A/N: I am so sorry, this has only been sat on my PC for two weeks. However, I had an essay to write and thankfully, I actually did a really good job on it. Then it was Christmas. But here it is. Updating from here on in will be less regular as I have my degree to work around plus this is all new stuff where as the first ten chapters were adapted from my original run. Happy holidays, everyone and Happy New Year.

Part Three: Haunted Ground

4th Firstfall, 9:30. Lothering, Ferelden.

Less than a day from Lothering, Elissa halted their progression and crouched down pulling off her glove as she put her palm flat to the ground. She frowned, the ground was dead and corrupted, and she could feel it. As she stood, she found that everyone was looking at her.

'The land is dying,' she stated as she pulled her glove back on and called Cassius to heel.

As a young girl, she had discovered an affinity to the earth and its creatures. Her father had taught her how to use that to her advantage and it had certainly served her well in escaping from Highever. Fae called it a form of old magic; a connection to the earth that was older than the magic of mages. The idea made Elissa a little uncomfortable and she had ignored the Highever apostate's explaination for her skill in favour of the mundane excuse of hard work and practice.

Daylen frowned. 'The Blight is spreading unchecked,' he said. 'Why isn't Ferelden fighting it?'

He was agitated; they had all noticed it and as they had drawn closer to the horde, his nights overcome by dreams that left him crying out in his sleep. Yet, he would not speak of what it was he saw in those night hours and it was beginning to show; there were bags under his eyes and his already bad temper got worse. The only person who had actively tried to find the underlying cause of it was Kallian who Daylen had taken into his confidence somewhat, but even she was at a loss as to his worsening state.

'They are fighting amongst themselves,' said Elissa as she started back along the road.

'Your nobility do realise that they are currently fighting over a house that is burning down, don't they?' asked Daylen walking after her.

The burn from the Taint was nagging at him the closer they got to Lothering and to where the bulk of the horde was. It was venom, poisoning him and bringing out evil in his thoughts. Right now, it was aimed at the young Queen as she set the pace to reach Lothering by early afternoon.

Elissa looked over her shoulder. 'Most likely not,' she replied. 'No one believes this is a Blight, Daylen. Nearly every man alive believes the darkspawn were finally defeated in the Fourth Blight.'

For a moment, Daylen's increasingly ill temper got the better of him and he shot his hand out, grabbing Elissa's wrist in an iron grip and spinning her around to face him. 'Why do you believe otherwise?'

'Do you swear on your life that this is a Blight, Daylen Amell formally of Kirkwall?' she demanded of him as she wrenched her wrist free before laying a hand on her dagger. The whole group were now looking at them in alarm. Alistair moved closer to step between Elissa and Daylen but they both ignored him as the tension-filled silence stretched between them. 'Well, Ser Mage?'

If her demand was extreme, Daylen didn't say anything. If he could have looked at her in the eye and swear he would have. The archdemon haunted his dreams every night unrelentingly and there was no reason to lie about that. 'Yes, I would swear on my life, and so help me if I am lying,' he said to her. 'This is a true Blight I can feel it just as you can feel the earth dying.'

Elissa gave the mage a short, sharp nod of acknowledgement before casually adjusting her cloak. 'Time is wasting then.' Then she stepped in very close to the Grey Warden. 'Touch me again, Amell, and I will kill you, are we clear.'

'Crystal, Your Majesty,' he said without a trace of sarcasm that usually tainted his voice.

-…-

'They do know there is a great big horde headed straight for them, why haven't they left?' Alistair asked the group as they approached the village gates.

Worse than the last time they had visited, the village was full of haphazardly pitched tents and people wandering around as if they were utterly lost.

'Many of these people have never known anywhere else and are just as scared to leave as to stay,' said Leliana softly as she looked around at the obvious despair.

'They are fools, but if they wish to be trampled alive, so be it,' muttered Morrigan as they were halted at the gates to the village by a fully armed Templar.

'If you are looking for food and shelter, you will find none here, the village is full,' stated the Templar firmly, his voice echoing against his bucket styled helmet.

'We aren't staying,' said Alistair. 'Passing through on our way to Denerim.'

