BioWare owns all... except for etc, etc. LOL : )
So the mercenaries have been taken care of, but we have a whole bunch of money in chests. So another mystery for Kai and her group to figure out. And we still have an angry Zev, probably angrier since he had to spend his time in bed with a real dog. LOL. : )
Thank you all so much for your reviews, wow, just wow. They really make me feel good. I am just glad that I can draw you in and pull at your emotions, even surprise you. I am so flattered! : ) I really enjoy writing this as much as you seem to enjoy reading it.
Blessings! : )
She was on top of Fort Drakon. The air was sharp as if it were made of hot glass, and the sky was black and purple like a bruise. There were dead bodies everywhere floating in blood. Blood pooled at her feet up to her knees and ran down the sides of the tower in multiple waterfalls. She was holding the great sword that Alistair had used to kill the Archdemon, and he was lying there on the higher platform where the Archdemon had been. But instead of the great dragon, a group of people were standing in silhouette against the angry sky. She couldn't stop herself; she moved forward, though she didn't want to, she was compelled to, despite the deep feeling of dread. She sloshed through the blood, slipping and sliding until she was covered in people in the crowd included her parents – her mother with her throat slit, her father with his intestines hanging of his gaping belly wound. There were the men from Lothering who had wanted nothing more than money to buy food for their families. All had wounds from her killing them. The mercenaries on the ship, the men and women who died at Ostagar, Cailan, Duncan, Branka, all the people dead at the end battle, even Riordan. All of them looked at her with accusing eyes. And then the form of Alistair moved, and he wasn't Alistair at all, but Zevran. He walked to stand in front of her. "You betrayed me, you betrayed us all." And then she was being pushed to her knees in the blood as her head was drug backward, and she heard Taliesin's voice laugh as Zev joined in. A blade was at her throat, and Zev spit on her and laughed again. She could feel the blade being drawn across her skin...
"KAI, it's a nightmare, wake up!" Alistair's voice yelled at her.
Kai started as she realized she was in the back of Bodahn's and Sandal's wagon, hidden cleverly behind boxes of items. She was on a makeshift pallet of blankets with a sack of beans for a pillow. She was sweaty and slightly feverish. Wynne just placed a cool hand on her forehead, and Fiona gave her more of the bitter willow bark tea to drink while making soothing noises.
Those axes that mercenary used had been sharper than she thought. Wynne said it was a miracle, as the slice had happened in such a way that her leathers had actually kept the wound together until she had taken off her armor. Her blood loss had worried them at first, but they had managed to staunch it with the aid of an herb called yarrow, whose leaves had been crushed to a powder and poured into the wound, along with a healing potion. Naseel had been the one to bring it to both the mages' attention. It was something all the Crows carried to help stop wounds from bleeding. It had given them the time to get the healing magic started. Now, she was wrapped up tight, and Wynne told her no heavy lifting, which meant getting help with the twins, and no horseback riding. So, she had been forced to ride in the wagon of their favorite wandering merchant and rebel in the cause.
She felt the wagon slowing and then stopping. She had spent much of the journey sleeping so she had no idea they were so close to the farm hold. She heard the back of the wagon open, and then Bodahn's friendly dwarven face appeared as he pulled the boxes hiding her away. He smiled at her. "We are here my lady!" And the hole got bigger. Wynne and Fiona helped her to sit up and slide herself forward to where Bodahn could grab her hand and help her the rest of the way out of the wagon. Kai put her feet carefully on the ground and took a nice deep breath of fresh night air. Wynne wanted to get servants to bring a blanket and make a stretcher, but Kai put the kibosh on that. She could walk if she did so carefully. Shale and Oghren came around from the front of the wagon. Oghren was wearing his civilian clothes with an old, battered, stained floppy hat. Where Oghren had found, it she would not hazard a guess, but he thought it made his disguise better. Kai was not about to disabuse him of the notion. He carried the broken control rod in his hands as per their ruse.
