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[Lynn01]

Right so I've got no idea who's reading and who even likes this apart from a few people, but here's the next chapter!


Chapter 26: Political Games

- Aveline POV -

When we arrived in Denerim, Arl Eamon was already waiting for us in his estate. It was huge and everbody was given their own room. As he wasn't aware of me and Alistair, he gave us both a seperate room. After all, as far as he knew I was pregnant with Teagan his child. Most of my companions went to their room to settle in. Arl Eamon, Alistair and I were still standing in the hall when the doors opened. Loghain came walking in with Arl Howe and Ser Cauthrien. I barely focussed on anyone else but Arl Howe when they came walking in.

He had a smirk on his face and I wanted nothing more than to kill him. Kill him for everything he'd done to me, to my brother, to my parents, to everyone he had murdered to get what he wanted. I felt the rage building up and my focus never left his face during the conversation between Arl Eamon and Loghain. Loghain was whining about the reasons why Arl Eamon had called the Landsmeet and it wasn't long until they stopped talking for a moment.

"Howe is a traiterous bastard and I demand he's stripped of the land he has forcefully taken."

"Ha! Your family is seen as traitors to the King. You have nothing to demand."

"How dare you talk like that to Arl Howe!" Ser Cauthrien said. Loghain held up his hand and told Eamon that this wouldn't be over. The three of them left and Alistair had to stop me from walking after Arl Howe. I turned around and looked up the hall. I started whispering to myself.

"Come with me, we need to talk." Arl Eamon said to Alistair and me. We both walked after Arl Eamon and entered the room. I could see a woman standing next to Arl Eamon and before I could ask who it was, Eamon begun talking.

"This is Erlina. She..."

"The Queen is held in Arl Howe's estate here in Denerim. She sent me here to ask your help." Erlina said.

"Why would she need our help?" I wondered out loud.

"Please help the Queen." Erlina said. "I can help you sneak in to Howe's estate without being seen." I looked at Arl Eamon and he nodded. He obviously wanted us the help the Queen.

"All right. What must we do?"

"Meet us at his estate. I will be at the entrance waiting for you." she said while she quickly walked out of the room. When I turned back to Arl Eamon he ensured us that the Queen was needed for a good outcome of the Landsmeet. Not that she would support Alistair, but she would go against her father. That was exactly what we needed so we agreed to get the Queen her help. We had to move through one more back road when we were stopped by a group.

"Oh ho! If it isn't the Grey Warden! I see you haven't brought Zevran with you? I would love to talk to him!" he said while he looked around. Not a moment later I could see Zevran appearing and I briefly wondered why he followed us in the first place.

"I am right here Taliesen." Zevran said.

"Ah. I heard you sided along with the Grey Warden. If you side against her now, I will make sure the Crows have you back again." I looked at the man on top of the stairs and he had just an evil grin on his face. I didn't trust him. I looked to Zevran and saw someone who I considered a friend and who I did trust even though we had a rusty start.

"Zevran is not coming with you." I tol him. "He doesn't need the Crows anymore."

"That might be what you think, but what does Zevran say of this?" I looked around and I knew there were rogues hiding in the shadow. In order to protect myself I needed to stay in the middle of my companions. I looked at Leliana and I knew she had noticed them as well. She nodded to me and I focussed back on Zevran, wondering what his answer would be.

"No, I do not wish to be a Crow anymore. Forget it, I am not coming with you."

"Have it your way." he said and he motioned for his men to attack us. I quickly stealthed and removed myself from the crowd and started nocking an arrow. While I shot from a distance, Leliana made sure not a single person was coming my way. Zevran focussed on the leader of the group while Alistair had the majority of the others on him. Wynne managed to heal everyone from a distance as well and while she finished healing everyone, the fight had come to an end. I looked at Zevran and noticed he had the leader on the ground and he was standing on top of him. Without a spoken word he sliced his throat and the man choked in his own blood. I walked to Zevran and put my hand on his shoulder. He turned around and smiled at me.

"I guess I am a free man now! Where to go! Where to go!" he grinned.

"How about you stick with me to fight the blight as agreed." I said while I gave him a wink. He nodded and our group continued to Howe's estate. Seeing the estate made me feel sick. I wanted nothing more than to throw up at the sight of it. I could see Erlina standing and we walked towards her. She motioned for us to follow, saying we would need to go through the back door. Before the front door were dozens of people. They weren't happy at all. We quickly moved to the back and despite the few guards who noticed and attacked us, we weren't discovered. Erlina gave us a soldier uniform and I frowned at her.

"I don't fit in here!" I whispered. She looked at me and lifted her shoulders.

"Let them say you are their prisoner?" she suggested. I sighed, knowing this would be our only option. Erlina distracted the guards while we waited in the bushes and when the soldiers left the back door we quickly ran into the estate. A few minutes later she had returned and guided us to the Queens room. A magic barrier was raised in front of it so she wouldn't escape and the Queen told us to go to Howe's room to get the key. There was a chance he would be in there so I already felt myself getting nervous. Would this be the moment where I could finally have my revenge?

Arriving in Howe's room, we noticed there was nobody in there. I looked around and saw a chest near his bed. I opened it and my eyes widened when I saw there were Grey Warden papers in it. I gave them to Alistair who looked at them briefly and put them in his pack. It seemed like there was a basement attached to his room as the door was wide open. I moved down into the basement and opened the door that was leading into the room after that. This caused the guard to look up in surprise. Hands suddenly grasped the guard and pulled him back to the celldoor. With an easy twist, the neck of the guard was snapped and the man opened the door with the keys of the guard. The lifeless body was dragged in and a few moments later a fully armored man walked out. My hands searched my bow. He noticed this and held his hands up.

"Thank you for your timely rescue, my friend." he said. "I am Riordan, a senior warden from Orlais." This man looked familiar. I blinked a couple of times and focussed on his face. I have seen him before.

"I am Aveline." I softly said back. "This is Alistair. We're Grey Wardens as well."

"Ah nice to meet you Brother and Sister. I am a Grey Warden as well."

"How did you end up here?" I asked.

"With some clever talk and a drug." he stated.

"We found Grey Warden papers by the way." Alistair said. "Are these yours?"

"Yes thank you. Now if you don't mind I will leave this place."

"We're staying at Arl Eamon's estate. I'm certain he doesn't mind having you there as well."

"Thank you, Alistair." Riordan said. "I wish you luck Sister." he said to me and he left. Not wanting to linger, I quickly walked further into the basement. We came across some kind of torture chamber, and I couldn't help me looking in. Maybe someone was in need of our help. It turned out I was right. A man lied on the torture device and he was guarded heavily. When the guards noticed us Alistair rushed in and made sure they were focussed on him. Leliana twirled around in close combat while I used my bow to kill those in my reach. While the others finished off the guards, I quickly walked to the man on the device to free him.

