A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Esther Earl, an amazing 16-year-old who died earlier this week after a long battle with cancer. May she Rest In Awesome.

)O(

"Words aren't overwhelming me; they're just going in my brain and I contemplate them, and then I decide I don't need them, so I throw them away."

- Esther Grace Earl

All things considered, the ceremony was fairly uneventful.

Sure, she would have to keep a close watch on that Esmerelle, the Bann of Amaranthine who was still fiercely loyal to the late Arl. And Alistair best send the soldiers he had promised soon lest things start to get out of hand. But, as per usual, Jenji would probably end up doing everything herself anyway.

And of course there was the self-titled Mistress Woolsey, apparently sent from Weisshaupt to aid in the financial elements of the Arling. Wasn't the First Warden supposed to be too wrapped up in his own political affairs to give two stones about what she did anyway? Not if there was gold involved it seemed. Because Maker forbid an elf becomes Arlessa and suddenly has access to more than a few coppers, let alone an entire treasury, and the whole social order goes awry. And darkspawn start talking...

It was truly remarkable how they actually thought she hadn't heard the rumors.

Nothing ever got passed Jenji, and that is how she liked it.

Sighing, she entered her room. Erlina was still asleep, or sedated, which was not really surprising since Jenji couldn't have been gone more than hour or so. She slipped on her nightgown and climbed in bed beside the bard. Unfortunately, sleep did not come, at least not for some time.

The silence of the keep was frustrating. Jenji had gotten used to falling asleep with some sort of noise, whether it be the rest of her companions moving about the camp or the occasional small cry of one of Ms. Kay's infants. All she had now was the rain dripping off the eves and the rhythmic sound of Erlina's breathing.

Drip, drip, drip...breathe...

Her mind simply refused to rest.

Eventually the Warden's thoughts wandered back to Nathaniel, the prisoner she had released. Where was he now? For whatever reason she didn't think much of his threats on her life. Sure, he had a motive, but she could tell he was just a broken man with something to prove and a lot to mourn. He didn't really want to harm her, but simply the idea of her, the image of a murderer he'd built up in his head. When the reality did not lived up to what Nathaniel had been expecting, he must have decided it wasn't worth it. There were better things to die for in this world than revenge.

Yes, there had been nights after Zevran joined their party that she'd slept with one eye open, for a few weeks...

...Where was he now?

Jenji willed that thought away.

Instead she focused on things around her to alleviate the the boredom of wakefulness. The room was dark save for the silver beams of moonlight streaming in from the window, thus Jenji had only one subject in which to focus her restless thoughts: Erlina.

She fancied herself a pretty good judge of character, but somehow the Orlesian remained a mystery. Try as she might, there were still times when Jenji honestly had no idea what the other elf was thinking or feeling, and it bothered her. Erlina had gone from being an acquaintance - and Anora's servant - to her own, and now she had even become something of a friend.

An odd feeling washed over her then as Jenji realized she had no idea where she would be if it weren't for Erlina. What if she hadn't revealed Anora's lies in front of the entire Landsmeet? Surely they would have lost to Loghain, been imprisoned or executed, and the Blight would have swallowed all of Ferelden with no one to stop it.

So the bard was sort of a hero, too. They all had their parts to play...

Yet she wondered if deep down Erlina regretted betraying her lady's trust, even though Anora was already double-crossing them. Maybe the former queen looked at the stars, locked up in a dungeon or tower somewhere guarded by a fearsome dragon like in one of Leliana's tales, and wondered the same thing...

With that Jenji drifted off to sleep, only to wake an undetermined amount of time later, somewhat startled by the half-formed thought that she had forgotten something of vital importance. But at least this time she remembered where she was.

And she noticed that Erlina, too, was awake now. The Orlesian blinked several times before turning her face to the Warden, eyes wide as memories of yesterday came back to her like a flood, accompanied by the strange realization that she was lying in Jenji's bed. Erlina moved to get up and return to her own quarters down the hall, but froze suddenly when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Stay," Jenji said, voice just a little higher than a whisper. Please?

She didn't want to be alone.

And perhaps the light of the moon made her skin appear paler than normal or her perhaps it was the way her eyes pleaded, because Erlina just smiled softly and instead moved closer.

Jenji took a deep breath and turned away, facing the stars.

When she awoke the next morning, there was no poetry. Erlina was once again fast asleep, and appeared more content than Jenji ever thought possible.

)O(

Today, having no prior obligations aside from clearing the Pilgrim's Path of darkspawn, Jenji decided to explore the city that she now ruled.

Amaranthine was of course considerably smaller than Denerim, but it had everything one could ask for in a city; a chantry, a tavern, merchants; no brothel though. Not that she saw the need for one, it was just an observation.

Apparently there had been some problems with smugglers lately. Jenji didn't quite put them in the same category as thieves, since generally smugglers were in the business strictly to make money they didn't really need. They were no better than nobles who got a kick out of seeing how far they could bend the law without getting caught. Despicable...

Plus, she had to approach this from the point of view of Arlessa. Did she really want to appear to condone such activities? Of course not. Otherwise all elves could kiss the idea of one day holding noble titles goodbye, and Jenji might as well announce to all of Thedas that the stereotypes about her people were in fact true. No, that just wasn't acceptable; she was doing this for Shianni's sake.

That's when Jenji noticed someone familiar walking towards her, and drew her daggers.

