A/N: This story can be considered a partner-fic to Time For Change - or not. It depends on you, my dear reader (in case there is at least one reader, hehe). The same AU as for Time for Change applies here, tho, meaning Oren is still alive, saved firstly by Amélie from Castle Cousland and by Wynne during battle of Ostagar.
This fic takes place right after the ending of Urn of Sacred Ashes quest. Arl Eamon is cured and a celebration is going to take place in the recovering Redcliff. And Amélie Cousland is facing a serious problem...
Disclaimer: I own (or even 'won' as I usually type incorrectly first) nothing, only this fan fiction is all my fault.
Time for Panic!
Some days keep on starting really nicely - but as usual they turn out so bad almost immediately that I really am asking myself why I even bother get up. And today was one of those days.
Sun was shining, birds chirped since the sunrise and the flowers were in full bloom, which was rather surprising since in lands not so far away I could already see the signs of forthcoming Blight. I was still lazing in the bed in room I've been given, watching my sleeping mabari hound Lord when Oren bursted in my room and jumped on the bed, laughing.
"Ah, so my favorite nephew decided to honor me with his presence, I take it?" I asked teasingly, when he snuggled close to me. 'Just like back at home,' I thought, feeling nostalgic. Back at Cousland castle he also would sneak out of his room in the morning from time to time to pay me a short visit. I always thought it was really good that I never had a, ahem, company. For a moment we just enjoyed each other presence, being around each other after several weeks of absence. Then Oren jumped out of the bed again and clapping his hands merrily he said something what would make me curse aloud, had it not be him who informed me about it.
"You're going to wear a dress tonight, auntie."
"WHAT?" I almost fell out of the bed. I and wearing a dress? Not that I didn't like dresses, mind you - but wearing one now? During the civil war? "But I don't have any dresses here," I said in a weak attempt to make this threat to disappear, hoping he would get the notion and start our little "but I..." play.
Oren and I used to joke about things like this. Now we both run in circles in front of the bed, our hand thrown above our heads and both of us chanting "panic!" Soon we were both laughing, "panic!" and breathing heavily but then just another thing which almost gave me a heart-attack happened.
"What's the matter for the panic?"
"Eeeeck!" I squeaked like a mouse someone just stepped on and jumped behind the wardrobe, hiding my state of, ahem, under-dress from the unexpected guest. "Uhm, good morning to you, bann Teagan," I said, feeling awkward like I haven't in a very long time. After all, camping teaches you a lesson of false dignity and in the end you are able to dress even when you have to listen smart comments about the colour of your underwear - and you don't even blink. But being indoors once again, it was time for some proper awkwardness for wearing only a white nightgown. Especially if you happen to be a lady of high stature and are standing in front of a adult man who's not your husband. "Oren, darling, would you please hand me the dressing-gown?" I asked my little nephew who quickly handed me the clothing and bolted out of my room, red as a tomato, leaving me alone with bann Teagan. Usually I wouldn't mind being left alone in presence of a handsome man, really - but the usually was more like 'being in my leathers' instead of 'being dressed only in my night attire.' Maker really has to have some twisted sense of humor.
"Well, my lord, the reason for panic is typical for any noblewoman before any social event - I have nothing to wear," I explained sheepishly. I mentally groaned. 'Great. Explaining this to a man. Why me?'
"'Nothing to wear?'" sounded accented voice from behind Teagan. Leliana. 'Oh, crap.' It just couldn't get any worse, especially after lady Isolde walked around as well and heard the part with lack of any proper dress. Together they made Teagan leave - he almost run away but not before giving me an apologetic smile - and started to make plans for dressing me up for this evening.
Why, Maker, why it has to be me who just fall into clutches of two style-obsessed Orlesian women?
o.O.o
The only things I managed so far was escaping for a breakfast and few hours later escape for lunch, since I refused to submit to Isolde's and Leliana's dressing games with empty stomach. So far they haven't agree even on what they plan to do with my hair or what make up they plan to do, not a word about dress so far. Scary business, this Orlesian dressing up.
When there were only about three hours left to the beginning of the feast, I decided it's time to bloody start of preparations. These endless discussions about what hairstyle would compliment the lenght of my neck and the shape of my face best, as well as what colour of eye shades would accentuate the brown of my eyes were something what neither me, nor my mother ever spent much time on. We usually just picked some dress, suitable shoes, put some make up which went nicely together with the dress and asked one of our maids to do something with our hair. My maid usually came with something like Grecian knot or loose bun. It looked nice on me and it was quick.
