Thank you Jinx1983 for your review! I'm still enjoying the cookies, hehe :D
And yes, Bioware STILL owns...sigh...
Chapter 10 - What Are Little Boys Made Of?
Zevran watched as the two Grey Wardens left, mindful that Azure was finally alone, and Alistair was nowhere in sight to stop him from getting near her. Just the sort of thing he needed in order to make her acquaintance and probably get her to notice him.
Leliana had been flirting openly with him, but since he was used to that kind of behavior from most of the women he encountered, he did not feel particularly interested in her. He did, however, welcome the challenge that Azure posed.
He made his way to the place where he thought he would find her. The suits of armor lay wrecked at his feet, but she was not there. Staring straight ahead, he could make out her figure sitting at a desk, looking at something.
He smiled and advanced silently, catlike in his walk, his footsteps making no noise whatsoever on the thin carpet.
She held something in her hands, and was looking at it with profound interest, so he had a chance to study her pretty face before he spoke.
"Care for some company, my dear girl?" His voice purred.
She jumped and put what she was holding into her pocket, flushing a nice pink color as she did so. Her cute upturned nose with the sprinkle of freckles taunted him and he found himself wishing he could kiss each and every freckle on her face.
"Ah, Zevran. I didn't notice you coming in. Is there anything wrong? Am I needed in the main hall?"
"No, no, no. I was merely wondering if we could get to know each other better," he smirked.
She stiffened considerably at this, but smiled nevertheless. "Well, what would give you that impression? I, on the other hand, have no desire whatsoever to get to know you better."
"Ah, you wound me, dear lady," he said in deeply affected tones.
She tilted her head to one side as she studied him, and he was fascinated at this. Then, making up her mind, she stood and murmured she had to go to the main hall, and swept past him.
He caught her arm as she was walking by, and she stopped, looking down at his hand. A frown appeared on her lips when she shook his hand off violently.
"Don't you dare touch me," she said quietly, but Zevran saw the fear in her eyes, and was taken aback.
Something nasty had clearly happened to this girl. With all the experience he had, he knew what that fear in her eyes meant. This girl had clearly been through an unpleasant experience with a man in the past. His eyes widened and all the pieces fell into place. Why hadn't he seen this before?
He let go of her hand immediately, an apology on his lips as she walked off to the main hall.
He would have to change his tactic if he was to be successful.
...
Alistair took the rose out of his pack and looked at it thoughtfully as they crossed the lake to the tower. He had his back to Aedan, which is why he chanced looking at it.
The rose reminded him of her, it was something so beautiful, that had grown in a place where there was so much darkness and despair, strong even though its petals were so soft. He smiled when he looked at the thorns.
Yes, it was exactly like her.
Aedan had been looking over his shoulder. "What have you got there?"
Alistair groaned and put the rose back into his pack gently. "Nothing," he murmured.
"Was that a rose?" Aedan's voice sounded constrained, as if he was keeping his laughter in check.
"Shut up," Alistair growled.
"Dear me! What did I do to deserve that, now?" Aedan said sounding hurt, but Alistair was not fooled so easily. He knew that what he wanted to do was tease him, and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
"I- don't know what you're talking about," Alistair said quickly.
"You, my friend, are a terrible liar. Did you know that?" Aedan chuckled. Then, in a more serious tone he added, "I think she would love that rose, actually."
Alistair turned around quickly and faced him, hope in his eyes. "Really?"
Aedan nodded, keeping his laughter at bay. "Oh, yes! Women like those things, you know..."
"Well, she isn't like any other woman, so I'm hesitant to give it to her," Alistair said slowly.
"Nonsense," Aedan shot back. "Even if she is all 'stab, stabbity- kill, kill', I'm sure she'll love it."
"You think so?" The hope in his eyes grew.
"Yes, of course," Aedan said solemnly. "It all depends on what you tell her, though. If you don't tell her anything and just hand it over, she might not react the way she should, you know..."
"I- hadn't thought about that..." he said miserably. "My mouth usually says stupid things."
"So I noticed," Aedan teased.
"Hey!" Alistair protested.
Aedan chuckled at this. "Just be yourself, Alistair. Tell her what the rose means to you...what she means to you. I'm sure she'll appreciate your sincerity."
"Yes, I'll do just that," he answered, a dreamy look in his eyes.
They landed and made their way up to the tower and Aedan couldn't resist.
"Of course, if you put on a dress, and danced the Remigold while giving her the rose, now that would certainly impress her."
"Why you-" Alistair began, and Aedan ran off, laughing heartily, reaching the tower doors before him.
...
