A Visit to the Prisoner of Fort Drakon

(Special thanks to those who tossed their two-cents inover at the Alistair Fan Club on Facebook. I got a LOTof useful ideas from what they posted. I am still not sure this

is complete but I think it fills a blank anyhow. Thanks to YOU for reading me!)

Anora sat in the thick, plush chair with a book in her hands. It was an ongoing treatise on Ferelden politics and the system that allowed its success. It was a boring read for most but infinitely fascinating to the former queen. Slowly, she read and re-read paragraphs and lines, absorbing the dry document's wisdom, searching for something useful to her situation.

Her surroundings were comfortable with a desk, bed, couch, the chair she sat in and a small wash basin and discreet privy. They had given her a well-stocked bookshelf and pens and paper. She even had a privacy screen allowing her some freedom to dress away from prying eyes. Recently, a carpet was added to protect her feet from the cold stone floors. The space might have been inviting had it not been, in fact, a large prison cell.

She heard someone clear her throat and she ignored it. Another throaty grumble and she slapped the book down in her lap. "Maker's Breath! I just gave you a head's up! Please leave me alone, will you?" She rose from the chair and circled the screen, ready to lecture the idiot guard. It must have been a shift change. They tended to forget to inform one another that the head-count was complete when they went off duty. She had complained about it before yet they always did it. She opened her mouth but snapped it shut as she saw the woman standing just outside the cell-door.

She wasn't overly striking. Her only stand-out features were her brilliant teal eyes and bright red hair. Otherwise, she was pretty in the way of those who were careless with their beauty, nicely curved but with far too much muscle on her arms to suit Anora's tastes. The woman wore a simple gown of layered violet lace and satin. It laced up the bodice, offering a tease of cleavage and long, flowing sleeves. She looked uncomfortable in it as she clasped her hands before her. "You…" Anora sneered. She was not happy to see the woman.

Elissa nodded. "Me," she agreed without moving. The guard produced a key, slipped it into the lock on the barred door and turned it. He swung it open and bowed slightly to Elissa Cousland, Grey Warden and future queen of Ferelden. "Your Highness, is there anything else you need of me?" he asked. The woman visibly flinched at the title, causing Anora to raise an eyebrow. 'Your Highness'?

She laid a hand on his arm as she entered. "A tray of finger-foods and tea, if you will. The prisoner and I will be chatting for a while and refreshments will be welcome."

He bowed again and held the door for her. Once over the threshold, he locked the door behind her and walked away to issue the order to a nearby house-servant. Elissa, meanwhile, walked over to Anora, an awkward smile on her face. "Well well, aren't I a lucky prisoner to be visited by the Hero of Ferelden. 'Your Highness?'" Anora muttered with contempt. "That's quite a promotion from 'landless Grey Warden'. What did you do to earn that title?"

Elissa smiled uncomfortably. "I became betrothed to a King who favors my advice and wants the palace staff to respect me. He has said I will be 'Your Majesty' after our wedding. Or 'Warden Commander', as I'll be both. I am to be his Queen Consort." Coming from anyone else, Anora would have thought the words were boasts but Elissa's open expression told her that Alistair's betrothed was selflessly embarrassed by his admiration. It frustrated her that she felt obligated to respect her for it.

Anora turned and indicated the newest addition, a velvet-covered couch as soft and comfortable as the chair. Elissa nodded and sat down, spreading her skirts around her legs. Anora watched as she seated herself and noted that Elissa had done it with a noble woman's deliberate grace. She was not new to the wearing of dresses then, she was simply unaccustomed to them. "He plans to make you queen? What right have you to be queen, to rule this city let alone an entire country?"

Elissa sighed heavily and closed her eyes. "Anora, have you failed to do your homework? I am the daughter of a Teryn and from the time I was sixteen, I had run Highever when my parents left periodically to make diplomatic visits as required by their station. I was being groomed to inherit it, in fact. If you're familiar with us, you'll know that Highever's Teryn is the most powerful person in Ferelden, second only to the King. Consequently, I am politically perfect for the role of queen. Besides all of that, I am betrothed to the king."

Anora laughed. It was a darkly similar sound to one she heard just a few months earlier from Anora's now deceased father. "The king," she scoffed. "He has a paltry connection to the line, one frayed and surreal, if you ask me."

