Wow, check out all those reviews! Thanks guys they mean so much. I am trying my best to portray Anora as just a regular character rather than a baddie as such, although that is also pretty much what she is. I do feel bad for her being locked in the tower then married to the guy who killed her dad and forced to try to make babies etc. But like I said I needed to really get her to a point where she felt so desperate and backed into a corner that she feels she has only one option left to her to save herself.

Thomas Howe is Arl Rendon Howes' son. He's mentioned in the human noble origin story at the start and I thought who better to conspire with Anora than the son of her father's right hand man? Besides with a father like him he's bound to be a little bit twisted. Arl Howes land was in Amaranthine, but after the Blight their land was stripped from them to give land to the Dalish, so there's another reason Thomas would be pissed!

Also, sorry for the delay between the last chapter and this; I have had family staying so have been a dutiful hostess.

Chapter 10

The next morning

"Are you sure you are ready for this?" Alistair asked as he and Saóirsè walked through the courtyard. Saóirsè stopped and glared at him.

"Alistair!" she said in annoyance. "You're the one pushing this; you can't be the one having doubts now! I have the doubts, you have the confidence!"

"I'm sorry, I'm just..." Alistair bit his lip. "Listen, can you recall how I was terrified about meeting my sister? Well take that and multiply it by about a million. That's how nervous I am."

"You've met Cat before." Saóirsè pointed out gently.

"Yes but then she was just the girl I thought was Leliana's daughter." Alistair said. "Not my secret, long lost baby!"

"You have nothing to worry about," Saóirsè said resuming her walk. "I am the one who has to sit her child down and say 'Cat, remember how I said your father had died before you were born? Well I lied, this is he and he's the damn king'. I am the horrible mother here."

"No you're not, but I'm not going over that again." Alistair said firmly.

They walked out of the palace district and headed for the market. Wynne and Leliana had taken Cat to the Wonders of Thedas shop, after Catriona had begged to see it. Alistair had been worried about the shopping excursion until Saóirsè had delicately explained that Wynne knew all about Cat including who her true parents were. Although he had started to take umbrage at the idea of yet another person having known his daughter before him, he had conceded that Wynne was a trusted friend and a good grandmotherly figure for Cat. Catriona would be perfectly safe with the mage and the bard, especially in such a secure location as Denerim.

***

Anora sat in the opulent sitting room working on needlepoint. Her fingers deftly stitched the pattern but her mind was elsewhere. She looked up as Thomas entered the room and smiled warmly, playing the role of the queen welcoming a lord.

"Your highness," Thomas greeted her bowing low. He moved over to the bookcase and with his back to the room he perused the spines. Anora was seated just to the right of him and did not look up from her work as he spoke quietly.

"The plan is in motion." He said softly. "The girl is visiting the Wonders of Thedas shop at noon with the First Enchanter and the Orlesian woman who follows the Grey Warden around like a lapdog."

"Do not underestimate her," Anora said still not pausing her stitching. "She is a bard and a formidable opponent."

"We have an ally in the shop, a mage who owes me rather a lot. She is going to create a diversion, and then we have three men in place to snatch the girl in the chaos. They will be out of the city before anyone has noticed her absence."

"Good." Anora said, snipping off her thread. "I would prefer it if the First Enchanter could be spared—I would hate to replace her when she is doing good work. But I would consider it to be a bonus if the bard were to perish."

"I'll see what we can do."

***

Wynne pushed the door to the Wonders of Thedas shop open and held it for Cat to step inside. Her green eyes were wide in awe as she took in the floor to ceiling bookshelves and the interesting assortments of magical items on the display cabinets. Leliana and Wynne followed her drinking in her joy at the new place. There were a few people dotted around browsing the wares. Cat slipped her hand into Wynnes and marched her towards a table bearing glittering gems.

"I want to see the pretty stones," she said. Wynne was more than happy to indulge the girl.

"This is a lifestone," Wynne said picking up a small orange stone. "You can use this to make salves. Your mama is very good at that, you know?" She replaced the stone and gestured to a collection of icy-blue stones. "These are a mixture of frozen lightning and frost rocks. You can make different salves with them."

