The hunting party was small, comprised of only a few minor nobles. Elissa guessed that the hunt had been an impromptu decision, and Cailan had grabbed whoever he could find for company. Thankfully the queen was nowhere in sight, but with the way Cailan hurried them along she doubted she would get the chance to clean up. Loghain, perhaps sensing her distress, convinced the king to halt the party at a nearby village for a mid morning meal. Delighted with the rustic feast promised to him by the innkeeper, Cailan readily agreed. While the others ate, Loghain drew Elissa away to the cottage of an obliging villager. A few silvers changed hands and she was given the use of a private room for as long as she wanted it.
"Thank you," she said with relief, rising on tiptoes to press a kiss against his cheek before slipping into the room.
He handed her a small bag. "I should return to Cailan before he comes in search of us," he said with the air of a man who faced a tremendously unpleasant task.
As soon as he disappeared outside, she shut the door. Opening the bag, she found that he'd had the foresight to retrieve one of her dresses and a delicate pair of shoes fit for nothing but the softest of surfaces. The dress wasn't her finest, but it had weathered the journey well. She undressed quickly, washing in the lukewarm water provided by the cottage's owner and slipping into the clean clothes. There was no mirror to judge the success of her transformation, so she could only hope that she didn't look too rumpled and creased.
By the time she rejoined the party they were ready to make the short journey back to Denerim. They rode at a sedate pace, enjoying what was sure to be one of the last warm days of the year. At any other time Elissa would have hated their painfully slow progress, growing increasingly nervous about the impending meeting with the queen with each passing minute. Now she was grateful for the slow, even ride, taking the opportunity to gulp down the food Loghain had set aside for her from lunch.
As they dismounted and entered the palace district, she was aware that she was gawping like a peasant girl. Unusually for a woman of her station she had never seen it before. She should have been introduced at court when she came of age, but the landmark day came and passed without mention of a journey to the capital. When she occasionally grew restless and wished for an adventure, her parents saw that she was distracted with additional responsibilities. Most of the time, however, she was content to remain where she was. She had her friends and family, absorbing work, even the occasional admirer. Highever was her whole world.
She had visited Denerim once before but had been strictly forbidden from straying outside the market district. It had been shortly after Fergus's betrothal to Oriana and a few months before her scheduled arrival. Eleanor insisted that the family needed new clothes for the wedding, and that they all must go to Denerim to choose the appropriate fabric. No one minded. The teyrn almost always had business in the city, and Fergus was hardly likely to pass up the opportunity to handle the fine weapons made there. Although she could envision many dull sessions of dressmaking in the future, Elissa was happy at the prospect of leaving Highever's boundaries for the first time. Outside of lessons she was still under Nan's supervision but growing old enough to resent it, and she looked forward to the opportunity to expend the restless energy that had been building in her for weeks.
The capital had stunned her with its noise and activity. Now she saw that she had only glimpsed a small portion of it. On her first visit she had not seen the beautiful gardens, nor the richly dressed courtiers milling around in the hope of catching the attention of the king or queen.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Fergus appeared at her side. "You look pensive, sister. Feeling overwhelmed?"
"Not at all. I was remembering my first trip here."
He grimaced. "I treated you appallingly, if I recall correctly."
She stared at him in unconcealed confusion before chuckling as the memory came to her. Assassination attempts on vulnerable young heirs were always a possibility, and never more so than when they strayed outside the security of the family home. Their parents had insisted that Fergus share a room with Elissa so they would not have to divide their guard force. She had resented the intrusion on her privacy, but Fergus had been horrified at what he saw as an insult to his manhood. Forced to obey his parents, he took out his frustration on Elissa. No matter how cheerful he was during the day, the moment they returned to the inn he was plunged into a foul mood.
"Indeed. You were not easy to live with for those few days."
"I know." He glanced down, almost bashful. "I was an ungrateful wretch after the trouble you took helping me find a wedding gift for Oriana."
Fergus had been at a loss as to what to buy the woman he knew only through formal letters, and he was too embarrassed to consult their parents. Instead he turned to Elissa. They had scoured every shop and stall until the final day of their trip when, despairing of ever finding anything, they stumbled across a perfume made from a prized Antivan flower. "You never did tell me if she liked it," Elissa commented.
"She did," he said, face softening in a manner that was customary where Oriana was concerned. "She rarely uses it. She wants it to last, says it reminds her of home."
They were nearing the doors of the palace and at the front of their small group Loghain swivelled his head, searching for Elissa. Etiquette dictated that she be introduced to the queen at his side. It was a relief that she would not have to do it alone. His solid presence behind her had been a comfort at the ceremony at Gwaren, and she found herself grateful for it now. She raised her hand to draw his attention and made to go to him, but was stopped by Fergus's light touch on her shoulder. Loghain raised his eyebrows as she held up a finger, indicating that she would be along in a moment, but returned without protest to his conversation with Cailan.
