Chapter Eighty-Two

Three-for-One Special

The next morning, all three men were up early; so was I. Alistair was informed last night and since Eamon was right next to him, he turned and said, "I'm going to a wedding tomorrow."

Eamon looked a little amused but didn't argue it at all, "I will let your advisors know – but at least take a few guards."

Alistair arrived at 7 in the morning with three guards – the captain and two others. I gave Garrick an amused wave as they came through the portal. He sighed, "The only reason I didn't complain about the lack of guards is that there are 4 more here… is that… a pearl of the Anointed?"

I touched my neck, "Brother Roderick came by yesterday – he's still here until after the impromptu wedding – and gave me a Divine Edict and the Pearl engraved with my name. I'm being called the 'Patron of Love' since I was supposedly the one behind the decree about all chantry personnel – from Initiate to Divine – being able to engage in romantic relationships. So uh…"

"Ha – that's two people in the Theirin 'Dynasty' to be Anointed. Calenhad was too," Alistair chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes… but I'm not…"

"As my wife, you are – oh, I heard you took an official last name?"

"I was given one – a Legend-Mark from the Avvar; it isn't fair to any of my mates if I take only one last name so… Ara Feather-Fall. It was okay for me to be Ara Theirin when you were my only mate and husband – but today I'm marrying two men with last names; what else can I do? Anderson was Kells' previous last name, so I couldn't keep that and remain Fair and Cousland is actually considered a maiden name so I can't keep that… so I am going to go by Feather-Fall."

"You have a point – though I will still occasionally call you Theirin because I like calling you by my name," he gave me a cheeky smile.

"Then Cullen and Sebastian can do the same, right?" I teased. Alistair laughed, "Of course – it's only fair and right."

I chuckled, "Good – are you here to walk me down the aisle today?"

"You know it – I'm your only legal husband at the moment; it's my job. If I couldn't then it would be Aedan, but there's no way he could reach you in so little time – he's in Gwaren… and on that note, I have this for you…"

I grabbed the small paper and felt my eyes widen, 'You are cordially invited to the Wedding of Lord Aedan Cousland and Sister Leliana Nightingale in Valence on Cloudreach 13th in the year 9:33 Dragon'

"Holy Fuck – they're getting married?" I blinked.

Alistair smirked, "I take it you didn't know?"

"No – Leli… I mean… she was the one that… no, I didn't know. It's a month before Duncan is due, so I should be fine to go… are you going?"

"It's the second wedding between someone in the chantry and someone not – yours being the first and no one officially knows about yours yet. Everyone important is going – the Divine, Madame De Fer, and so on – it was going to be a historic event…"

"It still will be – Sebastian already sort of broke his vows by claiming the title of Prince two years ago; he wanted to go back to being a brother but… well… I told him that no matter what path he tries to take, he will still end up as the Prince of Starkhaven; it's his destiny. So he was already officially released from his vows by the Divine so he isn't actually Chantry Personnel now. Lelis' wedding will still be the first."

"Oh – that's good. I know Aedan didn't want his wedding to be historic, but… still…"

I snorted, "Even if – it will be the wedding between a Warden and the Left Hand…"

"The what?" I heard the Divines' Voice. I saw her coming through the Fae Council Mirror – meaning she had gone to the Danu Chantry, to the council building and came here… I smiled at her, "Your Perfection – Leli is going to be the Left Hand of Divine Justinia V. She will be the Left Hand until that Divine perishes so…"

"… and I will die next year… Sister Nightingale, will you accept the position early?" Beatrix asked and I shot up – I hadn't seen Leli before this second.

Leliana knelt, "I would, Most Holy."

"Very well then… Empress Ara – I heard from Brother Roderick last night that you will be getting married again today?" I had noticed that he was wearing a sending stone ring…

I nodded, "It was a last-minute arrangement – Meredith gave permission for us to marry and we wanted to move on that before she changes her mind; Fenris and I are sort of married, but I want it official; and then there is Sebastian Vael…"

Leli smiled when she saw the invitation in my hand, "Since I am here now, would you confirm your attendance?"

