Chapter 6. A Test of Faith
Leliana and Zevran followed Erlina, dressed up as delivery men. They each carried a load of assorted bundles as packets to complete the disguise. None of the palace guards challenged them, as everyone knew Erlina was the Queen's favorite chamber maid. They simply assumed he had been shopping on behalf of the Queen.
"This really brings back memories, doesn't it Erlina?" Zevran asked her gaily. "Us disguised and you helping us to get in so we can get to the Queens chamber. Why it seems like only yesterday we where sneaking into that rascal Howe's manor."
Erlina snorted. If what she suspected was true, then she truly needed their help, because without proof she wasn't sure the Queen would listen to her, least of all now. And after hearing what Zevran had to say, she was more convinced than ever, that she was correct. But even so, she had several times regretted allowing Leliana to bring the Antivan assassin along. His flippant humor and unceasing outrageous flirting made her cringe inwardly.
They quickly made their way through the palace towards the royal quarters. Zevran and Leliana kept their gaze low and tried to be inconspicuous. One of the guards who apparently knew Erlina stopped to chat a bit her. Erlina squirmed as she forced herself to be polite and listen, while the other two tried to hide their features behind their loads.
Eventually they reached the door to the royal bed chamber. Erlina motioned to them to be silent. They carefully unloaded their burdens on the floor, without making so much as a sound. Erlina opened the door ajar and peered into the chamber.
They all hard faint sounds from one side of the room where Erlina knew that Anora had her dressing room. She made a sign to the others to remain outside as she opened the door further and tiptoed into the bedroom towards the sound.
Erlina finally reached the door to the Queens dressing room. She stood still lsitening to the sounds inside, then she took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Oh!" the chamber maid gasped, when she saw Erlina. "Erlina, don't sneak upon me like that. you frightened me."
"You don't fool me anymore, Calinda," Erlina said angrily. "I know all about your game."
"Maker's mercy, whatever are you talking about Erlina," Calinda answered, her eyes huge and innocent.
"Don't play innocent with me. Is it the Empress who paid you to come here or just one of her cronies?"
Something changed imperceptibly in Calinda's feature. Her eyes narrowed and darted across the room. She slowly approached Erlina.
"Well, well, you think you are so clever little Erlina, don't you. Haven't you heard what happens to little girls who stick their noses where they don't belong?"
Erlina backed away from her as she slowly advanced menacingly. Gone was the innocent prattling chamber maid. Calinda pulled a long slim dagger, she had hidden in the folds of her apron.
Then Calinda stopped, eyes wide open. She tried to open her mouth, but only a thin gurgling sound came as she slumped to the floor.
"They come to a very sad end," Zevran said softly as he looked at Calinda's body, with his blade lodged in her back and a red stain slowly spreading around it.
Erlina swallowed. This was her plan, but it was one thing to plan for someone to die and it was a very different thing to see Calinda die so swiftly from the assassin's lethal blade right in front of her eyes.
Leliana bowed and inspected the fallen girl's corpse carefully.
"This woman was a bard. I am certain of it," she said after a while.
"And she matches the description I got from the ambassador's wife," Zevran nodded. "What shall we do with the body?"
"I don't know," said Erlina. "We need something to cover her with, before we can get her out of here. Can you just hide her in the wardrobe until I can find something to wrap her in."
"Why?" Leliana asked. "Maker help me, I thought the whole purpose was to show this as evidence to the Queen."
"She is dead and right now we are the only ones who know the truth. We should ransack her belongings for more incriminating evidence, before we tell anyone," Erlina answered.
Suddenly they heard a sound outside.
"Erlina, is that you?" they heard Queen Anora say.
Erlina stared wide eyed, but Zevran and Leliana quickly managed to force the dead body into the huge wardrobe, before they climbed into the adjoining wardrobe, both of them."
"This is like old times really you know, hiding in a Queens wardrobe," Zevran whispered, "although being fully clothed is a novelty I suppose. Have I told you..."
"Maker's mercy. Shut up Zev!" Leliana hissed.
"There you are," Anora said irritably as she entered her dressing room and sat down in her chair.
"Y... your Majesty," Erlina said unsteadily.
"My hair is a mess. I need you to comb it and do it properly please." Anora said.
The truth was that she really just needed to relax. She had been to upset all day to think properly. She needed to feel Erlina's soothing fingers brushing her hair. Her mind kept returning to that horrible scene yesterday.
"Ouch!" Anora winced. "What are you doing?"
Erlina was close to fainting. She tried desperately to concentrate on the Queen's hair, but this was the second time she had yanked it so hard that it hurt Anora.
Erlina opened her mouth to whisper an apology, when they both heard a strange grating sound from the wardrobe where the others had hid Calinda's body.
"What's that?" Anora frowned.
"I... I..." Erlina tried to say something coherently, but no words came.
