Trust.
"Oh thank the Maker! We need help," a woman said anxiously.
They were travelling toward Denerim. They had encountered many weary travellers fleeing from the darkspawn on their travels, so Arietta wasn't surprised when the woman explained that her wagon had been attacked. She was, however, surprised when that turned out to be an ambush. Their attackers were little more than mercenaries, no match for their group. The leader however, was obviously a trained assassin.
Arietta ducked under his blade; she could see the venom dripping from it. Poison was such a cheap trick. There was more skill involved in killing an enemy without such aids. Their blades clashed, ringing out across the ravine. She kicked him, slamming him into a caravan; he leapt over it and jumped off the other side. She ran around to face him, but he was gone. Suddenly her leg was pulled forward and she fell on her ass. The assassin was on her in seconds, diving at her with both his daggers drawn. She kicked him hard and then flipped back to her feet. Their blades clashed again. She had to admit he was fairly skilled; he didn't rely on poison, and he still knew how to use those daggers. The rest of her group were faring well; bodies were flying down into the ravine, which meant Neri was clearly having some fun up on the hilltop. Arietta rolled left and then kicked her leg out, tripping him up. She smashed the hilt of her blade into the assassin's temple, knocking him out cold.
She had questions for this elf. Judging by his tanned complexion, he was from a northern country. And his armour looked expensive. That could make him an Antivan Crow. They were costly; that more or less meant Loghain was behind this assassination attempt.
With the other enemies dead, Arietta kicked the assassin in the side. "Mmm, what? I— Oh, ohhhh," he mumbled. "I rather thought I'd wake up dead. Or not wake up at all, as the case may be." He sighed. "But I see you haven't killed me yet."
"I have questions." Arietta folded her arms.
"Ahh, I am to be interrogated? Let me save you some time. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows, brought here for the sole purpose of slaying Grey Wardens." He chuckled. "Which I have failed at, sadly."
"With an ambush like that, are you really surprised you failed?" Arietta said arrogantly.
It was sloppy; the men hired were clumsy and slow. Only he had posed a threat and he was just one Crow. Loghain would have to try harder than that to kill them.
"Ha-ha-ha! Yes, perhaps I underestimated you. Being captured by my target seems a tad detrimental to my budding assassin career," he mused.
"Just a tad." Neri chuckled, her almond eyes dancing warmly.
Arietta questioned him; Loghain had indeed hired the Crow, and he hadn't paid for silence. The assassin had been very forthcoming with answers. Arietta didn't trust him; he was far too smooth, but Neri seemed to.
"To be completely honest, I was never given much of a choice regarding joining the Crows. They bought me on the slave market when I was a child. I think I paid my worth back to them plus tenfold. The only way out, however, is to sign up with someone they can't touch. Even if I did kill you now, they might just kill me on principle for failing the first time. Honestly, I'd rather take my chances with you."
Arietta asked if the Crows would come after him; he said he could handle it, and in return all he wanted was to live and at some point in the future to go free. He was a skilled fighter. He also claimed to have other uses, and she had rolled her eyes at his mention of warming her bed.
"Is that before or after you stab me in the back?" Arietta placed a hand on her hip.
He tutted. "The things you say; you must drive the men at home wild. So what shall it be? I'll even shine armour. You won't find a better deal, I promise."
"I think we should let him join us," Neri said, grinning ear to ear.
"You trust him?" Arietta said incredulously.
"Why not? It's like you said, we need all the help we can get. He betrays us, he dies. Simple really."
"You want to sleep with one eye open every night?" Arietta said.
"It's not like we get much sleep anyway." Neri smirked.
"I really don't think this is a good idea. He's an assassin!" Alistair said.
Arietta couldn't believe they were seriously debating this. She had no reason to trust this Crow. Then again, it was Loghain that she wanted dead. Zevran was just a hired sword and he didn't have anything against the Grey Wardens as far as she could tell. And he was a good fighter... should the Crows come after them again he would be invaluable, unless he betrayed them. She'd just have to make sure he didn't.
