A Welcomed Rescue

It wasn't the shrieks of tortured men nor the incessant heavy tramping of armored men patrolling the area that awoke Hadrian from his stupor but rather the lack of it. The silence was perhaps more frightening than the denizens' ignored pleas for help and it chilled the waking man to his bones, more so than seeing abominations back in the Circle of Magi or the horrific broodmother borne of a captured female being forced to eat her own friends and family.

Another frightening fact was his naked state, except for a sparse loincloth that just barely covered his private areas. Luckily, his jailers did not see to bind his hands and, while he was no rogue, he had learned some useful skills of breaking out of captivity.

"There's no use thinkin' of escaping, young un," a raspy voice called out to Hadrian and the nobleman turned his attention to another prisoner from a different cell. A wrinkled face peered at him with small beady black eyes and the older man was also unclothed. The years of being held in a cell were not kind to him for lesions dotted his shoulders as well as dark bruises that refused to go away.

"This is Fort Drakon, isn't it?" Hadrian asked politely. He visited this place only once, but only towards the entrance, where torture devices were not in plain sight of faint-hearted nobles. While the young man abhorred torture more than anything else, he knew the necessity of it. He also knew how "well" the victims were treated as rumors were rife amongst guards and errand boys. Daily beatings, waterboarding, even rape were dealt out almost with morbid glee from the Fort's caretakers. Being of noble birth and thus imprisoned here gave Hadrian a hint at a macabre future for him if he dallied too long in this horrid place.

"Don't rightly know the name but it sounds about right. There's no escapin' from here. Trust me, I tried."

The older prisoner showed him a stumpless arm, where the hand had been cleanly chopped off. "Tried to escape once and had me hand chopped off! Was gonna go for the head but apparently they were bringing you here."

"How are their patrols around here?" Hadrian asked and the older man raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Come to think of it, they don't patrol here no more. Not since the last lot of prisoners were brought here from Highever. Poor sods. Could hear their screaming night and day...that redhead man...he was the last to scream..."

"What? What did you say?" Hadrian couldn't believe his ears and he stopped what he was doing to regard the old man with a puzzled glare.

"Weren't you listenin'? I said that patrols lessened after that last batch of prisoners from Highever."

Hadrian scowled and his fists clenched at the horrid revelation. Not only did Howe take his castle but he had to torture the innocent people who once served his family for several generations at least. All that legacy gone in an instant due to a man's pride and greed.

The snake has been defeated and yet its venom still lingers. Find your way out and seek your Alpha. Together, wrongs can be righted once more and justice will prevail.

As if on cue, voices could be heard and then suddenly they quietened, only to be replaced by quiet thuds and death rattles. Hadrian tensed as the footsteps got closer and closer until they stopped right before his prison door. The old man for his part stayed quiet throughout the whole event until his eyes widened in surprise.

"A mage? What's a mage doin' in here of all places?"

"You see, Wynne? Even an old man appreciates a well-endowed woman such as yourself," the voice quipped in a familiar Antivan accent.

"Must you go on about that?" A female voice. Also familiar and Hadrian was never happier than he was now to hear Wynne and Zevran arguing right outside his door. If it wasn't for his rather precarious situation, the young man would have burst out laughing. Instead, he merely grinned as the lock clicked and the heavy wooden door swung open.

"Ah my dear Warden. It is good to see you in one piece, yes?" The dark-skinned elf gave Hadrian a wide smile, one that showed healthy white teeth, before giving him a small key. Wynne just gave a little huff and placed a hand on Hadrian's bare shoulder, apparently not minding his near naked state.

After a few moments of searching for possible injuries, including of a sexual nature, and thankfully finding none, she nodded to Hadrian.

"You are surprisingly not injured, Hadrian," Wynne remarked in a grateful tone and for that she was glad. Who knows what Alistair could have done if Hadrian had been discovered to be violated like that.

"Well, I doubt that would have lasted long if you two hadn't come along," Hadrian replied with a small smile. "Zev, can you set that old man free too?"

Zev just crossed his arms and gave Hadrian an unbelievable look, as if he was trying to say that he just did not infiltrate a large, almost impenetrable fortress only to rescue an old man who clearly could not reward them for his timely rescue.

"Aw come on, Zev? You went through all this trouble to rescue me. What's another guy?" Hadrian made a motion with his head and the assassin of course made a big deal about it, muttering about even with the Crows he only did the mission and that was it. No innocents to rescue and not getting paid either way.

However, for his lover's sibling, Zevran would pretty much do anything for Hadrian and the elf tinkered with the door. The old prisoner's much relieved face was rewarding enough but the stench...oh Maker...

Zevran almost wanted to gag at the putrid smell the old man emanated and he hurriedly followed Wynne and Hadrian, who were at the main entrance door to collect the latter's supplies. Thankfully, the only things on Hadrian's person were just his armor and his greatsword.

As he equipped both armor and weapon, Zevran had already left the premises to scout the path ahead and Wynne patiently waited for the man to finish getting ready. Once Hadrian was set, the trio skillfully made their way through the Fort Drakon. While Hadrian truly desired to stay back and kill some of the soldiers left behind, especially those who bore the Howe's symbol of a large bear on their shields, time was of the essence and it was miraculously without incident that the trio found themselves outside Fort Drakon.

