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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
Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything Dragon Age. I claim no ownership and make no money/profit.

Chapter List
- 46
- 47
- 48
Haven

Winter had finally come fully to Ferelden, hitting the southern region of the Frostback Mountains hard. Zelda, Alistair, Leliana, Wynne, and Rupee had to battle snow and wind as they made their way through the mountain pass and the forest, trying to find their way to the hidden village of Haven. Zelda in particular found herself suffering from the cold despite being native to Ferelden and knowing of it’s harsh winters. She had grown up in the northern region, where winters were still biting cold, but not as nearly as freezing as it was now. Yet all of them were suffering except for Rupee whose coat had grown out thick and full.
Zelda sat in front of the fire as close as she could get with her cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders. The wind had began to pick up, cutting through the fabric and making her shiver and teeth chatter. Rupee sat beside her, seemingly unaffected by the wind. The large hound curled up on Zelda’s legs, keeping them warm. Putting the hood over her head, Zelda lend over the fire, trying to take in it’s heat. Nights were the worst when it came to the cold, and it was Zelda’s turn to stay awake and watch the camp as the others slept in their warm tents.
“L-lucky dog,” Zelda chattered as she looked down at Rupee. “N-next time it m-might be best t-to invest in a f-fur coat.”
“If I ever get the chance, I’ll get you one.” Something warm wrapped around her shoulders and Zelda looked over to see Alistair sit next to her, his cloak on her back.
“A-Alistair? What are you doing? Aren’t you c-cold?” She saw he was only in a simple shirt and pants.
He smiled at her. “No, I’m fine. I’m used to this cold.” It might have been true, but Zelda could tell he was lying.
“Alistair,” she said stern. “Stop being a man and get under these cloaks with me.” He looked at the fire then at her as she held open the cloaks for him to come in.
“Okay,” he said shivering slightly as he slid under. He made sure to wrap the cloaks around both of them as Zelda encircled her arms around his waist. “Better?”
“Much.” Her fingers found his bare skin making Alistair jump.
“Ah! Holy knickers, you’re cold!”
“You really think so?”
“Yes! Does your cloak even work anymore? You might want to ask Wynne to redo the enchantment. Maybe even make it warmer.”
“Maybe,” Zelda smiled as she played with him a little with her cold hands. After much jumping and laughing, they soon stopped and settled into one another. “So why are you awake?”
“You’re teeth kept me up.”
“Oh, sorry.” Zelda buried her head in his chest, trying to keep her teeth from clanging together anymore.
“Don’t be,” Alistair said as he kissed her head. “I couldn’t sleep anyway, knowing you were freezing out here. I should've volunteered to take the first watch for you.”
Zelda shook her head against his chest. “No,” she said muffled. “Besides, I like this.”
“Me too. It’s nice.” He then sighed, laying his head on top of hers.
Zelda shifted a little to bring feeling back into her right leg as the log they sat upon was both frozen and stiffening. “Alistair, are you all right?”
“Huh? Oh, well sort of.”
“Sort of?” Zelda took her head off his chest and stared at him with suspicion. “Sort of?”
“What?” he tried to say, sounding innocent. Zelda’s eyebrow raised. “Oh, I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”
“No.”
Alistair smiled at the truth then kissed her gently on the lips. “It’s just I’ve been thinking a lot lately. What if the Urn is nothing but a legend and we can’t find it? I mean, Arl Eamon, he’ll die and... I don’t know if I’ll be able to take that. To lose another father figure. It’ll be too much.”
Zelda untwined one of her hands and stroked his check. Alistair sighed into it, rubbing his stubbled check against her palm. “Don’t worry, Alistair. Eamon will wake and he will be fine. This is something I know will happen. We’re on the right path to the Urn.”
“I wish I had your optimism,” he said closing his eyes. “But it’s enough to convince me. I just hope your way too optimistic way of thinking doesn’t fail now.”
“And you need to stop thinking that way. I need to think ‘way too optimistically’ because you keep counteracting me.”
“Sorry,” he laughed. Alistair opened his eyes then looked to the star dotted sky. The moon was half with light clouds gliding across. He sighed, and Zelda knew there was more he was worried about, but she waited for him to speak.