"Come on Ari; we could use him." The mage pouted at her, her already big eyes growing even bigger.
She was probably going to regret this. "Alright. I accept."
"A fine plan, I would check your food far more closely from now on, were I you," Morrigan said disapprovingly.
Zevran smiled. "That's excellent advice for anyone."
Arietta helped him to his feet.
"I hereby pledge my oath of loyalty to you, until such a time that you choose to release me from it. I am your man without reservation. This I swear." He bowed his head.
"Alright. Let's move out," Arietta ordered.
Neri walked ahead with Zevran and bombarded him with questions. "What's Antiva like? How many people have you killed? What poison is that coating your blades? What is that tattoo on your face? It looks Dalish, were you Dalish?"
Arietta groaned. The mage was so inquisitive, almost annoyingly so.
"Aha, my dear, where do I begin?" Zevran said to her amusedly.
They moved out of ear shot as Arietta fell back to walk with Alistair. He smiled down at her warmly; he was still wearing his mother's amulet around his neck. She had given it to him not long ago. He had been so grateful. She was glad to have given him that small token of her. She was also hoping they could get him something better, his family. Or his sister at least; he told her she lived in Denerim. He had asked Arietta if they could visit her on their trip to the Capital. Of course she'd agreed; family was so important. Her shoulders sagged. She missed her parents so much and Fergus... She hadn't been able to look for him at all. With the King's death, it meant Highever was still in Howe's hands. She clenched her fists; her home, all those memories and prized possessions in that traitor's hands. Of course, she'd give up everything in that castle in a heartbeat to have her parents back.
"So tell me more about the Grey Wardens," she said lightly to Alistair.
"I don't know what more there is to say really. They were a cheery lot, always drinking, eating, and telling stories... some of the tales they told were so absurd! They were a family, and they acted like one, ratting on each other, puling pranks and tricks." He gasped and looked at her worriedly. "Oh Maker, isn't it Feastday soon?"
Her eyes bulged, and they both glanced at the two elves ahead of them. "Do not tell Neri," Arietta hissed.
Alistair nodded his head. "Do you think she knows about it? Do they even celebrate things like that in the Circle?"
Arietta ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. "I'm not sure…"
Arietta rubbed her eyes and sat up; her tent was blowing in the wind more than usual, and the ground felt… wrong. She crawled to entrance of her tent and opened the flap. She screamed, and then clasped her hand over her mouth. Her tent was in the air! Floating in the air! She was just above the treeline, and everyone else's tents were too.
Alistair ran out of his tent at full speed, and Arietta gasped as he fell through the air with a cry. He grabbed hold of a floating log and hauled himself up as he gasped for air. A very girly scream cut through the air, and Arietta saw Zevran, of all people, freaking out a little bit above her. He was clearing his throat now to hide his embarrassment, but his cheeks were crimson.
Neri was rolling on the ground with laughter.
Arietta groaned.
She knows about Feastday.
"Neri, put us down!" Arietta cried.
Leliana and Wynne were peering out of their own tents and giggling. Morrigan and Sten just looked annoyed. Alistair was still clutching his log in just a loose shirt and his smalls. His bare legs were… very distracting.
Neri was still laughing. "Happy Feastday!"
"Yes, very good. You got us. Now put us down," Arietta said firmly.
"Slowly!" Alistair added.
Neri moved her arm and a few more logs and sticks floated into the air. "You have to work together to get down again." She grinned.
"Like a trust exercise?" Leliana asked.
Neri snapped her finger. "Exactly!"
Sten leapt from his tent and thudded to the ground. "I will give you a lesson in trust, elf," he growled.
Neri raised both her hands up in defence. "Sten, now come on, it was just a prank…"
He stalked toward her. "I will show you a prank."
"Sten…" Neri backed away from him.
He advanced forward menacingly.
"Sten, stop!" Neri cried as she danced back away from him.
