Dragon Age: Reign of the Dragon Lineage

by Jyggilag

After being forced to destroy the grail at the end of the 4th Grail War, Saber awakes to the surprise of having being reborn in a new realm. Now without having to carry the burden of a crown she never wanted, what destiny could the former King of Knights forge for herself in this new world? What challenges and adventures lie in wait for her?

2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: Well bitches, because you all been nagging on my case about when I'm going to make the next Fairy tail watches deathbattle chapter without leaving me alone, here you have this chapter before time. I wanted to add a few more scenes before uploading but fuck it you people are so annoyingly impatient so here you have it.

Anyway, it has taken me some time to have this chapter ready because I was busy with Persona 5, I just finished it yesterday late at night so yeah. Or should I say very early in today's morning? Whatever.

Bought a PS4 back in November during the holydays and I've been busy playing its exclusives. I've already played and finished Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza Zero, Bloodborne and its expansion, and Persona 5 as I've just said. And that's me being a completionist who wants to squeeze every singly drop of content from his purchases. I've still yet to finish The last of us remastered, and I have the entire Nathan drake collection and uncharted 4 and Secret of Mana in the backburner still waiting for me to try them out alongside God of War 3 remastered. And I'm also waiting for Nier Automata to arrive any day now through Mercado Libre so yeah, I've been very busy these past 4 months and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be just as busy for the rest of the year.

Also, I've bought Fire Emblem Echoes and Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology for my 2ds and Technomancer for the X one. Plus I'm checking prices online to see if I buy the two Shin Megami Tensei IV games. As you can see I'm pretty busy with my games. And I'm yet to buy Nioh with all its DLC's and I also want to get Scholar of the first sin DS2 edition and Dark Souls 3 for PS4 before the remake of Dark Souls 1 arrives. The wonders of being a working adult with his own paid-job and a credit card.

In any case, let's begin with this chapter already.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; Fate/Stay Night belongs to Type-Moon/Kinoko Nasu. Dragon Age belongs to Bioware and EA.

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Chapter 2

Growing up

The sound of loud thuds resonated in the main courtyard of Redcliffe Castle as Arturia launched strike after strike against a helpless dummy, the defenseless figure made of straw jerking chaotically in all directions like a puppet with its strings cut lose, unable to do anything to withstand the rain of swings delivered upon him with great mastery by the blunt training sword in Arturia's hands. The former King of knights, clad just in some spare clothes fit only for a commoner, was covered head to toes in sweat. Yet it did nothing to hinder her from continuing mercilessly beating the dummy in front of her.

More than eight years had already passed since Arturia had been granted a new life in this new world, and in that time she had learned a great deal about what this land, Thedas, had to offer that was much different from what she knew in her previous life. The most important difference being that the existence of magic was a rather general and relatively well known fact of life, unlike on Earth were magic was a dying art that became more and more scarcer with each passing generation and thus the secrets of its craft became a well-guarded secret among the few and privileged magus families that could still be found in the most isolated and remote corners of the world. But here that seemed not be the case, as it was clear that this planet was still in the middle of a Mythic age, for mages capable of great and terrifying feats are of such common place that even the most humbling and poorest of peasant families may give birth to a child carrying the gift of magic. Heck, there's even a nation far to the north that is supposedly ruled by a hierarchy of mages, one of the first and most ancient human nations on this world who at one point ruled all of the known lands in the continent until rebellion and infighting caused it to lose almost all of its territories. Pretty much like what happened to the Roman Empire back in her old world.

However, there's a downside to this fact. The power of the mages of this world stems from their connection to the Dreamworld, The Fade, and it is this connection that makes them vulnerable to the depredations of evil spirits and demons that lurk in the darkest corners of the dreaming, wishing to enter the mortal world by possessing the body of a mage and use it as a vessel from which they could exert their influence over the kingdoms of men. The priests and clerics from this world tell stories about abominations, mages who have let themselves be overcome by the will of a demon and their bodies mutated into twisted, monstrous shapes before going about terrible rampages and causing horrific losses of life until they are ultimately put down like the beasts they have become.

Arturia frowned a bit at that thought, remembering the warnings that friendly spirits like Justice have given her during her travels through the Fade, telling how demons are always on the prowl, hunting far and wide throughout the dreamworld in search of the astral consciousness of helpless mages to trick and deceive in order to take control of their bodies. It gives credence to the warnings of the clerics and makes them and all too real danger instead of just a cautionary tale told by old women. The implications of this knowledge have never set well with Saber, who every night since the day she had been reborn in this world has to battle in the Fade for the ownership of her very soul and that of her noble phantasms, whose divine energies tend to attract demons like moths to a flame; carving a bloody toll through the entire length of the Fade just to keep the demons off her back. It took years, but it seems most of the evil spirits that dwell in there have learned to give her a wide berth every time they feel her presence, only the most older and powerful of demons, or when in high numbers, do they dare to make a move against her.

It does not matter really much to her. They all fall to Excalibur in the end, she would be damned if she let some wretched creature take her weapons from her. It wasn't just her sword that she's learn to actualize in the dreamworld; she has also become capable of summoning her lance Rhongomyniad, her dagger Carnwennan, and her shield Prydwen. She had been initially of the mind of not employing them much in battle and simply have them in hand as back-ups, but Justice convinced her of otherwise, saying that he felt a hidden power just as immense and outwordly as Excalibur, or in the case of her lance, capable of surpassing it.

Knowing the true nature of her lance and how it functions as the main pillar to keep reality together, she wasn't really surprised at Justice's assessment. Initially she was pretty unconvinced about employing her other weapons in combat against demons, but Justice told her that such powers as those she has on her possession should be shown their proper respect and caution. A weapon is meant to be wielded and she is doing a great disservice by not taking the time to master all of her weapons as power in the hands of the untrained can only spell disaster. Against that reasoning, she had no room for complaint.

In any case, demonic possession and abominations are not the only dangers inherent to magic. There's also talks about blood magic, a dark branch of magic that, as the name implies, requires blood to be spilled and lives to be sacrificed in order to empower the strength of spells. A powerful, yet terrible art, capable of impressive and horrifying feats, like enslaving the minds of others and bend them to your will, bring demons to heel, or even sundering and tear apart the mystical barrier that separates the living world from the Fade, the Veil. This is the magic that allowed ancient Tevinter to become the masters of the world once upon a time and as such, enslaving millions under its merciless iron fist. It is little wonder then that such practice is outlawed and looked upon with dread and fear in modern days, and anyone who is found out practicing this abhorrent art is branded Maleficarum, to be shunned and despised by the rest of society, to be hunt down for the rest of his days wherever is that they might be found until finally being put to the sword.

It is because of these reasons, because mages in this world are born with such regularity and in such great numbers, each one with the potential of either becoming dangerous threats that would endanger the lives of others or cruel blood-thirsty tyrants that will stop at nothing in their attempts to rule over their common brethren, that the ruling institution of the main religion in this world has decreed for them to be round up and imprisoned for the good of all, to be kept away from the rest of the mundane population; to be inducted in the so called school of magic under guard for the rest of their lives, the far-known and often controversial circle of Magi, a rule that causes no small amount of discussion between supporters and detractors.

Saber understands the need of protecting the innocent against potential threats, but even she finds some of the measures regarding the Circle of Magi and the treatment of mages to be rather extreme, measures that seemed to be inspired by fear rather than fairness. By law those who show a degree of magical ability must join the Circle and live under its supervision, no excuses or exceptions, whether you are a lowly peasant or a high noble or royalty, the moment you are discovered capable of wielding magic you can expect armed soldiers marching down and knocking on your door before sending you packing into one of the Circle institutions. Templars they are called, the militant arm of the Chantry, the main religion on Thedas, and the soldiers in charge of both guarding and imprisoning the mages all around the continent.

Those mages who decide not to join the Circle and try to evade the Templars are branded Apostates, mages who act outside the authority of the Chantry and are thus considered a danger to society. Like the Maleficarum they are scorned and chased by the Templars, and upon capture they are given two choices: Either join the Circle or be executed. Imprisonment or death, not much of an option to tell the truth…

It's because of this that she has refrained from showing any of her more esoteric abilities to any of the people who knows her in this new life of her. Not even her brother knows the true extent of her skills. Prana Burst, Invisible Wind; the techniques she learned from her training as a Spirit Warrior that the spirit of Justice gave her so many years ago when she had been first reborn. To cloak herself with the mystical energies of the Fade to resist physical damage or become semi-intangible and faze through attacks, to imprint common weapons with the power to cause injury directly to the spirit of the opponent or be able to harm the denizens of the Fade, to launch a burst attack than instead of being limited to just the inside her body and augment her physical feats for an instant like her Prana Burst does is instead capable of releasing a torrent of magical energy outward that can be used to strike all enemies in a radius near her, and to her great surprise, increase even further her already extraordinary magical resistance and physical augmentation.

Unlike other mages, she is in no danger of her magical abilities running wild; thanks to her dragon soul and magical core, she is more akin to a phantasmal beast rather than a human, and thus magic is an essential part of her nature. Too bad there was never much time in her previous life for Merlin to teach her spells, to busy training and preparing herself to act like a king and learning how to rule a kingdom, and then actually ruling the kingdom itself, a long and often arduous task that could keep her occupied for weeks and months at a time.

Though she hasn't had much spare time to train her more esoteric skills in this new life of her either, other than inside of the Fade; and not only because practicing magic puts her in danger of being discovered and sent to the circle. Having the body of a child is not conductive for that sort of training, she first has to develop her physical abilities, strength at arms and sword skills back to what they were during her past life before she can even consider attempting to train on her mystical abilities. She is a warrior first, rather than a mage after all, and she must juggle all these goals while trying to keep Alistair in the dark about her past.

Thinking about her brother caused the corners of Arturia's lips to curve upward in a faint resemblance of a smile, just like her brother Sir Kay and her caretaker and parental figure Sir Ector took care of her during her childhood in her previous life, she now has found herself taking care of a younger sibling in this new life of hers. Well, chronologically Alistair is a couple of months older than her, but that's just the age of her body, her mind and soul are old, still capable of vividly recalling all those long decades she spent ruling Camelot. Most people would find it odd to see a cute little toddler girl ordering around another boy her age who's almost twice her size while fuzzing about him, and to said boy to listen and follow her instructions without complaint. But Alistair is a gentle soul, and he doesn't mind listening to the instructions of his 'older' sister who has always done right by him and cared for his sake. Arturia privately believes that Alistair is actually happy of having someone fuzz about him, not that he can blame him considering the fact they are both orphaned children product of the indiscretions of a king, growing up without parents is a hard thing for any child so it isn't surprising that he latches onto her in search of approval and comfort, like a baby duckling following after his mother.

