Chapter 7 : A Change of Wardrobe

Gildre lithely hopped off the huge horse, nimbly landing several feet away. Lyssa silently dismounted in one fluid motion, alighting quietly. She paused for a moment, looking around, listening intently. Satisfied, she tied the stallion to a tree. He neighed in complaint, a low rumble, and chomped at his bit, pulling against the reins. Lyssa stroked his muzzle gently and leaned in to his neck, her eyes level with the stallion's.

"Not yet, boy, but soon. I promise," Lyssa said softly. She pulled away from the horse and walked the few steps to the stream's edge. She bent down at a point where the water was deeper and touched her lips to the smooth, flowing surface and drank deeply. After she had sated her thirst, Lyssa looked up at Gildre. He was scanning the surrounding wood.

"I don't suppose you have any food?" she asked smiling.

Gildre turned back to her and pulled his pack open, tossing her a small pouch. He smiled, and crouched beside her. She opened the bag and retrieved a small piece of dried beef from inside. She immediately began attacking the leathery, salty strip.

Gildre reached out and gently touched her arm. "I am glad you are okay. I came to rescue you, but it seems I wasn't really needed," Gildre said joking.

Lyssa tried not to laugh as she continued chewing a huge chunk of jerky.

"Well, you'll be needed now more than ever." She mumbled with her mouth still full. "They won't be looking for an elf, they'll be looking for a queen. If we need to get anything, you'll have to do it," Lyssa said pulling out her blade. "The first thing I think we'll need are some clothes."

"I was going to ask you about that. Whatever are you wearing?" Gildre laughed.

"Same thing I was wearing yesterday. I just made a few alterations. I should do this with more of my gowns. So much more comfortable this way," Lyssa said grinning. Then her voice fell. "I don't suppose... anyone else is here?"

Gildre sat, facing Lyssa. He cupped his hand, leaning to his side to sip of few handfuls of water himself.

"No. They plan to come, but I don't know. I saw templar guards moving into position around the castle as I left. It was a close thing for me. I had to climb the wall to get out. The gates were well guarded. I don't know what happening, but I suspect Alistair was afraid he might not get out in time. That's why he sent me," Gildre said.

Lyssa sighed and frowned. She took her blade and sliced through her hair swiftly, holding the tightly woven bun in her hand.

"What are you doing?" Gildre asked a little shocked.

"They are going to be looking for a woman. I am going to be a man for a while," Lyssa said, carefully placing the bun of hair on the ground and looking at herself in the reflection of her blade. She began trimming the sides.

"Here, give me that," Gildre said, taking Lyssa's blade from her, "You want to look like a man not the village idiot."

"Gildre, I didn't know you were a hairdresser," Lyssa teased.

Gildre pulled Lyssa's hair playfully yanking her head to the right, "Watch it with that talk sister, or I'll cut it all off. I used to do Arsan's and he would do mine. We didn't have a lot of money, but Arsan wanted us to look our best. No unkempt elves we."

Lyssa smiled as Gildre ran his fingers through her hair testing the length, "Fergus let me cut his when I was little. My mother was furious with him. He had a bald patch for almost four months right on the front. He just laughed about it. He told my mother she was stifling a potential artist."

"I liked Fergus. I don't know if I ever told you that. I was truly sad when he fell in the Deep Roads. I don't think I knew you well enough then to say it," Gildre said, letting his fingers sift through Lyssa's soft hair.

Lyssa smiled, "He liked you, too."

"I think this will do it. Should fool most people who see you from a distance, but we're going to have to do something about these," Gildre said. He had moved around to face Lyssa and was gesturing to her breasts.

"I don't have that much to hide," Lyssa said looking down at herself.

"No, you're no Leliana. Only Andruil knows how she ever became an archer. But... you are ample enough to draw attention. Perhaps we can strap them down somehow. Do you think you can manage here while I run to town to get some things?" Gildre asked.

"I've got these," Lyssa said as she put away her long dagger, "and I am in the woods. No one will find me here."

"Right, I'm off then. If I do not return within a couple hours you should assume the worst." Lyssa opened her mouth to protest but Gildre held up his hand and continued. "I'm serious. Alistair sent me here with one mission, to retrieve you at any cost. That means you cannot come after me. This is my job Lyssa, let me do it. I was careful, I don't think anyone will pay me any mind, but just in case a certain love sick elf gets suspicious, you need to get out of Seheron."

Lyssa frowned but nodded. Gildre figured that was as good as it was going to get. He turned and looked at the huge horse nearby.

