"What will you do now that the Darkspawn are defeated, Warden?" The queen asked him. Aedan didn't hesitate.

"I'm going after Morrigan." His reply came so quickly that Anora was taken aback slightly. She didn't know the Warden very well yet, but she knew that he was close with her new husband and king. She had expected that he would stay as one of his advisors and generals. "Please, your majesty, I can see that is not the answer you were expecting. But this decision is not made rashly. I thought I could do it. I thought I could let her go, move on, but I can't. She's haunted my thoughts and dreams since the moment she walked away, and the loss is crushing me. I know Alistair could use my help, but he doesn't need me." His eyes got a pensive, faraway look for a moment. "I do need her."

Anora nodded. It would have been nice if he had been willing to stay to help cement their new reign, but she was a wise enough woman to know that short of arresting him, she could not stop him, and certainly could not change his mind. And she'd listened to enough of Alistair's stories to know that if she tried that, he'd simply spring himself and leave anyway. Better to give him her blessing, send him off on good terms, and hope that he would eventually return if they needed him.

"As you wish, Warden. You will be missed. There will always be a place for you here should you return."

Aedan bowed graciously. "Thank you, your majesty. By your leave, I will go now to make my preparations. I'll be leaving at first light." The queen had been right. Nothing she could have said or done would have changed the fact that he was leaving in the morning.

Before Anora could formally dismiss him, they were interrupted by the sound of clanking plate mail. A moment later, Alistair opened the door and entered the chamber.

"Aedan! What are you doing with all that ceremony and deference? Get up."

"She is the Queen, Alistair."

"Yes, and she is my wife. You are my brother. Or, at least, might as well be. You do not bow to us. Not ever."

"Yes, m'lord," Aedan replied sarcastically with a half smile. He could never resist a chance to tease Alistair. Some things would never change.

"Oh, forget it, let's go get drunk. All the formal celebrations are finally over, and we finally have some peace and quiet so we can actually relax."

"Sounds good to me." He was right. The last week or so had all been a blur of parades and formal celebrations. It was the kind of thing he had been putting up with his entire life, and this last round was no different from any of the last: boring. It would be good for them to get a chance to decompress out of the public eye. With a respectful nod to Anora, he and Alistair left the chamber for a private dining hall in the next wing of the castle. Now that they were alone, the only sound to be heard was Alistair's armor rattling as he walked. It was silly, but Aedan had never known Alistair to walk around anywhere without a full suit of armor on. It was just one of those things. Now that he was king, it made even less sense, but nobody was going to say anything. Aedan certainly didn't.

Neither of them spoke as they walked, and now that he was finally among the sole company of a trusted friend, began to drop the mask he wore for public consumption. He was supposed to project a happy and joyful demeanor. After all, the war was over, the Darkspawn vanquished, and order restored to the kingdom. To appear as anything else would not only be selfish, it would be disrespectful. But Aedan wasn't anything close to joyful or happy. All he felt was a gaping pain that he could not ease. Where others were celebrating, he was mourning. It felt like a piece of him, the better piece, had been ripped from his throat, chest, and stomach, leaving a dark void of agony that could never be healed.

It isn't fair. I tried to accept it. But I can't. Worse, I don't understand it. I lived. So did she. I love her. She loves me. But she left anyway. Not for the first time in the last two weeks, Aedan ran his thumb over the gold band he now wore on his left ring finger. He had moved the ring to his left hand after she had left. Except for when he had changed which hand it was on, he had never taken it off. He never intended to again.

On his left, Alistair saw him fingering the ring out of the corner of his eye. He frowned, but said nothing. His frown was not one of disapproval, even though he still wasn't sure how he felt about Morrigan. But Aedan was his best friend in the entire world, a brother even. And for that reason, he trusted him, and respected his choices, even if he didn't always agree with them. No, the frown was one of worry. His friend was in pain, and he was noticing. He had been shocked when Aedan told him about the ritual, and why neither of them had died. But he hadn't been surprised by it. It fit what he knew of her. When Morrigan left after the coronation, he had been. With Morrigan, he had been sure of only two things. First, that he would never, could never, fully trust her, and second, that she loved Aedan, deeper than she would ever admit, was comfortable with, or knew. He had really thought she was going to stay. Alistair supposed that made two of them.

