"I will lead the squires to the palace gates and see for myself what is occurring within," Daryan said, her lip curling up in a sneer. "And if nothing is amiss, if it is all a prank or overactive imagination from you, Squire Gavin..." The woman leaned close to him, practically spraying her saliva on him, "You will be dismissed from my service and all services of the knights of Ferelden. You will be poison to the order itself. Understood?"
She thought he'd back down. He had so many other times, buckled when just an ounce of pressure to his Knight or his fellow squires was put on. But this wasn't about him or his future. Sod the entire order. He was not letting Myra die.
"Yes," Gavin nodded his head fast and fell into line beside the others.
Snickering, Ser Daryan threw her arms open wide and slid back, "All right, then. Squires. Are you all armed?"
Hands patted into sides, most finding a sword here or there but only one shield existed amongst them. Groaning, Daryan rolled her eyes, "We stop by an armory first, then it's to the palace." Her orders faded as she turned to Cullen standing stock still and slightly away from it all. "Is that all right with you, Commander?"
"It's your lead, Ser Knight," he extended a hand but Gavin could see a vein rising on his forehead. His dad was not happy with whatever Daryan was doing.
She snickered at his folding and whipped her head towards the door. "So it is. Squires...march!"
By the time they were armed and arriving back at the palace, a horde of strangers stood around the palace gates. Gavin was about to run up to try and extract his mother, when he caught the vision of Myra's mom in the middle. She wore her signature yellow coat and hat, with a sword gripped tight in her fingers. Beside her stood the other elf Myra mentioned often, Lunet. Or so Gavin guessed. Judging by how she was spitting at the gate and thumbing her chin at the people on the other side he was probably right.
In the interim, the soldiers grew from a few standing in the background to a good two dozen leaning right up next to the gates. They kept their weapons sheathed, but every one glared at the people assembled, most focusing on the qunari woman who towered above them all. She was carrying what looked like a leg yanked off an old eight foot tall statue, the massive pile of stone hefted over her shoulders.
And in the middle of it all, as if she was the eye of the storm, stood his mother. A tiny woman, with skin parched from age and a body twisted by a hard life, she looked as imposing as a baby kitten. Her hand kept a tight grip to her cane bearing a red crystal at the top, which the moonlight kept striking strange shadows off of. When the light reached longingly into the gate, the various mercs would shift to avoid it almost subconsciously.
"Where is she?" Reiss hissed, her eyes never wavering from inside the gate.
His mother reached over and gripped onto Reiss' hand. "She's strong and clever," Lana said assuringly her eyes never wavering.
"She's a smart ass, no doubt. But Maker's sake if she..."
"She'll come, Reiss," his mother's voice grew to a boom as certain as the Maker's words carved into a mountain.
Beside him, Gavin felt Ser Daryan getting a good look at the situation. Anyone who spent more than a few days in Denerim knew how strange the closed gate was. The hundred eyes glaring below alien helmets certainly cinched up that he was right. For a breath her sight darted to him and a grumble rose up her drunken throat, but she shook it away.
Turning to her people, she shouted, "Form up! We're gonna make ourselves a shield wall with you in the middle," Daryan jabbed at one of the girls. "Calenhad, take the left outside. Lambert fill in the gap. And you..." She turned to Gavin himself who blinked and tried to stop wringing apart the strap on his borrowed shield. "You have the right."
"Ah..." He shouldn't argue, at least she was giving him something to do, but his mother would be left exposed. Someone needed to be there to block her in case of attacks.
"Don't worry, son," his dad squeezed into his shoulder a moment and he whispered, "I'll stand by her side." Gavin watched as the Commander barely deigned a glance at the Knight before he unsheathed his sword and stood at the front of the gate right beside his wife.
Lana tipped her head up to him and a smile lifted her lips before she focused fully upon the gate. Come on, Myra. It's all up to you now.
