DA fic: Death and Duty, Chapter 2: Announcings
Chapter 2 is up and running. Slow fic is slow.
Link to chapter 1 is here.
Somewhat to my surprise, I did actually sleep after that, and my dreams were no more than the familiar, vaguely comfortable background murmuring of darkspawn that I'd lived with for so long. By the time the chill morning light had started to filter past the heavy curtains covering the windows, I was awake and already having second, third, fourth and possibly fifth thoughts about what I'd agreed to.
I lay stroking Elissa's hair until she stirred and woke, winding burnished strands around my fingers and gently smoothing out the night's tangles. She sighed, blinking, and turned to lie on her back, looking up at the ceiling.
"Second thoughts?" she asked.
I shrugged. "You know me."
"You know it's the right thing. There's no other choice. I won't let you go alone."
"I know. I just... I just don't like the idea of you dying."
She closed her eyes. "And you think I do?"
"Well no, but..."
"It's how it's going to be. Don't argue with me, Alistair. I don't want to argue with you." She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. I admired her back, porcelain pale and blemished with scars and freckling, as she stretched and got up. She turned around and caught me ogling her and her set face relented somewhat.
"Come on, love. Breakfast will be here soon."
She held out her hand and I took it and kissed it, and then she pulled me up out of our bed.
Breakfast was a tradition between us. After we were married we found, to our dismay, that the whirl and pressure of kingly (and queenly) duties contrived to keep us separated for the entire day. Sometimes we would only know that we were married because we woke up in the same bed together. Given that we had just spent over a year campaigning together, both of us found this unacceptable, and we devised this little morning ritual.
Every morning, without fail, our breakfast would arrive shortly after sunrise, and we had a half hour of uninterrupted time before the duties of the day began. Some days it was the only meal we had together. We never missed it.
After breakfast, Elissa's chief maid would arrive to bundle her into whatever gown she'd chosen for the day and go over her list of duties, while my man would do the same for me; and then we'd be off.
Today breakfast had about the same flavour and enjoyability as ashes. From the look on Elissa's face, it wasn't much better for her either.
Setting aside a piece of buttered toast (some days I still marvelled that I could have butter on my toast. Every day!) I got up, moved the breakfast table aside, and knelt before her. Looking up at her strained face and worried eyes, I took her hands in my own and folded them over my heart. Such tiny, capable hands, covered by mine. She raised an eyebrow at me, a familiar gesture that I had always loved.
"Don't worry, love. We'll go together. I won't object. We just have to convince the Council of it and sort everything out before we go..." I trailed off.
She smiled. "We will. I have every faith that you'll manage to sway them to your will. You sway me daily, after all. The Council is trivial compared to me." And she winked.
I felt a foolish grin spreading across my face. "I love you, Lissa," I said huskily.
"And I love you."
I pulled her down and pressed my lips to hers, and of course at that moment the servants chose to arrive, in time to see their King on his knees before their Queen. No doubt castle gossip would have that we'd fought and I was making up because it was my fault. It was always my fault, because Elissa was always right. She was a Cousland, after all.
I cleared my throat, sure I was blushing, and hastily got to my feet. Elissa made a tiny stifled sound of amusement and got up to start her day. No doubt she would be adding to that gossip herself shortly. She claimed it was advantageous to spread rumours that she carefully controlled, so she knew who was gossiping with whom, where the rumours spread to and how fast, who was opposed to what and on what grounds. My favourite was the one about my purchasing and training a kennel of Mabari to outfit with tiny chariots. She'd even detailed the craftsmen required to make them. She never mentioned where she got the idea for that one, just that she'd picked it up from a drunk somewhere. I suspected she'd been loitering in the shadows and had overheard it. Sometimes her assassin abilities scared me.
Elissa's chief maid, Lynde, was a strict and capable woman from an old serving family in Highever, who had somehow escaped Howe's purge with her family and had travelled to Denerim after we'd been married. She organised Elissa's day, her clothing and appointments, her meals and patronage. She even had knowledge of weapons and armour, which was a blessing since Elissa never really gave up the mantle of Warden Commander. She was happily married to Jorge, a Lothering refugee, and together they had managed us for the better part of twenty years.
Jorge arrived close on Lynde's heels with my clothing and schedule for the day, and I sighed.
Today's schedule included a morning meeting of the Council. Well, at least I didn't have to stew over what I was going to say for too long.
As I was dressed, I started thinking about how I was going to broach the topic of our leaving.
