Hawke and his Princess Chapter 15

Carver looked at his brother, this wasn't his brother, his hard ass brother who expected him to jump when he barked, who expected no back talk. "Who are you and where is my brother," he said with a grin.

"Haha, very funny little brother, I know I've been an ass, I know I've been difficult to be around. I thought I had to build a wall around myself in order to be strong for you guys. I didn't realize how it had effected you all by distancing myself." Hawke's hand went to his hair, but he pulled it back and looked at Carver again. "Look little brother, will you accept my apology."

Carver studied Hawke, he could see how important this was for him. He walked up to him and hugged him. "Apology accepted, and I love you too big brother. I know I haven't been easy to be around either. Will you accept my apology?"

"I accept. I'm glad you had fun, how would you feel about staying with the Couslands for a little while? They asked if you'd like to stay with them after we visit. Carver, I have to take off for at least a month, mom, sis, the girls, and you will be staying with them during that time. But they wanted to know if you wanted to stay with them even before?"

Carver looked at his brother in confusion, "why do you have to leave and when?"

"Caleb. He wouldn't tell me why and at the end of next month." Carver stood there with his mouth open. "Close your mouth little brother," Hawke said amused.

"Do you realize how rare this is, elves don't involve themselves in human affairs?"

"I know Carver and that has me worried. But that's my worry. What about you and the Couslands?"

Carver watched Hawke again, it would be great, but Carver felt that he needed to be here for his family. "No, as much as I enjoy hanging around them, I need to be here with my family. And like you said, I'll be there with everyone anyway when you have to take off. Besides big brother, your plate just got bigger, now that you have two new additions, you're really going to need the help."

Hawke looked at Carver, he was pleased with him. Seems it wasn't just him that had done some changing during the time apart. He put his arm across Carver's shoulder, "come little brother, let's go see what's to eat."

They walked back laughing and talking about their time apart. When Leandra saw them together she started crying. Bethany, startled and worried looked to where her mom was looking, and she even got tears in her eyes. When Arik and Carver came to where they all where, both Bethany and their mom came over to hug them.

Elayne and her family understood what was going on, and they sat there quietly and watched as the Hawke's became a family again.

Carver went over to Bryce. "Sir, Arik talked to me of the offer of me staying there until my mother and sister come while he's gone, I appreciate the offer but right now I'm needed here."

Bryce looked at him and nodded, "I believe you are, young man. You've done good Carver, we're proud of you, son." Bryce turned his head to Hawke, "you're still planning on coming up with us and checking on those horses with your family?" Hawke nodded, "perfect" Bryce said. "I want to leave early in three days. The little ones can use the carriage with my wife and Leandra. How long do you want to stay?"

That one Hawke couldn't answer, it depended on if he could find anyone who would watch the farm. "That sir, I'm not sure about yet. But I'll let you know by the time we leave."

Bryce nodded. "That will be fine."

They all sat down for dinner listening to the guys talk about their trip. Hawke looked over at the girls, Rose seemed to be doing better but he was worried. He was going to have to leave them all in over a month. Rose looked up at him and smiled, and he smiled back, his heart warming.

"So girls you want to go check out my place after dinner."

They both nodded excitedly. "Where do you live," asked Rose.

Hawke pointed on the other side of the guest house, "see that path over there?" They nodded. "Down that path a ways. When we go, we're going to ride the horses to get us there quicker."

"Why do you live so far out?" Rose asked.

"Well, I like my privacy, I like to be alone." He looked over at Elayne, "well, I used to like to be alone, but that has all changed. Now I got a very beautiful wife and two very beautiful little girls in my life. But you know what, I love this new life I got." She beamed at him. He looked back over at Elayne who was looking at the girls with a smile.

"And all three of us love our Arik, don't we?" The girls nodded happily and Elayne kissed him.

His heart about exploded, the smile on his face about split open. "I love all three of my amazing girls too." He turned around and pulled Elayne against him, nuzzling her neck.

"Okay, what happened to my brother. There is no way that this is my brother, there's actually a sparkle in his eyes." Carver said incredulously and everyone laughed.

"Well little brother, you remember me telling you about that wall that I thought I needed in order to stay strong for you all? It turns out I didn't need it, but I didn't know that until I got a little too drunk one night."

Carver looked even more shocked, "but you don't get drunk, you've always said you like to have a clear head."

"You're correct Carver, but it was the day I found two precious little ones that broke me and shattered that wall. By the way, I hated the next day. I've never ever consumed that much whiskey in my life. I drank that whole bottle and regretted it. But maybe that was a good thing me getting plowed."

Fergus looked at him shocked, "you mean that was the first time you've been drunk?" Hawke nodded, "that's just not normal, when we get to Highever I'm taking you to a pub, and we're going to get drunk little brother. I'm not taking no for an answer. And don't worry, the ladies will be very well protected, from the smallest," he touched the girls noses who giggled, "to the biggest," he said looking at the women.

Hawke not sure what to say, shook his head a little and laughed, "as long as Bethany has that cure for me. It may taste awful but it worked great."

