I was actually able to post a new chapter in under six months. Doing quite well haha.

I hope everyone enjoys it! Thank you to all of the positive messages you have sent me - means a lot :)


"Do we have time to talk?"

Elayne turned around to face Cailan's barely lit face. The Elves had insisted on throwing a feast for their 'heroes' and had forced the party to stay another night. Elayne was hoping this meant they would discuss battle plans for the Blight. She was; however, starting to lose hope. Several wine and beer casks down, and still no mention of the upcoming battle against the Archdemon.

Still, Elayne could not be too angry at the people. The elves had won a smaller battle. They had been freed from the Werewolf curse. They were, in the meantime, free.

Elayne smiled awkwardly at the King. She had been trying to avoid him since she had returned. She had gotten better with leading a small party during the Blight but when it came to discussing her feelings - she was still had the skills of a toddler. And in times like these she wished she could have been a rogue - or as scary as Morrigan. "Yeah, sure." She looked down at her wine swirling around the wooden cup.

"That's wonderful!" Cailan forced a laugh and sat down beside her the log creaking under his weight. Judging by his overly rosy cheeks, the man had probably downed over half of the Elves' alcoholic supply. He had been drinking since the early afternoon as he had made the rounds talking to Generals, Captains, soldiers and hunters who would be joining his armies at Denerim.

Elayne couldn't help but notice that Cailan had matured in the way he ruled. Even though he was currently inebriated by alcohol and was no more mature than Alistair, who was currently showing some poor soul how to dance 'like a Templar'.

He smiled again unsure as to how to start the conversation. The two had gotten off the wrong footing originally and they had never truly been successful at talking openly with each other. "I was worried about you today." He finally blurted out embarrassingly. "I know it's weird, considering you're such a talented mage but I was." He shifted uncomfortably his lips pursing as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. "It's because…"

Unable to handle Cailan's awkwardness Elayne laughed, "You want to talk about what happened before I left don't you?" Laughing at the poor soul was probably not the best idea, but Elayne just couldn't handle awkward situations.

It was in times like these that Elayne didn't know what was worse; fighting the Blight or trying to understand men.

Cailan looked as if he would have rather been anywhere else his face contorted in a pained expression. "So I was wondering wh-" The man's jaw drop as he watched Elayne down the rest of her drink.

"Please, continue." Elayne said grateful for her low alcohol tolerance kicking in. Definitely would have rather been fighting darkspawn at this very second, maybe even the Archdemon. That would have been a good start.

Cailan looked down at her empty cup astonished. "Um… What does that mean for us?" He asked, his thoughts finally finding their way through his alcohol-muddled brain.

The world slightly spun around Elayne. The spirit inside her dancing to the rhythm of her drunken state. It was hard for her to make sense of the world of the question Cailan was asking her. What did that night mean really? He was married for one and even though he was believed to be dead by his wife - she had still slept with a married man. To make matters more complicated, Elayne was a mage and mages had little to no Rights in Thedas so even if there had been feelings involved then they could be nothing more than secret lovers.

Were there feelings involved? Elayne felt nauseous at the question.

After what seemed like an Age and with her gut well and truly buried 6 feet in the ground, Elayne was finally able to answer. "It makes us horrible people." She placed her cup on the ground and turned so she was facing Cailan eye to eye. She may not know how she felt about Cailan but she knew one thing… "I slept with a married man. You cheated on your wife."

Cailan's eyes widened both in shock and anger. Being a king you never had to worry about many women turning you down. Being a handsome, young king meant even fewer were even able to say no. He snorted, "Oh you mean the woman whose father tried to kill me? The woman who I didn't even want to marry in the first place?" Cailan rested his elbow on his knees as he leant towards Elayne, face only a mere inch from hers. "That woman?"

Elayne struggled to concentrate, the man was so close to her she could smell the Ale on his breath. "Sounds like her." Elayne replied as matter-of-fact as she could manage, heart beating in her chest. "She is still your wife. You have not even fathered an heir yet."

"You are not the only person to have experienced being trapped Elayne." Cailan said exasperated. "Why do you think I liked stories so much as a child?"

Elayne could read the sadness in the man's movements. It was hard to imagine the person before her ever had been trapped in his life. He grew up in a palace, he had been the most powerful man in Ferelden, he had married the most beautiful woman in Ferelden, and he had the confidence many envied. None of those had ever struck Elayne as shackles.

Cailan pulled away from Elayne, unable to be so close to her. For once, the man looked truly vulnerable. "Mine was a gilded cage, Elayne, but a cage is a cage nonetheless. Although my father was a hero of Ferelden - that never made him a great father… The only way I could get to know him was through the stories of his heroic deeds. I never knew the man not really."

Elayne kept quiet, not wanting to push Cailan away. And she honestly did not know what to say.

Seemingly unaware of Elayne's off-character quietness, Cailan continued. "By the age of ten, I had been betrothed to Loghain's daughter. Not that I really cared. A lot of noble families are brought together out of marriage contracts. And Loghain really had been a second father to me…"

He finally brought himself to make eye contact with Elayne, tears welling up in his eyes. "So my first father abandoned me, my second father has tried to kill me, and I married a woman I didn't love." Trying to combat the tears Cailan laughed a happiless laugh. He had finally removed his mask of over-exaggerated optimism and confidence. Elayne was not sitting beside King Cailan but Cailan the man. "So if you look at it, my marriage is just another contract another part of rule."

Elayne's mouth dropped.

"Ok. That came out wrong!" Cailan looked aghast at what he had said. "But as a King, you cannot really afford to rule with your feelings. So you were held captive by the Circle. I was held captive by blood."

Unable to know what to say, Elayne looked up to the stars that peaked through the trees. Sometimes the universe, the Maker, was cruel. But she had to believe that there were a reason. "I guess everyone's held captive by the Maker's rule." She muttered. "Even now. We cannot afford to let what happened between us to become more."

Those were not the words that Cailan had wanted to hear. Defeated, he slouched and angrily looked out over the forest. Elayne could not tell whether it was because he was angry at rejection in general or because he really did have feelings for her. She really couldn't read the man.

Still, a part of her wished she could forget the Blight, forget Cailan's status, and just let herself fall in love.