The next day awkward silence permeates the air while Lyn and her companions eat their breakfast. Dinner the night before hadn't been any better. Even Oghren is keeping to himself, but that may be just because he's recovering from yet another hangover. Alistair had been careful not to talk to Lyn, let alone anyone else. When they'd been attacked by a band of bandits the day before, he hadn't even called out a battle cry. Lyn is doing her best not to feel guilty, constantly reminding herself how he'd broke her heart not so long ago. She wishes she had Beth to talk to, as her old friend was always a fountain of information when it came to the opposite sex, and how to deal with them. Lyn continues to try to come up with what to do as she finishes her breakfast of cold biscuits and weak tea.
When Alistair gets up after finishing his meal, Lyn intercepts him and motions for him to lead the way away from their camp. Annoyance is evident on his face at being so publicly confronted, but he doesn't argue or resist. She waits to speak until they're out of sight, and earshot, of the others. Just when she opens her mouth, Alistair gets an all too familiar pained look on his face and raises a hand to stop her from speaking. She's tempted to speak anyway, but lets her mouth shut with an audible snap of impatience instead. Alistair ignores her irritation, and takes a moment to compose himself before he speaks. His eyes turn soulful, Lyn shifts uncomfortably when he locks the hurt puppy look on her.
"That was cruel Lyn. I love you, and I will always love you, I thought you knew that."
She's tempted to snap at him, and she knows she should stay calm, but her wounds from their breakup are still too fresh, it's all she can do not to scream at him and pound her fists on his cuirass. Tempting as an outburst might be, she settles for the cold, slightly sarcastic, tone she'd used on a regular basis in the Circle.
"I'm sorry, but being dumped after being told all about my flaws, and the reasons why I'm not a woman you could marry, hardly made me feel loved. My mistake, they obviously were screaming I love you, how stupid of me."
Alistair's face hardens as her biting tone lashes out at him. If he didn't know her so well, he would only be able to see the frosty anger, however he does know her, so he sees the pain she's trying to hide underneath her biting words. He'd kicked himself a million times for the way he'd treated her after his meeting with Eamon. He could, and should have, handled it much different, but he'd been scared, and mad so he hadn't exactly been tactful when trying to discuss their future. Then they'd argued, and his pride hadn't allowed him to apologize right away. Before he knew it a week had passed, where once things had been easy between them there seemed to be a huge chasm that would swallow him whole if he'd tried to cross it.
Then Dean had dropped into their lives, and Alistair had thrown himself into teaching the new recruit how to survive and fight in their world. Sure, he'd noticed that Lyn and Dean got along very well, but she hadn't seemed to flirt with him anymore then she did with Oghren or Zevran, not that she ever consciously flirted with anyone. Plus he didn't care anymore, they were just fellow Wardens, friends, and that was all, or so he kept telling himself. Realizing that Lyn slept with Dean yesterday morning left Alistair feeling betrayed, which showed him exactly how much he'd been lying to himself.
Alistair struggles to find something to do with his hands and fails, a ragged sigh of anguish leaves his lips before he meets Lyn's cold eyes again.
"Look Lyn, I'm sorry. I was an idiot, I am an idiot. But sleeping with Dean to get back at me was a low blow."
As soon as the last sentence leaves his mouth, Alistair realizes what a mistake he's made. Lyn steps back, as if his words had physically reached out and slapped her. Her cheeks turn a bright crimson for a moment but she quickly masters her emotions, her eyes and complexion return to it's former ice cold expressionless mask. She doesn't answer right away, but her lips press together making them look like a straight line. When she does finally speak, her tone is even more frigid then before.
"I accept your apology, Alistair. But you should know something, I didn't sleep with Dean to get back at you. If I'd wanted to be that petty, I could have jumped into Zevran's bed that night back in Redcliffe. My decision to try a relationship with Dean had nothing to do with you. Believe it or not. I don't care."
With every word, she seems to grow a little taller, making Alistair feel like tucking his non-existent tail and cringing away from her.
"You sacrificed our relationship for the greater good of our country, I respect that, even if I don't approve of the way you handled it. You should know that I'm going to do what I feel needs to be done to end this blight, for the greater good of Ferelden, and Thedas. So until you are officially crowned, you will fall into line, follow my orders, and not question my commands, just like the others. You put me in the lead back at Lothering, I'm not going to hand the reins over now, not when we're so close to victory. If you have a problem with that, then you're just going to have to deal with it, because if you're not helping, you're hurting."
