A/N: My hand on my heart, I recently dreamed this little scenario in extraordinary detail and wrote it down soon after I woke up. Make of it what you will.
Dragon Age belongs to BioWare. By all indications, so does a substantial portion of my subconscious.
Bedlam
Aedan gazed idly around the room, propping his elbow on the small table and leaning in. Ever slow on the uptake, Alistair looked at him without moving. At Cousland's irritable hiss and pointed eyeball roll, he started and hesitantly mirrored the pose, bringing his head close enough for a sotto voce conversation.
"The last thing I remember is cutting through the back alleys on the way back from the Pearl and getting taken down. Next thing I know, I wake up in this place," Aedan murmured. "All my gear's missing, but no one's recognized me as yet. Good job locating me; how'd you-" He broke off, rubbing his nose as a guard strolled past. Alistair glanced up, and then back at Aedan, who could recognize his friend's concern in the tiny furrow between his eyes. "Never mind; it's enough they bought your cover story. 'Visiting a disturbed friend.' Hah! Loghain may have thought he was being clever, tucking the big, bad Warden away in here, but it's backfired in a big way. I've learned some very interesting information from my fellow...guests." He traced a stain in the tabletop, whistling soundlessly between his teeth, and his face set in grim lines. "Some very interesting information indeed." Alistair shifted uneasily and Aedan risked a reassuring grin. "Don't worry about me. Just get the word to the others and break me out after sundown."
He placed both palms on the table and pushed himself upright. Alistair hastily followed suit, then walked over to the matron standing in the passageway. As he reached her, he looked back at Aedan with an expression of pure compassion. Aedan frowned.
That's ...pretty damned convincing. He lunged forward, disregarding the alert postures of the guards. He's not that good an actor! "Alistair!"
The guards closed in as Alistair and the matron retreated in alarm.