Regis Rosa Rubicundus

by vivien7879

Set between Origin and Awakening, a year into their marriage, King Alistair and his queen, Evelyn, was holding a wedding for Teyrn Fergus Cousland. With their old companions gathered for the ceremony, Alistair found out that someone wanted Evelyn dead.

"Good morning, King Alistair."

Alistair opened his eyes to see a woman's face with her dark blond hair draped over them both. She liked to wake him this way because he never could resist smiling after seeing her eyes as his first sight, and it was what he did. He loved the idea that seeing her is the first thing of the day, every day, and when the sun is shining like it was now, the sunlight made her look more beautiful than anything in the world that he had seen. Sometimes he wondered if she would get bored of it after every day, but he was convinced she would keep this habit along with all the others she had kept well… such as sneaking up on him from behind him now and then.

Despite being noble born, she had never been a delicate flower that needed protection, otherwise Duncan would not have wanted to recruit her as soon as they met. Duncan had always been a good judge of character, or so Alistair liked to believe as he was recruited to the Grey Warden in much the same way.

But who would have thought the mighty Grey Warden who ended the Blight by slaying the Darkspawn Archdemon would look so fitting in a silk garment? Alistair thought a warrior would only look right in armour, yet she appeared to be able to pull off both. It was good for the Kingdom though, he thought, to have a beautiful and kind Queen who always could be fearsome if she desired.

It could be argued that Evelyn Theirin, or Cousland, was indeed more popular with both the commoners and the nobles than Alistair himself, and Alistair was well loved anyway. He expected it was because House Cousland of Highever was very well respected, being one of the only two Teyrns of Ferelden that still remained. The Queen of Roses, they called her. An appropriate name that perhaps came from the fact she wore fresh roses all the time, but Alistair thought it described her persona perfectly with the comparison to beauty and thorns.

"Good morning, my love." He sat up to discover she was already dressed; a crimson gown that contrasted her fair skin with a couple of red roses in her carefully plaited hair. Her constant effort spent on her appearance, even when they were travelling across the world and fighting dark spawns daily, revealed her girly side,. "You look nice today."

"Don't I always?" She replied with a smile with a hint of mockery, which Alistair believed she learned from him - she was a lot more polite when they first met in Ostagard.

He stretched out his arms and had a big yawn, "Sometimes when you're mean you aren't so pretty." Alistair said, "Seriously, isn't it tiring to get up early everyday to just dress? You could have snoozed and snuggle with me."

She sat beside him and leaned on his shoulder, "I could, but then it only means you'd get up later. Besides, you snore very loudly, so since I can't sleep I might as well get up." She giggled.

"I do not!" He became slightly paranoid. She was likely to be joking, but Alistair could not tell for sure, "I think I would have known if I snore."

She raised her eyebrows, "Would you? You'd be asleep."

"I…" He felt his face went slightly red, "You are not so pretty anymore."

"Only married you for your power anyway. How else would I be able to have an unlimited amount of fresh roses every day?"

"There I thought you married me for my dashing good looks and witty banter."

She slid into his arm, "You would like that, wouldn't you?"

Alistair liked the feel of her in his arms, like he was needed even though she did not need many things. She had always been able to achieve what she wanted with her own merit, but Alistair liked to know she needed him. "Why do you need fresh roses every day anyway?" The thought raised a question he had always been meaning to ask, "I mean, it looks very nice of course, but why roses not jewelry?"

Evelyn thought for a few moments, "They call me the Queen of Roses, so I must live up to the reputation."

"They called you that after you wore roses everyday."

"My dagger is named The Rose's Thorn, so I thought a good way to honour the legendary dagger which helped me defeat the Archdemon was to wear roses every day to remind me of what we have been through."

It made sense, as it was easy to forget the difficult times when their lives were now luxurious and happy, but Alistair was not fooled, "Nice try. The roses you have on your head don't have thorns and you wore roses before you got the dagger."

She laughed, "My, my, look who's getting smarter."

"I'm not that stupid, am I?"

"Of course not. Just a bit slow at times." She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Come on, get out of bed. You may be King now but you can't remain a child. Wynne would laugh at you if I tell her, especially after the shirt incident."

He reluctantly got out and slipped into dressing gown, "Oh, as long as you don't tell Morrigan I'm fine."

As soon as he said the name he regretted mentioning it. It was a sore spot in her heart, despite her appearing strong and careless about it. In order to defeat the Archdemon, a Grey Warden must sacrifice their life to contain the dark soul; so either him or her would have had to die to end the Blight. Morrigan had an idea that could avoid either of their deaths, but it involved her carry his child and a promise that they would never look for her and the child after the Blight had ended. Alistair would have gladly sacrificed his own life, leaving it to become the only and greatest achievement he would accomplish after being crowned King… if it had not been her. He could not leave her with the sorrow, nor did he want her to make such as harsh decision.

The idea of sleeping with another woman, never mind Morrigan, was sickening enough but it had to be done. He was not sure how Evelyn felt about it, nor did she ever discuss it with him, but Alistair always thought she sacrificed more that day than him. Especially the fact she had not yet been able to bear any children after a year of marriage. Even if it was expected because they were both Grey Wardens and the tainted blood of dark spawn was as much a curse as it was a blessing. Still, it must not hae been easy for her to think about this "child" of Morrigan's.

As Alistair predicted, she hid her discomfort with a faint smile, "I will keep your secret for you only if you promise to get dressed."

"Alright…" He was glad she was not upset, nor did he want her to be. So he summoned his squire and a few servants to help him into his majestic armour, which was polished so clean that he used his shoulder plate as a mirror. "You think I look good, right?" He offered a change of subject to get past the awkwardness.

She was taking a few letters from her handmaiden as he asked, he thought if they were delivered in their bed chamber it must have been personal letters, likely to not have a name but signed with a single letter. Their close companions from the olden days were now living their own lives, However, for a variety of reasons, a few of their old friends were not accepted at court, and their continued correspondence may have drawn political criticism. "Of course you look good, my King." She did not even look up, which drew this annoyance.