"Who are you! If my father sent me here as a joke, it was absolutely not funny!"

"We... Eh.. We're Wardens." I said, not being sure what he meant.

"I am Oswyn, son of Bann Sighard. Why are you here?"

"Arl Eamon has called for a Landsmeet."

"What? So there is going to be one after all. Then you have more reason to be here than anyone else. I will make sure our vote goes to your cause." He said while he put on his clothes as well as he could. He thanked us and left quickly. We left this room and I quickly heard some voices coming of another room nearby. I thought I recognized it and I moved closer to the door. As I kept on listening I started to remember who's voice that was. This is Arl Howe. My hands started to form fists against the door. He was talking to some guards so I knew he wasn't alone. I couldn't hold myself any longer and with force I pushed open the door. Arl Howe turned around and when he saw who was standing at the door he frowned.

"Ah. If it isn't Bryce Cousland's little spitfire. All grown up and still playing the man." he spit.

"I will kill you for what you've done."

"Is this about your family? Still? But I have done so much more than wipe your name from Fereldan memory." he grinned. His mage guards started to walk to the right side of me and Leliana came up to my right side to protect me from them. His other guards moved to his left side, which was covered from Zevran who was still with us. Alistair was right next to me to charge to Howe when needed.

"Your parents died on their knees. Your brother's corpse rots in Ostagar; and his brat was burned on a scrap heap, along with his Antivan **** of a wife. And what's left? A fool husk of a son/daughter likely to end his/her days under a rock in the Deep Roads. Even the Wardens are gone. You are the last of nothing. This is pointless... You've lost." he continued.

"I know your game. No shadows no lies. Just you and me." I intimidated.

"There it is, right there. That damned look in the eye that marked every Cousland success that held me would appear that you have made something of yourself after all. Your father would be proud. I, on the other hand, want you and your unborn child dead more than ever." With this Howe waved his hand and his guards started to attack. Leliana focussed on the mages and Zevran on the other guards while Alistair confronted Arl Howe. Howe wanted nothing more than to get through and kill me. I could tell as he kept his focus on me during Alistair's attacks. I moved to the back of the room and took my bow to take out the mages first. Zevran danced around his guards who had no chance.

After this he quickly moved to the mages. Their magic kept them alive a bit longer than the other guards, but they couldn't keep it up against two close combat rogues. Alistair then shield bashed Arl Howe against the wall and Zevran and Leliana took his arms and made sure he wouldn't move away from it. Alistair backed up and I closed in on Howe. I looked him in his eyes and all I could see was an urge for power. He was angry we crossed his plans. I closed my eyes for a second and took my dagger. I only had the vision of my parents in my mind where they were on the cold floor of Highever, getting killed by someone who they considered a friend.

I opened my eyes and a second later my dagger was stuck in his stomach. I kept looking at his face as I twisted the dagger around. He cried out in pain and I removed the dagger. I pushed it in his chest again, this time a bit higher and again I twisted it around. You will suffer I told him in my mind. I removed the dagger and for the last time I pushed the dagger in his chest. This time it landed straight in his heart. I removed it and Zevran and Leliana let Howe slide to the ground.

"Maker spit on you... I ... deserved...more." he managed to say before he hit the ground. I spit on his corpse and walked out of the room where I stood against the wall. Everything started to spin around me and I let myself slide down against it until I was sitting. Tears escaped from my eyes again and I hated myself for crying so much lately. Alistair quickly sat down next to me and took me in his arms.

"It's all right, love." he whispered. "You did it. You avenged your parents." The others decided to leave us alone for a while and continued to Anora her room where she was held. When we arrived at her room she was already waiting for us to move out of the estate. She seemed pleased that we had managed to free her and she was dressed as a soldier, something which caused me to grin uncontrollably. When we all walked out together, we were held back by a massive army. The leader was Ser Cauthrien. How in the Makers name could they be here so quickly.

"Grey Wardens, you are under arrest for the murder of Arl Howe. Surrender now or we will take you by force." she said. I gasped, surprised by her quick action. Arl Howe's body wasn't even cold but they were here. Did they know what we were up to? Automatically my hands wrapped themselves around my belly. I couldn't risk another fight which could possibly harm it.

"We'll... surrender." I said, looking down to the ground.

"What? Are you certain? You can stay back and we'll fight them!" Alistair whispered the last part of the sentence. I nodded to Alistair.

"I'm sure. I just can't... risk it. Plus if we fight it only makes us seem guilty even more." I said.

"Take the Grey Wardens. Loghain doesn't care about the others." Ser Cauthrien ordered. The guards came our way and I quickly backed up two steps. They hold my arms by force and did the same with Alistair. Leliana, Zevran and Wynne weren't held by the guards and they quickly ran out of the building. I knew they were heading to Arl Eamon's estate and hoped they would come up with a plan. The guards took us too Fort Drakon and I did my best to remember the way. Finally we arrived at some cells. I could see Alistair's head getting hit against the bars. When he was knocked out I cried out his name and they threw him in the cell. Finally they hit my head with the back of the sword which caused me to block out as well. My body did nothing anymore and my vision became nothing but darkness like a candle blown off in a dark room.

Modifié par Lynn01, 09 février 2011 - 02:11 .

[Lynn01]

Chapter 27: Ripped Apart

- Aveline POV -
I started to regain my mind again and I slowly became aware of my surroundings. I had a pounding headache and when I tried to sit up it only got worse. I opened my eyes and slowly let myself adjust to the light. I checked myself, and apart from the headache everything seemed all right. I was undressed however, and they left the small clothes on me. It made me feel very uncomfortable knowing someone had just removed my clothes. I stood up and walked towards the door. There was no way I could escape from here.

"Oh good, you're awake!""Alistair!" I was glad to see him and I ran over him to hold him.

"Are you all right?" I nodded and I touched the place where the bars of the cell hit his head. He winced and I quickly removed my hand from it.

"Sorry." I whispered. "How in the Maker's name are we getting out of here?"

"I don't know, but we can't run around naked like headless chickens." My eyes quikly spotted a chest near the door."Maybe our armor is in that chest over there." I said while I pointed towards it. Alistair nodded and I walked back to the door. I removed the pin that held a part of my hair together and started picking the lock. The door was open fast and I motioned for Alistair to follow me. Surprisingly the chest wasn't locked at all and we both started to dress ourselves in our armor again.

"We'll need to fight our way out of here." I told Alistair while I was equipping my weapons. He came closer to me and took my head in his hands.

"Are you sure you'll manage?"

