Marissa came in Jowan's room holding a crate of items that came from the tower. It had been two days since he survived the Joining. Two wardens had arrived in the tower only two hours before he was to be made tranquil; and with the letter she wrote to Irving, Jowan was released to the custody of them with the promise any research related to blood magic would be shared with the circle.

"Here's the last crate." Marissa handed it to him.

"Thank you. You know have done so much for me. I don't know how to repay you."

"You are a Gray Warden now." Marissa said. "Your duty is to serve and protect all."

"And I intend to abide by that." He promised.

"I'll be in my room if you need anything."

"Thank you."

*********

Marissa sat in the chair sipping the herb tea that Giselle and Paul had brought from Orlais. It was a tea developed from their research at helping extend the lives

of Gray Wardens. From what was told, it slowed the progression of the taint and managed to extend their lives a few years. One female Gray Warden had even managed to conceive a child by drinking it and had given birth to a taint free child, a rare event.

"We are Gray Wardens." Giselle said. "Just because we make a heavy sacrifice to be what we are does not mean we should accept readily accept our fate. Because if we do, we are giving the darkspawn a hollow victory. "

A knock on the door broke Marissa from her daydreaming. She opened it to find Giselle smiling at her.

"A messenger came by with this." She said, holding a small box.

"Thank you." She took the box and carefully opened it, removing a small folded piece of parchment.

"It's from Oghren." Marissa smiled. "He says he'll be attending the tournament."

"What did he send you?" Giselle asked. "A good luck token?"

"No." Marissa said. "He did a favor for me."

Her hands shaking, Marissa took the pendant out of the box.

"Marissa!" Giselle exclaimed. "That is absolutely beautiful; it even resembles a real rose."

"It is a real rose." Marissa said. "There is a smith in Orzammar who can encase anything in the crystal of your choice."

"It's positively exquisite." Giselle said.

"Alistair gave me the rose Giselle." Marissa said somberly.

"And the strange thing is that throughout our travels and everything we endured, it stayed so remarkably preserved. I took it as a sign of hope. I just wanted to preserve it. He's gone now and this is the one thing I can hold on to."

Giselle tried to hide her discomfort. "That's a nice sentiment." She managed a nervous smile. "Excuse me; I need to discuss supper with the cook."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later." Marissa said as she carefully put the pendant in the small jewelry box that sat on her vanity."

***********

It was ten days before the big tournament and Alistair had settled in a room at an inn near the arena. With no threat of a bounty on his head, Alistair tried to enjoy the first decent night of sleep he's had in what seemed like an eternity. While the darkspawn nightmares had mostly subsided, he was now plagued with a recurring dream of that night before the battle. It was always the same dream. He would be standing there watching that monstrous version of himself unleash his fury at

Marissa. She would try to reason with him to no avail and she would barely flinch at every cruel word he spewed at her. After he stormed off, Marissa would crumble to the ground clutching her heart but a few moments later she would regain her composure and walk out of the room.

Alistair suddenly sensed something and glanced out the window.

"Maker's breath!" He gasped.

Marissa was walking down the road, obviously heading to the arena to practice. Wearing what appeared to be drakescale armor, the morning sun made the highlights in her brown hair shimmer. A young boy ran up to her and led her to his parents where she shook hands with the man and hugged the wife.

He watched Marissa say goodbye and was watching her head back to the arena when she slowed down near the inn looking around.

It was known that that taint would often give some Gray Wardens the ability to sense each other, so Alistair quickly looked away. When he looked again, Marissa was gone.

"Dear Maker." He whispered. "I beseech thee. Please give me a sign that I am not making a mistake."

*********

Marissa was sitting at the table drinking cider and eating a big slice of Mince pie when Paul came in.

"How was practice?"

"Grueling." She said between bites. "I do not why I even agreed to this. "

"This sort of event will help build morale, aid in diplomacy, and of course there is the gold you accumulate for every victory."

Marissa laughed. "Paul; I spent the better part of a year camping, wearing scavenged armor, doing odd jobs posted at all the chantry boards, and anything else I could think to do that would aid me and my friends in uniting Ferelden. The allowance I get from the Gray Wardens is perfectly fine. Any gold I win, I plan to give to the Denerim Orphanage. "

"A very noble gesture." He bowed to her. "Speaking of the tournament, have you considered the possibility that, you might get some challengers from those attending?"

"Oh Makers breath!" She exclaimed. "I certainly hope not."

"It has been known to happen." He said. "And it would mean more gold for the orphanage."

"That's true but it also means I could possibly be fighting someone with less experience." She sighed. "I guess I will just deal with it if it does happen. Truth be told, I am just looking forward to seeing my brother and friends."

Paul excused himself and let her finish eating. A couple of days ago, he had spied Alistair in one of the back alleys, getting throttled by a female rogue.

"Oh for the love of Andraste!" She yelled. "How many times am I going to have to say it before it gets drilled in your head? It's all about the anticipation."

Paul revealed himself to Alistair and the rogue whose name was Isabela.

"She's right you know. It is like dancing in a way. You have to anticipate every move and develop your own choreography using your abilities." He told Alistair.

"That will be the only way you will ever be able to hold your own against one of us." Isabela said.

Paul ended up spending two hours that first day helping Isabela work with Alistair and as the sun began to set; he had managed to knock both of them to the ground several times.

After reaffirming his promise to Alistair that he would not reveal anything to Marissa, he had left him with Isabela to continue to practice.

"This will be the first step for them." He said to himself.