#fatesrolled

arthur  almost  laughs.

it’s  not  the  first  time  he’s  encountered  miss  conway.  they’d  met  briefly  once  before  when  she  had  been  in  valentine  ;  he’d  saved  her  skin  after  she’d  poked  her  nose  into  business  that  she  shouldn’t  have.  it  had  been  admirable  admittedly,  her  determination  to  get  her  story,  but  damn  it,  it  had  been  RECKLESS.  he’d  played  the  knight,  saving  the  damsel  in  distress    (  not  that  she  had  truly  needed  him  though  —  he  gets  the  feeling  that  she’s  more  than  capable  of  taking  care  of  herself  ).  

he  hadn’t  expected  to  see  her  again  though  ;  he  had  known  she  lived  in  the  city  after  their  encounter,  but  what  are  the  chances  of  running  into  someone  like  that  AGAIN?  especially  when  the  city  is  full  of  people?  

“  yeah,  sure,  ”    he  teases,  the  hint  of  a  grin  threatening  to  tug  at  his  lips.    “  i  came  all  the  way  here  just  to  see  you.  of  course.  did  ya  miss  me?  ”

   “ it’s called a darkspawn, that thing. ”    staring down at the twisted body of the creature who had appeared at the same spot alistair himself had fallen through into zephrah. dealing with it had been easy enough - ten years of fighting the darkspawn made dispatching a lone genlock easy enough. what concerned him was.. how it had ended up here.. and the fact that he hadn’t SENSED it.   what did that mean? he wasn’t sure.. but.. more importantly..

it had taken plenty of effort and coaxing on catri’s part to get asterin out here. and up until about an hour before the event, she still wasn’t entirely sure that asterin wasn’t going to just turn tail and run right out the door. but when she finally emerged wearing that gorgeous gown... gods, cat wasn’t even entirely sure she wanted to let her out the door anymore. 

cat would be lying if she said she wasn’t practically brimming over with excitement. a ball - a real, true to form ball. of course, there had been plenty back home, but there she had to be stiff as a board, speak when she was spoken to, ready to be paraded about at a moment’s notice. here - here they’re just going to enjoy themselves, have a night off and have fun. 

“ I will take it from here. Thank you. I insist that you rest. ”  The fatigue is clear in his eyes, which are still partially shut when he enters the nursery. With a yawn, he offers a slight nod to the nurse, who, in turn, smiles gratefully at him before bowing her head and placing the small, crying bundle securely in his arms.

The newborn settles down significantly once tucked in her father’s embrace, but her sobs can, no doubt, still be heard up and down the corridor.  “ Oh, my love. What’s wrong? ”  His voice is soft, laden with exhaustion.

He begins slowly pacing back and forth in the dark room but finds himself unable to draw his eyes away from his daughter as he does so. Despite the tired steps and stifled yawns, there is a light in his eyes and a smile gracing his lips. Reaching one hand out, he runs his thumb over her cheek, in one single movement, successfully removing the tears that run down her face.

 “ There is no need to cry. I’m here. I will always be here. ”

               ❛ i must THANK YOU for your hospitality, your majesty, on the behalf of king rhy and my country. i’ve rarely had the chance to see a court lovelier than yours. ❜ calla took a graceful bow, fist pressed against her heart. ❛ i know that our last letter said you should EXPECT my father instead, but i’m afraid you’ll have to contend with me. i’ve been told it is quite UNDERWHELMING, ❜ she quipped, ❛ but i make do. ❜

❝ i’ve  never  met  a  hat  i  didn’t  like ! ❞