Chapter 19: Everyone Has a Past
Morning arrived and Delia dressed and exited her tent to begin her morning practice. As she ran through her stances, Leliana walked over to her.
"Ah, I see you practice the forms of an assassin, but you have more of the grace and timing of a duelist."
Delia stopped her routine and sat down with the initiate. "Actually, I honestly don't know what forms I use. The Grey Warden Commander had only started my training a few weeks before the battle at Ostagar."
Leliana's eyebrow rose. "You've only learned your fighting skills that recently? That is most impressive. If you would like, I can help you. Before I joined the Chantry, I was very well trained in the rogue stances."
"Would you be able to teach me stealth skills? Duncan said he thought I would be quite good at that."
"Yes, I believe you would be. Your feet are graceful, almost like a dancer's."
Delia smiled, memories of school flooding back to her. "I was actually quite good at dancing. I told you that I lived in Antiva City. I studied at the Universidad de Antiva for many years. The most important thing that my school taught us was how to be proper nobles, including, of course, knowing the correct steps for every important court dance. My brother and I would practice until our feet were ready to fall off!"
"Well, that explains quite a bit about you then, yes? I am familiar with the Universidad's teachings. Many of the young nobles of Orlais would be sent there as well, in order to become properly polished." She put her finger to her lip in concentration. "We should focus then on teaching you your stances with a duelist mindset. The duelist concentrates on her form and uses her intellect and grace to her advantage."
"It's interesting… I remember the first time I worked with Duncan I thought that sparring was very much like a dance. I suppose I wasn't far off then." Delia grinned at Leliana.
"Not at all, my friend. Now, let me show you some variations on the forms you have learned. I believe you will find these to be most useful."
The women started to go through the routine Duncan taught his recruit, with Leliana stopping Delia at different parts to teach her variations. Delia found that these slight differences seemed to be far better suited to her smaller physique, and she was grateful that the Maker saw fit to bring this woman into her life.
As they practiced, Alistair came out of his tent and watched the two from a distance. "Maker, she is stunning! How can she make fighting stances look so beautiful?" He stood there, grinning without even realizing it, until Aeden punched him on the arm.
"Heeeeey, what was that for? I thought you had done enough punching last night!" Alistair rubbed his arm.
"You're making yourself a bit… obvious, Alistair. Maybe you shouldn't stand there staring. If Morrigan saw you she'd have more ammunition than you could deal with."
Alistair sighed and then looked back at Delia. "You're right, but look at her. She moves so… effortlessly. She's just so beautiful."
Aeden watched the two women as they began to spar. To his eye, Delia was just doing her regular routine. His eyes went to the initiate. He hadn't noticed how her hair caught the early morning sun. Both women were smiling and talking as they fought, and Leliana's smile was warm. Realizing that he was staring as badly as Alistair, he shook his head to release himself from the stupor he was in and pulled Alistair away to start preparing breakfast.
The women, in the meantime, had noticed their audience and were amused at the men's reaction. The goofy smiles worn by the warriors made the rogues laugh heartily.
"I believe we have mesmerized them, Delia," Leliana chuckled. "Both men are quite handsome, are they not? It is quite flattering to have them watch us so intently."
"It's also a little bit… creepy in a way. It makes me a bit uncomfortable to have them stare that way."
Leliana laughed. "You need to learn how to use all your skills to assist in the art of infatuation. You could be quite adept at wrapping men around your little finger!"
"ME? Maker, help me! I've always been somewhat shy around men."
"Come, come, Delia, you must have had many young men with their eyes on you at your school."
"Well, not really. My brother earned a lot of attention from the other girls, but I was too serious according to what some of the other boys told Dairren. Which was fine by me… they made me nervous."
"Men shouldn't make you nervous, you must learn how to make them nervous instead." Leliana grinned mischievously. "I suppose I should tell you that I was a bard in Orlais. You need to learn some of those skills – they would serve you well!"
"An Orlesian bard? How did you ever end up in the Lothering Chantry?"
A sadness clouded Leliana's eyes as she answered, "It is a long story; one that I am not ready to tell as of yet. When I am ready, you will be the first to know. However, in the meantime I will teach you my skills. Sometimes giving a man the right look can be a far better defense than a blade. It is amazing just how easily a man can be manipulated with a wink and a smile!"
The two women, upon finishing the routine, walked to the camp fire. Since the breakfast porridge wasn't ready yet, Delia decided to search for some herbs. She wandered at the edge of the woods and spotted a large clump of mint. She carefully picked some leaves and placed them in her herb bag with the other cooking herbs.
"What are you picking, Delia?" Alistair startled her, and she nearly fell. Alistair deftly caught her arm, and helped her to stand.
