Prompt:

First line: "When the phone rang at midnight I knew…"
Last line: "I should have trusted my instincts."

Notes: Kya Surana I created Kya for "Why The Hero of Ferelden Owes Me Lunch" and then I killed her. But I fell in love with her spunk and attitude that I couldn't let her go. She's probably going to be the main Warden that I use in the stories, but maybe not. Also, this story doesn't really capture her attitude, so we'll be seeing her again. [Edit: That's not a spoiler. Kya is only mentioned, we never meet her.]

I also got a prompt by Apollo Wings that I'll be doing soon. It's been absolutely forever since I've played Awakenings, so I'm trying to do a quick(ish) playthrough before I write it. It's a fun prompt though and I'll definitely do it!

On that note - please leave prompts/suggestions! I'll do them all :)

Calling

When the phone rang at midnight I knew something was wrong.

I never got phone calls. Not that late, at least.

My first thought was to just let it ring. After all, the Warden-Commander needs her sleep, right? I let the phone ring two or three times before pushing away the very bad feeling I was beginning to get.

But, I knew I couldn't let it go. Mostly, I didn't want to bother Zevran on one of his rare visits to Vigil's Keep, but I also figured that if it wasn't important, it would be Nathaniel's phone ringing, not mine. So, I slid out of bed and wrapped up in my house robe and made my way into the front room. Was I deliberately taking my time? Probably.

The phone rang again and again. When I finally reached the counter, the first thing I did was check the Caller ID.

Private Caller.

Of course. It's always private. With a little sigh, I picked up the phone. "This is the Warden-Commander's office."

"Kya, it's…" The voice was small and timid, but easily recognizable.

"Teagan?" I managed, trying to stifle a yawn. "What's going on?" The little nagging feeling in the corner of my mind wouldn't go away, reminding me that answering this dumb phone was a bad, bad idea.

Teagan was silent for a moment. "I have good news and bad news," he stuttered, his tone almost like a bad attempt at lightening the mood.

"Good news first. Definitely."

"There's going to be a big celebration at the palace next month." He stammered over the word celebration. "For the queen. You're invited, of course. It's the… the king's wish that you be there to…" Teagan cleared his throat.

I wasn't entirely certain why his words sent a chill thrilling down my spine, but I was fairly sure it had to do with his hesitancy. "And the bad news?" I prompted slowly. He didn't answer right away, and I began to pace around the room. Teagan still didn't answer. My eyes flew to the clock, where the bright red display screamed that it was just after midnight. I watched the minutes change, biting down on my lip to expend some of my quickly building nervous energy.

"It's Alistair," Teagan finally revealed. "He's… It's time."

At Teagan's whispered words, I dropped the phone. It clattered to the floor, but I paid no attention.

My king. My Warden. My Alistair.

Gone.

Everything we'd been through—the Blight, the Landsmeet, the trip to the Urn of Sacred Ashes, Morrigan—it all seemed pointless, because now, he was gone, lost to the darkness of the Deep Roads and the taint in his blood.

We could've let Loghain ruin our country. We could've let the Archdemon destroy Denerim. We could've let Eamon die, the werewolves remain cursed, the Tower collapse…

Either way, Alistair would still be gone and I was next.

It was then that I realized Teagan's voice was still echoing from the phone, but I ignored him. Instead, I glanced back into the bedroom, where Zevran was.

I was next.

Alistair was leaving behind a wife and country who loved him, and—despite all odds—a son who looked up to him. I had nothing. For years, I'd built myself up with the help of Alistair and Zevran; no matter how many Wardens I met, Alistair was the only one who seemed to understand everything we'd been through, and Zevran… Perhaps I found attempts at assassination a bit endearing. I was romantic like that, I supposed.

But now, I had lost Alistair.

Grinding my teeth, I gave the phone one good glare before returning to bed. I didn't feel like dealing with this anymore; with any luck, I'd wake up in the morning and find out it had all been a bad dream.

I'd never been a lucky person, but there's a first time for everything, I figured.

I pulled the sheets up to my chin and glowered at the ceiling, knowing I wouldn't find sleep anytime soon. I hated Teagan. I hated phones. Mostly, I really hated that I had answered. I knew I should've trusted my instincts.