“There’s also something else,” he stated looking back down at her.
“Hmm?”
“Before we left, Teagan and I had a talk. He said that if we are unable to obtain the Urn or are too late, he wants to take Eamon’s position in the Landsmeet and do what he knows his brother would have done.”
“That doesn’t seem so worrying,” said Zelda. “Teagan is able to do that. He has just as much respect as his brother does.”
“Yeah, but what he wants to do... what he knows Eamon will do is... petition for me to be king.” Alistair swallowed hard as he said it.
“Oh.” Zelda repositioned herself again. “It makes sense. You are the only heir, so you have a right to the throne. And it would take the control away from Loghain, which would take care of that problem. But let me guess,” she said looking deep in his eyes. “You don’t want to be king?”
“Of course not! Can you imagine? I’m not a good leader, and I never liked leading anyway. The thought of so many people depending on a single decision of mine, that I could choose whether they live or die... it terrifies me. Why do you think I let both you and Arawin take control? Technically I should be in charge because I’m the senior Grey Warden, but I can’t lead. I’ll kill us all, for sure.”
“Don’t sell yourself so short, Alistair.”
“No seriously, I had a bad dream about it. Both you and Arawin died in the Joining, and after Ostagar I was the only Grey Warden left in Ferelden, forced to deal with the Blight all alone. I don’t really remember much of the middle, but at the end, I’m battling the archdemon and he kills me, or at least I think he does. I wake up before the final blow.”
Zelda placed her head back on his chest. “That was just a dream, Alistair, and it doesn’t sound like a tainted dream, so it’s not real. I’m here, right? Arawin’s on her way. You’re not alone.” She felt him squeeze her close. “But I can relate with you about the fear of leading. I, myself, don’t like the thought either. On the night I left my home, that day my father put me in charge of the castle while he and my brother were at Ostagar. It basically made me a temporary teryna since I would be making all the decisions my father makes on a daily basis. It terrified me, and I don’t know what I would've done.”
Alistair laughed at her. “Zelda, what do you have to be worried about?”
“What do you mean?” she said leaning back up. “And stop laughing.”
He suppressed his chuckle the best he could. “I mean you’re a great leader. It comes natural to you, I think. So far you haven’t lead us astray or done anything stupid like I would've done. Plus you gain a lot of respect just by being you. All those villagers in Redcliffe. They’re willing to lay their lives down for you for what you did. A bad leader? I don’t think you’re even capable of such a thing.”
“Stop it,” she said blushing, making Alistair chuckle again. “And... and even if what you say is true, that doesn’t mean I like it. Leading is just... scary.”
“I know... and me being king, uh. I think that’s the scariest thing of all. It’s something I never wanted. I was told when I was young that the throne would never be mine, so I shouldn’t even bother, and I was happy with that. Even then I knew I wouldn’t be a good leader.”
“Alistair, I think you could make a great leader if you just gave yourself the chance. You already give good advice. If it wasn’t for you, we might be in Orzammar right now in stead of dealing with the Urn. The Urn is more important right now because we need Arl Eamon. Orzammar and the dwarves are important too, but it’s going to take time. Even though Orzammar would have been warmer.”
Alistair squeezed her again, re-wrapping the cloaks around them. “That was just a lucky break,” he said. “You wouldn’t have had us go to Orzammar anyway.”
“Are you so sure?”
“Not without hearing from Arawin first, at least.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“See?” he chuckled.
Zelda settled her back against his chest, feeling his strong arms wrap around her shoulders and settling just under her breasts. Alistair placed his head on her shoulder and tenderly kissed her neck. Zelda sighed, loving the contact and the closeness.
“Zelda?” he said softly in her ear.
“Yes?”
“If Teagan had asked you... would you have married him?”
This caught Zelda by surprise. She turned her head to see he was serious, and she wondered what had brought this on. Had this also been something else he was worried about or had wondered?
“Well...” she said timidly. “If circumstances had been different...”
“How?”
