Chapter Fourteen: Friends Do Flowers, Too
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age.
Once everyone had taken their pouch of Ashes – even Wynne and Leliana though they were hesitant about it – the group returned to Genitivi.
The older man didn't even noticed their approach, so intent was he on the carving he was studying. It really was a good thing that he hadn't been discovered by an enemy or he would have stood even less chance than usual as injured and unarmed as he was.
"Brother Genitivi?" Aunn called out softly so as not to startled the man.
Genitivi raised a hand to forestall her as he kept examining his carving for a moment before reluctantly tearing his gaze away from all the history and turning towards her. "Welcome back," he said exuberantly. He looked better than he had when they had left him since he had gotten the chance to rest and clearly all the new discoveries he was making had done much to buoy his spirits. "You've been gone for quite awhile, I think. Have you had any luck locating the Ashes?"
Aunn handed him her pouch of Ashes in lieu of answering.
"What's this?" Genitivi asked curiously as he opened the pouch and peered inside. "Some sort of dust? You might want to get this cleaned ou-" he broke off mid-word. "This isn't dust, is it?"
"It is," Sten disagreed.
"Well, it might be dust but to be more specific it is Andraste's dust," Aunn told him, smiling a little at how completely awestruck he looked and how reverently he held that little pouch in his hands.
"Oh Maker, but I'm not worthy!" Genitivi breathed.
"Oh spare me," Morrigan muttered.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Alistair told him seriously. "After all, you were the one to locate Haven and get us here. If it weren't for you this never would have happened. If that doesn't make you worthy to be in the presence of the Ashes then I don't know what does."
"Maybe," Genitivi said vaguely. "But…what was it like? Going to the Urn, I mean?"
"There is nothing that has touched me quite so deeply!" Leliana enthused. "I shall never forget it as long as I live."
"You could feel the power present in the ashes," Wynne agreed. Or she could just be feeling the lyrium but there really was no point in arguing now was there? It wasn't like Aunn even cared what her companions thought about this. "And we tested the Ashes; they really do have curative powers."
"That's remarkable," Genitivi told them, his eyes alight with happiness. "What about you, Aunn? Unless things have changed more than I had thought you're not actually Andrastian."
"I'm not, no," Aunn confirmed. "It was satisfying to finally reach the Urn, though, and I'm glad to see that the myth of the Ashes' healing powers was true. There were tests to even get to the Urn, you see, and passing them took awhile. I don't think just anybody could have done it."
"Tests?" Genitivi repeated, fascinated. "What kind of tests? I want to hear all about it."
"And I'll make sure to tell you. Perhaps on the way back to Denerim?" Aunn suggested.
"Oh, you're heading to Denerim as well?" Genitivi asked, surprised.
Aunn nodded. "Yes, we have business there."
"Do you?" Zevran asked. "Will there be any shopping involved? I'm going to need a different weapon if I'm going to be expected to fight many people head-on."
"That's doable," Aunn said easily.
"I suppose travelling with the people who managed to kill my captors is wise than trying to travel alone," Genitivi mused. "And probably faster, too. Oh, I've got so much to do! The Chantry has been aware of my research for years but never very supportive. Maybe now that I've got proof it will not seem so much like blasphemy. We must organize expeditions! Armed expeditions, of course, as this town won't be eager to accommodate us. There's so much history! And think of what this will mean to the devoted! There can be pilgrims again!"
Aunn was trying not to think of that. She was not particularly fond of the Chantry's made-up religion nor their over-obsession with their human Paragon. Still, Genitivi seemed excited and after all of his hard work and everything he went through to get to this point she couldn't very well force him to keep this a secret. Besides, she'd always thought he was a good man for a human.
Still, she had to ask. "Are you sure that that's the best plan? People will end up exploiting it and if everyone takes a pinch of ashes then sooner or later it will run out."
"Pinch?" Wynne repeated in a low voice. "I thought you said pouch."
"Our need is greater," Aunn said virtuously. "We are the only hope against the Blight."
"I can see your point," Genitivi admitted. "But it is just a risk we will have to take. The mortal remains of Andraste belong to the faithful and we cannot possibly deny them this because of the untrustworthiness of a few!"
"As long as you're willing to deal with the consequences," Aunn said with a shrug. This really wasn't her problem and by the time anything actually happened she doubted she'd still be in Ferelden.
