The Dragonborn Comes Ch. 32

Chapter 32 -- A Rough Night

*****

Nearly everyone was nervous at breakfast the next morning. I think only Riordan and I sat back with an air of calm, thinking that whatever happened would be left to fate. We'd do our best to make the lords and nobles of the land see sense, and hopefully convince Loghain that he was a fucking nutcase. If he didn't, then I knew it would end with violence and bloodshed, though we all spoke of our hope that it could be avoided, particularly Anora.

Eamon would head to the palace first with Anora, the queen slipping in a side entrance, out of view. Loghain would know by now that she was in our hands, though I'm sure he probably thought we'd kidnapped her or something. The rest of us would head to the palace as a group, as Leliana had assured that rumours about Alistair had circulated.

The city was alive as we left the estate, noticing numerous other nobles making their way towards the palace. The markets were teeming with people wishing to sell their wares, offering food and strong drink, while even working girls were out on the street, offering themselves for the price of a few silvers. Our group ignored them all, heading straight for the palace. Eamon had suggested that, as Wardens or their allies, making a grand entrance would make a point. I wasn't entirely convinced but went along with it.

Guards ringed the palace, keeping back the crowds. They recognised Alistair, and although there was brief hesitation, they recognised Cerys as a Warden, and they seemed to know me too, and finally let our group through. Nobles were crowding the courtyard, thinking it strange they were outside, so I figured it might be standing room only inside.

"Ready for this?" I asked Alistair. I met his eyes and was pleased to see the determination in his gaze.

Our entry into the main hall was blocked by Ser Cauthrien and at least a dozen armoured men. I held up a hand to the rest and approached her, keeping my hands away from the weapons at my hip. She stepped forward to meet me. "Knew you'd come."

"I'm sure we were expected, my lady. And you know we belong in the Landsmeet."

She looked past me, obviously at Alistair. "I'm not entirely convinced. If he was meant to be king, shouldn't he already be in there?"

"He is here to claim his rightful throne now, my lady. But tell me this; you've seen what Loghain is capable of? You saw what he did to me. Did you know he was selling off elves to the Vints as slaves?" I held out my hand, Cerys handing me the documents, which I allowed her to glance at. She shook her head, immediately crestfallen. "Tell me this, my lady. Did you agree with his decision to leave the field at Ostagar? Did he order it? Did he allow your king to die?"

Her eyes met mine, and I could see the conflict in them, but all the heartbreak, because she knew I was right. "He's my lord," she whispered.

"And you have shown him near unbreakable loyalty in return, my lady. But should that loyalty come at the price of your honour? After all that he has done, your word, loyalty and honour can only mean so much." I stepped closer to her. "Your lord is a tyrant, my lady. And it is time to end his reign here today. Will you stand by our side and lend your voice?"

She lowered her eyes, obviously thinking. I watched her shoulders and her hands, wondering if she would unsheathe, maybe to die simply to protect her honour. She finally lifted her eyes to mine and returned the briefest of nods, before turning to her men. "Remain in position with weapons sheathed," she ordered.

Joining our large group, we entered the main hall and into the middle of an argument. Eamon and Loghain were already trading accusations. Both landed hits, though there were plenty of gasps when Eamon accused him of being behind his poisoning. The argument went on for a good few minutes before Loghain finally noticed our appearance, myself in the middle, flanked by Alistair to my left, Cerys to her right. I noticed surprise when he no doubt recognised Ser Cauthrien with us too.

From there, the Landsmeet went as we expected. For every blow we landed, Loghain had a counter-punch, but whereas we had evidence, all he had was his word and his crumbling legacy. There was plenty of noise when we accused him of allowing slavery, and I was surprised at the vociferous response, underestimating how much people either really hated slavery, or didn't even want elves sold off as slaves.

He tried to accuse us of the murder of Howe. That's when Cerys stepped up and explained what happened that night, long ago at Castle Cousland, what happened to her mother and father, her sister-in-law and nephew, her fellow warriors, the servants who had proudly served the family. By the end of her speech, Loghain couldn't say a word that would have convinced anyone that justice wasn't served. The Howe name was mud.

