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Tainted Dreams	By : wyldehart Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 3478 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: All characters and Dragon Age are property of Bioware/EA. I made no money, sadly.

Chapter List
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Alistair chewed thoughtfully on the end of his pen as he studied the document before him. It was mostly finished and he was pleased with the way it was coming. Basically a laundry list of information Fergus would need to handle the nobles, it would guide Elissa's brother on situations being handled, that had been handled or had yet to be handled. It also identified certain nobles as "hostile to, neutral, or in support of" the current crown. Alistair and his wife had made great strides in making allies with a leadership that was strong, yet flexible. The nobles, even the "hostile" ones, were grudgingly in favor of the royal couple.
He leaned forward, dipped the nib into his little clay inkwell and added a few more bits of information to the parchment. It was in this position Elissa found him when she entered the room, bearing lunch and a smile for her hard-working King. "Are you planning to work all day or will you take a break for a bite or a bit?"
He flashed her a kind smile and raised his eyes to meet hers though he stayed hunched over the paper. "As long as the biting involves a certain lady, I'm game. Just give me a second here…" He looked back down and continued to write. He must have taken too long because, when he reached out to refill the nib, the pot was gone. He looked for it and found it completely missing. "What the…" He looked up and smiled. Elissa was seated on the corner of the desk next to him, holding the little clay pot with an innocent smirk. "Looking for this, my love?"
"Actually, I was!" He aimed the nib for the pot but his wife was faster. He stabbed air uselessly and grinned at her game. "I can't finish this if you don't let me dip the pen, Love." She dangled it near his face, leaning in close to him. He made another futile attempt but succeeded only in kissing his wife instead. The pen fell from his fingers and clattered uselessly on the floor at his feet. "Ah. Point taken," he murmured with an enlightened smile.
She nudged the plate closer to him and snatched the document to begin reading. He sat back in his chair and munched on his sandwiches as he waited for her opinion. She lifted her brows now and again as she read. She was impressed with Alistair's information, and his neat, scholarly penmanship. He was descriptive and had a command of the written word that Elissa had known was there but had never seen in its full glory. He also had information that astounded her. There was a lot here that not even she was aware of. "Lord Festwick was unhappy with that solution? I thought our compromise would be sufficient! He didn't complain, anyway."
Alistair snorted and swallowed just enough to speak. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. "That was the problem. It was a compromise and not in Festwick's favor. He writes me weekly, seeking a less equitable solution. I wonder if he's aware that I allow Rascal to read them now."
Elissa laughed and patted her husband's cheek fondly. "I'm sure the dog appreciates that you are finally acknowledging his intelligence."
Alistair mocked-bowed several times, one of his sandwiches held in his hand. "'Oh, wise Mbari! I elevate you to official secretary of idiotic letters!'"
She broke out in a fit of giggles at the faces Alistair made. "I guess it's better than publicly burning them," she laughed.
"I wish I'd had a dog in the Temple. Then I would have had an excuse why my book-work was missing, something like, 'The dog ate it!' You never told me how useful they can be." Elissa was almost on the floor she was laughing so hard. A servant came by the office and discretely closed the open door when she heard the laughter pouring out. The royal couple was prone to "forgetting" to close doors sometimes when they decided to be romantic. This was not one such moment and that only caused another eruption of laughter, from both of them.
When the laughter and snorting ended, Elissa sat back up on the desk and gazed down at her bright-eyed husband who was leaning his cheek in one hand and beaming up at her. "You like this, don't you? Making all this preparation for our journey and nobody has a clue what we're up to, not even the Orlesian," she smirked down at him.
Alistair nodded, his eyes still on her face, his lips turned up in a broad grin. "This is fun. I hate to admit it but I missed the road. If I hadn't become king, I'd have taken my wife with me and become a mercenary or lived out the great Gray Warden existence, leaving a trail of dead Darkspawn in our wake. As long as it was with you, I guess where wouldn't matter."
That earned him a quick kiss. "Flatterer. Well, Fergus is due within the hour. A scout stated she spotted Highever's crest not far from the city. Mattea has a huge banquet planned and half the Bannorn is here, along with most of the Arlings' lords and ladies. It's practically a landsmeet! Is this also your doing?" Alistair's innocent roll of his eyes without ever losing his huge grin answered her perfectly. She widened her eyes and opened her mouth to say something before snapping it shut. Elissa narrowed her blue-green eyes into slits. "You naughty boy, you! You're going to announce everything at once! Baby, Orlais and Fergus! All at the same time during the banquet!"