The group had headed as quickly as they dared out of the decisively village of Haven. Fortunately, it appeared that the village at large was not aware of what they had done and so not only had they not been stopped but they had even been encouraged to leave quicker. Aunn would have killed each and every one of them in order to leave that place behind but she had to admit that she was rather glad that she had not had to. Genitivi said that he knew of a faster way to get back to Denerim than the route that they had taken to reach Haven in the first place and since none of the party – except, perhaps, Trian but he still had nothing to say about it or anything else – had done the kind of extensive travelling across Ferelden that Genitivi evidently had and so they took the route that he suggested.
As if they needed further proof of the strangeness of Haven and the land surrounding it, on their journey they were soon nearly flattened by some sort of metal object that fell from the sky. As they stood around staring at it a peasant couple approached to see what the commotion was about. When a baby crawled out of the wreckage they were surprised to say the least. Just as unexpected was the couple deciding to name the child Clark and raise him as their own but it wasn't as if any of them could take care of a child and Aunn really had no idea what to do with orphaned children except to give them to the Chantry and, well, he would probably be better off with that couple.
Genitivi told them that there was a small town called Honnleath they'd need to pass through on their way back to the capital. It was supposed to be a sleepy little village with not much of interest but the inactive golem in the center of town – Aunn had perked up at that because, honestly, who wouldn't want a giant golem following them around but apparently no one knew how to get it to start up again – but, as fate would have it, they arrived just in time to see panicked villagers fleeing from darkspawn.
"And mother wondered why I wasn't eager to leave the Wilds again," Morrigan murmured to herself.
"You know, just once I would like to go someplace and not need to worry about saving everyone's life and solving all of their problems," Alistair announced.
"Let's just worry about taking the darkspawn down, okay?" Aunn suggested. She turned to Genitivi. "Stay close."
He nodded. "Right."
They managed to fight their way to the middle of town without much difficulty. These darkspawn weren't very organized and didn't appear to have much of a goal beyond causing havoc.
"It's a shame that this golem wasn't activated when the darkspawn came," Wynne said ruefully. "I'm sure it would have been a big help against the darkspawn."
"Perhaps no one had its control rod," Aunn suggested.
"Oh, I very much doubt that they did," Zevran agreed.
"You do?" Leliana asked. "Why?"
"Because on my way to ambush and kill you all, I happened upon a merchant who offered to give me a control rod for a golem," Zevran explained.
Genitivi started. "You…you tried to kill these people?"
"It wasn't my best work," Zevran admitted, "but it all worked out."
"Why would you buy a control rod without buying a golem?" Sten demanded. "It makes no sense."
"That would have been a rather foolish thing to do, it is true," Zevran agree, "which is why I didn't buy the control rod."
"What, so he just gave it away, did he?" Alistair deadpanned.
"As a matter of fact, he did," Zevran confirmed to their surprise. "He seemed quite eager to get rid of it, too, as he seemed to think the recent string of bad luck he had been having was due to the control rod, so naturally I agreed to take it with me and-"
"Wait," Morrigan interrupted. "Why would you willingly bring along something with such a reputation and not much value?"
"We Antivans are not a superstitious lot," Zevran claimed. "I don't remember if this is the town or not but how many inactive golems can there possibly be in Ferelden?"
"Are you going to activate it?" Aunn asked.
"I would," Zevran told her, "but I never actually expected to run into the golem my rod controls and so I am afraid that the command phrase has slipped my mind."
"Perfect. Still, maybe someone in the village knows," Aunn suggested. "Since we're here anyway we might as well see if we can get a golem out of our trip."
"And we can check for survivors as well," Leliana added. "It would just be too depressing if everyone who had not managed to flee was killed."
They split up to search for anyone left alive in the village – and in some of their cases to grab anything that looked valuable – for about fifteen minutes before Genitivi gave a shout and they followed his voice to a cellar that was crawling with darkspawn. He didn't know if anyone was left alive down there but they could hardly just ignore their monstrous opponents.
Upon fighting their way through the underground passage, they eventually arrived at a group of darkspawn trying to get through some sort of bright purple barrier while a few frightened-looking humans looked on silently from behind it.
"Reinforcements?" one of them blurted the moment he saw them. "Thank the Maker!"
Oh, yes, thank the ever-absent Maker for them showing up in time to be of use. Aunn really didn't like the Andrastian cult. The darkspawn quickly barreled towards them but, while it was a little restricting to be fighting in a room full of furniture like this one, the darkspawn posed no real challenge.
