Chapter Eighty-Eight

Down to Business

That night, I was on a call with Alistair while Kell, Cullen, Fenris and Sebastian were in the room. I was lounging – naked – in Sebastians' arms. It was Friday now – Hawke and I had spent Wednesday night in prison so… there were many reasons Fenris was upset at Prosper. But Friday was Kells' night with me.

"Did you really consider allowing Cyril De Montfort to court you?" Sebastian asked.

"As I said – he's cute. I considered it, yes; but that was shot down and now the idea is gone. Cyril would have been like his father – but something changed that about 2 years ago. If he hadn't changed, then no; I wouldn't have considered it even a little. As he is now… something calls to me. Not sure what – but I am attracted to him. He is cute – I wouldn't mind. But as it stands… I already feel that I can't keep up much more. We joke about me taking a 7th mate, but I don't honestly believe that it will happen. Sebastian and Kell were already a surprise; and I'd be happy to stop now… but the Iron Bull is also my mate and – in my opinion – mates are very sacred and I'm not giving that up."

"No one is asking you to – we're just asking if you actually wanted Cyril. It isn't too late to send him a bird or something telling him Fenris changed his mind. Because Fenris only said no because you didn't express a proper desire for him…" Cullen pointed out.

"Because I'm okay either way; Cyril is adorable and did you see how nervous he was when asking for a chance? It was flattering. But let's be honest here – if I take a 7th mate, then we all need to agree on the person. Besides – I'm half hoping that it would be a dwarven woman just on sheer principle of me wanting a woman and it might be nice to actually have a mate from every creed; Avvar, Human, Elf, Qunari and Dwarf. As it stands, I have 3 humans and no dwarf."

"You're joking," Sebastian chuckled, "You're actually hoping that?"

"Well – I'm at least thinking about it because it sort-of bugs me as to why Dwarves were left out of the mix – and why do I only have men. It's like the cosmos is calling me the Dwarf here. Like 'oh, you don't need a dwarf mate – you are a dwarf' kind of thing."

"Well… you uh… you are," Alistair muttered.

"What? Run that by me again – because I'm pretty sure I'm a fairy."

"No, no – you are… but you thought your dad was human, right? No – he's not. A dwarf traveled back to Danu with the last set of scholars that came to Thedas and he was a fairies mate; your dad isn't human – he's a dwarf."

I pinched my nose, "I was wrong? Well, dang – that hardly ever happens."

Cullen sniggered and Kell just said, "Does it? I distinctly remember that I was always right."

"You were – but since becoming a seer and a Fairy, I'm hardly ever wrong. I would have sworn my father here was a human – and I would have been so wrong. This is… I need to reacclimate to being wrong; give me a second."

Alistair shook his head, "I was talking with your brother – Ash – and it came up. He gave me the funniest look when I said something about a human father and he was more than happy to correct me."

"But… wasn't our father born on Danu?"

"Well, no – and when I said the last scholars, I mean the ones that came here before the ones that have been here for the last 95 years and were here when Danu arrived. That Dwarf went back to Danu and was your mums' mate. Remember that you and your brother have different genetic fathers."

I opened my mouth then closed it – that had also escaped me. I frowned – what was going on? I didn't usually…

Hmm… well, I wasn't pregnant; I just checked. I guess it was just one of those things where information seemed so obvious that my brain overlooked it.

"So yes – you are the Dwarf in this scenario; your father is a Dwarf – and as such, there is about a 2% chance that any kid you have might be a dwarf. It's a low chance for the kids to take after a grandparent, but according to Ash, it does happen on occasion. So it's like a 49% chance to take after one parent or the other – not 50%. Did you know that?" Alistair asked.

I shook my head with a smile, "I did not. You've been learning."

"Well… I sometimes attend the classes he gives his kids. It's the best way to learn for me at the moment. I take Duncan and he just coos and tries to play with the other kids while I actually learn quite a bit about Danu. I figure that, since I'm the king there too…"

"You are a wonderful King. Circling back to the Cyril thing – I have no strong opinions on courting him one way or the other. He seems sweet – and I might have grown to love him, but at the moment… like I said – no strong opinions."

"Okay – then I stand by my 'no'." Fenris said firmly. He had already informed Hawke that – since Hawke had 'spent the night' with me on Wednesday, Fenris would be taking over Sunday this week.

