When Fate Summons (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Kiss of the Spider Woman

"And there she was, naked as a nug, tryin' to pick up the bar o' soap. I come up behind her an' 'Didja need some help with that?', I ask," Oghren was saying. He looked around the campfire, expecting some response, but it appeared the last of his listeners had either left or passed out, toppling off their chairs and snoring on the ground. "Stupid cloudheads," he grumbled. "What kinda idiot sleeps on the ground?"

Oghren drained the last of the ale from his mug, his thoughts turning toward his wife and children back in Amaranthine. He and Felsi had argued fiercely before he came along with the Commander, Felsi accusing him of still pining away for Branka, he shouting back at her something about her tongue being sharp enough to cut rock. Underneath the bluster, though, he'd been pierced to the heart by the accusation. Not because it was unjust, but because he'd wondered suddenly if it were true. And Felsi had seen the momentary confusion, her eyes filling with tears she was too proud to shed.

In the light of the dying fire, the answer was clear to Oghren. Branka was nothing but a memory, belonging to the dark of the 'Roads, lost in the shadows of his past. Felsi, with her bright eyes and keen wit, his children in all their delightful innocence, those were his future. He put the mug down, walking on far steadier legs than usual into the inn, where he could write to her and tell her how completely he missed them all.

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Jens hefted Sigrun onto his shoulder. The ale and the dancing had worn the little dwarf out, and the giant man grinned as he heard her faint snoring. Took a lot to fall asleep while slung across someone's back like a sack of potatoes. It had been a long time since Jens had been able to spend time with someone as enthusiastic and eager for adventure as Sigrun. She reminded him of the little sisters he'd left behind when he left the farm in the Southron Hills to join the King's army. A giant since his boyhood, Jens had spent most of his adolescence and young adulthood at the center of a swarm of small children, chief amongst them the sisters he missed so much. He assumed they were still out there, scraping by on the farm, maybe even old enough to think about marrying. Every month he dutifully sent along a portion of his pay, but since neither he nor anyone else in his family had ever learned to read or write, he could only hope that the money was reaching his family and that they were still there to use it.

As Sigrun sighed in her sleep, shifting on his shoulder, he thought that once they had found the King's daughter, he'd ask for a leave, his first, and go back to see the farm. Maybe he'd take Sigrun along, if the Commander would allow it. He'd like to show his new friend where he came from.

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Emerging from the Chantry, Anders tried to shush the giggles of the girl he was with. Much as he enjoyed the experience of thumbing his nose at the institution that had hounded him his whole life, he didn't think it would look good for the Wardens if it was found out that he'd had his way with the girl right there in front of Andraste.

Truth be told, he'd had a difficult time concentrating, remembering that he had spent much of the afternoon sitting in front of that same statue with Thora. Try as he may, the girl in his arms just didn't feel right. Too tall, too much hair, too many giggles.

Looking up at the windows of the inn, as the local girl slipped away into the shadows, Anders thought bitterly of the King. After all this time, he was still the first person she'd run to when trouble came. She hadn't turned to Anders, oh, no. Had to run straight off to Denerim to drag the man away from his wife, and now he was worming his way right back into Thora's heart, with his charming smiles and ... whatever it was women saw in him. All Anders saw was the arrogant bastard who had suddenly come back into their lives, just when Anders thought his own patience and loyalty was about to be rewarded, and now Anders was increasingly out in the cold, watching Thora's brown eyes take on fire and softness for the King that they'd never had for him.