Alissa grabbed the next strangers arm. "Have you seen a little boy?" The old man just let out a grunt and scrunched his brow at her. She forgot how people were in the city. She had been in Denerim just two days and she was just nearly ready to retreat back to Highever. People knew her there and they were certainly much kinder. She could run straight back if only she could find her disobedient son. "Please has anyone seen a little boy?" According to his tutor he had left in a huff, but not before kicking the poor man in the shin and declaring his hate for his writing studies. He had only just started and was already getting frustrated. Duncan was only 5 and he didn't quite understand why he wasn't allowed to spend the day playing anymore.

Alissa brought her hands to the sides of her head, grabbing at her hair and shaking her head. She thought she could have pulled it out had she been any more frustrated in that moment. She just wanted to give up and scream, but she took in a deep breath and calmed herself, trying to figure out where he could have gone in a city he didn't know.

"Would you stop grumbling Stew, we're almost at the end of our shift. Half an hour and we can head back to the armory."

"Easy fa yu ta say Alistair, ye ain't got a bum leg ta drag ye. I use ta be quite the adventurer before I took an arrow to mah knee."

"Are you really on about that again? I thought you used to be a farmer before the blight."

"Aye, I were." His fellow guardsman cackled. "Don't take away mah stiff leg now do it?"

"Damn it man, just go back to the armory. I'll finish the rest of the patrol on my own."

"Dunt hafta tell me twice."

Alistair let out a groan and pulled up his drooping sword holster. At least twice a week he got stuck on patrol with Stew and he didn't think he had ever seen the man finish an entire shift. He looked around scanning the streets. He thought he could make one more full circle and check out the back alley near the emporium before he headed back to turn in his weapon. He had joined the city guard more than a year ago after putting his life back together, and it hadn't taken long to learn where to look for trouble. Trouble was exactly what he didn't hope to find this close to shift change.

He made his way around the market toward the alienage. He knew who the trouble makers were and he made sure their eyes met to make his presence known. He passed Grin, an old dwarf that he'd caught stealing undergarments of all things from the Orlesian woman's stand a few weeks back. He called out to him across the street, "Don't make any trouble for me today Grin, I'd like to get home on time tonight." The dwarf grunted a laugh, "What, missin' the bottom of yer cup?" Alistair shook his head, "Very funny."

After the blight he had spent a lot of time in Denerim's tavern and he was having a hard time shaking the reputation. He had become a bit of a drunk back then. Well fine, a lot of a drunk. He wasn't quite sure why he decided to come back to one of his old stomping grounds, but to be truthful there weren't many taverns in Fereldan he hadn't stumbled into at one time or another. He had even spent some time in the Free Marches before turning it around. He let three years of his life get away before waking up and sobering up. For about a year he took mercenary work and earned his way back to Fereldan, paying back the establishments he had left with large open tabs. When he found himself in Redcliff his uncle Teagan offered to get him work in the Denerim city guard, said he was owed a favor by the captain. Having a place to give himself some sort of stability sounded good for a change, so he accepted. Now here he was, fallen from grace as a Grey Warden, but at least doing something halfway honorable. Although most of his heroism did consist of catching cutpurses and solving arguments between competing merchants.

He moved through the market, past one of the storage units when a small sound caught his attention. He listened for a moment as he approached a group of barrels. The barrels seemed to be whimpering. Alistair leaned over the barrel to peer over the top, finding a small boy curled up between two barrels and a wall. "You know for a moment there I thought this barrel might need my help, I thought I heard it crying." The little boy looked up and shook his head, wiping tears from his face. "Can I give you a hand out?" he said reaching for his hand. The boy nodded his head and stood up taking his offer. Alistair lifted him out of his hiding spot and sat him on top of the barrel. "All right there lad?" The boy nodded his head again. "Well, have you got a voice?" The boy finally spoke. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Oh, I'm not a stranger. I'm a city guard, one of the good guys. My name is Alistair. I think your mommy and daddy would say it was ok for you talk to me. I'm here to help people." The boy nodded his head again giving Alistair a chuckle. "What were you doing behind that barrel?"

"I fell down there," the boy said sheepishly.

"Well I gathered at least that much. What are you doing over here by yourself? You seem awfully young to be mucking about on your own," Alistair observed.

