This is a sequel to No Armor Against Fate, which you should probably read first. If you haven't, I think the basic relationships come through in this chapter.
Takes place 9 years after the events of Origins, and in my timeline, Awakening occurred one year after the Blight. Will contain spoilers for both.
I'm really enjoying writing the further adventures of Thora et al. - I hope you enjoy reading it as well! I love reviews, and constructive criticism/suggestions are always welcome.
The midday sun beat down on the road. It was an unseasonably hot day for spring in Ferelden. Normally, 8-year-old Anawyn Aeducan would be rejoicing at a day like this after all the long winter months cooped up in the Vigil, home of the Grey Wardens, but today she wished for cooler weather. She'd been walking for only a few hours, but was already hot and sweating, her clothes dusty, and the water skin she'd filched from the kitchens mostly empty. Apparently her mother had been right, and it did take a long time to get to Denerim, as Anawyn, for all her walking, still hadn't reached the edge of the Arling of Amaranthine, where the Vigil was located.
Sighing heavily, Anawyn headed for a stand of trees just off the road, sitting down for a few minutes in the shade and eating a bit of the dried beef she'd brought along. She gave a thought to giving up and going home—if she snuck in, maybe no one would notice she had even left. Or she could throw herself on the mercy of Anders, one of her mother's lieutenants. He had a soft spot for the Commander's daughter and often stepped in to try and mitigate Anawyn's punishments, usually by making the Commander laugh. Anders was one of the few who could. Anawyn's mother was famed for her military bearing and no-nonsense attitude. Only Anawyn and a few close friends got to see her more fun-loving side. Although sometimes, when either Anawyn or Anders would say something funny, the Commander would sigh and look sad instead, saying they reminded her of someone she hadn't seen in a long time. Anawyn found this confusing, as the person she usually reminded people of was her father, the King of Ferelden, and he came to the keep at least every other month.
Long ago, during the Blight, Anawyn's mother and father had traveled together. They'd been the last two Grey Wardens in Ferelden, charged with ending the Blight, and along the way had fallen in love with each other. (This part they both stressed very hard, when they told Anawyn the story. That they had loved each other.) Anawyn's father had become king, and since her mother was a dwarf, they couldn't be together any longer. But by the time they parted, Anawyn was already on her way. She didn't quite understand the mechanics of all that—she'd watched the mabari in the kennels, so she had some idea of what breeding was about, but wasn't sure how it went with people.
Anawyn's life had been spent at the Vigil. She was taken to Denerim rarely—only twice that she could remember—so mostly she saw her father every month or so when he came to visit. Despite their protestations that they had loved each other once, her parents spent little time together when her father visited. Mostly, he played with Anawyn. Her father was always laughing and joking when Anawyn was around, and it took a lot to make him angry. But his smile would fade when her mother came in, and usually they would talk briefly of politics, or Warden affairs, or Anawyn herself, and then one of them would leave the room. She'd never once seen them touch each other. When she was younger, she remembered dimly that they used to joke more and acted more like friends, but they didn't do that anymore.
Her father had a wife, the queen, in Denerim, and a little boy named Duncan. He told Anawyn about Duncan a lot, but she had never met her half-brother. As a matter of fact, that's what she had been arguing with her mother about this morning.
It had all started over breakfast. Anawyn had been eating with Uncle Oghren's family. Oghren was the Commander's Second—he had been with Anawyn's parents during their journey to end the Blight, and had stayed on to become a Grey Warden when Amaranthine was overrun with darkspawn about a year after the Archdemon had been killed. Oghren and his wife Felsi had two children, Aeda and Rog, and Anawyn had been watching the two of them play while she ate breakfast. Sometimes it was lonely living in the Vigil. Oghren and Felsi lived in a little cottage on the grounds, so Anawyn was the only child in the keep itself.
When her mother came looking for her, Anawyn looked at her curiously. "Mother, are you going to get married so I can have a little brother who lives here with me? Father keeps saying he'll bring Duncan to see me, but he never does."
Mother exchanged glances with Uncle Oghren, then said, "Don't be silly, Anawyn. Keeping up with you is as much as I have the energy for."
"Can't deny it's a lonely life for the little cave-tick," Unce Oghren said.
"Yes, but I'm hardly going to get married and have a baby over it! I can't, anyway. Once was miracle enough for a lifetime," Mother said softly, looking at Anawyn.
"The boy should bring his son around. Good for all of 'em."
"Right." Mother chuckled, but didn't sound amused. "Because Dorothea is jumping at the chance to let her son come here. She's spent eight years trying to convince Alistair to stop coming."
"You're too hard on him, Thora," Aunt Felsi chimed in. "He does his best."