"You know I don't like it when you call me that." Alistair protested. He had finally learnt to hear people addressing him to the crown, after so much reluctance; but he wanted to be her dear husband instead of her King.

"I know." She finally turned her eyes to him, and smiled as if it was a laugh, "Why do you ask anyway? You really thought I married you for your power and not for your dashing good looks?"

Alistair put his hands into the gloves made of fine fabric, "I'm beginning to wonder if I married you only for your dashing good looks, 'cause the sarcasm is so rich it hurts."

Evelyn walked towards him and gave him a kiss in front of their servants, "Well, my love, where does it hurt? I will kiss it better."

"Well…" He displayed a cheeky grin.

She laughed and said to the servants, "Go prepare breakfast, I will attend to the King myself."

They moved out the room quickly. In a way Alistair was happy for the situation but also sad; she always fastened his straps slightly too tight to be comfortable. Well… perhaps she would not be doing much fastening anyway.

She knelt down and said, "Sten wrote, though it was brief. He's enjoying the life at home but he's still doing what he does best with that great sword of his." She adjusted his belt on the waist to secure the armour on his body, "Leliana sends a gift."

"Wait, is this why you sent the servants out? To tell me about the letters?" Though it was true that a Qunari soldier and an Orlesian "bard" were definitely on the list of forbidden associations, he was greatly disappointed that she was not undressing him.

"Wouldn't you want to know what Leliana sent?"

"…Fine." Alistair could not resist gifts.

Evelyn handed him a blue velvet box with gold lines upon it. Within was a statue of a little dragon made of honey coloured amber. The detail was very beautifulyl and carefully engraved, and Alistair thought it would be great next to his collection of miniature statues. "Wow, this is so great!" He said with the childish excitement. But he did not care, he was indeed very excited.

She smiled with delight. It reminded Alistair just how much he loved her, "She said she saw this in the shop and reminded her of you. Unfortunately, she said she wouldn't be able to come to the wedding because if any Orlesian nobles are there they would just assume we're trying to kill them, so she sends us her regards and congratulations."

"What? Oh yeah, that's what Orlesian bards do…" Alistair was hoping that this wedding would give him an excuse to invite old friends; after all they had not seen each other since Evelyn slaughtered the Archdemon. "She could just pretend to be one of the singers though! There are lots of singers in weddings. Did you tell her that?"

Oghren now worked as a mercenary and Wynne remained in the castle as a counselor; Sten returned home and Leliana returned to Orlais to hunt down her mentor Marjolaine, which Evenlyn had spared before. Evelyn tried to write to Shale, who had been travelling around the world and could be tracked by death of pigeons, but the golem had trouble writing back with replies; and though Zevran trained the new Grey Wardens nowadays in Vigil's Keep, he was once an Antivan Crow, which made him an inappropriate guest at a royal event. Alistair knew it would have been a problem to allow the likes of Leliana, Sten and Zevran to be in the castle, but he was most looking forward for Leliana to make an appearance out of the three though Zevran would be the most likely.

Alistair did not want to dislike Zevran, as he had stayed in Ferlden to train the Grey Warden though he was not one himself. It was very convenient for Alistair, since he was King he could not do this himself and he did not want to live apart from the one he loved so dearly. But the only reason Zevran did so it was because she asked him to, and Zevran only agreed because he loved her.

Evelyn chose Alistair and he knew that well in his heart. However, the idea that someone else may love her the way he did, sparked unexplained jealousy. Alistair had always been ashamed of this feeling; a King should be able to rise above such pettiness. But Zevran did something he could not forgive and it did not help that Zevran liked to tease Alistair about the matters of sex, which always brought a bad mood upon him.

"I know you were hoping she comes, but if she doesn't want to then I won't want to force her… well, you never know, maybe she will turn up anyway. Let me write her a thank you letter regardless." She looked away, "My brother is arriving today so I will greet him and discuss with him about the wedding. More lords would be coming in today, but you don't have to see them now if you don't want, as long as you show your face before the wedding and they get to say hello to the King."

Alistair yawned again. Life of being King was demanding, especially when all the lords across Ferlden were coming into the capital for the wedding of Evelyn's brother, the new Teyrn of Highever. His last wife, along with his son, was murdered by Arl Howe's men, Evelyn had told him. Arl Howe ambushed the castle while Fergus had taken the troops so they had no strength to defend, and Evelyn was only able to survive because Duncan happened to be at the castle to rescue her. She told Alistair how she had to leave her father and mother to die, and even visiting the castle after Fergus rebuilt it only brought her sad memories. It was because of this he decided to hold the wedding in Denrim instead, as a gift to his beloved Queen.

After breakfast they approached the King's study, where Alistair was sure to be greeted by piles of paperwork. He asked his Queen to accompany him for the journey to make it more bearable; with a bit of puppy eyes Evelyn could not resist his request. "Begging your wife to walk you to work isn't very Kingly."

"Well, refusing your husband isn't very Queenly."

Within the castle Alistair did not like to have guards walking too close, it made him felt uneasy and he found it difficult to breath. Besides, he was rather confident in his combat skills, not to mention his Queen slaughtered the Archdemon. It was odd for Alistair when he first moved into the Royal Palace after the Blight had ended. To live and encounter strange faces every day in his own home was not an idea that he could easily accept. He tried to learn all the names of the servants but there were just so many, with new ones coming in all the time. In his childhood living in Redcliffe Castle he was dedicated to only a small part of the castle, but perhaps Evelyn's life was more similar to the Royal Palace. Teryn of Highever was only a rank below the King in terms of power and wealth. She did not seem uncomfortable about the situation though Alistair knew she was trained to present etiquette in environment like this.

"Did you grow up with lots of servants?" He asked her out of curiosity.

"Compared to this it was not many, but I knew the servants well, as all wild children do." She giggled, "They hated me in the kitchen messing up their work, and how I was always hiding in the storage room chasing rats and cats."

He tried to imagine the little version of her running around after a rat. "Is that where you get your quick moves from?"

"I learned that from escaping trouble."

They walked passed a group of servants that were taking newcomers for a tour of the castle. "Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness." They bowed as they saw Alistair approaching, and the newcomers followed quickly.

