Chapter 50: An Enigmatic Woman
"What?"
Alim's ears twitched. He had grown tired of Zev's knowing smirk; the assassin had been looking at him like that since breakfast. Finally, he could not take it anymore, he had to know why.
"What?" he repeated.
The group was gathering outside the Spoiled Princess. Those that remained behind would wait at camp for word of the other's success. The rest would take the ferry to the tower, and try to gain an audience with the First Enchanter.
At least, that was the plan.
Alim had pulled Zevran aside; he had had enough of that look.
The assassin grinned at him.
"It is nothing my dear warden," he began, "I am merely…impressed."
"Impressed?"
"Oh yes," Zev nodded, "I saw you sneaking out of our lovely Leliana's room this morning. I must say…I admire your taste is women."
Alim's ears turned beet red. He had tried to slip away before the others had awoken. He had not wanted to get the rumor mill going.
Apparently, he had failed.
"It wasn't like that," he whispered.
"As I said," Zev continued, "I am impressed, our dear sister is a fascinating woman, the fact that you got her to…"
"It wasn't like that," Alim replied more forcefully, "Leliana…she…she had had a nightmare. I stayed to comfort her, we fell asleep and that was it."
"Really," Zev sounded surprised, "Just sleep?"
"We just slept," Alim repeated.
Zevran seemed to consider this, and then his smile broke out again.
"An excellent gambit warden," he said, "the perfect way to begin to breakdown a young lady's defenses, again, I salute you."
Alim rolled his eyes.
Andraste give me strength!
It had been an innocent evening, he had held her, and they had slept, just one friend comforting another.
Well…it had been mostly innocent.
He smiled slightly.
During the night, there had been…moments, nothing overt, but a little touchy feely, while they dosed. He had kept his trousers on, and she had kept her nightgown and smalls in place. She had run her fingers down his chest, or lightly nuzzled his ears. While he had massaged her back, or ran a hand up one of her long shapely legs. She had murmured and sighed during it. She had seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.
Still…it was mostly innocent.
Alim frowned.
This had been getting worse since before the deep roads. He…he had lost his distance. Leliana had managed to breach his defenses, and now, emotionally, they were…somewhere that they had not been before.
"You have been with human women before Zev?" he asked.
"Quite a few times," the Antivan elf smirked, "they find our kind intriguing."
"How do you know when one is simply playing you?"
Zevran laughed.
"My friend, men have been asking that question about women for ages. Some women are quite fond of games. They enjoy making us dance to their tune. They give us a taste, and then let us go hungry. It is up to us to figure out when we are being played, and do our best to turn the game to our advantage."
Alim shook his head.
"So there is no emotion involved, besides lust I mean. Love does not enter into it?"
That gave the assassin pause, some of the cheer faded from his eyes.
"Love can be dangerous warden," he advised, "It makes us lose focus; we do things we would not do normally, things that may be hazardous to our own well-being. I try to avoid it when I can; attachments are dangerous in my line of work. There was this one mage that I dealt with; she had been meddling in politics you see. After I killed her guard she got down on her knees and begged for her life, most fetchingly I might add. We spent the night to together in her carriage. She tried to kill me twice during, but it was an enjoyable evening."
Alim's ears twitched, Zevran had an odd view of relationships.
"She managed to convince me to speak to the crows on her behalf," the assassin chuckled, "What can I say? It was my second mission and I was still young and foolish."
"So you didn't kill her?"
"Oh she died, just not by my hand," Zev shrugged, "As I was kissing her goodbye she slipped and fell out of the carriage, broke her neck poor girl. I was shocked at the time, but I later learned she had told the driver to take her to a different city. She intended to lose me in the provinces. I would have looked very foolish among the crows."
"What does that have to do with love?" Alim asked.
Zevran sighed sadly.
"My point being, you need not be overly drawn in by a pretty face, professionalism is key. Take your pleasures, enjoy them, and let them pass."
The Assassin glanced over at Sereda; he waved in greetings as she noticed him. The dwarf shook her head and returned to her work.
Alim chuckled.
"Doesn't look like you will be…enjoying anything any time soon," the warden smirked.
