A/N: Hey guys, thanks for everything so far! I really appreciate all of your reviews, feedback, alerts, favorites and so on. And I've been trying to reply to everyone who's reviewed, to give my thanks and answer some questions and what not. But I'm sorry I can't reply to the anonymous reviews, if I could I definitely would! I appreciate everything so far, you guys are the best! Which is yet another reason why I reply all your wonderful reviews :D All of you reviewers, favoriters, and lurkers, are the best! I appreciate everything!

So this chapter I'm finally going to use both of their POVs! We'll see how that goes! Give me your feedback :)

Some of the dialogue might be not from the game, actually, it might not sound even close to what's in the game. I'm trying, though. My Xbox 360 broke yet again (Red ring of death!) and I can't play through this part to have a good idea of what the characters would say D: so bear with me!

I've babbled enough for now, so enjoy! :D


Chapter 4. A Royal Welcome and Meeting Alistair

GavinPOV

Yeah. I was right. It was the King. I'm thinking the shiny golden armor made it a dead giveaway.

We had barely made it through the gates of the stone fortress when we were approached by King Cailan and a group of men. After taking a moment to study the King, I noticed that he beared a striking resemblance to the late King Maric.

King Maric had long golden, blonde hair. Does Cailan? Check.

High cheekbones? Check.

King Maric's compelling eyes? Check.

That signature, Theirin nose? Of course, check.

From all of the evidence before me, I'd say he was a spitting image of his Father.

As he approached us, he came with a welcoming smile on his face. It seems almost familiar... I think I recall meeting King Cailan once, but perhaps that was back when we were just little kids. I can't say I remember much about him though. If I remember correctly, he played with Keira, Fergus, and I in the courtyard during a meeting our parents had. I broke out of my nostalgic thoughts as I heard Duncan speak.

"Your Majesty," Duncan started, "I wasn't expecting a..."

"A royal welcome? Really I was beginning to think you'd miss all the fun," The King said in a cheerful tone.

"Not if I can help it, your Majesty."

King Cailan had turned his attention to Keira and I, "So I hear you have found promising recruits? This is they?"

Duncan cleared his throat, "Yes, your Majesty." He motioned his hand toward us, "Allow me to introduce you to-"

And of course, just as I had predicted, Cailan cut off Duncan yet again. "No need Duncan," he smirked, "I recognize these two. This is Keira and Gavin, Bryce's youngest and the 'Cousland Twins' are they not? I believe we might've met before, or am I mistaken?"

Keira spoke up before I had the chance. She cleared her throat and put on her best noblewoman act, "Yes, I believe we've met some time ago during your family's visit," So I was right! I knew we met him when we were kids. She smiled, "I don't think we've been formerly introduced, though." I know that smile. I can tell you one thing, it's Keira's 'forced smile'. I can recognize it anywhere.

"Ah yes," Cailan said, recalling his thoughts, "I do believe we have met sometime ago." He chuckled to himself and continued on. "You should know that your older brother has arrived with his men. However, we are still awaiting your father."

Keira's smile quietly faded and her face became pale. Her expression was blank again.

I looked at Cailan's face, only to see it was full of confusion. Had he not received the news yet?

I gently placed a hand on Keira's shoulder and looked over at my sister, "Keira, you alright?"

No answer.

Cailan slowly approached Keira, concerned. He slowly placed his hand on her other shoulder and looked down at her, "My lady, is something wrong?"

I sighed and faced him, "Yes, your majesty, you see-"

"You haven't heard, have you?" Keira spoke in a very grim tone as she looked up at Cailan.

Cailan raised a brow in confusion, "Unfortunately, receiving news from the north has been difficult lately. What has happened?"

I gulped and spoke hesitantly to the King, "Well, your majesty. Our father isn't coming. I'm afraid he perished when our castle was taken." I could hear Carlin softly whine behind me. Keira did nothing but stare silently at the ground.

Cailan blinked a few times. A couple seconds of silence passed. I don't think he quite realized what I had just said, "He's perished?" he took a few steps back and looked down at the ground before him, "Duncan, what's all this about?"

Duncan sighed, "Both the Teryn and his wife are dead, your Majesty. Arl Howe has shown himself a traitor and betrayed Teryn Cousland."

