Dragon Age origins: What is now lost.

Realizations.

Part Eight:
I expected to be back in the great hall. I desired to defeat Jessalyn so much. She had exhausted all of my patience. Instead, I found myself in what seemed like a prison.
"Where are we?" Asked Fergus.
"Just listen." Thorn ordered sharply.
A tall black haired templar glared at all of the mages lined up. Her hatred shined through her blue eyes.
"I have been told that one of you is a blood mage." Exclaimed the Templar. "If someone doesn't step forward, I will make every single one of you Tranquil. Who is the blood mage?" She demanded. Nobody dared to move forward.
"Very well. If nobody will talk, I will have this child made tranquil!" A little mage girl screamed in fear as the woman ripped the teddy bear from her hands.
"Leave her alone!" A young mage came out from the line up.
"So you are the blood mage?" The templar viciously grabbed the girl, but she ripped her hand away. Suddenly, blood flew everywhere. The young mage's eyes turned a dark red. She allowed the other mages to escape and she squeezed the blood out of the templar.
"Mages will never live in shackles again!"
It became a montage of memories from this woman's past. I began to see why she was such easy pray for demons. Her life wasn't filled with regret and despair like Fergus and I's. She wasn't filled with pain like Thorn. Her fear was selfish unlike Alistair's.
"It's time to end this." I told my companions.
"I agree." Said Thorn.
"Amber has a plan." Fergus said with his brotherly intuition.
"I have an idea."
"I'll follow your lead." Alistair spoke for the first time since we left.
My mind was clear for the first time since the death of my parents. My thoughts were as straightforward as they were when I was the cocky young teenager that Duncan said was a good candidate to become a grey warden. Maybe that experience was a good kind of torture. I needed to face the death of my family. Fergus isn't done grieving, but I think it gave him closer. We all faced our fears. Alistair and i's grew even stronger than the we already were. As for Thorn, she was still putting on a mask of toughness; I was the only one of us who knew about the life she led, so she couldn't hide her open wounds.
I stepped forward. I couldn't forgive Jessalyn. She wasn't intending to help us, she wanted to break us.
"You're life is just one screwed up mess after another, isn't it? It all began, because you wanted freedom for the mages."
"Mages have been in shackles for too long!" She couldn't keep one expression on her face.
"I do not think that it is your reason anymore. Maybe it was at first, but as people started to fear you it was forgotten. Fear brought you power. It makes you angry when people aren't begging for you to spare them. Thorn saw right through you, so you tried to make her your puppet. As for the three of us, we are all politically important. I know that I have political enemies. We were targeted for a reason. You weren't my enemy until this all started. Who sent you?"
"You take everything too personally." She avoided my gaze.
"By now, I realize that people want me dead. I just don't make it easy for them. Should I repeat myself? Who sent you? I know that this is personal. You chose my brother." I point a blade at her throat.
"Do you think I fear death?" Her eyes glowed green. Alistair threw me out of the way. He used his templar training to kill her, before she even was able to transform. It was like her willpower was gone. It did not take much force for her to slump down into a mortified position.
It felt as if a thousand rocks were pressing on my skull, when we were sent forward into the great hall. I sighed with relief. I felt a disgusting feeling of hot air on my neck. I look up to see the face of a horrible creature. It was covered in yellowish veins. It's eyes were a deep red. It grabbed my arm with a long claw. I kicked it back and hacked at the limb that was keeping me hostage. I was viciously beating it. Everyone else came to their senses. We hacked and slashed at the gruesome abomination. She fell to the ground and in a single moment, she was dead.
I wiped the sweat from my head. Everyone regained themselves. I knew in every sense that someone else was behind it. My gut pointed blame, but I knew that I had no proof.
Alistair took me into his arms. He pulled me to his lips and ran his hands down my back. I could feel the love bursting inside of me. He cupped my chin and told me. "I love you. I promise that I will never trust a demon over you again. I apologize."
"There is nothing to forgive. Jessalyn's demons all had us questioning ourselves. You and I can never be broken." I kissed him on the cheeks. "I have something to do." I went to Thorn. She was in the corner petting Abyssal.
"You know, your dog is the lucky one. People don't target him or his emotions. They just think he is a dumb dog. In reality, he might be the smartest of us all. He doesn't live for his pride or his anger; He lives to be loved. He is loyal and good. He knows that he doesn't need anything else." Thorn looked so sad.
