Dragon Age origins: What is now lost.

The Curse of Highever.

Part three.
It almost seemed as if Highever hadn't changed. Her streets were the same. The people were the same. Looking up at the castle was the same. I sighed before entering it's gates. Alistair grasped my hand.
"King Alistair! Queen Amber!" Fergus came over and threw his arms around me.
"Teryn Cousland." Alistair smiled. "We are so formal." Alistair and my brother shook hands.
"I am sure that you will want to rest now." Fergus stated. "I'll call you for dinner."
"By the way, Fergus. This is Thorn." I pointed to the sad young elf.
"Well met." He reached out his hand and she gave him a look.
"Likewise." She replied.
"Amber, I'm going to take one of my walks. Thank you for your hospitality, Fergus." Alistair kissed my cheek.
"Be safe, my love." I stated.
"You are welcome anytime, King Alistair." Fergus waved my husband off kindly.
"Have you tested your metal in a while?" I asked.
"Is that a challenge?" He responded with a smirk.
"I wouldn't judge you if you were too afraid to accept." I smirked back confidently.
"Oh, I would never refuse a challenge."
Fergus and I were never just siblings. We had always been best friends. We fought back to back since I was born. He was only four years older than me. We never really had secrets from one another.
His sword clashed against mine. It felt good to play those games again. I twisted and dodged and blocked. Sweat poured from my hair.
"I am glad to see that you haven't grown soft." He chided.
"Never. It's nice to know that you still have fun."
"Who would have imagined that you would be Queen of Fereldon, yet alone married." Fergus clamored his sword against mine.
"Titles are cute, but irrelevant on the grander scheme of things and is me being married that unbelievable?"
"You used to intimidate your suitors. Who was that one that you had that bet with? I believe the terms were that if he could beat you at a duel, then you would marry him. As I recall, he left crying and bloody. He never came back."
"I do not like guys, who cannot hold their own in battle. I also do not like arranged marriages. Why are we having this conversation?" I wiped the sweat from my brow and swung one of my swords at his sheild.
"Alistair is a great man. I am glad you married him. Are you getting tired?" He asked.
"You can withdraw, if you'd like. I can fight for a while longer."
"Suit yourself. I have been meaning to write to you. I've met a woman. Her name is Jessalyn. I met her a few weeks ago. I hope you don't think I'm rushing into things. Nobody could ever replace Oriana. I think of her and Orian every single day."
"I know, Fergus. I am so sorry. It was my fault they died. I should have." He cut me off.
"Amber, there is nothing you could have done. If you wouldn't have left, you would be dead too. The maker put you in the grey wardens for a reason. You slayed the Archdemon and brought peace to these lands. You never were good at accepting your best. In your mind, you feel that you always could have done better." He stops fighting. "Mom and Dad saw how great you could be. You always were destined for greatness. Your story isn't over. Your acts of heroism have only just begun." The tears fell from my face again.
"I used to be a brick wall, Fergus. Now I am an emotional mess." He pulled me into his embrace.
"You have to recall that you are only human, Amber. You are allowed to be sad."
"I guess."
"Lets go find Abyssal and raid the castle kitchen. Old past times die hard, you know." He winked at me.
I took my seat at supper next to Alistair. Thorn picked at her food. She sat on the floor next to the table. Fergus found it to be quite peculiar.
"Would you like a chair, Lady Thorn?" Thorn rubbed Abyssal's ears. Thorn tolerated me, but she got used to my dog rather quickly.
"No, thank you. Sh." She paused before finishing the word "Shem" . "I mean Teryn Cousland."
Before any more remarks were made, we were distracted by a rather well endowed young woman. She had long black hair and amethyst eyes. Her lips were thin and straight. She was very hard to read.
"Ah yes. This is Jessalyn. I was telling Amber about you, dear." It took me a moment to remember that he had mentioned her. "This is my sister, Queen Amber, my brother inlaw King Alistair, and Amber's companion Lady Thorn." A cold glare passed between Thorn and Jessalyn.
"It is so pleasant to meet all of you." Her voice put a shrill down my spine. She sat herself next to Fergus.
"Likewise." Alistair said. I eyed her up suspiciously.
As we went to bed, I sat with Alistair for a bit. I massaged his tense back. "Is Highever to your liking?"
"I like it very much. I am sorry that I left you for so long. I got lost in my thoughts. I wish Duncan could have seen our triumph."
