Princess See, Princess Want to Be

It was a warm summer's day, the sort that was best spent lazing away, relaxing under the glorious sun.

Aedan smiled as he breathed deep the open air. Even through the open window of the royal carriage, the fresh tang of the open countryside still wafted through to his senses.

"Don't you want to play with Mr Mabari?"

Aedan turned to eye his wife with a coy smile as she did her best to tempt Eleanor with a small, stuffed mabari toy, the very same that the Princess' Uncle Fergus had gifted to her on her first birthday. Eleanor was clearly uninterested, she was more than happy with the old blue and gold lion the Empress of Orlais had given to her on the very same day. The lion – Ser Lion, as he had been knighted at the Princess' insistence – had been a near lifelong companion of Eleanor's now.

"You're never going to win that battle, you know." Aedan smirked.

"I will not be outdone by the Empress of Orlais." Anora murmured. Her voice the playful singsong tone she employed for their daughter.

Aedan chuckled lightly under his breath. He had the distinct impression that this was a battle Anora just couldn't win, but he didn't dare say such a thing out loud.

"I'm sure Fergus would be happy at least, that the Queen approves of his present for the Princess."

"Of course. A mabari's a strong, noble beast, unlike an Orlesian lion."

Detecting her mother's disapproval, Eleanor hugged the old lion closer to her chest with a bit of a whine. "No!

The Princess had learned to speak a little, starting shortly after her first birthday. From there, it hadn't taken her long to graduate from simple words and short phrases to full sentences. Either way, the little Princess could certainly make her point known.

"I like Ser Lion!"

Anora sighed and dropped her shoulders in defeat.

Aedan supressed a chuckle for his wife's sake and took to gazing out of the window once more.

The royal family were heading to Highever. It was the first cross country journey they had undertaken as a family. Typically, Anora was keen that Eleanor's first royal visit have some symbolic significance, so what better way to introduce the Princess to the business of royal visits than to take her to the ancestral home of her father's family? Really it had been a tossup between Highever and Gwaren, but as Anora still held the Teynir of Gwaren, it made more sense to take Eleanor first to perhaps the crown's most loyal vassal.

Besides, Fergus would be delighted to see his favourite – if only – niece. The Prince-Consort's brother was a proud uncle, one who was always keen to brag about his niece or shower her in gifts.

Aedan had silently wondered whether the familial warmth was also a private penance of some sort, a way to make up for time lost with Oriana and Oren, though that was merely conjecture on Aedan's part. He'd never approached his brother about it, both out of a lack of stringent opportunities but also a simple desire to let Fergus be. If showering Eleanor with affection also served a form of healing for his brother then so be it. Eleanor herself certainly loved her uncle, and Anora was happy with the way things were, so Aedan kept his thoughts to himself.

Aside from the obvious presence of the Princess Eleanor on the journey, the other anomaly to a typical trip across the country was that Aedan rode in the royal carriage with his wife. Typically the Prince-Consort rode out in the fresh air with their entourage, but Aedan had decided to ride along with his wife and child. He had wondered how Eleanor would take to traversing the land. It was hardly an easy thing, even in the padded confines of the royal carriage. The roads beyond the capital were full of pitfalls and bumps along the way to make the journey an uncomfortable one for even seasoned travellers, yet Eleanor didn't seem to mind as she played with her toy lion happily.

"How much longer?" Eleanor complained slightly, bouncing Ser Lion up and down on her knee.

"We won't get there for another few days yet, Pup." Aedan smiled.

He idly caught sight of Anora doing a very poor job of suppressing a smile behind her hand. Like his father before him, Aedan had taken to calling his child 'Pup', much to Anora's delight and amusement. Apparently it wasn't that common enough of a thing to say throughout Ferelden, it was more a quirk of Highever it seemed.

"Why's Uncle Fergus so far away?" Eleanor frowned.

"Ferelden's a big country." Anora smiled, stroking the Princess' dusty blonde hair. Eleanor's locks were somewhere between her mother's and father's own shades of hair colour. "It takes weeks to cross it fully."

