A moment of respite

Alfred nodded at the remarks about countries just being pieces of land. It was quite accurate. As she talked about her family in Orlais, a dull ache pinged his heart. He'd left people behind when he left Orlais. At the time, he was so focused on leaving he thought little of it, but as he got older, the pain of regret became acute. He hadn't just left his country, he' run away. He smiled warmly and tried to brush those thoughts out of his mind.

I was never blessed with children myself, though the family I work for I just about raised their children. I can definitely see the appeal to wanting to have them at home and not in some foreign country. He'd been with Frankie pretty much since the man had been born, more or less. It was so long ago now. He thought of Frankie like a son, and he thought of Frankie's kids like he would if he'd had grandchildren. Even if he was part of staff and not really part of the family, it didn't stop him from feeling that way.