The Arrangement

Under pressure, Alistair is desperate to find a suitable Queen. Only that his choice is a highly unusual young noble woman and a new danger threatens Alistair's very life- Luckily Aedan Cousland is here to help. AU. M!Cousland Warden, Alistair, Non-Warden F!Cousland and the rest of the gang!

Going to cave and post this now, since I'm away for most of the weekend.

Chapter 16: All Actions Have Consequences

Elissa fought back tears as Arl Eamon, himself, and a small retinue of his personal guards led her down the corridor and out to the stables. When the knock on the door of her chambers had heralded the appearance of the Arl, backed by his men, she had known that it was the punishment that she had been awaiting to face. Although she had offered no resistance, the Arl had commanded for his men to tie her hands and gag her to prevent her from using magic against them. Of course, he had also warned her that if she gave in to the enticement of demons, a templar was also part of his personal guards – whom had stated sternly that he would have little issue with running her through. Unable to trust herself to speak, she had nodded and allowed herself to be led from the room; her only wish had been to say her goodbyes and apologies to her family, her friends, and the young children who she had grown to care deeply about.

She wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell of manure and horse that heralded their arrival at the stables. Horses stood already saddled and tacked by two small attendants whom the Arl quickly dismissed by signalling a soldier to press a coin in each of the boys hands. Once they had left the area, he turned to her. "You will not ride on your own, my lady." He told her quietly, as he gestured towards the templar. "You will be riding with Ser Merris."

The templar, Ser Merris, was a big wiry man with grey eyes that looked at her coldly. Without a word he reached for her. Instinctively, she shrunk back only for him to cluck his tongue in annoyance. "Come here mage, we don't have all day now."

Without much choice, she allowed him to pick her up and place her into the saddle – before swinging himself in behind her. "One warning mage," He hissed in her ear. "You become an abomination, you're going down. Remember that."

She nodded her head, and he clicked the horse's reigns – following the Arl and his retinue as they left the castle courtyard and out along the road that led to the western gate. That Elissa knew would lead to the King's road. And to my new home. She thought sadly as the horses trotted down the travel-worn pathway that she had travelled not too long ago with her brother and the former Antivan assassin.

"Now isn't a good time, Mhairi." Aedan growled as the woman tried to waylay him.

"But Warden-Commander, it is important that I must speak to you." The tall dark haired woman stood in front of him, her arms folded as looked at him.

"And I'm telling you that it is not a good time." He repeated, angrily as he took another step forward.

"Aedan…" Fergus's voice interrupted his movement. "Clearly this good Ser has a great need in speaking with you." His elder brother moved to stand next to him as he dropped an octave to whisper, "She may have some news about Elissa."

Aedan nodded and motioned for the woman to speak.

"I…" She hesitated as she stared, wide eyed in her uncertainty at Leliana and Fergus.

"It's all right Mhairi," Aedan soothed as gently as he could. "Fergus is my brother, and Leliana is a trusted friend. I have no secrets from them."

Mhairi nodded, "I should not have seen but I was walking along the wall this evening, and saw King Cailan's widow leaving the castle with a group of armour clad figures."

"I thought you had said that this was urgent…?" Aedan exclaimed with a raised eyebrow. "Anora leaving through the Western gate with a group of armoured soldiers is hardly urgent for me to take notice."

The woman flushed. "It is not just that Commander – I've seen the man before. He is a Crow assassin."

"Great…" Aedan exhaled.

"Aedan?" Leliana breathed, anxiously. "What are we going to do? We cannot find Elissa and find Anora nor can we ignore this threat." She paused as she looked away thoughtfully.

"Brother, let me make amends. I will find Elissa, perhaps with Leliana's assistance if she will accept?"

The bard nodded, before she added. "I think Fergus and I can track Elissa – if you allow Magnus to assist us? But I have to wonder why Anora would act now. What does she hope to gain?" She took a furtive glance at Mhairi. "Is she aware of the…issue?"

Aedan shrugged. "Even if she is, it doesn't matter. Not that much. You're right. We deal with things a day by day. Minute by minute. Mhairi and I will go to Alistair and inform him of…events." He turned to look at the armoured woman, who nodded her agreement before he turned to look at his brother. "I don't think that I can forgive you, brother, for what you have done. Your actions for the sake of politics has put our sister in more danger than we can imagine but as Leliana said before, what has been already done cannot be changed. We both work together – and you make amends by fetching her back. And after you bring her back, we all will have a long talk about what is best. We owe it to mother and father."

