A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and story alert adds. I appreciate each and everyone who reads this!


As I returned to Vigil's Keep, I still wrestled with my decision to leave Nathaniel behind. It had been a more difficult journey back. I was alone and female. Maker knows that put a target on my back. Not that I couldn't handle myself, I just wasn't in the mood to fight my way across Fereldan... again. At least he was healing well when I left him. A good deal of elfroot and some health poultices were doing a good job of speeding the process along.

The Keep looked intact. No matter that I had been gone only a week. With Oghren in residence and without me to reign him in, chaos usually ensued. He was lucky I liked him. I can't imagine anyone putting up with him who didn't.

I entered the throne room, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. Everything appeared fine. Bob the dragon skull hung above the throne. Fred the dead golem slumped in his niche. The giant brazier in the middle of the room burned brightly. I saw Varel waiting for me near the throne.

"What news Varel?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave me a bow of greeting. "Nothing to report, Commander. We didn't expect you back so soon. Velanna hasn't returned, they are probably only getting to Denerim just now."

"I'm glad it's been quiet. Um, you may have noticed that Nathaniel isn't with me." I proceeded to tell him what happened. The only shock that registered visibly was raised eyebrows. Maker bless the man, very little phased him. "So I'll need a cart and some oxen to pull it. He needs to be home to heal properly. I'll probably take a few Wardens with me. Anders definitely, he's a healer, and I think that Oghren and Sigrun will do. See to it please. I need a nap and a bath. I'd like to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

As it turned out, leaving the next morning wasn't a option. A cart to haul Nathaniel back wouldn't be available for a few days. Stepping out of the bath, I vigorously toweled myself off, pacing the room. So much to do. I needed to retrieve Nathaniel. I needed to deal with the Crows.

Oh, and the elves. Two tracks laid themselves out in my mind. First, I needed to inspect the Alienage in Amaranthine. I wouldn't let any people in my care live in squalor. Second, that last darkspawn incursion had left some of our farmers dead. There was empty land, good farm land. I wondered if there were any Dalish clans who would be interesting in living there. It wasn't as much land as the Wilds that Alistair had granted to Keeper Lanaya and the rest of the Dalish, but it was enough for a clan or two.

A nap would be out of the question until I had spoken with Mistress Woolsey. I threw on a dress and braided my hair into a long cable. My mother had always wanted me to have it long. It was more lady-like she said. I sighed and rubbed my temples as I walked to the small study where Woolsey had set up her lair. I hadn't cut my hair since my parents were killed and it hung to beneath my shoulder blades.

I found Woolsey ensconced behind an enormous desk. It was probably bigger than mine. She handled all financial matters for both the Wardens and the Arling. Better her than me. I was never terribly good with numbers. I was slightly surprised to find Varel with her. They were looking at a ledger and I guessed they were going over the numbers for supplies and retainer payments.

"How do the finances stand?" I asked, announcing my presence. They looked at me and smiled. "That good?" They nodded. "Wonderful. Mistress Woolsey, I had an idea to open a school in Amaranthine. One that any child could attend without having to pay." Varel smiled again and Woolsey just looked blank. I plunged on ahead. "Also, I want to inspect the Alienage. They are my people, too, and I won't have them living in squalor."

She brightened a bit at that. "I think that's a commendable idea, Commander. And since I'm here at the behest of the Wardens in Weisshaupt, there is another matter. Servants."

"What of them? We have enough, right? Some to cook and some to tidy up?" I was perplexed. We had the basics, what more was needed?

"Precisely, Commander. A few cooks and scullery maids. The First Warden of Weisshaupt wishes to see this Arling succeed. To show the world that Wardens can have a place even when there is no Blight."

"I still don't see what this has to do with servants." Alright, Mistress Lemon Sucker, what is your game now?

"It's about appearances, Commander. Right now the Keep is run like a war camp. You need more staff that isn't of the military variety. Maids, man-servants, perhaps even a lady-in-waiting." She was wise enough to stop there and let me digest what she had said.

I looked at Varel, thinking he'd help me. I didn't go in for the trappings of nobility, and for the most part, neither did my parents. What on Thedas would I do with a personal maid? "Varel? A little help? I don't need an army of servants."

He cleared his throat. "Mistress Woolsey has a point, Commander. At some point you're going to have to live as though you weren't about to run off to war."

And so I found myself interviewing maids. It was a strange experience and I sorely missed my mother. Her guidance was truly needed. Up until this point, the only companions I'd chosen had been fighters of some form or another. Also, I chose them in the heat of the moment. I'd only made one mistake; Valenna. She was a nasty piece of work, but good in battle.

Now I had to pick people based on an entirely different skill set. I think that Mistress Lemon Sucker had planned this. The next day the Throne room was full of applicants. I sat in my study waiting and she had a few things to say before we started.

"I can send in only elves, Commander. They demand lesser pay than humans or dwarves."

I glared at her. "Let's get one thing straight. I've yet to differentiate between elf, human, or dwarf. I don't even care about mages or apostates. If you ever speak like that again, you will be dismissed, is that clear?"

"Perfectly, Commander." Her face pinched up. Mistress Lemon Sucker indeed.

"Also, pay will be equal for men and women, regardless of race. Understood?"

"As you wish. On to the interviews then. They all have some experience. Most have letters of recommendation except for the ones who worked for the previous Arl. You'll only need to speak with a few of them, unless you wish to personally interview each scullery maid?"

"No, that will be fine. Anything else, Oh Mistress of the Coin?" I thought I saw a glimmer of a smile twitch at the corner of her mouth at that title.

"That will be all. I'll send the first one in." She left the room with her usual haughty dignity. Maker's breath that woman annoyed me.

Shortly, a woman entered. She was a tiny elf woman with the most startlingly green eyes I'd ever seen. Her pale blond hair was cropped short and tied off in small sections. She was closer in age to Woolsey I guessed. To my horror, she knelt.

"Arlessa Ethelfleda. I am Trini." I cringed, both at the use of the arlessa title and my full name. I stood up so quickly I knocked my chair over. I hurried to her and pulled up at her elbows, getting her to stand.

"No, no, please don't kneel. And call me Eth, please. I don't much care for titles and as for my given name, well, I prefer Eth."

She stood up, looking unsure. I gestured to a chair and then sat behind my desk. She sat down, folding her delicate hands in her lap. "Ok, so I guess I'm supposed to interview you. I'll be honest. I'm not one for titles, ceremony, or any of that sort of thing. I have no idea what questions I'm supposed to ask because I don't know what I'd do with you in the first place."

Trini smiled, sweet and serious at the same time. "I've been a personal maid in the Bannorn and I excel at dressing hair." I felt self-conscious about my hair. I resisted the urge to run my hands over it to make sure it wasn't sticking up. It was in it's usual braid down my back, but sometimes it got a little messy.

"Ok, that sounds fine I guess. I've never had a personal maid." She smiled again and that was that. I don't know how many I interviewed that day, but most were hired and would start the next morning.

The whole process left me tired and I retired early after the dinner hour with a cup of tea and a book. In a cozy nightgown and robe I curled into an over stuffed chair in the corner of my room. I must have fallen asleep there because I was still there the next morning, tea half drunk and book fallen on the floor.

The pounding on the door awoke me. A guard burst in, eyes bulging in alarm. There had been a fire in the night, a fire in the Alienage.