Once the last of them fell, the barrier fell.
"Is it safe up there?" one of the people asked, shooting an uncertain look at the path out.
"It should be," Aunn replied. "We killed all the darkspawn we encountered."
That seemed to be enough for the villagers and all but one left.
"I can't thank you enough for arriving when you did," the one remaining man, a tall human with blond hair, said. "Sure we had the barrier but I have no idea how long that would have lasted and we had no supplies anyway so we couldn't have stayed behind ti forever. I was beginning to think that no one even knew that we were under attack."
"We didn't know," Genitivi told him. "We were just passing through on our way to Denerim but when we saw your plight we had to do what we could."
"Then I am grateful that your path led you here," the man told them. "My name is Matthias and you may very well have stopped Honnleath from ending up like Lothering."
"Lothering?" Alistair repeated, looking concerned. "Did something happen to Lothering?"
Matthias blinked in surprise. "You don't know? I thought everybody knew. It's all anybody's been able to talk about for days."
"We've been travelling," Wynne explained. "And we didn't encounter many people."
"The darkspawn came and took the town," Matthias informed them solemnly. "They knew it was coming, of course, but I heard they hadn't even finished evacuating yet."
Leliana shuddered. "That is horrible! Those poor people…"
Sten's eyes were narrowed slightly. Aunn supposed that meant that he was a little disturbed by the thought that if they hadn't broken him out of his cage and convinced him to come with them then he'd be dead by now, slaughtered ingloriously by the darkspawn as they swarmed over everything. For that matter, if she hadn't allowed Leliana to tag along then she might very well be dead now, too. That was a little unsettling.
"I don't want to seem ungrateful or impose too much upon you but…I have a daughter, Amalia. She's all I've had since my wife died and when the darkspawn first came she panicked and instead of getting behind the barrier she ran into my father's workshop," Mathias explained.
"And you cannot go in after her yourself?" Morrigan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I would," Matthias assured her. "But…my father was a mage. One of the other men tried to go in after her and he was incinerated with a few seconds of stepping foot down that hallway," he gestured towards a door presumably leading to the workshop, "and I have no idea how Amalia managed to make it past the defenses. I am no fighter but I hope that you will be able to find my daughter and bring her back here safely. I am not a rich man but surely there is something I can do to repay you."
"About the golem out front," Zevran spoke up. "We have what we believe to be the control rod. Do you know anything about how to work it?"
Matthias blinked. "Shale? That thing killed my father," he said angrily. "That's why my mother got rid of the control rod. Still…I do know how to activate it. If you save my daughter I will tell you how but please make sure to quickly get it out of Honnleath. We've had enough destruction."
"Agreed," Aunn said. "Now tell us everything you know about your father's work."
Aunn leaned against the wall as she eyed Amalia and her clearly possessed cat. If it weren't for the fact that Matthias was clearly a very caring father that was willing to try and force the hand of several heavily-armed and potentially ruthless people to save his daughter instead of leaving her to die for the sake of convenience then she couldn't honestly say that she'd be bothering with this whole situation. Yes, Amalia was just a child but she also was old enough to know that talking animals with glowing eyes was at least an unusual situation if not an outright dangerous one. Not to mention that she had been standing right there when the demon started talking about possessing the girl…perhaps the demon was using some sort of magic to enthrall her? It was really the only excuse Amalia had for not noticing that something was up. And she wouldn't stop prattling on to the demon, either. The demon didn't seem to mind or else it probably would have just possessed her by now.
She glanced over at Leliana and Wynne who were attempting to solve the ridiculous flame puzzle to free the demon so as to somehow free the girl. Well, they probably had a plan so she'd just have to trust them. Aunn was really not a fan of complicated puzzles like these and, while she was sure that she could solve it, was all too happy to let someone else handle it.
Alistair, who had been arguing with Morrigan, broke away and came to stand over by her. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he whispered.
"Not exactly," Aunn answered in a low voice. "But if she won't leave then we can either convince Sten to force her or try this. That demon could possess her at any moment so we've got to be careful and once it's free there may be an opportunity to get her out of here while it's distracted."
"And if there isn't?" Alistair demanded, raising his voice a little. Aunn shot him a pointed look. "Right, sorry," he said, his tone quiet enough not to be overheard again. "What if we just let loose a demon possessing that little girl into the world? Can you really live with that?"
