SORRY GUYS I MEANT JUST TO UPDATE THIS CHAPTER AND HIT THE WRONG BUTTON!
Chapter 3
Fenris shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he watched Hawke climb up from the ground as Remus barked for more attention. He never really cared for the dog but knew how useful he was. More often than not the beast had ripped the throat out of an enemy that had gotten the drop on them in battle and while grateful to the beast, he despised how much of a puppy the war hound could be and how annoying it was when it climbed into bed with them in the middle of the night. Still the smile on Hawke's face calmed him and he smiled warmly when Hawke turned his gaze to him. When the beast was finally calm, Alistair coughed loudly.
"Now that we have dispensed with the pleasantries I vote that we turn our attention to much more dire matters than a man being reunited with his dog."
All attention turned to Alistair. He had removed his cloak and set it on the back of his chair before taking the seat between Anora and the elven assassin. The fire was the only thing in the room making noise besides the dog. When he felt their attention was completely his, the king finally spoke.
"As all of us are well aware, both our lands are locked in a decision on how to approach the Chantry. They seek to swarm upon is with a vast army of supporters made up of several armies. Many are Fereldens and people of Thedas, but they also have the support of many powerful families in Orlais, Antiva, and even some select magisters in Tevinter."
The slamming of a fist broke the king's concentration. "Is there a problem, Fenris?"
The elf grunted loudly. "Of course there is. We are surrounded on all sides by enemies with few means of protecting ourselves from being slaughtered like livestock."
As the king and queen began a rebuttal, Zevran laughed. "Well, that is why you have someone like me working with you."
Fenris' tattoos flared dimly under the influence of the potion as he hissed, "And what? You plan on seducing all of our enemies like you attempted to seduce…"
"ENOUGH!"
Fenris silenced himself and Zevran slumped in his chair as Bethany's body glowed with magical energy. Her eyes darted between the two elves as she continued. "This is no time for petty bickering. We could lose everything because of…." The magical glow left her body as she realized what was about to escape her lips. Tears rolled down her face as she looked to her brother. "Carric, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
The rogue scanned the table and held his hands up in surrender. "I have no reason to be angry at you speaking the truth Bethany." He let out a heavy sigh. "I am at the center of this conflict and I hope to resolve it without the need for war."
"Though in this case, war may be our only option."
Carric nodded to the king. "If it comes to that I will be on the front lines with you. But for now, I think we should go ahead with the plan that we originally discussed." Upon receiving Anora and Alistair's blessing he turned to Zevran. "You've been in the city much longer than the rest of us. What have you been able to learn?"
The assassin chuckled. "Not as much as you'd think, but I have been able to gain a few pieces of important information." He removed a few scrolls from his pouch and unrolled the largest of them. Weighting them down with a few stacks of silver coins he revealed a large list of names. The sight was one of confusion for Bethany and Fenris, but the three human nobles felt their throats close. The elf's eyes didn't miss a single reaction.
"I take it you know a few of the people mentioned on this list."
Hawke nodded while Anora rubbed her temple and Alistair looked sick. It was as the elf thought, and he held similar feelings toward a few of the names mentioned. They were old friends of his and Alistair's and acquaintances of the queen through her husband and while her husband may have problems dealing with the names he saw, his wife saw them as mere obstacles to be destroyed.
The human rogue shared her sympathies. He held no love for the people mentioned, but his respect for them would make dealing with such individuals a daunting task. He began pondering if he should return to Madeline for a stronger potion but the sudden appearance of another name caught his attention and his eyes darted to Fenris who was busy looking over another scroll that Zevran had left out on the table. His knowledge of the language was minimal but the sight of Tevinter scrawl made him feel light headed.
After a few minutes of quiet pondering, Bethany asked, "So what are we to do? Assassinate anyone who gets in our way? In case you have forgotten, we don't have enough allies to even consider doing something so foolish. We'd have to take care of them all at once and I doubt even the Champion is capable of such a feat."
The spirit and elemental mage shot a smirk in her brother's direction and got a smile in return.
"It's as I told Fenris when we first arrived."
"And what pray tell was that, Champion?"
Hawke turned his gaze to Zevran and with a heavy growl said, "If you'd learn to hold your tongue you'd have known by now."
