"The child needs to be sent away." Loghain said again. Maric stared at the floor. He couldn't get his daughter's screams out of his mind. He couldn't shake the thought of Colette's dead eyes staring up at him. He still thought he saw blood on his hands when he looked at them, and no amount of scrubbing had removed it. He raised his head and met his old friend's cold eyes.
"Why would I send her away? She is my daughter." he answered dully. Loghain shook his head.
"She may be your daughter, but she is also a bastard and a threat to Cailan's status as heir." the man barked. Maric didn't understand how he had no sympathy for Colette's death.
"She is my legitimate child, Loghain. Our wedding..." he whimpered.
"Never happened. And as such, she will be thought of as a bastard for her entire life. It would be better for her to be raised away from this place, as you did with your other son." he encouraged. Maric felt too weak to argue. He did not want to be king any longer. He wanted to die.
"She is the only thing of Colette that I still have." he breathed.
"And what if her life is endangered as well? Whoever killed Colette could have been after Kierrai too. Sending her away would keep her safe, Maric." the Teyrn pointed out. Feeling hollow, Maric nodded his assent.
"I need to say goodbye." he murmured before standing and walking to the rooms Kierrai was now living in. He could hear that Loghain listing the conditions behind him, but he barely listened. He entered the room, and barely noticed that Lady Rosalind sat beside the cradle. He lifted his daughter into his arms and stared down at her face.
She looked so much like Colette that he burst into tears immediately. She already had a mop of red-brown curls that fell nearly to her shoulders. Her big brown eyes were his, as was her small mouth, but the rest of her face screamed Colette. Her slender nose, wide cheekbones, and sharp jaw were identical to her mothers. He held her to his chest, weeping as he listened to Loghain informed Rosalind of his decision.
"I'm so sorry, my little lioness. I'm so sorry." he murmured. Kierrai said some nonsensical words to him, throwing in a "Papa" to make him cry even harder.
"Will the King be visiting his daughter?" Rosalind asked sharply. She clearly wasn't thrilled with the idea either. He wept even harder, knowing that he would not see her until she was much older.
"I love you, Kierrai, I hope you know that." he murmured before Loghain took her and handed her to Rosalind. Kierrai popped up over her shoulder, smiling and waving at him.
"Bye Papa. Love you." she said in her sweet little voice. He fell to his knees as Rosalind carried her out of the room, knowing that he had lost the only thing that would keep him afloat in the days to come.