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The Last of the Couslands	By : MistressofMagic Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4401 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Bioware and EA own everything associated with the Dragon Age universe. I am making no money off of this fan fiction.

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Chapter 37
Proving Worthy
Upon entering the Proving, Bridget could already hear the screaming fans waiting to see the fights that were to take place. She looked around and noticed that some of the dwarves that she guessed were fighting in the arena were hanging around, waiting for their name to be called. Zeus wagged his tail playfully and bounced around, hoping to get the attention of some of the other competitors, but nobody paid him any mind. Bridget scratched his ears.
"Don't worry boy, once we're back on the surface, we'll play fetch!" she exclaimed.
He barked happily and set about to scratching himself behind his ear. Bridget stood and looked around. She noticed a man standing off in the distance wearing nobleman clothing and decided that he must be the Proving Master. She and the others approached him. He looked up at them.
"Ah you here to watch the fights, we've got some really good ones today! Just step through that door over there and find you a nice seat in the stands." He stated.
Bridget shook her head.
"Um, We're not here to watch, we're here to fight in lord Harrowmont's name." she stated.
The Proving Master raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Well…alright then. All of you can't enter though; you will have to fight these battles alone. Only when you are in a fight under certain circumstances can you bring in others." He replied.
Alistair's eyes widened.
"You mean Bridget will have to go alone?" he asked.
The dwarf nodded.
"I'm afraid so. She looks like she can handle herself though if you ask me…"
Bridget turned to Alistair and smiled.
"I'll be fine." She said.
Alistair sighed.
"I just don't want you to get hurt…what if those dwarves are really big?" he asked.
The Proving Master raised an eyebrow.
"Are you blind? We're all the same height!" he exclaimed.
Alistair placed a hand to his forehead and shook his head.
"No that's not what I meant, what I meant to say is,"
Alistair didn't get to finish his sentence as Bridget had placed her lips to his. She moved her mouth over his slowly and pulled away, raising her eyebrows.
"Surely you have more confidence in me than that."
Alistair honestly had forgotten where the conversation was going after her kiss, so he nodded and smiled.
"I do, you know that. Just…when you can call somebody else in, let it be me, okay?"
Bridget nodded.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Are you two quite done?"
They both turned to see the Proving Master tapping his foot impatiently. Bridget blushed slightly and giggled.
"Er, yes. Before we begin though…do you know where I may find Baizyl and Gwiddon? She asked.
The dwarf pointed to the left side of the large room.
"Baizyl's right over there, Gwiddon is somewhere through that doorway over there, saw him go through a while ago. When you're ready to begin, just come back and talk to me."
Bridget nodded.
"Thank you for all of your help." She replied with a smile.
She led the others off to the side and approached the man that the Proving Master identified as Baizyl. Bridget's smile faded as she laid her eyes on him. For some reason, Baizyl looked down right terrified, worry filled his deep brown eyes. It was no surprise that he was rather hostile when she tried to speak to him.
"Look I know why you're here, but I just cannot fight in the Proving." He said.
Bridget looked at him.
"I'm not here to try and bully you into something you don't want to do, Baizyl. I assume that Prince Bhelen had something to do with your dropping out of the competition?" she asked in a whisper.
Baizyl looked up at her and cast his eyes around the room before he nodded his head slowly.
"The blighted bastard had one of his lackeys blackmail me into dropping out…it's kind of complicated."
Bridget chuckled softly and crossed her arms.
"You wouldn't be the first person with a complicated problem I've met, trust me." She said.
Baizyl turned back to her and sighed.
"I guess I can trust you…alright, I was in love with this girl, a lesser cousin of Bhelen's, she had no direct line to the throne. Being that she is an Adeucan, however, she's expected to marry well…and she did but we ah…well…let's just say the marriage hasn't stopped us from seeing each other."
Zevran raised his eyebrows.
"Ooh, getting some on the side are we?"
Bridget elbowed him to be quiet.
"How are you being blackmailed?" she asked.
Baizyl dropped his voice even lower and replied,
"Bhelen does not yet know, but one of his lackeys, Myaja has our love letters, love letters that my love sent to me. If…if it is discovered that we…they will most likely either kill her or strip her of her caste…" he said in anguish.
