Scarlett Tabris
Around an hour later the throne room was filled with the nobles of The Bannorn. Scarlett sat beside Alistair who was on the Throne. She was wearing her travelling cloak and keeping the hood low over her face so as none of them recognised her. She surveyed the crowed from where she sat, hoping to catch a sight of Shianni, but she was no where to be found. Her eyes fell upon Bann Teagan and Wynne. It had been so long since she had seen them. When all the nobles had taken their places on the balconies King Alistair stood. The hall quietened as he rose from his chair.
"My Lords and Ladies of The Bannorn. This Landsmeet is called as you know to come to a decision about donating funds to help repair the Alienage which suffered greatly in the Battle of Denerim. The outcome of this plea will be decided today. I'd like to ask Bann Shianni to enter and submit her case."
Alistair sat down as the door to the throne room opened. Shianni entered in an ankle length dress. Scarlett could tell that she had tried her best to make herself look presentable however compared to the rest of the nobles she still looked shabby. The Bannorn began to jeer and whistle as she took her place in the middle of the floor, ready to address the nobles on the balconies. Scarlett wanted nothing more than to walk down and stand by her side for support. She just looked so alone. Alistair stood and raised a hand to quieten the nobles again. The noise died out.
"Bann Shianni...If you please..." he said. Shianni looked back at him and nodded. Then she turned back to the nobles.
"Lords and Ladies of The Bannorn. I think you know by now why I am here." She began. Her voice was shaky but determined as she addressed the men and women before her. Scarlett glanced up at them. Some of them were staring at her with disgust while others were talking among themselves, not paying any attention to her words. Very few of them looked like they cared what she had to say. White hot rage soared through Scarlett as she fought to restrain herself from interrupting. Shianni continued.
"I have been appointed Bann of the Alienage and it is my duty to my people to see that their needs are met. The City of Denerim suffered greatly at the hands of the Darkspawn but none more so than the Alienage. Disease is rampant and the buildings are falling to pieces as we speak. There are elves dying everyday that could be saved. I do not need to go into more detail as I have made this plea three times to you already. I ask only that you change your opinion and agree to donate coin to my cause as I try to help my people survive."
Suddenly one of the noblemen stood. "Tell me, elf, do you think coin grows on trees? I have barely enough to support my own lands. Why should I spare what little I have to help you knife ears?"
Members of the Bannorn stood up and cheered for the man's speech.
"Your pleas do not sway us, elf! You shouldn't even be in this council!" A woman shouted. The crowd roared again and arguments began to break out.
"Come now, is a little coin from each of us going to hurt?" asked Bann Alfstanna, also getting to her feet. "They may be elves but they are still people."
The crowd became outraged. Shianni stood in the middle of the floor, screaming back at the nobles as they shouted abuse to her.
"Do you humans have no sympathy at all for those less fortunate than you? How can you sit by and watch children die of starvation while you live comfortably in your castles?"
One of the woman who Scarlett had seen arguing with Shianni yesterday leaned forward over the balcony. "Go back to your Alienage elf! May the Maker lock the gate behind you and leave you all to rot." She leaned her head over the balcony and spat on Shianni. The nobles then began to throw things at her and mock her. Scarlett could no longer sit still. She wasn't going to take this. She got to her feet, reeling with fury.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" she shouted. Her voice echoed all over the throne room and the nobles looked up in surprise. The arguing subsided at once. Alistair buried his face in his hands. This was clearly what he had wanted to avoid. He was well aware of Scarlett's hotheadedness. Scarlett walked down the steps toward Shianni. She could feel the eyes of The Bannorn on her as she made her way down the hall, confused as to who was under the hood. Shianni stood dripping with spit. Her head was bleeding from something that had been thrown at her. Everyone, including Shianni, stared wide-eyed as Scarlett stopped a few feet from her. She pulled back her hood. The crowd gasped.
"It's The Hero of Ferelden!" one of them shouted. The room filled with whispers and a few people started to clap. Fear spread through The Bannorn as they stared down at the fearsome slayer of Darkspawn. Scarlett looked up at them all with loathing.
"How dare you treat the Bann of The Alienage with such disrespect!" she yelled angrily. "How dare you call yourselves nobles as you shout obscenities at this woman and spit on her as though she is nothing but scum!?"
The anger in Scarlett's voice reverberated around the hall. A few of the nobles actually took a few steps back from the balcony in fear.
"You there!" Scarlett shouted, pointing at the woman who had spat on Shianni first. "What gives you the right to spit on my Cousin and condemn my people to death after everything I have done for this nation?"
Cousin? Cousin? The word was repeated in whispers throughout the crowd. Alistair clearly hadn't mentioned the link between Shianni and Scarlett when he appointed her as Bann. They weren't actually cousins but that didn't matter right now. They were still family.