Fergus nodded sombrely. "I swear to you brother. I will not fail her again."

"Make sure you don't." He turned to Mhairi. "Come, let us inform Alistair."

He was turning clammy and pale, his forehead slick and wet from the mixture of blood and sweat that dripped down from the deep gash on the back of his head.

"Please…" Elissa begged the man who was their gaoler. "Please, can't you see that he is wounded? He needs help – healing magic."

The man moved away, ignoring her as he exited the small side room that functioned as their prison. Elissa wiped away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She did not know where she was or who these men were. All she knew was that Arl Eamon was going to die if he did not receive immediate healing, and she was unable to help him.

She moved back towards the fallen man, and lifted his head to support it with her knees. "Please…don't die." She pleaded softly. "You need to hold on till help arrives."

Although what help would come, she did not know. The men who had accompanied the Arl on his march to the Circle Tower had all been slain in the ambush that had awaited them just before the bridge that would had otherwise seen them galloping down the cobbled road of the King's road. She remembered the terror as the men in boiled leather and chain mail had launched out of the bushes and under the bridge towards the party. She recalled as the templar had been cleaved in half by a large man who handled a broad axe – and she had thought, as he had turned towards her, that she would suffer the same fate. Only for the man to pull her down from the saddle and lift her over his shoulders, and transferred her to another group of horsemen.

The journey had been bumpy and rough as the attackers' steeds galloped down a worn path back towards the East. Once they arrived at their destination, which was a small farm in the middle of a forest pathway, she had been bundled along by another man and placed in a small room. Her hands still tied and her mouth still gagged, she had tried desperately to unbind her hands in the hope of escaping – even if it meant magic. Instead, with vigorous brushing of her chin to her shoulder she had been able to remove the gag from her mouth but before she could remove the bounds from her wrists with magic, the door to the small room had opened and the limp form of the Arl had been placed in the room with her. She had ceased all thoughts of self as she rushed to fall towards him. Her hands shaking as she placed them on the side of his sweat and bloodied face to appraise the wound.

How she had bitterly regretted her inability to use spirit healing spells but she had tried her best to apply pressure to the wound with her hands still bound. The man who was their gaoler entering during intervals with a pewter bucket of water that, when questioned its purpose, had grunted that it was used for drink. She had scrutinised the water then, to determine whether it was clean or not, poisoned or safe to drink. The Arl had then displayed a small sign of consciousness by giving a small groan of pain, and she made up her mind. Applying the smallest amount of power, she allowed the flames to gently lick the rope bounds around her wrists. Her hands free, she gently brushed back the grey hair on his forehead and gestured her hand in an upwards arch, towards the bucket, for the flames to gently boil the water. As she let the water to just reach the point of boiling, she took the hem of her under-dress and tore it with all her strength. The cotton material was lighter and easier to rip than the heavier material of her over-gown – a point that she was highly grateful for. She sunk the cloth into the warm water, and placed the soaked cloth onto the deep gash of the man's forehead.

I hope that help comes soon. Aedan…Fergus...Alistair. Please, we need you!

Alistair appraised the scene before him, his heart heavy with dread. All except one of the bodies wore the livery of the Arl's personal household guards. He turned to look at the other.

"It appears that Eamon had a templar in his ranks," Aedan stated, as he rolled the dead man on to his back. The man's grey eyes were glazed with death as he stared up at the star-laden sky.

"And he has been cleaved in two." Sten stated, unnecessarily.

Alistair pursed his lips in thought. If Eamon had a templar in his ranks, then that would mean that Elissa had been part of the group that had left the capital. He turned his attention back to his brother at arms.

Aedan had stomped into the Eamon's study to the surprise of the four who had been cloistered in the room discussing ways to prevent the transfer of Elissa to the Circle, followed closely behind by a woman clad in plate armour – who Alistair had never seen before. He had been astonished as the woman, whom Aedan had quickly introduced as a Warden recruit by the name of Mhairi, recited her story of witnessing Anora leaving with men who the female knight had sworn that one of them at least was a Crow.