'Shouldn't you be moving them on, Ser?' asked Elissa. 'The Darkspawn horde approaches.'

'Yes,' agreed Daylen, 'they cannot be more than a week away.'

'How do you know such things?' asked the Templar, turning on the Mage. 'What magicks do you possess?'

'I am a Warden, sworn to protect this land against the darkspawn, no matter the cost,' replied Daylen in a surely voice crossing his arms over his chest.

'Even at the cost of the King's life?'

Alistair stepped forward planting himself between the Templar and Daylen, his hand on his sword. Unlike the last time that they have travelled through Lothering, this time Alistair didn't hide the heraldry on his armour. They needed Howe and Loghain wasting their energy running after them not causing more trouble within the Bannorn.

'The Grey Wardens were not responsible for the death of my brother, King Cailan,' he said in a low voice that rang with quiet authority.

The Templar did a double take before bowing to the new King. 'My apologies Your Highness, I did not recognise you. You are much changed from when you rode through with the King and Loghain has told all that you died alongside His Majesty. There is a bounty on the head of any Warden for double regicide.'

'Thankfully, that is not the case,' replied Alistair, his voice a little tight. 'But my Grey Warden friend is correct, the Horde marches closer with every passing day and it cannot be far now. Get the villagers out now before it is too late.'

The Templar bowed again. 'As you wish, Your Highness, I will inform Ser Bryant of your recommendations.'

The Templar turned and started walking back to the Chantry. As he moved out of earshot Alistair let out the breath he had been holding. He'd never really taken advantage of the fact that he could command the people beyond the petty arguing he had been engaged in with Daylen and Elissa in Redcliffe. The whole command thing wasn't really him but as he turned he caught Elissa with a faint smile on her lips as she walked to his side and slide her arm into his. She had told him that he needed to step up to the authority his position allowed him, that he could save a lot of people if he wasn't so afraid of the power he had.

'That was scary,' he muttered, 'that was, wow, did I just do that?'

His wife nodded. 'You just did that.'

Daylen reached out and grabbed his upper arm. 'Thank you,' he said.

'You're welcome,' he said a little tightly. Alistair still had not forgiven Daylen for the way he had spoken to Elissa, but as she didn't seem to be holding Daylen's behaviour against him, Alistair wondered if it was petty that he did. 'You think we should stop for supplies and information while we're here?'

'As much as we can,' agreed Daylen. 'We should split up so as not to draw attention to ourselves, we are quite a large group.'

-…-

'They say,' said the drunk in Dane's Reach, 'that a great dragon swooped down on the Tower of Ishal, spewed out a breath of fire before launching into the night. I reckon it was one of those Archdemon thingys. The Chantry says they are the tainted Dragon Gods of Tervinter.'

Elissa knocked back a mouthful of ale, which was not in its best condition. 'That's extraordinary,' she remarked. 'Kallian, isn't that an amazing tale?'

The elf looked at the drunk with the exact same expression she had given Leliana when the lay sister had told them of her vision in the same tavern less than a month before. 'Earth shattering,' she drawled. 'Do we really have to listen to this? It's not exactly news, and Daylen wanted news.'

'This place is full of hysterical rumours Kallian, if we get one straight story out of anyone I'll be surprised,' said Elissa, forcing another mouthful of the foul beer. 'Besides, you are very keen to take Daylen's orders.' She looked at the over filled tavern her eyes falling on familiar heraldry. She cut across any reply Kallian intended to make on the matter of Daylen. 'Loghain has men here,' she said in an undertone, slipping her hand to her waist and readying her sword.

'Why?' asked Kallian, mimicking Elissa's actions.

'The Templar said that Loghain had declared the Warden's traitors,' she said, 'perhaps they are here to watch and wait?'

'Wait for what?' asked Kallian.

'Any surviving Wardens I suppose,' replied Elissa, 'maybe the progression of the Darkspawn.'

'You said no one really believes that this is a Blight,' countered Kallian.

There was a chuckle from one of the men at the bar. 'This ain't a Blight, girl,' he said, 'Loghain says it isn't.'