They reached the door to the private hall.

"We don't have to go in there, you know."

"They're in there, right? Everyone, I mean?"

"Yes. Just the six of us."

"This is for them too. Not just me. I owe it to them. They need this."

"You don't have to wear faces for any of them, Aedan. Or me. We're your friends, and we care about you. I didn't have to hear what your response to my wife's question was. Even by Sten's reckoning, we all figured you'd have left after her already. Your gear is already packed. We'll see you off in the morning."

Aedan held his gaze for a moment, searching for something. He nodded slowly. "Thank you, Alistair. I mean it. Let's go on inside."

"That's the spirit." Alistair clapped his friend on the shoulder understandingly, and then opened the door for him.

Aedan's companions stood when he entered. Alistiar gave them all a pained look. "Oh for the love of—what have I told you? None of you need to do that for me!"

"Oh, well that's good to know, Alistair, but we were standing for Aedan, not you," Wynne teased good naturedly.

"Oh. Well, yeah, right then, I knew that."

"Alistair had the right idea. None of you owe me anything, you don't need to stand up every time I enter a room."

Leliana spoke up. "You are wrong, Aedan. All of us owe you everything. I would have died in Lothering if you hadn't taken me with you. Sten would have died in that cage. Wynne would have died in her tower."

He couldn't deny anything she said, but it still didn't feel right. "All those things are true, you are my companions. You risked yourselves for me every day. We all did. We weren't keeping score."

"Yes, we were, but you did these things for us before you even knew us. I don't kid myself. I know I didn't make any difference in the way that barfight turned out. You didn't have to take me along with you. And no normal man would bother to rescue a brooding Qunari who admitted guilt to the charge of murder from a self-imposed cage, let alone arm and equip him without asking for anything in return except that he join the fight against the Darkspawn for as long as he desired, and no longer."

Sten grunted, and said something in Qunari that Aedan didn't understand, though he thought he it might have meant "brother".

Then none of them said anything. Aedan looked around from one to the next, and saw in their eyes that what they had said was true. Finally, his eyes fell upon Dog, who was sitting quietly in the corner wagging his tail. Aedan couldn't help but smile, and that was all the invitation he needed. Dog jumped up and ran over to him, nearly bowling him over with his affections. Alistair was right. He was among friends.

After he regained his dignity, they all sat back down, and Leliana poured them all glasses of wine. "What shall we toast to?" She asked, once everyone had one. When no one said anything, he looked pointedly at Aedan. He took her point, and raised his glass.

"To us. All of us." Even the one who isn't here right now, he didn't add. The rest raised their glasses and drank. The act seemed to break the dam of emotions that had kept all of them on edge for nearly a month, with the final battles, the triumph, and the aftermath. It was Alistair who broke the silence.

"I want all of you to know that you all will have a place here, in my court, forever. I wish that we could all stay together, that this could go on forever, but I know in my heart that we won't, and that it can't. But I mean it. You will all be welcome here, always. If you ever need anything, no matter how big or small, you are all officially sanctioned champions of the realm."

Aedan was the first to reply. "Thank you, Alistair. I appreciate what you did for my brother. My title was never that important to me, but knowing that my family's legacy is again secure and that justice was served does make me rest easier."

"Trust me Aedan, it was the least I could do. You'd have done the same."

"I know, but still. Anyway. We haven't really discussed it. What is everyone planning to do now that it's all over?" Everyone looked around at each other, but, as they always did, they just ended up all looking at him expectantly. Aedan sighed. "Alright, since all of you seem to have already placed bets on it, I'll confirm what you already know. I'm going after her. Tomorrow." He waited. Alistair had said they already had figured it out, but he was still afraid how they might take it. Leliana looked sad, but didn't look like what he said was unexpected.

"Aedan, we've all talked about this. We know how you feel about her, and what it did to you when she left. We knew you were going to go after her, even though you swore you would not. Truly, the only surprise here is that you didn't make this decision a week ago."

"Thank you," Aedan whispered softly. They accepted it. They might even understand it.

