Awakening
(Chapter 1)
A golden sun appeared on the outskirts of Denerim, slowly illuminating the stone walls of Fereldan's palace with soft shades of gold, orange, and the softest shades of pink. The lights from the rising sun penetrated through the glass window of the room, presenting a rich and luminous tone to the room. Rich furs decorated the bedroom, with a large, spacious wooden bed against the stone wall, filled with thick blankets to defend the person using it against Fereldan's crisp and bitter air.
Footsteps slowly padded against the soft furs that littered against the floor of the room from the vanity table to the window, overlooking the vast city of Denerim with the ever so powerful and tall Fort Drakon glinting in the distance with its bright walls. Auburn hair flowed gently with the chilly wind, turning slightly gold with the sun's soft colors illuminating the hair. A woman poked her head out of the window, looking below to inspect the streets below her. Several guards were stationed outside the castle walls. While some were patrolling the long streets, others were stationed outside large wooden doors, although all of them were waiting for waiting for the guards shift to change so they could finally go to bed after a long night's patrol. No doubt it would soon be filled once the people of town woke up.
Suddenly, the doors to her room opened, revealing a petite elf with dark hair and equally dark eyes who carried a metal tray, filled with golden bread, ripe fruits, and a small jug of milk, freshly squeezed from a cow.
"Good morning, Lady Ellette," announced the elf as she walked into the room, placing the tray onto the vanity table.
"Good morning to you as well, Araina," replied Ellette as she turned around to face her elven servant.
Araina walked over to Ellette's dresser and opened it, revealing several gowns in Fereldan's current fashion. Araina fished through it, scouting to find a suitable dress for the day's current events until she pulled out a dark blue and black colored dress, with golden trims around the edges of the dress. She then looked through the several shoes, observing each one that would complement Ellette's dress the most. Choosing a pair of dark colored fur boots, she closes it behind her and helps Ellette put it on.
"Queen Anora wishes to speak to you after you're finished getting ready, lady Ellette," announced Araina after she helped Ellette into her dress, now smoothing it out with her thin fingers so that no wrinkles would appear on her dress.
"Did she say what she wanted to speak about?" questioned Ellette as she peered into the mirror, with her reflection staring back at her with large teal eyes, her hair still in messy snarls after tossing and turning around in bed last night.
"No lady Ellette, she did not tell me," answered Araina while now helping her put her fur shoes on.
Araina then led Ellette to the vanity table, and sat her down onto the chair so she could do her hair and make-up. Araina then opened the vanity table's drawers and pulled out a hairbrush, gently picking out the stray hairs that got caught in it before she used it to comb out the knots in Ellette's hair. After she finished the task, she then ran the comb through Ellette's hair, slowly taming the wild mess with each stroke. While Araina was brushing her locks, Ellette reach into the plate and pulled out the bread and broke off a piece, popping the warm food into her mouth.
"Where did she want me to meet her?" asked Ellette after she finished chewing the fine piece of bread, all while looking at Araina with her reflection in the mirror.
"I believe in her private study, lady Ellette," replied Araina after she finally set the brush down, now putting her fine hair into a bun. Ellette had finally finished eating her bread and reached for a juicy red apple and took a bite out of it, savoring the taste in her mouth while chewing it before she swallowed it. She felt Araina's deft hands run through her silky tresses, forming a thick bun. Araina then reached inside the drawer again, however this time pulling out several small jars, all of them with different colors. Ellette took a sip of her refreshing milk before putting it down on the tray again, now done with breakfast so that Araina could focus on putting her make-up on.
Araina then focused her attention to beautifying her complexion, choosing between several shades of blush, lipstick, and other make-up as well until Ellette's face was finely done. After putting the several jars away, Araina finally pulled out a small box that held several types of jewelry. Araina took out several, and held them next to Ellette, however shaking her head in disapproval at each one. While Araina looked inside the ornate box, Ellette looked at her reflection in the mirror, eyeing the hairstyle that Araina had chosen for her until she reached for a thin strand of hair above her forehead and pulled it lose, watching the auburn lock fall free from its constraints.
"It's fine Araina, I'm only visiting Anora today," spoke Ellette while turning her head to face her elven servant.
"Are you sure mistress?" asked Araina while looking at Ellette with a quizzical look on her face.
"How many times have I told you to simply call me Ellette?" replied Ellette as she put the elegantly crafted box away for Araina with a smile on her face.
"It's a habit, Ellette," replied Araina with a saddened look on her face, looking down at the floor.
"It's understandable why," spoke Ellette, putting a hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort until she smiled back. Standing up, Ellette started to walk out of the room until she turned back around to face her elven servant.
"I'll be back soon, Araina," spoke Ellette before opening the large wooden doors and walking out into the hallway, and closing it behind her, leaving Araina alone inside her room. Ellette walked through the stone hallways, her boots softly padding against the floor while several servants and guards walked past her, however not before giving her a small curtsy or bow. Her feet walked her past several hallways with several paintings hanging against the walls, up many winding stone stairs, and through several large wooden doors that were obviously carved by a master until she reached a set of doors guarded by a set of guards which separated her from Anora's office.
"I am expected by the queen," spoke Ellette to one of the guards. Giving her a curt nod, he gave her the sign that she was cleared to enter Anora's office and opened the large oak doors for her. When she walked inside, she was greeting by the sound of scribbling of a quill marking black ink on paper with bookshelves lining up against the walls of the room. In the center, was a large wooden desk which sat a woman who was busily writing important documents, edicts, and messages. The woman than put her quill down when she heard the door open, and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ears as she gestured with her hand to sit down in the chair in front of her desk. Upon further investigation as she walked forward, she spotted a tea set on her desk behind all the papers, with an ornate tea kettle and a half empty cup.
