How to Avoid Alienation
"Aedan, will you stop fussing!" Anora scowled irritably. "I'm perfectly fine on my own!"
"I know you are, I just-"
"You just nothing!" The Queen admonished with a shake of her head. "I'm merely pregnant, I'm not an invalid!"
The Queen and her Prince-Consort were in the palace stables. Anora was in the process of attempting to mount her horse. A task made more difficult and irksome by the presence of her husband who was doing all that he could to help her. Naturally, his attempts to aid her only made the task harder.
"I can take care of myself." Anora sighed with exasperation. "Honestly, I'm not even showing yet, let alone hindered at all!" She spun a dangerous glare his way. "I can mount my horse by myself, I don't need any assistance!"
"Alright, alright." Aedan muttered as he took a step back, raising his hands in surrender with a vague smile.
Anora threw her husband one last glare before turning back to her steed. She hoisted herself up and into the saddle, inwardly cursing as she struggled a little. Not from her pregnancy of course, she was simply not as athletically inclined as her husband was. Thankfully, Aedan had heeded her words and didn't rush forward to try and help her, though he looked like he dearly wanted to still.
Even Cauthrien, stood over by the stable doors a good few metres away, appeared to be poised ready to leap to her monarch's aid at a moment's notice. The Lady Knight fidgeted with the pommel of her sword restlessly.
Finally seated upon her horse, Anora let out a quick sigh. "There, you see? I'm still perfectly capable of doing things by myself. I really wish you'd stop worrying so much." The remark was aimed at both her bodyguard and her husband.
"You don't need to prove anything to us, Anora." Aedan murmured, moving forward to hold onto the horse's reins. He was probably scared the poor beast would break off into a gallop at a moment's notice, or else buck the Queen from his back. Naturally, all this anxious energy was picked up on by the poor beast. The horse brayed softly in light agitation and nipped and bit at his reins.
"Apparently I do." Anora eyed the Prince-Consort sceptically. "Now will you stop it with all this fretfulness? You're irritating my horse, and me."
Aedan blinked and turned to look at the horse. He reached up to pet the horse's neck with a vague smile, calming it a little. "Sorry." He murmured, perhaps more to her steed than Anora herself.
"I'm sure he'll forgive you in time." Anora rolled her eyes before patting her steed's flank herself.
"I don't mean to be overbearing." Aedan sighed. "I just want to make sure you're safe and well."
The annoyance in the Queen ebbed somewhat. "I realise that, Aedan, but I'm fine. I'm sure it'll become patently obvious when the pregnancy starts to have an effect on me. Right now, I feel as fit as ever."
"Ok." Aedan smiled up at her. "I trust you."
"You better." Anora murmured with a hint of a smirk. "Now come, you'd better mount your own horse soon or I'll take off without you."
Aedan chuckled softly as he turned to his own steed. Soon enough, the royal couple were riding through their capital, escorted by Ser Cauthrien and a troop of royal guards of course. There were various shouts and waves and even cheers from the townsfolk as they passed. Anora and Aedan waved dutifully in acknowledgement as they went by. Although Anora knew well of her and her husband's worth to their kingdom, it was still uplifting to have the kingdom's good will affirmed to her.
Once free of the city gates, the Queen and Prince-Consort ventured out in the fields surrounding the city. Their escort fell back a little, providing them with a bit of privacy while being close enough on hand to provide protection if needed.
"So, I trust you don't have anything too strenuous to keep you occupied this afternoon, do you?" Aedan asked idly as they rode, a somewhat meaningful glint in his eye.
Anora levelled a glare at her dear, devoted husband.
"You know, I don't think that scowl works on me any longer, love." Aedan smiled sweetly.
Anora sighed and thought for a moment. Mostly it was the usual office work and dry audiences in the throne room, though one matter quickly jumped to mind as potentially intriguing. "I'll be meeting with the Hahren of the alienage later."
"Oh?" Aedan quirked an eyebrow. "Is there a particular reason for a meeting? I wasn't aware of any issues in the alienage? Well, nothing outside the ordinary that is."
"That is precisely why I took it upon myself to invite the Hahren to the palace. For too long, the elves have only ever been seen as nothing but a thorn in the side of the kingdom, only to be dealt with when trouble arises. Kings of old have only ever deigned to pay them any attention when the elves resort to rioting in the alienages, or when the Dalish leave their forests to attack travellers on the road."
"So you're hoping to cut off any disorder before it arises?" Aedan raised an eyebrow.
"In part." Anora admitted with a slight incline of her head. "Though in the main, I'm hoping that I can establish a new status quo, a new order whereby the elves are not little more than slaves, where they can be proud Fereldens. The aftermath of a disaster is the perfect time to make substantive changes. Denerim has rebuilt itself well since the destruction the Blight wrought after all, in most districts that is …"
"Except for the alienage." Aedan finished the thought.
"Precisely." Anora nodded. "And it is there that we can achieve the greatest change."
There was an odd silence for a moment as Aedan chewed over a thought.
"Anora, be honest with me." Aedan began, eyeing his wife carefully. "Does this have anything to do with what your father did to the elves?"
Anora turned her gaze to meet her husband's. Aedan held hers with a guarded look for a long few moments. The Queen understood her Prince-Consort's meaning perfectly.
"Perhaps in part." Was all Anora would allow, her back stiff and straight. "I will not have my father's crimes become my legacy."
Aedan said nothing to that. He merely nodded slightly, his expression vague.
Anora raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "Do you disapprove?"
"No, not at all, I just wonder if you've thought this through fully."
Anora scowled back. "I'd have thought you'd know me better than that by now, dear husband." She said his marital title with a hint of irritation. "I always consider all my options thoroughly."
Aedan gave her a small, vague smile. "I know you do. All I meant is that while you may want to strike a line under your father's actions and start a clean slate, not everyone will feel the same way, the elves especially. They have more reason than most to doubt your intentions. As Queen, you're the head of a system that's abused them for generations, and, as Anora Mac Tir, you're the daughter of the man who sold their families into slavery."
