Tabris - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Wedding

_{Solace 20th: Mid-morning}

With a mighty beat of its wings the high dragon sent Fallon tumbling to the ground. Her red tresses came out of its bun and covered her face in tangled bunches.  She couldn't see the creature as it approached, but the beast was upon her in moments, eager to dispense of this nuisance that had caused it so much anguish. It slowly opened its mouth, revealing it's dripping dagger teeth and carrion breath. In the back of its throat Fallon could see a faint red light grow with fervor. Its was at this point that Adaia jumped in with her twin blades slashing violently and stabbed the dragon through the jaw, giving Fallon enough time to get to her feet and back into combat. Her mother had been dead since Fallon was twelve but it was still nice to see her, even in her dreams.

The day had every potential to be perfect. The wind blew in off the rivers of Denerim at exactly the right angle and extended a gracious breeze to the elves of the Alienage. Summer was usually a terrible time for the elves, so many overheated and there was no proper healthcare. Elven healers were a rarity and were doomed to journey from one Alienage to the next; healing those they could reach in time. Fallon's father had the distinction of being one of them, although he was lucky enough to stay close to the overly crowded Denerim most of the time.

Today, did not partake in this traditional sweltering summer heat and Fallon finally had the chance to dream in peace, instead of her normal tossing and turning. She quietly enjoyed her battle with the dragon and had planned on sleeping in the morning, not having any chores to do that day, but her plans were thwarted as someone violently shook her awake.

"Wake up, Cousin. Why are you still in bed? You do remember what today is, don't you?" Shianni said as she poked the sleeping elf sharply in the ribs, speaking much too quickly for Fallon's newly woken brain to comprehend. Fallon wanted to punch Shianni for her question. Of course she knew what today was….it was the one day she had off in a long time and she needed some damn rest.

"It's your wedding day, Fallon, so hurry and get around. Nelaros…" Fallon quickly got to her feet, nearly bumping her head on the oak bunk bed above hers, and cut Shianni off.

"No, no. Father told me I wasn't to get married for at least another month."

"Well, your groom came early. That's what I came to tell you. Nelaros and Valora arrived this morning."

"So just because they show up a few weeks early I have to get married today?"

"I know, I'm so jealous." Fallon rolled her eyes at her sweet naïve cousin. The girl was two years younger than Fallon and all she could think of was marriage and children. She didn't seem to realize there was a great big world just outside the Alienage walls, a world Fallon was dying to see.
Fallon allowed Shianni to help her get around and, though she was frustrated by her predicament, it wasn't Shianni that she had to discuss this with. Her father would soon be getting an earful.

Shianni scampered off as soon as the bride was around, claiming she had bridesmaid duties to attend to elsewhere. Fallon observed herself in the mirror briefly before leaving her small family home. She wished she could remember her mother. Her father claimed she looked exactly like Adaia but Fallon couldn't remember at all. It had only been a mere seven years but the images were faded and even the Adaia of her dreams was nebulous and hazy. All that she could remember was her mother's bright red hair and jade green eyes, both traits that Fallon had been lucky enough to inherit.

Many told Fallon that she was beautiful although she often didn't truly believe this claim. Her face was oval and she sported high cheekbones that gave her a defined look. Her lips were plump and shapely and her eyes were almond shaped. Fallon's nose was small , slightly pointy and she hated it. Shianni told her that she envied her nose but Fallon knew that it was only to make her feel better.

Today, Fallon knew she looked better today than she ever had before and couldn't help but step out her door with confidence. Shianni had taken no shortcuts when getting her around for the wedding. Her long red hair had been brushed until it shone like copper and dark makeup was applied to her eyelids, making her green eyes shine even brighter. The dress that Shianni had given her to wear was probably the single most beautiful dress that Fallon had ever seen. It was long, flowing and white with gold embellishments around the collar. It was a more modest dress then Fallon traditionally wore, with a neckline that was just slightly off the shoulders and offered no cleavage at all.  Fallon was a bit bustier then most and usually liked lower cut blouses because anything else looked odd on her. This dress was the only exception and Fallon was surprised at how fetching she looked. She left the small bedroom area to find her father.

