Chapter 10: The start of a new…Friendship.
A/N: Some in-game dialogue… poor Alistair. Don't hate me (T-T)
Leliana
I heard Kiera and Alistair draw their blades, so Sten and I followed suit, and we shifted our positions to flank the mages as the woman ran on ahead. Did we appear to be that gullible? The lay of the land around us was perfect for an ambush, and none of us, save Wynne were shocked by the appearance of assassins. The men rose from the fallen bodies, and closed off the path from which we had come by felling a tree behind us—aiming their arrows at ourselves. It was, by all accounts a fine ambush, if perhaps losing out on the element of surprise—the leader of the troupe was one truly skilled in the arts, far beyond the rest. How curious that he was an elf.
The battle was over as Daylen, Morrigan made quick work of the bowmen, while Alistair and Sten went for the ones wielding melee weapons. I myself was occupied in redirecting the missiles that were flying straight at the mages, especially Daylen, who was casting with a most intense look on his face—an expression that quickened the blood in my veins.
Kiera had engaged the elf personally, and had managed to knock him out just as the final bowmen fell. She had picked up his weapons, and was examining the hilt of the dagger with great interest; enough that she had decided to wake the assassin up for a round of questioning.
"Mmm… What—I—oh." The elf had come around, gingerly touching his head. " I rather thought that I would wake up dead, or not wake up at all, as the case may be. But I see that you haven't killed me yet." He had a most interesting accent—Antivan?
Kiera just watched him coolly, before asking pointedly, "We have some questions."
"Ah! So I'm to be interrogated? Let me save you some time." The elf was quite animated at this point—most surprising. "My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows, (that explains a lot) brought here for the purpose of slaying any surviving Grey Wardens. Which I have failed at, sadly."
"Wow. He spouted all that rather quickly." Daylen was unimpressed, he was rightfully suspicious.
"Why not? I wasn't paid for my silence. Not that I offered it for sale, precisely." Zevran was quick to come back. He really was eager to spill everything—no?
"Hmm… Are you not loyal to your employers, then? How… refreshing." Kiera mused.
"Loyalty is an interesting concept. If you wish, and if you are done interrogating me, we can discuss it further." The elf still lay submissively prone on the ground.
"Oh? You would offer it to us?" Kiera had arched an eyebrow. Daylen was watching them with great interest.
"Well here's the thing. I failed to kill you, so my life is forfeit. That's how it works. If you do not kill me, the Crows will." Zevran said all of this without batting an eyelid. The Crows appeared to be just as vicious as someone I knew once. "The thing is, I like living. And you obviously are the sort to give the Crows pause, so let me serve you instead."
Kiera was still deep in thought, so Daylen asked the next question. "So… why should we let you… serve us—exactly?"
"Why? Because I am skilled at many things, from fighting, to stealth and picking locks. I could also warn you should the Antivan Crows attempt something more… sophisticated now that my own attempts have failed." Daylen looked unconvinced, and so the elf went on, plying his suit to Kiera. "I could also stand around and look pretty, if you prefer. Warm your bed perhaps? Fend off unwanted suitors? No?"
To much shock from the rest, Kiera hid a smile as she considered his offer. "Bed-warming might be nice."
She earned a hard look from Daylen, and she answered simply, "What? Ferelden is very cold at night." I could tell she wasn't being serious, but Alistair's steadily darkening face made it clear that he wasn't comfortable with her light banter either.
"See, I knew that we would find a common interest. Or two. Or three. Really, I can go all night." Zevran waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"And yet, unfortunately, your words betray just how desperate you really are. You must think that we're utterly stupid." Kiera's words were bereft of emotion, a very strange thing.
"Not at all, my lady. I find you royally hard to kill, and utterly gorgeous. Not that I think you'll respond to simple flattery, but there are worse things in life then serving the whims of a deadly sex goddess." Kiera blushed faintly at those words, and Alistair tightened his grip on his sword, even as he looked still more dejected. She did like to flirt— I saw, but she didn't appear to mean any of it.
"Hmm… How tempting. But I do not make the decisions in our motley crew—I'm afraid." Zevran's face fell, eyes darting to Daylen's.
"Oh so now you've had your fun, I get to clean up after?" Daylen muttered irritably. Alistair shifted uncomfortably—the banter had to be most unsettling for his own affections towards Kiera.
