Thank you Jinx1983, Warrose and jugalettePENNER for your awesome reviews.
Fiona plays an important part in this fic. I don't want to spoil "The Calling" for you guys and I have never read it myself, but have read some people's comments on it. This will be based on it, but if my writing seems odd, it's because I want things to slightly differ from the novel. So much of what Fiona will say to her son in later chapters is mostly the way I see it. I felt I had to write this because the idea of Alistair having an elven mother falls nicely into this fic and is important for the plot. You'll see why later on.
As to the disclaimer, I don't own anything. I just play around with the characters! :D
Chapter 10 - Unexpected Turn of Events
It's complicated, it always is
That's just the way it goes
Feels like I've been waiting so long for this
I wonder if it shows
And under water now I can breathe
It never felt so good
Cause I can feel it coming over me
I wouldn't stop it if I could
When love takes over yeah
You know you can't deny
When love takes over yeah
'Cause something's here tonight
Kelly Rowland - When love takes over
.
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"It is nice to meet you Fiona," Leonie said as she gave the woman a smile. "You are a mage, are you not?"
"Yes, I am." Pausing for only a few minutes, she looked directly into Leonie's eyes and said, "I'm afraid the news I bring may not be the news you wish for, Commander. I must see you both in private."
"Yes, of course," Alistair nodded. Leonie led the way to their office. Once there, she sat at her desk, while Alistair and Fiona took the only other two chairs in the room. For some reason, Fiona could not take her eyes off Alistair. It made him uncomfortable and he fidgeted in his seat.
"Please, tell us what you have to say," Leonie smiled at her.
"The darkspawn that attacked you are also attacking Weisshaupt. This is not an easy thing to say, but there may not be any reinforcements coming from Weisshaupt any time soon."
Leonie's face fell. "How is this possible? The Blight ended two years ago. Why is this happening?"
"We only know what one surviving warden told us. There was a scouting group of wardens not far from the fortress, when they were attacked by darkspawn. Two of them were dragged underground. The leader talked to the two men."
"What did he say?" Alistair leaned forward eagerly, awaiting her reply. She smiled at him before she continued.
"The talking darkspawn said they were answering orders from an intelligent darkspawn they call the 'General'. He told them to give him what they wanted. When one of the wardens asked what it was that they wanted, the darkspawn slit his throat in front of the other man. They let the surviving warden escape because they wanted him to tell the First Warden this."
"I don't understand. What could they possibly want?" Alistair frowned.
"We don't know, but something must be done to discover what it is they want," Fiona replied her brow furrowed. "We are clearly running out of time."
"How is it that they sent you? Aren't you needed at Weisshaupt?" Leonie asked.
"They sent me because I was the only one that could be spared."
"You are lying. There is another reason. Something you are not telling us." Leonie's eyes narrowed.
The mage looked at her, anger flashing in her brown eyes briefly. After a moment she came to grips with herself and decided to come clean.
"You are right. The taint in me, it has all but disappeared. As such, I am not really a valuable asset to them. I met the Architect many years ago and the First Warden thinks this has something to do with him. I stayed at Weisshaupt to study and learn about the Architect as much as I could. I was convinced he would reappear in time. As the threat is greater here in Orlais, the First Warden thought that it would be best for me to travel here."
"You met the Architect?" Alistair asked interestedly.
"Yes, I did. I was...travelling with other Wardens and...a friend." Her eyes had a faraway look. "we were, helping...this friend. I can only say that I have never seen a creature so foul and amoral as the Architect."
"I agree," Alistair said quietly.
"You killed him Alistair, didn't you?" Leonie asked, remembering one of their conversations they had had when they first met.
"Yes, I did. I killed him and the Mother."
Fiona turned to him, there was admiration shining in her eyes, and something that surprised Alistair greatly. How could she care for him when she had only met him?
"We should think about what we must do. I want to apologize Fiona, we need to get cleaned up and have something to eat. We have been travelling and ran into darkspawn ourselves. I will see to it that someone shows you to your room. We will talk about this again tomorrow," Leonie smiled.
"Of course. Thank you for your hospitality and kindness," Fiona murmured and they all stood up and left the room.
"Commander Alistair," Fiona looked up at him and he stopped, waiting for her to speak. "I would like to talk to you again, later. It is not urgent, but it would be nice for us to speak. We need to compare notes."
"Of course," Alistair smiled down at her. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk later. Now if you'll excuse me, I shall take my leave. My lady," he bowed graciously and left her. Fiona watched him disappear down a corridor and sighed. She fought back the tears that were threatening to fall and turned to another warden who told her he would show her the way to her room.
...
Alistair finished bathing and dressed in a simple white tunic and leather trousers, leaving his room to wander around. He didn't know where the dining area was. The Orlesian compound was very large, and soon, to his dismay, he discovered he was lost.
"Great. Now all I need is to end up somewhere, without any pants," he mused to himself.
He heard voices coming from somewhere up ahead. One of them was a voice he knew well. He walked towards the voices, until he was finally standing in front of her. She was talking to Fernan, and for a moment he felt a pang of jealousy.
"Chantalle, Fernan, it's good to meet you both," he sounded as relieved as he felt. He was not lost anymore and that was good enough for him.
"Commander!" Fernan grinned. "You seem relieved to see us."
"I- uh- got lost," Alistair finally admitted sheepishly. A giggle actually escaped Chantalle's lips and he found himself grinning back at her, his heart racing. She had never before giggled at anything he said. He found himself wishing to get lost more often in the future if only to have her giggle like she just had.