The woman stuttered and spluttered as she tried to think of a response. Scarlett continued.
"You are all a disgrace to your kind! You call yourself nobles but when a chance arrives to do something noble you turn into a pack of wild beasts. Bann Shianni may be an elf, but I am also an elf. I did not hear you complain when I slew the Arch Demon to protect your families and homesteads. This is what I get in return? You will let my people die of starvation and disease and for what? Out of spite? Because you cannot spare a few coins to save a few lives? If this is the nation I was fighting for then perhaps I should have left you to the Darkspawn!"
Scarlett couldn't bear standing there anymore. She took one last look at them all and exited the throne room. As she left the nobles stood in shock and silence. She pushed open the palace doors and stepped outside into the sunlight, shaking and trying to catch her breath.
In the name of the Maker! Where did all that come from? She thought. Her legs felt like jelly and she sat down on the ground. Her mind flashed back to Shianni, standing there defeated. She felt the adrenaline rush begin to calm and her breathing began to go back to normal. The nobles had seemed afraid of her. She had been holed away in Amaranthine for almost a year. Many must have assumed she had left for good. The shock of her appearing like that must have scared the life out of them. The thought almost made her laugh.
After several minutes she heard movement behind her from inside. The Landsmeet had ended. She jumped up and began to walk away, realising that the angry nobles who she had just scolded would be exiting any second. She walked in the direction of the market district as quick as she could. It had been so long since she had shopped here. All of a sudden Meryl's face appeared in her mind. She would not have known about the Landsmeet if it wasn't for her. Scarlett decided to get her a gift. As she shopped she realised that she was unsure of what the girl would want. Her eye caught a jade necklace hanging from one of the stalls. She approached the merchant.
"How much for the necklace?" she asked. The merchant's eyes lit up. He grinned at her with a star struck look.
"For you, The Hero of Ferelden, free of charge!" he exclaimed. Scarlett was taken aback.
"That's very kind of you sir but I insist you let me pay you something for it" she replied kindly. The man shook his head quickly.
"Not at all, My Lady. You saved my family from the Darkspawn. It is the least I can do. Please accept my offer. It would make me feel better" he said earnestly. Scarlett smiled at him. The man's face was alight with glee at being able to present the Hero of Ferelden with a token of his thanks. She then nodded her head in acceptance.
"Thank you, sir. You are very kind." The merchant shook his head.
"No, no, thank you, Hero. Without you we would have all been doomed." He said, packing the necklace into a paper bag and handing it to her. She thanked the man again and retreated back to the Royal Palace.
Scarlett walked back through the throne room. It was completely deserted by now. She went to the kitchens in search of Meryl. The elf wasn't there so she decided to go back to her room. On the way she bumped into her mopping the floor of the hallway.
"How are you, Meryl?" she asked brightly. The little elf jumped.
"Maker, am I ever not going to jump when people call me. I always think I'm about to be scolded for something." She said with relief, realising it was just Scarlett. Scarlett laughed.
"Sorry. I just wanted to give you something" Scarlett replied. She held out the package to the girl who took it with shaking hands, casting her a confusing look.
"What is it?" she asked. She tipped the bag upside down and the jade necklace fell out onto her hand. She let out a small squeak and her other hand covered her mouth.
"For me?" she asked in disbelief. "Really?"
Scarlett nodded. "Of course, I though you might like it so I got you it as a thanks for telling me about the Landsmeet ...and for making me breakfast."
The elf stared at it in shock. "This is the first gift anyone has ever given me" she said. She looked up at Scarlett. "Thank you so, so much, My Lady. It is far too grand."
Scarlett waved her hand as though it was nothing. "You're welcome, child, I hope you like it. Anyway I'll be in my room." She patted her on the shoulder as she passed and entered her bedroom.
As she turned the door and looked up she found herself face to face with Shianni. She jumped slightly, not expecting anyone to be in her room.
"Sorry if I scared you" Shianni said. Her voice sounded less cold towards Scarlett but she still sounded angry. Scarlett walked past her and began taking off her armor. She unhooked Leliana's dagger and sat it on her bedside table before unbuckling her gauntlets.
"What are you doing in my room Shianni? " Scarlett asked frostily, not looking at her. "I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me."
Shianni moved towards her. "I'm sorry about what I said, Cousin. I was just angry."
Scarlett threw her gauntlets on the floor and took her armor off over her head. She removed her boots and grabbed a robe from her wardrobe. She stormed over to the door and grabbed the handle.
"Cousin, stop! Please!"Shianni called after her. Scarlett hesitated, then turned to face her.
