Author's Note: Ah, 50 chapters already! It feels like I just started writing this a few days ago. (Turns out it was June.) Time flies! Anyway, thanks to everyone reviewing and following along. You're all so great! This chapter has some different POV's in it, Sten and Leliana, and both were very fun to write, so I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 50 - The Lay Sisters Secret
"If you don't mind my asking, how long did you live in Lothering?"
Leliana glanced over at Serena as they walked side by side up the trail. She was rubbing her gloved hands together, her cloak pulled tight against the wind. Leliana supposed the rather intense cold was probably taking its toll on her, since she hailed from the more balmy coastlands in the north. Lothering had hardened Leliana to it, luckily, as the weather in the south was prone to rapid changes.
Behind her, Zevran was complaining loudly about the freezing temperatures, his tan skin going slightly paler in the freezing wind. Leliana felt a laughing smile push at her lips. Of course the Antivan would find this weather dreadful.
In the snow, the Feddic's wagon moved just as quickly as the rest of them could walk, so they had decided to move ahead to Haven on foot. The two dwarves, Bodahn and his son, were staying in a town just to the east of the Frostbacks, awaiting their return.
Up ahead of them, Morrigan was leading the way through the snowy passages, her sleek black wolf body contrasting harshly against the bluish-white snowdrifts. Serena's mabari was happily bouncing along behind the shifted witch, and Leliana could see Serena was watching him with amusement as the dog pushed his face into the snow, shaking like mad.
Realizing Serena was still expecting an answer, Leliana shook herself out of her musings, blushing lightly. "Ah, my apologies... I spent... a little over two years in the cloister at Lothering."
Serena nodded, as if the long pause was nothing unusual. "And before that, you lived in Orlais, right? Val Royeaux?"
"Yes." She paused. "I... found myself in Ferelden during quite a storm. I sheltered from the bad weather in the Chantry. And when the storm passed, I just... did not want to leave." Leliana shrugged, her cloak billowing around her. "I like to say the Maker brought me here."
"I'm surprised you stayed in the Chantry," Serena replied. "With your skills, you could have made serious coin traveling town to town..." Serena caught Leliana's eye, arching an eyebrow. "You know, singing and such. Did you do well in Orlais?"
"I feel like there is a double meaning to your question," Leiana said demurely.
"I heard in Orlais, that... minstrels were often spies." Serena shrugged her own heavily cloaked shoulders. "One doesn't learn to be that good with a weapon only reading the Chant of Light, no?"
"Not all minstrels are spies, most are just singers and storytellers. But some of them are... are what we call bards." Leliana marched through the snow, her insides now feeling as cold as her outside. She could sense Zevran was now listening to their conversation, although wisely he stayed just far enough that Serena did not appear to notice him. "I thought perhaps... since you often referred to me as a bard, you... knew."
"So, there is a difference!" Serena said excitedly, as if she just won a point in a game. "I wanted to ask before, but Alistair said not to..." She looked back quickly, as if checking to see if the templar was paying any attention to them. "He didn't want me to upset you."
"I am not upset," Leliana replied, and found she was actually speaking the truth. "Many use the two words "minstrel" and "bard" interchangeably, but to do so in Orlais could cause a... rather grave misunderstanding. Bards are minstrels, and more." She grinned slightly. "So much more."
"Many bards work alone, or in small groups, doing the bidding of a patron who pays for their services..." Leliana paused, wondering if maybe she was telling their roguish leader a bit too much, and perhaps even putting her in danger, but the intrigued look on Serena's face was so tempting. "Nobles and their families, mostly, as I'm sure you can imagine."
"I could see a bit of that happening around Ferelden, actually," Serena said with a tiny smirk. "Considering the current political climate..."
"In Orlais, there is much rivalry amongst the high-born. They fight over land, influence, and the favor of the empress. But they cannot do this openly because..." The bard glanced at Serena, but the brunette was now staring obstinately at her boots as they traipsed through the snow, her hair a curtain blocking her face from Leliana's view. "...It is impolite, and in public they wear smiling faces and pretend to be civil. But in secret, they plot and scheme to destroy each other. It is a game completely meaningless to anyone but its players."
"Did you... kill people? You must have, right?" Serena tucked her long hair into her hood and pursed her lips, as if unsure whether she should continue. Her emotions played plainly across her features, and in that moment, Leliana could see exactly what Alistair found so endearing about the brown-haired beauty. "You don't have to tell me anything, if you don't want to. I'd understand."
"I... it is... well..." Leliana chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to find a way to phrase what she wanted to say without outright frightening Serena. "I came to Ferelden... and the Chantry because... I was being hunted, in Orlais." She saw Serena's eyes go a bit wider, but otherwise, the woman had little reaction to her admission other than catching her full attention. "What happened to me... maybe it will affect us, maybe not, but you should know."
