Leliana huddled as close as she could to the fire and shivered. They had spent a day trekking along the Imperial Highway and then through woods. Her shoes, even though already ugly, were caked in mud and her hair was a mess. Ferelden was certainly different to Orlais. She had never walked this much in her life and she knew it wasn't going to change anytime soon. Even in Lothering, with her simple accomadation in the Chantry, she had a roof over her head and a bed to sleep in. Now she had a tent, the hard ground and her pack. But if that was what it took to end this darkness - then she was happy to do it.

As accepting as she thought she was, Leliana couldn't help but feel slightly nervous around Sten. He never seemed to smile or look pleased with company. Sten had murdered those poor people but he seemed to regret it and wished to make amends. The Maker would be happy he was trying in such a dark time. So she would be too.

Morrigan certainly tried her patience. She was not a nice woman at all, Leliana considered it extremely kind of her to even call the witch a woman. It was surprising at all that Elissa allowed her to come with them. Yes, she had skills that were useful, but she was not pleasent at all and Leliana suspected that she had a secret as to why she wanted to help fight the Blight.

The templar -ex templar, Leliana corrected herself - Alistair, seemed like a good hearted man. He was always happy to talk to Leliana and joked along their journey to keep everyones spirits up even though it was only Leliana and Elissa that laughed. Despite the tragedy that he and Elissa had been through, Alistair hadn't let it affect his nature. She had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't a ladies man either, or had known the intimate touch of one. Going by the way he had blushed when she had flirted slightly with him while hunting.

Elissa though... she was certainly a mystery.

The woman had the air and manners of a noble, and yet she did not talk about family or even her full name. Leliana knew it wasn't unheard of for the Grey Wardens to conscript criminals or disgraced nobles but couldn't imagine Elissa as either. She had a kind smile and seen the best in people (clearly in the case of the Witch of the Wilds and murderous Qunari)and was a fine leader. It was clear there was a special bond between her and Alistair. It made Leliana giddy to think of the last two Grey Wardens falling in love with each other. It would make a grand tale.

Leliana raised her head as Morrigan came over, a dead pheasant and some vegetables in her hands. The Witch, as always, did not offer a greeting or speak to her. They had had heated words the day before about the Maker, with Morrigan mocking Leliana's belief and Elissa had to be the one to diffuse the situation before it had gotten ugly.

"So you truly do not believe in any sort of higher power?"

"Blast and Damnation!" Morrigan muttered as she rolled her eyes at Leliana's question. "It has been bothering you, I see. No, I do not. Must I?"

Leliana frowned and looked into the fire rather than at Morrigan. "So, what do you believe happens to you after you die then? Nothing?"

"I do not go sit by the Maker's side," Morrigan snapped, roughly cutting up the vegetables and putting them in the small pot, "if that's what you mean."

"Only those who are worthy are brought to the Maker's side," Lelianna said sadly, thinking of the poor people who never answered the Maker's call as Morrigan began to pluck the dead bird, "so many other sad souls are left to wander in the void, hopeless and forever lost..."

Morrigan scoffed loudly: what had made Elissa allow this fool to follow them she would never know? "And what evidence of this have you?" she asked angrily and indicated around them with the half plucked pheasant in one hand "I see only spirits, no wandering ghosts of wicked disbelievers."

"It must be so sad to look forward to nothing, to feel no love ad seek no reward in the afterlife," Lelianna said in such a sympathetic tone that it made Morrigan's blood boil.

Rolling her eyes, Morrigan held a hand up to her forehead dramatically "Yes, the anguish tears at me so. You have seen through me to my sad, sad core."

"Now you're simply mocking me," Lelianna said, narrowing her eyes at the Witch.

"You notice?" Morrigan smirked and stuck the pheasant onto the spit to cook, she stood up and gave Leliana a patronising smile, "It appears your perceptive powers know no bounds."

She turned on her heel and made her way towards her tent, glad the conversation was over but groaned loudly when the bard had followed her, "Let me ask you this, then, Morrigan. What if there really was a Maker?"

"Then I would wonder why He has abandoned His creation. It seems terribly irresponsible of Him," Morrigan muttered.

Lelianna looked angered at her words, "He left us because we were determined to make our own way," she snapped, putting her hands on her hips "even if we hurt ourselves and He could not bear to watch."

