Loghain's men are still in the town and we do not want to show our hand too soon, nor turn this into a bloodbath. Alistair should recognize you Kora and, if not, Caden can reveal himself briefly. Is that clear?" Duncan looked to everyone involved, nodding to them as they replied "yes Commander", myself included. "Good. You go in, get supplies, get our people and get out. Any questions?"
"What of the people we discussed last night, Commander," I asked, "the Chantry sister and the Qunari?" Duncan nodded.
"If there is time and you believe you can do so without too much of an incident, I trust your judgment. Anything else? Good, Maker watch over you all." As Duncan stood we all stood, tossing our bowls in the bucket to be washed and heading in our separate directions. The mage stopped me and pulled me aside.
"Are you sure I will be safe here?" she asked as she appeared to shake a bit. I hugged her tightly then held her at arm's length, smiling.
"Duncan is a good and honorable man and these men follow him to the letter. I know you will be well taken care of while we're gone, I swear it." I squeezed her upper arms for emphasis and smiled warmly. "Wait, what is your name anyway? Can't call you 'the mage' forever." We both giggled.
"Solana, Solana Amell," she said with conviction and what seemed to be pride. I let go of her arms and grasped her hand in a firm handshake.
"Nice to meet you Solana Amell, my name is Kora. Welcome."
When we walked into Lothering I noticed the area where the bandits were stationed was deserted, I took that as a good sign. Searching all the crates we found some money and what appeared to be a family's belongings. Remembering the elves, I ordered them left behind and made a mental note to approach them if they were still by the bridge. Not sure when I was made the ACTUAL commander of this little mission but everyone seemed to look to me for guidance so I went with it.
As we walked through the refugee camp I had to force myself not to scrunch up my nose from the smell, these people had been through enough without some heavily armed merc looking down on them. I walked as quickly as possible and headed for the Chantry with my "company" in tow, motioning for them to meet me at the Chantry Board as I stopped to speak to the elves who were still there, oddly enough. The family was very relieved and practically ran back to get their things as I made my way over to the Board, moving in front of Bran to take a look for myself.
"Everything is still here," I said to myself as I read over the notices. I began to wonder if they had come through yet when I heard a familiar scream.
"She is one of them! Can't you smell the corruption on her?" the man screamed as we walked through the archway into the Chantry court yard and I spotted them. Alistair and Elissa with Morrigan standing off to the side, looking very amused at the sight in front of her. I rolled my eyes and watched, hoping that this man would be handled properly by Elissa. A mabari rushed to Elissa's defense with a growl as the noble woman sighed and shook her head.
"Really?" she stated more than asked as she put her right hand on her hip, "Is someone going to shut this guy up or do I have to?" I growled loudly as I marched over to the screaming man, grabbing his arms and forcing him to look at me. My face softened.
"You poor man," I cooed as I tried to bring back the memories I had of the game, "What has happened to you to make you so?" I held onto his arms as he tried weakly to pull away, trying desperately to convey my concern through my face. He finally gave up and sighed deeply, looking at the ground.
He went on to tell everyone about his family, his wife, his clan and what the dark spawn did to them. My heart went out to him and as I released his upper arms, he admitted dishonor and walked away. Sighing deeply I looked at the ground, shaking my head as I contemplated what to do or say next. I knew what I wanted to do, just not what I should do. Caden beat me to it.
"You worthless little bitch!" he seethed as he grabbed Elissa's arm and swung her around to face him. As small as she was I was afraid he would hurt her, being maybe 5'2" and 100 lbs soaking wet. I shot over to get between them and grabbed Caden's hand, yanking on it at an angle and pinching to loosen his grip. His fury turned to me. "You're not seriously going to defend her?" I shook my head.
"Not here, not now," I whispered as I glanced around at the crowd. He relaxed his shoulders and stepped back.
"Yes Commander," he stated as he gave me a quick bow and walked over to Bran and Rafe. I sighed, turning to face Elissa who was shooting daggers at me from her eyes. Putting my shock at that fact aside, it dawned on me suddenly that she was the spitting image of MY Elissa. I extended my hand for a hand shake, grabbing her reluctant hand and pumping it earnestly.
"We need to talk," I said in a low, threatening voice as I released her hand and motioned for her and the others to follow me.
I walked back past the board and toward the small stone bridge, not bothering to turn around to see if anyone followed. As I crossed the bridge and came to a quiet and unoccupied area of town I turned around, expecting to see most of them dawdling to catch up, if they followed me at all. However what I saw was every single one of them had been right on my heels. As they stopped abruptly and stood at attention I held back a victorious grin. Then I looked at Alistair. "You recognize me Ser, correct?"
