PROMPT: Love means never having to say your sorry.(dedicated to all my friends who say I write too much Teagan stuff:lol:)
Elissa looked up from her papers as Nate and Anders came into her study.
“Something I can do for you boys?” She smiled.
It was always with affection when she referred to Nate and Anders as ‘her boys’. Their antics would drive her to near madness but they never failed to make her smile.
Nate and Anders exchanged nervous glances then looked at her.
“There is someone who wants to see you,” Nate said. “He’s with Garavel in the courtyard.
“Who is it?” Elissa let out an exasperated sigh. “Please tell me its not one of the lords! I’m leaving in a couple hours to enjoy a quiet weekend with my brother and his family and I don’t need any problems.”
“No Commander,” Anders said. “He claimed to be…Alistair.”
Elissa dropped the quill she was holding and felt her hear beat against her chest.
Alistair. He abandoned the group when she sided with Riordin and let Loghain live. He disappeared before the battle and the last thing she heard was that he boarded a ship. It had been five years since that moment.
“I need to see this man,” Elissa got up and rushed out of the room.
Elissa opened the door and saw Garavel talking to a man whose back was facing her. He had long reddish blonde hair and looked very disheveled. He stumbled back and Garavel grabbed him to keep from falling.
Garavel looked towards her as she approached them and the man turned around.
“Alistair,” Elissa sucked in her breath as those amber eyes pierced her soul.
He was thinner and had a full beard and mustache to go along with his long hair.
“Hello Elissa.”
“Commander, Alistair wishes to rejoin the Wardens,” Garavel said in a tone that contained a hint of disdain.
A small crowd formed around them and it was like they were waiting for something that Elissa had no intention of giving them.
“Of course you are welcome here Alistair but I can smell the brandy on you. I need to know now, are you doing anything else besides drinking?
“Lyrium,” Alistair admitted.
“If you wish to rejoin the Wardens, you are going to have to be purged of those addictions. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes!” Alistair fell to his knees. “I know I was wrong for what I did and I so am tired of running away. Can I please come back?”
“Garavel, have Anders and Cullen help Alistair with the… withdrawal process and get him cleaned up.”
“Commander, where shall we put him?” Garavel asked.
“Put him with the recruits for now. When I get back from visiting my brother we will discuss more permanent living arrangements.”
“Your…brother is alive?” Alistair’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s wonderful but aren’t Wardens supposed to cut ties with their family?”
“Alistair,” Elissa turned to look at him. “That was what the Wardens in the past did. This is now and you will find that as Commander of the Grey, I do things quite differently. We fulfill our duty but we also do not just sit around and wait for our Calling. We only have so much to time and I encourage my Wardens and my soldiers to enjoy every moment of their free time. My brother married a wonderful woman and I have two nephews and a niece that I visit once a month. Nathaniel has a nephew he visits once a month. Several of my wardens are married. Now if you will excuse me, it’s my nephew’s birthday tomorrow and I should have left two hours ago.”
“Your horse is ready Commander,” Garavel said.
“Thank you, I just need to get my pack and I’ll be off.”
Elissa was thankful she would be gone for the next three days for as calm and stoic as she felt, she was reeling inside and needed the time away to think.
………………………………….
The three days passed quickly and Elissa dreaded going back to the Vigil. When she got there, she was stunned to see Alistair look exactly like he was before. His hair was short and he had shaved. He looked tired but it was apparent that he was free of his addictions.
She assigned him one of the smaller rooms on the second floor and had Garavel schedule him in the training roster. He would train three to four hours a day for the next month. Elissa watched him get pummeled by the wardens and the soldiers who were willing to train with him and by the end of the month, he was holding his own and she had no doubt that he would eventually return to full form.
On the personal front, Alistair was treated like a pariah and Elissa knew part of that was her fault. Her Wardens were devoted to her and their duty. She should have never mentioned what he did.
He held his head high when people glared at him and it touched her to see Sigrun and Cullen eating with him in the dining room. The moment she had enough was when Oghren returned from visiting Felsi and his daughter. It angered him to see Alistair and he challenged him to a fight. Elissa was impressed when Alistair refused to yield. Eventually Elissa ordered them to end it and summoned Oghren, Anders and Nathaniel to her study.
