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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.

Chapter List
- 48
- 49
- 50
Chapter 48
Saving the Queen
Bridget felt completely out of place without Alistair by her side. In fact, she thought the others missed him too, well except for Morrigan of course. Without Alistair to tease, Zevran and Oghren hardly said anything as they made their way through the crowded streets of Denerim, trying to get to Howe's new estate. Bridget stayed quiet as well. She couldn't help but wonder what Eamon wanted to talk to Alistair about…but had a pretty good feeling that it was something to do with being king. Bridget just hoped that he wouldn't listen to what Eamon had to say…if Alistair didn't want to be king, then Eamon should respect his decision and find someone else to place the burden on. She sighed and looked up into the cloudy sky, blinking away the snowflakes that fell into her eyes. The snow crunched beneath their feet as they progressed through the busy streets. After swerving through crowds of people, and Morrigan threatening to turn all of the shoppers into toads so that they could reach their destination a little more easily, Bridget decided to travel down back alleys instead of the main way.
This of course would prove to be a very bad idea.
As she led the others down another back alley, Bridget noted that things seemed to be a little quiet. This quiet however, was not a welcomed one. It made her feel a little uneasy. She pulled out her map of the capital of Fereldan and stepped to the side to scan over it. Howe's estate was towards the far east of Denerim and according to the map another market was directly in front of it. If that was so, why hadn't she heard the merchants persuading the morning shoppers to buy their wares? Bridget squinted her eyes and scanned the map a little more closely. She honestly hoped she hadn't gotten them all lost, time was of the essence. Every minute that slipped by was another where Anora could be potentially harmed. Bridget sighed heavily.
"I think we took a wrong turn." She said sadly.
Morrigan through her arms up in frustration.
"Well isn't this brilliant! Now we have to stay in the freezing weather even longer. How wonderful."
Bridget looked at her.
"You're the one that wanted to come." She retorted.
Morrigan crossed her arms.
"Yes, but I had full faith in you that you could get us to our destination before sundown!" she exclaimed.
Oghren rolled his eyes and reached up to grab the map from Bridget's hands.
"Don't get your knickers in a knot." He grumbled as he looked over the map.
They all stood quiet a moment as Oghren read. He furrowed his brow.
"How the hell are you supposed to read this thing? Looks like a bunch of lines all going in different directions if you ask me!"
Zevran cleared his throat and lifted the map from Oghren's stubby hands. He turned it the right way and returned it to him.
"Looking at it when it is not upside down might help, my friend."
Bridget tried not to smile as Oghren mumbled something under his breath. A few moments later he sighed in exasperation and shoved the map towards Zevran.
"I still can't read the sodding thing!"
Zevran blinked some snow out of his eyes and scanned over the document quickly.
"If we go straight through like we were planning, we just make a left to get back on the correct course to this Arl's mansion." He said as he led them forward.
As soon as they entered the rather large clearing, an iron gate fell behind them, sealing them off from the rest of the alley. Morrigan rolled her eyes.
"And now the rogue in the party, the one who is supposed to look out for this sort of stuff has landed us in a trap! Bridget can't lead and the rogue triggers a trap. Is today 'let's be complete opposite of what we normally do well just to annoy Morrigan day'? Because it certainly feels like it is." The mage raged.
Bridget sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Why would there be traps in back alleys?" she asked slowly.
"Because there is a rogue Antivan Crow running about that needs to be dealt with." A voice replied.
Bridget and the others turned to see a man emerge out of the shadows with two long daggers strapped to his back. His skin was dark like Zevran's and his black hair gleamed in the sunlight. A few more rogues appeared as well, emerging from their hiding places, readying themselves to attack. Bridget opened her mouth to reply, but Zevran stepped in front of her.
"Taliesin? What are you doing here?"
Bridget furrowed her brow. She knew that name sounded familiar…oh yes, Taliesin was another Antivan Crow.
Perfect.
Taliesin raised his eyebrows.
"Why do you think I'm here, Zevran? You leave a very easy trail. We taught you better than that."
Zevran narrowed his eyes.
"So…you have come to kill me then?"
