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Blood Song	By : Hikari86 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 1631 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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Armored

Zelda stopped for a moment and stared at the wall. There was a sudden sadness she couldn't explain that washed over her. It made her eyes water, and she knew something had gone terribly wrong.
“Arawin...”
“Zelda?”
Zelda turned to see Anders standing behind her. Tears rolled down from her eyes which she quickly tried to blink away.
“Zelda, hey... what's going on?” Anders asked as he went to her. “What happened?”
“I'm...not sure. But, oh, my stomach.” Anders helped her to sit as she held her abdomen. “I'm not sure what just happened, but I think Arawin might have been fighting, and...”
“She's not... is she?” Anders asked, looking concerned.
“No, Arawin's fine. In pain, but that's not the reason why she's so sad. I think I need to try and contact her. Try and figure out what happened at the Vigil.” Zelda pulled out a black pendent from around her neck. She grasped it in the palm of her hand and closed her eyes.
“Your Majesty!” a soldier shouted as he ran into the room. “Your Majesty we need you!”
Zelda opened her eyes, slightly annoyed at the interruption. “What's going on?” she asked.
“Scouts are reporting the darkspawn are beginning to move! They're coming out of the sewers and attacking just outside the chantry!”
Zelda stood fast and replaced the pendent around her neck. “I'm on my way. Anders.” The two men followed her out of the room as Zelda made her way to the front of the chantry. Constable Aidan was at the front, directing guards to prepare themselves in case the doors should burst open. Nathaniel was amongst the guards, but went to Zelda's side once he saw her make her way to the constable.
“Your Majesty,” the constable bowed. “I'm afraid what we feared has come true. That darkspawn, the Messenger, he sensed them getting restless before they finally began to surface and started attacking the men I had scouting out in the city. What should we do?”
“Get all your men in the chantry and open those doors to let us out,” said Zelda. “The three of us will take care of the darkspawn. I want no one else out in the city.”
“Of... of course, your Majesty.” The constable signaled for his men to move and open the chantry doors. Zelda made her way through, Anders and Nathaniel right behind her. When they exited the chantry, Zelda looked back to make sure they closed the chantry doors before she looked to her two fellow Wardens.
“Are the two of you ready?”
“I would say no, but I'm sure that wouldn't change anything,” said Anders.
“No, it wouldn't.”
“One question, though: Why are you only wanting us to fight the darkspawn?”
“Because we're Grey Wardens and I'll be damned if I let anyone else contract the taint on my watch. Besides, the three of us can handle this group of darkspawn. Just watch each others backs and we should be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Nathaniel spoke. “That one Child was able to take you down, Zelda.”
“It did because you were occupied with keeping your sister safe. I don't blame you for that, but it's one of the reasons why I don't want anyone else out here. Get it together, you two. We're Wardens. This is what we do. We kill darkspawn. Now let's move.”
She could feel the darkspawn were close and making their way toward the chantry. As they descended the steps, Zelda took them right to where they were. They saw them crawling out of the tavern, the Crown and Lion. The Messenger was already there, a few darkspawn corpses surrounding him. He chopped at a shriek trying to climb through a window. It was trapped and swung its claws at the Messenger, but missed as the Messenger backed away. He then went forward, his sword impaling the shriek right through the chest. As the Messenger reclaimed his sword, a Child coming behind him was blasted with a cold spell by Anders. The Child went flying back and shattered when he then hit it with a bolt of lightning.
Zelda plowed her way in, pushing a genlock to the ground and slamming her shield into an evolved Child. The genlock was quickly taken out by Nathaniel's arrows before it could get back on its feet. This allowed Zelda to take on the Child without distraction. It lashed at her, its many little claws scrapping across the front of her shield. She pushed on it, one of its claws made its way around the shield and jammed itself right through her armor. It went straight through her shield arm, making Zelda grunt from the pain. She raised Silverbrand and sliced it across the front of her shield, cutting off most of the little claws. Screaming from the lose of its limbs, the Child burst forward only to impale itself on Silverbrand. Zelda kicked the body to the ground before removing the claw from her arm and moving on to the next darkspawn.
