Sickness

Their armor and weapons clattered as they ran up the palace steps. They were covered in dirt and dried blood, but they paid their appearance no mind. They burst through the large doors, a large crash announcing their presence echoed through the main hall. They ignored the startled nobles who stuttered greetings towards them as they rushed towards the throne room.

The King was sitting at his throne, in deep discussion with his Chancellor and advisor. The conversation immediately halted as the two soldiers ran up to the King and quickly knelt down in respect. They took off their helmets, one revealing long golden hair and the other fiery red.

"Zevran! Leliana! You're both back!" Alistair exclaimed, standing up from the throne.

They both rose up from their knees and smiled wearily.

Leliana nodded at Alistair. "It is done. The Warden Commander has saved us all yet again."

"With a little help from us both. But I must say, protecting the Keep was quite boring compared to slaying the archdemon, yes?" Zevran turned to his companion and grinned.

Eamon let out an exhale of relief and Wynne whispered her thanks to the Maker. Alistair strode over to his returned advisors and threw his arms around their shoulders, drawing them close for a tight hug. "Andraste's Holy Grace…I am glad you are both safe!"

Leliana laughed. "We are glad as well. Although what we did was paltry compared to what Elissa has done to save Amaranthine."

Alistair backed up and gave them both an anxious look. "How is Elissa? Is she okay?!"

Zevran nodded. "She is quite fine. She was exhausted when she returned to Vigil's Keep. They confirmed that the darkspawn threat in the north has been defeated. She was sleeping like the dead when we left to give you the good news."

Wynne stepped up, her face full of concern. "How exhausted was she? How did she look?"

Leliana turned to Wynne. "She looked like…well…like she had just fought a million darkspawn. She was so worn out that her comrades were half-carrying her back to the Keep. She didn't seem to be heavily injured...but she was so fatigued I don't even know if she realizes that we won."

Eamon glanced at Alistair whose face was twisted with worry. The Chancellor cleared his throat and inclined his head at Leliana and Zevran. "Thank you both for your support…I am also glad you are both well."

Zevran chuckled and crossed his arms. "We would have done anything for our sweet Elissa. I was actually a bit disappointed that we couldn't go and slay that 'mother' with her…but pleased she entrusted us with the duty of protecting her home."

Alistair nodded and turned to Eamon. "I wish to ride out to Amaranthine right now. I would like to make sure that the Commander is well and the city is safe."

"Your Majesty…you cannot drop everything and leave Denerim. You still have other important matters to resolve…" Eamon's voice became firm. "Including the choosing your future bride."

"How is all that mess more important than celebrating the Warden Commander's rescue of Amaranthine?!" Alistair demanded.

"Your Majesty, we cannot continue to push this off…you must choose a Queen."

Wynne spoke up to prevent another heated argument between the King and his Chancellor. "May I suggest we throw the Wardens a celebration in Denerim then? We can welcome our saviors to the palace and throw a magnificent gathering in their honor."

Eamon conceded. "That sounds much more appropriate. I second that idea."

"Ah, another party. That sounds quite fun." Leliana nodded her head in agreement.

Alistair's brow furrowed, he was still concerned for Elissa's well-being. Leliana and Zevran's report did not ease his worrying. "That is fine then. Let us begin preparations for a celebration in honor of the Grey Wardens saving Ferelden once again." He then turned to Wynne. "But while we are in planning, may I request something of you?"

Wynne smiled and gently placed her hand on his arm. "Would you like me to go check on her?"

Alistair nodded. "If you could…because I am unable to ride out myself. I want to make sure that she is well."

"I will leave immediately." Wynne replied.

Zevran gave a casual shrug and grinned at everyone. "Knowing our beautiful Warden, she has most likely recovered by now. It was nothing compared to what she has faced before. She is most likely back to her charming self, ready to take on the next big fight that comes her way."

Elissa's face was in the chamber pot, heaving up the dinner she ate the night before. Unfortunately, Anders had the duty of holding up her sweaty, stringy hair while she vomited. He tried to concentrate on the hanging tapestry on the wall while he rubbed his commander's back.

"There, there now. Thatta girl. You'll feel much better now that it's all out of your system." He encouraged awkwardly, keeping his eyes averted.

Elissa wiped her mouth on a linen kerchief and slowly stood up, leaning against Anders for support. "Ugh…thank you. I'm sorry you had to see that…"

"Yes, yes." Anders sighed as he led her back to bed. "You know…Nathaniel would have been more than happy to care for you if you would let him."

