A/N: This chapter is a little longer than the others. I had a lot of information to fit in here before the end. About the end...well I'm sorry readers, I love you all, but I wrote that out to be an asshole. Yes, it's been planned since I came up with the idea for this story, because...I'm an asshole.
Thank you to alyssacousland for going over this with a fine comb and for suggesting ways to make it better. YOU ROCK! A huge thanks to my usual suspects: alyssacousland, Jinx1983, and Warrose. Your reviews always always make my day and put a smile on my face. Thanks to all of you who favorite and read this.
"That was unbelievably fast." Alistair said as he and Elissa watched the horses ride past them and into the village below.
"Let's see now." Elissa looked thoughtfully into the distance. "It is a two day walk from here to the tower, as both of us are well aware."
"Indeed," Alistair muttered as he remembered the sores on his feet from all the walking they had done. Thank the Maker for the freedom to finally travel on horseback.
"Now riding cuts down the travel time by at least day. Hard riding a day and a half. Oh. Mother Hannah must have told her messenger it was an urgent situation," Elissa smiled.
"As riveting as this conversation you seem to be having with yourself is, I need to get going. I have to see a man about...something of absolutely no importance."
His lopsided smirk made Elissa want to reach up and smack the side of his head for being so damned infuriating. "Fine. You know what, I don't care anymore! Go!" She placed a hand on his broad shoulders and pushed him towards the village. "Go and take care of your secret business, while I'm off chatting to mages in a Chantry!" She stopped pushing him. Without wasting any time he started down the hill towards Owen's weapons shop. " I hope you have loads of fun!" She shouted after him.
"Now I'll just have even more fun just so I can tell you about it later!" Alistair yelled back at her while laughing.
"Ugh!" She huffed before turning back to the castle. The whole walk back she smirked and grinned to herself pleased she could make Alistair laugh and somewhat forget about his morning confrontation.
She found Eamon in the main hall and informed him of the mages' arrival. He appeared to be pleased enough, but with the arl it was hard to tell for sure. After inquiring after Maric's whereabouts, Elissa set off towards Maric's bed chambers.
"Maric?" She called out, while knocking firmly on his door. Slowly it opened. Maric stood before her with saddened red eyes. She guessed these red eyes were not from lack of sleep. Her heart went out to the man. "I thought you might like to know the mages have arrived."
"Really? Already?" There was a slight, uneven quiver in his words. Instead of making some snarky comment as she was tempted to do, she nodded.
"I suppose I should see if they are ready to get straight to work." Maric smiled weakly.
"I'll go with you." She smiled cheerfully.
"You don't need to do that Elissa. I'm sure you have more important things to do than watch a bunch of mages cast spells and dip in to my most inner thoughts."
Elissa pretended to appear to be in deep thought as she considered his words. She shook her head. "Not really. Anyway, the more witnesses you have, the better off you'll be when you prove yourself to the nobles."
"Fine." Maric sighed. "Let me clean myself up a bit before we go." He moved behind his door and pushed it shut.
Reappearing moments later, he was dressed in a white shirt with grey trousers. While his smile was warm and inviting, it did not reach his sorrowful red eyes. Elissa took her place next to him. The two walked silently through the castle, down through the village, They stopped and took notice of thet five horses tied up along side Chantry wall. A surprised whistle came from Elissa.
"Can I tell you something?" He asked, as his lips formed a half-sneer.
She nodded. "Of course."
"I'm rather nervous about the whole thing." He confided.
"I honestly don't blame you. I think anyone would be. It isn't often the mages are asked to read the memories of non-magic humans."
"Do you think they will misinterpret my fear as being untruthful?"
"I somehow doubt it," she gave him a smile and his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Alright." Maric sighed heavily as he straightened his posture and looked at the door with a set determination in his eye. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" He muttered as he and Elissa pulled open the Chantry doors.
There was an unmistakable sense of urgency in the Chantry air. The templars were busy moving bookshelves and stands from one end of the Chantry to the other, while the mages frantically worked to set up stands, lyrium bowls and tomes around a blanket on the floor.