"What is it, Fergus?" she asked, turning back to face him.
He looked uncertain, almost uncomfortable. "I – well, not just me, mother and father too – want to make sure you're alright."
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Teyrn Loghain... He has a reputation for severity. Not to mention the fact that he's of an age with father. I know you chose this marriage, but since the moment you left Highever we have worried that you would regret it."
"Fergus," she said, meeting his eyes firmly to show her sincerity, "did I look unhappy when you first came across us at the lake?"
His cheeks flared but his voice remained steady. "In all honesty, Elissa, I tried not to look too closely."
She bit down on the snort that threatened to erupt from her throat. Recovering herself she said, "You have nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly fine."
"You're certain?"
"Have you ever known me to stifle a complaint?" she asked wryly.
He shook his head, relaxing visibly. "I'm glad to have good news to take back to our parents. Father is concerned but mother has shed tears over you. She tells me nothing, of course, but she confides in Oriana."
Elissa's eyes widened at this piece of news. Relations with her mother had grown increasingly fraught in her last few months at Highever, a deterioration in a relationship that had been tense since she came of age. Elissa's reluctance to marry might have been amusing when she was a girl, but as the years passed and she showed no signs of finding a husband Eleanor grew exasperated. When she finally consented to marry Loghain – the only match in the kingdom that would not debase her – Elissa had hoped there would be some sort of peace between them. Instead the wedding preparations had presented them with a host of new things to quarrel over. Conobar, her trousseau, how and when she should travel to Gwaren. By the time she left Highever she was relieved to escape the constant bickering and fraught nerves. Now the idea that her mother had wept over her while Elissa had harboured less than charitable thoughts about her sent an almost painful wave of guilt coursing through her.
"Elissa?" said Fergus gently, eyes concerned and alarmed by the sudden change in her demeanour.
She smiled with as much reassurance as she could muster. "Pay me no mind, I have just realised how much I miss mother. You will send her my love? Send everyone my best wishes, but particularly mother. I don't want her to worry."
"Of course I will, and I will do my best to reassure her although I doubt she will believe you are well lest she sees it with her own eyes." He paused, resuming the serious expression he had worn when he first drew her aside. "Highever will always be your home, sister. You will always be welcome."
Touched, she squeezed his hand briefly, affectionately, and said, "I know , Fergus. Thank you."
There was no time to say anything further. If she delayed any longer Loghain and the king might grow impatient. Besides which, she had discovered that Fergus would not return to Highever for several days yet. There would be plenty of time to talk with him. She turned from him and her feet carried her automatically to Loghain, her mind elsewhere. Despite the difficulty in breaking a marriage, Fergus had gently let her know that she would be welcome if she ever chose to return home. Few were so fortunate in their brothers.
Most of the group had pulled ahead to crowd around Cailan just outside the doors. One of them was talking intently, and Elissa guessed he was taking the opportunity to press a case – for land, for station, for advancement – with the king. Loghain stood apart from the others, unusually agitated, watching her with a strange expression. When she reached him he touched his fingers softly to her cheek in a gesture that was uncharacteristically tender in such a public setting. It was only when he pulled away and she saw his glistening fingertips that she realised a few tears had spilled onto her cheeks. His eyes snapped to Fergus, watching him with an intensity that bordered on hostility, and she realised how he could have misinterpreted her damp eyes. Fergus could have brought her dire news from Highever; he could have castigated her for the scene at the lake.
"It's not as it seems," she said hurriedly. "I am happy."
He looked at her sceptically. "You will forgive me for hoping that I never make you so happy."
She gave a watery chuckle and, deciding to risk her own gesture of public affection, kissed the fingers that had touched her tears. Placated for the time being, he allowed her to slide her arm through his and steer him into the palace.
Inside she stared around the throne room with wide eyes, surprised to find it so simple. Although larger, with room enough to accommodate all the nobles of Ferelden on grand occasions, it was not dissimilar to the main halls at Highever and Gwaren. She had expected grandeur, particularly after meeting Cailan. At heart he seemed a romantic man, the type to cover his walls with tapestries depicting legends that enraptured him. Instead she could see only simple hangings bearing the heraldry of the kingdom. Perhaps Anora, like her father, favoured simplicity and her preference had triumphed over Cailan's. Or, more likely, the nobility found excessive decorations too reminiscent of the pompous finery that had covered the court under Orlesian rule.
The thrones were the exception. Golden, covered by delicate lace hangings and flanked on both sides by portraits of the royal couple, they were rather out of place in the comparatively stark room. This was where Elissa caught her first glimpse of Anora, watched over by a fiercely scowling, heavily armoured woman with a large sword at her hip.
