When Andy noticed sand beneath his boots instead of cobbles, gravel or grass, he looked up and blinked in quiet astonishment. The ocean stretched out before him in its usual endless swell and clouds rested on the horizon. He'd walked to the beach without even knowing he planned to walk to the beach. He'd not actually had a plan, other than to walk, but obviously his boots had known better. Shoving his hands a little deeper into his pockets he turned and looked along the beach towards the rocks. As usual he saw no one.

Andy didn't quite understand why the beach remained so quiet. He thought it the most interesting place in Highever. But maybe if he'd seen it every day for nineteen years he'd not find it so fascinating? Then again, he'd seen the lake every day for nineteen years and he still considered it his favourite place in Edgewater. Letting out a breath, Andy kicked his boots through the sand and made his way towards the distant rock fall that seemed to mark the end of the beach. A deep cove curved into the cliffs on the other side and in the few weeks he'd been in Highever it had become his 'place'. Thus far he'd only visited it when he wanted to brood, but he liked having a quiet place to think. Having grown up in the barracks, he'd come to appreciate places like private coves and secret caves. Everyone needed some place to go and just be by themselves.

As he clambered over to the other side of the jut of tumbled rock that hid the cove Andy stopped short. There on the beach sat a woman, dressed in leathers. She had her legs drawn up, arms wrapped about them, and her chin resting on her knees. That's how he liked to sit, here, in this cove, his cove. The colour of her hair had him catching his breath, the fiery red. Like Bit's hair, but not. Then he remembered. He knew this woman - he had seen her before, at the Royal Palace in Denerim. The minstrel, Leliana.

She glanced over just then and saw him and Andy sucked his lower lip between his teeth and half turned, preparing to climb back around the rocks to the main beach. It seemed to him that if someone had walked along until they found this cove, they wanted it to themselves.

"Andrew?"

She had remembered his name! Andy felt a flush heat his cheeks, a mixture of pleasure that she remembered him and embarrassment that he'd interrupted her introspection. It would be rude to walk away without acknowledging her, so he dropped down and walked a little closer so that he wouldn't have to yell over the sound of the ocean. "Ah, hello, Leliana."

A wide smile crossed her face. "You remembered me!"

Andy blushed and grinned. "Well of course I did. It's not every day I meet a minstrel at the Royal Palace. I, er, I'm somewhat of a country boy if you'll remember."

"I do." Leliana patted the sand next to her. "Do you have time to sit with a friend?"

Friend? Andy ducked his head and scratched at his jaw. "Oh, well, I don't want to disturb you."

"You are not."

He dropped to the sand a short distance from her and Leliana tilted her head. "I do not bite, Andrew, you can sit closer. Then I will not have to shout over the sound of the sea."

Shuffling over, Andy moved as close as he dared, enough distance between them that someone else could sit there, but close enough that neither would have to raise their voice to be heard.

Despite her encouragement to sit closer, the minstrel did not immediately talk again and Andy pulled his knees, up, wrapped his arms about them, rested his chin and let his gaze wander out to sea. A comfortable quiet blossomed about them, punctuated by the sounds of the ocean and the occasional gull wheeling overhead. It didn't bother him that she did not speak; she'd only invited him to sit, right? And to his surprise, Andy found her company restful. Her purpose seemed the same as his, just to be here and not there, away for a while.

Leliana marveled at the young man's ability to sit peacefully. She'd been apprehensive about inviting him forward from the rock fall, but it occurred to her that anyone who might venture this far along the beach probably knew this cove existed and sought to use it for the very same purpose as she. It did and did not surprise her to discover the identity of her visitor. If anyone needed a quiet place to think, it would be a thoughtful young man like Andrew. That she had run across him here, in Highever, did cause her to wonder. Quickly, she made connections. Lady Jennavieve Kincade of Edgewater, the Bann's sister, currently stayed at the castle. It was easy to assume the young squire accompanied her as an escort. Or perhaps he was a young knight now?

Realising he had in his own way distracted her from her purpose, Leliana smiled. She did not mind, not really. Her purpose had been tears, apparently, and she knew they would not help solve her problems. The light breeze had dried her cheeks and the presence of the uncomplicated young man offered its own sort of balm. Had that not been what she looked for? A simpler aspect? Her traveling companions were all such complex men. Zevran had as many secrets as she and Diago had his untold stories. And Jeremie? Jeremie was Orlesian. Orlesians were born complicated.

She let the silence sit between them aware he might have come here for that, grateful to him for sharing his private cove with her, even unwittingly. After a while, her own thoughts began to drift once more and though the bard never forgot the presence of the other, she found it easy to resume what she had begun, the stripping away of her layers, her masks. She let everything fall away and simply became Leliana, a woman full of optimism despite the shadows within. Her smile remained, and why not? I am on a beach with a friend. But her face relaxed, her sunny aspect unnecessary, her ever wary gaze unneeded.

After some time she became aware of his attention. Turning her head she saw him looking at her, a question in his blue eyes.

"It is strange, is it not, that we might meet again here, at the end of a beach? Do you think next time we meet it might be in Antiva?"

His mouth spread into an instant smile and he laughed. "I was thinking the same thing! But not Antiva." Catching the corner of his lower lip for a moment, he seemed to consider, then decide upon his next words. "I had roamed further," he admitted somewhat shyly. "I had thought the Anderfels."

Leliana giggled. "Why not? Shall we set a time, or let fortune decide for us?"

He answered immediately. "Oh, fortune, definitely."

And if she had not already decided she liked this young man, that answer alone would have decided her.

It seemed a shame to ask a sensible question after that exchange, almost as if she might break a spell. But Leliana had learned early in life that nothing lasted forever and that frivolous talk rarely served in place of real conversation. Andrew had come to this cove today looking for peace and solitude. He had found her instead. Perhaps she could offer a different solution to his worries. How did she know he had worries? Thoughtful young men always did.

"What brings you to Highever, Andrew?"