Alistair waved at them gently. Evelyn always told him he needed to work on his wave as it looked too childish and improper, but he thought it was part of his charm, like Leliana once said. Morrigan was not so kind about it though, the bitter witch of the wild never seemed to hold back an opportunity to humiliate him.

"Did you get in a lot of trouble then?" He carried on the conversation.

"Of course. I tried to be a lady, but sometimes it gets boring. My mother wasn't so pleased, she wanted me to be a lady at all times." She said, "Well, I don't think I got in nearly as much trouble as you did in the Chantry though, I heard from the Templars that you were quite a rebellious little troublemaker."

"What can I say, make rules and I'd want to break them." He laughed, "What a King I make, eh?"

"Indeed." A deep voice came from somewhere from the hall, but Alistair saw no one else other than Evelyn when he looked around. He drew out his sword anyway for caution, but his Queen did not seem to be nearly as nervous.

Suddenly a shadow appeared in front of him. The shadow had two daggers in hand, and it did not waste any time to attack him by waving them at his throat. Alistair gripped onto the hilt of his one handed sword and swung at the shadow to knock him back, "Show yourself! Who dares to attack the King in his own home?"

The shadow had picked a good spot though, as he realised the guards from either direction of this narrow corridor would take a moment to arrive, giving the shadow enough time to pose danger. "'The King of Ferlden murdered in his own Home' would make a marvelous tale in the taverns, no?" Alistair had a closer look at the shadow, discovering that it was a man in a dark hood. From the way he stood Alistair assumed he must have had proper combat training, "It is the King's fault for being careless."

"Or yours, assassin."

Alistair did not know when Evelyn had slipped behind the hooded assassin's back without either of them noticing. She was already holding her dagger to the assassin's throat; the sight was quite a relief to see. Alistair did not even know she carried her Rose's Thorn with her all the time, but he thought close range combat and backstabbing were always her strong suit.

"Even a traitor of the realm should address the King as 'Your Majesty'."

"Don't get too dramatic, my dear." The hooded assassin dropped both his daggers and rose up his hand to show he surrendered.

Alistair was about to kick away the daggers when he realised, "Hang on… I recognise those …"

"You retrieved it from the Circle of Magi in Ferelden, along with the Queen and other companions." The hooded assassin said, "The Beastmen's dagger, well suited for my animalistic characteristics, no?"

The heavy Antivan accent was more clear now Alistair was not on guard, but still it did not make him feel any easier, "Zevran? What are you doing attacking me? You haven't joined the Crows again have you? I could have you killed for treason!"

Zevran took off his hood revealing his tattoos and his elf ears while smiling at him, "Was only pointing out the gaps in your security system. You see, if I were a crow, you'd be dead."

"I think you're forgetting my wife's dagger around your throat."

"Oh yes, speaking of which, would the lovely Queen Evelyn remove that dagger from my skin, perhaps the one pointing at my back as well?" He looked back at her, "I was only helping, surely you could spare a good friend's life? You did that so well before, yes?"

"No, you just threatened my King's life. I could get you hanged." She said humourously, "I spared your life last time because I needed your skills to end the Blight. What excuse can you have this time?"

Zevran laughed, "I could make you feel good in bed?"

"I'm standing right here!" Zevran was a big flirt and probably had slept with most of the women in Thedas, and Alistair would like that list not to include his wife. He knew Zevran loved her and he claimed he would not sleep with her because of it, which Alistair never understood. He thought one would only sleep with the woman they loved, not the other way round. Regardless, he did not appreciate Zevran talking to his Queen like this.

His Queen, on the other hand, did not seem to mind. She put down the dagger in time for the guards to arrive so they would not arrest the Antivan, and she sent them away quickly. "It's nice to see you Zev, I didn't think you'd make it so soon."

"You invited him?" Alistair could not believe his ears, "How did I not know about this?"

"You asked me to invite everyone!" She said with an innocent face, "How can we have a party without Zev's presence? He is the life of party."

"On that he certainly is…" Alistair mumbled.

"I'd be great for the bachelor party of your brother to be, no?" Zevran said cheerfully at Alistair.

Alistair disliked that cheekiness. He thought perhaps because Zevran was once an Antivan Crow, which was a group of elite assassins hired by many lords in the country, that his wife would probably not allow Zevran to appear in the wedding, which much that same excuse as Leliana and Sten. He'd even rather see Sten than Zevran. "How did you get in anyway? Last time I heard they would inform me whenever you or a Grey Warden arrives."

Zevran shrugged his shoulders, "I disguised myself as a new servant, I think my accent helped."

"Do you bring any news from Vigil's Keep?" She did not seemed to mind that someone just smuggled themselves into the castle. Then again she always had been friendly towards Zevran, despite the fact he was an assassin that tried to kill her.

Vigil's Keep was a fortress in Amaranthine, which Alistair granted to the Grey Wardens when the fifth Blight had ended. In theory one of the Grey Wardens should be there to rebuild the order, but that would mean either Alistair himself or his Queen.

When Zevran heard the question his eyebrows folded together, "I'm afraid only bad news. With the Archdemon gone one would expect the darkspawn to return underground, but it was not the case. In fact, their number did not seem to be decreasing either. It isn't so much that we can't handle though, and I heard the Orleasian Wardens had sent help, just thought you should know."

"Maybe we will discuss this more after the wedding." She said. Alistair had named her the Warden Commander and Arlessa of Amaranthine. He thought she deserved the title better than himself, as she was the one that slayed the Archdemon. The land had once belonged to Arl Howe and considering what he had done to the nation and to her family, it was only fitting to let her take charge. As much as Alistair wanted to help the Grey Wardens rebuild, as King he had other matters to attend to as his wife often reminded him. "Perhaps I'll take a trip to Vigil's Keep sometimes after."

Alistair always hated being apart from her. Even if she could take care of herself better than anyone, the thought of losing her, not to mention without being at her side, was too much to bear, "I might accompany you if I could, I am also a Grey Warden."

"Well, if she leaves you in court than you might get assassinated for once." Zevran joked, "From what I saw, you aren't so good as you were yet she was still sharp."

