Chapter Six: Uprising
"Where do we stand on capable guards, Aveline?"
Marian is back in her office. She is fully kitted out and still bears the traces of the day's work on her skin. She is filthy but she's out of the late afternoon sun. Aveline looks about as well as she feels and she thinks that this whole situation is nothing new.
She's done this before. This insurrection and the fight to save the innocent. She can do this again. Kirkwall will be safe.
"I've got several dozen men on patrol around the clock. I've also been making inquiries with the Fereldans in Lowtown about the men we were able to identify. No one has claimed any knowledge of the uprising, which comes as no shock."
Marian nods and paces. She'd left the bodies of the bandits on the flagstones of the Keep in the hopes that relatives would come forward to collect their kin. She'd even posted an official notice saying that anyone was free to retrieve a body without question but the last time she'd checked there were still sixty seven men and women lying in the sun.
If they don't start disappearing by the time the sun goes down she'll have the Andrastians still in the city come and bless them before committing them to the Fire.
She makes another circuit of her office while Aveline watches her progress. "Have you seen Bethany yet today?" Marian pauses long enough to shake her head and glance out the window.
"I told her to stay inside when I left this morning. I haven't seen her which is probably for the best. Knowing her she'd been breaking down every door in Darktown, shoving guilt down the throats of every mother in this city."
Aveline chuckles at this and it's a welcome sound. Marian grins back at her friend; yes, friend. Reliable, never-changing, Aveline. "She's your sister all the way, Hawke. I don't know what's kept you from doing that yourself."
"Too much else to do. The mothers of Kirkwall can wait until tomorrow."
Looking back out, over her cities, Marian thinks that the smoke coming off the foundries in Lowtown look too much like the day the Chantry exploded. Her whole city felt like a powder keg as she'd walked it since the early hours of this morning. She feels like she's at a loss.
"Will there be open rebellion?"
She looks to the door, where Fenris stands. He is also filthy, his guard's armor smeared with blood and dirt. She doesn't believe she'll ever get used to him in uniform. She nods her head and so does Aveline. "Most likely. Clearly I am not as successful a Viscountess as I had always hoped I'd be."
"Then what do we do?"
Fenris has always been the one that's gotten to the heart of matters first. Marian takes a moment to consider her options before addressing Aveline. "Double all guards for the night watch for the foreseeable future. Pull in any patrols outside of the city. I want this town locked down for now." Aveline nods and turns to go but Marian catches her forearm. "I do not want to see the abuse of the citizens. At all. No oppressive behavior and for the sake of the Maker do not allow your guards to use force for any reason unless their lives are in danger."
"Understood, Hawke."
She motions Fenris farther into her office and bids him close the door. When he stands in front of her desk he is his usual stoic self. "I need you to go home and get some sleep. I want you to stand guard over the courtyard around my estate. I am not so worried about myself but I need to ensure Bethany and Solona are safe."
"Of course. I am at your service, Hawke. You know that."
"I do. And I hope you know that I don't trust anyone else to do this for me."
He gives her a rare smile. "I do know. Your trust is well placed and I will ensure you and your family are safe."
She returns his smile and it stays on her face until she's alone again, contemplating the uprising of Kirkwall, sans mages.
~!~
Elissa awakens to the busy sounds of people rushing about but also to the soft splash of water right next to her head. She thinks that this isn't such a bad feeling. She's sort of fuzzy but she can move her hand when she tries. Her shoulder doesn't even hurt so badly when she shifts slightly.
"Please try to relax, Highness."
The voice is at her ear and Elissa cracks her eyes to find the new First Enchanter of Kirkwall leaning over her. The mage holds a cloth in her hand and when she wipes the damp fabric across her bow Elissa actually sighs. It feels heavenly. "How long have I been out? Is everyone okay?"
She may be fuzzy but she wants to check. She needs to be sure everything is fine here. Well, it's clearly not fine but she needs-
"You've been asleep since shortly after you were brought in, according to the Matron. She looked after you until Bethany and I arrived. It been almost a day since the attach and yes, everyone is okay. For the most part." Elissa notes that she's addressed kindly and simply. She still hasn't seen the determined and head-strong young woman from Cullen's office since that first meeting.
