Shadow and Rose
by Lady Norbert
A/N: We're coming down to the wire with the forty-chapter limit I've imposed, so it's probably safe to say that the remaining chapters are going to be on the long side. I trust that isn't a problem.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Duncan's Shield
The insignia of the Grey Wardens is emblazoned on this shield, which once belonged to Duncan. It was found in the Grey Warden cache in Denerim and was given to Alistair as a gift.
The future Queen of Ferelden was all smiles at the breakfast table today, with just a hint of mischief. As it turned out, she'd gotten up to a bit of something early. Oghren had accompanied her into the market district; before he left, Riordan had given her the location and necessary combination to access an old Grey Warden cache of supplies. It seems that when Maric first allowed the order back into the country, they had set up a base in Denerim, and Riordan had invited her to go and help herself to any remaining weapons or supplies that had been left there from his and Duncan's younger days.
"You once told me," she said, "that you wished you had something of Duncan's - something more personal than his sword, something that felt like his. So as soon as I found this, I knew you had to have it."
She gave me a beautiful shield. It's almost square, made of silverite and embossed with a variation of the griffon heraldry of the Grey Wardens, the variation which he'd used as a personal emblem. I recognized it right away. Even though he usually wielded sword and dagger, and didn't really use his shield much, I'd seen it many times and it hadn't even dawned on me that he might not have been carrying it when he fell. He'd had it for many years, since long before he became Ferelden's Warden-Commander.
I almost couldn't speak. "I'll treasure this," I managed. "Thank you, love. This - this means a great deal."
"Could you perhaps restrict yourselves somewhat to moments when the rest of us are not trying to eat a meal?" asked Morrigan. "'Tis most off-putting, watching you gaze into each other's eyes all the time. My appetite wanes at the very sight of it."
"Oh, hush, Morrigan, they're sweet," said Leliana. "Leave them be."
"So was it worth all the trouble?" Oghren grunted. "Queenie got me up at the ass-crack of dawn to go fetch that ruddy thing."
"Queenie?" I repeated. He just shrugged.
So everyone has split up for the day. It's safe for us to go most anywhere in Denerim now, with Loghain dead, and to be honest I'm not sure who's gone where. I know Wynne said something about visiting Brother Genitivi, and I believe Leliana went to the Chantry to do a little quiet meditation; beyond that, no idea. I'm just giving this book a quick scribble while Elissa drafts a letter to Levi Dryden - she's arranging for some supplies to be delivered to the keep - and then we're going for a walk together.
Funny story, this. The newly-elected King of Ferelden and his future Queen decided to go for a stroll through the streets of Denerim. Just the two of us, plus the dog. It might very well be the last time we have any sort of time alone together until after the final battle, so that factored into the idea. Elissa wanted to walk through the Alienage, to see how the residents there are getting on since the slavers were ousted, and it was cute the way some of the children ran up and presented her with flowers.
We were on our way back to Eamon's estate, just walking together and talking quietly. Toby was snuffling at the ground as he walked in front of us, and I don't even remember exactly what we were talking about, really. But suddenly, as we turned down a side street, Toby started growling. Elissa tried to ask him what was wrong, but she was interrupted by a voice from overhead.
"And so here is the mighty Grey Warden, at long last. The Crows send their greetings once again."
The man standing on the balustrade above us was a stranger to our eyes, but his mention of the Crows certainly got our attention. "How do you do," Elissa said coolly.
He smiled at her in an unfriendly way. He sort of reminded me of Daveth, I thought; same dark hair, same scruff, even the armor was similar. "And where is Zevran?" the man continued. "I don't see him with you - how very disappointing."
"I didn't bring him, obviously."
A large crow flapped down to the ground and started hopping around, apparently looking for food. It diverted us all for a few seconds, and then a new voice declared, "Here I am, Taliesen!"
"Zevran? What are you doing here?" Elissa looked anxious, and I got the feeling she was more worried about him than herself. Typical.
"With the greatest respect, my friends, I have been following at a distance ever since you left the Arl's estate. Grey Wardens or no, people of such high importance as yourselves should not wander about the city without a guard." He spoke calmly, but there was something hard and angry at the edge of his voice. He glared at the man he had called Taliesen. "So tell me. Were you sent, or did you volunteer for the job?"
"Oh ho, and he makes an appearance!" Taliesen smirked. "I volunteered, of course. When I heard that the great Zevran had gone rogue, I simply had to see it for myself."
It didn't take me too long to put together what was happening. This was another of the Antivan Crows, come to take Zevran back and also to complete the contract that Zevran had left unfulfilled - in other words, to kill Elissa, and probably me too. That much was clear. What I was less sure of was how Zevran would respond. He finally had his best chance to betray the trust Elissa had placed in him all this time; I waited to see if he would take it.