Elissa frowned, narrowed her eyes and leaned forward with her elbows perched on her knees. "I didn't ask you," she said, peering up at the other woman. "You truly think his connection to the throne is 'paltry'? He is a son to King Maric and half-brother to King Cailan, blood descendents of King Calenhad, who founded Denerim and is the patriarch of one of the oldest lines in Ferelden. Even the Cousland line is short-lived compared to the Theirin line. I believe that Alistair's connection is far more than 'paltry'."

Anora frowned. Had this usurper come to teach her history or was there a point to this visit? Before she could ask, a cart rolled in bearing a fine sampling of delicacies along with hot tea. Distracted briefly, she held her tongue and popped a tiny sandwich into her mouth. It was wonderful. "So. You survived the blight, I see," she murmured, the subject mercifully changed, her fingers on a bite-sized pastry. They had come very close to an argument, not a thing she wanted to do necessarily, though she was not opposed to taking verbal shots at Elissa if she could.

Elissa poured tea for them both and smiled at Anora. "Yes. So did Alistair, obviously."

"Obviously. And how is he?"

Their subject's betrothed could not fake the look of great respect and love that flowed across her features as she spoke of him. "He's… remarkable. He is studying governance and shaping up to be a great king. Perhaps as great as his father. And he is going to become as beloved as Cailan was." Elissa handed Anora a cup of tea and smiled proudly. "We have been busy, re-building from the mess your father caused among the Bannorn. We've been struggling for weeks to repair the damage and I fear it may be years yet before we recover from the civil war we almost experienced."

"'We'? He involves you in his decision making? Has the man no spine to make his own choices? Are you vying for the opportunity to steal his crown?"

Elissa frowned and put down the cup in the only angry movement Anora had seen since she first started baiting her rival. "You mean like you did, from Cailan?"

The former queen sat delicately upon the chair, holding her cup carefully. "Cailan's head was in the clouds. I… had to step up and be what he was unwilling to be. Someone had to take the throne seriously and so I selflessly did his job. I had suspected Alistair would be the same. I find it surprising he's taking this all so seriously, considering his disrespect for authority. I really want him to fail, you know. I should still be queen, Elissa. I am the people's leader, the voice, the personification of Ferelden. You should never have put Alistair on the throne. You have done your country, a country that you are sworn to protect, a disservice. I fear that your love for him has blinded you to the pretender that he truly is. It's a pity you're so misguided."

Elissa looked across the tea-cart at Anora with sad eyes. "The pity, Anora, is that you cannot imagine a world in which you are not the sole ruler. And… I think you are jealous."

Anora's eyes flashed angrily. "I'm jealous? What have I to be jealous of? You?" She laughed. "You have nothing for me to be jealous of. Now cease lest I call the guard to remove you from my 'home'." She gritted her teeth in her anger and hurt. She knew that the guard would only listen to 'his highness' but she still felt compelled to make the threat, however useless.

The Warden looked at Anora hard, her teal eyes boring through to Anora's soul, burning her with their intensity. Calmly, coolly, Elissa said, "You envy me my relationship with Alistair. You envy the love we share, our partnership, the symbiotic cycle of love and friendship that we have. You and Cailan were never so close. You never loved him unconditionally and you never felt…"

"Shut up! Stop it! You have no right to say that! You don't know what I felt so stop trying to insinuate that you do." Anora cried, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Anora… Am I right?"

Anora was silent as she turned her back to Elissa, holding her arms against her body. The King's chosen had a way of speaking to the heart with a brutal honesty that, while refreshing, was painful as well. Softly, still standing, she spoke. "When we married, we were… friends. Close friends but to me, he was a sweet puppy, loving and innocent, utterly faithful. He was a good man but he lacked the guts needed to control the nobles. He trusted too many people to be as honest as he. He lacked ambition. His head was filled with all these grandiose ideas and fairytales, none of which had any potential to come to fruition."

