A:N/ An idea popped in my head about my favorite Dragon Age couple. Here's another story about my King and Queen of Ferelden.
"To pinpoint a King's weakness is to pinpoint the fall of an Empire."
Anora remembered reading that to Cailan when they had been children, running down the halls of the massive library in the beloved castle in Denerim. They were in their usual manmade tent that Cailan made for them with blankets and books stacked upon each other. Their heads bent together as they poured over another book, their blue eyes scanning the elaborate page.
But when Anora tried to flip the page, Cailan's finger was still tracing the glossy embroidered words on the page.
"To pinpoint a King's weakness is to pinpoint the fall of an Empire…Do you think that's true, Ana?" Cailan asked, softly, his eyes all to serious, much to Anora's surprise.
Anora didn't want to ponder it. She wanted to see what the next page said, so she shrugged.
"Who knows?" she offered, quickly, and she gently pushed Cailan's finger away from the page he seemed to be invested in and turned the page.
Anora was more than annoyed when it came to Cailan's…obnoxiousness. He thrived on people's praise as he managed to beat another soldier down in another tourney. She examined his stance, and in her begrudging state of annoyance, she couldn't help but appreciate the sight of her prince's form.
The armor covered most of it, but Anora watched as his neck and chiseled jaw clenched as he delivered another finishing blow.
He had transformed physically, but he was still emotionally and mentally stunted in her opinion. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile as she could hear the murmurs and giggles of simple ladies from behind.
Cailan was smiling victoriously as he waved a hand to the crowd, and Anora felt another pang of annoyance and appreciation hit her as their eyes met.
His smile seemed to always melt whatever was troubling her away, and Anora hated him for that.
But, no matter, he would crown her Queen of Love and Beauty, and everyone would go on their merry way. She would smile back all prettily also, and she would kiss that stubble on his cheek in a cordial manner—
The mental preparation in her mind came to a standstill when he rode past her, the crown of her favorite flowers in his hand.
Anora could hear some wretched girl's squeal of delight from far-off, and she didn't bother to turn towards that direction.
Instead, she jutted her chin out and smiled just as prettily as she would have had if he had given her that wretched crown and felt the slight prick of thorns on her pale forehead.
Anora fought the tangles in her hair as she tried to brush it away from her face after her long, warm bath.
She fought and she fought, and she didn't know when she decided to give up and face her reflection in the mirror. The empty feeling of loneliness filled her, and Anora tried to fight the tears that were starting to gather in her eyes.
A lone one betrayed her as it trailed down her cheek and onto the favor that Cailan rejected which had been placed on her vanity table.
She picked it up and observed it. It was gold silk, and a strand of her braided together, yet when Anora had offered it to him. Cailan simply cocked his head and smiled down at her, his height already towering above her even though she was older.
"I don't need luck, Ana. I'll be fine. I appreciate the sentiment." Cailan stated, obnoxiously proud. He picked up her limp hand in his, and he brushed his lips against her cold knuckles in goodbye.
Anora chuckled, dryly, at the memory.
He rejected her. He always has been.
The moment he realized how handsome he was becoming, how terribly charismatic he was becoming, and how powerful he was becoming…it was as if she stopped existing.
No more was the little boy that followed her around like a lost puppy. Anora hadn't even considered him a lost puppy, that was what every adult had said, amused, but Anora was just happy that she had someone…someone in her life that understood her.
Cailan wasn't as smart as she was or interested in politics as she had been at such a young age, but she was just happy when he twirled a piece of her hair, asking her questions that she never minded answering.
And yet…
A sudden, tinkling giggle sounded down the hallway, and Anora heard a familiar shushing sound that had been used whenever they would sneak outside and cause trouble.
A door sounded, signaling that it was shut.
Anora stood up and closed her eyes. She brushed her pink lips across the favor she had made, and she tossed it in the fireplace. She opened her eyes, and she watched as the flames licked the golden trinket, melding it with the color of the embers.
Anora couldn't believe what she was seeing or hearing. King Maric was gone, and Cailan was speaking as if it didn't happen.
