Kirkwall was nothing like she expected. Nothing like she had read in books or looked at through maps. The statues that rose from the sea made her take another look. Did shemlens truly treat their slaves in such a way? She was glad now more than ever that she did not live in the time where elves were the slaves to humans, before Andraste had helped free them. She let out a shiver. The man beside her glanced at her under under his helmet, but said nothing. She felt uneasy. Everyone admired her, but feared her. That was to be expected, but it was still an odd feeling.
Always had been.
But she felt herself relax as she saw the docks come into view. And on those docks was a human giving her a warm smile that made her heart swell and soar. He ran to the end of the dock, holding out his arms. She smiled and clambered onto the side of the ship. Several of the crew gazed in horror, begging her to get down. She ignored them, and jumped from the side. The man on the docks eyes widened, surprised she actually jumped, but he caught her all the same. They laughed together as he spun her around in his arm, the pins in her hair flying out of her hair and into the sea.
"You know, you can't keep doing that, you are getting to heavy." Lyna Mahariel slapped the back of Alistair's head, but laughed lightly. She wasn't even wearing her ceremonial commander armor, which were made with dragon scales for extra protection, though lighter they still carried weight. She was wearing a cotton gown, light and breezey.
Alistair placed her down on the dock and she smiled.
"You know me, I always take too many risks," Lyna laughed before leaning to peck her lover gently. Alistair laughed, his smile wide and warm.
"I know that too well, but you must be careful my love." The King of Ferelden went to his knees, placing his hand on the elf woman's stomach, showing she was heavy with child. He placed a kiss on the largest part of her belly before pressing his cheek there. "And how is our little bundle of joy?"
"More like scandal, emma lath," the Dalish elf whispered, but smiled all the same. "And he is doing well, he is kicking."
"Is he?" Alistair looked content to stay where he was all day, just to feel his child kick. She smiled lovingly at him, running her fingers gently through the king's hair. A scandal their child was, in more ways than one. Not only was she a fellow Grey Warden to the king, but she was not his wife. And worse yet, she was an elf. Many had come to her rooms, attempting to end her life and thus the life of her human elf blooded child, but she had a trusty dwarf body guard who was like her living shadow. Well, she did proofread his letters to his wife and child. He considered that a fair exchange.
Alistair did not know of these attempts. Lyna had made Bann Teagan and Arl Eamon not to tell him. If they did, the man would panic and become paranoid, which was the last thing she wanted. He would never let her leave his sight. They had discussed this, wondering what to do if they could have a child. Alistair wanted to announce it to the world, tell the world that Lyna was his and the child growing her in belly was his, but Lyna knew that a shemlen kingdom would want a shelmen king, and a shemlen heir. They decided that they would keep any child between them hush hush, and make Connor the heir when the time came. Unfortunately, Alistair was not doing so well to keep the secret just that, a secret.
Bann Teagan ran up to them at last. He let out a soft groan as he saw that her hairpins, a gift from an important Orlesian contact, were most likely at the bottom of the harbor and saw Alistair on his knees. He nudged Alistair with his knee.
"Your Majesty, need I remind you why the Commander is here?" he muttered.
"She has a name Teagan," Alistair said, his hands still on her stomach.
"Yes, I know, but I need to remind you that you are kneeling on a dock, with the Warden Commander, gazing at her stomach in awe with people staring and keeping her out in the open?"
"Yes, what of - Oh!" Realization finally dawned on him and he stood, blushing and standing at her side. "Might we make our way into the city?" He said, speaking a little louder, putting on the act of just friends. Not that it would have fooled those who were there from the beginning. But more had gathered so might as well go on with the show.
Lyna curtsied. "In a moment Your Majesty, I am to wait for my bodyguard."
Alistair's face lit up. "Oghren's here too!" Lyna gave him a strange look.
"Yes…he is my bodyguard after all Your Majesty."
Alistair flushed. "Well, yes of course, I thought he was visiting his family is all."
"He did before he left," Lyna confirmed.