Taliesin began to slowly descend the steps that were in front of him.
"That is our policy isn't it? However, you and I were pretty close and you are such a skilled fighter…"
Zevran raised his eyebrows.
"So?"
Taliesin crossed his arms.
"I'm willing to overlook your failure to kill your target and offer you a position back with the Crows…as long as you kill her now."
Bridget looked over at Zevran but before she could say anything, Morrigan hissed,
"If you so much as think of betraying us I will freeze off your dangly bits and step on them, elf."
Zevran blanched a bit and turned back to Taliesin. His answer was already quite simple before, but now after Morrigan's threat it was doubly simple.
"Let's see…join back with a group of rogues that made me who I am or risk losing my dangly bits. I happen to like my dangly bits, so I am sorry to say that we have no deal, Taliesin."
Bridget noticed the immediate flicker of anger to cross Taliesin's face. He quickly withdrew his daggers from behind his back. Zevran did the same, twirling them and raising an eyebrow.
"Come and get me." He shouted.
Bridget withdrew her blade and shield and jumped into action, taking on one of the other rogues. She decided to let Zevran deal with Taliesin himself, knowing that he would want to. Morrigan kept her distance and conjured a few fire balls to toss at some of the rogues that were on the rooftops, aiming their arrows at the rest of the party. Oghren went into a full rage and took on two at a time, swinging his axe this way and that. Bridget ducked as a dagger flew past her, lightly grazing the armor of her shoulder. It was ineffective, however and fell to the ground at her feet.
Morrigan signaled to her friends a moment later to move out of the way as she summoned a blizzard, freezing the remaining opponents in range. She then took to shattering each frozen rogue with a wave of her staff. When she reached Taliesin, however, Zevran held up his hand. He looked over his shoulder at her and Bridget and asked,
"Leave this one for me?"
Morrigan shrugged as Oghren came back into view. As soon as he saw Taliesin's frozen form, he rushed forward, brandishing his axe. Before anyone could stop him he slammed into Taliesin, knocking him to the snow and gutting him on the spot. Zevran, (who had jumped out of the way to avoid Oghren's axe), jaw dropped.
"Ah! Oghren, he was mine!" he exclaimed.
Oghren pulled his axe out of Taliesin's body and turned to look up at him. He shrugged.
"You were taking too long." He then trudged off to the side.
Bridget and Morrigan looked at each other before walking towards Oghren and Zevran.
"Well…that's it then. The Crows won't come after you anymore, right?" Bridget asked.
Zevran shook his head and grinned.
"No, they will still hunt me, but it may take them a while to find me again! Come now; let's get about to saving the queen!"
Now that they were back on the correct course, Bridget led the others to Howe's estate in no time at all, only to find an angry mob awaiting outside, shouting up at the guards who were keeping an eye on the draw bridge. Bridget spotted Erlina signaling to them from her hiding spot in the nearby shrubbery and quietly led her friends over to her.
"I did not think you were coming, what took you so long?" the elf asked frantically.
Zevran cleared his throat.
"That was my fault, but we are here now no less." He replied.
Erlina looked up at Bridget, fear swimming in her eyes.
"We do not have much time. I will lead you to the kitchen entrance down this path here. Outside the door you will see a cart. I have placed some armor for each of you within the cart so that you may blend in with the other guards…though your friend here may be a bit out of sorts…" she noted as her eyes shifted to Morrigan.
Morrigan rolled her eyes.
"I will endure wearing the plate mail for Bridget's sake, I suppose." She stated.
Erlina cleared her throat.
"Alright, follow me. We must be quick…and keep an eye out for patrolmen at the top of the walls. The Arl is very tight on his security."
Bridget snorted.
"I'll bet he is." She replied.
Bridget followed Erlina through the side path, moving branches out of her way when needed. After a few minutes of progressing through the thick bramble, they arrived at a clearing. Erlina was about to walk out in the open before Bridget pulled her back down.
The elf looked startled.
"What are you doing?"
Bridget raised her eyebrows.
"You can't just walk out without looking around first, you could walk straight into a guard!" she whispered.
Erlina nodded.
