Chapter 70: Birds and Bees
Zevran knocked on Wynne's door. The mage opened the door and was pleased to hear that Delia was back. When told that her friend was ill Wynne frowned and followed Zevran quietly through the halls to Alistair's room. Once she stood outside the door, she heard Bann Teagan shouting something about treason. Knowing the conversation was heated from the tone of his words, Wynne took a deep breath to clear her head before she opened the door and stepped inside.
Alistair was glaring at Teagan as she entered. Her breath caught in her throat as she noticed a change in the young man. Suddenly he looked almost… regal. Behind him stood Delia and as soon as Wynne saw her she smiled and strode over to hug her tightly.
"Oh, thank the Maker, Delia, you are back! We've all been so worried, but you would be proud of Alistair. I believe he has done a remarkable job of staying calm despite his fears for you." She released Delia and looked at her warmly. "Now, I was told that you aren't feeling well. I must ask that the room is cleared of everyone except for Delia, me and perhaps Alistair, but only because I know that he won't accept another moment apart from his wife."
Leliana and Aeden steered Teagan and Zevran across the hall to Zevran's room. The four stayed there, in uncomfortable silence, while they waited for Wynne's diagnosis.
Once the three were alone with the door shut behind the others, Wynne smiled and took Delia's hands in her own. "Now, my dear, lie down on the bed and I'll see what I can do for you."
Delia walked to the bed and lay down as Wynne had directed. Alistair walked to the far side of the bed and sat on the edge, looking at his wife with concern. Wynne walked to the side of the bed closer to her and smiled at Delia.
"This won't hurt at all, but you may feel a comfortably warm sensation as my magic searches whatever is wrong." Delia nodded in understanding. There were many times as a child at school that she would be ill and the resident mages would use their magic to search for the cause, so she wasn't afraid in the least. Besides, the troubles she had been having with her stomach seemed to be much better, so she wasn't worried about the illness being irreversible.
Wynne moved her hands above Delia's body without actually touching her. A blue-white light shone on her torso below the mage's hands as her magic searched for the cause of Delia's sickness. As her hands passed across Delia's abdomen, Wynne's eyebrow raised. She rechecked what she felt before she continued to search the rest of Delia's body for anything abnormal. Once she had examined Delia thoroughly, Wynne's hands moved one more time to her abdomen.
"Delia, when did you have your last cycle?" Wynne asked Delia as off handedly as possible.
Delia thought for a moment before she answered. "It was when the wardens were in the Deep Roads. Why?"
Alistair fidgeted. "Wynne, is something wrong? What did you find?"
Chuckling softly, Wynne looked at the warden with a soft smile. "Alistair, has no one ever explained to you the story of the birds and the bees?"
Delia looked up at Wynne at first in shock, but then the realization hit her. "Are you certain? Is that what my 'trouble' is?"
"Trouble? Birds? Bees? What in the Maker's name are you both talking about?" He ran his hand through his hair, his face contorted in fear.
"I'll leave you to enlighten him, Delia. I'll return later with an herbal tea mixture which will help you with the… discomfort." She took Delia's hand in her own and smiled. "If you need any help explaining this to Alistair, I will help you when I return."
Delia laughed softly. "I… think we'll be fine." Wynne walked out of the room, smiling back at the pair over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her.
"So, are you going to explain this to me or what? Were you stung by a bee in the middle of winter and had a bad reaction? I really don't understand."
Delia sat up and leaned against the bed's headboard, patting the area next to her so Alistair would sit next to her. Once he moved where she desired, she took his hands between her own and looked lovingly into his eyes.
"Alistair, I'm not really sick at all."
"Then why is your stomach bothering you so horribly?"
"Well, my love, it seems that we won't have a great deal of time to simply enjoy being husband and wife…"
His eyes grew wide in alarm. "Something is going to take you away from me? To kill you?"
Laughing, Delia moved so she was in his arms, facing him. "No, my personal, adorable idiot! You will simply have to share me with another…"
"I don't understand. You're going to leave me for someone else?" He truly looked confused and frustrated, so Delia decided to stop his misery.
"No, my love. You are going to be a father."
His eyes opened wide and a smile slowly opened on his face. "A… a father? You mean… you are going to have a baby? Our baby? Oh, darling!" He pulled her close to him, gently but firmly holding her against his chest.
A thought came to his mind. "Will it be a boy or a girl?" he asked seriously.
Delia looked up at his face and seeing his sincere expression started to giggle. "Yes," was all she could say before she laughed uproariously.
Realizing how silly his question sounded, he smiled at her and joined in her mirth. "Fa-ther. Father. It does sound rather odd, though, doesn't it? Father… I think I can get used to the sound of that." He snuggled into her hair, happier than he had ever been except for his wedding day.
His ecstatic but awkward reaction both made Delia laugh even more at his absurdity. Her love for his swelled as his happiness encircled them both. Alistair was going to finally have the family he had always wanted, and she couldn't believe how blessed the two of them were! She gently pushed away from his chest, but only so she could capture his lips against hers. The kiss they shared laid all their emotions bare; the pain they both had felt at being separated, the jubilant relief at being reunited and the overwhelming happiness they felt hearing the news that they were to become parents.
A soft knock on the door warned them of Wynne's return, and they broke their kiss reluctantly. Wynne walked in, smiling broadly, carrying a linen bag. "This is a mix of herbs to relieve your symptoms. Don't worry, the morning sickness is very normal and will go away in a month or so."
Delia scowled. "But it's not just in the morning. Should I worry about that?"
Wynne chuckled. "No, my dear. They call it morning sickness, but it can, indeed, happen at any time of day. When it does, drink some tea if you can and eat some dry bread. If you still feel ill after that, I will cast a rejuvenation spell on you to assist you."