I chuckled, "Is that even a question? It's my brothers' wedding – and I'm still hoping to be with you myself one day…"

She giggled, "You know I am a one-lover kind of woman, Ara."

I pouted, "I know… I can't figure out what it is about you, but you fascinate me. I know it isn't lust – so I'm not entirely sure… oh… I think I may have formed a bond with Aedan so I'm feeling what he is when he looks at you. It isn't my love for you that makes me want you… it's his."

She blinked and then smiled brightly, "Then I will take that as reassurance. How did you form this bond?"

Magmas' voice came from the doorway, "It's quite common – adoptions in Danu mean that we take the person completely into our family; hence why Hanan is considered Aras' full daughter and not just an 'adopted' daughter. If we 'adopt' someone we end up forming a bond to them. For anyone with an Empathetic ability – like her majesty – this means that we link emotions to the new addition to our family as we would with our natural born family."

"You have a daughter?" Leliana asked.

"She works as a Nanny for Magmas' kids; she was 16 and emaciated, abandoned, and shook like a leaf at the mere mention of noble men. She worked in one of the estates here in the Garden, but she won't tell me where. She's 17 now but… well… I got protective and my motherly instincts kicked in and I threatened every man in my house with castration if they made her uncomfortable. Obsidian is letting her set the pace – she is his only mate; a rare but joyous event among the Fae. Rain also only has one Mate – my ball-busting assistant Katt; she holds a whip in one hand and a pen in the other."

Magma coughed, "Speaking of… she uh… she says that it's time for you to start getting ready."

I nodded, "That it is…"

Alistair said, "We'll leave you to get dressed; and as to Obsidian – I threatened him within an inch of his life if he hurt our daughter."

The Divine smiled, "We will make our way to the Chantry – but before that… I know I did not ask if I could come…"

"That's alright – Sebastian will be pleased to have you at our wedding – and you can of course take the same way back. This wedding was last minute – as stated – so I'm making allowances for surprise visitors showing up for it. I half-expected you would when I noted Chan-Brother Roderick holding a sending stone. Sorry – I know he'll be a Chancellor in 7 years; he isn't ready for that position yet though. My point is that I don't mind in the least since everything was last minute. In fact – we only went to the chantry to arrange a wedding for me and Cullen – Fenris followed and I just thought adding him would be great and… that was also when I realized that Sebastian and I were in love with one another… so…"

The Divine smiled softly, "That sounds wonderful… I thank you for allowing me to attend."

Ha – I wouldn't have barred even the Black Divine from this wedding; let them see me marring a former slave. Everyone but Alistair left the room – he would be helping me with my shoes since I couldn't bend over very well; 6 months pregnant meant that it was increasingly difficult to get up or do basic things like wash my toes without the aid of the washing mat on my shower floor.

Alistair put a gentle hand on my belly as I did my hair – our son obligingly kicked the hand playfully. I giggled, "You love that."

"Maker – yes, I do. It's still a little hard to believe that you're carrying my child… something I never thought I'd have, let alone say. Would this have happened if you didn't cure me of the Blight?" he asked and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Actually – despite what you think – yes, it would have; as long as we conceived before 9:40 Dragon when the taint was a third of the way through killing you – had mating not been taken into count – we would have had a child. And with you being mated to me, you would have slowly suppressed the taint on your own as a long-lived person. But by then, we may not have been able to have kids – it may not have been suppressed in time."

"Then I'm glad you cured me ahead of time – though how would simply being your mate have allowed me to suppress it when the Sylphs are susceptible too?"

I opened my mouth to explain and snapped it shut when I realized… I wasn't actually sure, "I don't know… I just saw it in a vision back then and didn't even question it. I can't force visions while pregnant – it's the same penalty as if I blocked them."

"I don't recall there being a penalty for forcing them…" Alistair frowned.

"When I started blocking the visions, it changed – by blocking the visions; it made that power… angry for lack of better example. Now the power lashes out as though saying 'oh, now you want me?' and punishes me. According to the records, it's a permanent change so… there's no point in stopping the block after I give birth."