Accusing him of regicide led to exactly what we wanted, as he tried to shift the blame straight to the Wardens. I retorted immediately, stating that it was the Wardens who had died alongside the king. Yet where was Loghain and his army? That's when Ser Cauthrien stepped forward and her words were damning.

"Lords and ladies, I have served my lord for many years and have shown his unquestioning loyalty. But I cannot stand by and watch this farce. Loghain allowed the king to die by ordering his army from the field. I was the one he personally gave the command to do so. We watched the Ferelden army collapse in the face of the darkspawn. I will carry every single death that occurred on the field of Ostagar to my grave, as will every soldier who walked away that day."

For once, Loghain was speechless. It didn't last long.

Then we played what I thought was our ace in the hole, by introducing Alistair as the bastard son of King Maric, half-brother of King Cailan, and therefore the rightful heir to the throne. Loghain tried to argue, and failed miserably. Blood was blood, and Alistair was the heir, no matter what anyone thought.

I thought that would have been it, that Loghain would have stepped down. But he wouldn't go quietly, accusing everyone in the hall of being traitors to Ferelden, of wanting the Orlesians to return, of besmirching his name and legacy by siding with us.

That's when Anora walked in. And she tore Loghain, her very own father, apart with her words. If anyone had doubted her loyalty, at least to Ferelden, those doubts ended as she called out her father on all his crimes. And when he turned his bile and anger on his very own daughter, that is when he had well and truly lost, not only the debate, but the very people he was meant to be protecting.

And he still wouldn't have the good grace to step down. A sane man would have realised all was lost. A sane man wold have stepped aside, having realised he'd lost any semblance of authority. But his obsession with Orlais, and with seeing the Wardens blamed, had been his undoing. The only option was to force him to stand down, which meant someone had to step forward and fight him.

I would have happily done it, but Alistair wanted to prove worthy of the crown, and practically ordered me to stand aside. I did so without hesitation, pleased that his first act of being king would be to duel the man he would be effectively replacing.

A circle was formed, the two men pacing in front of the other. Loghain was good, I'll give him that. I could see the talent. But he was also much older, and probably hadn't wielded a blade in anger in a long time. Alistair had spent months fighting darkspawn and who knows what else. He was sharp, faster, and just better.

I knew something was going to go wrong when Loghain refused to yield. Instead, Alistair fought him until he had him on his knees. It happened so fast, but I remember every minute detail. Anora shouting out for him to stop. Of Loghain's eyes looking up at Alistair, an almost imperceptible nod that he knew what was coming. Of the shouts from our group, telling him not to do it. Of the sword coming down in one long swoop, connecting with the neck of Loghain.

Of Alistair's cry, "For my brother, for Duncan, and all the fallen soldiers at Ostagar, you son of a bitch."

Alistair didn't celebrate, standing there, looking down at the body. It was a ghastly sight, Loghain's head rolling off to his side, a large pool of blood forming. Anora was on her knees, cradling her father's body. The look of hatred she returned, I knew any agreement was ruined the moment steel had touched skin. "You bastard!" she cried.

The look he returned was blank. "Justice was served, Anora."

"You call that justice?! You're no better than him!"

You could see that hurt, as his eyes narrowed. Any idea about an arranged marriage was definitely over. But when he lifted his sword again, I knew he was about to possibly do something very stupid. When he put the tip of his sword at her throat, I knew I had to get involved. "You speak to your king in that manner?"

"King?" she spat, "All I see is a stupid, little boy."

He lifted his sword, and I had mine unsheathed was in place to block the downward swing. He appeared surprised when his sword met steel, glancing up and blinking in surprise. "Ragnar?"

"You don't want to do that, Alistair."

"Why not? She's made her allegiance perfectly clear."

"You just killed her father! How did you think she was going to react? Cover you in kisses?"

"She's made her opinion pretty clear. If she doesn't want to marry me, fine. I can deal with that."

"But you don't need to kill her to prove a point. She's innocent in all of this. Hell, five minutes ago, she just spoke up in your favour."

"What a pointless waste of words," she muttered.

He looked between me and her a couple of times. "Fine, she can keep her head, but she's going to the cells." I had to relent on that. He couldn't keep her around in public as I'm sure she had her supporters. He was an unknown for the moment. "Guards, take her away. But ensure she is comfortable. I'm not a complete bastard." The sarcasm oozing from that last word caused a titter or two. I offered my hand, helping her up. Two guards stepped forward, grabbing her by the arms, and escorted her away.

