Chapter 13
Fergus sat in Eamon's study and watched him as he read the letter. He could see Eamon had lost weight since last seeing him. His face was pale and it looked as if he had aged ten years.
"Teagan and Marlena deserve to be happy considering all that I have put them through."
"I'm glad you said that Eamon. I must admit I was expecting you to object and I was prepared to argue my point on this."
"Fergus I am dying and I have a great deal to answer to the Maker for. All I want is for Teagan to reclaim the arling and be happy."
"And that includes him being with my sister?"
"My greed and ambition are the reasons Marlena and Alistair's son is dead. Had I not interfered, she would be married to Alistair and the Theirin line would be secure."
"You drove my sister away Eamon. I lost a few years with her because of you. Now I can forgive but I will never forget the hell you put her through after all she did for you…and Ferelden."
"Nor should you Fergus." Eamon said. "I do thank you for getting her to come back to Ferelden however. I knew she would be able to bring Teagan back from the brink."
"Will you be there at the Landsmeet?"
"I will be there when they present the evidence against Vaughn. I'm pretty much considered a pariah now so I don't think I will need to remind people of my lies. Both Teagan and Marlena have done Ferelden a great service by exposing Vaughn and they will be embraced for it."
"Knowing my sister, she won't seek any boon."
"Teagan won't accept one either."
"You seem… very introspective Eamon."
"When you're dying it gives you a lot of time to think about things Fergus."
"For what it's worth, I am sorry you're going through this alone Eamon."
"Thank you Fergus but it's what I deserve."
Fergus got up and shook Eamon's hand.
"If you need anything…"
"Thank you Fergus but I'll be fine."
He sighed as he watched Fergus leave the room.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Teagan and Marlena stood outside the door to the Cousland estate.
Marlena opened the door and they went inside.
"Fergus?" Marlena called. "Sandra? We're here."
"Marlee!" Fergus rushed in the room and swept her up in a big bear hug.
"Fergus!" She exclaimed. "It's so good to see you."
Sandra came in the room and hugged Teagan. "You look wonderful Teagan."
"Thank you Sandra." Teagan smiled.
"Welcome to the family Teagan!" Fergus hugged him.
"Thank you Fergus. Now where is my daughter?"
"She's upstairs in the playroom." Sandra smiled.
"I'll get her." Marlena rushed out of the hall and up the stairs.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marlena found Rowann sitting on the floor playing with some dolls. She looked up when she saw Marlena coming towards.
"I member you." Rowann said. "You were going to help my Papa get better."
Rowann got up and ran to Marlena and hugged her legs. Marlena let out a sigh. Rowann looked so much like her mother and she wanted to cry when remembering how good Kaitlyn was to her during the dark time in her life.
"Do you remember me Rowann?"
"Mar…Marlee." Rowann said. "Did you help my Papa?"
"Yes I did Rowann and he helped himself as well because he wanted to get better for you. Your Daddy is downstairs waiting to see you." Marlena held out her hand.
Rowann took her hand and they slowly headed back to the stairs.
Teagan was standing with Fergus and Sandra and fought back his tears when he saw her.
"Maker's Breath! You have grown so much."
Rowann squeezed Marlena's hand and could only look at him.
"My sweet darling girl." Teagan held out his arms to her.
"Go to him Rowann." Marlena said gently.
"Papa?"
Marlena wiped her eyes as she watched Rowann run down the stairs and into Teagan's arms.
"Papa!" Rowann squealed.
"I'm here my sweet girl! I'll never leave you again."
Marlena went downstairs and Teagan grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going? You're going to be part of this family."
He pulled her close and she wrapped an arm around him and Rowann.
"Marlee said she helped you Papa."
"She did Rowann. She helped in more ways you could possibly know the most important being bringing me back to you."
"Thank you Marlee." Rowann smiled.
"You are welcome you sweet thing." Marlena smiled as she caressed her cheek.
Fergus put his arm around Sandra and they both smiled.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And hour later, Teagan and Marlena joined Fergus and Sandra in the sitting room after putting Rowann down for her nap.
"She is so beautiful Teagan." Marlena kissed him.