"If we have to we'll take care of it," Aunn told him firmly. "And we may be even less to be able to help while she's so suspicious. We'll just have to wait and see."
Alistair slumped against the wall. "I hate waiting."
"Doesn't everybody?" Aunn asked rhetorically. "But since we've got time…"
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Alistair asked semi-rhetorically.
"Probably not but we can't just ignore the bronto in the room forever," Aunn said reasonably. "Why didn't you tell me that your father was King Maric?"
"You didn't ask?" Alistair said sheepishly.
Aunn raised an eyebrow. "Is that a question?"
"…No?" Another question.
"So, what? I was supposed to say, 'Hey Alistair, you know how I told you about how I was an exiled Princess and explained the reasons for this and we know about Morrigan's connection to Flemeth? Are there any pressing secrets that you might like to share with us? Particularly in concerns to royal parentage?'" Aunn asked skeptically.
Alistair sighed. "I guess not. I probably wouldn't have told you then either although I may have gotten so flustered you'd have been able to work it out."
That was probably true. He was getting pretty flustered right now, even. "So why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to know," Alistair told her hesitantly.
Aunn rolled her eyes. "I kind of worked that out for myself, thanks. Any particular reason for that? And if there is could you please specify?"
"It's just…" Alistair ran a hand through his hair. "All my life people have always treated me differently once they knew. I wasn't just Alistair anymore, I was 'Alistair the bastard prince.' Even Duncan treated me differently and he never let me get into anything dangerous."
Bastard…that was a human word, wasn't it? She had heard of it before and meant something about not having a father. Well, everyone had a father, of course, so it likely meant that someone didn't know whose theirs was. Alistair clearly did have a father whose name he knew, though, even if he were dead so there must be more to it than that. His mother had been a serving girl so they clearly weren't married. Could that have something to do with it? It actually reminded her a bit of the noble hunters back in Orzammar but if Alistair's existence was hidden away and treated like some sort of dirty little secret instead of celebrated then clearly there were differences. As far as she could tell, the most likely explanation, then, was that his father didn't claim him. That was a sad fate indeed although, given that his father was a King, definitely not the worst he could have done to him.
"Royalty is always treated differently," Aunn acknowledged. "And while I'm not entirely familiar with the concepts of bastards if you weren't formally acknowledged then that probably would have caused problems, too, but Alistair…I get that. I was born a princess and while it may be somewhat amusing to play at being a commoner I'm never going to be one, I'll always be an exiled princess. I've seen firsthand how coddled royalty can be and believe me, I've lived it."
Alistair snorted. "You? Coddled? I find that hard to believe."
"It wasn't my choice, I assure you," Aunn said dryly. "Remember how I told you I had never really seen a poor person before? That's coddling right there. And the day before my brother died, which was also the day before my first military commission, I wasn't permitted to walk to my own Proving – which I won – without an armed escort."
"What's a Proving?" Alistair wondered.
"It's ritualized fighting," Aunn explained. "It could be a tournament if it's held in someone's honor – like that was held in mine – and that makes it a Glory Proving or it could be between two people who are trying to settle some insult or offense and that would make it an Honor Proving. Glory Provings are never lethal although Honor Provings often are unless otherwise specified but they're still useful so a minor insult doesn't erupt in an all-out House war."
"I see. Well, I guess that if these insults happen a lot then it's a good idea to have an established way of dealing with it," Alistair mused. "But you said you couldn't walk somewhere you'd be fighting by yourself the day before you were going to be killing a lot of darkspawn? That…makes no sense."
"It makes less sense when you consider the fact that my older and younger brothers were allowed to wander around by themselves," Aunn replied wryly. "The official reason was so that because of the feast the merchants might harass me on my way there but I suspect that the real reason was because my father was worried I might actually talk to these people."
"And talking to merchants is bad?" Alistair didn't get it.
"It is when you're a princess in Orzammar," Aunn replied. "Those things just aren't done. Of course, I likely would have done it anyway and he knew that which is why I had the armed escort in the first place. Still, it didn't do me any favors in my campaign to get people to take me seriously as a fighter despite the fact I happen to be a woman…" She shook her head, hoping that what had happened to her hadn't hurt the cause. "But anyway, the point I was trying to make is that I've been incredibly sheltered for most of my life and rather resent it. Why would I do that to you?"
"I guess you wouldn't," Alistair admitted. "But I didn't want to take that chance. I could always change my mind and tell you later but I couldn't take the truth back once I'd told you."