Hawke had no recourse when I had agreed that it was only fair.

Gale had gone on back to Orzammar after a quick stop in Kirkwall to inform my guards of the commission of two Daggers of the Four Winds using Black Salt Ore and flawless, ornate gems – Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald and Diamond and which spot on the hilt they should be in – along with my specifications for enchantments.

The ruby would be enchanted with the Lava Enchantment that was on Varrics bolts. The Emerald would have the enchantment that meant the blade wouldn't dull. The Diamond would make the dagger return to its sheath after being thrown. And the Sapphire would clean it – like the bolts.

I had – unbeknownst to Bela – added one more thing to her new daggers; anyone attempting to take them from her belt would have a nasty surprise – electric shock. No one would think to take the belt if they tried to take the daggers.

The daggers would be ready by the time we got back to Kirkwall.

Getting back to Kirkwall brought a surprise visitor a day after we arrived.

It was a messenger/courier from Empress Celene Valmont I of Orlais. The woman was – of course – masked, and dressed from head to toe in white and red fabrics… I couldn't make out any notable features except that her eyes were blue and when she blinked, I could just make out dark skin.

Her accent wasn't as thick as I might have expected – in fact, she carried notes of an Antivan accent; as though she were raised in Antiva except in the summers.

"Can I help you?" I asked her once she'd been led to my study – for some reason, my guards kept urging me to use my throne; I didn't want to.

"Your Imperial Majesty – I bring a note and a gift from her Imperial Majesty, Empress Celene…"

Magma – the Guard du jour – took the small square box and the scroll and brough them over. He kept the box – he would be the one to open it since Alistair was all 'don't trust any gifts from people you don't know well… especially foreign dignitaries'… all that after he received poison from someone claiming to be the First Warden; it wasn't.

I opened the scroll.

Your Majesty;

It is with great hopes that I, Empress Celene Valmont, invite you personally to open shops in Orlais' capital city; Val Royeaux. I have already reserved a wonderful building that can fit all four shops in the event that you accept.

As a show of faith – and hopefully cooperation – I present to you a necklace; once given to me by King Cailan Theirin. And as a secondary gift, I have sent the armor once worn by King Calenhad to your husband, King Alistair.

Yours truly,

Celene Valmont I – Empress of Orlais

I blinked and motioned to Magma. He opened the box and brought me the necklace. I knew at once that this had been his 'betrothal' gift to her. How tacky to give it away to another woman – but then again… he was dead and couldn't object.

It was actually a tasteful necklace – a thin silver chain holding… wait a minute. Alistair had described this necklace to me. It was keepsake of Moira Theirins' – and her father before her – all the way back to Vanedrin Theirin; Alistairs' great-great-grandfather. It held a silver locket impressed with the Theirin Family Crest – the Mabari were actually made of silverite.

I opened the locket and almost hissed a breath – inside was a picture of Maric. I glanced at Magma, "Have someone get this to Alistair – please."

He nodded and poked his head out the door, calling for Obsidian.

I knew the Armor mentioned in the letter too; the tale went as so – 'It is said that Calenhad Theirin spent a year and a day in the Tower of the Magi. Each day, he drew a single cup full of water from the lake and carried it to the Formari at the top of the tower. By magic, each cup of water was forged into a single ring of the mail armor the Circle gave to Calenhad. In that armor, made from the lifeblood of the land itself, no blade could strike him, no arrow pierce him, so long as he stood on Ferelden soil.'

I hadn't heard anything about the armor past that before – the games and books never seemed to acknowledge more than that about it as far as I could remember.

I smiled at the courier and said, "A moment please and I will get you a reply." When she nodded, I began penning a note.

Your Radiance,

The offer is quite intriguing – and the gifts are quite lovely. I will begin getting things in motion and will visit Val Royeaux within the year to begin selecting staff and getting the building ready.

I am honored that you reached out to me – as I intended to reach out to you in the coming months for just such a proposition.

Kind Regards,

Arvaala Feather-Fall – Angel Empress of Danu, Queen of Ferelden and Anointed.

I sealed it and passed it to the woman who curtsied and left without another word. Something told me she wasn't a noble woman.