Zelda turned away from him and pushed out air from her lungs. It shot out in a white plume. “You see, when a young noblewoman becomes of age, she is expected to perform certain duties. One of those is to marry a nobleman who is established in his lands, bare his children so his line doesn’t die, and take care of the lands when he is gone. Most of the time finding a husband has already been done for her by her parents who may have arranged for her to be married either when she was born or later on. This is to either establish an alliance between two families, or to strengthen one. In my case, my father never made any such arrangements for me because there was no need at the time. If anything, I might've been promised to one of Arl Howe’s sons, either Thomas or Nathaniel, but it was never confirmed. Although when Nathaniel and I were younger we used to pretend to be married. I had the biggest crush on him back then, but not anymore. In fact I haven’t seen or heard from Nathaniel in years. Last I heard he was sent to the Free Marches, but I’m not sure why. Anyway, instead of promising me to someone, my father just gave me free reign, saying I could marry any who I should choose. A decision that was both a blessing and a curse.
“In truth, he probably should have promised me to Teagan, but for some reason he didn’t. It might be because I’m not the only noblewoman available right now, but why Teagan was never promised any of them is interesting, though. He’s the only unmarried nobleman in the Landsmeet at the moment. And I say if circumstances had been different because if Teagan had show interest in me and had asked for my hand before I was a Grey Warden, then I would've been excepted to take it, because that would've been my duty. But since I’m a Grey Warden, and since I’m now with you, he's backed down.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear,” Alistair said.
“You make it sound like you were still in competition with him,” Zelda teased.
“No... I was just wondering.”
“Don’t lie and don’t think like that. Besides you, there’s only one other man I love more than anything.”
“Your brother,” he stated.
“Y-yes.” Although I do love him, he wasn’t the one I was referring to.
Alistair felt her distress, but assumed it had to do with her brother. “He’ll be found, Zelda, don’t worry. And when I’m king, I’ll make sure the Howe’s pay for what they did, and I will give your family back their land. You have my word.”
“When you’re king?”
“I might not like it, but if it’s for the good of Ferelden, then I have no choice, right?”
“You always have a choice, Alistair. Even if Fergus really is dead or is never found, I could still choose to not take over as teyrna of Highever. I would never do that, but I can still choose it.”
“So if you would never choose it, then why should I do differently?”
“Because you should make your own decisions, Alistair,” she said turning in his arms. “If you’re going to be king, then you’re going to have to learn at some point, yes?”
“I suppose, but I still have time to let you make all the decisions for awhile.”
Zelda shook her head. “You’re impossible.”
“I do my best,” Alistair said smiling broadly.
Zelda laid her head back down on his chest and they curled into one another, creating a perfect fit. She closed her eyes and felt the dreariness pass over her. The sound of the fire crackling slowly making her drift. She stirred, realizing she was falling asleep.
“It’s okay,” said Alistair. “If you want to sleep, go ahead. I’m here.”
“But it’s my turn to stay up for watch,” she muttered, unable to open her eyes.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“What about you?”
“I’m fine. Now go to sleep.” He kissed her forehead and made sure she was covered and comfortable. Zelda fell fast asleep soon after, feeling warm and safe in his arms.
***
The snow was falling when they found themselves in front of a man-made structure in the middle of the forest. They were stairs, logs buried in the soil close together leading up a steep hill. Zelda knew they had to have found Haven, as there was no other such structures around, and the stairs were too well kept to be old.
Rupee had her nose to the ground. Snow puffed into the air, turning to steam as she sniffed around. She stopped, then looked up at Zelda and barked.
Zelda nodded to her. “There are people here.”
“But is it Haven?” asked Leliana.
“I don’t see how it couldn’t be. We’re right in the region on the map and we’re also way off the mountain pass. How many secluded villages do you think there are in the mountains?”
“Probably more than we think,” said Wynne.
“Maybe, but I guess the only way we’re going to find out is by going up these stairs.”
The ascent was hard, as the stairs were nearly vertical, but soon they made it to the top and found themselves in a small village hidden by the thick pine trees. It amazed them when they saw it, for if they had not found the stairs, one would think there was nothing up this way but more trees. The houses of the village were spaced out and even continued up the mountain on more steep hills. There was also a lake glistening in the far left corner. The village looked quiet, quaint, maybe even peaceful, but there was something about it’s peacefulness that sent a shiver up Zelda’s spine.