"Yes, yes of course."
She then peeked around the corner of the wall and sighed.
"There are two guards posted at the entrance to the kitchens…I will distract them. Make your way over to the door, there is a cart on the other side of the wall there so you may change. Milady is not far from the Arl's personal quarters. They are on the ground floor. I will try to meet you at Milady's door."
"Wait, wait what about our armor that we are currently wearing? What will happen to it?" Zevran asked.
"Place it within the cart, I have another friend on the inside that will take it to Arl Eamon's estate."
With that, Erlina ran out from behind the half wall. Bridget heard her explain to the guards that she thought she saw a Darkspawn. They reluctantly hurried towards the gardens where she pointed. Bridget peeked over the wall. She motioned for the others to follow her as they quickly made their way to the cart. Bridget removed the tarp that was covering the cart and began to remove her armor and place it in the cart. Oghren picked up Bridget's shield and rubbed some dirt on it before handing it back to her. She looked at him curiously.
"You don't want your family crest showing off in there, at least not until we run into the nug humper that killed all your family." He stated.
Bridget nodded.
"You're right, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you, Oghren."
He slapped her on the back of the leg.
"Don't go gettin' soft on me now, we got a queen to save and some people to kill!"
Bridget chuckled and placed the helmet on her head. Once they were all dressed, they entered the kitchen. Cooks and helpers were bustling about, trying to get supper ready for all of the guards. Bridget and the others casually walked through. Luckily, none of the cooks seemed to even notice them. Bridget sighed as they stepped into the dining hall that was filled with guards. Her stomach had twisted itself into a knot. She took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing that she had to be completely intact once she met Howe again. The group kept their heads low and didn't talk to anyone as they progressed through the halls of the Arl's estate. Bridget raised her eyebrows at some of the décor that was hung on the walls. Howe wasted no time at all in having fancy portraits of himself and his family hung throughout the castle. Seeing his face every time Bridget rounded the corner made her want to find Anora that much faster.
Thankfully Bridget was at an advantage. As a child, she and her family frequented the Arl of Denerim's estate all the time, and she would always run off and play with the Arl's children. One of their favorite games was hide-and-seek, so she knew the layout of the mansion quite well. Upon turning the corner, Morrigan lifted her head and whispered,
"I sense containment spell somewhere near here."
Bridget nodded and continued down the hallway. Morrigan discreetly ran her hand against the stone.
"Yes, we are getting close…this door up here, I believe."
Bridget nodded and looked around before slipping into the nearby passage, her friends followed her. At the end of the hall, Erlina stood nearby a door that was clearly enchanted. It gave off a silvery glow.
As Bridget came closer, Erlina turned and hurried towards them.
"Thank the Maker you are safe, Milady is behind this door here."
Bridget hurried towards the door. Erlina advised her not to touch it before calling out to Anora.
"Milady, the Grey Warden is here, she will help you."
Bridget saw Anora's shadow beneath the door.
"Thank you, Grey Warden…but as you can see I am confined by magic now, as well as with a key."
Morrigan stepped forward to examine the wall more closely. After a moment, she shook her head.
"I cannot do anything about this…we will have to kill the mage that cast this spell for they used blood magic to make it happen."
Bridget sighed. She was going to reply before Anora said,
"The mage…he left with Howe, they are in the dungeons where the true Arl of Denerim is being held captive, or I should say his son. If you can kill the mage and free me, I will be forever in your debt, Grey Warden."
Bridget narrowed her eyes.
"The mage won't be the only one we're going to kill…" she said under her breath.
Erlina directed them to the left where Howe's room was located. From there, a staircase led them to the entrance to the dungeons. Upon entering the room, Morrigan stated she had to get out of the bulky armor if she were to fight, as she had left her robes on beneath it. As she was doing that, Zevran picked a nearby chest and was rummaging through it's contents. Bridget stood off in the corner staring out the window and chewing on her bottom lip. She was actually afraid…afraid of what would happen when she faced Howe. She wished with all her might that Alistair was here. She let her thoughts consume her for a minute before she turned around to face Zevran who had been tapping on her shoulder.