Elissa pressed her lips together. 'Loghain is always correct, I take it?' She asked, turning in her chair to face the man whose armour bore the arms of the Teryn in question. 'The Warden's declared a Blight, killed the King and themselves?'

'Well, he saw the Warden's betrayal, plain as day,' said the man, 'left us behind in case some got away. There was one that wasn't with the rest of them.'

Elissa nodded thoughtfully and turned back to her mead. 'Maybe he was spirited away by a great dragon,' she said taking a sip of the warm drink, glancing at the drunk who seemed to have lolled into his tankard.

'Hasn't been a dragon seen in over thirty years,' pitched in an older man, 'not since good King Maric and Teryn Loghain brought down the Orlesians at River Dane.'

She knew the story well of course, her own father had been among the men flying his colours, the silver and blue of the Terynir of Highever. The thought of her kind, beloved father made her clamp down on her bottom lip and disguise her pain with more mead. As she put down her cup, the door spun open and Loghain's man spun like he had scented a rabbit. It became obvious, although not unexpected, that Loghain's man was not alone. Elissa didn't need to turn around to know who had just entered; to get such a reaction it was only likely to be one of two people.

'So, you are in league with the Wardens, Your Highness. Not enough to be a Prince, why stop there when you can be King?'

Elissa exchanged a glance with Kallian. To them, who both who knew Alistair well, they doubted anyone bar Loghain could come up with a concept so preposterous. She couldn't help it, but Elissa shook her head and laughed. The guard pierced her with a look, and she returned it sharply. 'If Loghain told you to jump off a cliff you would, wouldn't you?'

'You side with these traitors?' he asked as she got up.

She turned to look at Alistair; she didn't miss the brief quirk of his eyes or the soft, warm smile he gave her. When Elissa was close enough, Alistair grabbed her free hand, with dramatic flair that had Kallian rolling her eyes he kissed her knuckles. 'My Lady,' he said before getting into a position that partially protected her.

'We are not the traitors,' he said. 'Loghain betrayed Cailan and I on the battlefield

'Lies,' hissed back the guard as his men pushed in closer to him. 'Loghain saw the Warden's betray the King.'

The man was moving before anyone else could speak and suddenly from all sides Loghain's men pressed on them. Elissa whipped around, pulling her sword free and meeting the first blow that came her way. Her free hand reached around her back and pulled her dagger for her off hand as she spun out of the way of a second man making her hit the door which opened and she flew through rather unexpectedly. She squeaked not managing to recover herself before she hit a post outside. It left her vulnerable but she managed to duck the sword that came around for her; the blade embedded in the wood instead of her head and she turned herself so she could kick the man in the knee.

It gave her the advantage she needed to get the space on the attacker as he steadied himself then wrenched the blade free. He was clearly hoping his sheer size would prove to be his advantage point, but Elissa managed to meet each blow deftly, parrying and ducking. She quickly realised that her opponent was putting some much power into his blows that he would soon tire himself. However, she wasn't about to let this carry on much longer than she needed to, lest she inadvertently lose her advantage over her opponent. The moment he left himself wide open she brought her sword down, slicing downward with her long sword and then across with her dagger, dragging it across his throat. It wasn't deep enough to kill him, but he was disabled and would certainly talk with a rasp for the rest of his life. At the same time, the captain of the guard fled from the tavern, running for his life, hotly pursued by her murderously inclined maidservant.

Elissa had never once doubted that Kallian killed all the men in the Arl of Denerim's estate, she had seen it in the girl's eyes but seeing her in action was terrifying. There was nothing quite like an angry elf and Kallian was one angry elf with a body count to match. She watched in fascination as the elf managed to catch up to and leap on the guard. At this point, she decided it was time to intervene and started to jog over yelling Kallian's name.

But the elf wasn't holding a dagger as she brought her fist up to pummelled the hapless solider. Over and over again Kallian's fists hit the face of the man she had straddled, pinning his arms. Elissa stopped short of the scene and Alistair joined her.

'I can see it now,' he remarked as he watched the elf in action. 'It's a terrifying thought actually.'

Elissa smiled faintly as Kallian drew back her fist and knocked the man out cold.