She had to restrain herself from gawking openly. In her time at Gwaren she had never come across a portrait of Loghain's first wife, but it was clear Anora had inherited her mother's features. Studying her through lowered lashes, she could find almost nothing of Loghain in the queen's face. Her features were delicate where his were heavy, her fine blonde hair entirely the opposite of his dark, unruly mane. The only sign that they were kin were their eyes: icy blue, startling in their intensity and giving whoever they fell on the impression that they were being weighed and judged.
Elissa swept into a deep curtsey. By the time she straightened, Anora was on her feet and approaching the couple. She took Elissa's hands and graced her with a surprisingly warm smile. Elissa was glad she had been able to wash, and hoped that nervousness had not made her palms grow damp. If it had, Anora gave no sign of it.
"So, you are Gwaren's new teyrna and my father's new wife," Anora greeted her warmly. "You are most welcome here."
Elissa met her eyes with some difficulty, trying to hide her surprise at such a friendly, even affectionate, welcome. "Thank you, your Majesty."
"There is no need to thank me, Elissa. The palace is your home when you are not at Gwaren." Retaining her hold on Elissa's hands, the queen turned her eyes on Loghain. "Father, how kind of you to come," she said, a slight edge to her otherwise polite tone.
"There was much to do at Gwaren, Anora," he replied, meeting her piercing gaze with far more ease than Elissa had been able to manage.
"Of that I am certain," she said before lapsing into silence, staring at her father expectantly. When he did not act on her unspoken command, her otherwise creaseless brow crinkled slightly in a frown. "I am sure you have much to discuss with Ser Cauthrien, father," she said pointedly. Loghain's hesitation was so slight as to be almost imperceptible. He nodded, rumbling an agreement, and went to the scowling guard who had been watching the proceedings keenly.
Elissa was suddenly apprehensive again. Anora, like her father, had something of a reputation for coldness, and the friendly reception she had extended to her young stepmother had come as a surprise. After so obviously dismissing Loghain, Elissa couldn't help but think that if Anora harboured ill feelings towards her she would express them now.
But the queen surprised her again. "I hope you will join my ladies," she said quietly, almost confidentially. By tradition queens always had a special group of women, selected from the nobles of the court, who acted as their close companions. They gathered in the queen's chambers, or in the gardens if the weather was fine, to talk, read, play music together. Anything that took the queen's fancy. Elissa had assumed that this particular queen had allowed the tradition to lapse. Cailan might be king, but rumour had it that the reins of power were firmly in Anora's grasp. It was surprising that she had time for such frivolity.
"I would be honoured, your Majesty," said Elissa sincerely.
Anora favoured her with another smile. "Good. But I am being dreadfully discourteous. Of course you must be exhausted after your long journey." She made a small gesture and a servant appeared at her side almost instantly. She gave Elissa's hands a gentle squeeze and said, "I hope you will join me later."
"Of course, your Majesty. I look forward to it."
With that, the servant ushered Elissa away. Loghain, his brief conversation with the guard – Cauthrien – apparently concluded, fell in step with her. "That looked like it went well," he said quietly enough that the servant wouldn't hear.
"It did. Anora is... Well, she is not what I expected."
"And what did you expect?"
She fell silent for a long moment, thinking, before finally admitting, "I'm not sure."
Loghain looked like he wanted to pursue the topic further, but was prevented when they turned into a corridor bustling with activity. Servants scurried between rooms, carrying baskets and armfuls of clothing. Elissa was reminded of the chaos of the days before they had departed Gwaren. "Are the king and queen going somewhere?" she asked, stepping over a tunic that had slipped unnoticed from someone's grasp.
"No," replied Loghain, something like reluctance in his voice. "Arl Eamon is returning to Redcliffe for a time. Until next summer, at least. Possibly longer."
Elissa stared at him, frowning in consternation. The arl was an important man. Uncle to the king and, more importantly, a trusted advisor. That he should leave the palace for a year or more was unsettling. It could only mean that something was drastically wrong with his family or land, or he had done something to incur Cailan's displeasure. "Why is the arl leaving for so long?" she asked cautiously.
Loghain shook his head. "I will tell you. You're certain to find out anyway, and I would rather you hear it from me than a court gossip. But not here."
Reluctantly, Elissa acquiesced and fell silent as the servant showed them to a suite of rooms in an isolated part of the building. Their luggage had preceded them there, the bags standing open and waiting to be unpacked in the middle of the floor. Loghain waved the servant away when he asked if they wanted help with their clothes, and it was with relief that Elissa watched the door close on the unwelcome presence.
She did not have to prompt Loghain. The moment they were alone he announced, "Eamon was moving against Anora."
