A plan in motion (Celene, Ky and Landon)

[Teyrn Landon]

King Alistair had finally left Ferelden and Queen Anora was now the sole regent until he returned, but since Teyrn Landon held a strong position within the kingdom and the palace, he would most certainly stand close to the Queen through the entire time. In secret he had put his plan to motion as he had hired a mercenary to kill Alistair on his journey north, as ordered by Queen Anora herself, but what she did not know was that Landon had plans to overthrow her and take the crown for himself.

To do so Landon had handed the mercenary an anonymous letter, a letter that was to be brought to the Knight Commander of Kirkwall himself, which stated that Anora was hiding mages in Ferelden. If the Templars would come and investigate the rumor, Anora would most certainly be taken into custody and be trailed for a lifetime of imprisonment or worse. Once that happened, Teyrn Landon would be one step closer to taking the throne, even though Arl Teagan had higher claims to it if both the King and Queen would be gone. It was something to think about, but on this day Teyrn Landon did not care about such things, as he rather would enjoy the plans he already had begun.

With a bright smile on his face, Teyrn Landon stood tall in stature with his hands intertwined behind his back, watching the Lieutenant talking to the rest of guards in the courtyard of the royal palace. It was a bright and a sunny day and the heat was almost unbearable as Landon wore his plate armor, it made him sweat a bit, but still he cared not as he only thing he was now thinking of was how it would be if he became the King of Ferelden. Of course he would need the nobles on his side, but that he had almost already taken care of, knowing that most of them hated King Alistair for not taking their wishes seriously. Teyrn Landon had their support if it would come to a change of rule, but what of the guests that lingered within Ferelden, what of Empress Celene who Alistair had protected from Gespard. Of course Landon could hand her over to Gespard to secure and alliance, but there was also so many other options, so many things which Landon could do once he had become King.

[Empress Celene I]

A walk in the courtyard was just the thing for today. Celene wasn’t sure whether anyone else would be out due to the heat, but she had always liked warmth and was going to enjoy it while she could. Her dress was simple, a lovely pale yellow thing, with a yellow rose embroidered on the front of the bodice. The color looked bright and happy against her pale skin and her dark hair. It was a color most couldn’t pull off but she did it better than anyone in Ferelden would without a problem.

There were a few people in the yard though no one that she deemed important right away. Within moments she spotted Teyrn Landon and fought to keep her face impassive. She wished she was at home so that she could be wearing the lovely mask that went with this dress. However doing that here would make her stick out more than she already did. She was already easily spotted due to her clothing for Orlesians were far more fashionable that the people of Ferelden. Celene found herself a bench and settled herself upon it, she wouldn’t be the first to approach Landon. If he wanted to speak he could come to her.

Instead she pulled a little book from the sash of her gown; the pages of the book were filled with poetry. A soft smile spread across her lips as she began to read silently, her head tilted gently to the right so her mass of dark curls fell over one shoulder. Celene was settled in a patch of sunshine, making her look like a nymph of the sun. The dress had been a good choice for this day, but she was sad that Alistair wasn’t here to see how lovely she looked in it.

[Teyrn Landon]

As Landon stood listening to the lieutenant speaking to the guards who stood attentive and in formation, he was surprised to see the Orlesian woman Celene step into the courtyard. With his gaze fixed upon her as she walked over to sit down on the bench in the warm sun, Landon became intrigued as he thought she looked beautiful in her colorful dress which she had on. Still she was an Orlesian and Landon was not fond of those, but he had to admit that Alistair indeed had beautiful women chasing him. Oh yes indeed, Landon had heard about the rumors regarding Celene and Alistair and as he himself had an affair with Anora, it had only strengthened his knowledge that the King and the Empress may have done some things behind the Queen`s back. Now if that was the truth, it would certainly harm the reputation of Alistair and Celene should it be leaked out, and as Landon thought about it he believed he could use that as advantage to strengthen his position in becoming the new king of Ferelden.

Landon continued to stare at Celene and in the background he simply heard noises as he again went into deep thoughts, and before he knew it the group of guards was leaving the courtyard as their Lieutenant ordered them to return to their posts. Many of the guardsman could not keep their eyes from Celene as she sat there peacefully reading her book, but the guardsman was quickly pushed ahead by their Lieutenant and thus the courtyard was almost emptied, except for Landon and Celene.

Now as they were alone, Landon took the opportunity to approach the Empress and as he noticed she was reading, he slowly approached before he stopped right in front of her. “A great day isn’t it? Maybe a bit dangerous for an Empress to be outside, but indeed a great day. ” Landon spoke charmingly as he watched her keenly, curious on what she was reading and what she actually thought as she had chosen to step outside. With a civil war going on back in her country, one would think the Empress was taking better precautions concerning that assassins may try and take her life.

[Empress Celene I]

The sound of footsteps caused Celene to put her finger in her book to mark her place. Her pale blue eyes looked up towards the man right as he was about to speak. “A great day isn’t it? Maybe a bit dangerous for an Empress to be outside, but indeed a great day.” His voice was charming enough but her eyes still grew cold as she looked him over. He had a lot of audacity to walk over to her and speak like he had. She shifted her weight so her back was straighter as she met his gaze, a sly smile on her face.

