BioWare owns all but my character's and her dog's names. : )
I hope you enjoyed my little twist, and I hope you are enjoying the story so far, so nice of the spirit to drop a bombshell like that no? What mayhem will ensue? I hope you will stay with me and find out. : )
Thanks again for all your support. Your reviews have been wonderfully kind and your encouragement just keeps inspiring me.
Blessings! : )
"You lie, spirit, two Gray Wardens together can't have children." Kai just stared at the hooded figure, feeling as if her stomach dropped into her feet.
"It is difficult for a Gray Warden to produce a child with someone without tainted blood, and two with tainted blood makes that even harder, 'tis true, but it does not mean it is impossible, Kaidana." The hooded figure smiled again in amusement, "You are living proof of that, or at least your body is."
"Looks like you're going to be a father, brother, congratulations," Cailan clapped Alistair on the back grinning at his stunned expression.
"Another grandchild, I am so happy." Her mother's voice chimed in.
"Elle," her father's nickname for her mother sounded like a warning. Her father, like Fergus, was always able to read her so well.
Kai felt fear crawling along her skin like baby spiders, and her hands were making fists so hard the knuckles were white. She unclenched her fists and opened her hands, looking at them as if they didn't belong to her. She'd created bloody little semicircles where her nails had bitten into her skin, breaking it. Another bar in the cage, she felt the walls closing in on her. She needed to get out and think.
Only Duncan, Maric, and Alistair had not made a comment so far, Alistair looked pale and in shock.
She cocked an eyebrow at them. "Well, any comments or ideas on what I should do with my life?" They said nothing and kept their faces neutral, "Really, because I just figured that everyone should decide but me." She looked down and found she was in her leather armor with her daggers strapped on. How appropriate, since she was basically going to war with herself, "No, nothing...well that is interesting." She could hear how bitter she sounded. She turned back to the hooded figure. "You will have my decision, when I decide."
The figure merely bowed its head, "Don't take too long, Kaidana." Kai felt her hand reflexively going to one of her daggers. She was really getting tired of hearing her full name as if the figure owned her or she was a naughty child.
Kai turned and strode from the hall letting her feet take her where they would, they took her to the training grounds near the armory. Hay filled dummies were scattered about the large round courtyard while targets for practicing archery stood against stone walls to East, South, West, and North quarters of the training ground.
Kai began attacking one of the dummies, first with her unarmed martial arts skills as a sort of warm up, hitting, twirling, kicking a nice sweat started to bead up along her skin, and she felt her muscles loosen up. Kai ran a distance from the dummy and unsheathed her daggers, took a running start and flung them as she did a forward tumble, coming back to her feet to continue her forward momentum and grab the daggers sticking out of the hapless dummy as she vaulted over it, doing a somersault. Without turning around, she stabbed the dummy from behind in what would be its kidneys.
She continued fighting the dummy, letting her mind clear as her body went through the almost reflexive movements of her rogue training. Her blades blurred faster and faster until hay started tumbling to the ground and filling the air, falling like golden snow. In one final spit of rage, Kai spun and the dummy's "head" went sailing across the courtyard to tumble and roll, landing at Alistair's feet.
He just picked it up and looked at her. "Who is that supposed be, our little messenger, the ray of sunshine?" He gave her that lopsided grin. Kai found herself laughing despite her anger and her heavy breathing. How did he do that? Kai bent down, placing her hands on her knees and panting, letting her sweat cool on the night air.
Alistair walked up and held out his arms to her. She found herself just burying her face in his chest while he rested his chin on her on top of her head. They just stayed like that for a while. "What do you think I should do?" she finally ventured to ask him.
He stepped back and tilted her chin to look at him. "I think you should do what you want to do." He smoothed back her hair from her face.
"You have a stake in this too, Alistair." She looked into his face, but his expression was difficult to read for once.
"All my life, people made decisions for me. No one asked what I wanted until Duncan, and then you. You are the only two people who ever really cared about me." He kissed her forehead, her nose, and her lips. "How can I take a decision away from you?" He kissed her again tenderly. "Don't ask me to do that to you." He sighed and held her close. "Do I find being a father wonderful idea? Yes, I do. Would it be even more wonderful if I could actually be there to be a father? Definitely, but my wants don't come into this. Not this time."
Kai sobbed, "I don't want to be without you again. I don't know that I can do it. A huge part of me wants to stay here, to be with you, and make love to you. You are my heart and soul."
"And if little miss sunshine is right, we literally are each other's' heart and soul," Alistair quipped. His joke stopped her tears and again had her laughing. He tilted her chin again to look into her eyes. "You heard the mysterious, boogity boo, scary, cloaky, spirit person. We are always together." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.
"Alright, let's go talk to the boogity boo lady." Kai gave him a wan smile, wrapping her arm around his waist as they made their way back to the hall. Everyone who wasn't standing stood, and those standing and pacing stopped when they came in. Kai suddenly felt as if she were naked as all eyes turned towards her.
"Okay, I will go back," she heard herself say, though she couldn't believe it. It was as if her tongue had a mind of its own. She didn't even remember having made up her mind yet. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "But I have a quid pro quo. I will not be going to the Deep Roads when I get the Calling. I am not going back there ever again. I have had my fill of the place. I am not going to take the chance of being turned into a Broodmother. I will drink poison or hang myself or stick my head in a dwarven lava channel. Whatever comes in handy." The hooded figure just looked at her with that amused smile on her face. That smile, along with the use of her full name, was getting annoying. "I don't give a tinker's damn what the Chantry says about taking your own life." Kai paced. "That is my deal, spirit. Take it to the Maker and see what he says." Kai turned and sat down before her shaking legs gave out. The rest of them just continued to stare at her with varying looks of amusement or shock.
"Actually, Kaidana, there was one more offer I was going to make to you to 'sweeten' the ante in our game of Wicked Grace, but you came to your decision, no?" The spirit made a wide gesture with her hands and continued, "The offer was this. Lady Isolde still has some of the Ashes of Andraste you brought back from the temple. She is going to offer to use them to save you. When they are used, they will remove the taint from your blood. You will be able to live a long and normal life, at least, normal for you." The spirit smiled again at her own joke.
"And why would Lady Isolde offer to save me? We didn't part on the best of terms." Kai felt herself flushing, and she couldn't look at Alistair. "And wouldn't the Ashes work that way on any Warden? Won't that start a clamor to use them until we run out? That could set a dangerous precedent," Kai scowled. "And by the by, I really don't like you; you're toying with me. Push too far, and I might change my mind." Kai crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow at the figure before her.
The figure only laughed, lightly and liltingly. "Ah, my spiritual daughter, you are a stubborn soul just as He made you. We would not have you any other way." White hands raised and lifted off the hood of the cloak to reveal honey colored hair surrounding a pair of big blue eyes, rosy lips, and creamy skin.
"The Ashes will only work because I want them to work. They are the remains of my physical body." Again, the woman laughed, "Allow me to introduce myself – Andraste, bride of the Maker."