The night awake/Nobles know best
Cassandra awoke in the middle of the night, with the profound feeling that something is wrong.
They finally got to Val Royeaux, just in time to find themselves a place to sleep for the night. Cassandra, of course would have been able to get into half of the houses in the city just on the account on her surname, but she preferred to avoid meetings with Orlesian nobility as much as possible. Varric actually agreed with her, and together they searched for a tavern.
Thankfully, the search wasn't long, and they had managed to get a room.
("Shouldn't we write a raven to Leliana now, about our... situation?" Cassandra asked, already half asleep.
"It can wait until morning. Besides, Nightingale probably already knows. Shit, half of the city probably already knows." Cassandra looked at him, a bit incredulously. "Come on, Seeker!" he laughed. "A dwarf and one of the heirs to Nevarran throne walk into Val Royeaux with a child. We will be the talk of the day."
Cassandra snorted angrily at him, but he only shrugged his shoulders with a smile.)
Cassandra thought that they could have a moment of peace, at least for the night, but something seemed wrong. They have put Allen in a third, additional bed, since he didn't seem to mind sleeping alone (and, truly, she was afraid she would accidently crush him if he was to sleep in her bed), and Cassandra realized that the sound that woke her came from there.
A quiet wimpering and uneven breaths. She quickly rushed to the boy's side.
Cassandra rarely, if ever, panicked, but she was not prepared for this at all. Allen wasn't showing any signs of disease earlier. She put her hand on child's forehead; it was hot. She nearly cursed in Nevarran, and tried to wake up Varric.
"Varric!" She hissed. "Wake up!"
"Mphn.. Wha-?" Varric opened his eyes and blinked sleepily, but when he saw the expression on Cassandra's face he sat up almost immediately. "What is it, Seeker?"
"Something's wrong with him," Cassandra pointed to Allen. Varric immediately checked the boy's temperature and sighed.
"We're gonna need a healer for this, aren't we?" he asked her, and she nodded. Varric sighed.
"I'll go search for one. You should stay with him." He told Cassandra, but she immediately shook her head.
"But I don't know what to do!" she protested.
"Just... do what you would normally do when someone has a fever," he said softly. "Put cold compress on his head. Stay with him. I'll be back with a healer shortly." Varric put his jacket on and left the room. Cassandra could still hear him, walking down the stairs, and talking to the innkeeper.
After a while, the innkeeper came with a bowl of cold water and some towels. Cassandra took it and prepared a cold compress, which she put on Allen's forehead. There was nothing else she could do, so she sat on his bed and watched him carefully; looking for any signs he's getting worse.
When Varric returned with a healer, she was praying to the Maker for Allen's health. Just a few words, but it made Cassandra feel a lot more confident, even in that previously unknown to her situation.
The healer turned out to be a young woman in her mid-twenties. She quickly measured Allen's temperature, opened his mouth and looked into his throat and checked his skin for rash. Then she reached for her bag, took a small jar with herbs in it, and gave it to Cassandra.
"Boil these in water and give him to drink 3 times a day. The fever should fall soon. But if anything else happens, don't hesitate to summon me again." She turned to Varric, who immediately gave her a few silvers, and then left.
For a few moments, Varric and Cassandra stood to each other in uncomfortable silence.
"Go to sleep, Seeker. You have a meeting with Countess Whatshername tomorrow, don't you? Try to get some rest," he smiled at her reassuringly. Cassandra was grateful, but the tension and worry for boy's well being did not want to leave her.
"I'm not sure if I can," she admitted, not looking at Varric at all. He chuckled in response.
"I get what you're saying. Little guy's keeping us vigilant at all times, isn't he," he patted her arm clumsily. "Go, I'll wake you up on a few hours."
Cassandra gave up and went to sleep, getting a last glance at Varric sitting on Allen's bed before she closed her eyes.
Some hours later, Cassandra wished she could get more sleep beforehand, because she felt a headache incoming. She was trying to discuss matters of Inquisition for at least 4 hours now, and instead she was forced to admire the estate's gardens, make a small chat and drink tea. Even when she managed to get what they had come here for in the first place, the Countess didn't want to release her.
Cassandra was entirely sure it had something to do with an unending stream of rumours about her. Either that, or the Countess asked for her personally because she wanted something that could be achieved only by having Nevarran connections.
Either way, Cassandra was entirely too tired for this. She found her thought coming back to Allen and Varric, who had stayed in a tavern. Allen got a little better in the morning, but still, she worried.
"And, Lady Pentaghast, I heard a curious rumour just yesterday!" the Countess exclaimed.
"Yes?" Cassandra was far beyond being polite at the moment.
"Some people say they saw you in entering the city with a dwarf and a child," the Countess's smile was predatory. "Why would they say such a vile thing?! Can you imagine the scandal they would cause with such unwise lies?"
Cassandra could feel her muscle's tense. She knew entirely what the Countess was suggesting, but she wouldn't let herself get threatened.
"Indeed, such a preposterous lies. I know nothing of the matter. I have arrived here with Varric, Tethras, who is a dwarf and an ally to the Inquisition, but we certainly didn't have a child with us." Cassandra did not get any better at lying, but she hoped that the Countess would drop the matter after her next sentence. "Why won't we discuss the proper repayment for your generosity?"
The Countess immediately jumped on the occasion, trying to get as much personal gain as she could from the matter, and Cassandra gathered her remaining strength.
She could hear Varric's voice before she even entered the room.
"-and, no shit, there it was. The biggest dragon we ever saw..."
"Should you really teach him that kind of language?" Cassandra asked when she opened the door. Varric nearly jumped, startled, but quickly regained his composure.
"He doesn't really understand anything of it yet, so it's all about emoting, Seeker." He got a little bit more serious. "He's getting better. Still has a fever, but it's not as bad." Cassandra breathed out, relieved to hear the good news. "And we got a raven today," Varric pointed to Cassandra's bed.
She took a small piece of paper and began reading, quickly recognizing Leliana's handwriting.
I heard a peculiar rumour today, Cassandra read and groaned, knowing immediately what the letter was about. She caught Varric's sympatethic glance and immediately sat down to write and answer. After all, she had to write to one or two of her Nevarran relatives on behalf of the Countess too.
Dear Leliana, she started, There is a matter with which we require your assistance...