I actually had more to this chapter, but realized it was going to start getting too long if I didn't cut it off, so the rest will be the next chapter.
I know that Lyna told Fenris back in Chapter... sjasjdh... that she had only really flirted with Alistair and that she didn't know his feelings... but well... that was a bit of a lie, apparently. There was definitely tension between the three of them on more then one occasion, and from both guys respectively. I get more into it in "An Understanding", but that isn't necessary to read, I'll sum it up in the next chapter. What can I say, Lyna is just loveable. :P
Hope everyone enjoys!
The mansion was quite when the messenger knocked. Hawke stumbled down the stairs and towards the entrance hall, silently cursing the others for not being there to answer instead. She blinked into the light as she opened the door, and scowled at the smiling face of the young man who stood there. She grumbled a thanks and fished coins out of her pocket for him before unceremoniously shutting the door in his overly bright face.
She stared down at the missive, the fog of sleep still clouding her mind. She read it twice to make sure she understood it. The king of Ferelden was in the city, and wanted to meet with her. She blinked at it, then sighed and tossed the letter onto the pile on the table by the stairs. She could only imagine what he could possibly want. She no longer lived there, and saw no way or reason for returning at the moment. She couldn't leave now. Not with everything that was happening between Meredith and Orsino.
She made a point of dressing quickly, not seeing a reason in keeping him waiting, he was a king after all. Taking a moment to fix the buckle on her shield strap she glanced up as Fenris walked in, sweat a bright sheen on his forehead from his morning sword practice. "How would you like to meet royalty?"
He made a face and settled onto the edge of the bed to watch her work. "I could live without it."
She flashed him a smile as she slid the shield onto her back. "I think I phrased that wrong. So, I need to go see the King of Ferelden, and you are coming with me."
He managed a half smile and pushed off the bed to follow her out the door. "I don't take orders anymore, Hawke."
Glancing over her shoulder she held the door open to let him walk out first. "You do from me. Because I'm beautiful, remember?"
He merely rumbled a laugh as they stepped into sunlight.
Viscount Keep was buzzing with noise when her group pushed their way in. She had all of her companions with her, since she was still unsure of what the king would be asking for or how many people she might need for it. Not to mention, most of them had tripped over themselves in hopes of meeting him, for various reasons. Her group hung back against the wall while she scanned the crowd, her gaze finally landing on where he stood at the foot of the stairs, apparently in the middle of an argument with Meredith.
She almost felt bad for him. Almost. He was a king after all, and not a bad looking one at that. Broad shouldered, and handsome. She thought it wouldn't be so bad serving under him. Probably in any sense of the word.
She wondered a moment if she should have searched harder for Lyna and Zevran, rather than merely tacking a note to the door of Fenris' mansion, but put it out of her mind almost as quickly. The two elves could disappear for days at a time, and she didn't know what the timeline was on King Alistair's stay.
She refocused on the conversation that the two leaders were having, and was unsurprised to see Meredith with her arms crossed, her mouth a thin line, as Alistair waved a hand at her. "Let me guess, that's your final answer?" He folded his arms, in a mimic of her pose, and rested his weight on one leg.
Meredith's face was set, her voice cold enough to chill even Hawke. "Three mages have fled to Ferelden and you have intervened to protect them." She moved her hands to her hips, her brows lowering. "As if it is your right to do so. What other answer did you expect, your Majesty?" The title dripped from her lips as if it were something vile.
"A maybe might have been nice." His voice was bland, and Hawke bit back a laugh as the Knight Commander's lips thinned even further. "I do not deal in "maybes". I deal in cold hard facts." She shot out a hand to point her finger almost into his chest. "As should you."
She took a step back, her hands folding behind her as she let herself sneer. "Perhaps when Ferelden next chooses a king, it will be one who takes his duty to the maker seriously." She turned on her heel and stormed down the stairs and out the door, the crowd parting in hushed silence.
Hawke took the opportunity to make her way to the king's side, watching as he scratched idly at his cheek. "Well, that was awkward."
She shot him a bright smile when his attention turned to her, and gave a nod in the direction on the door. "That's just Meredith's idea of Kirkwall hospitality."
