194 réponses à ce sujet

[Gilgamesh1138]

Aw, thanks Slim! I appreciated it so much! And your kind words came at the right time! I was suffering from the Goblins of Self Doubt. The little blighters! Perfect timing, thanks sweetie. *HUGS*

[westiex9]

Gil sorry i havn't had chance to comment sooner cursed essay work! the last couple of chapters were awesome and really gave a cool new perspective to my favourite origin, i can't wait till the night part begins!

[Gilgamesh1138]

Thanks westie! No worries about the posting! Real Life does like to get in the way of our reading and writing.



Loving your Chevalier story!

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chatper 6

~My Life Began With You~

I don’t usually put song lyrics in my author’s notes, but this was so appropriate for Dairren and Kai and their

first and only tryst:


                                                                  Pretty looking road,
                                            Try to hold the rising floods that fill my skin
                                                                 Don't ask me why I'll keep my promise
                                                                 Melt the ice
                                            And you wanted to dance so I asked you to dance
                                                               But fear is in your soul
                                                               Some people call it a one night stand
                                                                But we can call it paradise
                                                               
                                                                Don't say a prayer for me now,
                                                                Save it 'til the morning after
                                                                No, don't say a prayer for me now,
                                                                Save it 'til the morning after
                                                                Save a prayer 'til the morning after
                                                                                                 ~” Save A Prayer”

                                                                                                                       - Duran Duran

                                                


Kai and Argus left Fergus and her family to walk across to her room when a servant passed by.  She stopped the girl

and asked her to please fetch a bottle of one of the best Antivan wines they had in the wine cellar and bring it

with two glasses to her room.  Kai was thankful that they had some really wonderful vintages, thanks to Oriana's

father Ricardo Vinatero who was a purveyor of fine spirits.
She then shut herself in her room only to find that she was fidgeting with lust and nerves.  Now that she was

alone, she realized she had missed her childhood friend so much.  His absence had been a hole she ignored as it had

been too painful to contemplate at the time.  But the past and the present were coming together at such a speed

that they collided, causing a sort of explosion in her head.
She was flooded with memories starting, strangely enough, with her last view of him as he stood on the deck of the

ship as it took him to Antiva and away from her.  She could see him, gangling, skinny still, but with all the

potential of the man who was here in the castle with her and who would be with her tonight.  Her heart squeezed

painfully as she realized now, as she had not then, that she was in love with him, her best friend other than

Fergus.
Sweet Dairren, who always accepted her just the way she was.  Her mind flashed backwards to Dairren showing up in

the wee hours of the morning when the stars were still shining and dawn was still so far away.  How he had brought

his poor fragile mother wrapped in a cloak to their Great Hall.  How he had sported a bruise that had swollen his

eye shut and puffed up most of the right side of his face.  How swollen the skin looked with the blue black color

as the blood from his broken cheekbone pooled along the injury and how painful it had looked.  She recalled the

rage she had felt, at fourteen, for his bastard father when she had found he had hit Dairren when her sweet and

gentle friend was only defending his mother.  At the time, she had wanted to get on a Ceffyl and ride to Bann Loren

and beat him until he lay in a pool of his own blood.  She still felt nothing but contempt and hatred for the man

to this day.
And still the memories flashed backwards, dancing through time in a whirl and taking her with them. Of her, Fergus

and Dairren swimming in Highever Lake, riding Ceffyls, sledding in Winter.  Of Landsmeets in Denerim, of stealing

apples, blackberries and strawberries.  Of sneaking in castle corridors late at night to the library to read books

together, ruling that interruptions were allowed by any of the three of them only if the passages to be read out

loud were exciting, funny or bawdy.
And then, her mind's journey's destination, when they first met in the little tucked away garden at the palace in

Denerim.  A small nook really with a lawn and bushes, some flowers and benches.  It was well cared for by the

castle gardeners, but seemed to be little known by other adults or castle guards.  It was enclosed by high walls

from the outside and the castle's outer walls.  It was private and hard to find, which made it perfect for her and

Fergus who had just spent time filching apples from the royal arbors.
They had intended to read, eating their stolen treasures until the dinner hour.  They rounded the corner from the

open air corridor to their favorite hideout, as she and Fergus referred to it, to see Ballgaire, Bann Parnell

Mulligan's son, mashing Dairren's face into the grass while he called him names and his gang of three kicked her

friend and taunted him.  She could remember it as if it were yesterday.  An intense feeling of anger had blossomed

in the pit of her stomach.  She hated when supposedly stronger people preyed on people helpless to fight back.
Ballgaire had always been built on the stocky side and bigger than the other children, but he had also always been

a coward.  As he neared becoming a man, he had shot up in height with stocky muscles.  Ballgaire's gang of three –

Lun, Tremaine, and Gwitart – were smaller and thinner.  It led Kai and Fergus to refer to them as The Three Weasels

and the Bull Calf.
Kai remembered their faces, the looks of wariness, (Ballgaire's look of fear) their bravado in taking her on.  She

remembered the fluidness of the moves of the martial arts form she had learned that spring and how it had flowed

through her without thinking.  How surprised she had been that the priest's words had been true when he had told

her that if she practiced every day, it would be like the movement of water.  The ease with which her foot had

flashed out behind her as if of its own accord, breaking that moron Gwitart's nose.  How she clipped Tremaine's

chin breaking his jaw (prat had to sip broth for over a month).  How Lun sported a gap in his mouth to this day

where two of his teeth had been displaced permanently by her foot.  How the white hot pain of Ballgaire, getting

his licks in, had flared across her face.  The trickle of blood from her cut lip and how she wiped the blood away

and licked it off her fingertips.  The salty iron taste of it turning her white hot anger into cold blue ice.  And

the feel of her booted foot as it arced straight into Ballgaire's cloth covered loins.
Kai grinned to herself.  She remembered how much she had enjoyed kicking the Bull Calf in the stones, not only for

Dairren, but for Oriana who had suffered the unwanted amorous attentions of the git the night before that fight. 

She had hoped that the boot to the daddy bags would turn the bull into a steer.  No such luck as Ballgaire was now

a father to three obnoxious sons.  But the mewling noises that had issued forth from his mouth that day had been,

what was that phrase then prince, now King Cailan used often?  Glorious!  Kai laughed to herself.
She remembered how Dairren's nice blue shirt sported grass stains and blood.  How red his face had been, so much so

that it had matched his copper colored hair, with his anger and embarrassment for her rescue of him.  How

thoughtful he had looked and grateful too, when she had offered her friendship, as well as that of Fergus and her

parents.  She remembered that little boy laugh when she had called his father, Bann Loren, a prat.
Kai felt herself flushing as the hand of that little boy, which had shaken hers so long ago, turned into the strong

capable hand of the man who had touched her in the library only a few hours before.  And that turned her to

thoughts of having those strong hands all over her body.  Which lead to a fit of nerves that had her pacing around

the room smoothing out the bed clothes, fluffing pillows and tidying the room which was tidy to begin with.
Maker's breath!  Get a hold of yourself!  Kai gave herself a mental head slap.  Honestly!  You are no star struck

virgin!  But she had to admit that there was a sense of importance to it all.  And if she was being honest, it was

important.  Meeting Duncan and knowing he wanted her to be a Grey Warden (and that they needed her) and meeting her

best friend from childhood and her first, so far only, love was astounding.  It was as if her life, plodding along

in an orderly pace, had suddenly decided to take off running at full speed.
She knew that Grey Wardens were allowed to be married.  A Grey Warden and his wife stayed with them at Highever on

their way to Orzammar once.  Though the spouse had not been a Warden, Kai figured it must not be against the rules

if, say, she and Dairren tested and joined the Grey.  Truth be told, she had no idea how that worked.  The order

was a bit...secretive where their inner workings were concerned.  It helped them maintain their mystique she

supposed.
She also knew that she did not want to lose Dairren again.  Not if she had a choice this time.  She only hoped he

didn't fall in battle.  And she found herself once again with a case of nerves, but for an entirely different

reason this time.  So much so that when the servant arrived at her door and knocked, Kai about jumped out of her

skin.  It was with slightly shaking hands and a rapidly beating heart that she took the bottle and the glasses,

setting them carefully on the bedside table before closing the door.  Kai was sorely tempted to pour herself a

glass of wine, but refrained.  It wouldn't do to get tiddly, no matter how much that might calm her nerves.  And it

would certainly not help to be passed out.
Kai sat herself on the edge of the bed folding her hands in her lap primly.  That lasted all of five minutes before

she was pulling at her fingers and cracking her knuckles.  When she realized what she was doing, she stopped

tugging the long tapered digits.  Though no sooner had she stopped that, then she started hearing a repetitive

thumping sound only to realize it was her own booted foot tapping on the rug beneath her feet.
Andraste's flaming knickers!  If she kept this up, she would give herself heart failure and all of it – Dairren,

the Grey Wardens – would be rendered moot.  She decided to get up and put books together for Dairren to take from

the favorites that she always had in her room.  She had one she would give to him outright, "The Dragons of