"None of that was my doing!" Anora protested, narrowing her eyes in disapproval. "I've never hurt anyone, let alone the elves – anyone – the way my father did."
Aedan met his wife's glare evenly with an intense look of his own. "I know that, Anora, but you could hardly blame them if they assume that the Queen takes after her father, can you?" His gaze softened a little. "Look, I'm not trying to undermine your efforts here, nor do I doubt you. I'm just worried that this won't turn out as well as you want it to. Anora, the issues between elves and humans go back centuries, millennia even. You can't possibly hope to fix all that pain and suffering in a single meeting."
"I know that, but I have to start somewhere." Anora glared back defiantly. "Aedan, I will leave this land a better, stronger kingdom than when I inherited it. I will forge a better future for Ferelden, one that I can be proud to hand over to my child, my heir, when the time comes."
Aedan narrowed his eyes a little. Something of a dark look crossed his features. "Our child, Anora."
"Yes, yes of course, our child." Anora corrected herself with an irritable wave of her hand. "But they will still be my heir, and I will give them a kingdom that I know they'll be able to rule, one that is strong and stable."
Aedan leaned back in his saddle a little, his eyes appraising for a long moment atop his deadpan expression. "Ah."
"And what does 'Ah' mean, dear?" Anora snapped the question as if it were brittle straw.
"This is more about your legacy, isn't it? Not about making lives better for the elves at all." Aedan's tone was calm, but his words reproachful.
Anora blinked.
"Aedan, this is about Ferelden." Anora near snarled, bristling at the accusation. "The elves are a part of this kingdom, just as much as you or I. What benefits the people, benefits the realm. Why do you doubt me on this?"
Aedan matched his wife's hard glare with an equally hard look for a long moment. "I know you Anora, better than you think I do. You're a pragmatist at heart. Yes, I accept that you're looking to help the elves but, with all due respect, you're not doing this simply out of the goodness of your heart. This is principally because you want to be thought of as a benevolent, proactive queen. You want to put to bed any doubts as to your involvement in your father's crimes, and perhaps to even wipe your father's slate clean, don't you? That you would be helping improve the elves' lives is simply a happy coincidence."
Anora blinked once more before her glower affixed itself to her face in stone. How dare he?
"If it helps achieve all those aims, then what is the problem with that?" The Queen demanded. "Why can't 'goodness' also serve a practical benefit?"
Aedan clearly bit back a scoff. "Anora, if I can see that you have an ulterior motive to your actions with the elves, then the Hahren surely will."
Anora shook her head, genuinely confused by her husband's disapproval. Never before had he opposed to her like this. "Even if what you say is true and the Hahren believes that I'm only offering assistance out of my own, selfish desires," – She threw the phrase at him bitterly – "over the elves themselves, why should that be an obstacle? Why wouldn't they leap at the chance to make their own lives better? Wouldn't anyone?"
"People aren't stupid, Anora. If they see that you're only offering to help them for your own purposes then they're hardly likely to trust it, are they? They'll be thinking: 'what if the situation changes and one day the Queen decides to take away these wonderful gifts she's generously granted to us?' or even 'this must be a trick, no king or queen's ever even bothered with us in the past'." There was more than a measure of scorn colouring Aedan's voice. "Would you accept anything from someone like that? Would you accept aid from the Empress of Orlais for instance?"
"You're being paranoid." Anora shook her head dismissively, ignoring his question.
"I'm being realistic." Aedan countered. "Anora, with the best will in the world, you don't really know the elves, or most of the people for that matter. You don't know what most people go through on a daily basis. You simply can't relate to them the same way as you can with one of your own Banns, or with a foreign ruler even, even if the elves are as much Fereldens as you or I."
"And you do?" Anora raised a pair of incredulous eyebrows. "You know just what I should say to the elves, do you?"
"A little more than you do my dear wife." Aedan smiled back, deceptively sweetly. "In case you've forgotten, I spent the better part of two years trekking across Ferelden, often living amongst the poorest parts of kingdom, which more often than not comprises both humans and elves."
"And this experience granted you the insight to tell me how I should rule my realm, did it?" Anora sniped waspishly.
"No, but it granted me the insight to know that the elves are not going to simply take the Queen of Ferelden at her word." Aedan drawled out irritably. He sighed. "That's not meant to be a slight against you, Anora. It's just that they'll never respond to you and your crown in the same way as they would for one of their own. They won't respect your word just because you're queen."
"So what do you suggest I do, Prince-Consort?" Anora demanded acidly. "Should I simply ignore the elves and their plights? After all, I am too unworthy to lend a hand in aid, am I not?"
Anora hated how bitter and angry she felt, but Aedan had pushed her too it. When had this turned so completely on its head? They had just gone for a lovely morning ride together. When had these pleasant fields turned into a battleground?
"You know that's not what I meant, Anora." Aedan murmured, a hint of derision colouring his tone a little too unpleasantly for Anora's taste. "You need to be honest with them, and yourself. You can hardly expect them to take you seriously if you won't take them seriously."
"Oh, what brilliant insight." Anora drawled sarcastically. "What ever would I do without you?"
Aedan sighed. "Anora, I'm only trying to help."
"Well I don't need your help."
"You're just being childish now." Aedan shook his head ruefully.
"Well, I am but a simple, small minded, little woman. Am I not?" Anora shot back before she could help herself.
Aedan rubbed at his eyes wearily, seemingly confused as well as exasperated. "Anora, I don't think you're simple or small minded or anything of the sort. I happen to love you, you know."
"Well, you have a funny way of showing it." Anora muttered.
Aedan didn't respond to that. Though Anora did spot him out of the corner of her eye, opening and closing his mouth a few times before he gave up on formulating any kind of response with a heavy sigh. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them for a while.
The Queen silently seethed. Aedan's words ran rampant around her head. As galled as she was that her own husband would accuse her of such things, there was also a part of her – tiny at first, but growing ever faster – that hurt that Aedan would think of her like that.
