"ROOOAAARR! I AM THE MIGHTY ARCHDEMON ! Run little warden or I shall eat you !". Aedan cried stomping and flapping his wings at the little warden riding his Griffon who barked and pranced around in front of him.
"Never ! Grey Wardens never run when people need help ! And I'll never let a mean old dragon stop me ,if my name isn't Kieran the savior of the 6th,7th and 8th blights !". He bellowed, his helmet rattling on his too small head as he tried to hold on to his griffon mount as he leaped and bounced around whilst waving his sword around.
"Muahahaha ! It matters not how many Archdemon's you have slain, for I AM THE MIGHTY ARCHDEMON! THE STRONGEST OF ALL ! YOU STAND NO CHANCE ,FOR YOU ARE ALL ALONE !"
"That's where your wrong ,I'm never alone, because I have my friends -and my brothers and sister Wardens' to fight beside me !". 'Unbeknownst' to the mighty Archdemon a second warden scaled the fireplace ,(much to his parent's worry, though thankfully making It up without falling), to stand just behind the Mighty Archdemon ,poised ready to pounce on his back.
"OH ? Where might these friends and other wardens be ? Hmmm ?". Suddenly the hidden warden leap5 onto the Archdemon's back ,drawing his sword and stabbing the mighty Archdemon as he cried in pain.
"I'm right here Archdemon ,Adrian, the savior of the 9th,10th and 11th blight ! We're gonna stop you because helping people is what Grey Wardens are meant to do!". As he stabbed the mighty beast his brother in arms Kieran leapt into the fray atop his mighty griffon who barked and roared at the beast as his warden hacked and slashed through his thick scales.
Faltering from the mighty blows the Archdemon swayed and buckled in his death throws, crying out
"THIS CANNOT BE ! BESTED BY MERE WARDENS ?! OHHHH". As he fell, face first into the ground.( After ensuring the griffon mounted warden was out of his way and the one on his back was secured tightly in his arms). As the two Wardens celebrated their victory ,the 'slumbering princesses' rolled her eyes somewhat and chuckled ,patting her Mabari as she barked at her own two sons ,yipping and barking, wanting to join in like their father.
"Twould appear our men are all the fools, yes ?" she asked her 'jailer'. To which she responded with a huff and an exhale that seemed a sigh. Chuckling once more she lay down preparing for her own part, pretending to slumber and await her saviors.
"Now that the Archdemon is gone, we can save the princess for the king of thedas !".
"Yes, then we can go help more people!". High fiving each other they mounted their Griffon and 'flew' off to the stinking swamps.
After the long and arduous flight the two finally arrived at the stinking swamps and came face to face with its dreaded guardian and her two minions standing in their way. Their mighty Griffon cried out to them as if to say
"Leave her to me noble wardens". Understanding this his two riders hopped off and left him to face the beast ,drawing its attention before running off .(And promptly collapsing and falling asleep after so much exertion with so little sleep, it was understandable. Sighing like her owner when her mate did something foolish, the mighty guardian curled up next to him and took a nap as well).
With the evil Guardian gone her thralls were freed and they rushed to their saviors ,yipping and jumping in happiness.
"The evil curse is broken, the pup- err,um…."
"Spirits of loyalty ?".
"Yes! The spirits of loyalty are free! now they can lead us to the princess!". The blessed spirits barked in agreement and led the two mighty wardens to the towers keep where the princess lay sleeping under a deep spell.
"We finally did it, now all we have to do is just wake the princess".
"How do we do that again ?".
"Ummm….. I don't remember". From the grave the Mighty Archdemon called out with his final breath
"To break my spell, you must kiiiiiiiiissssss,the princessss,both of yooooouuuu!". (I have no clue how to do an echo effect sos)
"Go back to being dead Archdemon!" Both wardens yelled though one a bit more forcefully than the other. Following their demands the Archdemon dropped dead again with a final 'bleh' and a chuckle now that he got to see the finale, for now it was Morrigans turn on a role she was still not fully comfortable with ,though she did not tell her husband.
