9:30 Guardian 24th
We got to the outskirts of Denerim in early morning. Leliana was eager to find Marjolaine and that was all well and good but…the expression on Leliana's face was hard. I got into the packs to get the disguises. Talen, Leliana, and I were going in as Chantry people. Sten was going to remain in the stables to make sure no one takes the wagon and our supplies. We would be down one person but it was better to go in a smaller group. Talen was the one that grumbled the most about it.
Leliana did a French braid and added flowers to it. We gave him the robes with the high collar to hide his prominent adam's apple. Leliana hummed as she applied some make up to hide his semi-manly features. He had a huge scowl on his face that I think could have swallowed Denerim whole.
"This is the most embarrassing thing I've ever done." Talen growled.
"Oh come now, you look marvelous!" Leliana giggled. At least this brought her some happiness.
"At my expenses." Talen huffed before I shoved the staff into his padded bosom.
"We'll say you got a limp. Remember to smile!" I gave him a toothy grin and Talen glared at me.
"Why did I even agree to this in the first place?" He mumbled.
"I know." I sang out while my eyes drifted toward Leliana that stuffed our packs with my daggers and arrows. We couldn't take her bow as that would be too noticeable. They were the only things we could take as our armor would be too inconspicuous to wear. In the end, we were going in with only our weapons. Of course there was that warehouse that we had that we could steal from but I'd rather not get into a tussle with the guards right now. I carried the pack while Leliana led our weird Chantry group. Talen had his head in a scarf to hide his ears and did his best to walk with a fake limp.
Once we got to the guards, Leliana batted her eyes, chanted something from the Chant, said this amazingly sorrowful tale about how we barely made out of Lothering with our lives, and almost threw herself at the guard. He let us in. We got past the gates and ended up around the inn district. This is where most people come around and house themselves. It was situated right past the gates while the market district was further in. That messed up pile of barricades and torn down homes during the Archdemon's attack? Those were all these buildings.
Once inside, Leliana led us to an abandoned warehouse where we took off our Chantry clothing. Leliana wasn't about going in without armor. Amazingly, there was a small cache she stored here back when she worked as a bard. We ripped open the floorboard in a corner and found a set of armor. Average but at least we weren't going in unprotected.
"I'm sorry but we don't have any mage robes." Leliana apologized and Talen shrugged.
"That's fine. Can I at least take this off though?" Talen asked as he waved at his face. Leliana and I laughed before she nodded. Talen used the robes to rub out the makeup. Leliana handed me tight leather armor that were snug in bad places. I ended up just wearing the top part. I left the leather pants back in the cache and settled for my black ones. Talen wore a small chest plate along with a tight leather jacket. The pants were slightly baggy but he pushed them into his boots so they wouldn't drag.
Leliana had one of her older leather armors in there. When she put them on, she found that she had gained some weight. I saw her struggle with a few of her belts. I chuckled while Talen was outside on watch.
"Do not say a word." Leliana glared at me. I motioned that my lips were sealed. Eventually she had to concede that yes she got fatter and had to loosen the belts. Finally she grabbed a bow from the same cache. It was shorter than her usual longbow but she would make due. After strapping our weapons to ourselves, we met up with Talen who was putting his hair back into his signature braid.
"We're prepared then?" Leliana wondered.
"Yep so there are two things we're looking for, your old teacher and Brother Genitivi." I said, taking out the map from my pack, I looked over the directions again. "Marjolaine should be further away from the Market district, a block away. I know that area. Quiet and there's a mage living secretly there." Leliana raised an eyebrow at that. "What? Gossip is rampant in Denerim, you know that."
"True." She nodded.
"I'm not sure where Genitivi's home is but, last I heard, he should be near the Gnarled Noble Tavern which is a few streets away from the main marketplace. Leliana, I'm leaving this decision up to you." I said, putting the map away.
"Me? Why?" She asked.
"You have personal business here. If you want to deal with that first, all you have to do is ask." I offered and Talen nodded.
"We don't know if this Marjolaine might make the first move. I'm pretty sure if she's as paranoid as you believe, then she has another plan for you if you make it to her." Talen explained. Leliana took a contemplative look.
"I would rather deal with Marjolaine as soon as we can, please." Leliana nodded.
"Alright, follow me guys." I said. I led them away the warehouse. It took a second to recognize the streets but I was able to find our way toward the market district easy. My heart pined for a second for Rael but I doubt he would want to see me after what happened. I managed to find the street that was listed on the paper. It was a modestly sized home but unlike the others that were surrounding it, this one wasn't kept clean. Leliana got her bow ready and Talen was already charging spells. I took a breath in to steady myself and held my daggers.