As she looked up, both Elissa and Alistair had not managed to school their expressions. Kallian stood, straightening herself. 'They called you a traitor and a murderer,' she said to Alistair.

'Well, remind me not to get on your bad side,' he said with a smile.

Rather surprisingly, Kallian shied from the comment making Elissa laugh aloud at the elf's sudden display of sheepishness. Embarrassed by her actions, Kallian wandered off in the direction of Leliana who has speaking with the woman who had been identified as the town elder. Alistair turned to Elissa.

'I think she has a crush on me,' he declared.

Elissa raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk on her lips. 'You are such an idiot.'

'Aww now you've gone and hurt my manly feelings, Liss,' he whined before he looked at the unconscious man bearing Loghain's heraldry. 'What are we doing with him?'

She frowned for a second. 'A message for Ferelden's self-proclaimed protector, I think Your Majesty.'

Aside to the commotion, Morrigan approached Daylen. 'I was not planning on staying within the village,' she announced as he listened to Alistair tell Loghain's man his message for the Regent. 'But there was something of import I thought you should be aware of.'

Daylen turned his attention to the witch in front of him. 'Oh?' he queried.

'Let us just say, from what I understand, what will interest is the Chantry's use of punishment,' she explained. 'You may also wish to bring the Templar along. No doubt he will have an opinion on the matter.'

-…-

'If they wanted him to be executed for his crime, it should have been swift,' spat Alistair as they marched back to the Chantry. 'Not left to die of hunger or be devoured by the bloody darkspawn. It's inhumane for anyone.' His blood was still boiling from the from the brawl in the tavern.

The huge bronzed skin giant had calmly explained that he had murdered an entire farmstead and that his punishment had been to sit in the cage until he died. He had not been given food or water but had survived for over twenty days. Daylen had listened as Morrigan suggested they release the Qunari and make use of him while Alistair had fumed about the nature of how the sentence was being carried out. He led the way back into the Chantry, marching up to Ser Bryant and demanded to know where he could find the Revered Mother.

The Templar in charge of Lothering's defences looked at Alistair a little startled as he realised this was the man who had cleared out the bandits that had been fleecing the fleeing victims of the oncoming horde. The Templar pointed in the direction of the back on the chapel before stepping aside.

As Alistair marched off, the Templar addressed Daylen. 'What is this about?'

'The Qunari on the town's edge,' explained Daylen. 'The punishment seems a little inhumane, does it not?'

'Indeed,' agreed Bryant. 'I would have run him through there and then, but the Revered Mother believes his fate should be left to the Maker.'

'Thank you,' said Daylen, 'if you'll excuse me?'

'Do you require aid?' asked Bryant.

Daylen shook his head. 'No doubt the sound of my companion fuming will lead me in the right direction,' he explained, 'but thank you for your kind offer.'

'As you wish,' replied Bryant as Daylen went on his way.

As predicted, Alistair's raised voice indicated the direction he was required to go in, finding the Prince as he spoke harshly with the Revered Mother.

'So you leave him in pain?' enquired Alistair dangerous, sounding every inch the King of Ferelden. He was starting to gain confidence with his new position, Daylen realised. No doubt that Elissa was probably doing a lot to help him realise that confidence. 'His murder of those farmers was less painful that what you subject to him.'

'And who are you to tell me what I am and am not to do?' asked the Mother harshly. Clearly she wasn't used to being opposed.

'I'm the King of Ferelden,' he told the woman. 'As such, this matter falls to my hands and not yours.'

The Mother of the Lothering Chantry blinked. 'Impossible,' she said. 'Loghain himself declared the King and Prince dead. I will not listen to this hearsay.'

Daylen was certain his mouth was likely to be hanging open at such a retort. Having seen Alistair in the Fade he knew the King's Theirin heritage was so obvious for all to see that only a fool would deny was right in front of them. He stepped forward without really know what it was he planned to say.

'I will say that it is not hearsay,' he said to her. 'But if you will not believe him than believe me when I say that I am with the Grey Wardens and I require that you release the Qunari into my custody to fight against the Blight.'

'Grey Wardens? Pretend Kings?' The Mother's voice had changed, she sounded scared. 'You should not be here.'

