A/N: Hey! Here I am with the sequel to Meddling, although I sincerely hope that this one does not last 36 chapters! To my old readers who have found this through Meddling, welcome back and I hope you like this sequel! To any new ones, Hello there! You might not understand half the stuff that is going on in this if you haven't read meddling, although you can try but you have to really pick through it to understand!
"Do you think there is anyone here under the age of seventy?" Alistair's muffled whisper cut through the silence that had descended upon him and his royal guard, every one of them feeling awkward under the gazes of many, many elves around him. Most were likely wondering why the King was entering their lands, and all of them were cautious and suspicious.
Unfortunately for Alistair, the elf leading them through the old remains of Ostagar heard him, and the young black-haired elf stopped, whipping around to face him so quickly it startled him. He almost fell backwards in his haste to take a step back when the young elf took a step closer to him.
"As it is, your majesty, there are only a dozen Dalish here under the age of seventy, and they are the nurses who have left their clan to help the older Dalish here. Other than the nurses, there are Dalish Hunters at the entrance to Ostagar, myself and my companion whom you saw at the gates. A keepers first also left her clan to help rule over those of us living here at Ostagar." As she spoke, she started to walk again, and Alistair noted that despite her words she was leading them back out of Ostagar through the southern gates where there were no guards posted. Alistair took a gulp, nodding before realising what she had said.
"Hang on, where are all the other Dalish then? The living and breathing ones?" At his words the young elf gave a bitter laugh, turning her head slightly to face him as she pulled open the large gate.
"The first Dalish homeland was destroyed by humans, as was our second. We fear a repeat of our oldest lesson learned, and thus when we were given the land, we had many decisions to make. Eventually we Dalish decided that the elderly and the weak that could no longer travel every day would be moved to the land given to us near Ostagar. Not all the elderly came here though; only those who could barely walk, and the same applies to the weak. A dozen younger Dalish also came here to look after them." The elf gave him a curt nod before letting them pass through the gate, and any answer that Alistair may have had was stopped at the sight.
Even though it had only been a few months since the defeat of the Archdemon and the lands given to the Dalish, there were already many brick and wooden houses, all one level but most looking quite quaint and comfortable. They had not inhabited the actual ruins of Ostagar, and had instead built their houses in the wilds just outside.
The young black-haired elf led them through the pathways towards one isolated home with an aravel outside of it, and Alistair noted that despite no stores, inns or apparent religious building, it seemed very similar to a city living quarter without walls. The elf led them around the aravel and in through a door to the building, a decidedly edgy look on her face as she gave an unsettled glance to the very high ceiling and leading them to a middle-aged brunette elf who was sat at a desk writing a letter.
"Keeper, this man claims that he is the King of Ferelden. I could not force him to wait outside, for he insisted that since he gave us these lands, he should have a right to speak to you… He wishes to speak with two elves, and does not believe me when I say that they are not here." The dark-haired younger elf gave a respectful bow to the woman before turning on her heel to leave, presumably back to the gates at the entrance to Ostagar.
The keeper signed off her letter, not looking up to Alistair until she had sealed it and then standing up, giving him a bow and moving around her desk, looking him in the eyes and leaning against the desk in something that resembled boredom.
"Who are you looking for, your majesty?" Her voice was kind at first, but bitter when she spoke the word 'majesty.' Alistair refrained from furrowing his eyebrows in wonder, and gave a light cough before speaking.
"Ah, yes. I'm looking for Lina and Tamlen Mahariel… I had thought that they would be here after the land was given to the Dalish." Alistair spoke; his chin held high just like Anora had taught him and his hands clasped behind his back. The keeper stood up straight, eyes blank as she thought for a moment before she answered.
"The Dalish you seek are perfectly healthy, so there was no reason for them to be here. They are with their clan somewhere in the Brecillian forest."
"The Brecillian forest? How am I supposed to find them in there?" Alistair retorted, all manner of social graces gone and his arms crossed over his chest, the beginnings of a pout forming on his face. The keeper had moved to her desk, pulling another piece of parchment from a drawer and starting to write, before pausing to answer Alistair's question.
"That's not my problem." Alistair looked at her rather helplessly, unable to believe that she seemed unwilling to help him. She didn't look up when she spoke, and for a moment or two the only sound in the air was the scratching of her quill as it flew across the parchment.
"I'm your king; you are bound to help me." It was his last resort, blackmail he never ever wanted to have to resort to, and yet this stubborn woman who wasn't even a noble had managed to force it from him. She scoffed, however and looked up, pushing her long fringe from her face.
"You are the king of the humans, and my flat eared brethren. Do not think that simply because my kin in the cities will bend to your every will, that I will also. The Dalish have no rulers. The humans made sure of that." Her voice was bitter, and she ran her tongue along her teeth as Alistair narrowed his eyebrows.
"I'm not responsible for what happened to your people!" He gritted his teeth, wincing when he did so and immediately stopping the action. The elf cocked her head to the side, and Alistair expected a sarcastic or annoyed response.
"Oh? It is my impression that the authority of the crown supersedes that of the Chantry. During the fall of the dales, the king did not stop the exalted march on my people. Whether you are a relative of that king or simply the newest person to take the throne, you are still a King. I will not place my trust in a human, and most certainly not an arrogant one with power." She gave him a sweet smile, and then beckoned to the door. The guards behind Alistair looked uncertain, not too sure what to do and wondering if anyone was allowed to directly insult the king like that. Alistair spluttered.