It is a strange thing that a woman with power such as Solona would present herself as anything but extraordinary. The mage wipes at her forehead again and Elissa relaxes back into the bed. The room is full of movement but it doesn't seem rushed.
It is soothing, in a way. She yawns.
Her hand clinches it and she brings it up for inspection. There's an angry red mark on her palm and the back of her hand but the wound is healed. "Your handy work?"
Solona actually blushes and ducks her head. "No. I've never been great at healing spells. I let Bethany handle the hard stuff. I am quite proficient at rolling bandages and wiping brows though!" She giggles a little and Elissa chuckles a little too. The movement clenches her abdomen and she groans at the ache.
Her open wounds have been healed but apparently the bruising has lingered.
"Oh! Are you uncomfortable? Here, drink this." Solona is shoving a vial at her mouth before Elissa can wave her off and she swallows the sickly sweet healing draught that's seen her through many a battle.
The soft feeling of unconsciousness is immediate.
~!~
When she returns to the waking world the second time it is noticeably more quiet in the brothel. She shifts and stretches her arms, leaving her eyes closed for the time being. She's testing her aches and is pleased to notice that the bruising around her ribs has lessened. Another round of healing with Bethany, perhaps.
Maker, she needs to send a note to Alistair before he hears about these attacks from someone else and fears the worse. She doesn't think the city of Kirkwall could withstand the invasion of the worried husband they'd find in the King of Ferelden.
The lights are low when her eyes crack. It must be late. She stares up at the ceiling for a moment before looking around the room.
There, sitting next to her bed, is Cullen. And he is asleep. She blinks. Still there. She blinks again and raises a hand to wipe at her eyes. He's still there and she feels her jaw drop open as she stares. Her last memories of the fighting that put her in this bed are of him pulling her up and carrying her away.
A flutter in her chest blindsides her and she actually presses a hand to her breast. She feel cared for. This feeling is dangerous and her frown cuts into her forehead.
Wrong. Absolutely. Wrong.
Longing. For Cullen? Maybe. Or perhaps she's just incredibly relieved. And happy. And any number of other emotions that could possibly explain why she feels the way she does at the moment that don't include possibly feeling the way she does right now for anyone other than her husband.
It would make no sense that she ha romantic feelings for Cullen. She's always been fascinated by him, sure. But never has she ever thought that he could be in her life and Alistair could not. Never.
There's something else here, she knows this in her heart. Something darker.
Cullen starts to stir and she panics. Elissa slams her eyes shut, schools her features into a relaxed position, and slips her hand back to her side. She listens carefully as Cullen adjusts his position and leans forward in his chair.
He's muttering something under his breath and she can't quite make it out. She almost jumps out of her skin when she feels careful fingers brush some hair from her forehead. His hand. She can't stop the flinch but she murmurs something unintelligible and rolls her head away.
Armor creaks again and the hand is removed. Elissa is deathly still and frightfully nervous. It has been ages since she's been this scared. This city seems to bring back a lot of her past. Far more than she's comfortable with. At this moment she is suddenly so so homesick that she wants to cry. There's just been too much here. Too much remembering and too many shocks and this damn city tried to kill her. She just wants to go home. Everything makes sense there. She can forget about Cullen and mages and Kirkwall and spend a week in bed with Alistair and this will all seem like some strange dream.
Her musing are interrupted by soft foot falls and the sound of a chair being set gently next to the bed. Next to Cullen's. She hears him hush whoever has walked over.
"Don't worry. The last potion I gave her should see her through to the morning. Which, you know, is fantastic. The longer she sleeps, the better."
It is Solona Amell. And she sounds like that extraordinary woman Elissa had first seen in Cullen's office.
"Why do you dislike her so much, First Enchanter?" Cullen's speech is tight and very formal. Elissa isn't sure she's heard dislike in the mage's voice. She thinks is sounds more like weariness.
Solona clears her throat very softly. "The longer she sleeps the better chance she has at a full recovery. I wouldn't want to incur the wrath of any Warden, let alone the King of Ferelden. So, it is better she sleeps and gets healthy very quickly."
Silence.
Then heavy armor creaks again. When Cullen speaks now he also sounds weary. "I don't buy that for a minute Solona-"
"First Enchanter Amell, plea-"
"Enough! Solona-"
The mage cuts the templar's frustrated cry short with a severe hush. "I gave her a sleeping potion, not a 'mimic the dead' potion. Keep your voice down."