'It was Loghain and not us who left King Cailan to die,' muttered Daylen. He sighed before speaking with more confidence. 'The true threat is the Blight, and I need someone like the Qunari in battle.'

'Absolutely not,' replied the Mother, 'I will not add to your lawlessness, now be gone before I have the Templar's run you through.' Then she looked at Alistair. 'You should be ashamed, making such claims of birth. I saw both the King and Prince ride through and you look like neither.'

Daylen stepped forward, grabbing Alistair's arm. 'Come my friend, we are not welcome here,' he said to the King. 'Don't say anything stupid, she clearly believes Loghain's word, we should move on.'

The group followed back through the Chantry and out into the courtyard.

'How dare she,' fumed Alistair. 'Petty, small minded Chantry rulers who place their own worth above anything else. And to say I didn't look anything like myself, who does she think she is kidding.'

'Well it confirms that we will not be staying here long,' said Elissa. 'But what of the Qunari? He did murder all those people. He could turn on us at any time.'

Alistair looked at his wife, suddenly very seriously but without anger. 'How is that any different to Kallian?' he asked her softly.

Elissa shrugged. 'I guess it is not,' she agreed.

'And we are not unarmed farmers,' said Daylen, ignoring the information about Kallian but planning to enquire further later. 'There is more than enough skill between us all to subdue him. Alistair, you need an extra hand in battle. You can't continue to take the brunt of it alone and the Qunari are exceptionally skilled in battle.'

'I have to say I agree with Daylen, again,' said Elissa, glancing at the mage. 'We could use the additional skill in front line battle.'

'Are you sure?' asked Alistair looking at her.

'I can't very well advocate saving Kallian while condemning the Qunari for similar actions,' said Elissa heavily, the weight of the decision to save Kallian baring down on her. The Qunari unnerved her but Alistair could not expect to be their only warrior in the oncoming battles with the darkspawn. 'But I believe the ultimate decision stands with you, Alistair.'

He glared at his wife for a moment. She was wily when she wanted to be. Alistair shook his head and chuckled.

'I take it that it is an aye for the Qunari?' asked Daylen.

'It's an aye,' agreed Alistair somewhat reluctantly.

Vigil's Keep, Amaranthine, Ferelden.

A lone figure watched from a darkened window as a lone rider galloped through the Keep gates. Lady Delilah Howe recognised the man; he was the head of her father's guard and left to steward over Highever. She bowed her head as she thought of her father's actions there. She had been friends with Elissa Cousland for many years, they had played together as children here and in Highever, she had acted as a maid in waiting during Elissa's wedding and gone riding together when Elissa had stopped at the Keep on her journey home after her nuptials. But not only that, the Teryn used to sneak boiled Orlesian sweets under the table to her and the Teryna had given her gifts on feast days. She once had a crush on Fergus and used to trail around after him when Elissa was not looking. A tear escaped her eyes before she stepped away from the window.

By secret paths known only to the servants and her, Delilah made her way down to her father's presumptively named Throne Room and pushed open a secret door behind a tapestry. If Lowan was here then it could only mean one thing; the bastard had found Elissa and brought her back here. When she had heard her father raging that Bryce Cousland's youngest child, now Princess of Ferelden, had escaped his massacre he had stormed around the Keep for days. Delilah had secretly smiled at her friend's escape but she was not hopeful that her survival would continue with a large force of her father's men after her until her father had disclosed his new plan and Delilah had found herself wishing her friend had died.

Lowan bowed to the self-proclaimed Teryn of Highever. 'I very much doubt she has survived the forest around Highever,' said Lowan drily. 'According to the men, she was badly injured. I'll bet the wolves have had her.'

Howe pressed his lips together. 'I don't want you to stop just yet,' he said. 'Someone might be sheltering her in a nearby village.'

'We've turned over all the nearby villages and extended our patrols out to the far side of Lake Calenhad, which is why I've come,' explained Lowan. 'Two men from a patrol send to Rainsferre returned with reports of encountering the Grey Warden that Teryn Loghain has placed a specific bounty on.'

The Arl of Amaranthine looked up in interest at that news. 'Was he alone?'

