A/N: By request, the continuing AU story of the Viscountess Amell. Glad everyone liked my two-part short. Here is the next chapter of her life. Enjoy.
Viscountess Amell
9:29 Dragon Age
"I thought I might find you here."
Solona Amell, the Viscountess of Kirkwall, looked up. It was rare when someone would disturb her here in the baths, the servants knew better. She would typically come down here after a long, and frustrating, day of debate with the royal court. Two years of ruling her city had taught her that there was no better form of relief than to soak her weary body in a hot bath filled with the finest scented oils.
It was as close to paradise as the young ruler would ever get.
Built by the Tevinters during their reign here centuries ago, the Viscount's bath was large enough to accommodate a hundred people easily and still leave room for servants tending to their masters' needs. During her Father's reign they had been closed off, he could not justify such decadence, but Solona had reopened them, she loved the water, and welcomed its warm and relaxing embrace.
She did feel guilty about using them sometimes; here she was sinking to her nose in luxury, while the world outside of Kirkwall was tearing itself to pieces.
Yes…it was extravagant, but she still enjoyed the peace and solitude, it was an escape from the day to day grind of ruling the city of chains.
A release that she definitely needed, considering what was happening outside her home's borders.
It was a place of rest for her, or at least…
It had been.
These baths were off limits to all but a few select servants and the royal family.
Which her Mother, of course, was part of; Lady Revka regarded her daughter with what could be described as a look of motherly disappointment.
The Viscountess sighed, she hated that look, it made her feel like she was five years old again.
She started to emerge from the waters, an elven servant girl rushed forward, wrapping her in a fine silk robe. Solona nodded gratefully as the girl retreated silently bowing as she left.
The Viscountess was not what one expected when someone thought of a ruler. She was a willowy young woman of twenty; her blonde hair was so bright that it almost appeared white. Blue compassionate eyes blazed out from a body of pale porcelain skin.
The second of three children of the late Viscount Aristide Amell, the Lion of Kirkwall, Solona had assumed the throne two years earlier on her eighteenth birthday, assuming control of not only Kirkwall but her family as well.
Her elder brother Marius would have been Viscount if he had not been taken by the circle of magi when he was ten. Their younger brother Daylen was only twelve when Father had passed. A child could not assume the throne.
That had left only Solona to fill that role. She had struggled at first, but slowly she had come to embrace her place as the Viscountess.
"Is there a problem mother?" she asked sweetly winding her long white hair into a single braid running down her back.
The elder Amell held her with a disapproving gaze.
The Viscountess coughed, only her mother could do this and make her feel small.
She fell silent diverting her eyes.
"I heard you snuck out of the keep again today."
Solona sighed.
"Mother don't start."
"Dearest you are the Viscountess."
"You think I do not know that?" she asked, "The crown is kinda hard to forget."
"Don't be so flip."
"Sorry," Solona mumbled.
IOI
Her Mother sighed, she knew that her daughter had a wanderer's soul, but Kirkwall was not the safest of places.
The city could not afford to have their Viscountess kidnapped or murdered.
"If you must leave, please…take your bodyguards with you."
"I didn't go far," she said trying to reassure her mother, "I went to visit Cousin Gamlen."
Her Mother snorted.
Of course, she thought, of course it would be Gamlen.
IOI
Solona winced.
Maybe she should have made up some lie.
Gamlen was her Uncle Fausten's son, and unlike Solona and her brothers he did not partake in the power of the Amell family, choosing instead to live in Lowtown. Gamlen had lost all the wealth he had inherited from his father, even the ancestral Amell estate, and an estate that should have passed to his older sister Leandra, had she not eloped with some Ferelden apostate.
It had been quite the scandal back then.
Poor Gamlen had been left to endure that shame alone. When his parents had passed he had been left to his own devices.
His failure as a noble had made him an outcast, not one of their family acknowledged him until Solona had. Her Father had not even tried to help him, choosing to let Gamlen wallow in his failure.
It was the only act of her Father's that Solona had never agreed with. Gamlen was family. You did not turn your back on family.
Solona was not so cold; she had travelled abroad for ten years before returning home, she had seen the harshness of the world. She would not turn her back on a fellow Amell.