As soon as Leliana opened the door, we were beset by two very large Qunari warriors. Talen did some quick thinking and placed glyphs of ice on the ground. When they stepped on it, a large icicle went through both of them. One was still alive, the better armor of the two. Leliana quickly put the guy out of his misery. We passed the loft into the main room.
Marjolaine was there, sipping tea with a calm smile on her face. Her face looked stretched as she was too skinny. The noble clothes that she wore were semi hanging off her small frame. Oddly enough, she was a tad shorter than Leliana when she got up. In her eyes, she had already won. Those cold brown eyes bore into Leliana, Talen and I were not in her mind at all. That smile looked desperate on her thin lips. It took all my self-control not to tackle her to the ground after all she allowed happen to Leliana.
"Leliana! Oh it's been so long! You still have not changed your hairstyle, it's been years. You look lovely." Marjolaine complimented. To someone who wasn't trained, like me, that would have sounded genuine. I knew that she was trying to play both of us so everything she said I took with a grain of salt.
"And you still have not changed your defenses." Leliana said sweetly.
"Meaning we killed your guards." Talen glared.
"Do not disrupt us, rabbit." Marjolaine looked down on Talen. He mouthed, 'rabbit?' and I shook my head.
"Let us skip the pleasantries Marjolaine, we are not here as your guests." Leliana's hand tightened on her bow.
"And there's really no point in explaining yourselves to us. We know you sent a mercenary group to kill Leliana because of your massive paranoia so how about we just skip to the chase." I said.
"Oh come now. This is not all about business." Marjolaine waved me off.
"You framed me! Betrayed me, surrendered me to the guards! Did you even care that I was tortured?" Leliana's voice broke. "I thought if I stayed in Ferelden, I would be free of you and I realized that I was not. What did I cause you to hate me so? Why do you seek my death?" Leliana demanded.
"Your death?" Marjolaine gasped and held her hands to her chest, as if that would make her look hurt. "I sent those men because I know what you are capable of. Those mercenaries, pft," She waved her hand, "You can easily dispatch. I sent them so you can find me and see? Here you are."
"I swear if she lies one more time, she's well on her way to become a politician…" I mumbled under my breath.
"Why are you here Marjolaine? Why are you in Ferelden?" Leliana pushed and finally that happy demeanor of Marjolaine fell. Her mask fell off.
"Truthfully? You have information that can be used against me. To secure my safety, I cannot let you be. Did you truly think you escaped from me? That I did not know where you were? That I was not still watching you?" Marjolaine twisted her words and I saw that Leliana's resolve was wavering.
"I swear your paranoia has controlled you." I stepped up. "Yeah, Leliana caught you in your web of lies and deceit, found out that you were playing both sides to get what you want. What is it that you want? Coin? Power? Either way, Leliana won't stoop down to your level. No way she was going to use that against you even if the opportunity presented itself. You see, she found peace and tranquility, something that you lack. Let me guess, you were worrying all this time about how one day she will stab you in the back, that you have to be constantly vigilant just in case right? I'm sure all those sleepless nights, those days where you couldn't even touch your food served you well." As I said more, the more fear presented itself on Marjolaine's face. I hit it right on the nail. All this time, her growing paranoia was killing her.
"If you thought she left Lothering just because she wanted to get back at you, you're dead wrong. Leliana knew she was meant to do something more. She's helping the Grey Wardens fight against the Blight. This stupid notion about her world revolving around you has gone far enough." Talen stepped up too.
"Hah! It seems you have fooled them with your 'simple girl' act! This is a trick. She will only use you." Marjolaine's voice dripped with poison.
"I am not you! I left Orlais, I left that life behind me because I didn't want to become you!" Leliana shouted.
"Oh but you see Leliana, you are me. We are one and the same. You cannot escape it. No one will understand you better than I. Your reputation of a master manipulator is because you enjoyed the game. You took delight in the power it gave you. You cannot deny or change this." Marjolaine smirked.
"You made her this way just so you can use her!" I rushed forward and sucker punched Marjolaine. She fell to the ground as I grabbed her by the collar. "You saw how she was! You took her under your wing, exploited her for her natural talent and then dumped her on the side of the road like trash when you couldn't use her anymore! She loved you, trusted you and you pushed her aside as if she was a toy you grew tired of! Even then, my words will never reach through your narcissistic mind that only cares about yourself! Leliana!" I turned toward her. She was rigid. "You can end this now once and for all. Marjolaine will eventually kill herself with her obsession with you or we can do her in now."