"Enough!" I yelled, making both women jump and turn towards me. "Just bring me some dresses, shoes and make up case and send me someone who can do my hair about a hour before the beginning of the feast and I will be okay," I said, the renmants of my calmness dissipating by each passing moment. Luckily it worked, as both of them realized that the more time they spend by fussing over me, the less time they will have for themselves. I could finally relax a bit - but really for a short time because sooner than I would have liked several servants brought about ten different dresses, Maker knows how many pairs of shoes - all after the last Orlesian fashion! - and the make up case I requested.
When all of them left, Oren entered my room again, smiling happily at the sight of the dresses. "Auntie, Leliana sent me to help you pick the best dress!" he said excitedly. Oh, great. Now a four-year-old will be picking my dress. I tried a bit different tactic. "All right, Oren - but if you are going to pick my dress for the feast, you are going to be my partner for the evening, is that clear?" I hoped it would scare him off, since every time his mother or me wanted to even place a kiss on his cheek or take his hand, make him dance with us or do anything affectionate at public, he would run away immediately - but to my surprise it only made him more excited. And he was even bossier that Leliana and Isolde together. "I don't like this one - it makes you look as if you were sick," was his comment on the first dress I tried on. "You look awful in this one." Then it was "Aww, auntie, you don't really think this dress suits you, do you?" Tell me about an ego bruise. Ouch. Every other dress earned similar comment, making me feel a bit helpless about what the heck am I going to wear tonight. "This one looks better," he commented when I tried last but one dress. I pursed my lips at my reflection in mirror. "It makes my butt look too big," I said, unlacing it. Oren was already looking at last one. "This will be the bestest of all!" he cried out. "Best of all," I corrected him without thinking, looking at the dress. Well, he had a point. The dress had just the correct variety of colours, was just as stylish as I thought necessary and it was the last one, by Andraste's breast band.
But my opinion changed when I put the dress on. "Oren, you can't be serious!" I exclaimed. The low-cut neckline revealed way too much of décolletage and boobs, showing of my shoulders a bit, too. Adding to it, that damned corset almost squeezed my boobs out of the dress completely. It was the most scandalous dress I've ever put on. "I simply cannot wear it - look at this!" Oren obviously wanted to say something but then again, like many times today, a voice from the door made me jump. "Look at what?" "This!" I yelled and pointed to the exposed décolletage. Oops, it was Teagan standing there and I thought I just finally could die from embarrassment. "Ah, don't look!" I cried out, covered myself with my hands and turned my back to him. "Maker, why me?" I groaned. "But auntie - this dress looks best on you, don't you think, ser?" argued Oren, looking up to Teagan for an agreement. And Teagan, that bastard, just had to band with my nephew against me. Men.
"You truly look marvelous in that dress, my lady," he said courteously. I fought the urge to snort something like "you just want an opportunity to see more of my boobs" but stopped myself from doing so. Raising my hands in surrender I voiced my conditions on wearing this dress. First of all - no looks into my cleavage, I said with a pointed look towards Teagan, who gave me the most innocent of smiles. Second - they are going to be my escorts for the evening. Meaning no Zevran, Alistair of anyone else for dancing with me et cetera. With their agreement to these terms I kicked them out of the room so I could finish my preparations.
Blessed Andraste - I'll never hear the end of bawdy comments on the dress once we leave Redcliffe again, I was sure of it.
o.O.o
I was starting to feel a bit nervous. The feast was about to start any moment and neither of the guys showed up so far.
Knock!
"Moment, please!" I called, remembering my mother's and Oriana's lessons about never seeming to be too eager to join your manly escort for any social event. I took a deep breath and with one last look at my reflection - luckily, the pins held my hair in the hairdo I requested, a loose bun with several adornments, make up matching the dress and oh Maker, I was just so nervous! - I carefully went to open the doors.
"Wow! You look so pretty, auntie!" exclaimed Oren. 'One would have thought that he never had seen me in a dress before,' I thought dryly. Teagan showed his contentment with my attire by a small bow, "you look radiant, my lady," remark and offered me his arm, which I rather shyly accepted. Oren took my free hand, surprising me for second time today - he usually hated doing that when others could see him, always saying he "is not a small baby to be led by hand!" We made our way to the main hall, where everyone would meet the villagers and together go to the banqueting-hall.
The stares and whistles my companions were giving made me blush. But the day's quota of surprises wasn't full, it seemed, since Oren let my hand go and folding his hands over his chest he said - declaring like a knight from a fairy tale: "Cease your rude staring, otherwise I will be forced to challenge you in defense of lady Amélie's honor!" "I would listen to him, if I were you," said Teagan conversationally into the somehow stunned silence Oren's remark brought, "he may be small - but he can kick your butt in no time when provoked." Laughter followed but people at least stopped staring.