Several darkspawn came flying out from the tavern door. Nathaniel quickly took out one hurlock with a well placed arrow between the eyes. Zelda and the Messenger rushed forward, slamming into the coming darkspawn and taking them out as quick as possible. Anders stood on the opposite side of Nathaniel, freezing many of the Children and sending out healing spells whenever they were needed. It wasn't long before all the darkspawn were taken out, but Zelda could feel there were more hiding.
“We're not done,” she heaved, catching her breath. “They've retreated. They're going back the way they came. We need to go after them and finish them off.”
“Where are they coming from, exactly?” said Nathaniel as he peered into the tavern. The interior was completely destroyed, and the bodies of darkspawn and humans alike littered the entire area.
“From underground,” the Messenger answered.
“There must be a secret passage or something in the tavern.” Zelda made her way in, walking over corpses and following the trail of blood that went up the stairs to the rooms on the second floor. As she and the others made their way around a corner, they spotted a Child as it scuttled across the floor and into a room all the way down at the end of the hall. It looked back at them and shrieked before making its way into the room.
“After it!” the Messenger cried as he took the lead and forced his way into the room. There was a loud crash and as the Wardens made it into the room, they found the Messenger on the floor with the Child's hind-end disappearing through a trap door. “Through there, we must go.” The Messenger pushed himself to his feet and pointed at the trap door. “We cannot let them escape to get to the Mother.”
“We're not,” said Zelda. “All darkspawn who attacked Amaranthine will die.”
“They're trying to escape? But why?” Anders asked.
“The Mother is calling them,” said the Messenger. “She must have failed at Vigil's Keep. That might explain why they are fleeing.” The Messenger smiled, something Zelda thought she'd never see on a darkspawn.
“I believe you're right.” Zelda smiled as well. “Even though I got a feeling of sadness from Arawin earlier, I think that might have been for something else. Otherwise, if the Vigil had been overtaken, I would have gotten a completely different feeling.”
“What was the feeling about?” Nathaniel eyed Zelda.
“I don't know, but I'll find out as soon as we take care of these darkspawn. Come on. We can't let them regroup and strike again. We need to end this.”
***
Opening the trap door, they found a hidden, winding staircase that lead them all the way down to a tunnel that emptied into the sewers. Zelda lead the way, taking them through the sewers and killing any darkspawn they came across. It was easy pickings, as many of the darkspawn they came across were alone or in small groups. The closeness of the sewers messed with Zelda's senses, making her feel enclosed, but the fighting helped her to focus.
They were doing good, but when they reached a large open area, Zelda sped through the doorway only to be bashed against the wall by a bolt of magic. It knocked the breath out of her and caused her to cough a few times before she could stand back up. By that time Nathaniel and Anders had already ran past her and began striking at the darkspawn coming at them. The hurlock emissary that had hit Zelda was locked in a power struggle with Anders. The two mages sent spell after spell at each other. Their magic shields flickering and wavering as the strong spells threatened to collapse them.
Nathaniel stood on the sidelines. He had picked up a quiver full of crude darkspawn arrows and fired them at the creatures as they attacked the Messenger. The Disciple had become surrounded by his own kind. They hacked away at him, drawing dark blood. He fought on, however, slicing a genlock's throat clean open and skewering another as it tried to flank him.
Finally stable from the blow, Zelda plowed her way into the group of darkspawn surrounding the Messenger. Several genlocks fell, dying instantly from either a sword or arrow. Zelda paused as a hurlock with a large axe kept her from going any further. He growled at her and swung. Zelda ducked his axe and stretched her arm out to sink Silverbrand straight into his abdomen. The hurlock dropped his axe and spewed dark blood from his mouth. It landed all over her face and chest. When she ripped her sword free, she then spit out what had gotten into her mouth and wiped the blood from her eyes.
