Border Crossing

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"You're late." Baralai Fairchild despised the rain, almost as much as he despised mages. He was waiting at one of the bridges that crossed the river that in turn divided the two largest kingdoms in their land. It was the same bridge where he had waited countless times. Templar or no, gold was gold, and this gold also got rid of troublesome mages.
"You want the gold or not?" A black clad man snarled as he jumped down gracefully from his equally black steed.
Baralai muttered something rather unbecoming of a Templar, then held a gloved hand out. "Gold first, then the cargo. Try anything..." He words were cut off as the mage he was transporting broke free of his restraints. It all happened so quickly that he didn't see the flash of lightning and the proud Templar was crashing into the raging river below.
Six months. It had been six months and the fallen Templar still woke in a cold sweat after dreaming of that night. The mage had rendered him immobile, though wide awake when he had plunged into the river, his heavy armour weighing him down until a pig farmer had dragged him from the river several miles away. It had taken months to get back to health and pay back the farmer for his kindness. In that time word had gotten out that Fairchild the Templar was a deserter.

Alice Gormanghast was scowling into the mirror. She hated this world she had been born into, even now as her maid pulled tightly on the laces of her dress she thought of nothing but a way to escape. Her brother's were all war heroes, famous to everyone in the kingdom for their brave deeds and triumph in defeating several of the dragons. But Alice... All she was known for was to be the prize her father handed over to the man he deemed brave enough to end the war altogether. She was the proverbial Princess in the tower, useful only for luring in prospective suitors. The young brunette didn't even realise her rose coloured lips were quirked into a slight smile 'if only they knew'. Indeed, her father would have a literal heart attack if he knew his prized daughter had secretly been learning how to shoot a bow and handle a sword. She lost herself for hours at an end in books that told of the thieves guild, and their mysterious leader who was sometimes known to have a higher moral code than the knights of their kingdom.

Though Garrik had addressed her as 'Captain' a hundred times each day, it genuinely hurt Alice now, after what they had done the previous night. It felt more like an insult now than anything else. "I asked Garrik to kill me and send me to the Black City, but he was too much of a coward to do it." She informed the old man thinly. "Can you get me there if the ship reaches that storm?"

Bear laughed again. "Throne room? You really have lost it. There is nothing there!" He spoke as though Kane were a small child who couldn't understand him. ""I have seen it, you really want to be king of nothing, don't you?"

The old man shook his head. "There are things you need that you do not have, Captain. From the looks of that storm you will not have the time to get them before it reaches it's worst point. I haven't seen a dragon since that terrible night and I don't believe you have a lover you are willing to sacrifice to it. Do you?" The old man asked. 

"The dragon told me the same thing and that's why I'm going there!" Kane snarled. "If I can sit on that throne I can shift the veil and rule both worlds! That's why it's empty. It's waiting for me." He turned his attention on Anaris. "Tell me...if I drink his blood...take his heart...will I become undead too?"

"The dragon is no problem." Alice replied confidently. "And I can find a lover, no problem there." she added, casting a purposeful glance to Garrik, letting him see the hurt in her ebony flecked eyes.

Bear was still laughing. "Why don't you do us all a favour and try it." He snorted. "Rip your own heart out and replace it with mine, if you think you can."

Garrik didn't quite understand the hurt. He wasn't sure why she was upset with him either. He turned to the old man. "Whatever our Captain wants we will get it for her. Just tell her what she needs to do." That said he turned to direct the men, knowing it was him she would intend to sacrifice. 
"All right girl. Let's find the dragon and get it here. I need your lover's heart." The old man cackled. "I get the feeling time is of the essence." 

"No. That won't help. But...mine." Anaris was frowning. "You will need to replace your heart with mine and use some of his blood."
"Prepare the ritual, elf." Kane demanded. "Now!"

"I have no lover." Alice told the old man again. "A little rum, and I can remedy that though." she added with a snort. "Seems I'm rather good at it, actually."

