This chapter was a lot of fun to write. When Xandurpein wrote his story, Queen of Thorns, he included a little Easter egg for me in the form of a Teagan who was in love with a pretty little red haired mage, Neria. I was so tickled I asked him if I could make a version of his character, Michael in mine. So my story goes slightly AU at this point but I believe I have come up with a viable reason the younger Cousland would have survived Howe's slaughter at the castle. Cadsuane has been so nice to me, wading through all my insane scribblings to get to the story I wanted to tell that I wanted to do something equally nice for her too. So the character of Leah, an nod to her character Lya from Sundered Order, was born.
These guys are great, their stories are really good and if you haven't read them you really should, they are excellent.


Chapter Two

Still half expecting her to dismount and send Eilir back to the stables, Teagan watched Neria ride out of the estate gates, but she remained in the saddle. He hoped she would be safe, but for now it was out of his hands. It was evident she was capable and well trained and had saved his life more than once. She just didn't always look after herself when she was worried about others.

He picked up his garments and dressed, ran a comb through his hair and went down to the dining room for breakfast. Alone yet again, he found Isolde present.

"Eamon have business at the palace this morning?" Teagan asked her as he sat down.

"Last night, in fact, Teagan," Isolde replied with a frown.

From her expression he got the feeling it was a regular occurrence.

"It's a temporary situation, Isolde. Alistair won't need Eamon's help forever," Teagan said encouragingly.

"I should hope not," she replied.

"Did you have plans for the day?" he asked.

"Eamon is going to be giving a soiree next week. Those preparations will require my attention most of the day. Did you need me for something, Teagan?"

"No, it would seem you're busy enough without me adding to your tasks. If you need help with anything, please let me know," he said.

"I will, Teagan, thank you. Do you have any plans for today?"

"I'll head over to the palace, I think. I need to talk to my brother. Do you want me to give him a message?"

He rose, plucking a plum from the bowl on the table and putting it in his breast pocket.

She smiled. "Tell him only that his wife misses him and hopes he will be home tonight. Thank you, Teagan."

He walked out of the estate into a brilliant morning. Shading his eyes, he looked out of the gate into the market. He started to walk toward the gate when he became aware he was being followed. Turning, he saw Neria's mabari, Muffin, about five feet away. The dog stopped and regarded him, head cocked in that adorable way that never failed to elicit a warm response from Neria. Teagan wasn't about to be manipulated.

Pointing back toward the kennels, Teagan shook his head and said, "No, Muffin, stay."

The dog barked once, argumentatively, and stepped closer to Teagan, but not close enough the man could grab him.

"Muffin, stay," Teagan reiterated and stepped back.

The dog walked after him, always staying just out of Teagan's reach. It was obvious to Teagan that Neria had given the animal some last order regarding him and the mabari wasn't about to shirk that command.

"Maker's breath," he sighed. "All right, you can come but try not to bite anyone's arm off."

Muffin barked and panted happily, falling into step behind Teagan as the man went into the market. Stopping at a baker's stall, he bought the dog one of his favorite treats. Tossing the muffin at Muffin, the mabari snapped it down in one bite, licked his chops and looked expectantly at Teagan.

"No more, you glutton," he said with a laugh.

The dog whined and cocked his head, but Teagan just stepped away, heading deeper into the city for the noble estates and the palace district.

He decided to cut through the Alienage—it would cut his walk in half and the situation here had been much better since Alistair had taken over the throne. At least fewer muggings had been reported anyway. Since the decimation and subsequent rebuilding of Denerim, the lot of the city elves had improved a bit. Most were elsewhere gainfully employed, though he found a small market of their own where they sold some produce or wares. There were a few elven children playing in the street who paused in their play to watch the human passing through. Near the other gate leading to the noble district of the city, he saw a handful of pretty, elven prostitutes plying their trade and an older elven man with twisted legs, begging.

Rebuffing the two women who tried to entice a well dressed stranger into a few hours of fun, Teagan paused by the crippled man.

"Alms, my lord?" he said. "Can you spare a bit for a man trying to provide for his family?"

He reached into his pouch and dropped several silvers in the man's hand and then nodded with a smile and moved through the gate.

"Maker's blessings upon you, good ser!" the beggar called after him.

