So yes, there's a time skip here, but nothing major like how the game goes. And I can assume you know what it's about. Fluffy stuffs within! Read at your own risk! ;) R&R please! I love to hear your thoughts, guys!

"Stupid dresses," I grumble.

Leliana laughs that lilting noise I've come to accept. When we first met, I thought she was an enemy. I thought she was trying to get on Aedan's good side so she could get into our group. I thought she was nuts, insane in believing her vision, but after my trip to the Temple of Sacred Ashes, I started to believe her. Maybe the Maker did send her to help us. He knew what was going to happen to me. Maybe He thought I could use a friend.

"Stop complaining," she says. "You look fine."

"Yes, but it's a dress, Leliana. I hate dresses."

"More than darkspawn?"

"Maker, yes! Are you crazy? Have you seen me in a dress? I look like a recruit in his armor for the first time! I stumble and trip everywhere!"

She shakes her head, rolling her eyes in amusement. "You're a chore to deal with."

I shoot her a glare through the mirror as she pulls my hair back into a bun for me. "Maybe I hate you more than dresses and darkspawn."

"I'm holding a sharp object to your head."

"Love you, too sis."

The Orlesian giggles. "You're starting to sound like Aedan."

"Dear Maker, have you heard what he's been calling Alistair?"

"Yes."

"I haven't heard Aedan call anyone 'bro' since he finished his combat training. It's always 'brother.' He doesn't even call Fergus that. It's weird."

She shrugs. "Let's face it, Liss." Alistair got everyone in on calling me that on the way back from Kirkwall. It doesn't bother me anymore. I'm not even surprised. "After going through the Blight together, they share a deeper bond than what Fergus could ever claim to have with him. They're closer than you think."

I shudder. "Bad thoughts, Leliana!"

She thwacks my shoulder, grimacing. "You're as bad as Zevran sometimes."

"Oh well," I say. "Life's not fun without vulgar jokes. Even you have to agree with that."

"I suppose I do," Leliana says, nodding. "But anyway, we all got closer than most families ever could." She frowns as she pulls a pin through my hair. "Aedan found his sense of humor again because you showed yours. Alistair found acceptance with you. I found a sister."

"What sense of humor are you talking about? I didn't have one until I met Alistair at Ostagar."

Leliana sighs, huffing. "My point is, there's something different about the friends you make during war. They feel more...permanent." She puts another pin through my wheat-colored hair. "You rely on each other more than you do with people you just meet and like. You depend on them for brief moments of stolen happiness. You take it and try to return the favor. You save each other's lives more times than you can count. You trust them to watch your back while you sleep. You bleed and cry and lose and gain together."

I hold back my nod and say, "I know exactly what you mean." We make eye contact briefly before she returns to her hair-managing task. "You know, I probably never would've been able to stand taking you along if we weren't desperate."

"I wouldn't have offered if I hadn't thought there was more to you than vengeance." She smiles. "You and Aedan grew a lot during the Blight."

"How so?"

"For one, Aedan learned to not be such an uptight ass," Leliana says. I laugh, barely moving my head to nod my agreement. "You're still reckless, but you try not to be. And you both put revenge second and the Blight first."

"Mostly," I admit. "But we all grew up a little. Except Wynne. She's still the same."

Leliana smirks at me. "Morrigan became at bigger bitch."

"She still grew into it," I say. "You're not the same sister I found in a tavern."

She snorts. "I have my moments when I am."

"Not often," I say. "You're more harsh, but not in a bad way."

"How can you be harsh in a good way?" she snaps. "The only thing different about me is how willing I am to kill someone." Leliana looks like she's upset, but not with me. With herself. "Before I met you, Aedan, and Alistair, I tried to leave as many people alive as possible. I thought killing was unnecessary after what happened between Marjolaine and I. It's one of the reasons I went to the Chantry in the first place." She pauses for a long moment to let that sink in. "But then I met you three and I found something I had begun to resent during my time in Lothering. Love. Love was what made me kill for Marjolaine. I hated myself for what I was with her. I was a monster, killing for a stupid Game nobles play.