"I wish that too. I know that he would be so proud of you. I am so proud of you. I love you." I hold his hand.
My dreams came again, but this time it's different. Before I could open the door that my parent's screams are behind. A voice calls out to me. It is a sweet as honey voice. "Wake up, Amber. These dreams are poison. Open your eyes." I jumped out of bed and walked without thinking.
I walked about four miles, before realizing how far I had gone. Someone came behind me and pulled back. I struggled and we both fell to the ground. Another hand reached for me and pulled me up.
"Amber! Calm yourself." Thorn's cat eyes glowed in the moon's light. I looked around. It was like my attacker vanished.
"How did you find me?" I asked.
"A voice in my dream told me to find you. I guess I'm not going completely crazy." Thorn said. She seemed just as shaken as I was.
"I heard a voice in my dream too."
"Are you coming already, Shem?" Thorn snapped to cover her fear.
I get up and went to breakfast. I didn't think twice about the fact that Alistair was already out of bed. He was always up, before me. Fergus seemed to be in a bad humor as he drank his tea.
"Good morning." I sat down.
"Good morning, Amber." He replied quietly.
Thorn was on the floor again. She seemed to be in the middle of a deep, antagonizing thought. That thought got broken by the small footsteps of Jessalyn.
"You all look tired to the bone. Surely you got some sleep last night." She almost seemed to sneer at us.
"Just a dream, love." Fergus replied.
"Has anyone seen Alistair?" I changed the subject.
"I thought he was still asleep." Fergus stated.
"I haven't seen him." Thorn reported.
"I think I should take a walk and look for him." I got up and Thorn followed.
The silence got heavy. Alistair was nowhere to be seen. I look at Thorn. Her lip bleeds from being chomped on hard. Abyssal pants playfully. He doesn't seem at all effected by the events of last night.
"Are you alright, Thorn?"
"I'm fine!" She snapped. Her faced softened, after a moment of aggression.
"Alright." I think of something to say. "I do not think these dreams are a coincidence."
"I doubt it. Even your brother had nightmares." I wondered if Alistair experienced the same things we did.
"I just wish my husband would show himself. I worry."
"I believe we are beyond having cause for worry." Suddenly, Thorn tenses up. Abyssal starts barking frantically. Jessalyn appears in the corner of my eye.
"She's been following us, since we left." Thorn explained. "She finally shows herself." I pulled Thorn into a blind spot.
"Do you know her? I couldn't help, but notice the look that passed between the two of you."
"She's no good." Thorn pushed passed me. "You have been warned, Amber." I caught up to her. So many new questions boiled in my mind.
"Your highness. I thought that you might need some help in the search."
"That is kind of you." I replied. I looked her over suspiciously.
"Yes. Might I pose a question?" I shrugged my shoulders.
"You may."
"I would like your permission to court your brother." She didn't actually ask a question.
"I do not see how you need my permission. He is a grown man. I would not wish to see him
hurt."
"Surely you asked for his permission, when you married your king." I wondered what game she was playing.
"No. I have never been good at asking permission."
"That is evident. You saw an opportunity for power and you pounced on it." She sneered. My blood boiled.
"Stand back, Demon!" Thorn pointed a mace at her.
"Your pet should learn to back off!" Jessalyn pushed Thorn back with an unimaginably strong force.
"Where is Alistair?" I demanded. Everyone around us stared in a silent fear.
"Oh I will show you." With a snap of her fingers, we were back in castle cousland. Everything was quiet.
Jessalyn smirked. "I could not have imagined this going as well as it has. I have the king and his hero-queen in the palm of my hand. Not to mention that I have the love of the new Teryn of Highever." Jessalyn reveals my brother chained to a chair.
"Let him go! Where is Alistair?" I argued. "I will tear you apart." I reach for my blade, but my limbs refuse to move.
"Oh yes! Do not make me laugh! You're just a girl with special blood and a mutt." She looked at Thorn, who also seemed to be stuck.
"Take a seat. Both of you!" We didn't have much of a choice. "Oh king Alistair will be joining us of course." She hissed. With a snap of her finger and a cloud of dark dust, Alistair fell ti the ground. His eyes were open, but he didn't seem to hear me call his name. "Oh dear. He cannot hear you. He is broken. Most importantly, he is my puppet now. Soon you will be too." She comes over and slits a long gash down my arm. My arm stings. The Entire room seems to move in doubles. The last thing I hear is the voice from my dream last night.
"Amber. Amber." Darkness fills my mind.