I’m… done? Story came to about 33000 words. Not perfect, messy ending, but hopefully some entertainment was derived from it. And yes I know very little about trials or legal procedures so big thanks to Elwin for answering my dumb questions, and for encouraging me to also make things up because hey fiction.

I always thought that “three-chord symphony crashes into space” was “dream-coloured symphony” and I kind of still like those words better. XD But this is one of my favourite Dire Straits songs; it’s so evocative. The meaning of the words really does fit the original place I was going to put it, around chapter 3, but the tone is really nice for a credits song. Besides, she’s still going to be looking for him… she’ll still see him everywhere, without even trying. <3

Next story is probably going to be Voltron Shiro trash-fic!

Chapter 11: Iron Hand

Chapter 12: On Every Street

There’s gotta be a record of you someplace
You gotta be on somebody’s books
The lowdown: a picture of your face
Your injured looks
The sacred and profane
Pleasure and the pain
Somewhere your fingerprints remain concrete
And it’s your face I’m looking for
On every street

A ladykiller, regulation tattoo
Silver spurs on his heels
Says “what can I tell you, as I’m standing next to you
She threw herself under my wheels”
It’s a dangerous road
And a hazardous load
And the fireworks of liberty explode in the heat
And it’s your face I’m looking for
On every street

A three-chord symphony crashes into space
The moon is hanging upside down
I don’t know why it is I’m still on the case
It’s a ravenous town
And you still refuse to be traced
Seems to me such a waste
And every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet
And it’s your face I’m looking for
On every street
Yeah, it’s your face I’m looking for
On every street

The story was finished, the trial over. Loghain Mac Tyr and Rendon Howe had been convicted of conspiring to murder Cailan Theirin and sentenced to life in prison. Zevran Arainai had not been arrested, his informant status still up in the air, but it was probably only a matter of time.
Teagan Guerrin found his opponent in the lobby afterwards. “Tough day today, but I think justice came through.”
Ms. Kavrala shook her head. “Sometimes, when you know you’re on the right track, I really hate that smug smile of yours.”
“I know, I know. Would you like to meet for drinks tonight? To relax after a hard-fought battle?”
After a hesitation, she smiled, and her elven ears perked up. “That would be nice, thank you. See you at nine?”

“So that’s it, then,” Elizabeth said.
“For now, at least,” Zevran answered.
They stood on top of the courthouse, three days later. He’d called her, said he wanted to talk. But now that she was here, neither of them seemed eager to open the conversation. Her bandages were mostly off, but the bruising on her face was blooming in spectacular colours, and the injuries to the rest of her body were only healing slowly.
“Theirin Inc. is floundering, but with Anora at the helm, they should steady out. She’s far from perfect, but she’s very capable of handling the job. But Korcari is moving up into the power vacuum left by the confusion.” She wondered if that was what Miss Black had wanted all along, manipulating them all like that. Probably. Did it make a difference to her? Probably not, unless Korcari Company proved to be more corrupt than its predecessor. Even then… soon it wouldn’t make any difference to her one way or another. “And I’m going to investigate Leliana’s blackmailer for her.”
They fell silent, watching the traffic meander steadily through the streets far below.
“I never told you really why I wanted to leave the Crows,” he said, very softly.
She looked at him, as he stared down at the city, fedora loosely dangling from his hands crossed on the railing, and waited.
“There was a woman,” he said. “Rinna was her name. Beautiful, passionate, fiery. She and Taliesin and I were a team. No one could stand against us, not within the Crows, and not without.”
“What happened to her?”
“You must understand, I had never been taught anything of love. In fact, as a cleaner, I was taught not to love, to make my heart cold. And I had thought that was so.”
“But you – you said you were with many women,” she objected, scandalized.
He chuckled. “One does not need to know love to know how to make love, mi amor. But so there I was… and there she was… and she broke through all of my defenses. And I loved her, though I hardly knew what to call it then. And Taliesin loved her, and I loved him, and she loved us both.”
A perfect assassin-y ménage à trois? “I see.”
“Until we uncovered evidence that she had betrayed us, betrayed the Crows… It was all a lie, but Taliesin and I, we didn’t know that. Our masters had decided we were a little too close, it seems.”
“So… she…”
“She’s dead,” he said quietly. “We killed her. Taliesin shot her, and I watched her bleed out. She cried, and said she loved us, said she loved me… I shrugged. I loved her and I shrugged. As if it didn’t matter. As if I didn’t care.”
“But you did,” she said. “And that’s why you wanted to leave.” Vaguely she recalled, a case she hadn’t been assigned to – the body of a young woman had been found shot in an alley somewhere. She’d been identified as Florinda Costanza, but no more had been known about her, what she did, where she came from… Perhaps she should drop a note on Detective Tabris’s desk.
“I couldn’t be with a group that had betrayed her, betrayed me that way. For a while I wanted to take revenge, but I soon realized that was foolish. They didn’t care, and they wouldn’t care. Nothing I could do would affect them. Then for a while, I wanted to die, but I changed my mind.”
“When was that?”
“When Theirin died at my hand. I looked at him, a strong, charismatic man, helpless in the grip of death, and I saw Rinna in my mind, a strong, beautiful woman, and I knew I wasn’t going to go there yet. I would fight it as long as I could, fight my lack of resolve, fight the Crows, fight for my own life and freedom. And then I met you. And you gave me my chance.”
“I had no idea,” she said.
“Well, I never told you until this moment,” he said, with a little smirk, and she smiled back. After a pause, he went on. “You are… a lot like her. A little older, a lot more reserved, but your spirit and tenacity is like hers. I think that’s why I trusted you so easily, so quickly. I would even love you, if we had more time together.”
“Yes, our time has run out, hasn’t it?” she said.
“That’s why you’re here, I know.”
“Yes. I’m supposed to arrest you. I couldn’t get the deal I promised you. I’m sorry.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “I expected that, in the end. The public wants blood for Theirin’s murder, not just bureaucratic solutions.”
“I’m not going to,” she said.
He turned to her in amused, pleased surprise. “Detective, I’m appalled.”
“That’s Alistair’s line,” she said, with a wistful smile. “No. I’m not bringing you in. I… just can’t. Because all you want is your freedom. Because… I would love you, too, if we had more time together.”
He turned to her, ran his fingers tenderly over the bruises on her jaw, the welts on her cheeks. “That doesn’t mean you can let me go, darling. It would be bad for your career.”
“I’m resigning,” she said. “After the questions of the legitimacy of my investigation, it’s something I need to do anyway. But even if there were no questions about my professionalism… I would still let you go.” She gave a sad, self-deprecating smile. “Looks like I’m as corrupt as the rest of them.”
He said nothing to agree or disagree with that, only tilted her head up gently to kiss her. She breathed in cypress and lavender, one last time.
“Come with me,” he whispered, his hands cupping her face, her hands holding his elbows, but they both knew her answer already.
“My place is still in Ferelden,” she said quietly. “I know: you will vanish forever. I will never see you again… except in my dreams, in half-imagined too-quick glances in a crowd, in the leaves of autumn trees at dusk. I accept that. I’ll never forget you… and I’m glad that I met you.”
“So am I,” he murmured, and kissed her once more before releasing her.
They walked together down to street level. He turned to her, hesitating, his hat in his hand.
“I wish you all the best,” she said to him.
He looked into her eyes, searchingly, and then his solemn expression melted into his usual charming smile. He bowed, straightened while putting his hat on his head, and turned away. She watched him go as he walked away, not looking back, blending far too soon into the crowds of Denerim.