"Of course. Besides, we have no choice." I said while I gave him a kiss. "Let's go." Not a moment later the door opened. I quickly ran behind it and a guard walked in. When the door closed, he still hadn't seen us. I motioned for Alistair to stay still and I stealthed up behind him. With my dagger I slit his throat and carefully put him on the ground. It was quick and soundless.I went back to the door and peaked to the next room. Alistair ran in first and surprised the guards. The mabari was hanging on Alistair's leg and biting agressively. I nocked my arrow and aimed for the dog. I released the string and the arrow forced its way through the beasts head. There werent' many guards in the Fort which surprised me. We had fought are way through the first part and were now looking around the corner. If I remembered correctly there as a giant hall after the doors.

Two guards were guarding the door and I knew more guards were in there as well.I stood against the wall with my back and looked at Alistair. We both nodded to each other and he rushed in. I distracted the other guard and when he saw me he started moving towards me. I shot an arrow in his leg, but it didn't stop him. I nocked another arrow and shot it through his chest. He was very close to me and his eyes were widening. He fell on his knees and his sword dropped on the stone floor. I stepped back and the guard fell forward. Alistair had killed the other guard and I walked towards the door.

"There are quite a few guards in there..." I said. He caught my worried look and grabbed my wrist.

"Maybe we can pull them to this room one by one somehow. I could try and dress like on of the soldiers and tell them the commander needs to speak to them?"

"Good thinking, love! I saw an armory room back there." I said while I started walking to the room. The room was filled with stands equipped with soldiers armor and Alistair started changing. When he was in the soldiers armor he chuckled.

"A perfect fit! Very cute!" I said while I gave him a wink. He started blushing a bit and while laughing I walked back towards the great hall. Alistair put his own armor in the corner and sighed. He opened the door and I nocked an arrow. After a few moments he convinced two guards to come with him and they were walking to the room I was standing ready. The moment the door closed, Alistair thrusted his sword in the guard closest by him and I released my arrow to the other guard.

"Wow, that was easy." he said with a grin. "Well, the convincing part took me a while, but the killing was easy!" We waited a moment before Alistair would go in again, so it would seem like the guards had their time with the commander. Alistair used this time to remove the bodies of the killed guards. They were put around the corner. After a few minutes Alistair opened the door and I nocked a new arrow. This time three guards came with Alistair. When the door closed we did the same as with the first group.

Alistair thrusted his sword in the back of the guard right next to him and I released my arrow to the other guard. The one left, who was walking in front of the group looked behind the second he heard Alistair unsheat his sword and attacked him straight away. Pushing the killed guard out of his way, he bashed Alistair against the wall. I released my arrow to soon and it hit the guard's leg. The guard turned around as Alistair slowly slided down the wall, being disoriented by the blow. He  immediately walked over me and held his sword to my throat.

"You dare to shoot me?" he said while he looked down at me. "In your condition?" I stayed quiet and just looked him in the eyes. My hand carefully moved to the dagger attached to my side. Alistair made some sounds as he tried to move towards me. The guard looked over his shoulder towards him. I found my dagger and I immediately punched it in his stomach while my other hand took his hand which held the sword. Quickly looking back at me I removed the dagger and sliced his throat. The guard dropped on the floor right in front of me and I stepped over him to help Alistair up.

"Maybe this is getting too dangerous." I said. Alistair blinked a couple of times, shook his head and nodded.

"I agree."

"Maybe we should have done this straight away, but I think you can go and pretend you're a soldier? Just stand at the commander and report for duty. I can stealth my way through the room. Especially now we've killed
a few guards." Alistair started walking to the Commanders room when a wave of pain hit me. I grabbed my belly which was the source and I felt I needed to hold on to the walls to avoid falling on my knees. Alistair heard my surpressed cry of pain and looked back. When he saw me standing with my hands on my belly he ran back to me.

"What's happening?"

"I... don't know. Hurry, just go!"

"What? I can't leave you alone when something is wrong?" I looked at Alistair.

"You can't do anything for me while we're still stuck in this damn Fort can you? Now, go! I'll manage to sneak out." I commanded. Knowing this was our only choice Alistair moved towards the Commanders office. Ten minutes later he was at the door with two other guards. He let the other guards in first and I sneaked in after them before Alistair closed the door again. I moved to the side of the room and avoided coming close to any of the remaining guards I could see.Another wave of pain hit me out of nowhere again and I tried my best to keep my mouth shut as tight as I could. I leaned on the wall until it was over and tears started building up. Tears of worry. Tears of pain. Tears of the only thought I never wanted to think about.

I tried to surpress them and when the pain faded a bit I moved further. Alistair was already at the door with the two other guards and this time they wanted to let him enter first. Trying to delay as much as he could he told them just to move in first. The guards refused and insisted that Alistair would move in before they did. If only out of a gesture of good will. I sneaked in front of Alistair and basically ran through the door as fast as I could in stealth. I waited for Alistair at the main door and the two guards were walking towards the commanders room. Alistair ignored them and quickly opened the main door. Once outside I couldn't keep up stealth anymore and I saw Alistair's surprise when he saw me again.

"What are you doing!" he whispered.

"I can't keep it up anymore." I whispered back. "Guide me to the estate!" When we were far away enough from the Fort another wave hit me. This time I didn't hold back my cry of pain and it shocked Alistair. He looked down and he noticed a small stream of blood on my legs.

"Aveline... You're bleeding!" I looked up at him in shock.

"What?" I said while I looked down as well.

"Oh Maker! No!" I felt the need to sit down and cry for help instead of walking to Eamon's damn estate.

"Aveline, please we have to continue! Wynne is inside the esetate, she will be able to help you!" Tears were flowing freely now and when the pain faded away a bit again we started moving fast to Eamon's estate. Alistair was holding me as good as he could so I wouldn't fall down. When we arrived, the guards of his estate were running to open the doors as soon as they saw us coming in. In the main hall Wynne noticed us coming in.

"Aveline! What happened?" she said while she ran our way. A wave of pain caused me to ignore the question and cry out instead."Wynne. Help her! Please! She started having these pains just like that!" Alistair said. My knees started to get weak.

"I'm... not feeling.. so well..""Alistair, I will take her to her room. You have to go and get Zevran and Leliana!" Alistair did as asked straight away and ran to get Zevran and Leliana. In my room, Wynne made sure I stayed on the bed. Alistair came walking in with Zevran and Leliana. Leliana sat on my side as soon as she saw me.

"Zevran!" Wynne said. "You have to make sure, at all cost, Arl Eamon does not come anywhere near this room!" Zevran nodded and left the room. Alistair sat on my other side and held my hand.

"Wynne, what's happening?" he asked."Both of you, listen to me." Wynne said as she performed something magical on me.

"You... are losing your child. That's what's causing the pains and the blood."

"No! Do something Wynne! I beg you!" I said.

"Oh.. I really wish I could." Wynne said.

"No! Do something! I'd do anything for my child!"

"I'm sorry, dear. The taint seems to cast it out of your body... Listen, Aveline. You really have to push when you feel another wave coming up."

"No! No... I won't do it, Wynne. I can't do it!" I cried.

