Home is a Tower of Light

Posted on 21 Sep 2022 @ 3:29am by Mage Atria Jain
Edited on on 23 Sep 2022 @ 7:01pm

658 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Hall of the Phantom Shadow
Location: Jader - the Lighthouse
Timeline: Bloomingtide 3, Morning

"Atria, have you seen-"

"Under the stack of books," Atria said, forcing out the words as she struggled to finish her third set of pull ups. "On the table. Where you left it."

No reply came but she released the door frame and dropped heavily to the ground. Every morning, she followed her regimen, and every morning her schedule was threatened by Interlopers. What was the chaos of battle compared to the chaos of a household?

A thundering down the stairs preceded one of those Interlopers. The Tevinter woman turned to face her enemy and laughed when Philippia, a young child of eight, flung herself off the stairs in a tackle. Atria caught the girl with one arm and caught her day bag with the other. Two books in it, judging by the way, instead of one...

"Go on then, the Chantry school won't wait for you," she said with a chuckle.

More invaders descended into her domain, followed by their most beautiful shepherd. "Join us?" Adrienne asked. Suddenly self-conscious, Atria set the feeling aside and kissed her wife good morning before following the pack out the door.

The city of Jader lay before them. As a strategically placed trade city, that was also a port, ships needed to find port even at night. The Tremblay's took care of that in exchange for a modest living paid through tariffs. The family had been here as long as any other family and Atria's eyes took in the familial traits on the faces of her in-law's children. Traits that Adrienne shared, including a light complexion with freckles.

Unlike the Tevinter woman herself. She was darker, stronger, dressed in a shirt tucked into trousers instead of the blouse and skirts of her wife. That would come when she had a chance to clean up and dress for the day. But Adrienne had invited her along and she decided to come, leaving her feeling a little more out of place than usual which was entirely her own doing.

"Any big plans for the day, lever du soleil?" Adrienne asked. That Orlesian accent always sounded so musical.

"Depends on what you need, love. I know that section of railing needs mending. I'd planned to visit the mill, possibly size up a bundle of like boarding to store so that future replacement boards look the same. Nothing urgent."

"Have you given any thought to what we talked about last night?"

Atria eyed her wife a bit warily as they approached the town proper on the way to the Chantry. "What, the City Guardsmen?" It took a moment to compose her thoughts. "I confess there's a certain appeal. It's easy work, compared to Seheron. Not particularly dangerous either. Then there's the other incentive; coming home to you every night."

"But?"

"But it's uniforms again. Marching, probably. Taking orders." A longer pause. "I was a..." Her thoughts paused again as she searched for the local equivalent. "Commander, I led a Regiment. I don't want that again, having to prove myself to men again, having their lives in my hands. And I'm not sure if I have it in me to 'yessir' men who have never seen a battlefield."

Ahead, the Chantry loomed. Well, as much as any building in Jader loomed. This place was no Minrathous, or even her home city of Qarinus. The Chantry didn't look the same either, compared to home. But the several Affirmed calling in the local children for school was a heartwarming sight. They'd married here. This was a special place to Atria, no matter which Divine they honored.

"Will you join me?" her wife asked, changing the subject again, pausing the pair of them by the doors to the Chantry.

"I'm not dressed for it, love."

"Join me anyway." There was an easy humor in her wife's eyes, covering up a deeper firmer wish.

"Join you? Always. Anywhere."

The two left the question around Atria's future outside.

-----

 

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