She could not do it.
Solona had offered to pay off Gamlen's debts and restore him to the nobility but he would not hear of it. He had no desire to owe his future to his much younger cousin, ruler or not.
"I'm right where I should be girl," he grumped, "And I would appreciate it if you let the matter be."
She had nodded, if that was what he wished, than she would respect his choice.
"He is family Mother."
IOI
Revka sighed, Solona had always been a compassionate girl, and it did her credit, most of the time.
She took her daughter's hands in hers.
"He is not worth your time dearest, and if he truly loved you he would not want you risking yourself, your place is here not wandering through Lowtown alone."
"But I wasn't alone mother, Varric was with me."
Revka Amell winced.
Of course, she thought, the dwarf.
If there was one person that she disliked more than Gamlen it was Varric Tethras.
Her daughter knew that, probably part of the reason why she kept their business interests going. It was an acceptable form of rebellion.
The dwarf had been a business partner of her Aristide's; he had helped keep House Amell afloat when Knight-Commander Meredith had tried to break them. Revka would have preferred Solona end their family's business relationship with the dwarven merchant's guild, and to focus on the nobles of Kirkwall, but Solona had not done that. Varric had been an ally, she said.
She would not abandon him, if he lost the support of House Amell, his brother would likely assume control of House Tethras and do Maker knew what to it.
"The dwarf again," Mother said coldly.
Solona blushed.
"I don't understand your fascination with him," Mother said.
"He is a friend and an ally of House Amell."
"He is trouble," the older woman said, "You could do better. We could…"
Mother paused, a look of horror on her face.
Oh Maker…had the girl been?
No, the scandal would be too great!
IOI
It worried the Viscountess.
"Mother?" she asked.
"Solona dear."
"Yes?"
The dwarf."
"Yes?"
"You two," Mother paled, "The two of you, you aren't…"
It took Solona a minute to figure out what mother was getting at.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Oh Maker, she felt mortified, her face turned red.
"No," she gasped, "No Mother, we…Varric and I...we are not…I…just…I… yick."
"Oh praise the Maker," Revka gasped.
Solona shook her head, she suddenly felt dirty. She and Varric were friends and business partners that was it. As far as she knew he did not even like human women.
Truth be told, Solona had not been with any men yet, her travels had made that difficult, and her duties as Viscountess did not leave much time for courting.
Varric was fun, and he made her laugh, but the thought of them…
As she had said…'Yick.'
Still…Mother's crassness annoyed her; she was of legal age after all. She could take to her bed, whom ever she chose.
"And even if we were," Solona said hotly, "It would be my affair, my personal affair."
"You have a duty to your family," Revka Amell reminded her.
"I'm doing my duty," the Viscountess replied, "I wear the crown and do what is expected of me."
"You need a husband dear. You need an heir to your throne."
"Daylen is next in line," she reminded her.
"Only if you don't have any children," Revka sighed. This had become a major argument over the last year.
Revka wanted grandchildren. She wanted to assure the Amells survived.
Solona was not sure she was ready. She did not want to stay in the Keep breeding heirs. She wanted to get to know the city she ruled.
She wanted it to know her.
"If only things had worked out for you and that Cousland boy," Mother lamented, "He was such an admirable lad. What was his name?"
The Viscountess winced, last year The Ferelden Teyrn of Highever had visited Kirkwall, he had brought his youngest son with him, a good lad, skilled in battle, and handsome to boot.
He had spent some time with Solona, but that was all it had been.
"Aedan," Solona replied.
"Yes, what happened between you and Aedan did you not like each other?"
The Viscountess sighed. She…she did not really want to talk about this, but Mother had asked.
"Aedan was kind enough," she said running her hand through her white-gold hair. "But he had no interest in me, or in any woman. He belongs to the Maker first and his family, in that order." Solona frowned.
"He told me himself he wished to join the chantry, with the birth of his nephew he was ready to do it. His family line was secure."
"A waste," her mother shook her head, ""Choosing the chantry over his duty."
Solona said nothing. She had been mildly insulted at the time, but she had also been relieved. Aedan was a good man to be sure, but his piety would have been a threat to her.