Alistair frowned, "I don't like the thought of you in pain…"

"I won't block while I'm around our kids – there's no point in them seeing me in pain – but I don't like that most of the visions are of deaths I can't prevent."

"I get it… I love you, you know," he smiled as he helped me to slip my ballet flats on. I smiled back, "And I love you. You should know – Sebastian was so happy that he almost cried when I added him to the list of who I was marrying today."

Alistair smirked, "I'd be the same; the woman I love accepting me? I'd fall to my knees and praise the Maker for his benevolence."

"I think he would have if we didn't start discussing Elthina dying in the future and how I couldn't really prevent it. He pointed out that I had just tried – offering a volunteer to die in her place – but that she had refused."

"Well, there you have it. I take it that the Grand Cleric will be murdered? You can't prevent natural causes…"

"Yes – it will be terrible; the whole chantry will be blown up and then the Circle here will be annulled because an apostate killed the Cleric and… it'll be a whole thing. And I can't prevent it… Sebastian sees Elthina as a mother; I had to try…"

He kissed me softly, "You don't need to explain it to me, Ara; you would do the same for any of your mates… in fact, I'm sure you'd do whatever you could to save my mother if something was going to happen to her."

"I will – when the time comes, I will save her – and her life won't require a sacrifice due to the nature of it. Now… there's a box in that bottom drawer; it's brown. Can you grab it for me?" I asked.

He did and handed it to me. I pulled out three rings – Fenris' was made of a black metal from Danu and had a silver wolf-head on it; Cullens was a white-steel signet ring with a red-lion rampant facing away from the Templar sword (one day, he would know why it faced away); and Sebastians was a black Wyrm – a long bodied serpent that generally lived in water with the head of a dragon – that wrapped in three tight coils around the finger with sapphires for eyes.

Since Sebastian was now my mate, I was calling him the Wyrm prince – Alistair was a Dragon and the sigil of the Vael family was 3 drakes (the three coils of the Wyrm) so I couldn't call him the Drake Prince… and the sigil actually reminded me of an Amphitrite – a Wyrm with wings – but that would be a mouthful so… I chose Wyrm.

Alistair looked over the rings, "You always give us the best things."

I shook my head, "You all deserve the best."

He helped me to stand – I knew he saw that I was now only wearing his ring and the rings I was wearing when I met him. He knew that I was going to have the men present the rings back to me; I didn't need more rings and honestly, I wouldn't mind if the men didn't get me rings at all… it was just really sweet that they did.

We made our way to the Chantry – and I could see that several nobles had been notified when they showed up for the daily prayers that I would be getting married; they all stayed behind to attend and were whispering about the Divine showing up. I made my way to the Grand Clerics office where the Divine and Elthina were talking.

"If you'd like to, Most Holy – I can see no reason why you couldn't preform todays' ceremony…"

I jumped in, "I can."

Both looked at me in surprise. Elthina asked, "What reason?"

"Sebastian looks to you like one would their mother; it would mean a lot to him if you were the one to do the ceremony today… especially with what was discussed yesterday?"

She sighed, "I can see how that might make a difference. Is this okay with you, Most Holy?"

Beatrix nodded, "I am agreeable – it was simply a thought on my part since I am here. I will go take a seat now."

Elthina nodded with a small smile.

After all the official details were taken care of in the office, the ceremony began – with Alistair walking me down the aisle.

I was wearing the same white dress I had made in glamour back when I first met Madame De Fer. I could hear people whispering about it, but with my heart beating so fast as I saw the men on the podium… I didn't catch a word.

Sebastian was in a white suit with a sapphire tie and rose on the lapel, Cullen wore a brown suit with a crimson shirt, and Fenris wore… oh Goddess… he wore white suit pants with a brown belt, black V-neck button down shirt, and a white suit jacket left open. I had expected him to wear armor – it had already been a pleasant surprise when he wore the leathers for my previous wedding.

I swallowed hard and heard Alistair chuckle, "Enjoying the sights, my love?"

