-oOo-
There must have been times in his life when he had felt more relieved, but right now Alistair couldn't think of any. She hadn't rejected him. The only woman who he had felt anything for since Melissa died had just agreed to marry him and was now curled up against his chest.
"Alistair?" her voice was a little muffled, being somewhat adjacent to his doublet.
"Hmm?"
"What other horrors do we have to face today?"
"You mean other than spending the morning looking like the lid of an overpriced box of chocolates?"
That surprised a giggle out of her and she nodded, raising her head. "That's almost exactly what I was thinking before; that we looked like one of those slushy romantic paintings. Yes, apart from that. Do we have to be paraded around?"
"We have to let the Empress know, at least officially. If previous form is anything to go by we could probably just leave one of her spies to report this entire conversation, but perhaps not."
"Is that all?"
"I'm not sure. Eamon was fussing last night about contracts and dowries and suchlike. I'm guessing that once we have announced the engagement to Celene, he will pick up that side of things with whoever is acting on your behalf," he rubbed his hand through his hair, thinking through the process, "Once all that is settled, then we will have to go to the Chantry and take our betrothal oaths to uphold the contract, but that's not likely to be until tomorrow at the earliest."
"So, we'll have some spare time today?"
"It seems probable. Why? What are you planning?"
"Have you seen any of Val Royeaux yet?"
"Are you kidding? I haven't set foot outside the palace grounds since we got here," he tucked an escaping curl behind her ear, "Are you offering to show me around?"
She shook her head, her expression that of a child let out of school early, "I don't know my way around, but Philippe does. And I bet Leliana does too. Can we all escape for a while do you think?"
At the thought of getting out of this Imperial hothouse, a bubble of excitement welled up in his chest, "That, my sweet, is the finest idea I have heard since I left Ferelden. Perhaps it's time we let your brother into the room and broke the news to him huh?"
She ducked out from under his arm and unfolded herself from the sofa. While she went to let Philippe in, Alistair considered what she had suggested. Could they just walk around like that in the city? They would take guards of course, but it might turn into a farcical parade, rather than a pleasant expedition. The other option was to go out in disguise, something he did in Denerim sometimes.
"Well mes chers, may I wish you happy?"
Alistair's grin was rather proud, "You may."
Maddy ran to Philippe and he pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing until she squeaked a protest, "I wish you very happy. And you will be, I think." He kissed his sister's cheek, released her and offered his hand to Alistair, who shook it warmly. "Congratulations my brother-to-be, she will make you an excellent wife," Philippe grinned wickedly, "and a very interesting Queen. Don't let her turn up to state functions covered in mud and all will be well, I am sure."
Maddy punched her brother on the arm in response to that dig, "Philippe, we want to see Val Royeaux. Will you come with us?"
"Of a surety I will, my dear ones. Are we to promenade in a grand manner to entertain street urchins, or skulk from shadow to shadow like feral cats? I am at your disposal."
"You catch on quick Philippe," approved Alistair, "That's exactly the question I wanted to ask you. I know what I'd do in Denerim, but I don't know what it's like here."
Philippe turned to his sister, "Ma chérie, which parts of Val Royeaux do you desire to visit? Do you want to rub shoulders with nobles or with the canaille?"
Maddy looked wistful, "I don't want to be a princess and a king out for a stroll in the park, we can do that here. I want to walk round shops, and sit in a tavern and be with my fiancé, and you, and Leliana. I want to celebrate our engagement like a normal person would."
Alistair hugged her in enthusiastic agreement, "That's easy then. I'll grab a few of my own guards and I'll wear some of their armour. You can too if you wish Philippe. Then we are merely a bunch of off-duty guardsmen, with their ladies and we can move pretty freely. I'll feel more comfortable armed and armoured, so I can look after Maddy if there's any trouble."
Philippe thought it over, "That should be acceptable. Are we to go immediately?"
Alistair shook his head, "I have to let Eamon know about the engagement, and arrange for the Empress to be informed. Once that's settled, I'll send a servant to let you know."
-oOo-
The gorgeous strains of the harp emanating from the sitting room informed Alistair of the whereabouts of one of his advisors at least. The moment he entered the music stopped abruptly.
"You're back! So, how did it go?" Leliana enquired somewhat anxiously.