"I think I'll walk, just in case someone recognizes him. We aren't too far away, and I have a horse stabled in town. Wait three hours, then go. I'll catch up to you if nothing is wrong," Gildre said. He briefly inspected his sword and then moved out of sight.

Gildre looked back at where Lyssa was once he had jogged about five minutes and could see no sign of her. He turned back to the road and got onto it so that he could move faster. It only took him forty minutes to get to town; he had run the entire way. When he arrived, he was surprised to see everything looked normal. Q'unari guards were not breaking in doors and no one was searching the streets. It wasn't until he arrived at a clothier that he heard anything about Lyssa's breakout.

"Did you hear? The Queen of Ferelden tried to escape. Killed two guards in the process. The Kithshok caught her himself just inside the gates. Threw her in the dungeon. Don't know why they bothered trying to keep her up in the castle at all," said a young female elf to another.

"You know the Q'unari and their honor. They probably thought putting her up in the castle was the most respectable way to handle this mess. Mark my words, Ferelden will come down on us hard. Half the Q'unari I've talked to think the whole situation is disgusting. Kidnapping people, has it come to that? The Arishok has gone mad if you ask me," the other elf said.

"She still hangs in the morning. Don't know why they bother. If they planned to kill her why did they even bring her here? All that does is rile up Ferelden even more. If their goal was to whip them into froth, they're doing a great job of it."

Gildre bought the things he needed and retrieved his horse. He pushed the horse, galloping all the way back to the stream. When he finally reached where he had left Lyssa, the big black horse was gone. He looked all around and could see no sign of Lyssa.

Was it possible we were followed, Gildre wondered desperately.

"Hey, no trouble then?"

Gildre nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around quickly. "Fen'Harel Lyssa, don't do that! You'll send me off to the Veil itself. Where is the horse?"

"I let him go. You said you had one so I figured we could share. With any luck he'll get back to his stable and no one will have missed him. I'm hoping the stable boy will think he fell off his stool and one of the horses got loose," Lyssa said smiling. "I'm sorry I scared you."

Gildre lowered his pack to the ground and began pulling things out. "The people in Seheron are saying the strangest thing. They say you were caught trying to escape. That the Kithshok re-captured you, and this time they tossed you in the dungeon. There is still a hanging planned for tomorrow."

Lyssa looked out into the wood and crossed her arms.

"Is there no way to reach Ferelden before news of my death reaches there?" Lyssa asked.

"News of your death? Lyssa, what aren't you telling me?"

"I don't entirely know why, but Kithshok is the reason I was able to escape. He came to me and essentially told me he had done all he could, the rest was up to me. I believe he is covering his own ass by telling everyone I am still captured. He told me he would hang a woman tomorrow, whether it was me or someone else. Well, I guess it will be someone else. He obviously disagrees with his commander's decision. I am surprised he did not challenge Arishok. That is the Q'unari way. There is something going on here I don't quite understand. Kithshok is willing to help me escape, in what small way he could, but he is unwilling to directly challenge his commander's plan. This all too subtle for what passes for Q'unari politics. We need to get to Ferelden. If I am killed, even if they think I am killed, they will declare war on the Q'unari," Lyssa said quickly.

"Well, Lyssa," Gildre said uneasily. "They did kidnap you. And they said they were going to invade. And had you still been trapped in that room tomorrow, you would be dead. I believe there is justifiable cause here."

"No," Lyssa said pacing. "The Q'unari are not stupid. The Kithshok doesn't think the Q'unari will be ready to war with Ferelden for at least a hundred years. This has been instigated from elsewhere."

"If the Q'unari say they are going to invade, why is it a problem if we get rid of them first," Gildre asked puzzled.

Lyssa turned and looked Gildre hard in the eye, "Is that not the excuse the Tevinter Imperium used to enslave your people so long ago? And the Chantry after them? Get them now before they get us?"

Gildre stood angrily, "We did not threaten to take over Tevinter, we retreated into our homelands to save our heritage!"

"And the Tevinter misinterpreted this to mean your people were preparing for war. At least they had misunderstanding on their side. The Chantry, they simply lied to justify their Exalted March against your people. I'm sure they believed the elven pantheon was a threat to them; an unacceptable obstacle to their holy mission. Does that justify what they did?" Lyssa asked.

"Of course it doesn't! But the Q'unari have said outright they want to conquer us. This is different Lyssa," Gildre said.

"No, it is not. Someone is playing a very dangerous game here. They are forcing the hand of Ferelden. It would not be in Ferelden's best interest to go to war with the Q'unari. We have not yet fully recovered from our fight against the Blight. The Q'unari may be broken, but they are not dead. It would be a mistake to believe that we could roll right through here and get rid of them. Whoever has been plotting this knows nothing of war," Lyssa paused. "Or perhaps they do, if the wish to destroy both Ferelden and Seheron in one go.