“Now you listen to me,” She ordered. “While I appreciate your loyalty I will not having you treat Alistair as if he is a leper. No matter what he’s done he is still a Grey Warden and I expect him to be treated with a modicum of respect. He is working hard to redeem himself and I want him to be welcomed here.”
“Yes Commander,” They all chimed in a reluctant tone.
“Nate, I am ashamed of your behavior,” Elissa told him. “You of all people know what its like to be treated like a pariah.”
“I’m sorry Commander.” Nate bowed.
“Just be friendlier to him.”
“Did you forgive Alistair Commander?” Anders asked.
“I forgave him a long time ago,” Elissa said. “He just needs to forgive himself.”
And while still never forgetting, Elissa did forgive him. She forgave him the minute Duncan’s portrait was hung in the throne room after it was rebuilt. Duncan saved Alistair and saving Loghain was a betrayal to Duncan’s memory. She understood that and realized life was too short to be bitter. When Alistair first came back he had said he was wrong. Perhaps during his journey, he remembered that the Wardens do what they must and that some of the decisions made would not be pleasant.
A few days later as she at supper in dining room, Elissa watched as Anders and Nathaniel joined the table where Alistair was sitting with Sigrun. She smiled when seeing Alistair laugh when Anders said something. As more time progressed, more people befriended him. He had more training partners now and seeing the camaraderie grow between Alistair and everyone else filled her with relief.
As the months progressed, she assigned Alistair to patrol the deep roads entrance in Kal'Hirol and he did so without question. And when a report came of a major blood mage ring at Drake’s Fall, he was the first to volunteer.
Three weeks later, the two groups she assigned returned to the Vigil victorious. The blood mage ring was eradicated and Nate said Alistair went beyond the call of duty and saved two children.
Elissa rewarded him with a bigger room that had a small study and as he was getting settled, she walked in.
“I have something for you Alistair.”
He turned and looked surprised to see her but when she handed him the shield his eyes widened with shock.
“You had this all this time?”
“I was waiting to give it back to you,” Elissa smiled. “And I have something else.”
Elissa handed him a brown book, “I found this in a hidden space at the Warden Compound. It’s Duncan’s journal and it’s only right that you have it.”
“I don’t know what to say…I don’t deserve…”
“No,” Elissa interrupted. “You’ve earned your place here and Duncan would have wanted you to have them.”
She hurried out of the room and back to her quarters.
Their relationship changed after that. It was no longer as tense and awkward and resembled the early months of their travels during the Blight. Alistair’s confidence grew and he formed friendships with the others. He even assisted her during the Joining ceremony and when she held Court and would dine with her afterwards. There was even a moment when her hand accidentally brushed against his and lingered there until he shied away.
Month passed and they continue to do their duty while dancing around each other.
One day Elissa decided to go out on the field and she had Alistair come with her. It was the first time they traveled together since the Blight. They patrolled two abandoned mines and killed some diseased wolves. Elissa decided they would stop at Forlorn Cove to rest. She could see how nervous Alistair was when he made a fire. They sat in silence for the longest time listening to the sounds of the waves beat against the rocks below.
Suddenly Elissa felt Alistair’s hand on hers. She turned and saw him looking at her and could see the regret and love in his eyes.
“I know that a Warden must die when killing the archdemon,” he confessed. “I am so sor..”
“You don’t have to say sorry,” Elissa pressed two fingers on his lips. “What’s done is done. You have had your own journey but you’ve come back to me and that’s all that matters.”
Elissa could feel him shake as their lips finally met in a kiss. She tasted the salt from his tears and knew he could taste hers as well. Elissa sighed as his hands went up to cup her cheeks and he looked into her eyes.
“I love you.”
“And I love you.”
As the held each other, Elissa could feel his elation and finally being where he belonged and she once again felt complete.
Modifié par Melca36, 09 février 2011 - 10:28 .
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I KNEW I would get to it eventually. 