"What else can mamae make?" Cat asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Well," Wynne said moving the two over towards a shelf filled with elixirs. "You mama can make these potions, too. You mostly use herbs for these, like this one." She picked up an elfroot leaf by its stem and held it out for Catriona to see.

Leliana kept one eye on them as she wandered about the shop; her natural protective instincts were too strong to push away, even in a safe situation like this one. She ran her fingers along several books as she moved out of sight of Wynne and Catriona. She was near the back of the shop where there were steps up to the mezzanine area just behind the tranquil proprietor. Tranquils were no longer being created unless a mage broke too many rules and needed to be suitably magically neutered—a a punishment not a failsafe technique. Alistair, together with Wynne, was working to grant mages more freedom from the Templar's who watched over them, reasserting their roles as protectors instead of prison guards. This particular tranquil had been in charge of the shop since before the Blight however.

Leliana stopped suddenly as something caught her eye. A female mage was stood stock still before a bookcase. There was something about her stillness that unnerved Leliana. As she watched, the mage took a book from the shelf and then slipped something in the cavity left by the book. "Hey!" she shouted. The mage whipped her head around in fright, and then threw the book at Leliana in a panic, trying to run. Leliana leapt and caught the mage by her trailing hair, yanking her back. "Wynne!" she yelled to the First Enchanter, who turned to see the commotion. Other patrons in the shop were turning to look as well.

The female mage turned terrified eyes onto Leliana and the bard hesitated, seeing genuine fear.

Then chaos reigned.

The bookshelf where the mage had removed the book, suddenly exploded into large and small chunks of wood, which flew in each direction accompanied by ripped apart books. Leliana dropped the mage and turned to see Wynne duck and cover Cat with her body, but a tome struck her and she was knocked to the ground. The Tranquil shop keeper remained where he stood even as he was bombarded with wooden splinters. He disappeared beneath the debris. Leliana made for Cat, but then something tripped her and she tumbled to the floor. When she looked up, she caught a glimpse of a boot heading for her face and then she only heard a girl screaming and then silence.

***

Alistair and Saóirsè immediately broke into a run as soon as they heard the blast, instinctively heading for the sound without checking the source of the noise. As they crossed the market district they were met by people running from the Wonders of Thedas and they quickened their approach.

The shop was a mess. The windows had been blown out and the door was hanging off its hinges and books and shrapnel littered the entrance. Saóirsè felt her heart stop as she peered inside the building. "Catriona!" she shouted into the gloom. "Cat!" She climbed onto the pile of debris in the doorway.

"Saóirsè, be careful," Alistair said as she slipped and nearly fell. She didn't appear to hear him.

"Cat?" She felt her way into the shop. Only a few slivers of light were entering the shop from the door and the broken window, so while it was easy to see at the entrance, the further back the room went the darker it became. "Cat!"

She heard Alistair climb into the shop behind her then felt his hand slip into hers and squeeze it. It was then that she felt the tears on her cheeks and she was grateful, for now, that he was with her. "Catriona?" he added his voice to hers, not forgetting her companions. "Wynne? Leliana?"

A moan sounded in the gloom. Saóirsè turned and followed the sound. "Who's that?" she cried, needing more noise to ascertain the direction.

"Saóirsè?"

"Wynne!" Saóirsè dropped to her knees by the sound and felt for the mages cold hand. "Wynne, are you badly hurt?"

"Where's Catriona?" Wynne asked.

"I don't know," Saóirsè said with a small sob.

"Wynne, can you move?" Alistair crouched beside his friend and spoke with a gentle voice.

"I think so," Wynne said. "My face is wet...I think I'm bleeding."

"Come on," Alistair said, feeling for Wynnes back and legs. He easily lifted the old woman in his arms.

"Majesty?" came a shout from the doorway. Alistair turned to the guard shouting.

"In here." Alistair shouted back, an authoritative edge creeping into his voice. "The First Enchanter is hurt. Somebody fetch healers and a light!"

"Here, ser." Someone pushed forward and brought with him a lit torch. Saóirsè went to the doorway and retrieved it so that Alistair could more safely find his way to the entrance and pass Wynne to the waiting men.

"Take good care of her." Alistair said. As Wynne was carried into the daylight he saw the wound on her forehead which was streaming with blood. The red looked garish and painful in her silvery hair and Alistair sent out a quick prayer to the Maker that she would recover from her injury. The guards set about removing the planks of wood in the door and so let more beams of light enter the shop.

