A/N: There is only one more chapter after this, followed by a short epilogue. Both should be posted within the next day or so.
And So It Begins
Nila Parnell Caron became Nila Parnell Caron Gilmore on a hazy autumn day, a lovely bride in a pale peach silk gown and a crown of tea roses and baby's breath in her hair. Leonie thought she had never seen her mother look more content.
She wondered, for a moment, what it must have been like, being the wife of a Grey Warden and that led to her wondering what it would be like not to have to worry about early deaths and a duty that constantly pulled her away from her loved ones. In some ways it sounded idyllic. And then she saw Duncan, bent low to listen to Nila and laughing at something she said. He was gorgeous standing there, his face lit with laughter and she couldn't imagine being with anyone but him, couldn't imagine a life that didn't revolve around the Grey Wardens. She wasn't sure that she could settle for an ordinary life, nor, she realized as Duncan turned to gaze in her direction, would she want to.
Roan Gilmore was not larger than life, as Balfour had been, but rather a man of middling height with dark red hair and very kind green eyes. Soft spoken and even tempered, he looked at Nila with respect and love. Leonie could not help but like him immediately.
"You will always be welcome at Hunter Fell. It isn't as grand as Goldenvale, but it's home and beautiful in its own right."
"Thank you, Bann Gilmore. I look forward to visiting the next time I am in Ferelden."
They stood in the great room, a large fire crackling merrily to take the chill out of the air, as they became better acquainted. Leonie found him easy to talk to and enjoyed learning about his son, Roland, whom he called Rory. He told her of Rory's interest in becoming a Grey Warden and she promised to let Duncan know.
And then Nila was hugging Leonie in farewell as she and Roan began their journey to Hunter Fell. Leonie, tears caught like sparkling jewels in the late afternoon rays of the sun, waved until long after they were out of sight. Renfrew came and put an arm around her.
"It will be entirely too quiet here," he said, his voice sounding a bit forlorn. Leonie slipped her arm around his waist to comfort him.
"Perhaps it is time you found a wife, Uncle Renfrew?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I have a cousin who will be taking over the bann when I pass on. I'm too old to change my ways."
Leonie found that unaccountably sad. He would be alone again now that Nila had remarried and that thought brought fresh tears to her eyes. "You are such a wonderful man, Uncle. There must be many women who wish to marry you, surely?"
Renfrew looked away but not before Leonie saw a deep sadness in his eyes. "The woman I love is not nobility and won't consent to marriage."
Leonie frowned. "She is a commoner? But if you love each other, that is all that matters, yes? Titles do not seem that important to you."
"It's not the title that bothers her, I think. She's an elf, you see, a seamstress in the village. She doesn't want to condemn me to censure by the nobles. As if it matters to me what others say. My real friends would support it but she is a stubborn woman. Part of her charm," he added with a sheepish grin.
"Fight for her, Uncle Renfrew," Leonie told him seriously. "Do not give up until she agrees," she added and then related the story of her own persistence with Duncan.
"He would never have come to me on his own. I merely refused to allow him a choice in the matter," she concluded with a grin.
Renfrew looked thoughtful and then nodded once. "You're right, I need to fight for her. The stubbornness you lay claim to is a Parnell family trait, after all."
Duncan and Riordan came up then and the conversation drifted on to other subjects but Leonie hoped that her uncle found the happiness he deserved. He and Riordan wandered off to share some Antivan brandy as Duncan pulled her up the stairs to their room. She and Riordan were leaving the following morning and neither she nor Duncan wanted her to go.
Duncan was busy with the laces at the back of her dress as soon as the door shut behind them. She felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck as his fingers nimbly undid her dress. He slid it down over her hips and it pooled on the floor at her feet. He bent, his lips soft against her bare shoulder as his hands roamed her body. All thoughts of Renfrew fled. All thoughts of anything other than this man who held her and this moment with him, fled.
Later, he turned up the lamp and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, padding across the room to his saddlebags. He rummaged around a moment before finding what he was looking for and padding back to the bed. He was glorious in the soft lamplight, all hard muscle and softened planes and golden skin, his face serious. She reached out a hand and he took it in his free hand, bringing it up and kissing her knuckles, fluttering warm breath against them before lowering her hand and sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"For you," he said simply, sounding a little anxious. He handed her a small silver box, a lion's head engraved on it.
"Oh Duncan, it is lovely," she breathed, her fingers examining the delicate engraving.
Duncan chuckled and replied, "Not the box, Lion. Open it."
