Chapter 9: Dinner Party
Aithne sat poring over the scroll Marethari had sent with them. She had spent much of the past four days, interspersed with a few hands of Wicked Grace, attempting to decipher the ancient elvish with little success.
"Do you really think staring at it will cause a translation to suddenly appear? Teagan and Kaitlyn will be waiting; if we're to be late it should be for better reason than a moldy text." Zevran's fingers followed the line of her neck.
"Zev, you're barely out of bed," she stood halting the progress of his hand. "You're right though, I just don't have the skill to translate it. Are you sure you're up to this tonight?" His skin was still pale beneath his tan, the fine lines near his eyes etched deep.
"It's only dinner, anyway I've spent enough time in bed the last few days."
"Now that's something I never thought to hear you say." Aithne laughed as she straightened a crease where his tunic had wrinkled over his bandaged shoulder. Her fingers lingered a moment on the fabric, "I'm glad you're here to say it."
"So am I my dear warden." He took her hand and softly kissed it. "Shall we?"
It was a short stroll down the corridor to the Arl's comfortably appointed apartments where they were greeted by an enthusiastic Oghren as well as the Bann and his wife.
"Zevran – I told them you'd be up, tough as an old bronto." Oghren clapped the elf on the back making him stagger slightly.
"Indeed my friend, I couldn't leave you alone with these lovely women. What would Felsi think?
"Ah, I'm a family man now, 'sides these are taken." The gruff dwarf glared at Zevran, "why didn't you tell me about you and the Commander?"
Zevran studied Aithne in silent query, hoping she considered their shift from friends to lovers a lasting change. He was rewarded with her smile and gentle fingers enfolding his own, a public answer to the private question.
Oghren snorted, "fine friends you are, now I owe Felsi five sovereigns and a new dress, she always said you two would end up together."
Teagan raised a brow at the exchange and tactfully changed the subject. "Come friends, Kaitlyn found some Antivan wine in the cellars, I thought we should celebrate."
"Celebrate?" Aithne looked around the old arl's quarters; they had changed a lot since her last visit. Most of the ornate Orlesian furnishings Isolde had been so fond of had been replaced with sturdy and more comfortable Ferelden made items. Kaitlyn's touch was unmistakable in the choices that made the rooms less imposing and more homelike. She grinned, "Did Eamon finally name you Arl?"
"Oghren brought the letter when he came looking for you. Eamon and Isolde intend to remain in the capital permanently." Teagan offered them all glasses of a deep red wine.
"To the new Arl and Arlessa of Redcliffe, may their lands be filled with peace and prosperity." Aithne raised her glass in toast and they all followed.
"Mmm, 9:12 Dragon, a very good year. A fitting choice to celebrate your promotion." Zevran sipped his wine with obvious appreciation.
"Not bad, but not much of a bite." Oghren's appraisal generated a laugh from the group, his palate was more attuned to stronger, and frequently toxic beverages.
"Never fear, I have a bit of Nevarran brandy put back for after dinner."
Teagan's cook had created a truly exceptional meal and the group chatted and laughed through five courses of delicious food. Aithne was toying with the last bits of a peach trifle when Teagan addressed her. "I would like your opinion on who should take over Rainesfere. I thought perhaps it would be a fitting reward for Ser Perth, who has shown such loyalty to RedCliffe and the crown."
"A generous reward, but appropriate I think. Perth would do well with it, he is honest and kind, and his wife is a practical woman – also she is a younger daughter of the Bann of Copper Falls." Aithne smiled at the thought of the knight and his quiet wife as landholders. Ser Perth's young son had become fast friends with the orphaned elf Cathal, thanks to his father's fairness and lack of prejudice. Kearney and Cathal were no doubt creating havoc while she and Zevran were enjoying their dinner.
"I shall make the arrangements then."
"Teagan, I did want to ask you about the refugees, I know it is a strain on the resources of RedCliffe to feed all the extra mouths. I am no longer chancellor but the royal storehouses are well enough stocked that you could utilize them if need be. I will confirm it with Alistair when we go to Denerim, but it should not be a problem. Most of the Orlesians could be relocated to Lothering or the lands to the south in the spring – they're farmers, not fishermen."