"I found these papers in that chest over there, they look rather official." He stated.
Bridget furrowed her brow as she took the documents from Zevran. She scanned over them quickly before raising her eyebrows.
"These are Grey Warden documents…how on earth did Howe manage to get a hold of these?"
Zevran shrugged. Bridget quickly placed them in her pack and looked over her shoulder. Morrigan was now ready to go so they opened the nearby door and descended the stairs that led into the dungeons. Upon entering, Bridget held out her arm to stop the others as she saw a guard patrolling the short hall. She jumped suddenly when she saw an arm reach out of nowhere and pull the guard out of sight. Bridget heard the distinctive sound of bone breaking, before seeing the guard fall to the ground. He was then dragged off out of sight. Bridget swallowed and looked at the others nervously. She slowly descended the rest of the steps and rounded the corner, only to be face to face with a man who looked as if he hadn't had a decent meal in quite some time. Dark hair covered his head. He sported quite a bit of scruffle, and his eyes were tired and worn. One even looked as if it were healing from being swelled not long ago.
"I can tell you're not one of these buffoons by the presence of that mage…who are you?" the man asked.
Bridget looked at the man and replied,
"My name is Bridget Cousland, I'm a Grey Warden."
The man's eyes lit up.
"You, I remember Duncan mentioning you…I am sorry about your family. My name is Riordan…Senior Grey Warden."
Bridget nodded before remembering the documents. She pulled them out of her pack quickly.
"Are these yours? We found them in a chest upstairs."
Riordan nodded and took them from her.
"Yes…I thank you for retrieving them. Most of them are just filled with names of the dead, those that we recognized at Ostagar…but some of these also contain secret Grey Warden rituals, such as the Joining. Thank you for returning them."
Bridget nodded again.
"No need. My fellow Grey Warden Alistair and I are staying at Arl Eamon's estate here in Denerim. If you would like to go there, I am sure he will let you stay."
Riordan smiled.
"I shall, thank you. Now I will find a way to get out of here. I hope we cross paths again."
With that, Riordan hurried away. Bridget looked at the others before descending the nearby staircase towards the deeper part of the dungeons. They were immediately ambushed by several of Howe's guards, their cover being blown now by Morrigan in her mage robes…also by hearing all the commotion that occurred when Riordan dispatched that other guard back upstairs. They were dealt with quickly, adrenaline filling Bridget's body as she led the rest of her party down the twisting hallways, Zevran disarming traps along the way. At long last they stood outside a door. After Morrigan stated she sensed the mage within, Bridget took a deep breath and placed her hand on the knob. She turned it and barged in.
There he was, sitting at a table with his back towards the door and playing cards of all things. Some of the other men in the room had stood quickly, already drawing their swords, but Howe waved them down.
"Don't bother…I have been waiting for this one." He stated.
Bridget clenched her fists and tore off her helmet. She threw it to the ground. It crashed against the stone floor and rolled to the side.
"Face me, you coward." She spat.
She watched as Howe slowly placed his cards on the wooden table and stood. He turned and raised an eye brow, but remained near the table.
"Well, well, if it isn't Bryce's youngest. And here I thought you too had perished along with your family…ah but I should have known you would have survived…after all, Bryce did train you himself. He trained the bitch well, didn't he men?"
Bridget clenched her jaw, but remained quiet. Howe stepped a bit closer, towards the middle of the room. The torchers that hung on the four pillars around the room illuminated his face in an eerie glow.
"I am surprised it has taken you this long to seek me out. I thought for sure the moment you came to you would set out after me."
Bridget withdrew her sword and shield and stood at the ready.
"Enough talk. Fight me."
Howe crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Dear child, is this really the way you want to exact your revenge, by killing me?"
Bridget narrowed her eyes.
"You have taken everything from me, my family, my life essentially. It is now time that I took something from you."
Howe chuckled.
"Bridget dear, if you want to take something from me, why not do as I did and kill my family? That will cause me more pain than anything you do here will."
Bridget shook her head.
"No. I will not kill innocent people just to cause you pain. I will not become you. I know that you value your own life above anything else, so if I take that away, you will have nothing. You can go to hell and rot in your sins."