Sten and Leli were walking again. Kai figured they may have beaten them, as they didn't have to stick to the roads. Morrigan had wanted to stay with Kai, but she had had the witch go with Naseel riding a Ceffyl. She had pointed out to her sister that while she was one hell of an ass kicker, she wasn't much in the healing arts. Added to this was the fact that Kai wanted more protection for the twins since Zev was still recovering himself, not to mention that he was probably buried under two hundred and forty pounds of muscled Mabari, cursing her name, no doubt.
Just thinking of the twins made her chest twinge, as well as her heart. She hated having a wet nurse feed them. She was determined that she was not going anywhere until Master Ignacio got word to her. Not that she could anyway. She had been wounded, and though it was well on its way to healing, she was still weak and the wound could be broken open easily. For once, she was not sorry to have a good excuse to take things easy.
"Finally, is that all it took, being away from the twins for too long? If I thought you would relay the message, I would tell Eamon to give you only one safe house to use, the one farthest from Denerim!" Alistair's voice quipped into her ear.
"Ha, very ha, aren't you just a barrel full of pickled fish tonight?" Kai laughed at him.
"Well, let's see, your almost bleeding to death has a tendency to make me a little jumpy, so yeah. Oh, and it has the same effect on your mother." Alistair's voice held a smile at least.
"Oh dirty pool, very dirty pool." Kai gave a mental squirm.
Kai made her way to the house with Wynne and Fiona helping. She walked in the door and into the main hall. Leliana was there already, as she had suspected, with Sten. The pretty bard sat with her lute on her lap and the tip of her tongue sticking out from between her teeth, brow furrowed in concentration as she wrote notes of music on lined paper. Kai groaned inwardly. No doubt the redhead was composing a ballad about Kai's killing a Crow master or the rescue or her meeting with had been practically been bursting at the seams when she told Kai she wanted to begin composing a book of songs about Kai and all of their adventures from before the fall of the Archdemon on. Leli had told her that her working the Crows over for Zevran had really inspired her even more. Kai sighed. One day she feared she would be hearing these songs in a tavern or the castle in Denerim, if she ever got Anora out of it.
Sten sat reading with a book on his lap while occasionally eating a cookie from a plate with a glass of milk sitting nearby. Morrigan also sat reading, but she would periodically grab a bunch of dried plants and hold them up to the book, probably comparing them to the pictures there. Kai smiled. It always warmed her heart to see them, her extended family. She felt herself flush. She needed to tell them about Alistair's voice. Kai waited until Oghren and Shale came in and cleared her throat, "Um, Oghren, Shale, Sten.I have something I need to tell you." All eyes turned to her.
She took a deep breath and explained about Alistair's voice, the funeral, and her trip to the Fade, Morrigan's knowing, having to tell Wynne and Leli, Zev's finding out and his displeasure. She felt her cheeks getting hot, but she looked them in the eyes, "I am sorry I didn't tell you all sooner. And I didn't tell the others in the group ahead of you out of favoritism. I would never do that, I love you all. It's just that..." Kai flushed and looked down. "I have no excuse. I don't. I lied by omission. I understand if you feel hurt and if you can't trust me anymore. Really, I didn't expect you all to stay after the Archdemon, but you did. I know I am not worthy of your...," Kai broke off, she didn't want to say 'love', "loyalty." Who knew what they felt for her? Sometimes she wondered why they stayed, as she had a penchant for mucking things up. "Anyway, I figure you need time to digest it and make up your minds. I can't ask you to forgive me, though I hope you will." Kai flushed harder and found her hands balled in fists to go with the cold ball in her stomach.
"Talking to the 'little pike twirler' still, huh?" Oghren grinned at her. "Well, I'm just glad I can't hear Branka. But then you and he always had a better relationship than we had, eh? Except for the make-up sex, you really are missing something there, Warden." With that Oghren clapped her on the back and grinned. "I am going to go get a keg or two to wash out the dust from the road and see if I can get Sten to play dwarven checkers with the other Warden I said 'hi.'" And Oghren took off for the kitchen and its subsequent cold cellar, whistling the tune to, "The Clean Song."
