Dinner might've been rather uneventful the night before, but breakfast today more than made up for it.
Elissa thought Aedan would've tried something. Elissa thought she would've tried something. Never in her life had Elissa been more protective of a complete stranger, but seeing Teyrn Loghain and Rendon Howe march into Eamon's estate after this woman had been reason enough. From Elissa's understanding, Eamon had tried to arrange a meeting with her—an elf named Erlina, handmaiden to Queen Anora—earlier, but it had been too risky, and instead they first carried out Anora's wishes by cleaning out the Alienage.
Anora was being held hostage by her own father, stuck in Howe's most recent acquisition—the Arl of Denerim's estate.
He'd been a busy boy.
It had taken considerable effort for Elissa to not smite the man where he stood. She didn't even know how to use magic without Hope's assistance, but oh, she was sure she would've figured it out. If only for Howe, Elissa would've done it.
Elissa had moved on. She had moved past her family's untimely demise, but from Aedan's reaction, it was clear he had not. She had had to restrain him herself, having practically thrown herself across the table to get to him before he got to Howe. He, of all people, should've understood that that was not the time nor the place to get his revenge. If she could understand that, he should've been able to.
But he didn't. He didn't, and it had been a split second decision to stop him. Aedan almost got away with it. Elissa almost let him rip the man in half. It was unlikely he would've gotten that far, with Loghain and three knights between them, and that was her only reason for stopping him.
Elissa had moved on, but she still wanted to see him dead. Not for her benefit, but for Aedan's. For Fergus'. Aedan loved their family. She remembered the day Oren was born, how excited Aedan was to have someone he could teach and train. She remembered the utter devastation on his face when they found him choking on his own blood.
And they couldn't kill him. They had blood rights, and they still had to leave him untouched.
It made her sick.
Aedan had thrown himself into Erlina's plan. Anora was technically restricted to her room, so technically she could leave, but it was likely Howe's guards were under orders to enforce the "technicality."
They needed Anora. She could potentially be their greatest ally at the Landsmeet. Arl Eamon, two Couslands, a royal bastard, and a queen standing up to Loghain might be enough on its own, but he'd had months to kiss ass and make friends with people who would usually hate him. They didn't have that luxury. That alone made it all the more imperative that they rescue Anora—it was the only way they stood a chance.
Elissa didn't exactly know what they were fighting for, but whatever it was, it had to be the better option. Just the support of the Landsmeet, perhaps? For months, it had been their word against Loghain's, and this was their opportunity to tell the world what really happened at Ostagar.
For Alistair, that time couldn't come fast enough.
"I don't think you should go," Elissa said.
She was sitting on a bench across the hall, hands clasped in front of her face. Aedan, Eamon, and Erlina were going over their plan one more time before she took them on their way, but Elissa's voice had halted their conversation.
"What?"
"I don't think Aedan should go," Elissa repeated, a little louder.
"And why is that?" Eamon wondered aloud.
She stood, sucking in a deep breath. She hadn't really thought the suggestion through—she'd blurted it out without any thought whatsoever. "He's a common face. To...Howe and his men, I mean." Elissa turned her gaze to Aedan, who had stiffened quite a bit, and looked like he was still biting back the irritation and rage from earlier. "You grew up with these people, Aedan, and I didn't. It would be safer if—"
"Have you forgotten the bar fight?" Aedan asked quietly. "When five of Howe's knights tried to arrest you?"
"No," Elissa said quickly. He was pissed, understandably so. He wanted his revenge, and what she was suggesting they do would most likely take that away from him. There was a good chance they would run into Howe while freeing Anora. There was a good chance they would have to kill him to escape, and it was becoming increasingly apparent she was saying she and Erlina go without him.
"But it's very likely they were looking for me. They probably knew we were in the city and probably had an idea of what we looked like. Leliana can cut my hair before we go and I'll wear a helmet—I'll look totally different."
"She...makes a good point," Erlina muttered, taking a small but obvious step away from Aedan.
"We can't change what you look like, Aedan, or the fact that you were training with half of those men from birth," Elissa continued. His hands balled up into fists. "And if you don't go, you can spend time with some of the banns here. You can persuade them to give us their aid."
"It won't work," he grumbled.
"Why? Because you don't want it to, or because you actually believe that?" The cold stare he was giving her, it was so completely wrong and unnatural from him that it scared her. But she wasn't going to back down—she never contributed to their cause, and she wanted to. "You're the most charismatic person in this room, brother. If anyone is going to get these people to listen, it's you."
Several expressions washed over his face. One of anger, irritation, hurt, confusion, anger again, and then finally, his expression relaxed, and she knew she won.
Elissa's hair hadn't been this short in years. It was only a few inches longer than Leliana's, just barely long enough to pull back into a bun, but it was still so strange. There was no weight on her shoulder. Her braid hadn't exactly been heavy, but it was odd nonetheless.
Leliana had been somewhat reluctant to cut it all off—apparently she was rather fond of Elissa's braid. Who would've guessed?
