Chapter 9: All's Fair In Love And War

On the way back, we found Kaitlyn's house and after a bit of cajoling, managed to get her brother out of the closet. His sword was in another place, thankfully. He retrieved it and we all went back to the Chantry, where his grateful sister offered us the sword for the defence Redcliffe that night. We ended up accepting it as a loan; Alistair could probably find some use for it.

We ran into the rest of the party as we exited the Chantry. They'd been done with Owen for a while -we needed to keep an eye out for his daughter when we went into the castle, by the by-, and had gone up the hill to investigate. They'd been to a tavern, where Leliana had discovered a spy of Arl Howe's. She went on to explain the spy was meant to report Arl Eamon's condition, and after relieving him of the letter with his orders, persuaded him to help defend the village.

Have I mentioned Leliana is scary? Ah, no; I do believe I only said she was mean. Whatever, I'm saying it now: Leliana can be pretty damn scary.

It was Alistair, however, who brought up the spy's connection with Loghain. I don't think I've ever seen him so pissed. He reaaally hated the Teyrn's guts.

Note to self: do not get on their bad side. I swear, it's always the nicest ones that you gotta watch out for.

Anyway, Alistair kept a dark look about him as we planned our next move.

Who wants to bet he is day-dreaming about snapping a certain war hero's neck?

Not that I blamed him, considering what he held Loghain responsible for. As for me, I didn't think too much about it while playing the game. I was of the opinion that he did plan on leaving Cailan to die from the start, but there was just no way to be sure, and it was possible he could've just made a field decision in order to not lose any more soldiers. It didn't really matter though, cause he'd been a doody head for blaming the Wardens and, if memory serves, doing squat against the imminent darkspawn invasion. And so, I never took his side during the Landsmeet. Well, no. I did once, for my first playthrough. Noble soul that I am, I attempted to give him a chance at redemption. But that ended with Alistair beheaded, so I reloaded with a 'sorry buddy, I tried' and let him die.

Now, if this was real life -I don't know anymore- I may have to make up my mind. If I was dealing with real people, I didn't think I had enough information to be able to make a complete evaluation, hence making it impossible to arrive at an accurate answer. As a complete evaluation meant talking with the man himself, it was unlikely I'd get it. Meh, in the end it wouldn't be up to me. Hell, Kallian and Alistair may not even ask for my opinion.

Back to the matters at hand, the next step was talking with Ser Perth, so up we went.

We passed the tavern on the way, which sparked a longing for a good drink. Okay, fine. I wanted more than a drink. I wanted to get hammered and forget the impeding zombie horde coming to eat our brains come nightfall. Confession time part two: I'm a lightweight. A single glass of hard liquor would have me in a fit of giggles. Add half and it would make me sleepy. Round it up to two and you can find me somewhere near Jupiter. So I wasn't drinking before the fight, sadly. Fortunately, I also remembered a little something to help the troops tonight.

"Hey, guys, when you were at the tavern earlier, did you see if the soldiers were drinking?"

Leliana turned to address me "No, actually. They mentioned something about not having any coin left, and they complained that the owner supply them with free ale. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen" she sighed "Perhaps this is for the best, yes? It wouldn't do for the villagers to be drunk when defending de village"

Mmm…

"True. But, the attack is not happening for several hours, and some liquid courage might go a long way in boosting morale" I looked at the tavern, pondering the best course of action.

"Why don't you go, then?" Kallian suggested with a shrug "We'll go ahead and talk to this Perth guy while you do"

"Yeah, I think I will" I turned to go, then paused to look over my shoulder "Anyone wanna come with?"

I think Leliana was about to volunteer out of sympathy, but Alistair beat her to it.

Huh. That was unexpected. He might be the person I talked with the least from our little group. My curiosity was officially piqued.

"Go on. We'll catch up to you as soon as we can. Try not to miss me too much" he shooed them.

Kallian rolled her eyes, before turning around, a grin on her face "Scout you go with them too. Make sure to keep them out of trouble"

Scout gave a bark and trotted obediently to my side. I patted his head gratefully.

I glanced at Leliana, but if she thought anything of that exchange, I couldn't say.

The three of us made for the tavern quietly. Now, I'm no stranger to uncomfortable silence, and I like to think I bear it fairly well. But this was DA:O's Alistair. Shouldn't I take the chance to get to know him while I could?

"So, you spent your childhood here, right?" I settled on asking.

