Bioware owns Dragon Age and all the characters, I own Jaya, though...

The King's Rose
Chapter 34: Catching Up.

Jaya sat outside, watching over the twins' training. Both wanted her to see how mature they've become and that they wanted to show her what they learned in the time she was gone. Her heart kept glowing with how proud they made her now. Not long after she returned, she finally got around to seeing that they each took their studies seriously and even their training was almost flawless. She frowned at one little detail that Eleanor missed. "Elie... It's flawless, except one thing is when you're leaning into the attack, you are actually opening yourself up in the back."

"Really, Mother? Can you show me the right way?" She asked, her silver eyes shimmering in eagerness to learn.

Jaya nodded and got up to stand in her own fighting position. "This is my way of countering it. I use my weight to bring one of the weapons back... Like this.." She still wondered how she managed to do these moves in a dress, but she spun, mirroring her daughter, but instead had one of her daggers angled behind her before returning to her upright position. "See?"

"Awesome!" Eleanor grinned as Duncan chuckled.

"You, mister, have another thing. Since you're more focused on defense, there is one weak spot to that that most don't realize." She had pointed it out to Alistair once when they had sparred during the Blight about how a rogue like her could slip in and land a precise blow. "Guard for me and I'll show it." Her son nodded and brought the shield up, holding it like Alistair had that day. "Now see here..." She pointed to where the shield rested on his arm. "This is a quick target, so I told your father this same thing once: never raise the sword higher than you can draw." She then lowered her son's sword arm to be level with the arm holding the shield. "If you keep it this high, you will see that you're quick to catch a rogue off guard."

"That's amazing... Even Captain Kilos said that's an incorrect way to fight."

"Well, I've fought many warriors in my life." Jaya sighed and saw the captain walk over, a frown on his face. "Are you questioning my methods, captain?"

"With all due respect, Your Highness, that may have worked during the Blight, but this is a new time, there are other ways now to fight."

Alistair came out and felt the shift in the air and sighed. The captain was slowly testing his lifespan by questioning Jaya's methods. He had warned the young man multiple times about his wife's temper. "It works, captain."

Jaya seemed to defuse and smiled gently before facing her children. "Now, take what I told you and go again."

The twins nodded and went back to training, the methods she had told them making the captain nearly drop his jaw at how both seemed to counter the other movement. Jaya's pride went to the sky with the action as she draped her arm through her husband's. The past few days, she had been caught up on what they had gone through in the past eleven years. It warmed her heart that they hadn't forgotten her and she, in return, told them all of her adventures and all the fights she won.

The captain shook his head and left, his 'wards' under the keen eyes now of not only his King but the Queen herself. Duncan and Eleanor took that as a sign to stop and smiled at their parents as Duncan grinned. "Man! I never thought I'd see Captain Kilos ever walk away like that! You're awesome, Mother!"

She smiled and giggled. "Remind me of that if I get too angry." Looking at her children, she saw her father in Duncan's blue eyes while the rest was probably from the Theirin side, from the hair to the face shape. Her son was going to be a very handsome man one day and she was stunned he came from her and Alistair. He had Alistair's dirty blonde hair, too. At 15, he was surely going far in many things, being the heir to the throne as well as a capable fighter.

Eleanor looked more like her than Alistair, with the reddish-brown hair to her waist if she had it down. She inherited Jaya's face shape and Jaya had a hunch that, besides her brother and father, she would have to beat suitors away with a long stick due to the princess' beauty. As a child, she was chubby, but now she was fit and shared the curves with her mother, though with a smaller chest. "Mother, why does everyone think that what the Inquisition did is wrong? They supported mages and saved the Gray Wardens..."

Jaya shrugged. "They don't understand what happened each time, they weren't there." She took a moment to think of the Inquisitor and couldn't help but grin. "Besides, Lady Trevelyan is quite capable to handle them herself. I met her."

"Papa has, too. That was when he went to help Uncle Teagan get back Redcliffe." Duncan added. "He was so mad when he got back, not even Auntie Wynne could calm him down."

Alistair rubbed his neck in embarrassment when Jaya raised an eyebrow at him. "I apologized to her later on."

Eleanor grinned. "Can we keep training?"

Jaya chuckled. "You know that there's food being made... Now, go get cleaned up. Maybe after, I'll show you some other tricks I used."

That had the twins rushing past their parents into the castle as Alistair smirked. "Tell me you're not thinking of showing them that."

Jaya giggled softly. "Nope. I doubt I can even still do that anymore. Besides, I've gotten used to not fighting and just relaxing."

That made him raise an eyebrow. "The great Jaya relaxing? A miracle for sure."

She playfully slapped him. "Hey! I relaxed sometimes." At the other eyebrow getting raised, she sighed. "Fine. There were times I should've relaxed, but didn't." She then cuddled his arm, smiling. "You might be the only one that can even get me to admit that, dear."

"I'm honored."

Jaya sighed and looked up at her love. "It reminds me of when I bumped into Anders and Hawke in the Deep Roads all that time ago..."

Jaya led her little group through the Deep Roads, checking for signs of any more darkspawn that were heading towards the surface. However, she grinned to her recruits. "Stand down. Up ahead is a friend..." She said as they arrived to see the blonde mage slice through a Hurlock. "Hey, Anders..."

"Jaya, fancy meeting you here."

"You know me, I love exploring..."

"Still the same... Rumors were true then... But, I didn't come to catch up with you, Jaya."