"Would you like my attendance at this meeting of yours, or …?" Aedan asked suddenly into the void, though Anora suspected he was already keenly aware of what her answer would be.
"I can handle the Hahren on my own, thank you." Came the Queen's clipped response. "And then you shall see just how I can deal with all my subjects."
"You don't have to prove anything to me, Anora." Aedan smiled a little.
It was a nice smile, one that may well have been meant to be appease her or else endear himself back into her good books and one that might well have worked. Right then and there however, Anora only found it insufferable.
"I'm well aware of that." Anora glared. "But as we've just proved, we have conflicting takes on this particular matter. I don't want you there confusing the issue."
Aedan regarded his Queen with a long, hard look for a long, hard moment. He bowed his head stiffly. "As you command, your Grace."
xxx
The Queen and Prince-Consort rode back to the palace after their morning venture, in a silence more barbed than comfortable. She still bristled at the accusation that she was more interested in her legacy than her people. Few words were shared between them for the rest of the ride. Still, Anora was quietly pleased that Aedan left her to dismount her own horse, though perhaps it was simply due to his sudden aversion to Anora rather than through a desire to let the Queen have her independence.
Once back in the safe confines of their own home, Aedan left Anora's side with a stout nod as a farewell. That only seemed to rile her irritation with him all the more somehow. The hurt in her chest tightened.
Anora did her best to put that discomfort aside as she went to wash and prepare herself for the rest of her day's business, principally her scheduled meeting with the alienage's Hahren.
In truth, had Anora not been so riled by his words earlier, she probably wouldn't have minded Aedan accompanying her to meet the Hahren. He had had previous contact with Hahren Shianni during the Blight after all. Even it was only a brief meeting. As much as she hated to admit it, he also had a point about his experiences with the realm's people surpassing her own. Those experiences during the Blight had afforded him a wealth of knowledge that Anora could simply never match with her academic learning alone. What's more, Anora only knew of the Hahren by reputation, in that Shianni was supposedly sharp of tongue and quick to use it.
The Queen silently cursed herself for not needling her husband for more information beforehand, but then his accusing glare drifted back into mind and she shook herself free of such foolish notions. She was the Queen of Ferelden after all. Anora knew that she was more than capable at dealing with the Hahren herself and anyone else in the realm, no matter what their background was.
Once she'd changed into a fresh dress – one much more befitting a formal meeting than her riding attire – Anora went to go attend her appointment, Ser Cauthrien as ever by her side. The Lady Knight's back was straight as a ruler, not that that was unusual at all, but there was definitely something tense in her bodyguard's posture. Perhaps she could pick up on Anora's lingering irritation with her husband somehow. She did her best to put it to the back of her mind out of the way.
The Queen opted to meet the Hahren by the front entrance to the palace, on her doorstep as it were. While normally she would have had visitors come to the Queen in her own throne room, Anora reasoned that a small concession might help ease talks in a more conciliatory direction. Maker knew relations between elves and humans in positions of power had been anything but 'conciliatory' throughout the ages.
Again, Aedan's words drifted back to her: 'You don't really know the elves, or most of the people for that matter'. Anora swatted them away just as quick.
When the guards opened the doors, the short form of an elven woman edged her way into the palace. She gazed about the entryway with keen eyes, not nervously, but as though she were appraising the palace as a general might a fortress. The Hahren wore a simple but pleasant dress, one that might have looked shabby next to the more ostentatious members of Anora's court, but it was still of formal wear. Her short red hair was brushed back smartly with a series of short braids dotted about her crown.
Anora stepped forward the last few steps as the Hahren approached her. "Hahren Shianni, I welcome you to my palace."
After a brief look that could have been surprise or an appraisal, Shianni murmured simply. "Your Majesty." The elf inclined her head only slightly, certainly a far cry from a bow or curtsey that would be proper. The choice a not so subtle one that made Anora well aware that she'd have her work cut out for her.
The Queen was determined to rise to the challenge.
Anora felt Cauthrien bristle beside her but she paid the Knight no mind. "I imagine you're wondering why I've invited you here." Anora half turned and gestured for the elf to follow. "Please, if you would join me."
Shianni hesitated a moment, though there were no apparent nerves in her expression. Then, she duly moved forward to follow the Queen.
Anora spared a glance at Cauthrien before leading the way. The Knight had her eyes keenly fixed to the elf, no doubt ready to act instantly if Shianni presented any sort of threat. For her part, Shianni gave a good show of seeming ambivalent to the situation, yet Anora noticed how she kept herself a couple of strides further away from the Queen than was strictly necessary. Whether that was out of respect, fear of incurring Ser Cauthrien's wrath or simple aversion to the Queen herself was anyone's guess.
In short order, Anora led them to her study. She opened the door and beckoned Shianni over the threshold before turning to Cauthrien. "That will be all, Cauthrien. If you would wait here, please."
The Knight blinked. Then her eyes narrowed in concern. "Your Majesty, is that wise?" She asked in hushed tone, pointedly glancing towards the elf.
"I will be quite alright." Anora said simply but her eyes held steel. "The Hahren and I will just be having a civil conversation. That will be all."
Cauthrien looked very dearly as though she wanted to argue the point further, but then thought better of it and bowed her head in acknowledgment of the Queen's command. She dutifully eased the door shut, though not before throwing a waring scowl at the elf behind Anora: 'Watch yourself, or else'.
Anora resisted the urge to roll her eyes before turning back to the Hahren. Shianni had evidently taken it upon herself to be seated. She sat rather casually on the chair opposite Anora's place. Another faux pas. One was never seated before their monarch. Anora opted to let it slide. She rounded the desk and took her own seat facing the elf.
"Does she think I'm going to attack you or something?" Shianni asked with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smirk.
"She is my bodyguard." Anora responded coolly. "It is her duty to be on guard for any potential threat to my person, wherever that threat might come from."
Shianni sniffed dismissively. "As if I'd be stupid enough to attack the Queen in her own castle. I'd never make it out of this place alive."
