Duty's Choice: The Bastards of Ferelden - Chapter 25

Changes

Highever – one month later

"She can't travel any more."

Alistair looked up from the reports on his borrowed desk. Fergus's desk, really. Petra stood in the doorway, backed by Dedra and Fergus himself. "What's wrong?" he asked, slightly panicked.

Petra spread her hands to calm the expectant father. "Outside of the dizziness that makes it hard to walk, the blinding headaches and the nausea that means she can hardly keep food down, not much. She can't ride."

"What about a carriage?" Alistair suggested.

"Bouncing up and down over winter roads? Not a good idea. And don't even think about suggesting a ship." Petra sighed. "Your majesty, she needs to stay put."

"But…"

Petra put her hands on her hips. "Do you want a healthy baby or not?"

Alistair shut his mouth.

Fergus cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Your majesty, what better place for her to stay? She's with family and this is one of the most secure locations in Ferelden."

"And you have about a quarter of the Ferelden army training here," Petra added.

Fergus smiled at Petra. "Its what teyrns do. And I have a feeling her Wardens will stay beside her."

Alistair considered a few moments, then slowly nodded. "Eamon's pressuring me to get back to Denerim. I'll go, be king for a bit, then get back here as quickly as I can. A month probably."

Petra made a sound of agreement. "The worst of the nausea might have passed by then, but she'll still throw things at you."

"She'll do that anyway, especially when I tell her." Alistair rose and adjusted his armor, checking to make sure it was secure. He then marched upstairs to meet his fate.

Elinora was not in her room. Alistair found her on the ramparts above the courtyard. She was dressed in a simple green wool dress, a shawl wrapped around her against the early winter cold. A sharp wind blew her chestnut tresses, wild and dancing. He took a moment to admire the sight.

"I know you're there, my love. Come keep me warm."

Alistair stepped behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm afraid armor is no good for warming up beautiful women."

"Well, not on the outside." She turned and kissed him, cool lips heating as they found his.

He broke from her sadly, trying to find the words. As usual, he didn't need to.

"You have to go back to Denerim, don't you?"

He bent his head, his forehead braced against hers. "How do you always know?"

"I'm very talented like that." She rested her cheek on his cold breastplate. "Petra doesn't want me to travel, does she?"

"Actually, I think she'll tie you down before she lets you set foot out of this castle."

Elinora chuckled a little and gripped the plates of his armor. "I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to go either. I want to be here for every moment of it." Alistair's hand rested on her belly.

"Even the vomiting and screaming parts?" She flinched at the memory of a very messy evening two nights before. Pregnancy was not a pretty business.

"Even the vomiting and screaming parts. I love you." Alistair kissed her forehead and wrapped her in the safety of his arms, safety he couldn't provide forever.

"I love you, too," she whispered, even if it was never easy.

They stayed there, snuggled in the security of each other's presence, until she broke away with a sudden, "Oh!"

A bolt of fear shot through Alistair as he gripped her hands. "What? Is it the baby?"

"No, not as such." She got that look, the one that he knew meant she had an idea which he wasn't going to like.

"Oh no. Now what?"

Elinora chewed her lip and looked up at him. "I have an idea, but you're not going to like it."

He sighed. "I already figured out that much. Spill it."

"We need to keep the Chantry in the dark about this," her hand stroked her belly. "The false report was a good start, but we can do better." She looked away, chewing her lip. "We're splitting up."

"What?" Aistair recoiled as his heart cracked.

"Not for real, of course," she said as she squeezed his hands. "But you'll leave in a huff tomorrow and let it get around that we've encounter some issues in our relationship. I'm sulking in Highever, and you go back to Denerim. As long as they don't know I'm pregnant, they'll leave us alone."

Alistair wondered for a moment who 'us' was: himself and Elinora, or the Grey Wardens in general. It didn't matter in the end, he supposed.

But she was right about one thing; he did not like it.

"NO!"