"You did catch me by surprise…"

"Only because I have a great teacher, Zev." She said. Zevran had taught her the art of the assassin while they travelled, who better to learn from than a Crow, she said. Alistair had no objection to the idea, but watching his girlfriend being so close around another man was difficult to cope with. Because they did not have much time at hand, she was studying with him most of the nights when they were in camp to catch up the progress. Zevran could always make her laugh, and Alistair did not like that.

Zevran smiled, "Ah yes, I do remember all those long nights we spent together, sweating and hardworking. You have quite a remarkable stamina." His eyes glanced over at Alistair, though the King did not know what that meant.

Queen giggled some more, "Only because you made it into to a bet. You lost your money and your dignity that night."

Alistair would like to believe Evelyn was being unintentionally sexual. It was how she had always been for as long as he had known her, but then again, he would also like to believe she was intentionally flirting with him when they first met. It was rather contradictory now Alistair thought a bit further.

Before more banter happened, a servant girl ran up to them from the end of the corridor and said, "Your Royal Highness, Teryn Fergus Cousland has arrived." Alistair recalled her to be one of Queen's handmaidens.

"If you gentlemen would excuse my leave." She kissed Alistair on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Be nice to Zev, my King."

It was rather demanding request for Alistair to hear. He waited until his Queen was out of sight before turning away, "I guess I will see you tonight at dinner then, if everything goes well."

He tried to hide his bitterness but maybe not very well, as Zevran replied, "I never knew King Alistair would be so cold towards an old friend. But what do I know, perhaps it is Ferelden's formal behaviour."

Alistair folded his eyebrows, "What are you trying to say?"

"What is there to say? Perhaps I was wrong to consider myself the King's friend. I am deeply wounded."

"Well, perhaps you are wrong to do so." Alistair found himself raising his voice, "Look, I don't want to get into this for Eve's sake, but I haven't forgiven you for trying to get us killed two years ago. That and many other things. If it were not for her, I would ban you from my country." Alistair did not know where the rage came from, but it did felt like something hidden had risen up.

Zevran looked puzzled by his anger, and then laughed as if it was a joke, rather irritatingly. "Forgiven me? For Eve's sake? Now the King speaks jokes." Zevran's stare became cold and ruthless, with a smile that gave Alistair the chills, "It should be me that should learn to forgive you, as it was not me that broke her heart."

Alistair could not believe the Antivan had the guts to provoke him so, "How dare you speak to me like this?" Zevran must have been talking about Morrigan, Would Evelyn have talked to Zevran about it instead of him? Alistair started to doubt his Queen's trust, or the Antivan's intention in bringing it up.

Zevran returned some warmth into his expression and bowed down to Alistair, "My apologies Your Majesty, it appears I have forgotten my place and spoke out of turn. If you were to excuse me, I will not disturb you further and leave your sight."

There was not much else he could do other than sending the Antivan away. Suddenly he wished to talk to someone who knew of the situation, but he could not think of anybody. Evelyn was with her brother and Wynne was out of Denrim today at the Circle, preparing for a meeting to be held by the College of Magi in Nevarra.

But did he really break her heart? Why had she never spoken to him about it? Did she speak to Zevran? Alistair wondered if she still kept the earring Zevran gave her as a token of his love, and if she loved him as well as she loves Alistair.

The day the Archdemon sacked Denerim Evelyn had to make a choice and split the group into two: one to defend the gate, one to go through Fort Drakon and get to the Archdemon. Like Riodan suggested, she took three people with her: Alistair, Morrigan and Zevran and left Oghren in charge of Sten, Wynne and Leliana. Inside Fort Drakon, Zevran pulled Evelyn aside around a secluded corner, and Alistair was not sure what he said to her but Alistair saw out of corner of his eye that Zevran went up and kissed her. It was only brief, and she looked surprised, but she did not resist. After, Evelyn did not say anything to him but Alistair was sure they did not know Alistair had seen. Alistair did not think she "cheated" on him, he was just angry that Zevran would dare be so bold when she was already engaged to Alistair.

The thoughts in his mind were so distracting he could not do any work at all, adding to his frustration. He threw his pen onto the table, and decided he would go into Denerim today disguised as a commoner. He had done this fairly often in the past two years since being King, and he found it to be very useful to hear the lowborn's voices to aid his ruling. He called in his squire and gave orders that emergency matters would go to the Queen while he was away.

He put his sword on his back, along with his shield. The shield formerly belonged to the Grey Warden, Duncan, who recruited both Alistair and Evelyn to the Grey Wardens before his death on the battle of Ostagard alongside the then King Cailan, Alistair's half brother. Evelyn found this shield and gave it to Alistair as a gift, and he could not thank her enough. When Duncan recruited him into the Grey Wardens it saved his life; he was free from the Order of the Templars that he hated deeply and he met the woman he loved more dearly than anything else.

Thinking of about his wife reminded Alistair of the unpleasant conversation with Zevran. Alistair decided after he left the castle he would go into the city and into a tavern. He would go to the Gnawed Noble Tavern but if any high rank nobles were there he could be recognised; another choice would be the Pearl but Alistair deeply disliked the idea of a brothel.

So he ended up at a smaller tavern in an alley near the market district and ordered himself a pint of ale. Every time he drank ale it would remind him of Oghren, the dwarf warrior who was once married to Branka the Paragon. Branka went mad in the Deep Roads and was eventually killed by Evelyn, and Oghren remained on the surface after the Blight ended. Alistair looked forward to seeing the dwarf, he was always funny and yet disgusting at the same time, which often made his comments more amusing.

It was sad that Evelyn had decided to go against Branka to destroy the Anvil of the Void, which was used to create golems from living souls. But it was said that King Bhelen, son of King Endrin Aeducan, was still searching for it in the Deep Roads after the Blight ended. King Bhelen was only King because of Evelyn's decisions; Alistair would have expected him to respect her. But Bhelen was not doing so well as King, so Alistair heard, and had apparently survived two assassination attempts already. Alistair was glad no one tried to assassinate him so far.

…Until Zevran this morning. To get Zevran out of his head, Alistair downed the ale and ordered another, which was when two men approached him from the side.