"Your advice is appreciated, I feared a lean winter, the town's population has increased by nearly one-third with the new additions. We have a lot of salted and smoked fish stored but our granaries are barely sufficient. Come spring I will see the humans resettled, however I am at a bit of a loss as to the two elvish families." Teagan felt a bit awkward addressing a racial division with the Dalish woman but she was in the best position to recommend a solution.
"I would not send them with the humans, they hold little regard for slaves purchased to replace those who fled or were killed under the new Chevalier's rule. I can ask them if they wish to go to Denerim's alienage but I hate to condemn anyone to that life, even with the improvements Shianni has made." Aithne had been disgusted by the squalor that her kinsfolk in the alienage had accepted as their lot in life. It was one thing to be a member of a subjugated race – it was another to have no pride.
"I thought slavery was illegal in Orlais?" Kaitlyn had built a thriving business prior to her marriage but she still had little experience with the realities of politics.
"Slavery is – indenture is not. In practice the two are the same; indenture contracts are not written to allow those involved to fulfill their terms." Zevran reclined in his chair idly toying with his wine glass.
"But that's horrible, taking someone's freedom forever…what about the children?" Kaitlyn stared at Zevran aghast.
"In many parts of Thedas a poor child's only value is what he will bring from the highest bidder." The stone of the castle had more expression than the assassin's voice. Zevran casually drained his wine. "But I see I have distressed you, such was not my intention. We were discussing their regained freedom, were we not?"
Teagan glanced over; the Antivan's cool demeanor covered something. The Arl shrugged, he knew little of the elf before his arrival in Ferelden, the man was loyal to Alistair – that was all he needed to know. "I don't know if they would be comfortable here with no other elves, but let them know they are welcome to stay if they wish. Varden claims to have skill as a woodworker and Alene, Doran's wife, is a seamstress, their skills would be useful." He had spent some time talking to each of the refugees over the last few days. The elves' courage and acceptance of hardship had impressed him though they remained leery of a human lord.
"Thank you Teagan, I will speak to them, they may feel more at ease expressing their wishes to another elf." Aithne smiled, of all the human lords Teagan had proven himself to be the most open-minded, and in fact had been one of the few to acknowledge Shianni socially after Alistair had named her Bann. "So tell me, what are your plans for RedCliffe now?"
They spent another comfortable hour discussing Teagan and Kaitlyn's plans for improvements in the Arling, before Aithne made their excuses. Zevran had been oddly quiet, his usual witty repartee and innuendo half-hearted at best. Oghren was still detailing some type of dwarven fortification he thought would be of benefit to the castle when the two elves bade their hosts good-night.
Cathal was curled up asleep in his blankets by they fire when they reached their chamber. Zevran sank onto the bed and absently considered the boy. "He's too young to even realize what a precious thing freedom is. I always scorned those too weak to climb out of their sorry lives, mocking them from my own gilded cage. I am glad we helped them, finding the courage to fight back is not an easy thing to do. Had it not been for you, my Dalish lady, I would have willingly climbed back into my prison when Taliesin came."
Aithne settled next to him tenderly tracing the line of his Crow tattoo. "I do not believe that."
"I told you about Rinna, you know what I was."
"I know you were trying to escape, that you did not wish to be a tool for the Crows any longer, even if it meant your death."
"Why did you spare me?" She had never told him. He pictured his carefully engineered destruction that had marred a beautiful summer day, his team of assassins and mercenaries all assembled with the purpose of exterminating the last Grey Wardens in Ferelden.
"It was your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"I know it sounds silly but there was something there, something more than flirting and bluff. Something that did not fit a cold assassin, made me believe your pledge."
"You should be careful what you believe."
"I always am Zev."
He reached for her, fingers tangling in her hair, all sunlight and shadows. He wanted her, to take her and mark her as his. She melted into his fierce embrace, trusting him, believing in him –
"Ser Zevran?" Cathal's voice interrupted them.
Zevran disentangled himself with a regretful smile. He had no wish to expose their young charge to the carnal knowledge he had experienced so early, given his own childhood spent in a brothel. "Yes, Cathal?"
The child flourished a small wooden horse. "Can I keep it? Ser Perth gave it too me, it's painted to look just like Tempest."
"Of course you may. Did you thank him for it?" Perth had taken the boy to the stables that first day, trying to gain the trust of the frightened child. Cathal had enthused about the magnificent warhorses ever since.
