"What I'm going to tell you can not leave this room."
Solona was perched on a chair near a window, her hands splayed on the smooth polished wood of the table in front of her. Kallian was near by, her back against the wall and arms folded over her chest, observing everything in the room with a dull expression. Aedan paced a few steps away from the two, though with slow deliberate strides as opposed to the fast kind that was normally attributed to caged animals. They were in his room on the top floor of the estate, the door closed tight and locked to prevent intruders as the three discussed whatever it was that Aedan had summoned them for.
It was much like the rest of the rooms in the house; open with stone walls and a vivid green rug that lay over the stone floor bearing the double laurels outlined in white and azure that was the symbol of House Cousland. He had a four-poster bed and a wall full of books that detailed strategy, history, and all other sorts of boring things that the nobility seemed to like reading and constantly kept on hand. Currently, Aedan paced in front of a large antique map of Ferelden, the parchment yellowed with age and time, though otherwise in outstanding condition. The table that Solona sat and Kallian hovered over had the remnants of their breakfast on it and a stack of papers that the teyrnling had obviously been going over before their impromptu meeting.
"I've been thinking about what the Wardens said-"
Kallian interrupted with a snort. "Truly amazing that, Basher."
He shot her an icy glare, to which the elf only grinned. "-and I've come to the conclusion that they must be right."
"What do you mean?" Solona asked, eying Kallian warily, fully expecting the elf to say something rude about the late revelation on Aedan's part.
"I had thought it odd that there was no investigation on behalf of the Landsmeet or anyone else to see why Highever was suddenly ransacked and Howe given the rank of Teyrn in my father's place. At first I thought that it was simply the civil war and the darkspawn that had kept anyone from becoming curious, but now I see that it is far more than that." He let his words hang for a moment, meeting both Solona and Kallian's eyes before continuing on. "After King Maric had died, many thought that King Cailan, Maker rest his soul, was not the best choice as his successor. My father was a strong candidate for the throne in the eyes of many of the people, but my father desired no such position. What's more, Teyrn Loghain and Arl Eamon would hear none of it, so the matter was dropped and Maric's son rose to the throne. At first, I thought that the slaughter of my family had been a greedy action plotted entirely by Howe, but I have come to the conclusion that this is not entirely true.
"Cailan's death, Arl Eamon's near-fatal poisoning, and my own family's fate are not coincidence, but a plan that was simply put into action when a time of convenience managed to rear its head. Everyone who could have been a candidate to seize control of Ferelden's throne after Cailan's death is dead or came very close to it. All except Loghain. His right to the throne is tenuous at best because his daughter is the Queen, but Hero of River Dane or not, he and his daughter are still considered commoners by much of the Bannorn. He is an inspirational figure, and well-loved by the people as well as very respected for his knack for strategy, but a commoner, none the less. If Arl Eamon had not been rendered ill at an all-too convenient time and my father killed just as conveniently, Loghain would have very little chance of persuading the Landsmeet the sit him as regent.
"Howe may have been the one to suggest poisoning the Arl and attacking Highever when it was at its weakest, but ultimately I believe that it was Loghain that allowed it all to happen. I speak of treason, and it is treasonous that I speak of it." He hoped that the two women understood the predicament that he was in, and they by extension were also at risk of.
Unexpectedly, Kallian pounded on the wall behind her with an open fist and stood rigid as a board away from the wall, starling Solona and glaring at Aedan. "Shemlen politics!" She yelled, color staining her cheeks. "Yer sayin' that we can't just oust this idiotic Teyrn fer bein' a thick-headed back-side of an ass just 'cuz it's improper? Andraste's bloody undergarments! Are all nobles this stupid?" She paused, then curtsied and flashed Aedan her most fake polite smile. "Your Grace excluded, o' course."
He rolled his eyes at her theatrics and let the slight pass. "No, I'm saying that we can't oust him because we don't have any proof other than my word against his. Howe will have burned the bodies at Highever some time ago."
"Then what do we do?" Solona asked, folding her hands in her lap. "If the Wardens are right, and this really is a true Blight, then what Loghain is doing now will doom us all. He's tearing the country apart."
"I am well aware. I don't know how long he intends our countrymen to fight against one another, either. The Blight is no mere rumor anymore. Each day Denerim fills with the tales of those fleeing from the south from the darkspawn horde, and the docks seem to be filled during the day with those seeking passage out of Ferelden to where they believe that the Blight can't touch them. I am also worried about what Howe plans to do with the forces that he's managed to gather in the long string of murdered nobility. He now controls the entire north coast of Ferelden. The alliance of Highever and Amaranthine was already a large and formidable force that could intimidate the forces of Gwaren. But now he's added Denerim to his collection, and holds almost more power than the Queen." Aedan paused his pacing by the map, looking over the detailed stretch of parchment with a critical eye, tracing lines of territories with his mind. "If Loghain manages to weaken his combined forces from Gwaren, Lothering and the other southern cities by fighting with the Bannorn, that viper could very well strike at him and seize the throne. He has the potential to be the single greatest military force in all of Ferelden when this is all said and done."
