"I underestimated you, Warden. I thought you were like Cailan, a child wanting to play at war. I was wrong. There's strength in you I haven't seen since Maric died. I yield."
Diana had the general at the tip of her sword. She looked deep in the man's eyes. She felt compassion and recognition with him. He did, what he thought was best for Ferelden. Even how misguided it was, she could not bring herself to hate him. Who is she to judge him? She have done some dark choices during her journey. She lost a friend because one of them. She sided with Branka so she could have more powerful allies against the Blight, even when she knew at what cost and Shale fell victim for it.

She lowered her blade. "I accept."

"Wait I did not just hear you say that!" Alistair was angry, how can she blame him for it.

"The teyrn is a warrior and general of renown. Let him be of use, let him go through the joining," Riordan said.

"Loghain, a Warden? That would be a sight." She said with a sarcastic tone.

"There are three of us remaining in Ferelden, and there are compelling reasons to have as many Wardens as possibly in our fight against the arch demon."

"The joining itself is fatal, is it not? If he survives you gain a general. If he dies you will have your revenge. Doesn't that satisfy you?" This was the first time Anora had gained courage to talk to Diana straight in the face.

"Absolutely not! Riordan, this man abandoned our brothers, and then blamed us for the deed. He hunted us down like animals. He tortured you! How can you forget that?" Diana hadn't heard Alistair angry, except that night, when she had killed Connor. She was icy cold with him then, and she was gonna be that now"
"It's for the best Alistair"

"You are going to let him live, after all he's done?"

"It's his chance to redeem himself," she said coldly

"Joining the Wardens is a honor. Not a punishment! Name him a Warden and you will cheapen us all. I will not stand next to him as a brother!"
"Please, Alistair, don't do this to me." Diana whispered.
"Loghain is a traitor! And if I have to be king to see that justice comes to him, so be it!" He said through gritted teeth.

"Duncan would have been disappointed if he saw you!"

"What?"
"Alistair, Grey Warden's doesn't judge people! Being one means rising above your selfish needs, for the greater good! And if Riordan tells us to spare him, who is the senior Warden among us, we should listen to him!"

Diana exploded:

"You made me leader Alistair. You chose to follow, so you wouldn't have to deal with tough decisions. Well I had to, and when I did, all you did was complain who you could have done better. I pushed us this far, without me, you've would have become a sodding drunk, living in self-pity until the Blight would swallow you!" Diana paused for a moment before continuing "I got raped again and again by six different men, my parents got murdered by their best friend, who mind you, was very close to Loghain as well. I never wanted to leave my parents side, Duncan had to use the Right of Conscription to get me away. I never chose to become a Grey Warden! I didn't wallow in my own despair when all of that shit kept flying at me. I allowed it to make me stronger. You have no input here Alistair!"

He looked at her, not being able to say a word.

"You have my thanks Warden."
She hissed at Anora "I did not do it for you. If I was only after a personal vendetta, Loghain would have been your new make up choice by now!"

Anora hushed.

"Loghain lives!" Diana faced Alistair, challenging him to say something. He was furious with her choice, but did not say anything.

Arl Eamon cleared his throat.

"So Alistair will take his father's throne."

Diana looked at Alistair with cold eyes.

" I don't know if..."
"You see, he resents the throne!"

"I hardly think you are the appropriate person to mediate this, Anora. Warden will you help us?"

"Yes."
"As the arbiter of this dispute. Who will lead Ferelden?"

"Alistair," she said without hesitation.

"Anora, the Landsmeet has decided against you. You must now swear fealty to our king, and relinquish all claim to the throne for yourself and your heirs." Eamon continued.
"If you think I will swear that oath, you know nothing of me" Anora scowled

Diana moved closer to Anora, equipping her dagger.
"Be reasonable, Anora."
"Reason had nothing to do with your choice!"

A flash of anger and impulsion, and Anora lay dead on the ground. Diana stabbed her through the chest pushing Anora all the way against the wall.