Oh, I don't know," Zev smiled gamely, "the hunt is more enjoyable when it is not easy, whether in pursuit of a target or a woman. Hostility adds spice to the chase."
Zevran slipped away then, leaving Alim with much to think about.
Should he just have…enjoyed last night with Leliana? Possibly, but he had no desire to take advantage of her last night. This morning she had said nothing to him. Only polite acknowledgement over breakfast, had he done something wrong?
The warden shook his head. Beautiful women were always messing with him, too many times in the tower he had been manipulated by a pretty face.
Perhaps Zevran was right; perhaps he should not read too much into his time with Leliana.
He did his best to push the beautiful bard out of his mind. In the tower, he would need all his wits about him.
He wanted to think this would be just a polite conversation with Greagoir and Irving.
For some reason…he doubted that.
IOI
She woke up alone.
Not that that had surprised her. No, Leliana was grateful that Alim had come to her last night, that he had taken her into his arms and held her, soothed her, and let her find her rest.
She smiled slightly at the memory, most people thought that mages were soft, that they knew nothing beyond their books and spells.
Last night, he had learned otherwise.
Despite his small frame, Alim was…quite interesting physically as well as mentally. She remembered his chest, so slim and smooth.
A shiver passed through her, a gnawing warmth filled her belly.
She did her best to push it back.
Had Alim asked for a more…sinful evening, she likely would not have denied him? They had spent the wee hours of the morning exploring each other, nothing too intimate, but far closer than friends.
It had been over two years now, close to two and a half really since she had been with anyone in that way.
Was it wrong that she had started to feel stirrings again?
She had taken no vows after all, in the cloister she had served out of a desire of religious contemplation. She had hoped to return to the world a better person.
Would the Maker think her a betrayer for having those desires? That she had begun to feel carnal hunger again?
She could not say for certain.
For now she focused on the job in hand. She gathered with the others and prepared to head down to catch the ferry across Lake Calenhad. They said their goodbyes to the others and began the journey just as the sun had started to climb into the sky.
In the distance, the tower of Kinloch Hold was wrapped in a chilled mist. Great chucks of ice floated in the water.
The scene fired her bardic imagination; many tales of haunted or forbidden towers filled her mind.
She dismissed them, the tower of magi was an institution here in Ferelden, there was nothing to fear.
They approached the docks, Alim had told them to be on the lookout for the old ferryman. They would need to book passage by…
Alim called the group to a halt.
A lone Templar held the shore.
Alim's ears twitched as he regarded the man, his brown eyes narrowed.
Leliana slipped up beside him.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"There is no reason that a Templar should be guarding the ferry," Alim said, "Something must be wrong in the tower."
Leliana remembered her vision, her blades and body covered in her friends' blood.
Turn back now, her conscience warned.
But what if they died because she was not there? The visions were not exact.
She sighed.
There was no going back now.
IOI
"Hey you," the Templar cried out, "You're not trying to get across to the tower are you? No unauthorized personnel in the tower and you are all unauthorized!"
Alim smiled slightly, there had been many Templars in the tower, and he had not had the time to learn about all of them.
This one, he knew.
"Good morning Ser Carrol," he said tipping his hat.
Carrol was…not the best Templar in the world. Some of the mages thought that he was lyrium addled. Perhaps he was not strong enough to handle the dose of lyrium that the Templars received. The mages knew about this of course, that the chantry kept their toy soldiers addicted to lyrium as a means of control. The Templars knew they knew, but both pretended that they didn't.
It was one of the first rules of the circle.
If Greagoir had put Carrol out here, it must be serious, serious enough that he did not want the boy in the way.
"You know me?" the boy sounded surprised.
Alim removed his hat.
"I'm Alim Surana," he said, "Mage of the circle and grey warden; I seek entrance to the tower to parlay with Knight-Commander Greagoir."
"No unauthorized visitors," the boy repeated.
Morrigan snorted.
"Did you not hear fool," she said, "A Grey Warden is demanding that he be allowed to enter, you dare not block him."
Carrol's eyes crawled up Morrigan's body. Alim rolled his eyes, if the boy knew how dangerous that Morrigan was, he likely would not be looking at her in that way.
