Kallian sat down in the shade of the largest oak tree on Marquis Amelia's estate. It was not very impressive compared to the Vhenadahl that stood in the center of Denerim's Alienage, but Kallian nevertheless felt a sense of peace from being close to the large oak. For many centuries, her people had gathered beneath such trees to relax and converse together. It was one of the few traditions that had carried over when Kallian's ancestors had stopped thinking of themselves as the Dalish and started to refer to themselves as "city elves".
Some of Kallian's kin had accompanied her here. Earlier today, she had asked Jocai what she knew about the halla and how it related to their ancestors. The Elder elf of the estate had seemed pleased at Kallian's curiosity, but the limited free time both of them possessed made a solo lecture difficult to justify. Kallian had suggested that she could try to see if anyone else among the servants wished to learn, and that Jocai could teach everyone at once. Jocai had agreed and Kallian had gone among her fellow elves, trying to gauge their interest. Most of the servants had little care for ancient Dalish customs, but a handful were curious. The few that were interested were among the minority of servants who seemed less than enthusiastic about worshipping the Maker.
Her kin had seemed nervous when they had first sat down. None of them wanted to be chewed out by Niale for loafing around, but after a few minutes, they became more at ease. Maybe they too were feeling the strange sense of contentment that Kallian felt from being in the shade of the oak tree with her fellow elves around her. Their shared sense of belonging might have been enough for Kallian to try to wheedle some information out of her fellows, but soon enough, Jocai had emerged from the manor and was walking toward them.
"Okay, girls. Miakis had a few questions about the halla and thought that maybe you'd like to learn too." Jocai remarked, sitting down in front of them.
The three servants who had come out with Kallian nodded. Jocai started into her lecture, and suddenly Kallian felt as though she had been transported back to her childhood. Listening to lectures from Elders beneath the leaves of the Vhenadahl was a daily occurrence for elven children. Sometimes the Elders were people Kallian had known already, like her father or aunt, and sometimes Kallian hadn't known them very well, but all were to be respected and listened to.
"The halla was said to be Ghilan'nain's favorite creature, and the only one she did not slay when Andruil instructed her to destroy all of her creations." Jocai explained softly.
Kallian blinked as the memory of her father saying something very similar returned to her. It was a pleasant feeling to know that Jocai's lecture had jogged some of the knowledge that had long been buried in her mind. But the response from her fellow servants was quite different. At hearing this, some of her kin grew nervous again. Worship of the Elven Gods was banned in Orlais, as it was in Ferelden. It had never been enforced in the Denerim Alienage that Kallian could tell, but evidently, things were different here. Kallian saw her three fellow servants glance around as if to remind themselves that no one else was within range to hear the lecture, even if they were simply discussing the Elven Gods and not actively worshipping them.
"Be at ease, girls. We're just talking amongst ourselves." Jocai said calmingly, raising her hands for emphasis.
Unfortunately, (or fortunately, for the sake of Kallian's plan) Niale chose that moment to stomp out of the kitchens from the same door Jocai had emerged from. The ill-tempered elf peered around until she saw Jocai, Kallian, and the rest sitting beneath the oak tree in a circle. Niale made a beeline toward them. Out of the corner of Kallian's eyes, she saw the other servants get up and quickly slip away, all going in different directions. Jocai's back was turned to Niale, but she quickly looked around to see what had frightened off her students. A grimace appeared on Jocai's face as she stood up to confront Niale. Kallian stood up as well, knowing what she was about to get into.
"What's going on here, Jocai? The Marquise is not paying you or those girls to laze around." Niale demanded, walking right up to the older elf.
"We were taking a moment to discuss our shared culture, Niale. Perhaps you'd like to join us next time. You might learn something about our heritage." Jocai answered resolutely.
"Is that what you were doing? It seemed more...conspiratorial to me. The Marquise might want to know that groups of her servants are meeting in secret, away from the eyes of those she trusts." Niale said softly, letting her threat linger in the air.
Kallian had heard enough. It was time to draw Niale's baleful attention toward herself and away from the innocent elves she had manipulated into this situation. She stepped around Jocai, whose protective instincts seemed to have caused her to try to block Kallian from Niale's view.