The boy sat on his hands and looked down at his feet, swinging them. "I ran away and I got lost. I was looking for my mummy."

"Oh, well I can help you find your mummy, do you know where she is?" Alistair asked and the boy shook his head. "Ok, well what about your daddy, do you know where he works?"

The boy brought his shoulders up to his ears sheepishly and looked up squinting one eye. "I haven't got one of those."

"You haven't got a daddy? Well, I'm sorry about that lad, I know what that's like myself." He lifted the boy from the barrel and grabbed his hand. "Well then, let's go try to find your mother. Maybe she went to the Chantry to see if anyone could help find you. Can you tell me what your mother looks like?"

The boy eagerly answered. "Oh yes, she has brown hair and brown eyes and she's very beautiful."

"Ok brown hair and beautiful, got it," Alistair said laughing. "That shouldn't be too hard to find. Come on then." He patted him on the back with a sigh." Oh, I forgot to ask what to call you."

"My name is Duncan," he quietly answered.

Alistair nodded his head, pushing out his bottom lip and raising his eyebrows, he was impressed. He hadn't heard the name in a long time. "Duncan, I knew a Duncan," he said with a reminiscent smile. "That is a great name. I rather like it. How old are you anyway Duncan?"

"I'm 5."

"Ah, quite old I see," Alistair jested.

The little boy laughed and his eyes beamed with pride at the comment. They passed a cheese and fruit stand and he could see the boy eying the food. "Have you eaten today Duncan?"

"Not since lunch," he said with a pout.

Alistair let out a feign gasp. "Not since lunch? You must be absolutely starving!" He walked to the stand and purchased a piece of cheese and split it in two. He brought the boy over to the corner where he sometimes ate his lunch. He squatted down in front of him with his back to the street to hand him a piece of the cheese. Duncan took it with a satisfied grin on his face.

They sat there both chewing for a moment then heard a frantic voice call out the boy's name from across the street. Alistair looked back slightly and out of the corner of his eye could see a woman's figure sprinting across the street towards them. He turned to look at the boy, still chewing. "Is that your mum?" The boy nodded. "Let hope she's not too mad at us," he said rubbing his hands together brushing crumbs off his fingers.

Alissa sprinted across the street, her heart felt like it had jumped from her feet to her throat. She had hoped Duncan hadn't made it this far away from the estate, but there he sat, leaning on the side of a building, a guard squatted in front of him facing away from her. He was eating of course. That child is always hungry, she thought. "Maker's breath, Duncan! How could you run away like that? You had me completely terrified!"

Alistair's heart dropped to his toes and he couldn't breathe in. He could feel the blood draining from his face. That voice sounded all too familiar. He was afraid to turn around to see who it belonged to. He swallowed hard, contemplating what he would do if he turned around and it was her. He hoped to Andraste that it was just someone who sounded eerily like her.

Alissa ran up in tears and grabbed her son, lifting him into her arms. She turned around to thank the guard who had found him. "I'm so sorry, thank you for…" She was suddenly speechless, she almost thought she went blind for a moment. She could hear nothing but her heart racing, beating in her ears. She saw a face she had never expected to see again. And of all people, he was standing there with her son.

Alistair slowly stood up, though he wasn't sure at that moment if his legs would actually work or buckle underneath him. He managed to take a breath in, but that seemed to just make the tightening in his chest even worse. He was standing face to face, looking into the eyes of the last person he thought he ever wanted to see again. "I…ah…Alissa?" The name crossing his lips again felt strange. "I…uh…this is your son?"

Alissa stood there, eyes wide, she felt like for a moment all she could do was stand there and blink. She noticed her mouth was gaping wide open. She held Duncan closer, squeezing him and let out a nervous laugh. "Alistair? What are you…? I… never expected to see you of all people in Denerim," she breathed. Her eyes darted back and forth between the child she held in her arms and the man that stood before her. "Uh, yes this is my son. You found him?"

"He ah, got himself stuck behind some barrels. We were on our way to the Chantry to find his mother. I guess to find you. A bit ironic," he let out a short nervous chuckle before bringing his fist to his mouth and clearing his throat. A million emotions flooded back, he couldn't believe he was standing in front of the woman who had broken his heart into a million pieces so many years ago. Or had he broken her heart? He couldn't even remember anymore, he just knew it had hurt. And he didn't know until this moment that it still did.