Tevinter."  The one by Brother Timeous that they discussed in the library.  She grabbed a quill and ink and

inscribed the fly leaf:
Dairren,
My best friend, I have missed you. I hope you will think of me when you read this while you are away.
Kai paused here, never one for romantic and girly sentiment, and opted for her usual humor:
So you had best return with the book or I shall be sorely put out!  My dear, gentle friend (again she paused but

chose to put her true feelings in, girly or no) and my beloved.  Please, do come back to me.
Kai
Kai found herself swallowing hard.  Never one to pray to the Maker lest she impose, she found herself doing so

anyways.  Please, please, please, keep Dairren, Fergus and my father safe.  What ever happens, just let them come

back again.
Kai took a deep breath and changed into a night shift (in case Dairren really only wanted to collect books having

changed his mind, always a possibility she supposed) and her robe.  She sat up on the covers of the bed propping

herself with pillows against the headboard; she opened "The Dragons of Tevinter" and began to read.
The soft knock, along with the quiet “woof” from Argus, had her jerking forward, and she realized she had fallen

asleep with the book open on her stomach.  She took a moment to rub bleary eyes and gently set the book back on the

stack she had made for him.  Her heart was fluttering in her chest, and her palms were sweaty when she opened the

door and ushered him in.
She had her back to him as she turned to close the door for the third time that night.  She had just heard the

latch click when she found herself spun around, her back pressed into the hard wood of the door, as Dairren's hands

cupped her face and his lips devoured hers.  Someone moaned, she wasn't sure who.  Their lips parted for a moment

as his warm brown eyes looked into her blue ones.  His thumb was tracing her cheekbone.  He seemed to be memorizing

her features.  Time stopped for a moment.
And then it restarted and sped up.  Their lips met again in a war of tongues and teeth.  She found her hands

running under his shirt of their own volition.  She couldn't get enough of him.  She clawed restlessly at his shirt

trying to lift it past his broad shoulders and over his head.  He had over a foot on her five-foot-two height, and

she was finding it frustrating until he growled and broke their kiss for the barest of moments to rip the shirt up

over his head and toss it aside.
His own fingers fumbled with the ribbons of her robe, which came undone for him to shove it back from her shoulders

and let it drop to the floor.  Now that his shirt was no longer hindering her, she was free to let her hands wander

across the wide expanse of his well muscled chest.
Her mind turned queerly, musing while the rest of her was otherwise occupied that he had not spent all of his time

reading books and writing.  The rubbing of her thumbs across the more sensitive areas of his skin caused him to

groan her name into her neck and grasp at the collar of her shift, trying to get it out of the way so his lips and

tongue could continue their journey to her collarbone.
She pushed him back for a moment pulling the shift off her eyes never leaving his.  She felt herself blushing and

started to look away in embarrassment.  Dairren grabbed her chin before she could look at her feet.  All he said

was, "Beautiful, so beautiful," before putting his lips to hers again while his hands roamed along her front,

stroking and teasing, making her breath expel in sighs.
They fought with what little clothing remained, and while his teeth worked on the soft skin of her throat, he

carried her to the bed, laying her back on it.  Where her skin touched his, she felt as if every cell, every part

of her was awake and very alive.  When he lowered his mouth to her breasts, first one then the other, she found

herself arching in a pleasure so intense it was almost pain.  Waves of heat seemed to pulse off of her skin, making

a light sheen of sweat bead up.
Her nails clawed his along his arms and broad shoulders.  Her breath was nothing but ragged gasps now.  She could

hardly get the words out, but she managed somehow, "Now, right now!  Dairren, love...."  His only response was to

obey her command as he slid between her parted thighs.
She heard him gasp and pause for a moment, his forehead to hers.  She found herself looking into those warm brown

eyes, and she could see the love he felt for her reflected in them.  Then his lips were on hers again, as they

moved together.
The world sped up once more and whipped by.  Her breath seemed to have been stolen from her.  The world was

speeding up faster and faster, as if she was riding a Ceffyl off a cliff edge.  Her heart beat faster, her breath

caught in a cry as she wrapped around him taking him off the edge with her.
Kai loved feeling the heavy weight of him pressing her into the soft mattress.  The sound of his ragged breathing

was music to her ears, his galloping heart beating over her own the tempo of the melody and the song was love.
She let her fingers run over his slick back, sliding them up and down, delighting in the shivers it caused.  He

cleared his throat and gasped again when she nuzzled his shoulder nibbling gently where the collar bone met his

neck.  She gave a little chuckle.
"You are incorrigible, my lady!  You must give a man a chance to collect himself."  He grinned at her, his hands

framing her face moving damp locks from her forehead.
She slapped his backside with her hand, "Ugh, don't you dare call me, 'my lady!'"
"And if I do?"  He grinned at her while raising an eyebrow at her.
"Then I shall have to torture you, of course."  Kai did a move from her Qun martial arts, and Dairren found himself

beneath her with a surprised little grunt.  She chuckled again.
"Well then, I find my self at your mercy, my...."  She cut him off with a kiss.
She pulled back to take in his beloved features, "I have missed you so much."  She twined her fingers through his

copper colored curls.
"And I missed you."  He returned her kiss, "You know, my life didn't really begin until that day we met.  So, I

have loved you all my life."  She watched his eyes get bright and felt her own eyes fill, mirroring his.
She let him see her love for him shining in her own.  "And I love you," she told him before she leaned in and gave

him a lingering kiss.
Kai woke from one of the few snatches of sleep they had allowed each other when she felt a kiss on her forehead and

Dairren sliding his shoulder gently out from under her.  It took her a moment to realize he was putting on the

leggings which had been left on the floor as they had had other things to occupy them.
She sat up in bed and saw that Argus was standing looking at the bedroom door, his hackles raised.  Dairren came

over to her side of the bed. "I tried to quiet him, but he won't have it."
"Maybe he heard something?"  Kai looked at Argus again, who looked back over his shoulder at her with a quiet woof

and then his focus was back to the door with a low grumble like thunder in his throat.
"Something woke me up, I thought...."  Dairren looked at the door, "I thought I heard screaming, but that can't be

what I heard."  He looked back at her, a worried look on his face which he quickly schooled, and he gave her a

smile.  "I am going to go see what is happening.  You stay here, my love, don't let the bed get cold."  He leaned

over and kissed her before running his fingers across the tattoo over her eyebrow following it down to the curve of

her cheekbone.
"I am not letting you go anywhere without me.  I want to snatch every moment together we can."  She grabbed his

hand and kissed his palm before giving him an impish grin.  "Besides, you need me to protect you."
He laughed, "That I do, indeed."  He handed her the discarded shift and then her robe.  He was at the door as she

was tying it closed.  When he saw she had pulled the bow tight, he nodded to her smiling that loving smile as he

swung the door open.  The smile turned to a look of utter surprise at the arrow that appeared in his chest where

his heart was as if it had suddenly grown there of its own accord.  A crimson blossom of blood spread outward with

alarming speed as she watched.
Those strong hands grasped the wooden shaft standing out from his flesh.  Those hands, strong and gentle that had

caressed her, held her, were painted in vermilion.  Those hands that held a quill, putting such poetic words to

parchment, now left to hold the object of his death.
His warm brown eyes, wide, looked into hers.  Lips that had just kissed her and told her of his love, opened, only

to pour out his heart in blood rather than words this time.  She watched him as if the world had slowed down,

watched him fall, hitting the floor.  She watched as the sanguine pool of what was and what could have been spread

across the floor, puddling beneath him.  It spread to lick at her toes, as if he were trying to reach for her

still.
And then the world sped up again as Argus gave his war bark and launched himself at the unseen assailant outside

the door.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 05 juillet 2010 - 10:49 .

[VioletTheirin]

Must have tissues and cold shower!! The fact that I require both just shows how great you are!!! WONDERFUL!!!

[Gilgamesh1138]

Aw, I owe you a box of tissues. Thanks sweet lady for the compliments, you humble me!

[Slim Warden]

Now that was a greek tragedy smuttered in hot sauce, and just to let you know a greek tragedy smuttered in hot sauce is a fantastic occurrence.

Modifié par Slim Warden, 03 juin 2010 - 03:54 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

ROFL! Slim, I adore you! I love that! Thanks so much!

[westiex9]

Alas poor Dairren i knew him well!



Awesome as always gil!

[Gilgamesh1138]

LOL thanks westie! Love that Shakespeare reference! You crack me up!

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 7

~Letting Go~



Kai heard a high pitched scream followed by deep growls and wet crunching noises, which barely registered as the

world receded as if she were watching everything from a distance and found it mildly fascinating.  She found

herself observing the way Dairren's blood made a red mirror reflecting the doorway and the figures in it.

It was the silhouette reflected in blood raising a sword to strike the Mabari that snapped her out of her thoughts

and brought her back to attention.  She spun around the door and gave the swordsman a roundhouse kick to the chest

causing Argus's would be attacker to bend over gasping.  Kai then put her back to the man's chest giving his face a

sharp blow with her elbow; she felt the warmth of the blood from his nose soak the cloth of her sleeve.  She

stepped forward and turned to face him; and before he could recover she grasped the soldier's hand, wrapping her

fingers over his, as she twisted the sword towards him forcing him to impale himself on his own blade.

His eyes widened in shock as blood fountained out of his mouth, and he stared stupidly at the blade and their

entwined hands.  He was the smarmy bastard in the Great Hall that she had spoken to.  He raised his eyes to hers,

and she cocked an eyebrow as she gave the sword a twist causing a sickening sucking sound as the blade rotated and

more blood ran around the metal.

Kai pulled it back out and ripped it from his dying grasp, letting him fall as she pivoted towards his fallen

fellow who lay under three hundred pounds of Mabari war dog as he made gurgling noises.
"Glaoigh ar ais ar!" Kai called Argus off with a specific command and a hand signal.  She walked over to the prone

archer.  His face and arms were a mass of mangled red meat, hardly recognizable as human appendages.  He was still

breathing.  Kai took a moment to look down at the man who had put an arrow through Dairren's heart, before kneeling

down slightly and ramming the sword through what was left of the man's mutilated visage with a force hard enough to

chip the sword point on the stone as she drove it through.  As with the other guard, she twisted the sword before

pulling it back out.