Stepping aside, Alistair stood before the throne, Eamon having weaved his way down and was now standing to the side. Alistair then looked at Cerys, I thought rather hopefully, and he gestured to his side. Cerys burst into laughter. "Are you having a laugh? You cast me aside for her, then you do something completely stupid, and you think I'll just happily join you now? You have my allegiance as king, Alistair, but you can shove any idea of being at your side."

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, taking her by the hand, "Alistair, give us a few minutes?"

I think he was ready to tell her to piss off, as no doubt her words hurt, but he was perhaps hopeful I could convince her. I knew, deep down, he still loved her. And I knew why he'd done what he had. "Very well, Dragonborn."

I pulled Cerys with me, finding a door and some privacy. Once alone, I turned Cerys to face me. "I'm not..."

The first thing I did was kiss her, which she definitely enjoyed, and I think she assumed we were going to fuck, her hands going straight to my crotch and belt. I moved them away before breaking the kiss. "Be with him," I said.

"What?" she almost shouted, incredulous.

"He still loves you. You just don't see that because you're angry. But think of why he made that choice. He was doing what was best for Ferelden. Politically, it made sense."

"And I should just go crawling back?"

"Do you still have affection for him? And be honest."

She didn't answer for a few seconds before finally sighing. "He's a good man. And part of me doesn't want to leave him alone up there, despite everything."

"More importantly, do you understand why he made that choice?"

"I guess." She met my eyes. "But it fucking hurt to be cast aside. You do realise that?"

"Of course I do. But, as I said, I understood at the time and still do. Everything has just fallen apart, but I understand why he's just done what he did. What he needs now is his friends to get through this, and he's going to need the woman he still loves. That's you. What you're going to have to do is swallow your pride, accept the previous decision, but perhaps you can find the common ground you have before. Once you have privacy, talk to him. Let him know what you're thinking and feeling. I'm sure he'll be heartbroken once you tell him."

"And what about us?"

"If we had time, I'd fuck you one last time. But we can't."

That made her smile, so we shared a last kiss before breaking apart. "I still love you," she whispered.

"I know. And I will always be your warrior, but this is bigger than both of us."

Exiting back into the hall, Cerys let go of my hand and walked up onto the stage to stand beside Alistair. He actually looked surprised by that, Cerys leaning over to whisper something into his ear. I watched his eyes, and no doubt she quickly told him one or two truths. He met her eyes and nodded, leaning down to whisper something in return. Whatever he said, it made her smile, so at least something was going right. But, I'll admit, I was pissed about Anora. If it hadn't been Alistair, I'd have fought him when putting a sword to her throat.

Alistair impressed me with the speech he then gave, and the reception was music to the ears. He had a lot to prove but the people seemed willing to give him a chance, at least.

Alistair remained in the palace with Eamon as the rest of us headed back to his estate. Now that it was over, we would have to make plans for the darkspawn. The crowds parted as we exited the palace, hearing plenty of questions from people, though it wasn't our job to explain the situation. To be honest, all I wanted was to get back to the estate and have a drink or two. I hadn't realised how stressed I was until it all ended. Ser Cauthrien followed us, and I could hear the conversation shared with others. She was naturally upset by the loss of her lord, but expressed no surprise at the outcome.

"I had hoped for mercy," she admitted, "But he was never going to receive it from him."

Back at the estate, I wasted no time grabbing a whole bunch of bottles -- wines and spirits -- before leading all of us to the sitting room. Sten didn't join in with the drinking as always, but everyone else did. No-one else was upset about Loghain, but we knew circumstances between Alistair and the rest of us had now changed considering he would now be king.

Lenina had noticed our return, and walked in carrying some nibbles for us to eat. I thanked her for it, earning a grateful smile in return. There were one or two comments from my harem, about the fact I wanted to fuck another elf. I didn't deny it at all. The longer I sat there, I found myself getting angrier and angrier. In all honesty, the Landsmeet turned into a fucking debacle. We could have used Loghain alive, and Anora definitely didn't deserve to be languishing in a cell. At least Cerys did end up by his side, though. I dreaded how badly everything would have gone had she not listened to me.

