CHAPTER 17
The book did not last long. Or rather, Nathaniel didn't last long reading his book. Don't act like a child, Nathaniel. This is ridiculous, hiding away like this. You have no say in what she does and no claims upon her time. Get over it.
He gathered his bow and quiver and headed to the practice yard. There he spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon practicing and teaching any interested soldiers. The work helped to clear his mind and improved his mood considerably.
Mid-afternoon, the group investigating Bann Earnan's death arrived back at the keep. They found Nathaniel packing up his things and preparing to put them away. Nathaniel straightened up and asked, "Did you find anything?"
Garevel replied for the group. "We found nothing there. All seemed to be in order. The bann had apparently been drunk when he fell into the well," Oghren snickered and muttered "chamberpot" to himself, "and there were no signs that anything else was amiss. There is a new problem, though."
"What is that?"
"Bann Machar apparently also died in an accident. We passed his estate on the way back and his family stopped us to give us the news."
Nathaniel was surprised. "What? What happened?"
"He was in the habit of taking a walk after dinner, it seems, and he apparently got caught in a claw trap that the family had laid for wolves on the perimeter of his estate. He went missing last night and was not found until this morning. It looks like he died from a combination of blood loss and exposure."
"That is unfortunate. Let me guess, he was loyal to my father as well?" A single nod from Garevel confirmed the guess. "I suppose we should let the Commander know. Have you had lunch?"
"No, and I personally am starving," Anders said. "We need to eat before we do anything else." The others nodded in agreement.
Nathaniel nodded. "I will go and let the Commander know you are back. You should go ahead and get something to eat. Rest for a bit." He turned and headed toward the study, which was Elissa's usual place to work at that time of day.
The study door was open, so Nathaniel walked right in. He was greeted with the sight of Arl Teagan standing far too close to Elissa for Nathaniel's comfort, facing her with a particularly … earnest expression on his face. He had one hand on Elissa's shoulder and was speaking very quietly to her. She said something back and he smiled at her.
No, I did not just see that. The good mood that Nathaniel had built up over the course of the day evaporated in an instant. He cleared his throat loudly, earning a surprised look from Teagan. Elissa spun around to face the sound, surprise clearly in her eyes.
"The group you sent out this morning is back now, Commander," Nathaniel said tersely. "They needed to eat so I told them to go ahead and take care of that."
"Thank you, Nathaniel," Elissa said, a question in her eyes that Nathaniel refused to acknowledge. "I suppose I should go talk to them. Will you join us?"
"I don't think I will be able to make it, Commander." Elissa's eyebrow raised at the repetition of the word Commander. "Something … didn't agree with me so I was planning on getting some rest." Nathaniel struggled to remain civil. Your problem, not hers. Your problem, NOT hers... he chanted in his mind.
Elissa nodded. "Very well. I hope you feel better soon. We'll fill you in on the details later." She barely finished before Nathaniel was out the door, silently and quickly making his way to his room.
Dinner came and went, and Nathaniel opted to stay in his room. He was too keyed up to eat, and in his current state of mind he could not guarantee he would behave properly in front of Elissa's guests. His book from earlier remained on his lap, opened to the same page that it had been that morning. He looked at it with unseeing eyes, instead replaying the events of the night before and that day and trying to sort himself out.
Great. Just great, Nathaniel. You figure out you're in love with her the VERY day that you meet someone who is far better for her than you will ever be. Finally giving up on the book, Nathaniel closed it and put it down, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. Who would willingly take me over him? I have no money, no status; people HATE my family. This man is from the second most respected family in the country and he is already friends with her. Face it, Nathaniel. You are going to have to learn how to live with this.
Just then there was a knock on the door. "Hey, kid!" a familiar, gruff voice called. Then Oghren walked in. "I didn't disturb anything, did I?" he asked, a familiar leer on his face while he laughed his 'I'm thinking dirty thoughts' laugh.
Nathaniel groaned inwardly. Not now, please. Outwardly he said, "Did you need something, Oghren?" as Oghren took the chair opposite his and picked at his fingernails.
"Nah." Oghren grinned. "Commander said you were sick and I thought maybe you'd want to go get a drink to clean it outta yer system." He looked at Nathaniel, his attitude all swagger and bluster. "Quite a gal, the Commander. Too bad she's not a dwarf, heh heh heh."
"Yes, she is quite remarkable, isn't she?" Where are you going with this, Oghren?
"Did I ever tell ya about the Landsmeet? That was something else." Oghren paused a moment to boost himself back on the chair. "You know she put Alistair on the throne right?"
"I think all of Ferelden is aware she did that, Oghren," Nathaniel answered dryly. "She made it possible for him to take the crown and ended the civil war."
"No, you don't understand. She actually PUT that nug-humper on the throne!" Oghren exclaimed. "There she was, standing in front of all those nobles. Had just put Loghain in his place and into the ground. And there they were, all the sodding nobles of the country eating out of her hand. Then they say to her, 'Who should rule the country?' and look at her as if she was the first Paragon in human history." Oghren paused. "She coulda done anything. She could have put a bronto on the throne, and they'd have cheered her on. She was something. Anyway, there she was, an entire country looking at her to tell it what to do, and she says, 'Alistair will be king.' That confused me. I kept thinking, 'Why didn't she take the throne herself? She did all the work! Or at least tell them straight out that she would be Queen to that pike-twirler.'" Oghren took a drink from a flask that he mysteriously produced from his armor.
Nathaniel took the opportunity to answer. "Well, there was the matter of being a Warden, and since it's hard for Grey Wardens to have children -"
"She didn't know about that at the time. She didn't find out about that til after." Oghren looked at Nathaniel now, his eyes keen. "I asked her about it later. Wanna know what she said?" Nathaniel raised an eyebrow and nodded for Oghren to continue.
"Well, I asked her, 'Why didn't you take the throne yourself? You would have gotten it no problem!' and she said, 'I lived the life of a noble, Oghren. I know what it's like. And I like being a Warden a lot better than being a noble.'" Oghren laughed uproariously then. "Gotta love it! She loves being a Warden so much she gave up being a sodding noble for it." He got up then. "So, you want to get a drink?"
Nathaniel shook his head, "No thank you. Maybe another time." Oghren shuffled to the door. "Oh, and Oghren?" Oghren turned to face him. "Thanks for the story."
Oghren nodded, his eyes twinkling before he turned around and headed out the door. "Don't stay up too late and lose your beauty sleep!" He roared with laughter and headed out.
Nathaniel mused for a while. Then he shook his head, smiling. You're an idiot, Nathaniel. But at least you're an idiot with a chance. Chuckling quietly to himself, he got ready for bed.
The next morning, after breakfast, Teagan and his soldiers headed out to complete their journey to Denerim. Nathaniel stood by Elissa at the gate as she saw them off. After they left, she turned to Nathaniel. "Are you feeling better today?" She looked concerned. "You weren't really acting like yourself yesterday."
Nathaniel smiled warmly at her. "I am feeling much better now. Thank you." They turned to head back into the keep. "What did you have planned for today?"