"I've had my Calling and I'm going to die soon so we're just going to jaunt off to the Deep Roads to get it over with, okay?" Hmm, no. Too informal.
"As you should all be aware, my wife and I are Grey Wardens. There comes a time in every Warden's life when he feels what is known as the Calling..." I winced. Maker. No.
"Well, it's been a good two decades, but all good things must come to an end." Hah. This could be more trouble than I thought.
Elissa emerged from behind a screen, fully dressed and looking calm and confident. I wondered how she could do it. She walked over to me and assisted Jorge in getting me dressed. Her hands lingered as she smoothed fabric over my shoulders and I looked at her, but her face was serene.
I mentioned these ideas to her and she looked appalled, then hastily recovered and sat me down, patting me on the knee, as if to say 'don't worry, I'll think of something.' I felt a bit affronted. I knew king-craft wasn't my strongest point, the whole of Ferelden knew that on any given day I'd rather be down at the tavern than presiding over a court, but Maker be damned if I wasn't trying, and, I hoped, succeeding.
Something of this must have shown on my face. Elissa sat up straight and patted me on the knee again.
"I'm sorry, love. That was a bit rude of me, I guess." She handed me a cup of tea and took one for herself, looking at me over the rim. "I think we should probably discuss what we're going to do and say. I don't think blurting it out at Council is a good idea."
She gestured, and Jorge and Lynde made themselves scarce on the other side of the room, tidying various things.
I felt the skin on my face and neck heat. "Of course," I managed heartily.
Elissa shot a glance at me, eyebrow quirking. Maybe 'hearty' was too much of a stretch, given the circumstances.
I shrugged at her, and she smiled, her eyes lighting up, and I felt my stomach clench.
Then she patted my knee again.
I looked down at my knee, curious at to whether anything had changed about it overnight that I wasn't aware of. It still looked the same to me. I flexed it experimentally. Still felt the same.
I gave up. I would never understand women.
I looked up to find her eyes on me still, and offered a smile, which she returned. Maybe I didn't understand women in general, but I did know a bit about this one.
Maybe.
"What do you suggest we do?" I asked.
Elissa sighed. "Much as I'd prefer it, we can't just run off in the middle of the night. I had thought about staging an assassination -" I inhaled my tea and started choking and wheezing "- but that wouldn't be practicable at all. We'd end up at war with the Orlesians in under a week if we did that."
My lungs were burning and tears were running down my face as I coughed and spluttered. "No… assassinations…" I gasped, and Elissa looked at me reprovingly.
"Of course not, that wouldn't work. I just said that, Alistair."
I rolled my eyes.
"I think," Elissa continued slowly as I brought my lungs back under control, "that we'll have to discuss this with some of the nobility, not the entire Council. And we'll have to distract the Council in the meantime."
She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Teagan, I think. And Fergus of course. Those two to start with."
I nodded. They were logical choices. Both Teagan and Fergus were well respected nobles, influential and connected, as well as being our personal friends and family.
Fergus and Elissa were incredibly close, and he'd shared most of our highs and lows since the coronation. He'd rebuilt Highever practically from nothing and it was now a thriving centre. Fergus had established a trade route to the Free Marches and had married the daughter of a duke, a sweet but practical girl who had, over the years, worked side by side with him and presented him with several fine sons. They all visited Denerim regularly. Their eldest son Bryce currently had a position as a page at court.
After Isolde's sacrifice to save Connor, Eamon had never really been the same. When Connor was taken to the Circle for training, he'd become a virtual recluse, neglecting Redcliffe and his duties as well as himself. He'd forget to eat, forget to sleep, and started drinking heavily. One chill autumn night he was found wandering the ramparts of Redcliffe Castle during a thunderstorm. He succumbed to a wasting disease not long afterwards.
Teagan had watched his brother's decline and that of his lands in dismay, and had often stepped in to help, discretely and without fuss. He was the only one surprised when he was acclaimed as Bann at the next Landsmeet. He married Kaitlyn, the young girl from Redcliffe Village whose brother we'd rescued, and they lived together happily until she died in childbirth. Now he and his daughter spent most of their time at Redcliffe or Rainsfere, only coming to Denerim rarely.
All these changes - people we'd known all our lives getting older. Sometimes it made me feel ancient and weary beyond belief. And then I remembered that that wouldn't ever happen for me. I sighed.
"Any ideas on a distraction, love?"
Elissa smiled somewhat grimly. "Leave that to me."
I stood up. It was time and past time to get going for the day. Elissa signalled again, and Lynde and Jorge came back.