Certain that his mother was protected, and having to trust his father to keep her safe, Gavin fell into lock step beside one of the female squires. Maker, he really should learn more of their names. Her eyes darted over to him for a second, their shields butting against each other in preparation of building a wall to stop any incoming attacks.
"Hi, I'm Embry," she said.
"Gavin."
"Yeah," her cheeks lit up a moment at the simple words, "we all know who you are." Right. Great. People knew him, or thought they did. No way that would come back to haunt him. He tried to focus on the parapets, hunting for archers who might try to pick people off early, but Embry wasn't finished.
"Any idea what's going on?"
"No. I wish I did."
"Kay," she nodded her head and banged the pommel of her sword against Gavin's. "Well, here's hoping we survive it."
"Agreed."
The squires plus knight formed up right behind his mother, father, and Reiss. The three of them kept an eternal stare ahead, daring any of the mercs to move -- while Reiss' people slotted into the gaps behind the squires. Whatever they could do, or seemed to know how to do, it was rather obvious none of them would ever listen to a Knight for orders. All of their eyes were on their boss, the qunari whipping her stolen leg back and forth as it cracked the night air.
Come on, Myra. Gavin began to slide back and forth in his boots, his eyes straining in the weak light. Why was this taking so long? He thought it'd be tight, the army barely arriving in time to swoop in, but nothing was happening save even more of the mercs appearing at the edges. They seemed to be massing to take on the force standing quietly outside the door.
What if they found her?
What if they killed her?
He tried to shake it away, well aware how little that thought would help, but the worry wouldn't vanish. It burrowed into the back of his neck and straight to the spine, a red hot fear that Myra might already be dead and he wasn't there to save her. Just like Snowy.
"Something's happening," Lana said, her back lifting straight up.
"My..." Reiss reached towards the gate and grabbed on as if she could rattle it open but it remained locked tight.
Screwing up his eyes, Gavin could make out that the mercs were shifting. Nearly half of the company was running towards the palace doors. And all of them were well armed.
"Ah shit, Myra. What did I tell you about not being seen?" Reiss snarled while twisting her arm around.
Night air whipped around them, the smell of burning logs overlaid by a rising scent of armor oil. It tinged the sky like a silver dagger to the heart. Gavin swallowed hard, trying to not focus on anything so pointless. Tiny details wouldn't serve him well in the ensuing battle. He had to fight, and fight hard. Nothing else would do.
He caught his mother whip her head up in anticipation, when the sound of glass shattering into a million pieces erupted above them all. Barely any moonlight caught the raining window, but a glint of it landed upon something flying from the broken pane. Myra? Could she fly?
Whatever it was, it was falling fast but also seemed to be gliding towards them.
"Form up!" Daryan ordered, every single shield slotting into place. Gavin could no longer see what was happening, but he heard every breath held in lungs, every eye straining for the gates to part.
Come on, Myra.
When the first chain jerked, he assumed it a trick of the light. His mind was too scattershot from fear and leapt to hopeful conclusions. But when it kept sliding across the top, Gavin peered over the side of his protective shield. The gate was opening.
Yes!
It was only a foot wide, but it kept growing with every breath. And those foolish mercs didn't seem t
o know what was going on. They were so startled by the change, they were all twisting around in surprise instead of attacking outright.
His mother lifted up a hand as if she was carrying a serving tray over her head. One of the mercenaries glared at her impudence and jabbed his hand through the air. Two archers slid into place, both aiming to take her down, when a great blue barrier erupted from her body. It didn't just cover her, or the few people behind, but encompassed nearly the entire army and into the yard. The magic hissed in the night air, glowing stronger than the fireflies of his youth.
"Go," Lana hissed. Two arrows struck into her barrier, left hanging in the air and hitting nothing important. She chuckled a bit and twisted up her cane. Ice shattered from the ends, splitting open the armor casing of one merc, his body flung back from the icicle embedded in his heart.
Moving like an ooze, the shield wall shifted around his mother. Everyone marched towards the mercenaries who were unsheathing their weapons and prepared to unleash hell. He was ready, he could do this with his fellow squires.
