Bhelen hesitated in the grand doorway into Orzammar—his kingdom, he thought to himself with just a hint of disbelief—and simply stared at his sister for a long moment.
For the first time since he had seen her again, he truly looked at his sister and took in all what had changed in some months.
Her blue eyes—his blue eyes, their mother's blue eyes—had a new hardness to them—he knew he was part of the reason it was there—and a shadow of horrors that Bhelen would never understand as he was not, and would not be, a Warden.
Her golden hair which she had always carefully braided and pinned back before she delved into her training and been cut roughly and was now growing out unevenly—it took all that was in him not to make her get it fixed, he had always loved her hair and remembered fondly when he would braid her hair though Trian had mocked him for it.
Tough leather was under shiny new dwarven iron and steel—something that he had gifted all the Wardens—there was a sword—blacken by Darkspawn blood—sheathed against her left side, another sword on her right, a war-axe and a shield now rested on her back—another gift from him, but just this time from a brother to his sister.
Her once open and gentle face was more closed off and hard, and he could no longer read her as he once done. He was too blame he knew, his betrayal, and yet there relationship hadn't suffered much.
There was a distance between them, a wariness that hadn't been there before, but they still held love for each other and still called the other their sibling.
Bhelen thought it was a telling thing that neither of them seemed to mourn the loss of Trian.
"Sereda," he called, still safely in his kingdom with his loyal guard at his back while Rica ignored everything to throw her arms around her brother, and his sister looked at him. "Don't die."
"I wouldn't give them the satisfaction," she jested back and then they stared at each other for a moment.
Bhelen wouldn't, couldn't, apologise for what he had done to her, what he tricked her into doing for him. Sereda knew that and accepted that, knowing she would be the same in his place, but they both knew it was appreciated that Bhelen had told her that he had never meant for her to die or worse.
She gave a nod of farewell and turned her back on Orzammar—on him—and walked down to where the Companions, her other travelling companions and the other non-dwarven Wardens waited for them.
Rica laid her forehead against his like she used to when they were curled up in bed.
"Be careful," she whispered to him, softly pleading.
"I will," he vowed, he promised, and he would be as careful as a Warden could be during the Blight.
"Don't forget to write," she told him as she pulled back and brushed off non-existence dirt off his new thin dwarven armour—good for protection without being a hinder to his fighting-style. "Take care of Malika."
Faren still wasn't sure how to feel about the friendship that his woman and his sister had struck up. Part of him was glad they got on, that Rica approved of Malika and Malika liked Rica, but another part was wary as it was never a good thing when women got together and talked.
"I will," he promised once again. "Take care of yourself and your baby."
She smiled, a joyful smile that he wanted her to always wear, and place a protective and loving hand on her rounding stomach.
"I will," she told him and then she laughed lightly. "But I know Bhelen will take care of us both better."
Grudgingly, Faren nodded—he was also unsure what he felt about the fact that his sister was pregnant, that she was going to marry the king of Orzammar and all that, but he knew it would keep her safe and Bhelen seemed to love her.
King or not, Faren would kill him if he ever heard of Bhelen mistreating his beloved sister.
"Bye,"
Rica retreated back to the protective side of Bhelen and Faren waved before he headed down to his fellow Wardens, the Companions and the other companions—they needed a better name for that group, he realised. Sten fell into step just behind him and Faren was still getting used to the whole Kadan thing—he was still somewhat convinced that it meant that Sten was kind of in love with him though Saya had laughed and called him an idiot when he confined in her before she told him that she considered Kiara her Kadan and only loved her like a sister. Faren still wasn't completely convinced.
He smiled when he saw Malika chatting at Shale because Malika wasn't chatting with Shale though golem didn't seem to mind.
"Granddad is going piss himself when he meets you!" Malika said animatedly, her hands gesturing wildly with emotion. "He also be pissed off that you were forgotten about—sorry about that, but hey, we still looked—and who would have thought that the golem we made so much pissing fuss about was a member of the family? Makes senses though when you think about it, because why would we still be up in arms about it bloody Ages later? I always wondered what was so pissin' important about that one golem and now I know!"