"You can, trust me! You have to! You've lost too much blood to afford to ignore this." she said while she started spreading my legs. She motioned for Leliana to help her. They removed my underclothes so they could see the child coming out. Another pain wave hit me and I couldn't control my face. Wynne noticed this and Leliana was holding my legs.

"Push!" Wynne demanded. I shook my head.

"No! I don't want to lose my child." I softly cried. The pain wave softened again and I was able to regain my breath. Alistair cupped my face with his hand and made me look at him. His face was wet by his tears and it was tearing me apart even more to see how much he was hurt by what was happening. He started whispering to me, saying he loved me and that I needed to trust Wynne. Saying that he didn't want to lose me and that he would stick with me no matter what. Another pain wave came and I looked at Wynne.

"Push!" She demanded again. Reluctantly, I did as she asked and started to push as hard as I could. When the pain was over I released my breath again."That was good, dear. Do it again on the next one." It didn't take long and I started pushing again. After what seemed a long time I felt something coming out of my body and I started crying. Alistair kissed my forehead and rubbed my hand. Leliana let go of my legs and I could tell that she was emotional as well. She took a piece of cloth and gave it to Wynne. My eyes followed their movements and I could see Wynne picking something up. When I looked at Alistair I saw he had seen what they were holding and his head now hung low. His eyes were pushed together and I felt immensely guilty.

"I'm so very sorry, Alistair!" I whispered. "I don't know what I did wrong. Maybe I should have rested more." He looked up fast and his eyes widened.

"Oh no, Aveline. I don't believe it was your fault. You heard Wynne. The taint caused this." he whispered back. His voice was raspy. "I'm sure we can try again when we have both recovered. Maybe the Circle can help us next time." he said with a sad smile. Wynne stood up with the bundle and looked at me.

"I'm sorry." She said to both of us. She gave it to Leliana who made her way out of the room with it.

"I... have to know." I softly said. Leliana turned around and looked at Wynne.

"It's not fully developed, but we can clearly see it's a boy." Wynne said. I gazed to Alistair again who was still looking at Wynne.

"A boy." I whispered. I felt myself drifting away. "We had a son." I whispered to Alistair, who was now looking at me. He climbed on the bed with me and held me against him. Feeling his touch only made me want to sleep more. Not long after, I had entered the Fade.

I was standing near the edge of a forest, and it was a warm and bright day. Alistair was right next to me and I felt happy. There was a small lake nearby and Alistair sat on the grass and ate some cheese. There was nobody around so we were the only ones in this area of the forest. Suddenly I heard laughter and a child ran my way. It was a young boy and when he came closer he ran to me and threw his arms around my neck. I felt an immense great love for this child.

I smiled and embraced the young boy. Alistair stood up and gave us both a kiss. Suddenly the boy released himself from my neck and ran away again. This time there was no laughter and clouds slowly covered the sky. I felt something was wrong and I saw the boy slowly disappearing as if he never excisted.I tried to run after him.

"Why are you tormenting me so!" I yelled, but no sound came out of me. Alistair stopped me and embraced me tightly. We both looked at the area where we both saw the boy last. Everything seemed to go so very slow. Rain started to pour out of the sky and everything darkened. The forest became black and the lake water did the same until every bit around me was black.

Modifié par Lynn01, 11 février 2011 - 08:57 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Okay I feel terrible, I reviewed the last chapter on ff.net but not here! Sorry! Loved the your description of her killing Howe! He is such a rotter!



And for the latest chapter? WOW! Nice battle scenes as they are getting out. Love how you do the anguish as they lose the baby, and I love the dream at the end. Nice touch!

[Lynn01]

Lol np Gil! Glad you still review them at all!
My new chapter is up! My goodness it took long. I finally had inspiration haha. It was gone for the last couple of weeks, but here it finally is!
Do not hesitate to join me in a happy dance! *giggle

Chapter 28: Wounds

- Aveline POV -
I woke up early by some noises in my room. The room was still dark by the curtains, but I could see the sun shining through little bits the curtain did not cover. I noticed the whole bed was different, they must have cleaned it while I was asleep which must have been very deeply. Servants were working in the room quietly and Wynne and Leliana were whispering them what to do. I slowly sat up in bed and Wynne walked towards me as soon as she noticed what I was trying to do.

"Carefull, dear." she said. She opened up the curtains and the room was filled with sunlight. It felt very nice and wrong at the same time. I looked around more and wondered where Alistair was. Before I could ask Wynne was sitting next to me.

"Do you think you can get up? We've got a nice bath set up for you." I nodded and moved my legs out of the bed. My feet touched the cold stone floor and I could still see dried up blood attached to them. Wynne caught my look and quickly took my hand so I would stand up. She guided me to the bath and looked at me.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked. I shook my head. I did not feel like talking to anyone right now and I thought it would be best if I was alone. When she closed the door behind her, and everybody was out of the room, I undressed myself. I mindlessly tossed the clothes away and let myself slowly slide into the hot water of the bath. The warmth was nice. The blood had attached itself to my skin good, as it didn't fully remove from the water alone. I wanted to have it off so I rubbed my skin as hard as I could, as if my blood as to blame. In a way it was. My blood was tainted and the taint aborted everything.

No, I don't want to think about it. I washed myself and decided not to linger in the bath. I got dressed in some simple clothes I noticed earlier and walked out of my room. Wynne was standing right outside the door and looked at me when the door opened.

"Come, you need to eat." It annoyed me that she was acting so motherly. I walked with her and Wynne stayed close to me until we arrived in the kitchen. There a small breakfast had been set up already. I sat down behind it and started to peel on the bread. Wynne sat down next to me and looked at me. I put away the bread again and looked back.

"Where is Alistair?" I said.

"He's... in his room. Arl Eamon knows what happened. We can't risk yet that he knows you two are involved instead of you and Bann Teagan." I nodded and took the bread again. This time I started to eat from it.

"Aveline. I'd hate to say this, but Queen Anora has pointed us towards the Alienage to gather proof against Teyrn Loghain. She... also wants to talk to you." I closed my eyes and squeezed the bread I was still holding. I had just lost... and now she wants...and to go to... When I opened my eyes again I threw the bread against the wall in anger and walked out of the kitchen. Anora had a room in the estate not far away from my own. When I arrived I threw open the door. Anora turned around to face me and put on one of her fake smiles.

"Warden. It's good to see you." I simply frowned. I had no intention of making this conversation more pleasant than needed. She quickly noticed this and continued.

"First of all, let me tell you that I'm sorry what happened to your parents. Eleanor in particular was very dear to me. It's appropriate Howe died at your hands." I crossed my arms.

"Also you have my sympathy of what happened to you and your child."

"What did you want to talk about, Anora." I stated.

"At the Landsmeet you will need my support to convince everyone my father has been wrong and I might need your influence as well."