I watched as Cailan's face quickly turned from confusion, to shock, then finally to disgust and fury. "Wh-what?" He questioned in disbelief, "I can hardly believe this! He will not get away with such treachery!" He turned to face Keira and I, and he gently lifted Keira's chin to direct her attention away from the ground. He looked in her eyes, speaking completely genuine, "I want you and Gavin to know," he said, exchanging glances between us as he addressed us, "That after all this is over, Arl Howe will be brought to justice. I give you my word."

I looked over to Keira and noticed she seemed a bit more relaxed, as did I. I feel more at ease right now, knowing that Howe will be brought to justice. Also, especially seeing that Keira feels more at ease. No matter what happens, I still must get vengeance toward Howe, and this is will have to do for now. "Thank you, your Majesty" we both whispered, as King Cailan took a couple steps back to face all three of us.

The fury in his voice had subsided, and he began speaking in his normal tone, "No doubt you wish to see your brother, Fergus," he said, "However, he and his men are scouting in the wilds."

Keira looked up at the King, speaking slowly, "I am not eager to tell him, your Majesty."

"Neither am I." I added.

King Cailan continued to speak, "I have no doubt of that. Both of you will be able to see him once the battle is over, the only thing you can do until then is vent your anger toward the darkspawn."

We both nodded, and replied "Thank you, your Majesty."

"We really appreciate it," I said. In reality, I'd rather just go to find Fergus right now and save my venting for later. However, one must be polite to noblemen, right? Especially if it's the King...

The King turned to address Duncan before he departed, "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have business to attend to with Loghain."

Duncan quietly nodded and cleared his throat, "I understand, your Majesty. However, your uncle sends his greetings and wanted to remind you that his Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week."

Cailan snorted, "Ha!" He continued and spoke with confidence in his voice, "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these beasts and this one should be no different."

I looked over at Duncan, trying to read his reaction to Cailan's comments. "I didn't realize things were going so well."

Cailan gave a wide grin, "I doubt this is even a true Blight, " He shrugged his shoulders, "True, there are plenty of monsters on the battlefield, however we see no sigh of an archdemon."

Duncan raised an eyebrow at Cailan's statement, "Disappointed, your Majesty?"

Cailan began to pace with excitement, his voice full of marvel and wonder, "I had hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding into battle with the Grey Wardens, fighting against a tainted old god!" He slowly came to a halt, and he let out a wistful sigh, "Alas, I suppose this will have to do." He turned to us and gave us an apologetic smile, "If you excuse me I best go meet with Loghain before he sends out a search party," he lifted his hand to give a simple wave, "Farewell, for now." Keira and I bowed our heads with respect, while Duncan gave a simple bend at the waist. With that, he turned around and continued walking down the stone bridge, signaling his men to follow back.

Duncan looked over at us and gave a quiet smile, then motioned his hand down the walkway. Keira and I, along with Carlin following loyally behind us, were led by Duncan across the bridge.

"So Duncan," I began, "Do you really think this isn't a Blight?"

He sighed, "Unfortunately Gavin, I do sense the archdemon's presence. However, I cannot ask the King to act solely on my feelings."

A quizzical look struck upon Keira's face, "But why not? He seems to regard the Grey Wardens highly."

Duncan started to explain to us how King Cailan doesn't want to wait for the reinforcements and the other Grey Wardens from Orlais. Cailan is so fascinated with with the Wardens, he believes in the legend so much he thinks it makes him untouchable. There aren't enough Wardens in Ferelden, so now I understand why Duncan had been out looking for recruits. I especially understand why he was so pleased when he acquired not one, but two recruits on his visit. Grey Wardens are highly needed, and now I understand why. After his explaination, he proceeded to talk of the Joining.

"It's best that we proceed with the Joining ritual as soon as preparations are made."

I rolled my eyes, "Again with this Joining ritual," I muttered.

Keira looked at us with confusion, "What now?"

"I told Gavin of the Joining during our travels here. It's something you both will go through in order to become Grey Wardens."

"But what is the-"

I sighed, "Don't bother. He can't tell us yet. Top secret."

Keira rolled her eyes, speaking in a flat tone, "Oh, alright then."