“Halt! What are you doing here?” A guard popped out from no where, blocking their path. Zelda nearly jumped from his sudden appearance. “You have no business in our village, so I suggest you move on.”
“Excuse me, good ser,” said Zelda after she gained herself back. “But we are just simple travelers and we saw these stairs and thought we might take lodgings in the village.”
“I highly doubt you are just ‘simple travelers’,” the guard said narrowing his eyes. “You are too well armed and in too few a crowd to be traveling through these mountains. Plus you’re way off the pass. I suggest you continue going in what ever way you were coming and find lodgings elsewhere for you will find none here.”
Zelda frowned, realizing she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. “Well, we are looking for somebody. Someone who came to this village awhile ago. His name is Brother Genitivi.”
“Who? I’ve never heard of anyone by that name. I believe you have the wrong village.”
“This is Haven, yes? If so then I believe we do have the right village.”
The guard crossed his arms and stared Zelda straight in the eye. “You have no business here, so move along.”
Zelda bite her lower lip trying to think of a new plan. This guard wasn’t making things easy. “Alright, if Brother Genitivi really isn’t here, then we’ll be on our way. And if you really aren’t going to offer us lodgings, then may we at least trade? We are very low on supplies and fear we won’t make it back to the pass.” They really didn’t need to trade as they did have enough supplies to last them quite a while but it was an excuse for Zelda to use to get into the village.
The guard uncrossed his arms but did not take his glare from her. “You may trade,” he said if a little reluctant. “But as soon as you are done, you are to leave and never return again.”
“Understood ser, and thank you.”
The guard moved to the side to let them pass, but did not take his eyes off them until they were out of his sight.
“Did it just get colder?” said Alistair. “Or is it just me?”
“Metaphorically, yes,” Zelda answered. “Temperature wise, that too.” She hugged her cloak closer to her shoulders. The temperature did seem to dip once they entered the village.
“That is so strange,” said Wynne. “And I feel no magical reason for it.”
The colder temperature of the village wasn’t the only strange thing they noticed, however. As they walked through, they saw no smoke coming from chimneys, no people walking about, no noise of any kind; birds, crickets, frogs, children laughing; not even the wind blowing from the lake. It was very still, very quiet and Zelda found herself shivering from other things than the cold.
They made their way up the steep hill after checking a few of the houses to see if one of them was the store. It was just as difficult a climb as the stairs leading into the village.
“If he really wanted us out in a hurry, why didn’t the guard tell us where the store was?” Leliana asked after they made it to the top. They found the houses up higher just as quiet and eerie.
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to go back and ask him,” said Zelda. “Let’s just keep going.”
They kept checking the houses before they saw someone standing in the middle of the road. It was a young boy with his back to them, chanting.
“Come, come Bonny Lynne; tell us, tell us, where you’ve been... Were you up, were you down, chasing rabbits ‘round the town... Come, come, Bonny Lynne; tell us, tell us where you’ve been... Come, come, Bonny Lynne; we’ve a bed to put you in... It is soft, it is warm, it will shelter from the storm... Come, come, Bonny Lynne; we’ve a bed to put you in... Dear, dear Bonny Lynne sleeps the peaceful crib within... A mossy stone, a finger bone, no one knows but Lynne alone... Dear, dear Bonny Lynne sleeps the peaceful crib within...”
“Hello there,” Zelda said as sweetly as she could walking over to him. The boy stopped his chanting and turned to her with wide eyes. His mouth clamped shut and stood straight, staying unnaturally still. “Hello there young man. Could I ask you a few questions? You don’t need to fear me.”
“But you don’t belong here,” he said in a shallow voice.
“I know,” Zelda said as she squatted down to his level. “But I was wondering if you knew where a man named Brother Genitivi might be?”
“Who?”
“Okay, never mind about that. Do you know where everyone is?”
The boy took a step back from her. “They’re... somewhere.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere.”
“Okay, who’s in charge of the village? Maybe I could speak to them about Brother Genitivi.”
“Everyone knows everyone here,” the boy said shaking his head. “Revered Father Eirik will know nothing either.”
“Revered Father?” said Leliana. “Haven has a Revered Father instead of a Mother?”
