Chapter 3: Positively everything that will make and change lives.
"Your majesty!" Tabitha shouted as someone she was not expecting appeared in her bed chambers. She ran up the last few steps to meet the man leaning on the balcony door. He wore only a leather tunic over his blouse and linen pants. His leather boots and socks sat in the corner on the opposite side, but their smell hit her as soon as she opened the door. He looked tired, he must have ridden straight through the night to get here from the palace.
He nodded to her, "I hope you don't mind the intrusion. Josephine let me hide here. Apparently this section of the hold is practically abandoned."
She dropped her bag next to the bed, "We have no need for these rooms at this time so I do not wish to waste resources, time, and manpower renovating this wing. Why are you here?"
"Nice to see you too," he chuckled, "I hope you don't mind if I hide out for a bit. I ran away from home."
"Don't you have some body guards or someone that watches you from afar? And your home is your kingdom, so you cannot run from it even if you wanted to, which you would not. So why are you here?"
He smiled, "How inquisitive, Inquisitor." It was obvious he was trying hard to not laugh at his own pun.
Tabitha was a sucker of puns and could not resist a laugh, but it was not the first time she has heard that one. She quickly recovered, "We have not seen each other since you told me to take my men and the mages and leave. You did not treat us as a welcomed guest, but you expect no less back? Perhaps you should have considered our relations when you left us to save the world without your support."
"I may not have given you any support, but I did not hinder you in any way. I could have and my advisors certainly wanted me to do such, but I kept your way clear from any hassle on Ferelden's front. I also let you take in the apostates."
She opened her arms, elbows bent at her sides. She drew energy from the air and a fire lit in both palms, "I am an apostate and I am the leader of the inquisition."
He pushed off the door, "And that brings me to why I am here. I am asking for your help on a personal matter."
She extinguished her flames and crossed her arms, "Why me? We are not that close to take on personal matters."
"Since you are the Inquisitor, you have a great deal of power and resources at your fingertips. I need that power."
"In addition to your own power or instead of your own power? You are a king. I merely lead a crusade. My power is neither absolute or divine."
He sighed, ruffling his hair, "I may be king, but I do not have full power. Every action is political. One decision may anger one person and the other will do the same. I cannot move pawns like you can. You have full control and nothing to stop you from doing what you want."
She exploded, "Full power? What I want? You truly are as foolish and childish as Morrigan said. I lead a force that stood as the only protection between an unknown force and the world. My actions banded nations together and caused war between others. Life and death rest with my judgment. My decisions, my actions, they all have repercussions that are felt across countries and change the course of the future. My world is wide and open, but each beat of my heart can be felt by each person. I literally have the power to tear a hole through the realm in the palm of my hand. Do you actually believe I am not affected by political necessities or ambitions? I constantly have to deal with placating the nobles, the Templars, the mages, and the chantry all whilst protecting each and every person, no matter the standing. I am forced to make fair and right judgments, free of passion, bias, and corruption, something many leaders fail to do. Unlike them, I do not have the luxury of a single failure. My power is my curse. I am strung up far more than you. A single wrong move and my throat will be slit. It is only thanks to my advisors that I am alive today, that the world is alive today. They allowed me to make the right decisions, even if the people saw otherwise. Now, I must ask you to reevaluate your life and decide if ruling is for you."
He stood in silence, taking in all she said. She felt relief wash over her. She did not know how much she needed to vent. He nodded after a time, "I did not want to become king - far from it, actually. It was a woman who convinced me to take the throne. To be honest, she influenced me greatly, even after I became king. People in court were fine with me being her pawn since she was the great Hero of Ferelden. I loved that woman. She should have become Queen, she had the head for it, much like you. I am foolish and childish, but this fool and child has learned. It has been some years since I had sought her guidance. It was not by choice. She suddenly said that I needed to be free of my mistress. She left the next day. I had a guard placed to track her, and I got regularly reports. Two years ago they returned to my court, alone. They had lost her. I have not found her since, but I cannot stop everything to seek her myself. I need you to find her. With your agents and magic, you have to be able to find my love. I set the groundwork to allow for a few laws to change, which is only thankful to you and Cassandra. You both are changing the way things are accepted and run. You are a mage and the most beloved person, the most divine person - do you know how drastic that is? I might now be able to take her as my wife and queen."
She sat on her bed, patting the sheets in a rhythmic motion as she thought. He was right, she did have the agents to get the knowledge. What she did not understand is why, even with all this power, she had to go off and do little errands and side quests. She cleared her throat, glancing back to him, "I may know what she is doing."
He rushed to her side, "Please, tell me!"
She cracked her neck, "Leliana told me a while ago that her friend, the Hero of Ferelden, had sent word that she was going to do as much as she could to aid us, but she was on her own mission and could not deviate from it."
He scrunched his eyebrows, "Mission? What mission?"
"I may know the mission and where she could be at this moment. If I tell you this information, what are you going to do?"
He leaned back, face pale, "Possibly nothing. I cannot get in her way if she does not want me and I cannot spare troops to locate and return her."
"So this is what you meant with me going out to find her. Let me guess, you want me to locate her, meet her, and aid her so that she could return to you as soon as possible?" He nodded. "Very well. As it is, I am heading to that region with my new recruits for a training exercise. In return, I will ask a great deal from you. Cassandra or one of my heralds will be in touch. You will have no choice but to accept any requests."
"Nothing unreasonable, I hope." He did not seem happy, but his madness from within began to show. He would do a great deal to be reunited with his love. Perhaps he knew this and wanted to restrain himself, asking her to act in his stead.
"No, positively everything that will make and change lives."