Alistair watched the children from his place at the window. Well, they weren't exactly children anymore. Fifteen, two sixteens, and a seventeen. It was hard to see them as grown – especially given the trouble they got into. Well, it was easier with Hirik; the boy was all muscle and was already starting to grow a bit of a thick beard.
The four of them were down in the courtyard, the three boys sitting and looking rather bored while Evie painted them. She was completely absorbed in it, and the boys were indulging her interests. Even if they were starting to nod off.
It had been a few days since the cow incident, and the gossip was dying down, along with the Arl's and Arlessa's tempers. Thank the Maker for small mercies. So far the children had heeded his pleas to keep out of trouble. Sort of. He was aware the four of them had snuck into the wine cellar and proceeded to get quite intoxicated. But any trouble and damage had been limited to Tai's chambers. Alistair had barely reprimanded them; they looked like they were suffering enough. He just hoped they didn't make a habit of it.
He heard movement behind him, and he caught the scent of Anora's perfume. She joined him at the window, every inch the regal queen she portrayed herself to be. Beautiful, but cold. She had a reputation among the small folk as an ice queen.
While they didn't always see eye to eye, over their years of marriage they had at least reached an amicability. They could work together for the betterment of Ferelden. She ignored his relationship with Mareven, and he ignored whatever dalliances she indulged in. She had at least remained faithful while they were trying to conceive so as to leave no question that any child would be his. And then Benedict had been born, and they had no need to keep trying. Both had been relieved. There was no love between them, no attraction; they were merely united in purpose.
Some days he loathed that Mareven put him on the throne. Most days, if he were honest. He could have been out there with her, showing Evie the world while they sought their cure. At least she had Shae and Zev to watch her back out there. But she didn't come home nearly enough.
He tried to be enough, but Evie had done most of her growing up without her mother. And while Anora doted on Benedict, obviously that wasn't extended to Evie. Nor did he expect it to. As long as she wasn't cruel and wicked to the girl, that had to be enough.
He watched Anora watch the children down below.
"They've certainly grown, haven't they?" She noted.
Anora rarely had much to do with any of them. They were respectful of her, but there was no affection.
"They have. Kieran will be eighteen soon."
"Has he found his soulmate?"
"He's made no mention of it."
He had no worries over Kieran's soulmark. It was Evie's soulmate that Alistair took issue with.
Zevran had told him all about the Dellamorte's, so when he'd suggested lying about what the name said, Alistair had been on board with it. Zevran didn't know this Lucanis personally, but he'd shared what he'd heard. Quite the up-and-comer, a full-fledged Crow now, of course. Brutal and efficient.
It boggled his mind why his sweet, creative daughter would be soul matched to a ruthless assassin. Not the same kind of assassin as Zevran either; Zevran had been forced into it. Lucanis had been bred for it. He could see how Zevran could turn on the Crows for his soulmate. He couldn't see Lucanis doing the same from what he'd learnt. And this man carried his daughter's name. Mahariel was a well-known name in the south now. He wondered how far north it had travelled and if he knew of her. If he knew where to find her.
"What is the plan for them, Alistair?"
"I'm sure Kieran's mother has her own plan for him."
Whether he'd follow it, Alistair didn't know. When Kieran had learnt about him and Evie, he'd been livid to know he had family out there who wanted to know him and his mother had kept that from him. Their relationship had never been the same.
"I'm not sure what Shae and Zev intend for Tai, but I believe when Hirik is deemed ready, he'll be joining the Kingsguard with his father."
The only reason Oghren wasn't the Commander of the Kingsguard was because he didn't want it. Alistair had offered it to him. He knew the dwarf was near unbeatable in a fight. But Oghren didn't want the responsibility of leadership. Alistair could relate. Oghren was responsible for training the new recruits; he used to be responsible for Evie's safety when she was little, but as much as he loved her – the niece he never had – he had grown bored. He liked to fight. So he'd become the trainer. Hirik intended to follow in his footsteps.
"And Evangeline? Her soulmate is Antivan. She'll not find him here."
Only he, Zevran, Shae, and Mareven knew of the lie Evie had been told of her soulmate. He was fine if she didn't meet him.
"They're meant to be. It'll happen," he swallowed thickly.
He knew, as well as anyone, that any number of things could happen to prevent soulmates from meeting. He'd never been able to meet his own before she had died. He only had a name. No idea how or where she had died. He'd just woken to his mark burning and cracking, the name peeling off. No longer a mark, but a scar. It had been agony.
Her brow furrowed, her head tilting ever so slightly as her eyes narrowed. "You don't want her to meet him," she realised.
Anora didn't need to know the specifics. She was perceptive and incredibly shrewd and sharp.
Alistair felt guilty about keeping this from Evie, and maybe when she was older he'd tell her. But right now, they all felt it was safer to just keep that to themselves.
"Perhaps arranging a match for her then –"
"No. I'll not do that to her, Anora. If she wants to live at home and make art and sing songs until she's an old woman, then I fully support that."
"You don't think she might want to be a wife one day? A mother?"
It was hard to see that for her. She was his little girl.
"She's a little young to be thinking about that sort of thing."
"I married Cailan when I was but a year older than her," she pointed out.
"He was your soulmate."
That certainly put a different spin on that situation.
"And for whatever reason you don't want her to meet hers. Arranging a marriage would be a good way to steer her clear if she ever does meet them."
The silence stretched as he considered her words.
"Perhaps when she's a little older," Alistair said.
He mostly said it to get Anora to drop the subject.
-
"Evie, I'm so booooored," Tai whined, rolling his stiff shoulders.
"Tairyn Tabris, sit still," she told him.
"Evangeline Mahariel, don't full name me," he shot back.
They both glared at each other, but it only took a few moments for their smiles to break out.