"It's not too late, Zevran," Taliesen was saying. "I know why you did this, and I don't blame you. Come back with me and we'll make up a story. Anyone can make a mistake."
"Mm. Of course, I'd have to be dead first," Elissa pointed out dryly.
"And I," said Zevran, his voice turning icy, "am not about to let that happen."
Whether Elissa had any doubts about his loyalty, I'm not sure even now - but I did, and with that one sentence he wiped them clean. He placed her life above his allegiance to the Crows. What I felt, what I still feel, I can't describe; it's part gratitude for his choice, part remorse for my own uncertainty, and something else for which I don't know a word. Amazement, maybe. He loves her more than he fears them, and she was right all along to believe in him. Maybe I should have been less cynical, too, after the way he helped save her from Fort Drakon and everything.
Taliesen, for his part, was disgusted. "You've gone soft!"
"I'm sorry, my old friend, but the answer is no. I won't be coming back... and you should have stayed in Antiva."
Toby was growling, his head lowered, his hindquarters raised. Too late I realized that Taliesen was, of course, not alone, and we were almost surrounded by his fellow assassins. I counted six or seven for sure. With Zevran's final declaration against the Crows, Taliesen made a hand gesture - much like the one Zevran himself once made, what feels now like a lifetime ago - and they launched the offensive.
Taliesen himself was the last to fall. He managed to get a pretty good hit on me, right before Zevran sliced his throat from behind. The crow we'd seen earlier had remained present throughout the fighting (come to think of it, that seems a little strange) and it flew over and started pecking almost mindlessly at one of the shiny buckles on the dead man's armor.
"And there it is," said Zevran softly, sheathing his blade. "Taliesen is dead - and I am free of the Crows."
"Really?" Elissa had been cleaning the blood from her armor, with Toby's help. "So easily?"
"They will assume I am dead along with Taliesen. So long as I do not make my presence known, they will not seek me out."
"And that's a good thing, right?" I asked.
"A very good thing." He smiled, a little sadly. "It is, in fact, what I have hoped for, ever since your fair lady decided not to kill me so many months ago."
"So what will you do now?" Elissa moved to stand beside me, facing him.
"I suppose I would be free to leave now, if I wished," he mused. "Go someplace far away, where the Crows would never find me. I think, however, that I could also stay here - I made an oath to help you, after all, and saving the world seems a worthy task to see through to the end. Yes?"
"I would like you to stay," she said in her gentle voice. "If that is what you wish, then stay with us. As a friend."
His smile became bigger. "Then I will stay. I am with you until the end."
Elissa gave a small laugh and, apparently seized by impulse, threw her arms around Zevran in a tight embrace. He looked very surprised, but lifted his own arms to return the hug, and laughed as well. Releasing her, he looked into her eyes and shook his head, smiling, and then turned to me. "Your Majesty -"
I raised a hand to stop him. "My friends call me Alistair."
He chuckled. "Alistair, then. I think you will be a great king, you know. Especially with a queen such as this one. And if my life or my death is serviceable to either of you, then you have it. After all, I have to secure my own place in your history books, do I not?"
We related the afternoon's adventure to the rest of our companions over supper. Zevran got a little extravagant in the telling; by the time he was finished, Taliesen's group had grown to twelve men, plus a pair of trained hawks who tried to pluck out my eyeballs. I don't think anyone was fooled, but it was too entertaining to bother correcting him anyway. Now for the last night's sleep we'll have in proper beds for some time.
One final meal at the Arl's estate, and we're back on the road. For their own safety, Elissa has sent Bodahn and Sandal along with the food supplies to Soldier's Peak, so we don't have them with us as we make our way back to Redcliffe. Considering what we're going to be doing once we arrive and muster the troops, the mood is oddly cheerful among our party.
It was Leliana who first raised the question. "So what is everyone going to do once this is all over?"
"Well, apparently, I'm going to be King," I said, which earned a few small chuckles. "I hope you'll all be sticking around to see this happen."
"Also the wedding," Elissa pointed out with a smile. "It won't be the same if you're not all there."
I could have predicted most of the responses. Leliana is considering making a visit to Val Royeaux, where she grew up. Wynne will most likely go back to the Circle, Sten to Par Vollen. Oghren's entire plan involves getting drunk and passing out for three days. Zevran thinks he might join him. Morrigan refused to speculate. But Shale's is by far the most memorable answer.
"I intend to launch an offensive," she told us. "I will single-handedly bring about the extinction of pigeons in this country. I will explore all the coastlines, and the forests, and I shall squish the feathered fiends wherever they hide."
"Well. It's... good to have goals," Leliana said finally.