Elissa pursed her lips thoughtfully as she recalled the intelligent, determined man she had known what felt like a lifetime ago but was really only a little over a year. "So his dream of riding into a great battle alongside the Grey Wardens with an army to defeat the Archdemon was a fantasy? Ironic that Alistair saw that dream come true, as I am a Grey Warden and he fought by my side to end the Blight. Perhaps Cailan wasn't so far into the clouds as he seemed…"

Anora was quiet for a moment as she considered Elissa's words. She had a point. Maybe. "Marrying Cailan wasn't my choice. It was decided for by my father since cailan was born so we were raised together and grew up close but we were more like siblings and less like lovers. Alone, Cailan was… tender. Gentle. Passionate even but I was always worried about what had to be done next and then again, it was like being with a close friend. My favorite moments were… after. It was always when we would just lie together, talking about the kingdom. It's not to say that he didn't try to, ah, inspire my ardor. I never could enjoy it the way he wanted me to. It was just another thing I had to do. It was my price for being his wife. He was good to me though and I know he was always sad that I wasn't more… Eager? Willing to reciprocate? Though, there are times when I wished that I had… that we had… that we could… Ah. What's the use?" Anora choked back a sob and wiped her face across her palm.

Elissa looked at Anora with something akin to compassion in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Anora. I didn't intend to upset you. Here…" She withdrew a handkerchief and handed it to the lovely blond woman. She accepted it wordlessly. Then she turned to face Ferelden's future queen.

"I want to be mad at you. But… I can't. I don't know why, after what you just did to me. I was mad in the beginning for you dredging up those memories but I find it strange… Talking about it has made me feel better, I think. Elissa, I need to know; why did you come? Surely there was more of a purpose to your visit than making me open up? Or teaching me history I already know?"

Elissa smiled warmly and refilled Anora's cool cup of tea. "Actually, yes! Alistair and I have a proposal for you. You know that he finds keeping you locked away up here distasteful so we discovered a possible, useful alternative. We want to know if you would become Teryna of Gwaren, your father's Terynen. We need someone down there and you are his heir…"

Anora smiled but her voice was firm. "No," she said. "I have been queen for far too long to take such a demotion. I know you mean well and I-I appreciate the offer. But… just… no. Here I am, here I shall stay. Perhaps someday I will change my mind when my pride can accept it but not now. Find someone else to run it. Find someone trustworthy. Find someone I would choose."

As Elissa started to take Anora's hand, Alistair showed up in full ceremonial armor, beaming as bright as the sun. "My love, I was told I could find you here. Have you told Anora about our little offer?"

Elissa walked to the cell door and nodded. "She has chosen to stay put for now. But she has kept an open mind about it so maybe someday she'll acquiesce."

Alistair alerted the guard captain and said, "Captain, my betrothed is ready to depart. Would you let her out, please? Anora, I hope you approve of the accommodations. If you need anything else, let me know."

Anora shrugged resentfully. "I'm fine. Thank you. It's still a cage no matter how pretty or comfortable you make it. That just means it's a gilded cage." She watched Elissa exit her cell and immediately become enfolded in Alistair's arms. He kissed her deeply, lovingly stroking her hair. The love he felt for this woman was palpable and it was clear that Elissa had been right; maybe she was jealous after all. Anora had thought she would find their open affection distasteful but really, it wasn't all that bad. It was nice even. It made them all the more human in her eyes. She smiled. "Elissa, it's not that I want to be your friend or anything so don't you dare take this the wrong way; please don't be a stranger. There are far too few women to talk to up here. You know?"

Encircled by Alistair's arms, Elissa smiled warmly at her. "But of course. I'll keep you in mind if I feel the need to be bitched at."

Anora returned the warm smile with one of her own. "Precisely. I know it only makes me a glutton for punishment to allow your treasonous person anywhere near me but I guess I shall have to settle for what I can get as far as company. Oh and… I want to say thank you. For your honesty."

Elissa leaned her cheek against the cool metal of Alistair's elaborate breastplate and nodded once. "Thank you for opening my eyes a bit. I guess I still have a lot to learn."

Alistair blinked his eyes at them as his betrothed laughed. "What in the world are two talking about? Do I want know? On the other hand, maybe I don't want to know."

Elissa kissed him on the cheek and giggled. "Come, my love. I'll explain as we go. So, what's the fancy armor for?"

He held her close and began to tell her about the meeting they had been "invited" to at the estate of one notable Bann concerning a neighbor who was infringing on his pond and the meeting they needed to have with the seneschal of Amaranthine. Anora smiled as they left her and realized she was suddenly not as worried about Ferelden's future with both Elissa and Alistair sitting on the throne. She still hated him and despised the idea but maybe, just maybe…

Things would be okay.

End