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Blood Bond	By : Hikari86 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4278 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Chapter List
- 19
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Nightmares

The road to Redcliffe was long, but it wasn’t terrible. Zelda, Alistair, and Leliana got along great as they walked the roads. Zelda found herself able to talk to Leliana fairly easily. She was more talkative than Arawin and was more willing. They learned that before she was a sister in the Chantry, Leliana had been a bard in Orlais. She would recite to them many stories and ballads she had learned and picked up on her travels. Occasionally, Zelda would sing along with her. Their voices quite charming and coming together in good harmony. It was only when Alistair wished to sing with them that the harmony vanished.
Alistair would try to sing, but was unable to keep in tune. The only one that seemed to be able to sing along with him was Rupee. Her howls, along with his, would cause Zelda and Leliana to cover their ears. It was something to laugh at, though. Alistair knew he was a horrible singer, but he still tried, having fun.
Most of the time, Alistair took the lead, while Zelda and Leliana stayed behind, chatting and learning about each other. Zelda had told Leliana about everything that had happened to them up to the point when they met her. In turn, Leliana told Zelda about Orlais, and about how she was born there, but her mother was actually from Ferelden.
“My mother was from Denerim and I really consider myself a Fereldan,” Leliana said as she talked about her mother. “The reason why I was born in Orlais was because Mother served an Orlesian noblewoman who lived here when Orlais ruled. Her name was Lady Cecilie. When Orlais was defeated and the common folk began to resent the presence of any Orlesian, Lady Cecilie returned to Orlais. She took my mother with her. Ever since I was born, my mother was always telling me stories of her homeland; I think she missed it.”
“My mother's family is descended from Orlais,” said Zelda. “It was actually in Orlais where they met. My father on a political trip, while my mother was there on holiday, I believe. I was young when they told me the story, so I don’t remember much of it.”
“So you are part Orlesian, then?” Leliana asked with slight intrigue.
“I guess so, but not by much. I don't really know how many generations back it is, but it's something I'm not ashamed of it.”
“You shouldn’t be. There is nothing wrong with being proud of who you are. Plus, Orlais has changed since they were thrown out of Ferelden. I don’t really see why people from Ferelden treat Orlesians with contempt.”
“The war is still fresh,” Zelda explained. “It was only about one generation ago. My father fought in that war, and so did most of the older nobles. Even though my father got over it, the others still have hate that will trickle down to their children, and keep going throughout the generations unless something is done about it. It’s my generation that needs to learn tolerance, or else we’ll end up just like our parents.”
As they continued their discussion, Leliana told Zelda about Orlais. She told her about it’s splendors and also about Lady Cecilie, and what it was like to grow up with her. Leliana’s mother had died when she was only six years old, and it was Lady Cecilie who took care of her. She was the one that had her learn to sing and dance. Mainly Lady Cecilie had Leliana learn these things to entertain her, but also because Leliana loved it. Singing was her favorite.
While Leliana talked away, Zelda couldn’t help but to notice Alistair slumped in front of them. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to their conversation as they made their way down the road. In fact, even though she could only see the back of his head, Zelda thought he looked sad. His posture and head hung low, with his hands in between the plates in his armor.
Oh, Alistair. What am I going to do with you? Zelda thought. Was he sad about Duncan and the other Grey Wardens again? If so, it wasn’t surprising, but Zelda had hoped he would be over it by now. Yet the road did give one time to think, and if he was dwelling on Ostagar, or anything else that would make him look like that, then she needed to do something to lift up his spirits.
“Excuse me, Leliana,” Zelda said stopping her in mid sentence. “There’s something I need to do.” Leliana looked at her with curious eyes as Zelda sped up and settled herself next to Alistair. Her sudden appearance by his side startled him, and he nearly jumped when he saw her.
“Hi,” Zelda said with a wide smile.
“Hi,” he nervously said back. “Is there something you wanted?”
“Nope.” Zelda kept her wide smile. “Just wanted to come and see how you were doing, is all.” She paused. “Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”
This caught him by surprise. He stared at her with one eyebrow raised and a slightly open mouth. He laughed, sounding nervously again. “Not unless they were asking me for a favor. Well, there was that one time in Denerim, but those women were... not like you.” He said the last part while clearing his throat. “Why? Is this your way of telling me you think I’m handsome?”
Zelda's smile broadened as she saw the twinkle in his eyes. She could see that he was feeling better. “You know you’re handsome, Alistair. Don’t try and down play it.”
