There and Back Again Ch. 069-070

Teagan turned to the young woman. "Is there anything you need, Kaitlyn? I've taken responsibility for this orphanage. I want you to tell me if you have needs unmet."

There was a double-entendre there somewhere, I was sure of it; Teagan's mouth twitched as I covered a laugh with a fake cough.

"You've been more than generous, my Lord. We're fine."

Teagan slightly winced at the title. "Teagan, please. And please, just send someone up to the castle if you need anything, all right?"

She smiled shyly and ducked her head; Teagan and I took our leave. We got partway up the hill before I had to either say something or explode.

"So...Kaitlyn seems nice."

"She is." Teagan glanced at me, and flushed slightly before looking away again.

"And I noticed she's not, er, married." He grunted, and I continued, "Shame, that. I imagine someone will catch on soon enough and scoop her up." He clenched his jaw and refused to answer. I almost giggled. "She sure is pretty."

"Is she?"

I chuckled. "Um. Yeah, I'm almost jealous. She could have any man she wanted, don't you think?"

He scowled and continued to avoid making eye contact. "I suppose so."

"And now I know why you spend so much time at the orphanage."

"No! I mean, I do, but that's not..." He glared at me. "I go to see the children. That's all."

"Uh huh. And when some other, less clueless man waltzes in there and steals her out from under your nose, you won't be at all bothered by that?"

He sighed. "Look, you've made your point. I shall be very disappointed when she finds a beau and gets married. But there's nothing I can do about that."

"Oh, so all your spouting off about lacking a noble title not being an impediment was just smoke, then?"

"What? No! This has nothing to do with her lack of a title."

"Then what?"

"I'm old enough to be her father! She's young and beautiful, and deserves someone who can give her everything." His face was red, whether from anger or disappointment, I couldn't tell. I thought it might be time to stop teasing and offer some support.

"Teagan, who in this little village can offer her half of what you can? It's commendable that you're thinking of her happiness, but let's just lay it out a little. With some other lout from the village, she could, what? Continue to live in her little house, now even more crowded, and probably have to continue working just to help pay the bills. She would have to raise her own children among the orphans, and could probably barely afford to feed them. She might be able to marry someone her own age, but what would a man that young have to offer her? If he's lucky, he's got a job at the castle, being treated like dirt by Isolde. And all their children would have to inherit is an orphanage overrun with unwanted kids.

"I can't believe I even have to point this out. Let's compare what she would have with you, instead. You're a wealthy guy, if I'm not mistaken, and the Bann of Rainesfere. You're the current heir to the Arling of Redcliffe. Your children would inherit at minimum a title, and one of them could be Bann; or even Arl, if Eamon doesn't have more children. Your wife would only have to work if she wanted to, and could spend her time - not to mention significant coin - on whatever charities she chose. She would live in a castle or a manor, have servants and wet nurses, and be able to raise her children however she wanted.

"And yes, you're a bit older than her, but it's not like you're some senile old man. You're good-looking, well-meaning, and kind. You're experienced - at least, I assume you are - and that holds a certain appeal for a young uncertain woman. And I don't see you philandering, or abusing her, or ignoring her opinions or her needs, which is more than she could probably say about most of the men she's ever met. You're one of the good ones, Teagan, even if your sister-in-law is a hag. She'd be lucky to be with you, and she knows it."

His face, which had reddened further as I spoke, suddenly paled. "You spoke to her about this?"

We were at the castle gates, strolling past the training yard. I dropped my voice. "Well, not exactly. I just mentioned that you were handsome. She agreed." I almost felt bad betraying her confidence. Almost. "And she told me, in detail, how good you are with children. That's a very attractive trait, you know."

He sputtered. "I don't...I can't...I'm going to my room now, for a...rest. Yes, that's what I need. Good day, my Lady." He ran away from me so fast, he almost left me spinning. I laughed as I watched him jog inside and disappear. I hoped fervently that I'd done some good, that I'd helped the two ridiculous love-birds together, not pushed them further apart.

I went inside, planning to look for Alistair; I found Tomas, instead, in the library pouring over some maps. When he saw me, he called me in.

"Whatcha got there?"

"Maps. Obviously. Southern Ferelden, and the Korcari Wilds, to be specific."

"Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out a place where we can lay in wait for the darkspawn when they march on Denerim. Given the choice, I'd rather keep the battle away from the city."

"Good idea. Though...Tomas? How do you bring down a dragon?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they're sort of large. And mobile. Wings and such. How do you get the thing on the ground? All it would have to do is fly high enough to avoid being hit by arrows, and we'd have no chance to even fight it."

"Ah. Um, I have a few ideas about that, but none of the Warden lore that I'm aware of solves that particular problem. Mages would be helpful, obviously, as well as archers. We need to damage the wings. How was it brought down in your performance?"

"Oh, did I not tell you that story? Riordan committed suicide by dragon. He leaped off the tallest tower onto the back of the Archdemon as it flew by, tried to kill it, failed, but instead succeeded at ruining one wing before falling to his death. The dragon landed on the roof of Fort Drakon, unable to fly, and we killed it there."

"That's not going to work very well in the open plain somewhere."

"Nope. Unless you plan to fling someone at the Archdemon with a catapult. That might work. If you could get the aim just right, anyway." I drifted off, the hilarious mental image of Oghren flying through the air with his axe out proving too distracting for me to continue.

Tomas sighed. "You really are the perfect match for Alistair, aren't you?"

I gaped. "Damn it, does everyone know?"

"Well, I imagine Aedan, Zevran, and the recruits don't..."

"Seriously?"

"If you were trying to hide it, you should probably have kept the enormous smiles off your faces when sitting beside each other at breakfast." He chuckled at my glare. "I figured it would happen. We all saw you softening towards him, even if you didn't."

"It's those damned puppy-dog eyes." I sighed. "They get me every time."

"Are you sure it's what you want?"

I smiled. "Yes. Absolutely. Are you okay with it?"

His grin was wide. "Because you'd stop if I said no?"

"Uh, well..."

"I'm happy for you, Sierra. The two of you...are like the children I never had. I want you both to be happy."

"You aren't worried we will fail to do our duty because we're trying to protect each other?"

"You're supposed to protect each other. It's your duty just as much as ending the Blight. And you're both smart enough to realise that if you save the other instead of killing the Archdemon, neither of you will survive. You'll both do your duty. I have no concerns about that. Besides, it won't come down to either of you. Riordan or I will take the killing blow."

"What about...the other way?"

"Morrigan's ritual?"

I nodded.

"Not unless both Riordan and I are dead before the battle. Neither of us wants to go on our Calling, given any other choice. I started having the dreams before the Blight; Riordan and I joined at the same time. He's in the same position. Avernus' potion might have given me a little bit of time, but not much. He wasn't sure it would work at all, given how long I've been a Warden. It isn't worth the risk of Urthemial reborn, since both of us will die shortly after anyway."

I nodded reluctantly; it was what I expected. And I couldn't blame him - going into the Deep Roads to die didn't appeal to me either. I just wondered if I could keep Morrigan from abandoning ship the way she had done in the performance.

"Will you recruit Loghain?"

He stared at me, shocked. "I...had not thought about that. I suppose it might make some sense."

"I don't see Theron handling that well."

He appeared to think about it for a moment. "You're right, of course, but I think I can perhaps talk him around, especially if I give him some time to prepare. He's changed, since Ostagar; I think he might, finally, listen to sense."

"And not choose to fight in the vanguard?"

"Something like that. Your little diatribe would have helped in that regard, I'm sure."

I blushed. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Why does it feel like I spend half of my time, when I'm around him at least, lecturing him about being an idiot?"

"We all do. I just wish I'd had more success with it before Ostagar." He sighed. "I know Loghain's making use of the fact that I didn't refuse to allow Cailan to fight with us; what the Teyrn doesn't know is I spent hours arguing with him over it, trying to convince him to stay away. Cailan finally had to order me to accept it before that planning session with Loghain."

"But you think he'll be more reasonable now?"

"Well, for starters, I told him that only a Warden can end a Blight."

"Ah, yeah that would help. And then, let me guess, you had to refuse to recruit him into the Grey Wardens."

"Sadly. He's still sulking over that one, I'm afraid."

I sighed. "Men are idiots. No offense."

Tomas just laughed.