Alistair cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Anyway, what about the rest of you? Wynne? I could use an advisor. We all know you've done just fine as Aedan's external conscience. I'm going to need all the help I can get. My blood may be noble enough for the Landsmeet, but I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not afraid to admit that to any of you."

"I'd be honored, Alistair. As for me being Aedan's external conscience, maybe you'll pay me more attention than he did," she said with a motherly smile.

"Thank you, Wynne. I mean it." Alistair looked next to Leliana. "What about you, Lel? Are you ready to settle down again, or do you plan to return to adventure and intrigue?"

Leliana shook her head. "No, Alistair, I will stay, at least for a while. There was nothing for me anywhere else when I joined the two of you, and there is even less now. As for intrigue and adventure, I have had enough of that." She looked from Alistair to Aedan. "I will write a ballad to chronicle our adventures together." Aedan nodded in approval. He was glad that Leliana was going to be safe after he left.

"And after that?" Alistair prodded. Leliana sighed.

"After that, I do not know. But it will take me many weeks to compose. When I am finished, I will perform it before all of Denerim, so that the world may know what we did together. I hope for all our sacrifice and struggle to bring inspiration and courage to those that follow."

"I think that just leaves you, Sten. With Aedan leaving, I will need another general. Or a bodyguard. Perhaps even just a friend." Sten shook his head slowly.

"I cannot, Alistair. I must return to my people. Thanks to Aedan, I have cleansed my sins, and may return to my people without shame. I was sent here to learn of your people, and to report what I found."

"Why?" Alistair asked in confusion. Aedan forgot that he was the only one Sten had talked to about his past.

"Alistair, my people are conquerors. We have had an uneasy peace with your people for a century and a half, but it cannot last forever. I was sent to judge the strength of your lands, your people, and your warriors. My mission was to discover if there are any in Ferelden worthy of our challenge." Alistair frowned. He knew it would not be right to do anything but allow Sten to do what he had to. But he did not look forward to a war with an entire people as ferocious as Sten.

"And what will you tell them?" Aedan asked softly.

Sten looked him squarely in the eyes as he answered. He responded only with a single word: "Yes." Sten held his gaze for several seconds, and then blinked. It was a small thing, but Aedan knew that among Sten's people to be the first to avert your gaze when speaking with another warrior was a sign of weakness. In doing so deliberately, Sten had quietly admitted inferiority. Aedan could not recall a Qunari ever admitting that to a Ferelden before. "I hope that a war between our people will not come, Warden, but I have no illusions about the future. All I will say is that if it does, I will not seek you out on the battlefield."

"Nor I you, Sten."

They were all quiet for several minutes. The last year had been the most trying of their lives, but they were only now, after it was all over, about to realize their most painful loss: in a few weeks, they would have all gone their separate ways, and in all likelihood would never see each other again.

As was fitting, it was Leliana who tried to break the bittersweet mood. She frowned slightly, struggling not to think of the parting that would inevitably come. She had never liked Morrigan, but Leliana was a creature of goodness, and ignored her dislike of the woman, seeing instead only the pain that her loss was causing Aedan. That pain was something that they might be able to help him with.

"Aedan, let's talk about your journey. Where will you go? Where will you look?"

Aedan thought about it for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and produced an ornate scroll case. "I'm not sure," he said as he opened the case and spread a slightly outdated but flawless military map of Ferelden over the table. Alistair's eyes got wide.

"Aedan, is that… is that one of the copies from the Archives?!" Aedan only smiled. "How did you! Where did you! You can't have—"

Aedan wiggled his eyebrows and fingers suggestively. "Oh, you know, sticky fingers." He picked up his goblet to take a sip of wine, and then, as an afterthought, raised a finger in a "wait a moment" gesture, and took his time about swallowing the wine. It was all for show, obviously, and Aedan was enjoying every moment of it. "Oh, by the way Alistair, here's your ring back. I had to borrow it to do the paperwork to release the map into my possession." Aedan pulled a small velvet bag out of his belt and tossed it across the table to Alistair, who opened it to find his official royal seal inside. He frowned, half in annoyance, and half in wonder.