We stopped at the arch by the end of the bridge, Ducan began to speak again, "You both can take some time to rest, I know you are tired from the journey. When you are ready, seek out Alistair and the other recruits at camp. Your hound, Carlin, can stay with me while I attend to other business." Carlin let out a bark of approval at this, and after receiving a desired scratch on the head from Duncan, Carlin happily barked and followed behind Duncan. Keira and I took in our surroundings and started to wander through camp. The fortress was huge, no doubt. Some of the stone walls have started to crumble, while other parts have already fallen apart. Overall, the fortress is still standing high and strong. However, parts of the fortress seem to look more like ruins, with parts of nature infesting the pillars and walls. We entered through the arch to the right, after taking direction from one of the guards. We looked around at all the brilliant colored tents, the soldiers, the ranging areas, and so on. I was engulfed into everything, wanting to talk to everyone and everything. Of all the wondrous things we saw, I only asked myself, "Where to start?"

As we entered we passed by some templars, guarding mages of course. I myself was tempted to go over there and talk to them, but their mere presence frightened Keira and I. "They look rather menacing, don't you think?" Keira whispered.

Was it really because of the big, baleful armor they were wearing that frightened us? We stopped and turned our head back to the templars. One quickly locked eyes with mine and the other with Keira's. We squealed and ran off.

Yup. It was the armor. I'm sure of it.

As we were running from the templars, I looked back for a split second toward to templars. We were a good distance away. Relieved, I sighed to myself and something suddenly stopped me in my path. Well, it was more like tripped over some object. Actually, there might not have been an object on the ground in the first place. For Maker's sake, I probably tripped over my own feet. Whatever the case, I tripped and fell flat on my face.

Ouch.

I could hear Keira's voice above me, "Gavin! Are you alright?"

I heard another voice mixed in there too, "Are you alright?"

I groaned and sat up from the ground. Feeling a tingling sensation from my nose, I lightly brushed my finger against my nostrils only to find a couple drops of blood fall. Fantastic.

"Gavin!" Keira wrapped her arms around one of my arms, helping up to my feet. As I stood up, I noticed an older woman come about too, and started to examine my face for any injuries. "Are you alright, lad?"

"Are you okay?" Keira asked with concern, who was also looking upon my face.

I waved my hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

I shook my head, "It's just a nose bleed! Nothing to fret about." The older woman approached me and gave a warm smile, "Here, I can help with that."

I looked to the older woman in confusion, "Who's this?"

She took a step back and smiled at us, "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Wynne, one of the mages summoned by the King." She took a couple seconds and studied us, "I assume you two are the new recruits Duncan brought, correct?"

We nodded back and introduced ourselves, "I'm Gavin, and this is Keira." Keira gave a friendly smile back to the aged woman, "Pleased to meet you," We both said.

"I noticed you had taken a fall, young man," She chuckled, "I thought I'd come over here to be sure you didn't injure yourself. You need to feel your best for the battle ahead."

After trying to reassure to her and Keira I didn't need help, they both overpowered me. I sighed and let Wynne take care to my nose. She pulled out a cloth, covering my nose to help the bleeding stop. While she did this, I noticed she used her other hand to cast magic. Healing magic, I suspect. As she began to heal my nose, all three of us got to talking. She was a really nice old woman, she also seemed like a great mage too. She began talking to us of the Fade, talking of how the Chantry explains it. We discussed other things, such as the battle ahead. She wished us luck on the battlefield, as we did to her. Keira had also asked her a couple questions herself, about this Alistair fellow we were suppose to find him; She asked where he was, and what he looked like. I say we could've easily found him either way without the information, but she thought otherwise. Wynne gladly gave us the information we needed to find him. It wasn't before long she was done healing my nose, stopping the bleeding in the process.

"There," she said, taking a couple steps back, "The bleeding would've stopped on its own within a couple hours, though I thought it would've been best if we fixed the matter right away."

I brought a hand up to my nose, noticing the bleeding had completely stopped. My nose felt perfectly fine now! No tingling feeling, no bleeding, everything was fine and dandy.

I smiled at Wynne, "Thank you! It feels like nothing happened to it!"

She gave a welcoming smile back, "Your very welcome, Gavin." She chuckled softly to herself, "Try to be a bit more careful next time."

Keira smirked impishly and lightly elbowed my arm, "Yeah, twinkle toes, watch where you're running next time."