"We're also lost. We thought that maybe we should just walk on. That way we may get somewhere we actually recognize," she chuckled. Her eyes were twinkling and his heart melted.
Maker, he really was falling for her!
They turned a corner in the hallway, then another one, and suddenly Alistair's mouth parted slightly.
"I can't believe this! We've gone in circles. That," he pointed at a door on their right, "is definitely my room."
He opened the door, and sure enough, his pack was right where he had left it.
"Oh, well. I have to get something out of my pack anyway. I'll be right back."
"Oh, we aren't going anywhere, Commander. We don't know where to go, anyway!" Fernan announced cheerfully.
He rushed ahead, and they stood at the doorway, smiling. His hands quickly searched his pack until he found something which he put into his pocket. Then he went back to where they were standing.
"Oh, there you are!" Leonie called out to them. "We are all waiting in the dining area. Did you get lost or what?"
They looked at each other guiltily and Leonie rolled her eyes.
...
The meal was a happy one. Nobody had yet heard anything that Fiona had said, so they were stress-free. Anders spent most of his time and attention divided between Fiona and Leonie, possibly because Leonie was sitting on his right and Fiona on his left. Alistair smiled as he watched the mage in animated conversation.
Once it was over, Leonie took them on a tour of the compound. It was no wonder that they had gotten lost. The compound had once been a huge château that belonged to a very wealthy nobleman who had died without an heir. He had greatly admired the Grey Wardens and had left written instructions to give them the castle upon his death.
Leonie's voice droned on explaining other things about the compound as she led them around everywhere and soon reached the dungeons. They obviously had not been used in a long time and dust stirred under their footsteps as they walked along the stone floor.
Leonie then led them up to the main floor again and into one of the courtyards where they sparred daily.
She said that they would be sparring again tomorrow, to keep them on their toes. Everyone smiled at this. Leliana was invited to stay at the compound at Alistair's insistence and he smiled at his friend once Leonie asked one of her wardens to show her the way to her room. She then bade them a good night and left, Anders following her closely behind.
Alistair turned to Chantalle, his heart thumping in his chest wildly.
"Could we walk for a moment? That is if...ah...you're not too tired." He looked up at her hoping she'd say yes.
Her resolve vanished at the look she saw on his face and her heart skipped a beat. She could no longer deny it. She was falling in love with this kind shemlen, who had turned her world completely upside down.
They walked to a stone bench on the far side of the sparring area and sat down. For a moment neither of them spoke, and they both studied the stone ground, blushing.
Maker's breath! How do I talk to her without her running away again?
Alistair broke into a sweat.
You idiot! Give her the figurine!
Ah! He started to smile and turned to her, momentarily lost in her eyes, which held his warmly.
"Chantalle..." he began, his voice barely audible. He was sure that his heart was to blame. It was beating so loudly he was certain she could hear it. And the rest of the people in the compound for that matter.
"Yes?" A whisper back, and he could not take it any longer. His lips descended on hers and they kissed. She did not pull away, but kissed him back. He marveled at this, and his arms went around her, one of his hands tenderly holding the nape of her neck, buried in her blonde hair and the other one on her back.
Her lips parted, and his tongue darted forward slowly, and stopped as if asking permission. Her reply to this was that her own tongue met his, and their kiss got deeper. A moan escaped her lips and the sparks that tingled in his stomach quickly traveled to his groin. He broke away from the kiss, and his eyes met hers. She still had hers closed and opened them, looking into his eyes with a starry expression.
His heart did a summersault.
"Alistair, I-"
"Shhh. No, don't talk. I know you don't want us to be together, but I can't stay apart from you, Chantalle. I care too much for you. Please don't push me away again."
"Oh, that is not what I was going to say," she smiled, the pinkness on her cheeks made her so very appealing to him then.
"Oh," he could not say anything else, he just looked at her rosy lips and pink cheeks and all other thoughts vanished from his head.
"I- just wanted to tell you that, I can't be apart from you either. I still feel dirty, but I cannot deny what I feel for you any longer, Alistair."
"No. Feeling dirty is bad. I won't let you. I will try to help you overcome that."
She stood up and he followed suit.
"I think we should go now. There is much to do tomorrow, yes?"
He smiled and his hand went into his pocket.
"Chantalle, there is something I wanted to give you. I got it for you when we were in Montsimmard. When I saw it, it reminded me of you and...well..." He took her hand, and placed the figurine onto her palm.
Her eyes widened as she took in the details of the craftsmanship, and tears glistened in them.
"Alistair. This is...oh! This figurine is made of ironbark! I'm sure it belonged to one of my clan! Oh this means so much to me! Ma serannas. Thank you so much!"
She flung herself into his arms, her hands around his neck, still holding the figurine in one of her hands and kissed him, fully and passionately on his lips.
Alistair pulled her closely and kissed her back and put all his love and tenderness into the kiss.
For at that moment he knew.
He had fallen head over heels for her, and he was in love. He could not deny it any longer.
And there never was anyone happier than him at that moment.
Because she loved him back.
...
A/N: Just a moment...AWWWWWWWWWW, Alistair!
Ok, now I can say what I want to say. LOL! This chapter reveals a part of the darkspawn threat. There is another part to be revealed later on in future chapters.
PLEASE read and review if you can! I will give out cookies to whoever reviews! :P