A/N: My, my! It's been a while since our last meeting. For those who didn't have the chance to check my deviantART last week, I'd announced a small alteration in the fanfiction schedule. RL problems aside, I got sick as well, so I couldn't organize my stuff as I was planning to do, so I needed that time "away" to put everything back into their place.

But don't worry - Everything is perfectly fine now, and hopefully there will be no more delays for the next two weeks, at least. And better! My dear beta worked very hard with me these days, and thanks to her, I will post twice next week :D

Also, there's a poll on my profile regarding a new story, related to this one. Your opnion is always important, so I would love to hear what you think about it.

Last but not least, JordanMathias had found a small error regarding Mahariel's Joining (chapter 15) which I will be fixing still this week. It will not interfere in the main storyline - it's just to make the story consistent to the Dragon Age Universe. Thanks Jordan! ;D

That's it. I hope you all enjoy! ;D

P.S - 16th Artwork is available. Check my gallery ;D

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Chapter 24

Leliana

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"Definitely, saving your life is my new job," Alistair joked while bandaging Kallian's wrist. She was sitting on one of the low, broken walls surrounding the place while the Templar was standing in front of her, tending the small cut that was on her arm. Around them, three men were lying dead on the floor.

Kallian growled softly, rolling her eyes, "Not this again..."

"From now on, you should call me 'The Incredible, Skilled and Handsome guardian of the little beings'." Alistair said and smiled, finishing off the bandage.

"How about 'Silly and cocky lame boy'?" Kallian replied, hiding the bandages beneath her leather bracer. "Don't tell anyone about this. My day is already bad enough without Morrigan's smart comments..."

"It'll be our dirty little secret." Alistair blinked, reaching for her, which she allowed without complain. "Why lame, by the way? I'm not ..."

Kallian cleared her throat, raising her eyebrows as soon as her feet touched the ground. By her expression, the answer was written all over her face.

"Oh... Right. No nicknames, then." Although he answered it seriously, he failed to hide the pleased smile that crossed his lips. "Buuut, that makes four against one."

"Four?" She asked as they started walking, frowning deeply.

"Tower." He began to enumerate the facts with his fingers. "Forest, twice. And now today. See? Four!"

"I saved you twice in the forest, too," she grumbled. "The Ogre part doesn't count, because I wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if I wasn't trying to save you."

"Oookay, so it's three against two, but I'm still winning." He poked her arm several times, trying get her to stop ignoring him. When she turned to him angrily, all she found was a teasing expression on his face, alongside that strangely cute, lopsided smile that had the power to make her change her mind, which made her almost forget why she was angry with him at all.

Kallian stopped, placed a hand on her hips and raised two fingers on his direction. "It's a draw - two against two. Today, I definitely didn't need your help."

"Okay... You never need my help." Despite having rolled his eyes, his playful expression soon gave way to seriousness. "What did they want? Were they Loghain's men?"

"Yes... Mercenaries hired by him..." Kallian said, gritting her teeth, "Looking for some fun." She growled, pronouncing the last word with more bitterness than she thought she was capable of doing.

The little elf was on her way back to the meeting point, when she saw three men cornering a girl in one of the empty alleys farthest from the crowd. She managed to rescue the girl, who fled at the first opportunity, but it caused their attention to turn towards Kallian - The insolent, yellow-eyed knife-ear, she'd heard one of them say. She was defending herself without much of a problem, but she knew very well that she was outnumbered, and it would hurt her, eventually. Alistair arrived shortly after the first bandit fell, and found the elf with her wrist already injured. After much reluctance, the redhead ended up accepting his help.

She didn't need to say any more for Alistair to understand where she was going, and suddenly his chest was filled with remorse for having killed them so quickly, so mercyfully. In his time at the Chantry, countless women had gone there over the years because of the cruelty of men. He not only witnessed, but also helped to treat these victims when he was younger, and some of them - if not all - had never left his mind.

They were horrible memories.

When Kallian said that about the mercenaries looking for fun, his mind travelled a few years back in time, and he imagined her in that very same situation - beaten, hurted, with her body struggling to live while her soul begged to die. Just thinking about the possibility of her deep and expressive eyes losing their light ...

The truth was that Alistair had become very fond of the little elf in the few weeks they had spent together. She was a difficult, very difficult person, to say the least. It was as if they both were too far apart, in totally different places, but he could feel that with every passing day he was becoming closer to her. He was aware of the big gap between them - an enormous chasm between their worlds that he didn't quite understand yet, but that he was willing to cover the distance at all costs.