"Right. Up until the tender age of ten, when I got shipped to the Chantry to spent my wonderful teenage years" he said with fake cheer.

I smiled gently at him "If you're still bitter about it, you must've been happy being raised by the Arl"

"Did I say I was raised by him?" he put a hand to his chest in exaggerated disbelief "I meant to say I was raised by dog. A whole pack of them, in fact"

I gave him an unimpressed look and glanced up at the castle "Aha. I bet your mother was a bitch"

Alistair let out a surprised laugh "Oh, oh, alright, I see how it is. I give, it seems I cannot win in a match of wits. Yes, I had a good enough childhood, while it lasted. It wasn't the best but I didn't need much, to be honest" he shrugged "I did miss it. Though I'm sure I would miss anyplace I was in before being sent to become a templar"

Chance! "That must've sucked big time" I winced in sympathy "Not that I don't understand were the Arelessa was coming from, but, come on, you were just a kid. That's just petty"

"Yes well-" Alistair startled "What, the Arlessa? How did you know enlisting me to become a templar was her doing?"

I blinked "Well, it fits doesn't it? The Arl takes in a kid, then he marries the evil step-mother who mistreats and eventually gets rid of said kid…"

"And you got that from that?" his asked, incredulous.

"Not like I couldn't have been wrong, you know. I was just throwing that out there" I shrugged, as if I didn't realise my argument was weak as hell.

But that's what I was aiming for. The plan I made with Duncan led to fessing up about my origins -heh, origins- at some point. The more they could look back and see that the hints were all there, the better. Though I might be in trouble if they realise I was letting them dig it out on purpose. And by the by, the slip with Alistair when I first joined was an absolute screw up, though now that I somehow got myself out of that mess, it should add up to my plan.

When life hands you lemons and all that, I guess. Here's hoping the Big Reveal will go well.

Alistair voice brought me back to the present, and I turned to see him shaking his head with a wry smile "Anyhow, Arl Eamon was nice to me, when he didn't need to be" he sighed "I just hope he's alright"

We'd reached the entrance of the tavern. As he went inside I tentatively tapped him on the shoulder.

"We've got what is probably the most balanced group in all of Ferelden plus bucketloads of motivation. If anyone can save the Arl, it's us" I kept my shoulders back, chin up, and locked eyes with him, the picture of self-confidence "Let us take care of some undead first, yeah?"

Whether he felt it or not, he returned my act in kind "Of course, they won't know what hit them"


After talking with the owner, Lloyd, I ended up forking over a hundred silver pieces so the militia could have their drinks. I mean, sure, I could've tried to persuade him but I wasn't very confident in passing that check with my single point in Coercion. Or in convincing Alistair to help me intimidate him. Heh, now that would be a sight.

Before leaving, we ran into the barmaid, a pretty redhead who congratulated us on scoring the militia some ale.

"Lloyd is a greasy pig. It's good the boys get their drink before the fight"

"Good for morale, is what she says. I wish I could drink and fight" Alistair lamented good naturedly.

"Are you… fighting tonight, too?"

"We are" I said.

"I see. That's good to hear"

There was something bugging me about how she talked of Lloyd.

I cocked my head "How do you like working here? Does Lloyd treat you well?"

"Hah! The old pig gropes me and pays me next to nothing. But I need the job. I suppose it could be worse"

Full stop.

"He does what?"

The barmaid blinked "I… it's not nothing to worry about"

"Maybe we could have a talk with him?" Alistair suggested with a frown.

"No" she hurried to say "Thank you, but that'll just make it worse after. I'll be fine. I can handle it"

That was not fine.

I turned to Alistair and Scout "How intimidating can you two act?"

Scout gave a menacing growl.

I pointed at him "You're hired"

I glanced at the towering templar.

He looked so confused it was almost funny "Er… yes. I mean, I could try…"

Uh huh "If you can stand behind me with a scowl, you're golden" I took a gamble "Try thinking about someone you hate"

"Alright" he said after a second, sounding a bit more confident "I'll have you know can scowl in four different languages"

I grinned "Atta-boy"

"Excuse me but what is this about?" The redheaded girl asked.

I looked back at her over my shoulder "Nothing that'll tie back to you, I promise" I assured her.

As we walked back to where Lloyd was bartending, I took my staff from where it was magically stuck to my back -which was so freaking handy, by the way-. I batted my eyelashes innocently at Alistair when he gave me a worried look.

