[A/N] This is the second of some gift fics that I'm writing as prizes for a fanfiction giveaway I had going on over on Tumblr a while back. This particular one is for MmeDeMerteuil here on the site, and it's also my first Dragon Age fanfic, which makes me a little nervous... but I kind of like how this turned out.

[DISCLAIMER] I do not own Dragon Age: Origins or anything related to it; that's Bioware's deal, not mine (sadly). However, Keeliah Tabris is my original character and she belongs to me.

UPROOTED

The roof was leaking again.

Shianni sighed and nudged the bucket that perpetually sat in the corner back into place, over the small puddle that had pooled on the floorboards. It would stay there for now, until Cyrion or Soris or she could find some way to get the roof fixed, which wasn't likely to be any time soon. Until then, she'd have to listen for rain thudding down on the roof and make sure that the bucket was there when that happened.

Drawing aside the meticulously patched curtains on the single window, she peered outside through the cracked, rain-splattered glass. The downpour was taking its toll on the alienage; the leaves of the vhenadahl drooped from the heavy droplets and the streets winding through the ramshackle buildings were more mud than stone by now. She saw no one outside, but that was only to be expected; many of the houses were in poor shape, but they were definitely preferable to braving the elements on a night like this.

Wait a moment. She squinted through the window again, struggling to make out distinct shapes in the near-darkness. Is there – is there really someone out there? In this weather?

There was indeed someone: a figure swathed in a long, thick cloak hurrying through the deserted streets, stepping around particularly treacherous patches of soggy mud with a light foot. A hood was up over its head, concealing the figure's face, but a single lock of bright carroty hair – the only thing even remotely distinguishable about it – had fallen out, now soaked by the rain.

Shianni blinked in surprise. Is it – no, it couldn't be. And yet... She thought for a moment. There's no one else it could be.

She darted out of the bedroom and into the main room. Cyrion was stirring the contents of the kettle hanging over the fire, and Soris was busy setting tarnished spoons and chipped bowls on the table for dinner, but both of them looked up from their respective tasks when she dashed in.

"What is it?" Soris asked, a frown furrowing his brow. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Shianni gestured back towards the bedroom window. "I thought I saw Keeliah out there."

Cyrion glanced over. "Keeliah? Outside?"

Soris's frown deepened, more in confusion than anything else. "What would she be doing back here?"

She sighed exasperatedly at his question. "What else, Soris? She is our cousin."

There was a knock on the door.

Cyrion was the first to react, hurrying over and opening it. His eyes widened upon seeing who it was, and his lined face creased further as he smiled, throwing his arms around the figure and pulling her into a warm embrace.

The red-haired elf hugged him just as tightly before releasing him. "It's good to see you again, Father." Her voice was just as Shianni remembered it: soft and even-toned.

"And you, my daughter." He stood aside, allowing her to step in, and then closed the door to shut out the cold and wet of the outside weather. "Come in. We haven't seen you in a while.

Pulling back her hood from her face, Keeliah removed her cloak and hung it on one of the pegs in the corner. Her flaming hair was pulled back high on her head in a bun, but the few locks that had escaped were plastered to her face.

She turned around, her eyes settling on a dumbstruck Soris. "Yes, it's me," she said quietly, a small smile playing on her face. "Will you not greet me, cousin?"

Soris still looked astounded, but then he ran to her and hugged her, laughing. "Look at you!" he exclaimed. "The Hero of Ferelden, under our roof! It's just –"

"I know," she replied, her smile fading into something a little more sad. "So much has changed, hasn't it?" Keeliah glanced at Shianni, and the fleeting melancholy was gone. "I thought I saw you at the window."

"I could say the same," Shianni remarked, grinning. "But with your hair and your terrible clothes, I could pick you out of a crowd." She gestured to the other's clothing: a belted tunic over a shirt with rolled-up sleeves, breeches, and scuffed leather boots.

Keeliah returned the smile. "Not to mention these." Her fingers traced the hilts of the sword and dagger on her hip, one on either side. "I've been told they're a little fine for an alienage elf."

Soris spoke up. "Why aren't you up at the palace? I would have thought that – you know," he said weakly, faltering under her expectant stare, "that you wouldn't have come back here. Being a Grey Warden and the Hero of Ferelden and all that."

She regarded him silently for a moment. "I'm leaving in the morning for Amaranthine," she finally said. "I thought I'd come tonight to say goodbye."

"Why Amaranthine?" Shianni asked.

"Since the traitor Howe is dead, the King has given his lands to the Grey Wardens," Keeliah responded, almost matter-of-factly. "He's named me Warden-Commander, and thus, Arl of Amaranthine." She smiled slightly, seeing the surprise on Shianni's face. "I know. I wasn't expecting it either."

"Why not?" Soris exclaimed. "Maker, Keeliah, you've been my hero since we were kids. Now, it's just official: you're everybody's hero."

"I wouldn't say that," the other said, coloring. "There are still plenty of nobles out there who don't like the fact that an elf is going to be in charge of Amaranthine – let alone that one's going to be a bann of the Denerim alienage."

Shianni's eyes widened. "A bann for the alienage – and an elven one?" she asked. "How did that happen?"

"The King granted me a boon, and I asked for improvements in the alienage," Keeliah said simply. "He asked me if I had anyone in mind for the position, and... well, he agreed whole-heartedly with my suggestion."

Shianni suddenly realized that her cousin was looking directly at her. "Wait – you nominated me?" she asked in surprise.

Keeliah nodded.

"I – I don't know what to say," the other confessed, overwhelmed. "What made you think of me?"