"A Grey Warden you say," Carrol scoffed, "Prove it."
"Prove it?" Alim repeated.
"Yes," the Templar repeated, "Kill some darkspawn; let's see some righteous Grey Wardening."
"I have this treaty," Alim said holding it out to Carrol; the Templar gave it a cursory glance.
"Ah a grey warden seal, I have sealed documents too," he admitted, "Mine say I am the queen of Antiva, what do you think of that?"
Alim's snorted in annoyance.
"My documents are real," he said gritting his teeth, "And besides, queens are women."
"Don't argue with royalty," the Templar sniffed, "If that is all, then please be on your way, right now, this minute, go!"
The warden shook his head.
Behind him Alim heard Theron whisper to Morrigan.
"Are all Templar shems so touched?"
"Some worse than others," the witch snickered at Alistair.
"Heeeey," he replied.
The witch giggled.
She and Alistair continued to insult one another, but it had become more teasing than hateful.
Alim rolled his eyes, between Ali, the witch and Carrol; he might accidently end up frying someone today.
Thunder rolled overhead, mirroring his frustration.
He could imagine the hungry look on Morrigan's face, she would likely desire to see him fry Carrol.
It was…tempting.
Leliana stepped forward, likely trying to protect both Alim and Carrol from doing something they both would regret.
"Surely…we can come to some sort of arrangement Ser Knight?"
Carrol gave her a look that put Alim on edge. The look was purely lustful.
Overhead, the thunder rolled.
"You do not have to go to the tower do you?" he said suggestively, "I could be tempted to let the others pass if you agreed to stay here…with me."
Leliana's eyes widened.
Alim's turned almost murderous.
"What?! Umm…no…I…I'm sorry, but…I… I'm a poetess, and I have no interest in what you have to offer."
That only intrigued the Templar more.
"I've never met a…poetess before, we tell stories about them in the barracks, when the Knight-Commander is not around of course."
A sly smile split Leliana's features, stories, now this was more familiar ground for her.
She placed her hand on his chest plate, the look in her eye the light touch of her fingers. Poor Carrol was lost before he even knew it.
Alim relaxed slightly, but he still did not like seeing Leliana speak so to Carrol.
Though her touch would be lighter than one of his lightning bolts, she was trying to save the boy's life, Alim realized that.
Lucky him.
"The tales that…sheltered Templar boys tell would pale in comparison to mine," she purred seductively, "Tell me good Ser Knight, would you like to hear my tales of debauchery and excess?"
"Yes,' the Templar whimpered, "please."
Leliana smirked, savoring her victory over her mark.
"I will tell you everything," she promised, "We will have time, as you take my companions and I on that long dull boat ride across the lake."
"Of course," Carrol replied, "Everybody aboard, we can leave now."
Alim shook his head.
The poor sod, he almost felt sorry for him…almost.
The group filed into the boat, hopefully Leliana would not distract Carrol too much, they still needed him to steer the boat.
The warden glanced at Leliana, how quickly she could change, one moment she was horrified by Carrol's clumsy advances, and the next she had turned into the seductress, and won them their passage across the lake.
She remained a mystery to him. A woman of many faces, she wore so many masks.
She remained a puzzle to him.
No wonder she continued to intrigue him so.
IOI
Leliana was smiling.
She had avoided the poor Templar's needless death, and had got them passage across the lake, and all for the cost of a few words.
The bard smiled.
It pleased her that she had not lost her touch.
She caught Alim's eye. He managed a shy smile.
"You're a bad girl," he mouthed.
She felt her cheeks darken.
Yes, she could be a bad girl when she wanted to be, and more and more…she wanted to be a bad girl with a certain elven warden.
Two years, she sighed, such a long time, so long had she denied herself.
Perhaps, when this business in the tower was done, the two of them should talk.
No, her conscience chided, you are becoming a distraction to him. He had a Blight to deal with.
She felt her heart close again.
Maker…what was wrong with her?
Alim made her long to be the woman she had been before, the one who took her pleasure where ever she could find them.
She was not that person anymore.
That Leliana was long dead.
Wasn't she?