The next morning Demielle awoke to find most of the party already up and striking camp. "Good morning, Commander!" Anders called, cheerfully, "Sam's made us breakfast if you'd like some?"
"Twenty times better than Anders' cooking, let me tell you." Nathaniel smirked.
"Ooh, he tells a joke! What's got you in such a fine mood?" chuckled Gimli.
"Breakfast would be great, then we should get a move on. I want to kill this thing and get back to my job." Demi said quickly, casting a firm glance at Strider and Gandalf when she heard their stifled sighs.
"We've still got the Mother and the Architect to deal with." Sigrun said.
Demielle strode over to Sam's small cooking fire and had breakfast. By the time she was done, the group had finished packing up and they were on their way. At this point they were just roaming the woods, trying to find any clue of the Witch King, as they had no idea where he went. As they walked, they shared stories, Demielle told them most of her tale concerning the Blight, though they didn't know it was only most of it. They talked all day long, finding no sign of their prey, and soon the light began to fade. Boromir happily chatted about his homeland, a place called Gondor, when the others of his group remained silent.
"The stone is pure white and shines gloriously in the sun. Ever since I was a child, I always loved to stand at the very edge of the King's Courtyard and gaze over the city, oh it was beautiful. I wish you could see it, my lady, Minas Tirith has the noblest air about it." he said, grinning at Demi.
"I swear to the Maker, if you say 'It is a glittering gem!' I'm going to throw something at you." Demi laughed.
Boromir smirked in confusion, "What? Why?"
"You would be literally quoting a friend of mine." she continued to laugh loudly.
"That… would be me, I think."
Everyone jumped at the heavily accented voice. On the path ahead of them, a small blond elf strode out to stand grinning at them, "Zevran!" Demielle gestured to the others to lower their weapons, grinning, "What are you…?"
"Doing here? Ah, my dear Warden, we were looking for you!" the assassin said. Out of the woods behind him came another, less stealthy someone crashing through the underbrush.
"Zevran! Dear Maker, slow down, will you? I swear, if Demi had led us through the woods like you do, the Blight would still be going on for all the time we'd have spent getting lost!" Demi's eyes widened and the smile disappeared from her face as the newcomer nearly fell onto the path.
Oghren burst out laughing, "This is the guy they made King! HA! The little pike-twirler!"
Most of the company was rather confused by this, some bent to their knees in surprise while others glanced to Demi.
"Alistair…" she whispered, stiffening.
"Demi!" Alistair ran forward and hugged her in relief, "Oh, Maker, I'm so glad you're all right! I heard a dragon attacked the Keep, you are all right, aren't you?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Alistair." the queen laughed, rather nervously, "And it wasn't a dragon. It was a… er, what did you call them?"
"Nazgul, a Fell Beast." Boromir answered, "You are the King? Lady Demielle's husband?"
"Ah, yes, that's me."
"You are… shorter than I expected."
"Alistair," Demi cut him off, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Denerim? And why are you here with Zevran alone?"
"I was looking for you! Aren't I allowed to be worried for my wife?" he said, kissing her on the forehead.
"And so you should be! Maybe you can talk some sense into her, she insists on following a foe she cannot hope to defeat." Gandalf chimed in.
"What? Dear, what's he talking about?"
The woman shot a glare a Gandalf, "It's nothing! Alistair, these are… new… friends of mine, um, let's set camp, and we can talk privately."
The party obliged and Demielle led Alistair away from the camp.
"I don't mean to be rude or nothing," Sam started in hushed tones to Frodo, "But why are we still following her? We ought to be trying to find a way back home."
"A wise question, Samwise Gamgee, why indeed? Following a fool of a queen, so set on her own destruction." Gandalf muttered.
"I don't know." Frodo answered, "But… I have this… feeling. That our way back is tied to the Witch King. Though it sounds quite absurd, even to me, I can't shake it."
"I feel the same. A shadow lies upon my thoughts, it lifted but for a moment, when the good lady felled the Nazgul. I do not like this place. There is an… emptiness, do you not feel it, Aragorn?" Legolas asked. Strider nodded, much to the interest of the eavesdropping Nathaniel.
"What are we all muttering about?" Anders interrupted them, wanting to be a part of the conversation.
"Nothing you need concern yourself with, Master Mage, just idle talk." the old wizard said, smiling slightly.
"Say, does the Queen always act like that when the King's around?" Pippin asked.
"Pippin!" Merry scolded quickly.
"What? It's just a simple question!"
"One that doesn't have a particularly easy answer, I'm afraid. I, myself, have only ever seen her around the King once before, so my answer would be yes. But, that's only going off of two instances so it may not be very accurate." Anders replied.
Frodo, who had busied himself with helping Sam get a fire going, glanced around quickly, "Where is Boromir?"
"I have a lot to do, Alistair. The darkspawn are still not quelled, and now there's this other thing out there that I have to find before it wreaks too much havoc. And you should be in Denerim, I'm sure Arl Eamon is tearing out his beard by now." Demi chided.
"I know, I just… I wanted to make sure you were all right. And I wanted to see you." Alistair moved to take her hands, but she shifted uncomfortably away from him, "What's wrong, Dem?" He shook his head slightly and sighed, "Ever since that night, you've changed, you know?" he said slowly, "Please don't tell me you regret it? Please, Demi, I did it for you! If I hadn't, we'd have gone to fight the archdemon and do you know what? You would have taken the final blow. I would have protested and tried to do it myself, but you would have overpowered me. And that would have killed me as sure as any blade. I couldn't let you do that, Dem, I love you."
"That's not it! Alistair… Maker knows, I understand. I would've done the same thing, and still would, if for different reasons. But things change. I've changed. No, it's not about that night. It's about the future." Here she stood, "Though I am of noble birth, and any other woman of my family would have made a worthy Queen, if there were others, I am a Grey Warden. And you are the last of your line, the last of a line of great Kings. You said it yourself, the people will expect an heir, and that is something I cannot give you. However much I may have wanted to."
Alistair was silent for a long moment, "'May have'?" he closed his eyes, "I knew this was going to happen. You don't love me anymore, do you?"
"No."
"Did you ever?" Demielle inhaled sharply.
"If you think I lied to you that whole time when I told you I loved you, you know nothing about me." she spat, "Yes. I loved you. And I was happy beyond imagining when I married you, but then we both changed. We argue about the stupidest things, we never agree on anything anymore. I know Arl Eamon has been counseling you against me, and I thank you for staying true to me, but he's right. I'm not a good Queen for you. I serve you and Ferelden better as Commander of the Grey. I'm sorry, Alistair."
A few tears dripped down the Kings face, "I… understand." he said haltingly, "I will make the arrangements. I'm sorry it… turned out like this. I had hoped I would be the one to make you happy for the rest of your life, but things don't always turn out the way we want, do they? I wish you luck, and all the joy in the world. Goodbye, Demi."
With that, he stood and walked back to the camp. He called to Zevran and told the elf to pack up their own things, they would be heading back to Denerim tonight. Demielle stood alone, staring off into the woods, she did not cry. She had no tears for this, for it had been on her mind for a long time. As much as it hurt, it was something she needed to do. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she looked up to the sky. A new moon.
A night for new beginnings.