Maric's back began to ache at the thought of spending all damn day lying on a hard surface. Instead of complaining, he spotted mother Hannah standing in a corner watching the activities in amused silence. Both he and Elissa joined her.
Mother Hannah watched as they approached. "Ah. Good. I was just about to send word to the castle of their arrival," she said, eyes trained on Maric as if she were trying to break through his clever disguise.
He was holding her gaze, smiling and silently wishing her the best of luck in such a task.
"Thank you Mother Hannah for making this a top priority," he said politely.
"It isn't every day someone walks into this town claiming to be our beloved king," she said frowning. Her frown deepened as a mage approached the huddled audience.
"First Enchanter!" Elissa exclaimed cheerfully as Kyle approached them. All three bowed their head slightly as he was a mage worthy of their respect. "It is very good to see you again."
"I should have known you would be here." He said equaling her cheerfulness "It lightens my heart to see you doing so well Warden Cousland." She grinned and nodded vigorously. Chuckling softly, Kyle turned to mother Hannah. "We will be ready to begin in a few moments." Mother Hannah nodded in silent response.
Kyle eyed Maric suspiciously. It was a look Maric was quickly becoming accustomed to, but was still insulting nevertheless. "Am I correct in assuming you are the reason we are here?"
"Indeed." Maric muttered.
"Follow me then. We are almost ready to begin." Kyle gestured for Maric to take his place lying down on the blanket. Lying on the floor was just as uncomfortable as Maric had imagined it being. There was little to be done about it now. He was determined to prove he was who be claimed to be.
"Allow me to explain how this process works." Kyle said as he flipped through tomes, tuning to the correct pages he would need. "It won't take as long as you think, which is why we aren't resting after a night's worth of traveling."
"Tired mages performing a ritual involving me. That is awfully comforting." Maric stated, earning him a rare chuckle from Kyle.
"Worry not, Ser, we have plenty of lyrium to keep those of us conscious who need to be." This did little to comfort Maric. "Four of us; two here and here." He pointed to Maric's head and feet. "will be reciting from these tomes. The lyrium stands will not only serve as a source of power for the tomes, it will also allow one of us to travel into your subconscious thoughts. In this case it will be myself."
"As the tomes are being read you and I will be placed in a comatose state. I have been armed with enough knowledge of Maric's past from books and people who knew him, to correctly determine if you are indeed showing me the truth. Being a human incapable of magic, the process itself will take at least eight hours. If you are not who you claim to be, this is your last chance to declare it so. If I should come back knowing you have deceived us all, you will be put to death."
"Let's be done with this." Maric's eyes gleamed with determination.
"In just a moment. I am awaiting for...Ah." The doors opened revealing Eamon's arrival. "There he is. This won't take but a moment." Not waiting for a response, Kyle walked up to Eamon, questioning him of his knowledge of Maric. This took far longer than Kyle had anticipated, but any information from someone who knew the man in question was useful.
"I had no idea Eamon knew so much about me." Maric told Kyle upon his return.
"Neither did he." Kyle said as he stretched himself out upon the blanket beside Maric. "Are we ready?" He asked the mage standing above him.
"Yes."
"Begin." Kyle ordered. The four mages began reading from their specific tome, mumbling words and phrases. Had Maric not been so very sleepy, it would have been enough to give him a headache. Instead, he gave into his heavy eyelids and fell asleep promptly.
Elissa, Eamon and Mother Hannah watched the ritual from a nearby pew, each of them fascinated by the amount of magical energy within the room.
Mother Hannah leaned over and whispered into Elissa's ear. "Surely you don't plan on staying for all eight hours of this do you, my dear?"
Not taking her eyes off of the scene before her, she nodded her head. "Of course I do," she whispered back. "I told him I would. The more reliable witnesses he has, the more likely it is he will succeed in winning the landsmeet."
"So, you believe he is who he claims to be?"
"Of course I do. I don't believe he gains anything but his death by lying to any of us. Not to mention I see both Cailan and Alistair in him. Not only facially, but in attitude and presence as well. I can't help but believe he's anyone but Maric." She left out how sad and hurt he looked after Alistair's rejection. That in itself left no doubt in Elissa's mind he was anyone other than the real Maric.