"It does, I've done it before." Aedan mused with a wry smile. "On foot."

Anora frowned a little. "How long did that take you?"

"Difficult to say really." Aedan blew out some air as he considered. "Our journeys were broken up a lot by all sorts of detours, enemy patrols on the road, darkspawn attacks, that sort of thing." He smiled slightly at the memories.

"Enemies?" Eleanor asked curiously, cocking her head slightly. "What enemies?"

Aedan nearly hissed. The last thing he wanted to do was to inject any sort of fear into his little Princess' world. "Nothing you need to worry about, that was a long time ago now, Pup. The country's a lot safer now." He tried to smile reassuringly.

Eleanor nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied by her father's words.

Anora threw him a quick glare but didn't rebuke him further.

The journey was a rather calm one after that. Occasionally Eleanor would lean up to one of the carriage windows to peer outside at the wildlife or the villages they passed by while Anora educated her on what they were seeing.

It was only once they were passing through a forest did things take an unpleasant turn.

A sudden noise, a thwack and a twang. Then another, following on in quick succession. Horses grumbled and whinnied outside, the guards murmured to each other in suspicious tones.

"Aedan, what is that?" Anora asked quietly, gripping Eleanor closer to her.

"Wait." Aedan murmured, something telling him to tense his legs, ready to spring into action.

Another noise, like the first and second.

"What is it?" Eleanor murmured, like her parents the young Princess picking up on the sudden tension.

A shout from outside. "Alarm! Alarm! To ar-" It was cut off abruptly, replaced by a strangled, bubbling gurgle.

Another thwack. A metal point sprouted through the carriage door, splintering the wood.

Anora yelped as the sounds from outside exploded into pandemonium. Aedan could make out the shrill sneer of steel blades breaking free from their scabbards.

Aedan kicked open the carriage door and threw himself outside. His eyes immediately took in the scene. The royal guards were being cut down from the tree line. Arrows whistled by as they sought out their prey. Those with shields or some other cover managed to cling onto their lives, those without were quickly cut down.

"Aedan!"

Anora's frightened voice swung Aedan's gaze back around. He registered first that she was unharmed, still clinging to Eleanor for dear life. Their daughter peered out from her mother's arms to stare wide eyed at her father and the scene behind him.

"Stay inside!" Aedan commanded. "Don't open the door for anyone but me!"

"Aedan, wait-" Was all he heard before he slammed the door shut again.

Turning to the field of battle, Aedan stumbled back as an arrowhead sliced through his cheek.

Snarling, he surged forward, diving for the banking below the treeline. It was only there, so close to the enemy, that Aedan finally realised that he had no weapon. He swore a bitter curse and cast his gaze about frantically, searching for just about anything.

A sudden thud to his right. A body crashed to the ground beside him, one of the royal guards. His eyes dimmed as blood began to pool around his head from his gaping mouth.

Aedan scrambled over to the body quickly, snatching up the slain man's sword as an arrow burrowed its way into the ground a mere foot from him. He brought the weapon up along with his eyes just in time to lock gazes with a bandit bearing down on him. Only instinct and quick reflexes saved the Prince-Consort's neck. He rolled over to the side as a steel blade whistled a slice where his neck had been. Kicking out, Aedan's ears were rewarded by a grunt as his attacker stumbled slightly. It gave the Hero of Ferelden just enough time to scramble to his feet and lock blades with his foe.

Now on even footing, Aedan quickly pressed his Blight honed skills and experience to the fore to good effect. Within just a few strokes of the sword, Aedan had cut down the bandit.

Casting his gaze around frantically, Aedan found a myriad of duels and small battles erupting around the royal carriage. The royal guards were outnumbered handily, but they made up for it with superior skill. Already there were at least two or three dead bandits for every slain guardsman.

"Cauthrien!" Aedan bellowed over the din of battle.

"My Lord?" The Lady Knight's cry came through her grimace as she fended off a pair of bandits at once.

"Stay with the carriage!"