As Jorge walked away with the breakfast dishes she looked around shiftily, then pinched me on the bottom and smiled. "Don't worry, love. We'll handle the Council."
I smiled back. "Of course you will."
She laughed, and left with Lynde to her duty.
oOo
At mid morning the Council was convened in the Great Hall. One of the better ideas I'd had, the Council was a fractious but generally united group of representatives from as many concerned and influential groups as possible. Guild Masters sat beside Dalish Keepers, who rubbed shoulders with Senior Enchanters, while dwarven merchants looked on. Nobles argued with town Mayors and farmers conversed with warriors. It was boisterous, loud, and occasionally violent; but it represented Ferelden and all her people, not just the nobles. Which was a distinct improvement, I thought.
Today most Council members appeared to be in attendance: the Great Hall was nearly full. Maybe one of Elissa's rumours had filtered through and intrigued people enough to attend - usually we had a maximum of three quarters membership. On a good day. I shrugged. All the better for getting things started, I supposed.
The Council stood as I entered and I waved to them as I took my seat. Elissa was already there. I touched her hand surreptitiously as I sat.
The herald called order as I sat, and the Council began. Normally we had a multitude of items to discuss, trivial or not so; but today everyone was remarkably quiet. If they did have to discuss something, it was brief. So we got through the normal topics - trade, weather conditions and crops, the state of the country - in no time at all, unfortunately.
All too soon, the discussions ended, debates and proposals finalised, and a sea of faces looked at us expectantly. I swallowed hard, feeling an awful churning in my stomach that had nothing to do with the taint. I touched Elissa's hand again for reassurance. She squeezed it back, took a deep breath, and stood up.
"My lords and ladies," she said in a clear, carrying voice. Her 'speech voice', I called it. "The king and I have something of an important nature to put to discussion. We require your input, for this is a decision that will affect the whole of Ferelden; and as representatives of Ferelden, it is your right to have some say into this."
I glanced around at the crowd as she was speaking. All faces were fixed upon Elissa with varying expressions - interest, expectancy, faint boredom here and there.
From the corner of my eye I could see Elissa's hand shaking ever so slightly. I shifted slightly in my seat and looked at her. In the late morning light she seemed bathed in gold, like one of the Maker's angels. Her face was white and resolute as she continued, hands gripping the folds of her skirts.
"The decision that has to be made is not an easy one. We fully expect that it will take some time for us to reach an agreement, and we ask that you do not share the details of this discussion until this agreement is made."
Elissa looked around at the Council, studying each face. I wondered what she saw in them. "The decision that we need to make is this: your King and I have no heir. Ferelden needs an heir. We need to choose one for her, one that will hold the country in their heart and do their best to keep her strong. We ask your help in choosing an heir." And with that she sat down, staring straight ahead.
The Council exploded like a qunari cannon. Almost everyone jumped to their feet, pushing their chairs over. Shouting echoed and reverberated through the Great Hall. Everyone was demanding answers, wanting to know what it meant. The herald was banging his staff on the stone flooring with no effect and getting redder and redder in the face. The noise was making my head hurt, but I knew how they felt. My heart felt like it was breaking - for Elissa to actually admit that we needed an heir was painful. True, but painful.
Elissa remained rooted to her chair; I suspected she was trying very hard not to cry. I sighed and stood up.
"Enough," I said, not quite yelling. No one seemed to notice. On my left side a group of merchants were gesticulating frantically as they yelled at each other; while on my right a lone Templar was arguing with the farmers' delegation. The elves and dwarves had banded into their own little groups while the mages had backed to the edges of the fray. Everything was starting to fall apart.
I cleared my throat. "ENOUGH!" I roared in my best battleground voice.
It was almost funny, the way everyone stopped mid-shout. Heads with open mouths swivelled towards me like so many hungry baby birds.
Suppressing a giggle, I looked sternly about the room, fixing individual gazes here and there. "Your behaviour does you little credit, sers and ladies. The queen and I have put a difficult proposition before you, and you squabble over it like a pack of ravenous Mabari. We expected more from you."
A few Council members looked slightly abashed. Not many, but a few.
"We ask that you consider this decision very carefully. And we remind you to not discuss this issue outside this chamber. We will reconvene again in one week to hear your proposals. You are dismissed."
The herald gratefully banged his staff on the floor again. I offered my arm to Elissa, who clung to it like a drowning woman, and together we left the Hall.
