Thanks to my two reviewers, Harmakhis and Jinx1983, you two rock! :D
This chapter mainly sets the scene for the future ones...
Bioware owns, and I fool around. :D
Chapter 24 - The King, The Hero and Love
Alistair walked briskly down the corridor, his armored boots making a soft clanking noise against the stone floor. He was running late for a meeting with Teagan who was doing his best to plan his coronation to the last detail. It did not help that he had been detained by Azure, not that he minded being detained by her at all. He smiled as the memory of her scent and passion lingered in his mind, heart and body.
He pushed the memory aside for now. He had a lot of things to focus on, the Coronation only being one of them. They had only just moved into the Palace yesterday evening. Aedan wanted to speak to him and to tell the truth, he was eager to speak to Aedan as well. He still didn't know how Aedan had managed to survive, and that miracle, which was a cause of great happiness to Azure and himself, was beginning to gnaw at him at an alarming rate. He doubted the source of the miracle had anything to do with the Maker or anything holy for that matter, and strongly suspected it had a lot to do with Morrigan, who had simply vanished as soon as the archdemon had been slain.
Then there was the matter of Anora, still a prisoner in one of the cells in Fort Drakon. He had to arrange for a public hearing in front of the nobles in Denerim. The last time she had spoken at the Landsmeet, she had blatantly told everyone present that she would have not hesitated in ordering for his execution immediately had she been in his place.
He had to deal with her, and it had to be public, and it wouldn't be pleasant.
He sighed as he finally reached the door to his study, which was his final destination.
When he opened it, he started. Teagan was there, but there were two other gentlemen in the room as well.
"Ah, Your Majesty. You are finally here," Teagan paused for a moment. "These two gentlemen are-"
"Grey Wardens," Alistair finished for him quickly. He had recognized the pull of the Taint as soon as he entered the room. He held out a hand to greet them and the two men smiled at him. Coldly and with a lot of reservation, Alistair noted.
"Warden Alistair Theirin, or should we address you as Your Highness," said the older-looking man, still smiling at him.
"Warden would be fine. Even though I'm king, I still haven't been crowned officially and I am and always will be a Warden," he finished. "What can I do for you gentlemen?"
"Allow us to first introduce ourselves. My name is Jonas Pernin, and this is my companion, Junior Warden Calaheb."
"Pleased to meet you both. Would you like anything to eat or drink? I know that you are probably hungry," Alistair smiled, his own hunger evident at the moment anyway.
"No, this is a brief visit, we already have rooms at the Gnawed Noble Tavern, and will be heading there shortly. We just want to ask you a few questions, if we may," the older warden requested.
"Certainly. Please sit," Alistair nodded at two oversized chairs in the room as Teagan excused himself, saying that he would be back shortly.
"No, please stay Teagan. We have a lot to discuss and I don't want to have to send a small army looking for you all over the palace once we are done talking."
The older warden lifted an eyebrow and his words were cold and calculated. "I would suggest he leave. I mean no disrespect, but the matter I wish to discuss with you is strictly Grey Warden business." His voice held a commanding tone and a finality to it. It made Alistair dislike the man even more than he already did.
"Of course, I understand," he muttered, then turning to Teagan, "It looks like the guards will be getting some exercise after all, when they go looking for you."
"No worries, Alistair, I will be at the palace library." Teagan smiled and bowed to all of them, then left the room.
When the door closed behind him, Alistair turned to the wardens.
Pernin wasted no time. "Warden Alistair, you and your fellow Grey Warden survived the archdemon. You know that the one who struck the final blow should have died. The reply in your letter that was sent back to the First Warden was unsatisfactory, as it did nothing to explain the situation to him. This is why we were sent here."
He leaned forward in his chair, an unreadable expression on his face as he coolly regarded Alistair.
"Do you know why Warden Aedan Cousland killed the Archdemon and lived?"
...
Leliana was busy chatting to Azure, and for once Azure was actually enjoying her mindless chatter. It felt good to be planning her own wedding and she let herself be caught in the joy of the moment.
It had been three weeks since the Blight had ended, and they were currently in the throne room where the best seamstresses in Denerim stood before them. There were only three of them who had been called to the palace and they were all very proud of their work. But Leliana had managed to make each one of them feel the urgent need to outdo the other two.
At the moment, the large table placed in the room at Azure's request, was laden with lovely dresses, and since she had no idea what was fashionable or proper for both a Coronation and a Wedding, she was letting Leliana handle the situation.
Of course, her eyes were drawn to two of the dresses on the table, and she could not help but whisper to Leliana about them, taking care not to be overheard by the seamstresses. She didn't want to cause a catfight, as they were already glaring at each other.
Leliana, being a cunning bard, quickly caught Azure's dreamy gaze when she looked at two of the dresses. She immediately suggested that Azure should try on the first one, which would be perfect for the Coronation in her opinion. It was burgundy and gold, which were two of the colors in the Theirin Coat of Arms and she liked the low-cut in the front, even though it was not as low as the dresses worn in Orlais. The material was soft and flowing, made primarily of organdy and silk. It had a narrow waist, but the material hung loosely from the waist, so it would not cling to her and she liked that.
Leliana knew that Azure was pregnant, but the way the dress was made promised not to reveal that. She was grateful that the Royal Wedding was to take place a month after Alistair's official coronation, though, as her eyes fell momentarily on the other dress that Azure had pointed out to her, which was a cream-colored, lacey one.
