There and Back Again Ch. 067-068

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Modern Girl in Thedas during the Fifth Blight.
7.2k words
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Part 43 of the 141 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 06/12/2016
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Chapter Sixty-Seven: Child Protection

Without a purpose, I wandered the castle aimlessly. I found Connor, excitedly talking with a Circle mage I vaguely recognised from the ritual that had saved the young mage. I left them alone, as it seemed the mage was teaching Connor, and I didn't want to interrupt. I then ran into Teagan, who pulled me aside.

"Dare I ask what my sort-of nephew did?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm not an idiot. I see the guilt in his eyes when he looks at you, and you avoiding eye contact. I know how you feel about him, and any idiot can tell he loves you, so I repeat: what did he do?"

I sighed. "He didn't trust me."

"You can tell me, Sierra. I won't judge. You should be allowed to talk about what happened if you need to."

"I don't need to. I'd really rather not talk about it. I kept some information secret to save someone else's feelings, and he didn't trust that I might not have had some ulterior motive for it. And that's that. I disgust him, Teagan. I'll never forget that expression."

He sighed. "I am sorry, my dear. I had hoped...well, it doesn't matter now. Just know, if you need somewhere to stay, you can always come here or Rainesfere. I can protect you, if need be."

"Why Teagan, are you flirting with me?"

He grinned. "Of course! You are a beautiful woman, Sierra." His expression grew serious. "I mean it though. I wouldn't pressure you, or expect anything. I am not trying to seduce you or gain your affection. But I know you don't have a lot of options, and you shouldn't be stuck following him if it causes you pain."

I patted his cheek. "You're very sweet, Teagan. And I appreciate the offer. But my place is with Aedan and the Grey Wardens. Thank you, though."

He nodded, and with a bit more small talk, excused himself to meet with Eamon.

I kept wandering, ending up out in the training yard. I watched some of the knights sparring for a while, and decided to put on my armour and join them. I slipped in through the kitchen entrance as a shortcut to my usual room, where I assumed my things had been taken. I made it only a few feet into the kitchen when I heard the disturbance.

There were loud voices, and a slap that sounded as though someone had been hit. I ran around the corner, only to stop in utter shock.

Cowering on the floor was a young boy, who couldn't have been more than seven years old. He was filthy, wearing clothes that were two sizes too small, and emaciated. His arms were up over his head, as though to protect himself from blows; the bruises, one on his face and several on his arms, showed just how necessary that protection was.

And standing over him, screaming in Orlesian, was Isolde. She held a wooden spoon, obviously taken from the hand of the cook who was standing next to her, crying silently. I watched in absolute horror as Isolde raised her arm and brought the spoon down across the boy's forearms, leaving a bright red welt. He yelped and tried to curl tighter; she raised her arm again.

I didn't even think; I jumped across the kitchen in two steps, grabbing Isolde's hand before she could smack the child again, ripping the spoon out of her grasp.

"What is going on here?" I thundered, and Isolde spun to face me.

"You!" Isolde screamed back. "You will not interfere! This boy is guilty of theft, and-"

To his credit, the youngster jumped up from the ground, his dirty cheeks tracked with tears, expression defiant despite the bruises and swelling on his face. "I didn't steal nothin'!" he cried, wiping his nose on his dirty sleeve, smearing the dirt further. "I was just carrying water like Cook said, for all the guests. I didn't take nothin'!"

"Then what happened to the wheel of Orlesian cheese I brought in?" the noblewoman shouted. "It didn't just eat itself, now did it?" She pulled at her arm, still held tightly in my grip, as though to strike the child again. I didn't let go, and grabbed her other wrist in my other hand just in case. My new strength from the Joining helped, as did weeks of constant travel and sparring; the soft noblewoman had no chance.

Looking at the gaunt figure before me, I knew there was no way the kid had eaten an entire wheel of cheese. His stomach would have been distended half-way across the room if he had. And regardless, there was no excuse for beating a starving boy for eating something, even if he had stolen it. The cook gestured to the kid, and he slid halfway behind her protective arm.

"Isolde! He is a child. Look at him! He no more stole your cheese than Andraste herself did."

"I am the Arlessa here, and I will have you arrested for assaulting me, you slattern!" She struggled again. "You have no right to interfere in how I discipline my servants!"