Elayne gave her brother a scowl, "I don't know if I want you getting my husband drunk, Fergus. I've seen you tie one over. You actually knocked over a suit of armor stand because you could barely walk. You woke the whole house up." Everybody but Elayne laughed, she just kept scowling.

"I bet sis is over there swinging her leg under the table isn't she," Fergus taunted. He looked at Hawke, "you'll know when she's really mad, she'll sit there with her legs crossed, with one leg swinging back and forth." He looked under the table and snickered, "just like she's doing now."

Hawke didn't know if he should laugh or say something in Elayne's defense, so he just sat there, watching and listening. He couldn't help the smirk on his face though, which she caught, and she turned her anger on him.

"What do you think you're smiling at, Hawke. I know how my brother gets when he's drunk, I don't need him corrupting you," she snarled.

"Put the claws back in, little wildcat." He growled quietly in her ear. It did the trick. She stopped dead, looking from him to her brother and to him again.

She turned to her brother, her cheeks a little flushed. "I'm sorry guys," she said quietly, ashamed of her outburst. "Just promise me you won't get him too drunk please."

Both Fergus and Bryce looked from Elayne to Hawke and back again, looking flabbergasted. They looked at Eleanor then back to Hawke again and they both bust out laughing. Elayne got up, grabbed the girl's hands and walked away from the table.

Bryce looked at Hawke, "did my daughter find someone to tame that wildfire in her? I'm impressed. We always wondered if anyone could."

"Did my sister just apologize to me?" Fergus asked on top of him, shocked.

Hawke looked over at Elayne, he sent his love to her, after a minute, her body relaxed, she looked over at him and smiled, sending her love back at him. She walked to him, leaned down put her arms around him and kissed him. Then sat down in front of him with his arms around her and glared at her brother who smirked at her.

Eleanor looked at Bryce, "guess who's becoming a little farm girl," she smiled at Elayne.

Elayne looked at her father. "I've been helping Hawke and Bethany with taking care of the farm animals." She said proudly. "The only thing I won't do is mucking out the stables." She looked at Hawke, "I'd like to continue helping your sister if you don't mind." He smiled at her and nodded.

Bryce looked proudly at his daughter then nodded to Hawke.

Fergus on the other hand snickered at her. "I'm sorry, I just can't see my sister sitting there milking a cow or collecting eggs, that's just too funny." He looked over at Hawke laughing, as he met his eyes, he snapped his mouth shut, shivered, and looked at his sister, "I'm sorry little sis, I didn't mean to offend you," he said looking thoroughly chastised.

Hawke turned his head back to Elayne after warning Fergus off, he was so proud of her of what she was doing, becoming. He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms tighter around her, "I'm proud of you Elayne, I love you baby," he whispered in her ear.

The whole time Eleanor and Bryce were giving Fergus disapproving glares as he looked around, trying to avoid Hawke's eyes after apologizing to Elayne. Bryce had noticed his son's reaction change suddenly, and he looked over at Hawke curiously, all Hawke did was stare at Fergus, but it was as if death passed over Fergus, it was enough. Bryce looked at Hawke and nodded. He noticed the changes in both Hawke, Carver and Elayne, 'seems a lot of things have changed while I was gone,' he thought. And he couldn't of been more proud. She was blossoming with Hawke.

Hawke watched Bryce as he looked at his daughter, he saw the pride that Bryce was giving Elayne and a conversation from earlier popped in his head. "Sir, I would like to take part in Elayne's sword training if that's okay with you. She's already agreed to let me train her. One of them, not being aware of her surroundings." He looked down at her in reprimand, but there was love pouring out of him into her.

Bryce looked from Elayne to him, he noticed her cheeks getting red, but she sat there without getting upset. Usually when she was being scolded, she'd fly off the handle but for her to sit there calmly against Hawke was amazing. Maybe now she would take her lessons more seriously if she wanted to continue with the sword.

"I agree Arik, my daughter doesn't seem to take her lessons to seriously, but I give you my permission to help train her." He watched Elayne as he said this, all the reaction he got out of her was her face getting a little red. He looked at his wife with shock, who just nodded proudly at Elayne and told him they'd talk later under her breath. He turned back to the couple, curious about what else had changed in his absence.

Rose and Mary came over, Elayne moved away from Hawke so the girls could sit between them. "Arik, can we go see your house now, I think I'm done playing" little Mary asked.

Hawke laughed "of course sweetheart. Go gather some toys and clothes and put them in your bags, so we can take them with us. I'm going to clean up the dishes here before we leave though okay." They both nodded and went running to the house. Elayne and Hawke gathered everything up with Carver and Bethanys help and went into the house to clean.

Bryce turned around and looked at his wife. "What exactly has happened here. I intentionally tried to get her riled up and all I got was her face getting red. But that's not all that's changed, he deflated her temper as if it never happened when her and Fergus started their bantering. He has accomplished more with her since I've been gone then we have her whole life. And what did she do that she's willing to let him train her?