I must have snapped more than once at someone, not meaning to at all, and eventually Leliana grabbed my hand and led me out towards the bedroom. "You need a release," she said.

"I'm not really in the mood for that right now."

"Ever have an argument with a lover and then you had sex afterwards, and you get everything out with a good, hard fuck?"

"Once or twice, I guess."

"That's what you need now."

"I wouldn't really trust myself right now with any of you."

She kissed my cheek. "It's a good thing we do. So," she left me at the threshold of my bedroom, "Go and wait in there. I'll be back shortly."

I placed my sword, dagger and shield on one of the small chests, sitting on the bed still in my armour, going over everything that had happened, wondering if I could have done something differently. The one thing I regretted was not fighting Loghain myself. If I'd done that, there was a chance he'd still be alive and Anora wouldn't be in jail. I surprised myself by how much I felt personally responsible for that. Our conversations had been brief, but I thought she was a very intelligent and quite attractive young woman. I hadn't been attracted to her, well not much, but she hadn't deserved that outcome.

I thought Leliana would return by herself, or maybe with one girl. I didn't expect Leliana, Natia, Solona and Morrigan, and seeing what they were all carrying, I was wondering what I was in for. They read my surprise as Leliana closed and locked the door. "What's going on?" I finally asked.

"Tonight, Ragnar, we are doing nothing but fucking," Leliana replied.

"How would you like me tied to the bed?" Morrigan wondered.

"That won't be necessary. I know what you want," I stated, getting to my feet. "Clothes off, all of you."

The fact the four of them didn't hesitate at all wasn't a surprise. In fact, my commanding tone seemed to make them more compliant, even Morrigan. Once they were all naked, they went down on their knees without me asking. Leliana received gentle caress of her cheek, as did Solona and Natia. I grabbed Morrigan firmly by the jaw. "I will not be gentle at all. Can you handle that?"

"I like you angry, Ragnar."

"I'm completely pissed off, Morrigan. Are you sure you want me like this?"

"Hell yes," Natia whispered.

"You've been striding around, muscles all over your body flexing, a look of... I'm not sure on your face," Solona added, "All I've been thinking is 'I want to fuck him right now.' It's weird."

"If you all trust me like this, then fair enough. I will never raise a hand in anger with any of you. I will never hurt you willingly. But..."

Morrigan stood up and kissed me hard. "You know what I want. I know you're willing to give it to me. In the frame of you're in, I think we'll both be satisfied."

"Get on the bed," I ordered. As she did that, the other three helped take off my armour, all taking a moment to stroke or suck my cock, which had already risen to near full length. Leliana then handed me a bottle as I joined Morrigan on the bed. Leaning forward, I forced her head down onto the pillows as I grabbed her hands. Holding my hand out, Leliana handed me something so I could bind her wrists together behind her back.

"Just like Haelga?" she wondered. I grunted a positive response as I poured a little oil on her arse, rubbing it in and squeezing her cheeks for good measure. She seemed to enjoy that, running my hands down her legs and up her back before I wasted little time started to fondle her pussy. No surprise, the thought of what was to come made her wet.

"Kinky bitch, aren't you?" I glanced to see Natia watch, completely and utterly turned on. Leliana merely looked amused. Solona met my eyes and I knew she was already imagining being in Morrigan's place. I started to finger her, and I was not gentle, giving her a physical suggestion of what she was about to receive. She made no complaint, in fact the noises she made told me she enjoyed it.

"Fair enough," I muttered, and quickly switched my fingers from her pussy to her arse. I was gentle enough to at least give her a little time to adjust, but I soon had two fingers pumping into her behind, using my other hand to at least fondle her sex at the same time. My cock felt like iron, looking at and gesturing for Brosca to come lube me up.

"Sure you don't want me to suck it?" she wondered.

"No, because you're getting it later too."

"Am I getting it rough tonight?"

"If you're willing."

"I can't wait," she said, spending more time than necessary lubing me up. I wasn't going to complain, laying a gentle kiss on her lips as thanks, and whispering into her ear that I loved her. She whispered those words back before joining the other two.