This entry was originally posted at http://drakontion.dreamwidth.org/10124.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Link to chapter 1 is here.
Somewhat to my surprise, I did actually sleep after that, and my dreams were no more than the familiar, vaguely comfortable background murmuring of darkspawn that I'd lived with for so long. By the time the chill morning light had started to filter past the heavy curtains covering the windows, I was awake and already having second, third, fourth and possibly fifth thoughts about what I'd agreed to.
I lay stroking Elissa's hair until she stirred and woke, winding burnished strands around my fingers and gently smoothing out the night's tangles. She sighed, blinking, and turned to lie on her back, looking up at the ceiling.
"Second thoughts?" she asked.
I shrugged. "You know me."
"You know it's the right thing. There's no other choice. I won't let you go alone."
"I know. I just... I just don't like the idea of you dying."
She closed her eyes. "And you think I do?"
"Well no, but..."
"It's how it's going to be. Don't argue with me, Alistair. I don't want to argue with you." She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. I admired her back, porcelain pale and blemished with scars and freckling, as she stretched and got up. She turned around and caught me ogling her and her set face relented somewhat.
"Come on, love. Breakfast will be here soon."
She held out her hand and I took it and kissed it, and then she pulled me up out of our bed.
Breakfast was a tradition between us. After we were married we found, to our dismay, that the whirl and pressure of kingly (and queenly) duties contrived to keep us separated for the entire day. Sometimes we would only know that we were married because we woke up in the same bed together. Given that we had just spent over a year campaigning together, both of us found this unacceptable, and we devised this little morning ritual.
Every morning, without fail, our breakfast would arrive shortly after sunrise, and we had a half hour of uninterrupted time before the duties of the day began. Some days it was the only meal we had together. We never missed it.
After breakfast, Elissa's chief maid would arrive to bundle her into whatever gown she'd chosen for the day and go over her list of duties, while my man would do the same for me; and then we'd be off.
Today breakfast had about the same flavour and enjoyability as ashes. From the look on Elissa's face, it wasn't much better for her either.
Setting aside a piece of buttered toast (some days I still marvelled that I could have butter on my toast. Every day!) I got up, moved the breakfast table aside, and knelt before her. Looking up at her strained face and worried eyes, I took her hands in my own and folded them over my heart. Such tiny, capable hands, covered by mine. She raised an eyebrow at me, a familiar gesture that I had always loved.
"Don't worry, love. We'll go together. I won't object. We just have to convince the Council of it and sort everything out before we go..." I trailed off.
She smiled. "We will. I have every faith that you'll manage to sway them to your will. You sway me daily, after all. The Council is trivial compared to me." And she winked.
I felt a foolish grin spreading across my face. "I love you, Lissa," I said huskily.
"And I love you."
I pulled her down and pressed my lips to hers, and of course at that moment the servants chose to arrive, in time to see their King on his knees before their Queen. No doubt castle gossip would have that we'd fought and I was making up because it was my fault. It was always my fault, because Elissa was always right. She was a Cousland, after all.
I cleared my throat, sure I was blushing, and hastily got to my feet. Elissa made a tiny stifled sound of amusement and got up to start her day. No doubt she would be adding to that gossip herself shortly. She claimed it was advantageous to spread rumours that she carefully controlled, so she knew who was gossiping with whom, where the rumours spread to and how fast, who was opposed to what and on what grounds. My favourite was the one about my purchasing and training a kennel of Mabari to outfit with tiny chariots. She'd even detailed the craftsmen required to make them. She never mentioned where she got the idea for that one, just that she'd picked it up from a drunk somewhere. I suspected she'd been loitering in the shadows and had overheard it. Sometimes her assassin abilities scared me.
Elissa's chief maid, Lynde, was a strict and capable woman from an old serving family in Highever, who had somehow escaped Howe's purge with her family and had travelled to Denerim after we'd been married. She organised Elissa's day, her clothing and appointments, her meals and patronage. She even had knowledge of weapons and armour, which was a blessing since Elissa never really gave up the mantle of Warden Commander. She was happily married to Jorge, a Lothering refugee, and together they had managed us for the better part of twenty years.
Jorge arrived close on Lynde's heels with my clothing and schedule for the day, and I sighed.
Today's schedule included a morning meeting of the Council. Well, at least I didn't have to stew over what I was going to say for too long.
As I was dressed, I started thinking about how I was going to broach the topic of our leaving.
"I've had my Calling and I'm going to die soon so we're just going to jaunt off to the Deep Roads to get it over with, okay?" Hmm, no. Too informal.
