Okay I know i only updated a while ago but I had to put this up. Finally my writers block has started to fade and I was able to get a some what decent chapter out. I hope you all enjoy it. Kale and Alistair and finally starting to move on. Well Kale is finally starting to not be so stubborn anyway lol. ENJOY

Alistair pushed the door open to the Barracks and we found Anders and Carver sitting around the bed of the injured Guard. We approached the bed quietly. The guard was awake but barely. Anders sat back in his chair breathing heavily "He is holding on by the bare minimum. He has lost so much blood I don't know if I can save him."

"Where is Zevran?" I asked Carver.

"I don't know." He shrugged "Said something about going and finding the chantry woman."

"What?" Again he shrugged. I let it go. Who knew what that Assassin was up to. "Has he woken up?"

Anders nodded "Briefly. He comes and goes."

I sat down on the opposite side of the bed to Ander. Alistair stood at the end of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. We all waited. It took a while but the guard soon gave a aggravated moan. Anders rose his hands over the guard and poured magical energy into him.

The guard gasped and bolted upright in his chair "GAH!" He grabbed his wounder stomach and fell back again. Wake but panting heavily he cracked his eyes open and looked at me. Shock crossed his face "The- GAH," He took in a deep breath "You are- the Hero of Ferelden."

I nodded "Yes. It me. Now tell us please what happened to you."

"THE KING!" He screamed wide eyed and sat forward again. A little slower.

Alistair came and stood beside me. When he placed his hand on my shoulder I had to fight the urge to throw it off. Sure I wasn't as angry at him as I had been but that didn't give him permission to touch me. "I am here my friend." The guard visibly relaxed. "Now please tell me what is your name, what happened to you?"

"My name is Maxwell. I was sent to Vigils Keep to meet with the Orlisian Wardens."

Alistair nodded "Yes I remember. I was there the day you all left."

Maxwell bobbed his head in an attempt to acknowledge Alistair "Yes, We arrived there before the Orlisians. We waited a few days for them to arrive and then when they did they attacked us."

"The Warden's attacked you?"

"No, it wasn't the Warden's." He groaned

"Please friend," Alistair encouraged him "tell us what happened after they arrived."

Anders rose his hands over him again. Giving the Maxwell a little more strength. I gave Anders a sympathetic look as the mage leant back in his chair slowly becoming exhausted.

Maxwell closed his eyes are continued "They were Orlisian yes, but they were mere guards. Not one of them was a Grey Warden." He looked at Alistair out of the corner of his eyes and took in a deep breath "I managed to get onto a horse and make it back here. They have taken the Keep No one survived."

I smiled at him "You will. You will survive from this and we will get revenge on your fallen friends. Rest now." The Guard nodded and quickly fell back onto the pillow asleep "Thank you Anders."

The Mage ran his hand over his forehead "This Grey Warden stuff is exhausting."

The four of us left the room and stood in the hall way "Why would the Orlisian's want the Keep?"

Alistair shrugged "I don't know. It has only been recently repaired. There is nothing there of any importance. None of the Grey Warden's were there. There are only a small number of us in Ferelden and most of us are standing right here."

We all stood in silence for a moment. Trying to figure out why the Empress would want the Keep. Anders sagged against the wall and I grinned at him "Go rest Anders." I place my hand on his arm "And thank you. You do have quiet a gift."

He smirked at me before walking away muttering "Ah if only the Chantry thought that way ae."

Carver sighed and just walked away. I looked up at Alistair but he looked as confused as I did. "I better go find Zevran. Who knows what trouble that Elf is up to."

Alistair nodded slowly looking me in the eye "You and Zevran…"

"Stop it." I muttered before walking away. It was none of his business. I knew there was nothing between me and Zevran but it was none of Alistair's business.

Sitting down on the stone bench in the garden I pulled out the next letter from Orlais. Zevran couldn't be found. I had tried all the usual places inside the castle anyway. I wasn't going outside. I 'm sure rumours were ripe that the Hero Of Ferelden was in the Castle and I didn't feel like being attacked by fans today.

After what Maxwell told us I studied this letter a lot more carefully than the last. There was no reason for the Empress to take the Keep. So was it really her or someone pretending to start a war with the Orlisian's?

"To the King Of Ferelden,

Things have grown more taxing here over the last few days. The Grey Warden's have returned to the Palace saying there is a massive Hord gathering in the Dales.

I don't not wish you to panic but I may be in desperate need of you help in the close future. Please consider coming to Orlais Your Majesty. I know the Grey Wardens here would be more than happy to see you here.

You are a Hero to them. You helped lead the attack against the Arch Demon.

And if I might be so bold to say. You are an inspiration to all, especially me. You took the crown and made something of it. I admire you Alistair.

Looking forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Yours Celena."