Cullen grumbles and this time Elissa does hear it. You started it.
Like a child. Elissa is glad the pair can't see her face because she can't keep the smile off of it.
"I know you, Solona. You like everyone unless they give you a reason to dislike them. You've been distant with the Queen ever since she arrived. What's going on?" Yes, Elissa thinks. That is odd of the mage. What is going on?
It takes Solona a long time to answer and when she does her voice is flat. "Do you remember Neria? She would have had her Harrowing shortly after I was sent to Ostagar."
Ostagar. That's right. Marian had mentioned that her cousin had saved her during the battle.
"Yes. She was friends with you and Jowan, right?"
"She was. She was my best friend."
"Wait. Wasn't she recruited-"
"By the Wardens. Yes. The Wardens came after I'd already left and took her from the Tower. And then they put her through some sort of test and it killed her. It killed her, Cullen. I was there that night. I saw-"
Another pause. Elissa's brow is furrowed again listening to the tale.
"I saw the future King of Ferelden carrying her body away. And it made no sense but I saw that someone had survived this trial. A woman. This woman. The future Queen of Ferelden was alive but she was just some woman. Some blond woman who had lived while my friend, my closest friend, had died."
And now Elissa is especially confused, trying to remember her Joining. There had been an elven mage there. The one that she'd so recently wished had been Cullen. Elissa did not remember a name though, only that the elf had not survived. Only Elissa had.
She couldn't remember much after. Duncan had sent her to bed and she'd been so exhausted by the ordeal that she'd slept for close to twelve hours. She remembered almost nothing between waking up on the ground and then waking up in her own tent.
Excep
There'd been tears and yelling when the three wardens had walked back to their camp. The templars had appeared out of nowhere and restrained a mage who was screaming and pulling at Alistair. Elissa had been walking with Duncan and he'd held her back, bade her not to investigate. Told her to go to bed. She could sort of still remember the sobs and the dispels the templars had flooded the courtyard with.
She hadn't even asked anyone the next morning about the incident. It had been time for the great battle.
The pair next to her bed has still been talking and she refocuses in time to hear Cullen apologize fo kissing the mage.
Solona's voice sounds watery when she responds, "I shouldn't have hit you. I'm sorry too." A chuckle from Cullen; Solona sniffs. "I was just surprised, is all. We've never really had that talk about what's happened, to the both of us, since the last time we saw each other. And, to be fair, you were interrogating me. Not the most pleasant of memories."
More rustling, moving from one chair to the other. Elissa hears Solona clear her throat again and when Cullen speaks he's much closer to the mage. "Once all of this is over I will explain if you'll let me. You should know. No, you need to know. What happened while you were gone was-."
His voice is so tender it brings to memory Alistair and his silly rose.
"Me too. I promise, Cullen. I'll tell you everything. As soon as this is all over and by all I mean this new revolt and the instability of the city and the possible mage revolution. We've got too much other stuff here to worry about than mending burnt bridges between the two of us. Does that sound al-"
All of Solona's protests are stifled under what sounds like a fairly gentle kiss that lasts only a moment.
"Don't. Please, Cullen. I told you-"
"I know what you said and I know why. You're right. Before you walked into my office at the Gallows, demanding to know what the in the Fade I was thinking, we hadn't seen each other since I interrogated you at Kinloch. We've got more than a few issues between us but we're getting better, aren't we?"
This Cullen. This is a third Cullen that Elissa has never met before. This one has a heart and a purpose and both of them belong to Solona Amell. Elissa can see that now and it brings a blush to her cheeks, thinking about that sort of devotion.
"Cullen-"
"If we wait until the world is all better we'll never talk. How about in a few weeks, once we quell the insurrection?"
Elissa doesn't hear a response. She can imagine the soft sounds of fabric moving are Solona giving her consent to the arrangement because she hears another soft kiss and then the sound of two bodies standing. Two sets of feet carry the both of them out of the room; the mage and the templar.
If she wasn't who she was this would seem a lot more awkward and unbelievable. As it is, she can't wait to write Alistair. Not only to let him know she's alive but also to fill him in on a couple of Fereldan natives running the city of Kirkwall.
~!~
