Crash Into me
A Small Act of Kindness
It was because he was the closest. Or, possibly, it was just sheer dumb luck… if you could call it that.
Loghain had gone down, almost at their feet, with Alistair's sword across his throat. She had screamed, drowning out the few astonished gasps in the Landsmeet chamber; a sound of anguish that had clenched in his gut as Ser Cauthrien dropped to her knees beside him.
"No." She shook her head. "No. No." She murmured the word over and over while Loghain's blood pooled into a dark puddle on the stone.
Alistair, breathing heavily, his armor splashed with red, scarcely gave her a glance before turning his back on them to return to Elissa Cousland's side. Though Teagan listened carefully to the rest of the proceedings—Queen Anora was to marry Alistair, the line of Calenhad re-secured—he couldn't help watching her. The others all looked away, not wanting to see, but his gaze kept drifting to the back of her bowed head, the way her shoulders shook with silent sobs. What would Anora do with her now?
"He shouldn't be left like this. After all he's done. It's not right." Her voice should not have been audible over the mutterings of the other nobles, but the words reached his ears. Though he'd only been a boy, he still remembered how they'd celebrated after the Orlesians had been driven out by this man. He'd finally been able to come home to Ferelden, though his father had not been there to see their return.
The Hero of the River Dane, despite it all.
Despite what he'd done to Cailan—to Ferelden—everything he had done for Maric—for Ferelden—still mattered. Without thinking about what he was doing, his hands found the clasp of his cloak, and he stepped around Cauthrien's bent form and the mess on the floor to drape the material over the body, Loghain's eyes still staring blankly at Teagan's boots. The Queen, though mired in conversation with the other Banns, gave him a curt nod, her gratitude evident.
"Thank you." Cauthrien didn't bother to raise her head.
"It seemed disrespectful to leave him like that."
She looked up at him then, her eyes wild and lost. A mist of dried blood clung to her cheeks, accentuating the paleness of her skin. He held out his hand and waited.
There was long pause, and then she slipped her hand in his, her fingers cool against the heat of his palm. She rose with a surprising sense of grace. "He was only trying to do what he thought was best. For Ferelden." Her gaze flicked down to the body on the floor. "We all were." With that, her hand was gone from his and she turned to go.
"Wait—" He fumbled in his pocket for a handkerchief, holding it out to her. "For your face. It's covered in…" Teagan faltered, unable to say the words aloud.
Cauthrien took it, running her fingers over the thin square of fabric for a moment before rubbing her cheeks vigorously. Little came off, the spatter already dry. She looked down at the unblemished cloth and held it towards him. "Thank you."
"It's all right. You can keep it."
She left her hand extended for a moment, withdrawing it only when it was clear he wasn't going to allow her to return it. Clutching it tightly in her fist, her eyes met his. "Why are you being kind to me?"
He shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know."
"Ser Cauthrien, step forward, please." Anora's voice cut through the thick of the conversations surrounding them. Alistair was standing beside her, a frown pulling at his features.
Cauthrien pivoted to face the Queen, dropping down to one knee and bowing her head. "Your Majesty."
"Ser Cauthrien, while your crimes would normally warrant your execution, we cannot afford the loss of your skills given the current… situation." Alistair's scowl grew darker as the Queen spoke. "You are hereby stripped of your rank and your position as lieutenant and commander of the Maric's Shield regiment and you shall remain with the army for the time being in an advisory capacity only. In exchange for your service, you will not be executed or exiled, but may remain in Ferelden in whatever non-military capacity you see fit."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall do whatever is asked of me." She spoke her words to the floor.
"Then, this Landsmeet is adjourned. Cauthrien, you are expected in the war room immediately. There is much for all of us to discuss." Anora swept away with Alistair, Elissa, Eamon, and a handful of others in her wake. Cauthrien stood up slowly, giving him only the briefest glance before striding off after the others, the flutter of the handkerchief's edge trailing from her hand.
A/N: This story is for the lovely Saga Svanhildr for her wonderful guesswork in the CMDA board's Secret Santa Fic Exchange. Her request was for Teagan/Cauthrien with a happy ending. Saga, I really hope you like your story! Since most of the chapters are fairly short, I expect to be updating every few days or so.
Super special thank you hugs to the awesome and speedy Josie Lange for giving this a thorough once-over and helping me cull the herd of commas. ;)
I also feel I need to mention my nervousness about tackling this pairing because I'm so in awe of DearQueen's story, 'War is Never Cheap Here,' and I can't help but feel that this pairing belongs so much to them. Go check it out; it's amazing.
For those of you waiting on 'Scars That Bind,' I solemnly promise that it hasn't been abandoned. I have a handful of one shots that have been promised to people to finish up, and then I will back on 'Scars,' and only 'Scars,' after that. Thank you so much for your continued patience.
As always, all rights belong to Bioware and not to me (sadly).