In the Name of my Ship [complete]

[Mariana]

It was hard for a sailor to find enough work on land to get a new ship - and even harder for a woman to get aboard a ship that wasn't already hers. Mariana sighed as she strode through the docks, toying idly with one of the daggers she kept strapped to each hip. Ferelden was supposed to be a good country for women like her, but even here sailors were a superstitious lot and shied away from bringing a woman aboard. Stupid bastards.

For the love of all that's holy, she'd been raised aboard ship! She'd done every shipboard job there was at one point or another, and now this lot was telling her she wasn't good enough? She's been an sodding officer! Ugh. She needed a drink. She'd heard there was a cheap place to get smashed close to the docks - the Plastered Bastard, if she remembered right. Sounded about perfect.

It didn't take long to get there, and Mariana was glad of that much, at least. The wash of human stink as she walked in was oddly welcome, familiar and strongly reminiscent of the good old days before she'd found herself landlocked.Well, mostly landlocked, anyway - she could usually find a place aboard ship as a passenger, but never bloody crew. Because a woman's bad luck on the ocean, but only if she's not paying her way in gold, instead of working for it.

Stupid bloody bastards.

Ah, but she was dwelling, and it was really so much more fun to just do something. Hm, or someone. There was a particularly tasty little morsel sitting just a few stools over, all chest and legs and long copper hair... It'd been a bastard of a long time since she'd had herself a good lay.

Mariana waved over the barkeep and asked what the woman was drinking. And as luck would have it, Red was drinking the cheapest swill in the house. Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all. She sent Red a mug and gave the woman her most charming smile when she glanced over, when, joy of joys, the man sitting on Red's other side seemed to get it into his head that she was smiling at him and walked over.

"Listen mate," she told him quietly, "I'm flattered you came over and all, but I'm lookin' for something a bit on the softer side today, savvy?" Mariana tossed a meaningful glance at the redhead, now watching them with interest.

"Hey, now, I can show you a better time than her." Ugh. The man reeked of ale and smelled as though he hadn't bathes in several weeks at least. And his teeth were half rotted. And he was all sweaty and just... not... attractive. "'Sides," he continued, "won't catch fleas from me.

Mariana seriously doubted that. Still, best to play nice. "That's real nice, mate, but - " The man grabbed her arm and the words died in her throat. She found she'd entirely lost her desire to play nice and narrowed her eyes. "Listen, mate, you best just piss right off, hear?"

But the man continued to leer and pull at her, and Mariana decided that he was in desperate need of a thrashing. Without another moment she smashed his nose and within minutes the whole tavern had descended into chaos. Time to sod off, then.

It was only as she was making her way to the market district that she noticed the irritating drip of wetness down her cheek, quickly followed by an even more irritating stinging as the adrenaline from the brawl wore off.

"Well ain't that a bitch!" she cursed quietly, gingerly prodding at the torn flesh.

She'd been sure she got out of the way of that broken mirror. And the bottle. Had there been something else sharp flying around in there? She couldn't remember. It had been - well, a lot of fun, actually.

[Alistair Theirin]

After a tiresome day at the royal palace in Denerim, Alistair now found himself heading toward the market district. With all the fuss about the nobles complaining about elves, his recent activities with the Empress of Orlais and about the concern of having an heir, Alistair thought it could be a good idea to spend the day outside for a while, clearing his thoughts and perhaps interfering in conversation with the citizens. Still he did not travel alone, Anora had persuaded that he should not do that considering the dangerous criminals whom as of late had caused a great deal of trouble within the city, whether this was some sort of worry from Anora`s side, or simply because she feared a brutal murder on the king that would threaten the peace, Alistair did not know, though why did she care so much, when she in fact seemed to rather hate him. Dressed in his fine noble clothes and with the two guards following him around, Alistair greeted the citizens good day with a smile. Believing them to be luckier than he was, oh how he missed the freedom of wandering in the wild without him being a King, just a Gray Warden killing Darkspawn. It was good times, to bad nothing like it would ever happen again, especially with Anora in charge. Alistair thought to himself as he walked through the street.

As Alistair came further into the streets, the people began to crowd around him and most of them seemed happy to see him. When they bowed their head he simply told them not to, as he did not like them to treat him in such a manner. Throughout the years Alistair had been a close King to the people and they had loved him for it, but now not all citizens were happy about the way he ruled, there even was a rumor that he might not be the true son of the previous King, King Maric and that he was unfaithful to his wife Anora. It disturbed Alistair, but the stories he had heard about his father strongly indicated that he was his son; still he would never answer anyone if they asked if he was having an affair with Empress Celene of Orlais. Alistair knew the truth, though he feared how the people would react if they knew what he had been up too.