They passed into a canyon between the great snowy mountains and the momentary break from the wind was a welcome relief. Leliana could heard Zevran sigh, murmuring something in Antivan as he moved to stand behind the qunari, using him a shield against the cold.
Serena's voice was barely above a whisper as she moved closer to Leliana. "Who is hunting you? I mean, they aren't now, right? You've been here all this time..."
"I do not know if Marjolaine is still watching me, perhaps she has given up. It has been a long time." At Serena's quizzical look, Leliana smiled. "I should probably start from the beginning, hmm?"
"It would help," Serena said softly.
"I was framed, betrayed by someone I thought I knew and could trust. Marjolaine- she was my mentor... and friend. She taught me the bardic arts- how to enchant with words and song, to carry myself like a high-born lady, to blend in as a servant..." Leliana pulled at a bit of loose thread on her cloak, her hands greedy for something to do. "The skills I learned I used to serve her as my bard-master, because I loved her, and because I enjoyed what I did."
"Did she love you back? How... how did she betray you?" Serena's blue eyes were soft, and Leliana could tell she was thinking of her relationship with Alistair, and if Leliana meant the same sort of love.
"You could say it was my fault," Leliana replied, purposefully ignoring the question. "There was a man I was sent to kill. I was to bring Marjolaine everything he carried. I don't know who this man was. She gave me a name and a description, and I hunted him down. I found documents on his body- sealed documents."
"Important ones, I imagine."
"It turns out that they were. My... curiosity... got the better of me. Something told me I needed to know what was in those letters." Leliana sighed. "Marjolaine... had been selling all kinds of information about Orlais to other countries- Nevarra and Antiva, among others. It was treason."
"Maybe this is a stupid thing to say, but... isn't that... what bards do? Spy on people and give them information they probably shouldn't have?"
"I... yes, I suppose, but... I had always assumed Marjolaine only operated within Orlais. This was an unhappy surprise for me. My life as a bard taught me that my loyalties should be kept fluid." Leliana put a hand to her head, rubbing out a headache that was starting to form. "My concern was not that she was a traitor, but that her life would be in danger if she was caught. Orlais has been at war with so many countries over the years... it takes a harsh view of such things... as I later discovered.
"Oh no... what did she do? This... Marjolaine?"
"I should have left well enough alone, but I didn't. I had to tell Marjolaine I feared for her life. She brushed aside my concern, however. She admitted her guilt, but said it was in the past. That is why the documents has to be destroyed, she said. I believed her. I kept believing, up until the moment they showed me the documents, altered by her hand to make me look the traitor."
"Who is... they?" Leliana glanced quickly at Serena and noticed her blue eyes were shining.
"The Orlesian guards. They captured me... did terrible things to make me confess and reveal my conspirators... It was a traitor's punishment I endured, and at the end of it, all that awaited me was eternity in an unmarked grave."
"Oh, my goodness, Leli... I'm so sorry!" Serena wrapped an arm around Leliana's shoulders, hugging her sideways. "How did you get out?"
"The skills Marjolaine taught me were good for something, at least," the redhead replied softly. While she thought of her imprisonment nearly every day, Serena's empathy almost made her feel it more this time. "I broke free when I saw the opportunity. I did not seek Marjolaine out. If she thought I was coming for her, she would have me caught again..."
"And that's how you came to Lothering," Serena replied, her eyes closing briefly.
"I was tempted to confront her; I was furious, betrayed, but what could I do against her? And so I fled, to Ferelden, to the Chantry and the Maker. Ferelden protected my person, and the Maker... saved my soul. And... that is the reason I am here."
Next to her, Leliana noticed Serena had slowed, her eyes still closed. What was she doing? Holding back tears? Surely Leliana's story hadn't shocked her that much, had it?
That was when she noticed Serena was swooping down, picking up a white ball of fluff from near her boots. In her arms she held a fat little bunny, it's nose twitching against the cold. Murmuring quietly to it, she moved closer to Leliana, gently passing her the fluffy rabbit.
"I thought maybe... you could use some furry affection for a bit," the young woman said, smiling. "This little guy was already out scavenging, and I promised him some of my rations for this favor."
"He's beautiful," Leliana cooed, removing one of her gloves so she could feel the rabbit's fur on her skin. "How do you... how do you get them to come?"
"I call to them," Serena said. "Sometimes they do not reply, but usually the promise of food is enough for someone to make an appearance, even out in this cold. Some come to me simply out of curiosity. 'Who is it that understands my language?' they wonder." The rogue pulled a bit of dried roots from her rations, handing them to Leliana. "He likes these best." She wrinkled her nose at the rabbit. "Or so he says!"
Leliana felt her apprehension slowly start to ease as she held the rabbit in her arms, snuggling it against her cheeks while it munched on the roots.
