At Your Side (A Dragon Age fanfiction)

Can't Judge a Book

"Evelyn, I wanted to talk to you. If you're not busy?"

It was rare for her mother to lay in wait for her. Usually they spoke only in passing; their daily lives didn't often intersect. Leandra was trying to reintegrate herself amongst the Kirkwall nobility, and having a daughter who was a mercenary made that even more challenging than having a daughter who was a mage. Evelyn sighed inwardly, knowing Varric would be arriving any minute. "What can I do for you, Mother?"

Leandra motioned to the bench in front of the window, waiting until they were both seated before she spoke. "I need to apologize to you. I've been unfair—you tried as hard as anyone could to get your sister out of the Gallows."

"You were upset," Evelyn said, patting her mother's hand. "It's only natural."

"But you are all I have."

Evelyn tried not to hear the subtext, the unspoken 'I'll have to make the best of it'. "You, as well. We shouldn't let anything come between us."

"Exactly." Leandra looked around at the spacious landing. "It is so strange to be back here again, here where I grew up, to see my child walking the halls my mother used to walk. And I have you to thank for bringing me back where I have longed to be, for restoring this house to its rightful place. I ... Your accomplishments have been extraordinary."

"Thank you," Evelyn said. These moments, with her mother's attention solely on her, had been few in her lifetime. This was the first she could remember that wasn't about something she had done for one of her siblings.

"It's time that we both moved on with our lives," Leandra went on. "Bethany seems content enough, and Carver ..." Her voice broke, as it always did when she thought of him. "Carver wouldn't want us to waste our lives mourning for him."

"True." Evelyn had only told her mother that a few hundred times over the years since Carver's death. It was nice to know at least once she'd been listening.

"So, I think it's time to find you a husband," Leandra said.

"A what?"

"A husband. Come, you can tell me. Is there any young man who has your ... attention?"

Evelyn remembered the way Fenris had looked and sounded when he'd used the same words. The memory was still vivid despite the weeks that had passed, and she closed her eyes against the sensations it evoked.

"Ah, there is someone," Leandra said archly. "Do tell!"

"No, not really. No one in particular," Evelyn said. She knew precisely how it would go over if she told her mother of her feelings for the tattooed elven ex-slave, and she had no desire to end this unusual bonding moment that way. Fortunately, just then Bodahn came up the stairs with the news that Varric was waiting.

"All right, then." Leandra squeezed Evelyn's hand. "Leave it to me. I'll find you someone absolutely suitable. It was good to have this talk with you, dear."

"Yes. Yes, it was." Evelyn kissed her mother on the cheek and went with relief to meet her friend.

Hawke and Varric left the house, heading across Hightown toward the Chantry.

"You seem strangely happy to see me today, Hawke. I know I'm a fine specimen of a dwarf, but I never thought I was your type before. Or is that just a greatsword in your pocket?" He waggled his eyebrows, and Hawke laughed.