She was waiting for Azure to come back into the room, and wondered if she should have insisted on accompanying her to help her into the dress, instead of the seamstress, when the side door opened and Alistair walked inside.
He looked wildly around the room with a very worried expression on his face. He smiled when he saw Leliana, and made a beeline towards her, ignoring the two other ladies in the room who immediately curtsied, and the guards who followed him closely behind.
"Oh, Leliana! Thank the Maker you are here. Maybe you can tell me where I can find-" He stopped talking, his mouth parted and his breathing hitched, as he caught sight of something directly behind Leliana at that very moment.
The 'something' was really a 'someone'. Azure had just walked in interrupting his speech. As a matter of fact, she had interrupted his train of thought. He could only gawk at her totally dumbstruck at the beautiful vision before him which seemed to be floating towards him in his mind.
Like a magnet, his eyes were suddenly drawn to her breasts, which were tantalizingly, and very slightly exposed. The dress hugged her breasts and lifted them, only just covering what needed to be covered. He wet his lips unconsciously as his imagination slowly uncovered the area for him and felt his trousers getting tighter around his groin.
Maker's breath! Maker's breath! Maker's breath! Just breathe, Alistair, just breathe!
His brain refused to think of anything else at the moment. It had ceased to function.
Leliana giggled at the look on his face, and eyed Azure critically. Yes. The dress would do. It was not as low cut as she would have wished, but it still kept in with the fashion. She nodded at Azure, who was laughing softly at the expression on Alistair's face.
Alistair came back to earth with a start as Leliana waved a hand in front of his face. He blushed a deep red and started to stammer and babble of course.
"Oh, I- I, hello Leliana! It's a nice day today, isn't it?" He struggled with his words. "I- Maker's breath!" He swore as Azure leaned over to him and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Azure, let the poor man speak," Leliana chided and Azure pouted, while she gave Alistair quick glance, lowering her lashes for a moment. Leliana giggled again at this. "Really, Azure! Go and get changed. I like it too. It's perfect for the Coronation."
"It is?" Alistair managed to get out weakly. His voice was a bit high-pitched.
"Yes, it is. You will have to stop that, Alistair. It won't do to have you falling apart during your own Coronation, now, will it?" Leliana said.
"Yes, my love. Remember, you need to get a grip on your emotions. Practice what I've been trying to teach you," Azure said coyly.
"You little minx," Alistair growled under his breath as his hand playfully and quickly squeezed her bottom, causing her to squeal. "I'll deal with you later."
"I can't wait, Your Highness," she said. She turned, leaving the room to change back into her simple blue dress.
Alistair's eyes followed her retreating figure hungrily but he shook his head and turned to Leliana.
"I just wanted to know if by any chance you knew where Aedan is? I don't want to have anyone search for him just yet but I need to speak to him urgently." He said hurriedly. He still had to speak to Teagan about the coronation and he was now feeling slightly annoyed as he remembered the visit of the two wardens from Weisshaupt, which had left only a few minutes ago.
"I think he went to Wade's Emporium. He wanted to go pick up his warden armor, and see if the guards' armor was ready for the Coronation. Would you like me to tell him to see you when he returns?"
"Yes, Leliana, that would be appreciated," he smiled back at the redhead. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but Teagan is waiting for me in the study by now, and I need to speak to him about the Coronation. If you will excuse me?"
"No need to be so formal with me, Alistair," Leliana giggled. "I'll let Aedan know as soon as he returns."
"Thanks!" He murmured gratefully. Promptly turning on the spot, he smiled brightly at the other two ladies in the room, who dissolved into twittering giggles and went out through the door he had used to come into the room, his guards falling into step behind him immediately.
...
They all sat at the long table in the dining room. Alistair had not had a chance to speak to Aedan all day and was looking a bit annoyed. He didn't want to talk to him now in front of the rest, so he tried to make the best out of dinner, and continued to eat heartily. He wasn't paying attention to the conversation flowing around him at all .
Wynne, Zevran, Leliana, Aedan, Sten, Teagan and Azure sat at the table chatting animatedly. Well, Sten didn't chat, but he was eating. Oghren just drank, and considered leaving for Lake Calenhad to visit Felsi as soon as the Coronation was over. Shale stood away from the table, regarding everyone with a stony expression, which came naturally to her, since she was a stone golem. She held a soft spot for Azure, Aedan and Wynne, and had stayed with them, even though she knew it would soon be time for her to move on. She wondered how many darkspawn she could kill on her own. Probably not many. She certainly was better at killing birds, she concluded.
Alistair cleared his throat, meaning to talk to Aedan, who was sitting next to him, but he was interrupted by Teagan standing up and proposing a toast to the future King of Ferelden. Everyone cheered and clapped, and they wanted a speech.
"Well, you will all have to wait for my speech tomorrow, after the Coronation," his eyes twinkled. "But of course, it will all be about Aedan, who will be formally announced 'The Hero of Ferelden'. So let me propose a toast now." He raised his glass, looking at Aedan. "To the Hero of Ferelden!"
Then he leaned over and whispered to Aedan. "How in the Maker's name did you manage to live after you killed the Archdemon?"
Aedan looked back at Alistair, and his laughter died very quickly. "Oh, yes. About that..." He leaned towards Alistair, "We have to talk after dinner Alistair."
"Thank the Maker! I've been wanting to talk to you all day," Alistair said sincerely.
"Well, by the time I'm done saying what I have to say, I doubt you'll be wanting to talk much afterwards."