'No, he travelled with an elf, she was hellfire with her daggers according to the men that survived,' said Lowan.

'Where were they headed?' asked Howe.

'An educated guess might suggest Redcliffe,' he said.

Howe chuckled mirthlessly; a laugh that made Delilah clutch the door frame with dread. 'Well, he won't find much help there,' he said. 'Bann Teagan isn't not a heavy weight in this game is he? He'll be hiding behind his brother, well his corpse. See if we can get men to track his whereabouts. I doubt he stayed long.'

'Shall I have men join Teryn Loghain's men in Lothering?' asked Lowan. 'He may head back towards the scene of the crime.'

'You don't actually think the Grey Warden's killed the King, do you?' asked Howe. 'Their Commander was almost hopping with joy when Cailan allied himself to them.'

Lowan nodded. 'I did wonder,' he admitted. 'Then perhaps he will return to seek evidence of his order's betrayal.'

'Fine, have some men sent there, in disguise and tell them not to engage,' ordered Howe. 'I think we are going to need a more robust approach to this.'

'Meaning?' enquired Lowan.

'Meaning we'll have Loghain pay for an assassin, just in case, you understand,' said Howe. 'He might still end up skewed on a darkspawn sword, if we are lucky. As for the Cousland bitch, I want her alive. Your men so much as even rough her up will find themselves swinging from the gates.'

'As you wish, your Grace,' he said bowing.

Delilah pulled the door shut and as she did so, she bumped into another solid body. A hand clasped around her mouth as she went scream before she was pulled away. She tried to scramble against the man, his iron grip firm across her chest but she wasn't going to give up without a fight. He wrestled her into a room that was accessible by hidden corridors.

'I'm going to let you go, now my Lady,' said the man. Delilah recognised the voice as belonging to the Seneschal, Varel. 'Promise me not to scream.'

He let her go and she scrabbled away into a desk. Varel held up his hands to her to indicate that he meant no harm, but she was not so sure. Everyone in this damn Keep put on charming faces to mask their murderous intentions.

'I did not know you knew these corridors,' he said quietly.

Delilah looked up, a stubborn set to her jaw. 'I had to know if they had found Elissa or not,' she said.

'Have they?' he asked.

'They have not,' Delilah said.

Varel smiled. 'That is good,' he said, 'if they find her, he plans to marry her to Thomas now that the Prince is dead.'

Delilah nodded her head. 'I know,' she said, 'I heard them speak of it. How they plan to get her with child so Thomas has a legitimate claim over Highever and then…' she trailed off, swallowing. 'Then kill her, claim it was from the child birth.' Tears pricked Delilah's eyes and she pushed them away not wanting Varel to see her cry for her friend.

Varel nodded his head gravely. 'I had feared as much,' he said. 'Then what do we do about it?'

Delilah looked at him, blinking in surprise. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean, what can we do about it, if she is found?'

She composed herself, surprised at finding an ally within the Keep. 'We'll help her escape,' said Delilah, 'and when we've done that, I can escape to the town. I have a friend who'll hide me but what of you?'

Varel placed a hand on Delilah's shoulder. 'Do not worry about me, my Lady, so long as you are safe.'

The Road to Ostagar, Ferelden

The camp fire crackled merrily with a stew from the left over supplies bubbling away. Daylen had warned them that this would be the last fire they would have before they were south of the main horde. He had stomped off after that muttering about setting his wards while the girls drew straws over who would cook. Leliana took to the pot while Elissa skinned the hares she had caught the day before they reached Lothering. Daylen had advised against hunting in the Blighted lands and Elissa could not have agreed more. Blighted meat would only make them sick so from tomorrow they would be rationing the dried food.

Kallian watched Elissa work from the pot, wincing as Elissa used her dagger to peel the skin the hare.

'I don't know why you watch it if you hate it so much,' said Leliana.

'Morbid curiosity,' replied Kallian. 'It's a bit odd, don't you think, that the Queen of Ferelden, the actual Queen is sat over their skinning two hares while humming an old Highever folk song under her breath.'