He matched her smile. “Maybe,” he said standing up straighter and looking out towards the road. “It doesn’t hurt to have a pretty girl say that, though. Beats being chewed up by darkspawn any day.” He laughed before turning back to her. “So... is this the part where I get to say the same?”
“You think I’m handsome?” Zelda laughed.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” he said seeming afraid that he might have said the wrong thing.
Zelda kept her smile, knowing that she was only messing with him. “You don’t need to say anything, Alistair. I just wanted to get you looking happy again. You looked so gloomy.”
“Oh, so you don’t actually think that then, do you?”
Zelda saw that now there was hurt in his eyes. Had she said the wrong thing? “Of course I do!” she nearly yelled. “You are a very handsome man. Isn’t that true, Leliana?” she shouted behind them.
“Oh yes, very true,” Leliana shouted back reassuringly.
“See?” Zelda smiled again, showing off her teeth.
Alistair again smiled back.
Zelda made her way from his side back to Leliana’s, who gave her a very suspicious look. “What was that?” Leliana whispered into Zelda’s ear.
“Huh?” Zelda acted surprised, but she knew this would happen. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t give me that. You know exactly what I mean.”
Zelda chuckled. “Oh, it’s not what you think. I was just trying to make him happy.”
“Uh huh.”
“Yes I was! You saw how sad he looked just a moment ago. Now look at him. He looks happier.” And in fact, Alistair did. He stood taller, with his head high and he was even whistling.
“Yes, I can see that,” said Leliana, the suspicion still in her eyes. “It’s just the way you did it. That’s what I want to know.” She leaned in closer to Zelda, making sure Alistair couldn’t hear anything they would say. “Do you fancy him?”
Zelda popped away from Leliana. Her face went white, the color draining away, making Leliana laugh. Zelda’s checks then grew hot as the color came back to them with force.
“That answered my question,” Leliana laughed.
It was something that Zelda had been thinking about, but not a whole lot. Alistair was a great guy. He was strong and good looking with an interesting personality, but she could never really feel anything for him. Her heart still hurt, and it was hurting even worse now that Leliana had mentioned her attraction to Alistair. She felt guilty, like she was betraying Rory.
Leliana noticed her face falling. “Mmm, I’ve seen that look before,” she said making Zelda stare at her. “I think I understand. Does it have anything to do with what happened to your family?”
Zelda looked away from her, glancing only slightly in Alistair’s direction. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to their conversation. Either he was good at faking it, or maybe he couldn’t hear them. Or if he could hear them, maybe he didn’t care. Not wanting to listen to girl talk.
“I don’t wish to talk about it,” Zelda whispered, staring at the ground.
Leliana stayed silent for a few seconds before answering. “Alright, if you don’t want to now, then I won’t pry it out of you.” She too stared at Alistair, making the connection. “But don’t think I’m going to let this go. Once we stop for the night, and we don’t have a potential audience, then you will tell me, right?”
Zelda half smiled at her, feeling the pressure lift. It was good to know that Leliana wasn’t going to pry. “Yes, I promise I will tell you later. Thank you.”
“Now let’s see,” Leliana started. “Where was I? Oh, yes! I was just about ready to tell you how I learned the story of Alindra and her soldier.”
***
It was getting dark when they reached the outskirts of the bannorn of Rainesfere. They stood atop a hill overlooking the little village wondering if they should dare approach it. If Rainesfere was anything like Lothering, then they would surely not be welcomed.
“I think we should go ahead and camp here for the night,” said Alistair. He didn’t seem pleased at the thought of being attacked again just because he was a Grey Warden.
“I don’t know,” answered Zelda. “There are things I want to know, and Bann Teagan is Arl Eamon’s brother? If you think Eamon would help us, I don’t see why his brother wouldn’t.”
“I suppose you’re right, but what if he’s not there, just as the bann of Lothering wasn’t there?”
“Well, whoever is in charge, they know we’re here,” said Leliana as she pointed at the village.
Zelda and Alistair turned their gaze and saw several horsemen trotting down the path leading straight to them. They had come from the village, and their speed indicated that they were more than likely not hostile. The four of them stood their ground until the horsemen came up to where they were.
“Wow there,” said the man that was in the lead as he stopped his horse. His horse pawed at the ground as he jump from the saddle. He was a fairly short, plump little man with a thick bushy beard and mustache. His hair was a peppery color, but it was hard to tell how dark it was in the night. Zelda knew this couldn’t be Teagan, as he was much younger than this man looked.
“Greetings,” he said walking up to them. His soldiers stayed on their horses behind him. “My name is Lord Talon, steward to Bann Teagan, and the one who is in charge right now of Rainesfere. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
All three of them gave each other confused glances, wondering what he was talking about. Talon saw their confusion and chuckled. “You are Grey Wardens, are you not?” he asked.
