Anora did always fancy tales and stories, Loghain had told him. Perhaps she fancied them too much. But that's what all of the women in Vincent' Cousland's life liked: stories. Leliana told various epic tales in her ballads, Morrigan fancied dark tales of slaughter and lust and Anora fancied tales of knights and fantasy.
Sometimes when he lay in bed with Anora, he would tell her stories. He wasn't usually so romantic or even nice, but part of him felt that she liked the comfort it brought her and part of him was growing to care for his little queen. Around him, she never seemed queen like. Perhaps he was used to nobility – being raised as a noble all his life. She never once intimidated him. Well, no one intimidated him actually (he did defeat an archdemon after all), but that's besides the point.
Occasionally he loved Anora. Sometimes he favored Leliana more. Once in a while, he pined for Morrigan, but Morrigan was long gone and had been away for more than a year.
And he felt bad about cheating on the queen sometimes. He knew he couldn't give Anora the wonderland she deserved, even though he was her husband and king.
She knew about Leliana. Anora and Leliana had talked multiple times and were quite civil around each other, but Vincent knew the truth. Both resented the other for different reasons. Anora wanted a faithful husband. She wanted a kingdom all her own. She wanted Vincent to love her, but he couldn't. Not completely. He belonged to Leliana. The red-haired archer instilled a sense of balance to his wretched heart. He wasn't so bad when she was around. He was still bad, just not as much.
Some of the citizens had begun to brand him a tyrant. Some had argued that the reign of the Hero of Ferelden, King Vincent Cousland was turning into one of the most violent in Ferelden history. But no one dared to mess with him. Not even Anora, who had been somewhat overshadowed in leadership by him. No one dared to mess with a king who slayed an archdemon.
Leliana sung the tales sometimes. It was beautiful and painted Vincent as an amazing hero, something even he would argue wasn't entirely true.
Even he knew he was an awful human being and that maybe the world would be better off if off went his head.
But would Anora even dare to stand up against him? Would she, if she could, force him out of his position as king? Would Ferelden even rally behind him, or would they rally behind her? He was still their hero, after all, and vanquished an entire blight.
He made so many bad decisions, though. So many things weighed down upon him. So many lives had been placed in his hands and he didn't regard any of them highly, save a few here and there.
Nothing ever felt right to him. Nothing ever did.
He had begun to hear whispers of how a war with Orlais was upcoming and that tensions with them were at a high not seen since the Fereldan Rebellion. This was all pure speculation by his people. Vincent did not foresee a war with Orlais, but rather a war within Orlais. He wondered how Loghain was faring in Orlais, having been assigned there as a Grey Warden.
Part of him still wondered about how Alistair was faring too. He heard reports of him running drunk around the free marches. It was a pity, but Alistair and Vincent had never gotten along. The two of them couldn't say a single word to each other without arguing. Some wondered why Vincent didn't execute him, but Vincent respected the Theirin bloodline too much to kill of the last remaining Theirin, even if he considered him an incompetent idiot.
He wondered sometimes how Alistair would have led Ferelden, too. He doubted that the ex-templar would have made a better king. He was too soft. Vincent was concerned that he was too hard, though.
He ran a hand through his dark hair and over the stubble on his chin as he walked into the quarters he shared with Anora.
"You're late. Very late, in fact," the queen greeted him with from bed. She didn't look happy at all. Vincent shook his head. He didn't need this right now.
Vincent sat down on the edge of their bed, looking away from his wife, "I know. I had to visit someone."
She noticeably grimaced behind him, taking out a brush and running it through her long hair as she positioned herself more comfortably underneath the covers. She sighed, "A date with Leliana? Or did you visit the Pearl again?"
Those accusations stung. Vincent put a hand to his head, his dark blue eyes glowing somewhat with anger, but he knew this was to be expected. It was his fault. He was a horrible husband. He was a horrible hero. He was a horrible grey warden. He was a horrible king. He was a horrible human being. The only things he wasn't horrible at were killing people, making others angry, and being a selfish bastard. At least, that's what it felt like.
"I was with Leliana, yes. She traveled here to see me and inform me of...certain matters. I was going to tell you tomorrow," Vincent turned around to look at the woman in his bed.
The Queen looked at him cautiously. Her bright blue eyes flickered a little bit. She was unnerved by how honest Vincent was being. He wasn't normally so. He would sneak out sometimes to visit whores and lie about it all the time. He lied about Leliana for at least the first two months of their marriage. He didn't trust her much, nor anyone really. He thought everyone could betray him like Rendon Howe did his father so the honesty he possessed...terrified her, "Vincent, something is the matter, yes? Tell me, please."
Vincent laid down in bed next to the blonde beauty, grasping her hand as he spoke, "The Divine is contemplating a march upon Kirkwall. Tensions between templars and mages there seem to be at an all time high. She warned me about the danger of this. There have been uses of the right of annulment before and marches upon the Qunari, elves and others as well, but this...this kind of thing could incite rebellion all around Thedas within every circle. Our circle may not be as strong as it once were, but we need to think about the possibility of a rebellion."
"Vincent, dear, tensions between templars and mages are always high everywhere. Last time I checked, you're not that much of a mage sympathizer yourself. Are you worried that the mages of the Ferelden would try and overtake us? That we would so easily fall to magic and become another Imperium?"
The brunette man shook his head again, looking into Anora's eyes, "I do not care for mages, but I don't want to have a rebellion in my kingdom of any sort. There is already talk of war with Orlais, which I hope to avoid. In my opinion, I think a war in Orlais is more likely to occur. I would like to avoid conflict within the kingdom as long as we can. I don't know why I'm so worried about this. I just...I think I'd like to visit Kirkwall soon. I'd like to assuage my curiosity of this situation."
Anora leaned up to kiss her husband's cheek, "If that is what you want, I cannot stop you. Take some guards and go. Just remember, this is our kingdom, my love. Not just yours."
Vincent nodded in agreement. It was their kingdom. Not just his.
Maybe Anora could rule it by herself, even. Maybe he didn't even need her.
Maybe the best way to give her a wonderland was for him to disappear.
He didn't want to give up his power though. He didn't want to be weak. He loved being king. He loved to rule. He loved the power. He loved his fame. He loved his notoriety.
Maybe getting away from the kingdom for a little bit would be good. Maybe going to Kirkwall wouldn't be that bad.
And even if it was, Leliana had promised him a date in Kirkwall when he arrived and he was definitely not going to stand her up.
A/N: Might write a chapter or two more. Something like Vincent visiting Edgar in Kirkwall and meeting up with Leliana. Idk, but that's it for now.