When Fate Summons (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Now I Have Everything

It was two weeks after Alistair's visit to Kal'Hirol with the children. Cybele had returned to the forest with Morrigan and Xandros, following a small family party to celebrate her birthday (a mite early, but no one complained about that. Certainly not Cybele!). Promises of visits in the spring had been exchanged between Alistair and Morrigan, and the two little girls had clung together, crying, clearly feeling that spring was a lifetime away.

Anders and Captain Maverlies had left to take Woolsey back to Weisshaupt. Thora hoped her dear friend would find happiness along the way, and that Maverlies' pride and adherence to duty would bend enough for Anders to see how the Captain felt about him.

Thora and Alistair and the children were adjusting to the new routines fairly well. Deciding how to divide their time between palace and keep was going to be a continued challenge, that much was obvious. They'd spent just over a week together at the Vigil before Alistair was called back to the capitol. Thora and the children had accompanied him to the city, and Oghren was in charge at the Vigil, a new seriousness in his demeanor. The children found adjusting to life as a family somewhat more comfortable now that they were in Denerim—Duncan was happier being able to play lord of the manor and show his sister around than he had been trying to find his way around the Vigil, and Anawyn was excited to be allowed to visit the city and the palace after so many years of pining to be able to go. Thora had brought piles of overdue paperwork along and relished the quiet days while Alistair worked, almost as much as she enjoyed watching him be the King he had become.

But this, she reflected, this just sitting here quietly with him, was the best part. The nighttimes, when the children were in bed, as Alistair worked at his desk and Thora lounged in a chair by the fire, reading or working; the simple togetherness they had been denied for so long.

She turned in the chair so that her back was against one arm, her legs dangling over the other, and flipped a page in her book. It was Brother Genitivi's latest, The Temple of Andraste: An Archaeological History. He'd certainly found a lot to say about a temple he hadn't even been able to explore, Thora thought. This was at least the sixth book he'd written based on his experiences in Haven. Truthfully, Thora was only skimming the book. The rest of her attention was focused on watching Alistair, whose blond head was bent over his desk, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Alistair snuck a sideways look at Thora. She was so beautiful tucked into his chair like that, it was hard to believe she was really here and not just another fantasy. He'd imagined nights like this so many times. Surreptitiously, he patted his pocket. The small stone box with the ring in it still lay there, waiting for him to work up the courage to ask her. She was sure to have objections, sure to say 'no' automatically. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that she would turn him down, for perfectly good, logical reasons. Perhaps it was foolish of him to even have considered it, really. He just wanted the chance to stand up next to her and tell the whole world that he loved her, and only her. As King, though, did he have that right? It was one thing to live with her, to openly be her lover, but marriage ... that was another consideration entirely, as his Council had reminded him just that morning. And of course, he'd been equally foolish to have mentioned it to the children. Duncan had forgotten all about it, but Anawyn hadn't, and her brown eyes asked him insistently every time she saw him—have you asked her yet? Anawyn had waited her whole life for this, and now Alistair was failing her because he was afraid of a two-letter word.

He bit back a sigh, mentally chastising himself. Here he was, with her, the way he'd always wanted, and he was moping because he wanted more?

Thora was concerned by Alistair's sudden fit of the fidgets. She closed the book, looking at him thoughtfully over the top. Bits and pieces of rumors she'd been hearing around the palace came together in her mind, and she winced, thinking she understood his discomfort.