"Gavin!" his mother cried, whipping her head back to him. "Find Myra. Now!"
"But..."
"I'll clear a path for you. Go behind the ice," she would brook no lip from him, easily overriding whatever Daryan would say.
Breaking from the shield wall which mattered little with his mother's barrier in place, he jogged up beside her and stared into the rising tide of death. "Ready?" she looked quickly at him and he nodded. Next to him, his father raised his blade and steadied himself for what was to come. It'd wash over them all while Gavin...
No, focus on your job. Forming the exact same pose as his dad, when the ice wall erupted off his mother's fingers and began to plow the mercs backwards, Gavin broke into a run. Cold snapped against his face, nearly freezing his nose shut while he trailed right behind it.
He whipped his head back and forth, trying to discern where Myra could be. The left looked desolate, but that might hold a secret latch to open the gate if she was careful to hide...
Fire erupted into the sky, nearly painting a "Myra is here" on the right. Smiling to himself, Gavin spun on his heels and chased after the orange and red flames. Five men surrounded her, the girl swinging her staff hard enough into one's leg the serpent head exploded. Magic spurted from the end, gushing free like blood. The one she was attacking leapt back in terror, right into Gavin's blade.
When the man gulped in surprise and death, all the others turned to find the newest player on the field. "Yeah!" Myra shouted, still swinging her staff's head around madly. "You want some too?"
"Myra..." he gasped, wanting to run forward and make certain she was whole. Blood stained her cheeks and arms, which could be someone else's just as easily as hers. There was a wildness in her eyes as if she'd been fighting tooth and nail the whole night.
"Get the mage," one of the mercs shouted, and moved to rush at Myra. Laying his arm out without a thought, Gavin sliced his sword right into the man's neck. There was no chainmail in the way, barely even anything on the neck. A quick, clean cut that sent the body toppling to the ground.
"Perhaps you should try me first," Gavin snarled. He parried one blow fast, the man sent reeling, which Myra answered with a fireball to his face. That was enough to cause the man to disarm, his hands beating at the magic flames when Gavin slashed wildly against the gaps in the chest armor.
Two remained where once there were five. The last ones looked at each other, then the fighters picking them off, turned and ran for it. Gavin moved to give chase, when Myra's fingers landed on his collar. She barely gave a tug, but it was enough to stop him dead in his tracks.
"You..." he turned, staring at her big green eyes that burned in this blood soaked hell. Fires danced in the grass, no doubt left from Myra's little explosions, making all the shadows twitch nervously. Hopping on her toes, she wrapped her arms around him and tugged Gavin to her for a hug.
The sword in his hand began to tremble as he tipped his head towards her cheek stained in blood. "You're hurt," Gavin whispered, uncertain what to say.
A laugh rose in her throat and she stumbled out of the sudden embrace. "Yeah," Myra drew a soothing hand over her cheek, dousing her blonde hair in blood, then down towards her back...uh, area. "Plan didn't quite go how I meant but..." Her eyes turned from the ground littered with the dead to focus on something Gavin failed to spot the first time.
Three arrows hung in the air, impaled upon his mother's barrier. He didn't need to be an expert at trajectory to know where they'd been heading. If they'd been one second late...
"Archers!" Reiss' voice broke above the battle. Was she pointing them out or calling for them? Gavin whipped his head back towards the action, which in this darkness looked more like giant armored beetles smashing into each other.
Suddenly, light flared in the windows, each dance of the fade highlighting where an archer stood. The magic threw them off so bad they spun in place to escape, but it was enough for Reiss' people and the squires to fire at them, eliminating any high ground the mercenaries might have had.
Swallowing down the fear thrumming in his heart, Gavin raised his sword, "I have to return to the battle."
"You do that," Myra said, bouncing up on her shoes. She hauled up the broken staff spurting out more sparks and got a few steps.
"Where are you going?"