She stood for a moment, more warm blood pooling around her bare feet.  A wave of nausea hit her, but she swallowed

it down.  She turned to Argus, pointing to the man who she had just planted the sword in, as well as his dead

companion, and then back to her bedroom, "Sracann tú."  The Mabari gave her an affirmative bark and proceeded to

drag the body by the ankle to the doorway behind him.

Kai ran back into her room to grab the large heavy wool rug at the foot of her bed. She bundled it up as best she

could and by the time she rolled it into a more manageable heap Argus had already pulled the second body into the

room.
 
Since she didn't know when more men might come to check on the first, she decided to cover up the blood as best she

could and buy time, she hoped. The rug was a deep red the color of maple leaves with Ceffyls and ravens worked out

in black along with knotwork spirals and a braided border.  She figured the red and black would not show the blood

as the rug soaked it up.

She laid it out, and it was just big enough to cover the blood pools and the smears leading to her bedroom.  Kai

stepped back inside and shut and locked the door.  She studiously avoided looking at Dairren's rapidly cooling body

lying where it had fallen, nor did she look at the bodies of Howe's men.

Kai focused her attention on opening the chests in her room pulling out an undershirt, her armor, her daggers, and

a bag of coins she always kept her monthly allowance in.  The coin bag was heavy as she hardly ever spent it.  She

had two well used but serviceable daggers, and her parents supplied her with armor.  Since she didn't spend her

money on jewelry, shoes or the other sundries other nobles' daughters seemed unable to live without, she never

really had anything to allocate the money for.  She usually put it back into the family treasury when the bag got

full and she needed the room.  She had asked her father to stop giving her an allowance, but he had just smiled and

told her one day she might find something she really wanted to buy and she would at least have the money to spend. 

“Always practical, my fierce girl,” her father had said.  She figured they all might need it once they escaped

Highever.  What she had could be added to whatever was in their emergency supplies.
Kai got herself buckled in by buckling up the cuirass part of the way and slipping it on to buckle the rest.  She

strapped on her daggers and started for the door when her foot slipped in Dairren's rapidly congealing blood.  She

finally allowed herself to look at him one last time.  She bent down and with a shaking hand closed his eyes, put a

light kiss on his cooling lips and ran her fingers through his soft copper hair.  Her heart lurched into her

throat.

She rose and wiped away tears that she had not realized had fallen, then she deliberately shut off any feelings. 

She cleared her mind, especially of that part of herself that wanted to run screaming from the room.  The part of

herself that wanted nothing more than to throw herself over Dairren's prone form and weep and gnash her teeth.  But

she shut it all out, all of it save the cold icy anger...that she kept.

She looked at the hand sticky with his blood from kneeling beside him and wiped it on the bed clothes before

grasping the handle and cracking the door open slightly.  Kai glanced towards the door leading out to the

guestrooms and then swung her gaze toward her parents' bedroom.  She saw two men with a hand held battering ram of

thick wood hacked to a point, as they swung it at the thick oak barring their entrance to the bedchamber.

They were animated and shouting loudly.  Kai could only imagine her parents had barred themselves behind the door. 

She gave Argus the hand signal for “walk softly” as she crept around her own bedroom door and used her stealth to

walk the length of the hallway.  When they drew close enough to hear the men shouting at the doorway, something

about the teyrn, where was he, Kai gave Argus the signal to charge.  Kai watched as he knocked the man holding the

battering ram down on the ground on his stomach and savaged his neck ripping open the man's jugular while standing

on his back.  Argus's distraction allowed her to plunge her dagger into the second soldier's kidney as he turned to

see why his fellow warrior was screaming.  When he faced Kai, she swiped her second blade across his throat almost

severing the man's head from his neck.

Kai pounded on her mother's door and whispered urgently for her.  The door opened and her mother's strong hand

pulled her inside the room before shutting the door again once Argus had entered.  "Darling, I heard fighting

outside.  I feared the worst!  Are you hurt?" Eleanor spun Kai around looking under the blood splatter for any

wounds to see if any of the blood was Kai's.
"Those men, they killed Dairren."  Kai felt a catch in her throat and her voice sounded hollow to her own ears.

"What?  Not Landra's son?  Her scream woke me up, so I barred the door.  Did you see their shields and emblems? 

They are Howe's men!  That traitorous, snaking bastard!"  Kai watched as her mother clenched and unclenched her

fists.  "I never trusted or liked that man!"
 
"He has betrayed Father!  He attacks while our troops are gone with Fergus to Ostagar!"  Kai slapped the flat of

her hand against the wood of the door hard enough to make her palm sting.
"You don't think Howe's men were delayed, do you?  That sodding misbegotten son of a syphilitic ****!"  Kai stared

at her mother and could feel a giggle threatening to tickle up from her throat despite the circumstances.  She had

never heard her mother use such language.  "I will cut his lying throat myself!"

Eleanor paced the room only to stop suddenly and turn to Kai, "Have you seen your father?  He never came to bed!"

What little mirth had been bubbling up died as quickly as it started, and she felt cold, "Maybe he stayed up with

Howe."

"We must find him!"  Her mother gripped her arm so tightly, Kai was sure she would have bruises. 
She put her hand over her mother's and gave it a gentle squeeze as she nodded, "Get Wicked Grace, Mother."

Kai watched Eleanor walk to the wall of the bedroom where her heartwood bow hung.  The dark purple wood of the bow

curved in elegant lines and was deadly accurate.  It had been a gift from King Maric and Queen Rowan for her

mother's part in the Rebellion.  It had been made especially for Eleanor and named after its graceful shape and its

wicked use.  Father had also joked that it was named after the card game, as the bow held runes forged by the mages

to up the ante by giving a master archer like her mother the ability to shoot from extremely long distances with

greater accuracy and less fatigue.  Not only was it a deadly weapon, but it was an elegant piece of art.  Kai had

considered it a special treat to be allowed to touch it as a child.  To run her fingers (clean of course) along the

inlaid spirals and Celtic knotwork of rowan wood.  The two cabochon emeralds at either end of the bow had been

chosen to match her mother's eyes, according to her father.

Kai thought the weapon was the perfect embodiment of her beautiful, graceful and very formidable mother.  She

waited until her mother had grabbed a quiver full of arrows and opened the chests in the room and taken out more

pouches with money and a pack to put them in.  She handed her own coin purse over to be put in the pack which her

mother handed back to Kai, and she strapped it on.
Kai grasped the handle to the door and looked back at her mother.  A thought hit her with the physical force of a

fist to the stomach...Oren and Oriana.  "Mother we need to check on Oriana and Oren as well."  She tried to keep

her voice calm, but her heart was squeezing painfully in her chest, and her breath didn't want to leave her lungs.

"Andraste's mercy!  What if they went into your brother's room first?  Oh, please no!  We need to gather them

before we head downstairs."  Eleanor's face paled.

Kai nodded, opened the door and gave Argus the hand signal to follow.  She checked the hallway, scanning it for any

soldiers.  Seeing none, she signaled the all clear and stepped out to make her way towards Fergus' and Oriana's

room.  She could hear a repetitive muffled booming sound.

Kai stopped at the doorway, her mind not wanting to admit to what it saw.  Oh, her mind was painting a memory just

as it had earlier, but this one was of a nightmare.  Kai felt the rough grain of the doorway biting into the palm

of her hand.  Her vision swam into gray and then came back into horrifyingly clear focus.

There was one dead Howe soldier lying on the ground, a small, sharp, wicked little dagger sticking out from his eye

socket.  The dagger Kai had given her sister-in-law and taught her how to use, so long ago.  A lifetime ago.

Oriana had gotten her licks in trying to defend her son.  From the positions of the bodies, she had been trying to

shield Oren.  They lay together, Oriana's arms across his little unmoving chest.  The blood pooled beneath them, so

damn much blood!  Maker's breath, Highever castle was turning into a lake of it.

This time when the nausea welled up she couldn't stop it, and Kai turned to the outside of the door and retched. 

When she turned back it was to see her mother on her knees stroking her grandson's black hair, "No!  Not my little

Oren, what manner of fiend slaughters innocents?"

Her mother's green eyes bore into Kai's, "Why would they do this?"

Kai felt tears welling up, but she swallowed them down and buried them.  "Don't look, Mother!"
"Oh, I will do more than look!  Howe's not even taking hostages!  Poor Fergus!  I am going to slit that pustule-

encrusted ****** from navel to nose!"  Eleanor rose and pushed past Kai only to stop and stand staring in the

direction of Kai's bedroom.

Kai turned and followed her mother's gaze, seeing that she had left the door open and Dairren lying on his back,

face turned away from them, his arm outstretched, the arrow sticking from his chest like some morbid flag.

Her mother looked at her, grasping her arm in a gesture of comfort.  Then both Kai and her mother had the same

thought at the same time, "Landra!"  They made their way to the closed door leading to the guestroom hallway.  Kai

opened it a crack and saw at least three men, two archers and one shield warrior.  She took a closer look and

finally saw what she sought, a man cloaked in shadow, a rogue.  Two could play at that game.

Kai told her mother, giving Eleanor time to back up to the farthest end of the hallway and ready Wicked Grace,

nocking her first missile.  Argus was ready with hand signals for his instructions – shield warrior, then archers,

kill them all.

She nodded to her mother once and swung the door wide open.  Kai stayed behind the wall waiting for the rogue she

knew would be sneaking into the room to kill her mother and stop the arrows from flying at his fellow warriors. 

Argus had the shield warrior pinned to the ground; the sickening sound of metal armor being crunched between the

muscled jaws of a Mabari along with the man's screams could be heard through the open doorway.  Two arrows flew by

in rapid succession as Eleanor used Wicked Grace, which allowed her mother a more rapid aim.

