Chapter Text
„Commander, a messenger is asking for you, may I let him enter?“
„Sure, where's he from?“
„Denerim, King Therein“
„ugh“ she sighed silently, or not so silently, because the warden cringed a bit but he hid it well enough to not make her angry.
„Well, sent him in“ She had a slight idea what he might want from her and she hoped to maneuver herself out somehow.
She had never opened one of the many letters he had sent her and ignored all social events at the Royal Palace. Every week a letter arrived at the time she started rebuilding the Wardens at the small Ferelden Warden Base, they came less and less frequent the years after and she hadn't received one for a year or more till today. She wished she could ignore the messenger he sent – but ignoring a sheath of paper was a lot easier than ignoring a person who could report back. Her heart started beating faster and she felt her hands get cold and sweaty. She wished she could hide under her desk but she drew back her shoulders and called for the messenger to come in.
„Lady Aeducan, Commander“ he bowed
„His Majesty King Alistair Therein asks if the Commander of the Wardens of Ferelden would manage to come to the Royal Palace for a meeting. The Cause is a serious one he wanted me to add.“
„Dismissed“ she nodded at the door after a second of thinking about what she heard, pinching the bridge of her nose
„Excuse me, My Lady, the King demanded me to not leave without an answer“
„Alright then, I will send someone, please leave a note when this meeting is set“
„King Therein wanted the Commander of the Wardens herself to talk to, not an emissary“ he must have handpicked that unnerving little prick himself.
„Fine I will come“ why did I surrender so fast? Damn it
“Thank you Commander, I will report back”
As the messenger left she heard a silent rustle in the corner of the office and rubbed her temples. She hadn't thought about what to do with the Dog when she needed to travel to Denerim. She didn't want to leave him behind, the healer said it could be only weeks but he was in no shape for such a long journey. He lifted his big head as if he wanted to assure her it would be alright, causing her to smile and pat his back. Lying next to her desk and Sereda sitting on a chair they both seemed to have a normal height. She knelt at his side.
“Poor Dog, seems we have to travel. Believe me I do not want to – but this dream, the song is getting louder and louder and we need to do something about it. Wait here, I'll get you later when we go for a walk”
She scrabbled notes and orders to her second commander – she wished she was a mage so she could freeze them here until her return, she hated being away. But it wouldn't help.
She went down the stairs through the main hall and into the stalls. A young man came to her, she ordered him to prepare a carriage. She wasn't even sure they had a respectable one, but any wagon would do the job, they could discard it before they entered the city, the last bit through the city she guessed, the Dog could walk. It would take longer that way, so she had to leave within days. The thought of leaving behind her one and only true friend was not an option, letting him die alone while she was on duty.
She returned to the office setting up orders and assembling an escort, she took two young recruits. They wouldn't need fighting she guessed and getting them to know how to behave around nobles might be something she had to consider. Most of her recruits were lower class and never met someone of high birth. They were nice, honest men – but they had to learn about politics. Her second commander was a good leader, she trusted him. But he was the only one and if they were to continue to grow she couldn't do all the meetings and paperwork alone, it was too much.
With a sigh she turned to the Dog, forcing some medicine into him and picking his backside up for a last walk, repeating the ritual they had established – she scooped her left arm around and over his back, gripping his hip so the Dog could walk on his front paws down the stairs. She helped him down the stairs and they walked slowly through the streets. He wiggled his tail as he saw a young boy running along, he wanted to follow, but he couldn't Yeah, running off would be nice. As the boy ran out of sight the Dog gave her a sad face, turning his head with the grey nose to her. You know, we could just walk on, leaving the city, leaving the Wardens, just the two of us The Dog gave her a little bump into her ribs, though if he understood what she was thinking. She ruffled the fur behind his ear. The Dog started to limp more and more and the sun had set a while ago, so they went back to her room. She undressed until she was in her Tunic and smalls and hoisted the Dog onto the bed.
She grabbed her night-drink. She had forgotten to eat, again – but that way the drink would do it's work faster so she didn't spend a second thought about it. Snuggling up against the Dogs back and the warmth radiating from her stomach she was able to deaden the sound of the Calling and all the other unpleasant thoughts in her head.