My continued thanks to everyone reading and favoriting, and to Arsinoe and Piceron for the reviews! Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcomed. :)
It had been over two months since Judith had left Denerim, Kylon reflected, and he still looked for her in the Market District every day. All day, if he was being completely honest with himself. He kept trying to stop—after all, would she really need to return to Denerim amongst all the other tasks ahead of her? If she did, would she still be interested in "picking up where they'd left off," as she had put it? But the memory of the impassioned kisses they'd shared kept coming back to him, causing an entirely juvenile reaction at the most inopportune moments.
He hadn't wasted the time, however. While she'd been gone, he'd been quietly talking to people—first those she had helped while she was in town, and then a slowly widening circle of contacts, trying to challenge the rumors about the Grey Wardens and to build up support for them. It required a lot of circumspection, as there were many in Denerim who were eager to curry favor with the new Arl by bringing him any Grey Warden sympathizers. Fortunately for Kylon, given the general collapse of the authority structure in Denerim law enforcement, he had a fair amount of autonomy and few people checking up on his activities.
One rainy afternoon, he was in the midst of his tour on patrol—stuck, today, with Garvey, who was probably the least intelligent guardsman Kylon had ever had to deal with. Patrol with Garvey was one long day trying to keep him from messing anything up. Kylon had a meeting scheduled with Ignacio, a merchant whom he suspected of being a member of the Antivan Crow assassination ring, but had to cancel it. There was no chance of getting anything out of the Crow with Garvey around. Far more chance of getting them both knifed, frankly. So he was particularly cranky already when he looked around the Market District and noticed that Garvey had disappeared. Kylon spat a curse, heading toward the seedy dive bar where Garvey liked to drink when he could slip away.
Kylon turned a corner, and far at the end of the street saw Garvey and four other guardsmen, all apparently more or less drunk, in a standoff with a group of cloaked travelers. The travelers were well-armed and -armored, accompanied by a mabari. A mabari? he thought, quickening his pace as his heartrate sped up. It couldn't be, could it?
As he came closer, he could hear Garvey, his voice thick and slurred with ale. "Just put them weapons down and let us take ya in peaceable-like."
"We don't want to hurt you," said the unmistakable voice, the voice of Kylon's dreams. "But we will if you don't stand aside and leave us be."
"There's five of us and three of you, sweet cheeks," brayed Morton, one of the other guardsmen. He wasn't known for treating women well. "Two of you women. You think you can stand against us?" He laughed unpleasantly. "Not that I'd mind you trying. I love a wiggly woman fighter up against me." He made a lewd gesture, and the other guardsmen laughed.
Kylon was close enough to Judith and her crew now to see their expressions. The two women were keeping their tempers, recognizing that they were being baited, but Alistair and the mabari were about to start the fight if someone didn't shut that idiot up. Kylon had no illusions about who would win—and he knew also who would be getting the grief for letting the Grey Warden kill and/or maim five guardsmen.
None of the guards heard him coming up behind them, too busy making asses of themselves. He slung his arm around Morton's neck, lifting the man off the ground. Morton gasped for breath, his hands scrabbling at Kylon's arm. "Boys, are you aware that this is the Grey Warden and her party?" Kylon asked conversationally. He let Morton down just enough to let the man catch a breath, but held his arm over Morton's windpipe. After his words to Judith, Kylon was tempted kill the man himself.
Over Morton's shoulder, Kylon caught Judith's eye. She looked different, somehow, more vibrant. And she wore a sword on her back instead of the staff. Her blue eyes were bright and there was a hint of a smile on her face as she looked at him.
"Grey Warden," snorted one of the other guardsmen. "She's just some wimpy mage. Doesn't even know how to use that sword. We can take her."
"Hey, standing right here, sword at the ready," Alistair protested. "I've got at least two of you. Probably three." The mabari gave an assenting growl.
"These folks have fought darkspawn, abominations, ogres, alleys full of Denerim mercenaries, and Maker knows what else," Kylon said sternly. "You five have entire days where you do nothing more strenuous than lift ale mugs. The Warden and her party could take you out in minutes and come away snow-white as Andraste's ti—uh, bosom."
Garvey looked around, sensing a shift in the opinions of his fellow guardsmen. "Come on, fellas, we were gonna take the Grey Warden," he whined.
"Sarge is right, Garvey," said another recruit, Dunstan. "Look at 'em. All prepared like that? 'Sides, why bother? The Blight'll take them out, sure as the Maker took off and left us."
"I don't know whether to commend you for your good sense, Dunstan, or give you a month's KP for that fine example of apathy. And all five of you should properly be under arrest for drinking on duty," Kylon said firmly. "But I'll let it pass. This time. Get back to the barracks, and next time, don't try to attack someone drunk you couldn't take out when sober." He took his arm off Morton's throat, standing aside as the recruits filed, grumbling, out of the alley. When the last one was gone, he turned back to Judith. "You're looking well," he said cautiously, searching her face.
Judith's heart was pounding. They had—she had—been less circumspect than usual in her eagerness to find him, and they'd walked straight into this standoff. She hadn't been worried about losing a fight with five drunk guards, but killing them wouldn't have been conducive to the low profile she and her team needed to keep. And then to have him walk into the middle of it! "Daniel," she said, unable to keep the smile off her face any longer. An answering smile brightened his face, his brown eyes holding hers.
"Oh, hey, look, buildings," Judith heard Alistair say, and from the corner of her eye she could see him leading Leliana off. Sam sat down, his stumpy tail pounding the dusty cobblestones.
And then Daniel's hands were on her shoulders, pulling her close to him, his mouth coming down on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself closer. It was awkward in the armor, but neither of them cared.
"I missed you," he whispered raggedly.
"Glad to hear it," she sighed. "I missed you, too."
With difficulty, he made himself let go of her. "I'm still on duty," he said reluctantly. "Can we resume this later?"
"Count on it," she said. She blushed a vivid pink, then handed him a small key. "Meet me at the Pearl?"
"Since when does Sanga rent rooms?" he asked breathlessly. The images in his head were going to make him as useless as Garvey the rest of the afternoon.
"Since she owes me one," Judith said. She grinned at the expression on his face. "Enjoy your guard duty, Daniel," she said, turning and heading back down the alley with Sam at her heels.
Enjoy his guard duty, indeed, he thought, his armor suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.