"I am not arrogant!"
"You just tried to get information out of me with the excuse that you are my king and I am bound to help you. That, to me, spells arrogant." She made another motion to the door, and Alistair nodded to his guards to leave. He followed, pausing at the large door and turning to face the elf at the desk.
"So you won't help me find them?" The elf gave a sigh, giving Alistair hope that she was going to give in. She set her quill down, looking over at him from her desk and her dark eyes showing him she was annoyed.
"No. Find them yourself, but don't expect to get much luck in your search."
Tamlen frowned, eyes skimming over the parchment held tightly in his hands. The writing was eloquent and curly, much better than the untidy scrawl that Alistair had normally showed during the Blight, and Tamlen had a sneaky feeling that Alistair had either taken writing lessons or Anora had wrote the letter for him.
The carriage he was travelling in went speedily over a bump in the road; shifting Tamlen in his seat and making him give a small grunt of pain as he hit the side of the jet black interior of the carriage. He rubbed at his head, giving a pout before reading back over the letter. It was an immediate order to go to Denerim, issued three weeks ago by the King and arriving at his Dalish camp only two days prior. Although the letter was wrote for Lina, she wasn't in the clan and so he had been given it instead, and he had raised his eyebrows to find that the both of them were sent for.
They'd waited a day for Lina to return, finally setting off in the early hours of the morning before, leaving a note to Marethari and a separate carriage to bring Lina to Denerim when she returned to the clan.
Tamlen gave a groan when the carriage swerved, his body moving with it and banging on the other wall. Fisting his hands, he gave a solid 'thump' to the window where he could see the driver, catching his apologetic look before rolling his eyes and rubbing his temples, letter still in hand. They had to be getting closer to Denerim.
Tamlen reread the letter once more, not noticing the passing houses outside or the people congregating near the carriage as it moved through the city of Denerim, many of them wondering who could possibly be inside one of the black carriages if the King and Queen were in the palace.
Only when he heard shouts of young children playing in the streets did he look up, and Tamlen gave a very relieved sigh to see the palace gates in sight. He shifted, tucking the letter into his cloak and placed his hand on the indoor handle of the carriage door, pushing it open once they had gotten through the gates and practically diving out of it at the first chance he got. As the driver gave a shout of alarm, Tamlen made a mental note to never get back in one, and made his way towards the doors to the palace on his own.
The moment he pushed open the door to the study, however, he felt immediately small and weak once he noticed Alistair sat at his desk in the middle of the room having a heated discussion with Anora, both of them having many royal guards stood behind them looking bored. Tamlen had no doubt this sort of thing happened every day. Anora froze once he entered, straightening her stance and giving Alistair a pointed cough.
"I will take my leave, husband. We shall continue this discussion later." Anora gave him a false smile, turning to Tamlen and giving him a nod before leaving, a majority of the guards following her and the remaining ones separating from their place behind Alistair to places near the window and the door. Alistair was sitting at his desk, red-faced and angry looking, running his hands through his hair before giving Tamlen an exasperated smile.
"Did you happen to hear any of that? Oh, and do sit down, if you want to." Alistair gave a nervous cough, pulling at the collar of his tunic and then looking down to the papers on his desk.
"No. And I'll stand." Tamlen raised his eyebrow at Alistair, crossing his arms over his chest leaning against the wall closest to the door.
"Right… Well. You Dalish aren't very sociable, are you?" At Alistair's words Tamlen narrowed his eyebrows, eyes fixed on Alistair with a curious glint in them.
"Excuse me?" Alistair seemed to shrink in his seat at Tamlen's sharp response, before he straightened up again and folded his arms over on the desk.
"Little over a month ago I travelled to the Ostagar ruins, where the oldest of your clans are staying. The leader –or Keeper, as you call her – point blank refused to help me. I assume it took a long time for my messenger to find your camp too?"
"Yes. I nearly filled him with arrows on sight. He was lurking in the shadows of the forest until a stray arrow from my bow missed his head and he accidentally revealed himself." At his words Alistair gave a very sarcastic sigh.
"Great… I'll need to refer him to a specialist now, no doubt." Alistair gave him a light laugh, stopping at the far from amused look on Tamlen's face. "You know, you're rather miserable when Lina's not around, aren't you?"
At seeing the elf's eyes darken at his words, Alistair cringed, looking to the left of Tamlen and half hoping the blonde elf to magically appear to stop any form of scene that Tamlen might cause. The guards in the room looked uncomfortable after Alistair's comment, but Tamlen kept calm and simply stared at Alistair.
"Your Majesty, did you summon us here for a reason?" Tamlen raised his brows a little, annoyed and waiting for Alistair to hurry up and get to the point.
"Ah, yes. You see, I need Lina here to tell you both properly, and she's not here. Where is she?"
"Orzammar. More specifically, the deep roads." At first Alistair's eyes widened, mind flashing only one reason why she would travel there, and that would be for an early calling. However, at the bluntness of which Tamlen said the word, and with Alistair knowing full well Tamlen wouldn't let her go for her calling on her own, he assumed she must have had a good reason for visiting Orzammar.
"Why is she in the deep-" Alistair was cut off by the sound of a tray of plates dropping and a servant girl screaming. He stood up abruptly, seeing the alarm on his guards face but calming by the palace squires giving loud laughs from somewhere outside his study door.
It was soon followed by a familiar voice shouting at something to calm down and the joyous barks of an active Mabari filling the halls of the palace.