Suddenly in the distance one could hear yelling and shouts of arguing, it seemed to come from the nearby tavern and it made Alistair curious. With a few steps he began walking in the direction where the noise was heard, with the guards still following him. Then just as he where about to enter an alley way he noticed a woman, she was dark skinned like those of Rivain and she looked like someone he had met before, but she was different. Alistair noticed her swearing and it made him smile, interesting he thought, though he quickly figured she was cursing because she was hurt. “Are you alright? I could hear shouts indicating a fight. “He asked kindly, curious to get to know her, as well to figure out what was happening and if he should decide to call the guards.

[Mariana]

Mariana shook her head at the shard of coloured glass she pulled from the cut on her cheek when a well dressed man walked up and asked if she was alright. Well, didn't that beat all. And the guards trailing behind him wore the royal seal on their breastplates, too. Well, unless there was something about the queen she didn't know, it had to be king Alistair.

"Well ain't that sweet," she said, grinning impishly. "The king of all Ferelden himself coming to my lowly rescue. I promise, I've had worse."

She'd never expected him to be so handsome, though. It was a pleasant surprise. Maybe she was in the mood for men today, after all. And then there were those tasty tidbits with him... She wondered just how many of those rumors about the king were true.

Leaning in close, she murmured in his ear. "So, your royalness, how are you going to save my sorry self?" She stepped back with a grin at the guards' dual scowls, tossing an appreciative look at them, too. It was easy to ignore the stinging in her cheek with this kind of distraction.

Flicking away the glass, Mariana mopped up the blood trailing down her face with her already stained and tattered sleeve.

[Alistair Theirin]

As the Rivaini woman answered, Alistair remained curious as he smiled at her. Though he noticed she did not care about her wound, once she got eye on him and the guards. Somehow she seemed more interested in them, which he thought was a bit strange but quite typical for the lustful women of Rivain.

"Eh..." Alistair became speechless as she approached him and whispered in his ear, she sure seemed brave who dared to talk to the king that way, although Alistair was used to it. Strangely it seemed to happen to him often that women tried to hit on him, even when he now was married.

"Well, as I am the King it`s my duty to keep the peace in Denerim, as well the rest of Ferelden. Though I`m glad to see that you are not feeling too bad about your wound, even it looks painfully." Alistair said and smiled, turning with a look at the guards telling them to figure out what happened in the tavern nearby. As they left, Alistair turned back to look at the woman, trusting her that she would not try and hurt him. "May I ask of your name, I guess you already know who I am." Seeing that she tried to remove the blood, Alistair took out a cloth and offered. " Please allow me?" He asked, wanting to help her remove the blood from her face.

[Mariana]

The king seemed to lose his voice for a moment when she whispered in his ear, and Mariana didn't even bother to hide her amusement at his - and his guards' - discomfort. Then he asked her name, and she gave a theatrical bow as she introduced herself.

"I am Mariana Dacosta, and the best sailor you'll ever see."

When she tried to wipe away the blood running down her face with a sleeve, King Alistair pulled out a cloth and asked to help. Well, Mariana wasn't the type to refuse contact with a handsome man even if it was purely clinical, so she leaned in again to let him help.

Mmm, and he smelled as good as he looked - all soap and sweat and something she couldn't quite place, but might be some sort of cologne. Did kings wear cologne when they were just wandering around the market district? Or was that just something in his soap? Either way, it was a far cry from the overwhelming stink coming off most of the men she knew.

Ah, but here she was, getting all distracted and creepy. The soft cloth felt nice on her skin, though. And the king was really very gentle for such a big, muscular man. With big arms and a really, really great ass. And such a pretty face, too!

"Well, thank you very much, your kingliness," she said when she was done, tossing a grim look at the returning guards. "Whatever they say, I swear I didn't start it. I just don't like when men start grabbing at me after tell 'em to piss off."

[Alistair Theirin]

Being allowed to help the Rivaini woman, Alistair took the opportunity to help her clean away the blood from her face. When she first spoke her name and made a theatrically bow toward him he thought it was funny, but her name was a nice name, and a very typical Rivaini name. In return he looked at her eyes, almost spell bound, but continued to smile while he stayed focused on cleaning away the blood. Gently he touched her with the cloth, and after a short moment the guards returned with their answer on what had happened at the tavern. Though before they could say anything, Mariana spoke and she tried to claim herself as the innocent woman who was just the victim. Alistair however would love to believe her, but first he would like to hear what the guards had to say.