Daylen
"So what do you think? Should we keep him (at this I eyed the elf at our feet) around for your own entertainment?" Kiera was taking this too lightly—he had just tried to kill us, after all.
"I just think that he'll be useful to have around. I hate being ambushed." She shrugged nonchalantly.
"But what if he's the one doing the ambushing? Isn't that more likely to happen?" Alistair blurted. This was what he was really worried about. Heh.
"Then we kill him. But I say we give him a chance to prove himself—if he misuses that trust, I will slit his throat myself." Kiera's replied coolly.
"You're vouching for him? You barely know him!" I was annoyed at her.
"Yes, I suppose I am."
"I still do not think that it is a good idea. We should just let him go—" I began.
"I said I'd keep an eye on him. Or would physically leashing him to me be more satisfactory? "She snapped. "Much like the adage, I'd rather keep my enemies closer."
That settled it—much to the chagrin of some; the elf was to join us. And since Kiera had vouched for him—she was to take upon herself the same watches, he was her responsibility.
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Daylen
For the rest of the day we trudged in the direction of Denerim, silent and weary. We made camp near the Brecilian Forest, and Kiera suggested that we seek out the Dalish elves in the area when morning came—it was en route to Denerim too. Alistair agreed, murmuring muted words as he tried to avoid looking at Kiera. He sank into his bed roll wordlessly as Leliana and I took first watch. Kiera and her new friend were to take the dreaded second, along with Sten (we didn't trust to leave him alone on with her on the first night). Wynne and Alistair were to take the third.
Kiera had laid out her own bedroll, and had left with Leliana to wash up before bed. The former seemed oblivious to Alistair's unhappy state—as obvious as it was. I saw the elf lay his own things next to hers, and I stomped over, meaning to have a few choice words with him.
"Look, Kiera's vouched for you. I hope you appreciate that by not trying anything funny with her."
"Funny? You mean I should not amuse her?" Came the coy answer.
"Don't stab her in her sleep, or something. I'll be watching you." My hands were trembling as I itched to cast something nasty on that increasingly smug face.
"Do not worry, dear leader, a lovely savior such as she will be—how do you put it—cherished." I did not like the way he said that—but as Kiera was just coming back from the stream with Leliana, I scooted back without a word. I was still a little ticked off by Kiera's attitude from earlier that day, and did not want to start yet another quarrel over our newest party member.
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Kiera
I sat up straight as I awoke, shaken (gently) awake by a smiling Leliana. Second watch had finally arrived. The elf—Zevran, I reminded myself—he had a name, was already awake, although still wiping the sleepiness from his long-lashed eyes. He really wasn't as bad as everyone thought, even though his earnestness at joining us might have been one of self-preservation. Sten was also already awake, calmly watching the pair of us over the flames of our campire.
My thoughts wandered as my eyes settled on Alistair's form, a figure hidden by blankets on the opposite side of the fire. All I could see of him was that sandy hair, and I wondered why he was so far away. I remembered the flower—the rose that he had given me, tucked safely away in my pack; its velvety crimson petals had seemed to hint at romantic inclinations, but I couldn't be sure. It might be just an innocent gesture—I told myself, and from past experience, I knew that I had a tendency to overthink matters of the heart.
"You are awfully quiet, my deadly sex goddess." Zevran appeared to be addressing me.
"Ah… Zev? Please don't call me that." It was embarrassing and awfully grating when I was trying to concentrate on someone else.
"But it is the truth—you did mention that bed-warming would be part of my duties—no?" I couldn't tell if he was being quite so… shameless on purpose.
"That was… a joke on my part. You don't have to. No need for flattery either… Just Kiera would do." He seemed to disapprove of that.
"Hmm… Can I call you bella instead? You are very… lovely." I couldn't help blushing like a child at such blatant… compliments. Still, it would not do.
"Kiera is fine. I insist."
"Of course." He fell silent, and I wondered if he was secretly sulking.
"I… May I ask some questions about Antiva?" Such conversations usually broke the ice, no?
"Why—do you want to go there one day?" The wicked gleam in his eyes was quite disconcerting.
"I want to travel the world when the Blight is over— I would have asked about the Qunari lands too—but some people just don't like sharing." This was a snide remark at Sten's aloofness, which frankly frustrated me whenever I tried to begin a conversation with him. He gave me a severe stare.