In terms of my shops… I suppose the next step would be to branch out; I just hadn't thought of it. Yeah – that was something I discovered; we could lie if it was in writing, just not verbally.

But if I was branching out, where to next? Antiva or Nevarra would be my choice – I'd pick Tevinter, but I wasn't on friendly terms with them.

Hmm – Rivain might be nice… Par Vollen might allow me to set up shop; the Anderfells would embrace me with open arms like the old abuela in a Mexican family get together… I missed my abuela just thinking about it.

I'd decide that later – my appointment was here.

Lirene walked in hesitantly, "Is… everything alright, Ara?"

I'd made it clear to many people that they were to be informal with me. I beamed, "Yeah – I just have an information spreading job that I need done and you are in the best position to do it. I'll pay for your time, of course."

She relaxed at once, "Name it – you always over-pay anyway, though, so I wouldn't feel right taking more money from you…"

"That's what I like about you – you're a gal on the high road. So, no one has come in asking for Templars' Rose soap unless they work at the Gallows and I'm worried about our… mutual friends. I need you to get a message to the Mage Underground – let them know that no one that buys the soap will be turned in to the Gallows. Meredith is spiraling – she's getting worse. Templars' Rose – and my newest scent, Twilight Rose – can increase abilities in both mages and Templars. To put this mildly – those two soaps completely replace Lyrium usage for a week so long as you shower or bathe weekly. The main component in each of those scents is Lyrium, after all; and it does so without the side effects of getting addicted to the stuff. They are exclusive to Mages and Templars and each only cost 1 sovereign for a large bottle – enough to last 6 months at minimum. My people in the shops have already been warned and signed non-disclosure agreements – no one will turn in an apostate or former templar for buying; after all… it's 'just business'. To avoid trouble, I do suggest that they ask for Twilight Rose since I didn't inform the Gallows about that scent being almost identical to Templars Rose – instead of Amrita Vein, however, it uses Royal Elfroot… meaning Twilight is better for mages."

She looked awed, "So you're saying… you made a Rose soap for mages specifically? I'll spread the word – discreetly. A lot of apostates come to me hoping to get ahold of the soap anyway – this will… thank you."

"Again – Twilight Rose is almost the same, but the Gallows has no idea it exists – so it's safer for mages in hiding to order that one. It's one of the few not out on the shelves due to 'exclusive' nature, so they have to order it from the clerks – but we don't exactly check credentials so be sure to warn anyone trying to get ahold of it when they aren't a mage or templar-trained that it's dangerous and could hurt them. I don't want trouble – and if someone gets ahold of it when they shouldn't… it could ruin things for the apostates."

"I'll be sure of it. Oh – we are low on a few things. The ship with my goods was robbed by the Felicisima Armada last week."

"Get me a list – I'll have one of my people go shopping in Denerim. We can call it my pay to you for spreading the information," I gave her a charming grin.

She laughed and passed me the list, "Thank you – the refugees would be a lot worse off…"

"Hey – they're my people. I could do no less for them, right? It's nice that there are less of them here than there used to be – back home and living comfortably, I hope. Magma…" he took the list with a grin, "I'll get this one to your brother – he'll make the arrangements."

"Which one?"

"The Prince Rose is in Denerim… the Prince Wyvern is in Gwaren. So it would only make sense to give it to Ash," Magma Quipped.

Right – Prince Wyvern. Since Aedan was my brother – under Fae Law at minimum – they gave him a title; Gwarens' crest was a wyvern so… poof.

Lirene left not long after that; and I called in Hawke.

"A meeting with the Empress – to what do I owe the honor?" he laughed. I stuck my tongue out, "Bully – so; I just got an offer to open shop in Orlais… the Empress wrote me a note herself… as in, she penned it, signed it and sealed it without a scribe. But I don't want to limit myself… expansion is a good idea since the shops are doing well… really well – and foreign nationals don't always want to make a trip to Ferelden or Kirkwall to buy soap in bulk. I figure that I have two options here – I open actual shops in other nations, or… I send Fae to act as brokers. They take catalogues – like… papers that detail everything I sell – and send the orders back to the closest shop to package and ship through air services – two separate wind gifts could be used for it; one is a gift that allows far-reaching communication. The wind Sylph would basically speak while willing it to go to a certain person and they would hear it as though the person was right in front of them. The other is similar – but it moves objects rather than words. I want your input – shops or brokers?"