Sten picked up a stick and smiled ever so slightly.
Neri ran away screaming and Sten gave chase.
Watching a tiny little elf running from a full scale battering ram had them all in stitches.
Sten was ridiculously fast, and managed to corner Neri. He bore down on her and lifted the stick above his head as she cowered.
"I'm sorry!" Neri cried.
Then Sten stabbed the stick into Neri's side.
They all screamed. Neri flopped to the floor and Sten backed away slowly. Their tents all came crashing down.
"Neri!" Arietta scrambled to the mage's side. She rolled Neri over, and Neri started to giggle.
"Happy Feastday," Sten said.
They all turned to him in with mouths hanging open wide.
Neri burst out laughing again and even Sten cracked a smile.
"That was all a prank as well?" Alistair cried, his eyes darting between the elf and the Qunari.
Neri pulled the stick out from under her arm. "Got yah!"
"You had us fooled." Wynne chuckled.
Zevran took a shaky breath. "I daresay you nearly gave us all a heart attack!"
"I'm surprised you agreed to this, Sten," Arietta said, her brows knitting together.
"The elf promised cookies." He shrugged a massive shoulder.
They all laughed.
"You need to stay here," Arietta said to Neri.
It had taken them a month to reach the outskirts of Denerim. The roads were perilous; they found themselves constantly fighting darkspawn as they passed through the Lothering area. The ground there was black with the taint. Under Arietta's insistence, they had stopped several times to help more travellers, which had slowed their progress even more. Wynne had also collapsed on the road. She claimed that she was fine, but as a precaution they had slowed their pace considerably. She explained to the group that she had died at the tower, but a spirit of Faith had saved her. Neri had questioned her a lot about it, clearly mystified by the idea of it all. Arietta didn't know much about spirits or demons but Wynne seemed okay so she gave her some space.
"But–"
"I know you've never seen a city before. But you stand out more than Alistair or I. I'm sorry. It's too dangerous. If Loghain finds out we're here and captures us..."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm the spare Warden in case you nugrolls fuck up," she moaned, folding her arms grumpily.
"We only need to split up for high risk quests. We're here for a few things and then we'll be gone again. Next time we're here, I promise you can explore the city." She rubbed the elf's arm.
It was a precaution. Like Flemeth had said, they couldn't have all the Grey Wardens dying at once because someone needed to deal with all the darkspawn. She felt bad, but she and Alistair needed to visit his sister in Denerim. They also needed to find Genitivi and stock up on supplies. She was only taking Alistair and Leliana with them for now. They all wore ragged cloaks over their armour and worn boots to blend in.
The city was bustling; the market in particular was a swarm of people crowding around stalls with men and women hawking their wares. She didn't come to Denerim very often but the city always reminded her of Highever. They were both coastal cities, although Highever was windier than Denerim as it was more exposed. She missed the beaches of her home city; the golden sand dunes stretched on for miles.
"That's my sister's house; I'm almost sure of it. Yes, this is the right address. She could be inside. Could we go and see?" Alistair asked in a slightly higher tone than usual.
"Wouldn't you rather go alone?"
"Do I seem a little nervous? I am. I really don't know what to expect. I'd like you to be there with me, if you're willing," he rushed. "Or we could… leave I suppose. We really don't have time to pay a visit do we? Maybe we should go."
"Alistair, she's your sister. Don't you want to meet her?"
"Will she even know who I am? Does she even know I exist? My sister. That sounds very strange. Sister. Siiiiiiiiiiister," he said as his cheeks flushed. "Hmm. Now I'm babbling. Maybe we should go. Let's go. Let's just go."
She couldn't imagine how weird this must be for him, only recently learning he had a sister and suddenly about to meet her. Ari was curious too of course: what this Goldanna was like, what she looked like. She could have children. Alistair could be an uncle... With all the horrible things that had happened recently, this might help make things at least a little better. They walked in through the door.