Howe narrowed his eyes and withdrew his daggers. He began to slowly move towards the left, as Bridget moved towards the right. They began to walk in a circle, their eyes never leaving the other's.
"Do you know what I did when I found your parents in that lowly larder? Do you know how they suffered in their final moments? I raped your mother in front of your father. In his weakened state, he could do nothing…and I had already knocked your mother around a bit, so she was in no fit state to defend herself."
Bridget gripped the handle of her family's sword tighter, so much so, her knuckles were turning white beneath her gloves.
Again one of Howe's men moved, but he shook his head.
"No, none of you are to enter this fight. This is between me and the one little Cousland who just wouldn't give up."
He then charged for her, swinging both daggers in opposite directions. Bridget raised her shield to deflect his attack, and also jumped back to avoid it.
"I also spit on your father as he died, after pissing on him of course."
Bridget slit her eyes and rammed her shield forward, knocking Howe back. He quickly regained his footing before Charging at her again, swinging his daggers so fast, they made a swoosh noise in the air. Bridget deflected and dodged, at the same time, searching for any openings so she could land a hit. She looked for too long though because Howe had pulled a smaller dagger from his side. Before Zevran could alert her, he had already slammed it into her shoulder, causing Bridget to cry out in pain and drop her sword.
"Yes, scream; scream like your mother did." Howe hissed.
Bridget was now pushed up against one of the pillars. Howe had moved to grab another dagger before Bridget punched him, hard in the face, causing him to stagger backwards. She winced as she pulled the short dagger from her shoulder. Her armor had deflected most of it, but half of the small blade had buried itself into her flesh. Her blood coated the wound as she felt the warm liquid run down her arm. Taking Howe's dagger in her hand, she flung herself onto the ground with him, thrusting it into his stomach as she did so. Howe shouted out in pain and signaled his men to join the skirmish, forgetting that Bridget was not here alone. Her friends jumped into action, keeping all of the other guards away from them both. Bridget threw Howe's daggers to the side and reached for her sword. The wound to his stomach did not harm him enough to where he could not move, however, so he pulled Bridget back towards him a moment later, punching her hard across her face. Bridget winced as she tasted blood in her mouth. Her lip was completely busted now, and she already felt a bruise forming on the side of her face. She kicked Howe off of her and grasped the hilt of her blade, when she turned back; Howe was trying to make his way towards his daggers. She ran towards him and slammed him into the nearby pillar. Howe coughed up blood as she did so. Bridget took her blade and aimed it at his chest.
"This is for my family, may the Maker cast you to hell to eternal damnation you piece of shit."
Bridget thrust her blade into Howe's chest. The wicked man gave out an earsplitting scream as the metal punctured his skin, tore through the bone, and final, skewered his heart.
"I…deserved better than this…I deserved…more…."
Bridget pulled her blade out of Howe's body and watched as he slumped to the floor. Tears brimmed her eyes, but they were not because of pain, and certainly not tears of regret. They were tears of happiness, for now that Howe was gone…Bridget knew that she, and the memory of her family could finally be at peace."
Bridget winced as she held her side. Apparently, Howe had managed to cut her there as well. She turned to the others to see that the rest of the men in the room were dead, including the mage. Morrigan was no healer, but she did know a bit of the magic and was able to heal Bridget's wounds to an extent. They would definitely not hold up for long though and required Wynne's attention immediately. Bridget led the others to the back holding cells where true enough, the heir to the Arldom of Denerim was being held. He promised his voice in the Landsmeet in exchange for his freedom, so Bridget released him (though she would have, voice or no).
Another man was also in the holding cells here, though delirium was beginning to take over him. Morrigan recognized it as Lyrium withdrawal. The man was a Templar who had been sent to capture Jowan before he poisoned the Arl. He gave an intricate ring to Bridget, asking her to find his sister and give it to her…but to keep his place a secret because he did not want her to see him on the verge of insanity. Bridget nodded and led the others back upstairs.
"Let's go get Anora and get out of here. I want to spend no more time in this place."