Loyd greeted us with a smile on his lips and, er, sovereigns? Sovereigns in his eyes "Ey, friends. Looking for a round for yourselves?"

"You are fighting tonight" I informed him "Go report to Murdock"

Lloyd took a step back "What!? But Bann Teagan said we didn't have to!"

"I don't care" I snapped at him "You're fighting tonight or you're fighting all of us right now"

The end of my sentence was punctuated by Scout's threatening growl. I'd have to get that dog a treat later. Meanwhile, I could feel Alistair looming at my back, hoping his expression was as dangerous as I needed it to be.

Judging by how Lloyds' eyes darted at him, then quickly back at me, he was doing just fine.

"I don't think I need to tell you the militia will not lift a finger against the ones that just bought them drinks" I finished, letting my magic glace my staff, making it shine in a way I was sure Lloyd wouldn't find as pretty as I did.

The look on his face was pure outrage, and a healthy dose of fear.

Wait, fear?

"But he said… Argh fine! But all of this better be here when I get back"

Oh no.

He mumbled something else but I was too distracted but the realisation that I'd just bully an unwilling and untrained man into fight zombies.

Ah, crap.

Lloyd left and we all turned to the barmaid, Bella, she introduced herself to us, who sounded rather happy about being in charge. In fact, she gave us a whole bunch of items, including poultices, injuries kits and some treats for Scout, who thanked her with a happy bark. Then she told us to be careful and went back to work, announcing free ale for everyone present.

With nothing left to do, we strolled out of the tavern to rendezvous with the others, a chorus of cheers accompanying us as we walked out the door.

"That went well!" Alistair turned to me, a big smile on his face "I told you I could act the part… uh, what's wrong?"

"I… I'm just wondering if I did the right thing" My head dropped, ashamed "That guy is unlikely to be very useful in a fight… I just- I was angry and wanted him to leave Bella alone but I should have found another way. If he dies, it'll be my fault"

"Hey, no. Don't do that to yourself" He stood in front of me, effectively halting our advance, Scout sat beside him and let out a sad whine, making sad eyes at me "Look, all of Redcliffe is pitching in to help. He needed to contribute something too. It's only fair. And he hasn't died yet. There's no point in spending your energy worrying about it, isn't that what you said?"

Scout barked his agreement.

I sputtered a laugh in spite of myself "Using my words against me. That's low, you two"

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" He grinned "Who knows? This might be just the kick in the arse he's been waiting for to straighten up his life. You'll see, he'll end up thanking you in the future. Waaaay in the future. And if you're concerned, we can keep an eye out for him tonight. Even if he is an arsehole"

I sighed, partly in resignation but mostly in acceptance. He was right.

"Thanks" I smiled softly.

Alistair nodded and cleared his throat "Now then, shall we go rejoin our illustrious leader?"

We resumed walking, my gait a little less defeated, but hadn't gone more than a few steps when Alistair began talking again.

"So… Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you"

Aha. I nodded to let him know I was listening.

"Right. So, Maya, you're female right?"

Whoa.

Didn't something like this happen in the game? So that's what this is about. My eyes turned to Scout, who'd taken the lead, seemingly uninterested in human drama. I wondered how much he'd understand of this conversation. If it was what I thought it was, this was gonna be good.

"Ah, what gave me away? Was it the boobs? It's always the boobs" I shook my head regretfully.

He stumbled over his own feet.

"Your… they do not—! I mean, obviously they do but— That's not what I meant!" Alistair clamped his mouth shut; his face had gone all kinds of red "I just wanted some advice" he finished lamely.

I giggled "Sorry, sorry. What can I help you with?"

The poor guy took a moment to compose himself "What should I do if… if I think a woman is special and I want to… you know"

"Wait, I know, or I know" I waggled my eyebrows.

"Not that!" Aaand there are the colours again. Oh no, this was too much fun "I mean, maybe at some point, perhaps… I mean… why are you doing this to me?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his distress "Okay, alright, I'm sorry. I'll stop now" I took a few breaths to calm myself "I'm going to assume you want to start a relationship with her?" He nodded, still blushing "Then you could maybe try to flirt with her a little? Test the waters. Show her you're interested and see if she is interested back. Then maybe ask her on a date… Ah. Well, my advice might not be the best, though. How we do things where I come from is not the same as what you do here, I think"

Alistair scratched the back of his head awkwardly "How do I even…? Argh, at this point, anything would be better than what I got. What in the Makers' name is a date?"