I flushed lightly, "I am… very much so…"

We got to the Podium and Alistair kissed me lightly before heading to his seat. I could see people glancing at the Divine like they expected her to suddenly get up and take over the ceremony but… really, people; the Divine did a lot more than host weddings!

I had the three rings in a small pocket in the palm on my right glove.

Elthina spoke, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the union of these men with this woman. Today we honor not only the similarities to be found between us, but also the differences to share in; if you will make your promises?"

Fenris spoke first as the one already mated to me, "I swear by all that is held holy in this world to love and cherish you for the rest of my days…"

Cullen cleared his throat and went next, "I swear unto the maker and the Holy Andraste to love this woman the rest of my days."

Sebastian repeated the same as Cullen. I spoke after that, "In the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, I take thee Fenris, Cullen Rutherford, and Sebastian Vael to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen ones. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself. I take you my hearts, at the rising of the moon; and the setting of the stars. To love and to honor, through all that may come, through all our lives together. In all our lives, may we be reborn that we may meet and know and love again, and to always remember," as I spoke their names, I slid the rings onto the fingers of each man. I could hear the sighing in the crowd – apparently the pagan vows were becoming more and more popular too.

Each man, in turn, slid their respective rings onto my own finger. Fenris was first with the Lazurite flame ring; Cullen was next with the golden wings… then I was surprised when Sebastian actually pulled out a ring. It was simple – the thin band was made of Silverite and it bore a single heart shaped Blister-Pearl… the rainbow hue catching the light beautifully.

I gave him a questioning smile and he whispered, "My mothers' family ring."

My heart almost stopped; how did he even get it – and when… I looked up at him in shock. He was entrusting a family heirloom to me?

His lip twitched as he – likely – read all the thoughts going across my face.

Elthina spoke before he could say anything, "You may now kiss the bride."

Fenris leaned in and pressed a swift but firm kiss to my lips; Cullen kissed me sweetly and chastely; and Sebastian gave me a lingering kiss.

I'd given instructions to the Fae at my house last night – anticipating all the people – and at that moment the doors opened and 5 Fae (Obsidian, Rain, Katt, Magma and Galaxia) all strode in with trays of pizza floating on the air behind them.

Obsidian spoke, "Curtesy of Her Majesty, food is being provided for this event – please enjoy a dish from her previous homeland; Pizza."

I was standing with my men while everyone loaded up on food – Alistair was grabbing me a plate with Chicken Bacon and Buffalo Chicken; I looked at Sebastian, "How did you…?"

"One of the Mercenaries that Hawke killed was carrying a pouch of jewelry – it had 3 of he 5 family heirlooms; mothers' ring, grandmothers' necklace and the Vael Charm bracelet that gets a new charm added for certain events. The two things missing were the hand-mirror and the pair of earrings shaped like arrows. You are my wife – and to be he Princess of Starkhaven – it is only fitting that you get the ring. If I am lucky enough to have a child with you that can take the mantle of heir, they are to get the necklace."

I felt bad that it was only then that I realized he a bracelet. Combing through my memory, I could clearly recall that he'd been wearing it for as long as I had known him; and that made sense – I only met him after Hawke had completed the 'Duty' quest.

I took his hand and kissed his inner wrist; his eyes widened at the action before he gave me a bright smile. I heard someone clear their throat and glanced up to see the Divine, "Bea, thank you for respecting my wishes in allowing Elthina to host the ceremony today."

Sebastian – first coughing at my informal mode of address – glanced at me, "The Divine wished to…?"

Beatrix chuckled, "I was going to – as a show of my respect to the Prophetess – but she informed us that you think of Elthina as a mother figure and it would be more meaningful to you for her to host it."

I heard several people whispering, but Sebastian gave me a soft look, "I appreciate it; with what I've been told… it will be nice to have this memory."

"That is the second time someone has eluded to something happening to someone – care to explain?" Cassandra asked – she had been shadowing the Divine very closely all day.