Zevran devoted the rest of his attention to Leliana, which pleased her tremendously. While she wasn't looking, he stole glances at Azure from time to time.
She was talking to the mage, Jowan, with a worried expression on her face.
Leliana had asked him a question. He frowned, caught completely off guard. He hadn't been listening to a word of what she was saying.
He did what he was best at doing. He deflected it with another question.
"What do you say we go into another room to get ah...more acquainted?"
Leliana giggled and agreed. He took her hand and he led her to the side, where the suits of armor lay. On his left, he saw a door which was closed. Hoping that the room contained a bed at least, he opened it.
Undead rushed at him and Leliana, and he whipped out his daggers, while Leliana immediately began to shoot arrows at them.
The scuffle brought the knights and the rest over, and they hacked through the undead rather quickly.
Zevran stood there when it was over, feeling slightly miffed.
This castle was proving to be more of a damper than Alistair or Aedan combined.
...
Aedan and Alistair arrived the next day, with the First Enchanter Irving and a couple of mages in tow.
Azure's eyes lit up when she saw him and he walked over to stand by her, while the mages performed the ritual that would take Morrigan into the Fade to defeat the demon.
He took off his gauntlet, and shyly took her hand in his.
She was surprised, but he saw that she was pleased, and his heart beat wildly all the time he held her hand.
They smiled at each other, oblivious to what was happening around them at that moment.
...
When Morrigan came to, and announced the demon had been slain, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Isolde at once rushed to her son's side, without even thanking the people there.
Teagan made excuses for her and thanked the First Enchanter and Morrigan profusely. Morrigan nodded coldly at him and the First Enchanter smiled kindly.
"We must send our dead off to the Maker," Teagan said mournfully. "I'll arrange everything. In the meantime, might I convince you to stay in the castle and rest?"
Aedan declined the invitation graciously, telling him that they would have to be off soon, as they had a lot of work to do.
"Of course. I understand. But please make yourselves comfortable in the meantime. There is plenty of food in the kitchen." He turned to Irving then. "First Enchanter, are you sure you don't want anything to eat or drink?"
Irving refused politely and left with the other mages.
Once the First Enchanter was gone, Azure grinned at something she was thinking. She was very hungry at the moment and turned to whisper to Alistair. "Race you to the larder!"
And she was off.
...
It turned out that she beat him, being small and fast helped her.
They arrived out of breath and a giggle escaped her lips when she saw him leaning over, gasping for breath.
"You, are a...cruel...cruel...person," he said in between gasps.
"Yet here you are, by my side," she smiled.
He straightened up and crossed the room to where she was standing. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he said, his eyes staring deeply into hers.
She blushed then, and looked down. "Oh, look!" She exclaimed. "Cheese!"
He chuckled. "Yes, I can see that. There are several different wheels in fact. Wow! Did I die and go to heaven?"
She laughed. "Spoken by a true cheese lover," she said.
Alistair carried two chairs and placed them in front of the table where all the cheese was. He smiled as they sat down and began to eat. He would taste a piece of cheese, inform her what kind it was, and offer a bit to her.
Aedan and the rest found them like this, and they rolled their eyes.
"Leave enough for the rest of us, will you?" Aedan complained, and they chuckled.
They soon were tearing into loaves of bread and sweet pastries as well. Alistair found some baked fish, but refrained from eating it when he saw Azure wrinkle her nose. They drank some wine as well, to wash the food down.
Teagan found them eating and smiled. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the arrangements have been made. If you would kindly join us at the dock, we'd like to say some prayers to send our dead to the Maker."
They followed Teagan out and stood silently as the people there put their dead in row boats and pushed the boats into the lake. From the shore, archers aimed fire arrows at the boats. Soon the lake was sprinkled with boats in flames.
Mother Hannah said a prayer for them as the boats continued their journey into the lake.
Once the service was over, they made their way back to the castle. Some of the villagers went with Teagan offering their services to help clean up the castle as well.
They stood in Eamon's room and were saddened by the fact that he was still clearly in a comatose state.
"The urn!" Isolde cried out. "The urn of sacred ashes will save Eamon! I know it will!"
"I will seek this urn and find it," Aedan promised. Azure groaned inwardly. Weren't they supposed to be focusing on gathering aid for the Blight?
"Find the scholar in Denerim, Brother Genitivi. The knights that I sent were unsuccessful but maybe the Maker will guide your steps."
"Thank you for all you've done for us," Teagan added. "I must go to the main hall and start with the rebuilding, if you will excuse me."
"Thank you so much for everything," Isolde murmured and turned back to her husband.
They left the castle then, and set out to Denerim.