"Nooo, Anora!" Loghain yelled.

"Stand back or I will, by the Maker do the same to you!" pointing her bloody dagger at Loghain. He hesitated and nodded.

"If you will continue with your speech, your highness," she said to Alistair.
They all were shocked by her actions, it is for the best. That snake betrayed us twice.

"Just get to the Blight." she frowned

He cleared his throat "Yes, um, I need to ride with the armies to war, to face this Blight once and for all! After this is done, I will come back and take my position as king. This I promise!"

"I could do no less, my king" Diana whispered.

"Everyone get ready. We're marching for war!"

She left the room, before anyone could say something else.

Diana stood outside Riordan's room. She felt nauseous and clutched her stomach, while waiting for the results of Loghain's joining. She saw Alistair walking towards her.
"I can't believe you did that. After all we've been through, you...you, made him a Warden!"

"Everything I am doing Alistair is for the cause of stopping the Blight. Having more Wardens increases is, and its a win, win situation."

"I thought..." He was only a few inches from her "that you were different. I did not think your foolishness would doom us all!"

"Doom us..." She shook her head. She could understand his anger with her, but now it was hitting its limit.

"I do not wish to continue this Alistair!" She said waving her hand. He gripped it firmly.
"You never want to talk about anything. With Zevran you can share everything, but with me you can't. Well I am sick and tired of it!" She looked into the new king's eyes, only seeing rage in them. Her hand started to hurt, but she didn't flinch.

"I thought I meant something..."

"You want the truth, fine! I was in a weak state when I met you. When everything fell apart and there were only two of us remaining, I was afraid. Feeling like sodding Andraste with the world's weight on my shoulders. I was lonely, we flirted, it was fun. I do care about you but for me it never processed the point of friendship. That night in Redcliffe...I did that because I was mad at him. Wanted to make him jealous! It was a mistake and I'm sorry for it."
Alistair laughed and tighten his firm armored grip.

"You're serious? Zevran? You let me be fooled by you because of him, so we shared that night because you wanted to make him jealous?"

"That's right!"
"Andraste's blood, woman. I can't believe it!"

"As I said Alistair. I am sorry."

"Why him, why not me?" he asked, looking pathetic.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Do you really think this is a good time to talk about feelings?"

"I won't have this chance again."
"I love him, I fell for him. I was drawn to him, sexually. Is this what you want to hear?"

"you fell in love with a man that tried to kill us...Hang on, maybe thats your thing. Maybe you will even love Loghain now. After all he tried to kill you multiply times, and not only that he betrayed us, the king, Duncan, that should him even more attractive!"
Diana had slapped him so hard with her free hand, he had to let go.
"Don't you ever speak to me like that again!" Alistair forced her against the wall, pressing his bodyweight so she couldn't escape.

"Let me GO!" She said, panting heavily.

"No!" He said through gritted teeth.

"I love you." He said kissing her suddenly

"No, Alistair..." She tried pushing him away, but he was to strong for her.

She kicked him in the groin, he lost his balance, Diana hit him in the face with her fist, causing him to back away.

"What the hell is your problem?" She yelled at him.

"I don't know. I hate and I love you. Its so fucking frustrating, you have..."

Before they could continue, Riordan stepped outside.

"I thought I recognized your tone, and Alistair's, or is it your majesty now?"

Diana thanked Riordan mentally for not making any comment on their fight.

"No, not yet!"
"how is he?" Diana asked

"He passed the test. He needs rest. I would suggest you stay here one or two more nights before heading to Redcliffe. Me, the arl and Alistair will go now. I will see you there, sister." He bowed and left.

Alistair looked at Diana.

"It's here we part ways, then. I meant what I said. I'm no longer a Grey Warden, next time you see me, I am your king, not a templar you can treat like shit! I guess I will see you in Redcliffe. Take care of your new recruit!" He said, storming off.

Diana cursed him, and went in Riordan's room. She found Loghain sitting on a chair, having his head buried in his hands.

