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The Last of the Couslands	By : MistressofMagic Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4395 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Bioware and EA own everything associated with the Dragon Age universe. I am making no money off of this fan fiction.

Chapter List
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Chapter 51
Trouble in the Alienage
A few days later after receiving careful attention from Wynne, Bridget was, for the most part, back to normal. She still had some bruises and scratches here and there, but with time they too would disappear. With the Landsmeet dangerously close, Bridget knew she had to find some concrete evidence against Loghain's treachery. Her word alone would not prove anything; she needed some scandal he was involved in, other than betraying King Cailan anyway. Bridget walked through the halls of Eamon's estate towards his study where she had been summoned. She honestly hoped Eamon wasn't about to send her on another rescue mission, for he would find himself quite disappointed if he did. Unfortunately for Bridget though, Eamon had something much worse planned.
"Why the hell would I want to talk to her? Have you already forgotten what she put my friends and me through?" she asked, angrily.
Eamon shook his head and looked around his office before dropping his voice.
"Bridget, listen to me. We need Anora's voice for the Landsmeet. She is the beloved Queen of Fereldan…if the people witness her calling out her own father, that would be a great accomplishment in our favor. Now I wouldn't fully put your trust into her, considering that she did betray you, but I really suggest that you at least speak with her."
Bridget looked at Eamon long and hard for a moment before sighing and waving her hand in the air.
"Alright, fine. I'll go and speak with her, though it is going to be mighty difficult keeping my temper in check."
Eamon raised his eyebrows.
"Just do not cause her any physical or verbal abuse." He replied with a slight chuckle.
Bridget rolled her eyes and exited the room, turned down the hall, and made her way toward Anora's quarters. She knocked lightly against the wooden door before it opened to reveal Erlina.
"Ah! My lady, the Grey Warden is here." She stated as she stepped to the side to let Bridget enter.
Bridget walked in to see Anora turn from the nearby window. She didn't look quite as cheeky as she did when Bridget and the others rescued her, in fact she looked downright terrible. Her hair looked as if it had not been tended to properly, and dark circles were present under her eyes.
Perhaps her conscious has kept her awake at night. Bridget thought.
Anora walked over to Bridget and sat in the nearby chair. She ushered for Bridget to take the seat opposite her, but Bridget shook her head and remained standing instead. After a moment, Anora decided to break the silence.
"I was hoping that you would come to speak with me." She said.
Bridget crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"I suggest that you make this quick, I'm not exactly in the best mood to be speaking to you of all people, your Majesty." She replied dryly.
Anora wrung her hands together and nodded.
"Yes, I…I do apologize for turning against you and your kind friends that day…but you have away my position! What else was I supposed to do?"
Bridget gaped at her.
"Well for one thing, you certainly didn't have to double cross us! You could've kept your mouth shut!"
Anora hung her head and sighed.
"You are right, I should not have betrayed you like that, and I am truly sorry for all the punishment you endured at your stay in the Fort."
Bridget continued to stare at Anora, her anger not thinning for a second. She wasn't buying her apology, and knew the real reason behind Anora's want to speak with her.
"Listen Anora, we're both adults here and I know the real reason why you wanted to see me, so let's just cut the crap, shall we?"
Anora looked up at Bridget and nodded.
"Very well. I know what you plan to do at the Landsmeet, to overthrow my father, that is. The people of Fereldan will not only trust your word though, Bridget. You will need a strong voice, my voice against my father's. If the people see that their queen also is speaking out against him, then you should have a solid case. However, my father will most likely say that you have brainwashed me, so you will need another claim against him, something that you can provide evidence for."
Bridget nodded.
"Any idea of what else he's been doing lately?" she asked.
Anora nodded slowly.
"I do not know the entire story, nor do I even know if this is true…but I remember Arl Howe mention something about the Elven Alienage here in Denerim. Now what is occurring there I do not know, but my father may be involved so I would advise you to check it out."
Bridget nodded, but knew that this conversation was far from over.
"What do you want in return?" she asked.
Anora gave her a small smile.
"You miss nothing…do you? You, being born to a high standing family, know how important it is for a monarch to know what they are doing. Obviously, Alistair knows nothing of politics and government, but I do, you see."
Bridget raised her eyebrows.
"What are you proposing, then?" she asked, already knowing where Anora was going with this.
Anora stood and placed her hands behind her back.
"When the time comes, choose me to remain on the throne. I know everything I must to keep Fereldan up and running; whereas Alistair knows nothing so we will already have an advantage here. I will only provide my voice to you if you promise to leave me on the throne."
