Author's Note: We're going to jump back and tell some stories from Morrigan and Kieran's time in Skyhold, before we get back into the present established in the first chapter.
They were coming upon the fortress, Morrigan turned from the window to look at Kieran. He was napping, had been for the last several hours, despite the rough terrain the carriage travelled over. Morrigan stretched the fatigue out of her muscles, then gently shook her son awake.
"Kieran," she whispered. "We are almost there, little man."
Kieran woke up, yawning, and sat up straight blinking his sleep blurred eyes.
"Did you sleep well," Morrigan asked.
Kieran shook his head. "No. I had another dream, mother."
Morrigan sighed. Kieran was such a deep sleeper, that it was impossible to tell when he was dreaming—he was like his father in that aspect. The dreams haunted his every sleeping hour, and rarely were they pleasant. Moments like these, seeing the fleeting haunted look in Kieran's eyes before daylight banished the slumbering fears, were the only times that Morrigan wished she had never heard of the ritual from Flemeth. A part of her wished she could undo what had been done. Then she would tell herself that the ritual had saved Aedan's life, and that Kieran had a destiny that would outweigh a few nightmares. Perhaps if she repeated the same thought often enough to herself and Kieran, one of them would eventually believe it.
"Well," she said as the carriage pulled through the front gates. "We are here."
Opening the door, Morrigan stepped out into the cold air. Orlais was significantly warmer than Ferelden in most parts, particularly in Val Royeaux, so in a way the temperature felt like a homecoming.
"Do not forget your cloak," Morrigan said as Kieran climbed out of the carriage. He sighed, but dutifully put on the small, fur lined traveling cloak. He had not lived through the harsh winters of the wilds, nor the bitter cold of the Northern coast. Morrigan would be damned before her son caught cold.
People were milling around, clearly used to new arrivals, such that none gave her or Kieran a second thought. Except for the familiar figure that was approaching.
"Morrigan," Leliana said.
"Leliana," Morrigan said. The two women regarded each other with guarded expressions. There was no love lost between either of them, but much time had passed since last they knew one another. Perhaps this time things would be different?
Leliana glanced sideways at Kieran, who was glancing around the castle with interest, particularly the stables and the large horses within. "So…" she said. "That is your son? His son?"
"Of course," Morrigan said, she placed her hands on Kieran's shoulders, guiding him to stand before her. "This is Kieran. Kieran, this is Leliana, she is a friend…of your father."
"Hello," Kieran said. "Father told me stories about you. You're very pretty, just like he said."
Morrigan repressed the twinge of annoyance at the implied compliment Aedan had bid the bard, and laughed instead. Leliana's eyes had widened almost imperceptibly. Clearly she had been caught off guard by Kieran revealing that he had met his father. As far as she knew Aedan had not told any of his old friends about finding her and Kieran, or of the time they had spent together afterwards as a family.
"Why," Leliana stuttered for just a moment. "Thank you. That's so sweet." She recovered quickly.
"You're welcome," Kieran said.
"He has his father's irrepressible charm I'm afraid," Morrigan said. "One of the better qualities he's inherited."
"I can see that," Leliana said. "So, Aedan has met Kieran?"
"He has," Morrigan said. "We lived together for a time, but currently his duties have taken him elsewhere."
Surprisingly, Leliana smiled. A sincere smile. "It's good to hear that you found each other. Do you know when he will return."
"I do not," Morrigan said. "We do not keep in contact so I cannot say when his task will be done. But he is well. I would have felt if he was otherwise."
A playful expression crossed Leliana's face, one reminiscent of their time traveling together. "Living together with a man for so many years, having a son with him. It almost sounds like…"
"Yes, yes," Morrigan interrupted. "I know what you are going to say. It is almost as though we are married. Well," she pulled the glove from her left hand. "You can save your joke, the punchline has preceded you by several years."
Leliana was left speechless, staring at the ring—identical to the one Morrigan had given Aedan more than ten years ago—on Morrigan's left finger.
"You…and he…really?" The spymaster's bardic skill for words left her, and Morrigan felt the familiar rush she felt when coming out on top of any confrontation.
"You know I hate to do things because they are expected of me," Morrigan said. "And since none ever expected me to tie myself to another in such a fashion…" She shrugged. "Best to be unpredictable, is it not?"
"That's why you married him?" Leliana was shaking her head in disbelief.
"Well," Morrigan smirked. "There were other reasons. For one I don't intend to be separated from him ever again. And it made him happy. I see no need to explain my actions other than that."
"I'm happy for both of you," Leliana said. "That you both found love."
It was a clumsy attempt, but it had worked in the past so Morrigan could not blame Leliana. She had once been most vocal about her opinions on such foolishness as love. Well, she had long since learned that Leliana was not the only foolish woman.
"Yes," Morrigan said. "It has been much more pleasant than I expected."
"Come," Leliana said, shaking her head with a wry smile. "I will show you to your quarters." She motioned towards two of the stable hands to help with the luggage. Of which Morrigan had only what she herself could carry, and the same was true for Kieran. Except for one thing.
"I want to carry it!" Kieran said, as one of the stable hands lifted the large, cloth wrapped object from the roof of the carriage.
"Kieran," Morrigan sighed. "You cannot lift it. Let him carry it for us."
"But it's father's sword!" Kieran said. "He told me to take care of it. I want to carry it!"