At that point, Anders had struck the emissary with a fireball, but was still unable to bring the darkspawn down. Zelda could see the emissary was severally weakened and decided to ran after it to help Anders finish it off. Seeing her coming and seeing the rest of his fellows dead, the emissary screamed before bolting off, out of the large cavern and through another tunnel.
“Damn it!” Zelda cursed. “Don't let him get away!”
They followed the emissary through the tunnel which slanted upwards. It lead them all the way to another trap door that stood open. They crawled into what looked to be an abandoned house located outside the city walls. Once outside, Zelda found the emissary had run all the way back to the city. It stood in front of the closed gate, posed in a fighting stance with a shiny new shield protecting it.
“This one's mine,” Anders growled as he made his way past Zelda. “I won't have these bloody things out doing me anymore.” He stepped up, his magic crackling around his hands as he prepared to release a particularly powerful spell. A sudden roar from between the houses to his side caught his attention and Anders looked over. His face suddenly grew pale as he stared at the massive and shiny beast. He moved out of the way, losing his spell just as a gigantic boulder came crashing down where he had just been standing. The ogre came barreling out from between the buildings, its silver horns blinding as it took out a dilapidated house.
“Maker's breath!” Zelda exclaimed as she backed away from the ogre. “Who the sod decided to put armor on an ogre?”
The ogre stood and glared down at her. It pounded its gauntlet-covered fists on a steel plate covering its chest. Armor was completely covering its entire body, making it look bigger and stronger than regular ogres. In truth it might actually have been with all that heavy armor on and that it could move fairly easily and fast. It lowered its head and darted toward the Wardens. Zelda and Nathaniel quickly moved out of the way, barely being missed by the ogre's huge horns. The Messenger wasn't so lucky, getting caught in the ogre's path. He went to move just as the others had, but he was too slow. One of the ogre's horns caught on his foot and flipped him into the air. The Messenger landed and tumbled down the dirt path, losing his weapons in the process.
Zelda made to go help the darkspawn as the ogre advanced on him but was stopped when a bolt of lightning nearly struck her. She turned to see the emissary was still at the gate, taunting them with his staff and tooth-decaying grin.
“I'm on it!” Anders ran to the emissary, putting back up a magical shield and refocusing on the darkspawn. His hands swirled around each other as he conjured the same spell he was going to make earlier. The ogre, noticing the release of magic in the air, turned from the Messenger and snorted at Anders.
“No you don't.” Zelda held up her shield and stared down the ogre. She wasn't going to let it get to Anders. Roaring and pounding its fists, the ogre charged. Zelda pumped her legs, slamming into the ogre's side as hard as she could. The impact made her whole body vibrate, her mind spun as she staggered backwards. The ogre had stopped its pursuit on the mage, but was less affected by the impact than Zelda was.
Shaking off the clash, the ogre turned on Zelda before she could fully recover. It went to grab at her but its hand was deflected away by an arrow. Snorting, it turned in the direction the arrow had come from. Nathaniel stood a good distance away, already having another arrow notched and pointing at the ogre's head. With an annoyed roar, the ogre started making its way to Nathaniel, determined to be rid of the new nuisance.
Nathaniel took his time as the ogre began to pick up speed. His aim had to be perfect since no arrows he possessed could penetrate the ogre's steel armor. Only taking one step back, he fired and the arrow went straight into the small slit in the helmet. It stopped the ogre cold as it roared from the loss of its vision, one eye gone. Nathaniel quickly grabbed another arrow and began aiming for the other one. The ogre wasn't going to let him prepare, this time going faster and reaching the archer before he could release the arrow. Nathaniel backed away but was caught in the ogre's tight grip. It held him in both hands and squeezed as it roared loudly in his face. Nathaniel struggled to get free, but was unable to move or even stab his knife into the ogre's hand due to its gauntlets.