"Like I would leave her in anyone else's hands! They would quit within the hour!" The dwarf looked down at them from the ship, looking a bit green around the gills. The dwarf could deal with the sky but being on the sea was not his strong point.
"We actually counted," Lyna said. "The longest lasted about a day and a half."
"They left after she threw a chair out of her office!" Oghren confirmed. Then he laughed weakly. "They moved her wood carving thing. The wolf right?"
Alistair winced. No one was to touch anything in her office, it was her place. And if someone touched her carvings, he was surprised they were not dead.
Lyna shrugged. "Once Oghren gets his land legs, we can go about our business." Her eyes suddenly went wide and her hands went to her stomach.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Alistair panicked. She frowned.
"I'm sorry emma lath," she whispered. "You missed him kick."
"Oh!"
Walking through the streets of Kirkwall was more awkward than gazing at it. Some recognised her, others wondered what she was going with the King of Ferelden. She had done her best to keep herself out of the eye of the public, especially since her pregnancy began to show, but she was never out of the entirely. It did not help that the almost equally dwarf was not so keen of avoiding the public eye. Plus, the large mabari hound did nothing to hid her status either.
They wondered through Hightown, and Lyna found herself increasingly bored. She had gotten used to court life. Alistair wanted her around for everything, saying at least that she was the Warden Commander and needed to be involved, but when he began to be her escort for public functions.
The elf held back a sigh. She missed wondering with her clan. She missed the adventure, she missed the fighting for her life honestly. Without it, her life seemed dull. But the Blight was over and she was with child. Suddenly, she felt someone take her hand. Looking, she noticed the King's hand holding her own. She should have pulled away, scolded him for such public displays of affection, but the look in his eyes as he gazed at her, with such love, she did not have the will to tell him off.
This was why she put up with the useless gossip, this was why she stayed in the court that was so threatened by her and threatened her so. This was why she did not return to her clan. Because this man had filled the emptiness inside her and made her feel complete, more than anyone else had. She smiled lovingly at Alistair. If only they didn't have to hide.
But then what would all the gossipers live for?
As they walked through the pristine streets of Hightown, a small group passed them. There were two shemlen women, an elf, most likely a flat-ear due to him being in the city at all, and a shemlen man. The women were talking animatedly as the elf stood on the other side of the more dressed shemlen, almost possessively. She recognised the body language as the same kind Alistair gave her when she was around other men. Only, the elf's body language was slightly harsher than her gold hearted lover's.
But only slightly.
And the other male...
Lyna's eyes widened then narrowed. She pulled away from Alistair who called after her in an inquiring tone. She ignored him and stomped after the group. She could hear Alistair and Oghren following after her, but she ignored them.
"Anders!"
The shemlen male stiffened and turned to face her. Seeing who called him, his face paled and he turned to run. In a feat of amazing speed, her mabari ran up to him and tackled the mage to the ground. The dwarf followed, moving faster then the pregnant elf, getting a good look at the shemlen then laughed.
"Well fart me a lullaby! It really is you! We have been looking for you, you winking, slack-jawed coward!"
"Oghren...get him...off me..." she heard Anders beg, trying his hardest to push the mabari off him.
"Anders, what did you do?" she heard the woman say, as she hesitated to draw a weapon. Her companions drew their own without hesitation. Looking at her, the less dressed woman looked at Anders in surprise.
"Geeze Anders! What did you do to the poor girl?"
"Its not like that..." Anders wheezed. He paled further as Lyna stood over him. Lyna glared at him, her arms crossed over her chest.
The more dressed woman looked between her, Oghren, the mabari, and Anders, confused and concerned.
"Hello Anders," Lyna said coldly. Her voice was like ice. "I've been looking for you."
The hesitant woman looked at her idly. "Look, I am sure Anders will take full responsibility," she said, before Anders could say anything.
"He better..." the elf hissed.
Anders looked at the woman, shocked and scared. "And," the woman continued. "I will personally make sure he will help you with the child once it is born." That made everyone freeze. Suddenly, Oghren began laughing hysterically. The woman looked at him confused and Lyna was stunned into silence.