Alistair sensed some unfriendliness even before they were close, but he was hoping they would not pick on him. If they did, he hoped it was not because of who he was. "How can I help you, gentlemen?" He looked up to them. They were wearing light armour and had swords belted to their waists, rather typical thug attire.

"You can down that drink you got, leave you money an' walk out o' here."

Part of Alistair could not believe he was being robbed, but the other part was glad that they did not know he was King. "And what if I say no?" Regardless of his feelings, he did not tolerate bullies and thugs.

It may have been a mistake to say so. It was for the right reasons of course, but he had not realised that there were more than just the two of them. Another three men stood up in the tavern, all taking out their swords and their body languages stinking with murderous intent. "Then we'll just have to take it from you."

The thug swung his sword at Alistair. He turned his back and blocked it with the shield on his back, this gave him an opportunity to grasp the sword but not take it out of the scabbard. It had been a while since Alistair engaged in serious combat, but he sure had missed the feel of adrenaline rushing through his veins. He lowered his body and turned under the thug's sword, hitting the thug's knees with his sword knocking the guy over. He took the shield into his left hand, and pushed the other thug off balance, giving himself an opportunity to prepare for the fight with more space.

As much as Alistair enjoyed the thrill once more, he was never used fighting a large number of foes at once, which would cause trouble. On top of that Alistair must be careful not to harm them too much, making the situation much harder than it appeared. Alistair heard himself sighing.

A thug rushed up to him and Alistair avoided the sword by dodging. With his knees bent, he blocked the attack of another thug with his shield. Alistair hit the thug on the stomach with the hilt of his sword to break free, and immediately stopped the attack from behind with the shield in hand. He hit the thug once on the shoulder and twice on the waist but on either side with the scabbard just to injure the thug enough to make him remain on the ground, then he used the edge of the shield to hit another thug on the back of the neck to knock him out.

That left with three thugs to deal with, but Alistair was not sure he could without drawing his sword. While he hesitated, the three thugs noticed and used the momentary pause to charge into him, screaming loud to intimidate Alistair. "Oh-oh." He mumbled, thinking that Evelyn would not be happy to hear about this tonight.

"The righteous stands before darkness and the Maker shall guide their hand."

Before Alistair could work out where the voice came from, three arrows had flown past him and each pierced a thug's shoulder. The arrows wounded them deep enough to knock them back and disabled them from movement.

"Never thought I'd see King Alistair here, never mind without guards. Strange, I keep finding myself rescuing you in taverns."

Alistair knew the owner of the voice so he laughed before turning to her, "You would say it's the Maker's will." He said, "But thank you for rescuing me, Leliana."

Leliana looked quite different to how Alistair remembered. The physical appearance was the same, and the fire red hair still stood out much like before, but she lacked the innocence and the naivety she once possessed. The girl that stood before him was cold and calm, a trained assassin. She smiled, even her smiled lacked the same kind of warmth that Alistair remembered, "It's good to see you again, Alistair. Or should I call you 'Your Majesty'?"

"Oh, please don't."

Her smile was a little tired but was not forced, much like the faint smile his wife had, "How's life in court? Very different to the life we had before I assume."

Alistair laughed, "So very different. I'm eating well, getting fat, apparently losing my skill as well. Sometimes I miss the old times, you know, killing darkspawn and everything."

"…Is that why you are here? Dressed in as a commoner and drinking ale by yourself?"

"Oh yes, I like getting robbed. You see, I sometimes come out of the castle like this to mingle with the people I won't see in court, the lowborn, commoners and merchants, so I get a better view of what really has been going on. Sometimes I go out of the city to other places, Eve would come with me on those. I don't normally get robbed though, or drink this much ale… you just happened to run into me in my worst shape." Alistair said, "I'm confused though, I wasn't expecting to see you here Leliana. Eve said you wouldn't be coming in for the wedding? Did you change your mind?"

Leliana appeared to be puzzled when he asked the question. "I'm not here for the wedding…" She seemed to be unsure how to answer, and Alistair did not understand why.

"Are you leaving soon? But the wedding is only a few days away, you could stay for that long I'm sure. If not I can just arrange it for you, and you can go to the wedding as one of Eve's hand maidens and everything will be fine."

The girl still looked reluctant, if not confused. It took her a few moments to gather her thoughts, she looked at him and asked, "Alistair, did Eve not tell you I was coming?"

Alistair shook his head; he remembered very well what his wife told him this morning. "On the contrary, she said you weren't coming in but you sent me a gift instead. It was wonderful, by the way, I really liked that statue."

"I found it in a shop in Orlais, and thought you'd like it…" The old Leliana was back for a second before quickly fading away. "Yes, I did send you the statue Alistair, but I also wrote Eve a letter telling her…" Her voice tailed off, like she was afraid to tell him.

"Tell me what?"

"Erm… telling her that Marjolaine is in Denerim."

"Marjolaine? Your mentor that you've been hunting down? Oh, that's why you're in Denerim. What is she doing here?"

Leliana was even more reluctant, "She's here to, erm… Eve really didn't tell you? She's here… to kill the Queen."

"To… what?" Alistair was not sure he had heard her right. "You're not serious."

"Unfortunately I am." The Orlesian said with sadness in her eyes.

"But… why? Eve had done nothing wrong to deserve an assassination attempt, all the nobles and the commoners loved her! Besides, she spared Marjolaine's life before, why would she try to kill her now?" Alistair's mind had been greatly disturbed today and he felt like he could not think straight at all, "Are you certain about this?"

Leliana nodded her head, "I am very certain. I have been monitoring Marjolaine's movements for a year and a half now. I'm not sure who hired her to kill Eve, but between being the Queen of Ferelden, Arlessa of Amaranthine and Commander of the Grey, there are plenty of people who might want her gone. Not to mention she was your love and your strength of being King. I assume Zevran is here already? I sent word to him as well when I sent that letter, I thought he would make a better bodyguard than palace guards or… Oghren."