"Well…." He had exclaimed with a small huff. "Well that's just great."

Teagan had leant forward at that, his eyebrows raised in astonishment at the news. "What would Anora hope to gain from moving so out in the open?" He had commented, incredulously.

"It doesn't matter." Aedan had replied with a dismissal wave of a hand. "All I give a damn about is intercepting her as soon as possible. From what Mhairi has said, they rode out of here towards the Western gate. I say we take some dogs and track them. We can discuss the details of what, why, how etcetera after we've clapped that woman in irons."

The plan that had followed had not originally included him. The need to keep him safe had been argued by Wynne, who had cited his injury and his promise to rest – although he had been pleased with himself for arguing the fine point that he had promised to return to bed after he had spoken to Eamon and Elissa, which due to circumstances had not been able to do but still intended to do so. He had felt a little guilty when the older woman had eyed him in reproach before she got up to leave the room. He had been glad that he had not been the one to voice where she was intending to go to. She had replied to Teagan's query so coldly that it wouldn't have surprised him if they had all frosted over. The next thing that Alistair knew, their small party consisting of himself, for he refused to be left behind, Aedan, and Mhairi and Sten were on the road. They had left behind Teagan, who had assured him that he would send on Wynne, Zevran and Oghren on to aid Leliana and Fergus who were searching for Eamon's party.

Only little did we realise that it all appears to be tied. "That's just great." He breathed as he looked down at the corpses of Eamon's men. Aedan gave him a funny look before turning towards the dogs. "I don't understand where Leliana and Fergus are." The dark haired man said in confusion. "They went well ahead of us, they should have seen this-"

"It is clear that the bard and your brother have seen this." Sten responded with a tilt of his head. "Warden, it would be preferable if one of us remained behind to ensure that the mage, the elf and the dwarf are aware of the changes." The Qunari voiced, calmly. "We cannot all afford to walk into an obvious ambush."

Aedan, Alistair noted had looked at the Qunari warrior in approval. "That's a good idea Sten." He said as he turned his gaze over to Alistair. "Alistair because of your injury-"

"Maker's breath Aedan, I am not going to be waiting for you to return from saving the day again." Alistair had replied, angrily. "You wouldn't allow me to fight the Archdemon with you because I was to be King despite my duty as a grey warden. You wouldn't allow me to venture into the Deeproads, just in case you fell there – although I can understand that reason at least. But if you think that I will stay behind whilst you go rescue your sister and deal with Anora then you are sadly mistaken." He pointed a finger towards his fellow warden. "Despite what you may believe now in light of this new occurrence, I actually have feelings for your sister and for as long as I am able, I will do all I can to keep her safe.

"You are also not the only one who wishes to wring Eamon's neck for his foolish actions. You may wish to confront him for what he has done but you cannot forget that he went behind my, his king's, back to act the way he did – without my leave to make the decision that he did." He paused before gesturing again in the same direction. "And as for Anora…well, like it or not that woman is my responsibility. As King of Ferelden, her actions affect me and my people. I will not have treason in my country – not even by the woman who was my brother's Queen."

Aedan regarded him silently for a moment before quirking his mouth into a small grin. "Well, now that you've got that out. Will you listen to what I was going to say?"

Alistair nodded slightly.

"Good, because what I was going to say was that with your injury it all up to how you feel. If you can cope with what will – most likely – be a battle, then I don't want you to overtax yourself. Wynne would never really forgive me if you went and got yourself skewered in half like our friend over there." He said, gesturing towards the templar. "The first priority is to get Elissa, and Eamon, out alive and unharmed. I would trust you with that, than worry about you getting yourself killed. Plus," Aedan shrugged with a small wicked smile. "It would probably be the most opportune moment to make some sort of amends with my sister before the interruption that will occur when we get back to Denerim."

"I'm going." Alistair replied, sternly before adding, "And I shall set things right with Elissa. We will need to talk, and what better way to do it during a battle?"

"That's my man!" Aedan laughed.

"So I shall remain here?" Sten asked, as he fingered his greatsword hilt.

"Yes." Aedan replied with a brusque nod. "And so will Mhairi."

"I will not fail you Warden-Commander."

