Delia did rest, eventually. But the image of Wolf was burning hot in her mind when she got back to the Keep. The memory of his kisses and caresses were stoking the fires in her middle. She stripped off her leathers and threw herself on her bed, meaning to switch rooms but not until... This simply wasn't going to wait any longer! She burrowed under the covers and humped her hand wildly to thoughts of him. It wasn't exactly an unusual activity for her recently, but the strength of the release that rocked her was.
She waited for her heart to stop thundering and the tingling in her feet to abate. When it finally did, she got out of bed and put on a robe. She lumped up some pillows in her bed, to make it look like she was sleeping there, then she went to find an unused spare bedroom without a balcony or a large window. Eventually she found one that looked almost like a cell. The one small window it had was barred. There was a sturdy bolt on the door as well. She curled up in the bed and went to sleep quickly.
It was to a commotion she awoke in the morning. She heard someone yelling, and loud male voices. She drew her robe on and took up her daggers and opened the door slowly. Her fellow Grey Wardens were standing before her normal bedroom door looking in. She stepped quietly behind them.
Anders discovered the pillows she'd left in her place. "Thank the Maker, she wasn't in her bed." He stepped away from the bed and she understood his relief as she saw the bed. It had been peppered with crossbow bolts.
"Then that leaves the question of where she is," Nathaniel said. Varel nodded, a look of concern settling into his face.
"Right behind you, actually," Delia said.
"Is there something you should tell us, Commander?" Anders joined them in the hallway. "Like why you didn't sleep in your room and why it looks like someone is trying to kill you?"
Delia shrugged. "It looks like you've figured it out. Someone is trying to kill me and that's why I didn't sleep in my room." She suddenly remembered her arm. "Oh! That reminds me, could you heal this cut on my arm?" She pushed the robe off her shoulder to show Anders, who gulped at seeing so much of his Commander exposed. "Nowish?" she suggested when he hesitated.
"And how did you get that?" Nathaniel asked.
"An assassin attacked me last night."
"What?" Anders said, "So the bed full of arrows wasn't the first time?" He unwrapped the bandage from her arm and looked at the wound. It wasn't deep, he could erase it. His hand glowed blue for a moment and it disappeared.
She shook her head. "Thanks, Anders. No, I was out for a walk last night and one followed me."
Anders looked puzzled. "Who hired the assassin, darkspawn?"
"Darkspawn?" she said, laughing.
"Well, they're talking now, perhaps they're also doing financial transactions," Anders suggested.
Nathaniel, serious as always, didn't find it funny. "If someone is trying to kill you then you need to have a guard at all times."
Delia shook her head. "We don't have soldiers to spare and the problem is being handled. I think in a few days this will be resolved."
Varel made a dissenting noise. "Nathaniel is right. This is much more serious than we thought. You shouldn't be going out alone, and we'll be increasing the guard on the Vigil."
"The Crows won't have any issues taking out a few guards," she said, "and we can't afford to lose them." She was concerned about getting out of the Keep herself. It wouldn't do for people to know she was going to knock off Bann Esmerelle.
Nathaniel's jaw set stubbornly. "Then we will guard you."
Delia groaned to herself. Why does life have to be so complicated?
"Well, actually, we have a few things to do today, so you all will be with me and if the Crows attack, we'll deal with them."
"Crows, eh?" Oghren said.
"Yes, unfortunately," she said.
"Do you think your old, heh, friend...", Oghren laughed his I-know-a-dirty-secret laugh, "is part of it?" Oghren asked.
Delia made a throat-cutting motion and vigorous head shake at Oghren, trying to get him to drop the subject, but she stopped her frantic gestures when all eyes swiveled onto her. She smiled gamely and scratched her neck nonchalantly.
"Hm," Nathaniel hummed suspiciously.
"Old friend?" Anders queried. "This sounds like an interesting story."
"Perhaps," Delia said sternly, "but one that won't be told today."
The look Oghren shot Anders said otherwise.
"Well, come on now," Delia said, brusquely. "No use dawdling about. We have a damsel to rescue from kidnappers, and we need to find that botanist friend of Wynne's." She went back into her old room and collected some clothes and dumped them in her new... cell. As she shut the door, she saw Anders put an arm around Oghren.
"So, my friend, do tell what you know." Anders said.
"This will cost you..." Oghren replied gruffly.
Delia shut the door, realizing her former romance would shortly be common knowledge. She sighed. Oh well, does it really matter? No. She dressed quickly in her leathers and went downstairs for a quick breakfast. Varel was waiting for her.
"We need to have a session of court today," he reminded her.
"Oh blast," she grumbled. "We've got so much to do."
"I'd handle it myself but I thought you might want to be there for the first one. It's a good time to set a tone for your rule."
"Rule? That sounds odd," she said.
"Well, you are the one who decides on civil and criminal matters for the Arling."
"Oh, Maker," she swore. "Someone has a strange sense of humor putting me in charge here."
Varel looked at her curiously. "You don't have to tell me why, of course, but you can count on my discretion should you choose to."
She looked at the man, his loyalty seemed absolute. He was almost fatherly to her at times, yet respectfully so. She wanted so badly to trust him.
"I'm just usually the one being judged. And I'm not exactly fond of nobles," she admitted. "They often thought the Alienage was their private playground."
Varel nodded.
"I'm not going to be coddling them... just warning you."
He shrugged. "Perhaps that is what they need. Although it might draw more sympathizers to the conspiracy."