"Ahh, my little girl. It's the last day I'll be able to call you that. Oh, I wish your mother could have been here." He grabbed her hand and kissed it lovingly, but Fallon was too angry to return a smile.

"Me too father, but she would be a bit bored because I'm not getting married today."

"Not this again Fallon, I thought we discussed this." He said as he withdrew his hand and rolled his eyes.

"We did discuss it and I never agreed. I don't understand why I can't choose my own husband anyway."

"Fallon, we've talked about this. Elven traditions stipulate arranged marriages. I did it, your grandparents did it, and your great-grandparents did it. This tradition has been established since the beginning of our culture. I know you're upset now but in time you will love your husband, just like I loved your mother."

"But I had another month, why now?"

"I'm not sure Fallon. Valendrian moved up the date. He authorizes all the marriages and decided to move this one up. It wasn't my decision, although I'm starting to think it was the right one. You probably would have run away otherwise." Fallon shook her head angrily, although the thought did cross her mind. She didn't want to get married right now and definitely not to someone she didn't even know. Fallon had never been romantically involved with someone and mostly got her information on love from storybooks, but she doubted that the practices in the Elven Alienages even slightly resembled what the poets talked of. She wasn't a hopeless romantic but she wasn't about to give herself to someone she didn't know.

"Now listen to me Fallon. You are getting married today and that's just all there is to it. You are lucky you had me to negotiate the marriage agreement; poor Soris is stuck with whoever the elders pick for him. I chose a fine and respectable young man who you will undoubtedly fall for with time."

"Fine, then let him court me and we can decide from there." Cyrion shook his head sternly.

"Stop it. You are shirking tradition because you want to follow a wild fantasy of battles and glory. You need to just forget all those things your mother taught about such things. There is nothing glorious about death. You can't just run off and fight whenever you feel like it."

"Mother was a great warrior and she wasn't afraid to stand up for what was right."

"Yes, she was, but I need you to promise me that you won't tell your future husband about the training she gave you… the knives and swordplay…. I've already talked to Soris about this."

"He'll find out sooner or later."

"Later, definitely later. Now go find your cousin. He's probably as nervous as you are." Cyrion shooed Fallon out of their small two room home. Fallon was sad to go. This would most likely be the last time she would be home since part of the wedding contract stipulated that she travel to the Highever Alienage with her husband. She wanted to leave Denerim and seek adventure but on her own terms, not tied to a stranger.

As Fallon walked around the Alienage she noticed how must effort was being put into this double wedding. Elves she didn't even know scurried about to make sure everything was prepared and many stopped her on the street to give her good wishes. The Alienage housed over ten thousand elves and a little less than half would be attending the wedding this afternoon.  

As she wandered through the streets of her home, Fallon observed how cramped the place was. Trash and junk was left heaped outside of the shanty houses that the elves lived in. Beggars, who did not have enough to even afford a shack, lined the way out of the Alienage and harassed their kin for coin. It was a dreadful place where disease spread quickly and everyone was overworked and undervalued. No one had enough room for themselves, let alone their five children. It was built on sparse ground where only small amounts of grass grew and what did manage to grow was usually yellow from malnutrition. Yet, not a single one of the elves questioned their lives under the humans. Sure they would complain a bit, shake their fists at the sky, swear under their breath, but no one actually wanted to do anything about it. They were content in their squalor. Fallon wasn't. She wanted to fix the Alienage, but no one wanted to listen.

Soris was leaning against a tilted wooden apartment building cleaning the dirt from his nails when Fallon finally found him. He was one year older then her, twenty, and a few inches taller. Soris shared the same red hair as Fallon and Shianni which came from her mother's side of the family. Soris and Shianni's parents were killed when the two were very small and Adaia had agreed to take them in. Fallon was an only child but never felt that way. Her cousins became her siblings and she always respected her parents for taking them in.