"You will not strike this child again, Arlessa, or so help me, you'll be needing help to chew your food for the rest of your days. You will desist or you will suffer, do you hear me?"

I shook her once to make my point, and released her arms. I turned to the kid and gestured; he came forward into the protective circle of my arms. I knelt down to look him in the eye.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Blake, my Lady."

"How old are you, Blake?"

"Eleven, my Lady."

"Eleven!" I was shocked; the kid barely came up to my shoulder, and I wasn't exactly tall. Looking at him, I realised that his stature was a result of chronic malnutrition. I'd have bet he hadn't felt truly full since he'd been weaned as a babe. "Where are your parents?"

He sniffled. "Dead, my Lady. Da was a kennel master, he died a long time ago, and Ma was a scullery maid here until...until..." He didn't have to finish the sentence; I knew. Until the undead, released by Isolde's stupidity and selfishness, killed half of the residents of Redcliffe.

"So where do you live now?"

"The Arl said I could sleep in the stables, if I worked hard to pay my keep, my Lady."

Isolde interrupted. "You see? My husband grants this churl a place to live and a job, and he repays that kindness with thievery."

I stood so abruptly that it startled poor Blake; he stumbled back with a small cry. I just about to leap upon Isolde, intent on returning the child's torment a hundred-fold on the harridan's hide, when strong arms circled me from behind, pinning my arms, holding me back.

"What exactly is going on here?" The voice, which I placed immediately, sounded amused. Blake and the unfortunate cook sank down onto their knees, and Isolde folded herself into a curtsy, murmuring "Your Majesty."

I turned as he released me, rolling my eyes. So much for his identity remaining a secret! I knew Aedan and Tomas would be furious. "Theron." It seemed there was little point to hiding his identity now, but I would try anyway. Isolde jumped back up at my casual use of his alias. "I found this...woman, beating this defenseless child with a wooden spoon, accusing him of theft."

"And you became involved because..."

"Are you joking? That harpy says the kid stole a wheel of cheese. You think a kid that poorly nourished could have somehow hidden an entire bloody wheel of cheese, or eaten it in a single sitting? A wheel of cheese probably weighs more than he does!"

Theron flushed. "Um, a wheel of Orlesian sharp, by chance?"

"Maker, don't even tell me. Love of cheese runs in the family, I see. You took the cheese, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

He reddened even further. "It's possible, yes."

I turned back to Isolde. "Next time, perhaps you should do some investigation into your charges before you start beating the nearest innocent servant!"

"You will address me with the respect I am owed as Arlessa! And you will not hamper my discipline of a servant in my castle, regardless of the circumstances, is that clear?"

Theron grabbed me again, as I moved to slap the harpy's face. "You may be an Arlessa, but I am the daughter of a Teyrn, and I outrank you, you shrew. And if you didn't make a habit of forcing those you are responsible for to sleep in the stables, beating them without provocation, and unleashing undead horrors upon them, perhaps I wouldn't have needed to interfere!"

Theron tried to hush me, but I spun to face him again. "That child sleeps in the stable, Theron. His parents died in service to the Arl. He's never had enough to eat in his entire life. He doesn't have appropriate clothes, and when do you think the last time he had a bath was? This is how your brother lived, until this harridan chased him off and sold him to the Chantry. This is not an isolated instance. You think that's the appropriate way to treat a servant, or any child? This is not Tevinter, and they are not slaves. Servants are not thieves, and those who are cannot help themselves." I felt very Drew Barrymore-esque, stealing lines from a movie.

"They can't?" Theron's expression was wry, and he held up his hand to forestall Isolde, who was about to interrupt.

"There was a philosopher named Thomas More where I came from...let me see if I can remember the quote. 'If you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from infancy, and then punish them for the crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded, but that you first make thieves, and then punish them?'"

Isolde looked incensed, while Theron merely looked thoughtful. I continued, "Perhaps if the servants were fed, clothed, and cared for properly, you wouldn't have to worry about them stealing food, yes?"

I held my hand out toward Blake, and he scrambled up from his knees to take my hand. I turned to Isolde. "You do not need to worry about so kindly providing for this child anymore. I will take care of it. But so help me, if I hear of another child in this castle being treated in such a disgraceful way, I will convince my brother to bring the full might of Highever down on you after the Blight. And I expect your full support when I do, Your Majesty." I made a passable curtsy, which probably looked strange in my pants and shirt, and left the kitchen, Blake in tow.

