Wynne was not sure why she thought of Aedan. It had been many years since he had disappeared, according to Leliana he had gone searching for Morrigan one last time, but after he left he was never heard from again.

She had always known that his involvement with that witch was a mistake. There was a moment where she thought that perhaps Aedan's influence on Morrigan was having an effect for the better. But the young woman had panicked and fallen back on her mother's teachings in the end, abandoning the poor boy and breaking his heart at the same time.

It had been heart wrenching to see him still hold on to hope that he would eventually find her, even if she did not want to be found. Wynne never knew what would have been better, the false hope, or to accept reality and the heartbreak that would come with it.

They had both been happy together, even though Morrigan would not admit it, and so a part of Wynne had always hoped they would eventually find each other. And while she feared the worst, she had a small hope that Aedan's disappearance meant he had found her.

She took a sip from her tea and sighed. The café in Val Royeaux was quite lovely, with a view of the market district.

"The elderly mage is pensive," Shale's voice rumbled.

"Just thinking of old times," Wynne said. She and Shale had come to Val Royeaux to peruse the circle library, one of the best in Thedas, for any hints for a solution to Shale's condition. So far they had little luck.

"No wonder you were quiet for so long," Shale said. "For you there must be a lot of old times."

"I thought we had agreed to work on the cattiness, Shale," Wynne said.

Shale was silent for a moment. "Sorry," she finally said.

Wynne picked up her tea again. She contented herself to watch the crowd. Her eyes fell on a young couple with what she assumed was their son. The child looked to be about six or seven years old. She could not see the woman's face, she was wearing an odd rendition of the current fashion, identical in appearance but with muted colors, a very dark green and a red the color of dried blood. The man was wearing a set of traveling clothes, with light leather armor and a large travel pack. At his hip he carried a longsword.

Something about them seemed familiar. And then, as the child jumped into his father's arms, obviously crying even over the sounds of the crowd, the crowd dissipated and the mother turned just enough so that Wynne could see her face.

"It's the Swamp Witch," Shale said.

Wynne almost dropped her cup of tea as the father turned, holding his crying son, so that Wynne could see his face. There, standing so close to her and Shale, but unaware of their presence, was Aedan Cousland, who many thought had disappeared years ago.

The small family's course was carrying them past the café where Wynne sat. Their attention was on the little boy, so they did not notice their friends.

"Do you really have to go, papa?" Wynne could hear the boy say.

Aedan's tone was soothing. "I won't be gone long, pup," he said. "I need to take care of some business, then once I am back I promise I will never leave again."

The boy sniffled. "Promise promise?"

"I promise promise promise," Aedan said, holding his little boy close.

"Come, Kieran," Morrigan said. "Say goodbye, your father needs to leave."

"G'bye," Kieran, a good name Wynne thought, muttered into Aedan's traveling cloak, where he had buried his face. Aedan passed the crying child to Morrigan, who soothingly rubbed his back.

"I'll be back before you realize I was gone," Aedan said, and turned to leave.

Wynne considered making her presence known, hidden as she was by a pillar. But she reconsidered. This was a private moment between the small family. She knew that this was probably the last time she would see Aedan Cousland again, but despite the tearful farewell, she had never seen him as happy as he was now.

So he had found Morrigan after all, and from what she could see they were happy together. To her surprise Wynne found she didn't need to know anything more than that.