The Dreaded Day
Alistair was looking out over Denerim reflecting on the past and the near future. He and Starr had been married for ten years, the happiest years of his life. He couldn't imagine how meaningless his life would be without her, Marcail and the triplets. Truly he was a blessed, blessed man. But, the day would soon arrive. That day, the day married men all over Thedas dreaded. The day they were supposed to demonstrate to their wives how much they loved them, even if it was a lie. For those who truly cared expectations could go beyond the Fade.
"Maker knows I've been lucky," he thought, "Starr has never once complained or even mentioned it. The first few years we were so busy rebuilding Denerim and Ferelden to say nothing of Marcail and the triplets. Neither of us wanted to leave them in charge of others if we could help it. But celebrate? We barely had time to sleep! And Starr was busy laying the groundwork for the Ferelden Messenger Service. I wish people gave her credit for that; it was her idea after all. Then Kirkwall exploded and we've all been dealing with fallout from that. Ferelden may not be as affected as other nations but we've certainly had a number of mages and even some templars trying to cross our borders to get away from the conflicts raging elsewhere. But this year, this year I can finally do something."
Hi musings were interrupted by a familiar Antivan accent, "It is all arranged, Your Magnificent Majesty. A courier will bring a message sometime tomorrow urgently requesting your presence and that of the celestial Starr. Will you tell me now of your plans? Perhaps I should accompany you. I am concerned about the welfare of my lovely cousin and you Fereldens are so . . . restrained or unimaginative when it comes to matters of romance. In Antiva we consider romance to be an art form of the highest level."
"Ha!" Alistair barked, "You're not fooling me, Zev. You just want to see her naked."
"Do not sell yourself short, Alistair," Zevran leered playfully. "You are surely worthy of lengthy perusal. I had only a partial glimpse the morning after your wedding and my appetite was whetted for more. It is one of my life's goals to see you in all your kingly glory and I can be a very patient man."
"One of these days I'll get the last word," Alistair muttered as Zevran left, laughter his only answer.
The next afternoon Alistair was in the throne room with Marcail, Captain Kylon and Arls Eamon and Teagan discussing security and other matters pertaining to Marcail's debut as regent in Alistair's absence. Teagan and Bella were in Denerim so Marcail would have the advice of both men. Only Alistair and Teagan knew it would be more than a few hours.
The men all looked up when Seneschal Barker, Gerod's grandson, came in, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, a courier has arrived with an urgent message."
"Bring him in, if you please, Seneschal," Alistair directed. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" he groaned rhetorically before putting on his 'neutral king-face' as his daughter Eleanor referred to it.
The courier knelt, "Your Majesty, I bring a message from Bann Vincent." He proffered the message to Alistair who received it reluctantly.
Alistair read it and barely restrained himself from crumpling it in his hands, "Thank you, you are dismissed." He waited until both the seneschal and the courier were out of the room before he turned to the other men. "Well, damn." Eamon raised an eyebrow at the unaccustomed language from Alistair. "Marcail, congratulations, you are now in charge for the next two or three days instead of just this evening. Apparently there's been a confrontation between a Dalish clan, Harrowmont's ambassador who happens to be a kinsman, and one of the FMS messengers. Bann Vincent thinks the situation needs both Starr and me to keep it from escalating into an 'Incident.'"
"Bann Vincent has never been an alarmist," Eamon gravely replied. "Fortunately there is very little else going on at Court and His Highness is well prepared for anything likely to occur."
Alistair smiled at Marcail, "I have no doubts on that score, Eamon. I have every confidence in you, son, you are certainly better prepared than I was. Eamon and Teagan can advise you as needed." He ran his hands over his face, "now I have to go tell your mother that we have to cancel our plans, the first ones we've been able to make in ten years." He turned and left. The others wisely said nothing at that moment.
"Well, that went well. Now the hard part, telling my wife that our romantic evening has to be put on hold. I should probably say as little as possible and look stupid." He took a deep breath and entered their quarters. Starr was in the bedroom trying on a dress for the evening. Alistair winced at the excited anticipation on her face, "Starr," he said slowly.
She turned around, "Stair, you're here early . . ." she tried to mask her disappointment, "something's wrong, isn't it?" Silently he handed her the message and watched her read it. "I see. I guess we better leave, then."
Alistair wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry, my love. I'll make it up to, I swear."
"Stair, we've been married ten wonderful years. I've always known you would do your duty as Grey Warden and then as King. You wouldn't be the man I love if you could easily ignore your responsibilities. I love you; you're a good husband and a good father. I have never felt slighted. We'll just have to try and carve out some other time to be together," she laid her head on his shoulder.