"Well, then I'd say she's doing her job well then." Anora let herself smile a little.
"So, what am I doing here?" Shianni asked, her eyebrow rose suspiciously.
"I simply wanted to speak with you, Shianni, as Queen to Hahren." Anora neatly laced her fingers together before her on the desk. "As Hahren of the Denerim alienage, you stand for the interests of your people, as much as I stand for all Fereldens."
The elf scoffed slightly. "I'm not sure our positions are exactly comparable, your Grace."
"Perhaps not." Anora conceded with an incline of her head. She suspected Shianni's appreciation of those differences would be different to the simple sense of scale Anora had in mind. Shianni was only responsible for leading the elves in Denerim's alienage. Anora meanwhile was responsible for all Fereldens in the kingdom. "Though I hope you at least appreciate the similarities."
"Very few, I'm sure." Shianni muttered.
Anora breathed deep through her nose for a moment as she considered her approach. "I'm aware that the … position of the elves in society is often …"
Anora's pause to find the right word was seized upon by the Hahren.
"Shit? Terrible? Like we're looked down on, spat upon and beaten. Like we're at constant risk of being killed and raped all the time?" Shianni supplied, almost impassive as to be deadpan. Her expression decidedly removed from the open and diplomatic look Anora had dared to hope to find in this meeting.
Anora sighed. "I wouldn't have put it so colourfully, but yes."
"Well, I hate to break it to you, your Highness," – There was more than a mere hint of mocking behind the title – "but we're already well aware of all that. We don't need you or anyone telling us what our lives are like." The elf wore a sneer.
"That wasn't my intention, Hahren." Anora raised a hand slightly to show peaceful intent. "I merely wished to speak with you about the conditions in the alienage and about how we might make them better together." She slightly stressed the last word, so as to emphasise that the Queen wanted to cooperate rather than simply dictate.
"Really?" Shianni raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Forgive me if I'm not convinced. History's taught us not to put our trust in any human authority."
"Well, I hope to change that." Anora gazed at the elf pointedly. "If you would help me?"
The elf scoffed once more. "Is that all? You want me to be your toady, your spy, do you? No thanks. I don't need to give you another opportunity to subjugate us." The elf folded her arms, eyes narrowed in thinly veiled disdain. "Maker knows we've had enough of that as it is thank you."
Anora regarded the Hahren with a cool gaze for a long moment. She was irked that the conversation was threatening to derail so quickly, though she knew well that it was always a possibility. An image of Aedan smirking smugly at her drifted into Anora's mind's eye. She swatted the image away. The Queen knew she had to tread carefully, though she was also quickly tiring of tiptoeing around human-elven history.
"Should I take the use of the word 'you' to mean the establishment? Or was that directed at me personally?" Anora asked carefully, eyebrow raised.
"Is there a difference?"
"I suppose that depends." Anora leaned forward, resting her chin in the crux of her hands. "Do the elves all speak with one voice, or are there differing opinions in the alienage? I don't wish to put words in anyone's mouths, but I imagine there were a few people telling you not to come here today, no? Perhaps thinking this meeting was a trap of some kind?"
The Hahren held the Queen's gaze for a long moment. Then, she inclined her head slightly in a begrudging acknowledgment.
"My nobility and my courtiers are not so different in that regard, Hahren." Anora continued. "There are those who respect and admire the elves, as much as there are those who … do not share that opinion."
Shianni scoffed. "That's one way of putting it." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Is this the part where you tell me that you're not one of the racists and I'm supposed to just believe it?"
If only, Anora thought a little snidely.
"No, Hahren, I would hope to show you that I have nothing but good intentions towards the elves and the alienage, here in Denerim and throughout my kingdom."
Shianni scoffed once more. "Forgive me, your Grace." There was hint of mocking behind the words. "But this all seems a bit rich from the daughter of the man who sold us into slavery en masse."
Anora breathed deep through her nose and leant back in her chair. She considered for a moment as she took in the rage and pain that both shone bright in the Hahren's eyes.
"What my father did to the elves of this city was abhorrent." Anora murmured quietly. "I cannot defend his actions and, as little a difference as I know it makes, all I can do is apologise on his behalf. Hahren Shianni, I am deeply sorry for all that my father has done to you, to the elves of this city, and beyond."
Shianni shook her head in thinly veiled disgust. "All you can do is apologise for his actions? What about yours?"
Anora tilted her head a little, narrowed her eyes dangerously but kept her voice even. "As ashamed as I am of them, my father's sins are not my own. Should I hold you accountable for every crime committed by elves?" Anora raised a questioning eyebrow. "Every roadside attack against unsuspecting travellers?"
"I'm not Dalish." Shianni shook her head.
"And I'm not my father." Anora countered quickly.
"You were still the queen, even then." The Hahren shot back. "You expect me to believe that you didn't even know anything about what was going on?"
"I expect you to believe me when I tell you the truth, Hahren." Anora met Shianni's glare evenly. "My father wielded a lot of power during the Blight, by necessity of course as commander of Ferelden's armies. He did a lot of things during those days that I was not aware of at the time. It's because of him that King Cailan, my first husband, was killed."
A part of Anora baulked at discussing her father's crimes so casually, to a near complete stranger even. However there was a sterner part of Anora that quickly stomped down on that dissenting little voice. She loved her late father, true, nothing would ever change that, but he had also been war criminal. It was pointless to deny it, stupidly ignorant even. It was about time she stopped tiptoeing around that as well.
"Bullshit." Shianni laughed incredulously. "You really expect me to believe that you knew nothing?"
"Hahren Shianni, I swear I did not know of the atrocities committed against your people."
"Ah, there's a telling sign." Shianni smirked, wagging her finger as though she'd just stumbled upon a great, hidden secret. "My people. Not yours, not the people of this city or Ferelden, my people."
Anora couldn't help but scowl. She was getting more and more annoyed now. Why wouldn't Shianni at least hear her out? Aedan's irritating face appeared again. "You are the Hahren of the elves, of your people! Are you going to argue that you're not next? That you're really the Grand Cleric in disguise?"