"Don't worry about that woman, Marjolaine. If she... if she tries anything... well, we took care of Zevran, didn't we?" Serena grinned, one of her daggers out, flipping idly in her gloved hand. "This is assuming she's stupid enough to go up against a mob of nutcases consisting of two Grey Wardens, a qunari with a bad attitude, two powerful mages, and two extremely talented assassins."
"I was a bard," Leliana corrected, smiling slightly.
"But you killed people for money and whatnot. Same song and dance, really," Serena reasoned. "Only with more... song and dance, I suppose." She giggled at her own joke. "Plus, there's Peanut, who when not chasing squirrels, is occasionally ferocious. Don't worry. We'd die to protect you, and this Marjolaine would have to be mad to want to-"
"Oh, Andraste's flaming sword! I know where babies come from, Wynne!"
Serena turned her head slightly to listen, her cheeks blushing slightly. "Uh oh..."
"Do you, Alistair? Truly?" Wynne's voice was teetering on jubilant.
"I certainly hope so!" the templar cried, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
"She really gets entirely too much amusement out of torturing him," Serena said quietly to Leliana, shaking her head. "I told him not to call her old-" She paused, listening to their back and forth again.
"...Because you're wicked. That frail old lady act? I'm so not fooled!" Alistair called, marching his way past the laughing mage to where Leliana and Serena were walking. "I'm on to her now," he murmured to Serena.
"Everything alright?" Serena asked, arching an eyebrow at the man.
The blonde huffed. "Fine! She just... babies! As if... I was trying... we weren't... she does it on purpose, you know." Alistair frowned, his cheeks still red from the cold and embarrassment. "I almost miss it when she was all 'your love is doooooomed' and 'you should both be forever alooooooone' and 'are you looking at Serena's butt? Because there's a Blight to stop'."
Serena giggled, pushing at his arm. "Stop it."
"Oh, Wynne didn't really say any of that, did she?" Leliana asked, looking between the two of them.
"Not quite to that extent, no," Serena replied, exchanging significant looks with Alistair. "She takes the motherly bit too far sometimes, though." She shrugged, grasping his hand briefly. "No matter. We ought to start looking for a good place to camp for the evening soon. Or at least a rest."
Alistair peered up at the late afternoon sky beyond the canyon peaks. "That map of Genitivi's says the village should be another day's walk, or so. If we keep on the trail until early evening, we could reach it by midday tomorrow, I'll bet." He glanced about, noticing the rabbit in Leliana's arms for the first time. "Bunny!"
Leliana smiled, beginning to hand him the rabbit but he waved her away.
"No, no, I don't want him to get poked by my gauntlets." Alistair put an arm around Serena's shoulders, smiling broadly. "Besides, whenever this one has a good dream now, all the squirrels and birds in the area come poking about our tent."
"I... can't help it, sometimes..." Serena said with a deep blush. "I am getting better, though. At least they aren't coming in the tent anymore..."
Ahead of them, Peanut suddenly let out a short series of barks and Leliana watched as Serena's head tipped slightly, as if she was interpreting the dog. Given the scope of her new abilities, perhaps she actually was.
"Is it the darkspawn?" Leliana asked, setting the bunny back down on the ground and pulling her bow from her back.
Alistair shook his head. "I don't think so..." Removing his father's sword from it's sheath, he exchanged a quick look with Serena.
"Bandits," she said, pulling her daggers. "Morrigan is stalking them while Peanut distracts." Slipping forward, she and Alistair disappeared around the bend.
"That is amazing." Leliana murmured. She turned to the others. "Ready your weapons, we might be in for a fight."
The bandits, as it turned out, were a group of men, crazed from the loss of their families, from a nearby village in the mountains. Darkspawn had overrun it in the night while they were out hunting, and everyone had been slaughtered. Men, woman, children... everyone left behind by the hunting party. Serena felt for them. She knew first hand what it felt like to losing everything you knew in the span of a night.
Once they realized Serena and her companions were friendly, their leader, a bearded man named Kuno, had apologized for attacking them so readily.
"You can't imagine what it's been like in these woods," he said, gesturing miserably to the forest around them. "Blighted animals hunt us nearly as much as the darkspawn do."
"Ser, I know it isn't much, after all you and your men have suffered... but my fellow here and I are Grey Wardens, sworn to defend against the darkspawn." Serena gestured to Alistair. "If you'd like, your men are welcome to camp with my companions and I for the evening."
"Thank you, dear lady. It's been three nights since the attack, my men are exhausted... We're trying to get down to the valley... to Gherlen's Pass. The darkspawn push ever further into our lands." Kuno sighed, watching his men tiredly. "Alright men, let's help these fine folks set up camp."