"I'll marry Anora as soon as possible. We'll establish my reign as King." Cailan announced, comfortingly to the Landsmeet.
The Landsmeet, which was once in disarray, seemed to quiet at that, and Anora tried to meet one of the Couslands' gaze. Maybe her father would sense her alarm if she looked at him, also.
None of them looked her way.
Anora desperately wanted to laugh. She wanted to scratch that pretty little side view of her betrothed's face, and maybe, just maybe, this fool of a man would feel her pain.
They wedded, quickly, and Anora's mouth was twitching by the end of the festivities from smiling and talking too much.
She smoothed the lacy white material of her night shift on her lap, and she ran a hand through her long, blonde waves.
She waited. But, oh, was she nervous and bitter.
This was supposed to be her special night with her once best friend that shimmered in golden armor. She used to secretly fantasize about it when she realized that she was to officially marry him.
Cailan, the only one who knew who she was. He had been there in every moment of her life, and her him. It was supposed to be romantic of some sort or at least warm and happy.
She didn't mind getting married to him. She had, once upon a time, even looked forward to it.
She knew that he had struggled with it. He had fought the idea of marrying her tooth and nail, and he had even run off with Bryce Cousland on some adventure which was quickly brought to an end when King Maric had lividly sent out guards to find them.
Anora was there when Cailan had been dragged back, and she had tried to joke with him about it.
"Is marrying me really going to be that bad, Cailan?" She teased, her fingers brushing away the dirt from his face as she helped him wash.
Cailan didn't say anything at first. Instead, he was focused on the hand that had been placed on his chest to steady her as she cleaned off his face.
After a moment, he grabbed the washcloth from her hand, and he looked up at her, those blue eyes that had warmly regarded her every now and then were now cold and unreadable.
"I can handle this myself." Cailan stated, seriously.
Anora had no other choice but to stand up and watch as Cailan vigorously washed his face by himself. She had ignored the pang of pain in her chest as she had turned around and walked away.
The sound of their new shared room's door opening made Anora look up and brought back to the present. Anora sat up straight and she fought the nervousness and anxiety she felt.
A sudden heavy presence fell atop of her, and Anora didn't even have time to prepare herself as she was greeted by the smell of strong alcohol. She coughed and she noticed that squinted blue eyes were looking up at her from where his head laid on her chest.
"Ana…" Cailan slurred, happily. Anora fought the urge to grimace as she sat up, slowly, trying to be careful as Cailan also tried to stand up by himself. Anora struggled to help him up as he leaned against her. Instead, he collapsed on the floor, but his head found her lap, and Anora didn't bother to move as Cailan breathed deeply.
A moment passed, and Anora began to grow concerned as she noticed that Cailan hadn't tried to stand up in a while. She brushed golden hair away to see what was the matter, and she was met with closed eyelids and a slightly opened mouth as he breathed in and out.
Anora let out a bitter laugh at the sight. Yet, she couldn't help but trace the outlines of his chiseled features, letting tears fall down on his sleeping face.
Anora struggled to not roll her eyes as her husband made another japing fool of himself as he forgotten to start the event with the formal procession that had been engrained in his head since he was a child.
He turned to wink at her after his failure, and Anora forced an amused smile as she shook her head at him.
She frowned when she realized as she whispered in his ear to correct him that she felt a smirk on his face as he pressed a swift kiss on her cheek in apology.
She closed her eyes as he pulled her in an embrace as they danced, and this is what she hated the most.
No matter how much of a fool he was, she would be the fool that loved him anyways.
"Who is Alistair?" Anora confronted her father one day. Her father had stiffened at that, and Anora knew she had found out something she was never supposed to know.
It wasn't her fault.
She had been married to Cailan for a year now and she knew that when her husband comes stumbling in, drunk and rambling, that she would hear him dream.
It was weird dreams when it came down to it. Anora would simply read her book, and she would make sure that Cailan wasn't going to do something foolish in his drunken stupor. He would mutter about dragons and griffins. Sometimes, he would mutter about cheese.