"I had a vision of when and how Elthina will die – and Elthina has chosen not to circumvent it; to allow no one to die in her place because 'There is no greater devotion than to lay ones' life at the Makers' feet'. She still has a few years; but…"

Sebastian let out a breath, "I was worried she would die this year; I do not know how far out you can see…"

"Oh – I can see decades in the future at times; most of my visions are within the Dragon Age right now, but I had one that was 1,000 years in the future to see the effects of being a Queen that can have children – how that effected the succession of Danu and all. And I can see in the past too – as stated when we first met the Divine, I watched and felt as Andraste burned."

I heard someone else say, "Most Holy, it is an honor to see you here today." We all looked and say – no surprise – Meredith Stannard.

"Knight-Commander – it is good to see you again. I understand you gave the permission for the Knight-Captain to wed Ara?"

"I was unaware of her status as Anointed at the time, but yes, I did," This was her sly way of asking the Divine if the pearl around my neck was really mine or if I found a defunct one and was trying to pass as Anointed.

"Indeed – she was the one that brought to attention the fact that even Andraste had a mortal husband while being fully devoted to the Maker; so what better way to worship her would there be than to follow in her footsteps? The vows of Chastity are now optional on that basis." Beatrix smiled.

Meredith kept her face carefully arranged, "So Brother Vael is the first…"

"Oh – no… Sebastian was released from all his vows due to the fact that all visions showed him taking back his throne in Starkhaven; no matter how he tried to avoid it. Sadly, if Sebastian stayed as a brother of the Chantry, then the one currently occupying the Starkhaven throne would make things really bad… the people need a proper ruler and my husbands' time as a member of the Chantry makes him rather ideal as he will know how to help the people rather than pamper only the rich. Sebastian hasn't been a Brother of the Chantry in nearly 6 months." I explained.

That's when Hawke approached, "Hey, Ara – do you still want me to give that one thing to the Brother or… should I just give it to the Divine since she's here now?"

I motioned to the Divine so he turned to her, "Most Holy, I found the Pearl of the Anointed that once belonged to Kordillus Drakon I half buried on the Wounded Coast. I was going to give it to Brother Roderick before he departed for Val Royeaux but since you're here…"

Hawke handed over the golden collar-like necklace with a large 'D' impressed around the Pearl.

Meredith narrowed her eyes, "You just found that… laying around?"

"Hawke has an astounding amount of luck – how else did he survive 26 years as an apostate before being granted a Pardon? I have luck too – but it isn't nearly as potent as Hawke has. I'm the kind of lucky that means I find food when I'm hungry or make money easily. Hawke can just trip over artifacts of legendary origin; the staff he uses is the Staff of Parthalan – he found that in a dragon-infested mine tunnel. We have the bow of an Avvar warrior that helped Maric escape the Deep Roads. We found a dagger belonging to a former Antivan King. If I had Hawke back during the Blight, we would have stumbled on the temple of sacred ashes rather than going looking for it. Honestly, I mostly keep him close for his luck and sense of humor." I teased.

Hawke laughed, "Your faith in my luck is astounding."

I held up my hand – my four-leaf clover showing through my sheer glove – and said, "Clovers are symbols of luck when they have four leaves; an Albatross is a symbol of luck for sailors; Dream Catchers like I made for Cullen…"

Cullen cut in, "It works."

Everyone looked at him and Meredith asked, "What works?"

"My… my wife made a talisman for me – it has no magic in it at all, but it's made of things that are considered personal or sacred. This talisman is meant to catch the nightmares in the 'web' portion, and lets good dreams through a special bead or even a feather or such… and when the first rays of light hit the talisman in the morning, it cleanses away the bad dreams. She made it for me due to my nightmares about what happened at Kinlock Hold; she didn't expect it to work very well, but… I haven't had more than 3 or 4 terror-filled nights since I started using it."

I flushed when people looked at me. Alistair chuckled, "What did you use to make it?"

"Feathers from my griffon form, scales from my dragon form, horn from my unicorn form and spider silk due to the origins of the talisman being from a spider goddess among the people that started the whole thing… I'm glad it works for you, Cullen – it pains me to see you in pain."

