Chapter 12: Revelations

The horses trotted steadily down the travel-worn pathway that wound its way through the capital's surrounding hinterland. The rural community was out in force, planting and ploughing fields. To Elissa, it was fascinating to watch as she followed her brother and his companion as they took a brief ride away from the noise and bustle of the city. Upon noticing the fine-clad lord and revered Hero of Ferelden passing amongst them; the country folk slowed in their work and greeted Aedan and his travelling companions with vocal and emotive greetings that Elissa watched her brother receive with a casual nod or a wave.

"The people of Ferelden adore your brother, no?" The former assassin commented with an amused glint in his eyes as he rode next to the younger Cousland.

Elissa nodded and smiled shyly back at one of the women who had greeted her.

Zevran lent closer to her and murmured, "And it also seems to be that the people also adore you."

OOO

Alistair sat wearily on his throne as he listened to the drone of old men prattle on about more issues and problems. At times like this he often found himself half-entertaining the idea of abandoning his throne and placing the crown on top of Anora's golden curls; that would kill two birds with one stone. He smiled a little at the thought as he pictured it but as suddenly as the smile came, it faded. He had spent a good deal lately pondering on the theory that Wynne had put forth to him. It was hard to fathom that a noble and venerated house such as the Couslands would harbour an unharrowed mage as their daughter, and yet he thought with a frown, that these things did happen.

Unwittingly his gaze turned to focus on the bent form of the Arl of Redcliffe. Since the events that the companions had experienced in the small town of Redcliffe during the Blight, Alistair knew that Eamon was not aware that his son, Connor, was a mage. Although he had been confused as to why Aedan had remained tight-lipped about the whole incident, now Alistair found himself wondering whether his friend had another motive to do so: if Elissa happened to be a mage, would it therefore make sense that Aedan would ensure to protect other families from the potential sufferings that they had witnessed in the Circle Tower?

The thought was an unwelcome conflict to add to other conflicts that Alistair as King now found himself having to deal with. If Elissa was a mage, then what would that mean for their arrangement of marriage?

"Alistair?" Leliana asked with a concerned furrow of her brow. "Are you well?"

He ran a hand through his unruly sandy coloured hair. "Just a little bored: mind tends to wander when I'm not otherwise occupied."

The former bard's light coloured eyes glittered knowingly. "Perhaps you might consider going for a ride with Fergus and I?"

In response Alistair waved his hand around the council floor, and drained the remaining contents of cup. There was a brief flash of annoyance across Leliana's face but flittered away so quickly, that Alistair was certain that he had imagined it.

A bang of the hall doors turned their attention as Sten strode through the hall, followed by Wynne and Shale. Alistair grimaced as the elderly mage took a seat opposite him.

"Alistair."

"Wynne."

The mage regarded him sternly. "It is clear to me that you have been avoiding me over the last few days since our conversation."

Alistair smiled gratefully as Leliana interrupted the other woman. "I do not think that Alistair intended to avoid you, Wynne. I too have not seen him for many days. In fact, I believe that he has been working too hard lately and it is why I have offered the invitation for him to accompany Fergus and me on a little ride around the nearby countryside."

Wynne frowned but much to Alistair's gratitude remained otherwise silent.

"It is a strange concept that you fleshy-things have to ride dumb beasts around for simple amusement." The golem, which Alistair was still dumbfounded to understand why Aedan had felt the need to pick up and travel around with, spoke up in a contemplative manner.

"Indeed." Sten replied with a short nod, "I too do not fully understand the human, elven and dwarven need to travel with beasts when we Qunari are strong enough to travel by our own two feet."

Alistair shared an amused but tired look with Leliana as he rose wearily to his feet. "Not that this conversational topic is not at all interesting but I would like to take a brief respite before Eamon sends out a search party to drag me back to another closed-council session."

Ignoring the growing frown across the mage's features, Alistair stepped down from the dais and strode out of the main doors, nodding to Eamon and the other councillors as he made his way out of the great hall and down to the stables.