This time, he muttered a name.
A name that sounded all too familiar to Anora as she remembered a memory of her father and King Maric arguing when she had been young.
"Where did you hear that name, Anora?" Her father asked her, his cool gaze unreadable.
"Don't play dumb with me, Father. You know that I have an ear for these things, so speak. I am the Queen of Ferelden, I deserve to know about what's being whispered in my castle." Anora stated, pointedly.
Her father didn't say anything as he merely grunted and crossed his arms. But, Anora wouldn't back down. She stared at him, her gaze unyielding.
Her father sighed and shook his head, and Anora smiled in victory.
Her smile soon disappeared as her father began the story of the name of Alistair.
Anora tried very hard not to make a sound as she swiftly returned to their shared bedroom. She had placed a hand on her mouth as she walked away from hearing the commotion in the throne room.
How dare he.
How dare Arl Eamon show his damn face and tell her husband to cast her aside.
It was enough for her to want to scream and march in there and curse the old man.
Yet, what made her stay hidden and press a hand on her mouth as she quietly attempted to leave the premise was the words that had come out of Cailan's mouth.
She hadn't expected them. She had thought he would agree, and that would be the end of her. She had even mentally began to prepare to secure her right as Queen, but the words that Cailan uttered…
She hugged herself as she walked towards the balcony that bathed her in the sunlight. She began to laugh softly at first, and that's when she realized that tears were streaming down her face as she laughed.
She turned around to walk towards a water basin to was her face, but she froze when she looked up.
She didn't realize she had company.
"Cailan." She croaked, and she cleared her throat in embarrassment. She straightened up, quickly, and she brushed her skirts as if there was something on them.
"How was your meeting?" Anora asked, politely, hoping that it didn't sound like she had been crazy a second ago.
Cailan was leaning against the door with his arms crossed, and Anora found herself trying to read him, but there was no foolish grin on his face neither was their obvious anger written in his eyes.
He pushed himself off their door, easily, and he began to walk towards her, his eyes never leaving hers.
"How much did you hear?" Cailan asked, getting straight to the point. Anora found herself shocked at the clear straight-forwardness of his voice.
This wasn't Cailan.
Well, this wasn't the Cailan that she knew.
Cailan was easily smiling and carefree. He would joke in any minute now, and she would force a laugh, trying to seem that she was interested in what he was saying. He would pick her up and effortlessly place her on the bed, and he wouldn't even try to pleasure her as he would quickly satisfy himself only. He would do anything…that she would regard foolish.
He would pretend that he didn't know that she had been hiding there, and he would go on his merry way of being the handsome, charming King of Ferelden.
"What do you mean?" Anora asked, softly, trying to think of her next move. It was impossible. She didn't know what to do with…this Cailan.
He was too serious, too close, and too nostalgic.
Was that longing she saw in his eyes or was she imagining things in her desperation?
"You heard me, Anora. How much did you hear?" Cailan asked, continuing to walk towards her and Anora found herself being forced to sit on one of the couches on the balcony.
She stared at him as Cailan bent down to regard her in matching eye levels.
Anora bit her lip, and she let out a small sigh, knowing no way around this.
"Everything." Anora admitted, softly, looking down at her fingers as she could feel his gaze still on her.
"Explain what everything is. I want to know." Cailan demanded, quietly, and Anora almost shivered at how sincere it sounded.
When was the last time they had both been sincere towards each other?
"Arl Eamon wants you to cast me aside. He wants you to find someone who will give you a heir. A fertile queen, not some old maid like me. You told him…You yelled at him for committing treason. You told him to leave and that he wasn't welcomed anymore, and that you wouldn't…you wouldn't do what he's suggesting. That you would do-whatever you wanted." Anora finished, hesitantly.
Cailan's fingers found her chin and she was forced to look at him, and Anora was taken aback at the intensity of the look he was giving her.
"What do you think of that?" He prodded, and he began to wipe the tear-stained cheeks she had from when she had been crying earlier.