Sten just stared at her with his lavender eyes, his face immobile. "I stay because of you and will continue to stay because of you, kadan." Kai flushed harder, she had once asked him what the word meant, thinking it was his way of pronouncing her full name. That was until she had heard him call Shale that as well. He had simply looked at her as he had just now, his look more intense, and told her it meant something of great value. She had cocked her head at that, not sure what he meant, was she was like an object? He had frowned and tried again pointing to the middle of his chest, "Where the heart lies," he told her. It was then that Kai knew how important she was to him.
She really didn't deserve them all. Maker, how lucky she was. Sten merely nodded and returned to his cookies and book.
Only Shale hadn't spoken up at this point. Kai looked at the golem. Shale stared back. "At least you do not have to put up with its terrible hygiene in person I suspect it still tries to be funny, will it be sharing these attempts at jocularity?" The golem just raised a stone eyebrow at Kai.
"Um, no I won't try and share any...erm...jocularity from Alistair with you." Kai tried not to let her lips twitch.
"Hey-y that hurts my manly feelings," Alistair's voice sounded with mock pain in her ear.
"All one of them" Kai asked with a mental laugh.
"I still say that Shale knows a lot of big words for a walking pile of rock." Alistair laughed into her ear.
"Thank you, I don't deserve you all, but I promise to try and always be worthy." Kai blushed again. "I am going to see the twins and..." Kai gave a mental groan, and release one very angry Antivan assassin from his prison, "Yeah, upstairs, to see the twins." Wynne and Fiona helped her walk the rest of the way and up to the second floor. When they were in the hallway, a servant girl was coming out of Kai's and, technically, Zev's room, probably after dropping off food for him. Or maybe tending to other physical pursuits, after all he was handsome and charming. Kai felt ill for a second, but she smiled at the girl as she walked past and drew her attention. "What room are the twins in?"
"Why, they are in your room, my lady, they have been since you left. The dog won't let the gentleman there leave, but he insisted the babes sleep with him as always. The dog sleeps on the floor next to the door. It's quite funny, though the elven gentleman isn't amused. He has argued with the dog quite a lot, and the dog refuses to listen, even barking back to answer him." The girl giggled behind a hand. Wynne only grimaced and asked the girl to fetch her poultices and bandages if they hadn't been left in the room already.
Kai was surprised, though she figured Zev felt he was protecting the twins no matter how he felt about their mother. The man was so damn loyal and trustworthy. She should have told him, and yet again she cursed herself for the world's biggest fool. She nodded at the girl, and Fiona paused with her hand on the door knob, giving Kai a moment to school herself. She heard Argus snuffle the door, catching her scent and starting to bark.
"Hush, you large smelly flea bag, you'll wake the babies!" Zev's annoyed voice chided Argus as Fiona opened the door. Wynne helped her limp into the room following the other mage. She steeled herself to walk around the door. The Mabari helped, he was so happy to see her, though with a quick word from Wynne, he did not jump up as he normally would have to put paws up on her shoulders to lick her face.
"No boy, I can't have you do that." Argus whined at her and cocked his head. "Yes, I got hurt, and it isn't that bad, but I can't take the chance of ripping it open, okay?" She smiled at the big dog's grinning mouth as it barked an affirmative. She patted him, "You may also let Zev out of the room now."
"Well that is good to hear, Warden. I thought perhaps you decided to use the dog to keep me chained to the bed so you could use me." Zev's voice normally would have been warm and laughing when he said this, but it was cold and hard as a slap. Kai flinched.
"No, only keep you from following us until you had healed, you are a free man." Kai limped over to the other side of the bed, not looking at Zev. She focused on the little round bellies rising and falling while the twins slept. She touched them and started to bend over to kiss them, but pain from her wounded side forced a small cry involuntarily from her lips along with a sharp intake of breath. Fiona came over immediately as Wynne was by the fireplace setting up a teapot for more of the bitter willow bark tea. At least she would have honey to sweeten it here. It would make it a little more tolerable going down.
The twins, hearing Mommy's voice even in distress, woke up and started fussing. Fiona helped her get situated and gently placed the twins for Kai. The usual bliss infused her being, along with the happiness of being with them again. That was until she looked up to see that Zev had left the room without even a comment.