I smiled sheepishly and shrugged my shoulders, "Can't make any promises, but I'll try."

"Now," Wynne started, "You two best be off, since you have to find your other recruits." We nodded and said our goodbyes to Wynne for now. Hopefully we'll see her again after the battle. She's a kindhearted lady, almost reminds me of my grandmother actually.

Keira and I looked around the camp for a little bit. Duncan said we could have some time to rest and look around, so I think we should take advantage of this time. I thought it would be best if Keira and I split up for now. I could wander off in peace, while Keira can look around where she wants too. After some convincing, Keira finally agreed and we both parted our ways for the time being.

It's time to do some real exploring now.

...

KeiraPOV

I watched Gavin prance off. He acted like a kid again! He has his familiar gigantic smile on his face. He's frollicking from soldier to soldier, introducing himself, asking questions, being buddy-buddy with everyone. I kind of wandered around at first, not knowing where to go. I'd rather just go look for Fergus, but they said he's off scouting and can't be reached. I know Gavin said we should use this time to relax and look around, like Duncan had said, but there wasn't much I wanted to do.

With that being said, I decided to go ahead and search for this Alistair fellow. I wondered what he'd be like. What if he was snobby? What if he was mean or frightening? How old is he? As young as me or as old as Duncan? He could be anything.I recall Wynne never told me his age. She told me his basic description: Blondish brown hair, tall, most likely wearing Splintmail armor, and he had a "unusual sense of humor," whatever that means. However, I had no idea what else he was like. My mind was racing about what else he might be like, but I quickly shook my head to try to get these thoughts out. Best not judge someone before I even met them. Father always use to say that. It was one of those life lessons my parents had always tried to instill in us.

I followed the directions Wynne gave me. I passed by a couple more tents, a dog kennel filled with war hounds, and even an armorer. I walked up a ramp, past the armor fellow, leading to another area in the camp. To my left, there was a long table, nobody was around it though. I assume it was used for meetings and such. To my right, I found a man in robes talking to a man in Splintmail. They were in a heated argument about something. I approached them slowly, but decided to hang back a bit until their discussion ended.

I stood there and waited for the argument to settle down. I took advantage of this moment to study the Grey Warden. One of the men fits Wynne's description much better than the other man, so I had to assume he was Alistair. Firstly, by his looks and actions, I'd suspect him to be no older than 23 or 24. Younger than I expected. Secondly, I couldn't deny the fact that he was good looking. No doubt at all. Actually, I wouldn't say he was just good looking, but pardon me, he was absolutely gorgeous. I discreetly studied the man from head to toe, hoping the two wouldn't notice. He appeared to have a muscular frame sitting underneath that Splintmail. And his face! Maker, his face! His features were chiseled down to the last detail of perfection. His eyes were the color of a vibrant amber, gleaming with mischief. His hair was a creamy, soft golden blondish-brown. It was kept nice and tidy, with a little bit sticking up in the front.

The weird thing is, I almost feel as though I've seen that face somewhere. I have this feeling in my gut, I know I have seen that face before. It's as if someone smacked me upside the head, it's so obvious I've seen that face! But I just don't know where...

After realizing I had been gawking at him this whole time, I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head and listened to the end of their conversation.

I listened to the younger man, who I suspected to be Alistair, speak. Compared to the other man, he was maintaining a reasonable tone to the older fellow. The other man, however, couldn't keep a calm voice for one second! He was either yelling, groaning, or stomping his feet all over the place. It made me chuckle to myself, he looked quite ridiculous! No matter what the other man did, Alistair continued to speak in a friendly tone, "And I was even going to name one of my children after you," though his voice quickly turned into sarcasm, "The grumpy one."

I tried to stifle a laugh from the sidelines, not wanting to draw attention, or even worse, involve myself in the situation.

They quickly turned their heads at me. So much for trying to hide my laugh.

The older man pointed at me with disgust in his eyes, "You! What's so funny over there?"

And so much for not involving myself.

I took a few steps back, "I.. Umm.."

The man rolled his eyes and snarled with revolt, "Get out of my way!"

As he stomped past me, he pushed me over as he came by. Not expecting this, I lost my balance and fell back on the ground. I sat up, agitated by the man, "Hey! What in Maker's sodding name was that for?" I yelled, even though by now I knew he was out of earshot.