"None the less your Majesty, those in the tavern says otherwise, they claim her to be the one who first attacked and thus also began the fight that continued after she left. The owner of the tavern also supports those claims and he wants her to pay for the damage she caused.” One of the guards said as they returned with news, looking at Mariana with a serious face, believing her to be a dangerous woman, even Alistair may think of her differently. With both the guards now alert, they both held their hands on the hilt of their swords, ready to strike if she would try and run away or worse, harm the king.

“Is that so?” Alistair replied and looked at the guards curiously, almost telling them to let their guard down as he wanted Mariana to explain her-self further. “And what do you say in return to such claims?” He asked, wondering what her answer would be, though continued to speak before she could reply. “Perhaps we should go and speak to them and settle the matter, to be honest I doubt Mariana began this, we all know how the men at the taverns can be to a woman.” He said kindly and hoped Mariana would want to clear out what just had happened; perhaps he even could help her in some way, should it be needed.

[Mariana]

The king seemed willing enough to believe that the brawl wasn't Mariana's fault, but his guards apparently had different ideas. She sighed as they explained why the whole thing was on her head, then spluttered when they said the owner wanted her to pay for the damages. As if she could afford that! And the bloody guards had their hands on their weapons, now. So they planned to take her in did they? Well of bloody course they did. She was a sodding useless foreign commoner.

But before she could get herself in any real trouble, King Alistair cut in to defend her. Well, there was a new experience. In her experience complete strangers didn't go to that kind of trouble, though she supposed a king wouldn't have to worry about making a tavern owner angry.

"Well, thank you, your magesticness, and you're right. I didn't bloody well start it, I just smacked his face when he grabbed me." Actually, now that she thought about it that pretty little redhead had seen the whole thing. And she hadn't looked like she approved of the man. "I might even have a witness to say so. There was this redhead there, with great legs and better chest. I just bought her a drink when the bloody sot came over. Saw it all."

[Alistair Theirin]

"Ah isn`t that nice, ha! A girl after my taste, well he deserved it I`m sure. I`ll guess we should go and speak with her then, I am sure she can explain all of this trouble." Alistair said with a short laugh and smiled at Mariana, the guards however did not seem very pleased, nor did they really appreciate King Alistair`s easy ways of trusting strangers. "Come on, let’s take a look." Alistair hinted and began walking toward the tavern, with Mariana and the guards. The people who often traveled the street stopped when they noticed the king with a pirate woman, seeing it both strange and unnatural for a king, although they knew how friendly Alistair was and they knew that he cared for them; even his best intentions could often become worse than accepted.

Heading toward the tavern one could still hear arguing within, it was actually a quite popular place and it was it not rare that a fight broke out within it, in fact it almost happened three times a day and it had been a pain in the ass for the city guards to clear such trouble. Now again it had begun, but this time Alistair himself wanted a look and he wanted to get to the button of this specific matter concerning the woman he just had met. Outside tavern hanged the sign saying; The Plastered Bastard, a fitting name for such a place.

Once Alistair and the others entered, all they could see was a crowd of strong filthy men and women dressed for the occasion, with bottles, chairs and tables spread all over the place. It sure had been a fight and this one seemed too had gone really bad, across the floor and some tables lied a few drunken bodies, probably someone who had been knocked out during the brawl. As Alistair came in, most of the men and women stopped and they turned to look at him, first they slightly sneered, but then some of them went to their knees and bowed to the King, those others who did not, did not really care about the king, as they were just on travel, pirates and mercenaries a great lot of them. Then the tavern owner came over and said to the woman. “Ah there you are, you owe me money!” He then turned to the king and bowed and continued. “Apologize my king, but she began this fight and she should pay, or face the gallows.” Alistair looked at the tavern owner, whom smelled of ale and filth and with a short step backwards Alistair remained serious. “Easy now, let`s take it step by step and calm down shall we. “ Alistair reassured the man and looked at Mariana, before turning to look at the others who now glared at them. “Mariana here claims different, she claims that there is a witness here to explain what really happened.”

[Mariana]

Mariana's mouth dropped open at the owner's suggestion that she be hanged. "The gallows!" she shouted, "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"

She whipped her head around, trying to find the redhead she'd bought the drink for. Exactly how the the man figure a brawl was worth a hanging? Especially when she hadn't even started it! She was nothing short of frantic, but after her initial outburst she was careful to hide it. If the man wanted her dead, it was for more than fighting. Which meant she had to be extra careful.

And it seemed being careful was paying off. It wasn't long before Alistair's defense of her drew unfriendly attention, and Mariana stepped in smoothly to intervene.

"Hey there, mates. Any special reason you got knives in your sleeves?" she asked sweetly.

