The Youth of the Dalish: A Dragon Age Fan-Fiction Story

Redemption

"Go!" Marcus almost screamed into Doreen's ears.

The girl was in sheer shock. She had been a heartbeat away from dying. How could she not be dumbstruck by everything.

Juli shook off the dread, and rushed towards her. He picked up her staff. As he crouched, he saw the body plump to the ground. Father's head laid next to the blackened corpse. The face bared a grimace of horror. He abruptly turned away from the limp corpse as, even thought it wasn't a gory fountain anymore, seeing Father's head unattached was sickening and painful.

"Come on." He grabbed her wrist. He pulled her away from the witch, which was at arm's length from them.

"Do you have any idea how hard we worked?" Her voice was raspy.

Juli and Doreen turned and were surprised to see the two long line of tears that ran down her glowing purple cheeks. Her sneer was gone. It was replaced by a solid line.

"For something that I didn't even I want." Her forlorn was so palpable, that Juli almost felt for the demonic witch.

"I didn't care. I just wanted purpose, and he gave it to me." She glanced at the immovable corpse.

Did she feel for that psychopath? Can such creatures feel for one another?

"I was lost. He found me and put me on the path that led to something. The Dales."

If it hadn't been for the fact that Juli had seen how evil and ruthless she was, he would have, maybe, felt some sympathy towards her plight.

"But you know what?" The solid line her lips made arched upwards—her sneer came back. "You," she pointed a long and purple finger towards Gyles and Marcus, "gave me new purpose; TO KILL YOU ALL!"

Her manic laugh came back. Her hair made her look like medusa, black mad stabbing hair ready to devour meat wiggled above and behind her head. Before they knew it, one of those haired snakes thrusted through Marcus' chest. He dropped his sword. Both of his hands to his sides, futilely trying to move as his whole body spasmed from pain. Blood squirted from his mouth. After a long and agonizing moment, the jagged knife of hair that peered from his armored chest pulled itself out. It left a shallow whole in the middle of the human's torso. Inside the opening, it was craggy and coated in scarlet blood.

"No!" Doreen snatched her staff from Juli's hand.

A chilling breeze engulfed the room. Brusque and cold winds blew snow about. Doreen's slowly raised to the air. Her robe hovered above the floor.

"Doreen no!" The keeper screamed.

The witch, with the same motion she made the fireball disappeared, knocked Doreen off the air. Her towering body was hurled against Juli. He tried to hold her, however, this was useless as her weight knocked them both hard to the floor.

"Don't bother kid. You don't even come close to my strength."

Doreen's green eyes shimmered with hate for the witch. She tried getting up, however, the attempt was futile. Juli could see the struggler she went through as her muscles quavered before making any kind of movement.

"You're right, she doesn't." Gyles stepped forth. "Let's see if that's true for me." With fail at the ready he defied the demonic witch. "He was a good man." He glanced at Marcus' corpse. "But you don't care, do you?"

The witch's expression was unreadable. Her lips were a solid line once more. "You didn't care either." The wiggly mad hair became flat and unmoving. The long and uniform hair covered her blank eyes, half of her cheeks and sneer were the only thing visible on the shadow it made on her face. "He was a good man too." She glanced at the unnatural corpse. At least that's what it looked like as she cocked her head towards it.

At times the witch was so human that it was hard to not feel something for her, even if that something was hate. Even though Gyles gave her a chance at talking, the warden was still wary with the chained head of his deadly weapon at chest-level.

The vibrant purple hue of her skin started to fade away. A pale white took over her body. "Go ahead kid. There's no reason for me to be here anymore."

For a moment Gyles and the witch held a gaze. A look that was unreadable and scary. It was unclear whether they were getting ready to fight one another, or giving each other condolences for their losses. The demon spun on a heel and started to walk away from Gyles.

"Oh no you don't." Eva, with daggers at the ready, charged towards the witch.

Gyles gripped her elbow. "No Eva. He," he cocked his head towards the blackened headless corpse, "was the mastermind behind all of this. She'd harmless without him."

Eva's face was all grim and annoyed. "You call what she did harmless?"

Gyles gazed at the lifeless body of what used to be Marcus. He was in pain. Marcus and him appeared to be so fond of one another. Perhaps in the short time they had become friends. Now that friendship, or what could had been one, was destroyed by the mad witch. "No." he responded plainly. He couldn't argue with her, she was right—regardless of how the demon felt, she had killed one of the wardens.

Eva was stunned when she turned around and witnessed what the witch was doing. The drapes of her black hair covered the body of the deceased darkspawn as she hugged the headless corpse against her chest. They were all flustered by the action of such being. The witch and the darkpsawn were more than evil associates—she felt for him.

Their attention was stolen by the clack of shackles. Erick, Theresa and Theodore were freeing Mother. Cathy was unconscious, or at least that's what Juli had hoped it to be as her eyes were closed. He'd had expected the witch to go mad again...but no. She kept holding the headless body. It was as if she didn't even notice that her prisoners had been freed.