His target smirked, "Well if you hadn't turned down my advances you'd know just how powerful my tongue is." As soon as he finished, a dagger made a loud thunk as it sunk into the headrest of the chair. Fear flickered in the Antivan's eyes when they noticed the gleam of light off the blade. Reaching up, he struggled to remove the blade and felt some of his golden locks fall onto his bicep. When it finally came free, Zevran slid the dagger across the table and said, "I apologize for the interruption" His heavily accented voice trembling only in the slightest as he spoke.
Sheathing his blade, Hawke pointed at the list of names. "Many of the people on this list are powerful merchant families. Some that lost large sums of money and partnerships due to my stopping their black market dealings. Meaning they'll be helping the Chantry." He pointed at seven names before continuing, "And others will side with those posing to have the greater advantage. However," Hawke pointed at five more and smiled. "These five are families that I have gained favor with through my clearing of the Bone Pits and allowing them to mine." He pointed at one family before pointing at the rest. "While the others I struck trade deals with thanks to my gaining information from a few of our more exciting excursions."
He saw Fenris roll his eyes remembering one of the jobs that gained them the favor of a dwarf merchant that gained incredible power thanks to some information Hawke gave him about the Deep Roads.
"That's all well and good Hawke, but how does that help us now?"
Anora leaned in and pointed at the names Hawke had pointed out. "We are at a cross roads and with so many neutral parties we cannot gain much support if you're in hiding." She pointed at the names of the champions supposed allies. "If they believe you dead or missing, what is to stop them from siding with the Chantry?" Hawke reached into his pocket and flipped the golden fist sized seal he'd shown to the Qunari, his seal blazing under the light of the torches.
Zevran began to laugh. "A SEAL," the elf guffawed. "Truly you are not the man spoken of in the stories." He wiped a tear from his eyes.
Hawk just smiled and said, "Each of them owe me a favor and this seal is one of a pair that I had made. This one I had sent off to a friend of mine, but he found someone who was better equipped to handle the job. There was a brother to it that I gave to Fenris but we destroyed it before leaving Kirkwall to lessen the chances of someone using it against us." Both man and elf felt a heavy pain in their hearts at remembering the night they destroyed one of the symbols of their bond.
When Hawke finished, the realization of the rogues actions dawned on the Ferelden king. "A bold plan," whispered Alistair. He gave Hawke a calculating look before asking, "And I take it your plan is to let the seal be known to your allies at the gathering? Like what we did with the Grey Warden documents when the Blight began?"
The rogue nodded, "It's a risky maneuver seeing as how anyone who has ever set foot in my house could have taken it. Which is why we will first canvas the Landsmeet and see whose side my supposed allies stand on. If they prove to still be loyal then I shall make contact with them and give them notice to come find me." The king and queen gave each other furtive glances while Bethany patted her brother on the arm. Fenris shot the human a smile while Zevran looked confused.
"How do you plan to do that?" The whole table looked at the elf. "What have I said? The man has clearly stated that anyone who has been in his house knows of his seal and could mimic it. Even an apprentice assassin on his first day could see the faults in such a plan."
Everyone at the table save for Hawke and Fenris nodded in agreement. "He's right brother. The plan is not fool proof and we could be exposed."
Hawke just gave his sister a smirk and turned the seal over. It hit the table with a dull thud and he held his hand over the seal and closed his eyes as his lips moved silently. As he spoke the seal began to shake violently. All save Fenris watched in anticipation for something amazing to happen as the gold item danced on the table. The item wiggled and jumped as the humans face grew tighter and tighter in concentration until finally the group was rewarded with the sound of a small little door on the back of it snapped open and they all let out a collective sigh of disappointment.
"What a waste of time."
Fenris snorted at the thick accent of the Antivan elf. He watched Hawke's hand shaking and picked up the item before saying, "He was releasing a powerful warding spell on the item. Anyone except him and a select few are allowed to hold this item without risking their lives to gain its secrets." His eyes narrowed as he turned the seal upside down, "By showing you this he saved your worthless life." As several trinkets fell into his hand, Fenris checked on his human with a sideways glance and was glad to see him still awake and drinking the water Bethany had conjured for him.
Setting the seal back down onto the table, Fenris was prepared to lay out the contents when Alistair asked, "Is he an apostate?"
Bethany shook her head, "No, he is not." She refilled her brother's glass and checked his temperature before continuing. "My mother's family has always had strong ties to the Fade and my father was an exceptional mage. I am the only pure mage born to my parents, but unlike my twin brother Carver," She gave her older brother a smile as his breathing calmed, "Carric inherited some of that power." She wiped away some of the sweat and sighed, "But using it weakens him terribly."