"I believe that if that's what you want, then so shall it be." Anora replied, remembering her lesson and the books she read about what kings wanted.
"You know what I think?" Cailan asked, his voice now having the tone of something dark and Anora's heart began to race.
Anora simply raised an eyebrow, not trusting her voice anymore and the words that may come out.
Cailan's fingers trailed down her cheeks to her lips and Anora felt herself shudder at the softness of it all. His calloused fingers were a sensation that she hadn't had the pleasure of feeling since they were teenagers.
"That I can't pretend any longer."
Anora didn't even have the time to question him as his fingers on her lips were hastily replaced with his lips. The sensation of him deeply kissing her was enough for Anora to gasp in surprise at how delicate yet intense he was being. She found herself being picked up easily by him, and she let out a yelp of surprise as she found herself thrown onto their bed.
Anora closed her eyes and she found herself mentally preparing herself for him to quickly get this over with. It was always the issue of a heir between them, so she knew that he was quickly growing impatient with their lack of success, but the routine didn't happen.
Anora opened her eyes and she was met with a foreign yet familiar blue-eyed gaze that took her back to when they were kids.
Adoration.
Cailan's fingers began their trail from her cheeks once more as he placed soft kisses on bare skin from the shift that gave way for him when he had thrown her. Anora found herself pleasantly gasping at the sensation, but she knew she needed to control the situation.
This was foreign to her. This was new. This wasn't Cailan.
"W-Wait, please." Anora pleaded as Cailan's fingers were starting to trail down her neck and collarbones.
Cailan obeyed, reluctantly, and he looked at her, waiting.
"What...What are you doing?" Anora managed to ask after a moment, clutching onto the bed sheets for dear life.
Cailan let out a soft chuckle, and Anora found herself longing to hear more of that sound. Not the mischievous one she would hear down the hall as he took yet another girl into another room. Not the boisterous one she would cringe at when he would talk to another politician.
This laugh was the one she had fallen in love with not so long ago, and it had all disappeared in the disarray of whatever happened to them.
Anora let out a moan as Cailan's lips descended down her jawline and onto her neck, but he began to whisper and Anora tried to listen in her hazy state.
"I'm doing what I want. For once in my life, I'm letting go and doing what I damn well want to. Forget them. Forget this kingship. Forget this mask I have to wear." Cailan harshly hissed as he began to kiss her jaw harder and suck the most sensitive parts of her neck.
Anora struggled to remain calm as she heard those words come out of his mouth. He said he was doing what he wanted...and Anora sat up, quickly. Cailan followed her as he sat behind her and still continued his ministrations.
As if he was a starved man.
"What you want...Is it…" Anora trailed off, not knowing if her train of thought was correct. He couldn't possibly mean…
She watched their reflection from her vanity as he dragged his tongue lazily up the column of her neck.
The sight of them...like this. Anora closed her legs, hoping that she wasn't being too obvious. She flushed. She was raised to be...poised, not some desperate woman who craved her husband's touch.
Cailan looked at her through the reflection and Anora bit her lip at the sight of his half-lidded gaze. It had never been like this when they laid together before. He seemed to always be eager to get it over with. His eyes closed and his knuckles white as he moved inside of her. She had originally thought it was because he couldn't stand her. He couldn't stand being with her.
They had only done it whenever the Landsmeet would complain, and Anora had found that even more hurtful and offending.
His passion-filled gaze made her realize that she had been thinking about this all wrong.
"You, Ana. You." He whispered as he bit the outer shell of her ear.
A million questions filled her mind, and Anora had never felt more confused in her life. If he had wanted her all this time, why did he act like he hated her? Why did he act as if she was just another person in his life?
Someone he had to be with. Someone he had to grow up with. Someone he had to love.
All questions flew out of her mind as Cailan turned her around and kissed her, hard. His lips were unforgiving as they relentlessly bit and licked hers as if she was something so delicious that he could never stop having.