The ritual lasted for nearly eight hours. Everyone was thrilled when one of the mages announced they were done. Slowly Maric and Kyle awoke, both groggy from their experience.
As anxious as everyone was, no one pressed for answers so soon after they awoke.
Elissa watched Kyle speak with his fellow mages and do something strange with his finger over the lyrium bowl. He must have been satisfied when his actions because soon he was helping Maric off the floor, and standing before Mother Hannah, a broad smile spread across his face.
"By the Maker! He really is who he claims. He is indeed our long lost King Maric!"
"So the First Enchanter's conclusion shall be duly noted." She walked up to Maric. He was relieved to see she was no longer looking at him as if he were some plague. "Once the First Enchanter has finished giving me a complete recollection of everything he has seen within you, I will be more than happy to testify on your behalf at any landsmeet you may have called."
"Thank you, Mother Hannah." He looked behind her to Elissa and Eamon, who were both smiling widely. "I am on the verge of an epically bad mood. Food and much of it will be needed."
As the First Enchanter and Mother Hannah retired to her chamber to talk over what he had learned, Maric, Elissa, and Eamon walked back towards the castle, ready to call a celebration feast for everyone.
Everyone except Alistair was more than willing to partake in the celebration of the 'official' return of Maric. The vast amount of food served was a deciding factor for all in attendance. The celebration itself ended just after nightfall due to the guest of honor's fatigue from sleeping all day. Much to everyone's great disappointment, the festivities ended when he left.
Elissa and Zara walked down the hallway together speaking of dueling the next day. Zara was eager to learn to be a duelist, Elissa was only too happy to oblige.
"Oh goody. Another skill learned is just what you need," Anders mumbled under his breath.
"Afraid I might actually beat you?" Zara smirked up at him. Elissa could not help but snicker. Anders and Zara had done something close to "dueling" every morning since their arrival. It always ended up with her being frozen in place, and Ander's refusal to undo the spell in fear for his life.
"Hardly. I have magic on my side." He said puffing his chest out proudly.
"Ah yes. Magic. The weapon of men who are too scared to fight with swords. Or are they just too heavy for your frail, little womanly frame?" Zara said before she broke out into a run. "See you tomorrow morning, Warden Cousland!" She called back breathlessly behind her.
"Goodnight Anders," She smirked knowingly at the grinning mage. He quickly bid her a good night and gave chase to his spry elf.
Disappearing into her own room, Elissa cringed at the sound of Alistair singing at the top of his lungs. Thankful for what little sound the door muffled, Elissa's hands still few to her ears, as he had a voice only dogs could appreciate.
She was ready to march into the bathroom to demand he stop making her wish she had been born without ears, when she saw a medium sized box lying on their bed. Her curiosity peaked, she walked over to make a closer inspection of the wooden box.
Carefully she picked it up with both hands, surprised at how light it was. Setting it back on the bed, she cast a quick sly glance towards the bathroom. Alistair wouldn't mind her taking a peak now. Would he? Elissa did not give her mind much time to ponder this before she flipped open the hinged top.
Her eyes grew wide with excitement when she saw the contents. Inside the velvet lined box lay two beautiful daggers. The blades themselves were smooth, straight and sharpened. They were made of a sturdy cut of white steel, while the hilts were made of silver, giving them a glossed look.
"Do you like them?" Alistair stood in the bathroom doorway, a pleased smile spread across his lips.
"Of course I do." Elissa cooed breathlessly. "They are absolutely gorgeous."
Alistair released a breath he had no idea he had been holding. They weren't made of the finest metals in all of Thedas, but he knew something like that would not matter to her.
"Is this the secret you and Owen have been working on?" She asked.
"Yes. It was done sooner than both of us expected." He said trying his best to hide his shaking voice. He cleared his throat nervously. Bullets of sweat ran down his brow and the back of his neck. His stomach tied itself in knots. "Ummm...Both of them are inscribed." He pointed shakily to the daggers.
This sudden nervous shaking did not escape Elissa's notice. "I haven't seen you this nervous since you asked me to sleep with you." She blurted.
"Yes. Thank you for pointing that out."