Alistair quirked an eyebrow at her, "You're not stressed at all are you Leliana? I seem to remember you telling me not to worry, and that it would be fine."
"Yes, I did, now tell me or I promise you I will write a ballad about your beauty and grace, and sing it at Court every day when we get back."
Now that was a truly nasty threat, "Ouch, you wouldn't, would you?" he grinned, before relenting in the face of her awful frown, "Alright, alright I submit. You can congratulate me, I'm to be married."
She squealed and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him over his shocked protests, "Leliana, what…stop…Maker's Breath woman, let me go."
"Oh, I'm so happy for you, I must go see Maddy and congratulate her too."
Alistair extricated himself from the overjoyed bard, and resettled his rumpled doublet. "Well, I'm rather hoping you will see her later anyway. We want to go out and see Val Royeaux; we were thinking you might want to come along."
Leliana beamed with delight, "I would love to show you Val Royeaux, it would be a terrible crime to come here and not see the city. When are we going?"
"Today I hope, but I have to get some things done first. Do you know where Eamon is?"
"Here, my boy. Do you have news for me?" Alistair turned to find Eamon just entering the room with a sheaf of parchments and a weary frown.
"I've offered for Maddy and she has accepted me. I'm going to be married." It was starting to sink in a bit with these announcements. Married, I'm to be married. The memory of her curled against his side comforted him that it might not be too scary.
"Congratulations Alistair, I must say I'm glad to have that settled. I'll draft a note to the Empress for you to sign; I imagine she may wish to see you both."
"I was hoping to take Maddy out to see the sights today, so if possible can you arrange it for tomorrow?"
Eamon raised his eyebrows, "You are going out into the city? Taking your betrothed shopping in the nobles' quarter I assume. You are taking guards I hope?"
Alistair tried his best to look innocent; he knew full well that Eamon would not approve of a plan to roam around a foreign city in disguise. "Oh yes, I'll take plenty of guards."
-oOo-
An hour later they all met in the outer courtyard of the palace.
Philippe had elected to wear a battered, comfortable-looking leather jerkin rather than armour, and had a couple of daggers sheathed on his hips. Both ladies wore simple dresses. If Leliana had weapons upon her person, they were not visible. Alistair wore the same dragon-bone partial splint as the rest of the King's Own, his personal guards, with a plain sword and a shield bearing their insignia. This was the traditional insignia of the Kings of Ferelden, two dogs rampant supporting a golden crown, but done in the Grey Warden colours of blue and white in honour of their king's background.
There was a festive air to the whole party; the King's Own had been getting restless penned up in the Imperial barracks and were glad of an opportunity to have some fun. Alistair had a grin so wide the top of his head appeared in danger of falling off, while Leliana and Maddy were giggling together like a couple of empty-headed young girls. Only Philippe appeared his usual poised, faintly amused self.
In this holiday mood they sallied forth to take on Val Royeaux.
-oOo-
Maddy sipped her wine and leant against Alistair's side. Leaning into armour was not the most comfortable thing in the world, but nothing could burst her bubble today.
It had been the most glorious day of freedom.
They had strolled through the enormous Val Royeaux market, browsing a fabulous selection of wares from all over Thedas. Technological qunari marvels from Par Vollen; graceful Antivan glass ornaments; rare magical objects from the Imperium; glittering pure gold jewellery from Rivain; fine silk cloth from here in Orlais.
And everywhere there was food. Sweet pastries, roasted meats basted in wine, sweetmeats and chocolates and – to Alistair's enormous delight – entire stalls devoted to fine cheese. He had spent a significant amount of time tasting cheeses and then placed a massive order to be sent up to the palace. 'To be delivered to my master King Alistair' he'd declared airily while his men smothered grins. Maddy had bought sweets and chocolates as gifts for all the Kings Own, endearing her to them immediately. She and Leliana had exclaimed over jewellery, and Alistair had bought Maddy a pretty gold necklace of delicate leaves and vines that was now twined around her throat.
Their party were all tucked into two corner tables of the large tavern; a plain dinner had been consumed, and they were settling down to make an evening of it. Minstrels played in the gallery above, but could barely be heard above the babble of voices, the clink of tankards and goblets. Smoke curled in the air from men's pipes and from the roaring fires at either end of the room.