Shianni shook her head with a bitter chuckle. "I knew it, they all said this was a waste of time. More fool me I guess."
"Hahren, this is only a waste of time if you do not talk to me!" Anora almost demanded the elf stay seated.
The elf stood. "There's no point in talking, you won't listen anyway."
Before Shianni could turn to leave, there was a light knock at the door.
"Denied!" Anora growled out, still glaring at the elf before her. Shianni glared straight back.
Against the Queen's command, the door opened anyway. Anora broke her gaze from the Hahren to make her displeasure known to the intruder before realising that it was Aedan walking over the threshold.
"Sorry for being late." Aedan smiled, seemingly oblivious to the tension that gripped the room. "I was just speaking with Cauthrien out in the hall."
Anora narrowed her gaze suspiciously at her husband as he casually strode across the room towards them. Just what was Aedan up to, she wondered. The Queen dearly wanted to command him to leave, if nothing else than just to avoid having him see her failure in all its flaming glory. However, she also didn't want the Hahren to know of any discord in the royal palace. The last thing she needed was for rumours of a schism in the royal household to take over the capital's taverns.
"Damn, it's really you." Shianni had turned to look at Aedan. A small, vague smile of recognition and reminiscence graced her features. "I mean, we all knew that you'd married the Queen, the whole city did, but I don't think I ever actually believed it."
"Well, here I am, in the flesh." Aedan smiled, holding his arms out to present himself. "I have the wedding ring to prove it, as does my wife, don't you dear?"
"Husband." Anora began with what could only be described as a contemptuous drawl. "The Hahren and I were-"
"Actually, we'd just finished." Shianni didn't look at Anora. "Seems we just can't see eye to eye on things."
Aedan put a hand up before the elf could make for the door. "Shianni, please wait. I don't know if you remember, but I was there, in the alienage during the last days of the Blight."
"I could hardly forget something like that." Shianni almost scoffed, but then her gaze softened. "Of course I remember. You were there to help us." Then she turned a glare to the still seated Queen. "Unlike some."
Anora was about to retort with venom and vice, but hesitated when Aedan held up a hand.
"Shianni, please believe me when I say that my wife is not responsible for what happened during those dark days. I know what my father in law did to you, to the alienage and to so many more people, but Anora is not to blame for any of that."
"She is your wife." Shianni half smirked, half scowled. "I think you might be a bit biased there."
Aedan let out a soft chuckle. "You're right, I suppose I am a little, but did you know what Loghain did to the Grey Wardens? Or what his man Howe did to my family?"
Shianni gazed up into the Prince-Consort's eyes for a long moment. Some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them that excluded Anora entirely. "I had heard rumours." She murmured.
"Well, they're true, every word." A shadow crossed Aedan's features. "Shianni, I appreciate you don't know me very well, but do you really think I'd marry a woman if she'd been involved in any of that? Do you think anyone could trust someone who'd been complicit in something like that?"
"I don't know. You humans do all sorts of things that don't make any sense to me." Shianni quipped, then sighed. "Maybe? I don't know. No, I don't think that." Then, she scowled. "That doesn't mean she didn't have a hand in hurting the elves of this city though, or anywhere else in the kingdom."
Aedan gazed deep into the Hahren's eyes for a long moment. "Shianni, I swear to you, Anora did not take any part in hurting the elves, of this city or anywhere else. If my actions during the Blight have shown you anything, then I hope they've shown you that I hold elven lives just as dearly as any human, dwarf or any other. I could never have married, or fallen in love with, someone who'd throw away people's futures and lives as callously as Loghain did. I swear to you on my life, Anora is not the monster you may think she is."
Anora regarded her husband carefully in the strained silence that followed. There was a part of her that was pained to hear Aedan besmirch her father in such a manner, even as she knew full well of his crimes and that there were many in and out of Ferelden who likely said far, far worse about him. There was a much larger part of her however, that was touched and even relieved in a way that Aedan would defend her in such a manner, not with sword and shield, but with simple words coming from the heart.
Shianni stared right back into the Prince-Consort's eyes for a long, uncomfortable moment. Anora saw though that Aedan didn't relent, not even an iota.
"Alright, I can accept your word, Hero." Shianni murmured finally, throwing Aedan's title out of her mouth a little insolently.
Aedan's hard look softened and he smiled softly. "Thank you, Shianni. Listen, I know that my wife can be …" He glanced at Anora as he searched for the right word.
Anora merely leaned back in her chair, arms folded, lips thinned, eyebrow raised expectantly.
"… prickly, but she genuinely does have a good heart. She's a good woman, who merely wants the best for the kingdom and its people, the elves included."
Anora silently postponed the execution she'd been planning for her husband as soon as he'd walked into the room.
"Please Hahren, would you give her another chance at least?" Aedan asked, a hint of that stupid, charming smile on his damn, insufferable face that Anora loved so much. "I promise that she'll try harder to treat you with the respect you deserve." Aedan sent Anora a pointed look.
All thoughts of love went out the window for Anora. The execution was back on as well. She scowled dangerously at her husband. As the elf turned to eye the Queen dubiously however, Anora eventually, reluctantly resorted to swallow her pride.
Anora sighed. "I … apologise for my rash behaviour, Hahren Shianni. Please, can we continue our discussion? As I said before, I do truly wish to help make things better in the alienage."
The Hahren considered for a long moment, she turned her piercing gaze to Aedan, then back to Anora, silently appraising them both. The elf sighed. "Alright, but only because you helped us during the Blight." Shianni pointed a finger and a meaningful look at the Hero of Ferelden.
"That's more than fair, thank you." Aedan smiled.
"Yes, thank you, Hahren Shianni." Anora murmured quietly. "And thank you … husband." She turned a pointed look to Aedan.
Aedan smiled back sweetly, no hint of a smug smirk in his eyes, but Anora was certain that there was one there, somewhere. It had to be.