It was an old conversation, and Anawyn had lost interest by that point. She knew her mother didn't like her father's wife, and she strongly suspected from what her father didn't say that the dislike was mutual. By the time she'd finished her porridge, Mother and Uncle Oghren had moved on to discussing keep business, and she waited impatiently to ask to be excused from the table. At last, Mother turned to look at her. "Are you ready for lessons, Anawyn?"
"Yes, Mother." She dropped a curtsey to Aunt Felsi, thanking her for the breakfast.
"Anytime," Aunt Felsi said, then grinned after a receiving a pointed look from the Commander. "Next time, just ask your mother first, will you?"
Anawyn blushed. She had a terrible habit of running off to go places without asking permission first. "Sorry, Mother."
The Commander's brown eyes—exactly like Anawyn's own—twinkled. "Sorry until the next time," she said with a sigh, but a smile also. "Ah, my girl, you're headstrong, just like your mother. And impulsive, like your father. An unfortunate combination. Come on, then." She threw her arm around Anawyn's shoulders. Since the Commander was a dwarf and Anawyn took after her father, who was a reasonably tall human, Anawyn was only a few inches shorter than her mother.
As they walked back across the compound, Anawyn asked, "Can't we go to Denerim sometime, Mother? Father keeps promising that he'll send for me, but he never does."
Her mother sighed. "He means to, sweetheart. It's just … more complicated than he wants to admit."
"But if you took me, then he wouldn't have to send for me."
"There are reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea," her mother said.
"Please, Mother? Please please please?" She stopped walking, her hands clasped before her beseechingly.
The Commander's soft brown eyes hardened. "Anawyn, I said no."
"Mother, I want to go!"
"That's enough!" The Commander thundered at her daughter very rarely, and usually that was enough to quiet Anawyn, but it had been longer than usual since she'd seen her father, and she didn't understand why she never got to do anything.
"Fine! If you won't take me, I'll go on my own!" Immediately Anawyn's mind conjured up images of what that would be like, strolling calmly into the castle, where her father would lift her up, his eyes shining with pride, and the pretty queen would come out, interested to see who this resourceful girl was.
Anawyn's mother laughed at the idea. "It's a good three days' walk from here, and that's for a seasoned campaigner. You'd be exhausted and ready to come home by noon." Her eyes softened as she reached out to stroke her daughter's red hair. "I will take you sometime," she said. "When … everyone is a little older." And with that the Commander turned to walk back to the keep. "Dennis is waiting in the schoolroom," she called over her shoulder.
Staring after her mother, the plan formed itself in Anawyn's mind. She checked in with Dennis in the schoolroom first. The red-haired mage looked up from his desk, smiling. "Ah, Anawyn. I see your mother found you."
"Um, yes. And I'm in … big trouble," she said, pleased with the sudden brilliance of the idea. "So I have to go to my room. And stay there."
"On a lovely day like this?" he said mildly. "And missing lessons, too?" He sighed. "All right, then. I have plenty of other things to do." He waved her off, absorbed in his papers again almost before she'd left the room, and Anawyn went into motion, changing from her dress into a set of leathers, taking her cloak in case it rained, and sneaking down to the kitchen to fill a pack with food while the cook wasn't looking.
Now she sat beneath the trees, no longer so sure of what she was doing. What if Father wasn't pleased to see her? What if Mother was right and his wife would be angry with her for coming? And it was so hot. She stared up into the trees, willing a breeze to come through.
In a few moments, it did, rustling the leaves and sending cooling all through her. That had been happening more often recently, things occurring when she willed them to.
With the relief came the return of her confidence. Anawyn stood up, walking back to the road. Suddenly she stopped short with a gasp. The road, which had been empty a moment ago, now had two people standing in the middle of it. One was an old woman, tall and commanding, the other a black-haired girl about the same size as Anawyn. The girl looked familiar, somehow, but Anawyn couldn't figure out why.
"Wh— Where did you come from?" Anawyn stammered.
"Where anyone would come from, child," the old woman said, smiling. "And where are you going?"
"Denerim," Anawyn said proudly.
"All by yourself?" The old woman looked admiring. "You're quite young to be traveling so far by yourself, aren't you?"
"Oh, I do it all the time." She hoped the lie would make her seem older.
"Indeed." Anawyn had the uncomfortable feeling that the old woman knew all about her. "Would you mind if we tagged along, my grand-daughter and I? We're not familiar with the road to Denerim. Perhaps you can help us find our way." It almost seemed as if the woman was laughing at her. Anawyn didn't entirely like this idea, but how could she say no? She nodded. "Excellent," said the old woman. "This is Cybele, and you may call me … Granny." The old woman threw her head back and laughed, as if at a delightful joke. The other girl stared at Anawyn solemnly.
"Uh … great. My name is Anawyn." Anawyn gave one more thought to going back home, then joined the woman and girl on the roadway, heading toward Denerim.
