Title: Humbled
Summary: Lady Aeducan soon finds out heritage doesn't always make you better. Gorim/Aeducan
Disclaimer: Do you honestly think I own Dragon Age? If I did, would I be writing fanfiction?
"Gorim, I do not recall adressing this man." Lady Aeducan spoke as she looked down at the man before her, her nose always higher than that of her people.
"You do not speak unless you are spoken to, is that clear?" Gorim hissed as he grabbed the servant's collar, bringing his face dangerously close to his own, "Apologize to the Lady at once!"
"I-I'm sorry Lady Aeducan, I meant no disrespect!" the servant pleaded as Gorim forced him down on his knees. "Do you call that an apology? Do you not know who you are speaking to?"
"Please, forgive me your majesty... my utter disrespect has not only shamed myself, but my entire house... I beg you... forgive me!" he cried as he buried his face against the hard stone floor before the princess's feet.
Gorim glanced over at her, patiently awaiting her reply.
Lady Aeducan crossed her arms and looked away, not willing to even look at this man. "Gorim, tell him that if it happens again, I will not be so merciful."
"The Lady has decided to show you mercy, will you make her regret that decision?" Gorim growled threateningly as he pulled the man back on his feet.
"No... no! I will not! Thank you, thank you for sparing me!" the man bowed his head several times as he backed away from the party, "It will not happen again!"
"Tell this man I tire of his rambling." she said as she dismissively waved her hand.
"Get out of here!" Gorim yelled, sending the man running faster than his short legs could take him.
Most people kept to themselves, but a few of the nobles dared whisper to one another. It was common knowledge that Lady Aeducan wasn't the King's sweet little princess, she enjoyed the noble life her father had given her the day she was born. As second in line to the throne, she had the power to literally bring people down to their knees, even in the Diamond Quarter. Her will was their command, regardless of wealth, regardless of status... because whatever their status was, Lady Aeducan's was higher. It always had been and it always would be.
With the pompous air that constantly surrounded her, it sometimes seemed like she was already queen, like both her father and brother had magically vanished and left the throne open for the taking.
However, despite her constant disregard for those "lower" than herself, she had always treated Gorim differently. She didn't treat him as an equal, of course, because he wasn't. But he, from what he could see, was the only one Lady Aeducan acknowledged as a person. She spoke through him, but she also spoke to him. A priviledge no one but the princess's own brothers and father enjoyed. He had no idea what it meant, but it made him feel special, as though he stood above everyone else, if only in his Lady's eyes.
"Come Gorim, I do not intend to return to the palace before showing all of Orzammar the true power of the Aeducans." she called at him from afar, as he approached, it became clear right away why she had really called him: To adress the gate guard.
---
"Well done my Lady," Gorim said with a smile as Sereda Aeducan stepped up to him after her last fight, "You had the whole crowd cheering for you."
She rose an eyebrow, "Are you surprised? These men are worthless. Hardly worthy of my time." she crossed her arms and looked back at the Proving Master, "Gorim, ask him if this is the best Orzammar has to offer."
As always, her will was his command, "Surely there are better warriors for Lady Aeducan to fight?"
The Proving Master frowned, "I am sorry you are not pleased, Lady Aeducan... we still have Lord Everd and-"
"And this "Lord Everd" is worthy of my time?" Lady Aeducan asked as she looked over the Proving Crowds before glancing at Gorim, who brought the message to the Proving Master.
"Yes, I think so... he is the most skilled warrior we have at the moment, his skill-"
"Then prepare the next round, let us go Gorim." she huffed as she walked back towards the door leading to the family quarters, Gorim nodded and followed, closing the door behind them.
"My Lady," he started as he gathered her supplies, "Surely you do not find these men worthless, your beauty alone is enough to make any man loose his concentration, nevermind your amazing skill in battle."
She spun around, but did not yell, much to his surprise, "That is true." she spoke finally, smiling faintly, "I suppose it is unreasonable of me to assume these men can keep up with me." Her expression changed suddenly, her eyes growing serious and her smile fading slightly, "What of you, Gorim?" she asked softly as she approached him, "Could you keep up with me?"
