31 Haring, 9:31 Dragon

(Before the beginning of a new year)

Another day, another sleepless night. And not because of "hearing" darkspawn and archdemons in his dreams, but because a piercing cry woke Aedan and Leliana up out of a sound sleep. No doubt something caused little Adrian to make such loud outbursts. Normally the babe was quiet and well-behaved but not this time. Aedan had been up for a few moments as evidenced by the bags under his eyes because of the exhaustion, and Leliana had stirred as she lifted herself up.

"Maker," she yawned while rubbing her eyes, "again?"

Aedan nodded wearily. "It would appear so. I'll see to him at once."

"No, love. You hardly get enough sleep already. I will tend to our son. No ifs, ands, or buts."

"I was only—"

"I said: no ifs, and, or buts, DEAR," Leliana hissed as she glared at the Warden, clearing telling her husband that she is in absolutely no mood to argue at this hour.

Aedan felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead and the temperature suddenly getting increasingly cold. In the end, he relented to Leliana's judgment, not wishing a confrontation as well but at times felt slight guilt for having to burden his wife with such domestic responsibilities by herself. Leliana groggily got out of bed and wrapped a robe around her figure as she left the bedchamber to tend to the crying infant. The Warden simply laid back and stared aimlessly at the ceiling, unable to return to sleep. Inhaling deeply, he let his eyes close before exhaling slowly.

'Either she's not getting enough sleep as I, or she still hasn't forgiven me for what happened the night before,' he contemplated.

Indeed, last night was one of the few times Aedan nearly saw Leliana almost reach a state of hysteria when she saw his wound. But perhaps was how she figured out his attempt at lying would possibly be interpreted as a sign of mistrust—how that could possibly hurt her. He hadn't meant to lie to her, but he didn't want Leliana to worry about him as well. Such thoughts were on Aedan's mind for a while, and he knew deep down that he couldn't just leave it at that and hope it blows over. No, that wouldn't be wise.

'One way or another, I need to know what's bothering her.'

As he threw the sheets off him, Aedan looked at the door before heading out after Leliana.

'We've come so far together, through thick and thin. There has to be more than what's going on.'

##########

A visibly tired Leliana held the crying Adrian in her arms, bouncing him as she tried to calm him down. No matter how much of her maternal instincts she applied, the infant refused to cease his constant wailing.

"Now, now, my little one, don't cry. Mama's here. You're safe now. There's no need to make such a sad face, so how about we turn that frown upside down? For me? Pretty please?" Leliana begged to her young son. From the look on her face, it seemed that the stress of being a parent was now ready to make Leliana cry herself.

Adrian just laid there in his mother's arms as he was being rocked slowly, not letting up. What could possibly be the reason for such commotion? Did he have a bad dream? Was he hungry? In need of attention? Did he need his small clothes changed again? Or was he teething, perhaps? Leliana often kept wondering why, even as she felt her lip begin to tremble and small tears start to form at the corner of each eye.

Her thoughts were abruptly broken as she turned to notice Aedan standing in the doorway, staring at them both as he held a bottle of warm milk in one hand just in case.

"How long have you been standing there?" Leliana quivered.

"Long enough to recognize when you're about to push yourself beyond your limits," Aedan answered with a long, heavy sigh.

Leliana just remained motionless, taking her eyes off Aedan and back towards Adrian. She often tried to make herself angry at her husband, but couldn't find it within herself to do it. Not after what they went through during the Fifth Blight and the civil war. Aedan's duties to the Grey Wardens often took up most of his time, but Leliana knew that he tried his best to be home for them whenever he could—despite others demanding much of his attention.

Aedan took the moment of silence as Leliana too stressed to retort and approached his wife and son. Still blinking sleep away, Aedan took a seat next to them as he handed the bottle to Leliana, who took it from him while trying to keep the toddler throwing a fit in her arms steady as she prepared to feed him. To her surprise and relief, little Adrian's crying slowly lessened as he began to suckle on the bottle presented to him.

"How did…?" she asked Aedan.

"I didn't. Being a first-time parent is as much a mystery to me as it is to you," he answered.

More moments of silence stilled upon the room as they focused on the now seven-month old. Leliana took the time to take a breather as Aedan wrapped his arm around her and wiped her eyes clean.

"Are you still mad at me from the other night?" Aedan asked.

Leliana slowly shook her head. "No. No, it's not that. It's just… You almost died fighting the archdemon, now there's a cult out there seeking to finish the job. We have a baby together, and still…"

Leliana felt herself tremble.

"Why must it be you? You, of all people… Why must these things always have to happen especially now?"

Aedan frowned slightly, unsure of how to answer that particular question. Idle gossips, whether they are accurate or fabricated, often find themselves spread across from one part of the Bannorn to the other, and sometimes to other countries outside of Ferelden. Fame always comes with a price, and such accomplishments always tend to make heroes a genuine target from unknown hostiles seeking to either make a name for themselves or out of fear for what they believe he represents to their interests. Perhaps it could be both.

"I… am uncertain of how to answer such speculations, Leli," he confessed. "I will say this, though: there are always someone seeking to cause harm onto others, whether they are fanatics or fools with a death wish. In this case, we're dealing with fanatics."

"That's not quite an answer, love," Leliana added.

"And not everyone has an answer to every question," Aedan replied. "Still... most people have a lot of reasons for fighting as long as they have, including ourselves. Especially what we have right now: a family. Our family."

"The minds of men are always rather pragmatic, sometimes."

"There is that, yes."

Leliana's thoughts were soon interrupted when a hand reached up and tugged at her hair. She looked down to see that Adrian was no longer drinking from the bottle and proceeded to gently lift the baby to her shoulder so she could burp him. Adrian let out a tiny burp and soon revered to his original happy self before eventually returning to a state of slumber. Leliana was relieved that her son at last ceased his wailing, as she felt herself fading in and out of consciousness.

"Rest easy, Leli," Aedan said quietly as Leliana mumbled something in Orlesian and felt her eyes slowly close.

"Hold me…" she said as the need to sleep overwhelmed her. "Don't let us go…"

Aedan complied and held his sleeping wife and son close by, as he started to fall asleep as well. 'I promise. I will not let either of you go, nor will I permit anyone who tries to do you harm…'

##########

Meanwhile…

Somewhere in the Brecilian Forest

Arrows and corpses were marked throughout the forest. And amongst those who remained standing was a cloaked feminine figure, holding a staff—indicating that she was a mage, an apostate in particular. Before her remained a Dalish hunter, too weak to move yet too stubborn to understand when to quit.

"Dirthara-ma…" he cursed.

As he was close to grab her ankles, the mage set him aflame. As he screamed in agony, the cloaked individual proceeded to walk away with her prize in tow: a book. And given the recent attacks by the Dalish, they were determined to get it back.

"Fools, the lot of them," she muttered as she soon stepped forward into western Amaranthine. What her intentions with the book are currently unknown, but as she glanced back at her attackers, her piercing golden eyes looked almost remorseful.

"'Tis certain the elves would understand why all this had to be done," she said as she looked down at her prize. "Just be thankful that I went through so much sacrifice to find it for you. 'Twould be a waste if such a gift were squandered. But I suppose we'll see soon enough… my friend."