Sorry I've not updated for a while, I've been really busy. The series might be updated every two-three days for a few weeks, just while I get work and everything sorted :) thanks for the patience, hehe :)

I was hesitant to even touch this. It's one of my favourite songs in the world, especially the Michael Bolton version. For that reason, I chose to do the film version instead of the longer, 'pop' version, and added in the reprise. I saw this as being very Nathaniel, trying to prove himself. Poor kid was shipped off to the Marches by his dad.

Go The Distance (Hercules) – Nathaniel Howe

Nathaniel sat at his window. He liked sitting by there. He could see Amaranthine – all of it, not just the parts Father let him visit. He could see beyond that, too. He could see the port and the sea, and, just about, Brandel's Reach. The dark haired child suppressed a wistful sigh as he thought of all the adventures he could have if Father would just let him try.

"When you're older," he would say, impatiently, "you can go wherever you want!"

But that wasn't the point. He wanted it now. To see new places, to visit foreign lands. Nathaniel gazed longingly at the moonlight rippling on the waves. "I have often dreamed of a far off place," he sighed. "Where a hero's welcome will be waiting for me." He closed his eyes, smiling as he imagined the crowds of people who welcome him back once he was a famous hero. "Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face… And a voice keeps saying – 'This is where I'm meant to be!'"

He stood up on the sill, peering out of the cracked open window and feeling the cool, salty breeze on his face. "I will find my way," he promised, quietly. "I can go the distance. I'll be there someday… Somehow I'll be strong." He leaned on the panes, pushing his head further out of the window and looking up into the stars. He liked clear nights. He liked to count the constellations he had learned from Father. He liked it especially on the special occasions when Father joined in. "I know every mile," he whispered, "will be worth my while… I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong."

Eight years later, and Nathaniel Howe was no longer a child. He was a young man, and he was off to be a squire in the Marches. Finally. New places. Foreign lands. New people, who would love him and admire him. He smiled, the salt spray from the sea whipping up along the boat's prow, as he stood proudly at the helm.

"I am on my way!" he declared, to no one in particular. "I can go the distance! I don't care how far – somehow I'll be strong."

He turned, looking back for a final time at the figures on the docks. Delilah was no more than a tiny matchstick figure, dancing as she waved. Father had been busy with matters of state. He was a busy man, Nathaniel reminded himself, crossly, as a sense of loss threatened to creep up on him. As you will be, he thought. Turning back to the open sea before him, he smiled to himself. "I know every mile will be worth my while," he said, quietly. "I would go most anywhere, to feel like I belong."

Another eight years, and Nathaniel was gazing into a mirror in his childhood bedroom. He had never imagined himself back here. He smiled wryly as he remembered looking into the same mirror – there were more lines now, and the face had matured, and the hair had grown, but Nathaniel Howe was still the same star-struck boy he had always been. Still searching for his purpose.

He had thought he had found it in the Marches. But all he had found there was bitterness. He had returned, determinedly thinking his purpose was to avenge his father – but now he knew the truth. The Warden had told the truth. Father – no. Rendon Howe was a murderer and a traitor. And he was better off dead. He had never cared for his sons. It had just taken his eldest a long time to realise.

Nathaniel's reflection grinned back at him. You're here, it seemed to say. You're home.

Something he hadn't felt in a long time – something large and bubbling and exciting and so happy – coursed through him. Throwing himself to the window, the same window he had dreamed at all those years ago, he unlocked the latches and inhaled his own exhilaration. "I will beat the odds!" he cried, almost laughing in elation. "I can go the distance!"

He picked his bow from the corner of the room, swinging it proudly onto his back. "I will face darkspawn! Fearless, proud and strong!"

Threading arrows into his quiver, he swore, "I will right the wrongs! I can go the distance!"

He stopped at the door to look back at the room of his childhood. All of his dreams, his confusions – they were here. He was meant to be a Grey Warden. His smile could have split his face. "Till I find my hero's welcome," he promised, passionately, "right where I belong!"

This was where he belonged. With the Wardens.

Yes. He was home.

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I quite like this. I love the song, though, and I love Nathaniel. I'm biased.

Sakura - I know, he'd be mortified xD

Prime24601 - I sure can do, they sound like good ideas to me :)

DarkenedFantasy - (love your penname, by the way) That's great to hear, thank you very much :D That's actually being uploaded next, but I love the idea of Sebastian playing a more active role. That'll be most definitely used :D

Up Next: Bethany prays to the Maker on behalf of her kind.