"What!" Behind her, Alistair rushed up to Anders, calling the mabari off him, who did so without protest, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him "You took advantage of her, you good for nothing coward!" He began to shake the mage, and his guards surrounded the group. The less dressed woman and elf tightened their grips on their weapons.
"N-N-No! I didn't, I swear!" Anders pleaded.
"Hey! I know you three!" Turning, Lyna finally got a good look at the less dressed woman. Her eyes widened then she let out a smirk.
"Well, Isabella! So nice to see you again," Lyna purred. Isabella smirked and sheathed her knives. "I see you two have been busy, or is that really Anders's little bundle of joy?"
Lyna laughed. "Hardly. He may have been a flirt but it never worked on me."
"So...wait...he didn't take advantage of you?" Alistair asked.
"Not in the way you are thinking of emma vhenan," Lyna said softly. Alistair let go of Anders who fell to the ground. The elf and the other woman looked about for answers.
"Um...Isabella...mind telling us..." the woman began. The pirate laughed.
"Right of course. Everyone these are my...friends. The one rolling on the ground I do not believe I have met in the same way as the other two."
"Not without trying," Lyna muttered, remembering how the drunk had tried very hard to come in on her, Alistair, and Isabella's...adventure.
"His name is Oghren," Isabella continued. "And the nicer smelling one is her mabari, Falon. And these two are Alistair and Lyna."
"Please to meet you," Alistair said, turning to face the group. He faced the woman fully. "I remember you, your the Champion of Kirkwall." Realization dawned on the woman's face and she went to her knee.
"Your Majesty, I did not recognise you." Alistair laughed and told her to rise.
"I will take that as a compliment," he said. He then turned to Lyna, a joking smile pulled at her lips. "See my dear, no one recognised us."
Lyna shook her head. "Emma lath, we are surrounded by royal guards. And I did scare these poor people into a panic." She turned to face the others. "I apologize for that."
"You still didn't explain how you knew Anders," the Champion said, her voice weary. Lyna stood up straighter, looking very proud and intimidating, despite her pregnant state.
"I am Lyna Mahariel, Commander of the Grey Wardens of Ferelden. And this man," she pointed at Anders, who froze part way into sneaking away, "owes me, not only his life, but an explanation."
"How does he owe you his life?" the Champion asked.
"No doubt has something to do with the fact he is an escaped mage," the elf muttered. Lyna raised an eyebrow. He had a Tevinter accent. And didn't like mages much by the sound of it. Raising her hand, a small globe of light appeared in her palm.
"Being a mage has nothing to do with it," Lyna assured him. The elf's face as not happy. Of course, he looked like the brooding sort, which reminded her of Sten a bit.
"Then what do you want with him?" Isabella asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you quite sure it is not his child?"
Lyna could feel Alistair's anger grow. Oghren's laughing increased.
"Quite sure," Lyna said firmly. "I saved Anders life and made him a Grey Warden-"
"And now you are going to take him back!" the Champion demanded. The elf calmly shook her head.
"Hardly. With the Blight over, we are in no dire need of Wardens. However," her voice grew cold again, "disappearing on me is unforgivable. I would at least have liked your resign in writing!"
"But...But Nathaniel said-" Anders stuttered.
"I am Commander, not Nathaniel!" Lyna shouted. "The order does not like Warden's leaving, no, but I am Commander, it is my right to decide and if you had asked there wouldn't have been a problem!"
"You would have sent me to the Circle!"
"Never! How dare you assume such a thing! I am a mage as well, shemlen! I would not have you sent to the Circle again, you would escape and I would have to deal with that mess all over again!"
Alistair gently gasped Lyna's arm. "Love, please calm down...remember the baby..."
The elf took a deep breath. "Is there a place we can speak? Privately? My feet are beginning to ache."
The pirate smiled. "Do you royal minded folk avoid dingy pubs?"