Outside, it was a lovely spring day, the air fresh, and the sky a light shade of blue that was blanketed by soft fluffy white clouds. In the stables awaited Fergus. The Teryn, Alistair noticed, was looking particularly smug with himself as the stable-hands brought forth two horses that were already saddled.

"Looks like I win your bet, dear lady."

OOO

At first, Elissa had been too startled to react to the presence of armoured-clad men and women but as Zevran pulled her from her horse and led her towards the protection of a few wild bushes that lay along the roadside, she began to feel the familiar sensation that occurred whenever she felt highly anxious. She was so intent on keeping down the building sensation that she did not feel the elf push her down and parry a blade from one of the soldiers who had ambushed them only moments before.

Would she lose control?

She closed her eyes and fought back the tears that threatened to fall. She could not lose control. She had to be normal. She had to conceal and not feel the electric sensation that threatened to burst forth from within her.

What would happen if she did lose control, how would her brother and his friend react? Would they kill her or would she kill them?

She felt the tears fall as she thought about it. Since that dreadful day when she had found out, her parents had warned her that she should try to keep it hidden. To conceal, to not feel and to not let it show otherwise she would suffer a fate worse than death. Or even worse, she gritted her teeth at the thought; she would harm those whom she loved the best. Her only hope was that her brother and Zevran would be enough to beat back their attackers whilst she tried to calm herself in her hiding place amongst the bushes.

Alistair was grateful for the ingenuity that Leliana and Fergus had provided for him. The freedom was a welcome change compared to the cage that he had found himself trapped in as of late. He turned to share a warm smile with the bard whilst the older lord rode cheerfully at his side.

"It is good to get out, yes?" The woman said with a bright smile.

"You have no idea." Alistair breathed, "I feel as though I've been released from a millennia's worth of servitude. "

"You are not the only one to feel that way." Fergus added with an easy-going laugh.

OOO

"Bann Teagan!" A woman's voice rang out, causing the Bann to turn with a tense expression on his features. He turned to find a tall young woman clad in heavy armour.

"Yes, how can I assist you?" He asked, relaxing his posture.

"I cannot find the Warden-Commander and I must speak with him urgently!" She breathed.

"Calm down my dear Ser." He soothed. "I am not certain where Aedan will be but I am sure that he is…"

"No, you do not understand."

Teagan regarded the woman in shock. "Is Aedan in danger?"

"Yes…"

"Then tell me all about it whilst I rally the palace guards to search for him."

OOO

"What do you want, you ugly bastard!" Aedan roared over the crossed blades.

"I ain't tellin' you nothin', Warden scum!" His opponent replied with a sneer that quickly turned into a grimace of pain as Aedan knocked the hilt of his sword across the man's unprotected face.

As the man backed away, covering his cut and bleeding face, Aedan quickly dispatched another who had run up behind him.

Wiping his blade on the dead soldier's threadbare surcoat, he turned his attention back onto his burly opponent.

"I hate to tell you "I told you so" but you really should not have taken that helmet off."

The clash of steel interrupted the carefree atmosphere that Alistair and his companions had briefly enjoyed.

"By the Maker, who would dare to ambush travellers so close to the city?" Fergus exclaimed as he reached to run a soothing hand across his horse's neck before he turned back towards his two companions. "We should return back to the main gate to gather some back up."

"Yes." Alistair replied as he unsheathed his sword from its sheathe.

Fergus regarded him in alarm. "Alistair, you cannot possibly be considering…"

"He is." Leliana interrupted as she unslung her bow and quiver from its place on the saddle. "We have no time. Those poor people who are being attacked may be dead before we return with back-up."

"I…"

"Leliana is right." Alistair stated, firmly. "Fergus: Go and fetch a few guards for back-up whilst Leliana and I will do our best to defend those who are being attacked."

"I cannot let you go off on your own."

Alistair turned to face the older man. "Then don't. Come with us and help defend the country folk. We cannot afford to linger here any longer."

OOO

Parry!

Block!

Duck!

His father's voice instructed as he danced with his opponent. The burly man was relentless in his assault, the blows coming down harder each time. It was all that he could do to not buckle under the strain of the man's might. As he spun away from another lunge, he spotted Zevran squaring off with another soldier whilst his sister remained hunched under cover. Good. Aedan thought as he parried another attack, at least Elissa was being protected. He just hoped that the pair of them could hang on till help arrived.