He looked over his shoulder with a low whistle but didn't stop smiling, not even when Elissa tapped his arm. "What else have you got in that scheming head of yours? Hmm?"
He rolled his head to smile languidly at her. "You do not want to know. Trust me. I'm going to either piss a lot of people off or end the silly feuding in the Bannorn, at least while we're gone." She leaned over him and kissed him deeply, passionately with her entire mouth. He reached up and hauled her, squealing, into his lap. "No nightmare last night or the night before. How do you feel?"
She shrugged. "I was sick a little while before lunch and I had a case of stomach cramps a little while ago but nothing severe. I've spoken to the Orlesian a bit but he's very withdrawn and quiet. He is unhappy about the delay and he doesn't like you very much, I think. I can't understand why. I think you are adorable, personally. Anyway, he thinks you're trying to control me. Like I don't have a mind of my own! He thinks that I can handle my pregnancy just fine without you hovering over me like a worried papa. I certainly can but… the nightmares and the potential for the Darkspawn to be drawn to me puts me on edge. You understand the situation and I rather like knowing that whatever comes, we'll be ready for it."
He snuggled her close, his nose against her neck and her lips grazing her skin. His arms were around her, stroking her back gently. They rocked gently against one another, just hugging and occasionally sharing a sweet kiss. It was these tender, loving periods of time they spent that eclipsed the passion and reminded Alistair why he was married and not just someone's lover. This bliss worth everything in the world to him. When she was by his side, in his arms, or simply within sight, he believed there was nothing in the world he could not do. Muse, friend, advisor, queen and lover… She was everything to him. "Tonight, at the banquet, I want you to wear something formal, something… amazing." he mumbled into red hair.
"I was planning on wearing my Gray Warden Commander armor," she murmured softly as he kissed her neck. He shook his head and pushed her away slightly so that he could gaze into her sea-green eyes. His voice was firm. "No. I want you to give off a very strong 'royalty' vibe. I want you to look and act every bit like the 'Queen of Ferelden' so that there is no doubt who you are. Some still simply view you as just my wife, or sometimes they say, 'the King's wife' or they dismiss the 'wife part' and think of you only as the 'Gray Warden' or just as the 'commander'. I am sure that others are less complimentary and view you as my temporary bed warmer. Tonight, the Commander will go into hiding, understand? I want my regal Queen to be there."
She chewed her lip thoughtfully and slid her arms up under his so that she could rest her head against his broad chest. "I'll need a suitable dress…"
He nodded. "If you can, maybe get Mattea to find you something that accentuates the pregnancy. You're showing just enough to start rumors. I want you to emphasize it so that those rumors are confirmed."
"And what will you wear, my love?" she murmured into his shirt.
She knew his answer before he said it but smacked him anyway. "Clothes. Ow! All right, all right! I found King Maric's armor in the vault. Maric was a big man apparently and it's a bit loose but I'm content that I can make it fit. It's really very nice, formal armor with a royal crown and everything. Which reminds me… I have a gift for you. But you won't get it until tonight so you will just have to suffer." He tweaked her nose and turned her toward the door. "I have work to do and you are a lovely distraction. Now, be gone, woman!" She laughed and threw her arms around his neck then smothered his face with sweet kisses. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too," he sighed happily.
She danced out the door, singing as she left him with his papers, his books and a smile that hadn't been present until she arrived with lunch and love.

Fergus' arrival was a moment for celebration and forgetting decorum. Elissa, dressed in a long, elegant gown of soft velvet and silk, no longer resembled the feisty fighter her brother recalled. He laughed and swung her around in a wide arc. "Hah hah hah! Elissa! Look at you! You've gone soft!"
"Have I, brother dear? You'd best watch your back in the practice circle, then. I'm every bit as deadly as I ever was. I just don't wear armor all the time. Well, not all the time. Care to make a bet, Fergus?" He pinched her cheek and then kissed it. "Not on your life. Your husband may like taking chances but I know when not to! Speaking of the king, where is he?"