"Just a little longer," she told him. "I'm nearly at a point where I won't need you anymore."
"When you're there, can we go do something else? You can finish the painting in your own time."
She tilted her head curiously. "Oh? Whose time is this?" She asked.
He rolled his eyes and grunted.
She took a few more minutes to finish up before shooting them all a dazzling smile. "All right, you're dismissed."
They came around to get a look at it. It wasn't a large canvas; she wasn't looking to spend weeks on it.
"That is not what my chin looks like," Tai said.
"That is exactly what your chin looks like," Hirik said.
"What are you complaining about? She's made you look far more palatable than you are," Kieran laughed.
"I think my son looks dashing on both canvas and by the naked eye."
They all turned at the sound of the thick Antivan accent.
"Pa!"
Zevran pulled Tai into a tight hug, clapping him on the back. Tai squeezed him back just as hard. "I have missed you, mi tesoro."
When he let Tai go, he opened his arms for a hug from Evie.
"Hello, Uncle Zev," Evie greeted.
"Cariño," he smiled. "As lovely as ever."
When Zev let her go, he clasped Hirik's arm in a firm grip. "You grow stronger every time I see you, Hirik. Your father's training you well, I take it."
Hirik nodded and smiled, squeezing his arm tighter and making Zevran laugh.
"Kieran," Zevran said with warmth, clapping him on the shoulder as well.
Kieran wasn't as close to Zevran as the other three were; a lot of their visits didn't coincide.
Kieran greeted him with a similar gesture to Hirik and a polite nod.
"Are Mother and Aunt Shae with you?" Evie asked.
"Not this time, I'm afraid. I need to speak to Alistair, but come, tell me all about this stunt with the cows."
"You heard about that?" Tai asked.
"The whole of Denerim has heard about that. I require specifics. Smuggling cows through a city and into an estate is an impressive feat. A guarded estate, no less."
The three younger ones beamed with pride at that, Kieran a little less so.
-
With Zevran back, he took Tai to the alienage to have dinner with his grandfather – Aunt Shae's father. It was something Tai did quite regularly even without either of his parents. The only reason he didn't live with Cyrion was because it was safer for him to reside at the palace. He was the son of a wanted Crow and a hero of the Fifth Blight, after all.
While Alistair usually dined with his children if there were no guests to see to, more often than not, Benedict and Anora weren't there. Tonight, however, he wanted them all together. It wasn't the first time it happened; it was just an infrequent event. Usually because there was always a tension in the air.
While Anora didn't openly despise them, she had never warmed up to them – Evie and Kieran. She was civil and polite, but not soft. Evie remembered when she was younger; Anora used to speak to her softly. As she had grown, Anora had stopped.
So dinner was quiet and tense. Honestly, Evie didn't know why their father tried. If it hadn't happened after all this time, it wasn't going to happen.
"I saw you painting today, Evangeline; how is it coming along?"
"It's going well, despite how difficult the boys find it to sit still," she replied softly.
Evie may not have been a princess, but Anora still expected her to speak and carry herself like one. Bastardy was no excuse for ill manners.
"I want Evie to paint my royal portrait," Ben said.
Evie smiled wide. "I would be honoured."
"Benedict, we have a master painter for that," Anora told him.
"I know, but I like Evie's paintings. They look more alive."
Evie beamed at the praise, but it died quickly at the look on Queen Anora's face. "How about I paint you a personal portrait, Ben? Master Nilins can do your royal one."
"That sounds like a better idea," Anora agreed.
"Hold on," Alistair said. "Ben is right. I think Evie should paint his portrait if she's agreeable. It would be excellent exposure for her talent, and it would certainly make Ben's portrait stand out all the more."
Evie bit her lip and focused on the plate in front of her. This wasn't worth fighting over. Her father should just let it go.
"I don't think such an important task should be entrusted to someone with so little experience," Queen Anora pressed.
"Her Majesty's right," Evie agreed. "It should be left to an expert. I might mess it up."
She kept her eyes on her plate, continuing to eat. She could feel the eyes of the others on her; she didn't want to know what they might have been thinking by the looks on their faces.
"If you're sure, Evie," Alistair said.
"I'm sure," she gave him a reassuring smile.
The rest of dinner was carried out in an even tenser silence. When they were finished, everyone went their separate ways. Ben went with his mother for his evening prayers, Evie and Kieran went to their rooms, and Alistair made for his study.
"You know agreeing with her isn't going to make her like you," Kieran said.
Evie winced at how blunt that was. "That's not why I did it. She was right; an expert should handle it."
"No, the best person for the job should handle it. I've seen the art in Orlais, and some of their most famed artists are rubbish compared to you."
Given Orlais had some of the most skilled artisans in their employ, that was saying something.
"Does the university have much in the way of art?" She asked.
"It does. Don't change the subject. But I lived in the palace for a time, Evie. It's overflowing with paintings and sculptures, and yours compare. Don't let her diminish your skill and your talent in the hopes she'll care for you. She won't."
"Is it so terrible to want to keep the peace between her and Father? He would have argued it; she would argue back, and it would just create unnecessary conflict."
Kieran sighed, giving up arguing. It wasn't her place to keep the peace. And it irked him how quick she was to throw away what she wanted just to please Anora in the vain hope the woman would... He wasn't even sure what Evie wanted from her.
"Let's just go, Evie," he said. "You and me, and a world to discover."
It wasn't the first time he'd brought it up when he'd seen how this place could crush her at times. Every time he visited, she was less of herself than the last time. He worried that one day he'd come back and she'd just be a husk.
"Father would be devastated," she said.
"We'd write, and we'd visit."
"I could never leave Tai and Hirik either."
Kieran heaved a heavy sigh. "The offer will always stand."