Chapter 63: Confidence
As the first rays of sunshine illuminated the room, Delia slowly woke. A smile crossed her face as she found herself held tight against her new husband's chest, as if she were a favorite stuffed toy held by a child. His face looked utterly peaceful, and she hated to disturb him but she needed to take care of her morning necessities. She extricated herself as gently as possible from his embrace and slipped into the bathroom. When she returned to the bed she found Alistair facing her with a huge smile on his own face.
"Well, good morning my love," Delia purred as she returned to the warmth of the bed. "I trust you slept well?"
He chuckled deeply as he pulled her close to him. "I don't think I've ever slept better. I was just thinking about it, actually, and I realized something important." He looked at her and gently kissed her forehead. "I never had anyone who I could truly say was my family before. Now you are my family and no one can ever take that away from me. I am a very lucky man."
Delia snuggled closer to him and sighed happily. "And I am a very lucky woman. The Maker has blessed us, hasn't he?"
A knock on the door interrupted their comfortable repartee. "Warden… you have to open the door for me. This platter isn't getting any lighter!"
Growling his displeasure, Alistair got out of bed and put on a dressing robe, removed the chair from in front of the door and allowed Deirdre to enter the room. She smiled warmly at Alistair and then at Delia, who had pulled the bed covers up to her chin.
"Ah, don't mind me, dearie. I just thought the two of you would like some breakfast up here by yourselves. I'll be getting right out of your way." She set the tray on the desk and immediately started out of the room. "Now don't be doing anything I wouldn't do… not that there's much I wouldn't do!" They could hear the dwarf woman laugh all the way down the hallway, and the newlyweds simply laughed as they blushed at her innuendo.
Alistair placed a few logs on the fire and brought Delia's dressing robe to her. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry and whatever it is that Deirdre brought sure smells really good. Let's eat something and then maybe we could snuggle back under the covers?" He raised a hopeful eyebrow at his wife, earning a chuckle from her.
"Alright, Alistair, but only because I know how much you need to eat." As she put on her robe, Alistair took the plate covers off their breakfast plates.
"Hmmmm…. Looks like she made eggs of some sort and some fried potatoes. Wait… is that cheese in the eggs? And some ham?" Alistair looked happily confused.
"It's called an omelet, Alistair. Haven't you ever had one before?"
He took a bite and grinned while he chewed. "I would remember if I had ever had anything this good before. The Chantry only had porridge for us in the morning. Anytime we had eggs it was just eggs, with nothing mixed in."
Delia looked at her omelet. "It looks as though Deirdre put extra cheese in your omelet. I think she likes you," she smiled at him teasingly.
"Well, she's a nice lady and all, but I'm taken." He smiled at her as he took another large bite of the omelet.
While they spent the morning in their room, Aeden was downstairs making plans. It was time to travel to Redcliffe and talk to Arl Eamon about the Landsmeet. Aeden wasn't sure how Alistair would react knowing that it would be inevitable that he would be put forth as king, but it had to be done. The rumors Aeden heard in the market were tormenting him. It seemed that Loghain had been battling against his own people of the Bannorn and the people were worrying that there would be no one left to fight the darkspawn. Loghain needed to be stopped once and for all, and the country needed to focus on the Blight.
Aeden was worried as well about actually seeing Eamon and Teagan again. He knew very well that Teagan had his eye on Delia, and he didn't think the man would take the news of her marriage to Alistair well. is His concern grew as he thought of what Eamon's opinion of the match would be. Delia's father would only be a hindrance to their position at the Landsmeet, as the Banns would most likely accuse Bann Loren of positioning himself for greater power. There had to be a way to get Alistair the throne without Delia getting in his way. Aeden knew his friend wouldn't like what he had to say, but Alistair would have to listen to his reasoning.
It was nearly lunchtime when the newlyweds finally decided to make their appearance. As they walked into the dining room they were greeted by hushed laughter and odd glances from their friends. They both were becoming nervous and self-conscious until Zevran broke the awkward silence.
"Ah, my dear Alistair, I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am. From the little information we were able to glean from your bedchamber door last night, I do believe you retained quite a bit of information from our man to man talk the night before!"