“It’s always be thus in Haven. We don’t question tradition.”
“So you don’t,” said Zelda. “Where is his Reverence?”
“With the villagers.”
“Somewhere, right? I suppose I shouldn’t even ask what they’re doing.”
“Something,” said the boy.
Zelda closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. “What can you tell me about Haven?” she asked opening her eyes again.
“It’s my home.”
“Anything else?”
“It’s called Haven.”
“Alright... Why aren’t you somewhere doing something with your fellows and Revered Father Eirik? Why are you out here all alone?”
“Because I don’t like it,” he said. “It’s not what I’ll be preparing for anyway. Revered Father Eirik said that once I become a man he’ll send me up the mountain to be with-” He clamped his mouth closed, and looked away from her. Zelda sensed he was about to say too much.
“What’s up the mountain?”
“No place.”
“If it’s no place then why would you go up there when you become a man? Seems like there’s something on the mountain.”
“There’s nothing. You should go before they finish. If they catch lowlanders here then bad things will happen.”
“Alright, we’ll go, but first could you please tell us where the village store is so we can trade supplies? Once we’re done, then we’ll be off.”
The boy still did not look back at her. Instead he raised his hand and pointed at the house across from them. The house was like all the others, nothing special about it to make one think it was a store.
“Thank you,” Zelda said standing. “You have been very kind.”
The boy nodded but still kept his eyes from her. He stood straight again, and did not move even as they entered the house.
When they came in, they found a man as he was cleaning the shelves. He looked at them quizzically. “You’re not from here. Are you lowlanders? How did you get in here?”
“The guard let us in the village to trade before we made our way out,” Zelda answered. “I hope we can?”
“Oh, of course.” Zelda figured that if she mentioned the act of leaving as soon as they were done he might be more hospitable. It worked, but only slightly as the man tried to hurry Zelda and the others along in what they needed to trade. They had difficulty at first, as the man did not want their money as they did not use such things in the village, but soon they found things they could trade for and he gave them what they needed, even if they really didn’t need it.
“So could you tell me anything about Haven?” Zelda asked, trying to get something out of him to learn what she could.
“What can one say about the place one grew up in?” he said.
Zelda found herself becoming frustrated. She could think of a thousand things she could say about Highever. She soon gave up, as he was giving her the run around just as the boy was.
When they were done, they left the store to find the boy gone from where he was standing. They were completely alone again in the still quiet with no answers, only more questions. They hurried out, back down the hill and toward the stairs where they found the guard still, staring at them as they passed. Zelda could feel his eyes in her back as they descended the stairs. They kept going, all the way back to their previous camp where they hoped they would be far away enough from the village they wouldn’t be followed or spied on.
“That was creepy,” said Leliana as she sat on the log. “And why do they have a Revered Father? You don’t think they follow the Black Divine, do you?”
Zelda sat next to her after placing down her pack and weapons. “I don’t think so. They didn’t act Tevinter, but then again we didn’t see or hear much of anything to be sure.”
“I think it’s more a coincidence than a connection to Tevinter,” said Wynne as she lit the fire with her staff. “They’re a secluded village.”
“And very hostile,” said Alistair. He sat next to Zelda with Rupee laying next to him. He absently scratched behind her ears as he thought. “I just wonder what’s up the mountain. Do you think they could be protecting the Urn?”
“It’s a possibility,” said Zelda. “Which means we need to try and find a way up there. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, not with how they’re acting. I think we should wait for Arawin and the others before we decide to investigate further.”
“But how long could that take?” Leliana asked. “Can you feel her yet?”
“She’s getting closer, I know that, but still not close enough.” Zelda sat up and looked toward the sky. It was mid afternoon and the sun was in the highest point in the sky with large clouds looming over head. The snow was starting to fall thicker now, covering the forest floor with a soft white power.
“How long do you think?” Alistair said putting his hand on her shoulder.
Zelda closed her eyes and focused on the pin prick that she knew to be Arawin. It had grown bigger and was beginning to pulse faster now with more force. As she focused, she began to feel nauseated and dizzy. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Alistair’s arms as she had began swaying and nearly fell off the log.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s just... oh...” Zelda had to hold her stomach as another wave of nausea hit her. She covered her mouth just to make sure nothing came up. “It’s getting stronger the closer she gets. I’d say by this evening we should be together again.”