And that is how they ended up over twenty people strong for the night. Not that it helped at all.
For the first time since he had agreed to accompany this band of fools on the Grey Warden's quest, Sten felt content. The men staying with them for the night were true warriors, hardened by experience and maturity. Kuno and his fellows reminded him of his brothers in the Beresaad.
The two Grey Wardens, while talented fighters, were impulsive and prone to over-emotional losses of control in the middle of battle, especially when one of them became injured. The elf was much better disciplined, Sten supposed this came of his training as an assassin, but still he lacked the ability to focus on the battle at large, instead putting all his attention into the few closest opponents.
The other women... Sten didn't even want to consider them as fighters. The Qun regarded women as equal to men, but not as warriors. Priests perhaps, or craftspeople, or teachers, but certainly never as soldiers. The mages, especially, could hardly be counted on to do any more in battle than confuse the surrounding fighters with flashy lights and loud noises.
Out of all of his companions, Sten felt only the female Warden's hound showed any promise as a true warrior. Fierce, strong, and disciplined, the hound alone fulfilled the requirements of a genuine fighter. Considering how respected the mabari were around Ferelden, he wondered why the people themselves didn't model more of their behavior after the dogs.
Tonight, he and the bard had second watch, starting around midnight. Two of Kuno's men joined them, each taking turns circling the camp. Sten was watching the fire when he heard soft noises coming from the tent the two Grey Wardens shared. Glancing at the bard, he saw she was covering her mouth with one hand, trying to not giggle, and he rolled his eyes. He had thought the two of them could be more discreet than this, but...
In a rush, the female Warden scrambled out of the tent, her daggers held at the ready. "Where is it? Where are they?"
"Serena, I think it was just a-" The male Warden appeared next, pulling an extra shirt on against the cold and rubbing his eyes. "Hey, calm down..." He looked apologetically at Sten, shrugging. "Bad dreams."
"It wasn't just a dream, Alistair! You felt it! The bloody thing saw us!" Serena's eyes hunted around the camp as she pulled on her boots. "Who is patrolling?"
"Cohen," answered one of Kuno's men. "But... I suppose I haven't seen him in a bit. I could go-"
"No, we'll go. Alistair, grab Maric's sword. It's sharper than Duncan's." Serena shoved another dagger in her boot and pulled her cloak around her shoulders before turning to her hound. "Peanut, guard them." The hound let out a bark before trotting over to sit at Sten's side.
"What is going on, Warden?" Sten asked.
"Darkspawn, I think." Serena glanced up at the moon, her eyes closing. "Blight..."
"I think it might-" Alistar began, remerging from their tent, his father's sword in hand. As if in answer, the sword began to glow a soft eerie blue. He cursed.
Morrigan emerged from her own tent now, her staff already glowing. "What is happening?" she demanded.
"Benjen!" The man named Cohen stumbled into the clearing, clutching at his head. "Benjen! Kuno!" Serena ran to him as all around the camp their companions and Kuno's men started emerging from their tents, poking curious heads out.
"It was a bloody owl, came out of nowhere!" Cohen yelled, pulling his hand back from the wound. Serena grimaced as she took in the damage. One of the man's eyes had been clawed badly, and the wounds were still bleeding heavily.
"Get up, everyone, up, up!" Serena called loudly. She pulled the man to her tent where she started to bandage his head. "This'll have to do until we can-"
Overhead, a flock of enormous owls covered the camp, their cries almost deafening, as Leliana stood up, her bow at the ready. Aiming carefully, she shot a steady stream of arrows, and Sten watched as one, two, three owls fell to the ground around their fire. Morrigan's wand lit up and two more ferocious looking owls fell to the ground. So, perhaps he had misjudged the women... slightly.
Another man cried out as an owl swooped down at him, one of Leliana's arrows already poking out of its body. The owls were much larger than normal, with strange split beaks that cracked into four sharp pieces. A blood red eye stared at Sten as he moved, slicing Asala through the air to cut the owl in two.
Suddenly the camp was pandemonium as people moved to grab weapons and armor. A screeching call sounded from the south, and Sten turned to face it, his sword dripping blood. Behind him, Serena and Alistair were both shouting as darkspawn materialized out of the forest around them.
A mixture of shouts and screams, yelling and crying all flooded his ears but Sten tuned it all out, allowing the calm fury he always felt during battle wash over him. His movements became fluid; his sword, his soul, all became one. Darkspawn fell before him, tall hulking ones Alistair called hurlocks, and short fat ones they called genlocks. All fell before him as he swung Asala about.
Serena felt panic rise up in her chest as she pushed the injured man, Cohen, into their tent to protect him from the Blighted owls that bared down on their camp. She could sense more in the forest, animals, Blighted and not, pushing their way to get away from the oncoming...
"Darkspawn!"