When I Look at You (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Entry

They were drawing near the Arl of Denerim's estate now. The streets were familiar to Una—she had walked here with her parents, with Fergus and Oriana, the last time she'd been in Denerim. There had been a party, she remembered, and Arl Uriens' son, Vaughan, had been there, making eyes at her. He'd been attractive, but something about him ... he had seemed so possessive, making assumptions about her likes and dislikes, and about their relationship.

Still, unpleasant though Vaughan Kendalls might be, he was infinitely preferable to Rendon Howe, the sneaky, backstabbing bastard. The need for vengeance burned in Una's blood as strongly as if the massacre at Highever Castle had been yesterday.

She caught Zev's eyes on her and was grateful for his presence. Of them all, he was most likely to keep his wits about him on this trip, and not get caught up in emotion.

Erlina stepped out of a doorway in front of her. "You have come," she said in a tone that strove for relieved and didn't quite get there. She looked past Una, and sniffed. "A dwarf, an elf, and an old woman? Surely you do not expect to get past Arl Howe's guards without more help than this?"

Wynne and Zevran held their tempers, but Oghren unshouldered his axe with an enraged grunt. "Who are you callin' a dwarf, snooty?"

"You are a dwarf, my friend," Zev said, a chuckle in his voice.

"And proud of it!" Oghren subsided, giving Erlina a triumphant look that did nothing to improve her opinion of him, to judge by the disgusted curl of her lip.

"You disappoint me, Warden," she said.

"May I remind you that you came to me," Una said. "Beggars can't always be choosers."

"I had thought you would bring the other Warden, and perhaps your dog. They would be stout fighters in my queen's cause."

If Una hadn't already been suspicious about this 'rescue mission', Erlina's words would have raised her hackles. As it was, she thanked the Maker for giving her the foresight to leave Alistair behind, with Leliana and Grenli on orders to guard him well. Looking down at the elf from her far greater height, she said, "I assure you, these people have served me well in many fights, should it come to that. And if Rendon Howe is in there, it will."

"All the more reason you should have brought the other Warden, so that in case Arl Howe is there you do not provoke him!"

Provoke Howe? She'd show him some provocation, if he needed any. Una's fist clenched at her side.

"I thought our intention was to avoid Howe. Do you mean nothing has been done to ensure that he is no longer in the house?" Zev asked, the calmness in his voice bringing Una back to the needs of the present.

"Why ..." Erlina was thrown off guard by the question. For a bard, she wasn't very well-trained, Una thought. Leliana would have thrown off five plausible responses in the time it was taking Erlina to come up with one. "I had little time at my disposal—best to get my lady the queen out of her predicament at once, no? So I came straight to you and was not able to determine Howe's whereabouts first."

"We'll just have to take what we find," Una said, hoping her matter-of-fact tone would mask how very much she hoped Rendon Howe would turn a corner and walk right into the maul she carried. She would take great pleasure in caving his skull in.

As they approached the front entrance of the Arl of Denerim's mansion, Una could hear shouting. A knot of people stood in front of the gates, held back by three armed guards who blocked their access. In the cacophany, Una couldn't make out what the mob was shouting about. She asked Erlina, who shrugged.