"It was my idea. I saw the nobles returning with a halla, and wanted to know more about the creatures." Kallian said honestly.
Jocai (who had been stone-faced before) started to look worried. Niale's eyes narrowed as her attention shifted to Kallian. The fiery-haired elf suddenly smiled, and Kallian knew instantly that she was in for it. Jocai was too valuable for Niale to do anything but posture at and threaten, but the same certainly wasn't true for Kallian.
"Ah. I should have known that you'd be at the center of this. Come with me." Niale growled before reaching out to grab Kallian's wrist.
"Wait! She's just-." Jocai started, reaching a hand out.
"She is going to experience what happens when wayward servants act out, Jocai. If you don't want it to happen again, then I'd suggest thinking twice about your actions today." Niale snapped, pulling Kallian away.
Kallian let herself be led to the servant's building. Niale had a very tight grip on her wrist, and judging from the strength of the elven woman's hold, she was no stranger to fighting. Kallian had wiped the floor with any number of thugs beforehand, however, so she wasn't worried. If Niale kept it to a simple switching, then Kallian could handle that. The trick would be to provoke Niale into letting something slip, but not so far that Kallian would be forced to defend herself.
"I thought you'd read between the lines when I talked to you a couple days ago, Miakis. But perhaps I should have made things clearer." Niale said nastily, pulling out the thin strip of wood from her belt.
Kallian said nothing and merely looked at Niale with a guarded expression. Niale had taken her to the servant's building, which had been occupied by a handful of elves taking their break. They had cleared out very quickly after a simple look from Niale, and now the room was empty.
"Lean over the table and lift up your dress." Niale growled, pointing at a table next to her in the center of the room.
Kallian breathed deeply and let it out slowly before moving to the table. She wasn't afraid so much as struggling against her instincts, which told her never to put herself in such a vulnerable position in front of someone who clearly wanted to do her harm. Kallian did as she was instructed, however, and leaned over the table next to Niale so that her elbows rested on top of it. Kallian then lifted up the skirt on her dress and steeled herself for the first blow.
Niale wasted no time in delivering it. Scarcely a second had gone by before Niale swung the switch with vicious speed. Kallian didn't cry out, but the thin strip of wood felt more like a strip of pure fire as it laced into her ass. Niale, evidently dissatisfied with Kallian's silence, swung harder the second time. Kallian gritted her teeth and let out a soft cry as the wooden switch slashed into her ass again. It hadn't broken the skin, though it hurt tremendously. Kallian had suffered wounds before that were easily worse, but never in an intimate area like this.
"It was my mistake, really. An Orlesian elf would have gotten it, but I forgot that Ferelden elves are as dumb as mabaris." Niale said scornfully.
"If it was your mistake, then shouldn't you get the switching?" Kallian ventured, knowingly provoking Niale.
Niale's eyes widened slightly, and Kallian saw her rear back with the switch. Kallian gritted her teeth, but a pained cry was nevertheless forced out of her as Niale swung the switch with punishing speed. Kallian couldn't help but squirm ever so slightly as she tamped down on her instincts. They were yelling at her to grab the switch from Niale's hand and give the sadistic elf a taste of her own medicine, but it wasn't time yet.
"I'm going to chalk that up to stupidity and not cheek, Ferelden." Niale warned, shaking her head.
"What do you give to the servants who give you cheek, if I may ask?" Kallian questioned, aware of how thin the ice beneath her was.
"I give them a transfer to somewhere that no elf comes back from. Is that what you want, Ferelden?" Niale answered harshly, punctuating her words with another vicious swing of the switch.
Kallian let out a louder cry this time. Fiery lines burned on her ass where the switch had struck. So this was what had befallen the city elves who were given the task of transporting the Red Lyrium. Either they had perished from their close proximity to the dangerous substance, or whoever was receiving it was silencing the elves once the job was complete. Kallian knew that getting herself assigned that duty was her next step, but not yet. Not until she could confer with Leliana. Kallian looked at Niale and shook her head swiftly.
"Good choice, Ferelden. Now that I've warmed up a little, let's start your punishment for real." Niale stated eagerly, sounding as if she really did enjoy hurting people.