They looked startled at being caught, and in a panic a few of them drew their weapons while several others made a mad dash for the door. Mariana was pleasantly surprised to see Alistair's bodyguards do their job and stop them from escaping, but that left her alone to defend the king.

Well, bloody rock and a sodding hard place. If she ran off it'd mean the headsman's block for her, but if she stayed and tried to keep Alistair safe from the thugs she'd be cut to ribbons from being outnumbered. She really preferred when there was an option that allowed for saving her own neck, but if she had to die she supposed she'd rather go out in a blaze of blood-soaked glory.

Drawing her daggers, she stepped between the attackers and king with a smile.

[Alistair Theirin]

Oh great, these people want to start a fight, Alistair thought to himself as he noticed the men preparing for combat. With the guards now gone, chasing those who escaped, only Alistair and Mariana was left to face the angry mob. Mariana however had taken her stance in front of Alistair, all ready to fight with her two daggers. The tavern owner did not seem very pleased either, and nor would Anora be if she heard about the King fighting the people they were supposed to rule. As Mariana stood there in front, Alistair looked at her with an amazed look and believed her to be a brave and a tough woman, and there surely was more to her than what met the eye. Although Alistair was not afraid of the intimidating men, he had fought Darkspawn worse looking than these people, but their amount was far more dangerous, if they all came at once then they would have trouble withstanding them.

“Eh…gentlemen…and ladies…no need to do anything rash, I`m your king remember? I am sure we can handle this peacefully.” Alistair said trying to calm the mob who sneered of anger, stepping closer and closer toward Alistair and Mariana. Then a large man came forth and his nose was bleeding, and it seemed as if his nose was broken. He smelled of filth and disgust, but his eyes were fixed on Mariana. “I hold no allegiance to you; King of Ferelden…this bitch broke my nose! And she`ll pay for it!” The man shouted and just as he did so, he ran at Mariana with his sword held high in hand, striking from above to kill. Then suddenly, Alistair drew his sword and ran against him without thinking, running past Mariana as he pierced his sword through the stomach of the brutal looking man. Blood streamed from the wound and instantly the man fell dead to the ground. The mob was shocked and could not believe their eyes, nor could Alistair, what had he done? He had just killed a man, how unsuited for a king.

Once the man fell dead to the ground, the mob grew even angrier and their hatred boiled. The tavern owner tried to step in, but was run down by the angry mob that held weapons in hand. In a huge crowd they all came against Alistair and Mariana at once, all determined to harm the king and the Rivani woman.

[Mariana]

Well, if Alistair wasn't trying to talk his attackers down. Well, he was welcome to try, and good luck to him. Not that it did him much good - the words were barely out of his mouth when the same bloody sot who`d been harassing her barreled on over and declared his intention to his intention to take revenge for his broken nose. Mariana hadn't believed she'd ever hear a worse reason than a wrecked tavern for wanting someone dead, but that might just be it.

Mariana shifted her weight to get out of the way when the man drew his weapon and charged, but it wasn't necessary. Alistair drew his own sword and rushed him, gutting him with a soldier's practiced ease. She'd heard he was an ex-warden, but she couldn't help gaping at him along with the rest of the tavern for a moment.

Unfortunately, the mob was less impressed and more angry. Mariana knew that look - the man was a sailor and these were his shipmates, and it was time for her and Alistair to run. Preferably quickly.

"You know, your manliness, I don't think we can take 'em all. What do you we sod off now?"

[Alistair Theirin]

"Yes, I think you might be right...Run!" Alistair replied shouting, and then ran out of the tavern, grabbing the hand of Mariana as they left. The angry mob followed and Alistair and Mariana was chased through the streets, the citizens who noticed the king running from those armed was shocked and remained quiet where they stood, afraid to be run down as a great crowd came running after the Rivaini woman and the King. Terrified Alistair looked around as he run to see if he could spot the guards who had followed him, but they was nowhere to be seen. Alistair and his new friend were alone and if they were to escape unharmed, than they would in one way or another need to hide.

As they ran and ran through the street, the mob seemed determined to stop them. Alistair led Mariana through the market district and then to the Alienage, it was an exhausting chase, but gladly Alistair was in good shape and the same was Mariana. While they ran he looked at her and he could see she enjoyed it, and somehow Alistair did as well. It was a good feeling, a feeling that he long had missed. By every dangerous situation they came in during the chase, the more it reminded him of the days during the Blight. He and Aedan Cousland had been in many similar situations, though it had been so many years since those days.

