Chapter Summary: Jack sees a familiarish face

Chapter length - 2,199

Jack's thoughts are in italics

Another relatively short chapter

Also, this update was made possible by ShiaraM, who informed me it was their birthday today

Happy Birthday ShiaraM

Despite her paranoia about the recruit Carson, the next couple of days passed quickly and without incident for Jack.

In fact, it wasn't until the fourth morning after what she had dubbed as 'the incident' that anything remotely exciting happened to her.

Jack was in the midst of still waking from her Fade lessons when she realized that she was not alone in her cottage. Adrenalin surged through her and in one quick motion Jack grabbed the two daggers she now kept under her pillow while she slept. One of them she threw at the wall behind the person's head in warning while she pointed the other in their direction with a severe look on her face.

The dagger she had thrown twanged her the intruders head and they held their hands up in a defensive position.

"Gentle, belladonna. I am not here to harm you; else you would already be so." The voice was smooth and male, but Jack didn't let that sway her as she held the dagger eye level while she examined the intruder closer.

He was sitting on the dresser that Lady Montilyet had brought her at one point in the week, one foot firmly planted on the top while the other foot swayed gently off the side of the offending piece of furniture. He was dressed in all black, a large silver mask shielding his features.

Ah, but now she recognized him.

Jack huffed in mock annoyance. "I apologize then." She gave an awkward mock bow as she put her dagger safely to the side – in reach but not directly threatening her guest's life. "I wasn't aware that I would have company so early in the morning. How may I help you, monsieur Le Crow?"

Zevran chuckled. "So you recognize me then?"

"You have a very distinctive voice." Jack raised an eyebrow at the assassin, then she sent a sly grin his way. "You are, of course, Sten the Qunari."

He spluttered wildly then roared with laughter.

Jack grinned widely. "How can I help you Zevran?"

He brought his mask from his face to show he was grinning just as largely as she was. "Leliana told me of a little bird who knew of our time in the Blight and I will admit to my own curiosity. I am glad it has not failed me so far. Dreadfully distrustful these days, that Leliana."

She shrugged. "She's spymaster these days; there's a lot riding on her shoulders. I am an unknown with no background to dig up, it's only logical she would be wary of my presence. She has to put a lot of faith in the things she cannot check. That's a lot to ask of someone, especially to put faith in someone she does not know." Jack hesitated. "Also, I may have recently broken a soldier's nose. It doesn't really help her trust me and also is the reason for my rather violent 'hello'."

Zevran's eyes sparkled. "Yes, so I had heard. Is it true you smashed his nose in then challenged all the nearby men into a drinking contest against you?"

Jack laughed in surprise. "Not in the slightest. Well, other than me breaking his nose then slamming back my own drink and leaving. No challenges were issued, I'm afraid."

"A pity. I have some questions if you do not mind answering them."

Zevran asked Jack a lot about herself and where she came from, which she was hesitant to answer until he told her several things about her situation that only Leliana would have known, so she figured it was okay and answered all his questions whole-heartedly after that.

Eventually, he moved from her dresser to the end of her bed and they sat cross-legged across from each other as Jack told him about herself and her life in the Barrier. Zevran was a good listener, gasping and laughing at all the right places. He started asking questions about the other threads when her story died down and the conversation shifted from her to the other possibilities of this world.

When he'd had his fill of her knowledge, Jack turned the tables on him. "What has your life been like since the end of the Blight, if you don't mind me asking. I don't get the chance to see how the Hero's companions lives turn out after the Hero's story is done."

Zevran's face lit up. "Against all odd, I have been in a happy relationship with a couple in Rialto for the past six years. They took me in and cared for my wounds after I was severely injured after a fight with the crows. We got on like a house on fire and they invited me to stay with them indefinitely and we grew from there to a more physical relationship in addition to a romantic one. We have a beautiful daughter together who is named Scarlett."

Jack squealed and jumped on the assassin, drawing him into a hug. "Oh, Zevran! That's wonderful! You must tell me about them all!"

And so he did.

It was absolutely lovely to hear that Zevran had found love and forgiveness in his life and Jack was ecstatic for the elven man. At one point, in the middle of a story about how Scarlett had sent her three parents into a panic after she decided she wanted to try her hand at stealth and they couldn't find her, Zevran pulled out a small photo of the four of them. Zevran, a tall tanned woman, a dark haired man, and a little girl with Zevran's hair and the woman's dark eyes all smiled out of the small canvas.

"She takes more after her mother and I physically, but she has all the mischief of her papa. Those two get along like butter on bread."

"She's beautiful, Zevran. I'm glad you've found happiness."

A blush appeared on his cheeks and he leaned forward to pull her into a brief hug. "Thank you, belladonna."

There was a knock on the door outside.

"Ah," he sighed releasing her and stumbling off the bed. "That is my que, I'm afraid. I should be gone before dawn so as not to draw suspicion. I also believe your training starts soon. I am glad I got to meet you, Lady Jack."

Zevran swept into a ridiculous bow goodbye, then left the cottage, quiet as a mouse. Jack sighed happily, then got ready for her day, an equally as ridiculous grin on her face as she walked to the training grounds.