As the boys readied themselves deciding who would go first, Morrigan had time to think about how much she loathed this position and why, twas not necessarily being the helpless princess ,but more to do with the kissing and the shows of affection, particularly from her son's. When Aedan had showered her in gifts and love mingled with slight degrees of lust ,she could not help but fight with the feeling of debt it left with her, yet with Aedan she had been able to silence or at the least quieten those feelings of debt and well -love with simple sex,to attend to his lust after all they both wanted it and it made them both feel much greater afterwards.
But when it came to Kieran and Adrian, her son's , there was no lust of any kind that she could understand ,it was nothing but pure love, the same love that drove Aedan to seek her out at the Dragonbone wastes, not for any kind of sexual desire – love, love for her, love for the son's he hadn't even met ,let alone knew anything about, the desire to be a family, the kind of love that left him with no resentment or anger after leaving him so long ago, giving him a family to replace the one he lost only to snatch it away again, lying to him and attempting to bend him to her will, while he worked on – fixing her.
She was terrified of this pure love, this warmth in her chest whenever they smiled at her, hugged her or told her they loved her, she was afraid she did not do enough, was it simply enough to return those embraces, kiss their foreheads when they went to bed and tell them she loved them ? How ? She felt as though she constantly denied them by doing so little ,but was that all their was to being a mother ? Simply loving and being there for your children ? No matter how many years went by or what Aedan said she could not remove her mothers will from her mind, that power and survival were the only things which truly mattered ,that beauty and love were meaningless. She feared these thoughts, feared that she could ,if pressed, leave her beloved son's behind to die so long as she lived. They terrified her so because she could not say with a certainty that she could, like Aedan willingly give her life for another, even if those people were her sweet children.
Yet when these thoughts became strong, when she truly questioned herself as a person and a mother ,she thought back to that day, when she was at her lowest and highest, the day she brought Kieran and Adrian into this world, when she had - for the first time, held them in her arms ,those two sweet bundles of joy, so small and yet so full of life and joy. In that moment she swore she never be the mother to them that, Flemeth had been to her. Even if she knew not if she could be as great a parent as Aedan, even if she didn't know if she truly did enough for her sons, she would never hit them, abuse them or yell. She would pester them, call them the fool and be patient, no more.
As she finished this thought she felt a kiss upon her forehead, followed briefly after by another, twas her time to perform, she pushed those thoughts to the side and readied her best impression of the girl.
"OH MY ! THANK YOU SO MUCH MIGHTY GREY WARDENS! I am forever in your debt!". She said wrapping her arms around them in a hug showering them with fake kisses whilst planting a few real ones.
"Motheeeerr! Stop it ! You're embarrassing us in front if the other wardens!". Adrian said albeit through slight laughter
"Who is this Mother ? I am princess fancy pants of Orlais and those 'other' Wardens " she said jamming a finger at the stuffed toys.
"Can simply watch while i reward my brave heroes". She resumed her kissing barrage, however the dust fabric from Morrigans crown must've been too fine tickling Adrian's nose, because the next thing he said, rather than protest was "SNEEZ-ACHOO". But he was too late and all Morrigan saw was a blanket of white snow as she put up a barrier just in time. Melting the snow into vapour she grabbed a handkerchief and helped Adrian blow his nose to prevent another incident.
"Haha,relax Adrian, you used to do far worse when you were younger, I remember one time i tried burping you and you set my back on fire haha ,good times". Yet despite this nostalgia trip Adrian was still embarrassed, no doubt due to the fact that Kieran had already outgrown this stage, while he had not. Like most of their magical powers and abilities, he was behind his brother- but vice versa, Kieran was physically weaker and less athletic than Adrian. Seeing where the mood of what should've been an especially happy day was going ,Aedan jumped to his feet and put his hands together to try and get the mood back.
"Alright ,Who wants to move on ?". Unaware of what came next the boys reacted still in their story.
"HEY ! You're dead, you can't come back !". Adrian snapped coming out of his funk.
"YEAH! Stay dead you!". Seeing his opportunity he snapped back to move things on quickly, because there was one thing that always worked with kids.
"Oh,i guess you don't want your presents then". They both gasped and covered their mouths as if to hide their previous words, a smile played on both parents lips now that things were back to fun and games they had planned for the day after they opened their gifts.