Soris noticed Fallon and draped an arm around her shoulder as he started talking.

"There you are… I've been looking everywhere for you." Soris said with a smile. He was a very handsome man, though Fallon didn't see it, and could make most woman faint with his smile.

"Starting with under your fingernails?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I went to the house earlier but Uncle Cyrion said Shianni was helping you get ready.  I didn't want to disturb you." He said removing his arm and turning to her. "So our betrothed have come  and from what I heard, your groom is a dream but…. Well lets just say that by all accounts, Valora looks like the wrong end of a horse."

"You look like the wrong end of a horse Soris."

"Don't I know it…. But so do you and they found you a decent husband."

"Well there are more important things then looks."

"Like…. A nice body?" Fallon punched him in the arm playfully.

"You are such a child, they shouldn't allow you to get married yet."

"…Says the woman who is all but planning to run away the first chance she get."

"Who says I'm not planning? I am not intending on getting married today." She said with complete seriousness in her voice. Soris took a step forward and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Are you serious Fallon? That's ridiculous. Sure we can complain about it as much as we want but…. This is just what happens when you turn twenty. So…" Fallon cut him off.

"You're twenty, I'm nineteen. Even by tradition I shouldn't be getting married yet. I'm not sure why they were trying to rush this along."

"Maybe because The Elders know you are just as restless as Aunt Adaia and if they don't get you tied down quick you'll run away." Fallon shrugged as Soris continued to speak. "Let's meet our betrothed and get this whole thing over with before we start to go crazy." He began to push her along, toward the central gates of the Alienage where all new arrivals would be.

"I thought you would want to run away with me." Fallon said huffily as they walked.

"Yeah? And where are you planning on going?"

"Maybe to the Dalish…"

"Keep dreaming cousin, they're imaginary. And even if they weren't, you think you could live the way they do, surrounded by nature and animals all the time?"

"I like nature and animals." She crossed her arms in childish protest.

"You'd learn to hate it if you lived like that, trust me." Fallon shrugged and the duo continued walking along.

The center of the Alienage was packed with people. Some were wedding guests, others were there setting up, and a vast majority were people trading at the small trading posts. Fallon noticed her cousin and her friends leaning against the main stage, apparently taking a break from setting up. As they approached, Fallon saw a group of humans approaching as well. They were well dressed and led by a blonde haired and bearded man. Fallon and Soris exchanged a look before quickening their steps.

"It's a party isn't it? Grab a whore and have a good time boys." The blonde human said as he grabbed Shianni from behind and pulled her toward him.

"Let go of me…" She said as she tried to get out of his grasp, but he dug his finger tightly into her upper arm and didn't look like he was interested in letting go. His lecherous grin said more than his words. This man wasn't interested in having 'a good time', what he wanted was control and pain.  Fallon took a step forward but noticed something holding her back. She looked down at her wrist and saw Soris was holding it with a vice grip.

"Soris, what are you doing? Let go of me."

"I do that and you're gonna get us into all sorts of trouble with those humans. Why don't we avoid getting involved with this?"

"Not get involved…. That your sister, Soris, don't you realize what he's intending?"

"Fallon you step up and it'll just make it worse." Fallon yanked her arm out of his grasp and glared at him as she walked defiantly toward the humans.

"And what do we have here? Such a well-formed thing. I think we'll save you for last." He went to stroke the side of her face but Fallon swatted his hand away. His brow furrowed in anger.

"Get your hands off them." Fallon declared menacingly as the group leader got closer to her. The friend holding Shianni threw her to the ground and walked toward Fallon as well.

"Who do you think you are, Knife-Ears?" He went to strike her but the leader stopped the man's hand.

"You know elves, Geoffrey, every now and then they get this idea in their heads that they're actually people."  Fallon looked over her shoulder to see that Soris was still there, but he had his eyes on his shoes. She couldn't believe that he was being so cowardly. The Soris she knew always talked big, about leaving the Alienage, about fighting back against the humans. He had been trained in swordplay just like she and Shianni, albeit he didn't take to it quite as well but he still knew his way around weaponry. He always seemed so strong and brave, but now her older cousin was too scared to defend her against a few humans; it was as if her entire life had been a lie.