My men - I chose to call them that tonight - escorted me to my place at the table, sitting by my sides, Oren throwing threatening glances after everyone who looked at me either too long or too pointedly towards my boobs, while Teagan was acting as the real gentleman, offering me food, pouring me wine and making small talk with me to make me relax, since I was tense, almost expecting an attack any time soon. By the Black City, it wasn't all that long since there was another peaceful evening which ended in massacre. Yet under Teagan's care I felt myself relaxing, smiling around and laughing over the jokes those sitting around said.
After the dinner, when women departed to another room, so the men could have a drink on their own, Leliana almost ambushed me: "Amélie, you know, you just looked so cute when you were descending the stairs with Oren and bann Teagan. You looked like a family!" I felt blood rushing to my head. It was like family. We used to go to dinner like that; father leading me and mother, Oriana with Oren and Fergus. Before I could become a tearful mess, Oren run to me and asked: "Auntie, could you dance with me first?" "Dance? There is dancing?" Before I could have more questions, Oren took my hand and almost dragged me towards the assembly room, where the musicians, mostly villagers, were already tunning their instruments. The one playing pipes got obviously bored by waiting and started to play a familiar tune, typical for villages in Ferelden, Arnish Light. It was for triplets of dancers, and since we were only two, we almost retreated from dancing floor, when Teagan suddenly appeared by my side, took my hand and led us amongst the other triplets.
The dance was quite simple. 'Start with your right, step, step, cha cha step, step, step, cha cha step, to the centre, step right, left behind, step, jump, out of the centre, step left, right back, step and jump. Now to the circle - step, step, turn with your hands linked during the cha cha, the same out of the circle. And again!' I could hear my dance teacher tapping the rhythm out while Fergus and Roland, one of our knights, as I thought sadly, suffered through the lessons with me. Now me, Teagan and Oren were laughing during the dance, enjoying the tune with others. There were triplets of three girls, two women and one man, two men and one woman, all around the dance floor. I noticed Zevran's and Alistair's eyes following our triplet. Obviously they wanted a dance with me - but my escorts aimed to show them there will be no dance with me for them. When the Arnish Light ended, Oren led me through the steps of polka, immediately taking me over to Teagan, who led me through the somehow complicated steps of another country dance. And they did it again and again. No one else had any chance to dance with me - and it made them grumpy and pouty, to my merriment.
Oren yawned and I finally realized how late it already was. Asking Teagan, if he would be so kind to escort us to the rooms we were given, we went to retire for the night. My hand was around Oren's shoulders, my little nephew leaning into me, as he somehow sleepily walked. Then I felt Teagan's arm settling around the small of my back. 'You looked like a family,' said Leliana few hours ago, my heart skipping a beat now. Family. I pushed Oren forward lightly: "Go prepare for the bed, darling - I'll come to tuck you in, yes?" Yawning again, he nodded and went to his room, leaving me and Teagan alone.
I looked up to meet his eyes, words I wanted to say stuck in my throat when I lost myself in their aquamarine depths, mesmerized by their intensity. "Auntie?" Oren's voice brought me back into reality. Blinking, I made a quick curtsy, almost running into Oren's room to talk to him for a short time, sing him a lullaby and tuck him in when he fell asleep. It startled me to find out that Teagan was waiting for me the whole time. To my questioning gaze he simply said: "As your escort I'm supposed to take you to your rooms, my lady." My lady. He called me so from the very first moments we met in Redcliffe Chantry. "It's Amélie for you, bann Teagan," I said, a bit unsure, when we stood in front of the door to my chamber. He gave a small nod of acknowledgment, looking into my eyes so intensely that I became mesmerized by the strange of his gaze again. Breathlessly I noticed his face is closer, closer by each second, closer, closer...
"Hah, do not tell my, my dear Alistair, that you locked yourself in a cell in castle's dungeon!" Unexpecting to be interrupted we jumped from each other, startled by the sound of Zevran's and Alistair voices, the moment shattered, both of us flushed, hearts beating madly in our chests. Just when Alistair and Zevran rounded the corner and saw us, Teagan took my hand and placing a kiss on the knuckles, saying in that deep and sensual voice of his: "Thank you for the amazing evening, my lady. May I hope for a dance with you some day in the future?" Playing along I gave him my patented I-am-the-lady-mysterious-here smile and nodded wordlessly. Once again kissing my hand he let go and bidding me good night walked around my companions, who were staring at me, as if I've grown second head or something like that. Giving them a contented smile I entered my room, closing the door and leaning against it. Touching the hand he kissed just moment before to my lips I sighed. 'If only Alistair and Zevran came later, if only a few seconds later, damit!' I cursed in my mind. Shaking my head I went to get the dress off and prepare for bed.
Alas, the sleep didn't come easily that night, my mind slipping to the kiss that never happened.
A/N: And that's all folks! By the way, The Arnish Light Set is owned by The Tannahill Weavers. Look it up, if interested, it's worth it!