He laughed harshly, "If only, My Lady! I would not stand a chance!"
She pursed her lips and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Surely you jest! How could you know without trying?" He stopped his work for a second to look up at her, her angry scowl was replaced with a seductive smile. He grinned back at her, "I could try, if my Lady wishes it." he gave her a suggestive look, "I fear you will hurt me though."
She leaned in just a little bit too close, softly brushing her lips against his own with each word she spoke, "You do not fear a little bit of pain, do you?"
"Not if it brings you pleasure," he breathed softly against her lips, "My Lady."
As fast as the mood had turned before, it turned again when she abruptly pulled back, "Good. So long as you remember who's happiness comes first, I will not have you replaced."
"Thank you, my Lady." Gorim smiled. As the crowds started cheering again, his Lady stood and motioned for him to follow. And as always, he did exactly as he was told, knowing full well what the reward for his loyalty was.
---
"I present to you; Long-time champion and crowd favorite, Lord Everd!" surely enough, the crowd cheered the man's name, "But will his winning streak last, now that he faces his last opponent: Lady Aeducan!" chaos ensued as people screamed her name, all of them hoping the princess would somehow notice them and reward their loyalty and believe in her. Of course, most of them knew this was unlikely to happen.
Lady Aeducan stepped up to her spot in the Proving Grounds, looking her opponent up and down, trying to get a sense of this man's ability. She was surprised when he did not greet her as politely as the others had, but she did not say anything; There would be plenty of time to punish him for his disrespect in the upcoming battle.
"Begin!"
As soon as she'd heard the sound, she drew her sword and rushed forward, her opponent held his ground until she reached him, then, with a speed she had not anticipated, the man threw a flurry of dagger-strikes at her. She ducked behind her shield, but even this did not last long... the swift jabs seemed to come from everywhere: above, below, behind... all she could do was hide behind her shield and wait for an opening. Realizing her opponent's stamina, she decided waiting was no longer an option, she put all her strength into her left arm and smashed her shield into her opponent, who tumbled backwards upon impact.
However, as soon as she recovered from her blow, the man was at her again, sneaking around her and kicking her in the knees, making her fall flat on her face. She no longer had the strength in her arm for another shield blow, not a single power one anyway. As she dodged one of the blades, she jumped back to her feet again and smacked her shield against her opponent's head, his arm, and then his head again. The multiple blows had left him disorientated, and it showed. He could barely keep his balance as he stumbled around, trying to regain his senses.
Lady Aeducan took this oppertunity to go for a death-blow, with all the strength she had in her legs, she dashed forward, ready to strike. She hit the man straight in the chest and smiled happily... but then, her sword suddenly slid to the side, underneath the man's arm. He closed his arm around it and janked it away from her, tossing it halfway across the ring, leaving the princess unarmed. Another series of stabs followed, and then it was over. Lady Aeducan sat on her knees, panting heavily as she leaned on her shield.
The crowd fell silent for a moment before Lady Aeducan herself stood and reluctantly bowed her head before the winner of the competition, after which the whole crowd went wild.
"And the winner is-"
The excitement was broken when a drunken fool stumbled upon the grounds, singing something stupidly about his armour being missing. Lady Aeducan sneered, being in a foul mood over her defeat, "Remove this beggar from the Grounds at once!"
From his place in the stands, Gorim already stood up to carry out the order given to him, when suddenly someone from the crowds spoke up. "Hey! Isn't that Everd?" a man called, "Yeah, I think it is!" another replied.
Lady Aeducan scowled, "What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded as she looked up at the Proving Master, glaring him down, despite him standing several feet above her.
Gorim approached the Proving Master, demanding an answer as well. The Proving Master started sweating heavily as he glanced from the angry princess down below, to the heavily armoured Grey Warden beside him, who had been present during the whole competition, watching the fights with great interest. Even he seemed surprised by the change of events. How dare this person insult him in front of not one, but two guests of honour? How dare he?
"Stranger!" he called down at the unknown man, "How dare you shame not only the great princess Aeducan, but also our honoured guest with this display?" he slowly clenched and unclenched his fists in an attempt to calm himself down, but failed miserably. He would be the one to suffer the consequences of this, but if he was going to suffer, he would ensure the man who brought it upon him would be taken down with him. "I demand you remove your helmet!"