Aedan brought two large identical packages out from their attic and lay one down in front of each of them. They appeared to be simple crates, long and rectangular ,made of wood and fairly wide, though not too greatly. They both waited patiently as Aedan grasped the locks on the sides and when he called for them to close their eyes they did ,obediently-though they did peak slightly, but he allowed it ,no need really they wouldn't quite see it properly anyhow.
Once he had opened the packages he told them to open their eyes and their reactions were exactly as he'd expected.
"Clothes ?" . They both asked as if making sure this was it and not some trick. Both Morrigan and Aedan just chucked, they had tried their best to sound polite but it was obvious they were not happy that their present was just new clothing, not unlike any child really. " Not just any clothing boys ,magic clothing". Morrigan cooed, siding next to Aedan as their curiosity peaked at hearing it was magic. To prove her point she chanted a brief spell, lighting up the outfits ,illuminating the intense amount of runes and enchantments they had worked into them.
"Whoa !" They both exclaimed pocking up their new outfits. "Pretty cool yeah ?". Aedan asked happy to see them happy. "They're made of dragon hide and wing mesh, so they're lightweight and flexible ,yet also durable and strong -but" . With strong emphasis on this part "These suits, are NOT invincible, they are not spell or blade proof ?". They both nodded ,understanding this Aedan continued.
"They are also worth lot of money, so you cant tell anyone what they're made out of,ok ?". Again they nodded scarcely able to contain their excitement. Aedan handed the reins over to Morrigan so she could handle how all the enchantments and runes worked, Aedan may have made the runes ,but he wanted Morrigan to have part in the explanation since they worked on them together.
"To reiterate what your father said, these do NOT provide immunities to anything, they'll for the most part, keep you comfortable in extreme temperatures like in the deserts or the mountains as well as help you to breathe underwater as well as a few other things, though you wouldn't need these if you gave as much effort to your studies as you do swinging swords around". She said putting her hands on her hips while they looked away embarrassed.
" What happens if they get damaged ? Will it all stop working ?". Kieran asked while Adrian picked his up and checked it out.
"Well if one of them is badly damaged then that specific wont work, so what we did was repeat several of the runes and enchantments several times, kind of like back ups. It took a lot of work but obviously you're both worth the effort for us, besides we may not alw-". He winced as a lightning bolt raced through his body, he realized his error in speaking like that, though he wished Morrigan had stopped him another way.
"Anyhow they're actually a few sizes bigger than you so you have plenty of room to grow into them, though tying them up so they aren't all baggy takes awhile so be careful when your changing ok ?".
"OK !". They both yelled out as they ran to their room to change.
"So, when were you going to start teaching them to cheat at cards ,hmm ?". Morrigan cooed in his ear as he stretched.
"What are you talking about ?". He said trying his best to act innocent, however Morrigan had already seen through his little charade.
"I'm talking about the hidden sleeves and pockets you tried sneaking into those suits fool, did you think you could hide them from me ? Your stitching hasn't improved much over the years, i spotted them right away".
"(sigh) fine, i planned on teaching them now since they thow how to play every game i know fairly, so they can have something to fall back on if someone else cheats, but i don't recall you ever complaining about my stitching before ,like when i had to pull that arrow out of your rear and patch you up before we met Wynne". He said trying to embarrass her, though it was to no avail.
"Pfft,the only reason i did not complain fool was, for 1: we scarce spoke to each other,2: i pulled said stitches out as soon as we made camp after i made a health poultice -".
" Three, if you hadn't overestimated yourself you wouldn't have lost your magic armour and said arrow never would've pierced tour lovely rear end". He interrupted smirking like crazy. Morrigans only response was to simply turn away and call him fool. His smile turned to a slight grimace however thinking back to his slip up earlier.
"Sorry about before, its easy to worry about their futures with what we're both running from".
"There's nothing to worry about fool, your condition has improved exponentially since leaving and my mother shan't get through all the wards I've set up, we're fine".
" I know my body's improved since after the blight, but there's still the calling to worry about and all those wards were designed by your mother -".
"I have NOT forgotten fool! "she snapped whilst keeping her voice low so the boys wouldn't hear.
"I am working on both, or do you not believe in me ?". She snapped a faint trace of heartache in her voice, too subtle for him to pick up on .
"Of course not Morrigan I'm just worried ,you push yourself so hard-".
