"Do you have another story to pass the time?" Zevran asked suddenly as they traveled back towards Redcliffe to deliver the ashes.

"So I'm telling all the stories now?" The Warden replied turning her beautiful emerald eyes toward him, they were still so sad; the trials of the gauntlet had not left her.

"I'm all out of interesting ones." She was about to ask about the one he didn't tell, but shook her head. He could see it in her face, if she wasn't ready to tell hers, then she didn't feel right asking him his and he quietly thanked her for that.

She touched a hand to her chin in thought. "Let's see... The first time I had one of those amazing apples?"

"You remember this?"

"It was rather memorable. When I was younger the clan would stop in an area that was close to an apple orchard tended to by a husband and wife. We used to love to play in the orchard climbing the trees and picking whatever apples we wanted. The man and wife where a friendly sort see, and as long as the Dalish agreed to pay for any losses he sustained by letting us play in his field, we could do as we wish, though we were warned not to take more than we could eat."

"It didn't last." He responded knowing that these stories never ended well.

"Unfortunately not. The man was not the owner of the orchard himself, they were only the tenant. He tended to it on behest of the arl of the area, or some such lording that I still fail to understand. Anyway, some less than kind neighbor told this man that his tenant was allowing Dalish to run amuck in his fields. It did not matter to the lord that he was receiving coin either way, just the thought of us on his property sent him into a rage and out of spite he burned down the orchard and the husband and wife's home along with it."

Zevran had to pick his words carefully; his first response was to condemn the farmers for their action, but he realized this would end the tale where it was. His ultimate goal was to keep her talking, so he finally he settled on asking; "Did they..?"

"No, no, we helped them escape; they traveled with us until we were well out of the Arl's lands. Most of the children had stashed a few apples away and we gave them back to the farmer out of remorse. He was able to start a new orchard somewhere to the west with them; at least that's what I was told." She paused for a long moment, staring at the ground as they walked. "The thing I remember most, when the orchard was burning down, the smell of the applewood on fire was amazing... The lord tried to ruin something good out of bigotry, even the orchard rebelled against him."

"I have noticed that you tend to forgive humans rather quickly." He replied, remembering a few times when she was nearly about to put a blade in someone's throat for calling her a knife-ear or other such insult only to smile sweetly when they apologize, carrying on a conversation like it never happened. The humans never seemed to know what to make of it, but it kept them watching their words.

"I've seen the best and worst of humans, just as there is the best and worst of Dalish. I know that if I go the extra step to show them I understand, some of them can do the same."

Zevran could only shake his head at this. "My dear Warden, you are far too kind."

"Yes, I've been told. But it was my kindness that spared your life, so it isn't all for not." She smiled, winking at him.

Ah, he should have seen that one coming.

I like to think they were honeycrisp apples.