"I suppose that that's understandable," Aunn decided at length. "Ancestors know I wasn't in any hurry to tell you that I didn't kill my brother. But now that all this is coming out into the open I've got to ask…is there anything else I should know? Either about you or about the Grey Wardens? Keep in mind that pretty much all that I know about the Wardens are that they are incredibly ruthless, will do anything to end the Blight, have all died upon defeating an Archdemon, used to have griffons, and are tainted by the Joining."
"Oh. So you wouldn't know that the taint only gives you thirty years or so to live and then it overwhelms you and you go seek an honorable death in the Deep Roads," Alistair told her, surprised. "We call it the Calling."
Aunn blinked. "No, I did not know that. Let's see, that would put me at 53 or so when this happened. That's three years older than my father and he's pretty old. Alright, anything else?"
"You're…not upset about this?" Alistair could hardly believe it. "When I first found out I wouldn't talk to Duncan for a week." He looked a little sad at the mention of his fallen mentor but much better than the last time they had spoken of him. It was proof of healing, Aunn supposed.
"Why would I be upset?" Aunn asked him. "I'll be in my fifties and that's plenty old enough. Add that to the fact that I'm supposed to be dead right now, the fact that many, many people die before they reach fifty – like my brother who was only half that age – and the fact that fighting darkspawn is a little, you know, dangerous then, taint or no taint, there's no guarantee I'll even make it to my Calling. Still, it would be nice to die in Orzammar…"
"Well, if you're sure," Alistair still looked a little uncertain about how well she was taking the news but wasn't about to press her and possibly provoke a stronger reaction. "From what I could tell, the taint really messes with your ability to have children. All of the Grey Wardens I knew who had children had them prior to the Joining but Duncan told me that he's seen a Grey Warden have a child and that the child was perfectly normal. This was incredibly unexpected, though, and everyone thought it was a miracle so if you want children it is possible but highly unlikely. Along the same line of thought, if you want children with another Grey Warden then the combined incredibly decreased fertility could make it impossible."
Aunn's eyes widened. "So…in all likelihood, I'll never be a mother?"
Alistair reluctantly nodded, looking pained. "I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Aunn asked, delighted. "I'm never going to have to have a baby! This is great news! You have no idea how happy this makes me, Alistair."
"No, I don't," Alistair agreed. "Most people would think of this as a bad thing, you know."
"Probably," Aunn shrugged. "But I'm not really very big on children and having a baby could very well ruin my ability to fight. I just can't stand the thought of pregnancy, either, but my people are facing a population crisis – well, at least the nobles and warriors are – and so it probably would have been my duty to have children at some point. But now I don't have to because I can't! And that will probably lessen my need to have a political marriage, as well, as I won't be having any kids and if he were going to go to a noble hunter for his heirs then he wouldn't need me."
"You wouldn't really need to do that anyway since you've been exiled," Alistair reminded her.
Aunn, predictably, glared at him for bringing that up. It wasn't like she didn't dwell on it far too much on her own as it was and she really didn't need him to help keep that at the forefront of her mind. "For now, yes, although we're returning to Orzammar and who even knows what will happen then or in the future. This whole infertility thing will be forever."
"I see that you're happy," Alistair said, nonplussed.
"And I see that you're confused," Aunn replied. "It's not really very important so don't worry about it. Is that everything?"
"I think so," Alistair told her. "And if it turns out that it isn't then it's just a case of me forgetting. I'm not actively trying to keep secrets."
"I'm going to hold you to that," Aunn replied, biting her lip. She glanced over at Leliana who had just accidently managed to set the bottom of Wynne's robe on fire. It looked like they'd still be awhile before they finished the inane puzzle. "Alistair…I've got something I need to ask you."
"What?" Alistair asked, taking in how serious his fellow Warden looked and, oddly enough, how nervous.
"What Trian said…I know it wasn't really him but I'm starting to think that he was right. Even if I can't forgive my father I should probably here what he has to say about the matter," Aunn said slowly.
"So you want to read his letter?" Alistair asked, reaching into his pack and feeling around for a bit before he located it and pulled it out.
Aunn didn't touch it. "I can't guarantee that I won't destroy it once I've read it or even before I get done with it and I may regret that so, if it's alright with you, could you read it to me?"