He avoided the back alleys, which were never safe, and crossed the bridge leading to the noble's estates. That was one of the first things that had been repaired after the battle that took place in Denerim. Teagan ran his fingers along the new stonework and recalled what Neria had told him of what had happened then, how the dragon had tried to cut off their retreat or support troops by destroying the bridge.

On the other side, the nature of the city changed dramatically. Houses here were in much better shape—being they could afford the labor to repair the damage. The center of the square was dominated by a huge memorial stone carved with the names of those Grey Wardens and the sons and daughters of Denerim lost in Ostagar. He frowned sadly, his fingers tracing the first name on the list.

"Cailan Theirin," he whispered. "I miss you, boy. I'm glad Rowan wasn't alive to see what Loghain did to her only son."

A large company proceeded through the streets and Teagan stood to one side to watch them go by. He immediately recognized the banners of both Highever and Gwaren traveling together and paused, frowning. Both teyrns together? This was unusual enough to give him pause.

He knew Anora had gone back to Gwaren after the Landsmeet had chosen to support Neria and put Alistair on the throne eight months ago. At first it looked like she would stubbornly refuse to swear the oath, but in the end she was a practical woman. She had lost her bid and her father. She didn't want to add her life to that list of losses. So, who was the young man riding now by Fergus wearing Gwaren colors? Had Anora remarried? Teagan frowned and rubbed his eyes. Surely he was seeing things?

The young man riding next to Fergus Cousland was none other than Michael Cousland, his younger brother. It had been a couple of years since Teagan had seen both, but the coloring was right and the resemblance was so strong between the two. Teagan grinned at the idea of the look Isolde was going to give him when he delivered this little piece of gossip to her.

Curiosity overcame him and he had to know what had happened to the younger Cousland. He entered the gates and went up to speak with them.

Fergus greeted him with a huge grin. "Bann Teagan! It's good to see you again. How have things been in Redcliffe?"

"That's one of the things I'll be addressing at the Landsmeet," he replied.

"This is my wife, Leah," said Fergus, indicating the very pregnant, dark haired beauty nearby.

The teyrna offered her hand to Teagan and he bowed over it, kissing the knuckles. Teagan thought he might know her—perhaps Bann Sighard's daughter? She looked a little like him around her green eyes.

"A pleasure to meet you, my lady," he said.

Teagan couldn't help it—his eyes kept going to Michael who smirked, but said nothing, letting his brother speak.

"Let's go inside. We've had a long journey to get here and I'd love to catch up with you," Fergus said.

"As would I, my lord," said Teagan.

Fergus snorted. "Oh, please, Teagan. That was my father's title. I've known you since I was old enough to walk. Please, call me Fergus."

An hour later the men were sitting comfortably in the library chatting. Muffin had refused to leave Teagan's side and was sitting at his feet, behaving himself quite well. Finally, Teagan had to ask the question that had been on his mind.

"I'm sorry about what happened in Highever. I'm glad Howe paid for that. How, in the Maker's name, did you survive, Michael?"

"I wasn't there," said Michael. "After Fergus left, the plan was for me to stay in Highever and command a small contingent of troops, keep the peace in the area and run the castle. I was worried about Father, though. He wasn't a young man anymore and I knew he was too stubborn to stay in Highever unless he had to."

A shadow passed over the younger man's blue eyes as Michael related the next part of his tale.

"I sneaked out of the castle after Fergus left and followed our army south. Howe must have attacked sometime later that night.

"When I got to Ostagar, I learned Fergus had gone out on patrol with some of Highever's men. Then the battle happened and I was injured pretty badly. Some of the mages stayed in Ostagar to tend the wounded and one of them found me. I'd been hit in the head and lost a lot of blood, but the mage who found me, Wynne, was able to heal that. I'm still not sure how she did it.

"Fergus had gone missing in the Wilds and I thought he was dead. I stayed to tend the wounded once I recovered and fight off stragglers from the horde. It was weeks before I was able to leave Ostagar and try to get back to Highever.

"I made my way home and found Highever in the control of Howe, my…family…dead." He shot a look at Fergus who was sitting, eyes downcast. "I learned what had happened and was so furious at Loghain that I joined the rebellion. Howe had branded the Cousland's traitors and Orlesian collaborators, and Loghain not only turned a blind eye to what happened, but rewarded that traitorous bastard with our father's title.