"Well then we gotta get in there an' kill him, right?" Kallian asked, sounding almost too eager to sneak into the Denerim estate and try her hand at noble slaying again. "Loghain too, maybe?" Her tone was almost childishly hopeful.
Aedan was almost scared to think that the woman was serious. Her lust for noble blood was frightening at the best of times, and he made a mental note to keep in her good graces, lest he find the elf woman at his bedside one night with a bloody dagger in her hand. "I am reluctant to kill Loghain. We may need his strategies before our war with the Darkspawn is over, but if he refuses to see reason and cease this petty fighting with the banns, or the banns cannot be convinced to submit to his rule as regent for the time being, then that may be our only way. Howe, however, I see no reason to keep alive. His collective lands are stolen at best. No one will miss his presence among the Banns." That was untrue, of course. Amaranthine would probably be in a state of distress without their Arl, and he vaguely wondered if Thomas or Delilah would try taking up their father's mantle if the man was put out of his treacherous misery. He didn't think on it long however, his need to see Howe dead over riding most of his ability to be merciful. "Loghain can pay for what he's allowed to happen later, if there is a later to be had. But before the idea of bringing Howe to justice can be entertained, we will need allies. Kallian, this is where you and your band can be particularly helpful. I wish to start a rumor that I am alive."
The elf cocked her head at him, an eyebrow raised as she appraised him. "Why?"
"To gain support." Aedan reiterated simply. "I do not know how many soldiers from Highever might be still wandering Ferelden as sell-swords, or perhaps even defected to a different bann or arl after my family's fall. If there are any left, I would like for them to be able to find me and prove their loyalty once more by pledging their swords to the restoration of the Cousland name. Further more, there is a chance that if rumor begins to spread that I am alive and collecting forces, soldiers from Amaranthine may join as well. The Arling of Amaranthine has always been a vassal of Highever; it is the epitome of treason for Howe to have turned against my father. Not all of the soldiers who know about the attack will have been happy about it, and unhappy soldiers gossip like fishwives."
"Well, that's all jolly good…" Kallian drawled, her hands on her hips now. "…but Howe's been recuitin' new goons like they're goin' out of style."
"But that's here in Denerim." Aedan replied.
"What if no one comes?" Solona finally spoke up, hating to be the bearer of bad news, but seeing no way around it since neither Aedan nor Kallian had broached the subject yet.
He turned a long lingering look on the mage, his gaze reserved and voice more so. "Then today's meeting will have been for naught. We will continue intercepting Tevinter slavers when we can find their routes and work on behalf of the Wardens as we promised."
Solona nodded, but felt bad for having to be the downer in the conversation anyway. She knew that seeing Howe dead was Aedan's main goal, but the plan to have him overthrown and executed seemed a long shot.
"If I can manage to scrape some men together, however, I will visit Arl Eamon. The man is trust worthy and seems to be on the side of the Gray Wardens as well. He was the King's uncle, so has much reason to see Loghain brought to heel for what happened at Ostagar, though what plan he has to do this I am uncertain without being able to talk to him." Aedan continued as if the brief lapse in conversation had never happened. "I would see him now, but I very much doubt that I could convince even the guard at his gate that I was the rumored dead son of Teyrn Bryce without a small force gathered at my back. More noble customs, I'm afraid." Kallian snorted at the admission.
"Then we start that rumor up." The elf supplied, punching her palm with the opposite fist. "Sounds like the sooner we get you up to Grace-hood, the sooner we get Howe outta Denerim an' the sooner that the Purge come off the Alienage. Everybody wins. 'Cept Howe."
"Except Howe." Aedan agreed readily.
•º•.•º•
"So, what do you dream about?" Kallian asked suddenly, breaking the silence of the woods as thoroughly as if she'd screamed. Solona nearly jumped when she heard the elf's voice, her grip on the elfroot she was picking slipping.
"What do you mean, what do I dream about?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and resumed trying to pry the elfroot plant out of the ground. Though her voice was calm, her nerves were instantly set on edge. True to her word, Kallian had kept the secret of Solona's blood magic from Aedan and the rest of their gathered allies. All the same, she was not keen to discuss it, even if it was just her and the elf out here in the forest by themselves, collecting herbs for Solona's poultices and Kallian's more devious poisons. "Mages dream just like everyone else, only we remember better when we wake up most of the time."
"Tch, don't be coy with me." Kallian was undeterred by Solona's vague reply. She navigated her way around a bush, checking underneath the boughs before giving up on that area and moving closer to where her mage companion was carefully digging out the roots of her plant. "Mages sleep different, an' you ain't exactly quiet when you wake up from yer nightmares. What do you dream about that scares ya so often? Don't think I didn't hear ya last night. When Basher ain't there to shush you, you carry on a bit."