Lyna snorted. "Hardly. Besides, it is the only place Oghren fits in."
"Damn right!" the dwarf cut in, finally over his laughing attack. "Those damn noble parties are too stuck up for my taste."
"Then to the Hanged Man!" Isabella announced. Hooking arms with the Champion and Lyna she began to march off. "Your Majesty, dismiss your guard, you are not going to need them." Alistair smiled and nodded. Oghren gave a whoop and followed the pirate. Before she was out of arms reach, Alistair gently gasped the elf's arm.
"Please no brandy my love, you remember what happened last time."
Smiling, the elf pecked him on the lips. "Of course emma lath."
"And this is why I have put up with this elf for so long!" Oghren laughed, as Lyna swallowed her fifth glass of rum.
"Well, when you are surrounded by men, you have to be able to drink with them for them to respect you," Lyna said, smiling widely.
"I hear you," Isabella said, lifting her glass in a toast. Alistair groaned. He knew she was going to get around her promise somehow, he just knew it. Anders sat awkwardly in his seat between Oghren and Alistair, looking into his water.
"So, tell me, are you and Alistair still a thing?" Isabella whispered. Alistair blushed but Lyna smiled.
"Can't you tell?" Lyna asked, gently carressing her belly. Alistair's hand lay there too. Their child had kicked again on the way over to the pub and he had once again missed it. He'd be damned if it happened again.
Isabella shrugged. "Well, with him being king and all, I thought he would have broken it off."
"He tried, but I convinced him otherwise."
"And made me feel like a fool in the process," Alistair muttered. Lyna awwed and pinched his cheek.
"Do not worry emma lath, you made it up to me later that night." Alistair blushed but smiled.
"Um...Lyna..." the Champion, Hawke, looked at her questioningly. "Have you contacts with the Grey Wardens in the Free Marshes?"
"Yes, I do," Lyna said, putting down her glass.
"My brother joined the Wardens and I was wondering-"
"If I had heard anything?" Lyna leaned back. "There was a Warden in my reports that came up. He...well, he was a bit of a...what was the word they used Oghren?"
"If it is the one I'm thinking of it was "tit"."
"That's Carver," Hawke said, shaking her head. The Captain of the Kirkwall Guard, who had bowed to her upon hearing her title from Hawke (who promptly made her stand, seeing as both she and Alistair were in common clothing) nodded in agreement.
"A good man, and a good fighter," Lyna continued. "But he didn't seem to understand when to hold back...against darkspawn its no big deal, but when you have a horde..." Lyna shook her head.
The elf reached for her glass, which Alistair took. "My love, I think that is enough."
"Alistair, emma sa'lath, if you do not return my drink right now, I will transform into a spider and have free rein of this place."
"And she will too," Oghren assured him, buying another pint.
"I don't doubt it," Alistair muttered. "I am just worried about the child..."
Lyna sighed. She wouldn't transform with the child growing inside her, too risky, but the threat was still there. But Alistair had a point. "Fine, fine, get me some water then." Smiling, glad that he had won, he did as she was asked.
"So...you said your name was Mahariel right?" a dwarf named Varic asked. "As in, the Hero of Ferelden Mahariel?"
"That is me yes."
"And, by that lingo you keep speaking, I take it you are Dalish."
"If you are comfirming the story that a female Dalish Grey Warden defeated the Archdemon then yes it is true." She sounded a tad annoyed. A waiter placed a glass of water in front of her and she drank it slowly.
"Then you know a girl named Merrill."
"I did."
"What do you know about her mirror?"
Lyna did a spit take at that, spraying poor Hawke and the broody elf, whose name was apparently Fenris. Neither looked happy as she spluttered and gasped.
"M-Mirror?" she coughed. Alistair gently patted her on the back, trying to help free her airways.
"She has this mirror in her house, and I think that is why she and the Keeper got into an argument."
"What?" Lyna looked shocked and scared. "She is not with the clan? She is not with the Keeper? She has that thing in her home!"