Shianni retook her seat opposite Anora. Aedan moved to grab a seat from the side of the room and brought it to sit beside the desk, next to both women. Anora was certain that he did so deliberately, so that he could mediate matters better.
"Right." Anora began, as more of a sigh than anything else. She wasn't entirely sure how best to proceed now. "Well, as my dear husband puts it, my utmost priority is to seek the betterment of Ferelden and all of her peoples. That includes the elves, Hahren Shianni."
"Uh huh, those are nice words and all, but it has been a few long years since the Blight now. What have you done to make things better for us?" Shianni demanded.
Anora licked her dry lips before answering. "I have always treated elves with the same respect as I do anyone else, Hahren. The elves under my employ are paid as well as any human, and I've always endeavoured to treat the elves fairly when their disputes reach my court."
Shianni rolled her eyes disdainfully as if to say 'is that it?'
"My wife has also personally sponsored rebuilding efforts in the alienage." Aedan provided. "We know how badly hit that part of the city was, I was there with you after all. Although there's still much more to do, we're helping to ensure that everyone has a roof to sleep under, clean water to drink and a solid foundation that they can build their lives upon."
Shianni nodded slightly, not impressed at all but in agreement for now at least.
"And … I am meeting with you now, am I not? I'm here, ready and willing to hear of your grievances first hand." Anora raised as much of an amicable, diplomatic smile as she could muster. "I daresay never before has a king or queen of Ferelden – or a prince-consort even – held a meeting with a Hahren."
"So congratulations, you've made history today." Aedan quipped to the elf.
Shianni snorted a chuckle, perhaps a shade more derisive than amused.
Anora resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her husband.
Aedan leaned forward with a smile. "With any luck, through this meeting we can resolve any issues that you have. Perhaps not immediately, but we can at least make a start. So, here we are. Here is the Queen of Ferelden. What is it exactly that you want the Queen of Ferelden to do for you?" Aedan asked with a smile.
Anora silently wondered how and when Aedan had taken the driving seat for the discussion. He'd never done that before, at least not in diplomatic matters.
Shianni held the Prince-Consort's gaze evenly for a moment. She shifted it to Anora for a moment more before reaching into her pocket and pulling a sheet of paper free. It had been folded haphazardly and, from what Anora could see, was probably written in haste.
Maker, she actually has a list, Anora inwardly sighed. She wasn't expecting the Hahren to come with a readymade list of demands.
Shianni snapped the paper out in front of her, as if to make a point somehow. "Well, firstly we need to improve sanitation and water supplies in the alienage. I'm sure you're not aware but the alienage is filthy. My people, your people, live in squalor. It's a wonder we've not been wiped out by disease yet."
The Prince-Consort nodded gently for a moment. "I'm sure we can look into doing something about that. Can't we, dear?" Aedan looked to his wife with an affable smile.
"Indeed, I want none of my people to have to live in squalor if I can help it." Anora murmured in agreement, eyeing her husband with slightly narrowed eyes.
The elf nodded stoutly. "Second, we want better protections." Shianni continued quickly, rustling the paper for further effect. "Right now, it's just too easy for anyone to waltz up to our homes and deliver a beating, or worse. We need security, actual security who'll keep us safe."
"A fair request." Anora conceded, before Aedan could respond. "I'm sure I can see about having more guards posted in the alienage." She started to wonder if she needed to write these matters down. It wasn't a long piece of parchment that the Hahren clung to, but Anora felt in her gut that Shianni had only just begun to get started.
"Not humans, before you try to get that past us. They have to be elves." Shianni shot back immediately. "Human guards don't care when an elf gets robbed, mugged or beaten in the street."
"Alright, we can certainly look into that." Aedan murmured rubbing at his chin. He'd already gone from asking Anora for her answer to making the decisions himself.
Anora raised an eyebrow. "Indeed, although I trust that you're aware that there are very few elves in the city guard, certainly not enough to police an entire district of the city safely?"
The Hahren brandished the parchment at the Queen. "That's just another thing that needs fixing! How can you expect elves to respect the guards when they don't respect us? And how could they? They don't know us, they aren't us. Your human guards are just as likely to look the other way as laugh at us when one us gets hurt!"
Anora blinked, it seemed that just about every other thing she said to the Hahren seemed to enrage her somehow.
"We can still make a point of recruiting more elves." Aedan put in diplomatically before Anora could respond. "We can't promise that we can fully staff the alienage with elven guards straight away – at least not until we've had time to properly train up any new volunteers – in the meantime, we can look at posting our current elven guards to the alienage more often. Would that be acceptable, Hahren?"
Shianni looked to the Prince-Consort and nodded, seemingly mollified by his words where she had been angered by Anora's. "Yes, we can work with that. As long as you keep to your word, that is."
"That's what we plan to do." Aedan smiled.
Shianni then turned a hard look to Anora. "Does that go for you as well, your Grace?"
Anora leaned forward slightly. She met the Hahren's glare evenly. "Absolutely, I want to prove to you that I" – the Queen looked to Aedan – "we can be trusted. We fully intend to honour everything agreed here today."
Almost surprisingly to Anora, Shianni was not angered by the Queen's latest words. The Hahren nodded stoutly once more.
"Thirdly, we want elven jobs to be better protected. As soon as there's a bit of trouble with the economy, it's always the elves that are first to get the sack …"
As the Hahren carried on with her list, Aedan kept nodding his approval, giving his assent and just generally taking the lead on behalf of the crown. Anora still bristled at being usurped so, but she couldn't deny that Aedan had somehow built up a wonderful diplomatic rapport with the Hahren that Anora could only dream of. There was just something of a simple honesty to his words that made the elf listen.
Whenever Anora put a few words into the conversation however, Shianni would look at her with thinly veiled mistrust.
To Aedan, to the Hero of Ferelden, the elf would look at as an equal of sorts, someone to be respected, listened to and taken seriously. Even when he had to refute a point the elf made, or sought to make a compromise to her demands, Shianni would hear his words and generally agree to them, even if she did so begrudgingly.