An eyebrow rose as she looked to Carver. "I see... Just when my day couldn't get better... Another recruit." She giggled softly before her face turned serious, surprising the raven-haired, ice blue-eyed woman. "Hope you know this isn't a kindness..."

"If Carver dies, it's on your head." She threatened, glaring at Jaya.

"Trust me when I tell you..."

"No need, I can see his skills perfectly. You forget I'm married to a warrior?"

Anders rolled his eyes and nodded. "True."

She then left while helping support the young warrior towards the surface, keeping him alive by giving him food if needed.

"That's where you were?" Alistair asked. "You sneaky minx."

"What? I felt like I was supposed to be down there. Stroud wasn't able to go down there for the mission, so I did." She stood up and kissed his cheek. "And you know you love the fact I'm a minx."

"That's just one of many." He agreed. "And Carver surprised you, and me, with how quickly he adapted to the life."

She nodded as the two went inside to eat with the kids. Her mind wandered to how she, who had been dealt the harshest of hands, wound up with a loving husband, two amazing kids and a kingdom that praised her as a hero. She smiled as they then took a walk around Denerim for a while. Eleanor and Duncan joined them and she waved at Wade and the others. "It's still surreal for it to be this good."

Duncan looked at his mother, confused. "What do ya mean, Mother?"

"Well... I believe you know what happened before the Blight even began, right?"

Eleanor nodded a little. "Does it have to do with who killed Gramma and Grampa?"

Nodding, she looked to the two who were pretty much a good mixture of her and Alistair. "I have to admit, if it weren't for him betraying them, I probably wouldn't have ever met your father again. So, he kinda helped while also making an enemy."

"Can we go see Uncle Fergus one day?" Duncan asked. "I wanna show him I'm better than him now."

"Not before I show him, brother!" Eleanor shot back, getting the two to bicker and making their mother giggle softly.

"Something funny, my dear?" Her husband asked.

"Just that they remind me of me and Ferg butting heads when we were younger."

Alistair nodded with a grin. "He mentioned that a few times."

She had no doubt that Fergus mentioned it, but she liked teasing him nonetheless. He was her big brother, after all, the one who she always looked up to as a child. She knew it would make Fergus's ego grow if she admitted that, so she kept it to herself. "Of course he did. I need to remember to chew him out about that. He knows I hate that just as much as I hate getting called the 'old ball and chain'." She teased, seeing her husband flush slightly and rub his neck in embarrassment. "I jest, love. I know you never meant it as anything but a joke. Besides, if I'm a ball and chain, it's a good thing I have the one I want to be attached to me."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "And I have no desire to leave. You are everything to me and you enjoy that fact."

She laughed softly. "It appears my secret's out. You've read my mind." Her mind went to the Inquisition, that had protected her kingdom for eleven years, need to thank them for holding up their promise. At the time she wrote them, she was really exhausted and getting closer to her finish. "I forgot to thank Silvana for keeping this place from falling apart in my absence. Though, I think Leli did that for me."

"She has. She even explained why I had a slight issue with the mage thing." Her husband replied as they walked back to the palace, Duncan and Eleanor on each side.

"Auntie Leliana needs to visit. She only visited when the Inquisition was here to save Papa from those Venatori people." Eleanor informed. "But, Dunny and I managed to take a few out before Auntie Wynne and Uncle Oghren showed up."

"Even Uncle Zevran stopped by," Duncan added.

"Well, seems like there was still a small army left here. Oghren counts as an army by himself, Wynne's the best healer in Ferelden and even the Free Marches, from what I heard while Zevran is as sneaky as they come." Jaya sighed, remembering when she had met them all for the first time and how they had refused to open up until she pestered them long enough.

"That, my love, is why they are all our dearest friends," Alistair commented as they ate dinner before the kids retired. "I believe you've exhausted them since returning."

"Is that such a bad thing, husband?" She teased with a grin. "They spend every hour with me if they can get the time to do so. Between their studies and shadowing me around, they were bound to get exhausted. Now I feel like how Mother used to: blink and they're older than when you last saw them. Granted, I was trying to do some digging for eleven years, but the point's there."

Her husband nodded in agreement. "The first few months were hard. No matter what Fergus and I did, they would just stare at the door, waiting. But, I did explain to them that you had something important to do and, being as smart as they were, they understood." The two walked towards their room when he swung her up bridal style, as he used to do back when they traveled and the night they had gotten married.

"That was a much better swoop, husband. I think you learned from last time." She giggled softly.

"I'm always learning with you, wife. From the day we met, I was constantly learning everything I could about you." He added, kicking the door shut and carrying her over to the wardrobe. "Shall I help you, love?"

Jaya put a thinking face on before smiling. "Would you? I forgot how complicated dresses were." They both shared a laugh whenever he'd purposely tickle her whenever he could. It was like they were kids still while being much older and wiser due to having to handle many things: the Blight, the civil war, the Breach and even the Venatori. "By the way, love, I should mention if I even catch a glimpse of any of those Venatori, I'm hunting them down."

"Understandable, my dear. But, I have a feeling they'll stay far away from Ferelden now that the nation's beloved queen has returned." He answered as they climbed into bed and fell fast asleep, their futures having peace in them for the first time in over a decade.

Sorry! I got caught up doing a 'prequel' to set this story up, plus an A/U one, plus tinkering with An Apostate's Soul. Work, YouTube, AO3, school and this are all being juggled... Yay. \^o^/
~~Kiwi~~