"Um...yeah..." The dwarf looked uneasy. Lyna stood quickly, becoming unbalanced having Alistair catch her.
"Take me to her," Lyna said, her voice commanding. "I must speak to her at once!"
Everyone looked at her. Impatient, she began to walk toward the door, calling Falon to her. The hound, who was lying right outside the door, looked up at her, his stubby tail wagging.
Lyna kneeled in front of him, looking him in the face. "Can you track a friend for me boy?" she asked, her voice a soft coo.
"Wait! Lyna!" Turning, Lyna saw Hawke coming up behind her. "I can take you to her! There is no need to rush!"
"But there is!" Lyna insisted.
"Then we will go now."
Lyna clung gently to Alistair's arm as they walked through the alienage. It was not her first time walking through such a place, and this alienage was smaller than the one in Denerim, but uneasiness persisted. Flat-ears returned to the people all the time. Pol, for one, but to see so many in one place like this...
She held back a shudder.
Hawke gently pushed open the door to a small house. Inside, it was small and things were mismatched. Merrill obviously did not decorate. Hawke pointed to a room off the main one and Lyna signaled for Alistair to walk behind her. Standing in the doorway, the elf looked inside.
Merrill sat in front of the mirror, gazing into it. Though she could not feel the mirror's taint any longer, the sight of it made her sick. She remembered what it did to her, what it had taken away from her. And yes...what it gave her. Taking a deep breath, she walked up behind her.
"Of all the people I thought I would see in Kirkwall, you would be the last lethallan."
Merrill jumped at the voice and turned. She gazed in wonder at Lyna, who smiled gently.
"Lyna! By the Creators!" Merrill jumped to her feet, hugging Lyna tightly. The elf nearly toppled over but returned the embrace. "What are you doing here?" Merrill inquired. "And you are with child! Congratulations!"
Lyna laughed. "It is good to see you too lethallan." She smiled more. "We have been apart for far too long, you have changed my dear."
"And you Lyna! You are with child!"
"So you have mentioned before," Lyna said.
"Oh...right...sorry..." Merril looked down at her feet, making Lyna frown.
"Why are you apologizing for that? If anything you should be explaining that." Lyna's voice grew dark as she pointed towards the mirror. "What is that thing doing here? And whole?"
Merrill looked at the mirror then looked back at Lyna. "Well...yes...see...about that-"
"It was destroyed for a reason, lethallan," Lyna hissed. "And it should have stayed destroyed."
"But, I removed the taint-"
"So what?" Lyna inquired. "What on earth could have possessed you to put it back together!"
"W-Well, I-"
"She has made a deal with a demon, if that is what you mean," Fenris muttered. Hawke nudged him to be quiet and Alistair's eyes flashed. Lyna's did the same, her voice becoming dangerously low.
"You did what?"
"It was just to have access to blood magic," Merrill said desperately.
"What!" Lyna pushed Merrill back slightly. "Blood Magic! Have you gone mad?"
"Demons are just spirits!"
"Spirits who wish to corrupt and destroy your soul!"
Merrill almost coward under her look. "It was for the good of the clan!"
"Good of the clan?" Lyna turned her head and spat on the floor. "How is endangering the clan for the good of the clan!"
"This mirror could tell us so much about our past," Merrill said, turning to look longingly at the mirror. "Think of what it could tell us."
"That thing needed to be destroyed and stay destroyed. This thing changed my life, took me from the clan. Or have you forgotten?"
"Of course I haven't!" Merrill's voice became pleading. "But I thought, with it, I could cure you and find Tamlen!"
"I can not be cured!" Lyna shouted. "Tamlen is gone!"
"By now he is, yes! But before, I may been able to find him! Bring him back to the clan!"
"Tamlen is dead Merrill!"
"I know! But-"
"I killed him!" All was silent as Lyna panted, her face flushed and angered. Alistair looked uncomfortable, looking at the floor. Merrill looked at her with wide eyes.
"You...you what?" she squeaked. "You killed him? But...why? Why look for him if you killed him?"
