Teagan couldn't have been more right on the horrendousness of the journey to Kirkwall. Solona had never been on a boat for so long in her life. She spent most of the time feeling (and being) seasick and decided that if the opportunity arose to captain a ship, she would gladly pass up on it. Leliana seemed to have a whale of a time, which did nothing to sate her.
A man on the Docks had informed them that the city was not in the most stable position. He'd told them about some kind of invasion but Solona's mind was too occupied to pay attention. She'd been recognised as the 'Hero of Ferelden' almost as soon as they'd left the Docks which she wasn't too happy about either; navigating a way around the city without being harassed by some fanatic Kirkwallian wasn't the easiest of tasks; word apparently spreads quickly in Kirkwall. Navigating a way around the city to start with was a challenge; the number of times they found themselves back where they'd started was uncountable. The only thing that kept Solona going was the fact that Alistair was around... somewhere. Chances were they'd perish before reaching him if they kept up their current pace.
"Maybe we should ask someone for directions? I don't see us getting anywhere at this rate." Leliana suggested after half an hour of running in circles. They'd managed to get out of the Docks but were having no such luck getting out of Lowtown.
"We don't need directions. Yes, I've never been to any city other than Denerim before but how hard can it be to find our way through this one?" Solona quipped as they rounded a corner for the fourth time. Leliana sniggered at Solona's disgruntled expression and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not going to kill us to admit we're lost." She looked around for a while. "Let's ask that guy." She pointed to a man standing with his back to them by a weapon stall. Of course Leliana would chose him of all the people in the Bazaar; he definitely wasn't the least attractive man around. Sure, they could only see his back, but if his figure was anything to go on, his face wasn't so bad either. Leliana took her by the hand and dragged her over to the man, who looked slightly smaller than he had from a distance.
"Excuse me, sir." Leliana started. "You don't happen to know where we can find a Teagan Guerrin do you?"
"No." The man turned around and Solona couldn't help but gasp. She hadn't meant to but his appearance startled her. His green eyes were harder than she'd imagined and his ears more elf-like, which at least explained the difference in height. The man had some of the strangest tattoos she'd ever laid eyes on; they spanned from his chin all the way down his arms to his fingers and Solona couldn't help but see the beauty in the pattern they formed. She saw the elf shift under her gaze and apologised.
"I must go." He stated before walking in a direction Solona noted they hadn't explored yet. Would it be too strange to follow? Leliana made the decision for her when she traipsed after the man in a mindless daze.
They'd lost the elf a while back when he darted round a sudden corner and Leliana lost sight of him. They wouldn't have known where they were had a woman not told them to "die and make room" if they didn't like Darktown. People in Darktown were clearly not as polite as people in Lothering.
"How rude." Leliana commented as the woman continued to walk past them and Solona sighed in relief when she wasn't recognised for the millionth time. However, her relief turned to panic as she felt arms wrap tight around her waist from behind.
"What the hell do you think you're-" She span round to find a man she knew all too well smiling at her. His blonde hair tied back and his blue eyes gleaming, perhaps a little more than they used to.
"I heard you were in town." He spoke, excitedly as she regained her stolen breath.
"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" Solona enquired, cautiously.
"Mad? I'm furious with you. That cat was the best thing that ever happened to me." He replied mockingly, as he released her from his grasp and looked her up and down. "You're not looking so great, Solona. What's wrong?"
"Other than the fact I'm harassed every ten seconds by some fanatic?" It was so easy to joke with him; just like with Alistair. "Quite a bit actually." She continued, in a more sombre tone. He put an arm around her shoulders and led her into a small room adorned with beds and pieces of paper lying around all over the place.
"What is this place?"
"My clinic. I'm a healer now." He answered nonchalantly, like it wasn't strange for a Grey Warden to turn to a doctoring profession. "Sit down." She did as he suggested and Leliana took a seat next to her on one of the many low beds as he knelt in front of her.
"I know it's been a while, but you know you can still trust me." He said as he smiled sweetly towards her. During her time at Vigil's Keep, she'd always had a suspicion that he'd had a soft spot for her and he wasn't doing a very good job of digging himself out of his hole.
"Do you remember the Grey Warden I told you about? I need him back."
"Hey, I left the Wardens! Why don't you need me back?" he joked. Solona ignored his humour and continued,
"You know what I did, Anders. I have to make it right." Solona hung her head as Alistair's words once again rang through her head. "I got a letter from his uncle. He's here in Kirkwall." Anders flashed her a knowing smile before he spoke,
"I might just be able to help you."