In Another World | locked to apostate_amell

[amellsinferno]

Solona had been giving it some thought ever since Anders brought it up. Escape the tower together? Her, Nellie, him and even Cullen? It was crazy but the way Anders explained it, it just might work. Surprisingly, Cullen agreed to do it, with Nellie's powers of persuasion of course.

So now the four of them are off to escape the Tower. Hopefully everything goes according to plan.

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[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Cullen had taken some convincing that it wouldn't be a bad thing, to run away together. They'd only been romantically involved for a short while, but they'd known each other for even longer. She knew that he didn't have a choice in becoming a templar...he had a choice if he left with them.

He'd agreed, which surprised even her. They're going to be escaping tonight, with Solona and Anders...hopefully Anders has this planned out perfectly...

[knightcullen.livejournal.com]

"Nellie," Cullen starts, a worried look cast on his face, "Are you absolutely sure that this is going to work?" He watches Anders do his... thing, looking for wherever he hid his escape route, fiddling with the hilt of his sword nervously.

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

She nods, smiling and holding his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I know it'll work. 3 mages being accompanied by a templar? People won't think anything of that. That's normal!"

[knightcullen.livejournal.com]

He squeezes it back although he's not totally convinced. "I still don't trust Anders." He really doesn't like him.

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

"I know you don't. But my sister does, and he's escaped from the Tower more than anybody. If anybody'll make this work, it'll be him.

She glances over at Anders, giving him a grin.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"I trust him with my life, yes," Solona grins, standing to the side, looking as if she was watching guard but at the same time, it looked like she was watching Anders' ass as he moved around. A playful smirk was on her lips. "Besides, Cullen, as charming as you are, you're not exactly on the top of my list when it comes to escaping the Tower," she turns to Nellie, "but I can't deny a sister's request so for the sake of the mission, shut the fuck up." She says this with an innocent smile on her face.

Cullen can't help but think, bitch. But she was right. If they had plans on leaving the Tower, he'd have to shut up. He looks down at his hand which had fingers locked with Nellie's and smiles. Leaving the Circle and abandoning his duties was hard but he'd have Nellie; and they'd planned for all the possible problems they might encounter as well. They could do this. They might actually be able to do this!

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

Anders snickers. Solona was being so bad right now...he sort of loved it.

Waving over at Nellie, he grins and rolls up the plans, sticking them into the folds of his robes.

"Okay, so, the plans are perfect. This could actually work! Sol, would you do the honors of going over the plan with your lovely sister and her templar?"

For good measure, Anders winks at Cullen. The templar really does make it too easy for him sometimes.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

Solona clears her throat. She'd been over the plans countless of times with Anders to the point where she'd practically memorized it.

"So, there's a secret exit by the Sisters' quarters for emergency purposes." She turns to Cullen. "You, my good ser, since you are part of this and you are bound by love, cannot escape 'lest you want to disappoint my sister forever..." Cullen gulps. "You are going to sneak out a few robes for the three of us. It'll be late in the night and no one really pays attention when they're sleepy-- especially when they're just wearing the robes."

"But what about our belongings?" Cullen interjects. They didn't have much, around a pack each of two spare changes of clothing-- not robes, and Cullen would have to get rid of his armor somehow (maybe sell them), and a few other things. Solona had a few books, some money and a small doll from when she was younger. Cullen had his pouch of lyrium. Templars didn't really take much with them to the Circle.

"Just keep them close. Cullen, I'm sure you can hide them inside that armor of yours," she smirks.

"Funny," he retorts. But it was true. He'd be walking a bit awkwardly but he could hide his things in it.

"So, once we're out, we look for a boat," Solona continues. "Anders thankfully asked someone to leave it hidden among some shrubbery during his last escape attempt."

Cullen grunts. Escape attempt. He was always against it yet look at him now. Escaping.

"Would you like to finish the rest of the plan?" Solona turns to Anders. "It is, after all, your master plan."

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

"But of course, my dear Solona." He gives her another big grin before turning to Nellie and Cullen, finishing off the details of the plan.

"Once we get to the boat, which should still be there, we're going to take it and head in the direction of Redcliffe. They won't be expecting that, see. Once we make land, we can head down towards Lothering, or up towards the coast. Where we go depends on how we are on supplies and whether or not we've got people following us."

He looks rather proud of all of this. As far as his plans go, this is one of the better ones. Doesn't involve swimming, at any rate...

"Any objections?"

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Nellie listens to the plan, nodding every so often. It is pretty well thought out...though she suspects that's because Anders wasn't planning by himself this time. Solona was good at sneaking around.

At her sister's comment, Nellie rolls her eyes and turns to Cullen.

"You wouldn't disappoint me forever, don't listen to her."
If he backed out now, it would hurt, and she'd be upset...but she'd at least understand. She hopes he doesn't do that.

She's only got a few possessions to bring with her. The letters that her mother used to write her, her favorite book, an extra set of robes, a little money, and a doll that Solona made for her when they first got to the Gallows.

"If somebody asks us on the road where we're going or something like that, do we have a story to tell them? I mean, it's not going to be easy for Cullen to get rid of his armor..."

And part of her likes seeing him in the templar armor. But she's not going to say that, instead choosing to squeeze Cullen's hand again.

[knightcullen.livejournal.com]

"I have countless objections," Cullen scowls but sighs in defeat. "But this plan better work or else."

"Or else what, Cullen?" Solona sneers. "You'd be neck deep in shit with the rest of us."

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

"Please, you two, please don't fight..."

Nellie sighs and gives them a tired smile. She's always keeping the peace between then. They fight a lot.

