A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed/alerted! This chapter is a little short but mostly because I wanted to save the major plot point for the next chapter. Thank you to Saga for reading over this for me. xoxo

When Two Are One

"If things were perfect, we wouldn't have met."

Another mage, by the name of Wynne, had tended to Raina's wounds and healed her fully when they returned to Arl Eamon's estate. Several people were arguing with the Arl, but Alistair just picked her up and took her away to one of the rooms. She wanted to tell him that she could walk herself but that would have been a lie. Though she liked him being so close to her again, she just wanted to rest. She didn't care what was going on in the Alienage. She didn't care who set up whom. Sleep. She felt like she hadn't slept for days.

She felt herself be set down onto a warm and soft bed. A small groan escaped her and she squeezed her eyes shut. She felt Alistair start to move away but her hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist. "Don't go," she begged. Her eyes fluttered open to look at him. He looked like he was battling within himself for a moment before a small smile crossed his features.

"Alright," he told her. "I'll just be over there if you need me." She felt better knowing that he was in the room.

She opened her mouth to say something when the door burst open. A small yelp escaped her and she was terrified until her eyes set on her brother. "Fergus!" She cried out as he ran to his sister. His arms wrapped around her tightly.

"I was so afraid, sister," he told her. They had lost their whole family. The last thing they wanted had been to lose each other. "I knew he'd get you out." She didn't say anything but she just clung to her brother. He was safe. He was alive. She faintly remembered what she had heard about him. Fergus turned and looked at where Alistair was sitting. "I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid, Alistair."

The other man just nodded. Maker knew what he was thinking. She opened her mouth to say something but she found it difficult to breath. Her brother's vice grip did nothing to make it better.

"Fergus," Raina said as her voice seemed strained.

"Yes?"

"Please do loosen your grip on me. It's getting hard to breathe."

A small laugh left her brother as he let go of her. "Sorry," he apologized. "Get some sleep. There's a big day tomorrow."

The Landsmeet. Some of the conversation she had heard had been about it. They were trying to usurp her own usurper, Loghain. Good, but Andraste help her she didn't feel right about things. She couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was, but in the words of her father, all things came in time. It had suddenly gotten quiet. Raina looked around to see that Fergus had left without her even realizing it. She turned back to Alistair. "Will you come sit with me?" She asked.

He nodded and came to the bed, sitting down next to her. "Raina… I…"

"What happened to Vaughn?" She asked quietly before she rested back into the bed. She pulled the covers over her shoulder as she stared up at her beautiful rescuer. Honestly, she was almost afraid to hear the answer. If he lived…the things that he was capable of doing or saying had terrified her. What would the nobles even do when they found out that she was alive? They had gone far too long thinking that she was dead. Yes, it was time to bring order back to Ferelden.

"He's dead," Alistair told her gently. Raina moved and rested her head on his lap. Good. That was what she wanted to hear. She remembered her torturer's slip when they had said his name. "I killed him myself."

She moved her head to look up at him. "Why did you come rescue me?" Was it honor? Was it the right thing to do? Or was it…

"I think you know the answer," he said to her. She felt her heart pound against her chest. Yes she supposed that she did. It had taken them quite some time to get to the point of where they were at in that very moment. With a slow nod, she laid her head back down on his lap. Her tongue ran along her lower lip and she closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry for everything," she told him.

"As am I." She felt his finger run through her hair gently. "When…when I saw what had been done to you," he continued, yet it sounded like he could almost choke on his words. "I'm grateful that Wynne and Neria were around. I couldn't…" Raina reached out a hand to search his out and when she found it, her fingers laced with his. "I can't lose you," he told her. "Once was world shattering, twice would have been the end of me."

Her eyes watered. He loved her still. She didn't know why she had ever doubted that. She sniffled and closed her eyes. The weight of everything had been too much for her to bear at the moment. She would deal with everything the next day.

A soft sigh escaped her. "I still love you," she whispered. "More than anything."