She brought each dagger up to her eyes for a closer inspection. The words were lightly engraved into the metal. Engraved on the first dagger was: "Marry", The second read: "Me."
Elissa let the daggers drop to the bed. Slowly she turned towards Alistair, eyes wide with shock.
Alistair shifted nervously where he stood. "I know a lot of women enjoy rings, bent knees and whatnot. But I thought this method was a little more...you. Unless you want a ring. Then I'll take these down straight away to have them melted down."
"This is better than any ring." She gushed. "Yes. Of course I'll marry you." She said walking towards Alistair, who was still processing her reply when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to her own and claiming his lips passionately.
His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his body. "I believe we should celebrate." He whispered against her lips. Pulling her even closer against his body, feeling his prominent arousal, Elissa had to snicker at his lack of subtlety.
"I believe that is in order." She purred against his lips.
This would have led to more had their celebration not been interrupted by a knock at their door. Both groaned bitterly in protest.
Alistair pointed down to her armored top. "You might want to fix that before you open any doors, my love."
Indeed he was correct. It was half-opened, exposing her left breast. Giggling, she snapped the armor shut.
"Someone has busy hands." At this Alistair grinned proudly.
"Yes?" She said as she opened the door.
There stood a nervous servant. "Ummm. Pardon the interruption Wardens, but the arl requires your presence immediately. He is in the main hall." He bowed before leaving.
"Of course he does," Alistair sighed as he followed Elissa out of the room.
Elissa was surprised to see Maric standing beside the arl, looking tired, but worried as did the arl himself. Before the arl stood the queen's men, and Ser Cauthrien. The air went out of Elissa's lungs as Ser Cauthrien turned on her heels and stood before her. Was that sympathy in her eyes? It was hard for Elissa to be sure.
"I am here by the order of Her Royal Majesty to give you this." She handed Elissa a rolled up scroll. She had some idea what it was, but not why. She nervously unrolled the sheet. Upon reading what information it held Elissa chuckled bitterly. "You are under arrest Warden Cousland," Ser Cauthrien said. There was no mistaking it now. There was sympathy there in her eyes and voice.
"Under arrest?" Alistair repeated outraged at the very idea. "On what charge?"
"Treason." Elissa said. Damn. I should have seen this coming. Clever woman.
"What!" Alistair's voice boomed throughout the otherwise quiet room. "How can you do this to a he..." Elissa placed a hand on Alistair's shoulder and squeezed
"Alistair," she interrupted. "My love, yelling about it won't help anyone and neither will fighting." She smiled sadly as she kissed him tenderly upon his left cheek. "Instead of worrying about me, you need to help Maric win this landsmeet."
"No! This isn't right! There has to be some mistake. There must be something we can do!" He asked frantically. The somber look upon Elissa's beautiful face told him she believed otherwise.
"Fine. I'll do what I can." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched her go. She was immediately surrounded by soldiers to prevent any kind of escape. He watched even after they had left the hall.
"How long before we can call a landsmeet?" He heard Maric ask. His voice was raw with anger.
"Two weeks."
"Not fast enough!" Maric yelled.
Alistair walked past them, heading towards...well he didn't know. But he had to go somewhere..do something. Anything!
Maric spoke to him in passing. "Alistair. I'm sorry I..." He would have finished this, but soon found himself on the ground, his jaw throbbing with pain where Alistair's fist had connected.
"Damn right you're sorry! You should have seen this coming," he sneered. "I'll be in the library." He said acidly before leaving.
Eamon helped Maric up. "The boy has a temper."
"No time to dwell on such things." Maric muttered as he rubbed his jaw. "I'll be writing out landsmeet invitations." Without another word he turned towards the arl's study.
"Mother Hannah!" Elissa gaped as the mother was forced to march beside her. "What in Thedas have they arrested you for?"
Mother Hannah's eyes gleamed with outrage. "A warrant of questioning." She scoffed.
"Questioning my arse," Elissa muttered. "I'm sure your 'questioning' will last as long as the landsmeet."
"I assumed as much."
"Damn."
"Indeed, my child. Damn." Both looked down hopelessly at the ground as they were marched toward Denerim.