Big hug to Brelaina for beta reading this. :)
Conscripted
"Pathetic incompetent beasts! Miserable smelling wretches! Why don't they finally creep back into their dark holes and stop wasting my time?" The boy kicked away a block of ice that was the head of a leader of the darkspawn.
"Are you all right, Senechal? Any injuries? No? Well I still think Anders should check it."
He nodded, grinning widely. During the last few months, he had heard a lot about the Hero of Ferelden, all kind of wild stories that differed in almost everything. Except for one thing – all the rumours agreed that the Hero was an extremely menacing fellow who could kill you just by glaring. Well, now that he met the Hero in person, he could say one thing - whoever started that rumour was either an absolute fool, or blind, or most probably both. Sure, the boy was a formidable opponent in a fight, and his glare was truly a master-work, but it was enough to look at those cute little ears and you had to smile again.
"Hehe would you look at that. It seems the pike twirler can't live without his Commander."
"What? Where?" The boy immediately joined the dwarf peering through the crenels.
"Pike twirler?" Mhairi looked at the dwarf with a look of utter disgust. She condemned the dwarf the moment they found him fighting in one of the halls, covered in blood and other gruesome things and reeking of brandy. That he was a great warrior or one of the Commander's friends meant very little to her.
"Alistair," said the boy with smile. "All done, Anders? Good. Come with us, Senechal. We have to give him a proper royal greetings."
"You mean the Alistar? His Royal Majesty, Alistair Theirin?" The Senechal got up immediately.
"Who else? Come on let's go." The kid almost skipped downstairs.
oOo
The King didn't come alone, of course. He had a big company with him. The company of Templar. Shit. Worse even, one of them was the blasted Rylock bitch. What was she doing with the King's company? Well, there was still a chance she wouldn't notice him, she had more important things to care about, like the King and the kid Commander and darkspawn, right?
But the bitch must have had some kind of sixth sense that allowed her to feel apostates, because the next moment she looked straight at him. Oh blast. He stopped, letting the others in front of him.
The boy knelt down, and so did the rest of them. "Your Majesty, allow me to welcome you to Vigil's Keep. We are very honoured by your presence-"
"What are you doing?" The King almost fell, so quickly he tried to get off his horse. "Cut that nonsense and get up. You don't kneel in front of me or anyone else, and that's a royal order."
"Your wish is my command," chimed the boy, bowing down in false humility, before the King yanked him up and gave him a bear hug. He chuckled softly at the sight – and at the bewildered expression of most of the Templar, with exception of a few guys, who watched the scene with a strange fondness in their eyes.
"It's so good to see you again," said the King when he finally let the boy go.
"Yeah I know, after such an awfully long time... why, it was almost two weeks! First Oghren, now you, should I expect the rest of the gang coming?"
"Oghren is here? Ah, there you are. I'm sorry I didn't noticed you before. You're kinda little, you know."
The dwarf huffed. "That's because you only look at the surface, pike twirler. I'm big where it counts."
The King just laughed, ignoring the insult. "And I see you already made some new friends?"
"You know me. I can't sleep without a band of misfits around me. Especially this one," the kid tossed his head in Anders' direction. "Remind you of anyone?"
The King turned to him surprised. "What... Maker's balls! What is this, a plot to overthrow me? If so, you know I'll gladly -"
"Step aside from that man, Your Majesty! He's a dangerous apostate!"
All eyes turned to Rylock, who dismounted her horse and walked to the King. The King's men that were watching the scene with the smile until now, immediately followed her.
"Who's the lovely lady?" Asked the kid, with steeliness in his voice that wasn't there before. He was almost scary now.
"Ser Rylock. Explain yourselves, or I will have you arrested for public malignment of the Hero of Ferelden and Friend of the Crown."
Anders closed his eyes and swallowed heavily, trying to keep fear out from his voice. "Excuse me, Your Majesty. I believe she is talking about me," he explained.