If there was any help to arrive.

All around her was the clashing of blades, the cries of agony and Zevran's laughter as he toyed with his opponents whilst she hunched up in the bushes trying very hard not to lose herself to the building pressure. She felt like a fool. Here she was, in tears whilst Zevran and her brother fought for their lives and her own. She had never before witnessed nor taken part in a battle. Her mother and her guardian, Alfstanna, had regarded her too emotionally frail to even watch the spectacles of the tourneys. And now, here she was; trying to stem the power that had plagued her for as long as she could remember. Tears of self-pity ran down her grimacing face as she tried to regain a semblance of self control over the power that had been long repressed.

A shocked cry startled her out of her thoughts and she opening her eyes alarmed to see her brother knocked off his feet.

"Merda!" Zevran spat as he plunged a dagger into the neck of his opponent. "Hold on, I'm coming to you!"

She watched as the elf fought his way through to her fallen brother, unaware that behind her another soldier had crept up from behind her hiding place.

"Well, well…what do we have here?" He chortled as he reached out to grab her around her waist.

She cried out as he pulled her towards him, his armour pressing painfully into her through her dress. As she had done all those months ago against Alistair, she tried to kick out to catch her attacker's shins but the man merely tossed her onto the ground.

Feeling frightened, the built up pressure began to rise again as she backed away from the advancing man.

"You aren't much to look at but you'll do." He regarded her with a leer as he towered over her.

Just as she began to let herself give in to the swirling storm inside of her, a challenging shout rang out and the man was suddenly locking blades with the un-armoured figure of her saviour.

Elissa watched with increasing anxiety as Alistair ducked and parried her attacker. His handsome face transformed into a snarl as he arched his blade around his opponent's unprotected thigh. The other man let out a moan of pain as the steel bit into his flesh but otherwise continued to attack.

As if in slow motion, Elissa watched in horror as Alistair's blade was knocked from his grip and the steel blade of his opponent's bit into his unprotected shoulder. The intense swirling power inside of her burst forth and a stream of bright hot fire ignited from her finger tips towards Alistair's attacker; the orange and yellow flames consuming the man hungrily as they licked at his exposed skin causing him to scream in pain.

She did not know how long she stood there as fire birthed forth from her until she felt the soothing touch of the red-headed bard's cool hand on her shoulder. She could not understand what Leliana said to her but as she collapsed down onto the blood-stained and burnt ground she felt weary and drained. She watched in detachment as other woman finished off the burnt and dying man before her before making her way back to her.

"Elissa?" Leliana regarded her with concern. "Are you all right? Are you hurt? Please talk to me!"

Elissa regarded her dully before wandering her gaze over the area; searching for Alistair. Finding him lying on his back, she let out a gasp and crawled her way over to where he lay.

His face was pale and pulled into a grimace of pain as he tried, unsuccessfully, to staunch the flow of blood from his wound. Yet he did not seem to recognise or realise that she was near him. Without thinking, Elissa placed a shaky hand on top of his own to help staunch the flow of blood.

As if realising that he was not on his own, Alistair jolted as if she had burnt him and turned his pain-filled gaze over to her. His eyes conveying an emotion that Elissa had wished that she would never be victim of again. Guiltily, she removed her hand from his own and sat back as Leliana knelt down on Alistair's other side.

"Elissa, I need you to help me staunch the blood." The bard ordered urgently; unaware of what had passed between them.

Alistair last sight as the darkness consumed him was Elissa backing away from him.

Then he knew no more.

I apologise for the lengthy time that it has taken in updating this. A combination of school work and personal issues have gotten in the way. Now that it is the Easter holidays, I have some time to work on the other chapters and update the story. I thank you for your patience.

Yes, Ellie is a mage. Yes, there will be some conflict regarding this fact (nice conflict, yes). And yes, it will be explained in the next few chapters of the family circumstance and whether or not Fergus and Aedan were aware that their sibling was a mage.