By this time Zelda had regained her balance. She heard Nathaniel's screams as he was squeezed and again, with as much force as she could possibly provide, slammed her entire body into the ogre's side. This time she fell, her legs giving out and the air being knocked from her lungs. The ogre dropped Nathaniel from the sudden impact and staggered forward before regaining its balance. Nathaniel fell limply to the ground and moaned.
Becoming even more annoyed than before, the ogre turned on Zelda who was still on the ground trying to catch her breath. Seeing it was coming after her next, Zelda tried to stand but her lungs still burned and her muscles refused to move. She could barely keep her hold on Silverbrand, and when she went to lift the shield to defend herself, her arm couldn't get it off the ground.
The ogre reached down but was unable to clench Zelda in its hand as ice coated its armor. Zelda found she was able to move out of the way just in time before the ice encased fist could squish her into the ground. When she looked back, she saw Anders with his hands raised, hair all a mess as it was coming loose from its ponytail and clinging to his face from sweat. He was pale, exhausted, looking as if he would fall over at any minute. The emissary behind him was dead, the fight apparently having taken a lot out of him.
Anders went to summon another spell, fire this time. He released the fireball and it landed right in the ogre's face. The darkspawn roared and shook its head, but was otherwise unaffected. It charged forward, hitting Anders with the back of its hand and sending him flying into the wall of a house.
No, no, no! Zelda stood, feeling every muscle in her body scream with exhaustion. She was the only one left now and this ogre didn't seem nearly as exhausted as she was. In fact there was no change in the ogre's speed or strength, and now with the mage down, it once again turned on Zelda and growled.
She prepared herself, lifting her shield up as high as her arm would let her. She held Silverbrand at the ready. The ice coating the blade hardening and glistening. With a cry from both of them, they charged at each other and collided. Zelda struck Silverbrand on the ogre's forearm. Ice quickly spread across the armor but wasn't enough to shatter it. She spun, flanking the ogre and running to its back where she struck her blade several times. Nothing happened, nothing changed. Ice would form on the steel but it wasn't strong enough to penetrate through. There was no place for her to stick her sword, even in between the plates. Her focus was also dwindling, her moves becoming more sluggish. Zelda wasn't sure how much longer she could last against the ogre.
The ogre batted at her. Zelda put up her shield but it was tossed clean from her arm. She then found herself in its grasp, face to face with the ogre's fowl breath filling her nostrils and making her sick. It seemed to smile at her, a black tooth grin that told her there was no escape now. Zelda tried to struggle free, but the ogre's grip was too tight. Silverbrand laid uselessly at her side, trapped in the ogre's grasp just as she was. With a triumphant roar, the ogre then began to squeeze. She screamed from the pain, feeling ribs cracking and blood being forced to the lower and upper extremes of her body. Zelda couldn't move, couldn't think as things started to become hazy. She just wanted it to end.
Suddenly it did. Zelda found herself falling, landing on her back and rolling to her stomach. She coughed and gasped for air. Her broken ribs stringing every time she took in a deep breath. When she was finally able to look up, she saw the ogre was still standing before her. Its hands were posed as if it was still holding her. Its whole body shook, struggling against something that was holding it in place.
“Maker's breath, Zelda!”
She looked around for the familiar voice, finally spotting him as he rounded the ogre and came to her. Several soldiers bearing the Denerim herald followed him but stopped to attack the trapped ogre as it continued to stand still.
“Al-Alistair?” Zelda blinked, not exactly sure she was seeing correctly. Ignoring everything that was going on behind him, Alistair replaced his sword and shield and grabbed Zelda from under her arms and dragged her away from the fighting. Zelda screamed from the sudden movement but told him to keep going when he stopped and said he was sorry.
“Zelda... Oh, sweet Maker, I'm glad I made it here in time.” Alistair placed her down gently when they were far enough away. As the pain began to become bearable again, Zelda was finally able to see what was keeping the ogre from moving. Far behind stood Jowan, a look of complete concentration was on his face as he struggled to keep the ogre pinned. A streak of blood was running from his nose as he fought the ogre with everything he had. Zelda could tell he was beginning to lose his grip as the ogre was starting to be able to move, slowly lifting its feet and swinging its arms.