Eleanor put up her hand to ward off any more questions. "Your daughter is growing up, she's maturing and blossoming so much in the short period of time they've been together. As for what happened to lead to him wanting to help her train? We went to town one day because all of us women wanted a day out. Hawke agreed to it, with a couple of stipulations. We were to have soldiers with us at all times, and she was to keep aware of her surroundings. She failed badly at her surroundings. He was coming to meet us so they could spend some time together shopping. I saw when he showed up, he just stood there on the corner watching us for a while and not once did she look around or pay any attention to anything, she wasn't even aware that he was there. All he did was shake his head and came towards her. He put his hand on her shoulder and put his head by her ear and reprimanded her, but we all heard. He told her to not rely on the soldiers, she needed to be aware of her surroundings, basically what you've tried telling her multiple times. A few days later she told me that he was going to start helping with her training, but he wanted to talk to you first."

"Bryce, she's learning about farming, she's looking forward to when crop season starts, so she can learn how and help with planting crops. I'm so proud of the woman she's becoming, he is so good with her. He knows how to handle her, If I didn't know any better I'd think he knows her better than she knows herself. You saw the way he defused her anger, whatever he said to her, that took the fight immediately out of her. But there's so much more than that going on with her. Now that you're back, you yourself can see the changes in her. As she's told you, I agreed to move the wedding date back, instead of a year, so they can do the ceremony in six months."

"Elayne is in such a hurry to become a mom, a lot of it has to do with the girls being here. She's been fighting her own little war which to me is selfish, since he brought those girls here. She and I had a long talk about the way she was behaving. He had sent her a mental picture of them holding their own baby someday, to her, and she got all excited. When he tried telling her that right now was not the time, and they were very, very good reasons, her attitude changed with him. I made her two deals. One, they didn't have to do the traditional wedding since you already acknowledged their marriage. Or two, and I knew he would go for this one just to please Elayne, we'd move the ceremony back six months. Hawke is well aware of how much Elayne wants to walk down the aisle, so when she went and told him the two propositions he chose the six months. He even compromised with her about a child of her own. After the ceremony, after he takes care of his business with Caleb and after the competition. She agreed to that at least, even though he'd like her to wait longer. But when it comes right down to it, there's nothing he wouldn't do for her."

Bryce looked at her and whistled. "A lot has happened while I was gone. What exactly happened during the fight?"

Eleanor looked at Bryce and shook her head, "you're asking the wrong person on that. You have to talk to the Captain to get all the details. We didn't even hear anything. As soon as Hawke realized we were getting uninvited company he had us all go to the house, and he put a shield around it to keep anyone from coming in. He did good Bryce, you put our lives in his hands and he took that responsibility literally."

"What do you mean realized?" Bryce asked her curiously.

Bryce cursed himself for not being more diligent with his surroundings when he heard Hawke's voice and then chuckled to himself.

"I'll answer that sir, since it has to do with a certain subject." He said that as he looked at the girls in both his hands, giving Bryce a meaningful look. "But can it wait until tomorrow, these little ones I think are getting tired, so I want to take them home. I promise I will explain everything tomorrow."

"Of course young man, get the little ones to bed, and we'll talk more later."

The girls wanted down to go give the women hugs and kisses, and started heading back to Hawke, but before they could get very far Bryce chimed in, "what, don't I get a hug at least?" The girls looked at him shyly then looked at Hawke who nodded. They came over and gave him a quick hug before departing, but he grabbed their little hands.

"Little ones," his voice kind and gentle. "Please don't be afraid of me. I will never hurt you and I will do everything in my power to protect you like Hawke does, okay." The girls looked at him, then at the other two guys who told them the same thing. Both girls gave hugs to all three of them, but Bryce noticed Rose holding back a little. He started to get a little moisture in his eyes and he looked over at Hawke, who understood the look. He let the girls go and Hawke took off with them and Elayne.

Bryce sat there watching them leave. "The pain radiates off little Rose, you can feel it. And she held herself back from me, she's got a fear of men." He looked over at his wife, "will she outgrow that fear?"

Eleanor hesitated, "it's going to take time, and it depends a lot on Hawke. He's the one that found them, coaxed them into trusting him, he's the one that took responsibility for them, Rose is aware of this, that's why she's the way she is with him and clings to him. When it comes to men, she trusts him only. Rose wakes up with horrible nightmares that will make your blood curdle."

"The first night they were here, they stayed with us, he was a literal mess when he found out what had happened to them. And as he retold the story he just got worse. His eyes where dead, no emotion. That's the night he got drunk as he told you. Anyway, he had them drink some tea hoping it would help them sleep. And he used a little magic too soothe them before he left. Rose woke up a few times screaming, but Hawke may have been aware of that happening, so he asked Bethany in hindsight to take charge of putting their minds at ease with her magic in case one of them did have nightmares. Last night she slept the whole night through, but that's because of Hawke and Bethany. Instead of waiting till she woke screaming they would go into their room every couple of hours soothing her with magic and putting in happy images. We've been alternating nights with the girls. It's going to be a long healing process especially for Rose. What she saw, no one should have to witness that and especially a ten-year-old. Thankfully she was smart enough to hide and shield Mary from having to hear or see what happened though." They all talked late into the night.

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To be continued.