Archive of Our Own ^beta

Vex watched Percy enter the cell, his mask assuming its usual aristocratic form as he took in the prisoner dressed still in his own armour but devoid of any of his weapons.

The prisoner stirred as the other man entered the cell, getting to his feet and dusted himself before assuming a similar stance, almost mirroring Percy. Vex had seen the same stance Percy used when confronting nobility so she could safely assume the man was of some sort of nobility but it held one with street smarts rather than a coddled childhood.

“Well if it isn’t’ the great hero, conqueror of the blight and vanquisher of all evil? Aren’t you supposed to be ten feet tall with lightning bolts shooting out of your eyes?” The man scoffed, his arms crossing as he took in Percy whom seemed unfazed by the provocation.

“Are you trying to insult me?” Percy replied coolly putting his hands behind his back, as he rose to his full height. Vex knew this pose well when Percy had been confronted by the nobles in Denerim. He had ripped them a new one before so this prisoner would be no different.

“Somehow I thought my father’s murder would be more impressive.” The man glared at Percy with a renewed anger as he shifted the weight of his foot. “My name is Nathaniel Howe and my family owned these lands until you showed up. Do you even remember my father?” The man spat the words at Percy and for the first time Vex saw Percy seem taken aback his hands loosening behind his back and Vex could see him actually wavering.

“Arl Howe killed my entire family! He deserved everything he got.”  Percy’s voice had snarled evenly now approaching the man whom stood his ground, confirming Vex’s suspicions.

“Your family was going to sell us out to the Orleasians.” Nathaniels’s eyes narrowed, keeping his gaze locked with Percy.

“I suppose your father told you that?” Percy’s lips were quirking and now Vex cautiously moved to the door, but both men seemed to ignore her presence for now, too engrossed on having a dick measuring contest with each other.

“How could he? A grey warden stole into his estate and slaughtered him before I could even talk to him. I came here… I thought I was going to try to kill you, to lay a trap for you but then I realised I just wanted to reclaim some of my family things. It’s all I have left.”  Nathaniel had begun angry but now seemed to regress stepping back from Percy to lean against the wall and rub his eyes with his dirt riddled hand. Percy too seemed taken aback, his posture wavering momentarily. He had told Vex a little about what had happened to his own family but no in the greater detail so seeing him so shaken was surprise to her.

“I’m sorry what happened was unfortunate.” Percy’s tone had softened and it seemed to Vex he was trying to understand this from Nathaniel’s point of view. He had lost his own family to a stranger he never had heard of and his entire family were now condemned to be traitors and exiles. He had nothing left but the treasured memories of their belongings, much like Percy.

“Unfortunate? I guess it was unfortunate for everyone wasn’t it? Look I know you are a hero, you fought a war and you won. Whatever my father did however shouldn’t harm my whole family. The Howes are pariahs now. Those of us who are left and its all thanks to you and now you get to decide my fate. Ironic isn’t it?”

“What will you do if I let you go?”

“If you let me go, I don’t know. I only came back to Ferelden a month ago. If you let me go, I’ll probably come back here. You might now catch me next time.” Nathaniel sneered advancing towards Percy whom had his hand resting on the gun on his belt and was about to move forward as well but was held back by Vex gliding between the two men with ease, her hand pressed against Percy’s chest and the other outstretched towards Nathaniel.

“Step back Howe or it will be the last thing you remember.”

“Why don’t you go back to where you belong knife ears.” Percy hissed from behind Vex but she pushed him back when he attempted to move forward causing Vex to growl over her shoulder.

“Durlahn ma’lath”

((Quiet, my love.))

Vex glared at Percy until he bowed his head in shame before Vex chuckled hauntingly, bringing her gaze up to Nathaniel.

“A similar prickly Shem like you tried to insult me when I was a young girl in the alienage in Denerim.  You know what I did? I seduced him into thinking he had the entire world in his hands before I sliced his throat. I watched his eyes widen and he flailed like a child as he felt his life slip away from his grasp. How pitiful this once proud idiotic creature now looked with blood spilling down his skin.”

“Ma emma harel.”

((Human/quick children)) ((You should fear me))

Vex had snarled and with satisfaction watched the once proud man now take a step back from her.

“You’re not making the best case for yourself.” Percy growled from behind Vex, still trying to move forward to protect her but she continued to hold him back.

“I could lie if you prefer.” Nathaniel smirked even as he glanced between the elf and the human. Percy actually snorted before shaking his head in disbelief at how stupid the man was.

“I’ve decided what to do with you.”

“Good.”

“Na din’anan sahlin!”

((Your death now/Now you die))

The words slipped out of Percy’s mouth with such ease that it surprised him for how angry he suddenly felt. This cocky little shit wasn’t even the slightest remorseful that his father had caused him so much pain, so much agony. He had even planned to kill Percy if he had been given the chance to do so. 

