Picking Up The Pieces
Alistair awoke to the sounds of Sareyna crying. He rolled over to see her curled into a ball, her face buried in her pillow. He reached out and stroked her back gently. "Come here, hun."
She turned and wrapped herself around Alistair. She buried her face in his neck and he stroked her back gently as she cried. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Her speech was muffled with her face nestled against his neck, but she seemed disinclined to move. "I didn't see it. Maric told me, he's…I don't know, he blames himself. He was going after the ogre when it ripped out a chunk of earth and hurled it at the wall where Anders and Zevran were standing."
"They weren't fighting next to you?"
"No, they were on the wall so Anders could cast and Zevran was protecting him from anything that came near. I was fighting with Maric."
"They should have stayed with you, they promised they would."
"Ali, you weren't here. Anders saved us all; we wouldn't be alive at all if it wasn't for him. He's a hero." Alistair was quiet, stroking her hair; she shifted against him and placed a kiss on his chin. "You should have seen him, it was amazing. You would have been so proud of him."
Alistair winced, he was proud of Anders. Not only did he routinely save all of their lives but he kept things lighthearted when everything felt a little too doom and gloom for even Alistair to make jokes. He was an amazing man and Alistair was proud to call him brother, both as a Warden and as blood family.
"We should build a memorial or something."
"We lost Velanna too, and a lot more of the Keep's soldiers. We're going to need to start recruiting right away." She pushed herself up and started sliding towards the edge of the bed.
Alistair reached out and pulled her back to him. "Where are you going?"
"I need to start getting things back in order. This…" she shook head. "It's a total disaster. How bad was Amaranthine hit?"
"It wasn't good, but it will recover. You need to rest Sareyna, your still not completely better."
"There's too much to do, I've spent too much time crying like a child anyways." She pushed out of his grip and quickly climbed out of the bed. Looking down at herself she made a face. "I'm still covered in gunk."
Alistair was on his feet now as well. "Yeah, the bath water got dirty pretty quickly. We were both covered in crud. I'll have another sent up."
Sareyna nodded and headed towards the wardrobe. Alistair sighed, if work made her feel better so be it. He wasn't sure what to do either, he felt a bit lost. The prospect of facing everyday without Zevran or Anders weighed heavy on him. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, he would have to talk to Maric today as well. It didn't sound as if he was doing much better than Sareyna. He slipped into a dressing gown and headed to the hall to look for one of the servants. Finding one scurrying down the hall he called out. "Excuse me?"
The boy turned and looked at Alistair, "Yes, ser?"
"Could you have another bath brought up please? Also, do you know where my son is?"
"Yes, ser right away. I believe he is still with the king."
Alistair nodded, "Thank you." He watched as the boy took off down the hall again.
He headed towards the wardrobe and found Sareyna sitting on the floor absently petting Pentheryn as she stared at the clothes. She looked up at the sound of him entering.
"Pentheryn and I can't decide on what to wear." She stood and moved to the hanging clothes. She picked up a pair of leather trousers and a pair of dark wool ones as well. "Which one says 'I'm here to work, we'll make it through this.' To you?"
Pointing at the leather trousers he responded, "Those would be better, they'll protect you a bit from all the detritus."
She nodded and placed them off to the side, hanging the woolen ones back up. She scanned through her clothes, nothing seemed right. She turned to Alistair again. "Some leader I am, I can't even decide what to wear."
He smiled and walked across the room. He hugged her then moved off to the side a bit and pulled a dark blue woolen tunic out as well as a leather vest. "Here, wear these."
She took the clothes, "Any reason why?"
"You look confident, but ready to get down to work. Besides, you like blue."
She smiled and set the clothes down with the trousers before rummaging for some smalls. They heard the door to the bathing chamber open as maids started bringing fresh water for their bath. Alistair pulled some clothes free and set them near Sareyna's.
"Any idea where to start?"
He shrugged, "No, not really."
"Me either. Let's get Varel, Nathaniel and Maric together and see what they suggest. Wait, Nathaniel is ok right? Maker, I didn't even ask!"