"As you should all be aware, my wife and I are Grey Wardens. There comes a time in every Warden's life when he feels what is known as the Calling..." I winced. Maker. No.
"Well, it's been a good two decades, but all good things must come to an end." Hah. This could be more trouble than I thought.
Elissa emerged from behind a screen, fully dressed and looking calm and confident. I wondered how she could do it. She walked over to me and assisted Jorge in getting me dressed. Her hands lingered as she smoothed fabric over my shoulders and I looked at her, but her face was serene.
I mentioned these ideas to her and she looked appalled, then hastily recovered and sat me down, patting me on the knee, as if to say 'don't worry, I'll think of something.' I felt a bit affronted. I knew king-craft wasn't my strongest point, the whole of Ferelden knew that on any given day I'd rather be down at the tavern than presiding over a court, but Maker be damned if I wasn't trying, and, I hoped, succeeding.
Something of this must have shown on my face. Elissa sat up straight and patted me on the knee again.
"I'm sorry, love. That was a bit rude of me, I guess." She handed me a cup of tea and took one for herself, looking at me over the rim. "I think we should probably discuss what we're going to do and say. I don't think blurting it out at Council is a good idea."
She gestured, and Jorge and Lynde made themselves scarce on the other side of the room, tidying various things.
I felt the skin on my face and neck heat. "Of course," I managed heartily.
Elissa shot a glance at me, eyebrow quirking. Maybe 'hearty' was too much of a stretch, given the circumstances.
I shrugged at her, and she smiled, her eyes lighting up, and I felt my stomach clench.
Then she patted my knee again.
I looked down at my knee, curious at to whether anything had changed about it overnight that I wasn't aware of. It still looked the same to me. I flexed it experimentally. Still felt the same.
I gave up. I would never understand women.
I looked up to find her eyes on me still, and offered a smile, which she returned. Maybe I didn't understand women in general, but I did know a bit about this one.
Maybe.
"What do you suggest we do?" I asked.
Elissa sighed. "Much as I'd prefer it, we can't just run off in the middle of the night. I had thought about staging an assassination -" I inhaled my tea and started choking and wheezing "- but that wouldn't be practicable at all. We'd end up at war with the Orlesians in under a week if we did that."
My lungs were burning and tears were running down my face as I coughed and spluttered. "No… assassinations…" I gasped, and Elissa looked at me reprovingly.
"Of course not, that wouldn't work. I just said that, Alistair."
I rolled my eyes.
"I think," Elissa continued slowly as I brought my lungs back under control, "that we'll have to discuss this with some of the nobility, not the entire Council. And we'll have to distract the Council in the meantime."
She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Teagan, I think. And Fergus of course. Those two to start with."
I nodded. They were logical choices. Both Teagan and Fergus were well respected nobles, influential and connected, as well as being our personal friends and family.
Fergus and Elissa were incredibly close, and he'd shared most of our highs and lows since the coronation. He'd rebuilt Highever practically from nothing and it was now a thriving centre. Fergus had established a trade route to the Free Marches and had married the daughter of a duke, a sweet but practical girl who had, over the years, worked side by side with him and presented him with several fine sons. They all visited Denerim regularly. Their eldest son Bryce currently had a position as a page at court.
After Isolde's sacrifice to save Connor, Eamon had never really been the same. When Connor was taken to the Circle for training, he'd become a virtual recluse, neglecting Redcliffe and his duties as well as himself. He'd forget to eat, forget to sleep, and started drinking heavily. One chill autumn night he was found wandering the ramparts of Redcliffe Castle during a thunderstorm. He succumbed to a wasting disease not long afterwards.
Teagan had watched his brother's decline and that of his lands in dismay, and had often stepped in to help, discretely and without fuss. He was the only one surprised when he was acclaimed as Bann at the next Landsmeet. He married Kaitlyn, the young girl from Redcliffe Village whose brother we'd rescued, and they lived together happily until she died in childbirth. Now he and his daughter spent most of their time at Redcliffe or Rainsfere, only coming to Denerim rarely.
All these changes - people we'd known all our lives getting older. Sometimes it made me feel ancient and weary beyond belief. And then I remembered that that wouldn't ever happen for me. I sighed.
"Any ideas on a distraction, love?"
Elissa smiled somewhat grimly. "Leave that to me."
I stood up. It was time and past time to get going for the day. Elissa signalled again, and Lynde and Jorge came back.