Her cousin smiled wryly. "I may be the hero, but you've always been the rebel, Shianni. You fought back against fear and oppression when no one else did, and now, you can make a real difference in the alienage."

"How do we know that this is legitmate?" Soris asked. "Not to criticize or anything," he added hastily when Shianni glowered at him, "but is this a position with any real power to make a change?"

"Alist – the King agreed that the title would not be an empty one." Keeliah's voice had a hint of steel. "And I trust in his word."

"Besides," Shianni said, forcing a light tone, "if it turns out to be as such, I can change that. I mean, I am the rebel." But Andraste's ass, it won't be easy...

Soris still appeared doubtful.

Now over by the hearth, Cyrion interjected. "I believe the soup is ready. Will you stay for dinner?" There was hope in his eyes, something that Shianni had not seen in a long time.

Keeliah smiled at him, relieved. "Of course."

"'The Hero of Ferelden'?" Shianni placed the cleaned bowls back into the cupboard. "That's quite a title, cousin."

Keeliah, still sitting at the table, shrugged her shoulders slightly. "It's a bit of an overstatement. I was one of many that helped to end the Blight."

"But you were the only one who killed the Archdemon." The other grabbed a dishrag off the counter and started wiping off the tabletop.

"I dealt the killing blow after my companions and I battled it for hours," Keeliah said patiently. "That's not the same as facing it in single combat and laying it low with a single sweep of a sword."

Shianni shook her head, laughing. "You still can't take a compliment, can you?"

Keeliah smiled to herself, but it faded as she looked around at the untidiness around her. "If you want, Shianni, I can help you clean up –"

"No, no, that's all right," her cousin said hastily. "I can manage."

The other frowned. "Are you sure? Soris and Cyrion have already gone to bed; surely you need –"

Shianni raised her hands. "Keeliah, you're a guest. I can take care of this."

Keeliah's face turned melancholy. "Is this not my home anymore?" she asked quietly.

Shianni swallowed. "That's not what I meant," she managed. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

Her cousin nodded. "I know. I know." She stared down at her fingers, entwined tightly on the tabletop. "But... this isn't really my home anymore, is it? I don't belong here any longer." Her voice was subdued.

"You actually want to come back here?" Shianni asked, a little more sharply than intended. "After everything you've seen and all you've done... you want to come back to the alienage?"

"I missed my home and my family," Keeliah said firmly, raising her eyes. "Is that not enough?"

The other was silent. "Maybe," she finally said. "I just don't understand why you returned, even to see us. Everyone dreams of getting out of here... and now you say you want to get back in."

Keeliah leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, more for warmth than anything else. For the first time, Shianni noticed that her cousin was not entirely unchanged from that dark day almost a year ago. She looked thinner, her face a bit more drawn and pained and her hair lank. A thin white scar slashed across her cheek and over the bridge of her nose. But her eyes... they were shadowed with sleeplessness, haunted with sorrows.

"This is the only place I've ever called home, Shianni." She stared listlessly into the fire. "Everywhere I went, I was respected for the title of Grey Warden, but never for my race alone. I might have been free, but I was still weighed down by every insult and every slur that was directed at me. And sometimes, it grew too much." Her countenance darkened. "It's not that I want to stay in the Alienage. I just want to know that I still have some place in the world where I'm accepted."

"But you're a hero, cousin: not just to Soris or your father or me –" Shianni's voice wavered, but she continued "– but to everyone in Ferelden, maybe all of Thedas. Surely you will be –"

Keeliah sighed heavily. "I'm not a hero," she said. "I just – I just did what was right, no matter what."

"And what do you think the definition of a hero is?" the other said. "Not someone who just stood by while the Blight devastated the land, that's for certain."

Her cousin was silent.

"I bet they'll write stories about you someday," Shianni mused. "When the world was in its darkest hour, there you came, fire in your eyes and blades in your hands like something out of a song." She looked directly at the other. "Maybe it'll take those pompous human nobles time to reconcile themselves to the fact that a city elf saved their sorry asses... but I bet they're realizing with everyone else in Ferelden that you're a living legend – yes, a hero," she said before Keeliah could respond, "and don't you dare say otherwise."

After a tense moment, the ghost of a smile passed over Keeliah's lips. "If you say so." The smile faded. "I knew you'd have something wise to say to make me feel better."

"I thought that was your job," Shianni remarked, laughing. "You were always the rational, grown-up one when we were children. And now, we're grown – and look where we are." She gestured at her cousin. "You, a Grey Warden and the Hero of Ferelden... and me, the first elven bann of the alienage."

"We've gone far... farther than anyone ever expected." Keeliah frowned suddenly, glancing at the roof. "There's a lull in the rain," she observed, standing. "I should probably be getting back."

"Right. Leaving for Amaranthine tomorrow," her cousin recalled. "That's going to be quite a journey." She hurried over to the pegs in the corner and fetched Keeliah's cloak, handing it to her.

The other nodded, pulling the garment on and fastening the pin to hold it in place. "I've walked to places farther than Amaranthine. Compared to those journeys, it should be fine." She sighed. "I just hope that Vigil's Keep is in some semblance of order."

"Will you write, then?" Shianni asked. "Maybe come back to visit every once in a while?"

Keeliah smiled. "Of course." She hugged her cousin tightly. "Good-bye, Shianni. And... I wish nothing but the best for you. You deserve it."

A lump in her throat, Shianni nodded. "The same for you, Keeliah. You – you deserve some happiness, too."

It might have been just her imagination or a trick of the light, but as her cousin opened the door and stepped over the threshold and into the night, Shianni thought she saw a single tear coursing down Keeliah's face.

The End

[A/N] Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you liked it!

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