"I'm warning you, leave and don't come back or there will be trouble." Fallon said, turning back to them. She noticed that Shianni was no longer in the dirt, but didn't see where she had gone too.

"Now the little whore is warning me …. I think I'll take my…" Glass and alcohol went in all directions as a bottle of wine came into contact with the man's head. His blonde hair was turned suddenly rose colored both from liquor and blood as the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground. Shianni stood shaking behind him with what remained of the broken bottle in her hand.

"What did you do? That was Lord Vaughn, Arl Urien's son." One of the men exclaimed as he rushed to his friend's side.

"Well if he wants to maintain his reputation I suggest he doesn't come back, or I'll make sure all of Denerim knows that an elf girl knocked him unconscious."

"Oh Maker, What have I done?" Shianni said as the other nobles dragged Vaughan away. Soris put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her as Fallon spoke.

"He won't be coming back Shianni."

"Yeah, he wouldn't want everyone to know an elf girl took him down. He'll probably just pretend this never happened." Soris added, Fallon just glared at him.

"Maybe… I have more things to do…for the wedding…." Shianni's voice sort of trailed off as she withdrew herself from Soris and wandered away with her friends to get more work done. Two people Fallon had never seen before approached them. The first was a woman, lanky and a head taller than her. Her hair was tawny brown and she had huge thick bangs covering her forehead. The woman's eyes were small and ears were huge but she had a very pleasant smile on her face.
The second was a man a few inches taller then Fallon and had short bright blonde hair. His eyes were as blue as the sky on a summer day and sparkled with kindness. He was probably the handsomest man that Fallon had ever seen.

"Are you two okay?" Soris asked, extending a hand to the tall woman.

"We're fine, just a little shaken up." Her voice was sweet like honey and Fallon was surprised such an intoxicating voice could come out of such a homely woman.

"Fallon, let me introduce you to my betrothed, Valora, and this is Nelaros."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Fallon said coldly as she extended a hand for him to shake. He took it carefully in his.

"The pleasure is all mine." Nelaros said as he bent down and bestowed a soft kiss on the top of her hand. Fallon smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone….to chat."  Fallon simply nodded as her cousin left, still mad at what he had done. The minute these two left she would be sure to have a conversation with him.

"So are you nervous?" Nelaros said still grasping her hand in his. Fallon didn't want to hold his hand but couldn't think of a way to separate from him without being offensive.  

"I am a bit nervous, yes." She said coldly, not looking him in the eyes. Nelaros dropped her hand.

"I know how you feel, Fallon. I wasn't excited about an arranged marriage either."

"You do not know how I feel."

"Yes I do. I'm twenty four. I've had a chance to experience a bit of what life has to offer, but you are still quite young. I understand that you don't want to settle down yet. I didn't want to either. I managed to escape marriage for four years, but eventually I grew lonely, and I wanted something more than independence. I wanted stability and to share my life with someone else.
      I am not expecting you to feel that same way as I do, and I don't want you to think that I will force you to do something that you don't want to do, but I wish you would at least consider marrying me because I believe that we could be very happy together."

Fallon didn't say anything although Nelaros' words did touch her heart. But it all came down to the fact that he was a complete stranger. She didn't want to marry a complete stranger.

"Well, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?" Nelaros said but Soris interrupted him.

"Come on Cousin... lets  give them time to get around." Soris said as he jabbed Fallon hard in the rib with his elbow. She would have thought he was reading her mind because Fallon was about to tell her betrothed all about her fight training. Maybe Cyrion had warned him.

Valora and Nelaros left and Fallon quickly turned on her cousin, about to harshly scold him for not defending his younger sister, but didn't have a chance. She turned to see that Soris was looking in a different direction, and he spoke before she could.