“Why... yes,” Zelda said timidly. “You’re not here to arrest us, are you?”
This made the lord laugh even harder. “The Maker’s sake, no! I don’t have the manpower to do such a thing. No, I have come out here to greet you personally. When I heard the scouts say they saw someone coming up the path, I had our resident mage scry your faces. I immediately recognized your two faces once I saw you,” he said gesturing to Alistair and Zelda. “The teyrn has sent out sketches of what all three of you look like. Not very good likenesses, I’m afraid, but good enough.”
“So then why are you not arresting us?” asked Alistair.
“Because, Bann Teagan doesn’t believe a word Loghain has said and neither do I. He told me before he left to take in any refugees fleeing the darkspawn, and that included Grey Wardens. So, here I am welcoming you to Rainesfere. I’m sure you all are tired and would like a hot meal. If you come with me I can provide you with that as well as any information you might want to know.”
“Thank you,” said Zelda. “You are too kind.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you,” said Talon. “Thanking you for being alive, that is. Now that we know for sure that Grey Wardens live, maybe you can shed some light on the truth. I will be eager to hear what really happened at Ostagar.”
The four of them followed Lord Talon and his men into the bannorn of Rainesfere. When they arrived at the manor, they were first showed to their rooms where they could set down their things and take a nice bath before coming into the dinning room for their meal. Lord Talon was waiting for them as they entered. Zelda felt much better with a proper bath and some nice clean clothes. She noticed Alistair and Leliana felt the same way.
As they sat down to eat, Lord Talon allowed them to fill themselves first. Zelda could tell he was eager to talk about what they had discussed on the path, but he would be patient and wait for them to finish. It wasn’t until the food was in front of her that Zelda realized how hungry she was. She wasn’t really sure what she was putting in her mouth, all she knew was that it tasted good, and that she wanted more. It wasn’t until she looked up from her plate that she noticed everyone staring at her. Alistair had a smile on his face and he was trying to hold back a laugh. Zelda was horrified at her manners, and was even more horrified when a huge belch escaped from her gut.
“Excuse me,” she said covering her mouth. She cleared her throat and pushed the plate away from her. She was still hungry, but she would wait until later to eat more.
“Well, that was entertaining,” said Lord Talon. “You Grey Wardens are very interesting indeed.”
“Yes they are,” said Leliana as she dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and also pushed her plate away. Alistair did they same, and it was only his plate that was empty.
Immediately, several elves came scurrying out from the servant doors and began cleaning up the plates and food. It wasn’t until they were done and gone that Lord Talon spoke again. “So, now that you are full and cleaned, if you don’t mind,” he said to Zelda. “Could you please tell me about Ostagar?”
Zelda took in a deep breath. She knew that this was a story she would probably have to tell many times before this whole ordeal was over. She told him about the battle, and how King Cailan and Loghain had made a plan to win the battle. Alistair chimed in as well, helping tell the story. They didn’t leave out the part when they were saved by Flemeth, but told him as little as they could. Lord Talon wanted to know more about their rescue but he could tell they were reluctant, so he let them continue on. Zelda continued the story all the way up until their group split and then ended up here. Once she was done, Zelda sighed, wondering what was going on with Arawin and the others.
“Well that explains why there are only two of you and not three,” said Talon. “I was wondering what happened to the elf. Ah, but yes, I can see why now the teyrn wants you so badly. If this story were to get out, I don’t even think the fact that he is a hero could save him. So tell me, how much do you know that has been happening in Ferelden since Ostagar?”
“We know that Loghain declared himself regent,” said Zelda. “And that he has a bounty on us. Twenty five sovereigns each, I think it was.”
Lord Talon laughed. “Oh, that’s what it was before he knew about the three of you. It’s gone up since then, my dear.”
“Really? By how much?” Alistair asked.
“The price for just one of your heads is 100 sovereigns.”
“What?” Zelda’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, as well as Alistair’s and Leliana’s. “That’s insane! 300 sovereigns? How can Loghian do such a thing?”
“Oh, it wasn’t Loghain who did it,” said Talon. “It was Teyrn Howe.”
Zelda’s face grimaced. “Teyrn Howe? What, did Loghain give him Gwaren while he’s regent?”
“No, Loghain gave him Highever.”
The room went silent as the blood drained from Zelda’s face making her skin as white as a ghost. She gripped the table, squeezing the wood between her fingers. Then, narrowing her eyes, the color in her face came back. “What?” she said through clenched teeth, more calm than she thought she could. “I hope I didn’t hear what I think I heard.”