"Wait, don't...stab me." Nathaniel Howe said, swallowing his pride. "I'm not here to kill you. I just want to...talk; please."

"I believe you," she decided, against her better judgment. "But remember: this is the blade I used to slay the archdemon. Try anything, and you will be next."

He was unarmed, so unless he was also a complete fool, it was pretty unlikely he was going to try anything. Still, better safe than sorry, as they say.

Nathaniel was probably wondering when he became the bad guy in this situation.

"I understand..." He seemed almost nervous. The dagger had a tendency to do that to people, even her. "You've no reason to trust me. I wanted you dead and yet you let me walk away despite the possibility that I'd come back to finish what I had started. They were going to hang me as soon as you gave the order, but you didn't. Why?"

"You risked your life and freedom to ask a question you already know the answer to? Like I told Varel; you are not your father. Anyone with eyes could see that." He does look an awful lot like him though.

"I see..." An awkward silence passed between them. He wasn't sure whether or not he should take that as a compliment. "I guess I should thank you then...You're still my father's murderer but...you're certainly not what I expected."

"Again, I get that a lot."

We think our parents are immortal, Jenji mused to herself, until one day an elven woman - or in my case eight city guards - changes everything.

What would she say to the man who gutted Mamae in the middle of the Alienage twelve years ago?

"I'll probably regret this," he went on, "but I would like to join your cause. That's assuming you'll accept someone who almost tried to kill you under your command." It wouldn't be the first time...

"If you travel with me," the elf said seriously, "you'll have to become a Warden. No exceptions." Besides Erlina that is.

Strange...she had given Nathaniel the chance Duncan didn't give her: to walk away. And yet he came crawling back, practically begging to join the Wardens...very strange.

But whether she liked it or not Jenji needed more recruits. This man already didn't like her and yet he was offering his assistance. Who was she to turn anyone away? And there was always the possibility that he wouldn't survive the Joining.

"That's...fine. In fact, that's actually sort of what I wanted. Maybe as a Grey Warden I can redeem my family's honor, or at least try to...move on. Not that this makes us friends now or anything."

"Nope, you don't even have to like me." Jenji confirmed. "But you can't try to kill me either."

"Fair enough..."

"Then welcome home." she said.

And just like that, an enemy became an ally, and maybe one day even a friend.

Nathaniel's Joining went smoothly. Jenji didn't know if she was happy or not, having gone into it without really knowing which outcome she was hoping for. Still, part of her at least was glad he was alive.

Erlina was not pleased.

"How could you recruit that...that man?" she demanded.

Jenji really wasn't in the mood for this.

"He wanted to help and had no place else to go. Sound familiar?"

The Orlesian pursed her lips. "You...you would dare compare him to me?" Her voice was rising, hands shaking with rage.

"No; but I don't think it's fair to judge someone based on the crimes of their families. The dwarves do that and just look where it's got them. Why, even the most devout Maker-loving elf is judged unfairly simply because their ancestors were so-called 'heretics'."

"Fine!" Erlina relented with a defeated moan. "This doesn't mean I have to be friends with him now, does it?"

"No," Jenji smiled. "But you can't try to kill him either."

)O(

It was official: Jenji hated the wilderness.

Just like in the Brecillian Forest, the Wending Wood had an abundance of sylvans. But instead of werewolves, there were darkspawn.

The Pilgrim's Path led through the forest, so the only way trade could resume was if she dealt with the roving miniature hordes.

It didn't help that there just happened to be other things trying to kill her.

For one, a lone Dalish elf, perhaps the Keeper's First judging from her ability to animate the trees...But what was she doing all alone? She'd said something about merchants kidnapping her sister...

They chased the woman through the woods, killing all the darkspawn and living trees blocking their path.

"Still haven't given up, I see." the Dalish mage remarked. "How many times do you have to get attacked until you start to realize you're not wanted here?"

"I bet you've been told you aren't wanted a lot of places, but that's never stopped you." Jenji replied.

"Don't try to pretend we have anything in common, flat-ears."

She recoiled slightly at the insult, apparently not numb to it anymore. "You're right...I have forgotten what it means to be elven. There were times after Mamae's death that I wanted to run off and join a Dalish clan. There's not a city elf who hasn't thought about it at least once. But even if the opportunity had presented itself, I couldn't leave my family behind."

"That's a very sad story," she said sardonically, "but if you'll excuse me I really can't afford to have you wasting any more of my time."

"Wait!" Jenji called, and to her surprise the elf stopped. "Why not join me? I'll help find your sister if you help me fight the darkspawn."

"Why would you want to help me?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Jenji smiled innocently and said, "We elves have to stick together."

Oghren wasn't too happy, but other than that Velanna fit right in. And the quick-tempered Dalish would prove to be an asset in battle.

The darkspawn had set up a base in the Silverite Mines, so naturally that was to be their next stop.

"I apologize for what I must do...I do not wish to be your enemy." the darkspawn told her. "But now is not the time for this. Rest..."

What Jenji didn't expect was to wake up in a prison cell wearing nothing but her smallclothes. Her companions didn't fair much better either. Clearly they had made it to the Mines, just not in the way they had hoped. Now they found themselves as prisoners in this dismal place, devoid of color save for shades of faded gray and blood red.

Blood...?

They would need to escape, but more importantly, they needed to figure out why they were here.

This was shaping up to be a long day.