This is a 'what if' scenario which came to me in a dream, no seriously. Please let me know what you think, reviews are welcomed and encouraged :)
Ever since that fateful night when Arl Howe had destroyed everything she had ever known, Elissa's goal was set; unite the land in order to cease the blight, then exact vengeance on Howe. Thus she dedicated herself to performing the seemingly impossible task of gathering elves, dwarves, and men alike with staunch determination and energy, her desire to avenge her parents death a continual source of motivation. Although Elissa was determined to carry out the task which stood in the way of her exacting revenge as quickly as possible, she could not have known the temptation and distraction which falling in love would create.
A single gaze into the amber eyes which the would-be-assassin possessed was all it had taken for Elissa to know that she could not kill him, no matter how much Alistair objected. When Zevran had given her his oath, she alone had recognised the sincerity of his words. Little did she know that by allowing him to join their crusade that she was letting him into her heart.
Over the course of many weeks their romance had blossomed. From the slight, cautious yet deliberate touches, to the kisses and caresses, the two became inseperable. Their actions were known to all in the camp, yet their fellow party members all noticed the change which was evident in their leader. No longer was she plagued by dark moods which had in the past seen her silently staring into the darkness during the long nights at camp for hours at a time, and no longer did she keep herself at a distance from those she traveled with. Zevran had brought light back into her life when she had surrounded herself in darkness.
With him she was able to let her guard down, to be herself again. This should have been her first warning that she was slipping.
After departing the dalish camp which they commonly frequented after ridding the elves within of the curse of the werewolf, Elissa and her companions set up an early camp in a small clearing near the edge of the Brecilian forest. Satisfied that the camp was in a secure location, Elissa, along with Alistair, Morrigan and her faithful mabari Rusty, traveled back into the forest to make sure that they wouldn't have any unexpected company as well as to gather fresh bundles of elfroot for Wynne's stores.
It was a routine which they had performed numerous times before, which is what made the shock when they returned to camp a few hours later even more pronounced.
The scene that appeared before Elissa's eyes was one which she had never encountered before at their campsite, and it was moments before she truly began to register what the scene before her meant.
As the four scouts entered the camp, Sten was placing a nameless body on a pile of other unfortunates which had been created at the further most reach of their campsite. Aside from the fact that their camp had obviously been attacked, Elissa knew with increasing dread that something was terribly wrong. A quick head count confirmed her worst fears.
"Where's Zev?" Elissa inquired of her companions in a would-be calm voice, though she feared that she knew what the answer would be.
Her companions shared a look before Leliana stepped forward to address the question.
"We set up camp like we have always done, before assigning everyone a task to complete. Sten and I went into the forest to gather firewood, while Wynne went hunting for water in order to restock our supplies, and Zevran was left to guard the camp. There was no sign of an ambush when we left, and we weren't even aware that something was amiss until we returned to camp. When we returned we found men, these Denerim soldiers, dead and dying in our midst, but there was no sign of Zevran. We found tracks leading back to Denerim, so we can only assume that they captured him in the hopes of flushing the rest of us out."
Once Leliana had finished her tale her eyes lowered to the ground, knowing that they had let their leader down.
Elissa wanted to scream. She wanted to cry, she wanted to run until she could no longer feel anything; numbness would be preferable to the anger, fear, and loss which cascaded throughout her body and threatened to overwhelm her. How dare the Maker take away the one ray of light in her life, was the loss of her parents not enough for her to suffer? Must she lose everyone she cares about?
Several deep breaths enabled her to calm down enough to think about what Leliana had told her. Elissa deduced that Zevran had faced the battle alone in order to protect their other companions, which would ultimately leave her with more protection for the upcoming trials she would face.
Gazing momentarily at the four bodies which Zevran had been able to dispatch before he was carried off, Elissa recalled what Leliana had told her.
"You said some of these men were still dying when you returned to camp, do any of them yet live?"
As if anticipating what was about to come, with a grimace Wynne nodded before casting her sight towards one of the large oak trees which bordered the camp.
Without a word, Elissa's long legs carried her to the location which held the final, remaining live member of the mercenaries which had attacked their camp. Even without the twilight creating a sombre yet dire setting, Elissa's very countenance portrayed that she would get the answers she sought from the mercenary, no matter what it took.
Approaching the large oak tree, Elissa could see that this mercenary had seen better days. There was a large slash down the left side of his face, courtesy of a sharp dagger, which split his face open from cheek to jaw bone in an imbued mix of blood, flesh, and bone. Now standing directly in front of the man, Elissa could tell that he had the beginnings of not one but two black eyes, and as he squinted up at her he grinned, revealing a mouth full of blood and loose teeth.
Elissa was not in the mood to extract information in a cunning or discreet manner from this man, rather she crouched before him, assessed that the ropes which bound him would hold, and with deft skill, swiftly drew one of the daggers which she carried and placed it at the mans throat.
"I know you've been sent by the so-called arl of Denerim, courtesy of Loghain, what I want to know is what he hopes to achieve by taking one of us captive."
Elissa stared straight at the prostrate man before her, her tone demanding that he answer her questions immediately.
Unfortunately the mercenary had not realized the gravity of his situation, and instead of answering the very irate warden, he laughed.
"Come on love, you don't think I would give up that information so readily, do you?"
"No, I didn't," replied an impassive Elissa, "But it would have been for you own benefit."
And with that she grabbed his right hand, and without any further warning or indication she lopped off the pinky finger.
Warily watching in the background, Elissa's companions made no indication of stepping in and stopping their leader, regardless of the blood curdling screams which she was emitting from the mercenary. While they didn't necessarily advocate this sort of ruthless behaviour, they understood her reasons for acting in such a manner, and none of them wanted to be the one who suggested that they cut their losses and move on.
The mercenary lost three more fingers and a knee cap before he was willing to share the information he knew, and once Elissa was certain that there was no further information to be gleaned from this source she simply cut his throat.
After wiping her blade on a patch of grass, Elissa returned to her companions with a dark scowl marring her fair features.
"That bastard!" She spat, no longer able to contain her fury and anguish. "Loghain has had his men patrolling this stretch or road for weeks hoping to catch us unaware so that he can force a public confession of our so-called crimes against Ferelden."
"But why take Zevran?" Alistair inquired. "Wouldn't you or I have been the obvious target?"
"Of course, but Loghain felt that one of our companions might be a little less of will, and would be more easily convinced to speak out against us and our actions. Loghain hopes to force a confession which would see us all caught and made examples of."
Elissa briefly looked away and mentally calmed herself before continuing on with the tale.
"Having Zev is nearly as good as having managed to capture either of us though. Since Loghain knows that Zevran was hired to kill us, he knows that Zevran definitely knows who we are, and will go to any measure to extract that information from him. The mercenary told me that at noon on the third day from now that there will be a publicly held inquest in which Zev will be expected to answer the questions which Loghain wants to hear, but even if he does there is still a good chance that he will be executed."
Having relayed all of the information which she had extracted from the mercenary, Elissa finally allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek. This time, she refused to walk away when someone she loved needed her, this time things would be different. She refused to abandon Zev now that he needed her most. Somehow, she would find a way to extracate him from this dilemma.
Turning once again to her companions, Elissa was able to find her voice. "Rest up tonight. At first light we leave for Denerim. We will rescue him."