Obligatory Chapter Heading:

Chapter 1:

I had quickly learned how to use the teleport magic that I'd accidentally used that night in Redcliffe, harnessing it so I might have it as a means of transportation. It was how I'd managed to skip the two weeks of travel, and how I now stood just outside the city limits of Denerim.

I moved slowly, wanting to savor being back in Ferelden for as long as I could. A person here, someone there. I had a crowd gathering, pointing and whispering. They had recognized me. I offered a soft smile and continued on my way toward the castle.

"Go play over there, child. This is no place for you." A man standing guard spoke, not even bothering to look at me.

"I'm here to speak to the king." I asserted quietly.

"And why would he want to see you, huh, lass?"

Another guard glanced down, his eyes widening.

"I'm Anastasia Snow, the Hero of Ferelden." I raised my chin, "And I am here to see the king of Ferelden."

"Anastasia. It has been a long few months, hasn't it?"

I looked over the guard's shoulder, and saw Teagan approaching, "Teagan? Hi! I'd heard you were in Denerim recently, though I certainly didn't expect to run in to you here."

"I'm just visiting. Did you know I'm the arl now?"

"In Redcliffe, yeah. And Eamon is here, acting as an advisor." It was amazing the kind of information you could get when you have a faction of spies. "I also heard..." I lowered my voice and whispered, "Kaitlynn is here, too, and you two have been seen together on more than one occasion."

His cheeks pinked, and he cleared his throat, looking anywhere but my direction.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." I stepped back, "I'm actually here to see the king."

He glanced at the guards. Both of whom were now staring at me in reverence.

"I don't think you'll have a problem, with me escorting you. Come, Hero of Ferelden, let's see what we can do."

My stomach was in knots as we walked through the large doors and in to the atrium of the castle. Teagan leaned over and whispered to the bored-looking man standing at the other end of the room holding a clipboard. The man straightened and opened the doors to the Great Hall.

"Arl Teagan of Redcliffe and Anastasia Snow, Hero of Ferelden!" The announcement had been made.

And he looked just like he had a few months ago, though something was missing. He head snapped up and the documents he'd been looking over for the gentleman in front of him were forgotten.

"Your Majesty." I curtsied.

He was having none of it, the formality. Throwing the papers aside, Alistair jumped up and started toward me. I realized what was missing: he wasn't smiling. Giving myself a mental shake, I met him halfway, and we hugged.

"Where the hell did you go?"

"When was the last time you smiled?" Was my counter response.

"What?" He pulled back, looking confused.

"You don't look the same without a dopey smile on your face."

"Oh." A glance over his shoulder at the man frantically gathering the papers. "It was something I found hard to grasp, is all."

"Maybe I can help?"

"Where did you go? Was the assassin with you this whole time?"

"That's something to talk about privately, if we could." I knew the man in the back, the one acting like he wasn't paying attention to us. I wrapped my arms around him again, trying to pull him downward. He complied easily enough, and I whispered quietly, "That man, in the far left corner, he's from the Coterie. You should deal with that. Could be problematic. Or I could, if he's here for political reasons."

He stiffened, "How do you... You didn't join the Crows, did you? Or the Coterie?"

"No." I hesitated. I knew how much trouble he could get in to, if I told him. "Simple, really. I've gotten to know a lot of seedy people. And that guy is one of the dangerous ones."

"I'll have someone escort him away."

"I'll check with some people I know, see if he's offered to sell or has sold any information about you or Ferelden. You never know what a fly on the wall will overhear."

"We have much to discuss." There was an ominous tone in his voice, and I struggled not to visibly wince. "Let's go somewhere else. The library shouldn't have anyone this time of day."

"All right."

"Gentlemen, I will be back tomorrow, and we can resume this at that time. The Hero and I have some things we need to talk about." With that, Alistair led me from the room and in to the library, shutting the door behind us. "You have impeccable timing, you know that?"

"Serious or sarcastic?"

"I'm being serious. Amaranthine has been reporting sightings of darkspawn in the area, and the Grey Wardens stationed there have been having a bit of difficulty because someone managed to infiltrate the stronghold and steal some things. They say the person responsible is in the prisons there, awaiting execution. And with their small numbers, they're requesting, well... you. Because of the darkspawn being spotted nearby."

"Me?" I raised an eyebrow, "But, as far as they all know, I could be dead. I did disappear."

