Sorry to make everyone wait so long for the last chapter. I had some...big things happen. In a case of art (kinda) imitating life, my own Iron Bull proposed. We're gonna get married, guys! :D

So, this is the last chapter of The Glorious Ones, but I'm kinda toying with an idea for a sequel with Ataashi as the protagonist. Thoughts?


Ataashi sprawled on a thick rug on the floor. She flailed around on her belly, arms and legs flying as she tried to reach the stuffed dragon Krem had made for her.

"That," said Dorian, "is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen."

"You've said that at least five hundred times today," Varric pointed out.

"And it's always true. I don't know what I will do in Minrathous without the daily adorableness. I might have to get a puppy."

Adaar looked up from her desk, piled high with papers. "Did you just compare my baby to a dog?"

"Of course not! She's much cuter than a dog."

"Nice save," said Varric.

The Inquisitor sighed. "What am I going to do without you two? I have a baby and everyone leaves me."

"Can you blame us?" Dorian replied. "The smell of those diapers..."

"Besides, you've still got the Nightengale, Curly, Ruffles..."

"And Cole, Sera, Blackwall, and Bull of course." Finished Adaar. "But Vivienne's gone back to Orlais-"

"For a brief consultation with the Empress," said Dorian. "And I myself will return in a few months."

"But once Varric gets home to Kirkwall, he'll never come back," replied Adaar.

"Don't count your chickens so soon there, Inquisitor," Varric said, rolling a ball towards Ataashi, who ignored it and continued to struggle for the dragon.

"But Cassandra's gone except for maybe a visit or two, now that she's Divine. And Solas..."

The others went quiet.

"I don't suppose...have you heard anything?" Asked Varric.

Adaar fiddled with her pen. "I had a dream. The night after Ataashi was born. He said...he offered his congratulations. And he was sorry he didn't finish the fresco."

The pen flew out of her hands, spattering ink all over the desk. "Damn it," she muttered. "It...it was just a dream. That's all."

"Ass," remarked Dorian."

"My point is," said Adaar, shuffling her papers and tossing out the ruined ones, "it's going to feel very lonely and quiet around here."

"Surely more children would fix that problem," Dorian said. "I trust the Bull would be amenable to a larger herd?"

The Inquisitor blushed.

Varric blinked. "Oh no. No way!" He laughed. "You're kidding me! Again?! The first one's barely six months old!"

"I know."

"You two keep this up, you'll fill the keep!"

"Yes, thank you, Varric."

"Ruffles is going to have a fit..."

"Thank you, Varric."

Ataashi wailed, finally fed up. Before anyone could move though, Cole came sprinting up the stairs. He got down on his hands and knees, pushed the dragon close to Ataashi, then watched intently as she began chewing on its tail.

"Her horns are growing," he said. "She wants to headbutt things."

"Well," said Dorian, "at least you already have an exceptional nanny."

Cole glanced up at them, eyes wide. "I thought I was Tom's nanny?"

"That's right," grumbled Blackwall, trudging up the stairs with his infant son in his arms. "And as such, I'd appreciate it if you didn't dump him in my arms and run off every time Her Majesty has a fit."

"You're just jealous," said Adaar. "My baby is obviously prettier and therefore deserves all the attention."

Blackwall put his son down on the floor next to Ataashi. "I didn't think the head of the Inquisition was allowed to tell such bald-faced lies. Don't listen to her, son. You've got your mother's looks, you know."

Young Tom waved his fists in the air and gurgled.

"You see?" Said Dorian. "This is why I have to leave. If these two get any more precious I be forced to abscond with them. And now you're having another? I can't stand it!"

"Another?" Blackwall raised his eyebrow. "Already? The Bull has been busy."

Adaar sighed. "I swear, this is it. After this one, no more babies for me."


Ten Years Later

It had been a bad week for Gil and his mates. It had seemed easy enough when they'd planned it; loot the caravans headed through the mountains, then run like hell before anyone knew what they were about.