Kallian clenched her fists as she watched Niale swing her arm back and forth in anticipation. It was just a little pain. Kallian could handle it. She had to if she was going to stop more of her kin from dying. But why couldn't she have gotten the cushy end of the mission? Leliana's part couldn't be nearly as tough!
Leliana laid back on her bed with a book, waiting for Kallian to finish filling the tub. Leliana had spotted her friend at breakfast today, but she hadn't been among the elves that had served them dinner. It was a little odd, and Leliana had made certain to send a summons for Kallian to fill her bath. The work required to fill it was unfortunate, but she needed to talk to her.
The book Leliana was reading was full of Nevarran tales that she had never heard of before. Leliana had snagged it from Amelia's library with the intention of having something new to recite to her friend tonight. Telling Kallian about the story of Aveline over and over again was going to get stale eventually. Leliana needed to expand her repertoire if she was to keep her city elf friend entertained.
Leliana got up from the bed and headed over to the washroom. The tub was nearly filled, and Leliana decided to sit on the gleaming bidet and wait for her friend to arrive. A few minutes later, Kallian did, breathing a little hard as she carried two buckets of water to the tub. Leliana instantly felt guilty about making Kallian do extra work, but at least her friend could enjoy the bath afterward.
"Tough day?" Leliana inquired politely as Kallian finished filling the bathtub.
"You could say that." Kallian answered shortly, shifting in place slightly.
"Is something wrong?" Leliana asked softly, always in tune to her friend's state of mind.
"...No, it's nothing." Kallian said, frowning.
Leliana knew Kallian far too well to believe her. Kallian would sometimes keep quiet about various discomforts she was in for no other reason than to avoid being a bother to someone else. Her friend's attitude probably had something to do with her upbringing in the Alienage, where every elf was taught to put the interests of the community above their own. Leliana thought for a moment about the best way to get around Kallian's stubbornness before deciding that appealing to her need to help people was the best way to go.
"If you don't want to tell me, I understand." Leliana said in a pained voice, doing her best to appear distressed at her friend's lack of communication.
Kallian sighed and crossed her arms. They had been traveling together too long for Kallian to be unaware of Leliana's rhetorical tricks, but Leliana simply bided her time. Kallian would spill it soon, whatever it was. Her friend was just too good of a person to leave Leliana in apparent distress, even if she suspected that it wasn't entirely genuine.
"Fine, I'll tell you. But I'm warning you right now, if you laugh, I'll drown you in this bathtub." Kallian said warningly.
"I swear I won't laugh, Kal. So please, tell me what's wrong." Leliana said placatingly.
"Alright. I needed to get some information out of the head servant here. She's not the kind to be charmed, so I had to provoke her to do it." Kallian explained uncomfortably.
"I see. What did she do?" Leliana asked curiously.
"She...just look. Do NOT laugh, and tell me if there's any bleeding." Kallian said, sighing as she turned around and raised her skirt.
Leliana's eyes widened considerably as she took in the sight in front of her. Kallian's normally cute butt was marred with a criss-cross of bright red lines that covered it from top to bottom. Leliana's first reaction was overwhelming sympathy, of course, and that easily overcame the very, very small part of her that was inclined to laugh.
"There's no bleeding, at least. Does it hurt a lot?" Leliana asked carefully.
"Not as much as it did." Kallian assured her sourly, dropping her skirt and turning around again.
Leliana had to marvel at the lengths Kallian was willing to go to help her fellow elves. Leliana could not say for certain that she would be willing to take similar measures to help total strangers. But then, maybe elves needed to look out for each other if they were going to survive in a world full of humans that most certainly weren't looking out for them. Although, whichever elf had switched Kallian didn't seem to subscribe to that philosophy.
"I'll talk to Amelia about it. That won't happen again." Leliana said firmly.
"No, don't say anything. That might mess things up going forward." Kallian said just as firmly, shaking her head.
"Going forward? I don't-." Leliana started.
"Niale is the one who determines who gets sent to move the shipments. If she thinks you're protecting me, then she'll back off." Kallian explained in a patient tone, looking at Leliana determinedly.
"Wait. You're planning to get assigned to that?" Leliana asked quietly, already forming objections to the idea in her mind.