"Meravas." The Qunari grunted in approval. "I do not hope you die."

"Really reassuring, Sten." Alistair commented dryly as he remounted his horse. He only hoped that Elissa and Eamon had not died. Maker, please do not let her be gone before I get to speak to her again.

She stared at the dead man, her hands and the front of her gown awash in his blood and vomit – and started when she felt a gentle pat on her shoulder.

"You did all you could." The former Queen of Ferelden consoled, kindly. "The wound was too deep, you should take heart that you eased his final moments."

Anora's arrival had not been what Elissa had expected when she had wished for help to arrive. She had been cleaning the Arl's other injuries when the door had opened and a man whom she had not seen during her short confinement had entered with a woman whom, Elissa realised with a jolt of surprise, was the former Queen of Ferelden. The man had pushed the Queen to her knees and had surveyed the room's occupants with a satisfied smile on his thin lips. "I trust that my attendants have been most hospitable to you, my lady?" He had drawled with an Antivan accent. Elissa had been too astonished to speak, that the man had laughed and commented how much of an error it would have been if she had been made Queen - "when you have so little fire in you." He added with a disappointed tone. "You already know who our other guest is." The thin man had nodded his head towards the bowed woman who remained motionless before him. "I am afraid that I cannot remain at the moment. I have letters to write but I will return as soon as I have finished keeping up with my correspondence." He bowed and exited the room, leaving Elissa to move hesitantly towards the former Queen.

The older woman had jolted when she had placed a hand on her shoulder. As if burnt, Elissa had snatched her hand away, as if fearful of what the other woman would say but Anora had merely gazed at her with an odd expression on her delicate features that Elissa felt was the most surprising thing she had seen so far. Anora had spoken then. In barely a whisper she had recounted who the man was, and who he had worked for. Elissa was unsure of how much of what the Queen had said was interlinked with one another yet the sincerity laced in the other woman's voice that Orlais was a threat to Ferelden was too powerful to ignore but before she could respond, Eamon had started to seize up and his body suddenly moved uncontrollably. Both women had rushed to his aid but nothing could be done to save him.

The golden haired woman took her by the hand. "We may have gotten off on the wrong foot, Elissa but Maker's breath; I am so pleased that neither of us is alone in this."

Elissa could only nod as the woman continued, "We will get through this. We will not allow ourselves to succumb to horror at the hands of these Orlesian fools. We are Fereldan. We will endure, and we will find a way to escape!"

The magic pulsed inside her in agreement, and she found herself echoing Anora's cry of "Maker help us!" They would endure, Elissa thought with a determined set of her jaw. Even if she had to use her magic to kill again, she was a Fereldan and she would fight to prevent these Orlesians from attaining their goal – she owed it to her brother who had fought so desperately to end the Blight, she owed it to the poor innocents who were still recovering from the desecration of their homes and land, and she owed it to Alistair, above all, who was clearly a good and caring man; a good King who put his all in ensuring that the kingdom was recovering.

I hope that I can get to speak to you one last time before I am sent to the Circle. I need to say so many words to you, and to not just to say sorry for hiding who I truly am.

"Elissa." Anora's voice shook her out of her reverie. "Somebody is coming. We must ready ourselves."

The light footfalls along the short hallway alerted and alarmed her. The magic pulsing inside her, ready to spill out in a wave of fire, ice and fury was empowering. The Queen shared a nod with her, her blue eyes glinting with determination as the door opened. Elissa was ready. She would not be weak again.

Since the start of writing this fanfic, the outline has changed considerably from what had been originally intended. When I first decided to go on this journey, I had planned it with a lot less complexity – it was more of a reflection of the author list I had held in esteem at that time. Now that my author list has grown to a considerable length of complexity when it comes to its characters (for example, ASOIAF/GOF), the inspiration gathered from reading these books has allowed me to go back over the original outline and evaluate what I wanted to change, what I wanted to keep, and what I wanted to do away with. Anora's character is one of these changes – and I'm so very glad that I did. Of course, I'm not saying that she is an angel but I wanted to explore the grey areas of her character that was hinted at during the Origins. Anyway, I've rambled a little bit too long (if you've skipped this to here, then I just wished to say thank you to those who have (so far) continued on this journey with me, and welcome aboard to those who are starting out.