Marjolaine smirked and did a high pitched whistle. The two side doors opened and Marjolaine cut my cheek with a hidden knife. Two more Qunari and two mages came out. Talen immediately put up a barrier for us. Leliana shot through one Qunari's head. I bounced around and tripped a Qunari into the range of the fire cone of the enemy mage. The Qunari's armor melted into his skin. As that mage realized what he had done, I had sliced his throat open. Talen had stopped the other mage with a small fireball while Marjolaine and Leliana were stuck in a battle of daggers.
Marjolaine had a crazed look on her face. Leliana had a hard expression. Marjolaine's swings looked wild but they were all gunning for weak points of the human body, neck, ribs, stomach, and thigh. Talen and I were in the back, watching everything. Talen constantly put up barriers around Leliana to protect her. Marjolaine tripped on her clothing. An opportunity was taken and Leliana did a small slice on Marjolaine's neck. It wasn't enough to kill her though.
I had managed to go behind her though. When she was caught off guard by the slash, I came up and put Marjolaine in a choke hold. She wasn't going to go down though as she tried stabbing me with her knife but I grabbed her wrist and slammed her into the floor. She coughed in pain from biting down on her tongue. I put my dagger to her throat and looked at Leliana. There was a myriad of emotions floating through her eyes.
"Leliana no matter what she said or what you are believing, you are you. Your beliefs are your own and whatever she cultivated in you are your own too. You have always been free of her. Leliana is Leliana and Marjolaine is Marjolaine. Even if you do become powerful by going back into the game, you are never going to do it unless you had to for a reason. You will never use it to snatch power or to fill your pockets. I believe in you Leliana so don't think you have to carry this burden by yourself." I explained as the dagger traced Marjolaine's neck. "Leliana, tell me what you want to do."
"You don't have to kill her but we can make it so that Marjolaine won't be able to do any more harm." Talen channeled magic into his hands. It was a tense silence all around and Marjolaine squirmed underneath me.
"What can you do?" She turned to Talen.
"Either get rid of a limb or get rid of a sense." He mentioned. Leliana bit her lip.
"It's either kill her or torture her for the rest of your life. You can't just let her go. Eventually Marjolaine will plan something again and I'd rather not let her get the better of you in case something happens." I suggested.
"No, it's better to give her the mercy of death." Leliana got her knife but I shook my head.
"Then we can share the burden together." I said as I plunged my dagger into her neck. Blood spurted out before Marjolaine did a final death gurgle. I felt a stabbing pain in my heart from taking another life but I want to share this with Leliana. She didn't deserve to handle everything on her own. Leliana gasped.
"We…I…she's dead." Leliana's knees gave out and Talen was immediately at her side. I got up and noticed that I was covered in blood.
"I'm going to see if they have a water pump." I said softly as I patted Leliana's shoulder. I found a pump and cleaned up as best as I could. I leaned against the wall, letting what I did sink in again. I repeated my husband's words in my mind and messed with my ring. He wouldn't blame me. He wouldn't tell me it was my fault. I was only helping a friend. That's all I wanted to do. I wanted to help and ease the burden on Leliana's heart.
I got up from cleaning myself up. Talen and Leliana were talking softly to each other. I could tell that Talen wanted to do more than talk. I came up and hugged Leliana from behind. She was crying slightly. She sniffed and dried her eyes.
"It's over now. There's nothing else for us here." Talen got up and we followed him out. The sun was nearly started to set and Leliana gained her bearings.
"Thank you, both of you for being here." Leliana said softly.
"We're always here for you, no matter what." Talen said with conviction. Leliana smiled softly and nodded.
"Then let's head on and try to find Genitivi." I mentioned. We walked further in before the street started to become packed and we were in the heart of the market district. People were everywhere from the elves of the alienage to the nobles over by the tented shops. My heart was thumping in my chest. I was mostly concerned if I saw Rael. I had no idea how he would react or how I would react. It would be best to not see him at all. Fate is tricky though, I have to admit that.
"You think we can find that one shop with magical stuff?" Talen asked.
"That was perfectly eloquent Talen." Leliana lightly chuckled.
"Hey I've never been anywhere like this! It reminds me of the mess hall back in the circle. I mean, the Ostagar camp was big but that was used for war. There are so many things here!" Talen kept on getting distracted by the many stalls.
"They only focus on clothing, jewels, as well as rarities in the center. The weapons and armor district is further from here. If you were wondering about the Wonders of Thedas, it is around another corner from the noble tavern." I explained.