"Of course. How else are we going to figure out how it's being sent?" Kallian asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest again.
Leliana hated the idea of Kallian being in such a dangerous position, but knew there was likely no way to dissuade her friend. Once Kallian had determined that some selfless action needed to be done by her and her alone, she could not be convinced otherwise. Leliana could tell her that she was making a lot of progress at gaining Amelia's confidence, but it wouldn't be the truth. At this point, Leliana could only work on how to reduce the danger as much as possible.
"I see. When you go, I could follow you from a distance. Maybe provide backup if you need it." Leliana offered in a resigned voice.
"I appreciate the thought, but keep working on your end. All I need is for you to leave me a dagger or two in a hidden spot near the servant's building. Because I'm pretty sure I won't be given a weapon." Kallian asked in a warmer tone, seemingly grateful for Leliana's understanding.
Leliana nodded and tried to smile, but couldn't keep it up for long. It didn't make any sense. They had both been in dangerous situations like this before, and Leliana knew how capable Kallian was. But it felt different this time. The thought of her friend being trapped, alone and helpless, hit her in a way it never had before. Leliana could think about this another time, though. Right now, she had to help Kallian in whatever way she could.
"Consider it done. I'd offer to let you have the bath again, but..." Leliana said, trailing off delicately.
"Yes, I think I'll pass this time." Kallian said gingerly as she looked at the filled bathtub and winced at the steam that wafted from it.
Leliana woke up from a barely-remembered nightmare as she often did at night. Calling them nightmares was not strictly accurate, though. Her mind would simply wake her up when her dreams began to feel too real and too overpowering to deal with. She could never remember anything more than that they had to do with the Maker and a truth that her mind was not capable of grasping yet.
Leliana stretched out on the bed before she remembered that Kallian was sleeping on the other side of it. She needn't have worried, however, as Kallian was taking up a very small amount of space on the bed. Years of sleeping in cramped bunks and equally cramped bedrolls seemed to have caused her friend to curl her body in as she slept, even when there was plenty of room to spread out.
Kallian hadn't wanted to trouble her, but Leliana would hear no objections when she bade Kallian to sleep with her in the large, luxurious bed she had been given by Amelia. Once again, Kallian's body had won the argument over her sense of propriety. There was no way that her city elf friend could sleep on her stomach in the tiny bunk she had been assigned, so rejecting Leliana's insistence would have meant a painful, sleepless night full of fruitless squirming. Leliana rather thought that she was to be congratulated on not letting out even the tiniest laugh when she noticed Kallian's earnest efforts to keep anything from contacting her still-tender butt.
The window was open to let in the night air, and the moon was nearly full. It was bright enough inside Leliana's room to make out Kallian's form on the bed. The pain from the switching must have faded by now, as Kallian had shifted onto her side in her sleep without having woken. The moon was making Kallian's pale blonde hair shine beautifully. As she watched her friend sleep, Leliana was suddenly struck with the desire to kiss Kallian lightly enough so that it wouldn't wake her. She didn't, of course, as that would have been ill-done. If Leliana truly wanted to kiss Kallian, then she needed to do it when her friend was awake and able to say yes or no.
Leliana sighed and decided to turn herself away from Kallian. Her willpower was strong, but continuing to look at Kallian's beautiful form was tempting her greatly. Clamping down on her feelings for Kallian was getting harder and harder as time went on. She needed to say something before her friend went off to chase the Red Lyrium the Marquise was moving through the countryside.
In truth, Leliana knew the smart thing to do would be to set aside her feelings again and to focus on her end of their mission. But Leliana doubted that she would be able to do that anymore. She had shoved them down several times now, but here they were, bubbling up again even stronger than before. Her feelings wouldn't be constrained again so easily.
Leliana closed her eyes again and tried to clear her thoughts. Between her feelings for Kallian and the vivid dreams her mind liked to conjure, it would be a wonder if she could get any sleep at all tonight. But the knowledge that Kallian was sleeping peacefully beside her was something, at least. Kallian's steady, measured breaths were calming to listen to. Leliana just had to do everything in her power to make sure that her friend would keep breathing through the days to follow.