"Err, hello?" Alistair asked.
"Eh? You have linens to wash? I charge three bits on the bundle; you won't find better. And don't trust what that Natalia woman tells you either. She's foreign, and she'll rob you blind." Goldanna said. She was skinny, like so many of the poor were.
"I'm... not here to have any wash done. My name's Alistair. I'm… well, this may sound sort of strange, but are you Goldanna? If so, I suppose I'm your brother."
"My what? I am Goldanna, yes. How do you know my name? What kind of tomfoolery are you folk up to?"
"He's telling the truth. Listen to him," Arietta added.
"Look, our mother... she worked as a servant in Redcliffe Castle a long time ago, before she died. Do you know about that? She—"
"You! I knew it. They told me you was dead! They told me the babe was dead along with mother, but I knew they was lying!"
"They told you I was dead? Who? Who told you that?"
"Them's at the castle! I told them the babe was the king's and they said he was dead. Gave me a coin to shut my mouth and sent me on my way! I knew it!"
"I'm sorry. I... didn't know that. The babe didn't die. I'm him. I'm your brother."
She scoffed. "For all the good it does me! You killed mother, you did, and I've had to scrape by all this time? That coin didn't last long and when I went back they ran me off!"
Arietta's jaw hung open; how could anybody blame a baby for killing its mother. "You can't blame Alistair for that!"
"And who in the Maker's name are you? Some tart, following after his riches, I expect?" Ari's eyebrows shot up, this was not what she expected Alistair's sister to be like... he was so kind and sweet and caring. This woman was rude and insensitive.
"Hey! Don't speak to her that way! She's my friend and a Grey Warden! Just like me."
"Oooohh I see. A prince and a Grey Warden too. Well, who am I to think poorly of someone so high and mighty compared to me? I don't know you boy. Your royal father forced himself on my mother and took her away from me. And what do I got to show for it? Nothing. They tricked me good! I should have told everyone! I got five mouths to feed, and unless you can help with that, I got less than no use for you."
"I... I'm sorry. I... don't know what to say."
Arietta took a deep breath. "Goldanna, Alistair came here hoping to find his family."
"Well he found it. And what good is that to me? None, that's what. Unless he can see to it that his family lives as it should!"
"I suppose maybe I could give her some money... for my nieces and nephews? Fifteen sovereigns, maybe? Would you let me give her that?"
She wasn't sure if they should give her anything with her running her mouth like that, but the children were innocent in this. They could use the money.
"Go ahead."
"Then here, Goldanna, take this money. I know it's not much, but..."
"You, a prince, marching in here with your fancy armour and such, and this is all you got to offer? You must think I'm very stupid."
"No wait, I don't think that at all, I want to help, if I can..."
"You want to help? You go to whatever high-and-mighty folks you run with, and you tell them you've got nephews and nieces that aren't living as they're a right to! You do that!" she snarled at him.
Arietta was usually very patient, but she'd had enough of this woman.
"In case you haven't noticed, there's a Blight savaging Ferelden at the moment. We have no allies since Loghain betrayed the King and blamed it on us. We're doing the best we can. Grey Wardens aren't rich or powerful. There's only a few of us left trying to put the damn country back together again. You're fifteen sovereigns richer than you were ten minutes ago, so show some gratitude. We're more likely to help you later if you're pleasant to us now." She turned to Alistair. "I think we're done here?"
They left.
"Well, that was... not what I expected. To put it lightly. I'm sorry I gave her any money at all. This is the family I've been wondering about all my life? That gold-digging harridan? I can't believe it. I guess I was expecting her to accept me without question. Isn't that what family is supposed to do? I... I feel like a complete idiot."
She felt terrible. They never should have visited her, what a disaster. "You don't need her; you have others who care for you."
"Such as? The only person who ever cared about me was Duncan. And he's gone."
Was he really so blind to her feelings? "I care about you."
He blushed. "I... thank you. I'm glad you came with me. Let's just go. I don't want to talk about this anymore."
