The Seventh Day with Alistair

The visions had gotten worse, but Abby felt it when the Archdemon died. Thank God . It didn't stop the Blight sickness, of course, but at least the maddening visions were less intense now. That had been some time ago. She hadn't been able to eat anything in the last couple of days, and had lost track of how long it had been since she last saw Alistair. Her days consisted of waking up, drinking a little water, trying to take care of her bathroom needs without incident, reading a little, and falling back asleep. The same pattern over and over. She wasn't even sure what time it was right now, as the room had no windows.

The worst part of it now was her breathing. The cough had gotten progressively worse, and now each breath burned as she inhaled. She had a few flashbacks of being pinned under the dead hurlock, and the awful scratching sensation she had felt in her lungs. Those feelings continued on to haunt her dreams as she rested. Hurry, Alistair.

She was sleeping again when there was a knock at the door. Her brow furrowed. No one knocked at her door anymore...she sat up. Alistair walked in, and her heart gave a leap. Had it already been so long? He walked to her side and, kneeling by the bed, he took her into his arms.

"When I got back, they told me you hadn't taken the food they left for two days. I feared the worst. Wynne and some of the mages from the Circle are preparing for your Joining now. It will be soon."

She gave a weak smile. "You kept your promise," she said, her voice a little hoarse from coughing, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Technically Elissa helped. Riordan didn't make it, and she ended up the one to kill the Archdemon, but thankfully Morrigan's ritual seems to have worked, and we're both still alive. I think I should tell you more about the Joining. You're going to drink from a goblet. It's a potion, but it includes darkspawn blood. You need to know, the Joining...is sometimes fatal. But I have a feeling you're going to make it just fine."

"I'm dead anyway if I don't, Alistair. I'm not afraid anymore," she said. "I just want to get this over with."

Abby stared at the cup. So this was it, huh? Alistair and Elissa were both there.

"There are a few words we say before we start," he began. "Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand, vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And, should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten, and that one day we shall join you."

"Step forward, Abigail," he said. It caught her attention as he'd only used her full name a few times. She took the goblet, and without hesitation drank from it. She handed it back to him. She waited, but didn't feel anything for a second. And then it hit her. Pain. Burning hot, but, it was only momentary. She was back in the vision again, saw the darkspawn, felt them. Suddenly, her eyes cleared and she saw the room again, and Alistair looking down at her. Had she fallen?

"She'll live," Elissa announced from across the room.

"From this moment forth, Abby, you are a Grey Warden," Alistair finished. She was already able to breathe better.

"It's over?" she said.

"Yes, it's done," he said. "I'm so proud of you. I knew you'd make it. How do you feel?"

"Hungry," she answered honestly, and he laughed.

"Get used to that. Let's go get you something to eat, and then you'll probably want to rest." He helped her to her feet, and they went to join the others.

Abby had never been so happy to be surrounded by people in her whole life. Before, she treasured her solitude at the lake house, but after narrowly escaping a slow death alone, she wanted the company more than ever. She felt better physically by the minute, but the comfort of friendship was far better.

Abby made a beeline for Zevran. She threw her arms around him in a firm hug.

"Ah, Abby, as much as I enjoy you wanting to touch me, your jealous boyfriend over there is glaring daggers at me."

"I wanted to thank you for finding me, but I didn't get a chance to say it before. If it wasn't for you…" she trailed off.

He hugged her back upon hearing her words. Alistair cleared his throat behind her, and she let go. "Thank you for not giving up, Zevran," she said. "You're a good friend."

"You say the strangest things," he replied, but he was smiling.

"I'll see you later then," she said.

"What was that about?" Alistair asked her.

"Zevran and I had a lot of talks by the fire while you were at the Landsmeet. He's a surprisingly deep person, once you get to know him. Plus, I'm grateful he found me in camp that night."

"I'm thankful for that, too, but you're just friends, right?" he questioned.

"Yes, darling, I'm all yours," she answered, and leaned up to kiss him.

"Everyone's watching," he complained.

"So let them watch."

He shook his head at her, and bent to kiss her. They lingered for a moment longer than she had intended. "Later," she promised him. "Right now, I'm starving."

Leliana approached the two of them. "Abby, I need to speak with you. Alone."

"Alright," Abby said slowly. What could she possibly want? "I'll be right back, Alistair. Go find something for me to eat? Something with cheese."

"I can definitely do that."

Leliana led her down the hall to a room with a small library. She frowned for a second, remembering the books.