"Yes, everyone that went with me is fine, thanks to Morrigan. You should see what she can do now, it's amazing. Did you know she does blood magic now?"
Sareyna nodded, "It came up."
"Right, but that's just a little of it. She was incinerating Darkspawn like they were scraps of parchment." He shook his head. "It was amazing, and frightening."
"I'm glad she went with you then." She sat back on the floor petting Pentheryn.
Alistair settled on the floor next to her. "So am I. We ran into that Darkspawn again, the one from the mines."
"And?"
"And he's trying to stop the Blights. He wants to free the Darkspawn from the Old gods call so they can think for themselves and not be compelled to strictly follow. It's Renault, I know it is, but he doesn't remember. It was all a bit odd. He needs Warden blood to free the Darkspawn and claims that the attack on the Vigil was just a misunderstanding.
Apparently, they were coming just to ask for our help. But he also thought that all the Wardens were dead. When I mentioned that man in the mine, the one with the crushed legs, he seemed genuinely surprised. I don't think he has as firm a grasp on the freed Darkspawn as he thinks he does.
But he agreed to try to help you and…Morrigan is going to meet him in the mine in a month to see if they can come up with something together, to help both sides. You should have seen the broodmother we faced; she was ugly, and clearly nuts. And she could cast spells.
The Architect, that's what he calls himself, freed her and apparently she went nuts."
Sareyna nodded, "Makes sense, can you imagine not being able to move at all and not having anything to keep you comfortably numb anymore? That would likely drive anyone mad."
"Maybe, but I got the distinct impression that she was nuts long before that happened. Maybe from when she was turned, like Hespith, or maybe she was always like that."
Sareyna stood and stretched, "I think they're done. I need to get clean, I feel gross."
Alistair grinned, "You look good to me."
She snorted and headed towards the bathing chamber. The tub was full with steaming water and she slowly eased herself into the water, sighing gratefully as it enveloped her. She rested back against the stone side and relaxed a bit. Alistair eased in across from her, his sigh of contentment mirroring her own.
They were sitting in Sareyna's office, all clean but all looking decidedly haggard. Maric still looked weepy and still held Trelain. When Alistair had tried taking him earlier Maric had looked crushed so Alistair just let him hold the boy. Maric was struggling; he really thought it was his fault Anders and Zevran had died. No amount of talking could convince him otherwise. He wasn't fast enough and that was that as far as he was concerned.
Varel seemed to have aged a good ten years. He had bags under his eyes and his whole face seemed a bit ashen. Alistair had never seen the man without armor on before, but he was sitting in his chair wearing a dark colored, loose fitting tunic and matching trousers. His boots were well worn leather.
Alistair watched as the man took a deep breath and pushed back his hair for about the twentieth time. Garavel sat next to him, still in armor but looking a bit overwhelmed. He hadn't been head of the soldiers for very long, Alistair wondered if the Keep's heavy losses were weighing on the man.
Even Nathaniel seemed somehow broken. But it was the second time he had seen his home attacked in less than a year. Having your home attacked felt different; it was such a horrible intrusion. Alistair could understand that, he felt the same way right now. Like his home had been violated and desecrated by those Darkspawn.
He kept returning back to Zevran's words before he left. "Because I might not ever get the chance again." He had been annoyed at the time, now he just wished he could have that moment back, as awkward and weird as it had been. He would give anything to have Zevran back.
In all the time the three of three of them had been together he had always thought of Zevran and Sareyna's relationship. They were close, oddly so at times, but he had never thought of how attached he had become to Zevran. He never really thought about how much he relied on Zevran and how much more relaxed he felt with Zevran there because Zevran was always there.
And now there was nothing. It hadn't been that long and already he couldn't stop listening for his laughter to ring down the hall. Or for him to sneak up and scare the crap out of him. Zevran loved to make Alistair jump. He even missed the man's lascivious looks and lewd comments.
He felt oddly empty. Not that he didn't miss Anders, he did, but it was different. Anders had been his brother, someone he had been getting to know and someone whose company he enjoyed a lot, and of course Anders was their savior. Pretty much every person in the Keep owed their life, or the life of a loved one to Anders.