And isn't that how her relationship with Alistair could be described, for all intents and purposes she was Alistair's mother in all but name. She's the one who cares for him when he's sick and nurtures him back to health, keeps him out of trouble, tells him stories at night and holds him while he sleeps to keep the nightmares away. By the lady, she practically has reared him on her own and taught him everything he needed to know: How to read, how to write, how to tend to the horses in the stable were they sleep and keep the place clean, how to be polite and show some manners to avoid people think lowly of him (A task that is currently a work in progress considering Alistair disinterest for such things, though that is putting it mildly) And recently she has begun his instruction in the arts of combat; how to hold a sword, how to maintain your equipment, how to put your armor on, well not that last one since they're just children right now but it wouldn't hurt for him to know all of the pieces that compose an armor and where they must be placed. Learning how to wear and move on armor can wait for when they are a little older.

She got the perfect opportunity to start training Alistair without anyone asking much questions since she became the squire of a newly-minted knight named Ser Perth. In hindsight she should have suspected something like that was only a matter of time before it occurred, as both she and Alistair have been sleeping at the stables of Redcliffe castle since very little, Arturia quickly started taking care of the horses to keep herself occupied during the day, and considering that's the place where the mounts of the knights under Arl Eamon's service tend to take shelter, it was bound to happen that one of the knights would start asking questions and look for her after taking notice on how well groomed, catered and tacked their horses were. After that, it didn't take long for her to be asked to become a squire.

It began with small things, after seeing how good she was in taking care of the horses; the knights started to enlist her assistance in several chores and duties that became more and more prominent in importance over time. Her diligence in accomplishing any task given to her no matter how basic it might be is what eventually earned her the trust of the Arl's knights. From running errands and taking messages, to collecting discarded training weapons and used arrows in the courtyard, until finally she was allowed near the knight's weapons and equipment and given the tasks of cleaning their armors and oiling their swords. All of these being chores that she mastered a long time ago.

Not to boast or anything but there was simply no better squire than her in all of Thedas, the only thing that this task caused to her was a faint feeling of nostalgia at the memory of her time as her brother's Sir Kay squire, a disguise she once wore to be kept hidden from any enemy that might wish to keep the future rightful king of Britain from ascending to his throne. Anyway, she was quickly snatched as a squire by Ser Perth after said Knight discovered her practicing some sword stances with a couple of sticks in the stables while also trying to instruct Alistair in the basics of swordsmanship. Ser Perth of course, inquired about her martial knowledge as he took notice of how flawless her sword stances were, unable to keep the lightest bit of jealousy from seeping into his voice since not even he has been able to achieve such perfect forms. Thinking quickly in an explanation as to keep the particulars of her reincarnation hidden, since she knew that kind of attention would force her to reveal her magical abilities and thus be sent into one of the circles of magi for the rest of her life, Arturia simply said that she learned her forms from watching the knights practicing in the castle's courtyard and her proficiency is simply the result of her practicing until she wasn't able to lift her arms anymore during her spare time. Something that wasn't exactly a lie since she did in fact spent most of her free time training her swordsmanship in order to return her combat skills to the level they were in her previous life. Something that Alistair confirmed since he's always watching her training with her sticks.

It may be a little unseemly for a knight and king like her to lie to another knight, but the Holy Grail War taught her the importance of keeping the true extent of one's abilities hidden in order to have a surprise advantage under your sleeve for a critical moment. Besides, if she were to tell the truth and reveal the facts about her reincarnation she would also be forced to reveal her hidden magical abilities, which would do absolutely nothing for her except cause the Templars to come knocking down on the Arl's castle and ship her to the circle. Not even Arl Eamon's power and influence are enough to go against one of the edicts of the Chantry, a lesson she has learned well after listening to all the religious services and sermons held daily in the castle's chapel. Being held in captivity is simply counterproductive to the promise she made to her mother in this new life of becoming someone worthy of having given her life for, something she truly believes she's never going to be able to achieve if she were to be held prisoner for the rest of her life in some far away and distant isolated tower.

In any case, it seemed her response was enough to keep Ser Perth from being too suspicious and chalked his mastery of the forms to natural talent, which was one of the main reasons why he brought up the subject of taking her as his squire just a couple of days later. Obviously she accepted, leaving many of the other knights disappointed at having lost such a valuable potential squire, however as it has been already stated, it gave her the opportunity to train Alistair openly in armed combat without anyone becoming overly suspicious, as all she had to say when someone came asking questions was that she's simply teaching Alistair what Ser Perth has taught to her, and is not even a complete lie since she does has been teaching Alistair some of the things that Ser Perth had taught to her albeit with her own additions to make the knowledge more complete.

Finishing beating the straw dummy for the moment, Arturia wiped away the sweat on her brow with her sleeve just in time to catch sight of young Alistair walking towards her. "Have you finished your forms for today Alistair?" She simply asked at her sibling once he entered speaking distance.

The young boy answered with an eager nod. "Yes sister, I was just wrapping things up when one of the maids came with a message from Arl Eamon saying how the King and the prince are bound to arrive today for their visit! Isn't that great Arty! We are going to meet our father and brother! Aren't you excited!?" Alistair exclaimed with no small deal of eagerness.

Ah yes… The visit of King Maric… That was supposed to be today. Personally Arturia was rather ambivalent about meeting the man that fathered both her and Alistair in this new life of hers. Is not that she personally disliked him or anything, after all for what rumors she has managed to hear from the knights and the castle's servitude, he is actually a good, kind king.

She's heard all of the stories already, how King Maric took the burden upon himself of leading the rebellion against the occupation of the neighboring country of Orlais after his mother, Moira the rebel queen was slain during an ambush and her head mounted on a spike at the gates of the royal palace in the capital city of Denerim. How with the support of his best friend and brilliant strategist and general Loghain Mac Tir, and his future wife and queen Rowan Guerrin, sister to Arl Eamon, managed to defeat the armies of mounted knights of Orlais (the infamous Chevaliers) Kill the proxy King that the emperor of Orlais had put in charge to rule Ferelden on his stead and expel all of the foreign invaders from the nation's soil.

A very inspiring and emotive story that's for sure; and only proper for a king to fight in defense of his nation to the end, the exploits of King Maric reminding her pretty much of her own during the wars against the invasions of the Saxons and the Angles. However, no matter how much kinship she might feel towards the man due to their similar experiences (never mind the fact he's supposed to be her father) She doesn't have much patience towards him for having practically abandoned Alistair to fend on his own.

She knows she shouldn't be making any kind of opinions about this matter, considering how she refused to acknowledge her own bastard, even though it was the logical course of action at the time since Mordred never had the makings to be a great king. A great knight certainly, but not a king. Plus he was clearly being manipulated by his mother, Arturia's half-sister Morgana. But in contrast King Maric, from what she can remember of the conversations she once overhead between Arl Eamon and his brother Bann Teagan, is the one who ordered for Alistair to be reared in the most simplest of conditions without luxury of any kind, hence why the Arl moved her and her brother to the stables the moment Alistair learned to walk.

She understands the need of keeping an illegitimate child away from the interests of the crown and the succession line, but to give explicit orders as to force them to live in these less than adequate conditions, it completely boggles her mind. Arl Emon stated that it was no trouble for him to foster her and Alistair the way two children of the king should, considering his position and the riches he possesses here in Redcliffe, it's obvious to her as to why. So why did the King ordered for two of his children to be treated as mere commoners? Is he that scared of potential rivals to the throne for his chosen heir? Regardless, she has seen first-hand how hard it is for Alistair to grow up in these conditions, to live as a parentless orphan who believes himself to be unwanted due to his only father having sent him away since his birth and refusing to see him in all these years… No, she has nothing she wishes to say to King Maric, his presence never having any relevance in this new life of her, and her opinion hasn't changed in the least just because he finally has deemed himself to visit and meet his two unacknowledged children. However, this will be the first time Alistair will see the man, and rumor has it he will be bringing Prince Calian, their remaining half-sibling with him so it is understandable why her little brother would feel pretty excited about this visit.

Remembering about Alistair, the boy was still waiting for her answer so it would be rude to let him keep waiting for a response. "Not really…" Arturia replied with a little shake of her head, a glaring absence of thrill in her voice.

Alistair was obviously disappointed in her response, his mood diminishing a little, but he quickly tried to wave it off. "How come Arty?" An impish look fell upon his face. "Don't tell me you're shy about meeting our wayward relatives? It's alright, you can tell me. I won't judge."

Arturia sighed. "I just don't want you to end up disappointed if this meeting doesn't resolve the way you expect… After all he's had years to come and say hello before today."

"Well you know how the roads in this part of Ferelden are always a chore to travel through for what people say…" Alistair began to say with that look she recognized as his attempts to lighten the mood by making poor jokes whenever a subject that makes him uncomfortable is raised. "He probably will be complaining how the ferry was down for repairs again and he had to swim through the entire length of Lake Calenhad for the past month just to reach the Mage's Tower… Anyway, I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about dear sister." He said with a voice that clearly told he was trying to reassure himself rather than Arturia.

Saber did not comment on his brother's joke and just kept looking at him with a concerned gaze, eventually reaching with a hand to clasp him in the shoulder. "Just remember Alistair that I will always be here for you… No matter what happens, you will always be number one in my list of most important things. The king may not care about our lot in life, but I do…"

"I…" Alistair tried to come up with something to say, only to realize he was coming short of words. "I know that Arty… I know you will always be there for me, and for that you'll always be my dearest person in life that I love the most. But this is our family… Our father and our brother… Wouldn't be nice if we all are able to be together as a family for at least once in our life?"

Arturia wanted to rebuke that inquiry, but kept her low opinion to herself for Alistair's sake. "What? Am I not enough family for you? Growing tired of me already? I know I can be quite stifling some of the time, but I didn't realize you wanted to replace me with another relative this badly?" She said in a teasing tone, the years she has spent dealing with the sometimes insufferable tendency of Alistair to rarely take things seriously had the unexpected side-effect of having some of his particular sense for comedy rub on her, much to her chagrin on occasions.

Alistair's lips began to stretch in that particular impertinent and roguish smile of his. "Well what can I say? We've had such a good run together all these years but I think it's time for us to take a rest for ourselves, you know to go out and meet some new people… You do tend to lecture me with the saying of how absence makes the heart grow fonder so I think we should put those words to the test and see what comes out of it…" He said with an innocent shrug, trying to look as unassuming as humanly possible.

