"Problem, my friend?" Zevran asked, following Alistair's gaze as he stared at the retreating figure of their leader.
"What? No!" Alistair replied, tearing his gaze away from Ehrin before scowling at Zevran.
Zevran chuckled. "You do know it does no good to lie to a Crow, do you not?"
"I'm not…! Oh, blast it! Why are you here? To rub it in?"
"I am not here to rub it in, as you say, though perhaps a massage would help ease some of your tension."
"Absolutely not!" Alistair exclaims, his face twisted up in disgust. "I've seen how your massages end!"
Zevran holds up his hand. "I jest, my good man. Truly," he says, stifling his laughter.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Alistair asked.
Zevran could see the discomfort in the Warden's face. Perhaps he should let this go. But no , it would only get worse. Ehrin was already beginning to sense what was going on and it made her uncomfortable. She would never say anything, but she was already shying away from any public displays of affection and he feared if this was not handled soon, she would begin forgoing their intimacy in camp. And that would never do.
Contrary to what everyone thought, he was providing a much needed service to their young leader. Could they not see how giving her a release from all the pressures building around them made her stronger? No. They could not. All they saw was a wily, suave, sensual man taking advantage of their friend and leader; he knew this to be true from the conversations he'd overheard. Ah well, that was a problem for another day. Today's problem was the ex-Templar, soon to be King.
"No," Zevran replied. "I am exactly where I am needed, at this time."
Zevran saw Alistair's back stiffen. Finally. Alistair turned to face the Crow, eyes furious. "Is that so?" he asked, voice raised. "You're needed by her side night and day, distracting her from the task at hand? "
Zevran said nothing, seeing that Alistair was just getting started.
"And what of her? What will she do once you're done with her? Providing this isn't some elaborate plan to complete your Contract and she actually survives her relationship with you. "
Zevran's jaw clenched, his right hand gripping his left wrist behind his back with enough force to bruise. But he remained silent, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm his anger.
Alistair, on a roll, saw none of this and continued on. "She deserves a chance at happiness if we survive this. She deserves more than you'll ever be able to give her!"
Zevran's eyes smoldered before turning to amber orbs of ice as his temper flared and then cooled down to dangerous levels where it could be harnessed and finessed.
"And I suppose you are the one to give her this happiness? This fairy tale ending?" he asked, all smooth words, the ice almost undetectable.
"It would be better than the one you will give her!"
"Interesting that you should know what my future holds, when I do not. Perhaps you are clairvoyant, yes? I, however, do not need magical powers to see into your future, my Prince. One needs simply to open the shutters to see clearly the direction you are headed."
"Yes, it doesn't take a great scholar to know that I will most likely be Ferelden's next king. I'm astounded you managed to figure that out on your own," replied Alistair in that snarky tone he could pull off so well.
"And then what of your lovely Warden? Your lovely, Elven Warden, my friend?" Zevran asked, softly. "Did you truly think, should you have managed to win her heart, that you would have actually been allowed to keep her once all of this is done? "
Alistair bowed his head, staring into the fire. "I – I hadn't thought about that… about that part of my future."
Zevran chuckled softly. "Of course you didn't. You are a man; we tend to only see so far and no farther. It is our curse… and our blessing, no?"
He laid a hand on Alistair's shoulder and motioned him to sit. Alistair nodded. Once the two of them were seated by the fire, Zevran continued. "But she did. Once she learned that you were to be king, she saw where your path would take you… and she knew there would be no room for her along it."
Alistair's stared into the fire. "She spoke to you of this?"
"We do more than knock boots in her tent, my friend," said Zevran, laughing. "While boot knocking is wonderful, even I need time to recover, so to speak. Makes for a perfect time to chat. Pillow talk serves more than one good purpose, my dear man. "
"You talked about me… after… that?" he asked, his face turning crimson.
"Well… yes. There was not much time for talking beforehand." Zevran continued on, glad to feel tensions on both sides receding. "She does care about you, Alistair. Enough that your jealousy is eating away at her, making her uncomfortable. "
"I… I had no idea," said Alistair, stunned.
"I know. Which is why I decided it was time to tell you," Zevran replied. He paused, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He opened his mouth and then stopped, not sure he wanted to go on.
"What is it? What are you not telling me?" Alistair asked, sensing Zevran's discomfort.
"You asked me where my future lay," replied Zevran, his face grim. "And I do not know. But, I do know that I want her to be a part of it for as long as she desires to be." He paused again, taking another deep breath before turning to look directly at Alistair. "I would like to say I am speaking to you on her behalf, but that would be lie. The truth… the truth is much more difficult to admit."
Alistair looked at the Assassin, no, Assassin no longer. Just a man. A man obviously in love. "I think I can figure it out. I'll go talk to her. This is obviously something I should have done long ago."
Zevran looked at Alistair with a new level of respect. There, in that moment, he saw the first glimpse of the future King and he liked what he saw. "Thank you, my friend."
Alistair chuckled. "Do not thank me, yet. Once I'm done it will be your turn."
"My turn?" Zevran asked, confused.
"To tell her how you really feel," Alistair said as he stood up and walked towards Ehrin's tent.
Zevran stared into the flames, saying nothing as Alistair left. Alistair was right, curse him. He did owe Ehrin the truth about his feelings, but he'd have to be honest with himself first... and that was the hardest part of all.