Kai felt a tear slide down her cheek. Wynne walked over and brushed it away while feeding her the cup of tea. "Not too much, the twins don't need it." Wynne stroked her hair while she sipped from the cup Wynne held for her. "He is at war with himself, child, give him some time."
"Ha, I doubt that." Kai felt another tear slide down.
"You didn't see what I saw, child, when you gasped in pain, he started towards you. He is at war with himself."
"Oh Wynne, I hurt him on a level I don't think anyone else has, not even his Rinna. All the others have been strangers or Crows, the Crows he expected it from. It was how Vimaro ran his house. Rinna, too, was raised to be a cold-hearted killer like him. He thought better of me on a lot of levels, I suppose. Why he should I don't really know, and now he finds I am no better." Kai gasped back a sob.
"Don't say that!" Wynne's voice was all fury. It broke Kai out of her self-loathing by startling her with its vehemence. "Don't ever compare yourself to that walking monster and his snake of a lover! And if he can't see that you are different, then he is the one with the problem, but don't ever let me hear you say such a thing again! Especially not after all you went through to get him back when he was foolish enough to go running after Vimaro in the first place." Wynne started to pace. "What is it with young people?" The mage looked over at Fiona, who only shrugged and shook her head, but she had a quirk to her lips like she was trying not to smile. Wynne turned back to her, "Did you hear me, young woman?"
Kai blushed, "Yes, mom...erm...ma'am!" Kai grinned at her. Wynne just huffed and gestured for Fiona to help her take the twins so Wynne could put fresh bandages on her wounds. Fiona took care of burping, changing, and getting the twins back to sleep. ai allowed Wynne to minister to her wounds, including a new bandage for her shoulder which was still healing. Kai felt like a quilt. When it was all done, they convinced her to go downstairs so they could all get something to eat, especially her, so they reversed their earlier slow trek down the hallway and down the stairs to the main hall.
Her friends were all sitting as they had before, but Sten and Oghren and Shale were playing checkers. Zev was now there as well, his face completely expressionless, sitting at the table with Leliana. Kai just looked away and placed herself carefully in a chair next to Morrigan, lowering herself gingerly with Wynne's help, while Fiona went off to find some food. Kai found she wasn't hungry at all. In fact, she still had ice in her stomach, and Zev's cold gaze wasn't helping. She watched everyone except Zev and Leli, since the bard was too close to him and her gaze might fall on him by accident, so she settled for watching the flames in the fireplace dance.
Fiona came back and pressed a plate with cheese, bread, and some fruit on it into her hands before going back upstairs to watch the twins, Kai smiled her appreciation. She began to spread the creamy cheese on the bread and take bites along with slices of pear and apple, but the food just seemed to have a hard time going down and what did just sat there. She put the plate aside on the little table between her and Morrigan.
"You should be mindful of eating, Warden, we wouldn't want your health to fail so you wind up back to the Fade, now would we?" Zev's voice was neutral to anyone who didn't know him, but undercurrent of coldness, wasn't hard to miss for those who knew him, Kai flinched again.
Before Wynne could say anything, it was Leliana who broke in, "Oh, since we are all here, I want to tell a story, I'm working on Kai's exploits. But this is a story you all don't know, it's about what happened when Kai met with Master Ignacio at the Gnawed Noble Tavern. I don't have all the background music to the tale yet, but I have the telling of it down." The pretty bard smiled at everyone in the room, her eyes lingering on Zev.
"Leliana, really, I gave them the basics, it isn't necessary...," Kai trailed off as the bard began to pout slightly
"But Zev hasn't heard, he has been comatose, and, I would like the feedback" Leliana brightened again.
"Well, I was there, so if you don't mind. I'll skip it and go to bed." Kai flushed and started to try to get herself out of the chair.
"What is the matter, my dear Warden, too modest to hear of your own exploits?" Zev asked her, Kai blushed harder.
"Oh but you can't go, you were there, and I want you to make sure I got my facts straight" Leliana flashed Kai a brilliant smile. Kai just blushed harder and looked away. "So there was Kai all dressed in black with her face covered waiting like a big black cat for the mouse to come to the doorway."