"Absolutely not!" Elissa weakly shook her head as Anders tucked her into her blankets. "I can't risk anyone else catching this sweating sickness!"

"And I am okay to infect?!" Anders rolled his eyes.

"You're the safest one. Weren't you always bragging about being so healthy and never getting sick when you were a child? That's all you were going on about when we were mucking around in that disgusting swamp." Elissa mumbled, feeling her fever flare up again.

"The one time you all bother listening to me." Anders muttered and put his hand onto Elissa's forehead. "I was not expecting to play nursemaid to you as part of the celebration after we killed that nauseating Broodmother."

Elissa sighed in relief as he conjured up a small frost spell into his fingers to cool her fever. "I'm grateful to you, Anders. I would never be able to vomit in front of Nathaniel…can you imagine how mortifying that is?"

"Lucky me." Anders sarcastically replied but kept his cold hand to Elissa's forehead.

It was quite funny to everyone that the Great Hero of Ferelden, who has defeated mobs of darkspawn, groups of bandits, and even the bloody archdemon…has fallen ill to a minor case of the sweat. Even the serving staff gave Elissa's room wide girth in fear of catching her disease. Anders wasn't surprised…they were wallowing in filth and slime as they were tracking down the broodmother nest. Elissa was bound to catch something terrible considering she had been depriving herself of sleep and regular meals for the past several weeks.

Elissa insisted that her companions stay out of her room until the fever went away. Even though they had easily agreed to her demand, they decided to volunteer Anders to take care of her...mostly due to a prejudiced belief that circle mages were immune to all diseases.

"Well, it looks like your temperature is going down a bit." He declared and lifted his hand away. "I'll go and get the cook to make you something you can stomach."

Elissa murmured her thanks and closed her eyes. Her small snores followed immediately after. Anders left the room and shut the door quietly behind him. As usual, Nathaniel had been standing outside in the hallways, waiting for an update.

"How is she?" Nathaniel asked, his face weary.

"She's fine. Still has a bit of the bug. Everyone's blown this sickness too far out of proportion. To be fair, I think she is sick because of overworking herself." Anders sighed and began walking towards the kitchens. Nathaniel followed behind him.

"She has been in dire need of sleep." Nathaniel frowned.

"Speaking of which…" Anders turned around and crossed his arms. "Don't you think you should be getting some as well? Since we've gotten back to Vigil's Keep, you've only gotten a wink or two of sleep. Hurry up and go to bed. The commander will be fine."

Nathaniel ran his hand through his long hair. "I guess you're right. I can't do much good anyway. The daft woman won't let any of us near her other than you."

"Yes…lucky me." Anders repeated flatly. "I can't believe you all are making me do this. It's not like I'm getting anything out of it like you are."

Nathaniel snapped attention at Anders' quip. "What?! What do you mean by that?"

"Ugh." Anders groaned. "Don't play dumb. You'd have to be blind as a bat and stupid as a templar to not notice that there is something going on between you both."

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. "How did you find out?"

"Please, Nathaniel. It's plainly obvious…the way you both act around each other. I am grateful you are both kind enough not to do your…business…within earshot. So I gratefully request you continue to do so. I think it's the only way I'd be able to get sleep at night." Anders casually replied as if he were commenting on the weather.

Nathaniel slapped the palm of his hand to his face. "Maker help us…I thought we were careful. But if an idiot like yourself was able to figure it out, that means everyone else knows it as well."

Anders shrugged and changed the subject. "I'm going to get her some food and will go to bed myself. Go to sleep, Nathaniel. It doesn't do her any good to have you pace back and forth outside her chambers."

Nathaniel sighed and gave in. "All right. You win. Make sure to wake me up as soon as anything happens though."

Anders waved him off. "Right, right…I will let you know immediately when she tries to break her own record of fifteen vomits in one hour. Goodnight, Nathaniel."

The people of Vigil's Keep were busily about, repairing the damage that was done from the recent darkspawn attack. They paid little attention to their newest visitors. Wynne arrived with a few Denerim soldiers that served as her escort. As she approached the gates, she was surprised when Elissa wasn't the first to come out and greet her when she arrived at Vigil's Keep.

"Why hello there, Wynne! You're looking as gorgeous as usual!" Oghren hailed, as if he were waiting for her arrival.

"Good to see you, Oghren." Wynne smiled at her old companion. She gave a nod to her guards and they quickly dispersed to assist the Amaranthine soldiers with the repairs.

