Three's a Crowd, Pt. 2: Denerim

Notes: A continuation of the previous section, with Eva Hawke and Kya Surana. Set sometime after the Hawkes arrive in Kirkwall but before the Landsmeet.

I finally finished! I've been extremely busy, but hopefully this weekend I'll have time to finish up the third part to this. I didn't feel like messing with it as much as I probably should have, so the argument between Kya and Hawke is a bit lackluster. Also, this part required too much setup, for my taste. For the next part, we'll just jump right in!

As always, I'd really love a review or suggestion!

"I hate Meeran so much."

"No you don't."

"At this point in time, yes, I really do."

"Don't be a liar."

Carver sighed, leaning up against the warehouse, and—much to Eva's surprise—actually mustered up a fairly convincing glare. It wasn't his fault that they were stuck in Denerim, waiting on a contact who was long overdue, for a job that, according to their instructions, would either kill them or make Meeran such a rich man that he'd be willing to part with the Hawke siblings a whole month early.

You two have the most to fight for—freedom, he'd explained before shipping them back to Ferelden. And you two are from Ferelden; you know how they work, the people. You'll pass by completely unnoticed.

Eva, though, wasn't so sure. For nearly six hours now, she and Carver had waited at their designated spot. They'd just watched the guard change for the second time, and they'd received more than one suspicious look from the Chantry yard, from Sister and Templar alike.

"Maker's breath," Carver sighed suddenly. "I think that's our man."

Sure enough, a man clothed in the garish garb of their mercenary company strolled across the open marketplace towards them, giving Carver a welcoming clap on the shoulder and discreetly passing on a folded paper. "Gnawed Noble, last room on the left," he explained in a hushed voice, his expression uncomfortably chipper and cheery; to anyone else, the trio would look like a few friends catching up after a long day of work.

Or, a long day of standing around in the sun.

"There's a whole group of 'em," he continued, "but your marks are the elves. The little mage is a feisty one, but the coin will be well worth the fight. Plus," he added with a little shrug, "our employer isn't one you'd want to disappoint. The other elf—the one with the tattoos—he's worth more alive. Don't kill anyone you don't have to." With that, he gave them both a hearty handshake and went on his way, calling an enthusiastic farewell over his shoulder as he left.

"A real charmer, that one."

Eva grunted in unenthusiastic agreement. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with."

They made their way over to the Gnawed Noble, slinking through the tables and hallways until they found the room that their contact had mentioned. As they approached the door, Carver sighed heavily. "Well, here goes. Ready?"

Nodding, Eva stretched her fingers out in anticipation. Carver swung the door open, revealing two motionless figures stretched out on the bed.

It only took a split second before one of the figures – an elf – sat straight up, flopping ungracefully out of the bed. "I'm—shit! Maker, don't tell the—the—" She trailed off as she flailed around, finally finding her feet. "Irving. Don't tell…" She glanced around, confused, rubbing her eyes.

Carver regained his composure before Eva did, but she was still quick enough to keep him from attacking. "Kya?" she muttered.

The elf blinked. "I—yes. And you…"

"Eva. And this is my brother, Carver. From Lothering, remember?"

Carver through his hands up in frustration. "So you know her. Wonderful. Now Meeran's never going to let us leave." Eva began to argue, but he just shook his head. "I'm going to get a drink. And it's coming out of your share of the cut we aren't going to get." He turned with a huff, slamming the door behind him.

"I… I should put on more clothes," Kya decided. She grabbed a robe that was draped over a chest near the foot of the bed and slipped it on over her smallclothes, mumbling a muffled apology to Eva.

"Trust me, I've walked in on worse."

The elf didn't respond; she was glaring at the figure on the other side of the bed—another elf. "You'd think he'd wake up for these things." She gave him a rough shake. "Zevran!"

"I'm aware," came a thick voice, heavily accented. "Someone else has attempted to kill you, it seems." He pulled the pillow from Kya's side of the bed and placed it over his head, muffling his words. "You're doing a wonderful job of protecting yourself."

Kya rolled her eyes. "We've had a long week. And by that, I mean we spent the last week traipsing through the Circle and being banished into the Fade by a demon."

Eva crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow in interest. "What happened at the Circle?"

"Long story," Kya shrugged. "The more important question, I think, is what are you doing here? They said you fled Lothering. Now, what? You work as an assassin, or something?"

Sighing, Eva let her eyes sink closed for a moment; she hadn't been looking forward to this awkward explanation part. "Mercenary, actually. My—"

"Right," Kya interjected, crossing her arms. "So you kill people for a living. Well, so do I, now. I just don't kill the people trying to save the whole damn world!"

Right, Eva recalled, she's a Grey Warden. "I didn't know who the target was," she defended.

"So? There is literally not a single person in Ferelden more wanted than I am," Kya snapped. "I'm a Grey Warden, I'm a mage, and I'm an elf. Support is hard to find. Oh, look," she chimed in falsetto, "you saved my baby and brought my mother back to life and ended Fereldan hunger! Get away from me, you monster."

"Kya—" Eva and Zevran both called out at the same time.

"Don't," Kya insisted, glaring at Eva. "You don't understand—I never needed just one more thing to make people hate me. But I got it, anyway. And you'll never understand that, unless you quit trying to kill me and join the Wardens instead. You know, I like that," she mused. "I might Conscript you right here and now. Not just because I can, but because it's the right thing to do. Ferelden needs help, not… not mercenaries."

"Tempting as your offer is," Eva shrugged, making her way for the door, "I have a debt to pay, and I can't leave my family alone." Kya's outburst hadn't bothered her, not really, but Eva didn't feel like arguing. She and Carver would have to decide whether to finish the job, or return to Meeran empty-handed.

"Fine!" Kya's voice followed Eva into the hallway. "But don't think I'll hesitate to kill you next time you show up!"

"You know I'm not going to be the one to tell Meeran. I'm not even going to be there when you tell him."

Eva rubbed her temples slowly, trying to massage her headache away. "I don't want to either, Carver, but someone has to."

"You're the one who said not to kill her," her brother pouted, leaning onto the railing of the ship.

"She had a point. Without Grey Wardens, there's nobody left to stop the Blight. Do you want darkspawn to overrun Kirkwall like they did Lothering?"

"No," Carver grumbled. After a moment, he perked back up. "Cailan, Darkspawn, Warden for it."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "That's such a twisted game. I can't even imagine why you hang out with those refugees in the tavern."

"It's simple. Cailan beats Warden, Warden beats Darkspawn, and Darkspawn beats—"

"I get it! I'll tell Meeran." Eva sighed, not missing the smug delight on Carver's face. We left her alive. That's good. That's not just good, that's save-the-world good. "Do you think we did the right thing? I mean, forget about Meeran for a second; I'm talking morally right."

Carver shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe you should've just joined the Wardens. I could've said you died on the job."

"Hmm." Eva's shoulders dropped; maybe that would've been the best choice. Once we pay off these stupid debts, maybe I will go join.