A hand on his arm seemed to bring him back to reality realising he had drawn his pistol, loaded it and leveled it at Howe. His hand was shaking horrifically, the memory of killing the man’s father, the scars on his arm searing and burning him all over again as he remembered the fires that had taken hold. The hand squeezed his arm and he looked down to see Vex staring at him looking disappointed.

“Fen’Harel ma ghilana ma’aralth.”

((The Dread Wolf guides you, my love))

His hand faltered at those words, the impact now hitting him hard in the chest like Grog had smacked Percy with his fist. To be compared to the Dread Wolf was a kick in the balls to someone who had buried himself into his elven studies like a pig to mud. It had been his muse to take his mind away from noble politics and the upcoming arranged marriage with Howe’s sister.

The smoke rose around Percy his vision obscuring everything except the vision he had of his own gun barrel pointed at Howe. Voices crept into his mind taunting him as his fingers flexed around the trigger of the weapon.

‘Halam Salin’

((This ends now))

“Emma shem’nan.”

((My revenger is swift))

The words curled around Percy’s tongue like a snake, hissing the sentence towards the prisoner as he curled now looking terrified.

“Don’t Percy. You are so much more than this.” Percy recognised Vex’s voice filtering through his voice stirring the smoke inside him as her voice once again whispered to him now in elven.

“Ar’din nuvenin na’din emma lath.”

((I do not want to kill you, my love.))

Percy felt cold metal pierce his skin on his neck and he glanced down to see Vex glaring back at him, her hunting knife held to his throat.

“Fen’Harel ma ghilana mar mis.”

((The Dread Wolf guides your blade))

Vex growled under her breath much to Percy’s own cold and selfish satisfaction, his fingers still stretching around the gun. He heard her sigh heavily, glancing away for a moment before returning her gaze to him now with a look of sorrow as she retracted the blade and brought it to her own neck.

Now Percy hesitated his eyes darting between Howe and Vex as she now stood defiantly in front of him, blocking his view of Howe with the gun now pointed at her instead.

“Ahn is mar elithas, shem.”

((What is your choice, human?))

‘Don’t this Vex.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Ma melava halani, Vex’ahlia. Through ma’banal melath.”

((You helped me, Vex’ahlia. Though my darkest hour))

“I know Percy and I will help you again. Don’t let this demon take control of who you are.”

Dala Ash….

((Kill her))

Percy heard the familiar coaxing voice rattle his head, obscuring his vision once again. It instead filled the room with blood surrounding Howe as he now held a knife at Vex’s throat, as Percy watched in horror as Howe sliced the elf’s throat leaving Percy screaming internally unable to move.

Howe now approached him with a wicked smile and stabbed Percy deep into his stomach the words almost inaudible in his ear.

“This is for my family.” The blade twisted in Percy’s gut, ripping intestines and muscles as Nathaniel pushed the blade deeper until the world swirled and the vision changed to Vex holding a vial of lyrium. He watched in horror as she ingested the pure liquid and he could do nothing as she convulsed. The lyrium caused her skin to pale and he could see the veins almost glow with the liquid as she doubled over on the floor before looking up at him. Her eyes were blood red and dripping with blood filled tears as it streamed down her face. She screamed as pain wracked her body and he could do nothing as something smashed into her and she shattered into tiny pieces on the ground. His vision eventually grew dark the last image of her shattered remains on the floor committed to memory.

Percy rasped suddenly and he found himself tucked into a bed, sheets wrapped around his form and he briefly saw a figure moving towards him. He didn’t need his glasses to know who it was for he recognised those legs anywhere.

“Lyrium…” he reached out blindly for her but she pulled away pausing even as he sat up, pushing the sheets aside to reach for her.

“Vex! Please!” He heard her grumble under her breath until she began to scramble into her pouch and handed him the small glass vial.

He uncorked it with his teeth and spat the cork onto the ground ignoring Vex’s sigh of annoyance as she moved to pick it up and he began to drink the contents of the vial, probably faster than necessary.

“Percy, take it easy…” She returned to sit beside him on the bed he had been laid out on and pushed his hand way coaxing him to take the solution away.

He took a few moments to breathe staring at the floor as Vex’s other hand rubbed circles along his back in comfort, her fingers tracing the bones of his spine and shoulder blades.

“What happened?” Vex, wrapped a hand around his shoulder to squeeze it gently before leaning her head on his other shoulder.

“You began to thrash wildly and shouted that Howe was trying to kill me. We had to knock you out and bring you here. Was it Orthax again?”

Percy sighed heavily, pulling a hand to his face to rub his eyes. The memory had seemed so real but that was what Orthax thrived on.  The Despair Demon thrived on causing Percy to be haunted by colliding memories of losing his family and the real world. He had managed to keep it mostly at bay and separate but there were times when they blurred together making it harder for him to distinguished between the fade and reality.