"That was different." He said noticing Diana's presence.

"The joining is a tough experience. Such is being a Grey Warden," She said.

"I can't believe you killed my daughter. I know you have your reasons to hate her, but..."
"I'm sorry, but leaving her alive would cause rebellions, which we can't afford to have. You should know this better then anyone."

There was a moment of silence.

"Anyway, we're leaving in two days for Redcliffe. Get well, and be ready."

She closed the door behind him and went to her room, only to find Zevran there.

"Ah, my dear Warden. I have been waiting for you," He smiled

"Oh, for what reason?"

He gestured her to sit on the bed.

"There is something I want to give you."
Diana raised her eyebrows.

"I got this when I killed my first target. It was beautiful, and I took it to mark the occasion." He gave her a small wrapped gift.

She seemed surprised.

"This is unexpected," she said while opening the package. She saw a golden, jeweled earring.

"Oh, Zevran, is is beautiful" She gasped.

"It has meant a lot to me, but so has....you," Zevran said
"feel free to do whatever you wish with it. If you desire to sell it, do so."

"Are you crazy?" she said.

"There's is one problem, my ears are not pierced," Zevran raised his eyebrows
"Well, I have thin needles that should be suited for that purpose, if you wish to do it now."

"Yes, I would like that."

Zevran took out his small pouch, took out a thin needle, he also had a small bottle, pouring it over the needle. "So it does not infect your ear, pet," he answered Diana's look.

"Now, this is going to hurt."

Diana shrugged her shoulders.

"Can't be worse then a battl...AOUCH!" She hold her ear, feeling blood running down.

"Do not tell me I did not warn you, my dear." He grinned, taking a towel, lying next to them, pressuring her wound.
She pouted at him.

When it was done, he cleaned her ear, and placed the earring in her lobe.

"It suits you." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Zevran," She leaned against his shoulders.
"Thank you for everything"

She felt his hands, his gentle warm hands against her cheeks. He lift her face up and pressed his lips against hers.

"You know something?" She suddenly said.

"What?"

"I'm imprinted to you."

Zevran raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, your earring, that was for you, and it will remain there for as long I will live,"

Zevran chuckled "Is that a bad thing, my Warden?"
"Not at all. I like it actually...I belong to you, Zev, and its comforting to know that something from you will always remain with me if you're not close," She said, feeling embarrassed. It was clear to her that she loved him.

They got interrupted by barking at the door. Diana sighed and opened the door to let her hound in.
He wagged his tail, and laid by the fire, keeping a watchful eye at the door.

"At least we will be able to sleep safe tonight," Zevran grinned at Troy.
"Yes because we can't protect ourselves at all from an attack right?"

"No need to get snappy, my naughty princess. Do you wish my presence tonight?"
"Of course I do."

"Good."

He grabbed her by the waist, and laid her on the bed, kissing her neck.

"Zev..." He stopped, sat up and looked at her.

"Why do you almost never call me by my name?"

"I have actually never thought of that. Do you wish me to use your name more often?"

"Not if you don't want to, and if it is to annoying to use my name, you can come up with a nickname for me."
"Hm, I like the idea of a nickname. Let's see, what can suit a beautiful woman who is fierce, wicked and violent." He kept looking in her eyes, "Emerald!"
"What?" She said surprised.

"Your eyes, have a deep, green color. When you fight they always seem to glow. It suits you perfectly, since your actions always reflect in them, so does your beauty. I must admit, I always loved your eyes."

"Aw, Zev. That is a nice sentiment" She smiled.

"I have my moments." He chuckled.
"Emerald it is then!"

Changing the subject,

"So, when are we leaving?" he asked.

"In two days. I promised Leliana to look at shoes and dresses tomorrow, have no idea when to use them, but it will make her happy, and I guess I can buy more food, potions and such as well."

"And Loghain, did he survive?"
"Yes he did."
"It's getting late, we really should go to sleep."

Diana agreed.

"Will you hold me?"
"Of course, I would be honored, my emerald."