"I need to apologize," she said. "The night we couldn't find you in camp, I encouraged Alistair to forget you...I think I felt guilty, and it was my own way of pushing it out of my mind. Here you were, Alistair's love, left in our care. It was my responsibility to see to you, and I failed you not once, but twice. I'm sorry, Abby."

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that, Abby admitted. "I heard you then, you know. You told Alistair that the darkspawn do something to women they take with them. I didn't understand it, but I'm glad that wasn't really what happened. That night was awful, I'm not going to lie, but I think things are finally turning out alright. Answer me something, though...were you the one to drop off the books at my door?"

"Yes. I wanted to make it up to you somehow, and I remembered how much you liked stories."

"That was a big help. Being isolated like that was really lonely. I know there's a lot that I don't know about being a Grey Warden, but at least I'm not alone anymore."

"The Wardens are rather secretive, aren't they? I suppose it's with good reason," she added. "But I know a thing or two I could share with you."

"More bard tales?"

"Call it what you like. I have...a unique source of information on the subject." Was she blushing?

Realization dawned on her. "Oh, Elissa. That makes sense. I'm happy for you two."

"They are not suppose to divulge Warden secrets with outsiders, but she has trouble keeping anything from me. I've managed to piece together some information. Would you like to hear it?"

"Definitely," Abby answered emphatically. "Alistair hasn't gotten around to telling me much yet."

"The upside to being a Grey Warden are that you get to leave behind whatever you used to be. Many are criminals, or worse before they join. It's a position of respect, even from rulers, and, as you have learned, you are immune to the darkspawn taint...at least for a period of time."

"And the downside?"

"A shortened lifespan. At best, thirty more years, probably less. You will start to hear the call again, have the nightmares. That's when you know it's soon. Elissa has talked to me about it, to prepare me for when it happens to her, should we still be together. Most Grey Wardens head for the Deep Roads when it happens-tunnels underground that used to be the home of the dwarves, but have been abandoned to the darkspawn. They fight and find their death in battle."

"Oh...okay. I can see why he wouldn't mention that, but it's still a better deal than what I was facing. I would have made the same choice. What else?"

"With both you and Alistair being Wardens, you have almost no chance of having children together. The taint in your blood makes it unlikely, even if it were just one, and with both of you…"

"Noted. So what is it that darkspawn do to women?"

"It's horrible. They turn them, change them into broodmothers-monstrous beasts that create more of them. I'm glad you were not taken. You should avoid that fate at any cost."

"Oh God...I wish I hadn't asked. Anything else I should know?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Thank you for telling me. It's nice to know there's someone else I can talk to about this stuff. I don't really have many friends here."

"Is that what we are?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course. I forgive you, Leliana," Abby added softly.

"Then I won't keep you from him any longer, I'm glad we had this chat," Leliana commented, smiling.

"See you later."

Alistair-bless him-had a plate ready for her when she got back. She sat at the table next to him and started eating immediately. He watched her with an amused smile. She paused when she felt something touch her leg under the table. She glanced over at him, her spoon still halfway raised to her mouth. He laughed, and withdrew his hand.

"Oh, Maker, I remember those days. Go on, love, I won't interrupt you. I'll get you another plate."

I shot him a grateful glance before returning to eating. Food never tasted this good before. Wynne sat down across from her.

"I see you are feeling better," she observed.

Abby finished chewing and swallowed before speaking. "Much, but I didn't eat anything for a while. Alistair says the hunger is normal."

"Yes, I've seen it a few times," she said with a gentle laugh. "I traveled with Duncan and his Wardens for a time. They had to send out extra hunting parties to have enough to feed the new recruits."

"I'd like to study with you again, if you are staying for a while?"

"I have a few days, at least. I will need to return to the Circle soon to help the First Enchanter after what happened there. Where will the two of you go?"

Abby didn't have an answer. "I don't know. I assume I'm going to need training in how to be a Warden before I do anything else, but when I'm able, I would like to return home for a time. My family must be sick with worry."

"Yes, I can imagine it must be so."

Alistair returned, setting the plate down next to her. "I'd like to go back, as well, and meet your family. But what are we going to tell them?"

"I'm sure we'll think of something. We have a bit before we'd be able to go anyway."

"I'll leave you two to enjoy your meal," Wynne said and stood up. She walked back to the others.

Abby finished eating and gave a satisfied sigh. "That's so much better."

"I'm glad. I need my own time alone with you, and I'd hate to have you distracted but a growling stomach."

Abby stood up. "What are we waiting for?" she asked him. He grinned, and they exited the room together. He led her back to his room. The bed had been changed already. She supposed the sheets were probably in the process of being burned due to the contagion. She had a thought to all the other tainted that she had worked with. But, Wynne was going to keep teaching her, at least for a little bit. She hoped she could do more for them.