"So you're suggesting I should vote for you instead of Alistair?"

"I am indeed. You will win your Landsmeet and I shall remain on the throne. We will both have what we want." I turned around and faced the door. We did need her help, but I wasn't too fond of her remaining on the throne. I sighed and knew what to do. I slightly looked back to Anora.

"All right. You have your deal."

"Thank you, Warden." she said as I walked out the room. I went to Alistair's room and when I stood in front of it, I checked if nobody saw me. Eamon didn't seem to be around and the other companions weren't here either. Without knocking I walked in his room and found Alistair sitting on his bed. He looked up when he heard the door open. I quickly closed it, but stood against the door, unsure if he wanted me here or not. Alistair stood up and walked towards me. He pushed me closer against the door while he started to kiss me.

"I have missed you last night." he said when he broke off the kiss. His hands traced my face and I got goosebumps from what he did. I looked down and slightly smiled.

"I have missed you too, my love." he lifted my head so I'd face him and he hugged me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. I lifted my shoulders for a second, and it told him enough.

"And you?"

"Same I suppose." I walked away from Alistair and sat down on the bed. I took out the ring Alistair gave me and started playing with it. His eyes traced my fingers on the ring.

"Do you still... you know... I mean after what happened..." I whispered. This shocked Alistair as he came towards me straight away.

"Of course I do! I love you with all my heart. What happened doesn't mean we can't try again! We will ask mages to help us so this won't happen anymore." I smiled. Even though he had a hard time dealing with it as well, he was always trying to be so positive! I put the ring away again and stood up.

"We ehm... have to investigate the Alienage to gather proof against Teyrn Loghain." I saw the look on Alistair's face. "I don't want to either, especially not now, but the Landsmeet is coming up soon and we need the evidence." Alistair nodded. He knew I wanted him with me. I moved out of the room with Alistair and searched for Wynne. When we found her she was talking to Leliana and Zevran. Leliana immediately ran over to hug me and Zevran expressed his sympathy as well. Stop it already. Wynne and Zevran agreed to join us to the Alienage and after I changed into something more protective we decided to leave straight away.

The alienage looked so sad to me. The houses looked old and there seemed to be some sort of a riot on the square as well. A red headed young lady was standing near the group and went against them. Mages blocked the entrance of a building. I walked to the young woman and she looked at me as if I resembled something incredibly horrible she ate.

"What do you want, Shem! We have our own trouble to take care off."

"I came to help. What's happening?" I asked. The young woman relaxed a bit and worry crossed her face. She explained how sick people were taken into the building and never came out. She was afraid something was wrong and tried to explain that to the crowd outside. They weren't allowed in to see their relatives. Saying I would find out what was wrong, I left to the backside of the building. The young woman ran after me and grabbed my wrist. I turned around to look at her.

"They aren't just going to let you in!" she said.

"I wasn't going to ask." I said before moving on. There was just one single man guarding the backdoor and I walked to him.

"Hold there. You're not allowed in." Anger flared up inside me and I roughly pushed the man against the wall.

"Don't toy with me and hand over your key." I whispered as I was no more than an inch away from his face. He searched his pockets and I heard he found the keys. I quickly grabbed them and pushed the man out of my way. I didn't care what he was about to do, me and my companions were inside the building now. The second we walked in the guards attacked us. They dismissed the idea to warn us first. I took out my daggers and was eager to show them what I could do. Leaving the last few guards for the others I walked over to the desk. It contained nothing of value besides a small sack of coin which I took and a note. My head shot up when I heard noises coming from the other room. I slowly opened it, still holding on to my daggers, and quickly noticed that the noises were coming from a few elves who were captured and standing in their cage. I opened it and after thanking us they ran away.

Something fishy was going on and I didn't like the smell of it at all. I moved outside through the back door again and noticed the young woman named Shianni was already standing there, waiting for us. I gave her the note and told her a key was attached to it. She guided us to the apartments and we continued our search. It turned out that everything was a set up and the elves were shipped as slaves. This would be valuable proof against Loghain. The Landsmeet wouldn't accept him shipping elves from the alienage and selling them as slaves. In the last room we found Valendrian. We had killed the man who was behind all of this despite his efforts to stay alive and offer us help in the form of bloody blood magic. The freed elves quickly moved out of the building and I gathered the last evidence we needed for the landsmeet.

When we arrived back at the estate Arl Eamon notified us that we should get ready. We were already running late and he would leave immediately to the Landsmeet. The second we opened the doors of the building Cauthrien looked back and immediately walked towards us while taking our her sword. I stood in front of the group which consisted of Alistair, Wynne and Leliana. We persuaded her to stand down and let us go through the Landsmeet doors. Everything else was a blur for me. When we walked in the room they had already started. Loghain was talking and I could see Arl Eamon standing on the balcony at the side of the room. It was filled with nobles and their attention was at Loghain. When he spotted us however he pointed at me and began rambling to me. Questioning where his daughter was after I threw in my evidence about the alienage. I could see the surprise on his face when Anora walked in the room, unharmed of course.

When the nobles were asked to vote I barely took in our victory. Loghain looked at me and I knew I had to best him in order to finalize the outcome. I would do this fight alone, even though I knew it could be my death. The others backed up and we were given room for the fight. Loghain stared down and me and I saw a grin spreading on his face. When the fight begun I charged at him, avoiding his form at the last moment we would bash against each other, and cut his right arm. This caused him little harm as he grabbed my wrist and pushed me against him. Victory was already showing in his eyes as he looked down at me.

"Couldn't even manage to keep your child, I see?" he whispered. He pushed me off him and I had to do my best not to fall over. Tears welled up in my eyes and I tried as much as I could to keep them back. I looked back at him. f*cking as*hole. He charged at me and I blocked his sword with my two daggers. I threw away his sword and punched him in his face. I circled around him and stealthed behind him. After a long fight, full with hating comments to each other, he was finally down at his knees. I stood in front of him and looked down. The second I wanted to take his own sword to kill him, Riordan came walking in the room.

"Wait! You do not have to kill him. Make him a Grey Warden. They are needed and no matter what he has done, he's still a great general." Alistair was in shock when he stated Riordan crazy. I couldn't believe him either and bluntly refused to make him a Grey Warden. That was a position that was to be earned and all that Loghain earned was his head being seperated from his body. I turned around to face Alistair and he nodded. I took the two handed sword and raised it. Anora tried to keep me from swinging the sword at her father, but it was no good. With all the strength I had left I removed Loghain his head from his shoulders. Anora was defeated and fell near her fathers corpse in grief. I felt nothing for her. He deserved this. As the guards removed the body, Arl Eamon held his speech that Alistair should be King. When Alistair reacted in surprise Anora took it as a hint he did not want to be King at all.