Wynne smiled at Alistair. "I am assuming you understand how your wife caught this 'condition'?"
"Yes, Wynne, I do know how babies are made. Even with my Chantry background, we do understand these sorts of things," he grumbled.
Wynne snickered. "That's good, Alistair. Now, you work on making your wife comfortable for the night. I will, however, send Griffon in to your room, partly for security reasons but also because the poor dog smells her and I could hear him whining in Sten's room. He'll wake the entire house if he doesn't see you."
Delia smiled. "Yes, send Griffon to us. I've missed my other boy too."
Wynne smiled as she left the room, and momentarily they heard Griffon at the door. Alistair opened the door for him and the dog bounded inside. He leaped onto the bed and started to slather Delia's face with licks of unbounded happiness.
Delia was trying to push the deer hound off as she told her dog how much she had indeed missed him. When Griffon finally calmed down, Delia held her hands in front of her and shook them as if they were dripping in dog drool. "Alistair? I think I may need a bath…"
He laughed heartily and started towards the bathroom. "Your desire is my command, my love."
When they woke in the morning, both Delia and Alistair knew there were too many things to do before the afternoon's Landsmeet so they dressed quickly. Alistair left the room briefly to gather their entire group for a breakfast strategy meeting. When he returned, he immediately went to his wife and hugged her tightly.
"Today will change almost everything about our lives, but one thing will never change. I will always love you, Delia." He reached down and scratched Griffon behind his ears absentmindedly. "I've asked Aeden, Zev and Leli to secure the hallway before we walk over for breakfast – I don't want any of the estate staff to know you are here."
A soft knock on the door was revealed to be Zev. They followed their friends to the warrior's dining hall, which had been locked so that the estate guards wouldn't enter. Trent had spread the word that the wardens had requested a private meeting in regards to the Landsmeet, so there was no suspicion. As Delia walked through the doorway she looked around. Morrigan, Sten and Oghren were sitting at one table. All three seemed to be happily surprised at her appearance. Shale stood next to the other entrance to the room. She visibly straightened up when she saw Delia, looking as pleased as a rock creature could. Dusty loped over to Delia and nudged her hand, earning a hug from her.
Teagan was invited to the meeting only after Aeden had pushed Alistair for his presence. Aeden felt the Bann needed their protection from his brother once the Arl learned the true story about Delia and her marriageability. Teagan watched the reactions of their companions as they welcomed Delia back into their fold. One of the members seemed to have a more intense reaction, and he didn't have to wait very long to find out why.
Trent watched as his daughter walked through the doorway and gave the mabari a hug. His son in law was beaming in delight, and Delia's smile was contagious. He stood up, smiling but with his eyes filling with tears of joy, and strode over to her. As she looked up at him, her eyes also filled with tears, and they pulled each other into a tight embrace.
"Oh, Delia, I thought I'd lost you again. Thank the Maker you're all right."
Teagan was shocked. He knew Trent had been in her father's employ for a long time, but such a blatant display was simply wrong. "How can you allow her servant to behave that way?" he spat at Alistair.
Alistair glared at the Bann before he answered measuredly, "Because he is her real father. Her grandfather wouldn't allow her mother to marry the man that she loved and was forced to marry that horrid excuse of a man. She didn't realize she was pregnant until after the marriage. If you would bother to use your eyes you wouldn't be able to miss the family resemblance. I suggest that from now on you keep your comments to yourself about the matter."
Teagan sat down, embarrassed. No wonder Delia was adamant about marrying for love rather than station. She knew all too well how badly it could turn out. The events of the past day certainly had explained a great many things to the Bann.
Delia whispered into Trent's ear, "I need to tell you something important later, in private. Well, Alistair can be there, but no one else."
He looked at her and smiled. "And there's something I need to tell you after breakfast. Well, rather there's something I need to show you. A… surprise of a sort."
They joined their friends for their meal. When they had all eaten their fill, Aeden spent some time filling them in on what to expect at the Landsmeet. He and Alistair would enter first along with Sten, Wynne, Trent and Delia. Zevran would stay at the door and signal to Leliana, Oghren, Shale and Morrigan when they were to bring Anora into the room.
Delia was surprised at that. "How did you get Anora's support?"
Aeden smiled smugly. "I lied to her, of course. She believes she is retaining her crown and marrying Alistair to solidify her position."
Alistair suddenly looked very serious. "She's almost as much at fault here as her father, but she at least told us about the Alienage having trouble. Ferelden lost many elves to the Tevinter slave ships, but we were able to save many as well. Every time we turn around we find more depravity caused by Loghain and his ambitions. Today we stop him and save our country."
Aeden then explained how they would deal with Eamon later that morning. It would not be easy to accuse Eamon of his crimes against Alistair and Delia and still retain his support at the Landsmeet. He asked to speak to Teagan, Alistair and Delia privately later in the morning before they left to face Eamon.
Once they finished their meeting, Trent walked over to Alistair and Delia. "Alistair, will you come with us? You know what I have to… show her, and although I know she will be most pleased I think she'll also be shocked."
Alistair nodded and grinned. "Let's go then."
Trent put his arm around his daughter's waist and led her out the door and back to the original warrior's quarters. As they stood outside of the door, Delia looked up at his face. "Isn't this where we brought the prisoners? I forgot to ask how they were faring."
"They are all well, thanks to you, Leliana, Sten and Dusty. Most have already gone to their homes, but one wished to… thank you, in person." Trent opened the door and they entered the room. A man stood at the window, looking out, with his back to them. As he slowly turned to face them, Delia gasped. It was indeed someone she was elated to see, but was shocked that he was standing in front of her. The man standing in front of her, the man they had saved from the cell that was very nearly dead and unrecognizable at the time, was her brother.