Kallian screams emanated from the small aravel and echoed throughout the dalish camp. For the first time since they met her, Alistair and Zevran couldn't reach out to help the warden. They sat in the grass powerless, waiting for a conclusion.
After a few hours, the heart-rending cries ceased replaced by a cruel silence.
Zevran opened the brandy bottle and drank then offered it to Alistair. the young warden took it mumbling, "I could use a drink or two" Zevran chuckled "easy with this, the dalish could get offended if you start running around naked."
The two man rose when they saw Wynne exiting the aravel, she walked toward them stumbling and pale. They looked at her as she took the bottle from Alistair's hand and gulped down a large sip.
"Wynne, say something" Alistair finally said.
"Boys, we just averted a disaster" Wynne declared as she raised the bottle to her lips.
The two men breathed a sigh of relief
"And her…" Zevran mumbled
"the child is fine, a healthy human little boy"
Zevran and Alistair smiled to each other. Oghren lost the bet about the baby's gender!
Lanaya the new keeper advanced holding a bundle, preventing the antivan from teasing Wynne about the "human" part that seemed to disturb her.
A little fist came out of the fluffy bundle and all the eyes fixed on it.
"Shouldn't the newborn stay inside with his mother"
"He needs to breathe the fresh air, besides it is the warden's wish that you all meet him" she said as she pushed the baby in Alistair's arms
"Nonono . he is so small, what if I drop him!" said Alistair, trying awkwardly to hold the boy.
"You need to learn how to hold your son" Lanaya affirmed
The boy started crying and moving his little fists.
"What! No, he isn't mine" assured Alistair as he carefully handed the baby to Zevran.
"oh my! He is not small at all. Poor warden! Birthing him most have been an agony."
The baby started crying louder. "No, you aren't agony. No, you are the most beautiful little boy in all Thedas" said Zev trying to soothe the boy, rocking him gently in his arms.
"For the love of the Maker, Give me this child!"
Wynne took the boy from Zevran's arms and put the half-empty bottle in his place. "hold this instead" she snorted
"Little one is so susceptible. Must be his human blood"
"Hey! We are not susceptible!" Alistair argued
"If you say so my friend" Zevran chuckled
Lanaya watched them bickering, amused and incredulous. They were the ones who were going to stop the blight!
"The warden is resting now, my magic and medicines could take at least five days to heal her completely"
"What are we going to do next?"
"Head to Redcliffe then to Denerim I assume"
"Right! We have to meet that… what he is called… Eamon"
"that Eamon is our last chance."
"He wouldn't be if the warden had let me slip in the royal palace and slit loghain's throat"
"yeah right!" Alistair sighed
Two months later
"she's back!" a servant shouted "the warden is back my lord!"
Eamon rushed to the main hall to receive the elf warden and her companions. They were drenched in blood and injured but for some reason they were laughing like mad women, the elf, the witch, the orlesian bard and the circle mage.
"Twas too easy!"
"I am way too old for that"
"You were amazing Wynne, I can't believe we won!"
"We always do"
Eamon cleared his throat to announce his presence
"Anora is safe thanks to you warden"
"More important Howe is dead thanks to us" Kallian snorted and added "whatever, I need to check on my son, he must be hungry"
"warden, wait"
"what is it again?"
"I don't know how to tell you this" the old Arl handed her a piece of paper.
If you want to see your son again, come to the royal palace, alone.
Kallian stood in her place tetanized. Morrigan took the piece of paper from her hand to read it after a moment she gave it silently to Leliana.
"Warden I am deeply sorry, I don't know how it happened"
"tis obvious, one of your servants is working for Loghain"
"I need to go" Kallian whispred "now".
"Wait, warden, Anora said something about the Alienage. We may find something decisive to use against Loghain in the landsmeet"
Kallian repressed her rage. She was going to shout "what if it was your son" but the man already knew what it felt to lose a child.
"I need to sit down" she finally said
"Let us go to my office"
Alistair, Sten, Zevran were standing alongside Anora and her orlesian servant in the Arl's office.
Kallian's brain felt like exploding. She must analyze the situation as quick as possible, Think about all the options she had and the different probabilities. She had to choose between her family and her son.
Meanwhile in the small room, nobody dared to speak.
"Zevran, Alistair, Morrigan and Leliana, you head to the Alienage and take the mabari with you"
"You are not thinking about going to the royal palace alone?" Morrigan asked
"I don't have a choice. He is going to kill him"
"Warden, I doubt that my father would kill an infant," Anora affirmed.
"Said the daughter who's accusing him of trying to murder her" Zevran mocked the blonde woman who glared at him.
"We have no time for this! Zevran, you will lead, take all the decisions in this mission. They are our people do what's best for them."
"I will not disappoint you my friend"
"And…For my family…my cousins Shianni and Soris, they have red hair and pale skin and my father…His name is Cyrion. if you could..."
"We will look for them" Leliana said
"If I don't come back ... It was an honor to know you, friends " Kallian fled the room before they could see her break down in tears
Cyrion, Shianni, Soris and all the others, thinking about them was too painful. but the thought of her baby in some stranger's cold grasp was unbearable.
A stranger… that's what Loghain was now. A year ago she would have trusted him with her life. A year ago she had even envisaged to stay by his side and remain a confined mistress. Now she was trembling with fear at the thought of what he could do to his own son.
For the umpteenth time, she cursed herself as she remembered the yellow vial. She had tossed it away without asking about it's content. Although, she didn't regret having her son, she pretty sure had some remorse about bringing him into this fucked up world at this fucked up time only to find out that he had a fucked up father.
Despair grasped her heart when she gave her daggers to the gate guards. And kept clutching it with every step she took inside the dark hallways that approached her of an inevitable closure.