His first loyalty was to the chantry, he would never accept a wife who was a mage.
For that is what she was, she was an apostate. She did her best to hide, and Father and her tutor Brother Alec hid it well, but it did not change the face that she was a mage.
Magic was to serve man, not rule over him, if anyone knew…
It was hard enough keeping her secret as the Viscountess, if she had a husband to hide it from as well.
Things would get very messy.
Aedan would have been good for Kirkwall, but he had had other plans. So, she had gone looking elsewhere, with little success.
The other available bachelors in Kirkwall had all been found wanting. They did not want to marry her, they wanted to marry the Viscountess, her crown was all that mattered to them, or her wealth. When she took a man to her bed, she wanted it to be for love. She wanted to marry well for her family true, but she wanted a man who would see her as his wife first and the Viscountess second.
She did not wish to be some man's coin purse, or his baby-making machine.
Maybe she was kidding herself, but that is what she wanted.
Father and Mother had adored each other. Solona wanted such a love for herself.
She wanted a man who would accept her…magic and all.
Revka finally took pity on her; she lightly brushed her daughter's cheek
The strain of hiding what she was; it was another problem she faced. It was not easy, but that was the way it had to be.
"My poor dear," Mother cooed. "You should not have to live such a lonely existence.
Solona sighed.
"It is better that way mother, at least for now, with the Blight clawing at Ferelden, I dare not turn away from my duties, at least until the blight has been dealt with.
Revka shuddered, everyone had heard about the Blight by now.
News of the Blight in Ferelden continued to grow worse as time went on. A few months ago, word had reached Kirkwall about an Archdemon rising in southern Ferelden, and that it had gathered an army of darkspawn with it.
Monstrous creatures from the blackest of pits, the darkspawn were a walking disease that threatened all that was good in Thedas, infecting it with their taint.
Solona had offered to send troops to help, but King Cailan had dismissed her aid.
"We are Fereldens, and we have the legendary Grey Wardens on our side, what could possibly go wrong?"
Cailan had gathered his forces near the old Tevinter ruin of Ostagar that should have been the end of the story.
Alas it had been just the beginning.
Cailan was dead, and the darkspawn spread unchecked throughout Ferelden.
The news made her sad, she had not really liked Cailan true, but he had come for Coronation, and had been respectful enough.
His death was a great lost to Ferelden.
A civil war now raged in his nation. Teyrn Loghain of Gwaren had assumed the throne, but many of the nobles resisted him. Between that, and the Blight, most outside of Ferelden saw the countries days as numbered.
Against the wishes of her court, Solona had since envoys to Cailan's widow Anora, offering aid in pushing back the darkspawn.
Their ship had been turned back in the harbor; Teyrn Loghain's men had not even allowed it to dock. The envoy returned with a harsh letter from the Teyrn.
Ferelden would stand on its own. We do not need you, good day.
It had been both troubling, and insulting!
It sounded extremely arrogant, but any attempt to force the issue would lead to war between Kirkwall and Ferelden. Solona did not want that, and Ferelden had too many enemies right now.
In truth, the Blight terrified the Viscountess, she feared what would happen if the Archdemon led its army across the Waking Sea. The massive dragon would burn Kirkwall to ash, and what it did not, its diseased army would kill.
She had nightmares about such a coming. She stood helpless as the creature killed her home. In her dreams when she tried to help, she was seized by Templars, dragged off to the Gallows even as it was destroyed around her.
Knight-Commander Meredith laughed at her, even as dragon's fire consumed them both.
Solona knew the Knight Commander was not that heartless or insane, but her fear of discovery still haunted her sleeping mind.
Solona sighed heavily.
The Blight, the troubles here at home, her mother's concern about her finding a husband, problem after problem haunted her.
Yet she would endure.
She was the Viscountess, an Amell.
She followed her Mother back up into the Keep, part of her wanted to remain down here, but she could not spend all her time hiding in the baths.
She was an Amell.
She would do her duty.
She would…endure.
A/N: Aedan Cousland will have a tale in my Grim Tales ficlets later. Thanks for all the support involving Viscountess Amell, it was unexpected and pleasing. If you wish me to continue this story, please review.
DG