Kai snorted, "Leli, please, a big black cat?" Kai blushed even more, "More like I was sweltering in my cloak to keep my appearance hidden."
"Oh you take all the romance out of it," Leli chastised her, "I said correct me if I got the facts wrong, not if I embellished, Kai." And Leliana went on, and with each sentence she had Kai's cheeks burning and her shoulders hunching, and she wished she could be anywhere, well except The Deep Roads, but here. Kai kept trying to tune Leli's voice out and scrunch down, as much as her wounded belly would allow her, into the chair making herself small as possible.
She also wished she was well enough to get up and get some cognac. She wanted to swig it like Ignacio had. Leliana went on to describe how she had started off friendly enough, but placed Concha's finger in the glass. She continued with Kai's revealing herself as the Grey Warden, and now Scathach, how Kai had showed Ignacio Vimaro's ring then given him the man's head in a huge glass jar of honey sealed with wax. She painted a story of Kai threatening to bring down not only The House of Crows, but also the nobility they served, effectively crippling all of Antiva.
Kai just wished Leli would stop. She couldn't even risk a look to see what Zev's expression was. When he still liked her, he probably would have been equal parts angry and impressed, but now? So she just stared at her own hands sitting in her lap. "Oh our Kai was masterful, she kept twisting the knife until I actually felt sorry for poor Master Ignacio, well only a little, but it was pure artistry."
"Leli, really," was all Kai could manage to mumble, her ears felt very hot, and her cheeks were burning. Plus, she was biting her bottom lip so hard she might draw blood, "It wasn't that, um, well it was just..." Kai again trailed off at a loss for words, "cruel and vicious" came to mind, but she didn't say them. Leli was making it sound far more romantic than it was.
"I will admit I almost laughed when she told him to steel himself, that it wasn't all the bad news, but Ignacio looked positively ill!" Leliana laughed her bubbling, beautiful laugh. "She negotiated a four-hundred year contract between the Antivan Crows and Ferelden Scath. No more slavery in the Crows, all the Crows in House Vimaro belong to Kai and now the Scaths, but of their own free will. Oh, and it was made clear, and in no uncertain terms, that you were off limits, dear Zev. She was very, very clear about that. Cresconio and his house are to be, what was that word you used, Kai? Oh yes, 'absorbed' by House Serracino. Her threat at the end was a stroke of genius! It had poor Ignacio swigging really excellent cognac straight from the bottle. Let me see if I can get this exactly, " Leliana pursed her lips and put a fingertip to them in thought, then the bard pitched her voice and mimicked Kai's accent. "It might also help the peace process if you tell them this, for what Vimaro did to Zevran, it took everything in me not to seek the ultimate revenge and watch all of Antiva burn, one false move, one little thing that causes me to look at what he did to Zevran a little more closely – whether it be dragging their feet or trying any tricks – and I will set a firestorm into motion with a mere flick of my fingers across my procul globe." Leliana laughed, "Isn't that just the best? Then she told him she would love a reason, and it wouldn't take much of one." Leliana let out a delighted giggle, "I thought I would fall over laughing when she turned around at the door and Ignacio jumped, she told him to relax, she just looked forward to her discount at their booth in the marketplace!" Leliana grinned wider, "I will admit I never had as much fun when I was a bard in Orlais."
Kai couldn't look up, her face was still flaming, and she just wanted to crawl away and disappear. It was Zev's voice, quiet and without any inflection, that broke the silence. "You took over Vimaro's cell of Crows?"
Kai felt her shoulders hunching again, "Yes, well all but the seven we had to kill at the hideout.
"And they joined you without hesitation" Zev's voice, again with no inflection.
"Yes, they did, as did I. I don't believe we've met." Kai turned carefully to see Naseel coming forward from the stairway. "I was one of the novices in the house, too low ranking for you to ever have any assignments with me. I was taken off 'probation' shortly after you left." The young woman came and stood by Kai's chair. Her odd-colored eyes fixed on Zevran. "I am Naseel, and I assure you, Zevran Arainai, we did swear to follow her, all of us. We are all Scath now." Naseel offered a cold smile to Zev, "I believe our Scathach is still waiting on word from Ignacio, though." Naseel simply cocked an eyebrow at Zevran.