"I missed so much of her life." Teagan said regretfully.
"It's alright." Marlena squeezed his hand. "Once we get over this Landsmeet, we can focus on the future."
"Have you told her about that the two of you getting married?" Fergus asked.
"We're going to wait until after the Landsmeet." Teagan explained.
"I also want her to get used to me." Marlena added.
"Get used to you?" Teagan put his arm around Marlena. "I can already see how she loves you."
"And I already love her Teagan. She has so much of her mother in her."
"She does." Teagan sighed.
"Are you ready to present your case to the Landsmeet?" Sandra asked.
"As ready as we will ever be." Teagan said.
"There's something you need to know. Alistair had some men investigate that spot on the map you sent. And remains…were found."
"Maker's Mercy!" Marlena covered her mouth in shock.
"They also found some personal belongings buried with them." Sandra added. "And the items were identified by two people and who knew the victim on the copy of the list you sent."
"And to think what he did to me and Alftstanna was merely a drop in the bucket." Teagan shook his head.
"I should have killed him when I found him in the dungeon." Marlena sighed.
"It's not your fault. You didn't know the how deep his depravity went." Teagan said as he kissed her
"I talked to your brother Teagan." Fergus looked at him. "He will be there tomorrow and I have to tell you he's not looking well."
"I was planning on seeing him." Teagan sighed. "Maker knows he's sent me enough letters."
"Can we please talk about something pleasant?" Sandra implored. "Let's discuss wedding plans!"
"We haven't discussed it much." Marlena smiled. "I do know I want to get married at Highever and you will give me away Fergus."
"We just want something small, with family and friends." Teagan said.
"I look forward to giving you away little Sister." Fergus smiled. "Father and Mother would be so happy you're settling down"
"I'm looking forward to settling down." Marlena said had rest her head against Teagan's shoulder.
Fergus turned to Teagan. "And Mother and Father would be happy she is marrying you Teagan."
"Thank you Fergus. That means a lot."
"Bryce should be up by lunch." Sandra smiled.
"I can't wait to see him." Marlena smiled.
"All we want to do today is relax and prepare for what's coming tomorrow." Teagan said. "The trip was arduous."
"I don't think it would have been as difficult a trip, it had been just us and a few guards." Marlena sighed. "But we had a caravan of militia and four prison wagons. And let's just say Vaughn was rather difficult to deal with until we used sleeping potions on him."
"Has word gotten out about Vaughn? " Teagan asked.
"Yes and most are not surprised. But there are rumors about you being an invalid Teagan."
"Vaughn must have spread the rumor the first time he was in Rainesfere." Marlena surmised.
"One thing is for certain, people are going to be mighty surprised when you walk into the Landsmeet tomorrow."
"Oh indeed they will." Teagan agreed.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The next day, Teagan and Marlena stood outside the doors of the Landsmeet. They could hear Marcus and Britta presenting their testimony along with the occasional shouts. Vaughn and Jarrod were there as well as the captain of Vaughn's men and were heavily guarded.
"Are you ready?" Teagan took Marlena's hand as he looked at her.
"As long as I am with you, I know it will be alright." Marlena said.
They kissed one last time and Teagan opened the door and was immediately greeted by a gasp. Looking straight ahead, they went inside.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
Alistair watched as the door opened and people either gasped or covered their mouths in shock as Teagan and Marlena walked hand in hand towards the middle of the hall.
Of course Marlena looked beautiful. She was wearing a burgundy colored dress, and her brown hair was hanging loose over her shoulders.
Bann Alfstanna rushed to greet them.
"Bann Teagan. Lady Marlena." Alfstanna greeted. "Come deliver your testimony so this scourge can be dealt with once and for all."
Alistair could feel his heart beat against his chest as Marlena met his glance.
"Your Majesty." Teagan bowed. "As you are probably already well aware, Marlena was acting regent of Rainesfere as she helped me… recover. Before her arrival, there were problems with bandits and sabotage at the winery. I made the stupid mistake of doing some business dealings with Vaughan Kendells when the majority of the bottles were destroyed during the last sabotage attempt. During her first days at Rainesfere, Lady Marlena paid my debt to Vaughn and it was presumed that would be the last we would hear from him but it was not."