Elinora stared in shock at the usually very calm boy, the one who was never any trouble. Cailin had stomped his foot and yelled when he was told he was to go back to Denerim with Alistair. Tears started to spill down his reddened cheeks.

Alistair knelt in front of Cailin. "Cailin, you have to…"

"No!" the boy yelled again. "I wanna stay here with Mother. Someone needs to protect her."

Elinora and Alistair looked at each other and then at Cailin. "But Cailin," Alistair started, "She's got a quarter of the Ferelden army half a mile away, and her Wardens are staying with her."

"And if something gets past them," Elinora added, "then there's Fergus, and Petra will freeze them in their tracks."

Cailin pouted at their arguments, tears still falling. Elinora's heart melted, though she kept her features flat. It was never a good idea to let a small child know his temper tantrums had an effect. "Fine. You can stay here."

Alistair looked at her like she'd grown a third arm. "Are you sure? Small boys aren't the most restful things to have around."

Elinora looked at her adopted son and smiled. "I have a feeling there will be plenty of people to keep him entertained. Pup, you understand that I am probably going to be pretty sick, right."

Cailin nodded solemnly. "I'll take care of you."

His sincerity made her smile. She reached out for his hand. "Then your first task is to escort me back to my room, then fetch the Wardens. I need to send a message to Amaranthine."

Cailin took her hand. Elinora gave Alistair a proud parting smile as the boy lead her down the corridor for her room, the same one she'd had since childhood.

Alistair shook his head. While 'pup' simply seemed to be the Cousland family term of endearment, Cailin certainly behaved like a newly imprinted Mabari.

But then again, didn't they all?

"Actually, Commander, we'd all like to go."

Elinora gaped open-mouthed at the collection of loyal men and women before her, ones who generally disapproved when she wasn't under their watchful eyes. Aldo, Alcina and Maphisa looked particularly guilty, while the others ranged from neutral to mildly abashed, except for Kinna, who looked like she was going to be sick.

"Why this sudden mutiny?" she asked Aldo with a raised eyebrow.

He sighed, wishing he didn't have to admit this weakness of them all. "It's the bond. Your illness is affecting all of us."

"But Jurgen never mentioned…"

"It doesn't matter!" He caught the harshness of his tone and backed down. "We're all feeling it to one degree or another. The ladies especially." Aldo looked to the ladies in question, who averted their gazes from their commander. "When the incident happened at Weisshaupt, the women locked themselves away in one section of the fortress. Weisshaupt is huge, much bigger than Highever. And, quite frankly, the bond is stronger the closer Wardens are to each other."

"You could stay in the village," Elinora suggested, but the look on Aldo's face explained everything. "Not that sort of close. You mean emotionally, not proximity."

"Both, actually. All of us are pretty worked up about your condition."

She raised an eyebrow. "Worked up?"

Aldo shrugged. "Worried, excited."

She sighed, resting her chin on her propped up hands. "Make sure that Petra knows about this and records it." She passed a sealed parchment to Aldo. "Get that to Burion. I'm temporarily handing command of Ferelden over to him."

Aldo blanched. "Are you sure?"

Elinora released a defeated sigh. "It's the smart thing to do. We need a functional command, and I'm not going to be it for a while. And someone needs to return here with Finn. I want my dog."

Aldo nodded with a sad smile. "Yes, Commander."

"And under no circumstances is Alistair to know that you are all leaving. He feels guilty enough without being in a panic that I'm unprotected."

"But you're not…"

"No, I'm not, but daddy's not going to feel that way. He leaves at dawn tomorrow, you leave the next day. Clear?"

"Yes, Commander," they responded more or less as one.

"Dismissed." Elinora watched as they left her brother's office. She didn't like it, but their departure would make it look even more like she had run home to lick her wounds. The rumor mill should churn the waters good and muddy.

And the quiet would be nice.

But all the justifications and good reasons in the world didn't stop the tears that fell once the door was closed.