I was almost in tears, enraged to the point that my body didn't know how else to react, but I knew if I cried, poor Blake would probably lose it. I stifled my tears, determined to take it out on a practice dummy later. I looked down at the poor kid, wondering what I was going to do with him now. I realised I had the same priorities with him as with Anders: healing, food, and a bath. That gave me the nudge I needed to head in the right direction.

I headed up the stairs into the guest wing, not releasing Blake's hand. His murmured objections told me what I needed to know - he didn't feel safe, and I wasn't going to let go until he did. I flagged down a passing servant and asked them to bring up a plate of food to my room, and to have water brought up for a bath. Then I continued down the hall, right past my room, and knocked on a door near the end.

Wynne opened the door, smiling when she saw me; her smile turned into a frown when she spied the unwashed, bruised child at my side. She stepped back so we could enter.

"Sierra?"

"Wynne, this is Blake. He needs healing." The mage looked down at him, and then back at me in confusion. "I know, Wynne, and I'll explain later, but please. He's been beaten, and I'm guessing it's not the first time."

Hers eyes softening with pity for a child so mistreated, she turned to the boy and knelt down beside him. "This won't hurt, child. I'm here to help you."

I felt her aura flare, and then the steady light of one of her diagnostic scans; after a moment, her frown deepened and I felt the start of the healing. I watched as the bruises on his arms and face aged and disappeared, then the swelling recede. He flinched and gripped his elbow with the other hand, then released it with a sigh and a smile. After a few seconds, she was done, and I helped her to her feet.

"He's going to need food, Sierra. A lot of it. He's extremely malnourished."

"I noticed."

"His bruises are healed, and I also fixed his arm - he had a pulled elbow as an infant that was never healed properly. He'll need to work the arm to build up strength in the muscles, though. And he has a bunch of other old, healed fractures, but it's too late to fix them, or the scars on his back."

"Thanks, Wynne." I kissed her cheek, and to my surprise, Blake flung his arms around her waist in thanks. The tears in my eyes threatened again; such a small kindness should not be worthy of that sort of gratitude. I took his hand and led him back down the hall.

Alistair was walking up the stairs, and told me he'd been looking for me; I gestured for him to come with us into my room. The platter of food was sitting on a little table, and I put Blake on a chair and told him to eat until he felt sick. He looked at my face, assessing my sincerity; when I nodded and smiled, he grinned and dug in.

I turned back to Alistair.

"I hear you had a bit of a row with Arlessa Isolde."

"That's putting it lightly. She was beating this kid, and he didn't even do what she was accusing him of. I put a stop to it."

"And threatened to knock out her teeth?"

I blushed. "That was perhaps hasty of me, but...seriously! The kid's so malnourished he's half the height he should be. I swear, I should have just encouraged Aedan to use Jowan's blood magic ritual to save Connor, and then we'd be spared having to put up with her."

He looked away, and I couldn't quite interpret his expression. "What are you going to do with him now?"

I faltered. "I'm not sure, exactly. Feed and clothe him, first, and get him a bath. After that?" I shrugged helplessly. "Would you help me? I don't want to leave him alone, but I'm thinking it's not appropriate for me to be with him while he bathes."

He looked over at the kid, who was still stuffing his face as fast as he could. Alistair grinned, and I looked over to see juice from an apple running down his chin.

"Blake! Chew your food. Yikes!"

He looked over at me, and made exaggerated chewing motions. "Yes, my Lady."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Alistair. "Please?"

He sighed. "Do I have to wash him?"

"Maybe his back, but otherwise I'm sure he's quite capable. But maybe remind him to be thorough? If I recall being eleven properly, making sure I scrubbed every square inch wasn't high on my list of priorities." I grinned, and he laughed. "I'll go see if I can round up some appropriate clothes. Give him one of my shirts to lounge in if I'm not back when he's done."

I left the two there, just as the servants started bringing in buckets of hot water. I descended the stairs, and went down to the main entrance, happy not to run into Isolde. I left, and found Wayne out near the training yard. He smiled at me as I approached.

"Aren't you just a little firecracker, my Lady!"

I sighed. "You heard, did you?"

