Warning: Drinking, and some fluff.

~Chapter Three~

Leading Fenris through the crowd of intricately dressed people - Cole having long sense disappeared from the overwhelming excitement, and the overlapping voices, begging for help - by his hand, I pause at a wine booth, Fenris stops beside me at the vender turns to us. "What will it be, milady? Milord?" He inquires, I glance over at Fenris, whom shrugs.

"Do you have any Aggressio Parvali?" Fenris inquires, the man smiles as he reach into a crate while I hum in thought, the man pours Fenris a glass of Aggressio Parvali, handing it over to the elf, before looking over at me.

"I'll take some chocolat aux fraises mélange." I answer, licking my lips merrily as the man chuckles, leaning over to the crate again.

"Excellent choice, milady! The lover's wine." The man's Orlesan accent is thick, he pours me a large glass, and I exchange both for three bits, walking off with Fenris right next to me, sipping at my wine on occasion.

"Is that your favorite?" Fenris questions.

"Yeah. It's called the Lover's wine for a reason. I ordered a special wine, when I was inquisitor. One that tastes like strawberries and chocolate, I lied an told them it was an emergency, it was for a romantic date, and they rushed the order. The chocolat aux fraises mélange, nicknamed the Lover's wine, came out as the result. The strawberry plays an undertone to the chocolate bouquet, it's a beautiful, rich blend." I answer, Fenris's answer is a deep, throaty, chuckle as I glide on next to him, and we stop at a wine oil on bread stand, where we sample my already favorite snack, before moving on.

"You, my lady. Have exceptional tastes, Danarius used to have me sample his food, to make sure it wasn't poisoned, and I enjoyed the richness." Fenris grins at me.

"I'm not picky, honestly, but this stuff is richer than what the Inquisition gave me." I point out, sipping from my wine.

"Here, I would think that you would complain about everything." Fenris answers as we enter the town square as the band starts to play an all too familiar song, a song that I haven't heard since Halamsheral, all those years ago, causing me to pause as my eyes flicker up to the stage. My heart catches in my throat as I silently move to the table across the square, my breath rattles in my chest as the town's people partner together, dancing with practiced easy while I drop my wine goblet on the table, moving on to the alley between the bakery and an Inn. Choking on my anxiety, on my tears as I lower myself onto the bench there, my eyes are closed, arms wrapped around my knees, and my forehead is pressed against the back of them.

"Wh-Why?!" I sob out, my tears fight against their prisons, burning my eyes. "Wh-Why is it me?! Wh-What have I ever done to the Creators, to deserve this?!" I call out in depression, my anger isn't as evident in my voice as the sorrow. "Magic, death, abandonment, running for my life, I can handle - anything else that reminds me of him, and I'm so depressed!" I cry out, my head tilted back to the heavens, my eyelids are fluttered shut, tears sliding down my face and neck.

"Dhaveria?" My gaze snaps over to the entrance, where Cole stands with tears in his eyes, and I hold out a gentle hand, which he takes as he joins me on the bench. Curling my legs up to my chest, Cole drapes an arm over my shoulders, my head is buried into his neck, and I sob into his tunic, which a hand clenches the fabric of. After five minutes, Cole and I stand, the two of us rejoin the celebration, Fenris comes up to us, my goblet in one hand, an understanding expression on his face as he holds out a slice of chocolate cake, on a plate. Waving it away, he hands me my wine, which I take sips of as I lean against the wall, off to the side as Cole brings more and more people into the dance, until everyone is dancing but Fenris and myself.

A fast pace song starts to play, the music is swings loudly as people fall into a faster dance pace, my eyes flutter shut as I hum along to the song, and my eyes snap open as I hear Fenris shuffle beside me. Glancing over at him, he holds out a gentle hand to me as I stare in surprise, he grins as he bows at the waist. "May I have this dance, your grace?" He looks up at me, a teasing smirk on his face.

"You'll bother me until I accept, won't you?" I inquire, his smirk just spreads as he takes my extended hand, he sweeps my from the wall, spinning us into the crowd, and we twirl, and dip in the rhythm of the music. My head tilts back in a lit of laughter, my gaze on the star above the village, around us are lanterns of colorful lights, attached to the tables, stage, and lamp poles, floating about as the music goes even faster paced as we switch partners, flowing through the crowd, weaving in and out of each other, and just as the music stops, Fenris and I slam into each other, grasping each other in the way we started out dancing.

With a smile at each other, we separate from each other as Cole joins us, the villagers all race around once more, before suddenly the lanterns all rush into the air, lighting up the sky with different colors, from blue to yellow to purple to green to pink to, even orange and red. As soon as the lanterns are out of sight, there are streams of exploding light that are flung into the air, causing my eyes to widen in surprise, burst of crackling color cause me to unconsciously smile, and I feel Fenris's arm slide around my waist, while Cole slides one over my shoulders. Glancing at the two of them, I feel my heart lighten a bit, for the first time in a long while, I feel friendship, and I feel trust.

The next day, I sit on my bed, cross-legged, in the room, dressed in black leggings, a deep purple, off the shoulder, bell sleeve tunic, and black boots. Spread before me are articles of old clothing, needles, thread, scissors, and patches, in my hands are a red shirt, with strips of old black shirts, and a needle with black thread through the top. Stitching my clothes, I change the designs, and tamper with the older fabric.

Cole is down in the village, helping clean up the square from the party, and Fenris is handling the shopping for resupplying the journey. They're handling these things to make sure that the villagers don't catch up with the fact that I am the Inquisitor, but I feel bad that I can't help more, yet they don't seem to mind much.

Next chapter, guess who is making an appearance! Virtual cookies for everyone who gets just one of the two - three characters correct, here's a hint. Think DA2, not Hawke and not wanted mages. Also, reviews are pale to dancing with Fenris, but I don't care! Two reviews = 1 update, that's my rule.