"You made me feel all of that and I started to hate myself again. I was afraid of becoming that monster who enjoyed the rush when I felled an enemy. I feared what I'd do. I hated my decision in going with you. I hated you because I could see the lack of trust in your eyes. I hated everyone and everything."

Leliana hesitates for a moment. "And then Aedan started talking to me at camp. He brought me out of my shell and when I laughed, I started to mean it. When I offered to help someone, I wasn't just being nice. I was doing it because I wanted to."

"Can I speak honestly?" She shrugs, so I say, "I don't think Marjolaine ever loved you, Leliana. I think you were just her pawn."

"I have come to the same conclusion," Leliana says. "It's why I don't hate myself for killing anymore. I'm not killing for a lie now."

"I'd hope not," I say, laughing. "We're a family."

She smiles. "I'm glad that's true."

"So am I."

Leliana pushes a clip of some sort into the bun before stepping away. "All right. I'm done."

I heave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank the Maker." I stand, brushing my sweaty hands off on my dress with a frown. Now that I'm not talking to Leliana, the nervousness worms its way back into my head. My hands start flexing and my heart speeds up.

"What's wrong?" I swallow, taking a deep breath. A very deep breath. I start to reply but my throat constricts. "Nervous?"

I nod, managing to say, "Very."

She laughs, crossing her arms. "Well then imagine how Alistair is feeling right now. He has Aedan and Fergus to entertain for another hour."

"That's not funny."

"Oh, yes it is," Leliana says, waving over her shoulder at me as she walks to the door. "Let me go find the Teyrna. I'm sure she will want to see you."

Alistair wants to crawl back into that ditch Cyrus left him in all those years ago. He's so nervous he feels like his heart is going to hammer out of his chest. He finds it surprising that no one has asked him about it; he's so sure everyone can hear it.

Annoyed, he wipes his sweaty palms off on his pants. Then he starts playing with them, folding them up and then clenching them into fists, relaxing them to be palm up at the ceiling, and then repeating the process. He has no idea how he's supposed to do this. The very thought of getting married makes his muscles clench. His stomach has been in knots for hours. He's sweating more than he ever has, including battle. Right now, Alistair is terrified, absolutely terrified, of what is about to happen. And he is mad at himself for being as scared as he is. He's usually a brave man, or he likes to think so. Give him a sword and a shield, and he'll charge at whatever he's told to.

But put him in a party of sorts and tell him to be at the center of it? He'd take darkspawn any day of the week over the party. The only reason he's still here is because he has to see her. She rarely goes somewhere out of her armor, and when she does, she wears a shirt, trousers, and boots like a man. Alistair knows he can be naive at times. He knows he can be the biggest fool on Thedas, but he's not foolish enough to pass up his chance to see Elissa in a dress. That's the only thing that keeps him in place.

He still toys with the idea of running when Aedan claps him on the back. Alistair almost jumps out of his skin, much to the older man's delight.

"What's up with you today?" Aedan asks.

"Were you nervous?" Alistair blurts, unable to help himself. If he knows it's normal to be as nervous as he is, he might feel a little better.

Aedan shrugs. "More or less. Depends on how nervous you are. I was about ready to take my sword and run myself through with it."

Alistair laughs weakly. "I'm about ready to make a run for it."

Aedan grins, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You think my sister is beautiful?" Alistair hesitates, expecting it to be a trick question, but he nods anyway. "Then you'll want to stick around. What Leliana did to her was amazing. I barely recognized her."

Alistair groans. "You're killing me."

"That's the idea!"

He's still fidgeting with his clothing when he sees her. His eyes widen and it takes all of his willpower to keep his mouth shut, but he does, forcing that urge to become a smile. He's so glad he doesn't have to talk for a while yet. It'll take him some time to regain his wits. If that is even possible. He can hardly breathe now. How is he supposed to talk? That's just unfair for him. He feels like his heart has leapt into his throat.

And then she smiles at him and he knows he's lost.