Kai was beginning to worry that the rogue was focusing on the dog ravaging the warrior rather than her mother,

figuring that Eleanor couldn't see him and didn't know of his presence.  But she saw him finally emerge making his

way slowly through the portal towards Eleanor, who stood firing off more arrows.

She let the rogue get ahead of her before she snuck up behind him.  Unfortunately, he must have heard something or

felt something behind him because he spun around to face her.  They circled around, each testing the other with

swings and parries before battling in earnest.

He tried distracting her with a feint to her eyes, followed by a sneaky upward slice meant to catch her under the

ribs.  Kai ducked the blow to her eyes and blocked the swipe towards her abdomen, feeling the man's blade part the

leather vambrace rending the skin of her forearm beneath it.  She could feel blood trickling down into her

fingerless gloves and around her clenched hand making the dagger handle slick and hard to hold.

Kai decided to use her own blood to her advantage and splattered it into the man's eyes.  Kai took his moment of

hesitation to throw her dagger into the man's throat, before executing a spinning kick which hit the dagger hilt

and shoved it into his spine as the force propelled him backwards.

She went first to her mother to make sure one of the archers hadn't hurt her.  It looked as though their bows

didn't shoot as far or as accurately as Wicked Grace, if the arrows littering the room haphazardly were any

indication.

Argus padded up to Kai, his muzzle covered in blood and his tongue lolling out in a big doggy grin.  He sported a

shallow cut along one shoulder and one on his right flank where arrows had grazed him.
Since no one was hurt seriously, they went around the room collecting arrows that weren't too bent or broken as

well as Kai's dagger which she had to exert some effort to extricate it from the dead man's neck.  She put her foot

into his chest and it finally slid free with a crunching sound.  She noticed the man had a coin purse on him, and

she set about taking it from him along with any items that might sell or be useful and which fit into the pack.

Kai walked to the second hallway to do the same with the other bodies there.  The shield warrior's armor was deeply

dented as if someone had taken a blacksmith's hammer and pounded the armor into his ribs.  The metal vambraces were

perforated and so bloody she almost couldn't tell they were once silver in color.  He looked like he had been run

over by a heard of Ceffyls.

His cuirass was so damaged she couldn't loosen it to see if he had any coin purse on him, so she moved on to the

archers, handing her mother their arrows.  Kai put a foot into their bows breaking them.  Best not to let some of

Howe's other men find the weapons and use them against her.
She looked into Lady Landra's room only to see her dead love's fragile mother lying in a pool of blood.  Andraste's

flaming sword!  This was becoming a common sight.  Kai could only think that now the poor woman's suffering was

finally at an end.  She doubted that Landra would have survived long after finding out her son was dead.  Dead,

dead, dead...Dairren is dead, started to echo through her mind.  It was her mother's voice that snapped her out of

it, "Dear Landra, I'm so sorry!"

Eleanor turned a tear stained face to Kai's, "If she hadn't come to me, if she hadn't been here...."  Kai hugged

her mother, trying to offer comfort when all she felt was numb.

"Come, Mamae, we need to find Father."  She gave her mother another tight squeeze and waited while Eleanor brushed

tears away, nodding.  Again, Kai checked outside for rogues or soldiers as she opened the door that lead to the

open air corridor.

Kai stopped them again at the junction between the corridor leading to their living quarters and to atrium.  Seeing

that it was clear, she motioned her mother and Argus forward.  They had almost reached the bottom of the ramp

leading past the atrium when one of their servants came running up.  His blond hair was slick with sweat, and his

face a mask of fear.  He carried one of Nan's big kitchen knives.  Kai recognized him as one of the stewards, his

name was Cluny, if she was remembering correctly.  "They're storming the castle gates, I'm getting out of here!" 

His voice was panicked, and he started to turn to run.

Kai grabbed him by the arm, "Think, man!  If you come across Howe’s men, they will kill you!  Stay with us.  We can

protect you and get you to the servant's entrance."  Cluny looked at her hand, seeing she was covered in blood. 

"Cluny, they killed Lady Landra and Ser Dairren.  They cut down my sister-in-law and my...my nephew.  They won't

give a tinker's damn about a steward.  I couldn't save them, let me try and save you!"  Kai pleaded with him.

The panicked look in Cluny's eyes left, and he put his hand over hers and smiled, "I am sorry, my lady, forgive my

frenzied state.  I will stay and fight by your side.  I am your liege man, not the other way around.  Lay on, my

lady Cousland."

Kai smiled and took off her pack and handed the man a dagger to go with his kitchen knife.  Kai had good reason to

know that Nan's knives were kept sharp.  Since they weren't near the kitchens, Kai figured Cluny must have grabbed

it in the dining hall while cleaning it up after supper.

Cluny nodded and started to walk down the ramp ahead of her.  He turned the corner and yelled, "They're coming!" 

Kai had only a second to pull the steward back in the corridor as an arrow flew past and ricocheted off the stone

wall where Cluny had stood.  "Thank you, my lady."  He gave her a rueful grin.  She smiled and gave him a pat on

his shoulder.

She nodded to her mother and then ran around the corner right at a very surprised shield warrior who made some

inarticulate gargling noise as she ran up and past the man.  She tucked herself into a rolling tumble throwing her

two daggers at the archers, hitting them in the middle of their chests.  She noted their rather surprised looks. 

She came up to her feet to spin and grab the daggers from the prone archers, "Thanks for holding those for me,

gentlemen."

The shield warrior was down, and Argus and Cluny were already working on a group at the other end of the corridor

in front of the dining hall.  That intersection was blocked by flaming debris.  In the light of the fire, Kai could

see Highever soldiers fighting Howe's men.  She ran forward and joined the fray, only to find the dining hall was

filled with fighting men as well.

When it was all said and done, Howe's men all lay dead, and they had lost only one Highever knight.  Her mother

approached her, "That pounding noise, they must be trying to break through the gates.  And Howe's men must be

everywhere."

"I wonder if Father locked himself in his study?"  Kai looked at her mother's face, shining with a fine sheen of

sweat and bearing a dark smudge across her forehead.

"If not there, then the front gates." Eleanor looked in the direction of the Great Hall.

"What if he isn't in either place?"  Kai swallowed hard after saying this.  Her stomach felt as if it had ice in

it.  The alternative was something she didn't want to think about.

"Listen, darling, we haven't much time.  You must escape.  If Fergus or you...if Fergus or you die, the entire

Cousland line dies with you.  If Howe's men are inside, they must already control the castle.  We must use the

servant's entrance in the larder," her mother's eyebrow cocked at this in their code Do you hear me?.

Kai nodded, but grumbled under breath, "I want Howe dead!"

"Then survive and visit vengeance upon him."  Eleanor gripped Kai's arm, giving her what she and Fergus referred to

as The Look.  It brooked no argument.  Kai smiled and nodded again, giving her mother's hand a squeeze.

She looked at the soldiers awaiting orders, "Go and help at the front gates."  They all nodded save one, who

lingered.

"Your ladyship, my lady, I prefer to stay and guard you."  Kai just nodded and motioned the man to follow her. 

They all turned back to the library.  Kai wanted to see if Bryce had locked himself in his study.  They entered the

library, and there lay Aldous.  He had been hit over the head with such force that Kai could see...she turned from

the sight, she didn't want to think about that.

She heard her mother talking to his body as she looked to see that the study door was open,
"Aldous, you will be

avenged, old sage, I swear it!"

"Father isn't here, Mother, he must be at the gates as you surmised."  Maker please let him be at the gates!  Kai

took one last look at her old tutor.  She had a moment to be grateful that the two young squires were in Highever

at home, safe in their beds.  At least she hoped they would be and that Howe wasn't planning on turning his army on

the town too.  She pushed that frightening thought away.

She took one look around her family's beloved library to make sure none of Howe's men were hiding in the stacks

before she gently tugged her mother's shoulder.  They all filed out of the library.  Kai threw one last look over

her shoulder at Aldous's prone form before starting down the ramp towards the Great Hall and the front gates.

Her mother stopped her halfway down the ramp, "We are getting near the family treasury, Kai.  The Cousland family

blade lies inside as does your father's shield.  They mustn't fall into enemy hands.  Use the sword to sever Howe's

treacherous head from his traitorous body, my darling.  We have time to get it."  Kai felt her mother rummage in

the pack on Kai's back before proffering a black wrought iron key.

"I will give it to Father along with his shield when we find him."  She tried to pitch her voice more confidently

than she felt.  Kai gave her mother a smile and took the key; it felt heavy and cold.  They all turned and made

their way to the treasury.  The guards whom she had told to go back to their game of cards earlier in the day were

dead, defending the inner chamber.  It looked as though Howe's men had tried one of their hand held battering rams

on the thick oaken door but had given up.  She put the key into the lock and turned it.

The air in the treasury was still, the big booming sounds of the siege on the gates muffled.  Kai's grandfather

Malcolm had been a man ahead of his time.  He had put mage lights in the treasury.  A simple waving of one's hand

over the rune set in the wall by the door lit up the same kind of mage light that lit the interiors of carriages.

Kai waved her own fingers over the rune which glowed faintly so it could be seen in the dark and the room lit up. 

There were more stacks of books, some written by her own relatives, Malcolm in particular, about the rebellion. 

Diaries, journals, rare and beloved books handed down from generation to generation of Couslands were here along

with the most important papers, including a copy of her father's report on his meeting with Empress Celene on

Cailan's behalf, birth certificates, marriage certificates and the like.  The treasury also housed the family's

special armor and weapons.  Fergus had taken Uncle Iain's sword and shield.  Father's was still here, along with

his dragonbone plate mail armor named “Cousland's Valor” and imbued with runes like her mother's bow.  The armor

was Bryce's gift from King Maric and Queen Rowan for his service to Ferelden and them during the Rebellion.