"Excuse me, I push myself too hard ? Need i remind you about a certain foolish warden that trekked the forgotten depths of the deep roads, braved a nest of tainted elves and fought a Vateral – singlehandedly ,so he could attempt to find someone who did NOT wish to be found ?!". She said as silently as possible whilst putting maximum anger and frustration into her tone. Aedan sighed before responding knowing this was still somewhat of a sore patch.
"Ok first off i didn't fight it alone -"
"Yes, you just did all the dangerous and risky work while those other two fools sniped at it from cover " . She again snapped ,remembering the state he had been in that day when he came to the eluvian.
"Ok,ok I'm sorry ,I'm a hypocrite but the fact remains i ended up like that more than a few times during the blight a warrior I'm literally trained to take hits and blows, but your not". He gently cupped her chin as he finished, gazing into her eyes, seeing her rage fade somewhat.
"Are you calling me weak ,hmm ?". She said stepping ever so closer to him.
"Of course not, but when your hurt or over work yourself, you get distant or too caught up in whatever your doing because you either want to avoid getting hurt the same way or you just want to finish what your doing, when it was just the two of us during the blight it was understandable, but now, i want you getting caught up with us, spending time as a family". He pulled her into a kiss but just before she responded before moving into it as well.
"Tis true, I just want to put these things behind us for good so we can be a family without some dark shadow overhead". Their kiss didn't last long however as the after a second or two there was a loud 'EWWWW kissing! Gross!' from Adrian as he mimicked retching ,poking a finger in his mouth not actually trying to vomit while Kieran protested 'Heeey! Archdemon's cant kiss princesses!'.
The two of them just chuckled seeing them after trying to dress themselves, Adrian hadn't bothered to even touch his straps or ties so his was all baggy and loose, whilst Kieran had done his up too tight and was trying to discreetly undo a wedgie.
"What's so wrong about kissing eh ?". He asked remembering how he used to feel like vomiting whenever he saw Fergus and Oriana at it.
"Its just gross when you two do it,eww". That was it ,that was all the explanation the boys gave him, he wondered whether this disposition to kissing was genetic or if they were just jealous that Morrigan kissed him as well, it wouldn't be too hard to believe after they wouldn't even let him touch Morrigan when he first came to the crossroads without setting the house ablaze. They'd certainly Inherited her jealously .
Well ignoring that you two, so fashionably dressed, unlike your mother". He said helping Adrian while she helped Kieran before sending a frying pan at his head with a satisfying 'clang'. After their suits were fixed up they decided to give them their last present .
"You boys ready for one last surprise ?". They jumped up at the thought of another present and said yes about a good three four times.
"Alright then – next week ..."
"Yes?".
"We're..."
"Yes ?".
"Going to ..."
"Yes ?!". They said getting a little annoyed now as Aedan dragged on.
"Go..-(smack)". Having had enough of his incessant drag Morrigan slapped the back of his head to just get it over with.
"We are going outside next week boys, which your father would've probably told you next week at this rate". Aedan chuckled, apologising as he rubbed his head as the boys stared ,not fully sure if they were being truthful or not, they'd always said they could leave for the outside through the mirror when they were older, but they'd never said how old they needed to be.
"Really ?". They said in unison, unsure whether to get their hopes up or not.
"Yes truly". Morrigan confirmed smiling somewhat.
"Really really?". They asked again in unison.
"Yes". She once again replied, though fearing she knew where this was going.
"Really really really ?". This time though rather than answer Morrigan just put her hands on her hips and asked "Are you two just going to repeat really like your fool father ?".
"Maybe". They said, smiling before bouncing up and down grasping each others hands like they were doing ring a ring a rosy chanting "We get to go out, we get to go out -". Over and over again until Aedan clapped and snapped them out of it."Boys we know your excited, but remember Xavier is sleeping so try to keep it down ok ?". They nodded and followed their parents out to the kitchen where Aedan pulled a massive iced cream cake in the shape of the grey warden Crest out from their ice box. After eating it and making a mess afterwards, the boys were finally exhausted enough to be put to bed.
"As they did Adrian asked his mother something that been on his mind a long time.
"Mother..."
"Yes Adrian ?". She responded tucking him in.
"Who do you always call father a fool ?". She smiled giggling sligtly.
