Korlys', Mario's, and Attrei's last night camping before arriving at Gwaren. Chronologically, this fits in the middle of chapter 20 of book one - Freedom's Shadow.

Family

Korlys watched the sparks from the campfire as they floated into the night sky like fireflies. Tomorrow, they would be in Gwaren. It felt like a lifetime had passed since he had murdered Angelo and given the Crows the slip, fleeing from Denerim with Mario. And now he was so close to freedom he could taste it. He never imagined that he would be leaving Ferelden with two friends... family, really, like Attrei had said. Korlys looked over at Mario, surprised to find the thief had been watching him intently. He smiled. "Why are you staring at me like that?" His voice was soft as he reached out and brushed his fingertips against the back of Mario's neck affectionately.

"You're so lost in thought… What are you thinking about?" Mario asked, forcing himself to smile back. He suspected he knew. Tomorrow, they would be in Gwaren; originally, that was where they were supposed to split up. That was ages ago, before they got together, and they had changed their plans after that, of course. But… Korlys never really said he loved him; in fact, he said love wasn't possible, that it was a lie people told when they wanted to hurt someone. What if he thought Mario was toying with him - what if he decided to leave alone, after all? Well, too bad even if he did. I'm not gonna let that happen.

"I was thinking about family. This is the first time I have ever had one - a real one, anyway. The Crows liked to say they were..." Korlys glanced at Attrei, whose ears had perked up. "But that was a lie." He turned back to Mario. "What was it like? I really cannot imagine it."

Mario relaxed. That was all? He was hardly an example of a happy family life, but compared to the Crows or the Templars, even his stepdad looked kind and caring. "My real dad died when I was a baby, I don't remember him at all. But Ma… she was the kindest person in the world. I guess we didn't have much money, but I never knew or cared back then. She laughed a lot; nothing seemed to upset her. She never hit me, even when I was bad. Every night, she'd tell me a story, usually about a brave elvhen hero, whose name was also Mario." He chuckled fondly at the memory. "But then she married my stepfather. I'll never understand why. Though, he wasn't always that bad. At first he seemed nice… but it didn't last long."

"Why? What happened?" Attrei asked.

"I'm not sure. I think he lost his job, maybe - I was too small, nobody would tell me. I only know what I found out later, rumours I heard from neighbours. He lost his job and couldn't find another for a long time, so he started drinking. And Ma got pregnant… and I was in the way. Not his son, just another mouth to feed." Mario shrugged.

Korlys gave the back of the thief's neck a light squeeze. "Your mother told you stories about a hero named Mario? How charming. Tell us one of these stories." He was fascinated with the idea of a mother - and a story would steer the conversation away from a sore spot for Mario.

"You want me to tell you a bedtime story? You sure you don't want one about a brave hero called Korlys?" he teased. "And his sidekick called Attrei," he added when he noticed a disappointed look on the mage's face. "Of course, they could hardly compare with Super Mario… Maker, how I loved those stories. Believed every word of them, too."

"We want to hear about Mario," the mage replied quickly. "Right, Korlys?"

"Sí," Korlys said with a grin. "Mario the hero sounds much more interesting."

Mario cleared his throat. "Once upon a time there was a country, and in that country, there was a big town on the shore of an ocean, and in that town, there was a cottage, and in the cottage lived a young elf named Mario and his mother. One day, Mario told his mother, 'I want to travel around the world and see all the wonders!' She saw it was useless to try to stop him; so she baked him his favourite buns, blessed him and kissed him on the brow."

"Favourite buns?" Attrei snickered.

"Of course. With plum jam filling," Mario snapped haughtily. "So he took his late father's sword, crossed the seven seas, climbed seven mountains, and had many perilous adventures until he reached a country that was lovelier than any he had seen before. Or it would've been if everyone wasn't sad and weeping. He went to the inn and asked what had happened to them, and the innkeeper said,

"'You must be a stranger if you don't know about the terrible tragedy that happened. A dragon flies down from the mountains every week, and brings ruin and death unless he is given a maiden. But now it is our princess' turn. You have never laid your eyes on a maiden more fair and kind, but alas she will be sacrificed this Sunday. The dragon promised to never return if he gets her, but that he would ruin us all if it is any other girl. The king announced that whoever slays the beast will be given the princess' hand in marriage and half the kingdom.'

"'Oh, if that's all,' our brave traveller said, 'I can do that.' But nobody believed him because he had no horse and no armour."

"See how important armour is?" Korlys interrupted with a snicker.

"See that he survived all those perilous adventures without one?" Mario retorted. "But, yeah, for this adventure he decided he might need some. So he went to a smith and spent the money he had earned in his previous adventures on a set of splendid silver armour and a white horse. Then he asked people where the dragon would appear, and went to prepare himself.

"The next morning, he went to the place where the dragon was to come; it was near a huge rock, and the princess was already there, tied to it. But, she wasn't the only one waiting for a dragon. Rumour had spread across the whole country, and there were many warriors ready to try their luck. Many young nobles boasted about how they would only need one hit to kill the beast. Mario said nothing, he just sat quietly and waited for the dragon.

"Suddenly, a strong wind picked up, uprooting the trees; that was the dragon coming. A huge beast it was, with three heads, spouting fire-"

"Wow, a three-headed dragon!" Korlys' voice held all the wonder of a child, so caught up was he in the story.

Attrei looked doubtful. "I've never heard of a dragon with three heads."

"There are many things you've never heard of, Baby," Mario assured him. "But maybe the other warriors never heard of it either, because they got scared. 'No one can fight such a monster!' they cried, and threw away their weapons and shields and ran away in panic. Can you guess who was the only one who didn't throw away his sword and run like a chicken?"

