He finds her in the kitchens of the Arl's estate hours after the landsmeet is over.
"I wanted to thank you."
She frowns, glancing up from the plate piled high with bread and meat as he sits down opposite her and steals some food. "What for?"
"For not making me king."
She shrugs. "Why would I have put you on the throne? You didn't want it."
She doesn't understand. His whole life, no one ever really listened to him. They pretended to listen, but then they made his decisions for him anyway, and what he wanted never seemed to enter in to it. He's used to it by now, he even likes it. He'd talked to her about Duncan and Goldanna and a thousand other things, but she listened to everyone's troubles, how could she care about them all? He was just fooling himself to think he was anything special. She'd conspired with Eamon to gathered the support of half the nobles in Denerim, and he watched as they planned the rest of his life for him. And then she came to him and gave him a choice, and she has no idea what a wonderful gift that is.
"I don't know, you might have listened to Eamon's advice. Or maybe you thought I wouldn't be a very good king?"
"I think you'd make a fine king, Alistair." He feels a surge of happiness that she thinks so, even though he's sure he'd be an awful king. "I escaped from a tower. I wasn't going to trap you in one. When all this is over, you're free to do whatever you want."
"I was thinking you might need some help rebuilding the Wardens. If you'd like my help, that is."
She reaches over to clasp his hand in hers. "I wouldn't choose anything else."