"Because he is a fool little man". Though now Kieran asked his own question.
"But doesn't that make you even more of a fool since you married him ?". This got a rather large laugh from Aedan while Morrigan resisted laughing herself for the most part due to how innocent and pure the question was.
"No iced cream for the next week". She smiled ,seeing their reactions go from sleepy and tired to upset and miserable.
"Haaawww,but mother we didn't mean to -". She held up a hand before they could continue.
"Do not blame me, your father is the one who used up all the reserve we had for a week on that massive cake". The boys instantly looked to Aedan and called out 'FOOL!'. To which he sputtered in shock and confusion trying to understand how he was public enemy no.1.
"But your the ones who wanted a big cake !". This time they turned away from him ,pouting and once again calling him fool to which Morrigan responded tussling their hair on instinct whilst applying a tiny static charge to their hair.
"Aww, my little men". As she took her hands away their hair stood up on edge.
"MOTHER !". They groaned as their hair rose up. She laugh a bit before she responded.
"That is for me calling me a fool boys". Leaving their as it was she stepped out if their room wishing them a goodnight while Aedan finished tucking in Kieran's side of the bed and also wishing them a goodnight.
As he left the boys Xavier walked in and hopped onto their bed while the Barkspawn twins slept near their respective twin. Xavier knelt facing the door ,ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble, Aedan he tried to get him to sleep at nights by shutting him out or putting him with Xena in his room, but he'd just bark like mad or sit in front of their door in the cold corridor, he'd always done this since they came through the Eluvian and unfortunately Aedan understood why after a while, he wasn't the only one with bad memories from when back home when no one stood watch, so he kept his vigil unless Aedan was there to.
Quietly sneaking back into his room while Morrigan was shooing Xena off their bed to go to her mate while Aedan held their impromptu door open for her. Just like her owner she only let after a quiet growl before deciding to leave ,not because she was told but because she felt like it. Once she was gone he closed the door activating the one way sound proofing, the could hear anything in the boys room but not vice versa.
"I hope you got that award fixed this time Morrigan, I'd rather not end up in the attic again and have yet another hole to repair".
"Oh so when I make a hole in the house it's my fault because I wish not for our children to witness us having sex,to when you are the fool and make a hole in the wall-".
"That was different, Morrigan". He said crossing his arms
"Was it now?". She said also crossing her arms "Was it so different ,you overreacting to intruders in our house that would've first; found our Eluvian, know what it was, then known how to use it, after getting past all the traps on that side of it, finding the key to it, getting past all the traps on this side, making it past all the wards around the property, the house and the boy's room and doing it all with only the dogs catching on ? ". She ranted cocking her head at him as he looked away, not embarrassed in any way, but out of shame, uttering in his defence only a simple, "Can you blame me ?".
Morrigan sighed and faced her head down slightly "Yes, do you believe i would not do everything to protect them?".
"Of course i do, its just - i cant afford to take the risk !".
"Do you i think i can ? I have not forgotten what happened to you, but you must accept that one day they will have to defend themselves, we cannot hover over them their whole lives, they must learn to stand on their own, not the way i did to be sure, but the time will come". She said looking at him compassionately, trying to console his fears. He took a deep breath and nodded, knowing she was right.
"Yes, but for now they are far too young and I must do my duty as a father". This time she nodded in response.
"Yes they are, but Xavier and Xena also watch over them ,so you can at least tone it down a bit". He simply sighed and scratched his head before agreeing.
"Ok,enough gloom help me get this off so we can have our own fun today". Turning around and presenting the zipper.
" Oh no, my dear Grey Warden, the outfit stays on. She said slinking up from behind, turning him around.
"My my, lady Cousland ,aren't you the saucy minx". He replied with a kiss as she rolled her eyes at being called 'Lady Cousland'.
"Aye,tis me – scourge of terror". She mocked using his legend Mark from the Avvar which he loathed telling her. Chuckling at her rebuttal he simply replied "You know we'll have to get rid if these outfits afterwards".
"Then we'd best make the most out of them". She whispered before pushing him onto the bed.
"As you wish Birthday girl". He called back as she pressed on top of him.
"Ugh,how many times must i tell you i have no birthday fool, Flemeth never once bothered to tell me something so trivial". She said as Aedan rolled on top returning her kisses and affection, loosening her dress slightly.
