The blades plunged into soft, soft skin. Blood poured over her hands, dripping down her spotless blades and staining the stones. There was a soft gurgle when she pulled the blades back out. She felt nothing for the woman beneath her.

She didn't care that the woman wasn't her father. She wanted nothing more than to avenge her dead parents. Her sister in law who taught her all she knew about various poisons and plants. Her sweet little Orion who would never learn to wield a blade or ride a horse or go hunting.

A guard comes at her, fast but not fast enough. She cuts him down before he can lift his blade. No emotion flickers over her face. She slithers in the shadows, silent. He meets her halfway, a grimace over his features. She sheathes her swords, opening her arms for the black haired man. He allows himself to be taken into her arms. She strokes his hair with one hand, slipping a hidden blade out of the sleeve of her robes. She plunges it into his back. She's made sure to puncture a lung.

"How does it feel to be betrayed by someone who you trusted so completely?" She asks Nathaniel as he slides to the ground.

She just watches as he lets out a soft gurgle and his gaze becomes glassy. She carefully steps over the body, careful to not get any blood on her boots.


She wakes up, gasping. She can't get enough oxygen into her lungs. Alistair's still sleeping, thank the Maker. She's had this same dream for the past three nights. She's always killing Nathaniel and his sister, Delilah. She can never wake until the end, when Nathaniel is finally dead. She crawls out of bed, ignoring how icy the room is.

She grabs a robe that was hastily discarded earlier, wrapping it tightly around her. The freezing stone is unsympathetic to her quivering heart as she treads lightly to her office. She grabs parchment along with a bottle of fresh ink. She picks up a quill, slightly hesitating.

What would she write? That she had murdered him in cold blood in her nightmares and she wanted him to stop by just to quell her childish fears that he was still okay? Rome sighs, resting her hand against her head. An ache swelled in her head until she was pressing at her temples hoping to relieve the pressure. A pair of hands lift her from the chair and she curls against the familiar body.

"What's wrong?"

She doesn't answer for a moment. She's ashamed that Howe still haunts her.

"I've been having nightmares." Rome starts. Alistair is carrying her bridal style back to their room. It's only a couple of rooms from her office. She opens the door for him when they arrive. He sits at the end of the bed, still cradling the woman in his arms. He's watching her, waiting for her to continue.

"I've been having nightmares in which I murder Nathaniel and Delilah. I thought, hoped really, that when I killed Howe it would end all of my pain over my family."

"It didn't though, did it?" He asks. For once, Alistair is serious. And she's grateful. As much as she loves the sharp contrast between their attitudes she couldn't handle the snark right now.

"No. It still hurts so badly. Even though I've patched things up with all of the Howes, my blood still boils. Some primal desire wants their blood spilled for the blood of my family that Howe spilled."

Alistair nods. He's quiet for a moment, and she can see the wheels turning in his head. He's trying to figure out how to say something without sounding cruel or insensitive.

"You're strong. And kind. Kinder than most. You didn't demand that Nathaniel be executed or kill Delilah in cold blood. You could've though. He was a complete bugger at the time towards you. You even gave the poor sap a chance to redeem himself."

She laughs against his chest, not knowing why. She really feels like crying.

"He was a complete asshole. His mother would have been so mortified at his behavior. Then again, he didn't know what his father did. Only that I killed him for all of the wrong reasons."

Alistair squeezes her closer to him and she adjusts herself so she can rest her cheek against his shoulder. She feels imminently better, just telling Alistair about her nightmares. She leans up to kiss him, and instead of him kissing her back, he kisses her forehead.

"I love you Alistair. Thank you."

He smiles at her, and her heart swells.

"Of course. It's nice to be the levelheaded one for once."


I adore Nathaniel. He really grew as a character in Awakening. It was nice to see that growth. I also think that him and Rome would've been inseparable as children.