Several of Alistair's ten handpicked men were playing cards together; some, including Philippe, were listening to one of Leliana's stories, and one or two were flirting with tavern wenches. Maddy was interested to note that some of the women in the tavern were sitting on the men's knees, in full public view of the room. If this was de rigueur around these parts, then she was certainly not averse to the idea, although she wasn't sure how Alistair was going to take it. He had demonstrated a disappointing prudish streak today when it came to public displays of affection, happy to hold her hand as they walked around, but no more than that.
-oOo-
Despite telling a rich complex tale of love and betrayal, Leliana had little difficulty keeping tabs on everything else going on around her. Maddy's delight in their surroundings was sweet to watch, and Alistair looked more like the carefree Grey Warden of old than she had seen in a long time.
She was also fascinated to note that one or two of Alistair's men were surreptitiously giving Philippe some admiring looks. The beautiful auburn-haired prince had been propositioned by a number of the women present, but had slid away from their attentions with his usual easy grace. He was now leaning back in his chair, one booted leg elegantly crossed over the other, sipping wine and watching his sister's antics with amused tolerance. She moved her eyes to where he was looking and laughed under her breath. Maker's Blood, what was that innocent child doing to poor Alistair?
-oOo-
When Maddy stood up from her place on the bench they shared, Alistair thought she was going to the latrines, and was about to arrange a guard to go with her. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and slid sideways onto his knee. He blushed pinkly at such a public display, but didn't really see a way to protest without offending her, and no-one else seemed bothered. They were here incognito after all, and this was perfectly normal behaviour for a guard and his lady in such an environment. I suppose we may as well enjoy the moment.
Which was all well and good, but when he curled one arm around her waist, she correctly took this as a sign that she was welcome to remain on her perch and started wriggling to get comfortable. He suddenly wished he'd worn full splint rather than the partial that was usual for an off-duty troop; the absence of faulds and codpiece left him all too aware of every movement. He breathed a relieved sigh when she settled, but she soon found a new way to unknowingly torment him.
She was looking round the room with keen interest, attention not particularly on him at all, but her arm was around his shoulders and her fingers began to absently trail up and down the back of his neck. Tips of her fingers ran up from the edge of his armour to his hairline, and then her nails gently scraped back down his neck. It sent delicious shivers all down his back and left him quite unable to think about anything else. Well, that wasn't strictly true, but everything he was thinking about was definitely connected to those trailing fingers.
-oOo-
It took Maddy a few minutes to notice the effect she was having on her fiancé. She turned to Alistair to point out a man on the other side of the room who was wearing a most ridiculous purple hat, and discovered his eyes half-closed and mouth slightly open. Her fingers had just reached his nape, when she trailed her nails back down a sigh escaped him and he arched his back a tiny bit.
Innocent she might be, but the power of a woman over a man is innate, and she could no more resist trying it out than she could stop breathing. Her hand drifted around his neck and up behind his ear to scratch gently at the delicate skin there before scraping her nails down his throat to the hollow above his armour line. His head moved to accommodate her hand, ending tipped back with mouth still softly opened.
It would have taken a stronger woman than Maddy to resist that posture. She leaned over and gently bit his full lower lip, grazing her mouth over his jaw to his throat, breathing in the musky male scent of him, and kissing up the line her fingers had followed, sliding her tongue behind his ear. She felt his whole body react, arching against her as he gasped; then his hand was on the back of her neck, moving her head gently away to look into her eyes.
"Maddy, we can't…not here, not now; …you don't know what you're doing to me," his voice was roughened, dragging over the words in a way that tantalised her.
She thought she might have some idea; that last reaction of his had sparked an instantaneous response in her, but he was right and she knew it. Sitting on his knee in a tavern was one thing, exploring each other was something else, and fun though it was now was not the time or the place.
She took his face in her hands and gave him a quick apologetic kiss, "You're right, I'm sorry."
He looked a touch surprised, she wasn't sure why, and his arm around her waist tightened.
-oOo-
When the noise in the tavern reached the raucous stage, Alistair caught Philippe's eye and nodded, judging it was time to leave. Five minutes earlier and they might have got away clean, but while drinks were being finished by some, others were picking up their gear, and their shield insignias drew the notice of the group at the next table.