Aedan had been...distant. He wasn't happy to be the one being left behind, but he had agreed to the logic behind it. If he wasn't so annoyed, she wondered if he would be just as weirded out by her haircut as she was.
All of this was strange. She had her pick of the entire party for her own mission. Sten and Oghren would have to be left out—dwarves and qunari were not common appearances in a city guard, so it really didn't leave her many options to vary from Aedan's usual.
Alistair, obviously. He was big, and he could hold his own against several men without breaking a sweat. Leliana because...well, because Elissa liked her, and Zevran solely because a mage trying to pass off their staff as anything but would be difficult. He would just have to wear a helmet with a visor and pray to the Maker that no one realized he was a man.
While the others were finishing up their preparations, Elissa rehearsed their plan in her head.
Erlina had managed to steal a few uniforms from the barracks over the course of the last few days. It would be enough to get them into the estate without arousing suspicion, and it would be enough to keep any unsure eyes from looking too close. As long as they avoided any captains, they should be safe.
Once inside, they would locate Anora, give her one of the disguises, and leave the same way they arrived. Ideally, they wouldn't have to fight anyone, and it would only take an hour or two. Quick by their standards.
It was likely though that something would go wrong. Someone would see through their disguises, or they wouldn't be able to find Anora. Or it would be something she couldn't predict, something she couldn't possibly be ready for, and either they would die, or Anora would.
Neither of those outcomes would be ideal.
Her and Alistair were the first to join Erlina in the courtyard. Elissa had wrapped the hilt of her sword with a layer of linen in hopes of hiding the crest in the pommel and cross-guard, and they had both covered their shields with white pieces of fabric. Elissa refused to fight anything without her shield ever again, and she wasn't about to try and adjust to something that weighed differently. Alistair seemed to share the sentiment.
They had the foresight to refrain from any armor. As much of their blues that could be shedded were—if they got anywhere near Howe's estate in those colors, they would be recognized and killed on sight.
That left both of them with a padded jacket, though Alistair's was studded with chain, and hers was bare. Too much weight, and it would clash with the different style of armor she wore compared to his. Hers was thinner, with far less plating and metal, to allow her to maneuver easily, and probably just because the blacksmith didn't think she would be able to carry it.
His suit was far bulkier, with those studs covering any gaps in the platemail itself to allow a decent range of motion while not exposing anything vital.
Seeing Alistair so...undressed was quite strange. Elissa was so accustomed to him being either entirely covered in armor, or in nothing but pants and a shirt. This was about as lightly protected as she had ever seen.
"What?" he asked, eyes meeting hers. "Is my shirt on backwards?"
She cracked a smile. "No, I think you have a bald spot starting."
He feigned a look of worry, chuckling. "Oh, not my precious hair!"
They both snickered. It was a welcome distraction for Elissa. She didn't have to worry about what could go wrong with Alistair around—he was all silliness and stupid jokes, just like Aedan used to be, and it was a relief. She thought they could've been good friends if she hadn't acted the way she did before.
It was such a shame.
"Elissa?"
Aedan's voice snapped them both out of their giggles. He was fully equipped, helmet tucked under his arm and shield slung across his shoulders, and he didn't look anywhere near as angry as earlier.
"Can I talk to you? Privately?"
Her and Alistair exchanged glances—whenever Aedan was upset, which wasn't often, Alistair relied on her to deal with it because he just couldn't. It was fair. Aedan was an intimidating force when he was frustrated.
Aedan pulled her aside, well out of earshot from both their fellow Warden and Erlina. Worry creased his brows, and if he wasn't wearing gloves, she was sure his knuckles would be white from squeezing his helmet so tight.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "for how I acted. It wasn't right."
Yes, it was. She was an incompetent fool and he was their leader, and they were switching roles, simply because she was more sheltered as a child than he was. It was an utterly stupid idea and Elissa shouldn't have said anything, but this was what part of her wanted, regardless of how intelligent it was.
She couldn't tell him that. He would worry more if she wasn't even a little confident in herself.
"It's all right." He nodded, sucking in a deep breath as he straightened a little. "It's...not my place to really, uh...handle this."
"What do you mean?"
Elissa shrugged, eyes flicking to the doors as Leliana and Zevran emerged in tandem. The bard's eyes immediately found hers, brows furrowing in a silent question, and Elissa forced herself to look back to her brother.
She didn't really know how to say it. How despite the fact that it was their family that was murdered, she felt it was more of his suffering that was caused by it. How she felt it should be his right to confront Howe, not hers, and how he should be the one in charge of this stupid plan. How many times had Elissa even met Anora? Once? Aedan grew up with her, was her friend, and would be easier for her to trust.
"I'm not the one with a crush, am I?"
He blinked once, twice, three times, until he processed the joke, and then he smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that, dear sister." Her cheeks flushed and he winked before swinging his helmet onto his head. "Wish me luck—I'm off to woo any drunk nobleman I can find in the bars."
She snorted. "Good luck."