“Alistair, we need to help them,” she said trying to stand. The sharp pains in her chest forced her back down and she gasped for air again.
“You're not doing anymore. We'll take care of this ogre. You stay here.” Alistair checked to make sure she was breathing without too much of a struggle before reluctantly going to help the soldiers.
Zelda hated being left on the sidelines, but the pain in her chest and the way she was breathing told her she was in bad shape. As she looked around, she noticed more soldiers had joined in the attack on the ogre. Several others had gone to collect Nathaniel and Anders, dragging them away from the fight and to a safe point far away. She was on the opposite side where they were, but was glad to see they were safe and all right from what she could tell. Around her she could feel no more darkspawn. All had been killed except for the ogre that was still struggling against Jowan's spell and several dozen soldiers who had somehow been able to get part of its armor off. She watched as they stabbed it numerous times in the same spot creating a giant, hemorrhaging whole in the ogre's side. It staggered back and forth before finally falling to the ground and spitting up blood from its mouth. Alistair quickly climbed on its chest and removed its helmet to deliver a final blow to the ogre's throat. With it finally dead, he ordered his men to open the gate to the city and find any survivors before making his way back to Zelda.
“Hey, how are you?” he asked somewhat out of breath.
“Surprised, but happy to see you.” Zelda held her chest with both arms and grimaced when talking caused more pain to flood her body.
Alistair wasn't happy to see her in such pain. “Jowan!” He gestured for the mage to come forward. When Zelda saw him, she wasn't sure he would be able to do anything. He looked just as exhausted as she felt. His struggle with the ogre left him pale and weak. “Can you help her in anyway?”
“I'll do my best,” Jowan breathed as he went to his knees in front of Zelda. “I don't have much mana left.”
“Don't strain yourself,” Zelda told him. “I'm pretty bad.”
“Not so bad, but then again, I'm not really a spirit healer.” Jowan lifted his hands and placed them over her. A dark blue light shined from his palms and instantly Zelda found she could breathe better. When some of the pain subsided and when she saw Jowan looked as if he was about to pass out, she told him to stop. He wasn't done for she could still feel a few more broken ribs, but he wouldn't be any use to them unconscious.
“If you can, do something for Anders,” Zelda instructed him. “I'm not sure how he'll be once he is revived, but he is a spirit healer and can help you.”
“Right. I'll... I'll go do that now.” Jowan was wobbly on his feet, but he did make it to where Anders and Nathaniel were laying.
“You're timing was impeccable,” Zelda said, smiling at Alistair. “I guess sending Zevran was a good idea. Wasn't sure you would come.”
“Why would you think that?” Alistair asked, looking surprised by her question. “You know when it comes to you nothing would hold me back.”
“I'm glad. I just thought... after the Landsmeet, Lady Dina would have...”
“Would have what?” Alistair gently helped her to stand and hugged her close.
“Alistair, I...” Zelda encircled her arms around him and squeezed back, a few tears escaping her eyes. “I'm happy to see you too, but... what are you doing here?”
Loosening his grip, Alistair looked into her eyes and wiped away some of the tears. “Zevran came straight to me and I wasted no time gathering all the men I could and made my way here. More should be on their way.”
“I know, but... didn't you have to pass Vigil's Keep to get here? Why didn't you stop there first?”
“We did pass Vigil's Keep, but it looked like it was fine. There were no darkspawn attacking it, if that's what you meant. Zevran stopped there, though. I would have too, but something told me to keep going to the city. I don't know how, but I knew you would be here, and I was right.”
She placed her head on his chest, glad to be with him once more. There were still things she didn't understand, but she would have to ask him later. Right now she just wanted to enjoy being in his arms.