He pushed a hand through his hair, leaving it spiked and dishelved, a charming compliment to his bewildered face. When he spoke it was on a laugh. "Really? Kirkwall brutality must rip the skin off your face then."
The man behind the king checked over his notes then sent a polite smile as he nodded to Hawke. "This is the Champion of Kirkwall."
King Alistair gave a nod, and shot out his hand to grip her's warmly. "Right. I'm Alistair. Uh... ah, king of Ferelden." He sent a glance over his shoulder to the other man, "and this is Teagan, my uncle. Sort of."
Teagan smiled, and reached out to offer his own hand to shake. "I'm actually Teagan. I'm only sort of his uncle."
Hawke felt herself smile. Happy to see she was in the company of two people that actually seemed to not have let their power go to their heads. She started to say so when Aveline stepped up beside her, standing a moment before dropping to her knee before Alistair. "Your Majesty. May I say what an honor it is to meet you?"
He sent her a rather self depreciating smile, and rubbed a hand over his forehead. "You could, but you'd be the first today."
She stood and sent him a small frown. "I fought at Ostagar. We both did. What happened there was... a great tragedy."
Alistair's face matched hers as he worked out a reply. "Ah. Yes. Yes it was. Thankfully the man responsible has paid for that."
Aveline gave a nod, and took a step back, only to be replaced by the nervous form of Merrill, who wrung her hands, and stared at the floor. "Your Majesty... is it true? Have you really set up lands in Ferelden for the Dalish to call their own?" He smiled at that, and sent her a nod when she risked a glance at him. "Yes. I owed it to... a friend. Though it isn't working out as well as either of us had hoped." Merrill merely stood another moment, then sent him a small smile. "At least you tried. It is very much appreciated."
Hawke tuned things out as the rest of her companions offered their own greetings, some more specific than others. She wondered if she should find it strange that so many of her friends had known the Ferelden king, but supposed it was normal considering their ties with Lyna.
She refocused on the conversation when Alistair gave a small cough, his expression amused, as he returned his attention to her. "I was hoping to talk. Would have been better timing before being emasculated by Meredith, but I'm not picky." He shrugged as he said the last part, as if he was well use to such things.
"Things are looking up. It's not often that I get called on to meet foreign leaders." She returned his smile, finding it easy to be comfortable.
"I know you came here from Lothering. A Ferelden refugee who did well for herself, against all odds." He rubbed at his neck, his expression turning sheepish. "I have to admit. I was hoping your influence in Kirkwall might be of use. Things... haven't been going well with Orlais." He dropped his hand and gave a shrug. "Without a Viscount here, however, there is only the knight commander to deal with."
Hawke folded her arms over her chest. "You were having an argument about mages?"
He let out a humorless laugh, and raised a hand, only to drop it again. "Yes, well, apparently I don't feel the same way about mages as the Chantry does." Hawke heard Sebastian shift behind her, and chose to ignore it as the king continued. "So we are in disagreement. That means they get nasty. They're like that.
"Sounds like the Circle's better off in Ferelden."
"You would think so, wouldn't you? Sadly, I don't have control over the Circle. I can only deal with mages outside the Circle...of which there aren't many."
Hawke's reply was cut off by Anders, his voice curious. "Aren't they in your kingdom? Why not just kick the templar's out?"
Alistair let out a bark of a laugh before replying. "Easier said than done."
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't try."
He sent Anders a small smile, and shrugged again. "We'll see what comes of it. Ferelden had a Blight to contend with, remember? We're not exactly at our strongest."
Anders fell silent at that, though Hawke was unsure if it was because he understood, or disagreed. Putting it from her mind, she decided to change the subject. "A lot of your people fled to Kirkwall, you know."
"I know." Alistair looked down a moment, a sigh escaping. "I wish I could have helped them. The Blight devastated the kingdom, and afterwards... well, it hasn't exactly been peaceful."
His gaze returned to hers, the guilt clearing a bit. "They're welcomed back of course. As are you, but after so many years away, would you still consider it home?"
She thought about her family's farm. The memories of when they were all still alive, still together.
Happy.