"Be that as it may, they're not going to do here what they did in Denerim and get away with it."
"I respect you for that, Commander. Shall we get started after breakfast?"
"Yes, might as well get it over with," she said, sighing.
...
She, Varel, and Captain Garevel heard the cases presented to them. She sought out their opinions but decided easily on her own. Ser Temmerly would pay with his life for murdering Ser Tamra. Delia felt a moment of vindication when the arrogant noble was dragged away to be executed. He howled about how his twice-blessed noble blood would be upon her common, knife-eared hands, as if that made sense. Lady Liza Packton, a sycophant of Howe's, claimed he had granted her land. Delia mused over it awhile but had no intention of rewarding a noble for toadying up to Howe. She denied her claim and Ser Derren, who objected to Howe's policies, was able to keep his land. She went easy on the commoners with minor transgressions.
Varel spoke to her again when it was over. "Well done. I think that sets a tone for the nobles that you're not going to put up with their nonsense and look the other way while they commit crimes."
"It also didn't make me any friends, I suppose."
Varel smiled. "Other than Ser Derren, probably not."
She left the rest of the Keep's business with Varel and took her Wardens to rescue Eileen Bensely, some minor noble's daughter, from kidnappers. It went well. Delia managed to scare off some of the thugs and they killed the rest. The weeping Eileen was returned home alive. It was a good thing, Delia thought. She probably needed to keep at least some of the nobles happy.
Delia wanted to get back to the Keep well before dusk so that she could eat dinner and plan on how to get free of the guard watching her. She turned them around early, long before she had completed everything she had planned for them to do. The court session had taken a substantial chunk out of her day she hadn't planned on. Their trip back was entirely uneventful.
When she got back to the Keep a message was awaiting her. She broke the seal, one she didn't recognize and read it.
Meet me by the stables after dark.
-W
So there it was. All she had to do was leave the Keep unnoticed, and they weren't making that easy for her.
She ate an early dinner, shoveling the food in quickly. She was starting to feel the adrenaline rush she used to feel. She told Varel she wasn't feeling well and she was going to lay down.
Varel looked alarmed. "Commander, I should call the medic. Could you have been poisoned?"
Delia shook her head. She knew how to get him to back off... "Just female complaints, nothing to worry about."
Varel nodded, blushing slightly.
That always works! Delia congratulated herself.
She went to her room and got her old leathers. The form fitting black ones. They were lighter and more supple than the ones she wore normally and were much better for stealth work. She stashed her bow, quiver and climbing gear behind a cabinet in the garderobe. There was a small window in the garderobe, large enough for her to crawl out of but too small for most men. She went back to her room and rested until the sun went down.
Then it was time to leave. She opened her door just enough to see there was a guard in the hallway. Shit! she thought. She pulled on her robe over her leathers and opened the door. The guard turned to see her and she nodded to him.
"Commander," he saluted her.
"At ease, soldier," she told him, turning to go to the garderobe. She really hoped he wasn't going to follow her and when he didn't she breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully he wouldn't pay attention to the fact she didn't return from the loo. She didn't latch the door to the loo. Having it locked would definitely draw notice eventually. She took off her robe and stuffed it behind the cabinet and took her weapons and gear. She poked her head out the window, looking to see where she might be spotted. It looked like she wouldn't be seen from the battlements, but there was guard patrolling on the ground below. She'd have to time her descent to when he'd gone around the corner, and it'd have to be a fast descent at that.
She got her hook set and was ready to start wedging herself out of the window when the door to the garderobe opened and Varel stepped inside. He stopped, looking at her in shock for a moment, almost as if he'd caught her using the toilet. She looked back at him, wondering how she was going to explain.
"Maker's breath, Commander..." he started to say.
"I can explain," she said quietly. "There's an issue relating to the conspiracy that I'm handling tonight. That's probably as much as I should tell you."
"Have you been handling this yourself? I thought you hired the Dark Wolf?"
"I did, but we've been working together. Tonight should wrap up a big portion of the problem. Although the Crows will continue to come until they're all dead."
"Commander, this is exceedingly dangerous and threatens everything the Grey Wardens have worked for here," Varel looked very stern.
"As does a successful assassination plot," she said.
"What if you're caught?"
"I can only assure you that I'm not inexperienced in this sort of thing."
"Why don't you let the Dark Wolf handle it?" he said, frowning.
"I am the Dark Wolf, or was," she admitted.
"You?" he looked at her in amazement.
"I told you I had an interesting past. In Denerim, at least. Someone else took on the title and that's who I'm working with. I never thought I'd admit this, but he is worthy of the name."
"Maker, Commander, I don't approve one bit but I won't stop you."
"Then will you cover for me? The guard in the hall might wonder why I didn't return."
Varel sighed. "Against my better judgment, yes, I'll cover for you."
"Thank you," she smiled reassuringly at Varel but she didn't think it worked. "Just stay here until I'm down. Maybe latch the door so no one else walks in."
Delia watched for the guard on the ground again and when he rounded the corner she quickly wedged herself out the window and swiftly rappelled down the wall. Her descent was terrifyingly fast, but she didn't have much time before the patrol came back. She saw Varel peek out the window. He tossed the hook and rope down to her. She waved briefly and found some deep shadow to hide in.
He waited, watching the shadows for any further sign of her. It was as if she had disappeared. He shook his head. The Commander is insane, he thought. He left the garderobe and told the guard he had checked on the Commander and everything was fine. Then he went to his study to drink and worry over what he was going to do if she was caught.