'I think it's wonderful,' said Leliana. 'In Orlais even the minor nobles make all their servants do everything for them. Most would run away screaming at the thought of putting their hands in the belly of a hare even in desperation for food.'

Kallian smiled. 'Orlesian nobles? Know many of them?'

'Not personally,' said Leliana but was saved from saying anything further as Alistair peered into the pot.

'Are you sure that's right?' he asked. 'There's colour.'

Leliana looked at Kallian who was still rather awkward after her display in the village earlier in the day. Leliana frowned at Kallian as she seemed to melt away. 'It is an Orlesian style stew, tender vegetables with juicy meat, Your Majesty.'

'Alistair,' he corrected. 'And Orlesian style?'

Leliana smiled slowly. 'Alistair,' she amended, 'and yes, Orlesian style.'

'See that is where you are going wrong,' he told her. 'Food shouldn't be frilly and pretentious like that. Now here in Ferelden, we do things right. We take our ingredients, throw them into the largest pot we can find, and cook them for as long as possible until everything is a uniform grey colour. As soon as it looks completely bland and unappetizing, that's when I know it's done.'

She frowned at him. 'You are having me on, no?' she asked as Elissa's chuckles reached her ears.

Alistair smiled, that sort of charming smile that would have women falling in the aisles for him. If he hadn't been so devotedly married he'd be a heart breaker of the first degree. 'You need to eat in more Fereldan inns,' he remarked before making his way over to Elissa who accepted his attention with a wide smile.

Leliana had barely seen Elissa smile before Alistair had arrived in Redcliffe. While she had not lost the sadness in her countenance, at least she now had someone to share her pain who understood. Leliana was familiar with the constitution of arranged marriage and while it produced many content unions, she had rarely seen one that could be described as happy. Lady Elise, her childhood guardian had offered her the chance of position by marrying her into a lesser noble family in Orlais. Then she had stumbled into Marjolaine's path and her life had been inextricably changed forever. Leliana looked back over at Elissa who now seemed to be laughing as she spoke with her husband and for the for first time in a long while she regretted her decision to play the Game. Ferelden's royalty would never trust someone who was taught by the Orlesians how to spy and report on their targets. She sighed heavily as Elissa got to her feet.

'Ready for this?' she asked chucking the meat in the pot without waiting for an answer. Then Elissa looked at her. 'Are you alright? You should really ignore him when it comes to cooking. He can't cook and I don't recall him complaining when my old Nan used to serve up her distinctly not uniform grey food.'

Leliana grinned. 'No, it wasn't that, I was thinking about the people in Lothering and what will become of them,' she said going serious as she mentioned the village that had become her home. It wasn't a lie, it had been on her mind but just not right at that moment.

Elissa nodded. 'They should move on,' she said. 'At least I hope they do, Alistair told the Templars to evacuate but whether they listen or not is another thing. No one can force them to do anything.'

'Ser Bryant is a good man, I am sure he will act,' she said.

The stew was ready less than half an hour later and everyone bar Morrigan who refused to eat with them and Sten, the recently liberated Qunari, gathered to eat dinner. Leliana watched Sten as she mopped up the juices of the stew with a hunk of bread. She turned to Kallian. 'He did not eat for twenty days.'

Kallian looked up and frowned. 'From what I understand,' she said, watching the unmoving Kossith.

Leliana stood up handing her bowl to Kallian who was left with no choice over taking it. Leliana walked over to the pot where there was plenty of left over food and took another bowl, filling it before taking a hunk of bread. By this point, the quite chat had stopped around the camp and all eyes on her. Everyone had been edgy about going near the Sten; not just want he had done, but because Qunari created suspicion in everyone. Their attempt to conquer Thedas still struck fear into Andrastians.

'Are you alright?' Leliana asked, holding out the stew to Sten. 'You were in that cage for weeks.'

The giant Qunari took the bowl. 'Yes,' he said. 'Thank you.'

'It might be the last time we can eat hot food for a while,' she explained as he dipped the bread into the stew. 'Elissa will not hunt in the Blighted Lands and Daylen says we can't have a campfire for a few nights after today.'

The Qunari merely nodded as she backed away, every eye still on her as she made her way back to where she sat with Kallian.