"Hmm… why not have the brokers on a trial basis to test how viable a store might be. If there's not a lot of demand, keep it at brokers; if there is demand, then the Broker becomes the shop manager and the wind Sylph with the speaking gift that would be there can stay on as… someone that notifies other stores if they need more of a specific stock item? This way, you can expand pretty much everywhere all at once without breaking your income at the same time. After all, if there's not enough demand, then you would lose money on those shops."

I considered, "That's fair… alright; good thing those two gifts are the most common in wind sylphs. And neither one appears in Fairies at all – I'll admit that I'm slightly jealous of that; how cool would it be to just ship things like that? It's impossible to intercept too."

"But you can fly – not all wind sylphs or fairies are powerful enough to lift their bodies with the air, so they're grounded; I bet many are jealous of that." Hawke pointed out.

"I would be too if I couldn't fly – I'm just saying; it'd be amazing to be able to do that. And I can't even hope that it's my fourth power because it's a Sylph exclusive power."

"I was talking to Drake – but he couldn't think of what Earth Powers are exclusive to sylphs… do you know?"

"One or two – Earth is one of the most versatile, though, so the powers mostly allow for Fairies to use them too. Earth is all around us, you know? I am pretty sure Fairies can't use the 'Burrow' ability – like moles, they can move through the ground beneath us. It's used to start tunnels and get to resources under the ground. Some Earth Sylphs can physically change their skin into minerals – like diamond, steal or even the toxic uranium; and with no ill effects, even. Fire Sylphs have the exclusive abilities to manipulate temperature in a persons body, or even swim in Lava without… you know… dying."

As I spoke, I began writing a note for my Danu Liaison; Bear – he would find me the amount of Sylphs and Fairies needed to act as Brokers as well as a Fae Manager for Orlais. I would take care of all other staffing in Orlais – hiring Elves, mostly. Denerim hired mostly Elves and Surface Dwarves. There were humans, yes, but I made it a priority to hire people with good work-ethic and need for the job. I didn't usually hire nobles because they didn't need the pay.

Don't get me wrong – if a noble came to an interview, they were given a fair interview and chance, but most nobles these days just didn't have the work-ethic needed for a labor job. They just wanted the advertised employee discount. 15% off all purchases made in person as well as 4 top-shelf goods for free every 3 months; we also covered medical expenses, schooling fees, and babysitting fees for our employees with children.

What could I say? Be the change that you wanted to see in the world – a good philosophy to follow. I paid well, there were good benefits to working in my stores, and I sometimes dropped in just cause. I personally did all the hiring of any non-Danu personnel. It wasn't that I trusted all Fae inexplicably – like all races, there were good and bad – but more that I trusted my hiring manager. Bear had an uncanny knack for weeding out the bad ones. I had really come to rely on Bear; if there was anything important that needed doing in Danu, he was my go-to.

And on that note – I knew that the 'courier' Celene had sent had a second purpose; I hadn't spoken directly to her past getting the note… so she hadn't found a proper chance to try her case. Celene wanted an Orlesian in charge of the shops. But I had a hard policy on that; managers were Fae – but no one knew why.

I'm sure they assumed I was elevating my own race – but the truth was… if I got a promise from a Fae that they wouldn't sell my recipes to competitors without my express consent, then I could trust it. Because if they did manage to sell even one recipe, the other part of the promise had them turning themselves in for 5 years in an unsavory job… a job we paid our criminals to do these days. Water Sanitation; no one wanted to smell shit all the time and Fae don't have that biological need.

Yes – I said Paid; it was one of 4 job choices for criminals. The longer you were sentenced, the longer you worked at any of those 4 jobs. I wasn't a monster – they were paid fairly, no one was outright told that any specific worker was there as part of their 'jail' term and they could choose a jail cell over working their term off.

Working meant they had less 'time' on their record though; 5 years at one of the crappy jobs no one really wanted but would still take or 10 years in a cell. Water Sanitation was the only job I'd added to the roster of Work-Release anyway; the other 3 were in place from previous Queens. It wasn't like I had been the one to start the program – but I did approve of it as long as it wasn't acting like slave labor.