Fergus gives him such a hard look when he passes his sister off to him that Alistair feels momentarily unnerved. But when her hand wraps around his, he can feel she's just as nervous as he is, and he feels a lot better, completely forgetting Fergus' warning glare.

"Glad to see you're just as nervous as I am," she whispers out of the corner of her mouth.

He grins despite himself as he leads her forward. "Ah, well, you know me and parties. Doesn't help that we're at the center of it."

"We'll be out of it soon enough," Elissa assures him. "Then we can go back to the ritual maiming and all that."

Alistair's grin broadens. "Good thing it's Tuesday, huh?"

She seems to ignore the remark. "Can I hit something?"

Alistair blinks, confused. They stop in front of the Chantry Sister and she starts yammering through the ceremony. They're not as close to her as for her to hear their whispering, so Alistair pulls Elissa a little closer to him and stares forward. "What's wrong?"

"My hand..." She visibly stiffens, completely rigid, and Alistair starts to panic. There are too many people here. Too many for that bullshit to start acting up. He doesn't want to put her through all of the questions and embarrassment that will bring.

"Can you ignore it?" he asks.

She grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut. "I have been since Leliana finished with my hair an hour ago. I'm not sure how much longer I'll hold out."

"As soon as we can, I promise we'll get out of here." He gives her hand a reassuring squeeze to emphasize his point, but he's not sure how that will help. He wants to, but he cannot.

"Maker, this is not how I planned today going," she grumbles, evidently irrtated.

"Just hold on," Alistair says. "We'll get Aedan and Leliana and go, okay?"

She looks up at him, eyes pleading. "Alistair, it hurts."

His mind races for a moment. Then he decides to squeeze her hand as hard as he can, begging that it will help her. "Focus on that. Focus on me, all right?"

Elissa barely nods, swallowing deeply. "I can do that."

The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur for Alistair. All he can think about is an excuse to get her away for five or ten minutes. They just need to disappear. But he isn't sure how he's going to get them away when they are the center of attention. His mind can't comprehend any of the wild thoughts racing through his head, so he decides to keep it simple. As soon as he gets the chance, he'll get her off to Aedan or Leliana and have them find a place to hide while he makes up excuses for his bride's absence.

When she squeezes his hand back, he jolts himself out of his thoughts. "What?" He looks at the priestess, bewildered, but the expectant look he's being given makes him realize he missed something.

"Your line," Elissa whispers.

"My-" He cuts himself off and regains his composure as fast as he ever has. "I do." He mentally pats himself on the back for understanding so quickly, but then he's being told to kiss his wife.

My wife, he thinks. The thought makes him grin as he presses his mouth to hers. He feels horrible for her; Alistair can feel how tightly she's now holding his hand instead of the other way around. But they have to get through this first.

He has to give her credit though. She still manages to smile at him when he pulls away. It's mind-boggling for him. He's married. To her. To Elissa. He can't believe it.

Alistair isn't sure he ever will.

Holy freaking Maker! Damn, it hurts so badly!

Aedan pulls me into the first empty room he finds and locks the door. He barely has it shut by the time my hand explodes into a burst of gold light.

That voice, the feeling of dread it sends rocketing through my body...I get the idea He's not happy with me.

"Love is for the weak! You are supposed to be in Kirkwall, Agent! Fix the Templars! Fix the Chantry! Show the people why mages should be trusted! You should not be in Ferelden!"

"What did you want me to do?!" I demand, holding my hand to my chest. Damn, it still burns. I need it to stop, to go away. "It was either come here or face the First Warden! At least this way I'm closer to Kirkwall!"

"You are still weak!"

"I'm human!" I exclaim. "What do you want from me? You created us! You know how we feel, what we want, how we think. It's not fair to be angry!"

"Life is not fair, mortal. I believe Hope has told you this."

"Well, I know that. Obviously," I snap. "If you just wanted to yell at me, I'm done talking to you for the day."

"You will not turn your back on me, girl. You will follow my orders or face my fire. It is your choice."

I grit my teeth, but nod. "Fine. What is it?"

"The elven gods are returning. You must attend to that."

And then the glow is gone, taking the pain with it.