Inside the box, nestled on dark blue velvet, was a silverite ring with dwarven runes inscribed on it. She recognized the runes immediately. The ring matched his earring, the one he had worn since she was nine years old. She was speechless and the tears were gathering. She stared at it for long moments.
"Of course you don't have to wear it," he said wryly.
"I-I do not know what to say, my love. It is quite the most beautiful gift I have ever been given," Leonie whispered thickly and the gathering tears spilled over. With shaking fingers, she removed the ring and slid it onto her finger.
"A speechless Lion? Unheard of," he remarked dryly but she heard the underlying relief in his voice.
Unspoken between them was the knowledge that their time was dwindling and soon all she would have of Duncan would be memories and the ring now gracing her finger, as if leaving it unspoken would somehow prevent the truth of it.
Fog clung to the air in the morning, perfectly matching Leonie's mood, muting sound and dampening their cloaks. She turned in her saddle, raising her hand in farewell. Duncan stood beside Renfrew and they returned her salute before they were swallowed by the mist.
Kristoff had prepared a detailed report of all darkspawn activity in her absence. They sat at her desk, going over the reports and discussing assignments.
"It seems as though the Reval area is still the site of these marauding bands of darkspawn. What is it that we are missing there?"
Kristoff shrugged, his grey eyes narrowed in thought. "We have to be missing another opening into the Deep Roads there, somewhere. It's the only thing I think of that can account for their hit and run tactics. Which is odd enough in and of itself," he added with a frown.
Leonie nodded. "Have you mapped all the attacks? Found where a logical point of entry might be?"
"Yes and I want to send a team in to investigate that area thoroughly. It'll take a week or more to do that but I think that's our best option for now."
Again Leonie nodded and heard herself say, "I will lead the scouting team."
"Isn't that what you have a second for?" he asked pointedly.
Normally she would agree, but she spoke again, her voice tempered by command. "I am quite familiar with the area, more so than you are. Also, I have not been in the field since Marcus was killed. It is time I returned."
Kristoff nodded once before speaking again. "How many men will you be taking?"
"Three others. Too many and the darkspawn will sense us before we wish them to, yes?"
It was decided that Teodar, Laurent and a new mage, a young elf named Shaniel, would accompany her. She went to the training grounds and found Laurent. His face lit up as he saw her approach.
"About time you got back to your training. Look at you, all fat and out of shape," he teased, handing her a training sword and dagger.
"So you say, Laurent, but I can still easily defeat the likes of you, old man."
They sparred for some time, a crowd gathering as neither of them seemed to get the upper hand. She parried, he feinted, she thrust, he blocked and so it went as the sweat began to flow freely. Leonie's breath was coming in short gasps and she felt awkward and clumsy at times but determined to best Laurent. It did not end that way. She finally went sprawling backwards, Laurent's blade tracing a victory pattern on her neck.
"I hate you," she whispered as he helped her up and he laughed.
"I expect you do, Lion," he returned, taking a bow before the cheering crowd.
The next morning they rode out through the western gate. The day was hazy, the air spiced with the smell of burning leaves and drying hops. Cool, but not cold, the sun was a watery yellow and the wind was merely a thought. Leonie's mood was lighter than she would have anticipated, given that Marcus was not riding at her side.
She found Shaniel a likeable young man with a droll, sarcastic wit and a penchant for whistling old folksongs. His eyes, a peculiar shade of violet, were constantly moving, as if the world were new to him. She suspected it might be if he'd been in a tower most of his life.
Cresting a small rise in the dusty road, she pulled up short. A large party of darkspawn, well over fifty, was moving deliberately toward them. She looked around, fighting back an edge of fear. Four Wardens against a sea of darkspawn, at least ten of which were emissaries, if she was sensing their magic correctly. She glanced around quickly and saw a field of dry summer grass.
"I'm going to try and distract them, bring them into the field. As soon as they get there I want you to set it on fire, Shaniel." She waited until she saw him nod. She turned to Laurent.
"When the smoke is thick enough, I want you to ride as fast as you can back to Val Royeaux to warn the others. Kristoff knows the plan, make sure you find him first. Teodar, Shaniel and I will try and slow them down to give you time."
Teodar looked about to protest but he shrugged once and nodded quietly.
Laurent grinned. "As you command, Commander," he responded cheerfully.
Leonie spurred her horse, coming in from the east, leaning low in her saddle. She let out a yell as she approached and then swung her horse hard, setting a zigzag course across the fields as she pulled them closer and closer to the other Wardens. She reined in hard as soon as she was sure the bulk of the darkspawn were in the field as well.