Bridget placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Baizyl. I will help you." She whispered.
Baizyl looked up at her, and Bridget could see the ghost of tears held in his eyes.
"T-Thank you…I do not know what to say…"
Bridget shook her head.
"Don't worry about it for now, I'll be back shortly."
Baizyl thanked her once more and explained that the letters were most likely in Myaja's chest, hidden behind a locked door. Thankfully they had Zevran with them and he made quick work of the lock and easily slipped inside while Bridget, Alistair, and Zeus waited outside, making sure no one else would enter. Zevran returned moments later, discreetly slipping the folded letters into Bridget's hand. She tucked him away and quickly headed back towards Baizyl. Upon returning to him and handing him the letters, relief washed over his entire form. He sighed happily and stuffed the letters into his pocket.
"Thank you, Warden. I will gladly fight for lord Harrowmont…he chose very well."
Bridget smiled.
"I could not turn away a man in love." She replied softly.
Before Baizyl left, Bridget placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Actually…do you think you can help me convince Gwiddon to rejoin you in the battles?"
Baizyl nodded.
"After everything you've done for me, it would be an honor."
Gwiddon was a hard nut to crack. Apparently he had heard from a "reliable source" that Bhelen was the way to go. Thankfully for Bridget she was very persuasive and had brought Baizlyn to tag along. Soon enough he was convinced that Harrowmont was the right man to rule and decided to take up his arms once more. Eventually Bridget made her way back to the Proving Master and he signed her name on the roster.
"The fight will begin in a few minutes. You're friends can take seats in the stands, if they wish."
Zevran led Zeus towards the door leading out to the stands, but Alistair remained. Bridget looked up at him.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly.
He smiled at her and bent his forehead to hers.
"You know, you have the ability to make everyone around you fall in love with you." He stated.
Bridget smirked.
"Oh? I do, do I?" she asked.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
"Indeed, the way Baizyl looked at you after you helped him, I thought he was going to kiss you!"
She raised an eyebrow and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Would that have made you jealous?" she asked, a smile curving her plump lips.
Alistair kissed her softly again.
"So very jealous."
Bridget giggled as he kissed her once more before pulling away.
"Just be careful…okay?"
She nodded.
"I always am. Don't worry, Alistair. I'm going to win this thing and then you may ravish me in celebration afterwards, after all we'll finally have a bed again."
Alistair blushed.
"Well, it'll certainly be a welcomed change from the cold hard ground that we've been used to for a while."
Before Bridget could reply, Zevran appeared out of nowhere and dragged Alistair away.
"Come now lover boy, let the lady do her business so we can get out of here!" he exclaimed.
Bridget giggled as she watched Zevran drag Alistair back towards the stands. She followed the directions that the Proving Master gave her and descended the steps into the arena. Bridget's eyes widened as she stepped into the large area. Torches were lit on all sides, casting the arena's floor in a orange and red hue. She looked up high above her to see all the many denizens of Orzammar cheering in the stands, eager to watch this new opponent. Bridget watched as the Proving Mater stepped up on a large stone plate that overlooked the stands and the arena. Once everyone saw him, the cheering diminished, somewhat and everyone eagerly listened to what he had to say.
"People of Orzammar, today we witness two opposing forces, those for Bhelen and those for Harrowmont. Who will the Ancestors bestow their favor on?"
Bridget lifted her head high and stood straight as her first opponent walked out. The Proving Master introduced him.
"Fighting in honor of Prince Bhelen is Seweryn, a man who bested his own father at twelve years old. Against him for Lord Harrowmont is the Grey Warden! These fights will not be to the death. The first person who falls loses…begin!"
Luckily for Bridget, Seweryn was a warrior and apparently, warrior training for dwarves was no different than warrior training tactics studied on the surface. They circled each other for a moment before Seweryn swung his blade in a horizontal slash, which Bridget dodged by jumping backwards and landing swiftly on her feet. Seweryn narrowed his eyes.
"You should get out of here, Warden before you become on of Harrowmont's puppets. I can already see him above you, pulling the strings to your will." He spat.
