Kadan

Kadan, Part 4

The city was burning. Darkspawn were crawling out of every corner. Screams of townspeople echoing throughout the battlefield. They waged into battle together, hip to hip, sword to axe, bow, and staff. Mages dropped spells from their lips as they thrust their staffs into the air. Morrigan morphed into a spider before she sunk her fangs into the throat of a nearby darkspawn.

Louisa notched another arrow. The thin, feathered piece of wood soared through the air before nestling itself neatly into the chest of a genlock. It roared in anger and pain before slowly dropping to its knees. She grinned as its black blood trickled down its chin, dripping onto the blood stained earth beneath it. Her victorious smile was short lived, however, as another darkspawn took its place. Round after round, wave after wave, they descended upon them.

Thane growled at her side, his eyes transfixed on the opening to the street ahead of them. She frowned, following his line of sight. Two ogres were ambling toward them, sick grins showing off sharp teeth. Shit. A glance around her let her know that her companions saw them, as well.

"What do you want us to do, Lou?" Alistair asked, falling into place beside her. "Distract them while you run up the stairs to the tower?"

"By herself?!" Leliana scoffed as she shoved Alistair's arm. "She can't go up there by herself! She's going to need help!"

Louisa's wide eyes focused on the ogres again. Other soldiers were advancing, notching arrows and unsheathing their swords. She nervously gnawed on her bottom lip as she tried to work out some sort of plan. Any kind of plan, really. She hadn't quite got this far in the first tentative steps of the plan.

She opened her mouth to speak but before any words could tumble out she watched in astonishment as a blast of fire hit the first ogre in the chest. It roared in anguish, using its massive paws to bat at the remaining flames. Wynn appeared at the warden's side, a wild gleam in her eyes.

"Go," Wynn demanded as she gave the other woman a shove towards the castle steps. "Go! Now! We'll distract them."

"We? Who is we, Wynn?" Louisa asked.

"Me," Leliana replied as she drew her bow.

"And me," Zevran remarked with a grin.

Louisa hesitated, not wanting to leave her companions behind to fight her battle. Her wide eyes briefly touched upon each of their faces, the tension coiled tightly in her chest. Some of them might not make it. She wasn't sure if she could willingly walk away without ever seeing them again. The mere thought of any of them, with bodies beaten and bloodied, was enough to make her want to vomit.

"Go," Leliana said once again, this time more firm than the last. "It has to be you, remember?"

Louisa nodded once, grasping her bow even tighter in her grip. It had to be her. She glanced at Alistair, took note of the fear in his gaze. Morrigan morphed back into her human body, falling into step with the other warden. Sten stepped forward with a tight nod, his silent support not failing to hit its mark deep within her heart.

"Are you sure?" she asked, eyes swirling with emotion. "You can stay. It's not-"

"Come, Kadan," Sten interrupted. "Let's finish this."

Alistair frowned at the Qunari. He gave Louisa a tight smile and a nod. Morrigan just arched one slim eyebrow. Louisa nodded before turning on her heel, marching up the stairs. Time to finish this – to free all of Ferelden from the Blight. Send the darkspawn back to the depths of the deeproads. Heavy footsteps could be heard from behind her as Alistair, Sten, and Morrigan followed her frenzied footsteps up the stone steps.