Anora thought on all of this as she sat there, mostly silent.
xxx
"Are you still mad at me?" Aedan asked lightly as he dressed for bed.
His wife, the Queen, was already lying in bed, her nose pressed deep into the book she was reading. She didn't respond outright. The only sound she made was a noncommittal murmur, her eyes still seemingly glued to the pages before her.
"I'm sorry I questioned your intentions so much this morning." Aedan murmured. "I just… I suppose I was a bit stung at you calling our child 'yours' only. I didn't handle that in the best of ways and I'm sorry for that."
No movement from behind the book.
Aedan sighed with a hint of a smirk. "You know I love you, don't you?"
Anora shuffled the book up closer to her face, further hiding her expression. Aedan would have bet every sovereign to his name that she was blushing behind those pages.
Aedan shook his head softly and eased himself into bed beside his obstinate wife. "Anora, you're the mother of our unborn child." Aedan gently placed a hand on his Queen's belly, still flat, causing her abdomen to jump ever so slightly at the unexpected contact. "Do you really want to be angry at me forever?"
"I'm not angry." A somewhat muffled response from behind the book.
"Then why are you hiding?"
The book came down, a beet red Anora appeared. "I'm not hiding." She scowled.
"Not anymore you're not." Aedan smiled.
Anora sighed heavily. "I … You …" Anora's voice dribbled off into an incoherent murmur.
"What was that?" Aedan leaned in slightly towards her.
"You know what I said." Anora scowled.
"I didn't catch it." Aedan said innocently.
"Don't make me say it again."
"You barely said it the first time."
"Aedan …" Anora moaned.
"Anora …" Aedan persisted.
"Fine! You. Were. Right!" Anora all but shouted, each word punctuated. "Happy now?!"
Aedan had leaned his head away a little at the sudden explosiveness of his wife's admission. He righted himself and raised a hand to mime clearing out his ear. "Sorry, could you repeat that, dear? I think I've gone a little deaf in this ear."
"Urgh!" Anora growled and immediately flopped her head back onto the pillow and rolled onto her side, facing away from her husband. She drew up the sheets about her to cocoon herself as best she could.
Aedan couldn't help but chuckle at her expense. He looked down at the freshly formed larvae form of his darling wife. An evil idea crossed his mind. He quickly decided that he just couldn't help himself.
Aedan slowly leaned in close over her, near to where her ear should be and whispered: "Don't worry, I'll teach you how to talk to the elves tomorrow. I'll show you all my diplomatic skills that you clearly lack."
With an irritated growl from the sheets, Aedan was suddenly flung back as Anora spun free from her cocoon. Somehow, the Queen used her momentum from the movement to deftly swing a leg over her husband's. Anora gripped Aedan's wrists tight as she pinned them above his head. She leaned in over him, the curtains of her golden hair pooling around him as he gazed up at the furious snarl of his beloved, beautiful wife.
"You … You …" Anora growled, too annoyed and too embarrassed to form a proper sentence, though the look in her eyes was not tinted in anger.
"I love you too." Aedan smirked.
"You …" Anora breathed a deep, heavy sigh through her nose. She lowered her gaze so that Aedan couldn't see her eyes. "I'm sorry." She breathed, small and admonished.
Aedan blinked. "What was that?"
"I said I'm sorry!" Anora snarled. Her expression was distinctly uncomfortable. "I … I acted like such a child this morning … when you were right about everything."
Aedan shook his head softly with a light sigh. He managed to pull a hand free of his wife's grip and reached up to gently caress her cheek. He was mildly surprised to find dampness there.
"Is that what's been bothering you all night?" Aedan asked softly.
A heavy sigh, a blonde clad head nodded.
"Anora, it's alright. I was behaving a bit like a child as well you know." Aedan smiled. "There's no need to get upset over this, no harm done."
"I- I just …" Anora struggled to put her words together. It was clearly a great struggle for her. Aedan never thought he'd see the sight. "I hate that you think less of me for this … that- that you might think that I'm a bigot, that I wanted to harm the elves like- like my father did."
"What? I don't think you're a bigot, Anora." Aedan blinked.
Anora eyed him a little warily. "You seemed to think that way this morning."
A sinking feeling fell through Aedan's stomach as he thought back to their argument in the morning, of course she'd think that. Her reaction to his arguments about the elves, the way she was acting now. It all made sense.
Aedan gazed up at Anora with equal parts love and remorse in his eyes. "Anora, I know you're not a bigot. I only wanted to help this morning, give you benefit of my experiences with the elves. I'm sorry. I didn't do that right at all. Anora, I've never thought that, never even considered it."
Anora sighed a little haggardly, closing her eyes. "I … I know you don't. I just hated thinking that you did, and …" She bit her lip. Her eyes avoided the Prince-Consorts.
"Anora?" Aedan probed gently.
"And … and I should have done something." Anora murmured quietly, shaking her head in silent reprimand of herself. "Shianni was right. I was still the queen when my father was taking the elves from their homes. I was still the queen when Howe was committing his atrocities. I should have done something."
Aedan raised both hands to gently grasp his wife's cheeks, forcing her to look right him. "Anora, did you have any idea what was going on at the time?"
"I … I had heard rumours." Anora admitted quietly. "I didn't give them any thought at first, my father and I had many enemies back then after all. It wasn't unusual to hear wild tales of some evil act we'd allegedly committed. One week we were supposedly murdering the elves in their sleep, the next we were preparing to sell the whole kingdom to the Tevinter Magisters or some such rubbish. We came to drown it all out after a while, just banal attempts at propaganda. Over time though, the rumours around the alienage grew, and it only became increasingly clearer that something was indeed wrong. Lords were losing their servants mysteriously. Entire elven families were disappearing without anyone knowing where they'd gone to. I didn't want to consider it, but the evidence was growing, and it was only pointing in one direction."
Anora swallowed thickly for a moment, her gaze drifted off to the side as she recalled those dark days.
