So! Got a personal request from a friend to try this since I have a "knack for saying too much." The challenge given to me was: 1- use a word prompt from each letter once for the character; 2- must be sequential and tell the character's story; 3- must stay in one headverse for entire piece; 4- if doing multiple characters, cannot reuse words; 5- no answers more than three sentences.
So I'm going to give it a shot. First up is cannon female Aeducan/Alistair.
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A) Anchor
Aeducan always thought that her family was the only thing that kept her here, under the ground. It turns out she was right.
B) Bones
On her way through the Deep Roads, she tries to ignore the crunch beneath her feet. She apologizes to the dead even as she takes what she must for her survival; she cannot bring herself to take more.
C) Capable
Cailan scares her. He seems too naive to be a ruler, too flippant. It is only because of Loghain that she has any faith in the battle-plan, so when he turns on them she knows the day is lost.
D) Danger
She has no understanding of magic, being a dwarf and living her life below the surface. So of Alistair says the witch is problem, she will defer to his judgement. (It isn't until months later she learns to regret this decision, and wonder what would have happened if she had just decided to trust Morrigan.)
E) Experience
The longer they work together, the better their movements become. Before long Aeducan can feel them moving on the battlefield in a dance, as intimately as lovers. The notion doesn't disturb her, but instead entices, and she wonders if she is a bad person for getting aroused during a fight.
F) Focus
They are in the Circle Tower when she actually processes that she has developed a one-track mind. She refused to move until she knew Alistair was safe.
G) Guarantee
The rose he sets in her hand is just a promise, but Aeducan knows better. He was slow to give his heart, to respond to her at all; this flower means the world, and he has placed it in her hands. As the petals fall she rolls them into beads, letting them dry until the day she can do something more with them than just hold them in her hand.
H) Heraldry
When she gave him Duncan's shield, Alistair thought thought it was the best thing she could ever gift him. When she approaches him with a different shield- the one bearing HER family crest- he knows he was wrong.
I) Improbable
Before they leave, the female Aeducan ensures that her last brother sees her kiss Alistair soundly. Hearing her brother choke on nothing in surprise was enough to make her feel as though she had gotten some revenge. It wasn't the kind of payback that most humans would appreciate but it was enough for her, and when she saw the twinkle in her lover's eye as he kissed her more deeply, she figured he understood more than she imagined.
J) Jam
"This is the last time I come rushing in to save you." Her words are not stern, because she doesn't mean it.
K) Knowledge
It isn't that Aeducan is angry. She just wishes Alistair had told her his lineage earlier, had trusted her. Then she realizes how good a ruler he would be and understands his hesitancy completely. He was right: she couldn't be trusted with this.
L) Lasting
The kisses become more frantic as they near the end of their journey. Alistair is in her arms and Aeducan commits every moment to memory, just in case she has to hold it in her mind in a hard moment. She never imagines these little instants will need to keep her company forever.
M) Marketplace
The doll looks so silly, and yet Alistair's eyes are so adorable when his eyes land on it that she has to pick it up. She claims the little toy golem is hers, but the next day it's head is sticking out of the other warrior's pack and he looks rather pleased.
N) Nightingale
"Leliana sounds like a songbird every time she opens her mouth, like a canary, or..." Neither of them finish the sentence as realization hits, and both Aeducan and Alistair associate the red-headed songstress with the signature on the note. It is a secret they will both keep as their own.
O) Organization
Cleaning up Denerim would be easier if every criminal didn't try to be part of a club.
P) Perchance
There had been a possibility, at one point, that they could have had a happily ever after. It was before the Landsmeet, and Riordan's admission. If Morrigan had offered her solution before those events, the newest Warden might have accepted. If she had anticipated Alistair better, she would have thought harder.
Q) Quarrel
The first real argument is about the dog of all things! The mabari was trying to recognize Alistair as his master as well, but the gift of dead rat was not appreciated in his bedroll. Aeducan thought it was funny; Alistair did not.
R) Rally
The people like Anora. It isn't enough to trust her, but if she can use it to their advantage Arducan will try.
S) Sovereign
Aeducan hates that the humans are so simple-minded. She was a princess of Orzamar, and probably more used to their dangerous politics than even the most masterful player of what Leliana calls the Game! Yet they will not accept her at Alistair's side, and she is upset to admit he cannot rule alone.
T) Tumultuous
The amulet lies broken again, this time at her feet. Aeducan waits until Alistair leaves to pick it up, not caring as the jagged edges cut her fingers. When she is sure he is far enough from her door she finally breaks down into tears, letting them stain the pillow; the soaked bedsheet will be the only thing he finds in the morning before the battle when he comes to apologize, her already preparing for war.
U) Unrelated
Aeducan can't help but enjoy making the Fereldans uncomfortable by putting an elf in charge of their formations. Zevran appears to appreciate the irony almost as much as the vote of confidence.
V) Victor
Even when the archdemon is dead, Aeducan cannot accept that she has won. Alistair took the decision from her, taking the final blow when she was prepared to do so, and she isn't sure she can live in a world where he does not exist.
W) Wisp
As a dwarf she knows she should not be able to sense or touch the Fade. Yet she can't help but sense something around her as she picks up the pike and lets it twirl in her fingers. She could even swear she hears Alistair laugh when she drops the blasted thing.
X) Xanthippe
It can't just be her. Anora's very demeanor grates on Aeducan's nerves, and the dwarf has come to hate her. The idea it could be what the queen represents never crosses her mind.
Y) Yell
If screaming at the sky could undo her mistakes with Alistair, he would be in her arms again.
Z) Zen
Fighting was something she had always known. In the middle of battle, Aeducan found her center; Alistair had understood that. When he died he took even that peace from her until she found someone to heal her heart.