"I seem to remember asking you to do the same thing and you just walked away," she said bitterly. "What did I do to make you hate me so?"
"I don't hate you, Scarlett." Shianni said at once. "I just... don't like you very much right now. But what I did yesterday was wrong. I never should have turned my back on you."
Scarlett looked at her sadly. "I know I've let you down, Shianni...but that really hurt me yesterday. I was so happy to see you and-"
"I know, Cousin!" she interrupted desperately. "It was just a shock at seeing you and...Those damn Shems had been yelling at me for three hours straight. I took my anger out on you and...I'm sorry."
Scarlett sighed and walked slowly over to her bed, sitting down on the edge. "What happened in the Landsmeet?" she asked. Shianni moved over and sat beside her.
"We got the funds for the Alienage" she said smiling at her. Scarlett looked up at her in surprise. "Thanks to your big speech the nobles were lining up to donate the coin. As soon as you left Bann Teagan stood up and began to applaud. The rest followed and before I knew it they were throwing money at me feet instead of rocks at my head."
Scarlett exhaled in disbelief. "Really? That's wonderful!"
Shianni smiled. "It's all because of you. When you said all those things I...I realised how hard I was on you yesterday. I had no right of accusing you of not caring for our people. You've done more than anyone for the elves...and for me."
"Shianni..." Scarlet said, staring at her sympathetically. She knew Shianni was referring to the wedding day and what happened to them in the Arl of Denerim's Estate. "Don't..." Flash backs began to go through Scarlett's mind as she replayed the events of that horrible day. She closed her eyes and screwed up her face, trying to block them out.
"We need to talk about this Scarlett" she insisted. "It's forcing a wedge between us...and I can't take it anymore. I have to ask you..."
"What?" Scarlett asked, still not opening her eyes.
Shianni hesitated before she asked the question Scarlett had been eager to avoid for nearly two years. "Why did you leave without saying goodbye that day?"
Scarlett said nothing. Shianni continued.
"After what that...Bastard...did to me, all I wanted was you. I...I remember lying on that cold stone floor with him on top of me, just wishing you would come and save me... And you did." Scarlett shook her head as Shianni spoke, trying to cast away the images in her head of the state she found her in. "I'd never seen that look on you before Scarlett. It frightened me even more than Vaughan and his friends. There was fire is your eyes, like something out of a story book. I'll never forget that. When the world was at its worst...there you came."
Tears streamed down Scarlett's face. She remembered feeling that fire burn at her insides, could feel it course through her veins as she took not just her first life, but at least ten lives. Killing someone had never seemed so easy and it scared the living daylights out of her. Shianni continued.
"When I needed you afterward you were no where to be found. You were the only one who knew what really happened to me. Soris didn't really understand. He thought I had just been roughed up a bit. But you knew...You knew and you left me lying in that bed in Uncle Cyrion's house without even coming to check on me...Why, Cousin?"
Scarlett looked up at her. She saw the hurt in Shianni's eyes and realised then that no matter how strong of a front Shianni put up, she was fragile inside.
"Because Cousin...I couldn't face you" Scarlett said hoarsely. "I had let you down and...truth be told...I was even more frightened of myself that day than you were. Something...changed in me. I realised when I left that I'd forgotten about how you might have been affected too...And that guilt? I've had to live with it for almost two years. You wondered why it took me so long to come back and visit you Shianni. In truth, I wanted nothing more than to see you from I left the Alienage all those years ago. But I knew I would have to explain myself to you...and I didn't have an answer."
A tear fell down Shianni's face. Without saying another word she threw her arms around Scarlett and buried her face. Scarlett held her tightly. The sad memory of that wedding day began to fade to the back of her mind and she was filled with all the happy memories of her and Shianni as they grew up. Suddenly she didn't feel so alone after Leliana's departure.
"I love you, Cousin" Shianni said, still clinging to her.
"I love you too, Shianni" Scarlett replied. Shianni pulled back and looked at her curiously.
"Speaking of love..." she said, "Where's your Orlesian lady friend? I'd expected to find her here after I broke into your room."
Scarlett shook her head and got up off the bed. "She's left me."
Shianni listened intently as Scarlett told her what had happened between her and Leliana. It felt good for Scarlett to be able to tell Shianni, and she found that the giant space Leliana had left in her heart wasn't so big anymore. No one except Leliana understood Scarlett as well as Shianni. Suddenly it dawned on Scarlett. That was why Leliana was pestering her to go and see Shianni! She knew that, if she had to leave, Shianni was the only one apart from herself who was capable of being there for her. As Scarlett finished telling the story and Shianni got up to hug her, Scarlett couldn't help but smile. Leliana was one incredible woman.