It was hard for him to wake up every morning and face the fact that his mentor and friend, the closest person to a father he ever had was gone, as well as his friends from the order. He didn't know how to face this new situation; Indeed, he avoided even thinking about it. Anyone who saw the Templar kidding and joking would never guess that behind his foolish smile was hidden so much pain. He did everything he could to avoid facing it, using his good humor as a shield.

And that was why Kallian was so good for him - she didn't criticize his manners nor doubt his suggestions, like everyone else did. Alistair knew very well that she had no idea of the reasons behind his actions, or how much the little freedom she gave him truly meant, but even so, she gave him exactly what he needed to easy his mind - at least a little bit.

She was his safe harbor in the storm of his life.

With her, Alistair could afford to be himself. She treated him as an equal, regardless of his origin or his royal blood, and his heart couldn't ask for anything more, even if it was just a horrible lie. He dared not to tell her that he was, in fact, the bastard son of Maric Theirin, Cailan's father, and risk being treated differently, like everyone else had always done. Because that's how everyone saw him - while he was an trump, a security measure to keep the throne in the family, he'd also been a threat to the reign of his half brother.

No, he preferred to keep it a secret, to protect the precious link they had.

Protect her, not only because Kallian was wise in her decisions, or because she laughed at his jokes, but because she had this strange thing that made him feel that it was the right thing to do. It was what his heart wanted - and to think that he might have failed ...

With much effort, and after taking several deep breaths, the question began to form on his lips, "Did... Did they …?" Alistair began, but the words died in his throat. Died because he was afraid of the answer.

Kallian nodded slowly, with such sadness in her eyes that Alistair doubted if she was telling the truth.

"No," she replied, staring at nothing. She did this often when she was thinking. Or at least that's what Alistair concluded on his own, after weeks of watching her from afar.

He might not know it, but he was right. The mind of the little elf traveled miles back home, more specifically focusing on Shianni. It was impossible not to connect one thing to another, and not remember and relive every moment of that bloody day. She often thought that everything ended the way it had because she hasn't been fast enough or strong enough or smart enough... Something she should have been able to do, but she'd failed miserably, and the guilt tormented her constantly.

"Are you sure?" he asked, still suspicious, praying silently for her to repeat the same answer.

"Even if they had, it's not any of your business," she growled, stopping suddenly. "I don't know why the hell you care..."

"Me neither, but I do care!" He snapped, starting to get upset. Why it was so hard for her to believe him?

"You're all the same..." She whispered through gritted teeth, not necessarily to him.

"You're wrong!" He exclaimed his voice filled with pain, making Kallian wake from her brief reverie. For him, being compared with those blighted bastards was the same as punching him the nose. He was incapable of committing such an atrocity, and the pain of knowing that this was how the little elf thought about him was clearly reflected in his eyes. She didn't know how to answer, and started to feel guilty for her harsh, precipitated words. Before she could say anything, Alistair looked at her, whispering one last outburst before turning his back to her and walking towards the meeting point on his own, "I'm not like them."

For the first time in her whole life, Kallian trully regretted she had opened her mouth.

Kallian

Things got a little tense between us.

No word was said, and the silence reigned while we were waiting for Noah and Mahariel. Morrigan was already there when we arrived, but thanks to Shaw-Shaw, who apparently had been bothering her for a while, she said nothing. Funny how the dog seemed to like the Witch, even knowing that everyone else had some reservations towards her . Or maybe he was just too smart and pestered her for fun.

As much as I was enjoying myself watching the little white ox jumping on Morrigan, mainly because of her awkward dance full of evasive maneuvers, I decided to opt for the most reasonable choice and save my dog from a inevitable fireball.

"Shaw," I called and soon he began to hop, finding his place between my legs with such a beautiful canine smile that made me forgive him for almost knocking me to the ground with his gentle brutality.

"Keep that flea bag away from me, Warden," Morrigan complained, but I didn't answer. Shaw-shaw was a good boy, despite being a bit captious sometimes. I didn't have the courage to scold him - what would I do? Prohibit him from being happy?

Nah.

Speaking of happiness, Noah arrived shortly thereafter, with Mahariel following him a few steps behind. I didn't quite understand why they were together, but by the expression on their faces, it was clear that I would be signing my death sentence if I asked. Now that I stop to think about it... He was a bit different.