As Jorge walked away with the breakfast dishes she looked around shiftily, then pinched me on the bottom and smiled. "Don't worry, love. We'll handle the Council."
I smiled back. "Of course you will."
She laughed, and left with Lynde to her duty.
oOo
At mid morning the Council was convened in the Great Hall. One of the better ideas I'd had, the Council was a fractious but generally united group of representatives from as many concerned and influential groups as possible. Guild Masters sat beside Dalish Keepers, who rubbed shoulders with Senior Enchanters, while dwarven merchants looked on. Nobles argued with town Mayors and farmers conversed with warriors. It was boisterous, loud, and occasionally violent; but it represented Ferelden and all her people, not just the nobles. Which was a distinct improvement, I thought.
Today most Council members appeared to be in attendance: the Great Hall was nearly full. Maybe one of Elissa's rumours had filtered through and intrigued people enough to attend - usually we had a maximum of three quarters membership. On a good day. I shrugged. All the better for getting things started, I supposed.
The Council stood as I entered and I waved to them as I took my seat. Elissa was already there. I touched her hand surreptitiously as I sat.
The herald called order as I sat, and the Council began. Normally we had a multitude of items to discuss, trivial or not so; but today everyone was remarkably quiet. If they did have to discuss something, it was brief. So we got through the normal topics - trade, weather conditions and crops, the state of the country - in no time at all, unfortunately.
All too soon, the discussions ended, debates and proposals finalised, and a sea of faces looked at us expectantly. I swallowed hard, feeling an awful churning in my stomach that had nothing to do with the taint. I touched Elissa's hand again for reassurance. She squeezed it back, took a deep breath, and stood up.
"My lords and ladies," she said in a clear, carrying voice. Her 'speech voice', I called it. "The king and I have something of an important nature to put to discussion. We require your input, for this is a decision that will affect the whole of Ferelden; and as representatives of Ferelden, it is your right to have some say into this."
I glanced around at the crowd as she was speaking. All faces were fixed upon Elissa with varying expressions - interest, expectancy, faint boredom here and there.
From the corner of my eye I could see Elissa's hand shaking ever so slightly. I shifted slightly in my seat and looked at her. In the late morning light she seemed bathed in gold, like one of the Maker's angels. Her face was white and resolute as she continued, hands gripping the folds of her skirts.
"The decision that has to be made is not an easy one. We fully expect that it will take some time for us to reach an agreement, and we ask that you do not share the details of this discussion until this agreement is made."
Elissa looked around at the Council, studying each face. I wondered what she saw in them. "The decision that we need to make is this: your King and I have no heir. Ferelden needs an heir. We need to choose one for her, one that will hold the country in their heart and do their best to keep her strong. We ask your help in choosing an heir." And with that she sat down, staring straight ahead.
The Council exploded like a qunari cannon. Almost everyone jumped to their feet, pushing their chairs over. Shouting echoed and reverberated through the Great Hall. Everyone was demanding answers, wanting to know what it meant. The herald was banging his staff on the stone flooring with no effect and getting redder and redder in the face. The noise was making my head hurt, but I knew how they felt. My heart felt like it was breaking - for Elissa to actually admit that we needed an heir was painful. True, but painful.
Elissa remained rooted to her chair; I suspected she was trying very hard not to cry. I sighed and stood up.
"Enough," I said, not quite yelling. No one seemed to notice. On my left side a group of merchants were gesticulating frantically as they yelled at each other; while on my right a lone Templar was arguing with the farmers' delegation. The elves and dwarves had banded into their own little groups while the mages had backed to the edges of the fray. Everything was starting to fall apart.
I cleared my throat. "ENOUGH!" I roared in my best battleground voice.
It was almost funny, the way everyone stopped mid-shout. Heads with open mouths swivelled towards me like so many hungry baby birds.
Suppressing a giggle, I looked sternly about the room, fixing individual gazes here and there. "Your behaviour does you little credit, sers and ladies. The queen and I have put a difficult proposition before you, and you squabble over it like a pack of ravenous Mabari. We expected more from you."
A few Council members looked slightly abashed. Not many, but a few.
"We ask that you consider this decision very carefully. And we remind you to not discuss this issue outside this chamber. We will reconvene again in one week to hear your proposals. You are dismissed."
The herald gratefully banged his staff on the floor again. I offered my arm to Elissa, who clung to it like a drowning woman, and together we left the Hall.
This entry was originally posted at http://drakontion.dreamwidth.org/10124.html. Please comment there using OpenID.