Kai ran a finger along it.  She directed Cluny and the guard to grab the armor while she grabbed one of the two

Cousland Family swords.  Her father had inherited the one sword as the eldest of two brothers from ancestors past. 

When Grandfather Malcolm had two sons who were shield warriors, he had a duplicate sword made for Uncle Iain, who

had sacrificed himself as the younger brother in the battle at White River, a stunning loss for the rebellion.

Kai cradled the original sword with reverence.  She would help her father don his armor and strap on this sword,

and they as a family would get to Ostagar, find Fergus and tell the King.  Howe would be brought to justice.  End

of story.

She strapped on the sheath with the sword across her back and the shield she carried strapped to her arm.  Though

she would never use it, it was just easier to carry that way.  Or so she thought.  They were ambushed by two

Mabari, two archers and a shield warrior on their way out of the treasury.  The shield kept the Mabari from getting

her throat as she raised it just in time and the dog found itself scrabbling for purchase on the shield's slick

surface until her mother dropped it with an arrow in the eye.  The second Mabari was taken care of by Argus and her

mother.  Once the two war hounds were out of the way, the fight was almost anti-climatic.

The next fight was not so much; it had a mage in it. They had finally, Andraste's frilly knickers, made it to the

Great Hall, only to find Ser Gilmore and the Highever Castle knights fighting Howe's men who were trying to open

the gates to the army that was supposedly delayed.  The booming noise was even louder here.  Kai found herself

engaging the mage.  Kai cut off the hand holding the woman’s staff only to find frost still snaking along her armor

as the other hand still held the spell.  The mage's head came next.  Kai learned her lesson well, if not a little

late, as the skin on her hand had cracked with the cold.

The room was utter chaos.  What seemed to take hours took in reality only a few moments.  Kai looked around at the

dead bodies littering the hall.  She turned when she heard Ser Gilmore talking to the Highever soldiers, "Go man

the gates.  Keep those bastards out as long as you can."  She watched him turn toward her and her mother, "Your

ladyship!  My lady!  You're both alive.  I was certain Howe's men had gotten through.”

Kai grasped his arm; it was apparent her father was not here after all.  "Have you seen my father, Gilly?"

"He was looking for you two.  He told me to hold the gates as long as possible.  If you've another way out of the

castle, use it.  And use it quickly!"

Kai looked at her childhood friend.  She had lost her love, her sister-in-law, her nephew.  She didn't want to lose

anyone else she loved, she didn't think her heart could take it.  "Come with us!"

"If I do that, you won't make it out before the gates fall."  He looked at her mother, "Please, go.  When last I

saw the teyrn, he was badly wounded and headed towards the servant's entrance.  I begged him not to go, but he was

determined to find you."

Ser Gilmore started to turn away from them and go to the gates.  Kai grabbed his arm and spun him back to face her,

"No, you must come with us!"

He simply looked at her with a funny little pained smile on his lips, his sea green eyes sparkling with something

she could not read.  "Please, go.  My lady, Kaidana, Kai..." Ser Gilmore grabbed her hand and placed it on his

chest over his heart, entwining their fingers.  She could feel the mad beat of his heart.  He cupped her face with

his other hand, then wound it in her hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her face to his as his lips covered

hers.  Almost before she could comprehend that his kiss had told her he was in love with her, he had spun her

around and given her a gentle, yet firm, nudge on the shoulder towards the door leading out toward

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 05 juillet 2010 - 11:01 .

[Miri1984]

I can just see Gilmore's body in Fort Drakon . He deserved much more than he got - he was a great character...

[Gilgamesh1138]

I know! Miri you need to write a story where he escapes and doesn't die! You can give us Gilly smut!

[Slim Warden]

Fantastic........................... um I don't think anything more needs to be said.

[Gilgamesh1138]

Aw, Slim, you make me blush while squeeing. *HUGS*

[westiex9]

That portion in which you describe Oriana and Orrin was really sad to read, it always reminds me why Howe is such an evil Bastard!!!



As usual you add more depth to an already emotional scene



That was Pure Brilliance Gil!

[Gilgamesh1138]

aw, thanks! Coming from such talent as yourself is a compliment indeed! Still slays me that you and Slim think I do a good job. *squees*

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 8

~Time to Say Goodbye~

Kai felt her stomach churning.  She wanted to grab Gilly and drag him with them.  She wanted to go back in time and

save Landra, Oriana, Oren, and Dairren.  She wanted return to that moment that was only hours ago and seemed like

days, and kill Howe in the Great Hall as he stood talking to her father.  She felt her stomach threatening to heave

again, and she was developing a splitting headache.  The cuts she had and the welts from the Mabari's claws were

itching and burning from sweat.  She felt exhausted suddenly, as if the air had become heavy.  That was until she

heard the desperate screaming coming from down the corridor straight ahead. 
Heedless of her promise to Ser Gilmore to go and save herself she ran towards the sounds, turning the corner and

hearing yet more screams from the servant's quarters to her right.  Argus being the quickest had shown up first. 

She signaled for him to be ready to charge.  She opened the door to find one soldier shoving his hands up the skirt

of one of the female servants, while his friend had his fist pulled back to hit one of the men who worked under

Cluny.
She motioned for Argus to take the soldier with his hand raised, while she went after the man trying to molest the

girl, "Why don't you try me?  Or do you only want those who can't fight back?"  She gave him a wicked little grin
Howe's pig pushed the woman down to the floor, "Stay there, ****.  When I am done with this little chit, you and I

can go back to where we were."  He turned back to Kai grinning and putting a big meaty hand to his cod piece, "Come

here, girly girl, I got enough for both of you."
Kai let him get close enough to run a finger over her collar bone before she gave him a cold smile and dropped down

into a split while driving her dagger upward and in between the space of the cuisse and the man's cod piece.
She then laid on her back and did a scissor kick that brought her to a standing position.  She watched him

dispassionately while he squealed, blood gushing between his fingers, "I have to say, I'm not impressed by what you

have."  Kai stepped over the man who whose life blood was spilling from him with the rapid beating of his heart.
Her mother, Cluny and the Highever knight had filed into the room.  Her mother and Cluny went to check on the young

man who was sitting up, shaking his head.  The guard stood in the doorway keeping a look out.
Kai bent towards the girl offering her hand, "Are you badly hurt?"  Kai looked at the girl, who shook her head. 

"Come with us, we are headed to the servant's entrance.  I want you and..."
"Flynn, my lady.  I am Cora, we're on the night staff."  The girl smiled shyly, "Thank you for coming to our

rescue."  She flushed and looked away as she took Kai's hand.
"I want you and Flynn to follow us.  Stay behind us.  If there is fighting and we are close enough, I want you to

go to the servant's entrance, and I want you to run, run fast.  Keep on running, do you hear me?  Don't stop for

anything until you reach Highever."  Kai gently grasped Cora's shoulder, "Do you understand me, Cora?  No matter

what you hear!"
Kai watched as Cora flushed but nodded and looked her in the eye, "I promise, my lady."
Kai gave her a smile and squeezed her shoulder.  She looked to her mother and Cluny.  They nodded, Flynn was fit to

travel.  "Let’s go.  We need to leave.  The gates..." Kai had to swallow hard at the thought of the gates bursting

open on Gilly and the rest, "...the gates may not last much longer.  We need to move now!"  She desperately wanted

to find her father.  “Wounded,” Ser Gilmore had said.  She clenched and unclenched her hands.  She started towards

the door; the knight gave the all clear.  Her mind was racing; the fight had carried her earlier fatigue away like

a leaf fallen into a river swollen with rain.
She moved back the way they had come and past the closed door of the Great Hall, the deep booming noise beating in

time like the heart of some giant beast about to devour them all.  She moved back up the ramp towards the corridor

leading to the pantry and the kitchens.  She snuck a peek around the corner.
It was all clear, and they moved forward, only to see the storage room door at the end of the corridor open and

more of Howe's men swarm out like a beehive that had been overturned.  Kai opened the door to the kitchens and

ushered Flynn, Cora and Cluny into it.  Only Cluny refused and Kai didn't have time to argue, so she slammed the

door shut on Cora and Flynn, and spun to face their new foes.
Mayhem ensued.  The corridor was narrow and there at least five men.  Make that six, one was a knight in full steel

armor all in black.  The shadows had cloaked him so that Kai almost missed his presence.  His giant mace didn't

miss her, however.  Only her quick reflexes kept it from smashing in her ribs completely and killing her on the

spot.
The mace caught a glancing blow, though, enough that she felt a sickening crunch as some of her ribs cracked.  The

pain made her world go white for a moment.  A heavy metal booted foot shoved into her chest knocking her on her

back causing more pain to flare along her side.  So much so, she hardly felt the hard stone jarring her back as she

landed awkwardly.
If she lived through this, she would be a patchwork of bruises.  Her musings were interrupted by the knight raising

his mace high over his head readying it to smash down on her head.  Two arrows whistled through the air and landed

in the space between his cuirass and his pauldron, sinking deeply into his armpit.
From the rush of air expelled and the gurgles accompanying the breath, it was clear that Wicked Grace had hit its

mark yet again – this time piercing a lung.  The mace dropped with a clatter onto the stone tile behind him, one

gauntlet reaching for the arrows.  Kai got herself up and on her feet.  She returned the favor he had bestowed upon

her and put a booted foot into his chest knocking him backwards.
His breathing burbled as if he was trying to breath water, and she could see the blood running down the man's neck

from under the helmet.  Kai took the Cousland blade out of the sheath on her back and put the point through the eye

slit of the helmet.  The bubbling noises stopped.
Kai clenched her arm tight to her wounded side and turned to see that Cluny sported a cut along his upper arm. 