But his relationship with Zevran was…different. He had no idea what to call it. If felt closer than friends, it was like family, but not. And there was the odd sexuality of it. No, there wasn't really a word for his relationship with Zevran. But he would miss it, as much as he missed him.
"Do we have a casualty report?"
Alistair's head snapped up at the sound of Sareyna's voice.
"We're working on it. Men are clearing rubble looking for any more bodies; we have a few people missing still." Garevel's voice was quiet but clear as he spoke.
"Alright, get that to me as soon as you can. Have they found…" She paused a moment and looked to Alistair, he flashed her a small smile for encouragement. "Anders and Zevran yet?"
"No, ma'am there is a lot of rubble to clear there."
"And Velanna?"
Garavel looked at Varel who nodded. Garavel turned back to Sareyna, "We cleared all the rubble, we found the Hurlock and her daggers, but she wasn't there."
Sareyna shook her head, "What do you mean she wasn't there?"
"We couldn't find a body. We cleared everything in the area just to make sure, she wasn't there."
"Alright, that's a new one." She turned to Varel, "How bad is the damage?"
"Not as bad as it could have been. The work that Voldrick did really helped, his crew is already heading to the Wending Woods with a few soldiers to get more granite for repairs."
"Can we afford to have soldiers with them?"
"Pardon me for saying so ma'am, but we need the repairs done."
Sareyna nodded, "Right, anything else?"
Nathaniel spoke up. "The wounded are being treated, there are a few serious injuries but most should survive. Morrigan is keeping careful watch for any cases of Blight sickness, but so far so good. I wrote up and sent out orders to replace broken equipment that is irreparable. Wade is working on repairs for the soldiers' weapons and armor."
"I'm sure he's thrilled by that."
"Oddly, no complaining, I think it's because he survived. I also sent out notices to all the Banns that we are recruiting new soldiers. With any luck we'll start to see some volunteers before too long. I sent a summons to Lord Eddlebrek, I want him to come take a look at the land outside the Keep to see if there is anything we can do to help it recover faster. If anyone would know, he would."
"He wasn't here during the attack?"
Nathaniel looked at Alistair, "No, apparently all the nobles hightailed it out of here after we left."
"I would have thought they would have stayed here. I mean with the Darkspawn army travelling across the countryside and all."
"It doesn't matter, we having more pressing issues."
Nathaniel and Alistair stilled at the sound of Sareyna's voice.
"Alistair I want you to meet with Shannon, see if she needs anything. Nathaniel you speak with Eveleen. Varel can you handle the household staff?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good, Garavel I'm going to need a report from you on anything the guards need, the sooner the better. Alistair, please deal with the stable master. I don't know what he's talking about half the time."
"Will do."
Sareyna sighed heavily, "I'll deal with Woolsey." She turned back to Garavel, "Also, would you mind drawing me up a list of possible replacements for constable Aiden?"
"Bann Esmerelle isn't going to like that." He cautioned.
"Bann Esmerelle can kiss my ass. That man is incompetent and I want him replaced. I want it to be someone we can trust to do the job properly and can handle being an authority figure. Someone who will work in the best interests of Amaranthine and not the nobility."
"I will have a list by the end of the day."
"I think we're done then."
Varel and Garavel stood and left. Nathaniel sat for a minute, clearly thinking about something.
"Something on your mind Nathaniel?" Sareyna looked at him expectantly.
"I have a way to get around Bann Esmerelle, but it is a bit underhanded."
"Let's hear it."
"Well being as we're in a bit of a crisis throughout the whole Arling, you could create a new position. A special envoy of sorts to handle all things related to the well being of the city, including the guard."
Sareyna smiled, "Nathaniel, if I wasn't afraid Morrigan would turn me into a toad, I would kiss you."
Nathaniel gave a soft chuckle.
"Bann Esmerelle won't have a problem with that?"
Sareyna smiled at Alistair, "It doesn't matter whether she likes it or not. As Arlessa it is my job to see to the well being of the Arling, including the city. That includes the appointment of special offices in times of crisis." She laughed. "I might just set up a few with some of the other Bann's as well."