"Gotta save my Dad. You...you protect my Mom." He should argue with her, but Myra was already hauling ass behind the enemy lines. The mercs were so busy fighting off the sudden army at their doorstep no one noticed a single girl slip into the castle proper. Maker's breath. Should he have gone with her or...?
Like snapping your fingers, the blue light of the barrier burst leaving both sides in only the darkness of the moon. Gavin spun on his heels, his heart rising into his throat. Did they get his mother? His father? He barely knew what he was hacking into, no grace, no style. Just blade meeting with whatever dared step in his way while he worked towards his parents.
Coppery iron sliced through the air, the scent of blood filling his mouth, his lungs, his very being as bodies split in half and crumbled to the dirt. At the back stood Ser Daryan, her white blond hair silvery by the moon as she swung against a man with a plume in his helmet. Both were taking shots, while the squire wall worked its way to chip at the mercs. Dancing in between the legs of the men and women Gavin served with, were two dwarves. Both were armed with small daggers and they'd leap out to stab right into the groin area of whoever was about to take down a squire.
Highly unorthodox, and probably considered ungentlemanly, but it was working. The mercs were retreating, nearly twenty percent fleeing at the fear of losing their genitals to two crazed dwarves.
Where were his parents?
Ice sheered apart the dark sky, its white-blue shards pelting the air from behind the backs of five mercs. Whoever it struck, and it had to strike hard, they didn't fall down enough to create a hole. His mother was surrounded.
No.
Gripping tight to the shield, Gavin brought it up just as one of the men advancing to kill his mother turned. He swung the shield point fast, banging it not into the man's blade but his chin. That sent the merc flying backwards, leaving just enough room for his sword to stick into meat. Blood spurted free, dripping into the nationless armor as the man tumbled to his knees. Gavin stepped past, not even glancing down once.
His heart thundered in his chest. If he got his parents killed tonight how could he live with himself?
The mercs were forming up, making a tighter and tighter circle around his mother. Gavin staggered up higher on his heels to see that she wasn't alone. His dad had locked into her back, the shield flying to block any blows that might strike her. But they were outnumbered and surrounded. There was no hope, not unless he got inside.
Snarling, Gavin kicked hard into the backs of two merc's knees. Both stumbled down, giving him the opportunity to shove his blade in through their collar bones. One struck deep into the chest, the man falli
ng dead in an instant. The other missed the heart, blood spurting from the cut, but that merc was left gasping in pain on the ground.
His mother looked up, a sneer on her face that could only be matched by his father, when she spotted him. "Is Myra okay?" were the first words she said. It was so foolish he wanted to laugh. No concern for herself or her family, just the one she sent on a dangerous mission.
Gavin nodded his head while spinning to form a third point of contention in the circle. "Yes, mother. Myra's..." probably off getting into new trouble, but at least he'd saved her once.
"Got it," Lana laughed. She laughed, as if...as if she was enjoying this. "Sweetie," her voice rose a bit as she lifted both of her hands. Gavin whipped his head over his shoulder to spot the unyielding chaos of winter sparking in the palm of her hands.
"Would you mind, ducking?" his mother asked. Gavin's eyes darted to his father who reached over and tugged his son's shoulder. Together they took a knee just as the Hero of Ferelden unleashed a spell that bit through every single soldier surrounding them. A full 360 degrees of ice colder than the top of a mountain or the bottom of a frozen lake chewed apart the men, leaving them as brittle as a dead twig.
When the spell erupted off her fingers, his mother sagged, nearly dropping to the ground. But Cullen rose up fast and slipped one arm around his wife to keep her steady, while the other began to bash into the frozen men. Their bodies shattered like bloody glass, no one left alive.
They did it on purpose. They made themselves a target so his mother could draw them in and then...
Lana lifted her head, her face crumpled from exhaustion while she clung to safety in her husband's arm. Reaching over, her fingers landed upon her son, "Go. Go after Myra."
"Mom," he bit into his lip, aware of the mercs still remaining. His mother was nearly dropping dead, her body well beyond spent from the fight. "I can't leave you."
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