Alistair nodded solemnly. "Of course." He unfolded the paper in his hands and hoped that this note wouldn't make things worse. " 'Aunn, perhaps you will burn this letter unread. For that, I would not blame you but I would not return to the Stone without saying this to you: I have seen what Bhelen is. And when I saw it, I knew I had been a fool. For only a fool would cut out his own heart and burn it for the sake of appearances. I never believed in your guilt. I allowed you to be exiled because I feared an inquiry into Trian's murder would taint our House with scandal in the eyes of the deshyrs and cost our family the throne. But I have saved nothing by this sacrifice: I sent my only child into an uncertain exile. Know that whatever you do now, you bear all the honor and pride of House Aeducan. –Your Father.'"
Aunn didn't move. The problem with having someone else read her father's letter to her was that while it did ensure that she didn't destroy it – like she was very tempted to do right now – but it also meant that she couldn't deal with this in private. Still, she had known that when she'd asked and so she would simply have to deal with the results.
"That…" Alistair trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief. "He knew you were innocent this whole time?"
"Apparently," Aunn said hollowly. That felt like a betrayal. It was bad enough when she believed that he had thought her guilty because, had things been different, she might have been. And even if she had been the type of person to who was naïve enough to never even remotely consider harming a family member, as grief-stricken as her father was it was understandable that he wouldn't immediately pick up on that and it wasn't like Bhelen had allowed him enough time to really absorb what was happening and change his mind. It hurt that he wouldn't believe her but she could understandit. More than that, she could accept it.
This…He knew. He knew that she was innocent. Even had she actually been guilty this note would still hit her hard with his professed belief in her innocence right before confessing this was just to avoid looking bad. Her father, one of the only two people she had ever really trusted, had betrayed her. It made her barely-concealed anger and pain at Gorim's marriage seem petty given that he, at least, was still on her side and would never even dream of doing something like this.
This letter was closer than she'd expected to get for an apology and yet she found that it simply didn't matter. He was her father and he was supposed to love her and he let her be killed for the sake of avoiding and sodding scandal. What was she supposed to do with that information? Why had he told her that? Why not say something about how almost the moment she had been cast out he had realized his mistake, that he hadn't been thinking clearly? It might not have actually been true but since that clearly wasn't important to anyone then it didn't even matter. Was the fact that he claimed to regret his decision, was the fact that according to Gorim that regret was killing him supposed to make up for that? He had no way of knowing that she still lived and it was really no thanks to him. She might very well be dead now but at least this scandal was swept under the rug and it had only cost him two of his children.
He gave her a shield, he gave her a death sentence. He gave her an apology of sorts, he gave her this terrible truth. I have seen what Bhelen is. He wrote that he had realized that he'd made the wrong choice once he realized some great truth about his youngest son. Since sacrificing her wouldn't change much in her father's lifetime but would influence the succession once he died and Bhelen was his only eligible child then he had basically gotten rid of her for her brother's sake. That was rather ironic given all the times in the past he had chosen her over him although she could bet that Bhelen, at least, was pleased. No matter how it had come to be, Trian's death and her exile would only benefit Bhelen politically and he had to have seen that the minute he had arrived to find her still at the scene of the crime.
Aunn knew that her father had allowed Bhelen to have her killed so as to make sure his chances to become King weren't jeopardized. I have seen what Bhelen is. What did he mean by that? The obvious answer, of course, was that he finally realized who was actually responsible for Trian's death and consequentially framing her and was horrified at what he had done to her for the sake of the actual guilty party. It was a nice theory, neat and tragic, but it felt off. Her father was no fool no matter what his letter may have claimed. If Trian were dead then she would benefit. If Trian were dead and she were blamed then Bhelen would benefit. Lord Harrowmont had already connected the dots before she had even been exiled so there was no way he was blind to the possibility. No, he knew all right.
Her father knew that Bhelen had killed Trian and framed her and he had allowed it to happen so that Bhelen could be his new, better heir. I have seen what Bhelen is. He already knew that his living son was fratricidal and that, while it may have bothered him, wasn't enough to disqualify him as heir material so what was? Bhelen had remained beneath the notice of nearly everyone for most of his life. Aunn knew that he was progressive, of course, although that had been gleaned after an entire afternoon of pestering him and he hadn't given that up easily. Chances were that her father hadn't known what his politics were like and had he found out…their father was a deeply traditional man and had he realized how allergic Bhelen was to tradition then he would not be okay with it. It might even be enough to make him decide that he'd made a mistake in sacrificing her and supporting Bhelen.