But not only had the caravans driven them off (none of them had ever seen merchants so well armed before), they'd been chased across the Frostbacks by another band of mercs. They'd only caught glimpses of them now and then, and each glimpse was usually rewarded with an arrow through the head. Gil's band was down from twenty-two to ten, and the horses were spent.

"Here now, Gil," said Toffer, his second in command. "Mayhap it won't be so bad to go to th' gallows. I been hearing they feed yeh beforehand. An' it's warm."

"Like hell!" Gil replied. "I gets myself hanged an' th' missus'll kill me!"

The would-be bandits argued back and forth on the merits the rope versus the snow, completely unaware of the group surrounding them.

"Look," Gil said, "it's a sticky problem an' no mistake, but if we can lose these gobblers that's been on us..."

"Oh, I wouldn't recommend trying to lose us," rumbled a deep bass voice.

The bandits whirled, drawing their weapons. Then they saw that they were surrounded and that a qunari was talking to them. Toffer promptly pissed himself.

"See, if we lose you, that's going to make my boss mad. Because that means she would have to hunt you down herself. And the boss hates the cold. So she wouldn't be as...nice as we've been. Keep running if you want. But she'll find you and tear you apart. Come quietly with us, and maybe you'll get to live. How's that sound, boys?"

There was a clatter of weapons hitting the ground, and then the bandits began tying each other up.

"Well, look at that, Chief," said Krem. "Looks like we'll be getting home sooner than expected. Your wife will be pleased."

"HE'S got a wife?!" Said Gil. "She must be a real battleaxe to boss him around!"

The Iron Bull grinned. "Oh yeah. I married my boss, you know. Have you ever heard of Inquisitor Adaar?"

On the road back to Skyhold, you could not have asked for better behaved prisoners than those bandits. By the time they rode into the courtyard, they were more than ready to be escorted to their prison cells.

Iron Bull watched them go, still chuckling to himself. Then he felt a rumble under his feet. The next moment, a herd of young qunari (and one human) came pouring down the stairs into the lower courtyard.

"Dad dad dad dad daddaddad!"

Bull braced himself as Ataashi came running up, and she headbutted his knees. It was starting to hurt when she did that. She was followed by brother, Cetus, the twins Shok and Anaan, and the youngest girl, Herah, trailing behind and dragging a much-loved and much-beaten stuffed dragon. His children climbed all over him, with Herah sitting on his horns.

"Hello, sir." Tom was the only one who hadn't thrown himself into the pile, probably out a healthy respect for the number of knees and elbows in play.

"Hey, Tom. I miss anything good?"

"No, but-"

"DAD!" Ataashi shouted in his ear. "Commander Cullen wants to teach us how to ride! Can we Dad?" She was blushing a bit. Ataashi had had a crush on the Commander for years.

"What did the boss say?" He asked.

"The baby spat up and Mom said to ask you."

"And you all want to ride?" He asked.

Ataashi, Cetus, Shok, Anaan, and Tom all nodded so hard he thought their horns (and hair) might fall off. But he felt Herah grip his head tightly.

"Herah's too young," he said, "so she has to stay with me today. No dracolisks. And make sure Blackwall's there, too. All five of you are too much for Cullen at once."

His kids cheered and ran off, leaving him with Herah, who tried to pull off his eyepatch.

Sera stuck her head over the upper courtyard's wall. "Did I just hear the Herd?" She called.

"Yep." Bull called back.

"Frig! Where'd they go?"

"Stables. Cullen's going to teach them to ride."

The elf cackled madly and disappeared. A moment later she came running down the stairs and headed straight for the stables.

Bull thought about joining in, but the ache in his knees and Herah's tight grip on his horns convinced him otherwise.

"When did I get old?" He said.

Herah leaned down over his forehead and grinned at him upside-down. "Daddies are old," she said.

"I'm not too old, am I kid?"

"No!" She squealed.

"Want to go find your mom and hit some practice dummies?"

"Yes!"

So, with his youngest daughter still clinging to his horns, he went off to find his wife.