Anora moaned as she felt his calloused hands dance across her skin as he forcefully pushed her shift up and teased her intimate parts, softly yet urgently. His lips left hers after a moment, and Cailan let out a frustrated sigh as he regarded her shift.
Anora flushed as his heavy-lidded gaze met hers for a moment and he smirked as his fingers traced her swollen lips.
He was smiling, and it wasn't the foolish and obnoxious smile he had one when they were out together. It was the one that Anora had completely loved when they were younger, running around the castle and causing mayhem. Anora pushed his hand away as she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him, straddling him at the same time. She smiled as Cailan let out a groan when she teased him with her ministrations as she rubbed against his already hard member.
Cailan hissed as he brought his hands on her shift and decided to rip it apart. Anora sighed in annoyance, but Cailan brought his head down to suckle one of her breasts and Anora forgot all about her ruined shift.
His hands were everywhere, and Anora marveled at how large his hands were. His lips brought out mewls of pleasure as she arched her back. His eyes were filled with adoration and want that Anora was sure that was causing her heart to beat fast.
He had never done this to her, and Anora liked the new sensation that brought her pleasure. Before she knew it, she felt his prodding member against her thigh. Cailan had simply brought his pants down, and Anora let out a frustrated hiss as she tugged on the clothes that he still had on.
Cailan grabbed her chin and she was forced to look at him.
She stilled at the look on his face, and she felt his member tease her slightly.
"This is all for you, Ana. I've been holding back for so long. Do you want this? Do you want me to show you what I've been-"
Cailan let out a loud groan that Anora was sure that all those damn whores that were hiding in the halls and that were ready to pounce her husband had heard. She began to move up and down, and she was loving how good it felt to feel his silken member within her.
"Enough talking. Prove it to me." Anora whispered in his ear.
Cailan growled in return and flipped her over.
Anora had forgotten every mechanical love-making they had shared before as he began to pound her.
He was so needy for her. He was starved. He was wanting.
Anora moaned and she found herself reaching something she never had the pleasure of reaching before.
She saw stars and she heard herself scream, but Cailan wasn't slowing down as he groaned low and bit her shoulder.
"Ana, yes. Yes, yes, yes. I've wanted this for so long. Maker." Cailan groaned. He pulled out, and Anora was surprised that he didn't reach his climax yet. Anora let out a surprised moan as his lips and tongue traced up and down her body again.
"Cailan...What are you…"
Anora shuddered when he looked up at her, a smirk on his lips that she had infuriatingly loved.
"Doing what I want."
Anora never bothered to question him again for the rest of the night as her vision saw gold intertwined with blue.
He had left the next day.
Anora had forgotten that he was supposed to leave for a slight battle that had to do with the rumors of the Blight. It was a simple skirmish in the Hinterlands, and she knew the agenda by heart since she was the one who planned it for him and his group of men.
She had woken up, feeling sore yet completed at the same time. She smiled as the sun streamed into their bedroom, but she had rolled over and noticed that her naked back had touched something cold.
She sat up and she noticed Cailan's handwriting immediately on his own personal stationery.
I'll return.
Cailan
It was simple and straight to the point, and for once in her life, Anora bit her lip, trying to figure out what it meant. Usually, he would leave notes that would go on forever. He would talk about how he couldn't wait to go out and see what's going out in the world, and Anora would smile slightly at how childish he will always be.
Yet, Cailan just proved that he isn't always what he seems to be.
If anything, this simple two-worded letter, if you can call it that, was foreign to her.
She examined her ruined shift on the cold floor and felt the warmness of the sunlight on her face, and she sighed.
For she was the foolish one.
"Where is my wife?"
Anora felt her spine tingle at the sound of Cailan's urgent voice. She looked at her father, not knowing what to say, and her father seemed to take it by stride. The doors to her study opened and Anora widened her eyes at the sight of her husband.
Crusted blood on armor and a dark gaze on his face, Cailan strode in. In a split second, Anora watched as the dark gaze on his face disappeared as Cailan realized that Anora wasn't alone.