There was a new fondness to Shale's stone face as she listened to Malika chatter on, something he hadn't been expecting to see and was still bloody odd to witness at times.
"We are never—and I repeat never—going back into a dwarven kingdom," he heard Morrigan declare and he turned to see Kiara standing with her arm wrapped around Morrigan—something she had gotten used to doing in the Deeproads.
"Of course," Kiara agreed easily. "And we will never go back into the Deeproads."
Morrigan shuddered slightly and Kiara's grip tightened just a bit.
"Good, we are in agreement," Morrigan nodded and Kiara smiled slightly.
"Remind me again why we are heading towards the man that wants to kill us?" Malika yelled out towards where Andra and Alistair was leading them.
"We've told you," Alistair called back, just slightly annoyed with Malika. "We're going to Soldier's Peak."
"Oh yeah, because going to a place where the Wardens were banished from Ages ago makes so much sense in our current fight against the Blight," Malika replied and Faren fought a snigger as she had a point.
"Mal," Kiara sighed as she heaved Jowan back to his feet—he still wasn't used to travelling like they did—under the sneer and piercing gaze of Morrigan. "I love you dearly, sister, but if you do not shut up, I will be forced to make you."
Surprisingly Malika didn't shoot back a retort and just eyed Kiara with a bit of concern.
"Are you alright?" Ellana asked, resting her hand on Kiara's shoulder and being able to feel the tension for the leather and mixed metal.
"I don't like this," Kiara admitted as the rest of the Wardens, future Wardens and such shuffled passed leaving on her Companions—which now included Shale as well as Faren, Zevran and sometimes Sten. "We are only going there because Duncan promised Levi Dryden and have no idea what we'll find there. Somewhere with that much death?" she grimaced as she gazed towards the cloaked backs of the Wardens. "The Veil will be thin and I doubted anyone truly bothered cleaning up the bodies as the Wardens were considered traitors."
Echoing grimaces crossed the faces of Ellana, Elion, Saya and Malika—the only Companions that had the pleasure of dealing with the undead in places the Veil was thin and people didn't bother getting rid of the bodies—the Free Marches were such a joy.
"Great," Elion began, "another night of living dead in our future, huh?"
Kiara nodded grimly and Malika groaned.
"That's it!" she exclaimed. "After this, we are going back to Kirkwall—nothing happens in Kirkwall!"
Only Morrigan caught the slight tension that creased Kiara's eyes briefly at Malika's declaration and knew she should prepare herself for whatever they would face in Kirkwall—especially considering she'd most likely be heavy with child then.
Varric felt his eyebrow raise as he read the report from one of his sources in the Merchant Guild that let him know of the goings on in Orzammar.
"You've certainly been busy, Kiara," Varric muttered and grimaced when he realised that Kiara had been part of the group that had headed into the Deeproads and bought back a crown—not just any crown, by Andraste's tits, no because that wouldn't do for Kiara and her new Wardens friends, no she had brought back a crown forged by the legendary and revered Paragon Caridin.
The Deeproads was somewhere that Varric would never picture Kiara going, too filled with giant spiders and the marching armies of Darkspawn for her liking. Andraste's arse, Varric didn't even want to venture in there but had resigned himself to going down there with his brother after this accursed Blight was over.
Bartrand had already began planning an expedition into the Deeproads to find treasure and all that rot—Varric liked treasure as much as any other guy, he just didn't like the thought of being in the Deeproads.
Varric tapped his finger on his table and wondered what Kiara had in mind when it came to Loghain Mic Tir because a man like Mic Tir? Kiara wouldn't let such a man hold the throne of her mother country.
But who would she put on the throne in his place? That's what Varric was most curious about though he knew he wasn't the only one.
The whole of Southern Thedas was watching Fereldan as it teared itself apart and a small group of Wardens, and what army they were slowly gathering, fight against the Blight—it seemed only Loghain Mic Tir and his supporters actually believed it wasn't a Blight which just convinced Varric that Loghain Mic Tir had gone senile or blind or even mad.
Southern Thedas held its breath as they knew what was happening in Fereldan would decide the course of this Blight; would these Wardens end the Blight? Or would it rage across the lands like the Blights of old?