Saber smacked him in the arm for his cheekiness, causing Alistair to flinch in pain. "Ouch! So quick to use violence dear sister of mine…"

Arturia didn't deign herself to dignify that comment with a response, and simply walked past Alistair, an apparent satisfied gait on her walk. "C'mon Alistair, if we are to meet his majesty and the prince, we must make sure to be properly presentable for their visit." She called back as she departed from the training yard, not bothering to glance back at her sibling. "And that means you will have to wear a doublet, I wonder if I could ask some of the maids to find a spare for you…?"

"Awww… Do I have too Arty? You know how much I disliked dressing like a trained monkey…" Alistair whine, not liking his sister's idea.

The only answer that Arturia gave him was one of her patented glares, making Alistair cave in to her demands with a sigh in resignation. "It is as you say dear sister of mine…"

!

Getting ready to greet the King on his arrival, the two illegitimate children of Maric were standing in the middle of Redcliffe's castle main courtyard alongside a veritable small army of Knights, retainers, maids and elven servants. Currently Arturia was examining Alistair's outfit with a critical eye, looking for any stain or blemish and trying to keep him clean with a handkerchief lent to her by one of her Knight acquaintances.

"Stand still, Alistair! I swear not even the horses we have to tend on the stables are as rowdy as you…" Saber complained as she tried to clean a smudge from Alistair's cheek with her handkerchief, the dirty-blonde boy rearing his head back in annoyance.

"Well they are lucky enough as to not have to wear a ridiculous outfit that makes them look like a shaved clown. An eye-catching clown that's for sure but a clown nevertheless!" The dirty-blonde boy said with a huff.

"Well, look it at this way. If our meeting with his majesty and the prince doesn't end well you would be outfitted in the right costume to join a traveling circus…" Arturia replied in the same cheeky tone that Alistair tends to take when playing the fool.

Said fool began to small at her sister's tease, assuming a thinking pose and standing still for a few seconds as if considering the advice seriously. "Well, I always wanted to join a circus. The crowds, the glamour… The smell of animal droppings and urine hastily covered by straw, it will be just like the castle's stables. Do you think if you were to join me they would allow us to have our own act? I would name it the fabulous and wonderful bastard twins!" Alistair declared gesturing with an arm as if to show an invisible advertisement.

Arturia wasn't pleased with that last comment. "Alistair! How many times have I told you not to use that word? It doesn't matter if we are both unacknowledged by our father, it doesn't define who we are. Do not let your whole life be ruled by a moniker like that, we are more than just the illegitimate children of the king…" She said kindly as she continued trying to keep Alistair clean.

The boy seemed to turn serious at that. "I don't let myself be worried much by being called a bastard. Sadly, there are just too many people who are eager to remind me what we are and simply won't let me forget…" Alistair faintly said before growing quiet.

Saber frowned, knowing of what his brother was talking about. Arl Eamon didn't have qualms about constantly remind them of their lot in life and often did everything in his power to make sure they remember it, hoping to dissuade them from wishing to one day rise and claim the throne of Ferelden.

Arturia's knuckles in her off-hand strained at the memory, even though she knew the Arl was going to take such measures after incidentally eavesdropping on him as a baby, she never could have imagine how being reminded of his station would put such a heavy burden over his brother's shoulders. She didn't much cared when Arl Eamon tried to give her the same lectures as his brother, for she didn't had any aspirations for the throne, something she was very vocal about.

So Arl Eamon usually left her alone, even though he shows signals of worry regarding her strong personality. It is that same unbending resolve, however, that makes the Arl believe in her words when she tells him she has no desire of ever becoming king, something that left the old Arl mildly confused as to why she would choose to refer about a role exclusive for male heirs, considering her gender. He asked about her peculiar choice of words of course and inquired if she maybe wasn't triyng to be roundabout and making allusions about wanting to be queen. Arturia's answer came promptly and without hesitation, saying that although the queen might be a pillar of support for the king and a rally figure for the populous, it is not the queen who holds the power of leading the nation without question and making the decisions that would affect the lives of everyone living in it. That is the divine duty appointed solely to the king, and that if she ever had to choose between the two roles, she would always choose King.

Arl Eamon was left blinking in perplexity after that but couldn't really found any fault in her logic and say she was wrong. So taking her words at face value, for Saber's natural royal charisma was that high, the Arl decided to accept her answer and not bother that much with her regarding the security of the royal line. Still, it didn't change the fact that his words hurt Alistair deeper than the boy is willing to confess, she thought unkindly…

Arturia didn't said anything to Alistair's observation, just limiting herself to finish cleaning him with her borrowed handkerchief, Alistair for his part had finally stopped struggling and let his sister fuzz over him in peace, his mind too preoccupied at the moment to care.

"There, all done… Try not to get any more dirt on you will you?" She said chidingly to her sibling.

Alistair grimaced. "You make a hard bargain dear sister… I don't like wearing this jester-suit, but I also don't like being assaulted with that hanky of yours…"

Arturia just gave him a flat look. "Assaulted? You call having your face and doublet cleaned with a handkerchief being assaulted? It seems someone's training is being too light if he believes the concerned caresses of his sister are comparable with the hardships of the battlefield, maybe I should be a little bit more adamant in our training sessions from now on don't you think?"

"Okaaaaaaaay… I get your point sister, shutting up now…" The young boy said with a wince. He loved his sister dearly, he really does, but her training sessions and her unbending resolution of making him a proper warrior are something to be scared off, he could still feel the bruises of yesterday's session.

"Alistair, Arturia! I'm happy to see you two children in here!" A kind voice said from a distance, turning in the direction of the voice, the two children were pleasantly surprised at seeing the figure walking towards them.

"Bann Teagan!" Alistair exclaimed with a wide smile.

Bann Teagan of Rainesfere, Arl Eamon's brother. Arturia could honestly say that she liked the man, he was kind, honorable and reliable. And he never approved of most of the measures that Arl Eamon had imposed upon the two children, only reluctantly accepting them due to familial loyalty and duty towards his king, so she couldn't really blame him for going along with his brother's plans. At least he never got out of his way to remind them constantly of their status as illegitimate children or looked down on them because of that. She supposed she should have expected for Bann Teagan to be present for the King's visit.

With a nod of acknowledgement, Saber greeted the Bann. "Bann Teagan, it is good to see you again…"

"Ah Arturia, I see you're just as diligent as ever with your training to become a knight." Teagan said after taking notice of Saber's perfectly straight and balanced stance. The girl has always being a serious one in his opinion, ever since she was a baby. Never in his life has he seen such a well behaved and collected child like her, however no one can deny her drive and dedication to achieve whatever goal she sets for herself. It is clearly that the royal blood inside her veins must run strongly, which makes it such a shame that she and Alistair must be kept sheltered away from society due to their status as bastards. If Arturia were to be given the chance to spread her wings, Bann Teagan is convinced she will become one of the bests leading figures for the country… And maybe that is one of the reasons why his brother is so adamant of keeping the children locked away, and preserve the rights of their nephew for the crown.

Hiding his internal turmoil, Bann Teagan smile gently to the two children. "How you two been doing? Are you excited for the king's visit…?"

"You bet! I can't believe we are finally going to meet our father and brother!" Alistair declared with a great toothy smile. Teagan didn't miss the serious dark expression that fell upon Arturia's place at that declaration. Locking eyes with the girl for a moment, a silent understanding passed between the two of them about how there was a great deal of possibility for things to end in a rather sour note, and how much such disappointment would affect Alistair.

Forcing himself to smile again, the Bann replied to the boy. "That's great Alistair, but maybe you should not speak of such things out loud." He said, glancing all around to see if any of the nearby Knights and servants were paying attention to the children's conversation. "You would not want for one of my brother's men to hear you and then go and report to him. Let's not give lady Isolde any more ammunition for her to complain to my brother about you two…" He said, trying to dissuade Alistair from speaking anymore about the subject.

Arturia frowned at that. Usually she wasn't one for grudges outside of the battlefield, but even she had to admit how much of a despicable person Arl Eamon's betrothed could be. The way she goes out of her way to spite her and Alistair out of sheer pettiness, as if their mere existence was an insult to her. Well, she supposed she could understand somewhat her scorn towards them due to all the rumors flying about Redcliffe that hypothesized that she and Alistair were the Arl's bastards as the reason as to why he allowed them to live inside the castle grounds (Even though it's just the stables) but that's not reason enough for the Orlesian woman to be such a nasty human being towards her and her brother. Arturia could honestly say she didn't had anything good to say about Lady Isolde, if her behavior is any indication of common Orlesian etiquette, she can sympathize with her fellow Fereldans when they regale her of tales about the Orlesian occupation and how much they suffered under the merciless yoke of the Chevaliers.

Speaking of the devil, that grating pompous voice that Arturia had learned to despise was making act of presence, the shrill tone capable of being easily heard above the ruckus of several dozen full armored knights and a small army of servants in the courtyard.

"Teagan! Teagan! Oh, there you are Teagan. I was looking for you everywhere…" The Orlesian woman said as she headed towards the young Bann, a deceptive pleasant smile on her face.

A grimace found itself on Teagan's face for a moment before the Bann schooled his features and turned towards the unpleasant woman, a strained forced smile on his lips. "Lady Isolde, what a pleasure! I was just about to go in search of my brother…" He began to say.

Lady Isolde stopped on her tracks at taking notice of exactly who was Teagan speaking to. "Teagan, what are you doing here!? And in such questionable company!" She declared, making no effort to hide her disdain towards the two siblings.

Arturia's mouth set into a thin line but she refused to say anything while Alistair visibly lost all of his cheer in an instant. Teagan on the other hand, simply sighed. "Isolde please! Today should be a day of celebration, not one to focus on petty grievances. Do you really want to make an issue out of your dislike for the children and sour the visit of the king!?" He said in a tired and begging tone.

Lady Isolde just sniffed haughtily like a spoiled petulant child, but ultimately decided to let the matter rest. "Very well, Teagan. I will do as you ask of me; I wouldn't want to embarrass Eamon in front of the king. So come Teagan, let us go in search of your brother and prepare for the king's arrival…" The Orlesian woman said, extending a hand towards the young Bann.

The youngest of the Guerrin siblings began to rub the back of his neck as an awkward expression formed in his face. "Actually… I'm in here on orders from my brother, he wants the children to be present at his side to welcome the king when he arrives…" He said, knowing the woman in front of him was not going to like this news.

And he was right. "What!? Why would Eamon want these two urchins to be present for the arrival of the king!? It makes no sense! It goes against all rules of—"

The woman was interrupted by Teagan before she could continue with her tirade, the young Bann getting frustrated at her annoyingly increasing shrill voice that began to cause a scene and draw the attention of all the servants and knights nearby. "That is enough Isolde, it is my brother's wish for the children to be present, and as lord of this castle his word is law. So, unless you have something actually worthy to say, I suggest you stand aside and let me carry out my duties towards my brother and liege…" He declared in an unflinching serious manner.