“Well that should be nice.”
Zelda stood with Alistair’s help even if he was reluctant to let her. She looked east and noticed that there was a pull driving her to go that way, but going that way made her more sick. She was now leaning on Alistair, using him for support.
“Come on,” she said. “I don’t want to, but it’s something that needs to be done.”
“What?”
“We should head east and straight toward Arawin. If we do, then Morrigan can give me the potion so I don’t feel so horrible anymore. Leliana, do you mind staying here in camp?”
“Sure, I’ll stay. Be careful though.”
“Don’t worry, we will. Rupee, you stay too and make sure Leliana stays safe.” The dog barked and went and sat next to Leliana as Zelda, Alistair and Wynne began making their way out of the camp.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Alistair asked Zelda, concern in his voice. “We could just stay at camp and wait for her to come to us.”
Zelda sighed. “Alistair, it’s all right, I’ll be fine. Just be my support, okay? Besides, the faster we find Arawin, the faster we can get things settled in Haven, and the faster I can get the potion from Morrigan to end this suffering.”
***
The last week or so since they left Denerim and crossed the bannorn to the Frostback Mountains went by fast despite little action. They did come across the occasional small group of darkspawn as well as Loghain’s soldiers, having to fight off both, but most of the time was spent walking and contemplating. Arawin mostly as she had been in deep thought for the first few days. It was hard for her to not be able to see her cousin, her whole family and see that they were not hurt. She couldn’t help but to think that it was her fault the alienage was being purged. If she hadn’t escaped, if she hadn’t been saved by Duncan and Zelda, then maybe they would be all fine. The thoughts had driven her nearly to insanity. Arawin had kept quiet and distant from the others, only able to let off some steam when they came across darkspawn, which wasn’t a lot of the time.
Then there was the incident with Zevran, learning that he had tried to get with Shianni had almost pushed her over the edge. Though, it wasn’t because she didn’t like the thought of him with her, but that he had tried when she was in such a vulnerable state. Arawin knew that if she was there, then she would have beat his ass for even stepping near Shianni. But that wasn’t what happened, and there was nothing Arawin could do about it, or anything really. She wasn’t mad at him, and when she realized it was when she knew she needed him. But it was more than a need, it was a desire, an urge, a fire within her that couldn’t be sated with just fighting and killing alone. So she went to him, apologized for her actions and then allowed him to take away her pain. It had worked, and afterwards she felt better, even if the thoughts and pain were still in the back of her mind. She could handle them now at least.
Now as they had passed into the mountain region and were making their way off the mountain pass to the south, Arawin took the lead, enjoying the cold in the air and seeing the forest change in front of her. The trees in the mountains were mostly evergreens. They were scattered about and covered in snow, different from the trees in the Brecilian Forest, which were starting to lose their leaves when they had left long ago. Arawin enjoyed the cold and the snow, and she noticed she wasn’t the only one. Kunjo liked to jump in the snow mounds, spraying it all over everyone. Arawin would play with him, throwing snowballs and having him catch them. His coat had become thick and shaggy, making him look bigger. The cold never bothered him at all, and it didn’t seem to bother either Morrigan or Sten, but Zevran was a different story.
As they walked through the forest, Arawin looked back at Zevran to find him completely wrapped in his cloak with his hood over his head. He hugged himself, shivering and walking slow in the back. Arawin laughed as she saw him, knowing how miserable he was.
“Are you cold, Zev?”
“What’s it look like?” he snipped at her.
“It looks like you’re cold.”
“I hate your winters,” he said. A gust of wind then blew past Arawin and hit him, making him stop and duck. “And your stupid winds!”
Arawin couldn’t help but to laugh as she and the others stopped to look at him. Morrigan rolled her eyes and shook her head while Sten grunted. Arawin knew Morrigan was just as used to the cold as she was, maybe even more since the Wilds were always cold. Yet Sten was a mystery to her. Course, he was a mystery to her most of the time, but he was from an area warmer than Antiva, way up north next to the equator where it was warm and smoldering all year long. Why he wasn’t suffering from the cold was anyone’s guess, but Arawin figured either it didn’t bother him because Qunari were good at dealing with it, or he was just good at hiding his discomfort just as he was at hiding his emotions.