"I really don't deserve you," he said quietly. He hoped she would forgive his deception.
They traveled in the carriage with a small contingent of guards and moved swiftly to their destination. When the carriage stopped Alistair and Starr waited for the guards to make sure all was secure. Alistair found it one of the more tedious aspects of being king. He preferred to meet any danger head on. As soon as the guards gave the all clear they stepped out. They saw an elegant inn with lovely gardens and views overlooking a valley, their guards and nobody else.
Starr looked around, frowning, "this can't be right; surely Bann Vincent would have somebody looking out for us to say nothing of the dwarven entourage. Why would the dwarves or the Dalish even be here?"
"Maybe there are answers inside," Alistair replied. He took her hand and led the way. On a silver plate on a small, ornate table in the foyer was a letter addressed to Alistair. "All is just as you requested. You both deserve this time together, give Starr our love. Sanga." He smiled and locked the door behind them before leading her up the stairs.
"Stair?"
"Surprise!" He embraced her and whispered in her ear, "We have the place all to ourselves for the next three days. Sanga is expanding her Star Treatment, women will be able to come and stay for one or more nights and be pampered the whole time they're here but it's not open yet. Three days isn't nearly enough to show you how happy you've made me," his lips followed his hands as they removed each item of clothing.
"Oh, Stair, you show me every day," her breathing was uneven. Starr slowly looked around at the room prepared just for them. Tears came to her eyes when she saw the large canopied bed covered in rose petals. More candles were lit around the room, a light scent of pine mingling with the aroma of the roses. "Oh, Stair," she breathed, "I love you."
He laid her on the bed and for just a minute he looked at her body framed by the rose petals, her skin dewy and softly lit by flickering candles. He joined her then, "I love you, too. Maker, you are so beautiful. I am truly a blessed and lucky man." He began reverently exploring her body anew, worshipping her and creating a sensuous haze. The only sounds were the rustling of silk sheets and lovers' murmurs as they became thoroughly entwined with each other.
In Denerim Zevran stopped by the Pearl to let them know Alistair was on his way. Sanga and Oskar greeted him warmly, "Zevran, it is good to see you again. You can tell Alistair that next week is fine, everything was ready for today but nothing will be harmed by the delay."
"What is this? Alistair and his beloved Starr have already departed," Zevran was grim.
Sanga hurried off and returned with a piece of paper, "this came today. So often in the past they've had to change plans for one reason or another I was disappointed but not surprised."
Zevran examined it. He couldn't fault Sanga; it was a reasonable imitation of Alistair's scrawl if he was in a hurry. The seal itself would have passed a casual perusal and certainly a delay was plausible. "Somebody knew something, but right now I need to get their Majesties."
"Starr iss like daughter, I will come." Zevran thought about arguing but reflected that Oskar was shrewd, he cared, and he was strong. He still remembered their first meeting.
"We need to warn Arl Teagan." Quickly they left for the Arl of Denerim's estate where Teagan was staying with Eamon. They didn't wait to be escorted to the study. Of course, the look of death in Zevran's eyes may have facilitated their entry. To the startled Arls he announced, "Assassins may be waiting for our favorite monarchs. Teagan, I do not have time to deal with Palace protocol and I do not wish to advertise our departure from the Royal stables. I require two of your fastest horses, Oskar will be joining me."
Teagan said nothing but quickly left the room. Eamon looked at Zevran, he still didn't like him but he did respect his acumen, "I thought Alistair was up to something. He is better at hiding his thoughts from most people but to those who know him well he is not as good as he thinks. What was his plan?"
By the time Teagan returned Zevran had brought Eamon up to date on Alistair's plans and the forgery sent to Sanga. Eamon would make some discreet inquiries of his own and alert Marcail while Zevran was away. Teagan would join Zevran and Oskar. The three men rode hard and made good time.
Zevran, Oskar and Teagan were grim when they finally arrived after mercilessly abusing their horses. They raced inside and to the sounds from upstairs. None of them were prepared for what greeted them. Alistair had the guard captain pushed up against the wall, his hand around the man's throat demanding answers. "Where were you when the assassins poured into our room!? Do you know how to perform a proper security check? How could you miss seven assassins? Seven!" he roared. If the guard had any answers he couldn't give them through the grip around his throat. The other guards wanted to intervene but didn't know how to stop their king from killing their captain. It was obvious that each one keenly felt a sense of shame and failure. Alistair snarled but slightly relaxed his grip to allow the man to breath.
