There's a story behind this story. I had a little plot bunny that was inspired by a picture I saw of King Alistair in the bath playing with toys and then realize that he was being watched by a servant. I needed a servant, and JayRain kindly offered me the use of Aubrey, an elven servant girl who has a small part in her story Sneaking (which you should go read). Well, Aubrey started talking to me and what happened was much different than what was originally planned, but I think that's a good thing! This story takes place in my "Change of Plans" universe, but it works on the assumption that the events that happened in JayRain's Sneaking happened in this universe as well, except for the parts about Alistair being a Templar, because he's not in my universe. It's not long after the Blight ends, just long enough for the Palace to begin resuming something that passes for a normal routine. Bioware owns all, except for Aubrey, who is on loan from JayRain with her kind permission.

Royal Palace, Denerim

Aubrey carried the heavy cans of water up to the king's chamber, remembering the many times she'd done this before. She'd been carrying water up these stairs for more than ten years now – they'd started her on bath duty as soon as she could carry a full can of water without spilling any of it. At first she'd resented it, but then she'd seen the prince. Prince Cailan, so golden and handsome, and just a year younger than she was. He'd noticed her - she'd made sure of it. The "attentive servant" pose – eyes downcast, hands behind back – had the bonus effect of thrusting her breasts forward and showing them off to advantage. The first time he'd been with her had been in one of the castle hallways, when she was seventeen. It had been rough and quick, but even so, it had been thrilling. She could still remember the feeling of the cold stone of the castle wall pressing against her back as Prince Cailan took her, could still remember the thrill of the danger. If she had been caught trysting with the prince in the hallway she would have never found work as a serving girl again – it would have been the Pearl for her, if she was lucky. After he'd spent himself he'd reminded her of the need for silence – as if she needed that reminder. As a pretty elven serving girl one thing she was intimately aware of was her place.

Aubrey sighed and continued up the stairs with her cans of heated water. Her memories had slowed her steps, and the upstairs housekeeper would have her hide if the water had cooled by the time she reached the king's chamber. She put down her burden and stood by the fire. There was enough water for the king's bath now, so Aubrey just had to wait. She wondered if the new king had been sad when King Cailan died. The gossip was that King Alistair had never even seen King Cailan up close, that he'd been fostered with Arl Eamon and Chancellor Teagan almost from the time he was born. The other servants said he looked like King Cailan and King Maric, but Aubrey hadn't seen him yet – this was her first day back at work after the battle. She could hear a commotion down the hall, so she supposed she would get to see him soon enough.

He was deep in conversation with Chancellor Teagan as he walked into the room so Aubrey had a good chance to observe him unnoticed. His short hair was several shades darker than King Cailan's had been, and he was perhaps a little shorter. He was covered with a light sheen of sweat and he was wearing a padded gambeson, so Aubrey guessed that he had just been in the training yard. He started disrobing even as he was talking to the Chancellor.

When he pulled off his shirt and turned towards the bath Aubrey's breath caught. He was broader in the shoulder than King Cailan had been, but his face…he was the image of King Cailan. He met her eye for a moment and then started looking down at himself.

"What's wrong? Am I covered in mud?" he asked, which snapped Aubrey out of her daze. She cast her eyes down in the proper servile fashion and shook her head.

"I apologize, Your Majesty, it's just…I served King Cailan and…the resemblance…I hadn't realized," she stammered.

"Haven't seen me before, then? I understand; the resemblance is quite striking. I'm told they are only going to have to change the hair on the coins," he said. His voice was deeper than King Cailan's had been, although he spoke with the same warmth and easy humour. Aubrey dared a peek up through her lashes and her breath caught anew at the sight of him. He even had Cailan's smile, the one that Queen Anora had called "that infuriating Theirin smirk", although his lips quirked up on the opposite side than King Cailan's had.

"Well, it's about time for a change," Chancellor Teagan interjected. "I think they reused Maric's engraving when Cailan became king," he said.

"Oh, I wouldn't be surprised. I saw some of those older coins during the Blight and I'm pretty sure they're the same," King Alistair said.

"Right. Well, I'll leave you to your bath. Don't take overlong; we are having supper with Arlessa Anora to discuss alleviating the food shortages in the south," Chancellor Teagan said, which made King Alistair groan.

"Do I have to? I hate talking to her. She always wants to completely take control of everything. I might as well be tied up, she makes me feel that ineffective," King Alistair said. Aubrey nearly choked on the giggle that tried to escape at that statement. It was so like something that King Cailan had said to her on several occasions that she just couldn't help it. Thankfully the King and the Chancellor didn't notice.

"Yes, you do. Now, get all that sweat and dust cleaned off of you and change into some court clothes. I'll be back at the seventh hour," Chancellor Teagan said. He gave a slight nod to Aubrey, much to her surprise, and then left the room.