Bridget looked at Anora for a moment. There was no way she was going to entrust her homeland to a woman who was so quick to betray them. In fact, Bridget shuddered to think what would happen if she did. However, taking Eamon's suggestion into account, they did need Anora to speak up for them at the Landsmeet. Bridget's eyes widened as she formed a particularly devious thought in her mind. She smiled and looked at Anora who had gone back to the window for a moment. Perhaps she wouldn't think so high and mighty of herself if she too, was betrayed at the last minute. It's time Anora got a dose of her own medicine…
"Very well, I will support your case for you to remain on the throne."
Anora turned back to her, a surprised look on her face.
"You will? Just like that?" she asked.
Bridget nodded. Anora grinned and walked up to her.
"I thank you, truly. This is how it should be. I will lead Fereldan to great heights while I rule. I have your word, Bridget?"
Bridget nodded.
"Of course." She said while crossing her fingers behind her back.
Anora smiled.
"Thank you. Now I suggest you check out the goings on in the Alienage."
Bridget nodded and exited the room, grinning to herself as she did so. Yes it was true that Alistair did not know the first thing about running a kingdom, but when Bridget will announce that she would rule beside him as his queen, he'd be completely thrilled. Just thinking about it brought a large grin to Bridget's face and lit up her eyes. She would not tell him yet though…for she wanted Alistair to be surprised. She regained her normal composure as she returned to Eamon's study. Alistair was in there as well and the two stopped talking immediately when Bridget stood at the doorway. Bridget looked at both of the men quizzically. Neither of them looked happy, Eamon's throbbing vein in his forehead was all the indication Bridget needed that the two had probably been arguing about something. In fact, the tension in the room was so thick; she could cut it with her sword! Eamon cleared his throat and sat behind his desk.
"I didn't hear any screams, so I trust your talk with Anora went well?" he asked.
Bridget nodded.
"It did. In fact, she's given me a tip to investigate the Alienage. She mentioned Howe discussing it with Loghain not long ago so I assume they were up to something there."
Eamon looked at her and sighed.
"There's no telling what they may have been planning. Please go and investigate it as soon as you are able. Nearly all the nobles have arrived for the Landsmeet…I believe it will take place tomorrow."
Bridget looked at Alistair. His jaw was clenched and he was shooting daggers with his eyes in Eamon's direction. Bridget did not understand what could have happened between the two of them. Thinking back, Alistair always mentioned Eamon with high regard but now…it appeared as if the two of them couldn't even be in the same room without an argument breaking out. Bridget assumed that it was because Eamon was still pressuring Alistair to take the throne. She hoped that when she did choose him to be king, he wouldn't be too upset…but surely he would be overjoyed once she places herself as his queen…right? Bridget could only hope so. She nodded to Eamon and said,
"Right, let's go round up the others."
Bridget and Alistair exited the room. Alistair closed the door behind him slowly, letting out a hefty sigh. Bridget stopped and looked at him.
"Is everything alright, Alistair?" she asked softly.
Alistair looked at her and nodded.
"Yes, there's nothing to worry about." He said, a little too quickly for Bridget's taste. If they were not so pressed for time, she would question him further…but they needed to head out towards the Alienage as soon as possible, so her questions would have to wait. They entered the main hall where they found the others already waiting. Zevran opted to go, as did Morrigan while the others decided to remain at the estate. As Bridget and the others stepped outside, it was surprisingly warm or warm for winter for that matter. All the snow that had accumulated over the days was beginning to melt, though that was probably do to the fact that the sun was actually out instead of hiding behind the clouds. The group made their way towards the Alienage to find that the gate was drawn up and there was no guard standing by anymore. Bridget thought this was a little peculiar, as she entered the Alienage. Upon entering, she thought that she would be sick. The houses that occupied this small space of Denerim were nothing but shacks. Puddles of Maker knows what occupied parts of the ground. Older elves sat on the ground, begging for coin, their skin seeming to just hang off of their emaciated faces.
"This is absolutely horrid; these elves should not have to live like this!" Bridget exclaimed.
"No one takes the time to provide decent establishments for them, it is truly tragic." Zevran stated.
They continued to walk through the nearly deserted streets before coming to the center where a gigantic tree stood…but it too looked as if it was misshapen and bent over, almost like it were weeping for the elves it represented.
"I think that is the biggest tree I've ever seen…" Alistair noted.
Morrigan looked at him.
"Here we are commenting on the living status of these elves and all you can think of is a tree? Your mind is amazing Alistair, truly." She said, sarcasm riddled through her voice.
Bridget looked around and noticed a crowd of elves had accumulated outside of one of the shops in the distance. She led her friends towards them slowly, not wanting to startle anyone.
"I ask that you please form a single file line. All of you will be seen!"
Bridget looked up to see a mage and a few others of his kind standing in front of the building and guessed that he was the one who was trying to control the crowd.
"But we are all sick; my child is struck with the plague! I do not know how much longer he has!"
"Don't listen to a word they say!"
Bridget turned to see a young elven woman with short, red hair run past them and towards the crowd.