Lord Talon looked a little frightened at Zelda’s face. It was now hard and full of what could only be described as utter malicious. “Uh, I’m afraid it is,” he said timidly.
Zelda closed her eyes. She began to shake. Her grip on the table tightened as she held on to steady herself. “That sodding little snake!” she said shooting her eyes open. There could have been fire blazing from them. “Viperous murderer!” she shouted standing up. “How could he kill my family and then take our lands!” She wasn’t really gesturing towards anyone, but Lord Talon stood with her. He was reluctant to disturb her, for he could feel the rage radiating from her body.
“So it is true, then,” he said. She shot a gaze at him making him flinch but then he straightened. “I should have know. You’re Zelda Cousland, aren’t you?”
Zelda’s rage dissolved a little. “Yes. Don’t tell me Howe’s saying I’m the one who murdered my family?”
“No,” said Talon as he put his hands in front of him. “He’s says something completely different.”
Zelda leaned on the table. “What does he say? Tell me.”
Lord Talon sat back down and gestured for her to do the same thing. After a few agonizing seconds, Zelda finally did. She was still fuming, but she wanted to hear what Howe had said. “I know this will be hard to hear, so I hope you can stay your rage until the end,” Lord Talon said. Zelda nodded. “His story is one that is just as preposterous as the one Loghian told. He was on his way to your castle when he found it had been overrun by bandits. They had killed everyone, including you. He said he wished he had left early so that he could've made it to save his best friend, and that he was very grateful that Loghain had allowed him to take care of Bryce’s lands. He felt he owed it to Bryce.”
Zelda snorted. “Viper,” she whispered under her breath.
“That, however, is one story that most believe because there is no other side to it. Apparently, there is, and with you here, it shows.”
“Howe is the one that murdered my family. Not some sneaky, stupid bandits! What does he think this is, some type of joke!”
“That would explain a lot,” said the Lord. He leaned back in his chair. “He’s looking for you, you know. Howe knows that you live.”
“What is he doing?” said Zelda “Putting up a bounty for me too? Pretty bad if he says I’m dead as well.”
“No, he just puts a lot of emphasis on finding the human female Warden. Doesn’t really say who she is, just that you’re important or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if you are actually worth more than the others, although it’s not posted as such.”
Zelda sat very still. Her head was down as she stared at the table. There were so many things going through her mind right now. Killing Howe was one of them. “Howe thinks he can get away with all this. He’s so going to pay.”
“There’s also more,” said Talon. This made Zelda look up at him. “Howe’s also been given Denerim.”
Zelda widened her eyes then narrowed them. “So now he’s the arl of Amaranthine, the teyrn of Highever, and the arl of Denerim?” Zelda didn’t think she could take anymore.
“Yes, that is so. He now rules almost all of the northeastern part of Ferelden. Some even say he has his eyes next on West Hill and Dragon’s Peak. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next thing we here from them is that their lords have either died or mysteriously disappeared. Huh. Now everything seems to be tying together. All these strange coincidences. Ostagar, Eamon becoming sick, Vaughan dying in a bizarre manner.”
This made Zelda start to laugh hysterically. Everyone looked at her as if she were nuts. “Sorry,” she said through her laughs. “Even though it might not seem like it, but Vaughan is the only one that has nothing to do with either Howe or Loghain.”
“What, really? And by the way you’re acting, I’d have to say you know what happened to him.”
“The other Grey Warden, she was involved with that. Let’s just say that he had one of his little parties and she was a reluctant guest.”
This made Talon laugh with her. “I knew those parties would catch up with him one of these days. Ha! But I wouldn’t be surprised if Howe and Loghain had some type of plan to get rid of him anyway. Vaughan was such a pain in the neck. No one wanted him to be the arl anyway.”
“Hold on a second,” Alistair budded in. “Did you mention something about Arl Eamon? Did you say that he has become ill?”
Talon directed his attention towards him. “Oh, yes. That’s the reason why Bann Teagan isn’t here. I guess that should have been the first thing I told you. Sorry about that. But yes, Arl Eamon has become very ill, so ill in fact that nothing seems to be able to cure him, not even magic. Teagan went to see if he could do anything to help. He sends word back to me about every two days, but the last I heard from him was about four days ago. From then the report said that Eamon’s condition hasn’t changed, and now there’s something strange happening in Redcliffe. I know there is.”
“What’s going on?” Alistair asked.