He brushed a stray curl from my face. I leaned into his hand with my eyes closed and a smile on my lips. Fenris chuckled, "There are times I wonder if you are a cat."

"Oh, I'm sure. You don't even know what all I can turn into with my shapeshifting ability…"

"Will you tell us?" Elthina asked.

I shrugged, "I don't see why not – it wouldn't do for someone to shoot at me in my animal forms just because I look different… Minotaur is a form where I have the lower half of a person and the upper half of a bull; Centaur is the upper half of a person and the lower half of a horse; Fauns are like centaurs but goat legs rather than horse body; a phoenix is a bird made almost entirely of fire – not at all like the phoenixes here; a basilisk is a fucking large snake with deadly poison and paralyzing gaze; unicorn is a horse with a horn; dragon; Chimera is a fire-breathing lion merged with a goat and a snake; Hydra is a multi-headed snake-like monster with many heads, each of which could dispel acid; Kitsune is a nine-tailed fox said to be a paragon of luck and dispeller of evil; Cerberus is a three-headed dog; Pegasus is a winged horse; hippocampus is the upper half of a horse and the lower half of a basilisk – believe it or not, that's a water form… there are more, but I can't think right now. Anything that could be considered 'mythical' or 'legendary' back in my homelands falls under my shapeshifting purview as long as it can also be classified as an animal of some description. I can't show off right now – shifting might hurt the baby."

"I might like to one day see some of those forms," Leliana commented.

I shrugged, "I don't really see a point in most of them. I'm scared of snakes, but I have a Basilisk form; I'm scared of spiders, but I have a mythical spider like form; most of those forms, I likely won't take simply because of components of fear. I don't have any of the special abilities that come with taking those forms anyway – I just take she shape; I can't spit acid in Hydra form or paralyze anyone in Basilisk form. Unless I want to scare someone, there is no point in taking those forms."

Sebastian gave a look of amused sympathy, "You have forms of things you fear?"

"I look in a mirror and give some strangled version of a scream when I'm in those forms. Keep the snakes and spiders away from me and we'll be fine… if you want me to burn down the house in an attempt to get rid of a one-inch long spider, then by all means – you've been warned." I pouted.

Meredith sighed, "Fear of spiders is common… and rather rational given none of them are 'one-inch' as you describe."

"They're tiny where I come from. The problem isn't finding one… it's when you lose sight of them that it becomes a problem. This is discounting that there were a few spiders big enough to eat horses… I never went to that country and never had plans to… ever. Fuck spiders – I really don't like spiders. Now snakes – I can chill with a snake… but if the butt rattles, we're gonna have issues."

Alistair nodded sagely, "I can understand that."

"I'm not fearless… who thought I was?" I snarked at the people around me.

Hawke lifted a hand, "I sort of thought so."

"… Wait until you see me around a spider – screaming like someone beheaded my puppy and throwing fire while looking away."

"Maker – the first time we saw Spiders in Ferelden during the Blight was a time I will never forget. She jumped on my back and buried her face in my shoulder and was whimpering… this was before we were even together – we were still dancing around each other; I mean, I did most of that dancing, actually. Anyway, she was thinking she had offended me or something and still – she was so terrified of those spiders that she was clinging to me like a child would their mother when they saw a snake or something. So there I am – sword ready because I thought there were bandits or – maker forbid – darkspawn and I'm just so confused when I see a spider; it wasn't even a venomous one so I was completely thrown off. Still – Aedan leapt in to kill the spider while I'm comforting our leader. She had to make the Qunari stop laughing at her – until then she had been a bastion of war and had already gained his respect; she shoved like 3 cookies into Stens' mouth to shut him up."

"He liked cookies," I muttered.

"That is the only reason I can think of why he didn't challenge you for control at that point. You still had to fight him 3 days later when you challenged him for coddling you."

Fenris looked confused, "He coddled you?"

"He learned what Darkspawn do to women and he was already thinking of me as 'Kadan' at that point so he was… protective."

"That would do it," Fenris nodded.

And that was when people began clearing out of the hall – the Divine and the rest of the Chantry contingent headed back home and… I took Cullen to bed.