Entering the gates of the Alienage, they passed the Elves that still lived there and unlike before, these Elves had been given a better home than they previously had. Alistair had been a good friend to them and he had aided them often, even the nobles disliked it. Seeing that Alistair was being chased into the Alianage, the Elves wanted to interact and it did not take long before they stepped in. Standing between the mob and the King, the Elves stood defending their good friend and the chase finally stopped.

[Mariana]

Mariana grinned when Alistair grabbed her hand and ran. He led her all through the city, obviously enjoying himself despite the danger they were in, and they finally made their stumbling way into the alienage. She wasn't entirely sure why he'd take her there, at first, but as soon as the thugs chasing them showed up the reason became clear - elves were either braver or more loyal subjects than anyone else in Ferelden.

With a mob of angry elves standing between them and the mob of angry sailors, Mariana stopped alongside Alistair and laughed. And panted, but mostly laughed. That was fun! She just hoped the men chasing them would give up now that they'd lost their advantage. She'd really hate to see the elves hurt because of her. There were a lot of things that could be said about her, but no one could call her heartless. At least, not completely.

But she wasn't so lucky, and it was as the sailors started trying to shove through the elves that she realized she was still holding Alistair's hand. And when had she started thinking of him as Alistair? Ugh, this was not the time to be thinking about it. She dropped his hand and slid her daggers out of their sheaths, giving them a little twirl to check her grip.

"Alright, boys, you're outnumbered on hostile ground. Do you really want to play this game?"

The man nearest to her sneered. "No game, mate. They're just knife-ears."

[Alistair Theirin]

As the Elves interfered to stop the angry mob from chasing Alistair and Mariana, they both stopped to take a breath, and somehow they both had to laugh of the situation. Seeing Mariana laughing made Alistair smile and he laughed with her, she was a lovely woman and he felt happy to have met her, even they both had ended up in great trouble. He knew that Anora would not appreciate what just had happened, but how otherwise should he have acted when the mob of brutal men attacked a King whom they did not support and an innocent woman. Standing there, Alistair looked at Mariana and felt a great attraction toward her, like there was nothing else then them in the world. It was a feeling he had never had with Anora, but a similar feeling he had felt with the Empress. Alistair became confused, though he could not stop smiling. Then he noticed the sailors trying to push through the crowd of Elves and like Mariana, he realized they both were still holding hands. Suddenly she withdrew her hand, but Alistair kept smiling until he turned focus back on the sailors as Mariana spoke to them and they replied.

Then around the corners of the street came the guards rushing, dressed in full armor and with their weapons ready, surrounding the sailors, protecting the King. The guards who were supposed to protect Alistair at the tavern now returned and as they approached one of them came to apologize.

“Apologize your Majesty; we should not have left your side.” He said in a worried tone and then noticed the King was still with the Rivaini woman, the guard did not like it. In return Alistair replied: “No worries my friend, I know you meant good.” Then as he the saw the sailors becoming angrier as they now were far more outnumbered, Alistair knew he now would need to decide their fate. He could prove to be a good king, or a bloodthirsty king, and Alistair sure was not a bloody tyrant.

With a look at Mariana he thought about what to do, and he could see she was angry at the sailors for blaming her to have begun it all. However Alistair was a kind and an honorable man, and he would see justice done. He had not liked killing the man who had rushed to attack, though it had been necessary, if not then Mariana would had fallen victim and for some reason he had begun caring for her. Looking back at the sailors, Alistair spoke out load to them all “There is no need for further bloodshed! You are outnumbered and I can decide whether I should imprison you or just let you go. In fact, I will let you go, if you all agree to leave peacefully...and I`ll gladly make up for what has happened.”

The angry sailors glared at Alistair, Mariana, the Elves and the guards, seeing they were indeed outnumbered and by hearing what the King proposed, the new leader among them stepped forth and without speaking he nodded and turned to leave, followed by all the other sailors.

[Mariana]

"Very impressive," Mariana said when Alistair convinced the sailors to leave. Re-sheathing he weapons, she turned to face him and found her mouth went suddenly dry. That was new. She swallowed a few times before continuing. "Thanks for the help, your heroicness. Can't say I got much to give you back."

And she found that she actually wanted to give him something back. That... was also new. Mariana wasn't entirely sure she liked all this newness. But there were a lot of people watching, including those damnable guards who all seemed to hate her on sight, and she was absolutely not going to let them know how confused she was feeling.

"How may I serve the crown, your magnificence?" she asked with an exaggerated bow.

She told herself she was only offering in the hopes of earning a ship, but however good a liar Mariana might be she was better at knowing when she was being lied to. She wanted to be close to Alistair. Well, that didn't mean she had to let on to the fact. Besides, there was nothing wrong with wanted a man who looked like him in easy reach. Even if he was married.