Anger flashed into Merrill's eyes. She reached for her staff. "You have abandoned the People! You have killed one of our own! And I bet that is a half human child growing in your womb!" She gripped her staff and pointed it at Lyna. Hawke and the other's stiffened, Alistair looking ready to jump infront of Lyna, Oghren and Falon not far behind. "You killed one of our own! You killed Tamlen!"
There was a flash.
When all cleaned, Merrill's staff was across the floor, Merrill was on her back against the wall, and Lyna had a dagger to her neck. Merrill looked timidly up at Lyna, whose face was dark, but calm.
"Just because you defeated me in becoming the Keeper's First does not mean I have no magic," Lyna whispered. "I can use a blade as you use a staff, I am not so helpless." She let out a breath, and lowered the blade. "I will explain everything lethallan." Her face grew darker. "But if you threaten me or my child again, I will end your life like I have the hundreds of assassins before. Ar'din nuvenin na'din, lethallan. Ar tu na'din ma len, emma lath. Emma shem'nan, ar tu na'lin emma mi." Merrill looked up at her, scared and stunned.
"That was quite a threat," the flat-ear Fenris muttered.
"What did she say?" Hawke whispered back and the others leaned in to listened.
"Loosely, "I do not want to kill you clan mate. But I will kill you for my child and my love. My revenge is swift, and I will see your blood on my blade."" Even Alistair paled, looking at Lyna. She had not seem to hear the rest speaking as she gazed at the mirror.
She walked past Merrill and looked at the Eluvian is disgust, her knuckles white on the handle of her dagger. "I did not want to kill Tamlen," she said quietly. "He was my vhenan'ara, my heart's desire, my betrothed." She could almost feel Alistair wince behind her. "I had left my duties with Master Varathorn to be with him. I just wanted some time with him. It was because of him I did not have to leave the clan. Because he wanted to be with me, I was allowed to stay, though I was not First to the Keeper. I did not want to search the cave, but he insisted. I was afraid, but I followed him. I should have insisted, I should have said no. But I could not deny him."
Gently, she closed her eyes, covering them with her hand, as if to hide her tears. "I did not trust this thing. I wanted to return to the clan, to tell the Keeper. But he insisted. I told him not to touch it, but he did and then..." She looked angrily at the mirror.
"I was tainted. And Tamlen disappeared. I was cursed, I was forced to leave the clan. I became a Grey Warden recruit. I had to leave the clan, my home! Because of this!" She turned to face Merrill. "There were three recruits at my Joining. Only I survived. Two strong humans died that day. And then, there was Ostagar..." She shook her head. "We were betrayed, as you know. And only Alistair and I survived."
She looked down at the knife in her hands, watching the metal flash in the candle light. "We had to recruit armies, gather our forces to not only defeat the Blight, but face the traitor as well. I remember my nightmares, I remember the sleepless nights I lay awake in fear. And I remember laying awake, and thinking about Tamlen. About what I should have done." Then, she looked up, looking lovingly at Alistair. "And I remember healing. I remember my heart mending as I fought and lived with the Warden who had been with me the entire time...the one who shared my pain as I did his own." Alistair smiled lovingly at her in return. Merrill looked between them, fascinated.
Lyna looked at Merrill once more. "I learned to love again. And I fell in love again. And I fell farther than I had ever fallen before."
"I hope it didn't hurt too much when you fell," Merrill said, without thinking it seemed, for she quickly covered her mouth, embarrassed. Lyna smiled warmed and sat beside her, taking her hand. "I-I know, you didn't mean it literally! I-I just!"
"Worry not," Lyna said. "I have spent so long with shemlen, I have picked up on their words."
"But, how could you fall in love with a human, Lyna?" Merrill asked desperately. "You can never return to the clan if you married one."
"Love, true love, is blind lethallan. It does not look at race, or gender. And I had fought with myself for so long to keep it from happening, that it only made it worse. And, I have shared my bed with more than one human, of both." She looked at Isabella who smiled. "But I have only loved one. And I will only love one. And, in all this darkness, there was something beautiful."
