My Little Prince

A Dragon Age: Origins fanfiction

By Loveableabusive

Chapter One

Preparations

"Lady Reniselille?"

I suddenly decided that if one more person called me by that name I was going to tear their arms off and beat them to death with their own fists. I sighed and stood up, leaving my unfinished letter to Fergus lying on the desk, to open the door and glower at whoever had disturbed me. It was a small girl, of around fourteen, with a shock of blonde hair and huge blue eyes, which were widened in terror. Was I really that terrifying?

"E-excuse m-m-me Lady R-Ren-Renis-Reniselille," She stammered. I felt my eye twitch but I pulled in a deep breath, trying to ignore my annoyance.

"Please. Call me Lily." I told her in a manner as soothing as possible. Her eyes, alarmingly, widened even more.

"I… I couldn't! his-majesty-said-I-can-only-call-you-by-your-real-name! " She gasped, her words coming out as a rush this time, so I barely caught them. But when I understood her words, I took a yet another deep breath and tried to stop my fists clenching. That bastard.

I sighed. "What is it then?"

"You have… a guest My Lady. She is with Wynne at the moment… it is about arrangements for the… wedding." My stomach squirmed, not wholly a negative reaction, but one borne of nerves and excitement both. I was to be married.

Nodding, I let a small smile drift onto my face. "Send them in then and can you do me a favour?" The girl nodded quickly, her eyes bright.

"Tell His Majesty that Lady Reniselille told him he is in very deep trouble." I didn't expect her to do it, really, mainly because she paled at my words and almost ran down the corridor. I chuckled to myself and closed my door, leaning against it for a moment.

My name, the one I was born with anyway, was Reniselille Cousland, the wily daughter of Bryce, the Teyrn of Highever, and Eleanor, his lovely wife. We had lived together in Highever for years, yet soon after my eighteenth birthday, my father and older brother were to march south to Ostagar to help with the battle against a particularly nasty darkspawn horde. My brother left, but my father didn't last long enough to follow him.

Soon after Fergus left, my family were betrayed. By Howe. The greatest friend my father had and the one who had given the order to destroy my family, twisting the knife in Bryce's back. My mother and father had stayed to give me time to escape with Duncan, a Grey Warden. That was the last time I ever saw them, both covered in my father's blood.

As I thought of my parents, my hand automatically lifted to grasp my chest, my heart clenching as the grief washed over me again. Over the past year, I had been carefully thinking of anything but them, and it was easy, because of the Blight that had almost covered the whole of Ferelden, but now that it was over, there was nothing much to distract me. Even the looming wedding only distracted me for so long. There was only one thing that ever helped when these fits of misery hit me.

Alistair.

The King of Ferelden, who had been crowned only a few short months ago, was also like me, a Grey Warden, chosen through fate to battle the Darkspawn, a warrior without peer, but more than that… he was the centre of my entire life.

Thinking of him helped. It never really cured the loneliness, but I was able to breathe, and I felt my feeble heart beat again, stronger now, determined. I straightened up and wiped my face quickly, removing all traces of the tears before I walked back to my desk. I knew that I would have no chance of finishing my letter now, so I shoved it in my draw and strolled over to my balcony, my gown rustling as I moved. I was too used to the creak of leather, the weight of drake scales on my shoulders, and the loud thud as I ran. Now, I almost made no sound, and the fine fabric made me feel naked. Too… vulnerable. I had no way to protect myself from any assassins, but then my own personal assassin had assured me that no one was actively seeking my life… yet.

It wasn't even close to noon yet, I thought as I looked out onto the sweeping plains of Ferelden, leaning on the balcony with a very heavy sigh. Even now, five months after the archdemon had been destroyed; I could still see the lands before me blackened by the Blight, and the plumes of dark smoke from the pyres, built from the burning carcasses of the darkspawn stragglers. I watched the smoke rolling toward the fluffy white clouds, glad that at least the azure sky had recovered quickly from the Blight.

Ferelden. It was my home, and as I stood at its capital, looking out, I felt a strong sense of joy that I had a hand in saving it, and being able to see for myself as it recovered.

"Pensive are we?" a gentle voice murmured next to my right ear. I leapt up in alarm, biting back a scream as I turned quickly to glare at whoever had the gall to sneak up on me. I could sneak past an over-paranoid elf, while whistling the national anthem with bells attached to my heels. I was rewarded with laughter, a ringing giggle that I recognised immediately, and so my twirl was redirected mid-point to allow me to throw my arms around the rogue that stood behind me.

"Leliana!" I cried, happily. She laughed and wrapped her arms around me.

"It's nice to see you haven't changed Lily," said Leliana, her voice still as musical as ever. My heart was singing. I hadn't seen her since Alistair had been crowned. It was strange that that time had seemed so lengthy, despite how little I could remember of it. I was… bored. She leaned away from the embrace, so I could see her face. Her red hair was longer than I remembered, and braided a little on the top layer as if she was trying to build on my own former style. At the moment, my own white hair was braided, but loosely so my bangs still framed my pale face. I must admit, I didn't look very queenly.

"And you! Oh, you look so beautiful!" I gasped, embracing her again with a laugh.

"She does. She seems more beautiful each time I see her." Wynne, the court mage murmured as she stepped out onto the balcony, following our laughter. "As, I must say, do you." She smiled. "You're looking radiant Lily."

I couldn't help it, I blushed. "You saw me yesterday Wynne." I reminded her, a little embarrassed.