Elissa handed Fergus' bags off to a handful of servants who waited patiently for them. One gave her a chagrined look and waved her off. "Alistair is in his office. I'll take you there. Hello, Olivine. It's good to see you again." The young woman eyed Elissa warily. Since the day they first met, their relationship had been icy at best. Olivine greatly disapproved of Elissa as a Gray Warden and as a warrior in general. The Commander sighed and bumped her brother's hip. "She still hate me?" Elissa muttered as she escorted her brother from the entrance. Olivine walked further back, paying attention to the small child running along at her feet.
Fergus smiled down at her and scratched his bewhiskered chin. "No, she doesn't hate you. She just doesn't like you. It's the usual reasons, of course. But there may also be some jealousy there too. You have a charmed life, you know. Queen of Ferelden notwithstanding, you're an accomplished warrior and hero as well. You've been many places, seen many things and you brought down the Archdemon. That makes you pretty special. And someone to envy. My wife has never been any further from home that Denerim and she is simply a wife."
Elissa cringed. She liked being a wife but her numerous other roles were greatly rewarding and each gave another dimension to her complex and exciting life. And being a wife to her fellow Gray Warden and the king to boot had its advantages. "Has she no other aspirations?" she asked softly.
Fergus shrugged. "None she's expressed to me. I would support her in anything she did want to do, though. I rather wish she did have other aspirations." Elissa sighed sadly and opened the door. Alistair was standing on a chair he'd leaned against one of his many book shelves. He was reaching for a dusty tome when they walked in. He smiled down at them and tossed the book to Elissa. She caught it with one hand. "A Practical Study of Orlesian Government, Geography and Social Customs" was printed on the front cover and spine. The book looked to be fairly old. When Elissa flipped through it, she noted hand-written notes in the margins by Cailan Theirin. They were little things like important updates and reminders. It was fascinating.
"My homework, I presume?" she said with a wry smile at her husband, who by now had replaced the chair and was seated in his favorite spot on the desk. "Yup! You have two days to finish it. Though if you kiss me, I might let you take it with you. I'm gullible that way. Hello, Fergus. Be welcome!" Elissa drew herself up to kiss Alistair on the cheek but "missed" and kissed his lips instead. Alistair was still shy about kissing in public and blushed considerably when the kiss went longer than expected.
She winked at Fergus and took her little nephew's hand to the dismay of his mother. "I'll leave you boys alone for a bit and escort my sister-in-law and her son to their rooms. Then I'll get ready for dinner. Come to our rooms, my love, so that you can give me this mystery gift I'm itching to see." After a final kiss on his flushed mouth, she stepped out and Alistair grinned like a love-struck idiot as he watched her leave.
"I see you two haven't lost it," Fergus observed, throwing himself into one of the plush guest chairs facing the desk. Alistair blinked down at him.
"Say again?" he asked.
"You know. The romance, the spark that drew you two together. It's still there. When I look at you both, you exude something almost palpable. It's refreshing."
Alistair blushed again and smiled fondly. "She's a bright spot, that's for sure. And a remarkable person as well. I like that we can spar in the practice ring or verbally joust over ideas. I wouldn't be here without her."
"None of us would…" Fergus said gravely.
"So very true. The fondest memory of my life is the day we married. Anyway, I hope the person you have babysitting Highever isn't being overpaid while you're gone. I have a task for you, if you're up to it."
Fergus sat back in his chair, eyeing the king apprehensively. "A task? For me? I take it this is not a thing I can easily go home and do?"
Alistair chuckled and looked above Fergus' shoulder at a painting near the door. It was of Cailan and Anora. Alistair had wanted to remove the portrait but he liked having the paintings of past and present face one another even IF he had to look at Anora. She was the only person he thought he liked less than Morrigan and the Orlesian was coming close even to that. "No, friend. It will require you to stay for a bit longer than you planned. I'll announce it at dinner. No worries. I just didn't want you left completely in darkness, you know? Come on. I'll show you your rooms. We have to get dressed for the big event."
"I thought this wasn't a Landsmeet?" Fergus asked as they walked to the door. Alistair grinned wickedly. "Nope. It's just dinner with a few, ah, surprises. A lot of surprises and a few unwelcome to some, I'm sure. I can't wait."
As they walked up the hall to the royal wing, Fergus could be heard laughing. "Elissa said you're a demon at times! I can't wait to see just what she meant."
"Umm… Whatever she was talking about… Ahhh… Right. Demon. I don't think you know where her mind was when she said that and I am not entirely sure I want to guess myself," Alistair replied, sounding nervous.
To Be Continued
- 3
- 4
- 5
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Tainted Dreams