When I Look at You (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Conversation

Una watched Wynne head back toward the campsite, then turned in the direction Leliana had gone. This would be a great night for a darkspawn attack, she thought, with half the group out wandering the forest.

After some searching, she came upon Leliana, sitting on a fallen tree. The bard looked up as Una approached her. "I had hoped you would find me."

"You had something on your mind at dinner. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Leliana took a deep breath. "I lied to you," she said. "About why I came to Ferelden."

"If I remember right," Una said, "you didn't actually tell me why you came to Ferelden. So you can't have lied." She smiled at her friend.

"That is a charitable way of looking at it," Leliana said in relief.

Una sat down next to the bard. "Let's start with this, then. 'Leliana, how did you first come to Ferelden?'"

Now Leliana looked nervous again. "I ... was being hunted."

"Hunted? Were you in some kind of trouble?"

"Let me start from the beginning." Leliana looked up at the sky, searching for the right words. "In Orlais, I was a bard. A spy. My bardmaster was a woman named Marjolaine. She was my friend, she had trained me, and I loved her." Una's eyebrow quirked, but she said nothing. "One day, I was sent by Marjolaine to kill a man. It was a simple task. When it was done, I took some papers off his body." Leliana paused.

"I take it these were important papers?"

"It turned out that they were. They were treasonous. I opened them up, and when I saw what they were, I grew concerned. I went back to Marjolaine to tell her that I was worried for her, that she was involved in dangerous activities and she should be careful." The pain was obvious in Leliana's voice as she went on. "She told me not to worry, that it would all be taken care of. And I believed her!" A tear slid down Leliana's cheek, followed by another and then another. "Until they came for me."

"Who's they?" Una put her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"The Orlesian guards. They ..." she gave a strangled sob, "tortured me. Horribly. I learned that Marjolaine had altered the papers and put my name on them. I felt so betrayed!" Leliana hid her face in Una's shoulder, crying. Una held her friend until her tears stopped. Leliana swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Fortunately, my bard skills came in handy in prison. I was able to escape, and I ran for my life, across the border and into Ferelden. Eventually I came to Lothering. I took shelter in the Chantry, and felt so comfortable there that I never wanted to leave. Until I had that dream, and I knew I must go with you."

Una squeezed Leliana's shoulders tightly. "And I am glad that you did. We'd all be starving without you," she teased. Then, looking intently into her friend's face, she said, "Thank you for trusting me with this."

"It feels good to be able to talk about this with you. You are a true friend," Leliana said. "Thank you."

"Will you be all right?"

"Yes. I am glad that there are no more secrets between us," Leliana said. Una stood up, resting her hand on Leliana's shoulder for a minute.

"It appears to be time for me to start my watch," Una said. "Will you be able to sleep?" Leliana nodded. "Good-night, then, my friend."

Una headed back toward camp, slowly, circling around the clearing with the campfires. She had made it about two-thirds of the way around the circle when she saw a shadow leaning against a tree trunk. "You should be more careful," she said sternly. "You almost got a giant maul to the head."