He looked me over thoughtfully, taking in my uniform then working his way up to my face. As he looked into my eyes his widened in shock and recognition, then he plastered the biggest grin imaginable across his face and walked toward me.
"Kora," he whispered as he took me into his arms for an embrace I never imagined him capable of. It was gentle and warm, but tight enough that I couldn't have gotten away if I tried (not that I wanted to). I put one arm around his neck and the other around his waist and squeezed, resting my head on his shoulder and breathing him in. "You're alive, I can't believe it," he breathed into my ear. I smiled but then, getting a hold of myself, I loosened my hold. He took the hint and released, stepping back to smile at me again but with a slight blush to his cheeks. I winked at him.
"You'd be amazed at what you can believe these days," I smirked. Then I looked at Morrigan, nodding to acknowledge her. When she returned my nod I then looked to Elissa, hardening my face a bit but holding back the scowl that threatened to take over. "And what you can't." Elissa scoffed at my remark.
"I do not know who you think…" she spat at me.
"Don't you DARE," I interrupted, stalking towards her slowly as I changed my face into an evil glare, "your parents would be disgusted with your behavior today and you know it! Nobility my ass, what the hell was noble about what you did back there?" I hissed, trying to keep my voice low. She looked down at her feet then back up at me, appearing to be ashamed.
"I know, it was horrible of me to speak to him like that," she began, "but I'm not exactly here by choice, OK? I did not WANT to be a Warden, it was forced on me. If it weren't for…" she trailed off, looking back down at her feet. I sighed, realizing what must be going through her head I knew that was where I had to show my hand.
"Caden, bring the others to the cage outside the gate to speak to the Qunari," I said as I stepped toward Elissa, lifting her chin with my knuckle to look her in the eye. Softening my face I gave her a warm smile. "We have a lot to talk about."
After the others had gone I skirted over the details of Elissa's recent history. Once she realized I knew her circumstances she relaxed. I tried to assure her that I was there to help and everything would work out, it would just take time. I knew what it was like to be forced into a situation that was not by my own choosing.
"So you're really from another world?" she asked, astonished. I smiled.
"It's amazing how quickly people here are to believe that, but yes I am." I tugged at a loose piece of leather on her armor. "We should get that fixed." She looked at it and shrugged.
"I doubt there's an armorer within a hundred miles of here," she said as she looked around. Her eyes made it back to me. "Did you leave anyone behind?" I nodded and she sighed, biting her lower lip. "It broke my heart." I saw a tear make its way from the corner of her eye. As it fell, I wiped it away.
"There are many things about the past that we should cling to," I said softly as I took her hand, holding it between both of my own. "The regrets are not one of them." She gave me an appreciative smile as I saw the others walking back toward us. Looking at Caden's face I knew he hadn't been successful.
"The Revered Mother refuses to release him," he said, obviously frustrated. I smiled.
"I know a way to make her agree." I smiled as I thought about the little red head waiting at the Inn.
Leliana.
"Elissa, Alistair, Rafe, with me. The rest of you are with Caden." When Bran stepped protectively toward me I put up my hand and gave him my best sideways mischievous grin, "When you see soldiers running for their lives out the front door of the Inn, you'll know it's safe to enter." I winked at him and turned toward the entrance to the Inn. "Alistair, Elissa, put on your helms. Don't want anyone seeing your faces if we can help it." Maker, I thought as Alistair opened the door, I hope I'm as good with this sword as I think I am.
Smoke, ale, sweat and something I was afraid to identify assaulted my nose and eyes as we walked into the crowded bar room. I waved Elissa and Alistair ahead of me as I made my way to a conveniently placed flanking position and waited. I knew there was a chance they would be recognized so I tried to stay in the background in case the Wardens needed back up. Surprise was my best weapon and, sure enough, the sigil on Alistair's chest plate gave them away.
When the idiot in charge of Loghain's soldiers decided threatening Leliana and the wardens was a good idea, I slowly pulled out my sword and put my shield on my arm, waiting for him to make the first move. Once the soldiers attacked I flanked them, getting one on the back of the head with my pommel and another across the face, taking them out before they even knew I was there. Their fearless leader cried Uncle. Literally cried, mind you.
"Stop, please, enough! We surrender!" he whined as Alistair held his sword to the man's throat. Caught up in the moment I put my sword and shield away and placed my hand on Alistair's arm to signal him to stand down. He lowered it but didn't sheathe it as I gave the man on the floor a menacing look, standing over him.
"You may leave with your lives, but you will take a message to Loghain," I stated in my lowest and most menacing voice. Curving the right corner of my lips into a half smile, I purred to the frightened man, "You tell him the Wardens know what really happened at Ostagar." Then, not satisfied with the look on his face I gave him a good kick to the mid-section and backed away two steps before walking over to the Innkeeper.
After that I needed a drink.