Alissa lowered Duncan to the ground, grabbing his hand. "Well thank you. I think we had better go," she said turning to leave.

Something made him stop her. "Wait? What are you doing in Denerim? I've been here for a year, I've never seen you here before."

She seemed hesitant to answer him, but she didn't want to be rude. "We just moved here, we're actually staying in Arl Eamon's old estate. It was gifted to my brother a few years ago and we decided to make use of it." She wondered if she offered up too much information.

"Your brother Fergus," he recalled. "I heard he just got married. Another girl from Antiva. I'm surprised they aren't staying in Highever."

"Oh no, I decided it was time to get out of his hair," she said forcing a laugh. "I'm sorry, we must be going. We've wasted enough of your time."

"No, no, it was no inconvenience at all," Alistair insisted. "Just part of the job. It…ah… made for an interesting close to the duty day," he said winking at the boy.

Alissa smiled awkwardly, turning to leave. "Thank you for finding him."

Alistair planted himself in the darkest corner table he could manage, raising his hand toward the barmaid for a drink. He wasn't the town drunk anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't still enjoy a pint or two of his ale. He just made sure it was in moderation, and didn't leave him in debt again. He ran a hand through his hair from his forehead to the back of his neck letting out a heavy sigh. He had just seen a ghost, or at least it had felt like it. He had had a huge lump in his throat ever sense and he hoped the drink would wash it down.

Alissa Cousland. Or he supposed it probably wasn't Cousland anymore. She had a son, he suppose that meant she had moved on. Damn what that woman does to me, he thought swallowing. Five years. Five years had passed, he had went all that time without laying eyes on her and the last moment he had seen her, years ago at the landsmeet, was still fresh in his mind. Seeing her in that moment in the market surprised him, but he was more surprised at himself. He thought if he saw her again he would feel nothing but rage and anger, but an altogether different feeling had manifested itself. The barmaid slammed the pint he had ordered on the table, clapping it on the wood and spilling some of the foam over the sides. The sound snapped him out of his thoughts of self-pity. He shook his head and took a sip from the cup, letting out a satisfied grunt and licking some of the foam from his top lip.

"Lady Cousland, are you alright?"

Alissa shook her head to clear it, taking a deep breath in. She was staring off blankly and had lost focus on the conversation she was supposed to be participating in. She took a drink from the tea cup sitting in front of her, looking down a bit in embarrassment. "Forgive me Lady Allana, yesterday I had quite the eventful day and I feel I'm still recovering."

"Oh it's alright, dear. Now where we're we? Ah yes…"

The woman's voice trailed off in Alissa's ears again. Yesterday, Duncan ran off wild into the city alone and had found that last person she ever thought she would see again. She hadn't been able to focus on anything since. She had tried to make herself useful since arriving in Denerim and had tasked herself with visiting some of Highever's allied houses, attempting to keep the friendships secure. Today she was not doing a very good job of it. All she could think of was Alistair. The way she felt seeing him again. The feelings that had never went away in all those years.

She had not seen him since the day of the Landsmeet many years ago. She had made some difficult choices that day. Choices she knew Alistair wouldn't be happy with, but she never thought he would leave like he did. Leave her. Not knowing or caring that she did it for him, for both of them. So what if Loghain didn't die that day. She had made his death more useful, asking him strike down the archdemon knowing it would end his life. Whatever he had done to betray Fereldan, he had achieved his atonement by giving his life for the Grey Wardens' cause. That is what Alistair didn't agree with. He thought Loghain deserve a traitor's death, but she was willing to do whatever it took to save both Alistair and herself. She didn't care in that moment what was best for the Wardens or Fereldan. She was selfish. She wouldn't lose Alistair to the archdemon, but she had ended up losing him anyway in the end. She spent a long time wishing she had just made the final blow herself.

"What do you think Lady Cousland?"

"Ah…of course," she replied, looking at them pressing her teeth together in an attempted smile, hoping the answer was what they were looking for.

"Splendid! I'll have my people get in touch with yours."

Shit. She wondered what she had just gotten herself into. "Well ladies, if that is all, I think I should make my way home. I find myself in need of some rest. I'm afraid you all have depleted my energy reserves for the day," she said flashing her most charming smile.