Griffin's Walk

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Denerim, the Amaranthine mansion

Alistair MacTheirin:

Trinna went out late at night, coming back dirty, bruised, and carrying blood-stained daggers.

But she looked satisfied.

She didn't volunteer what she'd been doing; that meant she knew I wouldn't like it.

That bothered me. Trinna became harder after that encounter with the Grand Cleric. If it had been anyone else, I could not have believed it. The very idea that one of Andraste's handmaidens used poison was madness.

I saw the jaundice on her face and how bloody her eyes looked when we left the Chantry. A livid Tabris warned others away as we walked back to the Amaranthine mansion, but it had cleared little before we got home.

When we reached Trinna's study, Tabris gave up the facade of being just a guard. “Commander! What happened in there? Who poisoned you?”

I leaned against the wainscoting, too agitated to sit down any more than they did with their pacing.

Trinna glared at me. “Who else would it be? Elsbeth gave me the tea herself.”

“Bloody shem! Their precious chant doesn't give them that power, does it? What kind of fools are they?” Eledras threw a couple of knives into the door. “How does she think the Grey Wardens will react at the murder of a Warden-Commander?”

That brought the danger home and I hurried over to pull Trinna into my arms, my heart pounding my fear. “I can't lose you, Attryne.”

She remained battle-tense. “It wasn't a deadly poison, at least this time, but I can't trust her anymore on a personal level. They are not kindly grandmothers. We must make plans, like for any other outside group.”

I really didn't want to be part of their plotting then, but now I regretted not knowing. Tonight was an informal reception for a captain from the Felicisima Armada. Uproar everywhere else was making Rivaini pirates seem reasonable.

Trinna had been undecided about wearing a dress or a formal uniform, but then wore her best set of blue and greys where fine fabrics and needlework hid plates of dragonscale. A fresh supply was coming out of the Frostbacks this year and we got some for our use. Mine wasn't as protective as my duty armor, but it was close enough.

The event was crowded, the Landsmeet banners still fresh and clean. Queen Anora didn't circulate, while her guests danced to the music of some musicians imported from Rivain.

I stepped out with Trinna on the dance floor when we arrived. For a moment I could pretend this was just a dance and nothing else was important than the lady I was dancing with...

But that dream ended and the Rivaini captain bowed with sweet words to Trinna, asking for her next dance.

Reluctantly reminded of the ongoing Landsmeet and politics, I chose to return to where Karward and Tabris remained as dutiful wallflowers, watching for threats to us. The song seemed to go on forever, with the intricate strumming and the warble of a chorus of loss.

Trinna's smiles to that pirate were real, which gave me a pang of jealousy. I knew that was stupid. Trinna liked most people until they deliberately crossed her.

When the song ended, Trinna returned to our island of uniforms in the great hall and her smile faded a little. It became fixed when Anora's maid Erlina arrived. “Arlessa? Will you accompany me?”

The royal dais was empty of the queen, and I was reluctant to watch Trinna leave.

Erlina spoke in her faint Orlesian accent. “The Senior Warden may accompany you.”

That made our guards less happy than I.

Once Trinna and I were escorted to a small, nearly-empty parlor, the queen was seated, seemingly without additional guards or company than Erlina.

“Do the Wardens understand why Landsmeet has been dragging out without any formal sessions?” Anora spoke with the clipped words of her father.

I didn't answer, as the reminder of her father made his many betrayals during the Blight fresh again.

Trinna shrugged. “You must have reasons, though I am not about to argue them when the odds of my getting an heir before the end of Landsmeet is about the same as Tevinter freeing all its slaves.”

Anora looked cross. “This is the first Landsmeet since the mages and Templars began their war in Kirkwall. Kirkwall is too close to our borders, and I would think you would be aware how easily that could spill over into Highever and then further into Ferelden. Neither side of this insanity is willing to negotiate, the Templars because they accept no authority on Thedas as superior to them. They are barely satisfied that our Circle is quiet and behaved. The mages seem to have no leader to speak for them. The one that started the war has disappeared and the survivors in Kirkwall are quiet now.”

I looked at Trinna, because I doubted I could hide my knowledge from Anora's canny eyes.

Trinna nodded to Anora. “I have had reports from Wardens, both before and since the events of last year. As Arlessa, I would warn Your Majesty of threats to Ferelden.”

“I want more than that, Cousland. Ferelden under my care will prosper, and this war has already caused too much devastation, from Orlais through the Free Marches. I suspect the fanaticism on both sides will make Thedas burn and we will stay out of it. A majority of your fellows in the Landsmeet want me to support the Templars and that will bring us into the fighting. We will stay out of this war and Landsmeet will go on until I can be sure of getting neutrality or until there is a clear winner who is willing to make a treaty with Us. I demand... We demand that you explain what you know and why there are dark rumors swirling about you and the Grand Cleric.”

My first thought was to worry about where Wynne was in the Marches.

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A/N: Challenge words are wainscot, wallflower, and warble. Thanks to my beta reader who has been kind enough to read this and point out stupid flubs. Any typos that remain are not intentional... Reviews or a PM to let me know what you think would be very appreciated.