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“You are late King Maric’s bastard son?”
The look on Dani’s face was one Alistair had not seen before. No siree, certainly not. He’d honestly believed she’d take it in stride, like she had taken anything thus far. Her first combat against the darkspawn. Finding the Tower of Ishal overtaken. Fighting blood mages and abominations in the Cirle of Magi. Even at her own initiation, she had merely clamped her jaw tight, steeled her gaze and gulped down the darkspawn blood with nothing but bull-headed determination. She had a way of seeing things as they were, acknowledging the utter shit they were in and then just fighting her damnedest to find them all a way out. She was practical that way, just as Alistair was not. It was perhaps the thing he admired most about her, how she never hesitated, how she never panicked, how she just worked to overcome her obstacles and afterwards smiled as if nothing had ever happened.
He’d expected her to see this little fact as the nothing it really was – he may have royal blood in his veins, but there was no way that would ever amount to anything. He didn’t even want to be King, he’d just be terrible at it, just as he’d have been a terrible leader for their little troupe. And even if he did, he did not have the presence and the know-how to ever be able to take it up to the likes of Anora or Arl Eamon. He was only a stable boy really, a stump that was lucky enough to make it to Gray Warden, only to have almost their entire order wiped out in a single act of treachery. Surely she’d see that, raise her eye-brows in surprise at the little bit of trivia then dismiss it as it had no bearing on their current situation – or any situation for that matter. Maybe she’d be a bit annoyed because he’d been keeping secrets from her and she’d certainly make a goodhearted joke or two at his expense, but then she’d just store it away in her mind and there would never be a need to speak of it again.
“Yes…”
He was honestly starting to worry for her. Her large eyes were so wide open they actually looked like they might pop out any moment and she seemed to have lost the ability to close her mouth. She did not look at him and was breathing hard as if she was on the verge of hysteria, he’d have tried to comfort her if he wasn’t afraid she might stab him in the gut for the effort.
“It is really not all that important,” he tried to assure her, “It is not as if I could be king, or anything…”
“Could not be… Alistair, YOU COULD BE KING!!!” Now she was looking at him, straight in his eyes, and Alistair started to fear for himself rather than for his companion.
“Did I not just say –”
“You total imbecile! Who do you think is going to be king, ME?! Little crazy Dani, barely good enough for the shems to be a seamstress at Wiligen’s, a convicted criminal to boot and now your queen ladies and gentlemen! All bow before her mighty rabbit ears and all kiss her tiny feet, or she might kill you. Or what about Morrigan, that would be a sight to see, the Witch of the Wilds all dressed up like a proper lady at court. Leliana could actually pull it off, but you’re a PRINCE Alistair! That gives you about a thousand times higher chance to become king than pretty much anyone else on Thedas! And… fenedhis… you could actually become king, and I would…”
S he fell silent, averting her eyes again. A sadness seemed to fall over her as she stared in the distance.
O f course. He did not see himself becoming king in any way, shape or manner, but she’d grown up in an Alienage, most people saw her and her family as a second class beings – servants at best, lower than the rats in the stockroom at worst. He should put his foot in his mouth – but first he needed to assure Dani that he would always be her friend.
“If, by some miraculous freak accident, I do become king – or any type of important person – you’d still be my friend, Dani. Or, that is, if you wouldn’t be interested in being anything more… In any case, you are the most amazing person I have ever met, and nothing will ever change that – I will never forget you, Dani. You are the only friend I have left right now, and… I will never forget how you took the decisions that I found to hard to make, and stood by my side when I most needed it.”
T hat earned him a wry smile on her face. He counted it as a win.
“You’re very sweet, Ali.”
He scratched nervously behind his ear at the compliment. “You know, just trying to be useful to the most awesome person in the world. If it wasn’t for me being sweet, silly me you would’ve left me behind crying in the Kor c ari Wilds.”
“Is that why we’ve been taking him along the whole way?”
He would’ve been annoyed at Morrigan’s unwelcome interruption, but he was to busy being happy seeing Dani laugh.
“That, and because I love hearing the two of you nagging at each other.”
He faked a dismayed ‘Hey!’ and she laughed again, finally seeming to regain her natural cheerfulness.
She laid her hand on his shoulder, still seemingly in thought but no longer melancholic or panicking. “You’re right, by the way, you becoming king is not very plausible nor very relevant right now and we’ve got enough to worry about without your royal blood, and it’s not as if you’re suddenly going to be all princey to the rest of us simply because we know your little secret now.”
“You hear that!” he called after Morrigan, “I’m right!”
“But,” she added before he could divert her attention from the topic entirely, “Do not think we’re just gonna forget about it now that it’s off your chest. It’s hard enough finding help as it is, and we are going to use your royal blood when it comes in handy.”
It was exactly what he’d dreaded – but if they needed it to gather an army and defeat the darkspawn, it was an offer he was willing to make. In death, sacrifice. If he would not even be ready to make this sacrifice, he’d be the name of Gray Warden unworthy.