That was where the lyrium came in to keep both worlds separate but with the stress of another possible blight happening he had been lax on keeping up with his doses of lyrium. He knew he shouldn’t rely on the concoction to keep him sane but it had been ramping up with the amount of episodes recently.

Vex worried about his dependency on the lyrium as she had seen it ruin people’s lives in the alienage and had lost her mother to the brutality of a human addicted to lyrium so she had seen the consequences of what the concoction could do to someone.

Percy cleared his throat but he continued to stare at the ground until he rose his head to meet her gaze.

“Ma emma harel”

((You should fear me))

“Why would I fear you? You may be a pompous prick but you are family now. Even in the dark times I will be here to pull you back into the light.”

“Now you sound like me.” Percy chuckled as he nursed the bottled lyrium between his hands, swirling the liquid inside, the memory of blood pouring down her cheeks still raw.

‘I learn from the best.” Vex teased, kissing his forehead and he huffed under his breath before she gently pried the glass vial free of his tightened fingers much to his chagrin.

“Hey, I need that.” He mumbled but allowed her to pull it away, corking it and pocking it in her pouch.

“And here I thought I would be enough of a distraction. It seems ma vhenan no longer has need of me I shall take my leave.” Getting to her feet she spared a glance behind her and he growled beneath his breath, catching her hand and pulled him back to stand in front of him.

((My heart))

“Ir Abelas…”

((I’m sorry))

Percy could just see the quirks of a smile pulling at her lips as he pulled her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

“Tel’abelas, Percy.”

((I’m not sorry, Percy))

Vex reached out to gently ruffle his hair, freeing it of the sawdust and dirt that his locks had collected when he had been knocked out.

“I don’t deserve you.” Percy mumbled into her hand, pulling it closer to him, clasping it between his fingers.

“You’re right you don’t deserve me. But I deserve you.” Percy pulled back surprised as she clasped his face in her hands and kissed him.  It was brief and left him wanting more but he allowed her to pull away.

“You need to decide Howe’s fate.”

“I’ve already made my decision.” Vex now reached down and grabbed his chin between her fingers, holding him firmly.

“Percival Fredrickstien Von Musel Klossowski De Rolo The Third, you will listen to me when I say this. You are a better man than he is.” Percy reached up and gently pulled her hand away so he could stand albeit very unsteadily forcing Vex to grip onto his elbows.

“I made my decision.”  Vex growled under his breath as he pushed past her only to stagger into a desk to keep himself upright.

“Are you going to condemn his entire family for his father’s misguided judgement?” Vex followed him and stood in front of his path even as he tried to move around her.

“He planned-“

“Yes I know and he didn’t succeed but we have no proof to simply execute him just because he said he was planning to. I know you are angry Ma Vhenan, but by killing him you are not bringing back your family.” Vex stood between the door and Percy, her arms outstretched between the door and him, her hand pressed against his chest.

“I know it hurts Percy to see him standing there and chirping like his father but if it weren’t for Howe’s father you would never have come in to conscript me. Vax and I would be dead if not worse.” Vex pushed him back but only succeeded in sending him back a step or two but she had proven her point. Percy remembered rescuing the twins from the alienage, blood dripping down her hands from killing Vaughn after being his slave for so long and her brother just about decapitating Percy whom he had thought was taking the ranger away.

In a way he was taking the two away but much to their surprise he explained he was there to recruit them to the Wardens. Like birds fleeing at the sight of danger, the two had jumped at the chance to leave the alienage considering the current situation and the three of them escaped leaving the destruction behind.

Vex had never explained what really happened in that house, but from what Percy could glean from her brother the humans had been known to feed their slaves lyrium for their own amusement. It seemed Percy had probably saved them from a fate worse than death, which explained why Vex now worried so much over him.

But Vex was right the comment behind it had hurt but he could see she had meant it with an element of truth. While he couldn’t change the past and bring back his family, he had helped more people than he had realised despite the pain he had been through.

The hand on his chest reached up to grasp at his neck and pulled him into her shoulder and he heard her quietly hum into his ear.

Vex wrapped her arms around his neck now breathless from singing in elven and Percy automatically his arms around her back in a tight hug, as they both stood there, remembering those they had lost and resolving to live for those unable to continue on.

“Ma serranas, Vex’ahlia.”

“Ma serranas, Percy. Mala Suledin Nadas and Melana en athim las enaste. “

((Thank you/Now you must endure and now let humility grant favour))

Percy sighed into her shoulder before pulling back, nodding.

“You are right. You always are.” Vex chuckled, rising on her tiptoes for a moment to kiss his cheek then pulled away to open the door, clasping his hand.

“I am aren’t I? “ Vex shot him lop-sided grin before walking off with him in her hand leaving him to only shake his head with a laugh as made their way towards the cells again.