Argus had a few more shallow cuts.  The Highever guard had new scratches in his armor, but looked unharmed as was

her mother.  Kai seemed to be the only one to have suffered a more serious injury.
Kai started going over the bodies.  She gave Cluny and the guard two of the money bags she found on the bodies. 

Her mother looked her with concern, but Kai shook her head.  It wasn't that bad.  In fact now it was just a dull

heavy throb along her side.  Her cuirass kept her torso from moving too much and that helped.  She started to bend

down to pick up her father's shield where she had dropped it to free her hand up, but the pain had her gasping. 

Cluny bent down and gently placed it on her arm.
They went into the kitchen to find that neither Flynn nor Cora had gone through the servant’s entrance as she had

directed them to.  She was about to chastise them when she noticed the cloth covered figures, stained with crimson

blossoms, lying in various places around the room.  Her first thought was that Nan was going to skin them all and

tack their hides to the kitchen wall for using her tablecloths.  This thought brought a bubble of hysterical

laughter up in her throat.  She clamped it down and went to the body Cora and Flynn stood over nearest the pantry

door.
They looked at her with concerned faces.  She tried to ignore the increased pounding of her heart, but she couldn't

stop her hand from shaking as she reached out to lift the corner of the cloth.
From the looks of it, Nan had put up one hell of a fight.  She knew that not only was Nan fierce and stubborn as a

Mabari, but she had fought with her mother in the Rebellion.  That dear old face was the most peaceful Kai had ever

seen it.  The room had gone misty, and she realized when the tears spilled over that she was crying.
It was her mother's heart-rending sobbing over her best, oldest and dearest friend since childhood that made Kai

swallow down her own grief and put an arm around her mother, placing the Teyrna's silvered head on her shoulder

hugging her.  She gave her a few moments, all she felt they could spare.  "Come, Mamae, we need to go.  We need to

find Father, and we need to leave."
Kai helped her mother up watching as Eleanor wiped tears from her cheeks and set her face in a resolved

expression.  Kai nodded, turning to Cluny, the other servants and the guard, "I want you all to go through the

servant's entrance.  Just leave my father's armor in the corridor leading to it."  She turned to the soldier, “I

want you to escort them to safety. Makes sure they get to Highever." He nodded.
Kai touched the shrouded figure of Nan one last time before heading to the door of the pantry.  She and her mother

ran in.  It was dimly lit, making the pantry almost like a cave.  One lone torch on the wall flickered.  "There you

both are!  I...was wondering when you would get here."
Kai and her mother both spun and ran when they saw her father's prone form lying in the shadows.  He sat in a

puddle of liquid, and Kai had a fleeting moment to wonder if he had spilled one of Nan's jars of cooking oil.  Then

it struck her, it must be his blood.
Her mother ran to help him lean on her and sit up, "Maker's blood!  What's happening?  You're bleeding!"
Kai grabbed a stack of Nan's dishtowels and one of the table clothes.  She put a stack of the dishtowels on the

wound, pressing hard, causing Bryce to wince and suck in air.  She hated to cause him pain, but she needed the

bleeding to stop.  "Howe's, men...found me first, almost...did me in right there."  His voice came in gasps as she

placed his hand over the dishtowels to hold them in place.  They were already becoming soaked, the blood seeping

through.  It made her own heart want to stop.
Instead she concentrated on using her dagger to rip the tablecloth into bandages, readying them for the new stack

of dishtowels she intended to bind him up with.  There was a noise behind her, and Kai realized that the servants

and the knight were behind her.  "You..." she looked at the guard whose name had eluded her as she had been a bit

busy until now, "...Kenrick, right?"  He nodded.  "Escort Cluny, Flynn and Cora out of here."
"No, my lady.  I will stay and watch the door.  I figure you can't fire me, so I won't follow your order just

yet."  He gave her a smile, "When I know that you and the Teyrn and Teyrna are on the move or you have more

protection, then I shall be happy to carry out your orders."
"Kenrick is right.  We stay with you, my lady, your Lordship, your Ladyship."  Cluny nodded at them and turned to

walk to stand with Kenrick at the pantry door, keeping watch.  Flynn and Cora started moving her father's armor

into the corridor, towards the servant's entrance, as she had asked.  Kai found herself caught between equal parts

exasperation and admiration.
Kai turned back to her task, gently removing the first set of towels, only to find them heavy and dripping.  She

put the clean set on and started to bind them in place.  She was wrapping the makeshift bandages around his ribs

when she caught her father looking at her.  His eyes told her she needn't bother.  She swallowed hard and ignored

that look, "We need to get you out of here."
"I...I won't survive the standing, I think."  He looked at Kai and gave her a rueful smile.
"That's not true!  You'll be fine!"  Kai went numb.  She refused to believe otherwise.
"Ah, my darling girl!  If only will could make it so."  He stroked her cheek.
"Once Howe's men have broken through the gate, they will find us.  We must go!"  Eleanor looked at Kai.
Bryce grimaced and grasped the bandages, "Someone...must reach Fergus...tell him what has happened."
"You can tell him yourself, Father!" Kai brushed a hand across his forehead.
"Bryce, we can get you out of here, find you healing magic!"  Kai watched the desperation on her mother's face

mirror her own.
"The castle is...surrounded.  I...cannot make it."  Kai heard footsteps behind them, and they all turned to see

Duncan sheathing his sword.
Duncan stopped to speak with Kenrick and Cluny at the door.  They both nodded to Duncan and bowed to Kai and her

family before leaving via the servant’s entrance with Cora and Flynn.  "I am afraid Bryce speaks the truth.  Howe's

men have not yet discovered this exit, but they have surrounded the castle.  Getting past will be...difficult." 

Duncan knelt on one knee beside her mother, putting his hand on Eleanor's shoulder.
"Duncan, old friend, I am sorry to meet like this."  Kai watched her mother cover Duncan's hand with her own with a

friendly squeeze.
"I am sorry, Ellie.  Bryce and I tried to find you sooner."  Kai realized from the way her parents were looking at

Duncan and his use of the family’s nickname for her mother that Duncan was an old and close friend indeed.
Eleanor looked at Kai, her green eyes filled with pride, "My daughter helped me get here."
"I am not surprised, Ellie, not surprised at all."  Duncan glanced over at Kai and gave her a slight smile.
"Whatever is to be done now, it must be done quickly.  They are coming."  Her mother looked at Duncan, and Kai

realized that the constant booming noise was still going on, she had just been tuning it out.
She watched her father's face flash with a look of desperation that made her heart catch in her throat.  "Duncan,

old friend, I beg you, take my wife and daughter to safety."
Duncan's face was stoic, save for something fleeting that crossed it, but Kai couldn't read the emotion.  "I will,

my friend, but I fear I must ask for something in return."  He looked at Kai and then back at her father, "What has

happened here tonight pales in comparison to the evil now loose in the world.  I came to the castle seeking a

recruit.  The darkspawn threat demands that I leave with one."  Duncan put a hand on her father's shoulder this

time.
Her father glanced at her, "I...understand."
Kai's mind was reeling.  Here they were with their lives in danger and he was recruiting her?  Gilly!  Surely Gilly

would leave the gate if Duncan the Grey Warden Commander told him to.  Then he too, could be saved.  "What?  Are

you talking about me?  What about Ser Gilmore?"
Duncan's dark green eyes looked into her blue ones, "Truthfully, you were always my first choice."  He turned back

to her father, "I will take the Teyrna and your daughter to Ostagar to tell Fergus and the king what happened. 

Then Kai joins the Grey Wardens."
Kai's breath hitched, "But what if Fergus is dead?"
Duncan's face held a trace of sympathy, "We will inform the king, and he will punish Howe.  I'm sorry, but a Grey

Warden's duties take precedence over revenge."
Kai narrowed her eyes.  I am not a Grey Warden yet, you sneaky bastard.  Her father's voice brought her back to the

present, no doubt reading her face and her thoughts as he always did.  He grasped her arm giving it an affectionate

tug, "Howe thinks he'll use the chaos to advance himself.  Make him wrong, pup.  See that justice is done.  Our

family...."  He smiled a sad, loving and desperate smile at her, "...Our family always does our duty first.  The

darkspawn must be defeated.  You must go, Kaidana.  For your own sake, for Ferelden's."
She swallowed around the lump in her throat.  She felt as though a giant hand was squeezing her heart to a pulsing

bruise, "I will, Father.  For you."
She put her hand on his hand lying on her arm, taking it and entwining their fingers, grasping it.  She never

wanted to let it go, she didn't think she could, "My fierce girl."  The smile he gave her shattered her heart.
"Bryce, are you sure?"  Eleanor grasped his face with her hands and looked him in the eyes.
He smiled and then looked back at Kai, his eyes bright, "Our daughter will not die of Howe's treachery.  She will

live and make her mark on the world."
Her mother looked first at Bryce before turned her gaze to Kai, "Darling, go with Duncan.  You have a better chance

to escape without me."
"Elle..." her father gasped, using his own pet name for her and looking at her mother in protest.
"Hush, Bryce!  I'll kill every bastard that comes through that door to buy them time.  But I won't abandon you!" 