"Hello Ellette, how are you today?" chatted Anora while stacking a set of papers, her blue eyes looking for the first time away into her papers so that she could look into her own teal colored orbs.
"I'm doing well, and you Anora?" replied Ellette, watching Anora turn her eyes back to her desk, bringing her attention back to her work.
"I'm doing fine myself," Anora answered while picking up a quill, dipping it into black ink and then started to write against fine paper.
"What did you need to bring me here for, Anora?" asked Ellette tapping her finger against the end of the armrest of her seat while listening
"Your father sent me a letter not long ago about the terms of your marriage with the Von Trelvin's," answered Anora.
Ellette straightened her back after hearing Anora's words and tightened her grip against the armrest. Anora once again turned her attention to Ellette, Anora's eyes once again trained on Ellette's own, studying her reaction.
Anora let out a sigh, dipping her quill back into its ink. She placed her hands against her temples and slowly started to massage her temples, kneading the soft muscle of her head while closing her eyes.
"You know my opinion of this Anora," was all Ellette answered.
Anora stood up from her chair, and walked towards the large window facing her. With a nod of her head, Anora beckoned Ellette to come over. Ellette slightly pushed her chair backwards to she could stand up straight, the chair creating a squeaking sound as it moved. Her shoes padded against the fine leather rug that covered the floor and peered outside of the window with Anora. The sun was now steadily into the sky, many people had already set up shops and were calling to get people's attentions so that they may shop from their wares instead of their competitors, and several guards patrolled the streets as well. Many pedestrians were already filling the streets as well, trying to get to their destination to continue their daily grind of work.
"Do you see what I see?" asked Anora, watching over the growing crowd in Denerim, her golden hair shining brighter due to the sun's gentle rays.
"Denerim, with its people and buildings," retorted Ellette. Her eyes turned toward Anora with a poker face, trying to hide her true emotions.
"Literally, yes," replied Anora, "but do you know what I also see?"
Ellette stayed quiet at her questioning, turning her attention back towards the window. A silence was created between them for a few seconds until Anora answered her own question. "I see a land teetering on the edge of destruction. One move, one mistake, and it will all come crashing down."
"The reason I want you to marry is not only because your family needs it, but because you need it as well," spoke Anora, "Not only that, but as Cailan said, this could indeed help Fereldan and Orlais have stronger ties to each other."
"It's not the fact that I don't want to be sent away from my brother, but rather that you know who will be hurt most by this." Ellette said to Anora.
"This is simply a political marriage Ellette, you know that," replied Anora.
"Do you really think you're the only one who is complaining as well? My father is bickering with my husband about everything these days, including this marriage," voiced Anora.
"And now they're in Ostagar, where you can no longer separate them," replied Ellette.
"Indeed they are Ellette, indeed they are," spoke Anora as she went back to her desk.
Ellette didn't turn around to face Anora as the queen of Fereldan went back to her desk to write more letters, but rather observed the outside from a distance, soaking in every detail that the view offered as she pondered over everything that Anora said until something caught her eye in the distance. Peering out of the window, Ellette could see a band of soldiers who were riding on horses, with some of the city guards clearing away innocent citizens so that they would not be injured under the mighty horses' hooves. Several of the men appeared to be shouting something, however Ellette could not understand what they were saying from the distance, as Anora's room was simply too far away and too high up to distinguish what the men were saying. Ellette's eyes popped open as she watched the people that the men passed started to panic, running around Denerim shrieking. Mothers seemed to be holding their children close, while many shopkeepers started to close down their stalls, packing everything up in a rush as if trying to get out of there. From Ellette's point of view, everything was slowly turning into chaos as the soldiers were rushing towards the castle.
"Anora, what's going on?" asked Ellette as she turned around, but already Anora was by her side, observing from a distance all while trying to understand what was going on.
"We'd best move, the more time we wait here, the longer it will take for them to reach us," said Anora. Picking up the ends of my dress, we both walked out of the room.
With of a flick of her hand, several of Anora's guards who were guarding the door to her office trailed behind both Anora and Ellette as they walked down several flights of stairs and passed by several frightened servants, including Araina who moved towards the wall so she would not be in the way of the queen, her mistress, and the castle's guards. Several more guards joined in, until around twenty guards followed behind Anora, creating a large marching noise as metal from the guards' armors hit the stone floor. Several guards who were stationed at the front doors opened it, releasing Fereldan's harsh bone chilling wind. Ellette muttered a silent curse to herself, as she did not wear a thicker dress or wore a jacket where she would be prepared to face the bitter chill and still be warm.
"Open the gates," Anora said as she saw the soldiers charge at the door. Several guards heaved as they raised the gates, allowing the small band of soldiers entry into the castle. There were three men and two women, all of them were human. The leader it seemed, was the woman as she stepped off her horse and took off her helmet, revealing her messy black hair which seemed to have originally been in a tight pony tail, however it seemed time and harsh travels have turned this woman's fine thick hair into a hairy mess. She walked towards the queen and then took a deep bow, one of her knees reaching the floor as she bowed her head at the queen of Fereldan.
"Ser Cauthrien" spoke Anora as she recognized Loghain's second in command.
"Your grace," replied the knight.
"I assume you have a reason for causing disturbance in Denerim," said Anora as she eyed down the female knight.
Ser Cauthrien stood up, her eyes looking at Anora's own blue ones.
"The battle at Ostagar failed your grace," answered Ser Cauthrien.
Anora's eyes bulged out at Cauthrien's answer.
"Cailan is-"Anora began, her posture taking a turn for the worse as shock took over.
"Is dead, your grace" Cauthrien spoke.