"This is why I will be explaining the rest of our plan." Fenris spread out the items and set them next to each family name.
"These are all items given to us by the heads of each family sealing their oath to help us in a time of need." He heard Zevran scoff when the warrior used the word, "us." Ignoring it he continued. "All of these are items that are to be given to the heir of the household when the head of the family has decided to name one and the heir cannot make a legal claim without receiving the item and signature of the current family head." He saw a grin appear on Zevran's face and knew the elf had caught on.
"So we blackmail them. I love it. Truly a stroke of genius; strike those pompous bastards where it hurts the most."
Alistair and Anora shook their heads while Carric coughed a laugh. Bethany gave her brother's lover a cautious glance. "How will you get it to the family heads without being noticed? Sneak into the Landsmeet as servants of my brother?" She scoffed at the idea of such a plan. "Rather pointless considering how that worked only a couple hours ago."
Had Fenris not helped Hawke conceive such a plan, the elf would have agreed but he simply said, "That is why we will accompany the king and queen under the disguise of knights in their service."
The Qunari growled impatiently. "I am not comfortable with such a rash course of action, your majesties." He glared at Hawke who was finally starting to regain color in his face. "They associate with uncontrolled saarebas. If it wasn't for your so called champion, they would still be held within their towers."
The disdain in his voice did not go unnoticed and Anora glared at the male and waved a hand. "Bethany has proven to be a powerful ally and has struck down plenty of demons and has never lost control." She watched the male nod in understanding as she continued and told him, "Find them suitable armor and equipment in the morning. For now, help Master Hawke and the others to their rooms. We shall finish this discussion tomorrow."
As they all rose, Fenris took the trinkets and placed them in his money pouch. Making his way around the table, the warrior ran his hand through the rogue's drenched hair. The human finally looked normal but he knew that his body was still weak. With Bethany's help, the elf placed the human on his back and felt the human's arms weakly squeeze his neck before muttering a thank you.
"Don't thank me. Thank Varric when he puts this into one of his stories."
The human growled and looked to his sister who was laughing at him. When she noticed his glare she stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Oh quit acting like a child. It's not like I'm oblivious to what you two do when you're alone." She reached up and poked him in the nose as they exited the meeting room. "Remember who caught you in the barn with…"The mage was silenced by the low growl of the giant qunari guardsmen.
They moved to the side and allowed Alistair and Anora to pass by them with a few other guards. The king and queen bade the group a pleasant evening and retired to their quarters on the second floor. When they were gone, the three looked to the qunari who curled his lip in agitation. They knew that look from their prior dealings and this horned tower was no different. He didn't trust any of them due to their connection with the magical arts, but he was under oath to serve the royals and pointed up the stairs.
"You will be on the second floor with the king and queen," he began, "but knows that you will be under constant surveillance by the servants and guards under my command." He looked down at Fenris who was having trouble adjusting to carrying both his broadsword and human. What they thought was a flicker of a smile soon turned into a scowl as the guard asked, "If you'd like I can carry him for you."
Reluctant to hand the human over, Fenris knew that he was being commanded rather than asked to allow the qunari to carry Hawke. And he did it with much more ease than the lanky elf. The behemoth found ample room to carry the human over his free shoulder while bearing a large crescent axe.
When he felt his hands make contact with the warriors back, Hawke glared up as if to ask, "What the hell is the matter with you?" His sister and lover gave apologetic shrugs while the Remus let out a small woof as they made their journey up the long flight of stairs.
The trip did not take long with their guide carrying the exhausted rogue, and seeing as he knew where he was going, that made the trip all the more easier. Soon Bethany was bidding them a good evening and entered the room across the hall while the guard let them into their room.
It was as the two of them expected of a noble household. Immaculate furniture and a large comfortable bed, and a terrace for them to enjoy the views of the evening city life should they desire. A roaring fire was already burning in the fireplace as the warm afternoon had turned into a rather chilly evening. And before the men could even enter the room Remus shoved his way past them and took his place on the carpet in front of the fire.
Fenris left the door opened as their guide placed Carric on the bed. He bade them both good evening and was almost out the door when Hawke asked, "What is your name?"
The qunari stopped in his tracks and turned, his eyes showing his annoyance at not being able to return to his duties. "You should know that qunari are only called by their purpose within the Qun." He flexed his hands in agitation before adding, "As I have given up my place in the Qun I have nothing to call myself by."
Moving up along the pillows to a comfortable position Hawke said, "Then what am I to call you when you join us at the Landsmeet?"