Isolde wanted to argue, but knew she didn't had the authority to countermand the Arl's order, so she simply settled to lift her nose up and huff in indignation before walking away without any further word. Teagan began to rub his temple, feeling an incoming headache. "C'mon children, let's get you to your spots for the king's arrival." He said to the two children who had remained silent during the entire exchange. With a wordless nod from Arturia, the two illegitimate heirs to the crown of Ferelden began to trail after the Bann of Rainesfere.

!

Standing at the very front of the assembled welcoming party, the Arl of Redcliffe stood immutable, waiting for the arrival of his liege. On his right, his brother was standing at attention, Arturia and Alistair waiting at his side; on his left, his betrothed was keeping him company, muttering unkind words about the two children under her breath. The Arl had to admit that he sometimes felt guilty about having to hide the truth about Alistair and Arturia from her; he knows that the rumors running around the castle about the children being his bastards tend to give her terrible bouts of insecurity and jealously constantly. But keeping the secret about the children's parentage is a matter of national security and also the only way to make sure that the legacy of his sister remains untarnished. So there could be no exceptions, not even for his beloved.

Taking his attention back towards the front arced gate of his castle, the Arl could finally see the King's retinue starting to make his way through the bridge that connected his island castle with the surrounding cliffs of Redcliffe's village, a small collection of knights, all of them mounted upon horses. At the forefront, King Maric Therein was riding atop a majestic destrier while his son, Prince Cailan Therein, was under the care of another mounted knight who had the boy riding atop the saddle with him, being extra careful that the young prince didn't fall off.

Eamon couldn't help but frown a little at that, King Maric has always shown a certain degree of detachment towards his own children, abandoning Cailan on Denerim without a single explanation to go out gallivanting with the Grey Wardens so many years ago is a perfect example of his majesty's neglect towards his children. Eamon shook his head to dispel the thoughts, no use dwelling in things he's incapable to change, it would be best if he were to try to show support to Cailan and make him understand he could always rely on him for anything.

As the Arl's musing came to an end, the royal retinue finally reached the inside of Castle Redcliffe and came to a stop in front of Eamon, the horses whining briefly to show their weariness at the long march.

"Eamon! Teagan! It's been a long time!" King Maric exclaimed, bringing his horse to a stop before dismounting in a single motion, behind him his son was being helped down from his own mount by the Knight who had been guarding him the entire voyage.

The Arl bowed welcoming the king; behind him all of his assembled staff and retainers followed his lead and showed the proper deference to the king. Even Arturia and Alistair went through the motions, although Saber had to nudge her brother in the ribs to remind him of showing the proper etiquette.

"Indeed your Majesty, it is an honor to have the opportunity of seeing you again…" Eamon said with outmost politeness as he straightened himself from his bow.

Maric just waved a hand at him in dismissal. "Please, spare the formalities. We are family after all…" He said with a roguish smile.

Eamon acquiesced with a nod. "If that is your wish your majesty…" It earned him an eye-roll from Maric. The Arl then turned towards the prince who was approaching to stand beside his father, his head turning all around as he glanced at his surroundings with a face that said he was much in need of something exciting. "And you Cailan, how have you've been? You've grown so much since the last time I saw you."

The young prince stopped in the perusal of his surroundings for a moment, answering the Arl in a half-distracted tone. "Huh? Umm… I've been fine uncle…"

Eamon smiled. "Well that's good…"

As king Maric was also taking stock of his surroundings in almost the same way as his son, he couldn't help take notice of the two children standing beside Bann Teagan. A young dirty-blonde boy that seemed the image itself of barely contained excitement, and a little waif of a girl with the most stoic expression that he had ever seen on a child, bright golden locks and emerald gleaming eyes set in a face that could rival even Loghain's when he's in a foul mood.

His surprise must have been pretty evident in his face because Eamon commented on that. "Ah, your Majesty… It seems you are curious about the children. Let me introduce them to you…" He said, signaling with a hand for the two siblings to come closer. Alistair with a smile that almost threatened to split his face due to his excitement, and Arturia who looked on with a serious solemn face that made one believe she was attending a funeral rather than greeting a king.

Maric was a little puzzled by it; he didn't need Eamon to tell him these two were his children. It was nice to see that Alistair was doing fine; he just hoped he was happy, he was well aware that keeping his promise to Fiona had estranged him from his youngest son, and unintentionally from his only daughter too…

Looking upon the girl, King Maric didn't know what to feel. There was a certain air of authority that the girl seemed to exude with her mere presence, her royal heritage quite evident in her posture, a perfect image of what a monarch should be. The only other time that Maric had felt this feeling of awe was when watching his own mother in action during the rebellion, back when he was a child. He remembered his mother as the most courageous and charismatic of individuals, a beacon of hope that could inspire the downtrodden hearts of broken men to stand up and fight for their country despite the depredations and agony that the Orlesians inflicted upon the populace. She singlehandedly managed to successfully raise a rebellion and keep it alive during the darkest years of the occupation. Moira the rebel queen she was called, a title that did little to portray the true magnificence that was his mother.

And then she died, betrayed by her own countrymen who led her into an ambush where the Orlesian dogs cut her down and dragged her corpse back to Denerim, to that piece of shit Meghren. Her head put on a spike atop the palace's entrance.

Maric shook his head, trying to blink the memories off. In his remembrance he had unconsciously closed his fist tightly until his knuckles turned white, tensing his jaw so hard that his teeth began to creak. Maric just saw as the little girl stared up at him with a suspicious glint in her eyes. Clearly she had taken notice of his slip and become weary of him. He sighed; clearly this is not the way he had wanted to meet his only daughter. Fuh… To think having that little tryst with that maid servant during the celebration of Teagan's return would produce such fine example of the royalty of his bloodline, it seems it's true what people say for what he can see. The best of traits tend to skip a generation or two, he wished he could have been as sure and confident as his daughter appears to be, just like his mother was… Maybe then he wouldn't have made all those mistakes he did during the rebellion, old Arl Rendorn could still be alive, Rowan wouldn't had to suffer a major disappointment and heartbreak because of him… And maybe he would had restrained his hand and not killed Katriel in a fit of rage before all facts had come to light.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Alistair came forward and began to bow and speak excitedly; dammit he was once again daydreaming about what if's. "Your Majesty! It is an honor to meet you!" He said energetically, giving several bows in a row before turning towards the prince, the older boy still showing a complete lack of interest in the proceedings. "And you too my prince! I cannot believe-"

"Ooooh… swords!" Prince Cailan exclaimed, totally ignoring Alistair mid-greet and bounding off towards the training yard were racks of weapons could be seen lined on a side, his bodyguard and a small contingent of knights both from Redcliffe and Maric's shield split off after him. Alistair expression fell.

Arturia sighed. She then turned towards the king and offered a bow. "If you could excuse us your majesty, Alistair here needs to finish his instruction for today, so I hope you don't think too much ill of us for having to depart early. I'm sure Arl Eamon will be more than pleased to show you to your accommodations." She said in a very formal and collected tone that seemed to take the king aback for a moment. Rarely seeing such level of professionalism even from his own knights.

"S-sure… You may go if you wish…" Maric said with a gesture.

Wordlessly leaning her head forwards in acknowledgement, Arturia then turned towards her brother. "C'mon Alistair, let's review the stances I had you practice this morning. If you show enough proficiency with them, I might start teaching you how to wield a shield…"

"Huh…? Y-yes sister…" Alistair said, walking after Arturia with a long face, clearly disappointed at how the meeting with his brother had turned out. Saber put a reassuring arm over his shoulders and led the boy away back towards their dwellings inside the stables.

"It's alright Alistar, you still have me… I don't intend to get rid of my little brother any time soon…" Saber whispered into her brother's ear.

The boy replied by shyly giving her a one handed hug, still feeling hurt by his disappointment. "Thanks, Arty…"

With a smile, Arturia just nodded in acknowledgement. "Now, chin up. I believe someone is in for a rigorous lesson for mistaking his sister's concerned ministrations with the rigors of war!" She declared happily, her smile turning significantly longer.

Alistair paled at that prospect. "Awww, c'mon sister… It was just a joke! There's no need to go overboard with the afternoon lessons!" He said with boundless despair, his previous dejected mood all but forgotten.

"Now, now Alistar… A little adversity will toughen you up, so stand proud and take your pounds like a proper knight. It'll be for your own good… Have I ever led you astray before?" She stated with an all too sickening sweet face.

Alistair just grumbled at his misfortune. "Ugh! Can this day get even worse!?"

!

"That will be all for today Alistair… There are still a lot of holes in your defenses, and your footing still needs a lot of work. But I suppose as a first time trying to wield a shield properly while fighting, your performance was adequate…" Arturia declared in that no-nonsense all-business tone of hers, as she laid down the training blunt sword she held in her hands. Despite being a practice sword meant to be used by an adult, Arturia had no problems in wielding the practice weapon as a two-hander.

The only response that Alistair could give as he laid sprawled face down in the straw covered ground of the stables was a mournful groan. Not having even the energy to think about something witty to say. "Oh dear Andraste… I cannot feel my limbs… did I died?" He moaned in what certainly was great agony.

Saber suppressed the need to roll her eyes, instead she simply settled for shaking her head. "Your stamina leaves much to be desired dear brother. Perhaps I should wake you earlier in the mornings and increase your quota of exercises."

"Nooooooooooooooooooo! By the maker! Please don't do it sister! Have mercy on me….!" Alistair wailed forcing himself to feebly reach forward and grab his sister by the feet in a begging manner.

"That is enough Alistair… Stop groveling on the ground like some dimwitted sycophant, have some dignity for mercy's sake!" Arturia declared in a less than amused tone, having assumed her signature resting posture of standing straight with her sword planted in front of her while both of her hands grasped the pommel. If anyone were to walk on them and see them right now, they would certainly be impressed by her natural air of nobility.

"If being a dimwitted sycoelephant or whatever, means you won't be getting on my case and give me more lessons then I'll be the most shameless sycoelephant and bootlicker ever to exist!" Alistar declared hotly, lifting is face from the ground. Arturia just sighed.

"First of all brother, it's sycophant not sycoelephant… and second… Stop that already! A future knight shouldn't lower himself to beg in the ground like a common dog! Don't you have any dignity of your own!?" Arturia scolded, trying to free her legs from his brother's grasp.

"Ouch! You're such a meanie, sister… Why you must hate me so much…?" Alistair grumbled after Arturia smacked him in the top of his head with her sword's pommel to force him to release her.

Finally succeeding in escaping from his clingy brother's grasp, Arturia composed herself before addressing her sibling again. "Anyway Alistair, now that we've finished with your instruction for the day, make sure to take the time to rest. And don't forget to take a bath and clean yourself first, and dress in a new set of clean clothes before you retire for the night… I don't want you to go to sleep while reeking like a pig again." She said, fuzzing a little about her brother.