Her last whispered words before she fell asleep rang loudly through the room. A small smile crossed his features. His thumb stroked against her cheekbone with her head still in his lap. He was amazed at his own ability for self control with her being so close but that was what she needed. She just needed comfort, someone to be close…someone to protect her. He had made a promise. He was never going to leave her side again and he would make damn sure of that.

He needed to speak with Eamon and Fergus to see how everything would go in the morning but as he tried to move, he felt her arm wrap around him. He moved again and heard a groan of protest. He smirked a bit and wiggled until he was lying down and was able to hold her closer to him.

It felt good to have her close again. They had both grown so much. Alistair bit his lower lip as he heard her whimper in her sleep. Nightmares perhaps? He softly cooed her back into a peaceful sleep. He kissed her forehead. "I love you too," he told her. He'd be a liar to say otherwise. He had let that love go once and look where it got him. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Which lead to the problem about her being queen. While it wasn't really a problem in itself, he wasn't a king. He wasn't king material. He had never wanted it which was why he was fine being raised by Teagan. No, he had been more than fine by it. He wouldn't have been the man that he was without him. He knew that he was supposed to take his place as Bann when the time came, but something in the back of his head told him that the older man knew this day would come. Alistair had never thought that Cailan had made a very good king but the title was his by right…

But now Alistair was faced with a choice. He was the only Theirin left in Ferelden…in Thedas for that matter. Well, as far as he knew. Nobles loyal to Loghain would be tough to sway and he already had a feeling that Arl Eamon was going to push a decision that no body really wanted. As he craned his neck back to look at Raina again he knew his own choice had been made but he would wait to reveal it. Not until the right moment when he knew that she was going to need his voice more than ever.

He owed her that much…and more.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep next to her. The warmth of her body against his had made it easier to relax. He felt like he hadn't been able to in days. He slept, dreamless until he heard a gasp and the warmth against his body had disappeared. Alistair's eyes shot open and his arm reached out for Raina, who was sitting up on the side of the bed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

Alistair rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "That's nothing to apologize about."

She let out a short laugh. "There's plenty."

He offered her a soft smile as he extended his hand out towards her. "Come back here and sleep," he said. His head tilted down as he stared at her. Her body started to shake and he sat up. He touched her shoulder gently and she flinched. He understood. "It's okay," he told her. "You're safe now." He knew it would take some time for her to be able to believe that and he was willing to wait. He would wait forever if he needed to.

"I know," she whispered and then coughed to clear her throat. "I know," she repeated a little louder. "I just had this strong feeling that they were coming back for me." A small sniffle escaped her. "I miss Remmy." Raina turned her head to look at him and Alistair could see the red staining her eyes. She bit down on her lower lip as it had begun to quiver. "Do you know… do you know what happened to him?"

Alistair shook his head before he gently touched her arms to pull her back onto the bed with him. Raina rolled to her side and rested her head against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her body. Maybe touching her had been a bad idea but part of him felt like she needed it, that it would help her feel connected with the reality that she was no longer in that dark and dank dungeon. "Will you tell me?" He asked softly. Maybe she needed to talk about it.

Her fingers gripped onto the front of his shirt. "He died protecting me," she replied, voice wavering. "When he was given to me on my fifth name day, Father had always said that Remmy would be my constant companion. He would go with me everywhere and he did. He grew proud and large. He was the most beautiful mabari…"

"With a bite that could send anything to the Void."

She let out a short snort of a laugh. It wasn't out of happiness or because it felt like it was the appropriate thing for the moment. No, it felt bittersweet, even to him. "That he did," she replied. Silence fell between them for a few minutes before she decided to speak again, "He deserved better." He agreed. She and her faithful mabari both did.

"We will find out what happened to his body," he told her, "I promise." He glanced down in time to see her nod as she closed her eyes.

"I hope the Maker is in need of stubborn dogs." It had been his turn to laugh.

"By the loads." He grinned a bit as he still looked at her. She looked more comfortable now. With the trust issues gone or almost gone, the details didn't matter to him; he knew that there was a bright future for them. He watched her smile and he kissed the top of her head.

"Goodnight, Ali."

"Night, Ray."