"Hey, Fereldens! What, did you tire of the pure air up at the palace? Or did your king send you down here to get him some whores?" The hail from a burly man was cheerful enough, with scattered laughter from his fellows. Mercenaries by the look of them - armour in good condition but not a uniform - all wearing black scarves with a white crescent moon insignia knotted on their arm.
Cedric opened his mouth to make a bland reply, carefully not looking at his King. Unfortunately one of the other mercenaries, a dark haired young lad looking to impress his fellows, stuck his foot in his mouth first. "Ha! He won't be needing whores; I hear the noble tarts are queuing up for your king, even though he had one killed when he'd finished with her." At which point Maddy sprang up and slapped him hard across the mouth, bursting into furious Orlesian speech that Alistair didn't understand at all, although he caught his own name. Everyone froze in astonishment, then Philippe groaned and the enraged boy leapt to his feet.
The room was cramped, and Maddy stood between a tangle of vacated chairs, so the guards couldn't easily or quickly get close enough to protect her. Only Alistair stood directly beside her and so, when the infuriated mercenary snarled a response and lifted his arm to backhand her, it was Alistair who punched him.
It appeared that the situation was going to get quite ugly.
Having dropped the immediate threat, Alistair's first need was to get Maddy out of danger. He managed this by the simple expedient of picking her up bodily, and swinging her across the long table behind him to where Philippe could grab her.
Various mercenaries were surging to their feet and grabbing weapons, while the King's Own were doing the same. Alistair's men had the edge; at least half of them were already standing and armed, as they had been ready to leave, and although they had been drinking, none of them were drunk. Their first priority was the protection of their King and his future Queen, so while the mercenaries were preparing for a bar brawl, the King's Own were kicking chairs and tables out of their way and forming up around Alistair. By the time the mercenaries were ready to attack they found themselves facing not a drunken set of off-duty guards, but an organised bodyguard in a diamond formation around a single man, one who looked perfectly capable of handling himself without all that protection.
A blond mercenary snapped out an order, and some of his group stepped back while others protested. He rapped out another fast sentence in Orlesian, and grumbling they sheathed their weapons.
The King's Own remained on alert, but made no hostile moves. Alistair nodded to the man who gave the orders, "You are their Captain I take it?"
The thick-set blond man's low bow demonstrated that he suspected who he was facing, "Yes Y…yes sieur, I apologise for the boy; he is young and stupid." The lad scowled, but kept his head down in the face of his Captain's glare.
Alistair's mouth curved a touch, "We all were once. I commend you on your control of your troop."
The Captain's bow was deeper still, but with a touch of pride, "We are La Lune Blanche, the White Moon Company sieur, and I am humbled by your praise… and your clemency."
"Not at all. Here," Alistair passed him a handful of coins, "get your men a drink to wash the taste of this unpleasantness away. We were about to leave, so I'll bid you farewell."
"Many thanks sieur, we will drink to your very good health."
Alistair smiled ruefully and held out his hand to Maddy, who stood between Philippe and Leliana, looking mutinous. She moved to his side and he brought her hand to his lips. "You may drink to my impending nuptials Captain, Maker help me."
-oOo-
"But Philippe, what else was I to do when he said such dreadful things about Alistair?" asked Maddy. Her tone suggested that she considered her behaviour to have been perfectly reasonable, and Alistair squeezed her hand, not exactly agreeing but finding it hard to blame her for championing him so fiercely.
"If you intend to slap every drunken sot in Ferelden who spouts disparaging nonsense about his monarch, then you will be very busy ma chérie, and also tediously predictable. And I daresay Alistair may prefer it if his Queen does not fling insults in the teeth of the hoi polloi, hmm? "
They were walking up the grand avenue to the gates of the palace now, but the bickering between the siblings had been going on for some time. Alistair sidled over to Leliana and murmured, "What did she say to him?"
Leliana giggled "As I recall, something along the lines of 'How dare you say such things of Alistair, you slimy pigdog'. She has a temper it seems."
"So it appears. There'll be fun and games when the Bannorn start picking on me at the next Landsmeet. Much though I'd love to see some of them slapped, I may have to tie her to her throne."
Leliana looked at him sidelong; mouth curved in an evil little smile, "Fun and games indeed then," and broke into peals of laughter as he blushed to the eyeballs.
-oOo-