"What bath are you talking about sister? You mean the buckets of water we are allowed to clean ourselves with behind the servants' quarters?" Alistair inquired, lifting a skeptical eyebrow. "It's not as if getting clean would do anything to improve the delicious smell of piss and horse manure that has become the permanent aroma of the stables…" He grumbled.

"Be as it may Alistair, it is important for a knight to have a sense of proper hygiene… You wouldn't want for other people to look you down and talk behind your back because you stink, do you?" Arturia replied, trying to once more break through her brother's stubborn streak and make him comply with her orders.

"I'm not sure, sister… They already do all that because I'm a bastard, what does it matter if I also add stinky to the list…" He answered with a shrug.

"Alistair…" Arturia said with concern evident in her face. She knows very well how much the rumors that spread among the servants weight heavily on his mind, it doesn't help that he has his confidence continuously being stomped at by Arl Eamon.

"Don't look me like that sis, please! Ugh, fine! I'll do as you ask…" He said before finally managing to get back to his feet. "What are you going to do in the meantime…?" He asked idly while dusting himself off.

"I will use whatever time is left of the day to sharpen my blade skills in the training yard…" The former King of Knights answered.

Alistair turned back at her with a dumbfounded expression. "You want to keep hitting things with your sword!? Haven't you had enough by beating the stuffing out of me for the last three hours!?" He declared with a surprised gesture.

"Mastery of the sword will only be possible through the diligent pursuit of perfection, you know this Alistair. I don't know why you act so surprised…" Arturia replied, feeling a little self-conscious despite herself.

"Well whatever sister, as long as it makes you happy and I'm not the one ending up getting hit for said happiness… Then I guess is fine." Alistair finally relented with a shrug.

Arturia sighed. "I'll see you later brother…"

"Bye sister, make sure you don't end up hitting one of the other squires in the family jewels again…" The boy called at his departing sibling with a wave of the hand.

"That happened just the one time! And it was your fault to begin with!" Arturia snapped back, making allusions to a particular memorable training session were Arturia had snapped a wooden limb from one of the training dummies away after Alistair had pushed her past beyond the limits of frustration with his dry wit and the flying piece of wood and straw ended up striking one of the other squires right in the middle of his crotch. Saber had never been so embarrassed in her two lives. It earned her the moniker of the golden nut-cracker.

"See ya' sister!" Alistair waved with a cheeky grin before walking away, leaving an affronted Arturia sputtering in her place.

!

"Don't hit anyone in the family jewels. I'll show him; maybe I should increase our training lessons just to teach him some humility…" Arturia growled as she beat the living shit out of a training dummy in the training courtyard. The impact of metal striking wood and straw echoing loudly in the currently deserted front yard.

"Woah, you really seem to hate that dummy. What could it possibly have done to you to receive such pummeling…?" A voice said from behind Saber. The former king of Britain swiftly turned around, her blunt sword raised forward, only to find King Maric rearing back from her in surprise.

"Hey, hey, easy there… I'm no enemy…" The king said, raising his hand in a non-threatening manner.

"Your majesty…?" Saber inquired with clear puzzlement in her face.

Maric smiled despite his current situation. "Yup, that's me… Sorry if I surprised you, it was not my intention…"

"No, it's fine." Arturia said with a sigh, lowering her sword.

"You're quite the jumpy one are you…?" Maric said, bringing his hands down to his sides.

Arturia tossed him a suspicious look in response. "What are you doing here, your majesty…? And at such late hour…?"

Maric shrugged. "I could ask the same thing about you, little lady… But if you must know, I was taking a simple stroll through the castle…"

"A stroll you say…?" Saber repeated, clearly not believing such answer.

Maric just nodded, seemingly ignorant of her distrust. "Yup… It is so terribly boring having to deal with all that pompous protocol and etiquette expected from a gathering of nobles… I needed some time for myself, so I decided to take a little of fresh air…" He said, and truthfully at that.

King Maric indeed had wanted some time for himself after spending the entire afternoon with the Arl talking about inane subjects and going through the entire protocol that a lord must give when hosting royal visitors. Finally having enough, he quickly made his escape after the knights from Maric's shield assigned to escort Cailan returned with the prince in tow. Making his way through the servant quarters, the king eventually found himself exiting into the main courtyard via a storage room beyond the kitchens, only for a constant echoing stream of metallic impacts to suddenly catch his attention.

Curious as to what could be causing such noise, the king walked in the direction of the racket, going to the other side of the courtyard until he caught sight of his youngest child beating the living shit out of a dummy.

"Huh? Ummmm…" King Maric drawled, not knowing exactly what to say after that little display from his only daughter. It seemed his youngest child wasn't very keen of being interrupted from whatever is she was doing if her irritated expression was any indication. His majesty was never good at dealing with awkward silences. "Errrr…."

Arturia suppressed the need to roll her eyes and decided better to greet the king as it was proper of his station. "Is there something you require of me, your majesty?" She asked, giving a courteous bow but refraining from kneeling, managing to give a perfect image of nobility despite being covered in sweat and her hair being a little disarrayed.

Now that he had finally an opening to initiate conversation, Maric found himself at a loss of words. Why did he think it would be a good idea to come here, again…? "Oh… Don't mind me… It seems you are having quite the fun playing here in the yard and pummeling that helpless dummy. I wouldn't wish to intrude…" It was all he could lamely say.

Arturia seemed to take offence at those words, for her gaze hardened for a second, making the king flinch and unconsciously take a step back. "It seems you are mistaken your majesty, for I am not here wasting time in frivolous games... I am practicing and sharpening my techniques in order to become a knight worthy of respect." She declared with complete confidence, not a single ounce of hesitation in her posture. Maric was a little taken aback by her determination.

For some reason, the king felt he should make some amends, he didn't want to admit it but his only daughter made him nervous. And it was not only because she had a glare that could carve chunks out of rock, there was something about the way she held herself that demanded respect from the people around her. Again, it was a feeling he hadn't experienced since he was a toddler watching his mother tirelessly gathering allies and building a rebellion.

"I apologize… I didn't mean anything with my thoughtless words…" Maric said, offering a polite bow. "I should have realized sooner that you were a knight-in-training…"

Arturia accepted his platitudes with a stiff nod. "I suppose it can be forgiven, however allow me to enlighten you by informing you that only knights and their squires are allowed to use the training yard for sword practice. Alistair might be neither of the two, in case you are wondering, but I am… And even though I am just a squire, I will do my best to keep my skills at a level expected of a full-fledged knight and teach my brother everything I might learn so that he too one day becomes a knight worthy of mention…" She declared with all the assurance in the world, as if such lofty goal was already a forgone conclusion. Maric was impressed, though in hindsight it should be unsurprising that his daughter is already learning the nuances of knighthood.

Maric couldn't help from cracking a grin at the thought; his daughter was clearly something else, something that he could clearly be proud off. "Well, I guess I don't need to worry about my youngest son in that case. Seeing how he is in such good and capable hands. It is reassuring to know that you support and care for your brother so deeply…" He said seemingly satisfied.

Saber turned to give her biological father in this second life of hers a flat look, trying to discern his intentions. The king, pretty adept at identifying spikes of concealed suspicion and hostility thanks to all his interactions with Loghain, raised both of his hands in an unthreatening manner in an attempt to reassure the rather intimidating little girl. "Woah, Woah, Woah, easy there… I didn't mean anything bad by it." He let out a tired sigh. "Look… I know you and your brother must not be pretty happy with me for not having come to meet and see you sooner, or write a letter to you two like in… never until today…" He said lamely with a wince.

Arturia just kept her face unexpressive, but one could still feel the 'Gee, you think?' accusation in her eyes. "It is not my place to question your decisions your majesty…" She said, trying to keep her temper in check but her words coming a little too frosty towards the king. "However, I cannot help but wonder what is it that your highness desires by trying to strike a conversation with me. After all, it is obvious me and my brother's existence are of no great deal of significance in comparison to the matters that such a great monarch like yourself must be very busy dealing with…" The small girl gestured towards the king.

Maric sighed, easily picking up the dissatisfaction in his youngest daughter's tone and knowing it was not unwarranted. The girl been capable of making him feel guilty like a naughty little toddler but with a look and a sentence, so much like her grandmother that it hurt. "Yes, I deserve whatever scorn you and your brother might feel, but know that I've never once thought ill of you two. You are my children, and as unbelievable as you might think. I am proud of the two of you…" He said with a smile.

Saber was not reassured in the least, in fact all that little speech managed to do was to increase her own suspicious. "If what you say it's true. Then why did you abandon us…? Why keep us in here isolated from the rest of the world…?" She accused in a tone that held no warmth, only unbending steel.

Maric was too flabbergasted by the sheer iron in her voice that he was unable to compose any kind of answer for several long seconds; all he was able to do was stammer on his words. "I… I'm sorry… I know I must have hurt both you and your brother deeply for having never even sent a word in your direction. I just… I just simply wanted for you two to have a chance of choosing your own destiny without being influenced by the crown…" He said, his mood turning sour and melancholic.

Arturia's gaze softened a little; after all, she still remembers what the weight of a crown feels like from her previous life. She offered a small nod. "I think I can understand, but still, if you only wanted us away from the dealings at court. Why did you have to go to such lengths to keep us isolated?" She asked, giving the king a pointed stare.

Maric was seriously considering not answering that question, but the piercing eyes of his daughter broke through all of his defenses, he never was good against strong willful females, always caving in to their desires. It was more than obvious that his daughter will not relent until he gives her an answer. "I… made a promise…" It was all he deigned himself to say.

Arturias eyes narrowed at that. "A promise…? To whom…? About what…?" She all but ordered.

The king didn't felt in the mood to be answering that sort of questions, however. "Why do you want to know? I-I don't want to speak about it…" He said with obvious discomfort. "And before you get mad or anything, the reason I don't want to open my mouth is because it hurts to remember. Besides, it does not matter if I were to tell you who I made such promise. She's long gone…" He harrumphed, becoming pretty miserable by the end.

"She?"

"Ha, ha! Nothing seems to escape your notice; you're a pretty attentive girl are you not?"

"You're avoiding the question…" It was Arturia's simple flat response.

"Yeah well… As I said, I don't want to talk about it…" The king said, his false cheer going away.

Arturia seemed pensive for a moment. "This woman… She meant something to you…?" She mused aloud, causing Maric to rear back in surprise. Arturia suddenly began to think that maybe the knowledge of Alistair being her half-sibling would finally prove useful for something. She didn't see much danger in allowing the king to learn that she knows the truth about her and her brother's parentage. She needed to think of a way to broach the subject without raising suspicion though…

"Since we are talking about the reason why you leaved us here with Arl Eamon, I must believe you are talking about our mother…" Saber said casually in a disinterested tone, trying to bait and gauge a reaction from the king.