"Uh oh, more trouble." He pointed toward the center of town where a heavily armed bearded man stood happily. He looked as if he didn't have a trouble in the world, observing the comings and goings of the elves with complete ease. Humans were trouble and Fallon wasn't going to let him ruin the celebration…. Although…

"Come on Fallon." Soris said as he led the way to the silver armored human near the Alienage Tree. He marched right up to the dark haired individual and tapped him on the shoulder. Fallon knew that he was now overcompensating for his cowardice earlier.

"Excuse me, but you need to be moving along. The Alienage doesn't welcome humans and it would be better for you if you leave." The smiling man seemed a bit perplexed when he looked at Soris, then the approaching Fallon. He chuckled slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of going."

"Sir, we mean no disrespect, but there is going to be a wedding shortly and I feel the guests would be much more at ease if you left." Fallon added.

"Such diplomacy, an excellent talent to have, but I still must decline."

"I must insist. I see that you are heavily armed so I will not be fighting with you, but I assure you that you don't want a problem from me. Please leave now."

"I am afraid that I cannot. Now what?" He seemed almost amused which led to Fallon being annoyed.

"Now you decide if you'd rather come up with a compromise or fight a group of unarmed elves."

"A compromise then. I am meeting someone here; I promise that I will leave after we have spoken." Fallon wanted to ask who the man was meeting in the Alienage but didn't even have a chance to contemplate it before Valendrian , the leader of the Elven elders, approached.

"Duncan, old friend, it is very good to see you." He clapped the man hard on his left metal pauldron.

"Valendrian? You know this man?" Soris asked shocked.

"Of course, Duncan and I are old friends. He's a commander for the Grey Wardens, out doing some recruiting so it would seem. I hope you have set your sights elsewhere. Weapon training is forbidden in the Alienage and I doubt there is anyone of Grey Warden material here."

The Grey Wardens, that sounded familiar to Fallon. She wracked her brain for the information she knew was stored there, somewhere from history classes long ago. Something about a Blight on the land and monsters that only the Grey Wardens could kill…. Wait… no, other people could kill them but the Wardens were good at killing them. The group of trained fighters had been banned for many years in Ferelden, only recently returning. Fallon had never seen a Grey Warden before, but she had heard that there were a few elf wardens over the centuries, that this group cared not about race or class. That was a refreshing outlook.

"I have come recruiting but you don't need to worry. I'm meeting a Knight from the Arl's castle in a few hours, just thought I would meet with you before I go on my way. But I see that you are in the middle of a wedding ceremony. Funny, but I don't remember you mentioning a wedding in your letter."

"Yes, well it just came up. This is Fallon Tabris and Soris Thien. Their betrothed arrived earlier and we had to move up the wedding."

"Well best of luck to both of you. Thien? Hmmm, any relation to Adaia Thien?" Duncan said as he turned to Soris. Fallon spoke up surprised.

"That was my mother. You knew her?"

"Briefly. We met a few times and I was considering conscripting her into the Grey Wardens, but….well sometimes things don't work out."

"Duncan, let me accompany you to the Gates. The Wedding is about to start and I don't want you to miss your appointment with that knight." Valendrian grabbed him by the arm and began urging him toward the exit. Fallon nodded a goodbye at Duncan but was having a hard time believing that her mother was ever going to be recruited into such a prestigious career. Perhaps, if she had been, she'd still be alive today.

"Can you believe that Aunt Adaia was gonna be a Grey Warden? Wonder what happened?" Soris said more to himself then Fallon.

"Don't you think for one second that I forgot what happened back there. They were harassing your little sister and you didn't do a thing to stop it! You are the oldest Soris, you're supposed to protect her."

"Shianni can take care of herself and I didn't see what the point of making a fuss about…"

"Making a fuss? No, standing up for your family is not making a fuss. You either do it, or you don't. You're a hero or a coward. We both know which one you chose today. Think about that the next time Shianni is in danger because I'll be too far away to help her." She stormed off, leaving her cousin to wallow in self pity.