***
The city of Amaranthine was in ruins, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Zelda, Alistair, Jowan, Anders, and Nathaniel stood in the middle of the street, observing the soldiers and city guard as they went about making sure all the survivors were accounted for and treated if injured. They also disposed of the dead, tossing darkspawn bodies and tainted corpses into a large bonfire outside the city. Many didn't like having to say good-bye to their loved ones in such a way, but burying them was dangerous. Their bodies could easily spread taint even when dead.
“So what now?” Anders asked. “Are we going to head back to the keep?”
“Oh, the keep!” Zelda said shaking her head. She had nearly forgotten she needed to contact Arawin about the situation there. “I'll go speak to Arawin about that right now. You guys stay here, I'll be right back.” She left them all standing in the street as she went to find a secluded spot in an empty building.
“Hey, Zelda, do you think we could speak for a moment?” Alistair said as he followed her in.
“Hmm?” Zelda had hoped he would follow her so they could talk privately. Even though she pretty much knew the outcome of the Landsmeet, she still felt that she wanted to know the answer. She also wanted to know what was going on with him. “Yeah, we can talk before I contact Arawin.”
“I'm sure you're dying to know.”
“I'm not dying to know. I do know the outcome. I'm not queen anymore, but what I'm trying to figure out is you. Did you decide to keep the throne?”
“I told you, if they voted against you I would denounce the throne. And that hasn't changed.”
“But you're still king,” Zelda said staring at him stern. “You have Denerim soldiers that followed you here.”
“What? They can't be men who are loyal to me and deserted the army because of it?” Alistair gave her his cheeky smile. Zelda didn't budge.
“That's not going to work on me, mister. If you denounced the throne then that means Lady Dina would be queen right now, and I know the first thing she would do is have you executed. Or at least thrown in Fort Drakon with half the army watching you.”
“I know,” Alistair sighed. “But it was worth a shot, right? Listen, love, you're right, I am still king, but it's not because I decided to abandon you. I would never do that. You are still queen. The Landsmeet voted with you.”
Zelda struggled to understand what he was saying. It wasn't possible. “No, that's... not right. That's not what they should have done.”
“And why not? No one, besides maybe Lady Dina, would say you're a horrible queen. They kept you because I was able to persuade them.”
This made Zelda laugh. “Really? You were able to persuade the Landsmeet?”
“Hey, I've been getting better,” Alistair pouted. “After I went back in, Lady Dina started the vote. It was going somewhat... neutral. The vote was basically tied. It wasn't until it got down to the last few nobles, which happened to be ones who were on the fence, that I stepped in and said something. I knew that Lady Dina had more than likely prepared for something like this. She had probably either threatened them or promised them something if they would vote for her. Before I let them cast their vote, I reminded them about all the things you've done. About all the bannorns, arlings, and teyrns you helped to rebuild after the Blight. What you did for Ferelden during it. I also then asked them to give us more time. That if we were unable to produce an heir, you would step down from being queen and I would remarry a woman who wasn't tainted.”
“But I thought...” Zelda felt confused.
“I know I said I would never marry another woman, and I still stand by that.” Alistair grabbed her shoulders and looked deeply in her eyes. “But I knew that's something you would say, and if that's what happens, then I guess we'll figure it out when it does.”
“Then we're both still on the throne?”
“Yes.”
“And how long do we have?”
“A year.” Letting her shoulders go, Alistair then took her hands in his and stroked the top.
“A year,” Zelda mused. “I'm sure Lady Dina will think of something else before our time runs out.”
“She won't be a problem to us any longer.” Alistair's smile was humorous. Zelda looked at him peculiar, not needing to ask as he answered. “When Zevran arrived with your message, he also asked me if Lady Dina was still in Denerim. When I asked him how he knew her, he then handed me a piece of paper that was nothing more than shipping supplies. It wasn't, though, but actually a Crow contract. He showed me how to read it and the contract revealed that Lady Dina and Bann Esmerelle were actually working together to get rid of every Grey Warden in Ferelden. Including us. You can imagine what I did next, right?”
“So she's locked away, awaiting trial?”
“That and her title has been striped. She has no claim to anything, not even her own family estates. I plan to have her and Bann Esmerelle tried for treason after everything here is taken care of.”