They quickly made their way to Anora's room, now imprisoning spell free. The Queen of Fereldan exited the room quickly, clad in armor like the guards to not draw attention. Morrigan transformed into a small animal so she would not give away their disguise. Zevran slipped her into his pack. Bridget led her friends through the twisting halls once more. She stepped into the room with the exit in clear view before a dozen or so men ran to block it. A woman with dark hair stepped forward. Bridget recognized her as Loghain's army leader, Ser Cauthrien."
"Stop, you will go no further, Warden. I charge you with the murder of Arl Rendon Howe and his men at arms."
Bridget rolled her eyes.
"He was holding your queen as a hostage! He also killed my entire family as well as the previous Arl of Denerim!"
Cauthrien's eyes widened.
"He has the queen?"
Anora threw her helmet off.
"Cauthrien, believe nothing that she says! She and her friends were trying to take me hostage!"
Bridget and her friends slowly turned towards Anora. Morrigan hopped out of Zevran's pack and transformed back into a human. Bridget gaped at Anora.
"Oh hell no, I did not just risk my entire life, as well as the lives of my friends to kill the man responsible for the death of my family to have you say I intend to 'kidnap' you. Bitch, you got another thing coming if you think to double cross me now!"
Cauthrien drew her blade, as did all the other guards in the room. With Bridget's injuries, she was no match for all of these men, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She did as best as she could, her friends did as well but they stood no chance. Cauthrien had Bridget knocked out before long. The other men carried her away at Cauthrien's orders to place her in Fort Drakon. They didn't even glance at the others that remained in the room, Anora being one of them and soon she and the rest of the party stood alone. Anora slowly turned around to find Morrigan, Zevran, and Oghren all giving her malicious glares.
"You've got some explaining to do, queen Anora. And you can do that all the way back to Arl Eamon's estate." Morrigan spat.
xXx
Alistair swallowed as he pondered Eamon's question. He was about to open his mouth to reply, before the door to the room flew open and Zevran and the others piled in, along with Anora. Alistair immediately stood and grinned, but that grin completely vanished within a second.
"Where's Bridget, where is she? Why isn't she with you?" he asked slowly.
Morrigan narrowed her eyes as she looked to Anora.
"Allow this pathetic coward to explain."
Eamon stood by Alistair's side, all of their argument from before vanished.
"What has happened, Anora?" he asked.
She wrung her hands together nervously under the scrutiny of all of the pairs of eyes that were boring into her in the room.
"The Warden has been captured and taken to Fort Drakon." She stated.
Alistair stepped back a bit and grabbed onto the back of the chair he had occupied before for support. Fort Drakon had a reputation…a very bad reputation. Zevran crossed his arms.
"I see you leave out the part where you betray us. It is of course, your fault that she is in there."
Anora hung her head. Alistair flared his nostrils and stood straight. He clenched his fists. All worry that had occupied his thoughts a moment ago had vanished. It was replaced with complete anger.
"We must go at once, Zevran will you,"
Zevran nodded.
"Of course I will accompany you, my friend."
He turned and walked out of the room. Alistair strapped his sword and shield onto his back and turned, his eyes falling on Anora.
"You make me sick. To betray Bridget, after everything that she has done for you…"
He let his sentence trail off as he hurried out after Zevran. He met up with his elven friend outside of Eamon's estate. Zevran was sharpening his daggers.
"Are you ready?" he asked as Alistair approached him.
Alistair nodded, too upset with the situation to respond.
"Let's go rescue our fair Warden, then." Zevran stated.
Alistair swallowed and said a silent prayer to the Maker to watch over Bridget. He just prayed that he and Zevran could get their quickly and find her…
Before it was too late.
A/N: Whew, sorry for the long chapter guys, I wanted to get all of this in one though since the next chapter is…well I can't say for spoilers. I hope you all enjoyed this one though, I worked really hard on it! Thanks again for reading! :)
P.S. If you get an email that this was uploaded twice, I had to fix a major grammar error that I spotted after I uploaded it of course. I apologize for the double notification. It's hard to catch all of these mistakes sometimes with my tired eyes!
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The Last of the Couslands