Maric felt himself sucking up a breath, being left speechless by the little girl's 'deductive' skills. "But why would our mother, a simple maid working in Arl Eamon's household, make you promise to keep us away from the dealings of the court, any woman from lowly birth would be happy that her children would have a chance of living a life above her station. Unless…" From the corner of her eyes she could see the king was starting to panic.

"Unless she wasn't our mother…? Was our mother not our mother…?" She said, keeping her gaze solely focused on Maric, who clammed up tighter than an oyster. "No, she was our mother… From your expression, there's something odd about that statement… Mother, mother… My mother, yes she was my mother… and Alistair's?" Maric expression began to fall apart. "Alistair? No? Alistair's mother?" Maric was now in a full-blown panic. "My mother and Alistair… Are not the same? Then that means…" Arturia then shut up, purposely letting the suspense built by remaining quiet.

"Me and Alistair don't share the same mother isn't it…?"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….!?" It was the stupid gaping reaction from the king, still incapable of formulating proper words.

"I and Alistair are your children, but we don't share the same mother. And the woman who made you keep that promise was Alistair's mother isn't it?" Arturia said accusingly, keeping her gaze focused solely on the king.

"You are very sharp, aren't you…?" Maric said, his expression the perfect image of misery. "Fuh… You certainly didn't inherited that from me…"

"So… I am right…" Arturia simply said, ignoring the king's comments.

Maric gave a defeated sigh and nodded, figuring might as well talk now that the jig was up. Not like he felt pleased to speak or anything like it. "Yes… It was Alistair's mother who made me promise that I would keep him far away from court as possible, it was her desire that Alistair should never get involved with the matters of the crown. That he should be free to choose his own path without having to be dragged down by politics…" He said, spitting the last word as if it were an insult.

"Was? Does that mean…?" Arturia inferred, picking apart every single one of Maric's words for clues.

It suddenly ocurred to Maric that maybe he shouldn't be revealing things he did his damn best to try to forget a long time ago. Especially when it was counterproductive to the promise he made so many years past. "Y-Yeah… She passed away during Alistair's birth." The king said, trying to keep himself from stumbling on his words and oust himself.

He must not have been doing a good job on keeping his inner thoughts secret, because Arturia picked up on his hesitation almost immediately. "You're lying…" She accused, becoming suspicious again.

"I-I'm so not lying…" He replied lamely, not able to think of a better response. "I mean, how would you even know…?"

One look, one look it was all that was needed for Maric to shut his mouth. There was something, outworldly about his daughter, as if she were less of a person and more like an unstoppable force of nature that would not stray from its course for anything in the world until she got the answers she craved. Her green emerald eyes gleamed with a bright light that made them glint like precious jewels in the night.

"Please, do not insult my intelligence your majesty." Arturia crisply said. To tell the truth, she was having an easy time reading the king's emotions on his face, for she has been looking at those very same emotions every day since she was reborn in the face of her brother. Maric is indeed Alistair father, the resemblance between the two frightfully uncanny, the same expressions, the same little quirks, the same tells, it was astounding.

King Maric grimaced, but made no attempt to rebuke Saber's statement. "Alistair's mother is not dead isn't it…?"

"No… At least, I don't think so…" Maric responded with a shake of his head. Arturia wasn't pretty thrilled about such vague answer.

"You think…!?" She said with a cold glare that was more than clear in showing her displeasure. Maric felt like pissing himself, by the maker, he never expected for his daughter to be this fearsome. If there's something to say about the blood of Calenhad, it's that it makes all of his female descendants to be quite formidable.

Maric whined. "Awwww, I don't know. I mean, I don't believe she is dead. But I can't be sure; it's been many years since I last saw her. Not since Alistair was a newborn. She appeared one night in the palace in secret, holding a little bundle between her arms and told me he was my son. She made me promise her that I would ensure he grew up safe and make sure he was able to choose his own lot of life without interference from the crown."

Saber shook her head, trying to rein in a sigh. "You and Alistair are too much alike for your own good. You're both big-hearted idiots… It seems there is indeed a relation between you two…"

"Yes I know… A horrible notion indeed, but don't try to act clueless and pretend you stand apart from us. Sorry for breaking your bubble of happiness but you too are indeed my daughter, you have too much of your grandmother in you for it not to be true…" The king said with a smile blooming on his lips.

Arturia frowned for a second, trying to recall the details of what the king was saying to her. "My grandmother… She would have to be…"

"Moira the rebel queen of course. A fierce and impressive fighter and leader, she practically raised and kept the rebellion alive all on her own. That is until some traitorous Banns betrayed her to the Orlesians…" Maric groused, his bright mood turning sour by the end of his statement, causing him to remain silent for a couple of seconds. "She would have been delighted about meeting you…"

"And Alistair…?" Arturia pressed, not wishing to receive any kind of special attention over her brother.

Maric just nodded casually. "And Alistair and Cailan, and any of her grandchildren that I might have given to her…" A pensive look fell upon him for a moment. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure if all of you would even exist if she had not died, at the very least she would have given me an earful for being so free with my affections with other women. Ugh! Just thinking about that possible can of worms makes me shudder."

"And with great reason, as should be her right…" Saber deadpanned.

"Ha! You do have quite the clever tongue too! You make me so proud!" Maric declared ecstatic.

Dear lady, it was like dealing with an older Alistair, Saber thought to herself. For a moment a feeling of unrestrained panic flashed through her spine as she began to wonder just how much more irritating Alistair would be as an adult. Her alarm quickly dissapeared however, signaling Arturia that it was time to get back on subject. "In any case, is there something in specific you could tell me about Alistair's mother…? Father…" She said, tossing Maric a bone in an attempt to build bridges of trust.

"You called me father!" The king said ecstatic, Saber immediately regretted her decision of being more accepting of her progenitor's quirks.

The once and future king in miniature just sighed. "Please your majesty, answer my question…"

"Aw, don't be like that; you were making so much progress."

Arturia had to slowly count to ten before she was able to interact with her father further. "Alistair's mother…"

"What about her…?" Maric asked with suspicion, becoming uneasy again.

"Who was she?"

"Huh? I'm not sure I understand the question…" The king said a little puzzled.

Arturia took a long breath before deciding to pose her questions as if she were talking to a three year old toddler, the same way she does when instructing Alistair. Which in hindsight should be very sad considering her new father was the king of a nation. "Was she a noblewoman…? A fighter? A mercenary? At the very least could you tell me if she was fair of looks?" She asked, figuring out it was better to start with what most men tend to take notice in a woman.

"Welll… Yes, she was very pretty, alluring I would even venture to say. Not to sound like a superficial person or anything but there is a reason why she ended up giving birth to Alistair in the first place." Maric declared with a goofy grin in his place.

Arturia suppresed the need to shake her head again. "Fa—Your majesty, please stop. Can we go back to the subject of Alistair's mother without further distraction…?" Arturia pleaded already reaching the end of her patience.

Maric gave her an odd look. "Why are you so insistent about your brother's mother? Why not ask about your own mother instead of his?" He asked, honestly confused.

Saber shrugged. "Alistair has always been very dismayed about not knowing who his mother is and not having anything to remember her by except that medallion with the engraving of the blade of mercy that he always carries with him. Granted, we used to believe until today that we shared the same mother but that also doesn't help in the slightest since all that Arl Eamon says when I ask him is that she was a maid under his employ that died while giving birth to us. Which in retrospect, after today's revelations, means he was talking exclusively about my mother, not Alistair's… It is really disheartening to know for sure that my mother really passed away for giving birth to me, but I've had years to come to terms with the issue and accept there was practically nothing I could do about it…"

Maric just stared. "But… Don't you want to know more about your mother…?" He asked with great puzzlement.

Again, Arturia just shrugged. "There's not much for me to learn in any case. As I've said, I've already made inquiries about the subject and the only remarkable scraps of information I was able to gleam was from Bann Teagan, who told me that my mother was just a simple maidservant that you your majesty slept with while inebriated during a party that Arl Eamon had carried out to celebrate the return of his brother after the end of the Orlesian occupation…"

Maric was a little embarrassed at the blunt way that his daughter described such events. "I… Don't think that's exactly how it happened…"

"I'm sure that from your point of view it had been simply a one night liaison with a pretty girl you met at a party, but considering the fact that I was the product of such liaison and that my mother died trying to bring me into the world, while you on the other hand weren't even present during my birth. In fact, according to the Arl, you didn't even know of my existence until well after the fact…" Arturia abruptly cut herself off, trying to rein her temper. Even after all these years, she's still carrying some resentment over the fact that the woman who was supposed to be her mother died for her sake. She was grateful at her mother for this new-life of her, since she allowed her to finally fulfill her wish to live a new life away from the crown, but she had never wanted for her wish to be accomplished at the expense of others. It was this last issue what caused her no small amount of frustration.

"Hey! Now that's a little too harsh don't you think?" Maric said, feeling a little hurt at what his own daughter thought of him.

Arturia merely raised an eyebrow in response. "Oh really? You didn't force yourself on my mother on a drunken state and leaved her pregnant with me? Then I'm sure it must have been a misunderstanding, it's not like a humble commoner like her would have been in a position to say no to the ruler of the country, isn't it?"

Maric was left silent for a few moments, too stupefied to respond. Arturia just nodded as if expecting such answer. "I thought so…"

Maric sighed. "You're being too harsh, it wasn't like that! Yes, I was drunk! And yes I slept with your mother during a high society event, but I did not force her to do anything against her will nor did I use my position as king to demand favors out of her!" He declared hotly.

"A likely story, how convenient it is that my mother is not here to say otherwise…"

"Look…!" Maric called, feeling the pressing need to explain the situation to his daughter. "I know what I did might look pretty unseemly at first glance but I assure there's a good explanation for it!"

Arturia crossed her arms, a look of suspicion in her face as she began to impatiently pat with a feet. "I'm listening."

"That night, I didn't have any intention to sleep or become involved with anyone… All I wanted was to get drunk, to forget and keep the pain away…" The king said in a resigned voice.

"What are you talking about? What pain!?" Arturia inquiried.

Maric's semblance became serious all of a sudden, his eyes acquiring an appraising gleam to them as he began to consider the measure of the small blonde girl. "Do you want the truth…? Are you sure of that?" He asked with the most stoic expression he had shown during their entire conversation.

