Chapter 194: Turnstile

The nighttime puppy visits become routine, and after the second or third night, we all stopped getting up to bring the puppies back. In the morning, the four little scamps would be returned to Lady’s room, with all of us commiserating on our sleepless nights.

It became obvious – after some good-natured teasing by the Wardens – that the runt always ended up in Carver’s room, which was the first indication that there was something going on beyond Prince and Lady needing a break. Once we noticed, we realised that it was like that for all of them: always the same puppy ended up with the same person. Alistair always ended up with the dark brown male with the long tail, and Bethany with the light brown boy; Cailan had a tawny female puppy with a stub tail, and Carver had the runt. The other two puppies – both female, one nearly blonde and the other almost black – always stayed with their parents.

I’d told Aedan that his dog had brought his girlfriend to the keep, of course, and he thought it was hilarious that we were being swamped by puppies. Jerk. As the only one I knew who had a mabari, I asked him questions about Prince as a puppy. He was the first to point out that likely we were being given an un-subtle hint that those four puppies had imprinted.

Jaro agreed, once we stopped to ask him; somehow, in the chaos of life at the Keep we hadn’t discussed the nighttime adventures of the four puppies. When we told him what was happening, he confirmed Aedan’s assumption with a laugh.

“How can a runt who can barely open her eyes imprint?” Alistair had asked, as he wrestled his brown puppy away from one of the others.

Carver scowled defensively as he stroked the little runt softly.

Jaro shrugged. “When they know, they know.” And he was right; the only person who seemed to be able to calm the runt – other than Lady – was Carver, and in his care, she had begun developing much more quickly than before. She was still smaller than the other five, but she was feisty, growling and nipping at anyone who tried to get close to her food, and being a lot more assertive about feeding from Lady too. And for her part, Lady seemed to accept it and started treating her like any other puppy.

“What do you all think about being mabari owners?” I asked everyone one morning when we met up in Lady’s room. Alistair grinned, and I didn’t have to ask to know he was thrilled to have been chosen; fortunately, his happy smile was echoed by the other three with puppies in their laps.

“My kennel master is going to be annoyed with me,” Cailan smirked, “seeing as he’s been trying to get me to take a mabari for years – but he didn’t have the right dog for me, clearly.” He scratched his puppy behind the ear, and she flopped down in front of him with one leg vibrating as she enjoyed the caress.

“Well, if you’re all keeping them, you’ll need to pick out names,” I pointed out. Cailan, Bethany, and Carver looked pensive, but Alistair just grinned wider.

“Barkspawn.”

I slapped my hand to my forehead. “Aaand there it is.” I couldn’t do anything else but laugh.

It turned out imprinting a mabari might have been better for Carver than for the runt, even; he was far less surly with a squirming puppy to take care of, and despite his defensiveness at being teased about how tiny she was, he relaxed a lot more when she was with him. He was also the most diligent trainer. The puppies were all bright, so they shouldn’t have been hard to train, but Carver had his dog able to perform basic commands well before any of the others. She’d come a long way from the tiny, underdeveloped puppy she’d started as. He’d named her Hero, which was pretty cute, even if everyone teased him about it.

Barkspawn, on the other hand, was becoming a handful, refusing to listen or do tricks, constantly climbing on our bed. Alistair couldn’t seem to resist his big puppy eyes, and his discipline suffered as a result. We ended up giving him his own bed in the living room and closing him out of our bedroom at night. Cailan was having no more luck with his dog, and it was hilarious to watch the brothers struggle with their headstrong puppies. Bethany was a little better, but even she couldn’t match Carver’s efficiency.

Jaro worked with the two unbonded puppies, at least getting them up to speed with basic things like asking to go out and not barking all the time. They were far better behaved than Barkspawn, but even Jaro was amazed at Carver’s progress.

Eventually Cailan had to leave; he’d delayed returning to Denerim for longer than he could really afford – but I was glad we’d had the time. Alistair and Cailan’s relationship had flourished, and my husband had never looked happier. And even Cailan looked more relaxed than I’d seen him in ... ever, really. He’d brought an escort when he’d come from Highever, and they planned to ride back to Highever before taking his ship back to Denerim. The trip was considered extremely safe, given how close to shore they would stay, so it was with an easy heart that we prepared to bid the king goodbye.

Jaro would accompany him as far as Highever, leaving us to take care of the puppies. And to my surprise, I learned the night before the scheduled departure that Cailan and Jaro weren’t the only ones leaving.