Her mother grasped his face with her hands and kissed him, stroking his cheek.
"I won't let you sacrifice yourself, Mamae!"  Kai felt the tears falling, from fear, sadness and anger.
"My place is with your father, Kaidana, to death and beyond!"  She smiled at Kai.
"I love you both so much!  I..." Kai choked, nothing would come out.  She could only look from one to the other.
"Then live, darling!  Become a Grey Warden and do what's right."  Eleanor reached out a hand to her daughter

grasping her empty hand so that they were linked, hand to hand, child to parents.
Her father's hand convulsed in pain, "I am...sorry it has come to this, my love."  Kai could feel the tears rolling

off of her chin, hear them making a popping noise as they hit the leather skirt of her armor.
She looked up to see Duncan's bearded face set in infinite sorrow.  His own eyes were bright.  She had only a

moment to wonder at this before her mother's voice drew her attention, "We have had a good life and done all we

could.  It's up to our children now."
There was a heavy crashing sound and the voices of many men shouting all at once.  Gilly!  The sound caused Duncan

to turn and look at the door, and he spun back grasping her shoulder like a vice, "We must go now!  They are

coming!"  Kai could hear the shouting getting louder.  Duncan's hand grasped her shoulder heaving her to her feet

and practically dragging her with him.  Argus followed.
She yanked her shoulder from his grasp and stopped.  "Go, pup!  Warn your brother, know we love you both.  You do

us proud, Kaidana, my fierce girl!"  Her father gave her a wide grin.
Duncan's big strong hand grabbed her by the upper arm this time, his long fingers wrapping themselves completely

around.  "Now, Kaidana!  We must go!  Kai!"  He yanked her backwards once more to the servant's entrance.
Kai watched as her mother gently set her father down.  Watched as she grasped Wicked Grace and nocked her first

missile.  She saw how her father's and her mother's eyes never left hers.  Painting a memory.  Kai wanted to giggle

hysterically or scream or both at the same time.  As she was disappearing into the shadows of the narrow corridor

leading to the servant's entrance she heard her mother say, "Goodbye, darling Kaidana."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 05 juillet 2010 - 11:04 .

[westiex9]

A fitting end to the Castle Cousland Tragedy! the part where she finally escapes and has to leave her family is really sad(damn you Bioware! always going and making such great characters)  and its great how you give the main character more depth and emotion, we get to see the whole thing from a deeper perspective

Also i love the part where she errrr.....Deals with that rapist guard hehe Scisscor kicks FTW!!!

Modifié par westiex9, 16 juin 2010 - 01:22 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

ROFL thanks westie!

[LadyAly]

*needs tissues* - *sniffles*

[Gilgamesh1138]

YAY LadyAly is back! I missed you! Aw, sorry ab out the need for tissues.

[Slim Warden]

*Sniff* I'm a man an-and real men don't cry, please don't look at me I'm just having a moment alright *sniff* awesome chapter Gil.

[Gilgamesh1138]

Aw, Slim, it's the dust in hair, I had that problem while writing it. *hands out tissues* Really, it's just dust.

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 9

~Death From a Thousand Stings~

Kai took one last look in the direction of her mother and father and then pulled Duncan back by the arm, "We aren't

leaving by the servant's entrance."  She pointed to her father's armor, "Grab that, if you please, I'll not lose it

to Howe too."  Kai pushed past Duncan after grabbing the shield and held it like an overly large and unwieldy

platter.  She put her father's helmet and the smaller pieces to the armor set on the shield while Duncan picked up

the rest.
Kai waited until he had it all, and then she backtracked a little down the corridor stopping about halfway down the

bend.  She felt for the stone with a certain crescent shaped depression which in torchlight looked like a natural

flaw in the rock, but could easily be felt in the dark.  When she had the one she sought, she pushed in and a faint

grinding noise could be heard as a darkened doorway opened before them when part of the wall slid to the side.
She nodded to Duncan, "Go in ten steps then stop."  He took one look at the doorway and one at her, cocking his

eyebrow before disappearing into the darkness.  She was tempted to close the door on him and go back to her

parents.  Three things prevented it – her father's promise to Duncan, her promise to her father, and the fact that

Duncan would never figure out how to get out of that secret passage and room without her and would subsequently die

trapped.  So she stepped back into the darkness herself, feeling along the wall near the door for the stone that

would close the door mechanism once again.
The wall, door really, slid back into place, but not before Kai heard men yelling as they ran into the pantry and

her mother's war cry.  Kai felt the urge to vomit again and just held it in check.  She leaned with her forehead

against the cool stone trying to fight a wave of dizziness.  Taking deep breathes she cleared her mind and buckled

it all down, pushing away the mental images of what was going on just a few feet away.  She was fighting the urge

to open the door and kill as many of Howe's men as she could so hard that her hands were shaking with the effort,

causing her father's armor to make a rattling noise within the shield.
Kai turned one step to her right and felt along the wall reaching straight across until she found the little alcove

and what she sought.  Her fingers hit the little lantern and she brought it to her lips and blew on it softly.  The

mage's runestone in the middle of the lantern started with a slight glow in the sigils on its surface and then

became unreadable as the glow strengthened and brightened.  The corridor was lit with a soft light like Autumn

sunshine.  Kai saw Duncan squinting at the sudden change from absolute dark to false daylight.
Her grandfather Malcolm had grown up under the Orlesian occupation and had been a constant supporter of Moira the

Rebel Queen.  Being a part of the rebellion had made Grandpapa Malcolm a bit of a realistic paranoid.  Plus, he had

a fascination with and love of dwarven engineering.  He had commissioned casteless dwarves living topside to

install indoor plumbing at Highever.  And while that had been something her grandsire had wanted for Highever from

the moment he had seen indoor plumbing in action in Orzammar, that work was a cover for the real work Malcolm had

wanted done.  He had the dwarven engineers build a secret passageway that lead to a room and a secret exit so that

should he and the family need it, they could flee Meghren's Chevaliers.
How ironic that she was fleeing not Orlesians, but a man who had fought side by side with her father against them. 

And how ironic she was leaving her family to die, instead of fleeing through this passage at their side.  Guilt

threatened to overwhelm her so she pushed it down and locked it away, bolting the door shut on the part of her that

was screaming at her to GO BACK RIGHT NOW! SAVE THEM!  She schooled her face and handed Duncan the lantern.  She

noticed him looking at her, so she turned and grabbed the twin of the first lantern, blowing on it to start the

magic within it.
"Just follow the passage way, it will lead to a room."  Kai used the hand that held the lantern to point forward. 

Duncan looked at her for a moment before nodding and turning into the narrow corridor and walking the way she

indicated.  Kai watched his retreating back before taking one last glance at the stone door and turning to follow. 

She watched the shadows stretch and move like cats along the walls as her lantern and his created pools of light in

the darkness.  Duncan's light disappeared for a moment only to shine in a larger if more muted aura of light as he

turned the corner and his lantern entered the larger open space that was the room she had told him of.
She turned the corner and found Duncan had put the lantern on one of the shelves and was laying her father's armor

down gently with an air of reverence.  It was the expression on his face that made Kai's heart clench.  It was the

same look he had given her parents in the pantry, one of intense sorrow.  She brought the rest of the armor over

and handed one piece at time to Duncan.  He started to take the shield too, but Kai gripped it to her, shaking her

head, "I will take it with me and give it to Fergus along with the sword.  They are his...."  Kai swallowed hard,

"They are his now."  Duncan merely nodded.
Kai turned to examine the contents of the room and found Argus sitting next to the pack made for him to carry.  Kai

patted him on the head and started gathering the bags piled in the room, working quickly. Each pack had a family

member’s initials on it.  They were filled with clothing, money, toiletries, dried meat, fruit and other non

perishable food items along with other necessities like soap, sewing kits, paste, leather thongs for armor and

whetstones.  They had held drills when they came down the passage and grabbed their packs and snuck out the secret

exit.  She had never done a drill where she pawed through her family's packs to scavenge from them.  Her breath was

constricting painfully in her lungs.
Duncan caught on to what she was doing and started to dump packs out, taking out the things that would be useful. 

Kai watched him out of the corner of her eye.  He was quick but respectful, placing clothing off to the side as

well as items that they couldn't use.  He gently took the bag that was supposed to be Oren's and started to put it

aside.  Kai took it and dug around in it until she had what she sought, a stuffed bunny with triangles under the

line of embroidery for the mouth, giving the rabbit sharp pointy fangs.  One of Oren's spare “dire bunnies.”
Kai remembered the day her mother and Oriana had sat in the atrium sewing multiple dire bunnies for Oren, as his

others seemed to have accidents or become so well loved they died from the affection.  So Kai had suggested they

keep several on hand to replace those that fell into the fire or the lake or finally got too dirty and worn to be

patched.  Kai having no talent for the more "delicate ladies' arts" had not made a dire bunny, but she had carved

him a dragon out of wood and painted it for him while her mother and Oriana had worked with needle and thread.  The

dragon was still in his room with his cooling corpse.  Kai's hand closed reflexively around the stuffed bunny

squeezing it until she got herself under control.  She quickly placed the stuffed rabbit in her pack and handed

Oren's back to Duncan.  He set it aside without a word.
"It think you should take my brother Fergus' pack and the clothes out of my...father's.  They were similar in size,

Fergus is a little taller.  But I think their clothes will fit you."  Kai pointed towards the pile of clothes

neatly folded that Duncan had set aside from one of the packs, "You will probably want some civilian clothes while

we travel.  Your armor is beautiful, but a little conspicuous."  Duncan gave her an appraising look and she

shrugged, "At this point Howe doesn't know I am alive, but he will.  How much he is going to want me dead or how

hard he is willing to try and make it so, we have yet to know.  We may need to be very careful on our way to

Ostagar.  That is, of course, assuming we get out of the castle alive still."  Kai gave Duncan a sardonic grin.
She made sure all the food was still good; it was changed out on a regular basis, in case.  It looked free of mold

or rot.  She packed it in the pack that had been made specifically for Argus along with the money.  Argus' backpack

was a modified harness with a leather pouch that opened at the top, parallel to Argus’ spine, and a long leather

flap that covered the bag from one side and tied on the other side.  Argus had been trained to carry it, and it

made a handy extra compartment to carry things.  Since Argus needed no clothes, his pack had more room for other

things, including extra empty packs.
She got Argus into his pack and looked to see Duncan strapping on his backpack.  He grabbed her father's shield and

strapped it on his arm, then nodded to her.  She indicated he should grab his lantern.  He did, and she tapped the

top to have the rune go dark.  Hers she kept lit for the moment.
Kai led Duncan to stand in front of a wall with shelves on it and indicated he should stay in that spot with

Argus.  She then went to one of the walls to his left.  She put her foot on the stone second from the corner and

tapped the lantern to dim the mage stone.  Before the light went out completely, she reached up and put her fingers

in a stone that had holes in it as if made by a river and pulled out while stepping smartly on the stone at her

foot.  The door slid open without a sound, not even a grinding noise.  She had no idea how the dwarves managed

that.
They all stepped out cautiously into the private family garden that held the bee hives and led to the orchards.  So

many happy memories here of Cousland Camaraderie Day.  No more.  She and Fergus might be the only Couslands left,

and she still had to get out of the castle, so that wasn't a given.  Kai wanted to giggle and swallowed it down. 