Alistair looked at him in shock. "What! Do you mean to tell me you were listening in? To… us? When we were… Maker…"
"Well, my dear boy, you certainly made it easy. You were rather… loud." Wynne couldn't help the laughter that erupted from her mouth after her statement.
The newlyweds both blushed in a matching shade of crimson as they sat at the far end of the table. Delia tried to comfort Alistair, telling him their friends would eventually let it go, but he refused to look up. The two ate their lunch in great discomfort, as their friends kept laughing at their expense. It was actually a relief when Aeden asked if he could speak to them in the library when they were finished.
Once they settled into their chairs Aeden cleared his throat. "Trent and Sten brought Brother Burkel back to the Chantry this morning leaving me time to think. So… I've been doing a lot of thinking. Tomorrow we need to leave for Redcliffe at first light. I want to be there as soon as possible because from what rumors I've been hearing from the merchants it seems Loghain is destroying the Banns who oppose him. He's systematically destroying any chance to defeat the Blight without our allies." He looked sadly at Alistair before he continued to speak. "Alistair, I hate to say it, but I think we really need to put you on the throne."
"You know that isn't what I want," he stated firmly.
"I know, my friend, but unfortunately Ferelden needs you. If we don't get Loghain away from the throne the entire country will be destroyed. His own lust for power is destroying the very country he claims to love. There is something else that I'll have to ask you to do that neither of you will be happy about."
Both Alistair and Delia looked worried. "Oh? And what is that, Aeden?" Alistair asked grimly.
"I think we need to keep your marriage a secret, at least until after the Landsmeet."
"What? Why?" Alistair was confused and visibly upset. Delia placed her hand on top of his to calm him.
"To be honest, I'm worried about Eamon's reaction to your marriage, but it's truly mainly because I am worried about the Landsmeet's reaction to your being married to the daughter of Bann Loren. They may see your marriage as Loren's attempt to take the crown for himself. He is notorious for playing political games, and we can't afford for the Banns to see you as his puppet."
Delia sadly nodded her head. "Aeden is right. It is something they could very easily see my father doing. Alistair, you must be seen as your own person – Ferelden's strength."
He took her hand in his. "But you give me my strength. I don't think I can handle the Landsmeet without you."
"I can still be there - as the Grey Warden recruit. We just need to be… discreet about the wedded bliss part of our relationship." She smiled warmly at her husband. "It could be fun in a way… keeping our love a secret from the outside world. And I think Aeden is right to worry about Eamon's reaction to… us. He may easily think that I'm not good enough for his future king."
Aeden looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "So… are you feeling the same way about Eamon as I am then? That he intends to be Alistair's puppeteer?"
She nodded as she looked down. "I believe that Eamon wants the throne for himself, but knows he cannot have it. He sees Alistair as someone he can manipulate to do as he pleases, but we know better." She looked at her husband with adoration. "My love, you are strong and intelligent, and you know what the people need. Unfortunately you need to play some political games right now, for the sake of our country. In some ways, you have to be very much like your father when he was saving us all from Orlais. Be careful who you trust from now on. You even have to be wary of us, your closest friends and allies, because we may give you advice that is wrong for any given situation. Your opinion is the one that is most important from now on, but you have to play Eamon in order to have his political power to get what you need for the time being."
Alistair ran his hand through his hair nervously. "I don't know if I can do this. I never learned how to play these political games. How can I survive if I don't trust anyone?"
Delia stood up and walked behind her husband, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him from behind. "You can trust us; just don't do something simply because we say to. We may not know the whole picture. I will never try to steer you wrong, my love, because I love you and want you to succeed. It will actually make you look stronger politically if you don't agree with everything that Aeden or I say or act exactly as we advise because it will show to the Banns that you keep your own counsel and decide issues yourself."
Aeden looked at his friend more seriously than he ever had. "Alistair, I pledge to you my loyalty. You are my best friend, and I truly believe you are the man we need to save Ferelden. I am behind you all the way, and I will never turn on you. I am your blade, your friend, your advisor; I pledge to protect you and would give my life to save yours. This I swear."
