Thanks to jugalettePENNER, Warrose and Jinx1983 for reviewing! Love you guys! :D I also want to thank all those who favored this story and added it to your story alerts! I really appreciate it! YAY!
Unfortunately nobody guessed who the TWO people were. They only guessed one of them, so nobody gets a cookie. :(
Bioware owns! :)
Chapter 9 - Past and Present
you've been my golden best friend
now with post-demise at hand
can't go to you for consolation
cause we're off limits during this transition
this grief overwhelms me
it burns in my stomach
and I can't stop bumping into things
I thought we'd be simple together
I thought we'd be happy together
thought we'd be limitless together
I thought we'd be precious together
but I was sadly mistaken
Simple together - Alanis Morrisette
.
.
The darkspawn threat is worse than we previously thought and we are now in Val Foret on the way to Val Royeaux. We passed Val Fermin several days ago, now all burnt to the ground, houses abandoned, putrid corpses, which we burned so that they would not infect anyone else with the Taint.
This is bad.
I've written to Duran. Hopefully he will arrive at Val Royeaux where I told him he'd likely find me. I actually joked that as Commander I could order him to get there if he didn't do it soon. I can actually hear him yelling insults at me all the way from Orzammar right now.
We are hoping to get reinforcements from Weisshaupt Fortress, there are plenty of Wardens there. As for the wardens in Ferelden, there aren't very many to spare, but I have sent word for twenty more to arrive at Val Royeaux. We must get to the bottom of this and stop this at all cost, before it destroys Orlais and its neighboring countries, Ferelden included.
Val Foret is a nice village, but now full to the brim with refugees. People are frightened, many have lost their families, and do not know where to go. It pains me greatly, for the Blight was supposed to have ended all this.
Leonie is in a foul mood, but I know it's because she is frightened. We all are.
Chantalle and I have become...closer. I don't know what she thinks most of the time. She is still much of a mystery to me, but she laughs at my stupid attempts at humor, thank the Maker! Her laughter is like sweet music to my ears. It helps to keep the fear and despair of the quest we are on away.
From here we'll take the Imperial Highway and then cross the valley to finally arrive at Val Royeaux. The whole trip will take approximately a week, give or take.
I have not given Chantalle the figurine I got her in Montsimmard. I get too nervous for that. Maker's breath! I'm twenty-four now, my birthday was two days ago. Even so, I still cannot speak about my feelings to the woman I have come to care for so deeply.
Where is the Commander when you need him, huh?
...
"We traveled twice to Ferelden, north of Denerim. We were not very close to the city, but one of the city elves eventually arrived at our camp. He told us that the poverty in the alienage is terrible. That the elves are the slaves of the shemlen and abuse them. Have you ever been to the alienage, Alistair?"
They were sitting alone in the dining area of the inn, the rest having left to shop for supplies. He frowned at her question. He had felt sad after visiting the alienage and had been angry at the way elves were treated.
"Yes, during the Blight. We were able to stop something going on there that was...terrible. We helped the elves there."
Her eyes lit up at this, and his breath caught in his throat.
By the Maker, she looks so beautiful at the moment, that I want to take her in my arms and kiss her, but-
"I knew you would say that. I would never doubt you helped our kind," her smile deepened and her dimple winked at him playfully.
"We stopped the Tevinter Imperium from taking the elves and selling them as slaves. It was all Loghain's doing." Alistair said darkly.
"This Loghain, was a monster, was he not?" She replied, her pretty brow furrowed.
"He was. He deserved what he got in the end. For bringing so much pain and suffering to everyone. I killed him myself."
She nodded. Then after some silence, "His daughter rules Ferelden now?"
"Yes, though she isn't a bad ruler. I- well, I think she was the real ruler while King Cailan was alive."
"You are not telling me something." It was not a question, but a direct statement, and Alistair paled. He hated talking about his birthright, but he supposed that there was no harm in letting her know what had happened. He didn't want any secrets between them.
"Well, I was put forward as a candidate for the throne," he said slowly, watching her face.
There was nothing but confusion there and a bit of surprise as well.
He sighed and flung into the details. "I was King Maric's bastard son. I am the last of the Theirin line as it is. I never wanted the throne, so my friend Duran supported Anora instead, something that I have to be very, very grateful for."
"You could have been king?"
"Maker! Yes! But I am very glad I am not," he laughed nervously. This was not a conversation he enjoyed having. "Arl Eamon, the Arl of Redcliffe, took me in when I was a baby. My mother was one of the servants at his castle. King Maric made sure that I was taken care of, but I only saw him and my half-brother Cailan once, while I was at the castle."
"But you told me you had lived in the Chantry?"