"Yes Ser. He said I could ask if Kearney could come to the village with us tomorrow too."
With Zevran on the mend Aithne had planned to purchase some supplies in RedCliffe village the next day. "If Ser Perth approves, then yes, he can come. Now, back to bed with you, it's late and you need your sleep."
"Yes, Lady Aithne."
The following day was clear and bright, Zevran and Aithne walked down to the village, listening to the shrieks of the two children as they pelted each other with snowballs. For a brief moment Aithne pictured what it would have been like if she had not become a Grey Warden, had married and borne children. If there had been no blight, no bastard prince, and no enigmatic assassin in her life. The image was peaceful, but she had to admit, false. Before the blight she had not wished for the simple things in life, had been too restless to appreciate what she had, even now the spark of adventure appealed more than a quiet life. She grinned as Zevran ducked a poorly aimed snowball, not that there was much risk of a quiet life.
Aithne spotted Varden outside the village Chantry splitting wood, the frosty air eliciting an occasional cough. "Good to see you Varden."
The Orlesian elf leaned his axe against the pile and bowed. "Lady Aithne."
"Just Aithne, I told you, I am no lady. How is Senya today?"
"She has stopped bleeding, she will not loose the child." Varden's face was an impassive mask.
Aithne nodded, the child Varden's wife carried was likely the offspring of the human Chevalier. The elves had already declined her offer to send them to the Dalish lands for that very reason. "I spoke with Arl Teagan, he has offered a place for you here if you wish, otherwise you could go to Bann Shianni in the spring."
"I will talk with the others, but I think Senya and I at least, will stay. The…our, child may not feel so out of place among humans. Your Arl Teagan is generous for a human lord."
"You can trust him – if you speak to him I am sure he can find projects more fitting to your skills than splitting wood." Aithne left the former slave with that encouraging thought.
Aithne left Zevan and the boys with the seamstress to have Cathal measured for new clothes, he had been wearing some of Kearney's cast-offs to this point, but he really needed clothes that fit properly. While they were occupied she went to the general store for the other items on her list: bandages, oil for their armor, herbs (for medicine and for cooking), and a few precious packets of spices. The spices were outrageously expensive this far from a port city, but she had rarely spent even a fraction of the stipend Alistair insisted she take. It would be worth every sovereign for more of Zevran's cooking.
Ser Perth and his wife Brygid met them on their return to the castle. Shooing the children upstairs to change into dry clothes Perth wrapped an arm around his wife and addressed them. "A moment if you please, my wife and I would like to ask you both something."
"Certainly," noting the pair's unease Aithne gestured toward the library, the entry hall seemed a bit public. "I would guess this is not a simple matter, perhaps we should sit down."
"Of course," the tall knight remained standing, his hand on Brygid's shoulder as Aithne and Zevran settled into two of the comfortable library chairs.
"What troubles you?" Aithne had rarely seen the confidant knight so disturbed.
"We don't want to offend you, it's just that Brygid and I have always wanted a large family, and well…, there's only been Kearney. Cathal gets along so well with him and with the move to Rainesfere there'll be the manor house and it will be so empty…. He has no family and Teagan tells us you will be traveling again…"
"What Perth is trying to say is that we would like to adopt Cathal. I know you would probably prefer he be raised by elves, not humans but, well… he needs a family and we want him to become part of ours." Brygid's hand wrapped around her husband's as she anxiously awaited their answer.
"Zev, what do you think?"
He stared at the floor, what gave him the right to determine the child's fate? "We should ask him, if it is his wish then I agree."
Aithne nodded, it felt right. Human or not, Perth and Brygid were good parents, Cathal would be loved and cared for without regard to his race. Their offer to adopt, not just foster, would give him unprecedented status for an elf. "Let's talk to him then."
Two days later Arl Teagan formally recognized the adoption of the elf Cathal, age seven, by Bann Perth and Lady Brygid.
A special thanks to Erynnar who beta'd this chapter for me. If you have not read her story "Soulmates" I would recommend it - she has it all Alistair, Zevran, intrigue, romance, humor, friendship and a rocking good story.
As always I own nothing and give my thanks to Bioware for letting me play with their toys.
As a side note our orphan Cathal will have his own story when I have finished Aithne and Zevran's tale. After all if I am going to upset the social status quo of Ferelden I might as well have fun with it.