"You don't have to tell me!" Cauthrien growled, perhaps more annoyed to be given such an obvious command than anything else. She vented her frustration out on a bandit's throat as she clobbered a mailed fist directly into his oesophagus. The man managed to stumble back only a couple of paces before Cauthrien's blade was summarily thrust through his abdomen.

Aedan turned to survey the battlefield again, mind whirling into action. As much as he hated to admit it, the attack was pretty well executed all things considered. The bandits were making good use of the natural terrain and were pressing the element of surprise for all it was worth. He'd been on the receiving end of such ambushes before. Like any battle, those experiences had taught him that such well executed manoeuvres didn't just happen. They were orchestrated. They were planned, with a commander or general dictating the battle lines from the safety of the rear.

Like with his conflict with the Architect, as with the battles against the hordes of the Blight, and even with his first encounter with Zevran, Aedan knew that taking the command line out of the situation was the fastest way to counter the attack and ensure a victory.

The Warden-Commander whispered a quiet prayer to the Maker that Cauthrien's blade be true in her task as he took off into the treeline.

He was almost immediately hit in the face with a speeding arrow as it whistled a mere few inches past his head. Aedan swore and dived into cover behind a tree. He took a moment to ready himself before edging an eye out around the tree trunk. Another arrow sailed through the air, missing the trunk and his eye by a slither. Aedan hissed in anger, yet he now had a pretty good idea where the archer was.

Aedan waited a moment more, before ducking his head out from behind the tree and back again.

The archer fell for the feint. The arrow that was loosed burrowed itself into Aedan's cover with a thwack.

Even before the arrow had stopped vibrating, Aedan was running out from behind the tree proper. He heard a choice curse as the bandit fumbled with his bow and quiver. Still, there were a good few metres between Prince-Consort and bandit.

Sprinting forward, Aedan leapt deftly over logs and roots. As Aedan devoured the last of the distance between them, the bandit managed to hook another arrow onto the bowstring and was raising it to fire.

They both knew that there would only be one shot.

Aedan swung his sword down as pain exploded through his chest. A thick, squelching sound heralded a small fountain of blood spraying up into the Prince-Consort's face. His momentum carried him over and into the bandit, and they tumbled over into leaf strewn forest floor.

Gasping a little, Aedan pulled his gaze and sword back up, though he quickly found his opponent to be very much dead on the ground, staring up through the canopy with dull, lifeless eyes. Aedan hissed as he moved to get up. He looked down at himself and found the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his torso, an alarmingly short distance south of his heart. The collision had broken the shaft and the tail end of the arrow was hanging by just a few strands at the break, about an inch above the puncture.

Grimacing, Aedan did his best to rip off the broken end without exacerbating his wound any further. He was moderately successful, though a sharp sting shredded through angry nerves when the arrow shaft snapped off. Although the arrowhead within him still pained, it didn't seem to have struck anything vital, or to have gone too deep. The archer hadn't had time to fully draw his bow before taking his last shot.

As he took a moment to catch his breath and ensure that he wasn't about to bleed out, Aedan listened carefully to his surroundings. The bulk of the noise came from the battle still raging around the royal carriage on the road, yet the Prince-Consort also heard the whizzing the arrows being loosed from deeper in the forest, just ahead of where the carriage had been travelling when they'd been attacked.

Satisfied that he wouldn't expire on the spot, Aedan adjusted his grip on the borrowed blade and moved further in the woodland, towards the sounds of the archers. He crept onwards, deciding that a stealthier approach would likely be of greater use to a warrior dressed in fine if simple travelling gear rather than his heavy metal armour. Had he been wearing his armour, the half drawn arrow probably wouldn't have even dented his outermost defences.

Careful not to announce his presence through the undergrowth, Aedan gradually approached, soon finding a small group of four: Two archers loosing arrows almost rhythmically, and two other bandits stood behind them watching proceedings, all with faces covered like the rest.

"Found you." Aedan murmured under his breath. He was willing to wager one of the two figures at the back was the leader. It didn't really matter which of them it was, as long as he caught them both of course.