"I, ah, made sure no one else knew. We managed to convince the healers that you'd left with us and they just hadn't seen you. That you wanted to heal on your own time. With your own healer by your side."

"Wynne lied?"

He grinned, "Well, everyone did, really."

I shook my head, "No idea where I was and yet... Thank you. Could be why no one was particularly observant while I was traveling. Until I got here, anyway. Then, everyone noticed."

"Anyway, the Wardens want you to go to Amaranthine within the month and become Commander of the Grey. You'd be in charge there, essentially."

"What? Oh, no. Nope. Not me. I've got enough to deal with."

He gave me a curious look, "Why are you here? Why now?"

I sighed, "Calilian showed up and told me I had to come. I'd been toying with the idea anyway. I just didn't want to face you if you were angry. I guess I'll at least go and say I went, before deciding anything."

"Phew. That's a weight off my shoulders." The king visibly relaxed.

"How is it? Being king."

"Tiresome and troublesome. There haven't been hardly any assassination attempts. Actually, aside from those first three weeks, it's been quiet on that front." Suspicion clouded his features. "Do you know anything about that?"

"That's above your pay grade." I went over to one of the windows, "And it's probably illegal for you to know, being king and all. If you or someone else let it slip that you knew, you could be in a lot of trouble."

"Are you... You're all right, though... right?"

"I'm doing well, and so is Zevran."

"You two have stuck together?" A slight frown tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah." I leaned against the windowsill, tilting my head at him, "I know you didn't trust him all that well when we were traveling together, but I also know you trust me. Or you did. Things have changed a lot. How is it, being king? And I mean, really. Truthfully."

He regarded me silently for a while, eventually moving closer and flopping down on an armchair, "It's been a little rough, honestly. Empress Celene of Orlais immediately wanted to talk truces and stuff like that. We're going to be in talks for years, Eamon says. It's enough to make my head hurt. And then, there's dealing with the Orlesian Grey Wardens. They wanted to recall every Warden in Ferelden and have them back at the main base, Weisshaupt. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago, that they let it slide. Then, out of the blue, what do I get? A letter from the First Warden, requesting the Hero of Ferelden to take over the Arldom of Amaranthine."

"As in, I would be an Arlessa?" I made a face.

"Yeah." He chuckled, "Now you know how I felt being told I should be king, when Eamon made the official announcement."

"Sorry." I pushed away from the window, perching on an arm of a chair, "When do I have to be there?"

"By the end of the week, would be best, I should think." The king stared at me, "I'm glad you visited. Kind of missed you."

I grinned, "You missed me? The girl who was always running off and doing her own thing, without telling anyone anything about said things? Did you hit your head?"

He rolled his eyes, "No. Not recently. It's tiring, being treated like a king all the time. I haven't heard someone say my name since the battle of Denerim."

"Poor Ali." Frowning, I looked down, "That does sound rough. There's nothing good?"

"There are a lot of perks. The kitchens make whatever I want."

I giggled, "All the cheese you could ask for."

"Exactly! Teagan thinks I'm crazy, and Eamon just shakes his head at me like I'm heading down a dark path or something."

"Cheese is a gateway drug. Soon, you'll be moving to the harder stuff. Like..." I tapped my chin, "pizza."

"What's that?"

My eyes widened, and I let out a strange noise, "I... Thedas... You said you can get the kitchen staff to make anything, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to introduce you to my favorite food."

"You're sure this will be good?"

I gave him a look, setting off another round of whispers. The servants in the kitchens had been so nice when we'd walked in, offering to make all manner of foods. I'd asked them if I could make something and, after getting the go ahead from Alistair, they had let me.

As I pulled it from the wood oven, I sniffed appreciatively. My stomach growled.

"It's ready! I'm so excited! I haven't had one in over a year and a half!" I let out a dreamy sigh as I cut it into 12 pieces, one for each of us. "Bon appetite!"

I waited until everyone had taken a bite, watching their faces. Several of the women squealed with delight. Others closed their eyes and savored the flavors. The king just stared at it like he'd never seen food before.

I was starting to get nervous, when he breathed, "Maker..."

"Good?"

"It's... delicious. It's amazing."

"Now you know why I love it so much. It's got everything. Meat, cheese, bread, tomato sauce. And it doesn't have to be one specific type, either. You could use anything on pizza. Some don't even have sauce. Others have fish instead. And more still have veggies to replace the meat."

We shared a smile, and I finally ate my slice.