I scoffed and almost screwed the note up. Could she be any more blunt. The entrance to the garden opened and my heart jumped as Alistair walked out. He rubbed his hand over his face and sighed heavily leaning against the door. His shoulders slumped and I saw his whole body relax now he was outside the Castle. He looked up and jumped slightly at the sight of my "Oh, Hey." He walked towards me with a nervous smile on his face "I see you found my hiding spot."

I looked up at the roses and a narrow smile grew on my lips "Roses huh?"

Stopping in front of me he reached out and brushed his finger against a large blossom "Yeah," He paused smelling the rose "They remind me of happier times."

I looked at my feet and sighed "I guess so."

"May I?"

He pointed to the seat beside me and I shrugged "It's your Castle."

He sat beside me and I felt the familiar presence of him. We were silent for a long time and I had forgotten about the letter in my hands. I looked up at one of the roses and a soft smile grew on my lips.

It had been a hard slog through Redcliff. We had just finished off killing all those creatures in the castle and now we were on our way to find some Brother in Denerim that was suppose to know the where bouts of the Urn of Sacred Ashes. Personally I thought it was all religious trash. How were we going to find the Ashes of a woman who died hundreds of years ago? From what I had heard people had spent their lives looking for them and dies doing so. And yet Isolde was unwavering in her belief that they were real.

We had set up camp half way between Redcliff and Denerim. All of us exhausted. Dropping a small pile of wood next to the fire I sighed and turned towards my tent, intending to fall asleep quickly. But when I turned Alistair was standing there. A red tinge under his eyes made it look as though he was coming down with a sickness.

For a few moments we just stood there. Me a little confused as to why Alistair was standing there like a statue and him looking like he had a pain in his head. Finally he took in a deep breath and pulled his hands out from behind his back. Between his palms he held a beautiful red rose. "Here, look at this. Do you know what this is?"

The red of the rose was a deeper red than you would expect. Almost a blood red. The green petals underneath were bright. It was amazing he was able to keep in in such good condition through our travels. I grinned up at him "Your new weapon of choice?"

"Yes that's right." He smirked putting on a deep voice "Watch as I thrash our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangements. Feel my thorns Darkspawn! I will overpower you with my rosy scent." I giggled imagining Alistair running towards the Arch Demon with a rose in hand. He smiled at me "Or you know, it could just be a rose. I know that's pretty dull in comparison."

"You've been thumbing that flower for a while now." I looked down at the rose in my hand and turned it around, examining it.

"I picked it in Lothering. I remember thinking 'How could something so beautiful exist in a place with so much despair and ugliness?' I probably should have left it alone," he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. A common nervous gesture with Alistair "but I couldn't. The Darkspawn would come and their taint would just destroy it. So I've had it ever since."

I shifted nervously on my feet. Alistair was acting different. One minutes he is talking about killing Darkspawn with a rose then he went all serious on me. "That's a nice sentiment" I didn't know what else to say.

"I thought that I might… give it to you, actually." I was instantly bright red. "In a lot of ways, I think the same thing when I look at you. "

"Thank you Alistair, That's a lovely thought." I had never been so lost for words in my life. These were all just things that came out with thinking. My brain wasn't picking up what my ears were hearing.

"I'm glad you like it." He smiled "I was just thinking… here I am doing all this complaining, and you haven't exactly been having a good time of it yourself. You've had none of the good experiences of being a Grey Warden since your Joining, not a word of thanks or congratulations. Its all been death, and fighting and tragedy. " I looked away from him, my blush was heating up my face like it was on fire. He reached forward and caught my chin "I thought maybe I could say something. Tell you what a rare and beautiful thing you are to find amidst all this… darkness."

I opened my mouth a couple of times. Unsure what to say. My heart was a pounding against my chest "I, I feel the same way about you."

"I'm glad you like it." He released my chin and grinned at me "Now… if we could move right on past this awkward, embarrassing stage and get right to the steamy bits. I'd appreciate it."

I laughed before raising one of my eyebrows "Sounds good, off with the armour then."

He laughed nervously "Bluff called," I grinned at him "Dam she saw right through me."

I laughed careful to hold the rose close "Your so cute when you are bashful."

He went bright read but still smiled at me "I'll be… I'll be standing over here. Until the blushing stops. Just to be, ae, safe. You know how it is." He turned and walked away to the other side of camp. Rubbing his neck as he did so.

I sighed and looked down at the letters in my hands "I kept it, you know." I whispered. Unsure he heard me I looked to the side.

"Kept what?" Alistair asked.

I sat up and looked at the sky "I kept the rose you gave me." He didn't say anything "It's sitting in my house. I had Wynne cast a spell on it to keep it from wilting. Its sitting beside my bed at home." I could feel myself blushing. Why did I let that come out? "I hold on to good memories Alistair."