There's Something There…Or Not.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age.
Note: The first part of the conversation references Wynne's insistence on tattling to Gregoire and Irving the minute the Tower is secure if you use blood magic and despite the fact that everyone clearly wants her to stop talking so they don't have to arrest Ferelden's only hope, the only way out of it is to either convince Wynne she was imagining things or claim 'Grey Warden magic.' And after you just saved her, too!
Two days after Wynne officially joined their ragtag team of wannabe heroes, Aunn Aeducan decided to approach her in camp to work out an issue that had been bothering her since they left the Circle Tower.
"Hey, Wynne, how are you adjusting to leaving the Tower?" Aunn began politely.
"It is very kind of you to ask," Wynne replied, smiling warmly. "I am fine, thank you."
"Are you sure?" Aunn asked innocently. "Because Morrigan's still here and you did do your utmost to get her killed just two days ago. Then again, I suppose she is camped so far away from us it's easy to forget that she's even here at all…"
"I'm sorry, Aunn," Wynne apologized. "I thought she was a blood mage. I had no idea that Morrigan was simply using Grey Warden magic."
"Don't worry about it," Aunn said graciously. "As Morrigan is not, in fact, a Grey Warden it is understandable that you might have been confused. That's not to say, however, that I understand why you felt the need to try and get Morrigan killed."
"I told you, I thought she was a blood mage," Wynne repeated.
"So?" Aunn asked bluntly.
"S-So?" Wynne sputtered. "So? Blood magic is strictly forbidden in accordance with Chantry decree."
"I'm a dwarf," Aunn pointed out. "Does it look like your Chantry's superstitions mean a damn thing to me?"
"Well, no, but here in Ferelden the Chantry is very important and cannot be defied," Wynne explained.
"That sounds completely ridiculous," Aunn announced. "And even more so when you consider that I am thoroughly convinced that Andraste herself was just a powerful mage."
"That is a theory that I am familiar with and while I definitely do feel that it is something to consider many would be offended to hear you say something like that about the Bride of the Maker."
"Yeah, that's another thing I don't quite get. If this 'Maker' created everything, including Andraste or at least her ancestors, then isn't it kind of messed up for them to be in that kind of relationship? And if this 'Maker' character wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the world, then how did this Andraste catch his attention in the first place?" Aunn demanded.
"That's…not quite the way the story goes," Wynne said awkwardly.
"Well, I don't really care one way or another," Aunn informed her. "It's all just made-up anyway."
"For the sake of not starting an argument, we'll just have to agree to disagree," Wynne decided.
"Fine by me," Aunn agreed. "Regardless of your obsessive and inexplicable blood mage hatred, Morrigan really came through for us and without her, I doubt we would have been able to save the Circle."
"That's probably true," Wynne admitted. "She is a very powerful mage."
"Then why in the world would you immediately turn around and try to tattle on her?!?!" Aunn demanded. "You owed her your life and the lives of all the surviving mages Gregoire wasn't forced to kill!"
"It looked like she was using blood magic," Wynne said defensively, like Aunn was really supposed to care about that.
"But she saved you!" Aunn reminded her.
"That doesn't excuse using blood magic," Wynne sniffed.
"The Chantry's indoctrination runs deep, huh?" Aunn said sympathetically, realization sinking in.
"Pardon?" Wynne asked quizzically.
Aunn just shook her head. "Never mind. You realize that if Morrigan was being attacked by the Templars, Alistair, Oghren, Sten, and I would have had no choice but to systematically slaughter all of the Templars and any mage who opposed us, right?"
"What?" Wynne blinked, confused. "If she had been a blood mage you would have defended her?"
"Oh, why not?" Aunn asked rhetorically. "The Chantry means nothing to me, after all. Besides, her mother wanted her to come with us."
"You took her along because her mother wanted you to?" Wynne asked incredulously.
Aunn rolled her eyes. "Now you sound like Alistair. And of course I did! Her mother is pretty badass. She can turn into a dragon AND a griffin, you know. Oh, and she saved Alistair and I after Ostagar."
"That sounded almost like an afterthought," Wynne noted.
"I like griffins," Aunn said by way of explanation.
"So I'm beginning to realize," Wynne said wryly.
""Morrigan may not have been able to take out all of the Templars alone, but with the others and I helping her, those poor Templars wouldn't have stood a chance. Thankfully, Irving knows Grey Warden magic when he sees it."
" 'Thankfully'?" Wynne repeated. "Why is it 'thankfully' if you felt you could beat them, whether true or otherwise?"
"Because Gregoire seems all kind of awesome and the world needs more awesomeness in it, not less," Aunn declared.
"I…see…" Wynne said slowly, clearly not seeing in the slightest.
Aunn felt no need to try and enlighten her. Some things you either got or you didn't. "But enough about that. Alistair said you wanted to speak to me about something?"
Wynne nodded. "Ah, yes. You're quite taken with each other, aren't you?"
"Who?" Aunn asked blankly. Wynne just kept staring at her expectantly until it clicked. "Oh, you mean me and Alistair? That's just…wow, that's funny."
"Your relationship is a joke to you?" Wynne asked reprovingly.
"What relationship?" Aunn shot back. "He is my fellow Grey Warden and, what's more, he's my friend."
"Don't play coy," Wynne said sharply. "I've seen the way he looks at you."
Aunn had the grace to look a bit sheepish. "Yes, well, Alistair's a virgin and I had a lengthy conversation with him about licking lampposts. It's just like that thing with Cammen, really…"
"What?" Wynne asked startled, not sure she really wanted to know.
"You don't want to know," Aunn unknowingly confirmed Wynne's doubts. "Have you seen me staring equally or something?"
