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It is the third day into Keela’s five day trip away from home and something is very wrong.
She has never been gone so long since their daughter was born and although he is up to the task, Solas still feels anxious without her. Fenera seems affected as well as she looks towards the door for the first two days several times a day, whines when her mother is not there to make her sandwiches, wails as she tugs on the necklace around his neck when he refuses to let her talk to her mother. The message crystals Dorian gave them have been helpful and cherished at bedtime or when there are breaks at the council meeting, but Keela cannot talk as freely as they all might like.
Eventually Solas and Fenera fall into some semblance of peace and a routine again. He learns to hide the message crystal beneath his tunic and how to make a sandwich that appeases her particular demands well enough, finds new ways to pass the time that is usually filled by someone else. Everything is going well until he spots a mysterious mark upon her leg.
It appears sometime after lunch, a splotch like a rash of dark red bordering on purple, and his mind begins to cycle through all the known illnesses that cause sudden rashes to appear. Did something bite her when they meandered through the trees edging their estate? Is she allergic to some plant or food she ate? He seeps his healing magic into her skin trying to determine the cause, but is even more alarmed when he finds nothing amiss. There is nothing wrong with Fenera and yet the evidence to contrary is right before him.
Panic begins to take hold. Every cough or sigh she makes spikes his nerves and he worries about letting her fall asleep when her eyes begins to droop and her movements grow sluggish. He envisions the worst of outcomes and his unease easily slips into Fenera, making her pout and whimper until they are both messes made of his fear. Solas holds off for as long as he can before calling Keela, his guilt over bothering her far less than his concern.
“Solas?” she answers the vibrating call of the message crystal, her tone hushed with quiet annoyance. “I told you-”
“I would not send for you unless it was urgent,” he interrupts and hears the way his voice shakes as much as she does.
“What is wrong?”
“Fenera is ill,” he says and describes the series of events of today. “I cannot determine the cause. I…I am worried, vhenan.”
There is only a moment’s hesitation, but he is thankful that when she speaks next it is with that calm, commanding tone that makes countries and gods bend. “I will meet you at the alwasan. Go now.”
Solas grabs Fenera and despite her protests carries her down into the city and towards the place of healing nestled further down the coast. When they arrive the frown the greeting healer gives at the rash is not as alarming as Solas feels it should be, nor does he appreciate how she makes them wait in the entrance with others, but there is nothing he can do. Causing a scene would likely do them no favors and his irritable energy already has Fenera crying softly. He tries to stay calm, tries to sooth her with tender words.
Keela, however, enters with a vengeance, with armor and guards flanking and an aura that dares anyone to step in her way. Magic is thick around her, no doubt the cause for her quick arrival from across Thedas, and he is grateful to feel its touch as she approaches with purpose.
“Mamae!” Fenera squeals and squirms almost out of his grasp, little legs kicking and arms reaching up. Keela kneels before them and hugs their daughter quickly before asking her to hold still so she may inspect this mysterious mark for herself. Solas holds his breath, heart hammering fast - he is more knowledgeable about ailments and healing, but he foolishly hopes she may be able to solve a puzzle he cannot.
When she looks up at him he expects to see the same worry he feels, but instead he is met with a look of disbelief mixed with frustration and disappointment. “Vhenan?”
“Solas, it’s a stain from her juice, you-” She stops with a sigh and a shake of her head.
For a few moments he can do nothing but sit there, face filling with color as all the adrenaline leaves him. That it is something so simple, so obvious - he is such a fool. Solas clears his throat, attempts to collect himself, even knowing there is no saving this. “I…I-”
Keela’s anger breaks at the bewildered expression he wears, her laughter low in the back of her throat. There are smiles and tittering around the rest of the room, but he doesn’t pay them any mind. With a huff of his own he kisses Fenera’s head, grateful even in his embarrassment that it is nothing more than a father’s nervous misgivings. It is why he thinks Keela seems to forgive him as she grasps his hand and gives him a look that is something soft between them despite the sharp turn of her smirk.
He is forgiven, but this will not be forgotten. “I am absolutely telling Dorian this when I return,” she whispers, and he supposes he deserves it.