"That's right," she confirmed. "That man is Anders, a dangerous man who continuously violates the rules of the Circle of Magi. This is the seventh time he has escaped from the Circle Tower. We got a report that he was captured, and he was supposed to be back at the Tower already. There were supposed to be four Templar accompanying him. Where are they?"
She addressed the last question directly to him and he felt panic rushing through him. It wasn't his fault they were dead, but she would never believe that. Before he could answer, however, the kid Commander cut in.
"You're the one who was always running away? I knew the name was familiar," he said with a smile. "As for your question, Ser Rylock, I'm afraid those Templar are dead. Darkspawn attack," he turned to the King, "and we will have to talk about it, it's more serious than it appears. Come, let's waste no more time."
Rylock didn't intend to give up so easily. "They are dead? They were all accomplished Templar, it's hard to believe they would be dead while he survived. That will have to be investigated."
The boy slowly turned to her. "Ser Rylock. Are you accusing me of giving His Majesty a false report?"
"You're a mage, too," she spat and turned to the King, reaching her hand as if she wanted to grab his hand. "Your Majesty, you can't really trust-"
She didn't get any further. One of the King's Templar pushed her down to her knees with a blade on her neck. "Remember your place," he growled. "Don't talk to His Majesty and the Captain General as if you were their equal."
"Now that's one title I haven't heard for some time. Wait, I know you. You're... William, right? Second regiment, third battalion? And I see other familiar faces." The boy smiled at the King's men who swelled with pride and joy as if it was the Maker himself who praised them.
"Yes, all the members of the Royal Guard have are also in the Order of the Griffon. Which makes me the best guarded monarch in Thedas, I believe. Let her go, Will, I believe she learnt her lesson."
A pity. It was a real pleasure to see the bitch on her knees, for a change. Though for him, it would make things worse. There was no way she would forgive him this humiliation. She would make sure he was made tranquil the moment they were back in the Tower. He sighed.
The King looked at him, frowning. "What are we going to do about him?"
"I humbly apologize for my previous behaviour, Your Majesty. But this man is a criminal. Please allow me to take him back to the Tower, and the Knight Commander Greagoir will -"
"No." The kid Commander folded his arms. "Forget it. I don't care about his past. I recruited him."
He blinked in surprise. "You did? When?"
The boy grinned. "Why, right now of course. But if you'd prefer to join Owain in cleaning the storeroom..."
"Are you sure, Air? If he's really an infamous criminal..." The King looked at him suspiciously.
"Nonsense. He's not a criminal, he's a legend. He managed to escape from the Tower under Greagoir's supervision seven times. That's quite an accomplishment, trust me. Wardens need men like that. I have to warn you," the kid turned to Anders, "being a Warden is much less fun than it seems. But at least you get to keep your emotions."
He wouldn't care if they told him he was going to fight the Archdemon tomorrow. The look on Rylock's face was totally worth it. "That's good enough for me. Do not worry, Your Majesty, the Commander is in no danger from me."
The King and the boy looked at him as if he just fell from the moon and burst into laughter. "Aw, that's cute. You think I was worried about Air? I was concerned for your own safety, you know. Airam has very little patience with people who break his rules."
"All right, enough with the idle chat. Me and Alistair need to go over some important issues that concern national security – yes, Al, it's that bad and it can't be delayed. Anders, Mhairi and Ogren, you go have some rest. Varel, please organize cleaning of the keep, so we have a sleeping place ready by the nightfall. Then we will go ahead with the Joining ritual."
It seemed one of the gods finally decided to smile upon Anders. He never was much of a believer, so he couldn't say if it was the Maker or some other entity, but right now he felt really blessed and grateful. A Grey Warden! No more Greagoir! No more Rylock and Templar supervision! Life was good. Oh he will cherish this moment forever, the memory of Rylock's expression was going to be one of his favourite.
"And I'm sure Ser Rylock and her men will gladly help," added the kid as afterthought. "As a service to their country and good King Alistair. Right?" The boy gave Rylock the sweetest smile ever.
Even Mhairi grinned a little at Rylock's expression.