"They are lying! What happens to our brethren that go into that shop, hmm? They don't come back! Look at how many people have already gone missing!"
"I have told you time and again that they are casualties to this sickness!" the mage shouted back.
One of the elves turned and looked at the red haired one who had spoken up.
"No, Shianni has a point! My husband has been gone for six days!"
Bridget assumed that Shianni was the redheaded elf. She continued to listen to their squabble.
"Casualties my foot! You people are mages, you just wave around that fancy staff and all's good!" she hissed.
More people seemed to be going against Shianni instead of listening to her. Bridget knew she had to do something and approached the elf cautiously, not wanting to surprise her as it appeared that she had distaste for humans.
"Can I do anything to help?" she offered kindly.
Shianni looked at her and narrowed her eyes.
"You going to try and hurt us too, shem?" she asked.
Bridget shook her head.
"No, not at all. I want to help you, if I can." She stated.
Shianni raised her eyebrows. Giving that she didn't have anyone else on her side, or willing to listen to her, she took Bridget to the side.
"A few weeks ago these mages barge into our village and start sprouting tales about a plague overcoming the city. They offered to heal us all and set up shop in that old clinic over there…only thing is though, only a few of us were sick, and it wasn't even that bad. So then they said they'd give us a tonic to prevent the illness from ever taking us, but once you go into that clinic, you don't come back out. They've been feeding us lies like 'He had an allergic reaction to the tonic' or 'She actually was sick and succumbed to the illness' all that crap. Something's up but no one will listen to me. I don't know what's going on inside that building, but it ain't good." She explained.
Bridget nodded.
"I agree, something doesn't sound right with any of this. Is there any way to get into the building besides the front?" she asked.
Shianni nodded.
"Yeah, there's an entrance in the back, but I think they have somebody guarding it. You look like you can take them, though."
Bridget nodded.
"I'll go and see if I can get in. Don't worry, Shianni, we'll get to the bottom of this."
Shianni looked at Bridget hopefully and headed back towards the crowd. Bridget nodded towards her friends and slowly made her way towards the back of the building where a lone guard stood. He stated a good case when confronted, but faltered at the sight of gold coin and allowed them to enter. Bridget unlocked the door with the key she received from the guard and opened it slowly. She slipped inside as quietly as she could muster in her armor only to be ambushed upon entering. Four mages stood within the large space brandishing their staffs. Thankfully Morrigan had decided to come along and they were made very quick work of. Bridget doubted that the mages outside heard anything do to the large crowd.
"Let's search through these chests and barrels and see if we can't find anything." Bridget whispered quietly.
Zevran set to work on picking some of the locks while Bridget took to looking through the documents on a nearby desk. She found a medium sized journal she guessed that carried pages describing different elves, 'patients' she assumed. She also found a rather large key wrapped inside an envelope. A sound alerted her and Bridget turned and noticed a door to another room. She signaled Zevran to pick the lock and he did so, after a few unsuccessful tries. Bridget led the others inside and gasped at what she saw. Five elves were in cages hanging from the ceiling, stripped to nothing but their small clothes and all were gagged and tied. Bridget quickly ungagged the male elf in the cage closest to her. He spit out the rag and shuddered.
"I thank you friend, please tell me you found the keys!"
Bridget was about to reply before Zevran said,
"I saw a pair back in the main room."
He left them but returned quickly with a large set of iron keys. Bridget tried three times before finding the right one and was able to unlock the cage. Once he was free, she freed the others as well.
"Those bastard shems, locking us in here! They've already taken about fifteen of us somewhere else, to be shipped off to Tevinter!"
Bridget's eyes widened.
"Tevinter? You mean…you were being sold as slaves?" she asked.
All five of the elves nodded.
"Yes, the others…I think they said they were taking them to the abandoned apartments over towards the north-west of the district. They've got Valendrian, he's our village elder. I think they've got Shianni's uncle too…"
Bridget looked at them, then at her friends.
"We have to stop this, and fast before anyone else gets hurt." She stated.
The others nodded. The elves thanked her once again before exiting through the back door. Bridget looked at the large old key in her hands.
"I guess this goes to the apartments. We better head there now."
Bridget led the others out through the front entrance and before the mages even had time to react, she and her friends took care of them.
"These men are not here to help you! They are prepared to sell you to the Tevinter Imperium!"
Nearly all the elves gasped and took steps back, some even fell to their knees.
"I intend to stop this before anyone else is hurt. I will find Valendrian and return him to you safe and sound, as well as the others that are held up with him!"
Bridget took comfort in the relieved faces she saw…but hoped with all her might that she wouldn't already be too late, and that she could return the elder elf back to his people.
A/N: Whew! Finally able to update feels very awesome. I apologize I've kept you guys waiting for so long, but school has been incredibly busy plus I had writer's block on top of that! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, more soon once I find the time to write it again! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)
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The Last of the Couslands