Hadrian didn't know whether he should be worried or happy that no one tried to stop their escape; however, he couldn't complain about it either and it was with great haste that he led his friends to Arl Eamon's estate.

By the time they arrived, the sun was well on its way to the horizon and shadows of the buildings loomed ahead of them. The usual hustle and bustle of the marketplace had dwindled down with the sun's descent and, if anyone saw the trio walking rather briskly to the large estate on the west side of Denerim, none pointed them out to the guards walking about. The whole rescue incident was rather strange, as if the Maker himself was shielding the trio from unfriendly eyes.

Warm arms engulfed his being upon entering the atrium of the Arl's estate and Hadrian almost choked out a laugh if the situation he had been in wasn't so dire. Instead, he merely huffed a relieved sigh before returning the embrace, made a little uncomfortable by the armor both men wore. His ears burned a little out of embarassment when the embrace endured a little longer than appropriate but no one said anything as of yet, not even Wynne, who was prone to breaking up their reunions at the most inopportune times.

"You're safe..." Alistair whispered softly, voice cracking a little bit at the end.

"Hey, I'm alright," Hadrian wanted to pull back from the embrace for they had an audience but then he realized that both Wynne and Zevran had already left the room.

With some privacy given finally after all that hectic mess of breaking into Arl Howe's dungeon and ultimately being rescued from Fort Drakon, Hadrian's body decided to have a breakdown, much to his chagrin.

Tears came unbidden to his eyes and one sob became several ones until Hadrian found himself crying into Alistair's warm throat. The armor's metallic smell of dragonbone laced with silverite was strong but underneath it laid the scent of an Alpha-powerful, musky, and oddly comforting. Hadrian would have reveled in it but his mind was focused elsewhere. He could still hear that nasal tone of Howe when the late Arl mocked him and his family. The hideous visage of Howe in his death throes haunted Hadrian and his body shuddered at how violently he mangled Howe's throat, even when the latter was well past feeling the agony of the stab wounds. Even in death, Howe continued to haunt him, to taint him and Hadrian swore he could still feel the hot blood scalding his face.

"Sshh," a warm husky voice soothed in his ear, "it's over. You're here, with me."

"I...I killed him..." was all Hadrian managed to say. "But my family...they're still dead..."

"And are resting better because you avenged them, Rian," Alistair's unusual moniker for him normally would have elicited an exasperated sigh but Hadrian said nothing. Instead, the young man leaned even further against his lover, taking comfort in the strong body that sheltered him from the outside world, at least for now.

When the sobs gradually ceased, Alistair pulled back to see if Hadrian was better only to find that the latter had fallen into a grief-stricken slumber. The young Prince just smiled at his lover and he gently carried the exhausted Cousland up to their bedchamber, all the while thinking that Arl Eamon would just have to wait a bit longer for his report.

-o0o-

Arl Eamon calmly listened to Queen Anora's own view of events, from the unusual way her father returned to the capital to her rescue. Though her details were quite accurate, the noble was perceptive enough to know that she withheld some information regarding her father's true intentions for the throne of Ferelden. Family always comes first in Ferelden and he could not blame her for not fully showing her hands until allies and foes were better categorized in her mind. Such as it is, Alistair was clearly not a welcomed ally but a necessary at that. Her derogatory tone whenever Alistair was mentioned in her anecdotes told Arl Eamon that Queen Anora could quite possibly be a dangerous enemy if her bid for the throne was not supported by the Warden.

Thus, after Hadrian recovered and was able to speak to the both of them, Arl Eamon commented that Anora could have avoided all this by sending a messenger to the Warden. She ultimately had her handmaiden serve as a spy and plenty of resources at hand to see it done, regardless of her father's position as regent.

Hadrian wholeheartedly agreed for all noble families had their own private network of spies. Even the Couslands partook in this but theirs was more for defensive purposes rather than assassinations. When Anora left, with her back straight and in a slow, unhurried pace, Arl Eamon warned the young man that he should be wary of Anora's own schemes and to see if she would help them or not. Hadrian gave him a look of suspicion as well, as if saying that he too was wary of Arl Eamon's true motives in wanting Alistair on the throne. However, he was too polite to say anything and as such promptly left the room, probably to speak with Anora in a more private setting.

The old man chuckled underneath his breath and silently praised his old friend, Bryce Cousland, for having raised such a fine young man. He would certainly do well in the Royal Court and perhaps he would be a good match for the young Prince, despite him being a man.

It wasn't uncommon for Kings or Queens to have a more desirable lover at their side, while being married to another out of propriety and the need to continue the royal line. The only obstacle left in the lovers' path is to find a healthy young noblewoman who would please both Alistair and Hadrian while providing Alistair the means to have an heir. That indeed could be a problem but Arl Eamon was sure that, like anything else, the Wardens would succeed where others have failed before.

-TBC-

A/N: I apologize for the delay but with the recent passing of my father-in-law, more important things have come up. So... yeah... dealing with that and preparing for the baby makes life even more hectic than normal. I really hope to finish before DA 3 comes out but we'll see what happens. Thanks again for reading and have a great end to the summer before school starts!