LE PALAIS ROYEAUX: MAKING CHOICES

It was barely past the first light of dawn when I gave Alistair a goodbye kiss before leaving for my audience with the Empress. "Can you please get our things packed for a short journey, my love? I want to get moving as soon as possible."

"What if you can't persuade her to tell you where Morrigan is?"

"I will persuade her. I must. Yves is getting too close."

"Alright," he replied. "I'll be ready to go when you get back."

I made my way over to the Palace and was assigned an escort at the gate. Celene awaited in the Jardin des Cascades, a formal garden behind the palace. She sat at the center of the garden, flanked by imposing body guards, between the two roaring, artfully constructed waterfalls that gave the garden its name. Her ornamental chair lay in the shade of the cliff that formed the eastern fall. Though it was still early morning, it was already quite warm in the sun. I looked forward to returning to the cool sea breezes of Amaranthine when this was all done.

"Commander," she said, as I arrived and knelt.

"Thank you for granting me this audience, Your Majesty."

"Let us skip the formalities. I have little time and you may speak openly here. These two are sworn to silence and the falls will drown out the sound of our voices to any others. Why should we tell you where Morrigan is? She has indicated that she does not want to see you and we have promised to keep her location secret."

"I have information she needs, whether she realizes it or not, Your Majesty."

She rolled her eyes and tapped her fingers on the armrest. "Yes, you said that before, but did not deign to tell us what it was. Have you changed your mind? Are you willing to tell us what Morrigan must know, and let us judge whether you need see her?"

I shook my head. "I cannot without betraying certain secrets."

"Yet you ask us to break our word, to Morrigan." Her grey eyes searched my face. "We would settle for being told exactly what makes Morrigan's little girl so special." She raised her hand before I could speak. "We know you're her father, but do not expect us to believe that this is all about some sudden fatherly feelings. Nor will we be convinced that it is merely because the girl has talent as a mage—hiding a mage from the Templars does not require anything like the efforts to which Morrigan has gone."

"No, I cannot. Is there no service that I could do for you, as I did before? I must ask that I have leave to perform it after returning from Morrigan, but surely I have skills that—"

She cut me off, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Great as your skills are, we do not see them as so unique that we have tasks we can trust to no other. No. You ask a piece of information that you can get from no other source; we must have payment in kind. Tell us about this information you have for Morrigan, tell us about her daughter, or—" She raised her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked up at the cypress trees that lined the western waterfall. "Tell us where you go when you leave the common room at Le Cheval Blanc"

"What?" I had not been anticipated that question. I supposed I should not have been surprised that the Empress had spies who had noticed the times I left the table to talk to Enrique, but still. "I promised—"

She tapped her toe against the paving stones. "Yes, yes, and we promised Morrigan to keep her whereabouts secret. Confidence for confidence."

I hesitated, unsure of why the Empress would require this information. But my mind was filled with the image in my dream, of the little girl surrounded by Darkspawn. Save me! She had cried. Several reported a very strong desire to protect her, Enrique had said. Was I being influenced, somehow? I brushed the thought away. No, I merely wanted to prevent Yves from discovering her, prevent a potential bloodbath. Time was short and there seemed to be no other way. Leli would be angry with me for revealing her secret room, but I could surely do something to aid Sybille's faction in the Game to make amends.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well. I go through a door hidden behind a large cask in the inn's wine cellar."

"Into the ancient city, I suppose. Which direction?"

"East, down a passage to a room."

"There is an entrance to the main sewer near there," she said, not waiting for confirmation from me. "Thank you, Commander. That will do. Give him the scroll, Franquet."

The huge bodyguard to her right produced a piece of vellum with a map. "You will need to follow the road almost a day's ride north to the village of Bellerive," indicating its location with a long blue fingernail. You can hire a boat, there. Morrigan's home lies in the royal forest, but it is more swamp than forest in that area." A swamp witch to the end. "There is an island in the swamp here, with a large conical hill on it—the locals call it a cornet de marecage—but this one is not as large as it seems. It's southern flank is a magical illusion—do not expect us to explain how it works-but you can walk right through it to a meadow where Morrigan has a home. Our business is concluded here. Goodbye, Commander."

I knelt before her once more and was escorted to the palace gates.

Alistair was waiting for me, ready to go, as he promised. "Were you successful?" I nodded.

I smiled. "You know when I set my mind to something, I usually get what I want.. Where's Leliana?" I wanted to tell her that the meeting place was no longer safe. I hoped she would not be too annoyed with me…

"She and Sybille have already left for the country. Leli said they would be back in two days. Was it something important? I'm sure we could send a messenger to the estate."

I knew I should let her know, but was not sure which members of the household could be trusted with a sensitive message. After a moments thought, I decided that it could wait. "No, nothing important. Let's get going."