Chapter 29: Love and Lies

"Take my arm Papa."

Cyrion Tabris coughed weakly, he was dirty and malnourished, but at least he was still alive. He clutched at his daughter's arm fighting the shaking in his tired body, he looked thinner than she remembered, but that was not surprising she supposed.

The bastards holding him had only been considered with keeping their charges alive enough for sale, beyond that…their welfare had not been that important.

Her father gave her a weary smile, as they stepped out into the light. He blinked in the midday sun.

"Thank you, my girl," he said softly. He once again stopped and pulled her into a tight hug. He had heard of what had happened in Ostagar, she was sorry that she had not been able to send word to him sooner, that she was still alive, but there had simply not been a chance. He had stared in shock as she had released him and the others from the cages; the remaining Tevinters were either dead or had fled for their own lives.

The two of them stood in the muddy street, just holding each other, both grateful to see the other was safe and alive.

She stopped, fighting against the sob that was trying to steal her resolve. Yet she could do nothing for the lump in her throat, the burning tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Papa was no help either in this, not that she expected him to be.

"Alive," she heard her father whimper, "My little girl is alive."

She both laughed and cried as he held her, there had been a time that she would have resisted such an open show of affection in front of so many, especially her friends…

She would have sought to protect her bad reputation.

Considering what she had almost lost this day, which no longer mattered to her, her reputation, be damned.

"I thought I lost you Papa," she whimpered, "I…I missed you. I missed you so much."

She held him tighter, no longer able to fight the sobs, the tears of joy of seeing him safe. He held her close as he had when she was a child. He held her like he had done when her mother had died.

It helped now, as it had helped then.

"It is okay, Kallian," he murmured, "I am here."

"Papa," she whimpered gratefully.

He smiled slightly, tears coming to his own eyes.

"I'm here."

IOI

Kalli led her father and the other elves out of the burned warehouse; the fires had finally gone out…mostly, even though the smoke would linger over the Alienage like a stain for many days to come. The wardens had dealt with the problem quickly, so it was unlikely that any of the guard would show up to try and "help" in the Alienage.

The warden shook her head.

That Tevinter elven bitch had talked about fetching the Teyrn's men, but Kalli seriously doubted that any would come. Loghain would definitely not want more witnesses to what had happened here, and if they did show up trying to erase any evidence of the regent's wrong doing, they would find that they were far too late.

Kalli already had the parchment from the leader of these slavers, the one with Loghain's signature on it.

She almost smiled.

Let's see the noble bastard talk his way out of this one!

She still could not believe it. Tevinter slavers, here in Denerim, and what was worse, they were here with Loghain's blessing. He had needed coin to replace what he had lost when the Banns rebelled.

Kalli's ears lowered in anger.

He had been selling her people; selling free Ferelden's to pay for his fucking war! Was he so scared of the Orlesians that he did not mind letting the most evil bastards in Thedas into his city. The Tevinters were blood mages; no less than two of the mages that they had killed today had tried to use blood magic on them.

It was worse than criminal, what the Teyrn had done, it was immoral, cruel…

It was pure evil.

Whatever happened in the Landsmeet, she was going to make sure that every noble in this damn country knew what he had done.

Most of the Tevinters had died in the failed attempt to protect their operation, she had let their leader go, but only with his life and she had crushed every bone in both his hands for good measure.

She almost chuckled at that.

The bastard would have trouble wiping his ass for quite a while, much less be able to cast spells. She had thought about turning his victims loose upon him, but in the end, she had rejected that idea. There had been enough blood spilled today.

It was time to let the healing begin.

The elves they had rescued were not in the best of shape, most of them had given up hope inside those cells, their broken eyes staring dully at the world around them. They had simply been waiting to be loaded on a ship and taken to Tevinter.

A few of them sobbed when they saw their families again, likely they had feared some reprisal against their loved one should they have tried to escape. Both Shianni and Soris met them on the street; they embraced both her father and her.

For the first time in almost a year she stood with her family again, grateful and happy to see them all okay.

Even Shianni was at a loss for words, a noteworthy day indeed.

She introduced her father to her allies. Cyrion was pleased to see his daughter had found such stalwart allies to travel with. When she introduced him to Zevran, his ears twitched and he gave her a knowing look.

She winced slightly.

Had he somehow picked up on the fact that she and Zev were…well…together. She had not told him anything, she had not even given any hint had she?

She almost shook her head.

How did her Papa do that?

The rest of the Alienage seemed pleased to see at least some of the people they had lost, sadly, more than a few had likely already been taken to Tevinter, including the Hahren, Valendrian's loss would haunt the community for weeks if not months to come. He had led them well since before she had even been born. It would not be easy to find another elf that could fill his shoes.

For now though, she was grateful to be back, her home was safe, it had been bloodied, but it would recover in time. The elves of Denerim were a strong people; they would endure what was left of this plague, and survive Loghain's treachery.

She had thought to make some kind of statement to her former neighbors, let them know that justice would be served for what had been inflicted upon them, alas; she did not have the words. She was not a leader, despite what everyone else might say to the contrary.

She smiled warmly at Zev, who returned it, he fell in next to her as they made their way back to the Tabris home, his fingers drifted lightly into hers, their hands touched, and he gave it a soft squeeze.

Father looked back, somehow knowing what was going on, both she and Zev separated quickly, her father shook his head and continued on into the house.

Shianni was smirking at her. She gave her cousin a dirty look, which only seemed to amuse her more.

Kalli sighed heavily.

How did her Papa bloody do that?!

IOI

The sun was finally setting when Zevran finally emerged from the Tabris home. The assassin paused outside of if, looking at the sad state of the alienage, the patchwork homes, the muddy streets, and ragged elven citizens.

