Hello, lovely readers! This is obviously the sequel to the Forgotten Cousland, and it's recommended but not required to go read that first. It'll just help. A lot.

This starts a year after Hawke returned from the Deep Roads and will contain all the stuff between Act 1 and Act 3, ending with Act 3. And for those who are returning, yes, it's still in Elissa's POV for 99% of the story. So...here you go! Hope y'all like it! Leave some reviews, too! Make me happy lol.

Anders is teaching Hawke how to heal yet again. And Hawke is failing, yet again. Her frustration is evident with each failure, her temper flaring with each attempt. Eventually, he has her sit on a chair in his clinic under the excuse that he needs to go check on his patients. She knows the real reason, though. He feels awkward when she gets upset, torn between playing friend and playing something else. It irritates Hawke even more that he ignores her advances or pushes them all aside like they mean nothing. Some days she even hates him for it.

Sighing, Hawke gets to her feet, grabbing her staff from its resting place on a table. She strolls past Anders, waving at him over her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" the apostate asks, handing a man a potion before following her.

"Home, I think," Hawke says. "It's been a long day and Mother's probably looking for me. I'll...I'll see you later."

He nods once, saying, "Don't go get drunk. Please."

She shrugs as she heads out, Anders on her heels. "I won't. The Viscount needs me at the keep in an hour anyway."

"Really?" Anders asks. "Perhaps...I should come with you."

"It's up to you," she says. "Bye."

"Bye."

Feeling lazy, Hawke decides to use the basement entrance to her new home, forcing herself to not look back at him as she climbs inside.


"You are an apostate!" Meredith shouts, stepping in my face.

"I am the Hero of Ferelden!" I retort, reaching for my sword. Aedan grabs my forearm, yanking me back, and the Guard-Captain steps between us.

"If you're going to argue, take it outside!" the redhead woman snarls.

"I didn't do anything!" I throw my hands up, walking away several steps. "I walked in here, and there's the damn Knight-Commander waiting to arrest me!" I run a hand through my hair, inhaling deeply. "She can't even do that! I'm a Grey Warden!"

"It's been two years, mage," Meredith snaps, crossing her arms. "All of Thedas knows you left the Wardens."

"Then by all means, arrest me," I say, putting my hands on my hips. "Start a war with Ferelden. Come on; do it." She's fuming and it's very, very obvious. "Smarter than you look."

"Oh-"

"Guards! Escort the Knight-Commander back to the Gallows at once!"

I snort, crossing my arms in annoyance as several of them are forced to take her by the arms and lead her out of the keep. I stand here the entire time, watching with a smug smirk on my face.

"You're not out of trouble yet, either," the Guard-Captain says.

"What? What are you-"

"In my office!" she orders, beckoning Aedan and I after her. I glance at my twin brother, but he seems just as confused as I am, if not more. "I don't know why you're here, Cousland, but I'm warning you now, if you don't behave yourself in my city, I'll personally throw you from it, Fereldan or not."

"Hey, I don't try to create problems," I say. "Trouble seems to find me."

"Like a Blight finds you."

"It was after Aedan and Alistair!" I say defensively.

She snorts in amusement. "You're too friendly."

"I've started to expect people to hate me or like me on the spot," I say, shrugging. "I try my best to make them like me. Outside of Ferelden, I'm just a commoner."

"Meredith is not a fan, then," she says, opening a door set off to the left of the barracks.

"I didn't necessarily expect her to be," I admit. "She's a Templar and I'm a mage she can't arrest without starting a war with any Fereldan on the face of Thedas."

"Considering most of Kirkwall is made up of Fereldans now," Aedan says.

"There will always be enemies," she says, sitting on the edge of her desk. She crosses her arms, sighing, before saying, "Since we skipped introductions, allow me to introduce myself. I am Guard-Captain Aveline Vallen. I remember seeing you both at Ostagar if only for a brief moment."

