Dragon Age: King in Exile

Part Five

…

King Cailan has written Alistair into the succession and is ready to recognize him publicly. Loghain will do almost anything to keep that from happening. The darkspawn give him the perfect opportunity. Alistair/Cousland, featuring F!Tabris.

…

Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize from Dragon Age belongs to me.

…

Alistair woke up to a strange face above him, a woman with raven hair. "Who are you?" he asked. He looked around, increasingly bewildered at not recognizing his surroundings. "Where am I?"

"You are in the Korcari Wilds," the strange woman said. "I am Morrigan. My mother rescued you from the tower of Ishal."

At that, Alistair sat straight up, forcing her to take a step back. "What happened? Did we light the beacon? Are Elissa and Kallian alright?" He looked at Morrigan frantically.

"Be calm," Morrigan said, holding up a hand. "Your friends are well enough. We brought all three of you here."

"And the battle?" he asked, too distracted by his worries to consider how she'd rescued them.

Morrigan hesitated. "Perhaps we should go see my mother. She is outside with one of your friends."

Alistair stood quickly, gathering his clothing and armor from the wooden chest that Morrigan indicated. He barely spared a glimpse around at the primitive cabin he stood within. Morrigan led him through a door into another room, and he stopped when he saw Kallian lying on a pallet on the floor.

"Leave her be," Morrigan warned. "I will wake her soon."

Despite his hesitation, Alistair obeyed, following Morrigan out the door into the sunshine. He immediately noticed Elissa's silhouette against a sea of tall reeds.

"Elissa," he said in relief as he approached her.

She turned, immediately burying him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright," she murmured into his shoulder.

When she pulled back, Alistair frowned to see that she'd recently been crying. "Liss… what happened?"

Elissa glanced at an older woman who was standing nearby, but the woman remained silent. "We didn't get the beacon lit," she said quietly. "Loghain's men never came in to flank the darkspawn. He sounded the retreat instead. The wardens were overtaken." She paused, blinking back tears. "Alistair… your brother…"

Time seemed to slow, the world falling away from him. Grief crushed his throat, made him unable to speak a word. He knew what she meant to say. He was alone in the world again.

When he came back to himself, he saw Elissa standing before him, wiping his tears away with trembling fingers. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Not alone, he thought. Not completely.

Alistair pulled her tight to him, allowing hot tears to soak her golden hair. He'd been given so much in these last few months, only to have all of it ripped away. All of it but her.

"Not to interrupt the pity party, but what in the Maker's name is going on?" came Kallian's voice from behind him.

While Alistair was relieved to see her well, he was not ready to face her at the moment. Elissa stepped in front of him protectively. "We lost the battle. Loghain pulled his men out," she said simply. "Alistair's brother was killed." She gave Kallian a warning look. She wouldn't name his brother here, not in front of these strangers.

"You needn't speak in riddles before me," the old woman suddenly said. She let out a laugh that was more like a cackle. "I already know who the young prince is. Why do the three of you think you were saved?"

"Oh Maker," Alistair said, as the implications of his brother's death finally hit him.

Elissa gave him a worried look, but quickly turned to face the old woman. "What do you want with him, Flemeth?" she demanded, getting between her and Alistair as if to guard him. He barely had a moment to consider the implications of the name.

"I want the darkspawn out of my forest," the old woman said sharply. "I want what we all want. I want peace. Do you think my existence is less threatened by them than yours?"

"Well, those darkspawn are going to be a problem," Kallian commented, casually spinning her knife. "How many wardens survived the battle?"

"Just one," Flemeth said. The dagger stopped.

"Me?" Kallian said incredulously. "You've got the wrong girl. You should've saved Duncan."

"I think I've got just the right person," Flemeth replied, a knowing look in her eye. "And with two such… motivated helpers, how can you fail?"

"What exactly do you expect me to do?" the elf asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You still have the grey warden treaties, do you not?"

"What treaties?" Elissa interjected.

"They obligate certain groups to help the grey wardens fight off a blight. The circle of magi, the Dalish elves, and Orzammar are included," Kallian explained grudgingly. "Duncan left them with me since I wasn't supposed to be fighting."

"There are other armies that weren't in the battle," Elissa mused. "Arl Eamon's men weren't at Ostagar. And whatever men were under Loghain, but…"

"He might be a traitor," Kallian finished for her. "When the beacon didn't light, he would have known something was wrong up there. He should have sent his men out once he realized. Instead, he left the king and grey wardens to die."