"Mario, because he is too cheap to throw anything away," Korlys teased.

"Well, that's true. Others could learn from his example, you know, instead of spending two sovereigns for soap. Plus he spent his last coins on that armour, and he didn't want it to be a waste."

"Hmph," Korlys said, but the grin on his face belied his offended tone.

"So what did he do?" Attrei asked impatiently.

"You'll find out if you stop interrupting me… Well, what could he do? He fought with it, of course. And it was a long and difficult fight; it took a whole day, but in the end, he slayed the beast and cut off all three heads. He then cut out their tongues and put them in his bag, and untied the princess. But he was too exhausted, and couldn't ride all the way back to the castle. They had to camp and rest.

"But one of the cowardly nobles had watched the fight, and followed them on their way back; when Mario fell asleep, he sneaked into camp and hit him over the head with a rock; then he forced the princess to tell everyone it was him who saved her. Afraid for her life, and thinking Mario was dead, she agreed."

"He wasn't really dead, right?"

Mario smirked at Attrei's anxious look. "There wouldn't be tales about him, and he wouldn't be called Super Mario if he was such a loser as to die after one hit by a rock. Though he did have a painful bump on his head when he woke up - and his princess was gone! He was quite mad because he thought it was her who slammed him. He wasted no time and travelled right to the king to complain. But nobody would listen. They didn't even let him see the king - despite the shiny armour," he added, glancing at Korlys, "because there was a hero in the palace already! He had returned with the princess, they said and brought the three heads of the dragon to prove it. The marriage had already been announced and would be held next Sunday.

"So on Sunday, Mario waited in the church until the bridal procession came, and he saw the treacherous bastard grinning proudly, and he saw the princess was so unhappy her wedding veil was wet with tears. Now he was sure she had not betrayed him. Then the Grand Cleric came, and said, 'Should anyone object to this marriage, let them step forward now, or remain silent forever!'

"And Mario jumped forward. 'I object!' he shouted. 'This man is a fraud and a coward! If he slayed the dragon, then let him prove it!'

"The noble protested and said Mario was just a crazy knife-ear, that the heads were proof enough - and the guards believed him. They would have arrested him, but the princess recognized Mario and stopped them.

"'Can you give us proof you killed the dragon?' she asked him, because she knew about the tongues.

"'I can! Check the dragon's heads - they are missing the tongues. If this man slayed the dragon, surely he can say where they are?' The king sent his servant to check the dragon's heads, and it was true - and the noble couldn't explain it. Then Mario pulled out the tongues from his bag and showed it to the king.

"'This is the man who fought valiantly to save me, not the brute who threatened me to get me to lie!' the princess then said. The king was pissed off that the noble threatened his daughter, and had him arrested and beheaded; and since the wedding ceremony had already started, and it would be a waste to send everyone home and make them come back later, they continued with it - but with Mario for a groom, of course.

"So Mario got the lovely princess, and half the kingdom, and had his mother brought to his palace. She was very happy because it had been a long time since they had seen each other…" Mario's voice faltered for a moment before he continued, "and they lived happily ever after, and had a lot of babies and no dragons bothered them ever again."

Korlys clapped. "That was marvelous! Grazie for sharing it with us."

"You know, you sounded very convincing as a woman," Attrei praised him. "I think in Gwaren you should be the lady, and let me be the man."

"Baby, nobody would believe you're a man. Trust me, it's best to keep it as it is. Am I not right?" he turned to Korlys.

"Hmm... I do not know. Perhaps we should have him dress as a man, and you can put on the dress. Then I can decide if it will work," Korlys said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

Mario pouted. "But if I'm a girl, you can't be my princess," he complained. Besides, there's one important thing about family you need to know, Baby. And that is - your older brother is always right."

"Well, since I am the oldest, it means I am always right, sí?"

"Yeah, but the two of us are not brothers. You don't think I'd kiss a brother, do you? But, you are the oldest brother of Attrei here."

"That's not fair! You only say that so that you can boss me around," Attrei protested.

"That's exactly what brothers do." Mario snickered. "But, okay. I can try the dress on if it makes you happy - but not yours, I wouldn't fit in. I can try one of Korlys' dresses… and you can serve me as your princess." He batted his eyelashes at Korlys.

Korlys gave Mario a naughty grin. "I would be delighted. We should probably retire to the tent for this, yes? I will have to practice serving you until I have it right - all night, if necessary."

"Um, I think I'll go to sleep," Attrei muttered. This was quickly going in a direction he didn't care for. He got up and stretched his back, yawning. "Goodnight."

"Now you did it." Mario pouted at Korlys. "You chased away half of my audience!"

"Mi dispiace, I did not realize you would want an audience for such an intimate activity. Perhaps next time?" Gratified to see Mario blushing, Korlys chuckled, then relented. He leaned over and kissed Mario's cheek softly. "I am just teasing," he murmured. "I think it is time to turn in for the night, yes? I will take Attrei's watch since it is my fault he left."

"Nonsense. I started it - I should've known you'd turn it into something pervy. And I'm not tired yet. Maybe I can stay with you and make sure you don't fall asleep on your watch?"

"That is true, you should know better by now. Va bene, stay with me for awhile and keep me company."

"How gracious of you, my princess." Mario chuckled and wrapped his arms around Korlys. "But, only for awhile? Then I have no time to waste," he said as he pulled Korlys in for a kiss.

A/N: Big thanks to our ridiculously awesome betas, Oleander's One and Bloodsong 13T, for fitting this in between our regular chapters of CRS! :D