A Hidden Side

Another fanfiction from Dragon Age.
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Alistair, Sienne, Morrigan, Zevran at the Proving Grounds

"You like him, don't you?" Leliana asked nonchalantly as she walked beside the raven-haired female through the streets of Denerim. "I see you watching him sometimes. When you think no one's looking." The hustle and bustle of the city streets was loud enough to muffle the bard's words so that Sienne, alone, could hear them. She glanced back at the others, some distance away, but they all looked preoccupied.

"I don't know what you mean." Sienne hoped Leliana would take the hint. She didn't really feel like discussing anything right now. She had finally set foot in Denerim, and eager to see her family in the elven alienage. It had been months since she had last seen them after her disastrous wedding.

"Do you not?" Leliana asked slyly. Apparently, the bard wasn't letting her off the hook. "I thought you and Alistair had something going on. After you shared that kiss in the Elven Ruins which had the poor boy blushing for days if he so much as looked at you."

"Lel!" Sienne abruptly stopped and faced her grinning friend. The bard had succeeded in gaining her attention and was well pleased with herself. The Warden sighed.

"Well, if you must know, nothing happened with Alistair beyond that. He's a dear friend but I just think we're too different to make it work."

The ever perceptive Chantry sister raised a single eyebrow. "That's not the answer to my original question, you know. He's not the one I was talking about."

The Warden was exasperated. "You already know the answer, don't you? You just want me to admit it." Sienne accused. Leliana's grin widened even more, confirming her statement. Sienne sighed. Might as well get it over with.

"Yes, I do like him."

"I knew it!" Leliana's sudden outburst drew curious glances from their companions. She immediately lowered her voice and pulled the raven-haired elf even further away from the group to continue the conversation.

"He's been with us for a long time now. Has fought with us and protected each of us at least once during our battles. He hasn't tried to assassinate you since that first time. And since your conversation with him last night at the campfire, you seem ... I don't know. Distracted." Leliana watched her intently. It was natural for the bard to try and get to know those she traveled with. And now, unfortunately for Sienne, Leliana was picking up the subtle nunances of her gestures.

Sienne looked away. "He opened up to me last night, when I asked him about his adventures. Somehow, the subject of the conversation went to his last mission. Leliana... when he went after us, he fully expected to fail."

Comprehension dawned and the bard's eyes widened as the full meaning of the words sank in. "Zevran... came to us to die?" She whispered softly.

The elven woman nodded slowly. That confession was still replaying itself in her mind. Over and over. "I cannot tell you what prompted him to do that. It is for him to do if he so wishes."

"But.. What if he was lying? He is a master at the art of treachery." Leliana pointed out. She knew all about manipulating people, had done it herself many times, in fact.

"You weren't there when he said it, Leliana. He speaks the truth." The Warden was absolutely certain of her words. "And even if I doubted him, which I don't, the Guardian at the Gauntlet confirmed his regret of his final mission."

"The Guardian of the Urn of Sacred Ashes." Leliana said breathlessly. Being a former Chantry sister, the bard couldn't help the reverence in her voice.

"He gives the pretense that he is shallow. That there is nothing to him but murder and sex. But that is not true at all." The elven warden went on. "It was the only life he ever knew and he embraced it to survive. I have never known a man who has gone through so much and can still afford to laugh, to enjoy life, and not be embittered by his experiences. At the very least, I'm surprised he doesn't feel like the world owes him. Zevran is risking his own life fighting alongside us to save the world from the Blight. A world that has not even been kind to him."

The warden fell silent then and the bard didn't feel the need to break it. Her innocent teasing had revealed much more about the enigmatic assassin than she had intended. And the more she knew, the more her view of him changed.

Sienne looked lost in her own thoughts now. Leliana thought it best to leave her friend with a warning, though.

"Be careful, Sienne, the way things are going now, you might just fall in love with him."

The warden was suddenly jolted back to earth by the bard's words and gave the flame-haired female an incredulous look before Leliana slipped away to join the others.

For a brief instant, her emerald eyes met Zevran's soft, brown ones. He smiled at her and Sienne found herself stupidly smiling back at him. Deep in her heart, she wondered if it would be so bad to fall for the incorrigible assassin.