"But how do you know?" Morrigan asked, sitting down on the tree stump and crossing her legs, "You cannot ask Him this. Perhaps He has gone to a new creation elsewhere, and abandoned this as a dismal failure, best forgotten."

Lifting her chin defiantly, Lelianna shook her head "I do not need to know because I have faith. I believe in Him and feel His hope and His love."

"'Faith'. How quickly those who have no answers invoke that word."

Her words angered Lelianna incredibly and she practically shook with rage "How can someone who practices magic have so little capacity to believe in that which she cannot see!"

"Magic is real! I can touch it and command it and I need no faith for it to fill me up inside!" Morrigan said calmly, aware that everyone else was watching their argument, "If you are looking for your higher power, there it is!"

Lelianna narrowed her eyes at her "But only if you can control it," she said with a quiet rage "I do not envy the loneliness you must feel at times."

"I..." her words cut Morrigan and she shook her head "leave me be. Loneliness would be preferred to this...endless chatter."

Well, dinner had been... interesting.

Alistair and Elissa had sat next to each other and tried not to let the tension affect them either. Leliana and Morrigan were not speaking. Sten was eating whilst on watch with Calenhad next to him, drooling on the ground. Alistair had glanced at Elissa and smiled when she rolled her eyes at him. As soon as Morrigan had finished her meal, she immediately sought out the silence of her distant camp and Leliana had muttered a goodnight before returning to her own tent. Leaving the two Grey Wardens alone.

"Do you think they'll ever get along?" Alistair jokingly asked, "Or are we doomed to dinners like this forever?"

Elissa raised an eyebrow at him and exhaled in amusement, "We? You're one to talk. You and Morrigan have never got along yet."

"Yes, but there is a reason for that. Morrigan is a b-" her hand across his mouth shut Alistair up and he could only grin stupidly at the other Warden.

"-bit of a handful," Elissa finished for him and removed her hand with a small smile, "yes?"

Alistair chuckled as he set his plate down, "Thats a kinder way to put it," he replied, "I won't say anymore on the matter."

"Excellent, I don't think I can take anymore bickering on the way to Redcliffe."

The two Wardens were quiet for a moment as they gazed into the flames of the camp fire. Usually silence unnerved Alistair, reminding him of not so nice times in his life, but the silences with Elissa were strangely comforting. Even more so by the feeling of her leg pressing slightly against his, the smell of her hair... he felt himself blush at the thoughts in his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Speaking of Redcliffe," Alistair broke the silence as he reached behind him for the folded up map that Bodahn had given them. The dwarf had a few to spare unsurprisingly, "considering all goes to plan, we should arrive sometime tomorrow."

"Already?" Elissa leaned over slightly to look at the map with him, the smell of wildflowers wafting over Alistair and he inhaled slowly, "it doesn't seem like we have travelled that far. Have you ever been?"

"Been where?"

"Redcliffe?"

Alistair coughed awkwardly and avoided her eyes, "Erm, yes... once, a long time ago."

"And yet... you said you knew Eamon?" Elissa asked in a confused voice, "How exactly did you know him?"

"Well..." Alistair hesitated before sighing loudly, "Arl Eamon... he's known me all of my life. I used to live in the Redcliffe- I used to live in Redcliffe."

Elissa didn't seem to notice his change in words and hummed thoughtfully, "I thought he had something to do with your upbringing... the Templars don't usually just initiate anyone for training. So he raised you?"

"Did I say that he raised me?" Alistair joked and held up his hands, "I was raised by dogs. Giant, slobbering beasts from the Anderfels... a whole pack of them, in fact. I was the pup."

The corners of Elissa's lips twitched at his words, "Truly?" her tone was one of amusement, "That must have been hard on them. Raising you as one of them."

"They were flying dogs, my dear Elissa. Surprisingly strict parents too, and devout Andrastians to boot. They growled and barked until the Chantry accepted me for templar training before flying off."

Despite biting her lip, Elissa still giggled a little at him and Alistair couldn't help but chuckle as well, "You must have been heartbroken," she added in a mock sympathetic voice.

"Oh I was, for you see... they made a great deal of cheese. It was all I ate. Funny, but the dogs never mentioned cheese to anyone else. Infact, if anyone else said cheese around them they would growl. Isn't that odd? Or did I dream all of that?" he paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Funny the dreams you'll have when you sleep on the cold, hard ground. Are you having strange dreams?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Elissa gave him a wry smile, "I have strange dreams... that involve strangling a tall, blonde ex-templar who cannot answer questions."