“I don’t know. I had the mage scry Redcliffe, since that is how Teagan and Eamon communicate to each other, but when he did, all he got was a big blur. It’s as if Redcliffe is covered in some kind of haze.” Talon sighed and shook his head. “I would bet you anything that Loghain has something to do with it. Probably Howe as well. I can’t believe those two are working together.”
“We’ll head straight to Redcliffe tomorrow,” said Zelda. Her voice was monotoned and she seemed unfocused on the topic. “Excuse me,” she said getting up from her chair.
“Zelda?” Alistair said as she passed him. She ignored him and kept moving. Leliana watched her leave the dinning room, wondering if she should follow or not.
Zelda found herself in the room that was given to her. She closed the door, and once the lock clicked all the rage that had been building up inside of her finally came to a boil and exploded. She screamed, grabbing onto the bed post and squeezing as hard as she could. She began flaring around, throwing and breaking stuff. She had never felt so mad in her life. She never felt the urge to kill someone so bad before. This was not like her at all.
In her fit, Zelda stopped when she spotted herself in the mirror. She looked back at the stranger in the mirror, wondering who she was. This was not the girl that she remembered. That girl was kind and carefree. One that everyone loved and cherished. Her father’s little princess. Arawin was right. That girl had no worries or no burdens, but the girl in the mirror did. She was burdened with a great task. She was full of rage and sadness that threatened to burst through her like a damn.
Zelda leaned against the dresser the mirror was on and stared at the stranger. Was that really who she was now? Was she really going to let what happened to her turn her into this?
Zelda was living a nightmare. The sadness began to bubble up inside her again, but Zelda held it back. The other girl wouldn’t have done so. She would have let the tears flow, but the girl in the mirror couldn’t let that happen. Zelda might have changed, but she had changed in order to help herself get through the tough times. If she could, once this whole ordeal was over with, then she would try and change back, but right now she needed to be tough. She needed to be able to handle things. And now there was a new reason to not cry, to not show weakness. There was one thing for sure in her mind. One thing that she knew she had to do if she could while also dealing with the Blight.
Kill Howe.
Her family would be avenged. She would get Highever back. And she would find Fergus. Crying would not accomplish any of these things. But first thing was first. She needed to figure out what was going on in Redcliffe. She needed to deal with this first before she dealt with Howe.
Zelda turned from the mirror, not wanting to look at that girl any longer. She began going around the room picking up the things that she had scattered all over the place. She would have to apologize later to either Lord Talon or Bann Teagan about the mess. Once she was done, she laid in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was a long time before she finally went to sleep.
***
They stood amongst them. It was dark and cold. The air stiff and filled with the stench of their foul taint. There were many of them, many and even more still beyond what they could see. Yet, they did not take notice to them standing there. They did not attack or growl or stare. Instead, they only stood, stretching their muscles, turning their heads, breathing in and out the foul air.
They turned their own head, looking up at the dark sky. It was black with no signs of stars or moon. There was nothing up there but an eternal void that perhaps went on for as long as time itself.
At first there was no noise but that of their breathing, of their heart pumping, of armor shifting. Then there was a humming. An enchanted humming that brought with it a beautiful song. A song so wondrous and glorious it was hard to ignore. It was hard for them to resist.
They continued to look into the void before shifting their eyes and seeing where that song was coming from. Yes, they had found him, perched on a ledge high above. He was magnificent, breath taking, powerful. They stared with wide eyes as he sat, wings half way spread, the song emitting from deep within his throat. He was their leader, their god, the one they had been searching for. The one they needed. The one that would lead them to a life outside of this world. Out of this horrid, stuffy place and into the clean, open air. He was the god of beauty, and truly, he lived up to that name.
They saw as he stared down into the horde. Sweeping his head back and forth as he surveyed his vast and powerful army. There was no question that all of them were looking up at him now. How could anyone resist? But then his sweeping stopped. His dark eyes had found them amongst the horde. He glared at them, roaring and emitting a dark flame from his jaws.
It was then that they no longer were one, but split into two. Two totally different entities within the same presence. They felt themselves detach and he saw this and became angry. They saw it in his eyes. Was he afraid of them? Did he see them as a threat? How could that be? He was glorious, while they were nothing more than his pawns. What did he see that they knew was not true?
He flared his wings and swooped down, diving right for them. The fire burning past his teeth, ready to scorch their flesh. The others noticed and growled. They began advancing on them. Weapons raised, shiny with blood. They were surrounded with no way out. But there was nothing they could do. Their death was coming for them.
***
Although they were far away, that night, both Arawin and Zelda woke at the same time, and screamed.

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age: Origins
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Blood Bond