"Just some mint leaves. I thought they would be good in some of the heartier stews."
They walked back to the fire together. Leliana handed them each bowls of porridge, and they sat on a log near Aeden to eat. Aeden had a map open in front of him and he was studying it intently.
"So, I think if we walk at a good pace we should be outside of Redcliffe by tomorrow afternoon. Do you think that's a good plan, Alistair?"
Alistair frowned slightly. "I guess it's as good a plan as any. I suppose it might be worthwhile to see if we could have some Redcliffe soldiers travel with us."
"And for you to get a chance to visit home?" Aeden flashed a friendly grin toward Alistair, but he seemed to get grumpier.
"Well, it wasn't ever really much of a home to me, and they did send me away to the Chantry when I was still relatively young. I'm not really looking forward to being there. I just hope that Eamon is alright."
Aeden was surprised at Alistair's attitude toward his childhood home, but he was more surprised that Delia was being quiet. A little bit too quiet for his taste.
"Are you alright Delia? You seem to be troubled by something."
She looked up and gave him a sad grin. "Just something not agreeing with my stomach. I'll be fine," she lied to her friend. She wasn't looking forward to explaining the reception she expected from the Guerrin family.
For his part, Aeden just nodded and accepted her answer. Alistair was too distracted by his own worries about how he would be received to notice. The two of them ate glumly, and then simply walked to their respective tents to pack up.
The party started the day's travel as soon as they could. Neither Alistair nor Delia talked much as the group walked along the road. Sten was also silent, as seemed to be his normal state, and Morrigan was being teased by Leliana about her lack of fashion sense.
Aeden was feeling ill at ease. It bothered him that his two friends were being so quiet, especially since they had been so annoyingly talkative previously. He tried to start conversations, but they would both answer with short answers and continue in their silence. Did the two of them have a fight? Aeden hadn't heard anything, but then again they could have had a disagreement while they were at the wood's edge. He started to feel angry. Maybe Alistair had done something to hurt Delia. Should he do something to intervene? Maker, he was feeling left out again!
By the time they stopped for lunch, Aeden was very irritated with Alistair and Delia, and Morrigan was more than irritated with Leliana. Aeden decided to sit away from the group in order to try to relax without the stress he was feeling from his friends. As he took the first bite of his jerky, the mage sat next to him with a huff.
"Warden, you must do something about that woman. I cannot tolerate another minute of her prattling on about what clothes I should or shouldn't wear. I am not a brainless Orlesian twit. My clothes are practical, and that is all that they need to be. If you are unable to contain her, I shall be forced to take matters into my own hands, and although I would have a great deal of pleasure setting her ablaze, I doubt your companions would appreciate my form of diplomacy."
With a heavy sigh, Aeden agreed to speak to Leliana. He stood up and walked over to her. As she noticed him approaching, she smiled warmly to him. His stomach suddenly felt as if it was fluttering inside of him. This woman affected him in a way he had never experienced before! He greeted her and asked if he could sit with her. Leliana warmly agreed, patting the log next to her.
Rather than try to explain the mage's position, Aeden thought it would be better to initiate a conversation of his own. He asked her about her life in Orlais, and learned about her actually being Fereldan by birth as well as how she was raised. Her voice was sweet and lilting, and he found himself smiling for the first time of the day. When it was time to continue their travels, he walked with her. Their conversation flowed easily, and the time passed quickly.
Aeden finally noticed how low the sun was in the sky and looked for a place to camp for the night. He found a site that was reasonable, and the party set up camp. After he set up his tent, he started out to hunt some game for dinner. Leliana asked to join him and Dusty, and since he had enjoyed her company so much he readily agreed. It didn't take long before several rabbits were acquired and they returned to camp. The two decided to prepare the dinner as well, since their companions were all involved with their own tasks.
Although Delia was nervous about entering Redcliffe, she had noticed Alistair's grumpiness and decided to check on him. She walked over to where he sat sharpening his blade and sat next to him before saying a word.
"Are you alright, Alistair? You seem to be preoccupied."
"I could say the same about you," he snapped back. "Right now I wish you would leave me alone."
She wasn't expecting his mood to be as nasty as it was, so she stood quickly and turned toward her tent. "Fine, Alistair, you can be alone as long as you want. I have no idea what I've done to make you so angry at me, but I won't trouble you any longer."
As she stormed back to her tent, he stared at her with his mouth agape. "Maker, I've done it again. Now what do I do?" His mood only worsened. How could he explain his feelings about returning to Redcliffe? His life was ridiculously complicated, and he hated the fact that he had secrets hidden from his fellow wardens. Somehow he had to come up with the right words to explain his fears, his anger, and his trepidation. He prayed to the Maker for help and settled into a chilled feeling of hopelessness for the evening.