The younger man ran over to my side quickly, extending his hand out to me, "I'm sorry about that, my dear lady. Some people just don't know how to keep calm around here." He said with a wink and muttered, "One good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together." I could feel a small smile tug at my lips, and I graciously took his hand as he helped me to my feet. "I know what you mean."

His chuckled boomed throughout the ruins surrounding us, "It's like party! We could all hold hands and stand in a circle." He gestured his arms, further illustrating his comment, "That would give the darkspawn something to think about." I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. He was quite the character, I could already tell.

His smile faded to be replaced by a curious expression, "So what brings you here?" He asked cautiously, "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

I smiled, "Not that I'm aware of. Duncan told me to find a Grey Warden named Alistair."

"Oh, what does he want me to do now?" He groaned. I raised a brow, confused for a moment. After a couple seconds, a look of realization came upon his face. "Wait a minute," he exclaimed, "Are you one of the new recruits Duncan brought back?" I nodded in reply. He studied me carefully, stroking his chin. "Oh, what was that name... Kristina? Kendra?"

I laughed, "It's Keira." I extended my hand out to him.

He smiled back and firmly shook my hand, "Ah right! That was the name. Anyway, I'm Alistair, the new Grey Warden."

I grinned back cheerfully, "Well it's nice meet you."

He grinned and brought his hand down, "And you too. You know, I was told two names..." He peered over my shoulder, half expecting to find someone else with me.

I nodded, "Yup. My twin is the other one."

His eyes sparked with amusement. He smirked, "Oh really now?" He glanced over my shoulder and scanned our surroundings, "Am I about to see a double in a minute or so?"

I slowly raised an eyebrow at him, acting offended. After a few moments of not responding, his smirk had faded away.

He quickly held his hands up in defense and started shaking his head, "I assure you, I am not some drooling lecher." He said hastily, "Please, I only jest. It's what I do."

I laughed. So Wynne was right about his sense of humor. Interesting. "Good to know. I have a feeling you'll get along with my brother."

"Ohhh," he said, drawing out the word, "Twin brother! I apologize!" He said, slapping a hand to his forehead, "How could I have been so foolish?" I couldn't help but only respond with a giggle once again. On top of that, I'm getting a tingling sensation in my stomach. Where in Maker's name did that come from?

I managed to reply between the giggles, "Yup. Twin brother."

"Hm, and when will I be meeting this brother of yours? I suspect I have his name wrong too."

"Um, why do you suspect that?"

"Oh I don't know," He said to the scenery, "Besides the fact I couldn't remember yours, I thought the other name was Ginger," he mumbled quickly, "Then after I found out your twin is a boy..."

I laughed again. For some reason I can't help but laugh at nearly everything he says. If I wasn't laughing, I was smiling back. It's almost as if Alistair's personality is just, well, contagious. I laugh at his jokes and I'm always grinning back. Maker knows I can't help it.

I smirked at Alistair, "Well, you're close. His name is Gavin." After saying this, I just remembered what Duncan had told me. Seek Alistair and the other recruits. Right. "Actually, should we go find the other recruits now?"

He chuckled, "Yes, I suppose we should go do so." The corner of his mouth curled into a friendly grin, motioning his other hand in the direction toward camp, "Shall we?"

I smiled and nodded, "You lead the way."

Throwing a welcoming arm around my shoulders, his grin grew from ear to ear. He led us back toward camp, talking of Grey Warden things, answering the questions I asked, and otherwise entertaining me with other various topics. One of which was cheese. He seemed to really like cheese...

This man was strange, no doubt about that. And yet, I've enjoyed every minute of his company so far.


A/N: So there's Chapter 4! Hope you liked it! So yeah, I doubt they did handshakes back then, but hey, what can you do? It's my story :D And so after this I'm going to try to squeeze in the next chapter before Tuesday, it'll be up Tuesday night at the latest. I'm leaving Wednesday morning, the 21st. Then hopefully, *crosses fingers* If I can work on writing while on vacation, I might have the next chapter done and up before I get back. Basically, since during my vacation I will be staying with relatives, I'll most likely have access to their computer. My cousin and I are most likely going to stay up late and use the computer, soooo I might get to update during that time. Can't promise anything though, but for you guys, I'll try my hardest! :)

-Kat