"True it may not be the day Flemeth brought you into this world – but it is the day i know your were born again Morrigan, the day they came into your life and -". She interrupted him by forcing a long deep kiss, wanting to hear no more about this ,today was their special day, she wanted as little part of it as possible, she wanted this day to be theirs alone regardless of whatever philosophical BS Aedan said, she had no Birthday and needed none, keeping his trap shut she rolled back onto of him and began disrobing for their night of debauchery and passion.
Morrigan awoke to the sound of gas being passed in the middle of the night, surprisingly twas the smell that awoke her rather than the sound and since Aedan did not reek of raw meat she knew it would've been one of the dogs, which meant only one thing. As she suspected Aedan was no longer there in bed with her and at the foot of her bed rested the dogs, all 4 of them. She sighed deeply thinking about what to do next, Aedan would be in the boys room, in his clean thin night outfit holding kierans hand and trying to comfort him as he thrashed and tossed about in his sleep to prevent him from hitting Adrian and in his words 'to repent for doing this to him' as he suffered once again from the terrors of Urthemiels soul. No matter what they tried they could not stop these dreams from coming ,they were rare and uncommon but still they were a reminder of what they had done.
This spoke true for Aedan who had agreed to her ritual in the first place, his life- for Kieran's suffering. Twas why he spent these nights by his side, apologizing over and over again, as if the blame were all his, as if no other had played a part in Kieran's situation. Yet there was another more so to blame herself ,for forcing the ritual on him that night at Redcliffe so brutally, calling into question his love for her one of the lowest blows she landed amongst others, all for the soul of the old god ...alongside his survival, for he had been the first person in her life to love,care,respect and treat her in a way she had never before experienced ,and she did not wish him to die, as simply knowing he lived gave her the strength to push on and persevere in her quest alone.
She recalled those first few times when Kieran had these attacks, she had held and coddled him as tightly and as closely as she could, trying to aid him and see him safely through to the morrow. Yet twas because of these sleepless nights she feared she had driven a wedge of some sort between her and Adrian and she believed it evident by his personality ,his lacking of magical talent compared to Kieran and how much he emulated Aedan. She clenched her fist at the idea of ignoring her son those first two years before Aedan found her and she finally managed to find some peace to properly spend time with them, even if he had been asleep every night he had those terrors ,the thoughts still plagued her and that caused her heart to ache, though Aedan had all but perfected detecting these sleepless nights, she would not ignore her either of her sons in these times.
Getting up from bed she walked into the boys room. Aedan was of course there at his side holding his hand and trying his best to comfort their sleeping son, though no matter what they did the dreams persisted and the only real difference his presence made was avoiding Adrian turning into a punching bag.
Yet still he sat there, tears in his eyes as he watched his son be plagued by unknown horrors in exchange for his life, a life he had more often than not regretted saving, following the months after the blight, not just his condition but also living with the fact that his son could be in pain because of him, yet despite the terrors in his dreams – Kieran did not resent his father, nor did he wish this burden on Adrian, he welcomed the burden, because it meant they could live as a family, they had told him of the ritual because they did not wish to lie to him, he deserved the truth so ,they gave it.
He welcomed the burden as he knew if not for it, he would not exist, Aedan would've died before Morrigan found she was already pregnant with Adrian and the two of them would've been alone. She hated and loved that both boys had inherited that damned trait from their father, self sacrifice for those they loved. She hated it because it was what she had exploited to gain the ritual in the first place,in exchange for his honor,duty nobility and pride he had not left her alone in this world, he had given her the soul of an old god and another son to try to love as best she could, but that also meant someone else could twist the two of them in a similar way for something too, which was in part why she wished the two of them were more like her, yet if they were, they would likely hate them or at least Kieran would ,with every right . Yet he didn't because they were nothing like her, they were like their father through and through- and for that she was thankful, because it meant that she could selfishly live as a family with them all, something she would never admit that she desired more than any old knowledge.
She climbed into the bed between her two boys, bringing them close to reside next to her so she could hold them both as close as she could despite Kieran's thrashing ,and simply be there for them both. She knew there would be no sleep beyond this point ,but she didn't care – they were far more important to her.