"I brought you the globe, Scathach, I thought you might want to check with Zaeed yourself? I told him of your injury and that you would check in as soon as possible." Naseel handed Kai the velvet bag, "I had thought to give you some time with your friends," Naseel directed a cold look at Zevran, "And to have some rest and refreshment before I bothered you. I was waiting nearby."
Kai took the globe out and tapped with her fingers. Zaeed's face appeared, and he bowed and smiled, he made motions with his hands. Ignacio had arrived in Antiva, and the negotiations were underway, Lord Cresconio was still occupied and unaware. Zaeed would keep her informed on the negotiation process as he heard news. He had people watching the talks, he assured her, and it would be amusing.
Kai smiled and made motions back, thanking him. Then Zaeed did something that surprised her, he asked her if she was all right from her injury. Kai only had a moment to pause, slightly stunned, before she answered that yes, all was well, she was healing, and she thanked him again. Zaeed bowed and smiled at her before his face disappeared. Kai put the globe back in its bag and handed it to Naseel, before translating, for everyone but Zev and Naseel, what Zaeed had to say.
"So, depending on how long it takes them to argue with each other and if I don't have to remind them that time is of the essence, then maybe nine to ten days before we get Ignacio back here in Ferelden, unless he runs into bad currents or storms while sailing back." Kai tried to figure in her head.
"Could be less, the currents flow this way from Rialto Bay," Zev's voice interjected quietly. She couldn't hazard a guess as to what he was thinking, and quite frankly she was too tired to try. Suddenly, she felt like she could just sleep in the chair. She looked at Naseel, who gave her an arm and helped her rise.
"Well, I, for one, have had a really long last couple of days. I'm going to go to bed." Kai smiled around the room vaguely, it kept her from having to look at Zev or Leli. Bloody bards and their stories, Kai fumed. Shei waved off any offers from the others to help her up the stairs, she wanted to be alone, so she just took them one step at a time like an old woman.
She finally, thank the Maker, made it to the door to the room and went in. She kissed Fiona, who was reading Zev's copy of "The Black Fox," on the cheek. Fiona put the book down and kissed her back, "I don't believe he hates you as much as you think." Fiona held up the book and then showed her the inscribed fly leaf with her handwriting still on it. That he hadn't ripped it out was something at least. "It was the book on top of the pile of books" Fiona then smiled, hugged Kai, kissed the twins and left the room.
Kai put on a clean shift to sleep in and started to get into bed when she had a thought, maybe Zev wouldn't want her in here. She should sleep with Leli, the bard wouldn't mind, and Leli owed her after that fiasco downstairs. One problem, Kai was not allowed to lift anything heavy, and the twins were off limits according to Wynne and Fiona, Fiona – Kai only hoped she had gone back to her room. Kai started to make her way to the door and almost ran into Zev coming in as she was going out. Her trying to jump back out of the way quickly caused the wound in her belly to wrench painfully, making Kai grasp it with a hand and gasp a sharp intake of breath. Zev reached out and grabbed her arm, but the grasp was neither nor friendly or cold. "Sorry, I was going to go get Fiona to help me put the twins in Leliana's room. I figured you wouldn't want me in here, so I was going to sleep with her." Kai still couldn't look him in the face, seeing his indifference hurt too much.
"Wouldn't it be easier if Leliana just moved in here, one is easier to move than three, no?" Oh that hurt. A twisting little pain around her heart. She felt tears stinging her eyes, but kept her head bowed and nodded. He walked her around to the other side of the bed and stood her next to it, then he moved away and she heard the door shut. Kai just sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders hunched. She wanted to sob, but it would wake the twins so she got under the covers and kept her back to them. She turned her head into her pillow and let the tears come. It surprised her to feel a quick touch of fingers in her hair, and then they were gone as Zev rolled over and blew out the candle.