Maric spoke for the first time. "It's a good idea; it will help keep some of the requests out of the Keep. With everything that just happened you are going to have the whole Arling clamoring for your assistance."
Sareyna nodded and turned back to Nathaniel, "Can you work with Garavel to set up a list and see where you two think we would most benefit from these special envoys."
"Have I told you yet, I'm glad you're dealing with Woolsey?"
Maric nodded and grinned at Alistair's statement, "She is one tough old bird."
"That's alright; she hasn't seen me lose my temper yet. We have the money, we need to do these things and she will give it to me or I'll send her back to the First Warden, neatly packed into a box and all wrapped up with a bow."
All three men laughed. Nathaniel rose, "I'll go speak with Garavel."
As he left Maric turned to Sareyna and Alistair. "How are the two of you?"
"Heartbroken." Sareyna spoke softly. Alistair, sitting beside her, nodded in agreement.
"Decided to keep busy?"
"There's nothing else we can do until we find the bodies. We're having a ceremony later this afternoon, Varel is putting it together. But until all the rubble is cleared…well we're stuck. Might as well get to the work that needs to be done. Can't really afford to have the Arlessa fall to pieces."
"How are you doing?"
Maric nodded, "I lost one of my guards, and I'm not dealing with…Anders…very well, I'm afraid. I kidnapped your son." He looked down at Trelain snuggled in his arms. "I can't seem to give him up." He gave them a sad smile.
"I'm sure he appreciates time with his grandfather. I can't imagine how frightened he must have been with everything that was going on."
"Did I tell you he took his first steps?"
Alistair leaned forward in his chair, "What? When?"
"It was a few weeks ago, but things have been so crazy here, I didn't get a chance to tell you. Which reminds me, Sloan has been in a near panic since we came inside. He says he needs to speak with both of you as soon as possible."
Sareyna cocked her head and raised her voice. "Sloan?"
Sloan came into the room immediately. "Ma'am."
"You needed to speak with Alistair and I?"
He flicked his gaze to the King, "Pardon me sers, but it is a personal matter for the Commander and Lieutenant, I think it would be better to speak with them alone."
Maric nodded, "I'm getting hungry anyways. I think I'll go bother Shannon, see if she'll let me steal a snack before mealtime." He rose, still holding Trelain and left the three in the room.
"Please, sit Sloan, what's the matter."
Sloan walked to the door, closing and locking it before heading back to the chairs and sitting in one. "I'm sorry, but I am not sure who should hear this." He looked nervously between them. "Your son, he has magic I'm afraid. During the battle he had a green light pulsing around him."
"Wait, who saw this?" Alistair had heard all the Keep's children had been put into one room so they would be easier to protect.
"Just me, I think. I kept the bassinet close to me and made everyone else, even Eveleen, stay towards the back of the room." He swallowed thickly. "He stopped glowing as soon as the sounds of battle stopped, before anyone even came to tell us it was over. I have never seen anything like it. I wasn't sure if it was alright for anyone to know. You know how people can be."
Sareyna nodded, it seemed they would not be able to keep that part of Trelain hidden for much longer. "Thank you for telling us Sloan. For now we'll just keep it quiet, obviously we have to let Eveleen know." She sighed and sat back in her chair, "And Maric, but other than that, no one. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Thank you, Sloan."
"Just doing my job Commander. I would like to go back and watch him now if you don't mind."
"Actually, just go get him and Eveleen now if you don't mind." Sareyna gave him a reassuring smile, or as close as she could get in her current frazzled state.
Sloan stood and nodded, "Of course." He quickly headed for the door.
"Fantastic, just what we needed, more to worry about."
"They can't take him to the Circle, he's too young."
"Have you ever heard of anyone that young showing signs of magic? I mean I know Anders said he could feel it but…"
"Not during the whole time I trained as a templar. Most manifest around eight or nine. The youngest I have heard of was four. She was from a family that had a lot of mages in it though."
Sareyna leaned her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes. Today was just beginning and already felt like it was never going to end.