Aedan edged as close as he dared. There was enough cover in the wood to mask his approach to about half a dozen metres away, but he'd have to take the last distance out in the open. There was no way round it. He'd simply have to charge.

The Warden-Commander eyed the archers first, feeling a slight twang from his chest as he shifted his stance. When he'd move out in the open, he'd only get a moment of surprise, two at most, and then he'd be facing a collection of sharp steel. He waited for the right time. He counted the seconds between each shot of the bows. He planned his route. Then, he charged.

The rustle of the undergrowth reached the bandits' ears too late. Aedan was already upon them. With one slice, the first archer spun and crumpled to the floor. As the second made to spin his bow round to bear, the wood was chopped cleanly in two as Aedan lashed back, catching the bandit under the clavicle and following through the neck.

One of the other bandits swore as he drew his sword. The other took a few steps back as Aedan turned to bear down on them. He turned and ran.

Ah, the smart one, must be the leader. Aedan deduced with a smirk as he advanced on the fool.

Perhaps distracted by his leader's sudden disappearance, the bandit who had stayed was quickly cut down in just two strokes of the sword. Aedan wasted no time, he let the body fall where it stood and quickly gave chase after the last bandit.

It might have been a tricky thing to track the bandit down had he just been a regular soldier, but Aedan had spent the hard years of the Blight on the harsh roads. He'd learned long ago how to find his target through the elements. Soon enough, the sound of running reached his ears and the silhouette of a man sprinting through the forest appeared up ahead. Aedan pressed on all the harder.

The bandit glanced over his shoulder a couple of times before finally giving up the attempted escape and stopping, turning to face the Prince-Consort.

"Smart man." Aedan murmured, panting a little.

The bandit was panting also, if only a little harder than the Warden-Commander. "You got me, I surrender. I'll come quietly." He held his hands out together in front, expecting shackles.

He didn't expect the blade that toppled both hands to the ground in one swing.

"Argh!" The bandit wailed, falling to the floor and staggering back.

Aedan calmly advanced, though his heart was hammering pure bloodlust in his ears.

"Wait! Wait! I surrender!"

The pleading fell on deaf ears.

Aedan knelt down and jabbed forward, cutting a neat slice through the bandit's abdomen.

More screaming followed.

Aedan kept his ears keenly trained on his surroundings, though there was no sign of anyone approaching. They were all alone, the Prince-Consort and the bandit.

Gazing down at him, the bandit was bleeding pretty badly, but there was a chance that he could still be saved, if Aedan acted quickly that is. But then, this man and his cronies did attack the royal carriage, with Aedan and his family inside. Aedan gripped the blade in his hand so tight he thought he might break it.

The face of his darling daughter drifted into mind, her little body riddled with arrows.

"Please …" The bandit gurgled, blood dribbling out and over his lips, already fading. "Mercy …"

"Maker show you mercy." Aedan murmured, his tone darker than the deepest pits of the Deep Roads. "For you'll find none here."

Before the bandit's eyes could as much as widen, Aedan lashed out with his sword. The head smacked to the ground and rolled away, leaving a grisly trail of red behind.

Breathing hard, Aedan had to make a conscious effort to drop the sword. It fell to the ground with dull clatter on the forest floor. The Prince-Consort turned away and marched back over to the road.

The remaining guards were already clearing the area, seeing to the wounded and respectfully collecting their slain comrades. The bandits were unceremoniously thrown to the ditch at the side of the road.

Aedan immediately ran to the carriage, it still looked intact, though a few more arrows were sticking out of its perimeter.

"Anora!" Aedan called as he wrenched open the door.

He let out a heavy sigh of relief as he was greeted with the sight of his wife, still holding Eleanor close to her. The Queen had procured a dagger from somewhere and was brandishing it at the open door. As soon as she realised it was her husband who was gazing in on her, Anora dropped the blade with a ragged sigh of her own.

"You're alright?" Aedan breathed. It was as much of a question as a statement.

"Yes, yes I think so." Anora still hugged Eleanor to her tight.