"I doubt anyone at the castle hasn't. But don't worry. We all know better than to go gossiping around the villagers. No one else will know."

"Oh good." I rolled my eyes. "Okay so what I'm really here for - I need some clothes. For a kid. Any ideas? I was hoping maybe you had some from one of the younger knights, or...I don't know."

He frowned. "I don't get kids as small as that, typically...your best bet is down in the village. How about I accompany you down there?"

"You don't have to do that, Wayne."

"Well, the daughter of a Teyrn shouldn't be wandering around alone, my Lady."

I wonder in how many ways that's going to come back to bite me in the ass? I sighed again. "I'm no more a Lady than you are, Wayne, regardless of my parentage. But if you promise to go back to calling me Sierra, I'll let you accompany me if it makes you feel better."

"Done. Let's go."

The two of us walked down the slope to town, and Wayne recommended the general store, assuming I didn't want custom clothing made. I bought several pairs of pants, several shirts, a belt in case the pants didn't fit, a cloak, and a pair of boots that were likely quite a bit too large, as well as several pairs of socks. Wayne picked out some small clothes, which I also purchased, and we went back up to the castle. I went inside with a smile, knocking on the door to my room and handing the clothes to Alistair when he opened it a crack. I agreed to meet them in the library, and headed down there to wait.

It didn't take long; I barely recognised the clean, unbruised, smiling child wearing clean, if slightly too large clothes that entered the library holding hands with Alistair. Alistair looked a little bit freaked - I was guessing he had precisely zero experience with kids - but he relaxed when Blake skipped over to me. He sat on an ottoman at my feet and gazed up at me silently.

"How do you feel, Blake?"

"Wonderful, my Lady! Are all those clothes you bought for me?" I nodded. "I've never had more than one pair of trousers. And a cloak! Thank you, my Lady!"

I smiled. "Alright, first things first, I am not your Lady. You will call me Sierra, okay?"

"Of course, my Lady Sierra!"

I sighed, and Alistair laughed. "No, I really mean just Sierra. No titles, okay?"

He gave me a skeptical look, and Alistair laughed harder.

"What will happen to me now, my L-...Sierra? The Arlessa isn't going to be happy with me when you leave."

I ruffled his damp hair. "I'll figure something out. For now, let's have lunch."

"My Lady?"

"Lunch is the meal between breakfast and supper." He gave me a funny look, and I grinned and stuck my tongue out at him. "Come on."

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Smack Down

We headed into the main hall, and found Teagan, Eamon, Theron, Tomas, and most of my companions already gathered, with the exception of the four who would be leaving the next day. To my relief, Isolde was nowhere to be seen. I gulped and then led Blake across the room, pulling him by the hand. I sat down, drawing the kid down beside me, and Alistair sat on his other side. I smiled gratefully at him and began piling a plate with food before handing it to Blake and filling another for myself.

No one said anything to me, and the conversation resumed around the table. I could feel the weight of Eamon's gaze on me, but ignored it as best I could. When Teagan caught my eye he winked, and I looked away and grinned. Tomas was frowning, and Theron just looked smug. Everyone else kept sneaking glances at Blake, who ate self-consciously, too hungry to pick at his food nervously. After a few more minutes, Theron cleared his throat.

"Sierra, I've been thinking about what you said. Could you explain that quote you told me to everyone else?"

Eamon glared at him, and I almost laughed. Swallowing my bite, I wiped my lips with a napkin and then repeated the quote for everyone. Theron nodded and made a 'go on' motion.

"Well, it's sort of self-evident, isn't it? I mean, say you're born an elf and you live in the Alienage. Your parents are probably poor and uneducated. Now they have an extra mouth to feed. You grow up with no training or skills to get a job, and no way to get training because you're poor and uneducated. You still, presumably, want to eat. So you steal. How do you blame someone who has never had any opportunity to get out of that vicious cycle? Of course people steal. And I'm not saying everyone who steals is like that - I'm sure there are those who are just greedy, or like the thrill of it; look at Rendon Howe, for a large-scale example of that. But the little people who steal aren't doing it for power or even for fun. They're just trying to fill their empty bellies." I glanced around, seeing Leli and Alistair smiling at me, and Teagan and Theron looking highly amused. I felt defensive and irritated, and I'm sure it showed.

"So what would you suggest?"