A wide smile and a cocky stature replaced what she had seen in a millisecond as her father turned around to face him and began to greet him.
Anora found herself shivering as she realized what she had just noticed.
She watched as her father bowed and left the study, and she turned to greet her husband as well, remembering her protocol.
She didn't even get to bow as she found herself pressed against her desk and the sound of his armor falling as his lips found hers.
Her surprise was only for a split second as he pulled away. He began to once again kiss his way onto her bare skin as he pulled her dress down, ignoring the fact that he just ripped another favorite of hers.
"Tell me how a servant girl came up to me and told me that my wife had sent her my way. She said that my wife wanted me to be greeted properly and warmly." Cailan hissed against her shoulder as Anora gasped.
Anora didn't know what to say. She had thought he would be happy.
"I thought you would be pleased." Anora managed to moan as Cailan's hands began to grab onto her waist as he managed to strip off the rest of his armor that was in the way.
"Pleased?" Cailan barked, angrily, as he placed his hands on both sides of her face.
Anora watched as his gaze darkened as he stared right at her.
"You think I would be pleased to find a woman that is not my wife in our bed?" Cailan asked, his voice low and displeased.
"You've had other women before, Cailan. Don't act as if-"
"Act? That's all I've been doing the moment I was born into this world, Ana. I had to act that I wanted to be King. I had to act that I was a foolish and incompetent man. I had to act that I wanted these whores." Cailan hissed in return.
Anora whimpered and moaned as she kissed him, willing to lose herself in his heated touch. Cailan groaned. He placed himself at her opening, and he pushed himself inside in one swift move.
Anora screamed in pleasure, and Cailan sucked on her neck as he moved in and out.
"I had to act that I didn't want this. I had to act that I didn't want my best friend. I had to act that I didn't want to marry her. I had to act that-Maker, that I didn't love her." Cailan moaned that last part and Anora found herself in the same bliss he was in.
Anora felt wetness on her shoulder as he relaxed against her, and her heart began to ache.
The bliss lasted for only a moment as she pulled away to look at him and kiss the tears that trailed down his cheeks as he placed his forehead against hers.
"To pinpoint a King's weakness is to pinpoint the fall of an Empire."
Anora looked up at Cailan as he said those words.
Naked and wrapped in a blanket, they stared at the fire in front of them as they sat on the floor. Cailan had his arm around her shoulders and Anora's head was on his shoulder as they reveled in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
"...Cailan." Anora couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Cailan didn't turn to look at her. He was too intent on staring at the fire and deep in his thoughts as he began to talk.
"...I remember the day you read that to me. It stuck with me for such a long time. The day that we both realized that we were going to marry each other, I realized that the quote was real. We both heard about my father and the elf, Katriel. She almost caused him his downfall. Then, my mother died. My father had a downfall, and a consequence that he made haunted him his whole entire life until he disappeared. I couldn't risk that. So, I developed a facade. Something that can have people underestimating me, a foolish and sweet man that everyone can love," Cailan began.
He looked down at her, then, and Anora placed a hand on his cheek, and he leaned into her touch with a sigh.
"You were my weakness the moment you came into my life, Ana. Then, Alistair came into light, and he became another weakness that I had to agree to hide with my wretched uncle. I don't want Ferelden to suffer, so let's have a King who doesn't have any weaknesses." Cailan stated, softly, his voice laced with regret and tiredness that Anora felt her heart reach out for him.
"...Let me join you, then." Anora finally stated, her thumb tracing the love bite she had placed above his lip.
Cailan shook his head and smirked at her, "Join me? You're not a screw-up, Ana. You're perfect."
Anora sighed, stubbornly, and she pinched her husband's cheek, hard.
"Let's create a facade together. We will be different people when it comes to making face, but when it's just us, you and me alone…" Anora trailed off as she brought her face closer to his.
She placed a soft kiss on his lips before pulling away, and she found herself flushing at the adoration in Cailan's eyes.
"I am not your weakness, Cailan. I will be your stronghold."
A:N/ Yep. I love them so much.