Suddenly a wardrobe door opened and Zevran stumbled out.
"Oh, your Majesty, how awkward! Did I interrupt something?" Zevran smiled as he ajusted his clothing.
"From the looks of it I should be asking you the same thing," Anora said acridly. "I think you owe me an explanation," she continued, staring at Erlina.
"I swear. It's not..." Erlina stammered.
"A thousand pardons, your Majesty, but this saucy little minx had promised me that we would be alone here."
Erlina looked as if she would choke on something.
"Wait a moment," Anora said eyes narrowing. "I know you. You are that Crow Zevran. Michael's cmpanion. What is really going on here."
Erlina shot Zevran a silent plea, but he only shrugged sheepishly.
"Someone give me one reason why I shouldn't call the guards right this moment!" Anora demanded.
"I can explain everything," Leliana said, stepping out of the wardrobe too.
"You!" Anora's eyes lit with fury. "You conniving little harlot. I will kill you myself!"
"Wait!" Zevran raised his hands. "No doubt you will get a chance to have us all beheaded shortly, but please hear her out first."
Anora glared at Leliana, with her hands curled like claws, then she slowly forced herself to relax.
"Speak then," she said curtly. "Or are there more people hiding in my closet, I should know of?"
"Not a living soul," Zevran assured her blithely.
"I don't deny that things looks bad, but you should be aware that my being here is all part of plan engineered by a very dangerous nobleman from Orlais. And I believe that the goal of his plan was to drive you apart from your husband."
"Are you saying that the reason I found you in my husband's arms is because of some convoluted Orlesian plot?" Anora said incredulously. Are you totally insane?"
"Your Majesty, please listen to them," Erlina begged her. "I know it sounds insane, but it's true."
"Anora, I mean your Majesty, there is an ambitious nobleman in Val Royaux called the Fox. He wants to earn favor with the Empress and so he engineered all this. He guessed that I had… feelings for Michael. First he filled my head with gossip that you and the Michael did not like each other. Then he sent me to Denerim on an errand, hoping I would look for him."
Leliana talked hurriedly, trying to say everything before Anora changed her mind and did something violent.
"He also sent a bard, Calinda, to infiltrate the royal household and make sure that anything that happened when I met Michael appeared in the worst possible light. I do not know how far she would have carried this vicious game of hers. But I wouldn't be surprised if she had instructions to use any opportunity to assassinate either you or Michael and make it look like a fit of jealous rage."
"It's true. I saw it," Erlina said. "Haven't you noticed how Calinda always had some poisonous little comment to drop, looking all innocent, or how she knew how to let you find your husband at the worst possible moment?"
Anora looked carefully at them all, with her mouth pursed. She had intended to fire that poisonous little chatterbox Calinda, but an Orlesian spy? That was just too preposterous. And yet, somehow the whole story seemed just too fantastic to be a lie.
She looked at Leliana for a long moment.
"Even if what you say is true, it still don't explain why my husband kissed you," she said finally.
Leliana bit her lip. Anora's voice had almost broken as she spoke those last words. Maker's breath, Leliana thought. She loves him too.
"You really didn't see him kissing me," Leliana said finally. "It's true that I was tempted to see if he would be amenable to a… little dalliance, believing that his marriage to you to be just a formality. But I soon realized that he wasn't interested. All you saw was me ambushing him with an overeager good bye."
Anora stood motionless staring at Leliana. Leliana swallowed and cleared her throat.
"Please forgive him. He loves you, your Majesty. Only you. Of that I have no doubt."
Anora looked down for a moment, but then she regained her composure.
"And where is Calinda now?" she finally asked with an unnatural calm.
"She is dead, your Majesty," Erlina whispered. "She tried to kill me, when I confronted her."
Zevran nodded towards the wardrobe.
Anora took a deep breath.
"I see, So then it seems that all that remains is for me is to decide what to do with the three of you."
"I should kill you and lock you up in a dungeon for touching my husband Leliana, but then again you may have saved my life too. I suppose that you are free to leave. But if you know what's good for you, you will not come near my husband EVER again," Anora said tersely. "Do we understand each other?"
"Yes, your Majesty," Leliana replied humbly.
"Your part in this seems quite innocent Zevran. You are also free to leave, but I give you fair warning. If I ever hear a rumor spread in Denerim that an Antivan Crow has been hiding in the Queen's wardrobe I will have you hunted to the edge of Thedas. Is that understood?"
"Most assuredly so, your Majesty."
"You, Erlina, have broken my trust in so many ways, that I can't recount it all. But there is again the small matter of saving my life too. You are forgiven Erlina, but don't you ever get involved with something like this again, without telling me.
"No, never your Majesty. Thank you," Erlina whispered gratefully.
"Now I suggest that you all depart with haste," Anora said and rubbed her temples. "One day I'll explain everything to my husband, but I really don't want him to find us all in here today. This is just… too much."