"We'll be coming up on Amelia's estate soon." Leliana said languidly, looking out the carriage window at the Orlesian countryside.
Kallian had her fill of the countryside around them some time ago. Southern Orlais was beautiful to look at, but perhaps not for hours on end. Instead, she had been taking in the finer details of Leliana's appearance. Her friend had let her hair grow longer recently, and the copper color shined nicely in the sun. Kallian had let her own hair grow out, but the pale blonde color of it tended to look washed out in direct sunlight.
"Is your cousin truly as rich as she sounds?" Kallian, city elf and Hero of Ferelden, asked Leliana in a similar bored tone.
The hours they had spent bumping along dirt roads in a rented carriage had taken a toll on them both. Kallian had thought that a nice, relaxing ride through the forest to Leliana's cousin's estate was just the thing she needed to unwind herself before beginning their task. That might have been true if the ride hadn't been quite so long.
"You'd think she was the Empress herself with the way she talks. Amelie is a Marquise, but her family's finances have suffered as of late. I think that the pressures of keeping up appearances have caused her to become involved in the trade of Lyrium." Leliana answered, still looking out the carriage window.
"Not just Lyrium though, yes? Your informant said that a different kind of Lyrium was also being moved through. Some kind of red tinted Lyrium?" Kallian asked curiously.
"Yes. I've never heard of such a thing, but he seemed to believe that it was even more dangerous and toxic than the usual kind." Leliana responded, her brow creasing.
"If it's true, then we were right to come here. Someone needs to put a stop to it." Kallian said firmly.
"I'm sorry for pulling you into this, Kal. This was supposed to be a vacation of sorts." Leliana said apologetically, turning to look at Kallian with a bit of guilt in her eyes.
"Don't worry about it. To tell the truth, I was getting a little too relaxed. Some spy work will be a nice break from it all." Kallian assured her.
A visit to Leliana's home country of Orlais had been Leliana's idea after Kallian had confided in her friend about her relative unhappiness. The city-elf turned Warden had found that being the Hero of Ferelden had made Ferelden a surprisingly unpleasant place to live for her. Kallian didn't particularly like being the center of attention everywhere she went, but more work needed to be done for her people. With Alistair's assistance, Kallian had already shepherded through a handful of royal decrees that had improved the lives of her fellow elves in Ferelden. But she had been wary of going too far, too quickly. Change could only come to a society so fast before a frightened backlash developed. If that happened, many city elves would lose their lives in riots against them. Kallian had done what she could for now, and had to trust the next generation of elven leaders would carry on her work. Someday she would return, but until that point, Kallian would enjoy her relative inconspicuousness in Orlais. That the Hero of Ferelden was a city elf was widely known there, but there were many different rumors about what she looked like. Rumors that she was taller than any human, or had skin as white and pale as the moon, were surprisingly common to hear. She even embellished a few herself in some of the taverns they had visited, to Kallian and Leliana's deep amusement.
Of course, being an elf in Orlais presented problems of its own. Humans, even complete strangers, seemed to feel that they were entitled to order her around. After teaching the first few dozen humans that antagonized her (Lords, Ladies, shopkeepers, even a Chevalier or two) that not every elf was there to bow and scrap for them, Kallian had grown weary of the constant fighting. The ignorance of some of these Orlesians was bottomless and knocking out bigots where she saw them would be an endless task. Besides, Kallian had gotten her fill of conflict during the Blight. It was much easier to simply offer a bow and move out of the way of some haughty human than to fight them, as temporarily satisfying as it was to knock some sense into their thick heads. Leliana had gotten into her share of scrapes on Kallian's behalf, which was a larger part of the reason why the Ferelden city-elf now sought to avoid conflict where she could. The possibility of Leliana getting hurt for her sake was something that Kallian didn't like.
The change in Kallian's attitude resulted in a much more peaceful trip. They were able to relax finally, at least until Leliana had run into an old friend at a tavern in Lydes. Leliana's friend, a bard called Damien, eventually told her of a rumor he had heard about the Marquise that ruled outside the city. He said that the noble lady was trafficking in Lyrium, and the ingenious way that she had dodged suspicion was to use a network of city elf servants to transport it. The Chantry controlled the legal trade of Lyrium, and the usage of city elves kept the Marquise's activities beneath their notice.
Black market trade was not something that would ordinarily bother either of them, but Damien had also said that he had heard rumors that the Marquise was moving a strange, red kind of Lyrium that was doing harm to the elves transporting it. Besides that, it was unclear what was happening to the people that were ultimately receiving it. After bidding Damien goodbye, Leliana and Kallian had discussed it for some time before agreeing that something had to be done. There was an easy excuse for Leliana to travel to Amelia's estate, as they were distant cousins and she would be received warmly as a guest, but the same was obviously not true for Kallian. There was, however, an obvious and effective way for the city elf to gain entrance to the estate and begin gathering information among the servants...
"I know you've said that you're okay with this, but are you really sure that you don't mind going in as a prospective servant?" Leliana asked gingerly.
"I told you, it's fine. I did some work as a maid when I was in the Denerim Alienage. Most every elven female does at some point." Kallian answered easily.
"Being a servant in Orlais is not quite the same thing as in Ferelden. You'll be expected to have a perfect grasp on the proper etiquette." Leliana warned.
"I'll learn quickly. I'm sure they'll understand if a Ferelden barbarian doesn't possess their level of sophistication right away." Kallian assured her friend, reaching over to pat Leliana on the arm.
"Your elven compatriots will teach you, I'm sure, but they probably won't be gentle. Wayward servants sometimes get the switch, I've been told. One bad apple makes the entire group look uncouth, so they're not going to be happy if you make a mistake." Leliana warned Kallian again, sounding more doubtful by the minute.