"You could have just asked, you know." He was doing his best to be serious, but everyone could see a smile beginning to form on his lips.

"Yeah, that's true, I could have. But you were busy, and this was quicker." He winked mischievously. "Besides, this was more fun anyway." Alistair finally lost his battle with the muscles in his face and broke out in a grin, and shook his head.

"By the way, Alistair, are you ever going to ask me about your gold pouch?" Aedan asked innocently. The color drained out of Alistair's face as he frantically began going through his pockets, until he found his pouch, untouched, exactly where he'd left it. Alistair glared at Aedan through eyes slitted in mock anger.

"Gotcha." Aedan couldn't help but laugh good naturedly at the joke he'd made at his friend's expense.

"I'm glad you're on our side, Aedan. You'd be a dangerous man to have as an enemy." He raised his glass in another toast to his friend, and Aedan held up his glass and took a small seated bow. They all drank. Aedan set his glass back down, and began pointing out terrain features on the map.

"She mentioned the Frostback mountains a lot. I think she's going to be headed there. But that's a long way from here, and I think that I can probably catch up to her if I'm smart about where I look and get lucky."

Leliana wrinkled her brows. "But it would only take her days to get there as a bird. How will you ever catch her?"

"A very good point, but in this case it doesn't apply. She can't change shape right now. I'm not sure it it's because of the ritual itself, or because she's pregnant. All the said is that it might hurt the child, so I know she won't be flying anywhere. It will be on foot or nothing. She sure as hell isn't going to ask anyone to help her, and she can't ride a horse worth a damn. I know; I tried to teach her."

They spent the next hour going over routes and debating the merits of various places it might be worthwhile to look for her. When they were done, Aedan's map was a mess of circles, arrows, and traced routes. Who knew if any of it would make any difference, but at least it was a start. As the night wore on, they said their goodnights as they went to bed one by one. They all agreed to see him off at dawn, so they postponed their final goodbyes. Finally, only Alistair and Aedan remained. The two of them sat in quiet contemplation. Aedan was staring absentmindedly at his dog, who lay asleep in the corner, his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. At least one of us seems relaxed about all of this, he thought. Alistair's voice startled him out of his introspection.

"Do you think you'll find her?" Aedan kept staring at the wall, and pursed his lips and thought about it before answering.

"I honestly don't know," he said, turning his gaze back toward his friend. "I hope so."

"And if you don't?"

Then I won't come back, he thought. "Then I'll keep looking."

"For how long?"

"As long as it takes!" Aedan slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair in an uncharacteristic outburst of anger. "I can't just sit here, Alistair. I have to do this. I can't even explain what the loss I feel feels like. It's like a wall of blackness where my future would be. When I dream, it's like my soul is drenched in oil and ignited night after night, and I wake up screaming."

"I know, Aedan," Alistair said softly. "I'm your best friend. You don't have to explain any of it to me. I know you have to do this, and I've already told you I support you. Is there anything else you need that I can provide you with? Anything that will make this task easier?"

"I can't think of anything. Basic provisions, maybe, but I already have those. Weapons I've got covered, and thanks to this map I know where I'm going. Possibly some travelling papers in case I need something official-looking, but by my title I don't need them anyway. So no, I really don't think there's anything else I need."

"Well, all the resources of the kingdom are here if you change your mind. Just remember that."

"I will. Thank you." They didn't say anything for several minutes. Aedan just watched the fire, and his dog roll over restlessly in his sleep.

"We've sure come a long way, haven't we Alistair?"

"What, from two scared junior Wardens alone against the world?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I'd say so."

The two sat there, well into the night. Eventually, Alistair retired, leaving his friend alone. Aedan sat there until dawn, absentmindedly rubbing the ring on his left hand. He still didn't understand why she'd left. He'd understood that she was deeply conflicted about her deception, but he didn't care about that. He believed that the feelings she'd shown for him were real, and that even if she'd started her journey with ulterior motives, the two facts didn't invalidate each other. There was no reason that she couldn't have been hiding her reason and also loved him. None of it really mattered though. She was gone regardless, and she had told him not to follow.

But he'd follow, regardless.