"The Arl? It can't be!" she gasped. Eamon had spent a few days at Highever shortly before Loghain had sent his proposal to Elissa. She had liked the arl immediately, and his loyalty to Ferelden and Cailan seemed unshakeable. Her parents certainly trusted him and she had never had reason to doubt their judgement. "He seems like such a loyal man."
"He doesn't wish to harm the king, only replace his queen. Anora is childless. Some of the Councillors have expressed concerns... Unfounded, all of them. She is yet young, there is plenty of time for her to conceive. Eamon is just impatient."
"That seems rash," she said slowly. "Anora is not yet thirty."
"Impatient," he repeated, and then waved his hand as if dismissing the topic. "Enough of this. We have much to do. If you wish to speak more about this, we shall do so later."
Taking her cue from him and turning to attend to their bags, Elissa reflected that she should finally have been able to relax. She had been welcomed warmly into the palace by both king and queen when Anora had every reason to resent her. Matches involving large age gaps were not uncommon, but Anora must find it strange to have a younger stepmother. The unconditionally friendly greeting she had received unsettled her, and the news about Eamon had only added to the feeling. She was plagued by an uneasiness, a sense that she was seeing only a small part of a larger picture.
She wanted to retreat to a place where she could sit quietly and think, but she was not given the opportunity. There was a flurry of unpacking and organising as they settled into their new rooms, and no sooner had she finished than there was a servant at the door summoning her to attend on the queen. Within moments of being introduced to the queen's women, she knew they could not be trusted. Every last one was a viper. Scheming and ruthlessly ambitious, they were determined to use their privileged positions to advance their families. Elissa could see why Anora kept them close. Better to listen in on their conversations, to keep a close watch on their simmering rivalries, than to let them make their plans behind her back. The new respect she felt for Anora was tempered with pity; even in her leisure time the queen could not relax.
When the sun began to set she was escorted to a banquet given in honour of the newly arrived teyrn and teyrna. Given that their arrival had been unexpected, she was amazed at how much food had been prepared. Whenever she thought that the feasting must come to a close, that the diners could not eat another mouthful, servants streamed forth from the kitchens bearing a fresh load of platters.
It wasn't until much later, after she had fallen gratefully into a clean, soft bed, that the cause of her uneasiness finally came to her. She wasn't pursuing the puzzle; on the verge of sleep, two seemingly unconnected events – Eamon's fall from grace and Anora's unexpectedly warm welcome – slid together in her mind.
She was jerked out of her haze of fatigue, staring wide eyed at the ceiling. Eamon had sought to replace Anora, but there were few women in the kingdom worthy of marriage to the king. Elissa's name would be at the top of that very short, very prestigious list. She was the daughter of a teyrn, one of the few women in Ferelden who approached Cailan's high status. But this was also true of Anora. More importantly, Elissa was young and had many years ahead of her for childbearing.
It was highly possible that before he had raised the delicate issue with the king, Eamon had sought out potential brides to replace Anora. He might have sounded out her parents to see if they would consent to a match between Elissa and Cailan during his brief stay at Highever. No one had even hinted about such a plan to her, but of course they would say nothing until success was almost assured. Such a scenario would explain much more than just Anora's behaviour. Eleanor's seemingly inexplicable tension and unhappiness after Elissa had acquiesced so readily to Loghain's proposal could have stemmed from the misguided hope that she would have Cailan as a son-in-law.
Then there was Loghain himself. For many years he had been content as a widower. Whenever families made discrete inquiries on behalf of their daughters they were firmly rebuffed. It was generally assumed that he was too devoted to the kingdom to marry again, too consumed with his duties to even consider starting another family. No one could have foreseen that he would seek the hand of Bryce Cousland's daughter. The timing of his proposal, shortly after Eamon's visit to Highever, condemned him. If the arl had schemed with her parents, it was just long enough for Loghain to catch wind of it and make plans of his own.
For a moment the full force of a surprising anger was turned on Fergus. His kind words earlier in the day, his reminder that Highever was her home, were clearly part of a weak ploy to break her marriage, leaving her free to wed the king. But this was wrong, she knew it instinctively even while she longed for a target to vent her frustration on. For better or worse, Fergus spoke his mind. When it came to the little sister he loved, he was all but incapable of keeping a secret. Their parents would not have informed him if they had made plans with the arl.
Elissa rolled onto her side, pulling the covers around her shoulders and trying to will away the heat that prickled her eyes. She had been perceptive enough to see that the queen's ladies were not her true friends, merely schemers who had to be carefully observed, but she had failed to grasp that Anora counted her as one of them. If the queen considered her a threat she would want to keep her close, watch her ceaselessly and, above all, keep her out of Cailan's sight lest he forget his loyalty. She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that she knew none of this for certain. Still, she couldn't help but stare into Loghain's face, guarded even in sleep, and wonder whether he had married her only to protect his daughter.