“I-It’s not f-funny,” Zevran chattered.
“Oh, Zev,” Arawin said as she walked to him. “Is this why you’re staying in my tent longer at night?”
“In part.”
“If you’re really that cold, then here.” Arawin took off her cloak and gave it to him. Zevran backed away, not wanting to take it.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you something to make you warmer.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said flinging the cloak over his shoulders. “This weather is nothing. If you’re cold now, then I don’t know what you’re going to do later on.”
In truth, Arawin couldn’t even feel the weather. The only thing she could think of to explain it was the Dalish armor she was wearing. She wondered if the enchantment did more than just protect her from harm. It seemed logical, as there was no other explanation. The only problem with it was that Zevran didn’t seem to have the same enchantment. He was wearing Dalish armor as well, but it didn’t seem to be helping him with the cold at all. The only thing Arawin could think of was that the enchantment was only put on the armor for women. It would explain why she was not suffering and maybe even why the women of the Dalish wore such scant armor even in the winter.
“Now, do you feel better?”
Zevran put down his hood to look at her better. “Not really. It’s still freezing.”
Arawin snickered. “Are you hungry? Maybe a fire will make you warmer.” She then turned to Morrigan and Sten. “Let’s stop here for now and get something to eat.”
“It would be best if we kept moving,” said Morrigan.
“I know, but I’m starting to get hungry too, and a little food will help. Zev, you need to stop just standing there and get moving, or else you’re going to get frostbite. How about you go and collect some fire wood. Take my cloak and get moving so we can get the fire started quick.”
Zevran wrapped both cloaks around him and moved into the trees. Arawin hoped he would be all right and get used to the weather soon as it really was going to get worse. She was worried about him, even if she did find it a little funny.
Morrigan went to work taking out food and preparing it for cooking once the fire would be started. Sten began collecting stones and began laying them out in a circle. Arawin watched them for a moment before deciding to take their water skins and refill them. They had heard a stream running a few paces back. Arawin followed the noise before she found it running down the mountain side. The sides of it were frozen with clear ice. Arawin made her way to the bank, careful of the thin ice and snowdrifts. Once she found firm ground, she looked into the water and saw how clear it was. She cupped some water in her hands and brought it to her lips, feeling the cold but refreshing taste wash down her throat. She drank a few more handfuls before emptying the skins and then filling them in the stream. When she was done, she then leaned back and it immediately hit her.
Her stomach began to churn making her nauseated and dizzy. Her head spun and Arawin had to sit fully on her back side in order to keep from falling. She held her stomach, trying to figure out what was happening to her. She looked at the stream, wondering if there was something wrong with the water, but then something snapped in her head, a pop, making her close her eyes. She saw the colors, greens and blues flicking in front of her vision in the blackness. It made her even more sick as she watched, seeing as one by one, a green and blue strand collided, connecting and fussing at the ends. It happened slowly, and with each new connection, Arawin could feel Zelda more and more.
Arawin wanted to open her eyes, to get away from the vision, but for some reason she couldn’t. She wanted to get away from the dizziness, to get away from the nausea that was becoming worse and worse.
“Arawin! What’s wrong?” She felt his hands land on her shoulders, making her body shake and the dizziness threaten to take her under. He shook her when she didn’t answer him, making it worse.
“Zev... please don’t.”
“Oh, don’t scare me like that. Ara, you were completely still. Can you open your eyes?”
“I don’t know.” She still couldn’t, but she was determined to get out of the blackness that was consuming her. It hurt, but she was able to force them open, the light nearly blinding her. When she was finally able to see, she looked at Zevran and saw him startle. “What? What’s wrong?” she asked wanting to know what he was staring at.
“You’re eye,” he said slowly. “It’s...”
“What... what’s wrong with my eye? Which one?” Arawin sat up as she found she was lying on the ground. The nausea and dizziness were still there, but not as bad from when she was in the blackness.
“Your right one.”