"So there is a magic shop!" Talen said gleefully. With that, he accidentally bumped into someone. A man with armor, blonde hair and facial hair. Talen went to apologize before recognition flooded his eyes. "Shit."
"Wait…" The man grabbed Talen's shoulders to get a good look at him. "I know you. A Grey Warden! You left our men and our king to die."
"Ser Landry." Talen gulped. "You were part of Loghain's men. Of course you wouldn't know what really happened." Talen glared. I saw that we were gaining attention.
"Talen…" I warned.
"I know the truth. I was there, I saw what happened. You must duel me for the honor." Landry explained.
"Isn't there too many variables concerning how the battle went down? If your men, Loghain's party, was as guilty as you are, why didn't anyone help? Why did Loghain order your retreat? If not, why didn't he try to at least save Cailan? Wouldn't you be in the wrong for killing someone innocent?" Talen didn't stand down. I saw the doubt cross Landry's eyes.
"That is…I feel that you are guilty but there are circumstances that are not easily passable. Once I find evidence of your treachery, your order will answer for it." Landry said, bumping into Talen on purpose before being lost in the wave of people. I grabbed Talen and Leliana and made a dash toward the end of the market.
"Jesus Christ Talen! I'm sure that I lost a few minutes of my life because of that." My heart pounded loudly as we got out of the district and into the other shops that were houses in buildings.
"It isn't something that we saw happening. Few know how the Grey Wardens look like." Leliana defended.
"Yeah but Talen got rid of his makeup and went back to his old self and hair. So if the poster looked like him, we're already done." I shrugged. Talen held onto his braid protectively.
"I like my hair the way it is…" He mumbled. I rolled my eyes.
"Anyway, we got into a minor setback but we have to be really careful from now on. We will put you into make up again if this happens, mark my words." I threatened slightly. Talen gulped. "We're going the right way though. The noble tavern is only a street away."
"Are you ok?" Leliana came up beside me.
"Well, yeah, for the most part." I kept my eyes on the road.
"You've been jumpy." Talen frowned.
"No I have not." I grumbled.
"Is this about your friend?" Leliana wondered. I stopped in my tracks. I groaned audibly.
"Yeah it is. I…don't know how to face him or what to do or say if I meet him again. I'm just…bleh." I rubbed my face.
"Come on, it's not like he just wanders around the market nearly every day does he?" Talen scoffed before we turned the corner…and ran right into the person I was talking about. Rael was with another elf dude when he caught my eye. Talen saw that I stopped and took a step back. The flight was making its way into my legs. I took two more steps back before Leliana grabbed my arm.
"Didn't you say the Wonders of Thedas was around this corner!?" Leliana giggled. Talen gave her a look of 'what the hell are you doing?'
"Nia…surprise to see you." Rael cleared his throat. Leliana snuggled herself into me more.
"Yeah, I haven't been here since last time." I gulped. "But I can't stay and talk. I have business. If you'll excuse us." I walked past him and Talen eyed Rael a little. Talen was an inch shorter and it was odd seeing how they contrasted from Rael's dark skin to Talen's more light tan. Green met honey and Talen gave an uninterested scoff before joining me and Leliana.
"Was that-?" Leliana started.
"Yep and we are leaving and finding Genitivi now." I said quickly.
"He's not all that." Talen shrugged.
"Jesus, one in a thousand freaking chances and I had to bump into-"
"Nia!" Leliana dragged me in as we neared one of the horse drawn streets. The pain in my heart was pounding through my chest, into my ears, and behind my head. Seeing Rael, seeing the way he was uncomfortable around me…I looked behind us and he was nowhere. So this is what it feels like to be abandoned.
"I…just wanted to help a friend." I said softly. I gulped down the tightness in my throat and Leliana hugged me.
"You helped me." Her words whispered in my ear. I felt a sense of comfort when Leliana said those words. The burden was lighter than before but it will remain there so long as Rael can't come near me. There was no point in thinking about it. I had saved his life right? Some good deeds should be left as they are. A friendship for his life was as good as I could give it to him.
"Thank you. We took a wrong turn. The tavern was at the right." I explained.
"Hey, who's better looking me or him?" Talen wondered. I gave him a flat stare.
"Really?" I raised my eyebrow.
"What? I'm curious." Talen frowned. I chuckled which grew into a laugh. Talen gave me a smirk and I wondered if this was his plan all along.
Beta'd by FearaNightmare and Syutaku!
Beta was late again. FearaNightmare mostly discusses themes and tone, Syutaku edits. He's good though something I have to give him a push in the end lol
Thank you Evankey for favoriting! Thank you Chimera Spyke for reviewing! Please Review!