For her part, the Princess didn't look upset or scared at all. She looked slightly stunned if anything, gazing up at her father with wide eyes still and an open mouth.

"Thank the Maker you're both alright." Aedan sighed in relief, sweeping forwards to pull his beloved wife and daughter into a big hug. He grunted slightly as Anora's elbow came into contact with the arrowhead still piercing his chest, and he would have paid it no mind had the Queen not picked up on his discomfort immediately.

"Aedan, you've been hit!"

"I'm fine Anora, really."

Yet Anora was already craning her head out of the carriage door. "Medic! Help, we need help!"

"Your Grace!" Cauthrien was at the carriage's side in an instant. "Are you hurt?"

"My husband!" Anora gestured to Aedan's chest urgently. "Please, help him, Cauthrien!"

"Anora …" Aedan began as calmly as he could. He took both his dear wife's hands in his. "It's alright. I've lived through a lot worse."

The Queen merely scowled. "Let's have a professional make that judgement."

Aedan chuckled with a shake of his head. He lowered his gaze down to his chest. The torn tunic he wore had sprouted a small red circle around the broken arrow, but it didn't look to be growing at an alarming rate at least.

The Prince-Consort looked up to find his daughter's eyes. For her part, the Princess was merely looking up at both her parents arguing with a wide eyed expression.

"Are you ok, father?"

"Of course I am, sweetheart." Aedan smiled. "Your mother's just overreacting."

"Don't you dare start with that!" Anora growled.

Aedan couldn't help but chuckle, even as he received the mother of all tirades from the mother of his child.

xxx

The bandits' bodies were searched for anything of note before being piled up in a hastily made pit dug deep enough into the forest to avoid attention from the road and set alight. It was less of an honourable service and more of a means to dispose of the bodies quickly and avoid the risk of spreading disease.

After the fallen guardsmen had been collected and the wounded had their injuries seen too – including Aedan's arrow wound at Anora's most urgent insistence – the royal party then made their way back up the road heading back to Denerim. The losses they'd taken had weakened the guard's ability to defend their Queen and there was no telling if there were more bandits on the road ahead. At least the road they'd already travelled should be clear.

If nothing else, the funerary arrangements for the deceased would need to be seen to. Anora had resolved to ensure that the widows and families of those who had given their lives in defence of their Queen would be taken care of.

It was a sombre mood on the journey back to the capital. Even Eleanor picked up on the seriousness in the air and kept her toy lion on her knees in a manner that seemed to evoke a respectful, silent grieving, though perhaps instead she was just picking up on the undercurrent of tension from the adults. Either way, the Princess was quickly proving to be an intelligent child. Aedan knew that he was biased of course, but he was certain that his daughter had shown a keen emotional intelligence for her age and a canny knack for picking up on the emotions of others.

The guards were on high alert for any repeat of the earlier attack as they travelled. More than once, they drew swords pre-emptively on passers-by to keep their distance while the royal carriage was given right of way. While Aedan could certainly sympathise with the poor startled people, he wasn't about to complain about the guards' jumpiness with his wife and child's safety on the line.

Soon enough, they were back in the safe confines of Denerim's high walls and then back in the protective compound of the Royal Palace. Anora was seemingly torn between being angry at the attack that had taken several of her best guard's lives, and being annoyed that her plans had been thrown out of kilter.

Like Aedan though, her dominant feeling was simply relief that they'd survived the encounter relatively unscathed.

When they'd entered the palace proper once more, Anora wasted no time in ordering extended patrols of the roads and a swift death for anyone threatening her peace. She then turned on her husband and ordered that he immediately report to a healer to have his wound seen to. Aedan didn't argue, not just because the arrow head was still paining him, but also because he knew from experience better to not argue against his wife and Queen when she was in such a furious mood.

Well, not in public anyway. A furious Anora could, in the right circumstances, result in a very satisfied Aedan.