If they were surprised to see Alistair accosting his own guard the late arrivals were positively transfixed when bodies started flying out the doorway. Starr followed them, her extraordinary beauty clothed in nothing but anger. Zevran couldn't help but admire the wild and natural loveliness of Starr and Alistair in that moment. His eyes narrowed to icy slits as he noted that neither of them was entirely unscathed, fortunately for the men on the floor and the immobilized guards their injuries were confined to bruises and minor cuts and scrapes.
Starr turned burning black eyes to Zevran, "Zevran, I don't care what you do but find out who's behind this. Quickly. You can do them upside down and sideways before peeling away their flesh if you're so inclined," She grabbed Alistair's arm and pulled him back into the bedroom and slammed the door on all of them. At what sounded like furniture being moved they galvanized into action.
Sometime later Starr and Alistair descended downstairs. Hearing voices in the dining room they joined Zevran, Oskar and Teagan. They helped themselves to food while Zevran updated them. "The guards were not as thorough as they should have been but I have determined they were not complicit in the attack. And the would-be murderers were clever. Entrances between yours and the adjoining rooms were covered by wardrobes which had been modified so that the backs could be easily moved aside. As soon as they heard the guards come up the stairs they hid in the wardrobes, silently moving between rooms to avoid detection. When I return to Denerim I will refresh the Royal Guard on search procedures. I doubt they will ever reach my level of expertise but I will do the best I can in service of my favorite monarchs," he sighed dramatically.
Teagan rolled his eyes before taking up the tale, "Zevran and Oskar interrogated the attackers. I don't know what they did but they all talked. In fact," his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "their leader was a bit of a zealot and wouldn't stop talking. He was from Tevinter. That slaver you dealt with during the Blight? He had some powerful allies who lost money and prestige as a result of your interference. This man and a few others were sent here to cause trouble, influence the Bannorn against you when possible, and interfere with trade and supply trains, anything to soften your support before acting more directly."
"But my Starr'ss FMS took care of that," Oskar interrupted and laughed loud and long. The others couldn't resist joining him. "They made misstake in attacking a Messenger. Thiss man wass only one to esscape. He gathered up a few thugs and ssome malcontents and devised plan. Your assassin will find otherss ssoon."
"Well," Alistair said after a few minutes of reflection, "I'm relieved. I was thinking it might be part of a much larger conspiracy harder to deal with politically." He began ticking off the possibilities, "Orlesians who still think we belong to them, Templar and Chantry extremists who think I'm too soft on mages, Mage extremists who think I am too hard on mages, Fereldens who supported Loghain and Howe and still bear a grudge, Bhelen supporters who were exiled to the surface . . ." He shrugged and brought Starr's fingers to his lips, "fortunately their attempt failed."
"We should leave for Denerim immediately, Your Majesty," Teagan declared.
"No." Starr's answer surprised them all. "Stair," she placed one hand on the side of his face, "you went to a lot of trouble to arrange this. We're not expected for another two days. Teagan and Oskar need to return and be seen going about their business as if nothing is wrong. Teagan can inform the Messenger-Commander of what happened and he will begin searching for the remnants of supporters involved before they know their plan didn't succeed. Zevran can stay, nobody is better at security than he is and the guards will certainly be on their toes to make up for their failure. Besides, I want to try out some of the bathing and massage facilities you were telling me about," she grinned wickedly.
Alistair grinned back, his hazel eyes warming, "Have I told you I love you? Well, I do. If Zevran says it's safe, we can stay. But only then. I will not risk you, my love."
"It is safe enough, but the guards and I will do another complete walkthrough before Teagan and Oskar depart." Zevran smirked, "Perhaps if I stay I will have another opportunity to see the two of you clad in nothing but stray rose petals. Truly a wondrous sight." Teagan tried to hide his smile at Alistair's blush but Oskar roared his laughter when the Antivan continued, "Did I not say I was determined to see you in all your kingly splendor? I will not forget it any time soon, I assure you."
"As for you bellissima, are you well? Earlier I could not help noticing a large and unusual bruise on the side of your magnificent bosom." This time Starr was the one to blush and Alistair who burst into laughter.
"You should . . . you should say," Alistair gasped out, "magnificent and . . . and deadly bosom."
Zevran frowned and then raised his eyebrows, "You mean-?" and did a kind of upper body one two shimmy.
Alistair nodded, "knocked the bastard clean out. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes." He grabbed Starr and pulled her into his lap to prevent her leaving. At first she wouldn't look at any of them but eventually joined in the merriment.
Later Alistair reflected that perhaps next year he would stick to something simpler. Certainly he would never be able to top this year's events. He sighed as he thought it might take a few years before Zevran stopped making random comments about rose petals.