"I even went to Howe's estate to question him about my father's actions. He was my father's right hand man after all, and the Arl of Denerim, if anyone would have had knowledge of what was truly going on, it had to have been him. Though of course, that only resulted in my imprisonment. But I swear to you, until then I had no idea the true extent of what was going on!" Anora swore with an almost pleading look in her features.
"It's alright Anora, I believe you." Aedan soothed, despairing the anguish he saw in his wife's eyes.
Anora didn't smile, but Aedan could just about read the relief in her fine features. "We were preparing for war, Aedan, against an enemy we thought would be you, your companions and Arl Eamon's host." The Queen continued her tale. "The whole city was turned upside down as everything was put towards the war effort. It was near complete chaos, there were plenty of opportunists looking to benefit from the upheaval. My father and Howe were clamping down on any dissenters. Even the nobility weren't safe."
Aedan could remember well. He could still see the tortured figures who'd fallen foul of Howe's whims in his mind's eye.
The Queen shook her head ruefully in the Prince-Consort's hands. "But none of that's any excuse. I should have known. I should have acted sooner."
"You didn't want to believe that your father was capable of such evil, there's no shame in that, Anora." Aedan soothed softly.
"But how many lives were ruined because of it?" Anora asked with no malice or heat in her voice, just a deep regret in her eyes. "I can never repent for that."
"Don't beat yourself up over this." Aedan shook his head. "What more could you have done?"
"I could have put a stop to their actions sooner. I could have had both my father and Howe arrested." Anora murmured, though the mere prospect brought sadness to her eyes.
"Anora, Howe had you arrested as soon as you went to him with questions, you, his rightful Queen." Aedan pressed. "He would have done just about anything to save his own skin, you know that. He could easily have done worse to you, like he'd done with his other prisoners, and my family even."
Anora gaze fell again at mention of the Cousland's fate. Did she feel guilty for not acting to prevent the attack on Highever perhaps?
Aedan pressed on. "And Loghain, he was in complete control of the army, he was a war hero after all, they were almost fanatically devoted to him. If you'd have commanded them to arrest your father, can you honestly say that they would have just obeyed your word?"
The Queen didn't answer, though the Prince-Consort could read the doubt in her eyes.
"Do you honestly think that they both wouldn't have just rebelled against you if you'd have tried to arrest them first? They'd have just thrown you into a dungeon and would have ruled Ferelden for themselves."
"Perhaps." Anora sighed softly. "Though that does not mean that I shouldn't have at least tried, and even if I had have been captured, that might have mustered those lords loyal to me to rebel against my father. Maybe it would have brought an end to their crimes sooner."
"You can't possibly know that." Aedan shook his head.
Anora didn't immediately respond. Aedan wasn't sure if she agreed with him or not. "Either way, it doesn't bring back the dead, does it?"
Aedan regarded his wife carefully for a few moments in silence. "No, it doesn't."
There was a long, sombre silence between them. Aedan really wasn't sure what to say and from the looks of it, nether was Anora. He gazed up at his wife and only felt the heartache at seeing the pain in her eyes. Maybe she had failed to do right by the elves, maybe she had been too hesitant to look at her father's crimes as a queen should, but Aedan knew in the deepest reaches of his very being that he wasn't looking at an uncaring monster. He was looking at the forlorn figure of his love.
"I'm so sorry." Anora murmured eventually, so softly that Aedan very nearly didn't hear it.
"What for?" Aedan murmured back, confused.
"For everything?" Anora nearly chuckled, reaching up to wipe a tear from her eyes. "For failing the elves, for turning a blind eye to my father's crimes. For not listening to you and for taking you for granted. For ruining this" – She pointed between herself and her husband, seemingly indicating their marriage, their relationship or even their love – "when we have a child on the way."
Aedan shook his head with the hint of an incredulous smile. "Anora, don't be silly, you're my wife, the love of my life. You're going to be the mother to my child." Aedan reached up with his lips to deliver a loving kiss to hers. "Even if you were a bigot – which I know you're not – you'd have to do a hell of a lot more than that to make me think any less of you."
Anora swallowed thickly. A small, fragile smile found its way onto her lips. "Thank you, I … I think I needed to hear that."
"Although, if you're taking pointers." Aedan began with a hint of a smirk. "You could learn to listen to me when I give you advice."
Anora balked before swatting at him with vague swipes of her hand, but she wore a sly smirk. "You could learn not to take it so personally when I mix up 'my' and 'our' child!"
"Point taken." Aedan chuckled as he weathered his wife's assault.
Anora finally granted her husband mercy and stopped striking him. She gazed down at him intently for a moment. "I hope they take after you." She murmured so softly.
Aedan smiled with a hint of a chuckle. "I don't, I want them to have your beauty and your brains."
Anora rolled her eyes. "I'd rather they had your strength and your compassion, and your good looks."
Aedan smirked. "Agree to disagree?"
Anora responded with a fond smile and a soft shake of her head. Then the Queen sighed. "Alright, but … you're right. I know I can be … reluctant to accept any help. I'll try and do better at listening to you, and taking on your advice. No- I will do better." She swore with a familiar determination in her gaze.
"You better." Aedan smiled.
"And I'll do better by the elves as well." Anora added, quiet yet resolute.
Aedan didn't respond, save for gently rubbing his wife's arm in a soothing motion.
"Aedan?" The name came in a soft question.
"Yes?"
"Thank you." Anora murmured. A serious look in her eyes that somehow transcended all the seriousness the last day had brought. "For … well, everything."
The Prince-Consort regarded his Queen with the same thoughtful gaze, anything less felt like an insult. "Anything for you, my Queen."
Anora breathed a deep breath through her nose. She nodded, letting a smile creep onto her beautiful features once more. Then, she eased herself off from her position straddling her husband and set herself down to lie beside him. Aedan wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. He was a mite surprised when Anora clung to him so tightly, as though scared she'd lose him forever.
They didn't say anymore words before drifting off to sleep, but Aedan made sure to press his lips and his love to her forehead in a gentle kiss.