Right, he was frowning, with evil eyes and clenched teeth, but even behind the scowl I could see that he was thoughtful. You know, the eyebrows were less contracted and the veins in his neck were less visible. Oh, his lips didn't had that slight curvature that resembles the snout of a dog growling either.

I wonder what happened between the two to make them like this...

"Let's go." With a bestial growl, Noah called them, entering the Inn without waiting for us. I shrugged, looking instinctively for Alistair, but my eyes met only the emptiness that his absence had left when he went into the old house.

For me, it was as if he had slammed the door in my face.

Mahariel

We entered the Inn, and it was just as chaotic there as it was was outside. The place was housing more than its capacity allowed, and the voices of people talking could easily muffle even my loudest thoughts.

The place had two floors. The first was more like a bar, with tables and chairs scattered throughout the place and a small counter near the entrance, with a white-haired man behind it, apparently too busy with so many people talking to him at the same time. There was simple and straight staircase, which I believe leds to upstairs rooms. I never quite understood this incoherent human architecture, but that was how it normally worked.

The old man looked at us as soon as the door closed, and as if by magic, everyone stopped talking when his scream cut through the air. "Hey, you!" He bellowed, nervously waving his hands in the air to get our attention. More specifically Noah and Alistair's attention. "Leave your slaves outside, yes?! This place is already too full for me to have to worry about this kind of inconvenience!"

"Inconveniences? Slave? Oh, you shemlen son-of-a..." I took one step ahead, while considering taking the bow off my back, but Da'shal grabbed my arm before I could do anything. When our eyes met, in a fraction of a second, I questioned her decision silently. She was also offended, and the fact that she was so quiet surprised me.

Definitely she had no elvhen pride at all.

And then came her reply - there was disgust and hatred hidden between the different shades of gold and orange that her eyes reflected. Her breathing was intense and her grip on my arm was so strong that I had doubts if she wanted to hold me or prevent herself from doing something rash. I didn't understand what she wanted to prove by keeping us in position of submission, but again I decided to follow her request and finally lowered my arm.

In the next second, Noah was in front of us, his sword loosed from its sheath.

"Funny that you don't have time to take care of your customers, but have time enough to be a racist," he growled - Yes, growled, like a wild beast, and the hoarse sound of his voice gave me chills. "There are no slaves here. But... If you still have a problem with them..." He raised his sword and plunged it to the floor in front of him with such force that I retreated two steps in order to escape the fissure that had spread through the planks when the blade cut through the wood. "You can discuss it with my sword."

I was impressed with his strength. It was beyond anything I had ever seen. With one hand he had been able to, not only lift that big piece of gold and steel, but also open a hole in the floor like it was nothing. Furthermore, he ... Defended us. Of course, I was not the only one to be surprised - the old barkeep gulped, and probably all the others who were there too. Beside me, Da'shal released a contented sigh, grinning victoriously while she finally let go of my arm, to cross them over her chest.

"With his flying sword." Da'shal said, apparently making a point of emphasizing each word, raising an eyebrow with her best expression of victory. But ... Again about this flying sword? Was this some kind of secret code, or some human metaphor that my intellect did not know?

Regardless of the meaning of the message, Noah glanced at her so threateningly, with such menace, that I'd instinctively taken a step back, even knowing that his hatred was directed at Da'shal. I could see every muscle in his neck twitching with rage. Scary.

"Again?" He complained through his teeth. That man definitely gave me chills, but what amazed me most was how Kallian received his hatred in a completely different way than me. It seemed that this whole situation was just fine with her, as if it was something good, but it was not. It was bizarre, heavy, yet, instead of being scared or angry, she seemed satisfied to discuss it with him.

"I get on your nerves, right?" She asked, but despite the mocking tone, I could see that she was still visibly tense, holding her own arms more tightly than necessary. If you looked closely, it would seem like she was embracing herself in oder to keep still, as she had done with my arm.

"You have no idea..." Noah muttered, narrowing his eyes before turning his attention to the owner of the Inn.

"If it matters so much to you, whatever." The old man threw his hands in the air dismissively, motioning for us to enter. "But it's good that they have money to pay. I'm not going to give anything free to these knife-ears." He muttered, turning his back to us.

I saw Kallian discreetly grab a knife off a table near us. Before she could do anything, however, three armed men approached us, followed by two others, who were a bit further away from the main group.

Obviously, they did not want to talk.

"Well, well..." Their leader said, taking a step forward. "We were not given orders to capture some Grey Wardens with that description?"