…
They picked up a few new items in the market: more poultices, bandages, some better lock picks.
And then a Knight on the far side of the market stopped them.
"I recognise you. From Ostagar. Andraste's blood. You're a Grey Warden. Duncan's apprentice. You killed my friend and good King, Cailan! I demand satisfaction, Ma'am," he said angrily.
"The Grey Wardens did no such thing. It was Loghain that betrayed the King Ser," she said calmly.
"You dare smear Teyrn Loghain's word!"
"I'm not lying. I am Bryce Cousland's daughter. If you knew of my father you would know he was an honourable man. That beacon was lit by my hand. Loghain pulled out and left the King to die. The only reason half the army escaped was because of Duncan and another Warden holding back the entire horde. Loghain killed Cailan as surely as the ogre that crushed him. Now he is in charge of Ferelden but ignores the Blight to the south. Use your wits Ser; why would the Grey Wardens aid the darkspawn?"
"I— very well." He shook his head. "I cannot duel someone who might be guiltless. Leave Warden, but if I find proof," he pointed his sword at her, "we will meet again."
She rolled her eyes as she walked away. Loghain certainly had a lot of loyal followers; he could have killed the king in front of them with his bare hands, and most of them would still support him. Their love and admiration for him had made them blind to any other point of view. It would make things much harder for them going forward. They would need undeniable evidence of Loghain's treacheries to win the Landsmeet, but first they would need Eamon.
They entered Genitivi's house.
A man named Weylon greeted them; he explained that he was Genitivi's apprentice. He had concerns that something had happened to his mentor. However, it quickly became clear that this Weylon fellow was hiding something. Her interrogation caused him to sweat and he was rubbing his hands together nervously. She decided to take a look around.
"What are you doing? You're not supposed to go in there."
Arietta touched the door's handle.
"No! You're not supposed to go in there!"
He hit her with a bolt of lightning. Arietta crumpled to the floor, as Leliana and Alistair laid into him, ending his life. Alistair helped her to her feet, her body still wracked by spasms.
"Shall we go see what he was hiding then?" Arietta asked.
They entered the back room, and Arietta gagged at the smell of a rotting corpse. "The real Weylon?"
"It certainly looks that way," Alistair said.
"Why kill him? What are they hiding?" Leliana asked.
They found some papers in the back room with a town called Haven marked on it. It was on the other side of Ferelden, nestled in the mountains. She'd never heard of such a place, and her geography was usually very good.
They headed back to the market. "I guess it's time to do some more shopping? It'll be winter soon; I want to buy everyone warmer clothes."
"Ooooh, does that mean we can all wear fur coats?" Leliana said excitedly. "I saw some beautiful coats at a stall over there."
"Sounds perfect."
"At least we're not shoe shopping," Alistair commented.
"Oh we'll be doing that too." Arietta smirked.
"Wonderful."
He was clearly still in a bad mood, but she decided not to press him on it.
The stalls were brimming with cloaks, coats, jackets, and knitwear.
"Oh these are just darling!" Leliana cried.
It was a pair of grey gloves, fur-lined on the inside, leather on the outside. Perfect for gripping a bow in the winter months.
"They suit you. We'll buy them."
"What about this for Neri?" Leliana said, holding up some thick leggings.
"I don't know if she'll wear them; she's been sauntering around in those short robes for weeks now, but we'll buy them anyway."
"I think those robes are beautiful; the patterns on them are so lovely. This undercoat will match them perfectly!" Leliana grabbed a long blue coat.
"Alright. Alistair, see anything you like? What about for Sten; any ideas?"
"Errr, I suppose this scarf is rather nice... and perhaps that hat for Sten? It will sit under his helmet nicely."
"Someone has a good eye for fashion." Leliana laughed.
"Yes, well, Templars dress very fashionably. It must have been ingrained in me." He touched a fur coat.