"I stopped being scared of the switch when I turned 15. It's nothing to worry about." Kallian said with a laugh.
"If you say so. Look, we're coming up on the estate now." Leliana said, turning her head to look out the window of the carriage.
Kallian turned to look outside as well. The distant white walls of Marquise Amelia's country manor gleamed in the sunlight even from here. If Amelia's finances were in difficulty, no one would know it from the outside. The manor house was huge, with a large central building connected to two smaller, though still impressive, buildings on either side. As they got closer, Kallian could see other details like a gleaming fountain at the entrance, and a smattering of buildings that were dwarfed by the manor house. There was a stable, a blacksmith, storage buildings and two slightly larger buildings that Kallian thought were probably quarters for the guards and servants, respectively. On the other side of the manor, far away from them, were vineyards that stretched a long way into the distance. People walked between the vines, and though they were too small for Kallian to make out for sure, she knew that the laborers out there were her people.
"Cousin! It's been years!" Marquise Amelia exclaimed warmly, meeting Leliana at the marble steps at the entrance to the manor.
"Too true, cousin. As soon as I stepped foot in Orlais again, I knew I had to visit." Leliana said to Amelia with equal warmth.
Kallian watched them both embrace from her place at the bottom of the steps. Amelia was wearing an ivory mask along with a richly embroidered violet dress. Leliana wore her traveling wear, but the soft cloth and quality leather were evidence that she was not poor. The same could not be said for Kallian. The need to appear as nothing more than your usual humble city elf had caused her to leave her weapons behind and to don a slightly itchy brown dress that she had purchased for a handful of bronze pennies back in Lydes. Kallian couldn't help but feel quite shabby in comparison to either of them.
"I've prepared a feast tonight to highlight your visit, cousin. But first, you must get out of those dusty clothes and into something more refined." Amelia said graciously, stepping aside and extending a hand to lead Leliana into the manor.
"Thank you. It would be my pleasure." Leliana answered politely.
"Oh? And who is this?" Amelia asked in a doubtful tone, having spotted Kallian at the bottom of the steps.
"A refugee from Redcliffe. We met on the road in Ferelden. In return for my protection, she offered to become my maidservant until I could find her a more permanent placement. I could not leave the poor thing behind." Leliana explained, rather condescendingly.
Kallian smiled vaguely and offered Amelia a practiced curtsy. Being spoken off as if she wasn't there was a common occurrence in Orlais, she had found. Amelia, being a noble Orlesian, saw nothing amiss with talking about a city elf as if she couldn't understand Common.
"How gallant of you, cousin. I think we can make a place for her here. Unless you wish to keep her in your service?" Amelia said breezily, turning to look at Leliana.
"I think she'll be more comfortable in a manor house, especially one as beautiful as yours." Leliana answered offhandedly, sounding as if she didn't particularly care what happened to Kallian.
"Wonderful. Now, elf, go find my work foreman. He's the one wearing a large white hat." Marquis Amelia enunciated slowly, as if Kallian would have difficulty understanding if she spoke too quickly, and punctuating the whole thing by miming a hat on her head.
"Yes, Your Grace. Thank you." Kallian murmured, curtsying once more.
Kallian watched as both of the women disappeared into the manor. She had been forgotten, just like that. It was tempting to take this opportunity to try to ferret out information on her own, but it wasn't a good idea. It was unlikely that the humans here would notice an extra servant wandering around, but the elves would certainly notice a stranger among them, and Kallian would never get anything out of her fellows like that. With a heavy sigh, Kallian instead turned and went to find this foreman, telling herself that it was all to save the people who were in danger from this Red Lyrium.
After getting a much appreciated bath and donning a vermillion dress Amelia had lended her, Leliana had spent most of the afternoon in the garden, conversing with the minor lords and ladies that had formed Amelia's noble entourage. It wasn't likely that Amelia had confided in these low-level players, so Leliana was able to split her focus between conversation and looking for Kallian.
She had spotted her friend after about an hour. Kallian had put on the same white servant's dress that every other elf was wearing and had blended in well enough. Kallian's light blonde hair made her stick out somewhat (hair that pale being quite unusual among Orlesian elves). Her motions lacked the polish of her fellows, and she had the tendency to look the human nobles in the eye instead of keeping her eyes generally downcast, but none of the other humans seemed to notice. Elves were of little concern compared to engaging in their low-level version of the Game.
The sun had set quickly, and Leliana joined Amelia's entourage as they moved to the large tables that had been moved to the middle of the garden. More elven servants appeared, carrying bottles of wine and plates laden with the first course. Kallian was one of them, and Leliana raised her empty glass as her friend was walking by with a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy. Kallian gave her a look before dutifully filling Leliana's glass. As Kallian bent down to pour, Leliana whispered so that only her friend could hear.
"We'll talk after dinner. Wait for me to summon you." Leliana whispered softly.
Kallian gave an almost imperceptible nod and moved on. Leliana watched Kallian go and then tried to refocus herself. Leliana was here to find out what she could about Amelia's criminal operation. Noticing how appealing Kallian looked in a dress that was, for once, sized to fit her smaller frame was not at all helpful to that end.
(I love exploring relationships where there is a clear socio-economic difference between the people involved, so the city elves of Dragon Age are quite fun to write about. But the question is, what do you think about the direction I should go in here? I could focus chiefly on the plot, with a little romance/smut thrown in, or I could focus on the possible romance between Kallian and Leliana, or I could take advantage of Kallian's vulnerable position as a maidservant to engage in some interesting smut. Let me know which you'd prefer in a comment, and I'll absolutely take it under advisement!)