I heard Alistair whisper something about them being Loghain's men, but for me, their identities were the least of our problems. His intentions were what mattered in that moment, and considering the beginning of the conversation, it was clear that it would end in blood.

"What a nice coincidence ..." The other replied, looking at me in such a predatory way that it made me want to vomit. Before long, my hand had reached my bow, and soon I realized that all my traveling companions had taken similar measures as mine.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding," a red-haired woman with blue eyes like the sky and weird clothes approached us, smiling. I could not help but notice the swords on her back.

"Royal subjects, sister. Get away If you don't want to get hurt!" The leader snapped, pointing the sword at his waist.

The stranger did not appear to be intimidated by his gesture as she spoke again, even before the bandit could close his mouth, "There is no reason for such aggressive stances. It's clear to me that they're just travelers, refugees seeking for aid..."

She had not finished talking. Not really.

Noah had punched their leader's face so hard that he fainted on the spot. He not only had the voice and the appearance of a wild beast, but sometimes he acted like one, too.

"Refugee, my ass!" He raised both fists, looking at the others in that way that frightened me. Alistair did something similar, turning his arm in an arc in front him and hitting the second bandit, leaving a perfect opening for Kallian to finish the job, carving the kitchen knife right into his neck. The third enemy tried - with a huge emphasis on the verb try - to catch Da'shal, but before he could do anything, the girl with strange clothes stabbed him in the back, and he fell lifeless to the floor.

"We are Grey Wardens," Kallian announced in a loud, serious voice that I'd never heard her use before, to the other two bandits. "So, what?"

As if to emphasize her words, Noah growled at them, resting his hands on his sword.

Our answer was their withdrawal, like two frightened children in the presence of a wild bear. Kallian, however, grabbed one by the neck and swung him against the wall, holding his neck harder than someone her size should be capable of.

"Tell Loghain that the insolent knife-ear is going after him to settle the score." When Da'shal released him, the bandit fled, staggering and stumbling, doing everything to get out of there as soon as possible.

After the dust had settled and everyone finally had realize what really happened, a round of applauses and shouts of victory broke the silence, spreading across the bar. Even Noah had been confused by the reaction of the other humans. Kallian seemed oblivious to what was happening around us, just staring at the woman who had helped us. While people celebrated and Grumpy retrieved his sword from the ground, I heard Da'shal whispering a "thank you" to the stranger, who nodded with a big smile on her face.

"Ohh, that's wonderful! Grey Wardens!" I heard the old man yelling, bypassing the counter in our direction. "The same Grey Wardens who punished the bad guys on the bridge! These bastards were spreading chaos for many days now, and no one could handle them!" He came bouncing with open arms. "My friends, drinks on me! You can ask for whatever you want!"

At least ten steps from us, Kallian threw the bloody knife with the speed of an arrow into the ground and between his feet, causing him to stop immediately. Her eyes were as sharp as the words that left her mouth.

"I'm not your friend," Da'shal said through gritted teeth. "From you, I want nothing." She turned away to leave, stopping to say her last words. "If I hear the word knife-ear coming out of your mouth again, it will be your blood on that blade."

"Elf?" Noah asked, ignoring the old man and looking at Da'shal.

"I won't stay in this place any longer." She replied, staring Noah in that way she had when she was analyzing someone. I do not know, I may be imagining things, but it seemed that the two were talking quietly, especially by the way he nodded after a while, without breaking eye contact.

"Okay," Noah said. I saw her nod and look at Alistair. I do not know what she was looking for, but by the slight glimmer of disappointment that crossed her face, I do not think she'd liked what she found. Well, he looked away, then it kind of confirmed my suspicions.

Da'shal's gaze got lost between the cracks on the floor briefly before she left, and Noah did the same.

Andruil have mercy ... The more I tried to ignore this man, the more he intrigued me. For me, he was a mystery. As much as his actions were correct and strangely surprising these days, nothing could erase the overwhelming rage I saw in his face the day he had suggested that they should leave me on the road.

I was not planning to spend the night in that place either, so I followed them, keeping a safe distance from that mysterious man.

I listened to the daughter of the Witch of the Wilds saying something about how it was immature to waste a ceiling and a bath for such bullshit, but honestly I did not pay much attention to her whinning. Steps and more steps began to join us and, in the end, all the others followed, including the witch, whose bad temper was almost contagious.

It didn't take long until a voice called us back.