"We already had our suspicions about him, considering it was his men who were supposed to prepare the tower for us," Elissa agreed.

"I have been out scouting for information while the three of you slept," Morrigan said, speaking up for the first time. "It seems this Loghain is now calling himself the regent, ruling in his daughter's place."

"A power grab?" Elissa said, astonished. "He never seemed interested in running his own teyrnir, much less the nation. I don't understand why he would do such a thing."

Flemeth shook her head. "Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature."

Elissa took another look at Alistair, who remained silent and unmoving. "He won't be safe in the capitol," she whispered, almost to herself.

"No," Flemeth agreed. "The safest place for him will be on the move."

Elissa turned a steady gaze on Flemeth. "And what about me? Why save me?"

The old woman laughed. "And deny the young king his noble bride? Besides, I think he's lost enough, don't you?"

"I do," she said, staring at Flemeth hard. "And I'm not going to let anyone else use him or hurt him."

"Then I chose his protector well," Flemeth said steadily, meeting Elissa's gaze.

A light cough from behind caught both their attention. "If we're going to do this thing, we better get a move on." Kallian pointed at the sun with her dagger. "We're losing daylight."

Elissa's eyebrows shot up. "You're going to have to lead us, you know. You're the grey warden. We're just here to help."

Kallian shrugged, deceptively casual. "I've got nothing better to do." She inclined her head towards Alistair. "Is pretty boy going to be alright?"

Elissa bit her lip. "He will… it's just the shock." She led him away from the others and cupped his face in her hands. "Alistair," she said softly. "It will be okay. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Oh, Liss," he finally said. "I'm not ready. I never wanted to be king. I can't do this," he said, and vigorously shook his head.

Elissa stopped him with her hands, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Yes, you can. I know you can do this. I've known from the beginning that you would make a wonderful king if it came to this." She released his face, rubbing her hands down his arms. "We'll go to Arl Eamon. He wasn't at Ostagar. He was very fond of Cailan, and never a friend to Loghain."

Alistair sighed. "He raised me before I went to the chantry."

"He'll be able to help us," Elissa reassured him. "Everything is going to be okay."

"If you say so," he said, unsure.

"I do," she told him. "I promise." And she pulled him along, back to the assembled group.

"Great news," Kallian said as they approached, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Morrigan is coming with us."

"Is she?" Elissa asked cautiously, sharing a confused look with Alistair.

"She's going to help us," the young elf replied, and rolled her eyes.

Elissa took a look at Morrigan's darkening expression and quickly jumped in. "Well I know we will never get out of this forest without her aid." She turned to the young witch. "Your help is appreciated, Morrigan."

Though Kallian scoffed, Morrigan inclined her head stiffly. "Thank you. Shall we leave now?"

As they began to move away, Flemeth called out, "What, no goodbye for your mother?"

Morrigan huffed and turned to the old woman. "Thank you, Mother," she said, gritting her teeth, "For forcing me out."

Flemeth laughed. "You must grow your wings sometime, my girl. Goodbye!"

Morrigan led them out of the forest to a town called Lothering, which Alistair and Elissa recognized as the last town they'd skirted before reaching Ostagar on their trek south. It was different now. Many of the residents were gone, fleeing the blight, and the ones that remained were fearful. It was full of desperation and anger now, and the fields were strewn with soldiers and refugees.

"The blight's not even here yet and it's destroyed this place," Elissa said softly as they passed through. "We should do what we can to help them."

"We're here to get news and supplies, not to take on charity cases," Kallian protested.

Elissa rounded on her. "Would it kill you to care about these people?"

She shrugged. "Well, do you think any one of them cares one fig about me?"

Elissa glared. "We may be along to aid you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let the people of Ferelden hurt when I can help them."

"Elissa's right," Alistair spoke, surprising everyone. He'd been all but silent during their journey. "These are…" He swallowed. "These are my subjects. I have to care for them if I can."

"Fine," Kallian snapped. "But don't go spending any of my coin on these people. Or wasting any of my time."

Elissa rolled her eyes. "We'll make sure not to waste any of your time, oh great grey warden."

They made their way through town, making purchases and doing tasks from the chanter's board for a little additional coin. Alistair and Elissa took every opportunity to aid people when they could, with both Kallian and Morrigan rolling their eyes in the background. Everything seemed to go smoothly enough, however, until they stopped at the inn for the evening.