King Alistair sighed and crossed to the bath. He stuck his arm in the water and frowned. "Blast it, it's gone tepid. Well, my own fault - I was delayed. I'll just top it up," he said, walking towards her and reaching for one of the cans of hot water

"Oh no, no, Your Majesty, please let me do that," she said, almost diving for the can in her urgency to take the water before he did.

"What? Little thing like you? Can you even lift these?" he asked, which made Aubrey snort. "Your Majesty, I have been carrying water up the stairs for half my life," she said. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd just done. She'd forgotten her place.

"Y-your Majesty, I apologize, I forgot to whom I was speaking," she said, and hurried to top up the bath with hot water.

"No, it's I who should apologize, you obviously carried this water up here, I shouldn't have doubted your ability," he said, and favored her with another smile. Aubrey smiled back, daring to meet the king's eyes. He was so nice, she didn't think he'd mind. King Cailan had liked it when she looked him in the eye, perhaps King Alistair would, too.

"Look, I'm used to dealing with this myself; you don't have to wait on me," he said, and held out his hands for the water.

"Oh, no, no Your Majesty…please…" she said, eyes widening in alarm.

King Alistair looked at her with what she could only describe as a longsuffering expression. "What faux pas of servant etiquette did I commit now?" he asked. She would have laughed if she wasn't so concerned about being punished.

Aubrey cast her eyes down at the floor again. "If I am sent away now the housekeeper will think it is because you were displeased with my work, and she will punish me," she said. It was nothing less than the truth. She'd suffered a bit of a fall from grace when King Cailan had died. She'd had enough sense not to put on airs about the fact that she was one of the king's lightskirts, so it hadn't been terrible, but still, there were some who were taking delight in making her miserable.

"Ugh, I miss Rainsfere. There's nowhere near this much drama there. Fine, you can stay, but…turn around, please," the king said, accompanying the words with a spinning motion with his hands. Aubrey blinked at him, but did as he asked. She could hear the sound of him taking off the rest of his clothing and then settling into the bath, and then muted splashing as he began to wash. Aubrey imagined the water glistening on his skin. It would be such a pleasure to glide the cloth over him, just as she had for King Cailan. She knew she shouldn't be thinking such things, but she couldn't seem to help it.

"Do you need any assistance?" she asked, starting to turn around.

"I..erm…thank you, but no…no no, that's all right, you can just…stay facing that way," he said.

Aubrey frowned. Did he find her displeasing? She was no longer a young girl, but she was certainly no crone. King Cailan had certainly continued to find her attractive. He'd lain with her just a few days before he'd left for Ostagar, in fact. He'd promised he'd bring her back something pretty, she remembered sadly. She resolutely put that memory out of her mind and turned her thoughts back to King Alistair. Perhaps he did not fancy women? There were many stories of him and the Warden Commander, though, so that wasn't it.

"Actually, um…I could use some help rinsing my hair," King Alistair said, breaking Aubrey out of her reverie.

"Of course, Your Majesty," she said, lifting one of the cans of water and carrying it over to the bathtub. She poured the water over him, admiring the way the rivulets cascaded down his skin. He was darker than King Cailan had been; his skin was golden rather than the ivory that his brother's had been. In fact, his skin was almost the same shade as her own, she thought, reaching out to touch him, stopping herself only just in time.

"Was that enough water, Your Majesty, or do you need more?" she asked.

"Um…no…I mean…yes…I mean…my hair is rinsed now, thank you, I can take it from here. You can just go back over there," King Alistair said. Was he blushing? Aubrey thought to herself, seeing the color in the king's face. Perhaps he was shy? He looked so much like King Cailan that it hadn't occurred to her that perhaps he would not be like him in other ways.

"Are you sure? I am here to serve the king's needs, whatever they might be," Aubrey said, leaning forward.

"Erm, no, I mean yes, I'm sure that no, I don't need anything. I think my bath is done now anyway," he said, grabbing a drying cloth from the stack near the tub and stepping out of the bath. He backed away from Aubrey and grabbed his trousers from where he had left them on the floor of the bathing chamber. It would not have been like this with King Cailan – he would certainly have taken her by now; perhaps they would have shared the bath. Unbidden tears came to her eyes.

King Alistair paused in the act of lacing his trousers and looked at her in concern. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I don't please you, Your Majesty," Aubrey finally said. King Alistair frowned at her and opened his mouth, then abruptly closed it. "You pleased King Cailan," he finally said.

"Yes," she answered.

"You expected me to want the same, didn't you?" he asked, and she nodded.

"He didn't…force you…did he?" King Alistair asked, concern evident in his face and in his voice. It was the concern that was Aubrey's undoing. She burst into tears.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, and then she felt his strong arms around her shoulders, offering comfort.