He had told Arietta about his Templar training and about the tunics they wore when not in the clunky plate armour. She couldn't really imagine Alistair in anything but armour, although it certainly wasn't for lack of trying.
They ended up buying a lot of new stuff and probably spent far too much money, but if it kept them warm and safe these next few months then it was worth it. They left shortly after; she hadn't seen any of Loghain's men eyeing their group suspiciously, but she didn't want to risk it.
…
Back at camp, Alistair pulled her aside. "Arietta, I just wanted to say thank you for being at my side at Goldanna's. You're a true friend. I just wanted to tell you that."
"We're in this together, Alistair." She rubbed his arm.
"That we are." He grinned. "I have your back, you know that right?"
She nodded. "And I yours."
She walked over to Neri who sat grooming Blossom and Barkspawn.
"How are they?" she asked the elf.
"I think they're in love. They went for a little frolic earlier. I followed. Barkspawn took her down by the river; they had a drink together before running up the stream and out into a field where they started rolling around in the tall grass. Then they chased each other like two love-sick teenagers. When they finally noticed me watching, they stopped dead in their tracks and slowly walked back to me, heads lowered."
"What!? Really?"
"No. They're dogs, Arietta," Neri said deadpan.
"Oh." Her cheeks flushed.
She needed to stop taking everything Neri said so seriously; she was such a prankster.
"They've been rolling in mud and barking at stuff so I decided to give them a bath." She grinned.
"So, they're not in love?"
"Don't think so. Barkspawn is far too manly for all that soppy bullshit anyway. Aren't you boy? Yes you are." She rubbed his head, and he barked happily in return.
She decided to change the subject. "I bought you this." Arietta handed her a gift wrapped present.
She had already given her the leggings, gloves, scarf and undercoat so the elf looked perplexed.
"What is it?"
"Open it and you'll see."
The elf tore into the wrappings and gasped at its contents.
"Arietta this is... Thank you," she said sincerely.
It was a tome she had found in the Wonders of Thedas store, titled 'Mages and magics of Thedas'. Neri had mentioned not knowing much about her school of magic; force mages were less common in the Circle, and mostly apostates learnt such spells as they could be performed without a staff.
"No problem. I figured it would give you something to read while you're keeping your eyes open at night watching our lovely assassin friend," she joked.
Neri snorted. "He's not so bad once you get to know him. He's a shameless flirt though." She smelt the pages of the tome and her face lit up with joy.
"Then I'm sure you'll get a long great." Arietta stuck her tongue out.
"Mmm. We'll see," Neri said more seriously.
"Would you..."
"Sleep with him?" Neri looked up at her.
"Yeah."
She frowned. "No. I don't think so."
"You're not attracted to him?"
"It's not that. I haven't been with anyone since... well, you know. I don't know if I could." She inhaled deeply.
"No, I get it. I'm here if you need to talk."
It was quite recent, something like six months ago, that Neri had been abused and miscarried. Arietta couldn't imagine how hard something like that would be to come to terms with.
"Thanks. What about you and Alistair? You guys talk a lot. And I've seen the way he looks at you..."
"I— don't know. I care about him. It's scary just how much. But stopping the Blight is—"
"Who cares?" Neri interrupted. "Do what you want. You follow your head and gut too much. Listen to your heart for a change."
"That's not an easy thing for me to do," Arietta said bleakly, scowling slightly.
Her first crush had only dated her for her family's wealth. Her second had pushed her in the dirt when she told him she fancied him. The most recent, Colin, had asked her out, showering her in flowers, and played her sweet songs on his harp, but it had all been a trick, a game. He wanted to bed her, nothing more. Luckily she had overheard him saying as much and confronted him. He hit her hard but Fergus intervened. She promised herself to never be defenceless again, physically as well as emotionally. But Alistair had broken those defences down and wormed his way deep inside her heart.
"It isn't for anyone." Neria smiled sadly.
A/N: Thank you all for reading! And thank you ElyssaCousland for fixing up all my damned mistakes! :D