Here we go with the first full chapter of my new DA fic. This will tie in with my other fic eventually, but for now, enjoy!

Bioware owns the characters, I own... um... a decent house, some games, a car...

I ducked the soldier's sword, then stepped forward with my shield, raising it into his face and shoving him off balance. Having cleared my space around me in the crowded Inn, I took a moment to look over to Alistair. He was surrounded by two soldiers, but was keeping them at bay easily enough. Morrigan was throwing spells at the archers, which left three for me to deal with after my warhound engaged the one I had just hit.

Two. One of the soldiers suddenly fell, a throwing dagger lodged deep in his thigh. I looked behind me quickly, and saw a red-haired woman in chantry robes next to me, daggers in her hands. "Looked like you could use a hand, Warden!"

She ducked away, slicing the heel of another soldier. Before I could give her another though, I blocked an incoming sword slash with my shield and used the flat of my blade to knock him out.

After what seemed like only moments, the Inn was quiet again. The captain of the soldiers was kneeling on the floor, trembling as he tried to stop the bleeding from a wound in his stomach. I held the tip of my sword to the man's neck, unadulterated anger and rage screaming in my mind. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Because the Maker doesn't want you to."

I turned, and saw the woman again. She was standing next to me now, having put her blades away. "Besides, isn't it much worse to send him back to his master trying to explain how, with superior numbers, he and his men were sent running?"

I smiled, and the fury melted away. The thought of the whimpering man before me having to run back to that treacherous Loghain with his tail between his legs was not only amusing, but somewhat poetic. I looked back at the man. "Tell your master that the Wardens know who the real traitor is. And justice will come to him." I lowered my sword and nodded towards the door. "Take your men and go. Now, before the lady's mercy is lost to you."

The captain scrambled to his feet, wincing in pain. The rest of his soldiers helped each other towards the door. Once they were gone, I turned to the mystery woman. "Thank you for your help, Lady…"

She giggled. I couldn't believe what I just heard. Someone that skilled in battle actually giggled? Interesting… She smiled at me. "Leliana. Just Leliana."

I smiled, her name felt like poetry in my mind. I nodded, then motioned to his companions. "I'm Azrael Cousland, this is Alistair, Morrigan, and," I pointed towards my mabari war hound that was happily chewing a bone in the corner, having lost interest in anything else after the battle was done, "that is Xandwilix."

Hearing his name, the dog looked up at them for a moment. Realizing that neither treats nor petting were imminent, he went back to his bone.

"Leliana, may I ask what brought you to our aid? It's not every day we see a member of the Chantry wielding daggers against fully armed soldiers."

Leliana giggled again. "I'm no Chantry sister, Azrael. I'm just a laywoman. And actually, I was hoping to talk to you from the moment you entered Lothering."

Alistair and I looked to each other, trading shocked and wary looks. "These days, if someone is hoping to talk to a Grey Warden, something like what just happened here is on their minds."

She shook her head. "Nothing like that. I want to join you."

"Join us?" Alistair and I both exclaimed in unison.

"Leliana, why would you want to join us?"

"You… you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"And if you had told me a month ago that I'd be a Grey Warden, fighting not only to stop a civil war but also to stop a blight, I'd have called you nug-shit crazy. Try me."

Leliana sighed. "Alright. I received… a vision. From the Maker."

"Here we go," Morrigan muttered under her breath.

"Want to rethink the nug-shit crazy comment?" Alistair whispered.

I ignored them both. "Can you describe your vision?"

"It was… full of darkness and fire. In it, I am fighting darkspawn alongside a group of people, two of whom are Grey Wardens. We are facing the Archdemon, and I look to one of the Wardens…" she shook her head, shaking off the vision. "We are triumphant. The Archdemon dies, and the darkspawn are routed." She looked to me, and I could see a faint shimmer in her eyes, the beginning of tears. "I understand if you think me mad, but I know what I saw. And I know what I feel."

I could only nod slowly. I could feel the conviction of her beliefs in her words, and saw the steel behind her eyes. There was no doubt in my mind. "I do not think you mad. The Maker works in mysterious ways. I welcome you to our company, Leliana."

She smiled at me. "You mean that? Oh, thank you!"

I decided right then to try to do everything I could to make sure I saw that smile as often as I could. "Don't thank me for anything. We have a long, hard road to travel yet. Though I hope it will be better with your company. We have a camp set up just at the north edge of the town, go get your things and meet us there."

As she hurried off to prepare, both Morrigan and Alistair confronted him. "Are you sure about accepting her?"

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with the moron. She's not all there if she believes the maker spoke to her."