"Alistair, we have to find Cat," Saóirsè said beside him. He turned and followed her searching by torchlight.

"Cat?" she called. Then she stopped suddenly and Alistair bumped into her.

"What is it?" he asked worried.

She dropped to her knees and he moved around her to see, taking the torch from her as she was holding it at a strange angle, having forgotten it was in her hands.

"Leliana," Saóirsè breathed bending over the bard. Alistair looked: Leliana was on her side, with blood coating her face and hair and pooling on the floor. Her nose had defiantly been broken—it looked like someone had hit her with a blunt force to the face. She was bent into the foetal position, and he wondered if she had received a kick to the abdomen.

"Oh no," Saóirsè said, and Alistair crouched beside her again. "Alistair, I can't tell if she's breathing." Saóirsès face was a mask of concern.

"Here," he gave her back the torch. "I'll take her out." He scooped Leliana up and carried her through the shop, Saóirsè at his heels holding the light.

Then Leliana gave a sudden cough and Alistair felt rather than saw the blood spattering his chest and neck.

"Leliana," Saóirsè was beside her like a shot.

"Saóirsè..." Leliana said thickly. "I think...I think..."

"It's alright Saóirsè soothed, "you'll be alright."

"This was no accident," Leliana said. "The mage knows...she set the bomb..."

"We'll get to the bottom of this, don't you worry." Alistair said soothingly.

"But," Leliana coughed again. "I think they took Cat."

***

Saóirsè was running faster than she had ever run in her life. People froze as she passed them—she was like a woman possessed. She dimly heard someone shouting her name but it seemed like an irrelevant thing to stop for. The gates were in view, the entrance and exit of the city and she ran towards them with only one thought on her mind: getting to her daughter before it was too late.

"Saóirsè!" Alistair struggled to catch up with the elf; she had had a head start as she had ran from the shop before he could even process what Leliana was saying and then he had had to pass Leliana safely to a waiting guard before he could begin his pursuit. "Saóirsè!"

Saóirsè came to the closed gates and came to a stop, hitting the gate with her fists. "Open them!" she screamed. "Open them this instant!"

Alistair finally caught Saóirsè and grabbed her arms to pull her from the gate. "Saóirsè, wait."

"Let me go," she yelled, turning to the gate keepers. "Open them!"

"Saóirsè," Alistair shouted, pausing her frantic yelling for a moment. "Wait. The gates would have been sealed as soon as the alarm call went out when the shop exploded."

He looked at the guard, who nodded at once.

"That's right, your majesty, ser." He said. "Not a single person has entered or left since then."

"But..." Saóirsè faltered. "But then where is Cat? Where's my baby?"

"I don't know, but they can't have gone far." Alistair said, and then addressed the guards. "Keep the gate sealed until I and only I give the order to re-open them. No-one may leave or enter until then." Satisfied that his instruction had been heard he turned back to Saóirsè. "I will command the guard to search every street and house until they find her. We have to be rational and think about this. I need to you to come with me and give the guards a description of Catriona so that they know who to look for."

Saóirsè nodded shakily and allowed herself to be led away.

***

Cat was mostly asleep, but a little bit awake. Not awake enough to move or open her eyes or speak, but enough to hear the voices of the three men who were her captors. She heard their nervous, but thrilled laughter as they boasted about how clever they were to nab a Grey Wardens child. They had grabbed her and ran from the shop, merging with the crowds. They had even passed Saóirsè and Alistair as they ran towards the shop. Cat heard her mamae's name and wanted to cry out for her but couldn't make her mouth form the words. She heard one man brag about how clever he was to have come up with the plan to escape the city. How he had a brother with a boat. How they had reached the last bridge on the most Easterly side of Denerim before the docks so no-one would see them, and how they had thrown themselves off the bridge into the Drakon River, to be picked up by the small boat. They were not heading far—the boat was small and nowhere near sturdy enough for a sea voyage. They just needed to be out of the city without any chance of being followed.

Catriona was cold and wet but they had covered her with a blanket. She could not make herself cry, so potent was the potion they had poured down her throat to keep her quiet, but she could feel the sorrow and fear inside as she cried out in her mind for her mother to rescue her.