The group was about half way to Honnleath Village and the sun was beginning to set. Right after Aedan finished pitching his and Morrigan's tent, Morrigan walked up to him. "I have a gift for you," she told him. She had no idea how Aedan would think about what she was giving him; but decided that now would be a good time.
"Really? Thank you," Aedan told her with a smile. It gave Morrigan some relief that he wasn't teasing her about this.
Morrigan pulled out a ring made out of rosewood. "'Tis a ring. I was going to give it to you after you returned from fighting Mother, but you were injured. If I gave it to you then; 'twould have been simply out of practicality not out of love."
"What do you mean?" Aedan was confused.
"Flemeth created it. The ring's purpose was to track me. I altered the enchantment so that it would be able track you instead. I would be able to find you should you be captured as long as you wear it."
"Could I be able to find you as well?"
"I don't know, it could be possible; but I don't know." Morrigan told him.
"I like the ring Morrigan. I would have taken the ring even if saw it only as a practicality. I would have done so because I love you."
Aedan walked over to Alistair, "Alistair, I want to ask a favor of you."
"Sure. What is it?" Alistair asked.
"I intend to work on dual wielding swords, and will need a sparring partner."
"Why do you need to use swords? You're a master at wielding daggers."
"If you haven't noticed; daggers aren't the best weapons for fighting dragons. I'd have better range with swords, and I can block better with swords in melee combat than with daggers. I'd still use my throwing daggers for further away enemies, but I'd use swords in close quarters combat instead of daggers."
Alistair nodded his head and told him, "Okay. We'll start after we get this golem."
"Agreed," and Aedan walked over to Wynne.
"Aedan, I think that I owe you an apology," Wynne told him when he walked up to her.
Aedan had an idea about what it was for, but asked anyway; "What for?"
"I told you that you were wrong for having your relationship with Morrigan and I was wrong. She watches you when you aren't looking and always has a small smile when she does. A man that lost everything he loved and a woman that had never known it falling in love; it sounds like a fairytale or one of Leliana's stories, doesn't it? What you share might not last, but at least you've found some happiness during these dark times," Wynne told him with a warm smile.
They arrived at Honnleath Village to find it swarming with darkspawn. "You know, I wish there was just one time where we could go somewhere and not have something trying to kill us or us have to solve all of their problems. Can't things be simple for once?" Aedan said as he threw a dagger into a Hurlock's head. A Gentlock archer shot at Morrigan from behind. Aedan noticed, jumped behind her, parried the arrow, and threw his offhand dagger into its throat; before Morrigan could react.
Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne went wide eyed, "How'd you do that?" Alistair asked.
"Parrying arrows is very difficult. It takes a sharp eye and years of training to do it. I'm okay at it, but can't parry more than one arrow at a time. If there were two of them, I would have only been able to kill one of the archers and would have been shot by the second." Hearing that made Morrigan furious.
"Never do that again! Do you hear me Aedan!? Don't you dare almost get yourself killed again!" Morrigan so angry at his foolish risk that she lost control of what she was saying, "You are the man I love, and I WILL NOT LET YOU DIE!" When Morrigan realized what she said, her eyes widened and her mouth closed so fast that her teeth made an audible clack. Morrigan sent Aedan a glare and stormed off.
After a few minutes, Aedan turned to Leliana. "Do you think it's safe for me to talk to her? I don't want her to think that I did that just to show off; I was worried that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time."
"I don't know Aedan. If you chose your words carefully, she might listen to you; but she is really angry at you for the risk you took. I would be too."
Aedan sighed and went over to where Morrigan went. "Morrigan? I'm sorry for the stunt I pulled earlier. I know that it was risky but I didn't know how quickly you could react. I was worried that you would get shot and I'd never forgive myself if I stood by and let it happen. I'm truly sorry my love, but I couldn't just stand there." Aedan finished his apology and wrapped his arms around her.
Morrigan turned around in his arms, slapped him, and pulled him into a kiss. She didn't break the kiss until they needed air. "You stupid man. Don't take any more risks like that ever again. You almost died when you fought Flemeth and I don't want to go through that again."
"Okay. I'll try to be more careful in the future. I can't promise that I'll be safe; because no one is safe during a blight. However, I can promise that I'll take fewer risks."
Morrigan wrapped her arms around Aedan and whispered "You better keep that promise."
The others watched the exchange with curiosity. None of them could hear what was being said, so they had to rely on what they saw. They saw the side of Morrigan that she reserved only for Aedan. The side that she showed only at camp when she thought no one would see. "Why does Morrigan's personality take a complete 180 whenever she's alone with Aedan?" Alistair asked.
Wynne decided to explain. "She's in love Alistair. If you hadn't noticed, Aedan acts differently when he's alone with Morrigan as well. It's likely that she'll never show that side of herself to anyone else but him. Aedan has been telling us that her shell was breaking; but we didn't see it because she didn't want us to."
Aedan and Morrigan walked up to the others. "Alright let's get that golem." He went up to the statue and said the password given to him. "Dufelgar." Nothing happened.
"Well that was a waste of time," Alistair said.
"There could be some people hiding in their homes. One of them might know why the control rod didn't work." Aedan told him.