It would never be enough for him to change his mind, however, and this letter had just made seeing either of her two living family members exponentially more awkward. With her father she'd know that he was fine with her dying – because as upset as he was he had still knowing let her become a scapegoat – and with her brother she'd have to know that he was now in the position Trian had always feared of undesirable heir. She was their father's 'only child' and yet he'd be getting the crown. There were days when Aunn wondered why, exactly, anyone had ever been jealous of her for being the favorite as it certainly never seemed to do her any favors.
At least Bhelen had only betrayed her once.
"I just can't believe he would do that to you," Alistair declared stubbornly, shaking his head. "Maybe he couldn't stop it but he didn't want to admit that."
"No," Aunn disagreed. "Admitting that he simply lacked the power to save me would be confessing to a weakness but it would come off a lot better than 'sorry, you are now a liability so I'm going to let you die.' He could have stopped it but he didn't."
"I'm sorry," Alistair said sincerely. "You deserve better than that."
"I'm glad someone thinks so," Aunn murmured.
Alistair looked like he was considering something before he nodded and started rooting through his bag again.
"Alistair?" Aunn asked, a little confused. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for something," he replied unhelpfully. "Ah, here it is!" Triumphantly, he pulled out that red plant he had found in Lothering and that Leliana had apparently based her vision on. "Do you know what this is?"
"A…rose, right?" Aunn asked, hoping that that was what it was called.
Alistair nodded. "I picked it in Lothering, if you'll remember. I probably should have just left it alone but I knew that the darkspawn would just come and destroy it if I did that so I couldn't."
"Make sure Leliana never finds out you picked her Maker-rose or she will not handle that well," Aunn warned.
Alistair grinned. "If anyone asks, I picked it in the Korcari Wilds. Either way, Aunn, I wanted to give this to you."
Aunn tilted her head. "You're giving me a plant? Do people do that?"
"People do things like that all the time," Alistair assured her. "But usually flowers, not just any old plant."
"Why?" Aunn still didn't get it.
Alistair looked a little awkwardly. "Well usually they do it as an expression of romantic interest-"
"Wait, what?" Aunn interrupted, her eyes wide. This was news to her and not good news. "Alistair, I…" she trailed off, not know what to say.
To her surprise and relief, Alistair chuckled. "Don't worry; you've made it more than clear how much I remind you of your brother."
"In looks, at least," Aunn amended.
"Normally it is for romantic purposes but that's not what I'm giving this to you for. You're my friend and you've really helped me out since Duncan and the others died. I was in a really bad place back when I first saw this and I remembered wondering how there could still be beauty in the world when so much had gone wrong and whenever I look at it it reminds me that there is still good in this world even if it's difficult to see. I know that our mission is pretty hopeless and that you've lost everything and so it's probably just as hard for you to see past that as it was for me and that's why I think you could use this a lot more than I could."
Aunn accepted the rose. "Well…thank you, then, for the flower. That's very sweet."
"There is still good in this world, Aunn, you just have to keep your eyes open," Alistair promised her earnestly.
Just then Leliana gave a triumphant cry and Aunn and Alistair glanced over to where she and Wynne had just finished solving Wilhelm's little puzzle.
"At last! I am free!" the demon purred, sounding delighted.
"Oh, I knew you could do it!" Amalia cried out excitedly. "Kitty and I are so very grateful."
"Yes, you have my thanks, mortals," the demon told them. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"I wouldn't be so quick to thank us yet, demon," Wynne said, drawing her staff. "We said we'd solve the puzzle not that you could keep that little girl."
"Treachery!" the demon screeched. "I will have the girl and there is nothing you can do about it!"
"Kitty?" at last Amalia displayed some sense of self-preservation. "You're scaring me!" With that, she took off down the hallway.
Aunn and Alistair exchanged a glance. A little girl trying to make her way through such a demon-infested passage? It was a miracle she'd managed it once and it would be foolish to just hope she could do it again.
"I'll go," she said, heading after the girl followed, strangely, by Zevran.
The two didn't actually meet any resistance on their way out which meant that Amalia hadn't encountered anything either – maybe they had killed them all on their way in – and they arrived back at Matthias just in time to see his daughter throw herself into his arms and start babbling about the demon.
"Wait, slow down, honey," Matthias instructed. "The cat was talking? What?"
"She met a demon," Aunn told him. "Your father had it trapped there and it had possessed a cat. It wanted to possess Amalia, too, but it needed to find a way to escape the room first."