Morrigan rolled her eyes fondly, she glanced over at the stablehand, who was having some trouble maneuvering the large blade in his grip. "Very well," she gestured to the stablehand. "Let him carry the hilt, you hold the rest of the blade."
"This is a sword?" One of the stablehands asked incredulously.
"Yes," Morrigan said. "It is very previous, so be certain not to drop it."
Leliana led the way. "So," she said. "He left his sword behind."
"Indeed," Morrigan said. "He said he learned his lesson from the blight and wasn't going to be carrying the thing all the way into the western lands." She sniffed at remembered frustration. "I would be much happier if he was properly equipped, but he seemed to think a sword and bow would be enough protection."
Leliana laughed. "I hope he's been practicing archery then," she clearly remembered just as well as Morrigan how well his attempts at archery turned out in the past.
"He practiced," Morrigan said. "But I would not trust him in a melee with the thing."
Up the stairs and through several doors and hallways Leliana led them. Finally she stopped at a door that led to a room, furnished with a desk, several empty bookshelves, a fireplace and couch, and a small table assumedly for eating dinner at. A ladder led to what Morrigan assumed was a bedroom, and upon inspection another door led to a smaller room, where a bed for Kieran was.
The stablehand and Kieran, who was struggling under the weight of his father's greatsword, placed the sword against the wall by the fireplace as directed by Morrigan. Kieran collapsed on the couch, with a satisfied sigh. Morrigan did not see the value of idolizing a weapon like that, but to Kieran it was a symbol of his father. Larger than life, something to aspire to—which is why she would so often catch him trying to lift the fool thing. At least he had not managed to take it out of its scabbard. The weapon was sharp, as Morrigan recalled, and Kieran could easily hurt himself if not supervised around the sword. She had certainly seen it cut creatures larger than Kieran in the past.
"Aedan had told me you were with child when you left at the end of the blight," Leliana said. "So I decided you would need a little more space than a single room." The look she gave Morrigan clearly said that she had been skeptical as to whether Morrigan would have kept the child. Aedan had clearly not told her the whole story then, otherwise she would know how important Kieran was.
Or at least what made him important at the time. Since then Morrigan had found many more reasons why her son was important. Aedan had offered a few more reasons himself as Kieran grew up.
"Thank you," Morrigan said. "It is suitable. And…quite nice. Thank you."
"So," Leliana said. "Arcane Adviser. What is your first order of business?"
"To start," Morrigan said, placing her bag by the ladder leading to what she assumed was her bedroom. If not she and Leliana would be having decidedly less pleasant conversations about her accommodations. "I do believe I will need to feed my son. We have not eaten since our morning meal, and the afternoon meal has already passed. How does one go about procuring food in this fortress?"
"I'll have some lunch sent up," Leliana said. "There is a mess hall, but I imagine you would prefer some privacy. So we can arrange for meals to be brought to your rooms. Cullen, Josephine, the Inquisitor and I do the same."
"Thank you," Morrigan said. "You have been much more accommodating than I expected."
Leliana gave her a calculating look. "I do not like you, you were always rude and unpleasant, vicious. But Aedan liked you, and he clearly likes you enough to still be with you. He's one of my best friends, and for his sake alone I would tolerate your presence. However, I also know he's a good man. So he sees something in you that you do not let anyone else see. So as long as you are being polite, I see no reason not to be polite myself."
Laughing, where in the past she would have bristled against the bard's statement she now found only amusement. She had become much more self aware as of late, knowing when to use her barbed tongue as a weapon, and when to rely on common civility. The Orlesian Court had taught her many things. Some she already knew, but like Aedan it had caused her to reevaluate some of her previous opinions.
"Most generous," Morrigan said. "You have my thanks, and my word that I will keep needless heckling to a minimum. Unless provoked of course."
Leliana chuckled. "I can't see how I could expect more. I will leave you to the rooms. Feel free to explore the fortress after your lunch."
"I had intended to," Morrigan said, as Leliana left, closing the door behind herself.
She turned to look at the rooms again. The empty bookshelves would need filling, she would have to find the library and hope they had the necessary literature. If not she would need to see about commissioning some materials.
For now, at least, there was the matter of lunch. Hopefully the food would not take too long to arrive. "Kieran, put away your things and…" She noted that he was not on the couch anymore. Morrigan glanced over at the sword, but it remained undisturbed. Nor was he in his room, and after a quick climb up the ladder, she determined that he was not in the suite at all.
"Wonderful," Morrigan sighed. Of all the qualities Kieran could have inherited from her she supposed that his curiosity and insatiable drive to explore his surroundings were not the worst. It did leave her spending far more time than necessary trying to track him down.
There was a knock on the door, for a moment she supposed that Kieran had returned. But she dismissed the thought almost instantly for neither would he knock, nor would he return willingly so soon. Morrigan opened the door, to see a pair of serving women—one elf and one human—carrying trays of stew, bread, and cheese. They paused in the doorway, clearly intimidated by her. Morrigan did not quite understand why that was always the first reaction people had to her, but she saw no reason to complain. A reputation was a valuable thing, and if fools decided to build her own reputation for her who was she to deny them?
"Put it on the table," she said. They two moved to comply and left the room as quickly as possible.
Morrigan considered her options. She could go looking for Kieran and the food would be cold by the time she returned. On the other hand, he needed to learn a lesson about wandering off. Normally she was content to leave him to his own devices, he could take care of himself well enough, but in a new environment she herself was unfamiliar with Morrigan preferred to know where her son was.
With a sigh she left the food and her rooms to go looking for her son.