Oghren was always too drunk for his own good so Leliana made a valid point, but it was the least of Alistair's concerns. Why would his wife not tell him that her life was being threatened? Why did she lie about the letter, and why did she not explain it when Zevran turned up? He would be much less angry if Zevran was invited there to protect her, after all the Antivan was good at what he did. Why would she not tell him? She must have known that he cared for her safety more than anything. "I need to get back to her, in case something happens." He murmured, "But who would want to kill her? Is it the Howes? One of Randon Howe's sons was nowhere to be seen after he left his position in the Free Marches."

Leliana pondered, "The Howe's estate and properties were stripped from them, he wouldn't have enough money to hire Marjolaine."

"Would you come with me to the castle?" Alistair asked, as he did not want to face Zevran or his banter alone, especially after what had happened today. Leliana accompanied him. On the way he chatted to Leliana to distract himself from panicking, hearing her stories about her journey and adventures. It was so exciting, just like the old days only without the smell.

They went through the servant's entrance; it was easy to get Leliana past the guards as long as she was travelling with him. He did not even want to get changed or to put down his gear; all he wanted was to see his wife. When he rushed to her social room, the guards opened the door for him and announced his presence. The sight of her sitting on the sofa drinking tea with Zevran and Fergus greeted him, with Oghren on the side drinking what probably was ale.

"Your Majesty." Fergus stood up and gave him a bow.

"My love, we missed you. Where did you go? Oh." Her smile disappeared when she saw Leliana following him, "It's… nice to see you, Leliana, I didn't know you were in town?"

"Leliana!" Zevran cheered, "Still beautiful as before!"

Oghren was too drunk to say anything. He only swayed and raised his glass. Fergus was going to say something but the words rolled back into his throat when he saw the fury Alistair displayed on his face. The Queen noticed it as well, before saying, "Fergus, could you excuse us. Me and my King need to have a bit of privacy?" She turned to look back at Alistair, "Oghren, Zevran and Leliana, we will dine tonight together, Wynne would be back then and we can do a bit of catching up."

"Come on, dwarf, we can wait outside." Zevran pulled Oghren and headed to the door. As he walked past Alistiar, Alistair did not care to look at him but he felt Zevran was staring at him with confusion. "Leliana! Maybe later we can catch up for good, if you catch my drift."

Leliana left with Zevran and she closed the door behind her. As soon as that door was closed, Alistair said, "I bet you weren't expecting me to see Leliana." Anger rose. Alistair felt like he could not suppress it any longer, "Tell me, when were you going to inform me that somebody wants you dead?"

"Don't tell me you don't know that plenty of people want me dead. I killed Arl Randon Howe, I put you on the throne, I basically decided everyone's fate whether they liked it or not." She looked at Alistair, "You might like what happened to you, but some people don't."

Alistair did not appreciate her tone, "You didn't think I would want to know that an Orlesian assassin is here to take your life? With a wedding coming up where you will be making public appearance in a big crowd?"

"Look, I can explain." She walked up to him, "Fergus had been through a lot. He wasn't even there when his wife and son got killed, and with our parents… it was a lot to deal with. Now he's finally happy again, I wouldn't want to ruin that."

"He will be more upset if he loses you! So will I! I can't believe you." Alistair had never raised his voice like this to her, but he could not help it, "You really think I wouldn't find out about this? Why would you rather have Zevran's protection than mine? You know I can't stand him being around!"

"Leliana wouldn't come near the castle until Marjolaine strikes, and this gives her a perfect opportunity to backstab Marjolaine. I just didn't know you'd go into Denerim and run into her." Evelyn went back to the sofa and sat down, "As for you and Zev, I thought you don't have a problem with him anymore considering we have been married for two years."

Alistair could not believe she was not at all apologetic and only justified her reasoning, "You really are you using yourself as bait for Leliana? Don't you know your life isn't just yours anymore! You have no idea what you have put me through today, first with Zevran and then with this. Do you have any idea what kind of things he said to me? Do you care for my feelings at all?"

The Queen was only puzzled, "What did Zev said to you?"

"He said…" It hurts Alistair to say it, "He said he hasn't forgiven me because… because I broke your heart." He was hoping Evelyn would deny it but as he waited she only gave him silence. "Is it… Is it true?" Alistair felt empty when she refused to answer, "Why didn't you tell me?"

She turned her head away, afraid look at him in the eyes. "There's nothing to be said. It was… it was not your fault. It was my decision to let you go through with the ritual with Morrigan, to give us a chance to have a life together..."

"But you regret it?"

"What? No!" Evelyn was surprised at his comment, and somewhat insulted "Why would I regret it? Are you suggesting I regret marrying you?"

"Do you regret marrying me?"

"Do you?" She looked disgusted, "It's because I can't give you a child, isn't it? Both of us have the taint, but if only you had it you might have a chance. You think I can put you onto the throne but I can't help you keep it. I don't blame you for having sex with another woman, but… you're being unreasonable!"

There were tears in her eyes, which Alistair had not seen since the final battle against the Archdemon. When they heard from Riordan that one of them must die in order to kill the Archdemon, Alistair remembered she waited until Riordan could not see for the tears to drop. She did not cry though, just tears like it was the only thing she could not control. They had been looking forward to being together after the Blight. Alistair believed he never wanted to be with someone so much.

Her tears paralysed him. He froze as she walked past him to the door, and he told himself he must say something. He should tell her that he was sorry and he should not have implied he did not want to be with her, because being with her was all he wanted, whether it was at battle of Ostagard, on the roof of Fort Drakon facing the Archdemon or right here in the royal palace. He should tell her he loved her, right here right now.

But he missed his moment and she had stormed out. He heard Zevran shouting behind his back, "Eve, what is the matter?" and the sound of her steps disappearing in the distance.

"Go after her, protect her just in case. I command it." Alistair found it difficult for his voice to come out, but it appeared that they heard because he soon heard Leliana leaving the corridor after the Queen. "I said go, Zevran."

Zevran did not move, "Why would you do that to her?"

Alistair was in his worst mood, "It's none of your business."

"You shouldn't question her love for you. She loves you, not me, and I've come to terms with it. She reminds me of that carefully with the roses she wears always. I learned my lesson from Rinna, that you should never doubt the woman you love, and you shouldn't wait until you've lost her."