"A demon," Matthias repeated, paling. "All this time, I never knew. And to think Amalia was in there with it…you're not hurt, are you?"
Amalia shook her head. "Kitty seemed really nice at first and we were playing but then she go all scary so I ran away."
"You did the right thing, Amalia," Matthias assured her. "Demons are evil and scary so you should stay away from them." He turned back to Aunn. "Is it dead?"
"Our companions are killing it as we speak," Zevran answered instead. "But since we have fulfilled our end of the bargain and delivered your daughter to you safely perhaps you can live up to your end?"
"My end?" Matthias asked blankly. "Oh, you mean the code! Very well. It is 'Dulef gar.' Please be careful with Shale, she's dangerous and she's already killed one master. I would hate to see anything happen to the heroes who have saved our village and rescued my daughter."
"We'll be careful," Aunn promised.
"I suggest we go see if the code word works or if I've got the wrong rod after all," Zevran suggested.
"But what about everyone else?" Aunn asked.
"They'll find us," Zevran said dismissively. "We're not that far away from Shale, after all."
The two were soon standing in front of the golem. Zevran took out his control rod and clearly enunciated," Dulef gar'." He waited but nothing happened. "Maybe it's the wrong golem…"
"It doesn't have to work instantaneously, does it?" Aunn pointed out. "And if nothing else we can wait here until they're done."
As she finished speaking, the golem began to shake.
"Well, I guess it won't be a very long wait at all," Zevran agreed.
"Who is it?" the golem asked in a gravelly voice.
"I am Zevran," Zevran introduced. "And this is Aunn. Are you Shale?"
"I am," Shale confirmed. "I take it that one of you has my control rod?"
"That would be me," Zevran confirmed, holding it up.
Shale took a step closer to it. "I feel…strange. Order me to do something, painted elf."
" 'Painted elf'?" Zevran repeated, considering his new nickname for a moment before shrugging. "I've had worse. Okay, how about...pick Aunn up."
Aunn shot him a withering glare. "I hate you so much right now."
"It was the first thing that popped into my head," he claimed.
"It is holding my control rod, it has given me an order, and yet I do not feel compelled to obey it," Shale pondered thoughtfully. "How very strange."
"Good," Aunn said emphatically. "Because that would not end well, trust me."
"So your control rod is not working?" Zevran surmised. "That is strange. Do you have any idea why that might be?"
"None," Shale said, shaking her head. "Although my previous master was a mage who conducted experiments on me so that might have something to do with it. How did it come by my control rod?"
"I obtained it from a passing merchant," Zevran explained.
"Was it very expensive?" Shale asked, trying to sound like she didn't care.
Zevran wasn't fooled for a minute. "Oh, very. I almost couldn't afford it but I could never pass up the opportunity to become acquainted with such a powerful creature as yourself."
"If she's been experimented on then is it quite safe to be around her?" Aunn wondered aloud. "I mean, having a malfunctioning control rod is one thing but how do we know what else the experiments will have done?"
"I assure it that I am quite safe," Shale told her. "Though I am curious as to why it is referring to me as a she?"
"Oh, well Shale sounds a lot like Shayle which is a dwarven female name," Aunn explained with a shrug. "So since you have no easily discernable gender as far as I can tell that's what struck me. Would you prefer I not do so?"
"I suppose that that is fine," Shale decided. "Why did the painted elf seek me out? I have nothing pressing to do, barely any memory, and wish only to leave this wretched place where I have been frozen for all of these years. I might follow it if it will be doing something interesting."
"I myself am following Aunn," Zevran answered. "And she is attempting to stop the Blight."
"A Blight?" Shale asked curiously. "The darkspawn are truly horrible creatures, almost as bad as birds. Very well, that is a more worthy cause then I was expecting and I will consent to follow you."
"Birds?" Zevran repeated.
"Yes, birds," Shale said firmly. "Vile, loathsome creatures who conspire to defile poor, innocent statuary…"
"If you truly don't remember your past then at some point – a long, long way into the future but still – we're going to Orzammar. That's where golems originated, you know, so perhaps the Shaper will be able to tell you more about yourself," Aunn suggested.
"That sounds like a plan," Shale agreed.
"You know," Zevran remarked wryly, "we're all exceedingly lucky that I only found you after joining up with Aunn."
"Why is that?" Shale asked disinterestedly.
Zevran smirked. "Because before then I was a Crow…"
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