"Couldn't stay away from me, could you?" Oghren snorted, walking up to her.

Wynne let out a small chuckle. "I'm on business today. I'm here to check on our Hero of Ferelden…where is she?"

Oghren led her to the Keep and opened the heavy wooden door. "Err…she's a bit…indisposed at the moment."

"What do you mean?" Wynne asked, walking into the entranceway. Oghren quickly slammed the door behind him and motioned her to follow him into one of the corridors.

"The commander is sick with the sweats." Oghren said gruffly. "She's been in her rooms ever since we got back here. Refuses to let anyone near her because she doesn't want us catching what she's got."

Wynne immediately got concerned. "You don't have any healers at the Keep?"

"Of course we do!" He grunted. "That stupid mage is the only one that's allowed to go in and out. He says she's okay…but she's still puking all over the place. Her fever has been coming and going."

"Poor girl, she probably worked herself too hard." Wynne noted. "I will make sure to examine her, myself."

"Good. Glad you came by…it doesn't feel right to have the commander missing while the rest of us party! Puts a sour taste in the drink, if you know what I mean." Oghren guffawed and finally stopped at a door. He banged on the door with his fist. "Hey! Open up you cross-dressing freak! I got a real healer here for the commander!"

Anders opened the door and glared at Oghren. "You know, making a lot of noise doesn't really help the patient!"

"Yeah, yeah." Oghren jerked his head towards Wynne. "You've met her back then when we were at that chantry."

"Hello again, Anders." Wynne greeted the mage.

"Likewise. I would like to apologize for subjecting you to the dwarf's company for so long." He replied.

"Bah, whatever, you little nug-humper." Oghren turned on his heel and walked back the way he came. "I'm going to go drink some more of that ale they brought in from the city this morning. Let me know when the boss is all well again so she can join me."

As soon as Oghren left earshot, Wynne and Anders both let out a sigh of relief. She turned to Anders and smiled. "I'm sorry to have taken so long. May I take a look at Elissa?"

"Please do. Maybe you would know what to do with her." Anders ushered her inside and closed the door.

Elissa was lying in bed, covers were scattered erratically all over her. When she sensed the extra company, she opened her eyes and gave her old friend a weak grin. "Wynne! You're here!"

"Of course I am. I wanted to visit my favorite Grey Warden in all of Ferelden." Wynne approached the bed and ran her head over Elissa's forehead. She was a bit feverish, but nothing serious. "I can see you have fallen sick…how ill do you feel?"

"Not too badly. But I don't want the others to get sick. I've been wretching up my meals as quickly as I've been eating them." Elissa told her grimly.

Anders joined the conversation. "I gave her some small doses of potions that the herbalist has made…but she ends up vomiting those up as well."

Wynne nodded in understanding and gave Elissa a smile. "Well, will you allow me to check on you then? Let's see what you've caught so I can figure out what needs to be done to get you back to your healthy self."

Elissa complied and tossed the covers to the side. Anders stood by and watched, waiting to see what the elder mage would be able to deduce from the symptoms. Wynne checked several of her vital signs and furrowed her brow as she immediately noticed something out of place.

"Elissa…tell me if this feels sore." She said and lightly rubbed a spot on Elissa's chest.

"Ah…that feels a bit tender." Elissa gave a worried look to Wynne. "Do you know what I've come down with?"

Wynne had to step back and crossed her arms. The symptoms did not make sense to her. It is not possible that Elissa has gotten herself in this condition, she thought as she drummed her fingers against her arms, wondering if there was something she was overlooking.

Elissa suddenly sprung out of bed and ran for the chamber pot against the wall. On queue, Anders quickly ran over to keep her from falling over as she wretched. He muttered his encouragement as he rubbed her back. Wynne's eyes widened as she observed Elissa…no, it can't be!

"I'm sorry, Wynne. It's quite disgusting, isn't it?" Elissa panted as Anders helped her back on her feet. She looked up and saw Wynne's anxious expression and paused.

Anders also noticed the look on her face. "What? What is it? Do you know what she has, Wynne? It's not something terrible, is it?"

Wynne pursed her lips. "I think I know what is wrong with you…but I am not sure I can believe it myself."

The mage's nervousness began to make her uneasy. Elissa tightened her hold on Anders' arm. "What's wrong with me, Wynne? Am I going to die from this sickness?"

The elder mage shook her head as she moved towards her. Wynne lifted her hand and gently placed it on Elissa's stomach. "My dear…I do not know how it is possible…but I believe you are with child."