I Can't Forget You
Chapter 1: Old Friends
"Brasca!" Zevran cursed under his breath when he looked up into the tree and saw the big cat crouching there. Large yellow eyes were fixed on his, assessing his strength and agility. You're food, those eyes said. Zevran recognized the predatory look and almost smiled in spite of the danger. It seems my luck is finally running out.
He had been at the docks in Kirkwall, on his way to visit Hawke and Fenris at their country estate on the other side of Sundermount. He had been looking for a ship to take him a little way along the coast, when he had felt a tingle between his shoulder-blades. Someone was following him. Crows? Probably, he decided, though he had made his share of enemies over time. Maybe it was just someone he had cheated at cards.
It was at this point that he had the misguided idea to get rid of his pursuers by taking a shortcut through the forest, along the slopes of Sundermount. He'd shaken them off quickly, true, but it hadn't taken long for him to get hopelessly lost in the dense undergrowth. For three days now, he'd been erring around, trying to find his bearings. Damn this filthy forest. I'll take a proper city any day!
The cat jumped off the tree with an easy fluid motion and advanced on him, obviously feeling certain that he would be an easy prey. He drew his blades and began to back against a tree. I'm not quite dead yet, my beauty! Yet he was under no illusion that he would be able to save himself. The mountain cat was big and strong, with sharp teeth and vicious claws. Even if he survived this encounter, he would likely be too weakened to go on. They circled each other for a few minutes, until he saw the muscles under the golden fur tense as the cat prepared to pounce. And then everything went by very fast.
The cat took him down to the floor with a vicious strike at his shoulder. He managed to slice at its flank but that only served to enrage the beast further. Claws were tearing at his chest and huge teeth moving toward his neck. Zevran was fighting desperately for his life when a whirring noise sounded across the clearing and the animal suddenly slumped down, an arrow protruding from its side. With a last effort, he pushed the limp body off his chest, then he passed out.
When he opened his eyes again, he was looking into a familiar pair of huge green eyes. "Fenris?" His blurred vision adjusted and he heard a girlish giggle. Fenris' eyes, yes, but set into a beautiful young face, framed by short red locks. "Rhianna?"
"Shhh, Zev, don't move. Gavin will check your wounds first." Her face disappeared and was replaced by an unfamiliar one. A young human with a blond beard and curious eyes, one blue and one brown.
Zevran felt hands dab his chest, the tingling of magic, and then the pain eased a little. "There, this should do for the moment. We should take him with us into camp." The mage's voice was deep and pleasant.
Zevran was still dizzy, but he slowly sat up now and looked around. Rhianna was retrieving her arrow from the cat's dead body, carefully cleaning it and sorting it back into the quiver on her back. She looked beautiful and fierce in her dark Dalish leather armour with the bow strapped to her back. How old was she now? Twenty-one? Twenty-two? She had grown up since the last time he had seen her, the resemblance to her mother stronger than ever. Caitlin Hawke. One of the very few people he trusted completely. And now her daughter had saved his life. Zevran didn't believe in coincidences.
Rhianna knelt down at his side, smiling at him. "Zevran! I can't believe it's you. What are you doing out here all alone?"
His voice was weak. "I was on my way to see your parents, actually. Master Ilen pointed out the way to me, but it seems I've... got lost."
Rhianna grinned. "On your way from Kirkwall? Definitely lost. You're nothing but a city elf, you know that?"
"Flat-ears," one of her companions muttered, shooting Zevran a dark glance. He took a closer look at the speaker. An elf, a tallish, broad-shouldered young man with long black hair, grey eyes and strong features. His elaborate facial tattoos marked him as Dalish. At his side, he carried a beautiful longsword made from finely carved heartwood, with the matching shield strapped to his back. He was very handsome in a remote, cool way, but his face carried a grim, broody expression and his body was tense with barely contained aggression. Not a tame elf, this one.
"Rael!" Rhianna's voice carried a clear warning. She sat back on her haunches. "Come on, I need your help. Zevran, can you get up?" With their help, he got to his feet and nodded a brief greeting at the fourth member of the party, a stocky girl with curly brown hair and soft pale-blue eyes. "Malena." Rhianna said. "She's a mage too, specializes in glyphs and curses. Come, our camp isn't far from here."
They took him to an abandoned woodcutter's camp near a little stream. Four small tents were huddled around a sturdy cottage. At a gesture from Rhianna, they moved him inside the rough wooden building. Zevran dropped into a simple chair with a sigh of relief.