When she met Tevin in their usual spot, he quirked an eyebrow at her expression, but didn't ask about it. Unusually, he was not ready with a bow, or daggers, or even a sword.

"Today you're learning hand to hand combat." He grinned wildly at her. "Just don't break my nose, okay?"

Danica returned two days later.

Tevin was still teaching Jack hand to hand combat when the returning of the Herald was announced throughout Haven. When they finally rolled up to the gates, Tevin called an end to their training session.

"The Herald is probably going to want to talk to you and the advisors." He told her as he lowered his fists and released his defensive stance. "Sister Leliana wanted to see you today anyways."

Jack threw one last punch without any force into it, which Tevin dodged. They both laughed as she stumbled into the dirt and he helped her back up to her feet.

"Alright. I'll go get cleaned up before I meet them all or Ambassador Montilyet might have a heart attack when I walk in. I'll see you tomorrow right?"

Tevin hesitated, his smile slipping slightly. "That's up to the Herald and the Advisors, I'm afraid."

"Christ, that sucks."

Tevin snorted, but a quizzical look appeared on his face. "I've heard you mention this Christ person several times. Is he your god?"

"Oh," Jack laughed, waving to Krem and The Iron Bull as they passed through the gates. "No. I'm not religious, I'm a complete heathen I'm afraid. Jesus Christ, the person I reference is a religious figure in some parts of where I'm from, but I don't follow him."

"Why do you use his name so much then?"

"Force of habit, I guess. A lot of people I worked with used his name as a curse and I guess it rubbed off on me. It mostly just slips off my tongue. I like 'Christ on a Stick' because it's similar to the phrase 'Andraste's burning mistress' without all the outrage of using a name in vain. Like I said, it's mostly a force of habit." Jack shrugged.

"Huh. Okay."

As Tevin and Jack reached the top of the hill to Jack's cottage, Leliana emerged from the shadows of a nearby house and delicately stole Jack.

"Captain Tevin, thank you very much for bringing Lady Jack to us. The Herald releases her from your care and you are free to return to your duties as Captain." Leliana smiled sweetly at him.

Jack felt a pang of her sadness that she could see mirrored in her friend. Still, she shot a smile at the elven man and brought her closed fist to her heart, like she'd seen soldiers do to Cullen when dismissed. "Thank you for all the help, Captain Tevin Assani. I'll be sure to sing your praises, and you've got a drink on me as soon as your free."

Tevin's face lit up and he dropped into a salute as well. "Lady Jack, the pleasure was all mine. I'll be sure to take you up on that drink."

Leliana was watching the exchange with a keen eye, but ignored her for the minute. She was the one who wanted Jack, so she would just have to wait.

If this was her last bit of time with Tevin, she was going to damn well enjoy it.

Still smiling, Jack stepped forward and held out her hand to him. "Don't be a stranger, I'm here indefinitely. "

Tevin stepped up and clasped his calloused hand to hers. "Sule sal'melana, ma'falon. Dar'eth Shiral." (1)

They nodded at each other and stepped away. Tevin left back for training grounds, leaving Jack outside of her cottage with Leliana.

Finally, Jack turned back to the Nightingale. "I was on my way to clean up, unless I am needed immediately."

Leliana inclined her head. "You have a few minutes. The Herald is cleaning up from her journey still."

With a nod, Jack slipped into her house and quickly cleaned herself up and changed out of her training clothes. When she was finished, she rubbed her head and let out a long sigh. When did her life get so convoluted?

Ah, right. When I woke up in that cell under the chantry.

Straightening back up, Jack patted her own face and walked back out to meet Leliana. The Nightingale was still outside her cottage, leaning up against the wood of the building. When Jack opened the door, she straightened and started down the path to the chantry without a word. Jack had to jog to catch up with her pace.

When she finally fell in step with her, Leliana slowed a bit.

"So I heard you made good friends with monsieur Le Crow the other day." Her voice was like silk covered steel and Jack felt her skin crawl uncomfortably.

"I talked to him for most of my morning, yes. If he used the word 'friend' to describe me, I am honored, but I did nothing other than answer his questions honestly and listen to his story." She shrugged.

Leliana made an acknowledging noise. She looked like she wanted to say more, but they had reached the war room, so all Leliana did was open the door and slip inside. Sighing one last time, Jack steeled herself for a large headache as she opened the door wider and walked into the room where all the advisors, Danica, and Cassandra were looking at her.

Back into the fray, I guess.

(1) – Until next time, my friend. Go safely on your journey. Translation thanks to FenXShiral's work

This week you should go check out a series on under the author Cassie's Bedlam ( u/2698730/Cassie-s-Bedlam) Its a world hopping series and the main character is extremely interesting. It starts out w the Avengers then transitions to the X-men and finally Dragon Age. Super super good read 10/10 would recommend. I'm gonna re-read it tonight, its that good. First story is Hope's Second Rising followed by Mutant Reborn and then When in Thedas.

I hope your holidays have been better than mine and that 2017 doesn't kick us as hard in the nuts as 2016 has.

Thanks for all the support,

Jade 3