When I Look at You (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Arrival

They kept moving the next day, making their way as quickly as they could toward Denerim.

Zevran was walking next to Una, and he said, more seriously than usual, "Have you considered how you will get into the city?"

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot imagine that the bounty on your heads has been lifted, and no doubt Loghain will be on the lookout for your arrival. He must know that Arl Eamon is planning to call the Landsmeet, and that you and our resident ex-Templar will be there. He will want to be certain he has dealt with the threat you represent before you can challenge his sovereignty."

Una frowned. "I hadn't thought of that." She glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the crew. "Do you think he knows all of us?"

"Hm." Zevran considered that for a moment. "Of a certainty, he will be looking for me, although he is the least of my concerns." His white teeth flashed in a grin. "The Crows will also be searching for me, and are far more efficient than the Regent could ever be. I doubt his sources are good enough to know of Oghren or Morrigan or Leliana, although if he has any decent spies he should have heard of our lovely companions and have at least their descriptions. And I suspect the Templars may well know about Wynne. So at a guess, I imagine he knows enough to make it very difficult for us."

"Well, you're a fountain of good news, aren't you?"

"I do my humble best." He bowed, and Una sighed.

"We'll have to sneak into the city."

"Sneaking is one of the many things I do best."

"How much can I pay you to keep you from listing off the others?"

"You do not have that much coin, lovely lady. Let's see ..." He held out his hands and pretended to be counting on his fingers. "There is sneaking, and poison, and massage, and ..."

"Don't say lockpicking, though, because Leliana's twice as good at that as you are." Una grinned at him.

"Ah, those skilled little fingers."

"Enough said. I'd threaten to tell you all about Alistair's—what did Leliana call it? Oh, his athleticism. But you'd enjoy it too much."

"That I would. Besides which, my lovely Warden, one need only have a working pair of ears to know precisely how much pleasure his ... ahem ... athleticism brings you."

Una tried hard not to blush, but it was impossible to contemplate being listened to during those moments without doing so. Zev laughed, a hearty, genuine laugh that warmed her heart.

"If we could get back to business, please," she said, trying to gather her shredded dignity around her.

"Business before pleasure. Such a shame that you have your priorities so turned around." But he sobered, for all that, and they turned their attention to the problem of getting the whole group into Denerim without being detected.

So it was that Oghren walked in through the gates, roaring a dwarven marching song at the top of his lungs. He was weaving drunkenly through the masses of people, pinching a rear there, stepping on a foot here. In the chaos he created in his wake, Leliana slipped silently through the crowd. Morrigan, dressed with more discretion than usual and accompanied by Grenli, used the distraction to her advantage to move quickly past the gates and into the warren of streets surrounding them before she had time to draw notice. Wynne, pretending to be more infirm than she actually was, leaned on Alistair's arm, both of them dressed as refugees.

That had been the easy part. Zevran could have gone in as well. But Una, thanks to her height and her rather distinctive looks and walk, was the hardest one to get into the city. So the elf stayed outside the city walls with Una and with much of their gear. They would leave the tents and the nonessentials with Bodahn and Sandal, but the armor and weapons needed to come in.

Late that night, in the darkness of a fortunately moonless night, Zevran managed to get a loop of rope around the top of one of the sharpened logs of the city walls. It tightened with the weight of his body as he climbed slowly, his eyes fixed above him for any sign of the guards. Leliana, inside, was supposed to be playing the part of a strumpet, and have drugged the wine she intended to share with the night guards ... but anything could have gone wrong with that plan, so Zevran and Una were wary. Finally the elf reached the top, tugging on the rope to let Una know he was there. She tied the bundle of weapons and armor to the end, holding her breath as Zev drew it up. It was a heavy bundle, and while the elf was sinewy and strong, Una would have felt somewhat more confident if Alistair had been the one pulling it up. Of course, Alistair would have clattered the bundle against the walls, bringing half of Denerim to see what the tremendous racket was. Whatever difficulties Zevran might have had with the bundle, it made no noise whatsoever as he drew it up the wall.

Below, Una waited for what seemed like half an age until the rope hit her in the upturned face when it uncoiled. She grasped it, tugging lightly to assure herself that it was strong enough to hold her. Of course, it had been strong enough to hold the armor and weapons, which weighed a lot more, but while it was easy to tell herself that, it was less easy to believe. Climbing had never been her strong point.

She hauled herself up the wall hand over hand, her muscles aching by the time she was halfway up. She'd have thought carrying that big maul would have helped in this area, but apparently they were different muscle groups, or she was clenching the rope more tightly than she did the weapon. Either way, by the time she was three quarters of the way up her arms were quivering and she wasn't sure she was going to make it. Did Denerim really have to have such tall walls?

A slim tanned arm reached over the edge of the wall, and she focused on the outstretched hand, hauling herself up until she could grasp it. Una wouldn't have guessed that Zev was strong enough to pull her up, but pull he did, until she landed on the top of the wall next to him, gasping.

"Do we have to go down, now, too?"

"Yes, and I am afraid we must do it carrying the weapons," he murmured very close to her ear. "And quickly, at that, because while our multi-talented songbird has dealt with the guards at the top, the city guards have changed their watch."

"All right. Let's get it over with, then." Una shouldered as much of the pack as she could. Zev took the rest, nimbly climbing down a ladder that was leaning against the top of the wall. She let him get to the bottom before following. Just one more rung, she kept telling herself. Just one more.

Finally she'd reached the bottom. Zev was looking around the corner, waiting for the next set of guards to pass. He held up his hand in a signal for her to wait, which Una was glad to do. After a few minutes, he dropped his hand sharply and disappeared around the corner, with Una following quickly behind him.

They slipped in a side door of Arl Eamon's estate, finding Leliana there waiting for them. She took the gear from Una's shoulders. "My friend, you must hurry to the front parlor. Your presence is needed."

"Why?"

"Loghain is here."

"How did he know?"

Leliana shrugged. "He does not know of your arrival, however, and I believe Alistair could use your support."

"How long has he been here?"

"Not long. A few minutes, I believe. And ... Una? He is not alone."

Her eyes met Leliana's, reading there the identity of Loghain's companion. Howe. Already. She should have known. Una was unprepared for the calm that settled over her now that the moment was at hand. He would know now, for certain, that his attempt to wipe out the Couslands had failed, and she would at least have the satisfaction of having faced him down. She just hoped she could hold onto her dignity.