"An elf ready to die? What is wrong with you knife ears?" Bear snorted, still spitting blood every now and then as the internal injuries continued to heal.

"It can't be just any lover. He must love you." The old man said. Garrick turned back offering his cutlass to the elderly man. "Take my heart. If it will get her what she desires, take everything."

Anaris said nothing for a long moment, gathering things together to do as the human asked. "To be free I must let her go. It is the only thing I can do to show her my love. You understand better than anyone, Bear."

"What is wrong with you?" Alice hissed, slapping the cutlass aside to glare up at Garrik. "Besides, didn't you hear? He said someone who loves me."

"No." Bear replied bluntly. "Sounds like you're giving up, knife ear." He replied. "You can't get your girl back, so you want to die to be free from the pain?"

The magic man cackled, slapping his leg. He was enjoying the show. "For being a queen, you are missing a big piece of the picture." He told her. "Now, what's your plan? Or am I going back to sleep?"

Kane didn't allow Anaris time to answer. He shoved his knife deeply into the elf's chest. Thunder was rumbling loudly outside the mountain.  "I will rule it all, Templar. Yo will see. All will bow down to me. Even your dragon."

"I am not about to let someone else I love die for me!" Alice snapped before she could stop the words.

Bear merely shook his head. "I'd put money on the pirate girl over you any day. She's got nothing left to lose."

Garrik's gray eyes swept wildly over her face, fighting to understand her words. Did she truly mean that she loved him too? Did he dare to think that she did? He reached out for her, his rough thumbs brushing her cheeks. "I love you too, Captain." He whispered. 

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Anaris said softly, his eyes on the dragon who was beginning to stir. He was gasping for breath, knowing there was not much of it left. "She might very well surprise you on that..."

Fat tears dripped down Alice's cheeks, though they disappeared into Garrik's thumbs. "I wont let you do it." She whispered. "A Queen needs her King, remember?"

"Nothing surprises me, knife ear." Bear replied gruffly. "Unless you're tellin' me she has someone she should be fighting for?"

"But what about your revenge?" Garrik asked her, daring to step closer to her. "We've fought so hard to get you to this point." He tipped her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. 

"She will wait...she will let this get out of hand and then take care of it to keep the man she truly loves...I have..." he stopped speaking and tumbled to the ground. Kane stood over him, his heart in the other man's hand.

"I'll have it." Alice promised. "Anaris deserves that much, for everything he did for me." She breathed.

Bear actually felt sorrow for the elf. It sounded like he remembered who he was, and that the one he loved had simply forgotten about him.

"You do know this is going to get far worse if you don't take this option. One little heart and you've got the bastard." The magic man told her, hobbling around the two of them. "I open a portal and you step through and end him. If you dont, he will gain power and it will take an army and another dragon to stop him. One little heart girl. Think about that."
"He's right." Garrik said softly. "Are you sure keeping my worthless hide is...worth all the trouble it will cause?"

Kane was a disgusting creature, there was no denying it. But he'd hit an all new low when he began to eat the elf'so heart. Outside the storm grew black and the earth itself began to shake.

"NO!" Alice repeated firmly. "Anaris died because I was weak, I wont make that mistake again." She insisted, still under the belief her husband had been dead for some time. "I gave you the other option; kill me, send me to the Black City and I can kill Kane while he is there. That is what he is doing, isn't he? Opening a portal to get him there?" Alice directed her gaze at the ancient looking man now.

Bear could barely watch. Even he knew this was bad. A dragon wouldn't be enough to stop the power hungry king if everything went as he hoped.

"If I can't die, then you can't either." Garrick said firmly. "I'm not going to let it end like this. You will not leave me now, Captain. We will find another way."

Kane's body twisted and curved, giving him a monstrous appearance. He knew but didn't care. He would do anything to take over the world and that one. He would become a monster on the outside to match his insides.

"Good, then you finally see things my way." Alice told Garrik with a renewed resolve.

Bear backed off slightly, kicking at the dragon to see if she was still breathing. He didn't think a mere tap would actually be felt through those scales.

