Chapter 1 - The Wedding From Hell

Elissa Cousland was wearing the most beautiful wedding dress that anyone had ever seen. "Fit for a queen, and the Hero of Ferelden," Leliana had told her as she laughed.

The long, white fabric clung to her entire body, and the belt tugged at her waist. It practically was cutting off her breath. Beautiful, flowery lace wrapped around the fabric, making her look stunning and quite slender. Her hair was tied back and her black curls fell down to the end of her spine. There was black eyeliner surrounding her blue eyes and her full lips were a coated with a light pink lipstick.

"You look absolutely remarkable." She was glad that Wynne was there, mainly for the moral support.

"Thank you, do you think he'll like it?" Elissa asked, referring to Alistair, the king of Ferelden.

"He'd be stupid not to," Leliana chimed in. "You're gorgeous, and Alistair has had his eyes on you ever since he first saw you." She jumped off the counter she was leaning on. She was wearing her dark purple, Maid of Honor's dress. It fit her perfectly. Elissa smiled to herself, clearly she had chosen right. "But enough of this, I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I. You are going to marry the man of your dreams, and it will be a ceremony that everyone will talk about in years to come!"

"Just out of curiosity, what will you do if Zevran shows up?" Wynne had picked up a book and was flipping through the pages, but Elissa knew she wasn't truly reading it.

"I'll tell you what I'll do; I will throw him out of the chantry myself if I have to. Nothing will ruin what I've worked so hard to create." Leliana folded her arms over her chest during her fit of rage.

"He hasn't tried to contact me at all since …" Elissa looked down at her hands. She had kept that memory for herself, even Alistair didn't know about the letter. She remembered it as if she was reading it for the first time again.

My Dearest Elissa,

I know we ended things quite abruptly and I should not have reacted the way I did. What can you say though, hmm? I am Zevran. I am used to getting what I want. Do you still have the earring that I gave you? I sometimes dream that you hold it in your fingers every night and kiss it as if you were remembering the kisses we shared. I hope that you forgive me. I never meant those terrible things I said to you. I was so hurt that you had chosen to marry him rather than spend the rest of your days with me wondering the world.

If you do not reply, I will assume that you no longer want anything to do with me and you've shoved those past feelings aside. You will not hear from me again. However, if I get a letter back from you, I will know that you still care for me, and I will come find you, and take you away. Forgive me, my love.

Zevran.

She hadn't responded to him, and she could practically see the pain on his face when he realized he would not get a letter back from her. That night she had kissed his earring and whispered "I'm so sorry," to it, and just for a moment, she felt like he had heard her.

"Since when?" Leliana demanded, bringing her out of her daze.

Elissa sat down on the nearest chair and put her head in her hands. "He sent me a letter, but I didn't reply to him. No one knows." Leliana's eyes widened. "I burned it after I read it. He told me if I didn't write him back then he'd know I didn't want to be with him."

"Are you insane?! Why didn't you tell someone?! Can you imagine if the public had found out?! If Alistair had found out?!" Leliana paced around the room, almost like she was trying to plan something.

Wynne laid her hand gently on Elissa's shoulder. "There is no need to fret about it. You were with Zevran even before the attack at Denerim. Surely you shouldn't kick yourself for something that happened so long ago."

Fergus charged into the room, silencing all of their talk. "Well, come on now, everyone is waiting for you." He had a huge smile on his face. This was the first time Elissa had seen her brother really smile since the night before Arl Howe's men attacked their castle. After Fergus' wife and son were killed, he'd hardly even slept. No one could really blame him though.

"Oh, of course, it is time." Leliana pulled Elissa out of the chair and looked at her sternly. "Don't you worry; I will be there if even one thing goes awry." She gave a secretive look, and Elissa knew she was talking about Zevran.

Elissa took her brother's hand and let him lead her into the celebration chamber. Her palms were sweaty but she was grateful that Fergus didn't wipe his hand on his clothes in disgust. She felt everyone's eyes on her. There had to be hundred's of people there. She didn't care about any of them when she saw him.

Alistair looked magnificent. He was wearing his ceremonial, golden armor, and looked perfect with his blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was gaping at her. Clearly she did look a lot better than she had thought. He looked tall and muscular. He looked like a king. They were getting closer and she wanted to run to him, but Fergus' strong grip held her in place. She assumed that he had sensed her urgency.

They stood in front of the mighty king now, and his smile was comforting. He held out his armored hand to her and she intertwined her fingers with his. She took one step onto the platform as the minister began to talk. She gracefully looked behind her at Leliana who had stealthily got to her place just as Elissa began to walk down the isle. Leliana gave her an approving smile, and for one in Elissa's life, she had felt like the world was finally on her side.

That was when the doors flew open and in walked an intruder. She could recognize the elf all too well. He stormed through the crowd of people, and at first Elissa though she was imagining it, but he was much too real for it to be in her imagination. "Zevran!" She snapped.