Finally he asked me for advice and I started pacing. I looked at Alistair and he smiled and nodded to me. He was prepared for this job. Then I looked at Anora. I remembered her promise and she also nodded to me. I looked at Arl Eamon, ready to make my decision.

"Alistair should be King!" I said. Arl Eamon smiled and he declared to all present in the Landsmeet that it was decided. Alistair moved forward and took my hand. I saw Arl Eamon's response. He was confused. Alistair made me face him and talked so everyone could hear it.

"Aveline! Do you accept to be my Queen?" I accepted and saw the shock at Arl Eamon was now complete. After he held his speech that we would face the battle together he turned to face Arl Eamon.

"Eamon. What you have done to Aveline is unacceptable. You will surely be punished for this. I will send out guards with you to stay at your castle in Redcliffe and you're to stay there until I've decided what to do with you. Bann Teagan will run the castle on your behalf for this period." When he wanted to protest against it Alistair held up his hand. "Also Isolde is not free of blame either. After your child is born she also will face her punishment. She is to stay at the castle just like you... guarded." With this we walked out of the Landsmeet chamber. After collecting our things at the estate in Denerim, we all would move to Redcliffe to decide our battleplan there.

Modifié par Lynn01, 03 mars 2011 - 01:01 .

[Lynn01]

Chapter 29: Betrayal

Aveline POV

When we arrived in Redcliffe everyone was already in the main hall. Including Arl Eamon. Riordan was standing by the fire and we barely got any rest when he told us that the Archdemon was seen. It was heading to Denerim. I cursed at myself for not staying there. We just came from there and now it faced the danger of the Darkspawn? We would move out the next morning and I felt proud at Alistair for taking the lead on that. He would be a great King! Riordan moved to his rooms to get some rest before the battle, but not before letting us know he had to talk to us. Everyone else went their own way to get their rest and prepare themselves when Arl Eamon walked towards me.

"What... happened?" he carefully said. "I thought you were together with Bann Teagan, that you carried his child. That it was his child you've lost." A frown crossed my face.

"No Eamon. I was never together with Teagan, you only made it look like I was. The child was Alistair's and if you value your life you will never talk about this ever again." I said as I moved to Riordan his room. I was fed up with this and wondered how much more I could take. Alistair gave me a kiss before we moved in Riordan his room. He stood in front of us and sighed.

"I do not know how much you've been told, but do you know why a Grey Warden has to slay the Archdemon?"

"It probably has got something to do with the taint in our blood?" I said. He nodded saying it was exactly what it involved. He said that a Grey Warden would also die when it had slain the Archdemon, as its soul and the soul of the Grey Warden could not excist in one and the same body. Riordan said he would take the final blow as he was the Senior Warden of the three of us and it was almost his time as well. I shook my head and faced the floor. This did not feel right. After he suggested to get some rest we moved out of his room. I had to let the information we just received sink in. Alistair already went to his room to get his things. We would spend the night together as it would be our last one before the battle. I opened the door of my room and felt confused when I saw Morrigan standing there. I closed the door while keeping an eye on Morrigan.

"Do not worry, Warden. 'Tis only I." she said.

"Yes I can see that. Is something wrong Morrigan? You did get your own room, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. That is not why I'm here about though. I know what you must do. I know what it takes to kill the Archdemon. A Warden had to die and the chance is large that Warden can be you."

"What is your point Morrigan." I got annoyed. What plan did she have in her mind? I crossed my arms and looked at her.

"My point is that I'm offering you a way out. So you will live. Along with your precious Alistair."

"What are you talking about! You know, as well as I do, that there's no way to do that. If there would be, I'm sure there's a catch somewhere." Morrigan moved from the fire and sat down on the bed.

"Listen to me all right? If you do not like what I'm saying we won't talk about anymore."

"Fine. Continue."

"You will convince Alistair to lie with me." My eyes widened. I shook my head, asking myself if I heard it correctly.

"By this ritual, I shall conceive a child. A child with the soul of an old god."
"Are you mistaking me for a fool? I can't let you do that!"

"You are the fool here, Aveline! Don't you think you will come out of this fight unharmed! I am offering you a way out. Do not be so stubborn and convince Alistair instead!"

"So you can have his child? I don't think so, Morrigan!"

"Do you think he will let you take the final blow? Do you think he will let you sacrifise yourself and only to watch you do it? You need to snap back to reality girl, because that is not what's going to happen!" I could feel my anger boil. I turned around, away from Morrigan. Who did she think she was. I walked towards the fire.

"So this is why you came along with us? To betray us and to gain your own ghoulchild? And you say this so casually after I've just lost mine?"

"The child will not bear anything of the taint. I have to admit though, that this was the reason for joining you yes." I lowered my head. I felt defeated and betrayed. I considered Morrigan as a friend after all this time and she just threw it away like it was nothing. "Aveline, trust me. In this early stage the child will absorb the Archdemon's soul and will let you live. After the battle I shall leave and never return. Alistair won't get to know the child and I have no intentions of returning.

"I will give you no chance to, Morrigan." I turned around and saw her standing behind me. "I cannot let you do this. I will not agree."

"Then you're a fool to willingly choose death over live!" Morrigan transformed into a wolf and she escaped out of the castle. I ran to the door and slammed it behind her. I backed up and let myself slide down against the door. Tears were flowing over my cheeks and I faced the fire. This was going to be my last evening and Morrigan just had to run in here to betray me. Betray all those who trusted her on the journey towards the end of the blight. I knew in my heart that I had done the right thing. I only regretted taking Morrigan with us from the start. I regretted letting her in my heart and causing me so much grief. I sighed and with the back of my hand I removed my tears. There was no way Alistair hadn't heard that and not a minute later it turned out I was right. I was standing near the door as it opened. Alistair walked in with his pack and put it next to the bed.

"What's wrong, love? I heard you yell from the hallway. What was Morrigan up to?" I threw myself into Alistair's arms and I couldn't stop the tears anymore. Alistair simply stood there, in silence. He didn't say a word, but just offered me comfort. His embrace was so very trusting, it always had been. I looked into his eyes and he looked right back at me. He smiled a little and stroked my hair with his hands. He gave me a gentle kiss on the lips before guiding me to bed.

"You must be tired, love. Do you want to sleep?" he asked.

"I'd like to talk, Alistair. I need to tell you what Morrigan told me before she left."

"She left? What do you mean. I did see her running out as a wolf, but I thought that was just part of the weird Morrigan herself instead of actual leaving?"

"She's gone and she won't help us in the battle either." I was now sitting on the bed, with the blankets over my feet. I had already removed my boots in the process and Alistair was sitting next to me. I put my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat before continueing.

"When I came into my room after Riordan told us what we had to do, she was standing near the fire. She told me that she had a way out so I could live. Somehow she knows how an Archdemon is defeated, Alistair." I sighed. "She told me that I had to convince you to lie with her. That the ritual would conceive a child, which would bear an ancient soul. An uncorrupted soul. She would disappear after the battle and you would never see her or the child ever again."