Meaning that I had personally made surprise inspections to make sure the 'prisoners' – and 'voluntary' workers – were being treated and paid properly. It was a good system; our jails rarely had anyone in them. We had low crime rates in the first place, but what crime we did have usually ended in people working off their debt.

I wanted to only say 1 year working for selling my recipes, but I was informed that due to them being part of the Empress' income, it was considered treason to sell those recipes. 5 years working or 10 in a cell was the lowest time-stamp I could place on it.

I figured that even if the recipes were sold, I was already the lowest price one could get for those items of higher value and the list of things in most of them would mean not many could reproduce more than maybe one for sale anyway. It was Alistairs' insistence to protect my business that made the contracts for not selling anyway.

Hawke coughed – pulling me from my thoughts, "So – where are you sending the Brokers?"

"I've been invited to open shop in Val Royeaux – Celene already bought me a building, even. For the Anderfels, I'm going to contact the King about maybe Hossberg – it's the capital, so it's the best place to start. Seleny in Antiva would be my choice – I hear it's beautiful and I want a reason to visit eventually. Cumberland in Nevarra is the home of the Grand Enchanter and the College of Magi – the best place for my Templars Rose soap at minimum. The Arishok and other Qunari here enjoy my Dreadnought soap so I'll send a broker to Qunandar with a catalogue tailored to those of the Qun – Dreadnaught for the ones with Horns and 2 or 3 others for the ones without. Llomerryn is my A-Choice for Rivain – it's politically neutral so it's a good spot, in my opinion. What do you think?"

"No Tevinter?" he asked with that sly smirk.

"No – let them walk. I warned them, they fucked up, and now we're simply neutral but… I won't risk my people. Until Tevinter can prove themselves, they get no shops or brokers. Honestly, though – don't you find it funny that I'm better terms with the Qunari than any other race in Thedas is?"

"Yeah, actually – they haven't made an official stance with you on that front, but they haven't even tried to convert your people yet." Hawke mused.

"They won't force conversation on anyone that isn't a prisoner of war or was captured for some reason, as far as I'm aware. Hence why they go to war – but they won't force a war when they don't know if there's even a possibility of winning, Hawke. My people live on a floating land – how are they going to invade that? Even if they got a hold of Ley Lines, the opposite end is guarded if it leads to Danu. They could attack Ferelden, sure – but even with Alistair as the Danu King, there's no promise that Fae people would enter the fight, so there would be no Fae to capture and convert. I mean, we would stand with Ferelden, but the even knowing that, the Qun wants to observe the new pegs on the map before ever making a move. It's highly likely that the Qunari won't bother with the Fae for at least 50-100 years; and when they do make a move, they may send what amounts to missionaries before ever thinking of war with a people whose land they can't get to in a Dreadnaught."

"You… really thought this through, haven't you?" Hawke looked surprised.

"Mostly, yes – when I traveled with Sten, he and I would talk about various scenarios about how his people would view people like me – even when I didn't know the land floated, we knew what I was in essence. His thoughts more leaned toward if people like me all had wings or my abilities. The Qun would be very cautious in those instances. Knowing we can move a continent that's so large… for now, they'll bide their time and observe. It'll be a long time before any bull-headed Qunari – pun intended – gets the hair-brained idea to go to war with my people. A long time; they'll try to convert us through peace first since we're so powerful. They're used to being the best and strongest – suddenly a new presence comes out that seems bigger and badder – caution is advised. Sten sparred with me regularly when we traveled – I beat him fairly often… without my abilities as a Fairy. He assessed my strength and hear me comment on how I was stronger, faster and had higher stamina than when I wasn't a Fae. As far as the Qun knows, we're all stronger than your average Sten. I wish that were the truth. Apparently, that was merely my excess benefits as the vessel. The Fae are no stronger than most 2-handed warrior humans. That puts us on par with a weaker Qunari."

"Makers' Ass – I'm impressed."

"Thank you – now… I have notes to write to the Leaders of Antiva, Nevarra, Rivain, Par Vollen and the Anderfels to get necessary permissions for my brokers to set up. I'm pretty sure that they'll be allowed – my items are very popular especially among the leaders of any country – but I wouldn't want to cause an incident. If only I were just a business woman – politics all day tomorrow." I rubbed my temples.