"You don't have to live for any of that either." I told her.
"What else should I live for?"
"If I gave you a cause, would you take it. You have proven your worth to me."
"I know what you are referring to, but why would you want me to be a warden?"
"Wardens take people of all backgrounds. I will not force this life upon you. I know how much of a burden it can be, but it is yours if you want it." She thought for a moment.
"You are pretty amazing for a Shem. I guess I can manage watching your back. I know you'll watch mine. Just no more going into the fade for a while, alright?" She did something really surprising. She put her arms around me for a second, pulled away, made sure nobody saw, and walked away smiling.
Fergus approached. I was still a little shocked that Thorn the badass gave me a hug. Fergus's painful expression turned my mood a little sour.
"I let a blood mage into my house. I really liked her, Amber. What is wrong with me?"
"Nothing. Fergus we reach out to people in our time of need. I shouldn't have stayed away for so long. You and I should be grieving together. We both lost so much with no warning. I've built a life out of the rubble, but you weren't given the same opportunity. One day, I know that you will find someone to sooth your pain. Oriana would want that. I know that I should have said this ages ago, but I'm always here."
"You know that I'm the same way pup." Fergus pulled me into his warm embrace.
We put up a memorial for Duncan and all he had achieved during his life. Alistair held my hand. This man was his father, not King Maric. I spoke words for him.
"Duncan I have you to thank for all that I have. You pulled me out of the darkest situation of my life. You believed in me, during my darkest hour. If it weren't for you, I would not have met my husband Alistair and he would not be the person that he is today. You never were one to judge anyone by their background. You believed in us to the end and I hope that we have made you proud. May the maker keep you." I kissed my hand and put it to the memorial. I put my head on Alistair's shoulder. "He would have been so proud of you."
"I would still be in that stupid chantry without him. I never would have met the most beautiful, strong, and independent woman in the world."
"I'll have to tell Wynne that you said that about her." I smirked.
"Yes. Too bad that I married an old hag like you." I hit him playfully.
"You would be lost without me." I put my face against his.
"I know that I definitely would be." He kissed me.
"I have one more thing that I have to do, before we go back to Denerim."
We went to my parents grave. I put deep velvety roses onto my mother's grave. Tears fell from my eyes and Alistair wiped them from my cheeks.
"I will never forget either of you." Alistair holds me up.
"I wish your parents were here. I have a few things that I would tell them. Firstly, I would thank them for raising such a wonderful person. Secondly, I would tell them that I will spend every spare moment making you smile. Most importantly, I would explain that their sacrifice will never be forgotten by me. I know that without them, I would never have been able to say that I found my best friend for life." I wipe the tears from our eyes.
"I thought that you were the emotional one in this marriage." I pulled him close to me and buried my face in his shirt.
"I love that about you. I love everything about you. Even that weird face you make, when you are trying to hide your anger." He kissed the top of my head.
Before we went to bed, I pulled the reflection out of my bag. This time when I looked into it, it isn't my father's face. It is Niniel. I realized that I was so caught up in everything, that she slipped out of my mind for a time.
"What are you doing in the reflection?" I asked. I was confused.
"I was locked out of the fade and overtook the first magical item that I found." She explained.
"What now?" I asked.
"Nothing. I don't know how to get out. I hope that you don't mind if I am around for a while."
"Not at all. Thank you, for your help."
"It's my job." Her face faded out of sight.
We went back to Denerim. It was the same life that I had left. Eamon and I got on eachothers nerves. I helped solve political problems. Thorn and I trained.
I finally decided to accuse her. Anora stared me down. "To what, do I owe the pleasure?"
"I just wanted you to know that I'm alive and unshaken. The next time you send someone to kill me, don't trust an abomination." I slam my hand against the table. "Don't underestimate me again." I left her in her misery, before she could respond.
Looking back now, I know that some things are meant to happen. There are some people, who you are meant to meet for good reasons or for bad. All hardships make you stronger. Not that my story is over, it has only just begun

The end

** If you want to, read the sequel. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and voting. :-)