Solona heaved a heavy sigh and pulled the elfroot out of the ground, stashing it in the basket that hung from her arm. "I'm sorry that I woke you."
Kallian shrugged. "Don't matter. But you ain't answerin' my question. It's the demon, right? Rat, or Mouse or whatever? Wot's he do?"
The mage bit her lip, meeting Kallian's curious gaze for a long moment. The elf rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Come on, Ammy. I'm already keepin' one secret fer you. You think that I'm gonna be blabbin' yer dreams?"
"That is… an excellent point…" For all her quirks, Kallian had proven to be extremely reliable in this, and Solona knew that her life hung entirely by the elf's nimble fingers. She was a better friend than any blood mage deserved, by Solona's estimation. "It's not Mouse specifically that does the majority of the tormenting…" She admitted, her cheeks coloring slightly when she thought of her most recent dream before things had started getting ugly. "I dream of you sometimes now."
"Of me?" Kallian cocked her head to the side.
Solona nodded. "Yes, ever since you found out about my blood magic. You appear before me, call me a traitor, and bring with you many Templars. I am forced to fight for my life, even in my dreams." She shrugged, trying for nonchalance.
"B-but I wouldn't!" Kallian sputtered, seeming shocked. "You know I wouldn't!"
"I know." The mage shot her elf friend with a small smile, going back to the task of collecting herbs now. "I told you, the demon will do anything to try and win me over to his side. The dreams seem so real, but I know that in the Fade it is all smoke and illusion. I know that you would never betray me as Mouse portrays it. Under everything, I know you are a truly noble person."
Kallian snorted, scratching the back of her head absently. "Yer gonna make my ears turn red Ammy. No sense in accusin' a common thief of being noble, you'll make em' twitchy." Solona giggled at that, but didn't comment further, the two falling into amiable silence for a little while. "But what about before? Ye can't always be dreamin' of me."
Solona baulked momentarily, and Kallian noticed, watching the mage like a hawk. "You… probably wouldn't want to know." She replied, though judging by the intense stare she was on the receiving end of, Kallian wouldn't be happy with simply trying to keep some secrets to herself. "Mostly, Mouse simply pits me against insurmountable odds but… He has acquired control over a Desire demon and it… often takes Aedan's form…"
"I knew it." Solona looked up sharply to see Kallian eyeing her with something that was close to boredom, the elf's arms across her chest. "You love 'em, don't you?"
The mage's face went pure scarlet. "No! I don't, I couldn't-"
Kallian laughed. "You do! Awe, Ammy, you couldn't keep a secret if yer life depended on it. Why ain't you told 'em? He pretends that he don't got any emotions, I know, but yer the only one that he ever opens up to. Ya got a shot, Ammy."
"No, I don't." Solona's cheeks were still dusted with red as she shook her head slowly, her tone sobering Kallian's flippant attitude.
"But why-?"
"He is nobility!" She winced from the truth even though she voiced it. "The Chantry forbids mages to marry and have normal lives. If he were to reclaim his inheritance, then truly, I would have no chance. Love… love is for those that aren't cursed. It is not for mages who have become maleficarum."
"This is stupid." Disgust lay heavily coated on Kallian's words, the elf shaking her head. "Yer gonna listen to a bunch of women in skirts? Since when have you stopped to listen to the Chantry? Yer free, ain't you? Yer alive. If they had it their way, you'd be strung a mile high to set an example."
"I am alive, and with my freedom, I'll continue to remain by his side, even if it's only as a friend." Solona kept her eyes on the ground, not looking up to see the angry glare being shot at her by Kallian. "Besides, his heart is hurting. I couldn't ask Aedan to try and love me, even if I weren't a mage. It wouldn't be fair to try and do that to him, not when I owe him so much."
Kallian rolled her eyes. "You've got too many secrets." She uncrossed her arms, puffing her bangs out of her face with a short breath. "So, yer content to be a spinster, is that it?"
"If it means that I can continue to be friends with you all, of course." Solona chuckled, prying up a deathroot plant.
"Mages are strange." Kallian said with a heavy sigh, and let the matter drop.
Addressing multiple problems here in this chapter. First, the matter of succession with Aedan, which was all explained to what I hope is a satisfactory level for you all, my lovely readers. Secondly is Solona's Mage-Complex, another lovely gift given to her by the Chantry. Like Anders, she is convinced that falling in love is a game best left to the Circle and has no chance with somebody that has a title. And realistically, this is true. But can love surpass even this obstacle? Only time will tell! Also, college starts back up in a week an a half, so the updates will have to drop to once a week. Which would you rather see? Mondays, or Fridays?