"Tori!"

Tori smiled as Sandal rushed towards her, throwing his arms around her waist. "Sandal! It's good to see you!"

Sandal hadn't seen Tori since she left the palace in Denerim and came to Kirkwall. He had been the last person she had said goodbye to, having taking a horse from the stables where Sandal had been playing. Sandal was sad to see her and Amantheon go, having grown attached to them both, but she had promised to see him once more if she could.

"I missed you!"

Tori smiled, hugging the simple minded dwarf and looked up as Bodahn came into the room. "Hello, Bodahn."

Bodahn smiled in surprise. "Tori! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here in Kirkwall?"

Tori giggled as Sandal continued to hug her. "After I left Ferelden, I came to Kirkwall. I live in a cabin just outside of the city with Theon."

"I assume that Theon's grown?"

Tori nodded and her smile grew. "Yes, he's matured a bit to being a drake now. Another year perhaps and he may get to be as big as a dragon. Though he is a male dragon so I don't think he'd quite get as big as his mother, Mesinia."

Bodahn smiled and came over, offering his hand. "Well, I am glad to see you well, my dear girl. Sandal was upset when you left, but he was content that you promised to see him again someday."

Tori ignored his hand and pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you, old friend."

Tori sat in the library with Bodahn and Sandal, asking how everyone was if he had any news. Leliana had stayed in Denerim for a time before moving on, Oghren had stayed in the capital as well until he had gone to Amaranthine to join the Grey Wardens and meet the new Warden Commander of Ferelden, Wynne stayed on as an advisor to Alistair, Branford went back to Highever and helped his brother Fergus oversee their lands, Zevran went off to explore the country, Sten went back to the Qunari lands he came from, and Morrigan disappeared entirely just before the big battle against the Archdemon, just as Tori had. Tori felt a pang of guilt when Bodahn made a note of that and Bodahn asked why she did leave.

"If you remember, Alistair and I were together." Tori started.

"Yes, yes, I remember. You two were quite inseparable. Whatever happened?"

Tori stared into the fire and sighed, not realizing that Ryder had joined them and stood behind her. "After we found the Urn of Sacred Ashes and returned to Redcliffe to save Arl Eamon, Alistair had asked me to marry him. I agreed and we were going to get married regardless of the outcome at the Landsmeet, but just before the Landsmeet..." She began to recall that memory and her chest ached as she remembered.


Alistair looked at her. "They want me to be king, Tori, but they want me to marry Anora."

Tori looked at him, confused. "But you and I are going to marry. Did you and Branford tell Eamon that?"

Alistair looked away for a moment. "Yes, we did but..."

Tori stood in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "But what, Alistair? What aren't you telling me?"

Alistair looked at her and Tori saw the most pained expression on his face. "I don't have much of a choice. You said so yourself, the country comes first and they need someone to protect them, someone to rule them." He tried to reach up to touch Tori's cheek, but she stepped back. "Tori... I have to do what's best for the country... if that means I marry Anora and become king..."

Tori felt her chest aching. "So what... you're breaking things off with me...?"

Alistair looked away. "I don't want to hurt you, Tori... I love you and I want to be with you, it's just..."

Tori swallowed the tears that threatened to escape and she stepped back. "Why... why get my hopes up like this...?"

Alistair looked at her, his chest tightening. "Tori, please..." He tried to step towards her, his hand outstretching towards her, but she turned and ran back into the castle.

Tori had run back inside and sat alone in her room, tears silently running down her cheeks. A knock at her door came and Eamon entered.

"Tori, are you alright?"

Tori looked at him and shook her head. "No... I finally found someone I can share my life with and I don't want to let that go... And yet, you tell him that we cannot be together..."

Eamon came to sit next to her in the window. "Tori, you must understand that I only want what's best for Alistair and the kingdom."

"And telling him to marry that bitch Anora is for his best interest? Arl Eamon, I respect you and your authority and counsel. You remind me of a man who had fostered me as a young child. You are kind hearted and have everyone's interests at heart, including that of the kingdom, but Alistair needs make his decision on his own judgement." She looked out the window as more tears slip down her cheeks. "I don't care if he is king or not, I don't care if he has lands or a title. I love Alistair for who he is, not what he is nor the royal blood that runs through his veins. I would give anything for him, anything to protect him, to guide him, and cherish him. Whether or not he is king, he asked me to marry him when this was all through and I said yes." She looked back at Eamon. "Alistair needs to make this decision on his own and he needs to be the one to decide his future. Not you, not Anora, not anyone."

"You truly love him, don't you?" Eamon asked. Now seeing how much she truly cared for Alistair, he began to feel guilty.

Tori nodded. "I will never EVER stop loving him, no matter what he decides. I will support his decision no matter what, even if it means I can't be with him." She felt more tears coming and fought to keep them back. "I love Alistair Theirin and if I have to wait for him, then I will."

Eamon nodded and patted her shoulder as he stood. "I understand, dear girl. But you must prepare yourself that things may not work out the way you wish them to." He left her room and closed the door.


Tori sighed. "The door closed and I cried and cried, letting out every fear and emotion I had welled up inside of me, unable to keep it back anymore. Theon curled up next to me, protectively and I must have passed out from exhaustion at some point. But after that night, I couldn't bear being near Alistair. He broke my heart and it shattered when he accepted the throne because I knew then that we couldn't be together. After everything we had been through, everything we had done, it didn't seem to matter to him anymore. I had to leave that night after the Landsmeet, I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to abandon everyone, but what else could I have done?" She looked at Bodahn. "I'm not of this world, Bodahn, I don't know how things work here. But I'm stuck here and I made the choice to stay and make things work, to find a life for myself here or wherever I went and make it bearable to live here in this world. I had nothing back in Astoria and what little I had here was enough to make me want to fight to keep it safe, to keep you and the others safe." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "Beyond that, I don't know what to do anymore. I've made a life here in the Free Marches, bought my land and built a home for me and Theon, but at the same time I feel lost, like I'm still missing a key component in my life somehow."

"Bodahn, my mother is going to be staying with an old friend of hers tonight." Ryder said, announcing his presence finally. He smirked when everyone jumped.

"I see. Should I begin preparing dinner then?"

Ryder shook his head. "No, it's fine. Why don't you and Sandal take the night off?"

"Are you certain?"

Ryder nodded. "Yes. Enjoy yourselves!"

"What of you, ser?"

Ryder looked at Tori and winked. "I think I'll take Tori to the Hanged Man for a drink with the others. She looks like she could use one."

Bodahn smiled and nodded, then took Sandal off to another room. Sandal waved goodbye to Tori and giggled when she promised to stop by again real soon.

Tori stood and left the Hawke estate with Ryder, walking silently through the streets of Hightown to the streets of Lowtown. "So how much did you overhear?"

Ryder sighed. "Enough to know that Alistair really hurt you."

Tori took a shaky deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Thank you, Ryder."

"For what?"

"I could really use a drink." She offered him a smile and he laughed, opening the door for her once they reached their destination.

"Welcome to the Hanged Man."