"Eww, did she really ask that? Thank the Maker you didn't agree to that, love. I couldn't have stand it, laying with Morrigan." Alistair shivered. "I only want you Aveline, and there is no guarantee that you will have to take the final blow."

"Somehow I know that I will have to take it." I thought back about the weird dream I had so many nights ago. Riordan died, falling of the Archdemon's back. I knew I was going to be the one.

"Aveline?" Alistair traced my face with his fingers, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling. He took my chin and made me face him. He slowly kissed me on my lips and he traced his fingers down to my neck. "I want you tonight. Just in case we might never have this chance anymore." he said. I smiled and I agreed to his request. Later that night I had woken up. Thoughts kept coming back in the back of my mind, telling me that I would probably have to take the final blow. I couldn't let Alistair take if for me, and I knew he would want to come fight the Archdemon as well instead of staying back at the front lines. I sighed and I looked outside through the window from my bed. I had to do something he definately wouldn't like.

~o~

The next morning everyone was up early. I barely ate, but I decided to take some with me. I would need all my strength for the final battle. The men were already standing ready outside. We made way to Denerim with our army. All over Ferelden people would help us. The elves were on their way and the dwarves were too. The Redcliffe soldiers were already here with us, as we left the castle with them and the mages were already here as well. Denerim was in chaos and after Alistair had his Kingly speech to the army we moved forward. The first thing we saw was the Darkspawn army. They had taken over the entrance and when we arrived they had a man captured. The sword of the Darkspawn was touching his throat. It was as if the Darkspawn had a mind of its own and was laughing at us. Suddenly he sliced the throat of the man he held in his hands, and tossed the man on the ground while he was choking. I moved forward to try and stop him, but stopped after seeing the man dying.

The army charged at the group and I ran in front with them, as were the other of my companions. After killing their front line I saw even more Darkspawn. I didn't let that get to me and continue to slay as many as I could. I even counted them in my head. 32... 33...34... Zevran, Leliana Sten and Shale were heading to the east to clear that area, so I moved west with some Redcliffe men and Alistair Feonar and Wynne. Wynne had little trouble keeping up with the healing, so she decided to cast some offensive spells as well. 48...49... When the area was cleared Riordan signalled to us. We ran towards him and he told us we needed to move forward. I had to take three other people with me and leave the rest to defend what we just taken.

I chose Alistair, Wynne and Zevran to join me for the final battle. We would move forward together and Oghren would lead the group which stayed behind. Feonar slowly walked to me and I sat down to face him.

"You be good now boy, all right? Leliana will take care of you. Listen to hear as good as you listen to me. Protect her as good as you have protected me." I petted him on the head and stood up again. Leliana now was standing with me and without notice she hugged me.

"The Maker sure had great plans in mind for you, Aveline. I am honored to have joined you on this journey. Good luck with the Archdemon." she said before crushing me once more in another hug. Ogrhen saluted me, and I suspected him to be drunk. Then again, when wasn't he drunk! Sten came up to me. The man who never seemed to smile. He smiled now though and he stood up straight.

"Kadan. It has been an honor to fight be your side." he said before he left. I surpressed a giggle and was now facing Zevran.

"I am going with you to face the Archdemon. We'll show him who's better!" he said. It seemed like he was really looking forward to the fight. Shale came up next.

"It is only to hope something as squishy as it will not be crushed by the Archdemon!" I laughed.

"I hope not either, Shale." Wynne moved towards me and took my shoulders. She had a soft smile on her face, as if she knew what this day would be costing.

"You have a great battle lying ahead of you, but we will not forget the great battles you have already fought. I am honored to have been your friend and to be in the final battle with you." I nodded to Wynne and I turned around to face Alistair. He took my hips and pulled me close.

"I am worried for this battle, but know that I'm here with you. I won't leave you, all right?" My only response was a deep kiss. "I love you, Alistair." I said.

"I love you too." This was it. We had to leave now. Riordan instructed us that we needed to kill two generals before facing the Archdemon and so we would. While we moved away from the others and all of the soldiers were cheering for us. Wishing us luck in our fight against the Archdemon. Our first mission was kill the general on the Market Place. Denerim was a mess and paths were blocked though we found our way to the Market Place quite easily. When we arrived I blew on the horn I was given for Dwarven help. We were standing at the entrance until the first ones arrived and then moved forward. Two giant ogres came running our way and Alistair was already heading to the first one. I stunned the second one to buy us more time. I could see the general from here, and he was sending more Darkspawn towards us. The second ogre broke free of his stun and came running at me. I let myself slide under his legs and stood up. I was now behind him so I jumped and thrusted my daggers in its back. Zevran finished the job while Alistair and I already were moving forward. The dwarves had taken care of the rest of the Darkspawn and the General was now free for us to attack.

Alistair charged in while Zevran and I moved into the shadows for a surprise attack. Zevran came out and tried to stun the general. I could see the surprise on his face when the general simply kicked him away. Alistair had a hard time with the general I could tell. I backstabbed the Darkspawn along with Zevran. We were like a dancing team, moving around a single focus point. But then with daggers, wearing armor, and agressive looks instead of the gracious parading it should have been. I sighed when the General was finally laying dead on the ground and I searched through its armor. When we had what was needed we moved forward to the second general, which would be at the Market Place. When we were halfway there we noticed a messenger running our way.
"My Lady." he was gasping for air. "This is a message from our front lines. Do I need to send something in return?" I opened the letter quickly and read that Darkspawn had tried to take over the front lines, but that they were holding. Knowing we were still holding Denerim I faced the messenger.

"You may return and tell them the first general has died and we're now moving towards the Alienage. After that we're entering the Fort." The messenger nodded and quickly ran away. It was no surprise this man became a messenger. One moment he was here and the next he was gone.

Modifié par Lynn01, 03 mars 2011 - 01:23 .

[Lynn01]

Chapter 30: The Final Battle

Aveline POV

The elven rangers had come to our assistance and the fight went quite well. We did lose a number of people and I was saddened for their deaths. The Archdemon was standing in the middle of the tower and was weakened. We had used the machines to get it down and now it was. Everything seemed to have slowed down from here. I felt the peace even before it had arrived. I looked up to the air and I knew this was it. This was what we had all been fighting for. The Archdemon was hurt too bad to make another serious move on us. I looked back and I smiled to Wynne. I was thankful that she had been here for this journey. My eyes searched Zevran. Once the crow who was ordered to assassinate us, now my true friend. I ended with Alistair. I loved him so much and my love was exactly the reason why I had to kill the Archdemon. I knew he didn't want me to and I knew he would stop me if he was able to. I walked up towards him and I kissed him. I felt a tear breaking through my eyelids and I broke the kiss off. It was long and yet too short. I smiled at him while I motioned to Wynne.