Alistair kissed his wife's hand and then reached out to grab Aeden's hand across the desk. "You have no idea how much you mean to me, Aeden. You are the brother I never had. Thank you for your loyalty. I promise I will make you proud to be my second. As to keeping my marriage a secret," he sighed sadly, "I suppose you are both right. But as soon as the Landsmeet is over, I will be crowing it from the rooftops of Denerim." He smiled mischievously at his wife. "You'd best beware at that point, woman! There'll be no holding me back!"
She kissed him on his cheek. "I certainly hope not, my husband. In the meantime, just know that I am here at your side and I will never leave you. I have faith that everything will work out the way the Maker intends."
The three walked to the study to tell the rest of the group their plans. At first, their companions were surprised to learn that the wedding would be kept a secret, but they understood the reasoning of the wardens and agreed to their request. No one looked forward to returning to the road after being spoiled by the comforts of the Warden House, but they knew they needed to get back to fighting the Blight.
Aeden and Delia spent the rest of the afternoon searching for books on Ferelden political policy in the library. They tried to point out important and difficult decisions to Alistair while they also took notes to help tutor him while they continued their travels. Both of them wanted Alistair to be prepared for the intricacies of the nobles' maneuverings so that he could show himself as more than simply competent from the moment he set foot in the Landsmeet. Alistair actually was a quick learner, and his knowledge of history from his studies at the Chantry helped him tremendously as he pieced together the policies with the world events to understand why things were decided the way they were.
As his knowledge grew his confidence also grew. Alistair started to believe that he not only could be king, but with the help of his wife and best friend he would be a great king. His father started to appear to him in a different light as well. He discovered that Maric's wife had died long before he was conceived by his mother, and started to believe that his father might have been involved with his mother to comfort him as he grieved for the woman he loved. Alistair started to feel compassion for the father he never knew and he compared what he felt for his own wife to what Maric must have felt for Rowan. As he looked at Delia, who had come to mean everything to him, he couldn't help but wonder how he might feel if he lost her. Shaking the thought out of his mind, he got back to work.
Aeden asked Gorshep for permission to borrow several of the books. He promised to arrange for their return in the future, to which Gorshep simply laughed. "The books here belong to the Wardens. You return them or you don't – I don't think anyone would ever know one way or the other. I'm just glad they can help you somehow."
After the evening meal, Gorshep and Deirdre invited all the members of the group to the study for an after dinner drink. They brought some Nevarran brandy up from the wine cellar and poured generous glasses for everyone. As he stood in front of the fireplace with everyone's attention on him, Gorshep cleared his throat and stammered before he finally was able to pull the words from his mind.
"I've never been one to give speeches, an' I'm sure I'm not the most well spoken person around, but I wanted to thank every one of 'ya. Most wardens are good people, but you all have been generous, polite, undemanding and kind. I know I am speaking on behalf of my wife and my boy when I say we think of you all as being sort of an extended family of ours. Come back and stay with us any time you find yourselves in our neck of the woods. That goes for every one of you, not just the wardens!" He laughed heartily, slapping his knee loudly in the process.
Deirdre walked to the newlyweds and handed each of them a small felt bag. "Your dwarven rings are in here. They'll be too big for your fingers, but we put a lanyard on 'em so you can wear them around your necks."
Delia and Alistair were taken aback when they removed the rings from their bags. They were smooth as silk, polished to perfection, and they even sparkled from the small bits of mica trapped within the stone.
"Deirdre and Gorshep, I don't know how to thank you. These are so beautiful! I know that Delia and I will treasure these always." Alistair leaned over and gave his hostess a kiss on the cheek, making her blush.
"A toast then," continued Gorshep, "to all our new friends. May Delia and Alistair have a long and happy life together, may that bugger of an archdemon die quickly, and may we all live through this Blight to be able to reunite in the future."
As they raised their glasses for the toast, each member of the group looked around the room. They all knew that no matter how many dangers they had already faced, what they would be facing in their near future would test them in ways they couldn't begin to imagine. The only thing that made the fear bearable was their belief and trust in each other. Somehow this rag tag group had become a family of a sort, and nothing would break them apart. Their faces reflected their optimism and hope, and the warmth of the brandy going down their throats solidified their confidence that somehow they would survive this Blight together.