Varric had no doubt in his mind that the Blight would end in Fereldan.
The reason for his certainty? Kiara had joined forces with the Wardens and she wouldn't let anyone stop her from ending the Blight.
Dispose a revered Hero who proclaimed himself king? No problem. Put someone on the throne to bring Fereldan into order? Just call her King-maker. Need an army? Hold on as she raised the word amongst the Companions and their contacts, but you can just go on and find some of your own allies while she did that.
Because that was Kiara and that was one of the many reasons why she scared the shit out of him.
Varric was of the opinion that it was a very good thing that Kiara was never going to be made Queen of anything—apart from being the Queen of Blades. She had the ruthlessness and drive to turn a kingdom into an empire if only because someone would tell her she couldn't.
One thing you learn quick when it comes with Kiara, you don't tell her she can't do things because she would bloody do just to spite you—one of the reasons that she and Elion got on so well.
"I hate when you are right," Morrigan told her lover as she blasted another walking dead—as if they didn't have enough of them when they were in Redcliffe, now they had to deal with more?
Kiara just laughed as she near-danced between strikes and beheaded their undead enemies with one strong strike of her long sword while her short sword pierced another's chest.
"These enemies suit me fine," Malika called out as her axes cut and hacked at the undead. "No pissing taint in sight!"
A undead body exploded into raging flames after being shot by one of Elion's arrows—she didn't know what he did to make his arrows do that but Morrigan could admire such workmanship.
Vala was showing that Kiara hadn't made a mistake when she chose her to become a member of the Companions—and not just a Companions, but one of the core members—as she moved with surprisingly fluidly wielding that stolen sword of hers and the other that had been gifted to her.
Still not as skilled as the others, Morrigan couldn't help but notice. Vala was still skilled in her own way, given time and Kiara's 'tender' training and Vala would be a force to be reckoned with much like the others.
"Grandmother….?" Levi Dryden asked in growing shock and horror as he stared at the corpse that talked to them and claimed to be his grandmother.
"This is creepy," Ellana actually declared from behind the distraught human. "Even for us."
Malika couldn't argue with that, they had seen some weird and creepy shit together but a talking undead Warden? Yeah, didn't get worse than that in Malika's humble opinion.
"We're going to kill it, right?" Vala asked as she rocked back on her heels and stared at the undead attempt to convince them to join her in growing disgust—could it still be called a her? Was it an it now? Did it really matter? She was really starting to hate the whole dead rising thing. "Because killing it seems like a really good idea."
Elion just shifted and leaned against Zevran.
"She's basically already dead now," Elion said which just made people snort. "I don't mean her undead state."
Before anyone could ask what he meant, a sword was sticking out of the Undead Warden's chest and another blade swiped across its neck with even strength to almost behead it.
Kiara kicked the body of her sword and then looked up to see people staring at her in slight shock—or horror in the case of Levi Dryden.
"What?" she asked in what could be called innocent confusion on anyone else which caused Zevran, Elion, Faren and Malika laughed at her expression.
Andra only sighed as she shook her head while Alistair didn't know if he should laugh or not at her expression. He was obviously spending too much time with her if he was getting fondly amused by her actions, he decided firmly.
Saya felt her lips curl back as she read over Ellana's shoulder as the elf read the notes on the Warden's blood-mage. It didn't matter he was most likely dead now, it was experiments like this that made people fear and hate mages.
She glanced up when she felt more than saw Kiara hesitate before the door to the rest of the tower and met Kiara's dark gaze—it was serious and heavy and filled with warning which made her jaw clench as she realised that worse had yet to become—and Kiara opened the door.
"The fuck you still doing alive?" Malika blurted out as she peered around Kiara and Saya stiffened—the Blood-mage was still alive? Impossible!
AN: short chapter, I know, but thought I'd update and all. Information on most polls are on A Magical Life fic, but would like to know if anyone has any idea who in Game of Thrones should end up with Sheana Targaryen.
Two have already requested Sheana to be paired with Rhaegar, one for general femslash and one for Sheana and Lyanna.