Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age or any of its related characters. This is just for my own enjoyment and the potential enjoyment of other fans like me, and no monetary gain was expected or received.
Rating: T+
Spoilers: May contain spoilers for Origins, Awakening, Origins DL content, and Dragon Age II as well as the novels The Stolen Throne and The Calling.
Chapter Seventy-Five: Little Dragon
He should say something. He should break the news gently rather than have Elilia find out for herself, possibly have a panic attack like she did before. But a cowardly streak rose up in him and when she reached for her child he merely laid the infant in her arms.
Elilia slipped the dress down off her shoulders and put the baby to her breast. She stroked the chubby little red cheek with a finger. "Beautiful Harvest," she said, in a coo. "How silly was I, to fear this?"
Loghain's mouth was parchment-dry. "Dearest, her eyes…"
"Her eyes are perfect," Elilia said, and then, in a milder tone, "They're perfect. She has her father's eyes."
"You saw?"
"They're perfect. She's perfect."
He felt some relief at her reaction, although he wondered if she meant it or was merely trying to convince herself of it. He kissed her forehead and stroked his daughter's dark fuzzy head with a gentle hand.
"I shall send messengers to your brother and to Anora. She'll be interested to learn she has a sister after all this time. Do you have any personal message you wish to send to Fergus?" Loghain asked.
"Just send him my love," Elilia said. "I've never been much for letter-writing, I'm afraid. There's always a thousand things happening and nothing I can think to say about them."
"Ha! That's the way I've always felt about it."
Over the next few days Loghain watched his wife closely for signs of strain or breaking. He was relieved to see none. Indeed, she seemed to take her daughter's strangeness in stride. And the child was strange. Within two days the infant taught herself to stand by hanging on to the slats of her cradle.
Loghain supposed that sooner or later he would have a partner for his long, feral rambles through the woods.
Autumn led softly into winter, and Gwaren lay for months beneath a thick blanket of white snow and ice. Before Loghain and Elilia celebrated their first wedding anniversary Harvest began to refuse the breast. Her parents did not speak of the matter to each other, but simply began to give the child well-chopped solid food. She particularly seemed to favor red meat. By the time the couple returned to Denerim in the spring, the infant was the size of a three-year old, and had already learned to walk and to talk.
Anora very carefully did not comment upon the oddness of that or her new sister's eyes when she first met the child. Alistair, however, was not so tactful.
"Maker's ass, Eli, what did you do? Swap out your baby for someone else's toddler?"
"Watch your tongue, Your Majesty, the child can speak and I don't want her to learn those words any earlier than she has to," Elilia said. "Look at those eyes and tell me this is not my baby."
"Yeah, about those eyes…" Alistair said.
"I don't want to hear it. My baby is perfect."
"Oh, of course. Of course."
News out of Orlais was good, as far as Ferelden was concerned. The revolution was in full swing, with Nevarra's armed assistance, and the Empress was feeling the heat. Ferelden's mothers and fathers tucked their children in to bed at night secure in the knowledge that the Empire would not be storming their homes any time soon. In late spring, when the weather turned warm and the heavy spring rains passed by, Elilia received communication from someone she'd never met, whose name was familiar to her regardless.
"Dace? That's one of the noble houses of Orzammar," she said, as she opened the letter. "Wonder what they want from me?"
"Probably a donation," Loghain said, or tried to, as Harvest stuck her hand in his mouth when he opened it. "Now you stop that, you little goof."
"Now top dat, oo wi'l goof," Harvest parroted.
"Hmm, Amgarrak, eh?" Elilia said, as she read her letter. "Seems they've uncovered another lost thaig. They sent an expedition to secure it but they never came back."
"Uh huh. Fascinating," Loghain said.
"Fazinating," Harvest said.
"I refuse to allow you to teach our daughter to use sarcasm until she is at least fourteen years of age," Elilia said. "In any event, this man Jerrik Dace wants my help in searching for his missing brother and the expedition that went missing, since his family has decided to call it a loss and not send a proper rescue party. Apparently my reputation has made it to Orzammar."
"Ha. A great deal of your reputation was made in Orzammar."
"Whaz a 'weptutatshun?'" Harvest asked.
"A reputation, my dear, is how your actions are viewed by others," Loghain said. "Your mother has a good reputation for bulling into places and situations no sane individual ought to go anywhere near."
"I'm going to write back and tell him I'll help," Elilia said.
"Oh, are you?" Loghain said. "And why is that, pray tell?"
"Pway tehw," Harvest said.
"His brother is missing, Loghain. Besides, I haven't had a good scrap in months. I've got cabin fever something awful."
"The Deep Roads are awfully dangerous, my dear, and you are no longer a Warden."
"I'll be fine."
"You're not going into the Deep Roads with only one dwarf in your party."
"Well, you could come along. Fergus could look after Harvest for awhile - it would be good for him to get to know his heir."
"If we're going, its going to be a full expedition."
"Aw, expeditions are such a fuss to arrange. You and me, running full tilt for a stone wall…that's the way it works out best."
"Yeah, works to get us both killed. I don't know about you, but I intend to watch my daughter grow up."
"Ah. Good point. Well, I'll let you organize it, then. You're good at that. Military mind, and all that."
"Ha. You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. But you really are good at that." She kissed him on the brow and pulled her daughter off his lap into her arms. "I'm going to put the little dragon down for her nap."