“Bann Esmerelle you don't need to worry about,” Zelda said letting go of his hand. “I've already taken care of her.”
“You have? Um, am I going to have to intervene about that?”
“You probably will since she is dead, but I'll explain that all to you later. Right now I need to contact Arawin and figure out--”
“There's one more thing,” Alistair interrupted.
“Okay, what?” Zelda gave him her full attention, wondering what else he had to tell her.
Alistair struggled for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to tell her. “This is something both good and bad,” he began. “I'm not sure how to tell you this...”
“Just take your time, Alistair.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “We have a year to give the Landsmeet what it wants, but I don't think we're going to need it.”
“Why would you think that? Of course we're going to need it. We're probably going to need more, but I know that won't happen.”
“I'm saying we're not going to need it because of this.” From his pocket, Alistair pulled out a small vial that contained a clear liquid. Zelda stared at the vial, not understanding.
“What is that?”
Alistair sighed. “I know we don't talk about that night...”
Zelda shook her head, knowing exactly what night he was talking about. It was a taboo topic, one that neither had mentioned since Alistair's coronation. “If that has anything to do with Morrigan...” Zelda said heated.
“It does, but let me explain,” Alistair said trying to calm her down. “Listen, there's really only one reason why I agreed to... well, two actually because I didn't want you to die, but this was the other reason.” He held up the vial again. Zelda looked away, not wanting to have anything to do with it. “I asked Morrigan that if she could do what... she did for me and her, then maybe she could do the same for us. This is what I got, given to me right after you left the Landsmeet. And no, I didn't see Morrigan. I just know this is what I asked for.”
“Are you really asking me to accept that?” Zelda said staring him in the eyes.
“I'm not asking you to do anything.”
“I can't stand the thought of that night, let alone the thought of her.” Zelda sighed heavily, not liking the situation Alistair had put her in. In that little vial held the very thing she had wanted for a long time. It was the reason why Zelda had denied Morrigan in the first place. Now she could have it, but it came with a price. One she wasn't sure she wanted to pay.
“I know, love. I know this is hard.” Alistair clasped his hands in hers. “It's hard for you, but this is ultimately your decision. I can't make you do this.” He withdrew his hands, leaving the vial within her own. “If you don't want to take this route, then I'll understand. We can keep trying on our own. And even if we don't succeed in a year, we can figure out what to do then, but know that I won't leave your side no matter what.”
Zelda stared at the small vial. She had to fight the urge to smash it into the ground. This was something she needed to think about. Being rash wasn't going to be the best thing. “I'll think about it,” she said softly. She placed the vial in her pouch and gave Alistair a small smile. “But right now I should speak with Arawin. Unless you have something else to say.”
“No, I'm done for now.” Alistair half smiled back and kissed her gently on the lips. “Go ahead, love.”
Zelda then took her Grey Warden pendent in hand and sat down. She gripped it tightly in her hand and closed her eyes. Immediately she could feel Arawin and her pain. Both emotionally and physically.
***
“So, what's the plan?” Anders asked when both Zelda and Alistair emerged from the building they were in.
“We need to go back to Vigil's Keep as soon as possible,” Zelda said. She took in a deep breath and wiped away the tears that had been falling from her eyes.
“Zelda, what happened?” said Nathaniel. They all looked concerned.
“Much death,” Zelda muttered. “The Vigil has been saved. Lisha and Sigrun made it just in time to prepare the keep's defenses against the darkspawn, but... we still lost some good men. Varel, for one.”
“No, not Varel,” Anders said saddened. “I liked him.”
“He died defending Lisha, but...”
“That's not all, is it?” Nathaniel peered at Zelda, trying to see what else there might be.
Zelda nodded. “That sadness I felt from Arawin before we went after the darkspawn... That happened right as Dayno departed.”
There was silence from all of them, surprised and hurt from the news. A fellow Warden had fallen.

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening
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Blood Song