"A date is when a couple go on an outing to spend time together" He rubbed his face, overwhelmed. I patted his shoulder "You're being too hard on yourself"

"I did just ask if you were female" he deadpanned.

I chuckled "Fair point. Umm… well, I don't know if I could give you anything specific. I like Kallian a lot but I couldn't tell you what her preferences are in that area"

"Ka— I never said… Oh, alright, yes, it's her. Stop looking at me like that, I know I'm obvious" he sighed as he kicked a pebble "she's just so… so brave and strong and beautiful. You know, she's even newer to the order than I am, but she's a way better leader. And she doesn't complain half as much as I do" he smiled in a self-deprecating way, head hanging "Thank the Maker she's here, or I don't know what I'd do"

I peered at him "You would do the best you can. Like you always do. Back to Kallian though. There are a few things you can do to show her you're interested, like face her fully and pay attention when she's talking. Get a little closer to her than you would with other people, unless she starts showing signs of discomfort, so pay attention to that too. Make eye contact, but not so much that it looks creepy. And try some casual touches, like on her arm or back. I've seen her enjoy your company and laugh at your jokes. That's a good start, okay? Have a little faith"

Alistair was looking at me wide-eyed, a tad dazed "Um, could you maybe repeat that? But slower? When I can take notes?"

I laughed "Sure, tell me whenever you're ready" I hesitated, but asked him what had been on my mind for a while "Why me, though? Not that I mind but I wasn't under the impression that you… I don't know, that you and I were very close, I guess"

Alistair scratched his neck awkwardly "I'm sorry about that. I know we didn't get off on the right foot. Even after I apologised that first night after leaving Lothering, I wasn't completely over the fact that you're an apostate. I am now" he hurried to say, hand up in a placating gesture "I watched you as we travelled together. Not in a weird way, alright? Just, keeping an eye out. I could see that your intentions are genuine" he shook his head ruefully. I could almost feel my conscience pricking at me "And, well, it's not like I can ask anyone else, can I? Morrigan and Sten are out, and Leliana is… you know" he lowered his voice and pointed at Scout "I thought about asking that one but he is a gigantic blabbermouth"

My eyebrows rose, even as I tried to supress a laugh.

"Ouch, I think I got a backlash from that sudden change of subject. For the record, I am very glad you have a better opinion of me now okay?" I stated clearly. I was so not going to let him keep avoiding emotional stuff "But, you knew about Leliana huh?"

It was his turn to look unamused "I'm not blind. Nor an idiot, despite what Morrigan keeps saying"

"Sorry" I conceded, chastised "But anyway, you've got my advice. Let me know how it goes, or if you need another class"

I sighed "Yeah, thanks Maya"

I couldn't help myself "And let me know if you need advice with the… other thing" I said suggestively.

I laughed as he tripped; his face burning up.

I'm sure there's a special hell for people like me.


We met up with Kallian and the rest, and she asked if I could go up and cast Grease for a while, so they could accumulate the substance and set up a fire barricade for when the zombies came. I agreed easily, as I couldn't mention the warehouse with oil barrels because I hadn't remembered to look for it. Still, I was glad Kallian managed to thought it up on her own.

So when the others went to take care of whatever was left, I put on my big mage pants and got to work, casting Grease at even intervals, stopping only for the cooldowns and a longer break so my mana could replenish. Morrigan went with me, to help me better control the accuracy of the spell. She said it'd be an advance on our lesson time. She drives a hard bargain.

We went back down after being thanked by the knights, now sporting shiny new holy amulets. There wasn't anything left to do, however, except wait.

The waiting, for those who have never experienced anxiety -bless your hearts- is the worst part.

And so, I sat next to a window inside the Chantry and read my book, in an attempt to escape reality for a few hours.

"Lady, what are you doing?"

"I am trying to escape reality, kid"

"What?"

Ah "Sorry. I'm just reading my book" I showed him. The book was plain black with red letters, so it wasn't as conspicuous as it could've been for a modern item.

The boy peered at it; his eyes full of childhood curiosity.

"I can't read" he confessed.

"Well, you should learn as soon as you can find someone to teach you. Maybe when all of this is over" he looked a little dejected, and I wondered if he had hoped I'd offer. While I liked his enthusiasm for learning, the was no way I could teach him in a few hours "Until then, that's what word of mouth is for, isn't it?"

And that's how I brought the story of Mulan to the world of Thedas.


Next chapter, we go into battle. Hopefully it'll fend of your bloodlust for a while.

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