The elf handed Leliana back her meal. 'I think I speak for everyone when I say we think you are crazy.'

-…-

Silence had fallen in the camp as Elissa was left alone for the first watch. It was a freezing night but she was fortunate enough that she had not just the long, thick fur lined cloak to wear but also Cassius had cuddled up to her, his giant head in her lap. Leant against a log close to the fire, she wrote in her journal. It had been years since she felt the need to write down her thoughts, but that had been before she had found herself in the middle of war and being compared to Queen Rowan, she decided she would have to draw the line if anyone even uttered the words 'Rebel Queen'. It was all too much for her to process in her brain alone and she needed an outlet for the complex thoughts.

Behind her footsteps caught the attention of Cassius and her war hound looked up. Just as quickly as he had looked up, he rest his head on his mistress's head again huffing. She stroked his head before glancing back. 'You should be sleeping,' she said, looking at Alistair as he stood back a little.

'I don't like you out here on your own,' he said. 'Not that you can't look after yourself, but…' he trailed off looking out at the darkness. 'The Darkspawn are nothing like anything you've ever faced, they are horrendous and if their contaminates yours, it's a long painful death.' Alistair sat down beside his wife. 'I used to hear the men who had been tainted screaming as it slowly poisoned them in the camp.'

Elissa shuddered, whether from the cold or the thoughts now occupying her mind, she did not know.

'Anyhow, I didn't come out here to scare you with terrible stories from camp, but I have something for you,' he explained with one of his shy smiles. 'I saw it when we were in Lothering today and I didn't get you anything for Satinalia.' He produced a rose from behind him and held it out to her. 'Here, do you know what it is?'

She cocked her head to the side as she took it, a smile tugging on her lips. 'Your new weapon of choice?'

He laughed huskily mostly from the mischievous look in her eyes. Yes, that's right! Watch as I thrash our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangements! Feel my thorns, darkspawn! I will overpower you with my rosy scent!' He returned her look. 'Or you know, it's just a rose. Pretty dull in comparison.'

Elissa turned her attention to the velvety red rose, one of the biggest she had ever seen. Ever since they had met in the rose garden, Alistair given her roses regularly and this was easily the most beautiful rose he had given her. Unlike the carefully cultivated roses in Denerim, this one had a wild beauty about it. 'It's lovely, thank you,' she whispered as she took it from him.

'I remember thinking, when I saw it, how could something so beautiful exist in place with so much despair and ugliness,' he explained in a low timbre. 'I probably should have left it alone, but couldn't. The darkspawn would come and their taint would just destroy it. So, I thought I would give it you. In a lot of ways, I think the same thing when I look at you.'

She looked up; Alistair was watching her intently in the fire light. 'Thank you,' she said, before she leant over and kissed him. His hand came up to cup the back of her head and tilt her head back so he could kiss her fully. The kiss came to a slow, natural conclusion a few minutes later and Elissa sat back a bit to look at him again.

'I'm glad you like it,' he said, reaching over to push a lock of hair behind her ear and follow the movement through to stroke her jaw. 'I was just thinking, you haven't been finding any of this easy yet here you are battling on and I wanted you to know that what a rare and wonderful person you are amid all this darkness and tragedy.'

Elissa smiled. 'I caught myself thinking much the same about you,' she said, looking down at the rose.

'Right, so if we could get past this embarrassing stage and straight to the steamy bits, I'd appreciated it,' he quipped with a disarming grin.

'And you were doing so well,' laughed Elissa, looking up to the sky. 'Nearly had me and everything.'

'Well, we could,' he suggested with the quirk of his eyebrow, he leant over. 'I'm sure,' he said kissing her lips, 'everyone else,' he continued moving his to just behind her ear lobe, 'is asleep.'

'Nice try,' she whispered huskily, pulling back a little, 'but I think we could do without the stories of the night one of that lot came out here and saw us, well, you know.'

Alistair sat back. 'You are probably right,' he admitted with a sigh. They hadn't been together since leaving Redcliffe for fear of being overheard. 'How long we got till Kallian is up?'

Elissa shrugged snuggling in close to him. 'Not long enough for, you know, so, you know.'