As soon as they passed through the door, Elissa's eyes lit upon several men wearing Loghain's sigil. Unfortunately, they seemed equally interested in the group that had just entered. Led by a man with a scraggly beard, the soldiers swaggered over. "Well, look what we have here, men! I think we've just been blessed," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Loghain's men," Alistair whispered to Kallian.

"Didn't we spend all afternoon asking after some people of this very description?" another asked. "And everyone said they hadn't seen them?"

"It seems we were lied to," the first man said menacingly. His hand reached towards his sword.

"Gentlemen," came a cultured voice from off to the side. Elissa chanced a glance at the newcomer, a red-haired woman in chantry robes. "Surely there is no need for trouble. These are no doubt simply more souls seeking refuge."

"They're more than that," the man growled. "Now stay out of our way, Sister. If you protect these traitors, you'll get the same as them!"

Elissa felt a shock at the word traitor. Had things gone so far? But she could see how it had come to this. It would be so easy for Loghain to make it seem as if she and Alistair were the ones attempting a coup and he the one protecting the throne. So easy to blame the grey wardens for Cailan's death.

Kallian, who hadn't spared a glance for the sister, was staring Loghain's soldier down. "If this asshole wants a fight, I'll be happy to oblige," she mocked him, and Elissa closed her eyes in frustration.

"Take the warden into custody," the soldier said to his underling. "And kill her companions." He drew his sword and attacked.

Kallian was ready for him, and the others were only a moment behind. Elissa kept to non-lethal shots, hoping the others would do the same. It would be best not to add murder to their list of supposed crimes.

It didn't take long before the lead soldier begged for surrender.

"Good," said the sister, inserting herself into the situation once more. "They've learned their lesson and we can all stop fighting now."

Kallian held her blade to the soldier's throat, looking edgy. "I don't want them reporting back to Loghain," she said, giving the man her fiercest glare.

"No!" the sister cried, before Kallian could make a move. "Don't kill him!"

"She's right," Elissa said, adding her voice to the sister's. "We shouldn't add a real crime to Loghain's list of our imagined ones. Don't kill a surrendered man, Kallian."

The elf turned her glare on Elissa before lowering her knife with a huff. "Fine. But if he's going to report to Loghain, I have a message for him." She put her knife back on the soldier's throat. "Tell him we know the truth about Ostagar. And we're coming for him."

"Yes," he said, nodding frantically once Kallian pulled her dagger away. "I'll tell him. I promise!" He and his fellows practically ran from the inn.

Kallian turned towards the sister once the men had left. "Now, who in the void are you? And do you always jump into other people's business like that?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Elissa saw Alistair wince. Kallian did have a rather… abrasive personality.

The sister looked a bit shocked, but managed to answer. "I apologize for my interference, but I couldn't just sit by and not help. I am Leliana, one of the lay sisters of the chantry. Or I was."

"I am Elissa, Sister Leliana," she said quickly, before Kallian could make more of a muddle of things. "This is Alistair, Morrigan, and Kallian," she added, motioning to each of them.

"Right," Kallian said. "Thanks and all, but we need to grab rooms so we better get going—"

"Wait," Leliana said, almost desperately. "I'm coming with you."

Kallian looked at the sister as if she had two heads. "Excuse me?"

"The Maker told me that I should help you," she insisted. Elissa could hear Morrigan scoff behind her.

"Look," Kallian said, "We're all full up on crazy here. So thanks, but no thanks."

"I know who you are," Leliana said, plowing on. "Not just you, Warden." That was when Elissa stopped in her tracks.

Elissa peered at the sister. "You're very well-informed," she said cautiously. "If you're not lying."

Leliana turned her penetrating gaze on Elissa before motioning towards Morrigan and then Alistair. "The witch, the prince, the noble bride. And I know you need all the help you can get. What you are doing—what you are meant to do—is the Maker's work."

Elissa's mind was working furiously. She barely noted the shocked looks on her companions' faces. She had never felt confident about the Maker's existence—if he existed, he'd never taken an active interest in her life. But this woman knew too much. They couldn't just leave her. With her knowledge, there was no knowing what damage she could do.

"We should bring her, Kallian," she said softly. "Crazy or not, she knows too much. And she's not wrong about us needing help."

Kallian rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She moved towards the innkeeper, but paused, turning back to Leliana. "So, sister," she began again, "If you're here to help us, do you think you can help me free that caged qunari?"

Leliana looked shocked. "I… perhaps, but why?"

Kallian shot her a shark-like grin. "I want him."

…