Back at the camp, Leliana fidgets with one of her daggers while doing her best to look uninterested in what is happening just out of sight. As the minutes tick by, the companions take turns glancing in the direction that Alistair and Lyn disappeared, always quickly returning their attention back to whatever they'd been doing originally. Only Wynne seems uninterested, as she finishes putting away the socks she'd been darning. Dean sits on the ground next to Dane, idly petting the hound's huge head while his mind considers the possible outcomes of the confrontation between Lyn and Alistair. The worst possibilities keep coming to the front, like the chance of Lyn coming back and announcing that she and Alistair are back together. He tells himself that he wouldn't care if that happened, but it's hard to lie convincingly to your own heart.
Alistair's face is cold and impassive, Lyn's is even colder, she doesn't speak, just gives a hand signal that it's time to move out as soon as they come back to camp. Everyone rushes to pick up their packs and move out, Dean lingers an extra moment so he ends up at the back of the group. Lyn falls in beside him, but doesn't talk, her eyes focused on the road ahead. Leliana leads them down the highway, ever watchful for traps, while Zevran trails in the back, alert for an ambush. The group's pace is hard and fast. Lyn pushing them on without ever saying a word, her body language more then enough to keep them motivated. When she breaks into a jog, the group does as well, taking advantage of the smooth patches of road and the fair weather. No one questions or begs for respite, as Lyn's grim determination seems to have infected them all. The group might have their light moments at camp, but deep down they always are aware that they have a mission to fulfil that leaves no room for error.
Just before nightfall they encounter a band of hurlocks accompanying an emissary. Using hand signals, she directs her companions where she wants them before she pulls her helm on over her hair. The darkspawn outnumber their group three to one, that doesn't stop Lyn from leading a charge. As a group of hurlocks become aware of their presence, the female Grey Warden's cold laughter rings across the air, sending a chill down Dean's back as he draws his sword. Leliana fires poisoned arrows from the tree line, hidden and safe somewhere among the branches. Morrigan and Wynne stand near each other, the air around them crackling with magic, as spells erupt from their hands. Zevran and Oghren fight close together, the elf darting in and picking off any darkspawn that try to flank the shorter warrior. Dean charges in behind Shale and Sten, their huge bodies cutting a huge gap in the darkspawn ranks.
Dean focuses on his fighting, but can't help but glance in Lyn's direction when he can. She fights side by side and back to back with Alistair, magic running along the edges of her weapons, sparking brightly whenever they come into contact with darkspawn flesh. The pair of Wardens cut their way to the emissary with deadly purpose. Alistair's templar skills disarm it's spells just long enough for Lyn to cast a few of her own. The creature roars angrily before charging at the armored elf, Lyn roars her own battle cry as she meets the creature's charge head on. Lyn's blades clash against the creature's twisted staff, and it looks like the creature might overpower the small elven woman as it leans against her blades. Lyn gives a little ground, seeming to stumble back in weakness, the emissary grins, black ichor running down it's chin, as she seems to unintentionally give way. It steps forward eagerly onto her lost ground, growling with delight. With a speed born of her elven blood and the added strength from the taint, Lyn dodges, ducks, and twists sideways away from the creature Her dragonbone blade flashes as it cuts through the air, and Lyn slices the exposed neck of the emissary. Blood squirts from the place where it's head used to be a second later, the now lifeless body falling to the ground instantly. Lyn turns her attention away from her dead foe and sprints to engage the nearest darkspawn, eyes full of battle lust. Dean returns his own eyes back to his end of the battlefield just in time to see Morrigan go somersaulting into a group of darkspawn, coming out the other side in the form of a giant spider. It's only a matter of minutes before the last of the darkspawn are killed, Shale crushing any that lie injured or on the brink of death.
"Check the bodies for anything we can use, ten minutes until we move out. I want to reach Redcliffe by dawn."
Lyn's voice cuts across the silent remnants of the battlefield, her tone crushing any thought of argument, only Oghren is brave enough to grumble in response, but even then, he makes sure to not to speak any louder then a mumble. Dean checks the bodies nearest to him, managing to find a few coppers and a gold ring, which he stuffs in the pouch at his waist.
They continue on all through the night, their way lit by the stars in the cold, but clear, late winter sky. Just as the sun begins to light the edges of the horizon, the village of Redcliffe comes into sight. They quickly gain entrance into the castle, where they are served a breakfast in a spare dining hall. Hot food does much to revive everyone, restoring a good portion of moral. Lyn and Alistair leave the room when a servant appears to tell them that the Arl is ready to receive them. The rest of the companions split up to go clean up, and maybe even get some rest, Dean included.