When Alistair turned furiously to the door about to shout at the Antivan, Zevran had gone already. Alistair expected the Antivan knew he would not appreciate the words. He closed the door and went to the sofa, sat down and cooled his head. It was the first fight they had in their marriage, and even before they did not argue often.

His wife had told him the story of Zevran and Rinna, how they were on a mission along with Taliesen in Antiva. At the time Zevran was in love with Rinna. But when Taliesen found out that Rinna was betraying them, Zevran watched him execute her despite her pleas of innocence and confessing her love for Zevran. Afterwards Zevran found out that Rinna was telling the truth. That broke his heart and he bid for the suicide mission, which was to assassinate the remaining Grey Wardens in Ferelden. Evelyn spared his life much to his own surprise, and Alistair suspected it to be the reason why Zevran was interested in her to start with.

After calming himself for a while Alistair regretted ever raising his voice against his wife. She always loved her brother dearly and was devastated when Ostagard fell, especially so soon after she left her parents to die in the castle. When he survived the war and appeared at Alistair's coronation, Alistair saw so much delight in her face. If it were not because the castle of Highever gave her bad memories she would probably visit very often, so it was not unacceptable that she wanted to make sure the wedding proceeded perfectly.

Alistair had not known his half-brother very well; Cailan Theirin grew up in the palace a prince while he, the bastard son, was raised in Redcliffe then schooled in the Chantry to become a templar. They met as children, but that was about it. Anora said Cailan was aware of him and stayed informed of his life, because Cailan himself had no siblings and grew up lonely. He wondered had he known his brother, would Alistair be happy for him on his wedding day, marrying Anora? Would he have made sure that everything went well?

Despite Cailan being his half-brother, Alistair found Cailan annoying and unsuited to being King, mainly because of his restless desire to win glory. Evelyn said that childishness ran in both their blood but she also said Alistair would make a better King because he would know what was important and what must be done.

Anora. Alistair had momentarily forgotten about her. After Cailan's death Anora ruled Ferelden for a period of time, she claimed she ruled even before that. Evelyn defeated Loghain in a duel in Landsmeet, but she asked Alistair to execute the man. She said that Alistair should do the deed as Loghain had killed his brother, but Alistair knew it was because she never really thought he deserved to die. Had Alistair not voiced his disagreement then, she would most certainly have recruited Loghain to the Grey Wardens even if being a Grey Warden should be an honour not a punishment. Alistair asked why she would spare Loghain Mac Tir and not Randor Howe even though Arl Howe appeared to work with Loghain in their plans to take down the Grey Wardens. She replied that she knew Randor Howe killed her family but there was no evidence that Loghain was part of it.

Perhaps it was because she was born a high noble and therefore knew more of the politics than most. Alistair was never good at the political games they played in court, but he had Evelyn to help him keep on top of everything. According to some of the nobles it was a similar pattern to King Cailan and Queen Anora, how Cailan was not fond of politics and therefore Anora governed the country. Alistair sure hoped he would not end up like Cailan, at least he was sure he would not leave his wife for the Orlesian Empress just because his wife could not bear children.

Anora desired the throne and when Evelyn put Alistair up there instead she resisted swearing fealty. But Alistair did not want to execute her before slaying the Archdemon in case he died in the battle and the throne would once again be empty. Afterwards, Alistair listened Evelyn's council that there was nothing to gain by killing Anora, only negative press, so Anora remained imprisoned in her home.

"Blurp."

A loud watery burping noise alarmed him, soon followed by, "Erm, sorry." From outside the door.

"Oghren?" Alistair called him in, "What are you still doing there? I told you go after the Queen."

"I, erm, thought someone should guard your door." Oghren opened the door and peeked in, "And then I didn't know where everyone went, so I stood there. Now I'm out of ale. Must admit that the castle ale is fine indeed."

Alistair broke into a laugh. He was not sure if Oghren was pretending or not, but it was nice to see the dwarf, "How's the surface treating you? Oh, and that girl of yours in Docks of Lake Calenhad."

The dwarf walked in and scratched his head, "You mean Felsi? Oh yeah, she's loving it, if you know what I'm saying."

"I… don't think I do."

"She's loving, y'know, meeeee."

Alistair was still not sure what he was trying to say, "She loves you? Is that what you're saying?"

"No! She's loving me doing her!" The dwarf looked irritated, "You are getting slower, pike-twirler, and you weren't sharp before."

Alistair laughed, "You should've been more clear. So everything with Felsi is good? Eve did well for you there didn't she."

Oghren shrugged, or maybe it was a yawn, Alistair could not be certain, "She's a pro. Yeah but y'know, it gets a bit boring. I was born a warrior, and even as a mercenary I feel like it's not enough. You know what I'm saying?"

"I guess I do. I do miss the whole killing darkspawn thing sometimes." Alistair remembered what Zevran reported earlier to Evelyn, "Maybe you can accompany me and Eve to Vigil's Keep? Zevran said there are still darkspawn there, as long as you don't join the Grey Wardens."

Oghren cocked his head, "Why can't I join the Grey Wardens?"

Alistair replied, "Well, although you allowed a family, there is a risk. Even if you pass the Joining, your life wouldn't be very long. Then, you would be bound to your duty and I don't think Felsi would be pleased to hear… I mean, most Grey Wardens I knew that left their family had expressed pain and at least a bit of regret. At Eve's Joining, a guy refused to leave his family and well, Duncan had to kill him."

"But you and, erm," He burped, "Eve, that's right, seemed to be happily married? Or am I mistaken and you're just… doing her."

"Well, yes, we're a bit of rare case…"

"Then I can be an rare case if I want. Besides, do you really see me as a family man?" Oghren grinned. It was not at all innocent but his smile was somehow naïve. "So, er, what's going on between you and the missus?"

Alistair sighed. He wished he did not have to answer, it felt so embarrassing to admit it, "Someone wanted her dead but she didn't tell me because of Teyrn Fergus Cousland's wedding, that amongst other things. Probably because Zevran is around."

"The elf? I know he can be a pain in the arse and a horny idiot. What has he done to you now? I knew elves can't be trusted. Give me an order and I'll hack him down."