"Well, no," Wynne conceded. "But I assumed that you were just more subtle. Are you honestly trying to tell me that that boy is head over heels for you and you feel nothing in return?"
"Not true," Aunn countered. "He isn't head over heels for me and I just said that we were friends."
"I see," Wynne said skeptically. "What about you and Leliana, then?"
"We're friends, too?" If it came out as more of a question than a statement, that was only because Aunn wasn't quite sure where the mage was going with this.
"Are you sure?" Wynne pressed. "Her voice always gets much more…sultry when she speaks to you."
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Aunn replied.
"And while she may not necessarily be a virgin like Alistair, I don't want to see such a sweet and guileless girl get hurt-" Wynne started to say.
Aunn interrupted by promptly bursting out laughing.
""You think my concern is funny, do you?" Wynne asked, annoyed.
"A little, yes," Aunn conceded, still chuckling. "Leliana? Sweet and guileless? Leliana? What part of 'Orlesian Bard' makes you think 'sweet and guileless'?"
"Leliana was a former bard?" Wynne faltered for a moment before quickly rallying. "Well clearly her sweet nature could not handle the treacheries of that lifestyle and drove her to the Chantry here in Ferelden."
"Not really," Aunn disagreed. "She just got caught and tortured for awhile so when she escaped she had to flee the country."
"…Does this mean you're not interested in her?" Wynne asked finally.
Aunn sighed. "Not romantically, no."
Wynne wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I was afraid of that. That must mean you and…Zevran."
"Not quite sure we're friends yet as my death could very well mean his triumphant return to the Crows," Aunn confided. "But no, we're not in a relationship."
"Of that I am not surprised," Wynne declared. "Thought it's rather obvious you two are still intimate."
"It…is?" Aunn asked uncertainly.
"Yes, but I wish it weren't. You and he keep me up all night with all the noises," Wynne said reprovingly.
" 'Noises'?" Aunn repeated. "You mean sex?"
"I can hear it all," Wynne announced.
"But I'm NOT having sex with Zevran. Or Alistair or Leliana or whoever else you think I might be involved with!" Aunn cried out.
"You're not?" Wynne was surprised. "Then what have I been hearing?"
"Do you really want to know?" Aunn asked rhetorically.
"Not at present, no," Wynne said vehemently. "Just so we're clear: you're not involved with Alistair, Leliana, OR Zevran?"
"Not even casually," Aunn told her firmly.
"Oh. I guess one can never be too certain about these things. Do try and remember, Aunn, that a Grey Warden must put duty above everything," Wynne cautioned.
"Yeah, sure," Aunn said absently, quickly taking her leave before Wynne decided that Morrigan was bisexual or she and Oghren had 'connected' over their shared species.
When she got back to her tent, she found her three would-be love interests waiting for her.
"Aunn, I want you to know that we all care about you very deeply," Leliana began solemnly. "In fact, that is part of why we are in this mess in the first place."
"What mess?" Aunn asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"I make no claim on you, my friend, but can Alistair or Leliana say the same?" Zevran asked rhetorically.
"No, no we can't," Alistair answered anyway. "You need to choose one of us."
"I need to choose one of you?" Aunn frowned. "You mean, you three can't get along so only one of you is going to continue on our journey? Well, that's surprisingly childish of you all. I suppose if you really are forcing my hand, I'll have to go with Alistair because Grey Wardens are darkspawn killing experts and we need a lot of darkspawn killed."
"That…wasn't quite what we meant," Zevran told her.
"Although if you want to still pick me, that would be great," Alistair offered.
"You cannot play around with our hearts," Leliana said severely. "You must pick one of us or lose all of us and given the way you've been playing us for fools, you're lucky we are even giving you that option."
"Have you three been talking to Wynne?" Aunn asked suspiciously.
They all nodded.
Aunn sighed again. "By the ancestors, how many times do I have to do this? At least you're all here together. I choose…nobody."
"What?" Zevran asked. "Surely you realize that we've all discussed this and will not harbor any ill will towards you or the person you choose."
"I do," Aunn confirmed. "But there is no way I am going to embark on a relationship – or even meaningless sex, Zevran – with any of you."
"But…why not?" Leliana asked desperately.
"Well, Zevran and Leliana keep telling me all about all of the people they have slept with and killed so forgive me for thinking maybe sleeping with them isn't the best idea," Aunn started.
"And what about me?" Alistair just looked so hurt that Aunn felt like she'd just drowned a puppy. Make that five puppies. And a kitten.
"You're going to be King if Arl Eamon and I get our way and while I'm not sure where Anora fits into this yet, I know a dwarven princess does not fit in at all," Aunn said gently. "I don't want to start something and just have to end it later and hurt us both and I will not be your concubine."
"You could just try not putting me on the throne," Alistair suggested.
"Sorry, Alistair, but I don't trust the girl who put Loghain in a position to brand us as traitors to rule on her own," Aunn told him. "And a romance with me would be a bad idea because the minute this whole 'Blight' thing is done with, I'm going back to Orzammar."
There was silence for a moment.
"You know, I've always liked travelling," Zevran said slowly.
"And I could be very useful in Orzammar," Leliana added. "I could help with that new Chantry I helped found and I could help people reach things on tall shelves…"
Aunn stared at her. "What in the world is wrong with you? Why would we build shelves that we would be at a human's mercy to get things from? I swear, between this and your stance on elves…you know what, I'm going over to Morrigan's side of the camp. Follow at your own peril."
"So," Alistair said once she'd stormed off. "If I weren't going to be king, do you think I'd stand a chance?"
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