"Let me clean you up. Rael, Malena, take care of dinner, please. Gavin, get a few potions and poultices from your tent. Take your time and rest a little, there'll be more healing for you to do here later." Zevran noticed Rael's barely contained look of furious jealousy as the others left the small room. Rhianna remained behind and picked up a bowl of water and some rags. "Let me see your injuries, Zevran."
He flinched as she took off his armour and began to wash off the blood. The wounds weren't too deep; he'd suffered worse, and the first healing had stopped the bleeding almost completely. Yet they would need to be cleaned and bandaged properly. Rhianna's hands were firm and light and he enjoyed her soft touch.
"Right, that's better." She stepped back and briefly blushed as she took in the sight of him. Not even the angry red welts on his shoulder and chest could spoil the graceful beauty of his half-naked body, his golden skin and the firm, long muscles rippling under it. Older than her by more than thirty years he might be, but it certainly didn't show.
He grinned at her, knowing full well the effect he had on women. "So, my dear, that young elf, he's your lover? He's very handsome."
She shook her head. "Rael? No, that's long past, Zev. He is just a travelling companion. He doesn't care for me, nor I for him."
Zevran raised an eyebrow in doubt. "I don't think so. He loves you. Trust me, my sweet, I've seen the way he's looking at you. I know about these things."
"No, it's over." Rhianna's voice was firm. "I appreciate what you are trying to do, Zevran, but he does not want me. He made that clear, years ago. Anyway..." She sat down on his lap, straddling him, and let her fingers ghost over his shoulders, up his collarbone. "It is nice to see you again, Zev." Her full lips were brushing against his, tempting him, teasing him, and he suddenly had trouble breathing.
"Ah, my sweet, I don't really feel up to that kind of thing yet." He indicated his injuries and gently pushed her back. "Besides, haven't we... how do you say... been there, done that?"
Rhianna smiled impishly. "True... but that was then and this is now. There's something about you that I just can't forget." She began to play with his hair, her fingers brushing against his ears and he growled at her, catching her hand.
She laughed again, her voice husky. "I'm not a little girl any more, Zevran, and not quite so innocent either. After you left last time, I spent a few months with the Dalish, until I... had to leave." A shadow flitted over her face, only to be shaken off quickly. "Then I went back home, but I couldn't stand it. I felt trapped, bored, restless. I had to get out, so I asked Isabela to take me with her for a while."
Zevran shook his head. "I can't imagine Fenris being happy with this."
"That's putting it mildly." Her grin was decidedly mischievous. "He went all glowy on me." Zevran barely suppressed a smile when he heard her refer so flippantly to her father's rage. "But then Mother had a talk with him. Anyway, travelling with Isabela was certainly educational." She wiggled her eyebrows at him, and he had to laugh. "So, you see, you don't have to worry about corrupting a sweet little virgin anymore."
He pushed a stray lock back from her forehead. "I won't deny you are... tempting me, but I still would rather not risk having your father tear my heart from my chest."
"Well, he's not here, and he certainly won't hear it from me." She looked openly amused now, and he sighed, momentarily lost for words.
To his relief there was a knock on the door, and she got up with a small moue of regret. Gavin came in to check on Zevran. He let his hands graze over the cleaned scratches and bite marks and nodded contentedly. With a shiver, the assassin felt the familiar surge of healing magic. He could tell the young mage was not as powerful as Anders, but he felt better immediately.
"Thank you." He smiled up at Gavin who was now deftly bandaging his chest and shoulder. "You're a fine healer."
"You're welcome." The young man seemed genuinely pleased by the compliment. Rhianna walked him to the door, and Zevran's keen ears picked up his whisper "Do you want me to come by tonight?"
"I think not." Rhianna smiled and stroked his cheek for a brief moment before he left.
When she came back to him, he was shaking his head. "You are breaking a lot of hearts, my sweet."
She looked at him, her expression confused. "Oh, you mean Gavin? No, Zev, it's not like this. Him and me, we have a... an agreement. You see, he lost the girl he loved, back in Kirkwall, and I don't like to sleep alone. There's no heart-breaking involved, believe me."
Zevran sighed. "You're a lot like your mother, you know. Now let me sleep." He tried to sound grumpy, but she wasn't fooled.
With a tinkling laugh, she walked out. "Ah well, maybe I'll take Gavin up on his offer after all."
to be continued...
The "been there, done that" Zevran is alluding to is my story 'Family Friends', set three years earlier.
Many many thanks for zevgirl for taking the time to read all my ramblings!