"Hey, wait!" That woman in the bar called, running up to us with the hem of her robe in her hands. "Where ..." She rested her hands on her knees, catching her breath. Shaw-Shaw stopped beside her, staring thoughtfully at her panting. "You will not find another place to stay the night."

"I know, sister," said Da'shal, giving a brief look up before turning back to us, worried. "Look, you can go back to the Inn. I will meet you in the morning." She ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath before continuing. I looked up too, and when my eyes met the gray clouds engulfing the sky above us, I understood the reason for her serious countenance. "I'd rather sleep in the rain than go back there. But that's just me - you don't have to follow."

I expected that the humans would leave, but to my surprise, no one moved. Not even the witch. I could see the corners of Da'shal's lips curving into a small smile when it became clear that everyone was with her.

"Look," said the strange woman. "I know who you are." She began to look at Noah with such intensity that even he, who usually does not care about anything, became annoyed. "And I want to help you. Accept me in your group, please!"

Right. I do not think I quite understood. Although, I'd so many incoherent things on the same day that I suspected my mind preferred not try to understand anything else. What I knew was that there was much more complex information about human behavior than my books were able to describe - even more than the Keeper was able to convey.

I also realized that I was not the only one confused by this sudden request.

Probably uncomfortable with the silence, the strange asked again, "And then?"

"Look, sister ..." Da'shal began to speak, but there were several pauses between her words. "I'm no... sure... if I got it right ..."

"Leliana," The stranger introduced herself smiling, turning her attention to Kallian. "My name is Leliana, and you understood correctly. I want to help you on your journey."

"We are considered criminals," Kallian said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. The so-called Leliana not seem to mind, and both kept eye contact the entire time. "I don't understand why you want to join us."

"I know that the Grey Wardens didn't betray Cailan," she said, looking to Noah. "Besides...I dreamed about you."

Noah swallowed hard, and I had to hold myself to keep from laughing at his confused expression and at the redness that spread across his cheeks. He was frowning, but it was not scary as his other expressions usually were.

It was... attractive, in a way.

"Look, you're pretty cute and all but," Noah began still baffled, but firm. Then, I rememered that he was acting softly like this because of her. The human with beautiful blue eyes. For some reason I felt strange. Not that I did not expect that ... Humans are predictable on this issue, and I've heard so many horrible stories about their character that I should not feel this way, because of this. But even knowing that I could not explain my reasons, I could not help but feel relieved when I heard his response, "But I'm not interested. That's not how it works with me."

"No, no!" Leliana shook her hands emphatically, trying to deny his suggestion and probably the blushing that had started to spread over her face. "I did not mean that!" She shook her head in shame. "What I meant was that I'm destined to help you. It was the desire of the Maker that you crossed my path."

Kallian opened her mouth, but said nothing.

"Oh yes," Morrigan sighed, rolling her eyes. "Will you also tell me that he came down from his immaculate pedestal right to this dirty world just to talk to you?"

"Yes," she replied, half innocently. "I had a vision of you."

Da'shal, who still had her mouth open - I'm not sure if it was because of the temerity to think that the human God had spoken to this woman personally, or that she still had not found the correct words - decided to have a say. "Whatever your...uhn... motivations are..." I noticed that the last word rang with an extra dose of skepticism. "Is that what you want? If you know who we are, then you also know that this is not quite a picnic."

"I'm sure." Was her only reply. I thought Da'shal would look at all of us, as she usually did when she was going to make some decision, but instead she just nodded.

"As you wish, Leliana. It's a pleasure to meet you." She reached out and squeezed Leliana's hand tightly.

"More crazy? I thought we were all full up." Alistair muttered. He, who is always the most talkative of the group, had been silent the whole time. I found it odd, but said nothing.

"I have something else to offer beyond my swords," Leliana said, walking by Kallian's side. "The truth is that Lothering has housed refugees everywhere, but still has some space in the Chantry for you to spend the night. I'm sure the Revered Mother will not deny shelter."

"I'm going back to the Inn," Morrigan announced bluntly, then marched back to the tavern, and I swear to Andruil that I saw them all rolling their eyes. Maybe they are already used to these random outbreaks from the witch.

"Why does this not surprise me?" Alistair asked, to no one in specific.

"Chantry?" Kallian asked, failing to hide the grimace that formed on her face. She was silent while considering, looking at the ominous clouds in the sky before answering. "Okay, let's go. To the Chantry, then."

With a long sigh, she followed Leliana, like all of us did soon after.

Next Chapter: Sunday, 06/04 (or 04/06, whatever lol)