He said nothing, because there was nothing to say.

These people were stronger than most people thought. They endured plague, hardship, and poverty, yet still found a way to push through, yet another day.

If anyone doubted that strength, all they had to do was look at Kalli. The warden was proof of the steel that existed in the spine of this Alienage. She had done so much for so many.

He smiled slightly.

He would dare any noble born fop, to do better.

Both of Kalli's cousins had wanted to hear everything about her…travels over the past few months. Wynne, Leliana, and Alistair were helping her with that, they did their best to downplay the danger that they had faced, but from the look on Kalli's father's face, the man knew that they were leaving somethings out.

He found his lover's father watching him more and more closely. Kalli had said nothing about their…their…

He frowned slightly.

He was not sure what to call what he had with Kalli…it was more than just some dalliance or tryst…

It…it was not something that was easily put into words he found.

Finally, he could not take the man's questioning looks anymore. He had made an excuse about desiring fresh air and slipped out of the building.

Zevran sighed, his elven ears twitching with irritation.

This was probably the first time that he had met one of his…paramour's…families. He was not the type of man who a girl brought to family dinners after all, and even if he was…

He chuckled slightly.

The kind of stories he had were not meant for family gatherings.

"Ser?"

He did not need to guess who had spoken to him, he had been wondering when this would happen.

He put on his most disarming smile and turned.

Cyrion Tabris stood there, the old elf sizing him up so to speak. Though he was unarmed, Zev could not deny the sense of…nervousness being under the man's gaze gave him.

"Greetings, Ser Tabris," he said with a slight bow, "Is there something I can do for you?"

The old elf's ears twitched slightly, once again Zev felt like he was being evaluated.

He hated to admit it, but…

He feared that he had been found wanting.

"I wanted to thank you, ser," Cyrion began, "My daughter speaks highly of you. She says that you have saved her life several times in recent months."

The old man shook his head.

"Thanks…it…it is too small a word for that," he said looking away, "Kallian…she…she is all I have left of her mother. She is the light of my life."

Zev shifted uncomfortably, he was not used to such conversations. He realized that his usual flattery would not work here.

He realized that honesty would be more useful.

He sighed.

"Your daughter, ser, she…she is a special woman, a formidable woman. She…she is worth saving. She…she has saved my life many times on this journey as well. I…"

Zev almost cursed, his words failed him. Many in the crows would have found that more than amusing, they would have found it hilarious.

The great Zevran Arainai made speechless by an old elven servant.

Hilarious.

He swallowed hard, cursing his own weakness at this moment.

"Your daughter…she is special to me ser, not just…just as a fellow warrior and travelling companion…she…she is more."

Cyrion gave him a slight smile.

"I thought as much, my daughter…she…she is much like her mother, skilled in secrets, but she has never been able to hide anything from me."

The old elf shook his head.

"Is…is she happy with you?"

Zevran sighed again.

"We…she…I…"

Brasca, why was this so damned difficult!

"I…I was trapped in my old life," he admitted, "Kalli…Kallian saved me from that. I…I wanted to die, the things I have done…

He paused.

"I was not proud of them. Your daughter, she saved me from that. She…she was hurting after what happened here, this…this wedding that I have heard about."

Cyrion shuddered at the memory, it was clear that Kalli was not the only one who dealt with the pain of those sad events.

"I've done what I could for her ser," Zev admitted, "I…I owe her much, a freedom that I have never known until recently. She…she is special to me, yes. I will not deny that."

He smiled again, not the cocky smile of a crow assassin, but the simple smile of a man who cares for a woman.

"I do my best to make her happy, as…as happy as she makes me."

Cyrion seemed to relax slightly, he almost sighed with relief.

Zev was not sure what to make of that.

"My little girl has never been…conventional, but that is not surprising, given her mother. Adaia was strong too; she made me see a world that I did not think possible. She changed my entire world."

Zevran chuckled.

"Like mother, like daughter," he said.

"Yes," Cyrion agreed, "I had…wanted a simple life for Kallian. I had wanted her to be safe, to settle down here. Family gatherings, children of her own, I…I thought that was best for her…"

He shook his head.

"I don't think she would have been able to live like that, she would have tried, but it would not have worked out for long."

He approached Zevran, the assassin tensed, though he did not really know why.

Cyrion laid his hands on his shoulders.

"You seem like a good man, ser, a strong man. My daughter will likely need that before her journeys are done. She can be reckless at times; it is good that she has someone to stand beside her in the shadows."

Zev almost coughed at that.

A good man?

Him?

It was laughable, but…

For the sake of Kalli's father, he would try, even if it was just pretend.

The old elf needed this, if Kalli was to continue on, he needed to believe that she was safe, that she had found someone safe…

…Even if that was a lie.

Zevran laid his hands on the older man's shoulders.

"I will protect your daughter with my life ser; you have my solemn vow on that."

Kalli's father embraced him, it was a strange thing. Not something that he was used to. Respect from one of his lover's family.

What was the world coming too?

For the sake of Cyrion Tabris, he would live the lie.

He would pretend to be a good man.

Yet, he had not lied about protecting Kalli, which was the truth; he knew that in his heart.

Perhaps that would balance things out in the end.

One lie and one truth to bring a true balance, or to hide what he truly was.

The best way to hide a lie was between two truths.

He knew that.

Any good crow…knew that, but that brought up another question.

What kind of a crow was he now; he had broken away from the order

What kind of assassin was he?

What kind of a man was he?

Zevran was shocked by the answer.

He…he did not know.

Wasn't that interesting…?

…or perhaps…

Terrifying.