Campfire Tales – More Questions
As usual for the group, the day had mostly been comprised of long hours of walking between destinations, with a smattering of the odd highwaymen to be fended off here and there. That's not to say their journey was uneventful by any means. It was when they arrived at the various locales the party ventured to that trouble nearly always arose. The boredom of many hours spent walking Ferelden's extensive roads was most often quickly replaced by a ferocious life-or-death battle of one sort or another. Sometimes it was a political struggle that required the Warden and his companions to intervene. Still other times it was the simple survival of innocents. But it always ended the same no matter how the situation started. The group would be standing with weapons drawn and covered in blood, surveying a field of fallen enemies. That was precisely why, even though the trips between villages was long and tedious, none of the party members complained. They even got to where they sometimes wished those trips would last longer than they did.
As a matter of fact, the group hardly ever talked about their exploits as they journeyed. Considering the dark nature of many of their adventures, the conversation was mostly a light banter between them, often bordering on silly. While it could be serious at times, most of the concerns were of a more personal nature, rather than focusing on the grand task they were charged with. In the process, the group became very tight-knit and the members had grown close to one another. In just a few shorts months, what had been a rag-tag band of misfits and castaways, were now a family of sorts.
Even the witch, Morrigan, who was considered by the others to be a loathsome woman, was accepted among them. At first, one might have suspected her acceptance was based purely on her relationship with the Warden, with whom she had become quite enamored. But it was more than that. Fighting together alongside someone in one desperate fight after another creates a bond between people. And despite their differences, trust is earned. Morrigan may not have been liked by anyone else but the Warden, but she was still very much one of them.
Still though, on the many lengthy walks between towns Morrigan rarely spoke to the others, choosing instead to keep to herself, while she cast her glance at the Warden from time to time, blushing horribly and turning away quickly each time he caught her. If she did speak to the others, it was always in the same biting tone, with the same cutting remarks. It was important for her to remain distant from them. And even though she and the Warden shared more than one public kiss, even he was not safe from her razor-sharp tongue while they were in front of the rest of the group. The only time he saw any signs of tenderness from her was when they were alone. That's why, when the witch did speak in a serious tone, the Warden knew it was something important.
She was eternally evasive, even about the smallest things. Often times she wanted the Warden to acknowledge what she meant without having to explain herself, either because she was uncomfortable with the subject or she simply wanted him to drop the matter entirely. As a result, it put him in more than a few awkward situations where he knew something big was expected of him, he just didn't quite know what.
That's exactly what happened on one of their many walks along the Ferelden roads, when Morrigan decided to ask him a very surprising question. And, just as she always, her question came with no warning at all. And, just as always, the Warden knew that when it came to his witch, a question is hardly ever just a question.
"I wish to ask you something." Morrigan announced while she walked next to the Warden down the long dirt road to Denerim.
"You want to ask me a question?" he asked in return, somewhat amazed
"Was it not you who said questions serve to better acquaint people with one another? I must endure your constant stream of personal questions, therefore you shall answer mine. 'Tis only fair." the witch replied, her hands going to her hips.
"Alright, I'm game." he said with a smile, "What do you want to know?"
Morrigan didn't ask her question immediately. Instead, she seemed to ponder over the proper wording of it before finally saying, "I wish to know your views on children."
The Warden stumbled and nearly fell over himself, kicking up a small cloud of dust with his feet in the process. He quickly regained his balance, adjusted his shirt with a few tugs and said, "Damn rocks in the road."
The witch impatiently tapped her fingers against her folded arms. "I am waiting..."
"Uh...right." he mumbled as he tried to think of the best answer that would do the least amount of damage.
He knew better than to just blurt out the obvious. Even if he did suspect this was Morrigan's way of telling him she wanted children, saying so would only serve to cause him great grief. He'd made similar mistakes several times before and found those situations never turned out well. It was best to give as explicit and non-committal an answer as possible and hope for the best.
"Who's children?" he asked, warily.
"What does it matter? Any children."
"I guess I like children, alright."
"You guess?"
"I like children just fine."
"Well, which is it?" the witch huffed.
"Which is what?"
"Either you like them or you guess you like them. Which is it?"
The Warden let out a long, frustrated groan. "Do we have to do this now?" he pleaded, "We were having such a nice walk, too."
Instantly the witch's eyes formed into a piercing glare that he could feel stabbing right through him. Morrigan folded her arms, cocked her head back, and said with a sarcastic sneer, "Oh, I do apologize for disturbing your tranquility. Had I known my simple inquiry would cause you such pain, I would never have asked it."
"Morrigan, please. I didn't mean it like that."
"So in the meantime, I'm to wait until you are ready to discuss things? Why I even bother with you escapes me."
"What do you want me to say, Morrigan? What?" he asked, his frustration overflowing, "I try my damnedest to say the right things. I really do. But I never seem to get it right. I can't ever just say the obvious because of how you'll react."
"'Tis utter nonsense."
"Is it? What about when you asked me about love?"
"What about it? As I recall, your reaction was fairly similar."
"You would've never asked me that if you weren't already in love with me. But when I asked you about it directly you evaded it, as usual. Only after I said I was in love with you, did you crumble a bit; when you said we were both fools and admitted how you felt without having to say it. Its the same thing with this."
"If that is so, then what is so obvious yet you cannot state it?"
"You're asking what I think about having children...with you."
And, just like he'd seen her do many times before, he watched the witch's face grow flat and expressionless while her internal walls rose higher. "Is that truly what you believe?" she scoffed, "That I would allow myself to be tied down to some whelp? You would do well to remember that I have no intentions of making such a sacrifice for you nor anyone else. I have my own life to lead and I'll not have it interrupted."
"See? That's exactly what I meant. If you really don't want to have children, why did you ask me what I thought?"
"I find myself asking the very same thing." she replied, still agitated, "I highly regret saying anything at all."
"Well, just so you know, I wouldn't mind."
"Mind what?"
"Children." he said, adding, "I think I might even enjoy it if I ever get the chance."
Morrigan groaned loudly and rolled her eyes, "You could have said so much earlier. We would have avoided this entire situation."
"I know. But I was getting bored. I needed something to keep me entertained." he replied, sarcastically.
"Impossible man!" the witch cried out, giggling slightly and giving her warden's shoulder a good whack.
"I guess if we did have a child you'd have to put up with me for quite a bit longer. Wouldn't that put a kink in your plans?"
"Sometimes, we get the things that we want from unexpected places."
"What is that supposed to mean?'" he asked, confused.
"Do not trouble yourself about it, my sweet. Enough talk. Let us enjoy our time together in silence."