She laughed. "True, but you always look lovely in the sunlight. No wonder Alistair fell for you." I smiled, pleased and looked down at the floor. "We came to help you with your wedding preparations." Wynne continued, with her business-like attitude. "Leliana came as soon as she found out that the date had been set. She insists on being a bridesmaid."

"But of course!" Leliana gasped, detangling us from the now confusing hug. "In Orlais, the centre of any marriage is the beauty of the bride, and the way her bridesmaids compliment her. I know you, Lily, and I know how to make Alistair fall in love with you all over again, but I have to be beside you. Besides, I want to wear pretty shoes again. I'm fed up with these boots."

She really hadn't changed. I was pleased. "I would be honoured if you'd be my bridesmaid! You too Wynne."

At this, the mage laughed. "Oh no, don't be silly… too much excitement for an old heart. I will watch from the safest distance and be happy for the pretty young things. Have your limelight, girls." She said. "I will, however, make sure you don't enter that room looking like the scamp you are. You are to be queen now Lily. You can't look like you've just been dragged through the Bannorn by your ankles."

I scowled and she laughed. "And don't pout either. You'll get wrinkles."

The rest of the morning was filled with laughter, even when the little girl returned after sending Alistair the message I had given him. Her face was bright pink and whenever she tried to tell me his reply, she collapsed into gales of laughter. Such a change from the nervous creature I had met that morning. Leliana took to her immediately, and she was unofficially named as one of my flower-girls. I never understood the reason for flower-girls, but her face lit up so brightly that I couldn't object. Her name was Kathlena, an orphan who was picked up by the head maid around ten years ago. After a few hours, all three of us absolutely adored her.

For that time, I was able to stand and honestly say that I was happy. The Blight was gone, I was surrounded by my family for, in reality, Wynne had stepped into Eleanor's shoes. Obviously no one could ever replace Eleanor, but Wynne had become something like a mother to me, being there when I was scared or upset, always offering a shoulder for me to cry on. The thought that I would lose her too, was more terrifying than I could think on, and so I was glad to, for those few hours, forget my troubles and think of the future. My future with Alistair. My future with Leliana as my sister. There was just one gaping hole that no one could ever hope to fill.

The greatest friend I had ever had. A friend who had given me the greatest gift I had ever received. The gift of this future that I was standing before. If not for her… I clenched my eyes shut and bit down upon my lip as Leliana draped a piece of silk around Kathlena's shoulders. If not for her, either I would be dead, or Alistair would've lost his life. She gave us the gift of a life in each other's arms and I was forever grateful.

But I missed her. Not for the first time, I looked out of the balcony from my seat, wondering where she was. Was she thinking about me? When would her child be born? What would she name it? Where would she raise it? This is what she really wanted so I guessed she would be happy… Morrigan.

It didn't really bother me anymore that she was carrying Alistair's child. It had once destroyed me. That night before we had almost lost everything, when Morrigan had told us her plan, I had lain in my bed alone and wept. Alistair had rejoined me after, but I would not look at him and he did not speak. The day after, everything was forgotten, for we had something else to worry about and we never spoke of it. Though I knew Alistair thought of it sometimes, I could tell whenever he had that faraway look on his face. I knew he was thinking about his child.

Okay, it bothered me a little…

More like a lot.

But I didn't blame her. She gave me something in return. A life with him. My Alistair.

The looming wedding was the most talked about thing in Denerim, and even in parts of the Bannorn, and the whole of Ferelden was waiting with baited breath. For not only was Alistair's betrothed none other than Reniselille Cousland, the legendary beauty that was the daughter of Teyrn Bryce Cousland, but was also the Grey Warden who stopped the Blight in it's tracks. I was a legend apparently, according to my own private assassin who always had his pointed ear close to the ground.

As the month drew to a close, I found myself being swept from room to room, from wing to wing and finally from rehearsal to rehearsal, being pulled around so much that I lost complete track of time, and before I knew it, I was standing on a stool, while Leliana flittered around me, patiently pinning the folds of fine white silk so it hugged my body. I noticed she was going for a ruffled approach. I also noticed that the dressmakers that had been hired had automatically stepped aside for the whimsical Orlesian bard to let her work her magic with the aid of Wynne and Kathlena who Leliana seemed to have adopted.

I looked down at the almost-dress. "You know… I shouldn't be wearing white." I said matter-of-factly.

Leliana gave me a disgruntled look and took a pin from her mouth. "Well, as far as the public knows, you and Alistair are both virgins and will be until you're married." She looked at Wynne. "What do you think?"

Wynne took a step back and stared at the dress for a moment. "Perfect. How's the bodice coming along?"

One of the senior dressmakers looked up from where she was carefully embroidering the bodice for the dress. "Almost done."

I sighed, frustrated and resisted the urge to stamp my foot. Had I no say in what my wedding dress looked like? "You'll see it when it's done." Leliana said without looking at me, as if she had read my mind. Again I felt my foot twitch.

Wynne looked at me closely. "Don't make it too elaborate, otherwise people will be looking at the dress and not her beautiful face. Besides. We only have two days until the wedding."

My stomach dropped, leaving a nice icy absence in its wake. Two. Days. Two days?! I tried to count in my head but I had been to so many rehearsals and dinners that it all seemed to morph into one continuous day. Alistair had been getting the same treatment as far as I knew, because I had hardly seen him since he was crowned. We were sleeping on opposite ends of the palace after all. Segregation gone mad. Leliana looked up at my face and grinned. "Come on Lily. You couldn't have forgotten what day you were going to be married!"