So Aedan went to go see the healer. He was summarily treated to a range of disapproving tuts as he was ordered to remove his tunic to allow for closer examination. It was only the one puncture would from the arrow he'd suffered, and it wasn't a significant one at that. Hell, he had long healed scars that looked more severe to him than his latest injury. Still, he put up with the examination and soon enough was feeling the warm glow of healing magic being poured into him.

"Are you ok, father?" A small voice pipped into the quiet.

Aedan looked up to see the curious gaze of his daughter, poking around the doorframe.

"Hey there, Pup." Aedan smiled as he beckoned her forward. "Your father's completely fine. It takes more than a few bandits to get the better of me, you know."

Seemingly satisfied of her immediate worry, Eleanor smiled and skipped forward, jumping up to sit on her father's knee.

"Are you ok, Pup?" Aedan asked, unable to keep the concern from his face. "That was a scary situation back on the road."

The Princess gave a vague shrug of the shoulders. She still clung to her beloved lion. "I'm ok."

"Are you sure?" Aedan probed gently. "It's ok to be scared, you know."

"It was a bit scary, but I'm ok now."

Aedan peered at her for a moment longer before nodding with a smile. Eleanor did seem to be ok, she showed no obvious signs of fear or worry, but a roadside skirmish was absolutely not what he wanted his daughter to see at such a young age. She was far younger than Aedan had been when he'd first seen a man die after all. Though he wasn't too sure what Eleanor had seen earlier, locked up as she was in the confines of the royal carriage with Anora and with the window shutters closed up. Hopefully, she hadn't actually been witness to the grim reality of combat. Perhaps she would need to come to terms with that one day, but Aedan was determined to make that day as far off in the future as possible.

"That's good, but if you are ever scared or worried about anything, anything at all, you know you can come to your mother or me, don't you?"

"I know." Eleanor smiled. "And Aunty Cauthrien too?"

Aedan chuckled. Though the Lady Knight had long since become comfortable with the infant Princess, he knew Cauthrien still didn't know quite how to handle being an 'aunty' to a princess. "And Aunty Cauthrien too." He agreed with a nod. "And your Uncle Fergus of course."

Eleanor looked happy at that.

"There's also all the guards in and around the palace." Aedan cast his hand out a little in a sweeping gesture to indicate them all. "They're here to help you as well."

"But, they protect mother." Eleanor frowned.

"Well, yes." Aedan conceded. "But they're here to protect you as well. You're the heir to the throne after all. One day when you become Queen, all those guards will be there just to protect you."

Eleanor lowered her gaze to her lion for a moment. "Father?"

"Yes, Pup?"

"What if I … what if I don't want to be a Queen?"

Aedan blinked. The question had taken him off guard completely, though perhaps it shouldn't have. Eleanor had been born to be Queen one day, hopefully many, many years from now, when she'd had plenty of time to learn and grow. Yet as he looked at his daughter now, he realised that never had anyone asked Eleanor what she wanted to be. She was still but a child of course. Any declaration of intent made now had to be taken with a pinch of salt. At one point in the last year, Eleanor had decided that she wanted to be a dragon when she grew up, though perhaps she was starting to settle on more realistic goals.

He scrambled his brains to find an appropriate thing to say. Eleanor was keeping her gaze on Ser Lion, but he knew that her attention was fully on him, perhaps expecting an outburst of sorts. Aedan wondered how Anora would react to such a declaration from her daughter and heir.

"What do you want to be, Pup?" Aedan asked gently.

The Princess looked up into her father's eyes, all too happily. "I want to be a Grey Warden, like you!" Eleanor smiled.

Aedan blinked again. Of all the things that could have shaken him, he had never expected such a simple statement from his own daughter to be one of them. The Prince-Consort leaned back a little, still looking at his darling daughter. The memory of a young boy many years ago flashed across his mind, wishing for just the same thing, pleading with his parents to let the visiting Grey Warden recruit him to be a hero. Little did that boy know, that his dreams would soon after become reality in the most cruel of ways.