The qunari growled at the question and Fenris prepared himself mentally for the warrior's reaction knowing how dangerous of ground the human was treading on.
"I am called Ser, by those I am in command of. Though I am still undeserving of bearing such a title."
The rogue laughed, "Just as I do not deserved to be called a champion." The laugh soon turned to a cough which prompted the elf to begin searching for a water jug. Holding his hand up, Hawke told the elf to not worry about it before saying to the large warrior. "The lives of those men are in your hands. Have you led them into battle?"
The qunari nodded, "I have led them into many battles. Ferelden is still weak from the blight and many have attempted to take power from my mistress and master." His voice softened lightly when he mentioned Anora and Alistair. "They gave me a purpose and are worthy of respect and so I protect that which they are so worthy of controlling."
Hawke nodded to the warrior. "Then you deserve such a name, Ser. I hope that our time here will help you keep them safe."
The qunari bowed his horned head and said, "I shall come for you at eight in the morning." And he left without another word.
When the door closed, Fenris removed his cloak and sword, setting them on the bedside closest to the window. Sitting down on the mattress Fenris let out a small sigh and mumbled, "Why can't we just have a normal boring day?" The mattress shifted under him and the sheets echoed like rustling leaves in his ears. In a few seconds he felt strong arms weakly wrap around his neck and a gentle kiss be placed on it's flesh; he laughed. "Getting our stamina back are we?"
The scraggly hair of his lover brushed against his neck as the human shook his head. "Not in the slightest. In fact I'm barely even able to..." before he could finish the humans grip slipped from the elf's neck and he felt himself falling toward the mattress. His body was still weak from releasing the spell and he was prepared to slip into the sleep abyss of sleep when he felt the elf's arms catch him. A small laugh was all he could muster as he felt himself being propped up against the pillows.
As he felt the sweet embrace of sleep begin to take hold, the noble heard the opening and shutting of drawers and low curses at the dog when the animal complained about the noise the elf was making. He paid them no mind thinking that it was Fenris trying to find his night shirt. When he felt sleep begin to take hold he was jolted awake by the elf removing his clothes Opening his eyes he saw the elf's face set in a scowl and a large oversized night shirt in his hands. Fenris had changed into one of Hawkes red silk night shirts. It was so big that the shirt was barely staying in place; exposing the wolfs tattooed shoulders.
"Trying to seduce me?"
Fenris blushed at the comment and climbed into the bed, the shirt hanging down off the elfs chest. The fire did little to show off the elfs skin hidden in the darkness of his shirt, but the tattoos were lighting it up, like veins of lyrium running through the walls of a cave.
Knowing what was going through the humans head, Fenris
"You always say that." He gave a coy smile and pulled the elf into a deep kiss.
They remained locked together for a few moments when out of nowhere Hawke let out a loud yawn. Hearing the elf tut, Hawke allowed him to finish undressing him before taking the shirt from his lover. Letting the smooth green silken shirt fall over his body, Carric weakly slipped his arms into the sleeves and allowed the elf to cover him with the blankets. His mind began drift once again toward sleep as he felt the elf climb under the covers next to him. The human let his head drift to the warriors shoulder. The flesh was warm beneath the silk shirt the elf had found in the dresser. Letting out a content sigh, Hawke buried his face into the elfs neck as the powerful arms of his lover held him gently against his body, the powerful pulses of his heart lulling him to sleep.
It didn't take long for the human to fall back to sleep. Fenris ran his fingers along the humans arms. There were many nights over the past few years when Fenris had been forced to hold Hawke like this. Many of them were on nights when guilt riddeld nightmares over his mother and brothers death kept him awake. Others were from when he was in pain after diffiult battles, but no matter what kept his love from sleep, how they were right now always calmed the human.
And many times Hawke had done the same for him. When the dreams of his past had him screaming in his sleep. It was their way to know the other that no harm would come to them. Though he knew that Hawke would fall asleep easily that night, the elf knew the task at hand was weighing heavily on his humans mind and though he would sleep, he would not feel rested. Shifting a bit, the elf laughed when he felt Hawke squeeze him tightly.
Squeezing back, Fenris planted a gentle kiss on the top of the humans head. Running his bare fingers through the rogues hair. It had returned to it's original golden color since using the spell had removed the magical energies from his body. Shifting the pillows behind his back, Fenris rested his cheek on the top of the humans head and softly whispered, "Sleep well, my champion."