"Everyone kept stealing you away from me tonight," he said wistfully. "What did Leliana want?"

"She let me know a few things about being a Grey Warden. Even though I'm in the club now, you still haven't told me everything."

"How would she know?" He must have seen the look on her face, and came to the same conclusion she had. "Really? I guess I can see it."

"I'm happy for them. Life here is hard, Alistair. To find someone to share it with is precious."

"I couldn't agree more. I never thought I'd hear two words that would ever top 'me too', but today I did…'she'll live'," he said, smiling, but then his face became more serious. "I suppose she told you that we'll never be able to have children. I'm sorry, I know how much family means to you."

"Just because we can't have a baby doesn't mean we can't have a family. It just means we get to choose when we become parents, instead of nature deciding for us."

"I like that idea."

"So what's next?"

He gave her a heated look.

"Not that ! Well, definitely that, but I mean after," she said. He chuckled.

"The full moon is coming soon, and we won't be able to go to Ostagar in time. But we'll head there for the next one. Until then, my uncle Eamon has allowed us to stay here. We'll need to train you. Once you've mastered the basics, there's a keep that we've retaken far to the north, but it's too far a journey to make and get back in time. We'll head there after we've seen your family...that is, if you want to come back?"

"I hadn't thought about it. I guess I just assumed we'd be coming back. I believe the words were 'the duty that cannot be forsworn'? Kinda sounded like a permanent job with the Wardens."

"What about your studies?" he asked.

"I can work on that here," she answered. "Your history is all new to me, so it's exciting to learn. And I feel like I can have a real impact by studying healing in this world. I wish I had time to study medicine back home, but it would take me six more years to finish, and I don't want to be gone that long. It's a shame, there are a lot of medical advances we have that you don't that I think would be helpful. I'll bring back a few books, at least."

"Then it's settled. Now, back to the other matter."

"What other...oh, that ," she replied, grinning. "Yes, let's discuss that in depth ." She laughed, and crooked a finger at him, beckoning him to follow her. This was one time he was perfectly content to let her lead.

Epilogue

Abby and Alistair landed in the lake. She came up laughing. "It worked!" Alistair floundered for a moment before he found his bearings. The storm was raging the same as the night they left. She wondered if the weather was necessary, or if it was just a side effect of the worlds overlapping. Either way, they couldn't stay in the water. They both swam for shore, and once they reached it, ran hand-in-hand through the rain, laughing.

She stopped when she got to the porch. Her uncle was sitting on one of the rocking chairs.

"Uncle Jeremy?"

"I knew you'd be back someday. Come in, you two, can't have you getting hit by lightning."

Abby and Alistair looked each other, and followed him into the house. They dried off as best they could and sat at the kitchen table.

"How are they?" Abby asked.

"Your parents are fine, but they've frantic with worry. I tried to tell them what must have happened, but they never believed my stories either.

"Your stories?"

"Abby, honey, your aunt was from Lothering."

Her jaw dropped.

"There's a reason I built this house where I did. We met one summer while I was camping. After she passed, I couldn't bring myself to come here anymore. Too many memories. I never expected you'd end up over there. Are you going to introduce your young man?"

"This is Alistair," she said. "Alistair, this is my uncle, Jeremy"

Alistair bowed his head. "Nice to meet you sir, I've heard a lot of good things about you. I've been looking forward to meeting Abby's family. I'm glad you know. I didn't want to have to lie about what happened."

"Abby, when Kate mentioned you were seeing someone from Ferelden, I knew what must have happened. I'm glad to see you're alright. Will you be staying?"

"Just for the couple of days. Uncle Jeremy...I joined the Grey Wardens. I have to go back."

"I heard about then when I visited there. That's an important job," he said, nodding. "We'll be sad to see you go, of course. But you'll visit from time to time, right?"

"Yes, now that we know for sure it still works," Alistair commented. "We can plan times to return."

"We'd better call your folks," Jeremy said. "And for God's sake, call Kate. That girl leaves the longest voicemails. Your cell's still on the charger in your bedroom."

"Okay, I'll handle Kate, you call Mom and Dad."

Alistair went with Abby to the back room, but before she called Kate, he stopped her. "Abby, are you sure about going back?" he asked.

"Yes, my place is with the Wardens. With you," she answered.

"Your parents will be coming here, right? And Kate too?"

She nodded.

"Good," he said, smirking. "There's something I want to ask you, but I need to talk to them first."

It dawned on her what it was he wanted to ask her.

"Oh."