Aedan licked his parched lips. "Eleanor, being a Grey Warden isn't all it's cracked up to be." He thought of the Joining ritual, the nightmares that followed forever, the inevitable Calling. All things that Eleanor had yet to learn about, but all were surely too much to explain to a child. As much as he wanted to dissuade his daughter from those same dreams he had as a young boy, he didn't want to scare her either. "It's a very hard and dangerous path."

"But why?" Eleanor looked at him confused, her head cocked in an adorable expression. "You're a Grey Warden? Everyone says you're a hero."

"There … was a lot of suffering I had to go through. It was a long, hard road to get where I am today." Aedan spoke carefully. "I had a lot of luck on the way as well."

"Can't I get luck?" Eleanor asked as if she was asking for seconds of dessert. "Could you give me some of yours?"

Aedan chuckled. He reached up to ruffle her dusty blonde hair. "It doesn't work that way sweetheart."

Eleanor scowled slightly, strangely like her mother in miniature form. Eleanor's version was awfully cuter though. "Then how does it work?"

Aedan sighed. He had a feeling he wasn't going to be able to navigate his way out of this conversation without heading through some rough waters.

"Eleanor, being a Grey Warden is a hard life, one I wouldn't have chosen had I known everything it entails."

"En … Entails?" Eleanor raised a confused eyebrow.

"If I knew everything about it I mean." Aedan amended. It was so easy to forget sometimes that his daughter was still a child. As smart as she was, she was still to fully build up her vocabulary to adult standards. "Besides, I wouldn't write off being a Queen completely if I were you." He smiled. "One day, when you get to become Queen, you can be whatever kind of Queen you want."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, if you want to be a warrior Queen, you can do that. Calenhad was a famous warrior before he was a King after all."

Aedan belatedly wondered if he should be encouraging his daughter away from a martial lifestyle. Then again, there were many a lord and lady who engaged in tourneys and competitions without going on the literal warpath. It was hardly safe either way, it was still usual enough for injuries to maim or cripple a noble for life at such events after all, but surely it was better than waging war against the rest of Thedas.

"But he was a King, not a Queen." Eleanor narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Well, yes, but he still ruled Ferelden while being a famous hero."

"But what about Queens?" Eleanor persisted. "Can a Queen be a hero?"

"Of course they can." Aedan smiled.

"Like who?"

Oh Maker, Aedan inwardly sighed. He wracked his brains quickly for an example. Anora would be a lot better at this than he. "Like … Queen Moira." Aedan provided finally with relish. "She was known as the Rebel Queen, she fought off the invading Orlesians."

"But … But didn't she die? Didn't her own people kill her?"

Oh, yeah, that's right, they did.

"Well, that may be so, but …" The Prince-Consort struggled to think of a 'but'.

"Isn't there a hero Queen who didn't get killed?" Eleanor asked expectantly.

"Well, yes, I'm sure there is …" Aedan felt a bead of sweat glide down his temple.

"Like who?" Eleanor pressed.

"Queen Rowan." A new, familiar voice provided.

Aedan and Eleanor looked up to find Anora striding through the doorway with a smile.

"Queen Rowan fought alongside her husband King Maric against the usurper's forces." Anora leant down to pick Eleanor up into her arms. "She helped to drive the Orlesians out of Ferelden for good. It's thanks to her that we have our freedom, and she was renowned for her beauty and compassion as well as for her strength in battle."

"What happened to her?" Eleanor asked, eyes wide in wonder.

"She married King Maric, and ruled beside him for years." Anora smiled. "She helped to rebuild Ferelden after the hardships of the war, until she passed away peacefully many years later."

Aedan knew the story. In actual fact, Queen Rowan had passed away from a wasting disease that had stumped the kingdom's greatest healers, but Eleanor didn't need to know that for now.

"Wow …" Eleanor murmured in quiet awe. Her gaze flicking off to the side as she considered that yes, perhaps she could become a great warrior Queen after all.

Anora eyed Aedan with a slight smirk before turning her lips to kiss her daughter's temple. "Wow indeed. Now come along dear, you need a bath."

"Aww, do I have to?" Eleanor complained.