"You would do violence?" Alistair gasped dramatically, "Upon me? The sweet and handsome Warden? I am shocked and dismayed. The dogs would never threaten me like this, you know?" he smiled as Elissa laughed and wrinkled her nose at him.

"Are you going to answer my question? Or will it be a few more years of stalling?" Elissa asked him, not sounding annoyed at all surprisingly to Alistair, but perhaps just a hint of impatience.

Alistair felt a little less anxious about the question now and let out a long sigh, "Well... how do I put this? I'm a bastard-"

"I think you're alright," Elissa gave him a guilty smile, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist."

"I meant the fatherless kind," Alistair shook his head and stared up at the sky, hopefully she wouldn't be like the others and treat him different when she found out, "my mother was a serving girl in Redcliffe castle and she died giving birth to me. Arl Eamon wasn't my father but he took me in and put a roof over my head, fed and clothed me. He was good to me when he didn't have too... I respected his decision to send me to the Chantry when I was old enough. It lead me on the path to being a Grey Warden. I don't blame him for it."

He waited a moment before looking at Elissa again and was relieved to see her not looking disgusted or surprised at the truth of his parentage. Instead she just tilted her head and gazed at him, no judgement in her eyes or anything. Did this truly mean nothing to her? It usually meant people treated him differently. Oh Maker, please make her this perfect...

"I would have been blaming him at the time," Elissa's voice was soft, full of understanding and sympathy, "but, did you?"

Alistair nodded slowly, looking down at his hands. Remembering that day so clearly, "I was young, stupid and full of rage... or course I blamed him," he tried to joke, "I remember screaming at him, saying all sorts of things like a little child... well, I was a child so I doubt he was surprised."

"We've all been there at some point in our lives," Elissa told him, moving a little closer so she could put a hand over his, "It's a reaction most would have Alistair. I know if my parents tried that I would have raised hell."

He gave her a half smile and shrugged, "Arl Eamon eventually married a young woman from Orlais... much to the shock of every Fereldan after everthing that had happened. The new Arlessa was not happy that there were rumours that I was Arl Eamons bastard son. They weren't true but she only cared that they existed in the first place. So, off I was packed to the nearest monastery at age ten. Just as well, the Arlessa made sure the castle wasn't a home to me by that point. She despised me."

Alistair had always blamed Isolde for his unhappiness as a child. For sending him away and forcing Arl Eamon to do it. Now he could understand the repurcussions if he had stayed at Redcliffe and while he hadn't completely forgiven Isolde, he did not wish her any ill-will. Unlike his younger self who would come up with punishments for her as revenge. Mucking out the stables and eating rotten carrots was one of them.

"What a horrible thing to go through as a child," Elissa whispered, frowning into the fire as she, with or without realising it, took Alistair's hand in her own, "The Arlessa of all people should have been more accepting. Being from Orlais at that time."

Alistair just hoped his face wasn't bright red from the compassion that he was being shown, "Ah... perhaps. But she felt threatened by my prescence," he swallowed hard and dared to hold her hand a little more firmly, "I can't blame her. She would have been wondering if the rumours were true..."

"I've seen Arl Eamon before..." Elissa's eyes flickered over his face, "You don't... look like him. The Arlessa should have seen that herself."

"You'd think."

"Did you ever find out who your father was?" Elissa asked slowly.

Alistair was quiet as he thought carefully about his answer, "I know who I was told was my father. It isn't that important who..." he wasn't technically lying... just witholding the truth.

There was a strange look on Elissa's face as she looked down at their hands... it almost looked as if she was guilty. "Did you have anything of your mothers to remember you by?" she asked, the look gone as she smiled at him.

"I had an amulet with Andraste's holy symbol on it. It was the ony thing I had of hers," Alistair closed his eyes in pain, forever hating what he had done to the amulet, "I was so furious at being sent away that I tore it off and threw it at the wall. It shattered. Stupid, stupid thing to do."

He only opened his eyes when he felt Elissa's thumb stroke the back of his hand in a comforting way, "The arl came by the monastery a few times to see how I was but stubborn little me wouldn't see him. I hated it there and blamed him for everything... and eventually, he just stopped coming. Not that I can blame him for it."

"You were young Alistair," her voice was gentle and soothing as she continued to hold his hand and gave him a soft smile as he looked at her with sad eyes, "we all make mistakes when we're children and act out of anger but now you have a chance to tell him that. Not many people do..."