"Look, there are better ways of handling these things than declaring war. Q'unari are not immune to reason. Look at Sten. Who knows what the Q'unari will be like in a hundred years. We do not punish people for the acts they have yet to commit," Lyssa said.

"But they did kidnap you, and they would have killed you," Gildre said insistently.

"Yes. And this should be dealt with. But not through war. The Q'unari are raised from birth to follow the orders of their commanders. Kithshok ignored the chain of command, an offense that would be considered blasphemous to a Q'unari. He may well die for his actions, and I do not believe he acted alone. I do not believe the Arishok came up with the idea to kidnap me. If the Q'unari wanted any chance at success, they would have marched on us swords drawn. The Q'unari are just as much the victim here as Ferelden. Their people will suffer greatly from this treachery. If this war is being instigated not by the Q'unari, but by someone in Ferelden, someone who has another agenda entirely…" Lyssa trailed off, thoughtful for a few moments. "That is the greater threat," Lyssa said.

Gildre looked down at his pack. "Who would gain from such a thing?"

Lyssa sat down next to the stream.

"This is something I have been thinking on. I wish I could speak to Duncan or Alistair," Lyssa rested her chin in her hands.

"Duncan?" Gildre asked surprised.

Lyssa realized she had spoken out loud. "I find my own abilities for deception are failing me. Yes, Duncan."

"But he is just a child," Gildre said.

"Yes, in body. But his mind is something all together different. It is why I did not protest overmuch when the council suggested we send him away to the Tower. Duncan was finding it difficult to continue hiding himself from Alistair and said he wanted to go. I did not want Alistair to be troubled so by his own son. In the last year, Duncan's ability to... reason through things has grown immensely. It is the taint in him. It did something to his mind, being born with it. But now is not really the time to speak of it. We must try to get back to Ferelden before the damage is done," Lyssa said hastily.

Gildre looked down at his pack again and pulled out a pair of men's trousers and a man's tunic. He also took out a bolt of thick canvas. "They use this stuff for the sails on their boats. Perhaps we could cut it into strips and you could wrap it around yourself tightly?"

Lyssa took the fabric and stretched it. "Yes, this might work."

She pulled out her blade and cut a long strip of canvas. When she was done she pulled off her torn dress. Within minutes she was completely naked, wearing only her loincloth and the Amulet of Andraste. Gildre had never seen her without it. The ring she usually wore around her little finger was also dangling on the chain. Then Gildre realized he was looking at the queen's breasts.

"Lyssa!" Gildre said suddenly standing and turning around, "You have no shame, do you?" "Gildre, I have no fear you will look upon me with lust in your eyes. Should I be modest in front of my ladies in waiting as well?"

"Well, in front of Shelly, yes," Gildre said smiling.

"Really?" Lyssa was intrigued. "I did not know that... You can turn around now. I need you to check my work."

Gildre turned to see Lyssa had wrapped her upper body tightly in the canvas and had put on the trousers. He walked toward her and grabbed her arms, lifting them and turning her right and left.

"I think this will work, put on the tunic and we'll see," Gildre said leaning back against a tree.

Lyssa pulled on the tunic and buttoned it up properly. She tucked her newly shorn hair behind her ears and turned to Gildre. Gildre had been watching with mounting interest, unaware, at first, how completely the outfit disguised her. Before him stood not his queen, but a young looking man—a very beautiful young man. Her face was not so unlike that of an elf's, Gildre mused. He realized he had been staring and abruptly cleared his throat, pretending to scan the forest.

"Yes, I think that will do fine. Leave the hair down around your ears and you look like an unusually tall elf," Gildre said blushing.

"Gildre, I do believe you were gawking at me. Do I make a cute boy? Do I?" Lyssa said pinching Gildre in the side.

"Yes," Gildre said blushing and looking away. "You actually remind me of someone I knew from the camp."

"Why have you never gone back?" Lyssa asked, carefully tucking the amulet and ring under the canvas wrappings.

"I don't know," Gildre said, "I guess I never really thought about it. Once I left with Arsan, it didn't seem like home anymore. And then the thing with the werewolves happened. We weren't there, but we heard about it. Arsan said it proved all the more how important his mission was. Even keeper Zathrain had been destroyed by the animosity between humans and elves. I never really had any friends there anyway. I was shy. And... it was a small community. Hard to find boys as cute as you there."

Lyssa kicked water from the stream at Gildre and he laughed.

"Well, let's see if we can get off this island," She said gathering up their things.