Fallon pulled a stray strand of hair out of her face as she began walking toward her own doom. Her life would be ending shortly and there was very little she could do about it. Sure Nelaros seemed like a nice man but she didn't love him. Why did her father have to force her to make this kind of decision? Life with a stranger or never seeing your family again, how could someone decide that for themselves?

Her mother had been a strong woman. Adaia had wanted to have adventures and to help those less fortunate, Fallon had always looked up to her.  Now her father was forcing her to, settle down, have lots of little elf babies and have supper on the table by dinner time. But she was a strong woman as well, she thirsted for adventure too, and if Fallon didn't help those less fortunate then no one would. Her decision was made for her. After the marriage ceremony she would make a run for it. It didn't matter where she was going as long as it wasn't here.



********************************************************************************



Fallon stood on the main stage with Shianni beside her. Flowers adorned her hair and a small veil was pulled over her face. Soris' bride, Valora also stood near her, along with Valora's friends from Highever. Nelaros and Soris were opposite them and the Chantry Sister was speaking. Fallon heard not a word of it as her heart pounded ferociously in her head and her stomach churned with nerves. Shianni put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and Fallon's heart stopped beating so heavily. She'd miss her cousin when she left. She'd miss both of them very much.

Yelling disrupted the ceremony and unglassed Fallon's eyes. She peered through the crowd and could see elves being shoved aside. The men towering over them by at least half a foot were clearly humans, but Fallon didn't see who they were until they got closer.

"Milord, this is an unexpected surprise..." The Chantry sister said as Vaughan and his men drew closer.

"Sorry to interrupt Sister but…. well I'm having a party and we're dreadfully short on female guests. " He climbed the steps onto the stage and Fallon could see now that he had brought armed guards with him this time. She stepped in front of Shianni, hoping to block her from view.

"Milord, this is a wedding!"

"If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties then that's your business, but don't pretend this is a proper wedding. Now, we're here for a good time, so… let's take those two, that one in the tight dress, and…. where's the bitch that bottled me?"

"She's over here Lord Vaughan." One of the nobles said as he climbed on the stage and grabbed Shianni. Fallon turned quickly, intending to punch him in the face, but someone was holding her back. She groaned from frustration as she thought of the conversations she had just had with her father.  Of course, he wouldn't allow her to bring  weapons to the wedding ceremony. At this moment they lay under the bedroom floor boards. Cyrion Tabris had told his daughter that there would be no need for them at the ceremony, so there would be no need for her to take them. Fallon groaned again. She was about to elbow whoever held her back in the face when she noticed it was Soris.

"Soris! What in Maker's name are you doing?"

"Protecting you from Vaughan's gaze. This isn't the way to help Shianni." He pulled her back to Nelaros' side and let her go. Fallon quickly glared at him. Vaughan had clearly heard the scuffle and turned from the crowd he had been surveying to the rest of the wedding party.

"Oh… and look here, the pretty bride." Vaughan was now headed toward her, but Nelaros got between them. Fallon wished to give Soris a look, indicating his stupid plan hadn't worked but couldn't before Nelaros spoke to her.

"Don't worry Fallon. I won't let them take you!" Under normal circumstances perhaps this would have pulled at her heart strings but Fallon didn't like being protected.

"That's alright Nelaros. I can take care of myself."

"I bet you can," Lord Vaughan in a voice dripping with his lecherous intentions. "such a well formed thing…." He went to stroke her face, but Nelaros' hand stopped his.

"You're a villain. You will not touch my bride." One of Vaughan's henchmen rushed up behind Nelaros and held a knife to his throat. The crowd gasped, though did nothing, and Vaughan waved his companion away. Nelaros fell to his knees, rubbing the small cut on his throat, and breathing heavily.

"Now that's quite enough. I'm sure we all want to avoid further… unpleasantness. And believe me, I can make this very, very, unpleasant for the entire lot of you."

"Let them go this instant. You have no right to kidnap these women."

"I think I'll have to say no…" He beckoned for his other friend to come forward, the one not restraining Shianni. "Oh, we are going to have some fun…." The friend pulled back his hand…. Then, everything went black.