Seeing that the king was actually serious, Saber immediately uncrossed her arms and stood at attention, looking upon her father with resolute expression of her own. "Yes, I do…"

The king kept staring at his daughter for a few more seconds, trying to truly get a complete picture of her mettle. Just when the silence began to stretch, he gave a grunt to acknowledgement and began to speak again. "The truth… Well, the truth is… I hate being king…"

Arturia paused at that, the confession striking too close at home for her liking, bringing forth memories of her failures in her past life.

Maric kept speaking, ignoring the unease displayed by his daughter. "No, actually it goes beyond mere hating. I loathe… I detest the fact that I was strong-armed into becoming King. This crown has done nothing but take the people that I loved away from me and making my life an utter misery. It took the life of your grandmother… And the life of the woman I loved. Not to mention making anybody else who I might have developed feelings for to desert me… I didn't want this crown, but everybody expected me to take the reins and keep the fight against the Orlesians alive after my mother was betrayed and murdered. But I really, really wasn't the best person qualified to lead the rebellion, I didn't had the charm, or the eloquence, not even the confidence that your grandmother Moira did… The only reason why people followed me was because I was her son, as if the mere fact of having the blood of Calenhad running through my veins was enough to assure our victory against the Orlesians. If it hadn't been for Loghain's strategies and plans, we would all be dead right now and the Orlesians would still be oppressing and pillaging the country…" He declared with no small amount of scorn and self-recrimination.

"Surely you are exaggerating your majesty." Arturia said, attempting to reassure the king since she understood what he was going through rather well. "Though the strategic brilliance of Teyrn Loghain cannot be denied, it is unrealistic to think that the rebellion succeeded only because of his efforts alone…"

A small grin tugged at Maric's lips at hearing his own daughter trying to reassure him, it was nice to know she didn't truly hate him after all. He patted her in the head, his hand covering all of the golden of her hair due to how tiny she was. She didn't seem to appreciate the gesture, as she immediately reared away from him and brought her hands up to her head in affront, looking at him as if he had insulted her.

Her tiny expression of outrage was pretty cute and Maric couldn't help from chuckling. "You're a good kid, let nobody else say otherwise… Thanks for trying to lift my spirits, but I meant what I said… If it wasn't for Loghain, I would be dead already. Time and again he and Rowan had to come and save my butt from a sticky situation. I did nothing but cause trouble for the both of them; it was thanks to their support that I got the chance to avenge your grandmother and kill those bastards that murdered her. Thanks to them I was able to rid the country from Meghren and his band of Orlesians. They are the true heroes of the rebellion… And I did nothing but repay their kindness with pain and disappointment…" The king said, his gaze turning forlorn and distant.

"What do you mean…?" Arturia inquired, forgetting all about protocol for just a heartbeat.

Maric stayed quiet for a few moments, the memories of his past casting long shadows over his mind. "Rowan and Loghain were my best friends… However, my mother and Rowan's father, the old Arl Rendorn had arranged for Rowan to become my queen once the Orlesians had been expelled from Ferelden. A political move to gather support from the most traditional Banns… I don't blame my mother for having made such pact; it was a good idea at the time… But the betrothal became a sore point between us… I… I did not loved Rowan… Not in the romantic way, she was my friend, my confidant, my pillar of support… But my heart did not stir for her, but for another woman…" The king took a brief pause to put his thoughts in order, the two siblings remaining quiet and allowing him the time to collect himself.

"I suspect she knew… Now that I think about it, I can remember her eyes were always sad and tired every time we spoke. At first I thought it was because his father had died during the ambush at West Hills, but now that I've had years to think about it and speak with Loghain on the subject. I have the feeling she learned about my tryst with Katriel…" Maric said, sounding forlorn. "Feh… No wonder she and Loghain ended up hooking together. He was simply trying to mend her heart after I broke it…"

"What…!?" Arturia exclaimed, not liking the implications of what his father was saying. By the lady, how could he have been so stupid!

Maric sighed, looking decades older than he truly was. "I cheated on my fiancée with another woman, because I had no intentions of marrying Rowan…"

Well, that certainly validates all of Arl Eamon's fears about protecting the legacy of his sister. By Viviane, this is the kind of scandals that brings down kingdoms and sparks rebellions. It seemed things are pretty much the same no matter in which world one finds oneself in… "What happened with this other woman…?" Saber asked, feeling the beginnings of a migraine.

"She… Died…" Maric said, unwilling to elaborate on the subject.

Arturia picked on this and decided not to press further. "I'm sorry…"

The King just idly acknowledged her with a nod. "Yup… Me too… In any case, after she died I had to fulfil the promise of marrying Rowan in order to bring stability to the country. But by that time she and Loghain were already in a relationship. I offered Loghain the chance of marrying Rowan instead of me, if he so desired. He had earned that right after all we went through during the Rebellion… But he stepped aside, saying me marrying Rowan was the best for the nation…"

"Loghain Mactir is quite renowned for his pragmatic thinking and his willingness to do whatever is best for the country. And he was right; marrying Queen Rowan was the right course of action in order to bring stability to Ferelden after the occupation…" Saber said, agreeing with the decision of Ferelden's most famous general.

"But that meant they had to end up breaking their relationship apart! For the sake of this country, I destroyed the happiness of my two best friends…" The king rebuked, an air of depression hanging around him. Arturia said nothing, considering the scandal that occurred in her previous life regarding her queen and her first knight, she didn't had any word of reassurance for the king.

"Surely that can't be right…" Arturia said, growing solemn at the king's words.

"But it is… I failed Rowan, twice over… Yes, we were married as arranged by our parents… But I was never able to make her happy… She loved Loghain, and she knew quite well that if I had been given a choice, I would have chosen another woman to be my queen instead of her…"

'Yeah, that would certainly make things awkward…' Arturia thought, feeling a bit of the snarkiness painfully implanted into her by Alistair over the years poking its head out.

The king let out a self-depreciating laugh. "Ha! You have no idea. Dinners were certainly quite the uncomfortable affairs…" Arturia was left taken aback by such response, haven't realized she spoke her thoughts out loud.

Maric's mood turned somber once more. "She gave up you know… Right after she was diagnosed with the disease that killed her. It seemed as if she came to the conclusion that because she had already done her duty for the country by giving birth to the next heir to the throne she no longer had a reason to continue with our sham of a marriage. She… Simply stopped caring anymore and let herself waste. And in the end she died, bitter and miserable. What a worthy end for once upon a time courageous woman…" The King confessed in an empty toneless voice.

"….? I'm sorry…" It was all that Arturia could say.

"Not your fault kiddo…" The king replied absentmindedly. "But you were asking me about Alistair's mother…" He changed subject. "After Rowan died I must admit I fell into one of the worst stages of my life. Working myself to death into ruling the country, focusing on dealing with the most inane and petty of squabbles just to keep my mind away from the pain, away from the memories…"

Arturia struggled from wincing, she too knowing how it felt to be dragged down by painful memories. The king kept speaking. "So it was that one day I was approached by the commander of the—Ahem: by the commander of a small band of warriors and adventurers into helping them with a little excursion of great importance…" Maric stated, correcting himself mid-sentence. Obviously, Saber was immediately suspicious about what the king was trying to keep secret from her.

"Excursion…?" She inquired with raised eyebrow.

"Yes… It was a miserable dangerous venture in which I almost got myself killed. We had to explore some long maker-forsaken tunnels, but the bright side of it was that I was able to meet Alistair's mother!" Maric exclaimed with a smile.

His seemingly good mood continued as he kept speaking. "She was a really fiery and spirited thing… At first she wasn't particularly impressed by me, she was pretty indifferent and distrustful. Always trying to avoid me due to the fact she had less than stellar previous experiences with nobles. But overtime as we were forced to rely on each other in order to survive, we… We became close… She was a good woman and she helped me get over my depression over the deaths of Katriel and Rowan… So yeah, we became close… But by the time our little adventure ended and Loghain had to come riding in to save the day it became more than clear that our affair would not be able to last. I am the king of Ferelden after all, and she too had her own responsibilities towards her group. So we had to part ways eventually…"

"And then she returned one night cradling a little baby, saying it was yours and made you promise to keep him away from the intrigues at court…?" Arturia said, already knowing how this story ended.

"Pretty, much yeah…" It was all Maric said.

Saber became thoughtful for a few seconds, there were still a lot of details that the king was not telling her in his story, but the main points as to allow her to follow the succession of events with enough clarity were there nevertheless. But still… "You know… Arl Eamon used to reference a certain incident of yours every time he grew frustrated regarding some of your decisions in the past…" She began to say. "Something about you going on an expedition to the deep roads with a group of Grey Wardens that somehow ended up with you being taken hostage on the Circle of Magi by a band of Orlesian sympathizers and Teyrn Loghain assaulting the tower in order to rescue you…"

Arturia took notice on how King Maric went stiffer and stiffer the long she kept speaking; giving her supposed father a dubious suspicious look, the former ruler of Britain addressed the king with a deadpan. "Alistair's mother is a Grey Warden isn't she…?"

With a dumb-stricken face, King Maric was unable to do anything but gape. Words failing to come out of his mouth except as unintelligible chokes. "….! I can't stop being surprised of how clever you are… Yes, I suppose there's no point trying to keep the truth hidden from you if you've already managed to discern this much on your own… However, I do ask you to keep this revelation to yourself and not tell Alistair."

Arturia's face immediately soured at that request. "Excuse me!? Did I just heard you right? Are you asking me to keep the truth from my brother about his own mother…!? What reason could possibly exist for me to agree to such outrageous request…!?" She said clearly irritated, trying to keep herself composed the best she could.

"I know it is a very big thing for me to ask of you. Especially considering that I haven't exactly been an exemplar parental figure for most of your life…"

Arturia couldn't resist the temptation any longer and rolled her eyes. "That is coming up short…"

"Yeah…" The king awkwardly agreed. "But regardless. This is important, I promised Alistair's mother that I would keep him safe and make sure any information about her remained a secret. I've done my fair share of mistakes throughout my entire life, but I'll be damned if I break my word to one of the few women that I have really loved…" He said with an expression that told he was being completely serious.

Saber's own expression was pretty rigid too. "So it's okay to keep your promises even at the expense of your own son's happiness!? You don't know how much it hurts Alistair to be alone and without parents! He believes himself to be unwanted and unloved! It's that actually fine with you as long as you keep your word to some woman that simply walked away and abandoned you!?" She accused at the edge of losing all pretense of civility.

"It isn't like that! You think that I want to keep the truth about his mother hidden from my own son because I want to? If I could, I would reveal everything to him…" King Maric rebutted, feeling a little offended at his daughter's accusation.

"Then why don't you…?" Arturia demanded.

Maric paused, passing his tongue over his upper lip before speaking. "Because it's for his own good…" He eventually declared.