“What is it?” she demanded. She immediately thought of the tattoo surrounding her eye. Was there something wrong with it? Had the ink leaked into her eye or had it been messed up some how? How could that've happened?
“I can’t really explain,” Zevran said still stunned. “You’ll have to look for yourself.”
He pulled her off the ground and brought her over to a calm part in the stream. Arawin looked down at her reflection, at first not seeing what he was talking about. She checked out her tattoo and saw there was nothing wrong with it. The feather was still intact with no sign of leaking ink or tares. She then made her way to the white of the eye and saw it was still white except for a few red lines. It wasn’t until she reached her iris that she saw it, and startled as well, leaning lower to get a better look.
Her iris was still dark green, but within it were small specks of crystal blue that circled around the pupil in a swirl. They moved slowly, mixing with the green and disappearing in the black of the pupil before reappearing at the edge of the white to continue their course through the green. She looked over at her left eye and saw it was still normal, all green with no blue specks. She backed away from the stream, not wanting to see anymore and not sure of what to think of it.
“Is it the... bond?” Zevran asked as he helped Arawin to her feet.
“I... I don’t know.” Arawin looked at him and saw that he was just as concerned and confused as she was. “I need to ask Morrigan.” She pulled herself away from him, running through the tree and back to where Sten, Morrigan, and Kunjo still were. She stopped in front of the witch, breathing heavily and falling to her knees as the running did not help her spinning head.
“You don’t look good,” said Morrigan.
“No I don’t,” Arawin breathed. “What is this?” she asked pointing to her right eye.
Morrigan opened her eye wider and studied it. By the time she was done, Zevran had caught up and stood behind Arawin. “‘Twould appear Zelda is close,” she said. “I can assume you feel sick?”
“Yes.”
“Then she is, which means we shouldn’t dally. What direction is she coming from?”
Arawin concentrated, trying to ignore the nausea to determine which way it was coming from. “West. Directly west. I’m being pulled in that direction, but I really want to go east and away.”
“Then west is the way we should start to go.” Morrigan collected the food she had put out and replaced it in her pack before standing.
“Wait,” said Arawin as she stood with her. “Do you have the potion? Can I take it so this dizziness can go away?”
“No, because you’re going to need it in order to find your bonded. Once we find her, then I will give both of you the potion. The reason why you feel the way you do is because both of you have been separated from each other for a long time, all the while the bond still growing.”
“And my eye?”
“Indicating that the bond is growing. It will only get stronger with time.”
“Will it ever go away or is my eye going to be like this forever?”
“I’m afraid it’s permanent.”
Arawin’s jaw dropped at this. She loved her eyes, they were her mother’s eyes, and now one of them was being polluted.
“I actually kind of like it,” said Zevran. “It’s very exotic.” Arawin saw he was smiling, trying to make her feel better about it. Any other time it might have worked, but not with a new wave of nausea washing over her. He caught her when she nearly fell.
“Uh, just please let me have the potion and Zelda can find me instead,” she said once she was propped up by Zevran. “She’s moving, I can feel it as she gets closer. She’s moving toward me. If she can still feel me then it should be fine.”
Morrigan shook her head. “No, we need to know how close she is, and it will take longer if we wait. The faster we find her, the faster you can have the potion.”
Arawin whimpered, placing her head on Zevran’s shoulder. She knew she wouldn’t be able to argue with the witch. If she wasn’t going to give it to her, then she wasn’t going to give it. “Not fair.”
She felt Zevran rub her back and heard him chuckle a little. “Now you know how I felt, Hermosa, the morning we left the Dalish.”
“Maybe, but this doesn’t feel like a hangover. It feels like I’m dying.”
“I fail to see the difference.”
Arawin pushed up from him and tried to get away but nearly fell over again.
“Are you sure you’re not just drunk?” he asked catching her. “Because that’s what it seems more like.”
“Oh, just shut up and let’s get going! The faster we find Zelda the faster I can kick your ass.”
“Ah, how exciting! I finally get to meet the other Grey Wardens. Is this Zelda just as lovely as she was described?”
“That’s it, I'm really going to kick your ass now,” Arawin said glaring at him.
Zevran smiled mischievously. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age: Origins
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Blood Bond