"I'm Elissa," I say. "Still a Cousland if you ask anyone, but I don't consider myself as such. I prefer to just be called a Warden even though I'm not one any longer." I jerk a thumb over my shoulder, pointing at Aedan. "This is my twin, Aedan."

"Nice to meet you," he says. "You said you saw us at Ostagar?"

She nods once. "For about three seconds, but it's hard to forget a face when you hear that particular face went on to kill an Archdemon."

"I'm flattered," Aedan says.

"You're embarrassing, that's what," I say, pushing his shoulder. "Maybe I should tell Leliana."

"Oh, no! She still hasn't forgiven me for what I did with Morrigan," he says.

"I wonder why," I say, rolling my eyes. "You only cheated on her with a Witch of the Wilds!"

"Witch of the Wilds?" Aveline asks.

"Yes," I say. "She's a real bitch to be exact."

"Flemeth? She helped me and a friend flee from the Blight," she says, looking down. "My husband died before we made it."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I...I wish I could've been there to do something."

"It's fine," Aveline says, shaking her head. "I doubt you could've done anything for him anyway. Flemeth said the only way to cure the Blight was to become a Warden. I don't think you'd know how to make him one after being Wardens for a few weeks."

I laugh, shaking my head. "Still don't know how to. Unless you count swallowing darkspawn blood and lyrium, but that's all I know."

"You...drank darkspawn blood?"

"We don't just kill some of our recruits," Aedan says. "The darkspawn blood can kill you." He glares at me. "And we're not supposed to tell anyone about it."

"We're not Wardens anymore," I say. "I'll flaunt their stupid secrets all I want. If the First Warden comes after me for it, I'll know. He's got quite a ways to go to get here anyway. And then I'll have you, Alistair, and Leliana standing there to back me up regardless."

"The Wardens still-"

The door opens and all three of us look to it.

"Oh, are you busy? I can come back later," the woman says. She has short black hair, the strangest of blue eyes, and a staff. An apostate.

"No, I'm not," Aveline says, standing. "What did you need, Hawke?"

I glance at Aedan and he nods. "I think it's time for us to be going, actually. Thanks for talking to us, Guard-Captain."

"Don't start any trouble," she says.

"I'll avoid the Chantry!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up. "Aedan, let's go. We should head back to the Hanged Man for the night." My brother nods, following me out of Aveline's office. A few guards, Fereldans, salute us on the way past, and I try to do the same back, but after a few minutes, it gets tiring and annoying, so I just say hello. It's not a long walk for us, and I savor the fresh air up here, inhaling deeply.

"How do you think Alistair did?" Aedan asks, following me outside.

I look back at him. "Well enough. I trust him."

"Obviously," he says, snorting.

"You know what I meant," I say, looking up at the moon. It's now in full view of the whole city, meaning gangs are going to be coming out. "So how's Leliana been?"

"She's bored, actually," Aedan says. "She says she misses running around with us, getting into fights and political battles." He shudders as he inhales. "She's joined the Chantry again. She's the Left Hand of the Divine herself."

"Really? Wow." I motion for him to follow me, half-expecting him to stand there anyway, but he doesn't, and we get out into the lower courtyard before a gang decides to take it upon themselves to mess with us. There's a lot of them, too. Far too many for just Aedan and I. Great. Barely here for three hours, and we're already being attacked. Glad I wore my armor.

I draw my bow, firing off two arrows faster than they can even reach for their weapons. Aedan readies his own weapons while I give him the chance, tightening the straps of his laurel shield and drawing the brand-new sword Alistair gave him a month ago. We've actually managed to stay out of combat that long, so that sword hasn't even drawn blood yet. It resembles my own sword, the sword of Andraste herself, but it lacks the...it just looks fake. I don't know how to explain it.

"Watch out!" Aedan shouts.

I whip, but the sword hits my stomach too fast for me to even try to think of a response.