Teagan glanced at Marlena who looked at Alistair.
"You Majesty." She said in a calm voice. "With the help of the Blackstone Irregulars I employed to guard Rainesfere, we rigged some traps at the winery and the warehouses figuring the perpetrator would strike again, which they did. That is when we discovered Jarrod; the wine master was working with Vaughn Kendells."
"We arranged a plan to trap Vaughn when he eventually came back to Rainesfere looking for Jarrod." Teagan continued
"They set me up!" Vaughn growled.
"Your Majesty." Marlena vowed. "We followed the laws of Ferelden and only wanted to see Vaughn get the justice he rightly deserves."
"Vaughn Kendells attacked Marlena and would have raped her had Teagan not intervened." Britta piped in.
"She is a whore." Vaughn laughed. "Everybody knows that and what she did to the king."
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut Vaughn."
Marlena and Teagan turned to see Eamon walking towards them.
Marlena looked at Teagan and saw how shocked he was by his brother's appearance.
"Let me remind the citizens of Ferelden that this is not about the former Warden Commander. You are all aware of my duplicity during the last Landsmeet and it needs no further discussion. This is about Vaughn Kendells and the depravity he has perpetrated over the years. How many of you have been cheated by his business dealings? How many elves have missing loved ones?"
Marlena watched as the nobility shouted and applauded.
"Thank you Eamon." Alistair said coldly before looking at Teagan and Marlena. "We already heard testimony from Jarrod and the captain of Vaughn's guardsmen. We are also aware of the sabotage Vaughn inflicted on Bann Alfstanna's Brandy orchard and brewery. My men have found remains of several elves that were under Vaughn's employment and various items were matched from the list of names you found in his log. Vaughn's Captain also testified that he witnessed Vaughn engage in acts of torture and depravity to some of those elves before… murdering them."
The crowd gasped then went silent at this revelation.
"What?" Vaughn looked at his guard captain. "You bastard."
"Vaughn Kendells, effective immediately you are hereby stripped of your title and lands and all of your remaining wealth will be returned to the crown and dispersed to the relatives of the victims as well as those you sabotaged. I also hereby sentence you to death for your crimes. Take him away."
The crowd applauded and watched as Vaughn was dragged away.
"I nominate Alfstanna as the Arlessa of Denerim." Alistair continued. "Do I hear any objections?'
Marlena watched as everyone roared their approval.
"Bann Teagan and Lady Marlena, thank you for service in bringing Vaughn to justice. As a reward for your effort, I would like to offer a boon of your choice."
Teagan and Marlena looked at each other and Alistair watched as they whispered to Alfstanna.
"That is a wonderful idea." She smiled. "I would rather live at my own estate then that place."
"Your Majesty." Marlena looked at Alistair. "Alfstanna has graciously agreed to use her own estate as her official residence and I propose the Arl of Denerim's estate be converted to an orphanage."
"Refurbishing the estate would save the city money. There are plenty of rooms and the grounds are big enough for children to play." Teagan added.
"An excellent idea." Alistair looked at Anora who had remained silent but riveted throughout the Landsmeet. She nodded her approval before getting up from her chair and leaving the room with Erlina and her guards.
"Your boon shall be granted." Alistair said.
"Thank you your Majesty." Teagan bowed.
"I declare this Landsmeet adjourned!" Alistair declared.
The crowd bowed and then swarmed around Marlena and Teagan.
Marlena saw Eamon standing in the corner by himself and motioned for Teagan to talk to him.
"Will you be alright?" Teagan asked as he kissed her.
"I'll be fine. Eamon is not looking well and you should talk to him."
"I know." Teagan sighed.
"I'll go look for Fergus and Sandra."
"Alright."
Marlena greeted and chatted her away through the crowd deciding to hide in the small sitting room that was off to the side to catch her breath.
Sitting down on a chair, Marlena rubbed her forehead and looked up when she heard the door shut.
"Hello Marlee."
Marlena took a deep breath as she looked up to face him.
"Hello Alistair."