A/N: in which the new warden commander arrives from orlais, and queen cousland has conflicting feelings on not spending her days knee-deep in darkspawn. set early/before awakening

character: abby cousland, annaliese kader
pairing: none

"I was under the impression that you'd be accompanying me and the rest of the Wardens to Amaranthine."

Abby inspected her fingernails. For once, they weren't chipped or dull or covered in dried blood; it was a nice change. "No." Her curt answer drew an apologetic shrug from Alistair and an amused chuckle from Zevran.

"Warden-Comm–"

"No," Abby repeated, cutting of Annaliese's protest. "You are Warden-Commander now. I have a kingdom to run, honestly I don't have time for darkspawn."

The dwarf gave a quick bow before bidding the king and queen farewell and promising to send a letter. As she left, Annaliese wasn't certain if she should be annoyed that she'd be receiving no aid, or glad that the Fereldans wouldn't be interfering.

"No time for darkspawn, hmm?" Still grinning, Zevran slowly began to massage Abby's shoulders, pressing a light kiss to her skin before remarking, "That's not the Abigail I know."

Abby forced out a laugh. "Between you and all these nobles, I don't get any sleep as it is. Throwing darkspawn into the mix? I'd rather not." She stared back at her fingers – her naked fingers, not protected by thick gloves or grasping a bow, too callused and rough for court life – and tried to push away all thoughts of darkspawn.

"Warden-Comm–" Annaliese stopped herself, clearing her throat before trying again. "Queen Cousland. Your presence is unexpected, but certainly–"

"Call me Abby." Brushing past the dwarf, Abby headed straight for the seneschal, exchanging a warm handshake with Varel. "Glad to see the security is so tight here," she grinned. "I believe I even saw a guard out in the courtyard."

"The darkspawn attacks have made things… difficult," he explained. "I assume that's what you're here about?"

Craning her neck to inspect the rest of the main hall, Abby sighed. "No. Zevran and I are visiting Amaranthine. Unfortunately, Rivain is too far away for a vacation." Turning back to Varel, her tone hardened. "I'm here because I've been told you've got a friend of mine locked up in your dungeons."

Annaliese chose that moment to re-enter the conversation. "His name's Nathaniel Howe," she offered. "He said you would know him."

"I see." Abby clasped her hands behind her back, eyes unfocused. "And what have you chosen to do with him?"

"I– I let him go," Annaliese stammered, surprised at the malice in the queen's voice; she hadn't known Abby long, but she knew her well enough to realize that this anger wasn't normal.

"Well," she crooned, "if he decides to return, let him know his queen would have words with him." Within an instant, her smile had returned, and Abby looked back at Varel. "Care to give me a bit of a tour?"

As the two left, Annaliese found herself tugging anxiously on her ponytail. "Anders," she called, "perhaps now would be a good time to leave for Amaranthine? I believe Varel has the Keep covered."

Hopefully, she wouldn't run into Nathaniel again. With as rocky as the beginning of her time as Warden-Commander had been, Annaliese didn't want to add the queen to the list of things she'd have to watch out for.