Bridget cut her eyes at him, but made no comment back. She found it rather pointless to argue back and forth about who was the rightful king while they were trying to fight each other. He attacked again and his blade scraped up against Bridget's armor, but thankfully it didn't go through. His momentary stagger after that one small blow, however, was when Bridget saw an opening. She bashed him with her father's shield three times…and Seweryn fell over, knocked out cold. Several gasps were heard throughout the stalls before the crowd erupted in cheers and hoots. The Proving Master's voice bellowed out,
"The winner is the Grey Warden!"
Bridget blew some stray strands of her hair out of her face and smiled. She made her way back out of the arena and up the stairs once more, where Alistair greeted her with a strong hug.
"That was great! You did wonderful!"
The Proving Master shuffled into sight and said,
"Don't thank her yet, boy. She's still got five fights to go through!"
Bridget pulled out of Alistair's embrace and gaped at him.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
The dwarf looked up at her, an un-amused and bland look on his face.
"Does it look like I'm joking?"
Unfortunately for Bridget, the Proving Master was indeed, not joking. The battles that ensued seemed to get tougher each round. However in one of her battles she was allowed to bring in another fighter, so just as she promised, she chose Alistair. Together they fought off Lord Darvianak Volney and Olaniv, two generals for Bhelen. If Bridget had not had the option to bring in another fighter, she had a feeling that she may have lost that battle. Darvianak was relenting, slashing his battle axe in a mad fury. Bridget guessed he was a berserker. The battle was rather lengthy but eventually she and Alistair were named the champions. The very last battle was a full squad on squad. They would be going up against Bhelen's cousin, Piotin and his lackeys. At this point Bridget was getting tired, and rather angry that she had to fight all these people. Though she wasn't about to complain. This was how things were done in Orzammar, and she respected that. Zeus wasted no time in pouncing on one of Piotin's men, tearing at his armor and clawing at any skin that was visible. Zevran's swift movements allowed him to quickly evade attacks, and then surprise his opponent from behind. Alistair and Bridget once again went head first into their attacks, bashing their shields one minute and slicing their swords through the air the next. Finally, Piotin was the last to fall as Bridget put all her strength into that final bash with her shield. He fell at her feet, sending a cloud of dirt up in the air as he made contact with the ground. Bridget breathed heavily, completely exhausted and rather sore. She would need Wynne to heal an injury to her arm as one of Piotin's men had cut through her armor and her blood was now running down the length of her arm to her fingertips. The Proving Master declared Bridget and her party the victors and stated that the Ancestors had bestowed their favor on Harrowmont. She led the others tiredly out of the Proving and back towards the Commons.
"Should I go and get the others to meet us at Harrowmont's?" Zevran offered.
Bridget nodded as she stood on the bridge connecting the Proving to the Commons. Alistair pulled some bandages out of his pack and wrapped up her arm.
"At least that'll stop the bleeding for now." He said.
Bridget nodded.
"You know, it didn't hurt that much when it happened but it feels like it's on fire right now."
Alistair's eyes widened.
"You don't think they could've laced their weapons with poison…do you?"
Bridget looked up at him.
"Sounds like something Bhelen would have them do, the bastard." She hissed.
Alistair placed his bandages back in his pack.
"Let's go and find Dulin quickly then so we can get you back to Harrowmont's and in Wynne's care."
Bridget nodded and she and Alistair wrangled Zeus and headed towards Tapster's. Just like he said, Dulin was there and was having a celebratory cup of ale to commemorate Bridget's win in the Proving. After she explained her need to get back to the estate though, he became serious and led them out of the tavern. Before they left however, Bridget caught another dwarf with deep red hair and a bearded red mustache staring at her. He looked as if he wanted to ask her something, but instead he looked down into his mug and threw his head back, downing all his ale at once. Bridget shook her head and turned her attention back to Dulin. She was beginning to feel a little lightheaded, which wasn't a good sign.
The sooner they got back to Harrowmont's, the better.
A/N: Ugh this chapter was really tough to write. I'm not the biggest fan of Orzammar…if you can tell xD Anyways, next chapter Bridget finally meets with Harrowmont before he sends her on another long and tedious quest. I also may put some sexy times for her and Alistair, as I've realized (and been told) that I've been rather stingy with those scenes so hopefully I can squeeze one in. Until next time! ;)
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The Last of the Couslands