Surprisingly, the voice sounded rather feminine when he called up at the Proving Master, "I will not! I have won all my fights fairly, and deserve to be here!"
The Proving Master looked down at his guards and nodded, "I will not warn you again stranger, remove your helmet, or I will have it removed!"
The guards slowly approached, drawing their weapons carefully as they surrounded the intruder. Realizing this was a fight that could not be won, the stranger slowly reached for their helmet, the whole crowd held their breath as the helmet slided upward, over the person's nose, and finally revealing the face behind the voice.
At first, the Proving Master was merely upset that it had been a woman of all people who had shamed him and his arena, that was before the crowd spoke up again.
"A casteless?!" a man gasped in shock, "Are they allowed to participate?" another asked.
He narrowed his eyes and gasped when he saw the mark on the woman's cheek; the mark of the casteless. Things couldn't get worse even if they tried.
"Guards, remove this... this... thing from my arena and have her arrested!" he screeched in anger.
"I may be casteless, but I managed to defeat each and every one of you!" the fiery redhead yelled up in defiance, backing away from the guards, "No matter what you do to me, I have proven today that the casteless can be as useful as the nobility! Nothing you say can undo that!"
"Get her out of here!" the Proving Master yelled again, nearly falling over the ledge as he did so.
"Surely this is not the reward for her victory?" the Grey Warden asked as he stopped the man from leaving, "She has won this tournament, does she truly deserve to be punished as severely as you say?"
"You do not understand, Warden." he hissed, "The tournament has no winner. She does not exist."
The large man rose an eyebrow, "Does not exist?"
"The casteless are not worthy of mention, they are not recorded into the memories. Their place is in Dust Town, that is where they live, and where they die. They aren't people. They're objects. Useless, space-wasting objects."
The Warden was shocked. He'd spoken to this woman before, and she herself had told him she was "unworthy of mention" and that he could call a guard to have her arrested for harrassment. He knew the casteless were regarded poorly by all the other dwarves, but being referred to as an "object" seemed to cross a line. How could they treat their own people this way?
"She is no object," he protested as he turned his back to the Proving Master, "She is your champion."
From her place in the arena, Lady Aeducan watched as the guards grabbed a hold of the casteless woman. The one who had bested her in combat. She frowned deeply at the thought; a casteless dwarf had defeated her, in front of all of Orzammar... but for some reason, she couldn't hate this woman. She couldn't bring herself to demand for her execution.
"Halt!" she called, raising her hand. The guards looked at her before looking up at their boss, pondering the best course of action. In the end, of course, they seized their actions. Lady Aeducan stood above their boss, after all.
"My Lady, I deeply apologize... we will see to it this casteless is punished for shaming your name."
"The only one who has shamed my name is you!" she barked up at him, "A tournament in honour of my family, and this was the best you could come up with?" she walked past the guards and towards the woman. "She may be casteless, but she has defeated every single one of your so called champions... what does that say about you and this entire Proving?"
"I-I-" he stuttered in shock. Gorim cracked an amused smile at the man's misfortune. "You're in trouble now."
"I demand this man be brought to justice!" she flicked her hand, "Gorim, see to it!"
"W-Wait...!" he yelped fearfully as Gorim grabbed onto his shoulder, dragging him out of the room.
From high up in the stands, the Grey Warden by the name of Duncan looked down at the scene before him. A defiant woman fighting her captors even as they disarmed her and forced her onto her knees, a slightly flustered princess, embarressed at being bested by a commoner, and a drunken man stumbling about, oblivious to the entire situation.
He could hear people softly cheering for Lady Aeducan, possibly to lift her spirits. All it did was make her frown.
"Do not cheer for me, fools," she muttered angrily, "She is the champion, not I."
And with that, Lady Aeducan stomped out of the arena, humbled for the first time in her life.
Thank you very much for reading! Sorry if I made grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language. :/
If you can find the time to Review, I would greatly appreciate it! Have a nice day!