"I… don't need him hacked down, but thanks for offer."

"Okay. Who's Teyrn Fungus?"

"Teyrn Fergus Cousland. He's Eve's brother, the reason why you were invited? He was here with you, remember?" Alistair was a bit surprised; he did not think Oghren was that drunk.

Oghren said, "Oh! Is that who it was? Sorry, I get confused because everyone's too tall." He suddenly turned his head, "Ohhh, I think I smelled someone familiar."

"With that odor from your body? I'm surprised your nose is so sharp."

"Your Majesty." A guard knocked and came into the room, "Lady Wynne is here to see you."

"Let her in." Alistair had left instructions for Wynne to be brought to him when she returned from the Circle of Magi. Normally he did not appreciate interruptions like this and such matters would go to Arl Eamon or the Queen before being delivered to Alistair. This, however, was a special case.

Wynne walked in with her travel cape draped over one arm. Her steps were light as always, and she looked much better than she a year ago. "Your Majesty and… Oghren. What a lovely surprise." She sounded sarcastic but she tried her best to give him a smile. Alistair first thought Wynne could not stand the smell that reeked from Oghren, or perhaps it was Oghren's leering eyes that made her uncomfortable. As far as he could recall Oghren was quite fond of the mage, complimented her ale tasting skill.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Alistair?" He said, "Leliana and Zevran are in the castle somewhere as well, with Eve."

"Wynne! I do miss your bosoms."

"Hello to you too, Oghren." She dismissed the drunken dwarf quickly enough, "Yes, I heard Eve invited everyone for the wedding. Where is she, anyhow? I must admit that I'm not used to not seeing both of you together."

Alistair looked at her and gave her a sad smile. He wondered how many times he had to explain today, "We had a fight because I ran into Leliana today in Denerim, and she told me Marjolaine is here to assassinate my wife. Eve knew it all along but didn't tell me."

Wynne was shocked by the information, and Alistair was glad that at least someone else was surprised. "Oh my! Who hired Marjolaine to do such horrible deed?"

"I don't know, actually. I wondered if it was the Howe boy, the one who's been missing? I can't really remember his name. But Leliana thinks he wouldn't have enough money to hire Marjolaine."

"Leliana is right, from what I hear not many outside of Orlais would know of the game the Orlesian nobles play. Though, I can see Evelyn have plenty of other enemies that might be capable of such action." Wynne paused, and said with concern, "Where is she now? Is she safe?"

Alistair sighed once more, "I'm sure she would be, Zevran and Leliana are with her at the moment. Zevran wouldn't leave her unprotected."

When he mentioned Zevran, Wynne seemed to immediately understand his frustration. "I see." She said, "I suspect that is the real reason of the argument?"

"Like a grandmother you are wise."

"Listen, I know you two are still young. I didn't have best of tempers at your age. But I don't think I've seen two people more suited for one another. You are married now and Evelyn… tries really hard to be a good wife and a good Queen for you. Considering she is only nineteen, she is doing a great job." Wynne said with a gentle voice, "I know you have issues with Zevran because what he felt for her, but what she had with Zevran doesn't matter now. She loves you more than she loves anyone else. The way she looks at you, the way she smiles at you, isn't it so beautiful? It is beautiful because it is true love."

Oghern burped again, "Bah, true love."

Wynne smiled tiredly, "Yes, Oghern, true love. Perhaps one day you will experience it as well."

"You really think it's true love? That's a bit cheesy, even for you don't you think Wynne?" Although Alistair mocked Wynne's words, it was what he had wanted to hear though he was too embarrassed to admit it. He did not want to sound like a little girl or doubt his wife's words when she chose him over another man who also loved her very much.

Just like she did not blame him for sleeping with another woman, despite his vow not to for as long as they were together, he did not blame her for not giving him a child. If he was not King, he would care less about having a child. Sure, it would be nice, but it would not be as important as their time together. But since he was King and the realm needed an heir it was the Queen's duty to provide one. Even if Alistair did not care, others might not have given her an easy time. Her life would be much easier if she was not his Queen. Alistair was convinced she knew it too.

Wynne said, "Against all odds, you two met each other. If she was not a Grey Warden then she would probably be arranged to marry someone who she did not love; if you were not King Maric's son, if Morrigan did not know about the ritual, if Evelyn didn't end the Blight. So many if's, but you two made it through. I'd like to believe it's the Maker's will."

"Ah, Maker this and Maker that." Oghren swayed a bit and then said, "You know what, I'm hungry."

"Well, Eve was gonna dine with us but I doubt she wants to see me now. How about we just eat together? That or I'll have to go eat with Arl Eamon and the rest of the nobles. I swear, I barely get to eat anything at those occasions."

After dinner, Evelyn still had not shown up, much to Alistair's disappointment. While waiting, he went through the all the work he had not completed in the afternoon, including reading some reports of more darkspawn attacking villages in the north. The concern over darkspawn raids, and the fact they had not retreated back underground after the archdemon's death grew stronger every day. Alistair knew he should deal with it soon before it was too late, but he was not sure how to deal with it.

He would like to go to Vigil's Keep himself but there remained a few pockets of unrest in the bannorn he must deal with first. Sending Evelyn to Vigil's Keep would be a good alternative, she was afterall named Commander of Grey. But even if she did slay the Archdemon to Alistair she would always be a wife of which he wanted to protect and putting her in danger made him very uncomfortable.

When he realised the time it was later than he expected. But when he returned to his chamber he found the bed empty. He asked the servants the where abouts of the Queen, they replied she wanted to rest in a different chamber tonight but Alistair was ensured that her guests were placed the rooms near her. Alistair had harboured a small fear that in her upset state she would have let Zevran talk her into doing something stupid but this appeared not to be the case. He climbed into what now felt way too large of a bed, but he could not get to sleep for a long time. He was very tired after a long day but the worry he had for his wife kept him awake, until he decided what to say to her tomorrow.

After that, he found himself in a dream where they were both back in Ostagard, except the city was not destroyed and Duncan was still alive. He told Alistair his concerns about the relationship between Alistair and the new Grey Warden, but also how glad he was to see the young couple so happy.