Arturia just looked at his supposed father with an expression that openly questioned his sanity. "I fail to see how…" She replied dryly with a deadpan.

Maric began to rub the back of his neck, thinking hardly about what was safe for him to speak. "Look I can't tell you all the details, but Grey Wardens aren't supposed to have children. Well they can, but it is a rare thing. Grey Wardens aren't particular known for their fertility. The ceremony that they undertake to join the order leaves them almost practically barren. If, by some miracle a birth were ever to occur, Grey Wardens are forced to give their children up for adoption. Alistair's mother was no exception, as much as she wanted to keep and raise him, she couldn't go against the edicts of her order." He said, trying his best to impart how serious the situation really was.

A big frown appeared in Arturia's face after hearing that. "Still, that doesn't explain why you want to keep Alistair ignorant about his mother…" She commented with barely controlled grudge.

Maric stood quiet, taking a few minutes to stare at Arturia as if deciding whether he should continue speaking about the subject or not. In the end, he took a leap of faith, trusting in his daughter's already proved great intellect. "There's more…"

"More…?" Saber questioned, wondering what else could there be beyond what she's already been told.

Maric nodded stiffly. "You already managed to learn all this with your own wits, might as well take the plunge and get to the bottom." He said, starting to pace around the yard, his eyes darting in all direction trying to discern if someone might be listening to them. "Alistair's mother… It's an elf!"

"Oh…? Oh…!?" Oh, indeed. Arturia could clearly see how that would be a problem. Despite having spent most of her new life trying not to draw attention to herself while taking care of Alistair at the same time, Arturia wasn't blind to the pain and suffering that the people around her had to endure. She has seen the way some of the knights and maidservants tend to look and say to the elven servitude. Treating them little better than dogs, no that's untrue… The mabaris are much better treated than the elves on a daily basis. If it were to become known that Alistair is the son of an elf, then he would be discriminated in a much worst way than he is now for being illegitimate, some may even see his existence as a mistake, a betrayal to humanity and attempt to cause him harm. That is not a kind of attention she would wish for her brother.

"I see you've picked up what such revelation means. Good, I knew you would be smart enough to grasp the full picture." The kings said, taking notice of Saber's expression. "I must admit that at the time I couldn't comprehend why Fiona was so adamant on keeping secret the fact that Alistair is the son of an elf, I didn't saw what could be the problem of it but decided from complaining since Fiona was an elf herself and if she believed there would be issues from revealing the truth then I would trust in her judgement. It wasn't until years later when I began to investigate the issue that I realized just how great the discrimination and prejudice towards the elves is in general." He confessed, feeling a little self-conscious due to his lack of success in dealing with the problem.

"Yet you've had years as king to do something about it and yet I haven't heard you attempting anything to fix the issue." Arturia replied with a bit of scorn.

"It's not that simple." Maric immediately answered. "The problem is too widespread and too ingrained in people's way of thinking that any attempt to try and improve the elves lot in life will soon find itself being opposed and sabotaged by the populous. And I have neither the political support nor the resources to try to impose my will over the people of this nation. Plus it wouldn't feel right, that is how the Orlesians used to do things back during the occupation…" He shook his head, trying to dispel such grim thoughts.

"In any case, Fiona was right to believe there was real reason to fear for Alistair's life. So I will do my outmost to fulfill my promise to her. And now that you know, I ask you to uphold that same promise and make sure Alistair never learns of his true origins…" The King pleaded, staring at Arturia with anticipation.

The former ruler of Britain felt sick on the inside. "How can you ask me such!? How can you ask me to keep such a secret from my brother!? My own flesh and blood… To betray the trust we've shared for each other that took our entire lives to forge… But if I don't, then there's a real chance that I might lose him… Damn you! I wish we had never met. Your presence had done nothing but bring disgrace into both of our lives…!" She said, looking at the king with scorn.

"I am sorry my child… This is certainly not the life I would have wished for you and your brother if I were given a choice." King Maric confessed with sad eyes. "But if it means you two are going to have the chance of living a life in the first place without having to worry about unseen threats, then I will do everything it takes to ensure it. Even if you hate me for it afterwards…"

Arturia wanted to rebuke, to yell at her supposed father in a fit of ire and affront. But, she understood exactly why he was taking such extreme measures. He hated neither her nor Alistair; in fact it was the exact opposite. The king loved his children, and it was because he loved them that he sent them far away from him as possible to make sure they didn't become the target of kidnappings, assassinations or turned into political pawns for the ambitions of someone else. Saber knew exactly that in order to have a life of their own away from the plotting and scandals of the crown, then her father must cut every and all ties with her and Alistair and never seek them out. It is a harsh thing to do…

Then again, it's not like she's stranger to making hard decision herself. "Very well… I understand… I will accept to uphold the promise you made to Alistair's. But only on one condition…" She declared, lifting a single finger for emphasis.

"Name it…" The king simply said without a hint of surprise.

"You must make the most of whatever is left of this visit of yours and spent some quality time with Alistair. At the very least, you should impart to him the fact that he is not undesired by either you or his mother." Arturia said, staring at the King with determination.

"Awwww, do I have to? He's going to be asking a lot of awkward questions just like you and I don't know how I'm going to answer him without spilling any secret…" The king bemoaned, rubbing the back of his head.

Arturia gave him a harsh look. "You owe him for keeping him in the dark all these years; it is not his fault that his birth is an inconvenience to you!" She accused with pitiless eyes.

King Maric winced. "Hey! That's a little too harsh in my opinion. I've never felt if either you or your brother were an inconvenience to me…"

"Then let him know that…" Saber replied, crossing her arms. "Let him know that you actually think of him as a son and that you're sorry for not being there in his life. At the very least, since you are so adamant of having him grow without any kind of parental figure, you should try to ease the doubts that claw at his mind and spirit." She stated as patiently as she could.

The king seemed to falter, it appeared as if he wanted to refute her but he really couldn't find in himself the will to do so. Just one little more push and he would capitulate to her demands.

On that though she continued. "If you do this for me, then on my word as a future knight I promise to you, your majesty, that I will never say a word about Alistair's origins, even under threat of torture or death. No one will know, not even him…" She said, assuming the most composed and stoic pose she could muster.

The truth in her words was just the last bit she needed to convince the king. He nodded solemnly. "Alright... In that case, on my word as King, I promise to be the father I never been to Alistair for whatever time is left of my visit." He swore. "Is that agreeable to you milady…" He said with a bit of jest as he offered a bow to saber.

Arturia wanted to snap at the king for being foolish, but she did an excellent job of pretending not being phased by his words and still hold herself properly as someone of royal blood should. "Yes, it is your majesty." She declared with a nod.

"Good, then…" The king declared; his face lighting up in a sudden grin as he clasped his hands together. "Now, tell me… What does a cute little knight-in-training like you do to be so smart? If I didn't know it would be a bad idea that would make Eamon froth at the mouth with rage, I would toss all tradition out of the window and make you my heir!" He declared joyously, getting really close to Arturia as to break her personal space.

'Ah dammit!' The wielder of Excalibur in miniature groaned mentally, she had been too eager in her desire to know the truth about Alistair's origins that she didn't thought how much odd it would be for the king to see his daughter display intelligence and deductive skills clearly not expected from an eight year old girl. She would have to put all the knowledge she had learned about charm by watching Lancelot flirt with all of his lady admirers to good use if she wished to deflect the King's attention without rousing suspicion. So many decades and she still is unable to grasp the intricacies about other people's perceptions…

!

The king was true to his word and for the next couple of days he made the effort of spending some time with Alistair, employing all of his scouting and stealth skills that he had learned under Loghain during the rebellion to valiantly give the slip to the Arl, his well-intoned brother, and sometimes his fiancée so that he could speak with his son without interruption. After an awkward first meeting in the end the king was successful in letting Alistair know that although he couldn't openly acknowledge or show him affection for a variety of complicated reasons, he was still his son and he loved him despite how messed up their family relationship was. Those words meant the world to Alistair, cheering him up completely after his disappointment over meeting his older half-brother. The boy spent their time regaling his father of all his childish dreams and accomplishments, telling him how his dear sister took care of him and even were as far as to try to teach him all the things she has learned as a squire so as to one day he too might have the opportunity to become a knight.

The King listened patiently and the more he interacted with Alistair, the more he began to realize he actually liked the boy, he reminded him strongly of himself when he was young, before he became leader of the rebellion. On that note, he decided to at least strive to become a figure worthy of respect in the boy's eyes the same way his own mother had been for him in his youth. She owed it to the memory of his mother and to Alistair for all the grief he has unintentionally caused him.

Soon enough, the day for the royal procession's departure came. However, both father and son were able to part ways with much lighter hearts, one finally settling his fears of being unloved and undesired to rest and the other for having the opportunity of making up for some of his past errors. Even though it was unlikely that both father and son would ever meet again in the future, at least they had the chance of speaking freely for a little while without having to worry about matters of state and court and come to an understanding because of it. Saber was pleased at seeing her brother in much better spirits, and so became determined of keeping her word to the king.

After waving their goodbyes alongside the rest of the castle's staff and watching the royal retinue until it disappeared out of sight in the distance, Alistair turned towards his sister, knowing she was the sole reason while he had gained the chance of speaking with their lord father at last. "Thank you sister…" He said with a truly grateful smile, taking Arturia's hand and squeezing it in solidarity.

Saber couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from tilting upwards, the love of his brother briefly breaking through her mask of stoicism. "You're welcome brother…" She said, returning the gesture with a squeeze of her own.

Both siblings just stood there in the middle of the main yard as the inhabitants of the castle slowly but surely began to trickle off, returning back to their duties. It is a good thing that the recent royal visit made the bond between the two siblings closer, for they were going to need to rely on each other like never before by this time next year due to an unexpected development that neither of them would have ever seen coming.

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Well there you have it, the second chapter of its story. I decided to include the meeting with the King and Cailan after an interaction between Alistair and Wynne in DA:O were he speaks about the only time he spoke with his brother when he was a child. The whole thing with Saber learning about the truth of Alistair origins is because I decided to dispense with some plot elements that never pan out or lead to anything in the original games. Things like keeping the fact Alistair is the son of a grey warden elf and the king since in the end he joins the grey wardens anyways and he canonically becomes king, making the entire thing moot. So things like these I'm not even going to bother, they're several of these plots that never amounted to nothing during the entire series: cough: I'm looking at you Archdemon baby :cough:

In any case, rejoice bitches because the next story I'm going to be working on is Fairy Tail watches DeathBattle followed by Overwatch reacts to random shit. So stop bothering me already.

Anyway, as always don't forget to review and tell what you think of this chapter, recommend this story to your friends, subscribe to my and I'll read you all next time.