"Well, yes. I was sent away to the Chantry after I turned ten. The arl had married an Orlesian noblewoman, Isolde, and she thought I was Eamon's bastard son. She convinced Eamon to send me away to the Chantry, and start my Templar training there."
"Were they...kind to you?" She seemed to be in tune with his feelings, and the question did not surprise him.
"Well, I know the arl meant to be very kind to me even though I didn't live with them at the castle. I-um-slept in the stables. But the arlessa was not."
"You slept in the stables with the animals?" She answered back her eyes wide and surprised.
"Yes, and I know what you are thinking."
"Oh? What am I thinking?" There it was, the dimple again. His eyes fixed on it as he replied.
"You're thinking it wasn't kind of him to allow that. Sleeping in the stables." His face was very close to hers. She did not look away, her breath was sweet on his lips.
"Yes, that is one of the things I am thinking," she whispered back and trembled slightly.
"And the other thing?" His voice was low, so low that she almost didn't catch what he was asking.
"I am thinking that you are..." her voice trailed off.
"...I am...?"
But he never got a chance to find out what she thought he was, for his lips finally touched hers in a chaste but tender kiss.
The kiss ended far too quickly. Alistair looked into her eyes and found himself hypnotized by them.
"Chantalle...I wanted to tell you something. I have grown to-"
But they were interrupted by Leonie's voice.
"We have to leave quickly. I just got a missive from Val Royeaux. There is someone from Weisshaupt waiting for us at the compound there. Please alert the rest when they arrive from their shopping. My men already know."
Alistair stood up and Chantalle did the same. Leonie stared at them both and turned around without saying a word, walking to her room to begin packing.
...
They immediately set off for Val Royeaux, and hardly stopped to get proper rest or sleep, so urgent were they in arriving to their destination as quickly as they could.
On the fourth day, however, they did stop to camp and get a good night's sleep, and Alistair finally found himself standing next to Chantalle hoping that he would finally have the chance to finish saying what he wanted to say when they had been interrupted at Val Foret.
"Chantalle. We can finally have a moment to speak," he smiled down at her tenderly, his eyes searching her own. What he saw there gave him the courage to continue.
Ignoring the loud beating of his heart, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead. She rested her head on his chest, his heartbeat the only thing she heard which gave her a peace she had thought she would never find again.
"Chantalle, I have come to...care for you a great deal. I think it's because we've been through so much together, I don't know. Well...what I want to ask you," he paused, holding her at arm's length so that he could look into her eyes, "is if...you could ever feel the same way about me?"
"But I am an elf," she said warily. "Shemlens and elves are not the same, they are different."
"You are a wonderful person. And I respect you and care about you a great deal." There was a hint of fear in his eyes suddenly. She saw this and it made her wonder.
What could this strong and fearless man be so afraid of?
And then it hit her, and she nearly fell over from surprise. He was afraid of her rejection!
"Oh, Alistair. We cannot be together, yes? Even if we wanted to."
His face fell, the hope had gone from his eyes, and she could tell that he was deeply hurt.
"No, do not look away. I cannot be with you, because I cannot be with any man! I am dirty, and not fit for anyone, yes?" The tears started to fall. She did nothing to stop them. "And you are human. What if you have to rule as king someday? Where does that put us? We would have to end our relationship because I am an elf," she added sadly.
"You are not dirty!" He protested. "You are a wonderful woman and I can try to make you forget your suffering. And I will never be king! I don't want to be. Besides, Ferelden has a good, strong queen! And not to mention that I am the Warden Commander and that is all I ever want to do the rest of my life."
"You do not know what the future may have in store for you, Alistair. The only thing we all know about the future is how we will die, yes?" Her voice was sad and full of longing and despair at the same time as she continued to cry quietly.
"I will not give up on you, Chantalle. You mean too much to me," he was stubborn now, as his eyes bore into hers. "Do you...I mean...can you grow to care about me at all?"
"Oh, Alistair! I care about you! I really do! But we cannot be together!"
And with that, she disentangled herself from his arms and ran into her tent, leaving him standing there alone and under the stars.
...
They came upon a large group of darkspawn two days away from Val Royeaux, and fought them bravely, even though they were outnumbered. Chantalle was a terror on the battlefield, her lithe form dancing around the darkspawn, making them growl in fury at their failed attempts to get her. She had a mad gleam in her eyes every time she managed to kill one. Alistair continued to fight as near to her as possible, his shield lashing out and saving her life more than once.
Two of Leonie's men died that day: Lernan and Axel. They held a brief funeral after the battle, and Leonie said some words in Orlesian, which they did not understand at all, but they still bowed their heads respectfully and waited till the pyre had stopped burning, before heading off to their tents for the night.