Leandra knocked on my office door just before supper, and I asked her to come in.

“What can I do for you, Leandra?” We’d gotten comfortable enough to use first names, once she had realised I was really serious about not wanting to be called ‘your Highness’. I smiled and waved her toward a chair.

“I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality,” she began formally. “You may have invited us, but we never would have expected such a warm welcome. And it seems you’ve probably saved all of our lives, as mad as it feels to say. I appreciate everything you have done for us.”

“Nonsense.” I shook my head. “I wish I could have done more – stopped Marian and Bethany from going to the Deep Roads, perhaps.”

Leandra smiled. “I doubt the Maker himself could have stopped them.” She sighed. “I think ... Bethany may be happy here, eventually. It’s not what I pictured for her, but...”

I knew exactly what she meant. “I know. But we’re good people, here. And we’re working all the time to make the burden of being a Warden less onerous. As a mage, she’ll have more freedom with us than anywhere else in Thedas. It’s not a terrible life.”

Leandra blinked, and I wondered if she was holding back tears. “I know I can’t expect any more favours, but—”

I leaned over and took her clenched hand with both of mine. “We will take care of her. I promise she will be as safe as I can make her, and as happy. I swear it.”

Leandra gave me a watery smile, and I squeezed her hand again before letting go. “So ... all of this sounds very much like a goodbye.”

She nodded. “His Majesty has kindly extended me his hospitality. I’m going to travel with him to Denerim, and he’s offered to introduce me there and let me stay at the Palace until I find a little place of my own.”

I thought of the vast fortune Hawke would likely have returned from the Deep Roads with. Or not so little. Still, I smiled. “I’m glad. I think you’ll be much happier there – it’s rather boring here, I suspect.” Another thought occurred to me. “And Carver?”

Leandra beamed proudly. “The King has offered him a spot in the palace guard.”

I raised one eyebrow in shock, trying not to let my hesitance show. What was Cailan thinking? And why has he taken such an interest in the family of a deceased apostate, anyway? Leandra must have noticed my derision despite my efforts, because she stifled a smirk.

“I know Carver can be ... difficult, at times. But he’s a good boy – man, I suppose – underneath the bluster. He and the king have gotten to know each other a bit, what with the puppies,” we both chuckled, “and I think some of the things his Majesty said may have made some impact. I think it will work out well.”

“Well, uh ... good, then? I’m glad you’ve both figured out where you want to be.” I offered her my hand again. “Just know that you’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you again. For everything.” Leandra ignored my hand and pulled me into a hug. “I suppose I had better go pack.”

“Goodnight, Leandra.”

We spent the evening with Cailan, wanting to take advantage of the last time we’d see him for a while. “Oh, but you’ll come for Teagan’s wedding, won’t you?” he asked after we’d eaten a quiet supper in our quarters.

“Oh, I hadn’t heard! Did he finally ask Kaitlyn, then?”

Cailan smirked. “Ages ago. She made him wait, the poor man.”

“Good for her.” Alistair nudged me, and I grinned. “What? It’s always better to keep men coming back for more.”

He grabbed me and ruffled my hair, making me squawk and elbow him in the gut; we play-wrestled for a minute until he pressed his lips to mine and I stopped fighting to pull him closer.

We both jumped when Cailan cleared his throat awkwardly. I blushed and grinned, and Alistair released me like I was on fire and burning him.

Cailan tried to stifle a smile. “Right, so the wedding is in Denerim in August. That’s less than three months away.”

“Good. It’ll be good to see everyone again. I guess I’ll get a chance to check in on Leandra and Carver, too.” I shot Cailan an inquiring look.

His too-innocent expression didn’t fool me. “What? She’s a noblewoman, regardless of who her late husband was. And I owe Marian and Bethany for their help in Kirkwall. Introducing her to high society in Denerim will hardly be onerous.”

“I notice you’ve never said exactly why you owe them,” Alistair pointed out. “You’ve been completely cagey about answering the question, too.”

“What question?” That bland expression stayed put, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What exactly did Marian and Bethany do for you? I can ask Bethany if you don’t want to tell us.”

“Go ahead.” Cailan’s stoic expression cracked, and he chuckled. “I told you, we had gotten trapped inside the Viscount’s Keep by an angry mob and a bunch of templars. Anders, Bethany, and Marian had just entered the city and had been trying to help quell the riots. They managed to intimidate the mob into leaving, and we sallied when they attacked the templars from behind.”