"And I was raised by dogs..." Alistair added, grinning as Elissa looked down and shook her head with a smile.

"I'm hardly going to forget that now, am I?" Elissa giggled, she gave his hand a final squeeze before letting go of it, "Thank you... for trusting me with this."

They smiled at each other before Elissa glanced up at the sky, "Well, I'd better get some sleep... are you okay for next watch, still?"

"Yes, it's fine. I'll see you in the morning."

Sten had no trouble staying awake for a watch to keep the camp safe. He did not require as much sleep as men did and he had been trained to be a soldier since he was young. But one thing the Qun did not train him for was keeping watch with an infuriating human who would not be quiet.

He would have not minded the Warden, she would converse but not insissently and kept watch. But the other Warden tried his patience...

"Don't you ever talk?" Sten closed his eyes and let his irritation pass before opening his violet eyes and glaring at the other man who looked at him curiously, "You know, make polite conversation just to put people at ease?"

"You mean that I should remark upon the weather before I cut off a man's head?"

Alistair shook his head, "Nevermind... forget I said anything."

Sten let out a sigh, "I will try to forget that you are here."

He scanned the area once more, almost wishing for bandits or bounty hunters to emerge from the darkness if it meant silence. Dawn was not far away and they would soon be on their way. The sooner he defeated the Blight...

"Were you really in that cage for twenty days?"

Gritting his teeth, Sten turned to Alistair and imagined the satisfaction of smothering him to make him stop talking, "It might have been closer to thirty," he replied, pausing to drink some water from his flask, "I stopped counting after a while."

"What did you do?" Alistair asked curiously, leaning forward with an interested look in his eyes, "I mean... twenty days is a long time to sit in one place and do nothing."

"On good days, I posed riddles to the passers-by and offered them treasures in exchange for correct answers."

"Really?"

"No."

Frowning a little, Alistair shook his head "Aww, too bad," he said after a moment's silence, "that's got serious potential."

Sten was about to retort that keeping watch was more sucessful if they were quiet but before he could, he heard a gasp and a cry of pain coming from the Warden's tent. Standing up, he noticed that Alistair had already gotten to the tent as a tired looking Leliana emerged. "What is wrong?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"The Warden is in distress," Sten replied, walking over slowly as he seen Alistair shaking her slightly through the opened flap of her tent. Her face was screwed up in pain and there was some blood coming from her nose. Elissa's eyes suddenly opened wide and Sten seen that she was trembling.

"Did-did you see it, too?" she whispered terrified, glancing around them all, "a dragon! It was talking to the darkspawn!"

Alistair had let go of her shoulders and instead pushed her hair away from her face in an almost tender way, "Bad dreams, huh?" he said sadly.

"But... it seemed so real..."

"Well, it was sort of," Alistair glanced at Sten and Leliana and then sighed, "You see, part of being a Grey Warden is being able to hear the darkspawn. That's what your dream was. Hearing them."

Leliana stepped forward and Sten gave her a quick glance, she was frowning at Alistair, "What are you talking about? You will always dream of darkspawn and dragons when you are a Grey Warden?"

"The archdemon, it…talks to the horde and we feel it just as they do. That's why we know this is really a Blight," Alistair replied and sighed tiredly, "the archdemon looks like a dragon, I don't know if it's really a dragon...it takes a while but eventually you can block the dreams out. Some of the older Grey Wardens say they can understand the archdemon a bit but I sure can't.

Sten felt stunned at the revelation and looked more closely at Elissa, "You had a vison of this Archdemon?" he asked.

"More like a dream," Alistair corrected him.

"A very real dream of the Archdemon," Elissa whispered, and winced as she wiped her face, "Oh damn... my nose."

Leliana walked forward and gave her a worried look, "It may be due to stress," she murmured, "I'll get some water and clean you up, Elissa. Don't worry."

"I'm sorry to be a bother..." Elissa sighed, letting Lelina clean her face, "You two should get to keeping watch. Don't want anyone to sneak up on us."

Sten was ready to turn away but he hesitated when he seen the way that Alistair was looking at the Grey Warden... that would explain a lot. "Are you sure?" Alistair asked her quietly, "I can sit up with you for a while if you want."

"I'll be fine Alistair, but thank you for your concern," Elissa smiled weakly.

Sten shook his head as he headed back to his spot. "Humans"... he muttered to himself.