Epilogue: Family

Evelyn Rutherford left their Ferelden farm with one husband, one babe on her hip, one in her belly and a smile on her face. It was long past time she visited her old family in Ostwick and introduced them to her new one, whether the Trevelyans were interested or not.

Outside the Rutherford home, on a bright spring day, they readied to depart for the Free Marches. The baby kicked inside her happily and at the same time her son squirmed out of her arms to run to his father who was packing up the horses and wagon for the journey. Evelyn rubbed at her midsection and closed her eyes. She was getting hungry again and, now that most of her nausea had passed, she couldn't stop thinking about cake.

While she watched Cullen sweep up their firstborn and toss him playfully into the air, she recalled the day she knew for sure everything would be different. Better. It was the day she got married.

Evelyn had two pieces of cake that day at her wedding. She savored each bite with greedy satisfaction and savored the knowledge along with it that what might seem like a simple thing of butter and sugar was actually a celebration of something she wanted, something she'd earned and something she deserved.

Cullen found her throwing up both pieces behind some bushes not long after she'd licked the last crumb from her fork.

The following morning, she threw up her breakfast and the morning after that found her vomiting even before she'd eaten anything. Cullen realized before she did. It hadn't been something she'd planned. It never even entered her thoughts. How could it be possible? How could she, who had nearly cast her own life aside, have created another?

Because she hadn't. They had. She and Cullen together. And that was how it was now. Her life was now their life.

'Life' was too much for one person, she decided that day. Life was best lived with two. And when two became three, life got just that much easier. The things she'd thought were important simply weren't anymore in the face of a tiny babe, who looked exactly like his father, and who needed her more than anyone in Thedas ever had or ever would. The machinations of empires, of kings and queens and dukes and empresses, became insignificant in comparison. She now had two kings to call her own who thought she was more important than any queen. The thought of a fourth person in their family made her positively giddy.

Giddy. How ridiculous.

Little did she care. The hole in her chest was filled now, the fractures in her heart healed. There were scars. There always would be. Scars and a missing arm. But she wasn't ruled by those scars or the memories that went with them any longer.

Evelyn had been many things in her life and she now realized she'd always let her 'designation' control her rather than exerting her own control.

As a mage, she followed, cowered, walked a line. As Inquisitor, she lead, fought, served. As a wounded soldier, she ached, mourned and let pain overtake her. Now, though...now she was a wife, but that did not define her, it complimented her. She was a mother, but that did not encompass who or what she was, it simply fortified it.

She could accept things now, accept herself, good and bad, triumphs and mistakes. She could accept the world for what it was and she realized that, no matter what, in the end, the world could go right ahead and fuck itself because she was perfectly capable of making her own damn happiness.

If her birth family rejected her, it mattered not. She'd built her own family. She'd worked hard, let someone in, shared herself and shared in his life.

"Are you sure you don't just want to invite the Trevelyan's here?"

Cullen set down their son and let him run around aimlessly in the field as boys are wont to do. The question he asked her was the same question he'd asked every day since she decided to make this trip.

"They aren't why we're going, Cullen. They're just another stop along the way. You know I want to get out a bit before this one arrives." She pointed a finger at her tummy. "And we promised Alistair we'd come see his little Prince."

Alistair had wed the sister of the Teyrn of Highever not long after she and Cullen were wed. Though Evelyn hadn't been able to travel back to Denerim for their wedding, the King had written a personal note to her enclosed with their official invitation that let her know he had also seemed to find his way towards an unexpected sort of happiness:

'She loves dogs. She hates nobles. And she laughs at my jokes. I'm a lucky man. -Alistair.'

Scribbled beneath that, was a note from his bride:

'His sense of humor is terrible. I laugh at him, not his jokes. I do love dogs though. And him. -Elissa.'

Cullen persisted in gently trying to talk her out of going. "The Prince is still at his mother's breast, Ev. We can wait to see him until he's at least walking."

He was trying to protect her. It made her smile. In the past she might have bristled at it. She might have pushed back, seeing an overbearing Templar or a doting superficial friend, or even thought it was a slight against her, doubting what she was capable of tolerating. But she knew Cullen just wasn't like that. His position came from a place of love. He'd always trusted her. She saw that now. He'd given her distance when she needed it and pulled her close when she'd needed that even when she very literally tried to beat him back and push away.

Evelyn kissed him and she leaned into his hands as they moved up and down her tummy. As she knew would happen, he was immediately distracted from his train of thought.

"Maker, Ev, I just...I know this is our second, love, but it's amazing to see you change like this." He nuzzled her neck and ran his hands all along her curves.

She swelled with pride every time Cullen marveled at her growing body. The contentment inside her swelled too knowing that he'd seen every possible iteration of who she was, from messy and complicated to simple and glorious, and still he loved her.

"We're going Cullen." She said with finality and she knew he would accept it. "Because I just don't give a damn anymore. I'm happy. I want to see Alistair be happy. I want our friends to see us being happy and I want my family to know I'm happy in spite of them."

"Fine, fine." Cullen sighed, selfishly enjoying the role of indulgent husband. "My sister told me not to refuse a pregnant wife. Ever."

"Huh. Glad you decided to listen to her for once."

They set off and made good time. Cullen's sister reiterated her advice when they visited South Reach. When they visited Denerim, Alistair was positively beaming at his wife and son. Evelyn left a rose at the Hero of Ferelden's memorial and told her son the story of how the brave mage felled an archdemon. They convinced Dorian to travel south and meet them while they were in the capital. He swore their son had the aura of a mage and promised to teach him proper magic when he came of age. In Kirkwall, they met with Varric. He looked miserable sitting in his office as Viscount but he looked ecstatic when he snuck out of the keep and taught their son how to play dice.

When finally they reached Ostwick, Evelyn thought she might hesitate. She waited for the voices in her head to speak up, rear their ugly heads and try to drag her back down with them. Cullen was waiting too, though he remained silent and respectful of Evelyn's autonomy. Strangely, the voices never came, nor did the hesitation. Evelyn didn't pause on the hill overlooking the Trevelyan manor this time. She marched right down it, holding her son's hand, and allowing Cullen to hold onto her arm with the missing hand. She walked up to the door, head high, and though completely unannounced, she knocked on it.

She would never remember exactly how she and her family were ushered inside or who the first person was to actually greet them. She wouldn't remember how the sister-in-law she'd never met whisked away Cullen and their son in a wave of smiles, happy handshakes and introductions among cousins.

She would always remember her brother with tears in his eyes, hugging her close, without permission, too overcome to hold back and whispering to her, his voice filled with emotion.

"Evelyn. Evelyn, we found your staff. We've kept it for you. Welcome home. Welcome home."