”You should mind your manners better sir. To you I am Empress Celene and I shall be addressed as such, if you can not manage that then I ask that you remove yourself from my sight before I call the guards back.” Her accent was thick, and it was easy to tell she had been born in Orlais. It would be strange for those who knew her well to hear her voice sound as cold and harsh as it did. She was furious that this man whom she had only heard of had just walked over to her and began to speak.

Who did he think he was? If he had been a fellow noble such things could have been over looked slightly, but this was just to much. He had just invited himself over by her and had begun to speak as if she were a commoner. On top of that his voice sounded like a threat. Celene was a smart woman and though she looked harmless she had a few blades hidden on her. She wasn’t as armed as a crow would be but she had enough to keep herself safe until a guard could come to aid her. She waited for the man to speak, her eyes still cold and staring. She wasn’t going to be pushed around by a man who thought himself to be something.

[sayahotd]

Ky had went through a lot to get to this point. Her mission to spy in Landon went bad, but she managed to get herself out of it. Celene had not seen her since she sent her on this mission, and Ky was worried that she may have been too late. She was not able to get the written evidence that Celene had asked for, but she had overheard Landon’s plan against Alistair. At the least Celene would have a vital bit of information that would enable her to thwart Landon’s plans as soon as possible.

These were here hopes, but when she finally found Celene, the situation looked grim. She could see from the distance, a beautiful figure sitting in the sun. The figure was wearing an outstanding yellow dress, and Ky new it was Celene. She could not see every detail, but she had great sight and she knew Celene’s look anywhere. The thing that concerned Ky was that Teyrn Landon was now talking to Celene. Maybe she was too late! As she approached, she could see that Celene had a book with her which was clever. The Empress was always so smart and knew how to make herself look innocent to others.

Ky approached smoothly and quietly. She did not look like a spy, or a fighter. Her short hair was choppy and barely covered her elf ears. She wore a cool blue dress that was made of a sheer, yet adorned, fabric. The dress was strapless, because Ky was no fan of hot weather, and the fabric was light, in order to give her swift movement. The dress looked fancy and sparkled a bit. It did not make a sound like a normal ornamental dress. Instead the fabric itself was made to give the illusion of luminescence. Celene would probably wonder where Ky’s new attire had surfaced from, but making her own way in Fereldan had taught her a thing or two. She wore hidden daggers underneath the outfit, but her bow was always on her back. As she walked closer to Celene, it would seem that the two made a scene of the sun and moon itself. It was not planned, but gave an instinctual metaphor to the kind of power they could create.

Landon had never seen the elf before, but she had seen him. With coldness in her eyes, but a smile on her face, she starred at him. She gazed into his eyes to let him know, without saying a word, that she had been the one who overheard him with the mercenary. From the appearances of Ky, the only thing that made her look like she was even capable of this feat, was her bow. Otherwise a first glance would be very deceiving, so she would see if Landon would catch on.

She moved slowly, but made it over to where Celene was sitting. She would never interrupt a conversation between those who were her betters, so she stood silent and nodded to Celene sweetly. Ky knew her place well and she was always proper with the Empress, although she could probably get away without being so formal these days. Ky just wouldn’t feel right.

[Teyrn Landon]

Standing like a shadow above Celene, Landon listened intensely to what she spoke and what she said annoyed him. She was putting him on the spot, as he had simply ignored greeting her like an Empress, however he had done so on purpose due to that he hated the Orlesians and believed she was no better than a serpent among dogs. Ever since she had come to live like an exile among the Fereldens, Landon had disliked having her around and often had he seen she made Anora upset due to Celene`s close relationship with the King. Teyrn Landon was no fan of the Empress, nor was many of the Fereldens either as many still remembered what the Orlesians had done to their families in the past. The wounds which of King Meghren had caused the people remained like a scar and whenever the Fereldens had encounters with the Orlesians, the scar always got torn up. Many now feared that Celene`s presence in Ferelden would make the King pity her and that they both would fall in love, and perhaps that if she succeeded she would lure the king so that she could more easily usurp the land and again make it a part of Orlais.

Landon and Anora was determined to not let anything happen to Ferelden as they believed in their traditions and wanted to keep the Orlesians as far away as possible, still Anora sought to use the opportunity as Celene stayed in Denerim, either maybe assist her to regain her throne such that a long term peace treaty could be made, or simply hand her over to Gespard and be done with it. With Alistair no longer around, Anora and Landon had full control and if they wanted, they could deport Celene back to her Empire.

With a conniving smile back at Celene as he tried to remain calm and kind as he replied, he noticed in the same moment an elven female approach; “I beg of forgiveness…Empress.” He said and allowed it to sink in, as he glanced at the elf who remained silent by Celene`s side, before he again continued. “I merely wanted a discussion, to get to know our Orlesian guest. However now that I come to think of it…why should I greet you like an Empress when you are no longer entitled as such among your people. Last time I checked, Gespard de Chalons is the Emperor. You are only an Orlesian guest because King Alistair allows it, but then again…now where is he?” Landon said with a broad smile on his face, wanting to put her on the spot.