Zevran
"Antiva… is a land where the women are worshipped like goddesses, and would never be allowed to fight, as you are," I smiled, as my gaze lingered on the lovely woman facing me. Her hair was let down, and looked most ravishing. If only the stern qunari were elsewhere, I would have attempted… a more direct approach with my risqué inclinations.
And so I regaled her with tales of Antiva City and of the Crows—she was so very interested in such. Her whole demeanor showed that she was listening most carefully, wholeheartedly even—but I got the feeling that tragic circumstances lay too, beyond those lovely eyes. She had a tattoo, I noticed, as creamy white skin was exposed when the collar of her tunic shifted. I suddenly didn't want to describe Antiva anymore, and ventured to guess what that was that was.
"A flower—perhaps?" The bella—Kiera, as she requested I call her—was quizzical, and although she remained silent, her delicate features said it all.
"The tattoo—on your upper back—is that a flower? I repeated.
At length, those perfect lips parted, and gave me my answer—"Oh. It's a griffin actually, you know, the herald of the Grey Wardens."
"I wasn't aware that all Grey Wardens had to display their devotion to the order in such—permanent ways." To my immense delight, she laughed—a girlish sound without coy pretense, and I knew that she was far younger than I initially thought.
"I did it when I first went to the Grey Wardens in Orlais. It's a symbol, of the protection the order extended over me—a wanted apostate."
The words 'wanted apostate' made me recall something —"Were you ever—by any chance… once hunted by the Antivan Crows?"
Kiera's looked away, and when she spoke, her voice was somber. "Yes. There was once a price on my head—one of my encounters with these assassins appeared to be the Crows. Were… they friends of yours?"
"Nope, they aren't—we were rivals. You are very skilled then, to have evaded their pursuing blades. Dizion—the Crow who had taken that job was very good at… achieving his goals."
"I… had help. Actually, I should thank the Crows—that attack made it easier for me to plead my own case to the Grey Wardens, and they made me a full-fledged member almost on the spot."
"Oh, so it was a display of your ability that made you more… suitable for joining the Grey Wardens?"
"…In a sense." She looked away, conflicted. Seeing her growing distress, I knew it would be impolite to continue the discussion. Perhaps a diversion was necessary. I decided that I would pose some questions to the qunari, if only to distract Kiera from whatever it was that was affecting her so.
"'Sten', it's not a name, is it?"
"Do you always begin conversations this way?" The qunari turned his stony gaze upon me.
"It's your rank is it not? I've met a few Qunari in Antiva you know. Not much for conversation but some of them were quite easy on the eyes." Kiera looked up curiously at the two of us, she was quite easy to read, at times.
"Those are not Qunari."
"No? They are what then, very large dwarves with comical accents?" Kiera hiccoughed, but pretended that nothing happened.
"They wear the faces of Qunari but they are Tal'vashoth, fiends of Saharon. They have abandoned the Qun."
"With titles like your own though, which makes me curious. What is your real name then?" I persisted—it was an interesting diversion from the usual stoic silence.
" 'Sten' is enough." Such a one-track mind. Maybe it is something quite embarrassing? Maybe the equivalent of 'Miriam'?
"But it is not your name." I mused.
"It is who I am." And it appeared that the conversation was over.
I turned back to Kiera, only to find her hard at work, quietly sketching into a book spread upon her knees. She appeared to be working on a picture of our tall and silent friend, and I must admit that it was a remarkable likeness. As she worked, she asked Sten a single question.
"Sten, is there anything you like about Ferelden?" Neither of us was quite expecting the answer coming so readily.
"There is… Interesting food here. You have a thing… it doesn't have a word in the qunari tongue. Little baked things, like bread, but sweet and… crumbly."
"Cookies?" Both of us quipped—caught off guard. So the giant liked sweets? It was good to know.
"Yes. We have no such thing in our lands. This should be remedied." He finished firmly.
"I like them too, 'specially if they contain little nuts… Hmm guess I'll keep an eye out for recipes the next time we're near a large village or town? Perhaps you could bring them back to your people." Kiera's eyes twinkled as she addressed him.
"…Perhaps." It appeared that he too, was surprised at her reply.
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P.S.: So… er… I hope you liked it! Please review! :D