She distracted herself by packing the lanterns in Argus's pack.
It was Duncan's whisper that brought her attention back to where she was, "That is a handy way of opening the door

from that room.  I'm glad you chose not to leave me in there while you went back to fight.  I would have never

figured it out."  Kai could only gape at him as she caught his smile in the moonlight.  Did the man read minds?
He grinned and then indicated with his hands that she should look around the corner towards the entry way to the

open air corridor leading out of the garden to the castle proper.  Kai nodded, stepped around the stone bench and

snuck a look while Duncan looked the other way into the garden.  Kai saw four of Howe's men standing at the opening

with their backs to the garden.  They faced the corridor as if expecting that she and Duncan might come that way. 

She wasn't sorry to disappoint them.  She touched Duncan's arm and held up four fingers.  He nodded and held up

two.
Kai gave Argus hand signals, fingers gently patting her thigh.  The Mabari gave a low growl in answer.  She turned

to Duncan and whispered, "Follow my lead.  When they give chase, go through the gate.  Once through it, put your

back to the wall behind you and wait."  Duncan nodded, and she grinned at him, "Go!"
Kai waited for Duncan to sprint across the garden towards the gate, Argus at his heels.  Neither group of soldiers

saw them, not even Duncan in plate armor.  The man could be stealthy.  Kai smiled to herself.  The moon was sinking

into the western sky, but it cast a cool white light on the landscape.  They had a few more hours before the bowl

of night faded into the rosy light of dawn.
Kai launched herself from the alcove running across the grass.  When she reached the open door, she grabbed the

great wrought iron key in the lock before turning back to the garden and giving a piercing whistle causing all of

Howe's men to turn and look.  She made sure they saw her standing in the doorway before she slammed the door shut,

locking it.  Pounding started immediately along with yelling.  Kai threw the key in a high arc back over the wall,

"I hardly see the point of revealing yourself when we had safely made it to the door.  Nor do I see the point,

young lady, of throwing the key back over!  Just what are you up to?"  Duncan practically growled the last question

at her.  Kai grinned and pulled a circle of metal attached to a fine chain.
The yelling stopped, and a loud angry buzzing noise replaced it, followed shortly by screams of pain and fear. 

Mostly screams of pain.  It was music to her ears.  She turned to Duncan, "Have you ever seen anyone die from bee

stings?"  Duncan shook his head, and Kai smiled, "Their throats close up, their tongue sticks out and turns purple,

and their eyes bug out like a man who has been hanged.  It is slow, nasty, painful.  Of course those that don't die

from it will wish they had.  We might want to move.  The bees are behind the wall now, but they are angry and will

soon give chase in any direction they wish, be it friend or foe."  She gave an evil little chuckle and started

moving into the orchard of apple trees.
Kai moved through the grass amongst the trunks.  The shadows of the branches and leaves were black in the silver

moonlight.  The fireflies moved among the blades of grass and the leaves of the trees, looking as if the stars had

come from the firmament to dance.  She and Oren would have snuck out to watch them.  Would have, if he weren't

lying in a pool of blood next to his mother.  Kai felt her throat constrict, and she pushed those thoughts away.
She had gone a few paces when Duncan's hand on her arm stopped her and spun her to face him, "I understand your

using a trap if they had seen us.  Why did you call attention to us?  Particularly to yourself?"
"I wanted Howe to know I am alive."  She smirked, "You told me that a Grey Warden's duty would not allow me to go

after Howe.  But you said nothing about him coming to me instead.  One way or another, I will kill him, make no

mistake.  I will keep my promise to you and my father, but I didn't promise I wouldn't try and lure Howe in.  I

will kill every man or woman he sends until he is forced to come for me himself."
Kai watched Duncan's brows draw down in a frown, "I see that I should endeavor to be more precise with you, young

lady."
"That would probably be wise.  If anyone from my past were alive, they could have told you that."  Her voice

sounded bitter to her own ears.  She started to turn away from Duncan and then turned back, "My father once told me

that Death smiles at us all.  The only thing you can do is smile back.  I wonder, will Howe smile when he comes to

me to meet his end after I slit him from navel to nose?  It will be interesting to find out don't you think?"
There was a faint noise, a familiar sound off to her right.  Duncan walked up to her left and in front of her to

say something.  Whatever he had been about to say was lost as Kai turned on her heel to her right  reaching out her

left hand and catching the arrow that had been launched from the bow she had heard drawn only a moment before.  She

gave Argus a hand signal for “silent” and “kill.”  The Mabari woofed softly and took off in the long grass in the

direction she was facing.
It was Duncan's turn to gape at the arrow clutched in her fist.  She grinned and flipped it around.  He shook his

head, "Handy trick," before he spun around and blocked two more arrows coming from their left with the shield.  He

took off into the trees towards the two men who had emerged from the shadows while Kai found one man with a sword

coming towards her from her right.
She grinned and started running towards him going into a flips which sent her right into the man as she ended in a

high somersault with her knees on the man's chest.  He fell backwards with her on top of him, his breath expelled

in a whoosh of air.  She took the arrow and stabbed him in the eye with it and with a quick flick cut her blade

across the his throat in a fine spray of blood.
She heard two sets of footsteps behind her and gave a sly smile.  She let them get closer before she executed a

backwards roll cutting across the Achilles' tendon of the man on her right and putting an elbow into the knee of

Howe's man on her left.  She felt the knee give and bend at an angle the Maker had not intended as her metal

studded leather couter connected with his leg.  Both men screamed.  Kai drew the Cousland blade from its sheath on

her back and sheared their heads from their bodies.
Another sound behind her had her spinning to find a shield warrior standing behind her.  Kai let him get closer,

then she spun and took a running start towards the trunk of one of the apple trees.  She used her momentum to run

up the trunk and leap backwards over the head of her assailant; she had a second to register his very shocked face

as she flew over him.  She landed behind him and stuck both sword and dagger into his back.  The sword went clean

through, sticking into the tree.  Poor tree, she thought as she pulled the blade from them both.
She heard more footsteps including those of her hound.  Kai turned to face Duncan and Argus, both liberally

splattered with blood.  She suspected she looked the same.  As Duncan approached his eyes widened and he opened his

mouth to say her name.  Kai flipped her sword and daggers over in her hands and thrust backwards.  She was rewarded

with a grunt of pain and surprise.  She gave both blades a quick little twist before pulling them forward again. 

Duncan raised an eyebrow, shook his head and chuckled.  There was a thump as the body fell behind her.  Kai gave

him a sardonic smile and flipped her blades in a hard arc to get as much blood off of them as she could before she

sheathed them on her back again.  Duncan sheathed his own sword and dagger while walking towards her, "I see you've

been busy, young lady.  I apparently can't leave you alone for a minute."  He smiled at her.
"I never go looking for trouble, ser.  I don't have to, it always knows right where I am.  But in this case, we are

close to the end of the orchard and near the lake.  We can cross land and hit the North Road."  She waved towards

the edge of the treeline, and they all set out walking.  They walked for a few miles before coming to the rise of a

hill.  Kai couldn't stop herself, even though she told herself not to.  She stopped on the hill.  The pink light of

dawn was just creeping along the edge of the world.  The birds were starting to wake on this Spring morning, like

any morning in Ferelden.  Except it wasn't any other day for her.  She was bathed in blood and smoke and death. 

Her world had been destroyed.
She couldn't stop herself this time.  She retched, even though her stomach was empty.  Wave after wave of nausea

rolled in.  Finally her eyes watering, her nose running, and her throat burning, her stomach relaxed enough to let

her up.  She stood to find Duncan handing her one of the water skins that held watered down wine in it for now (as

wine wouldn't stagnate).  She rinsed her mouth out and spat on the ground.  She looked at her home, the sky

lightening not just from the arrival of a new day, but the fires that Howe had set.  Smoke curled into the sky like

some black snake.  She was mesmerized by it, watching it undulate and coil in on itself.  Her mind was blank, her

body numb.
She was startled when she felt Duncan's hand on her shoulder.  Argus whined and pressed against her thigh.  She

looked down and gave him a smile, patting his big broad head.  She handed Duncan the wine skin and turned back in

the direction of the North Road.  She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.  She cast one last

look behind her before Highever disappeared from her view, burning it into her mind, before she followed Duncan

onward.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 05 juillet 2010 - 11:11 .