I wouldn't have it. "First off, I highly doubt she's insane. Second off, you both saw how she handled Loghain's men. She's very skilled, and we can use all of the help we can get. Thirdly-"

The three of us almost jumped as Xandwilix barked, having come up next to me. He sat down and looked up. "… thirdly, my dog likes her. And a Mabari is an excellent judge of character." I couldn't admit to them that part of the reason I said yes to her offer was the attraction I felt towards her the moment she had spoken to me. It felt more than just physical attraction, though. It felt more like I was meant to meet her. I didn't give it much thought then, though.

Alistair shrugged. "Ok, I trust you. I'm not sure about this, but I'll go along with it." Morrigan, for her part, simply rolled her eyes and started muttering about how the Grey Wardens needed to start testing for intelligence in their recruits.

The next day, we had packed up camp and were on our way to our first destination. I had decided to head to the Circle Tower first, hoping to use the support of the mages to help convince the Arl Eamon to join their cause. No one had seemed to disagree, though I could tell Alistair was anxious to return to Redcliffe. I hoped we wouldn't be too delayed in getting there.

I was walking in the middle of the group with Xandwilix next to me when Alistair's voice startled me. "How the hell do you do it?"

"What do you mean?" I looked over as the only other Grey Warden in Fereldan walked up alongside me.

"You seem to attract the strangest companions. First, there's me, a former Templar and bastard heir to the throne who's now a Grey Warden. Then we have a moody witch of the wilds. Now, after stopping in a small town, we somehow recruited a Qunari warrior and a chantry laysister. Is this my Feast Day prank?"

I smiled. I had to admit that our group was getting rather colorful as time went on, but I liked it that way. "The more diverse a group we have, the less chance of something happening that no one knows how to handle."

"Fair enough. Next thing you know, we'll have a dwarf, a golem, and an elven assassin with us."

"Sounds pretty well rounded to me, brother."

He laughed at that. "Yes, I can see it now. We kill the archdemon as it laughs at the allies we've acquired. This is starting to sound like some bard's tale."

"Not that there's anything wrong with that, I hope!" Leliana's voice startled both of us, as she was suddenly next to us.

"Not at all, my lady." Alistair bowed a little, eliciting a small laugh from the bard. "And with that, I bid you adieu. I must make my hourly snide comment to Morrigan, suffer a snide comment of hers, and then listen to her mutter under her breath about how the dog is smarter than I am. We have a system."

He walked ahead to catch up to Morrigan. Leliana chuckled lightly. "I wonder if they realize how perfect they are together."

I looked at her. "You certainly have an odd definition of 'perfect,' Leliana."

"Perhaps. I wonder if Morrigan realizes that he's smarter than he shows, and he's simply egging her on."

"That is a very good point. I guess-" I was interrupted as Xandwilx let out a light whimper. "What is it, boy?" He whimpered again. "Hungry?" At that, he let out a bark.

"Here, I have some jerky." Leliana reached into the small satchel at her hip and pulled out a small piece. She held it out to Xandwilix, who eagerly accepted it. He trotted alongside Leliana, satisfied.

"Well, you did it. You fed him, now he'll do anything you say and never leave your side."

"Really? Is that a Fereldean thing?" I looked over to see that she was holding a piece of jerky out to me. The mischievous smile on her face lit her eyes.

"Actually," I said, accepting it with a smile and wink, "feeding each other is a courting tradition here. You'd best be careful and not offer me too much jerky, the others might begin suspect something." I finished by holding out an apple I had recovered from my pack, smiling at her.

With a light laugh, she plucked it from my hand and sank her teeth into it. "Hmm… what do Fereldans give as a marriage proposal? A boar?"

I laughed. "Are you asking so you can keep an eye out for one in these woods?"

I don't know if I was supposed to hear her reply or not, but she almost whispered it. "Perhaps…"

I looked over to her. She winked at me, a smile on her face as she bit into the apple and walked on ahead of me. My mind spun. I had never met anyone like her before. She was flirty, funny, sweet, smart, and incredibly deadly. She could be an assassin sent by Howe or Loghain, my mind reminded me. She was searching for you specifically. Perhaps it was naivety or youthful arrogance, or maybe a deeper insight into her character, but I instinctively knew that I had nothing to fear from this woman.

And while she appeared only a year or so older than me, she had the same world-weary look in her eyes that I felt coming over my own, though she still seemed intent on looking only on the positive side of everything. I could learn a lot from her. Somehow, I knew that whatever hardships I was facing now would be lessened by her presence.

And so it begins...

Any and all reviews and such are welcome! Negative, positive, signed, not signed... just love me!

Up next: swords, daggers, and Cousland and Leliana fight!