Garrik tipped her chin again and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her hungrily, not caring who was watching them. 
"It's too late. He's crossed over." The magic man told them, watching the storm.

Piglet stirred, sensing the portal opening. "Anaris..."she breathed. "Is it too late?"

Despite the entire crew now able to see them, Alice embraced her first mate, his kiss making her realise she had more than revenge to fight for now. "Then we had better get there before that portal shuts, hadn't we?"

Bear looked at the body of the elf and shook his head sadly. "Kane... He took the knife ear's heart."

"Are you sure we're not rushing in blindly?" Garrik asked. "Maybe we should wait and see what we're dealing with."

"This is bad..." the dragon lifted her head to look for Kane. The man turned monster was now feasting on the rest of the remains. "The magic man told him to do that...he's going to go the the Black city now. We can't stop him..."

"If the old fool is right, what we're dealing with will be ten times worse if I left Kane return from the Black City!" Alice insisted.

"Then... can we follow him?" Bear asked, understanding that the fate of this kingdom may actually rest with the two of them now.

Garrik found it odd that the old man was seething, tapping his cane against the side of the deck rail. It only got worse as he watched the first mate shake his head. "We need to contact elves and mages." The younger man told his lover gently. "There are other people who can help us. We can't go at this alone."

"I have to follow him. He has my heart." Piglet said sadly. "Don't go. Leave like I asked you to before. Why didn't listen to me before?"

"No. Not the elves." Alive insisted firmly, remembering all too well how much Anaris's people had disliked her. "If you're going to make me ask for help, not them."

"Because I told you, there is nothing out there for me." Bear replied seriously. "Everything I need is right here, and you casn't stop him alone, Piglet."

"I can ask them." Garrik said softly. "My mother is Dalish after all. It won'tbe too hard to get an audience. Speaking to my father on the other hand..." he chuckled softly. 
The magic man cleared his throat. "You are wasting time. Kane is probaby already performed the ritual now. The window is closing and you are wasting it." 

"He is one of the reasons I lost my...Baralai...I have to try." The voice was softer, more like Yena's than it had been. "I owe him that much. You couldn't understand."

"He's right." Alice breathed. "I need to enter the portal. You don't know Kane... He was a monster before any dark magic was involved."

"Yeah... how could I ever understand losing someone I loved?" Bear asked quietly.

Garrik shook his head. "This takes time. He's already a monster. There's nothing we can do to make this any different." For some reason the magic man was getting on his nerves. His desperation to have Alice go after Kane was setting off alarms in his mind. 

Kane stalked toward them, his deformed figure grabbing for the dragon's neck. "You live. Good. We shall go to the Fade now. Take us there." He shoved the Templar ahead of them, aware the other man had now absorbed the dragon's heart completely. "I'll be taking my necklace back. Even if I have to get another demon to do it." He snarled.

"Garrik... I don't think you understand how much I want that son of a bitch to suffer!" Alice replied. "I would flay him strip by strip if I could!"

"Doesn't really suit you." Bear snorted as he stumbled forward. At least Piglet couldn't argue about him not coming now.

"Don't think you're alone in that." Garrik sat gently. "But please, trust me when I say that that we can't just go rushing in, Captain."

"Change, girl. That firm is too big and annoying for me." With his free hand he rested a hand on the dragon and she erupted into a strange ball of light. After a moment she had turned into the tiny elf, Bear had come to know so well. 
She was naked and shivering and the monstrous Kane didn't seem to care. He jerked her up her shoulder and shoved her toward the portal.

"We're back to 'Captain'?" Alice asked sadly. "Garrik... If I don't follow him, what is it you suggest I do? I can't just stand around while he takes control of everything!"

Bear was already pulling his shirt over his head. He would see this monster dead before he let him humiliate Yena any further.

"As you wish." Garrik sighed. "What are your orders?" She'd made it clear she had no intention of listening to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kane snapped. "Stay away from her. She is our passage though the Fade. You touch her and the magic is gone. I will kill you before I allow that."