With all that she had done, and all the people that she cared about here, she still could not pinpoint a time in Kirkwall that she was ever as content as she had been back in the muddy, dank, and dog scented fields of her birth nation.
"Ferelden will always be my home."
Alistair stared at her a moment, his lips tilting into a knowing smile, showing clearly that he understood what she meant. "I hope we see you back there someday. We could use someone like you, Champion."
She gave a shake of her head to clear it of her memories, vaguely aware that Fenris had come to stand beside her, his arm barely brushing hers. A comforting touch that she appreciated. Finally, she turned back to the conversation. "Is there to be a war then?"
"I hope not."
Teagan frowned, and when he spoke his tone was skeptical. "You're more optimistic than I am."
"Empress Celine is doing her best. Orlais isn't the most stable place right now."
After what she had learned from Sister Nightingale, Hawke was hardly surprised. "What's happening in Orlais?"
"Oh, the usual. Attempted assassinations, uprisings, fancy parties with stinky cheeses." When Hawke merely raised a brow, he sighed and continued. "Apparently, some Orlesians think it would be grand to get their lost province back."
Teagan smiled and thumped him once on the back. "Well, we won't let them swoop down on us, will we?"
Alistair face turned just for a second into something unreadable, grave and serious, before he looked over his shoulder with a smile. "That's right. Swooping is bad." In that moment Hawke understood something very important. The king of Ferelden was not nearly as clueless and simple as she thought he might let on.
Not the worst strategy for a king. She had seen Lyna use it herself a few times, all bubbling words and bright smiles. It put others at ease, and more often than not got more information out of them than anyone else could.
"Do you really think there is something I can do?"
Alistair sighed and pressed his fingers into his eyes a moment. "Sadly, it may be too late. Meredith got wind of my arrival sooner then I hoped. What you can do, is protect Kirkwall. It will take someone like you to keep it from falling apart."
Hawke let out a laugh, her weight shifting until she leaned against the stair railing. "Just me standing between the city and disaster, huh?"
Alistair gave a nod, a smile seeming to hover around his mouth. "I've been there. Trust me, it isn't pretty. Though if you ask me, the biggest threat to this city just walked out the door."
Hawke nodded. She couldn't help but agree.
The conversation was cut off by a sudden commotion at the door. A flurry of activity as someone tried to run in, and was hampered by the crowd, not to mention the guards. They all stared as the figure pushed and shoved, muttering apologies as they went, and sidestepping the guards who tried to intervene. Finally, they pushed through and Hawke was afforded a glimpse of Lyna, a wide grin on her face, before she shot up the stairs and launched herself into the broad chest of the Ferelden king.
A tangle of limbs, and laughter caused everyone to step back and try to stay out of the way before the two were able to right themselves, though they each kept a hand linked, and were grinning like fools.
"Hi."
The single word was said by Lyna, and she took a moment to offer the same to Teagan when she noticed him to the side. Both men responded in kind. Hawke took another step back, and cast a look around the room, wondering why Zevran wasn't also there to greet his friend.
She finally saw him, still by the door. His body was relaxed, leaned casually back against the wall, but she was surprised by the look on his face. Shuttered, blank, locked on the small elf and king. Not at all like anything she had seen before. She took a moment to look back at Lyna and Alistair, talking in the hurried whispers, eyes locked and smiling. She watched as he lifted a hand to brush hair from her face, lingered a moment at the end. Ah. Of course.
It made sense. Of course he wouldn't care about Lyna sleeping with someone. But, emotions, genuine feelings. Those were something altogether different.
He was jealous, and unsure, and it did not sit well on him.
She watched as Lyna pulled back from Alistair, looked around until she could smile and motion for the assassin. He left his wall reluctantly, his face taking on a sly smile as he made his way up the stairs to great Alistair. They grasped hands, and smiled, though Hawke could see the tension in both. It worsened in Alistair when Zevran reached an arm around Lyna, pulled her flush to his side as they spoke.
Mine.
When plans were made to spend time catching up, Zevran stepped back. Told them to have a good time. He turned as they said goodbye to the group, and fell into step beside Hawke as they made their way out of the building. She thought about asking him what that was all about, but decided to wait until they had settled somewhere. She was curious as to what it was about the human king that made him so nervous.