"Paralize him." I ordered. This was the last order I would give. While Wynne did as asked I could see pain in Alistair's eyes. He realized too late Wynne would actually do as I asked her and forgot to stop Wynne.

"You'll be a great King, my love." I said while I ran to the sword which was sticking out of the ground. I took it while I ran even faster to the Archdemon. I yelled it out and I slashed open the throat of the beast. I now stood next to the Archdemon and I raised my sword. With one last look at Alistair I pushed the sword in the Archdemon's head. Light immediately rose up the sky, signalling everyone the beast had been slain. The soul was dying. I was dying. With a blast I was thrown away from the Archdemon as was everyone else. I ended up hitting the walls of the Fort after which I fell to the ground.

I looked at Alistair's direction and saw him getting up and running towards me. The paralize spell of Wynne had ended, and in my mind I thanked Wynne for her help. I could see tears were spoiled on those lovely cheeks of Alistair while he ran towards me. Then everything faded.

Alistair POV

She was saying goodbye to all in her mind, I could tell by the way she looked at Wynne and Zevran. Finally she looked up at me and she walked towards me. She gave me the most precious and soft kiss I had ever received from her and I wished it could have lasted forever. My mind knew better, but my heart broke when she broke the kiss. It was too soon. She ran a hand over my face and I saw her motioning to someone behind me. She smiled to me and then she said "Paralize him." I looked to her, confused, until I realized what she was talking about.

She was going to kill the Archdemon and didn't give me the chance to do it instead. It would be the one thing I could do to be a good King. I could have explained that to her and kill it myself. I tried to move, but Wynne had already cast the spell. Slowly she backed up while saying I would be a great King. She turned around and ran to the Archdemon. I could only look at her with pain in my heart knowing I'd lose her.

She picked up the sword on her way and when she reached the Archdemon she sliced its throat. I wanted to scream! I wanted to call her name! She gave me one more look before the raised her sword. I wanted to stop her! I wanted to hold her! I wanted that we had a way out! She thrusted the sword in the head of the Archdemon and we saw a light going straight up in the sky. I could see the pain she was in and not long after a blast followed. The blast pushed us all away and we all fell. It had removed the Paralize spell and I immediately stood up and ran to Aveline. Tears had started to stream down on my face, but I didn't care. I saw her looking at me and I could swear I saw a little smile.

When I arrived at her she wasn't awake anymore. I screamed out loud and my grief took over. Wynne had arrived by my side. I couldn't be mad at Wynne for following Aveline's orders. I knew she was doing it for our own good. Wynne let magic flow in her fingers and I looked at her. I saw she was surprised, yet utterly worried.

"She's not yet gone, Alistair." Wynne said as she started to magically check Aveline.

"Do we have more mages who can help us?" I said. My voice was raspy and my eyes felt as if they had been crying forever. Wynne looked at me, and the worry didn't leave her face.

"I don't think so, Alistair." I shook my head. Everyone had arrived on top of the Fort to see if we had survived and I saw their shock when they saw Aveline on the floor.

"Teagan! Make sure to get more mages here, now!"

"Alistair, there are no mages nearby. They are all back at the front lines. I can try to get them over here as soon as possible, but I don't know if they'll be here in time."

"Go, go!" I yelled to him. We had to try. I saw Wynne's magic flowing through her hands even more.

"What is wrong? Wynne!" Wynne shook her head.

"Alistair, her heart is slowing down even more. It's not beating in a regular pace anymore. It's going far too slow for her to stay alive."

"No, no! You must be wrong. Try again, Wynne!" I said with an urgent tone.

"Alistair, she is not winning the fight with the soul of the Archdemon. Her heart is giving up as is her mind." she whispered.

"No." I cried. "You're wrong! Aveline! Don't give up love. Please. You promised to be my wife." I whispered in between sobbing.

"I can't do anything anymore." she continued. "I'm sorry." Wynne slowly backed up and with a last look back, she went to stand with the other companions who were with us. I took Aveline in my arms and held her hand. I traced her face with my fingers. Aveline was frowning sometimes. Her breathing was shallow and stopped once in a while. It pained me to see her in pain. I took her hand in my own and I started praying. About five minutes later she started to stirr. She was trying to catch her breath and I couldn't do more than to see her struggling. She was fighting a fight she'd never win. Aveline didn't stop and it came into my mind that her heart was really giving up. I was scared. I had never been so scared in my life.

"Love." I couldn't believe I was about to say this. "Don't worry about me. It is your time to leave. I will be a great King, this I promise you." I whispered. I kissed her hand. "I'll love you always, and that love will never go away. I will see you in the fade one day, and you'll be in my dreams every night. Every day you will be with me. Go meet our son, love." Her fighting slowed down and a moment after she had her peace. Her head was facing mine and her frown was gone. She was so beautiful. I kissed her lips and bursted out in tears again.

I screamed. This feeling was horrible. There was nothing I could do. There was nothing that could bring her back. Wynne came back to me, as did the others. Wynne moved to Aveline and put her hands over each other. While she was doing that, she picked something out of her armor. Something I hadn't seen. It was the rose I picked for her in Lothering.

I cried out in pain. I couldn't believe she was gone. The only person I could imagine spending my life with. After a few minutes I stood up and held Aveline's body in my arms. I turned around to face our companions and saw their grief. They all cared so much about her as well. I looked at Aveline and she looked so peaceful. She had so much pain to endure. With my love in my arms I moved out of the Fort. Aveline would be buried like the Hero she now was. Aveline, the Hero of Ferelden. Who gave her life to save Ferelden and its new King. She would get her own tomb where the people could pay their respect to her. Flowers would praise the tomb, but there was one that sticked out. The rose from Lothering. On the stone tablet, people would find the following engraving below the inscripted rose.

Aveline Cousland. Hero of Ferelden. Beloved daughter, sister, friend, lover and Grey Warden. She, who gave her life in order to defend her country and its people. May she be remembered forever.

Herewith ends the story of Aveline.

~o~

This is the end of my story. Thank you very much for sticking with me. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed it! For those who left reviews, you have more than my thanks. Those reviews, no matter how little it was, did keep me going to the end.

Modifié par Lynn01, 03 mars 2011 - 01:50 .

[DreGregoire]

*sniffs* I got chills reading the final chapter. Thanks for sharing your story

[Lynn01]

Aww! Thank you for reading!

[LadyAly]

I was reading this with teary eyes - great work hun !

[Lynn01]

Aww thank you sweetie!  I'm glad you find so!

[erynnar]

More sniffles from me! I reviewed all three on FF.net. But I wanted to say here I had to get the tissues.

[Lynn01]

aww you are the best gil! Thanks so much for all your support with this story! /hugs

[erynnar]

Hey thanks for sharing it with us! *HUGS*