"Yes, now come on." Anora shook her head with a smile as she carried the poor Princess from the room, her little arms scrambling for salvation. Before she carried Eleanor away, Anora sent her husband a pointed look over her shoulder, one that simply said: 'you owe me one'.

Aedan nodded his thanks and watched his beloved family go with a warm chuckle.

xxx

After Aedan's wound had been properly healed and the Princess had been reluctantly bathed, the royal family retired to their private chambers for the night.

"Did you manage to convince Eleanor to take a bath?" Aedan asked with a smirk as the Queen and Prince-Consort got into bed.

"Just about." Anora sighed wearily. "You know how she is. She'd rather bath in muck than wash it off."

Aedan chuckled. He could well believe it. Eleanor had a curious mind and absolutely no qualms about diving into flowerbeds or hedgerows in pursuit of an interesting bug or the shadow of a rabbit.

"Where you as troublesome at her age?" Anora asked with a sly grin. "She definitely didn't get any of that from me."

"Maybe a little." Aedan admitted. "Though I was more interested in playing Knights or Grey Wardens." He thought back to his conversation with Eleanor earlier, how she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps.

"Of course, I should have expected nothing less." Anora rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Hmm …" Aedan murmured distractedly.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Anora asked with concern on her face.

Aedan blinked. "Nothing, just …" He sighed. "It's just that Eleanor told me today that she wants to be a Grey Warden."

The expression on Anora's face shifted through surprise then horror until finally landing on resolve.

"No." The Queen shook her head resolutely. "Not our daughter."

"I know." Aedan sighed. "It shocked me as well. I just didn't know what to say."

Anora sighed as well. "I suppose we should have expected this. She idolises you after all." Her lips quirked into a slight smile. "No wonder she wants to be just like her doting father."

"I suppose. Hopefully she'll grow out of it."

"She's still so young. We have time to teach her that being a Grey Warden isn't just like all the stories."

"I just worry." Aedan chewed his lip. "My parents tried to veer me away from dreams of being a Grey Warden, and look what happened to me."

Anora raised her hand to stroke at the back of his neck. "You had to join them, Aedan, There was a Blight underway after all." The Queen murmured soothingly. "And I'm glad you did. Because of your sacrifice, we're alive here today. Because of you, Eleanor won't ever have to contend with Blights or darkspawn. That's all thanks to you, my love." She pressed a kiss to her husband's cheek.

"Thank you." Aedan murmured softly with a smile.

"Don't thank me. I'm the one thanking you." Anora smiled back. "Like today, you continue to protect our family."

"Of course I do." Aedan chuckled a little. He gazed into his wife's eyes fondly. "You and Eleanor are my world. I don't know what I'd do if I lost either one of you."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that." Anora smiled. She shuffled under the covers to snuggle closer to her husband, laying her head on his shoulder. "Thanks to you, Cauthrien and all of our guards, Eleanor and I safe and sound."

"Thank the Maker." Aedan breathed as he pressed a kiss to his Queen's forehead.

"So stop worrying, dear." Anora smiled before yawning as fatigue took hold.

Aedan would have been tempted to remind her how worried she had been once all the bandits had been dealt with. His ears were still ringing a little from all the haranguing the Queen had given him earlier. Still, he was more than content to snuggle, and from the looks of it, Anora felt the same. She'd wrapped her arms around him as best she could and clung to him. Her eyes were closed in a blissful expression, nearing the verge of sleep.

"You know, you're everything to me too." The Queen smiled content. "You and Eleanor both."

"I know." Aedan murmured with a smile of his own.

"You're all I ever wanted." Fatigue quieted her voice, but Aedan heard her clear. "You're everything … a woman could ask for …" She murmured through a yawn.

"Flatterer." Aedan smirked.

He was mildly surprised that Anora didn't retort in some fashion. Aedan looked down to find that Anora had finally succumbed to sleep. She looked so peaceful and relaxed.

"I love you too." Aedan smiled, pressing another kiss to her forehead.

It didn't take too long before Aedan followed his wife into a blissful slumber.