She nodded and Shaniel, with little fanfare, slammed a fireball into the midst of them, setting the field ablaze. A cacophony of screams and grunts and roars mingled with the sharp crackle of the grass as it burned and the smoke was thick and dark grey.
"Now Laurent!" she called, her eyes smarting from the smoke. She coughed and then bent low again as she urged Vixen forward. Shaniel and Teodar fell in beside her and they made their way to the road. Laurent was already out of sight.
"Can you cast a grease spell, Shaniel?" At his nod, she continued. "Cast it there," she ordered, pointing fifty paces behind them. "As soon as the bulk hit it, cast another fireball."
Shaniel grinned and after he cast his grease spell, he began to whistle. Teodar's mount stamped impatiently and Vixen was restive as well. The approaching darkspawn and the heavy smoke were making the animals more uncomfortable than their riders.
The fireball was powerful and destructive. She watched a number of darkspawn genlocks fall, writhing and twisting. The smoke was thicker, more acrid, the rancid smell of burning darkspawn flesh choking.
"Now," she said between coughing fits, her eyes mere slits now, swollen nearly shut from the smoke.
They rode quickly and as they approached the western gate, her shoulders relaxed. Kristoff was already riding toward her.
"There were fifty or more in the group but I'm not sure how many now. About twenty minutes behind us, I hope."
"We're ready, thanks to Laurent."
It was the start of another round of large raiding parties hitting at their defenses, Leonie was sure of it. Didier and Kristoff agreed that Weisshaupt and Wardens in other nations needed to be informed. Leonie sent the letters out immediately. She included a note in Duncan's begging him to show the letter to Cailan, to let him know that thirty Wardens would not be nearly enough. She also went to Celene.
"Ah, Cousin Leonie. Always a very happy day when you visit," Celene greeted her with a bold smile and effusive hug.
"And for me as well, Cousin Celene," Leonie replied and when she did not return the smile with one of her own, Celene ushered her to the tea table and bade her sit.
"I have a request, cousin. The attacks from the darkspawn have increased. We are one hundred Wardens and over two hundred support soldiers in Val Royeaux. In all of Orlais there are two hundred and fifty Wardens and three divisions of cavalry and foot soldiers. Ferelden has only thirty Wardens and no support staff of any kind. I would ask that you write to King Cailan and apprise him of these attacks and suggest he increase the number of Wardens within his borders and augment them with a division of soldiers."
Celene laughed merrily, her eyes shining. "But my dear cousin, I have already written just such a letter, yes? And he has agreed to do so after their next Landsmeet which I believe he said was in seven months time. See, your fears are without foundation," Celene teased, patting Leonie's arm with her bejeweled hand.
"Cailan is a very sweet creature, and he is a delicious flirt. I quite like him," she added with a coy laugh.
Knowing she had done all she could, Leonie returned to her office and began to make contingency plans in case the attacks grew any larger. She and Kristoff poured over reports and maps, trying to find even a small hint of where the darkspawn were coming from.
Three days later the western and northern gates were hit at the same time. They lost twenty men but held the gates. Only one of the men killed was a Warden, a very young recruit that Leonie had known by sight but not by name. She added his name to the Roster of the Dead. The city was anxious, unease creeping into the air. Something was happening and every citizen in Val Royeaux could feel it.
The Wardens waited. But as quickly as the attacks had begun, they once again stopped. Patrols were stepped up and Leonie spent long hours in her office with debriefings and strategy sessions. Finally, Kristoff pulled her aside.
"Go to your quarters and just sleep, Leonie. You look exhausted, you sound exhausted. You're making me exhausted," he told her firmly.
Leonie nodded, bleary eyed, and made her way to her quarters. Astrid fixed her a hot meal and a bath and she accepted both gratefully. It seemed like years since she had slept, and even longer since she has seen Duncan. An aching deep within her, where she couldn't reach to massage away the pain, filled her. And despair came with it on silent feet. It took her hours before she fell into an exhausted sleep.
"And so it begins, Leonie," he whispered and she stared at him in fascination. He had become even more human in appearance, his face nearly smooth but oddly pulled down on one side as if only half his face was animated. There were scars and an oddly placed earring as if to hold his skin in place over his cheekbone.
He reminded her of a painting she had once seen of an ancient Tevinter Archon but disgust replaced her fascination. The towering crown he wore, usually made of gold and silverite, was not a crown at all, it was bone, his bone, and she felt the horror creeping along her blood.
"I apologize for what must happen, Leonie. But we will meet again."
Leonie woke screaming.