Even though they had not spoken again since that night at camp, Alistair remained by Chantalle's side, and he became even more protective of her, especially while they were fighting. They still stole glances at each other from time to time, and when did, they both blushed each time and looked away quickly.
Anders had noticed everything. He chose not to tease Alistair about it, feeling that it was too serious to joke about. He knew that something was up, but he could not place his finger on the true cause for Alistair's behavior. He seemed happy whenever she looked at him, sad and withdrawn when she did not. He would have to try to talk to him about it soon, or die trying. He honestly wanted to help his friend.
The problem was that there was no time to have a good, long talk. They were too preoccupied with the way things were panning out and they had to arrive at Val Royeaux as quickly as possible, which meant no stopping or relaxing at all. Anders did not want to talk to a stressed out Alistair.
They were extremely weary and filthy by the time Val Royeaux finally came into view and they all sighed with relief when they finally dragged their feet through the city gates.
The market square was a short distance away, where the warden compound was also located. They made their way through the crowd there, and just as they were turning a corner to head into the compound, a shrilly voice yelled from behind them.
"Alistair! Is that you?"
Alistair turned, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. A red-haired woman was practically flying to him, in her eagerness to get to him.
"Leliana!" He cried out as he held out his arms.
And the bard rushed up to him and embraced him tightly. "Oh, I almost didn't recognize you! You have long hair now!" She said as he hugged her back.
Behind them, Chantalle looked away quickly, sadness clouding her features. But she was not quick enough.
Anders had caught that look.
...
"By the Maker! I thought you were in the Deep Roads!" Alistair laughed as he embraced her again.
"Yes, I was! But Duran told me of your encounters with the broodmothers and I traveled to the Keep to see you and tell you what I learned, hoping to get a better explanation from you! You've killed many including the one that was called 'The Mother', yes? But when I arrived at the Keep, Varel told me you had travelled to Val Royeaux, so here I am! I'm glad I found you, I was afraid you'd gone somewhere else instead!"
He laughed back in reply and still keeping an arm around her, walked her over to where Anders was standing.
"Anders, this is my very good friend and ex-companion, Leliana. We travelled together while trying to put an end to the Blight. Leliana, this is Anders our favorite and most powerful mage and healer and one of my closest friends!"
"Ah, Alistair has told me a lot about you, but failed to mention how beautiful you are!" Anders said, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles gently. His eyes sparkled at her, and Leliana giggled.
"And this, is the Warden Commander of Orlais, Leonie Caron," Alistair turned her to face Leonie, who was scowling.
"Oh, pleased to meet you, I think," Leliana smiled at her, chuckling under her breath.
"If you have finished your social activities, I suggest we head into the compound immediately," Leonie nodded curtly at Leliana, whose smile vanished.
Alistair shrugged and pulled her along, still visibly happy to have her there. He stood in front of Chantalle, who blinked at them both.
"This beautiful lady before you is one of the best fighters we have at the moment. Her name is Chantalle, and she was recently recruited into the order, and is a warden as well. She is...special to me." He continued, still taking his time.
Leonie was now tapping her foot impatiently as he waited for him.
"I am pleased to meet you," Chantalle began, and Leliana swept her into her arms, and hugged her. She stood there and patted her back after a while.
"It's good to meet you too! Alistair is a very dear friend, he is the kindest gentleman in all of Thedas!" She beamed at him.
He blushed. From behind him Leonie cleared her throat angrily.
"All right, Leonie, I get it! Let's move it then! We can talk later!" Alistair said hurriedly and they scrambled after Leonie and into the warden compound.
They stood in the courtyard where someone spoke to Leonie in Orlesian, but before he could finish, an elderly elven mage, walked quickly up to Leonie.
"This is the messenger from Weisshaupt, Alistair," Leonie said in a low voice so that only he could hear her, glancing at the elven mage. Her hair was brown, and had speckles of grey here and there in it, and was up in a bun at the back of her head. Her eyes were a warm golden brown as she gazed at Leonie, with an expression of both humor and seriousness in them. She looked at the rest inquisitively and waited for Leonie to greet her, and only when she had, she spoke, answering her in Ferelden.
"It is a pleasure to finally see you have arrived, Commander. I come from Weisshaupt bringing news that should be both interesting and shocking to you."
"I am Leonie Caron. And this man beside me is Alistair Theirin, the Warden Commander of Ferelden."
The woman's eyes widened with shock as she stared at Alistair, who blinked at her benignly, slightly nonplussed at the look on her face. She quickly regained her composure and smiled brightly.
"I am Fiona," she said simply.
...
A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? *cackles*