"I promise, I'll not ask you to do anything like that," he said, which made her cry even harder. She shook her head, trying to get her sobs under control.

"It wasn't like that," she said, once she could speak coherently.

"What was it like, then?" he asked. He ran the drying cloth over his still-damp hair and sat at the small table near the fire. He gestured to the seat opposite him, but she vehemently shook her head. She most certainly could not sit in the king's presence.

"He didn't force me. We were…the first time was when I was seventeen. He was sixteen. I was his first, I think," she said, which made the king's eyes widen in surprise.

"You were his mistress," he said.

"I…no…I am a servant. He had a mistress, some minor noble, I think. I was…something else," Aubrey said.

"Something else?" the king asked, to which Aubrey nodded.

"He…no one listened to him. The teryn didn't listen to him, his wife didn't listen to him…no one did," she said.

"But you did," Alistair said.

"Yes. I listened. He told me how frustrated he was, how the teryn and the queen wouldn't let him be the king. Sometimes all he wanted to do was talk, but sometimes…he came to me when King Maric died, you know. I bore the marks of his hands for nearly a week afterwards. I didn't mind, though; it was something he needed, and when he saw what he'd done he was really sorry. He got me a gift to make it up to me," Aubrey said, and hung her head, remembering. King Cailan had sagged against her afterward and quietly cried. Aubrey had felt triumph even as her heart ached for him. She knew she wasn't the only servant he was bedding…but she was the one he'd come to when he was hurting; she was the one he allowed to hold him as he mourned his father. That's how it had been with them. He would find her and take her somewhere out of the way, be it his study, his chambers, or even, occasionally, a window embrasure. Sometimes he took her without speaking, sometimes he wanted to talk first. It was the times that he wanted to talk that she cherished the most, she thought, a fond smile lighting her features at the memories.

"You loved him," King Alistair finally said. He was resting his chin on his fist and staring at her.

"I…suppose I did," Aubrey said. She'd always told herself that she was just doing it for the coin – the gifts that had helped her family when she was younger and then had helped her husband after her parents had arranged a marriage for her. Her husband had not been happy that she was one of "the king's whores", but Alienage elves were nothing if not practical. He had accepted that they could not afford to forego the extra money that the king's favor provided. He hadn't known the depths of her feelings for the former king, though, and Aubrey was going to make sure he never did. Her husband Sheltan was a good man, he deserved better.

"I can see why he found you attractive; you're a very beautiful woman….I'm sorry, I don't know your name," the king said.

"Aubrey, Your Majesty," she said.

"You're very beautiful, Aubrey. But…I am not my brother. I will not be continuing his…exertions…with the servants," King Alistair said.

"I understand, Your Majesty," Aubrey said. She had almost hoped…he seemed like such a kind man; he would probably have treated her well, and Maker knew they could use the extra coin.

"Perhaps…if your duties permit, you could tell me about my brother from time to time? My father has told me some things, but he was not at court enough to truly know him," the king said, which made Aubrey smile at him. She would enjoy talking about King Cailan to his brother...and perhaps King Alistair would see fit to give her some small gifts to thank her for her time.

"I would like that," she said.

"Glad to hear it," King Alistair said with a smile. "I will leave you to your work; I must dress for the torture session...er…dinner with Anora," King Alistair said and then turned and went through the connecting door to his wardrobe. Aubrey watched him go, then began cleaning the bathing room and draining the tub, not sure whether to she was relieved or not that the king had turned down her offer.

"How was your day?" Sheltan asked as he kissed Aubrey in greeting. Aubrey walked over to the corner of their rooms where her daughter slept on her pallet. Aubrey knelt and kissed her forehead, which made Alanna stir, but did not wake. She was not in her nightclothes, so Sheltan must have put her down for a late nap. Well, that was all to the good, at least as far as Aubrey was concerned. It would give her a chance to play with Alanna for a little while before she needed to go to bed. Alanna was walking and starting to talk now, and Aubrey didn't want to miss any more of that than she had to. Aubrey gently patted her daughter's golden hair and then turned and smiled at her husband.

"It was all right. Mistress Ella had me haul water for the king's bath," Aubrey said. She watched Sheltan's eyes darken, but all he said was, "Oh?"

"Yes. The new king is very…different…than his brother, for all that they look alike," Aubrey casually said.

"Different how?" Sheltan asked.

"He is…rather shy. He asked me to turn my back while he bathed," Aubrey said. Sheltan's shoulders sagged with relief, but he simply shook his head.

"Well, I hope he's a good king. Maker knows we need one right now," Sheltan said.

"I think he will be," Aubrey said, then went to serve the stew that had been keeping warm over the fire.