He grinned, "Well – at least you get to blow off some steam later tonight."

I smiled with a small flush – Kells' nights were always more… vigorous than the others. Likely because he had more stamina and even more knowledge on just how to press my buttons and tease me.

Goddess, that man could and would tease me to the brink and then deny me before doing it all over again.

"Ahem – yeah; thanks for the reminder. Now I'll be useless while writing these letters." I 'complained' with a laugh.

"Each of your mates has something unique, don't they?" Oooh – I loved when Hawke would do girl talk with me!

"Uh-huh; Sebastian has actually introduced me to several things, believe it or not. My mom was right – reformed rakes make the best lovers. Alistair gets all possessive in the bedroom – and it's so warming when he just tucks me against him and holds me all night…"

"Yeah – I can understand that; you love being snuggled," he smiled.

"Then there's Cullen – like… oh my goddess, Cullen. He's hesitant about the role-play, but he's really taken to most other things – who knew he would have a thing for bondage?"

"Really? The up-tight Knight-Captain has a thing for Bondage?" Hawke looked so amused.

"Uh-huh – Fenris is more of an all-rounder; whatever I'm in the mood for, so is he." I giggled. I knew Hawke was distracting me from work – but I suppose I needed a break.

"And Kell?" Hawke asked with a sly smirk.

"Kell – you remember back when I first met him? How I said that he had so much stamina?"

"Yeah – it was amusing."

"Well – he's also gotten a lot bolder during sex since our last life together; he'll tease me and tease me until I'm right there… and then retreat until I 'calm' before doing it all over again. That's not even mentioning his new enthusiasm with the role-playing – and he ties those two together." I chuckled.

"And anyone in your bed has to be a cuddler," Hawke mentioned.

"I cling – anyone that pushes me off is in for a rude awakening… literally." I quipped.

"Noted – Anders said as much."

"He was tossed to the floor after kicking me in his sleep and moving away from me. Alright – girl talk over; I really need to get back to work."

He frowned, "You never seem to take a break."

"The Wyvern Hunt wasn't a break?" I asked.

"No – that was Crew Work; now you're working on shop work… and tomorrow is politics. When do you get a day to just… relax?"

"Hawke – I know that you were trying to pull me away from the paperwork, but… I have too much to do. To be honest, I took some of the work with me when we went to Chateau Haine just so that I wouldn't get behind."

"I thought Landon took care of everything with the shops," Hawke sighed.

"Most of it, yes – and he has a lot of power in that respect too. But I do all the hiring, firing, expanding and coming up with new product. As for the politics, I have Bear and Ash working together on a lot of it – I just take care of the necessary stuff. I put Duchess Brook in charge of petty judgement – theft of minor things and the like. I only judge things like treason, murder and such. Duchess River has graciously had one of her mates take over the treasury. A man named Feron has taken over the running of my palace. All the work I do is the stuff that requires my attention – and it still just piles up." I sighed.

"Sweetness – you're going to burn out…" he looked worried.

"Look – if I feel like I really need a break or a vacation, I'll throw some of the work at Sebastian and Alistair; even Kell knows how to do a lot of this work too. I just don't want to trouble them when I can do it."

"I wish you had said so sooner," Sebastians voice came from the doorway to my right. I yelped and whirled.

"Sorry, my love – but Serah Hawke is correct; you are overworking yourself. Allow me to help. Alistair has a regent and can also help if need be – as you said. I do not have much else to do since leaving the Chantry. I still go once or twice a week to help out, but I no longer have duties. It might be nice to have work to do." Sebastian gave me that charming smile that had made women fall into his bed for years.

I sighed, "You're… you're sure that you won't mind?"

"Of course. And it is a bonus that it will help you."

I bit my lip, "Oh… fine; you win. I still need to hold court tomorrow, but otherwise I can let you take over some of the paperwork. Just let me know if…"

"I won't change my mind. You do need a break."

My mates and their stubborn need to get me to relax… in any way possible. It benefitted me – but also made me feel kind-of lazy.

It made sense while I was pregnant – but not now!

I picked up a stack of paper and set it on the other side of the desk for Sebastian to take. We'd see about getting him a desk in here too – there was plenty of room, after all.