Found

3: Aftermath

Once they had gone a safe distance and found a hiding place in a thicket, Kiera unlocked the shackles with Lily's help. She breathed in deeply, feeling her connection to her magic returning and immediately healed her shoulder. They decided to wait until morning and then decide what to do next. Moments after she'd healed herself, the sounds of battle died and the night was once again deathly quiet. Keira was afraid that the Templars escorting them had been killed. They were outnumbered by the Darkspawn. The early light of morning began to appear on the horizon and Kiera summoned a wisp to scout the camp. When the wisp returned, she did not like what it showed her.

"What?" Lily asked, seeing the look on her face.

"They're dead," she whispered. "They're all dead."

Lily sent a silent prayer for them. "Are the Darkspawn still there?"

"No. We can go back to the camp and see what supplies we can salvage."

"Why? What if more Templars were traveling behind them and catch us."

"We can't go wandering around without food and water." Keira stood. "Come on."

~~~

Every single Templar that had been escorting them lay in various positions, three of them fairly close together.

"Holy Maker," Lily whispered. "Look at how many they killed." Dead Darkspawn were everywhere. They outnumbered the dead Templars.

"At least the Templars died fighting."

Lily nodded in agreement.

"I'll need their lyrium."

Keira gathered the waterskin from a Templar and then relieved him of his pack so she could put the lyrium they collected into it. It would have to do until she could find a satchel. She found Garrett and knelt next to him. He was lying on his back, right hand grasping his sword tightly. Blood covered his left shoulder from where the Darkspawn had found his armor's weakness. His left hand rested on his lower stomach, where Kiera could see the blood and the hole in his armor. Her heart grew heavy to see him die like this. He'd been a good man, a brave man. He didn't deserve to have been gutted by Darkspawn.

"I wish I could have thanked you for saving us," she whispered, placing her hand on his clean-shaven cheek. Her brows knit together. The battle had been over for hours. His body should have been cold by now. Then she realized that his chest was slightly rising and falling. "Garrett?" She lifted his head, pulling the cork out of the waterskin with her teeth and pouring a small mouthful of the water into his mouth. Garrett swallowed, then coughed.

He slowly opened his eyes. "I... I told... you to... run," he whispered weakly.

"I did. But I refuse to let you die for me."

"You're... going to... have to." He closed his eyes and Keira realized that he'd drifted out of consciousness.

"No, I don't." Keira looked around and spotted one of the horses that had just wandered back into the camp, having no doubt been spooked by the Darkspawn attack and had run. "Lily, help me make something to put Garrett on."

"Wait, what?"

"Garrett's still alive."

They made a stretcher out of one of the tents and managed to place Garrett on it, attaching one end to the horse. After gathering what supplies they needed, the two women left behind the camp and began their journey to an unknown future with the badly wounded warrior in tow.

~~~

Garrett slowly returned to consciousness, the first thing becoming aware of was a woman softly singing a Chantry hymn. He slowly opened his eyes and he realized there was no pain. He turned his head and saw Keira sitting next to him, his shirt in one hand and a needle and thread in the other. It took him a moment to realize that she was mending his shirt, singing the hymn as she did so. Garrett started to rise, putting his hand on his lower stomach to find it was whole. He then touched his shoulder, realizing he had full use and feeling in his left arm.

"Welcome back to the waking world," Kiera said. She stopped her mending. "How are you feeling?"

"I thought... I should be dead."

"I guess the Maker decided it wasn't your time yet."

He looked at the Mage. "Thank you, but why did you come back? Why save me?"

Keira went back to mending his shirt. "Because you saved me," she simply said. "You could have left us in that cart. You could have let the Darkspawn kill us. Carry us off even. But you didn't because you're a good man."

"I am still a Templar. How do you know I won't negate your magic and take you to Aeonar?"

"Because I know what you did for Amelia."

Garrett looked at her. He hadn't told anyone but Greagoir about that.

"I know you tried to stop them. I know your fellow Templars beat you to an inch of your life. That Cullen found you outside a stockroom."

"Greagoir was the only one who knew it was Templars." Garrett had tried to block that memory out. He still couldn't believe that they had been willing to kill one of their own to hide what they were doing to the apprentices.

"Amelia had confided in Jowan and I what was being done to her. The morning she died, she wrote me a note and hid it under my pillow. She had a journal where she detailed her life in the Circle, including the abuse the Templars put her through. She wrote about you. Called you a hero." Keira looked at Garrett. In the firelight, she could see a few scars on his fit torso, no doubt received before he was a Templar. "I respect and trust you because of her." She sighed. "I'll understand if you feel you have to take me to Aeonar, but I ask that you let Lily go. She was only in love with him. People will do odd things in the name of love."

Garrett was silent a moment, a choice going through his thoughts. A choice that would ultimately change all their lives.

"I'm not taking you to Aeonar," he finally said, his choice made. "I freed you because I believed you when you said you didn't know about Jowan. Had you known, you would have fled with him. Were you a Blood Mage, you wouldn't have allowed yourself to be taken. And then you saved me from suffering a slow death and giving me a second chance. The Maker led you to me in my time of need. If I can find a way to prove that you are innocent of the charges against you, I will."