"I adopted a new persona and harassed his troops. Eventually, leadership of that little band fell on me when our leader was captured and tortured to death by Loghain's men. He never gave us up, or else Loghain's men were never able to find us."

"How did you come to be Teyrn of Gwaren though?" Teagan asked.

"Well, I heard that Anora had returned to Gwaren and I decided to use her for ransom, make Loghain give up this stupid civil war and start fighting the darkspawn. I sneaked into the castle and made away with her pretty easily, but once we got to our camp I learned from Anora that the civil war was over, Loghain was dead and so was Howe."

"And you believed her?" Teagan was hanging on every word of Michael's tale.

"Not at first. I continued to hold her captive till I got word that she was telling the truth, Loghain was dead and she was no longer queen. That left me in a bit of a pickle. I thought I was the last Cousland, so retaking Highever Castle became my priority once the darkspawn were dealt with. So I came up with the idea to 'persuade' Anora to marry me so I would have her resources to call on."

"You...persuaded her?" Teagan asked incredulously.

"Yes, well, it was a negotiated settlement, you might say. I told her I needed an army to retake Highever and she needed connections to avoid ending up in a tower for supporting Loghain. It's possible I might have...exaggerated Alistair's bloodthirstiness a bit. I kind of hinted Alistair might not trust her to keep her word."

"She isn't exactly happy about it, but she's a damn handsome woman when she's angry. And right before I left Gwaren, she asked me to return home swiftly. Her father stayed gone from Gwaren too much when she was growing up, and I apparently reminded her of him."

"Knowing how she felt about her father, I took that as a sign things with her will improve," said Michael, reaching the end of his narrative.

Teagan grinned, not only glad to see the younger Cousland alive, but that he seemed pretty happy as well. Fergus was remarried to a lovely young woman and already had a child on the way. Not only did this mean stability for the Teyrnirs of Highever and Gwaren, but for the whole of Ferelden. More and more he was beginning to be glad he had set out this morning to see his brother.

"What brings you to Denerim, Teagan?" asked Fergus. "You usually avoid politics like the Blight."

"Things in Redcliffe and Rainesfere haven't been so good," he said.

"The Blight?" Michael asked.

"No, we've been experiencing attacks this last year from bandits," Teagan said. Fergus and Michael exchanged glances. "What?"

"Gwaren hasn't been hit…yet. But Highever has. Two of our outlying villages were put to the torch and everyone in them killed," Fergus said.

"When was this?" Teagan asked.

"All last year, even before Howe's death, there were raids—small things, that weren't unusual. Then, not long before winter set in, the villages were hit. The damn bandits took off with anything of value, livestock, grain, anything that wasn't nailed down," said Fergus.

"Enough food to feed an army," Michael supplied. "A small army, anyway."

"Bann Loren's been gathering mercenaries. I don't know who else might be involved in this. We lack physical evidence or eyewitness testimony," said Teagan.

"Bastards keep eluding us," said Fergus. "I'd love to get my hands on one of them, though!"

Leah, who had been sitting quietly nearby, working on clothing for the coming baby, stood and went to Fergus, brushing his cheek and down his arm to take his hand.

"Enough of such talk," she said, taking command of the conversation. "Bann Teagan, would you like to stay for lunch? I think we could all use a little something in our stomachs to improve our moods."

"I'd love to, but I was on my way to the palace to see my brother. I'm glad I was here to see you when you arrived, though. You two are going to create quite a stir at the Landsmeet this year." Teagan laughed at the thought. "I wasn't looking forward to it, but I am now!"

Fergus and Michael exchanged glances and the younger nodded slightly to his elder.

"Teagan, you'll have the full support of Highever and Gwaren behind whatever you and Arl Eamon decide to do," said Fergus. "Tomorrow we planned on having Bann Sighard and Bann Alfstanna over for supper and we'll learn what's happening with them as well. Dragon's Peak is pretty isolated and Leah tells me her father hasn't been having these problems, but dissention can come in many shapes."

"Thanks," said Teagan. "I'll let my brother know."

Teagan left the Cousland estate feeling much more positive about things. He hadn't been looking forward to seeing Eamon since he had defied him and refused to break things off with Neria. Now, with this news, he thought Eamon would turn his attention to other matters and leave Teagan alone, at least for a while.