She took a shuddering breath before she continued. "Then, one night, we were attacked. Darkspawn and shrieks." Alistair shivered again, knowing which night she spoke of. It was one of the few nights they had not shared a tent, due to her injury being healed by Wynne. "I fought them, and defeated them...and there...there was Tamlen. At first, I did not know it was him. I was about to smite him...when he called out to me. He ran, yelling at me not to look at him. He was suffering from the darkspawn corruption but he was alive! I went after him. He could not fight the archdemon or the taint. I wanted to help him I wanted to heal him. He...the last thing he said to be before he lost his mind was...was..." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and looking up. "He said "Ma'arlath Lyna, abelas"." Merrill gasped and covered her mouth. The others looked at Fenris, hoping he knew what was being said.
"It is elven. He said "I love you, Lyna." Abelas is an apology." Even Fenris's voice was soft as he spoke. Hawke took his hand, squeezing it gently.
"I could not kill him," Lyna whispered. "He had lost his mind to the taint and the archdemon, he became the thing I had sworn to defeat and destroy and I could not kill him. He attacked me, reopening my wounds. And I still could not kill him. It was not until he went to attack Alistair, did I give him his mercy blow." She turned and looked Merrill straight in the face.
"I killed Tamlen. I placed a blade in his back. I chopped off his head and watched it roll away from his body. I preformed a rite for him, I buried him beneath a tree that will one day be a strong, large oak."
Merrill looked at her horror struck and white faced. Lyna looked down at her hands. "I will never forget it. It haunts my dreams as much as the Wardens' Nightmares. And I will never forget him. But, I could not let him hurt and harm Alistair. I could not let him harm vhenan'ara." She looked at the mirror. "A part of me hates that thing for shattering my small world. It took away my home, my life, Tamlen. But it made me a Warden, it allowed me to use and expand my gift like I had never experience. I learned the secret to changing my form and wielding a blade as others wielded a staff. I could fight as both warrior and mage. It let me learned of the Arcane Warriors, a magical dalish path long lost to us. And it led me to my true vhenan'ara. I have given up my place in the clan. I have taken to live among shemlen. And I carry in my womb a elf blooded human of my vhenan'ara, who I protect with my life."
She looked at Merrill. "But this thing will kill you lethallan. And if not you, than someone love and care about deeply. Think of your friends..." She looked at the group. "They care deeply for you, and you endanger all their lives, as well as your own."
Struggling to stand, she gripped her dagger once more. It glowed with an ominous power. Raising the blade, Lyna flung at the mirror. Point met glass, and the Eluvian was destroyed once more. She turned away from Merrill.
"Please see that is stays destroyed," Lyna muttered. Alistair offered his hand and Lyna took it. He gathered her into his arm as they began to leave.
"Lyna!" Lyna paused and looked at Merrill. "W-Will you come and visit once the baby is born?" Lyna smiled and nodded. She looked at Hawke, who was smiling widely with tears running down her own cheeks. Beside her, Fenris sat awkwardly. She would have to speak to him next. Seeing Anders, she gave him a look.
"A letter, of resignation sent to me as soon as possible," she ordered. "I do not want to hear anything bad about you again, do you understand?"
Anders nodded. Lyna smiled softly then. "Ser-Pounce-A-Lot misses you." Anders gave her a look of surpise as she, Alistair, Falon and Oghren left the small home. Alistair kissed her forehead and laid his hand on her belly. Suddenly, his eyes went wide.
"A kick! I felt him kick!" Lyna laughed and looked lovingly up at him.
Alistair was many things. A shemlen, a goof, a strange male, her vhenan'ara, the father of her child, and someone she could not see living without.
"He did emma lath," she said, wiping her tears away. Alistair looked at her. Taking her hand, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"Ma emma lath." His tongue tripped over the words but Lyna smiled warmly. Turning her head, she kissed him, pouring her love into him.
"Emma sa'lath, emma vhenan'ara, ma'arlath Alistair."