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Southern Thedas lay heavily blighted, the north had barely escaped being as brutalised by the darkspawn, the elven gods were dead, and Skyhold was alive. People danced in the courtyard, drinks were being passed around, and in some more secluded areas some leant against each other in shocked relief. Music played, people sang, and an endless bubble of voices as they found a single night of relief before tomorrow. Tomorrow they would begin hunting down the remnants of the horde. It was the easier of the two tasks. Eradicating the darkspawn would be less taxing than trying to find unblighted land to rebuild on.
Alistair was among the festivities, tucked out of the way so people wouldn’t try to drag their king into the revelries. He wasn’t against joining; he just felt too disconnected from most of the surrounding people to have anyone to celebrate with. He and Anora were polite to each other. Once they fulfilled their basic duties in having Cailan, neither made any attempt at forming a genuine relationship. They were more akin to business partners than a couple, or even friends.
It made him long for his own friends. Persephone and Leliana were in Orlais because of Leliana’s position as Divine, Shale had been travelling between the Warden outpost in the north of Ferelden and the Frostbacks to defend Orzamar, Sten was no longer Sten, but Airshock and with his fellow Qunari, Zevran was somewhere in the north doing Maker only knew what, and Isabela was in Rivain leading the Lords of Fortune. With Wynne and Oghern having passed in the twenty years since they travelled together and Varric’s more recent passing, there was no one else. Or rather, no one else but Morrigan.
She had been travelling all over Thedas. Her work involved assisting a team Varric had put together to take down Solas. When that didn’t go to plan (not that anything involving Varric ever did), the team had pivoted to taking down the escaped elven gods. That was why she had brought their son to Alistair to watch over. She assured him she had no ulterior motive in doing so. They had seen each other only in passing since, neither having time to speak. Not that Alistair knew what he would say to her.
So, Alistair was alone. Tucked off to the side, he watched his children. He’d informed them of their relationship, so long as they promised to keep it a secret, and the two had taken to each other immediately. Having a sibling seemed to suit the two. Kieran was sweet and quiet, perhaps a little nervous, but always well-meaning. Alistair was almost surprised Morrigan had raised someone so different from her at that age, but she had also seemed softened in their years apart. Cailan, meanwhile, reminded both Alistair and Anora of her namesake. She was bright-eyed and full of energy, in love with stories of honour and adventure.
Alistair could have joined them, but he remembered being that age. If Duncan had come over to hang out with him and his friends during a celebration, he would have hated it. So, he spared them, content to watch by himself. At least he was until a raven swooped down into the courtyard. As it neared him, it abruptly slowed and spun, sending up a billow of purple smoke. Wings lengthened into arms, talons twisted to legs and feet, and head grew and morphed into a familiar face with a short bob of night black hair.
“Your Majesty,” Morrigan said, giving Alistair a mock bow.
“Morrigan, care to join me?”
“Oh, I suppose ‘tis only right. You look so sad, here on your lonesome. ‘Tis a party, is it not?”
“It is.”
“Then you ought to stop looking so dour.”
“I am not dour,” Alistair protested, only receiving raised eyebrows as Morrigan’s response. She waved her hand, and two tankards of ale floated over. With only a slight flourish, she plucked hers out of the air. The other bobbed over to Alistair, bumping against his hand a few times before he accepted it.
“I admit, I am pleased to see Kieran has taken to friendship so well. I feared our isolation for large parts of his life would hinder him,” Morrigan said, staring into her drink as she swirled it in the mug.
“Morrigan, I must have misheard. Did you just speak highly of forming bonds with other people?”
“I was not unchanged by my travels with you, Alistair. ‘Tis important to have connections and build friendships, my mother was mistaken to discourage such things. I will not admit this again, so secure it within your memory, but travelling with you and Persephone was perhaps one of the best things that happened to me.”
“Is that so?”
“I regret admitting such things to you,” Morrigan said, rolling her eyes. Alistair held his tankard out to Morrigan, laughing.
“To friendship,” he said.
There was a moment’s pause as Morrigan looked at the offered mug, then slowly turned her golden eyes to Alistair. He felt seen in that single instant, like Morrigan looked into him. A smile tugged at her wine-red lips as she tapped their mugs together.
“To friendship,” she said. Silence settled between them as they drank and watched their children. There was a time their silence would have been tense or awkward, unsure of what to say or if the other would needle them. Now, it was easy. It wasn’t a silence due to a lack of knowing what to expect, but a silence of not needing to say anything else. A silence of understanding rather than one of unfamiliarity.
Cailan and Kieran laughed, someone passed them drinks. Kieran tapped the tankers, covering them in frost. Cailan looked amazed, and Morrigan chuckled. She said Cailan looked like Alistair when he first saw Morrigan shapeshift. Eventually, the siblings got pulled onto the dance floor. Caught up in the whirl of bodies and clothes, they bobbed in and out of sight with their respective partners. They could hear Cailan shouting to Kieran from across the crowd, but the buzz of voices and melody from the makeshift band muddled the actual words.
“I had a thought, Alistair, if you would be willing to entertain it,” Morrigan said, attention still on the dance floor.
“Well, I’m always happy to entertain,” Alistair said, turning to Morrigan. Her lips quirked up a little.
“Your father’s blade, I have been thinking of it as of late. If you recall, when we first recovered it from Ostagar we discovered it drove back the Blight. ‘Tis a unique blade. One I believe may be the key that will allow the South to recover from the Blight. If you would work with me to look into such things. Kieran and Cailan could assist as well. I would like to provide him the chance to remain close to his father and sister,” Morrigan said. She looked at Alistair, gold eyes meeting brown. “If such an arrangement would be acceptable to you.”
There was an intensity in Morrigan’s stare that made it hard for Alistair to look away. For a moment, he was back around the campfire during the Blight. Staring at Morrigan from across the fire, watching the light dance across her face.
“I’m sure we can arrange something. I make no promises for Cailan’s ability to come with us, but Anora rules already. I’m just the face, so coming with you should be no trouble. On occasion.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Morrigan said. Neither looked away, another silence settling over them. It felt heavier, like something unsaid hung between them and was waiting for one of them to address it first. It stretched between them, both watching each other as if challenging the other to move first.
Alistair finally broke, opening his mouth to ask Morrigan… something, he wasn’t sure what, when someone called out to him. He stopped, sighing a little.
“Duty calls, Your Majesty,” Morrigan said, glancing away as she took another swig of her drink.
“So it does,” he sighed. He drained the rest of his tankard before he moved into the crowd. He paused a handful of steps away before turning to face Morrigan, stepping closer to her. “I hope we’ll speak again soon, Lady Morrigan.”
He bowed, taking Morrigan’s hand in his. His touch was light so she could pull away at any moment, but she didn’t. He brought her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back. The kiss lingered a moment too long to just be polite before Alistair straightened and returned to the crowd.
“I look forward to it,” Morrigan said, voice low and barely carrying to Alistair’s ears. He felt a smile tug at his lips; perhaps the future wasn’t as bleak as he believed.