"Cullen, if you've got a problem with the plan, you can say something...and nobody give him crap about it, okay?"

She shoots Solona and Anders A Look, which just makes Anders chuckle a bit.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"I'm not giving him crap about it at all!" Solona giggles. "Templar-boy here just needs to lighten up a bit, yeah?"

Cullen grumbles. He squeezes Nellie's hand just to calm down. He was a bit afraid he might break her fingers.

"Alright, all kidding aside, let's get to business," Solona says, her tone of voice immediately shifting to a lower tone. "Cullen, I know this is a bit last minute to ask of you but we need those robes now. Midnight's coming around soon and if we're going to break out by tonight, we have to do this quickly."

Cullen nods. "I can be back within the hour. I'm not exactly the best person at sneaking around." At least she was more sane when talking about serious business.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

After a pleasant night at the inn, complete with real food, real beds, and baths, the group hits the road again, on the way to Lothering. They change their attire on the way, from the Chantry robes to more common clothing. Cullen finds it extremely hard to part with his templar uniform but he does so anyway. Somewhere within the woods on the outskirts of Lothering are buried their past as they walk into the town, blending in with a few other refugees, into their future. It's a bit disconcerting, the number of refugees in Lothering, but it's beneficial for them, giving them a perfect cover story if anybody asks questions.

And with that, they begin to settle in with relatively little trouble. Anders and Nellie manage to set up a small apothecary selling various poultices and healing salves. Cullen finds himself enlisted in a small delivery service that helps carry different kinds of goods from house to house-- him being paid a little bit extra for managing the larger boxes. It's a nice life, simple, quiet, productive. Anders still does magic when he can't get caught, because he just won't give it up. And somebody has to heal the sick animals that come his way. Maybe that's how they ended up having 3 cats.

The past two months have been relatively quiet, much to their relief. Until one day, Solona doesn't feel too well.

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

Anders is back a bit early from the apothecary today. He has a surprise for Solona, and he couldn't wait until later to give it to her. Nellie, being the sweet and understanding soul that she is, told him to go, she'd cover for him.

His surprise has been kneading at his arm for the last ten minutes, and little kitten claws are surprisingly sharp. But that's all right. It'll all be worth it to see the look on Solona's face.

"Solona, I'm back! I got a surprise for y--you don't look so good, love...no offense. Are you feeling okay?"

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"N-not... At... All..." Solona heaves, slumped over a basin which was already disgustingly half full. "I haven't been feeling well the whole morning. It must've been something we had last night."

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

Anders frowns in concern, gently placing the kitten down on a nearby chair, where it curls up and starts kneading at that instead. He goes to crouch down next to Solona, placing a hand on her forehead.

"You don't feel warm...we had soup last night, do you think something there must've disagreed with you?"

He looks at the basin and frowns.

"Go lie down. I'll empty this out, and then I can do a proper check-up on you."

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"Aaw, you brought home another kitte--!" Another wave threatened to release at the back of her throat. She stops it before she barfs all over Anders. Solona scrambles for the basin and pukes again with a loud groan.

"I'm not sure about the soup. I mean, you all ate the soup too. Shouldn't you all be feeling horrible as well?" She winces as she makes an effort to stand. "I'll go off to the bedroom," she groans again, trudging towards said area.

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

He groans and rolls his eyes.

"Well, you made it to the basin...let me go clean this out. You may be having a reaction to something in it. Like an allergy or something...though you've been a big green for the last few days..."

Anders smiles and shakes his head.

"You can take the little guy with you if you want company, but I warn you, he's got very sharp little claws."

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

Solona's eyes brighten up at the sound of the kitten and immediately changes her direction and moves to take the kitten into her arms. She coos at it as she enters the bedroom, ignoring the claws that dug into her tunic. "He's adorable, Anders! Where did you find this one?"

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

Anders grins at the sight of her and the kitten.

"This one was in the back of the apothecary. I was getting supplies, and I think he got trapped back there...I helped him out, and he started following me around, so I brought him back here to surprise you!"

He goes and cleans out the basin, before bringing it to Solona in the bedroom.

"Here we all, all clean. I haven't named him yet, you know. Thought you might like to do the honors."

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Solona smiles, placing the basin on the side table just in case. Solona coos at the kitten again, holding it above her as she lay down.

"It's an orange tabby! Reminds me of Mister Wiggums," she beams at Anders. "Do we give this one a regal name or a cute one?"

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

Anders smiles and kisses her forehead. The kitten bats at his nose, and he laughs.

"He's adorable, I think. I'm glad you like him. Hmmm...well, what do we still have on our list of kitten names?"

It's gotten to the point where they've got a list of names for all the potential pets Anders and Nellie are likely to bring home with them.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"Ser Pounce-a-lot definitely has a nice ring to it for this one," Solona giggles, blushing slightly at Anders' kiss. "He sure is feisty, isn't he?"

She can feel her insides threatening to force its way out again. She holds the kitten out to Anders. "Hold him!" She leaves it in his hands, reaches out for the basin and pukes again.

[chantrygoesboom.livejournal.com]

"Ser Pounce-a-lot...like that tiger I always drew in the margins of the books in the Tower?"

He grins at her. Oh, she knew him too well.

"Love, that is a perfect name. Absolutely perfect."

And then she's handing him the kitten and vomiting again, and he winces.

"Maker's breath, love, you really are sick...okay, let Doctor Anders take care of everything. We'll figure out what's wrong with you, won't we, Pounce?"

Ser Pounce-a-lot mews happily.