Maia awoke to the sounds of snoring echoing in the open temple. She carefully lifted Alistair's arm that was around her so as to not to disturb him and sat herself up. She rubbed her eyes and saw a blurry campfire before her vision refocused. The campsite was quiet apart from the occasional snores and crackling of the firewood.
She looked beside her and saw Alistair's sleeping face. He was frowning and his eyeballs were moving rapidly, "He must be having a nightmare about the darkspawn," she thought to herself. Her hand instinctively began stroking his hair and his expression was beginning to relax when his eyes fluttered open.
"I had a feeling it was you who had brought the light into my dream," he smiled as he propped himself up on one elbow.
"You looked like you we're having a really bad dream, was it the darkspawn?" Maia whispered.
"It certainly started that way but out of nowhere, a bright light shone through and it frightened them away and when I opened my eyes, well, here you are," he smiled.
"Can't sleep?" Sarine's voice was suddenly heard.
She had taken the last watch and saw them stirring up and decided to quietly walked over. Maia and Alistair were shocked at her sudden appearance but it wasn't that suprising as her skills at sneaking is incredible but they did hope that she had not overheard their conversation. They were still shy about any public display of affection after they had brought their relationship to the next level.
"Could we discuss something?" Sarine looked at Maia, breaking the awkward silence that had befallen them with Sarine's sudden appearance before she walked off.
Maia nodded and quickly followed her.
"Wait, I'm coming along too," Alistair hastily replied and followed them.
Once they were out of the hearing shot of the others, Sarine breathed out a tired sigh.
Without looking at the pair, she began to talk in a hushed voice, "Our journey is far from over. We still have a lot of quests and tasks to accomplish before we are ready to face the archdemon. Maia, honestly, I am concerned about your newfound abilities and pet. It's great that you are able to hold your own ground but Drako..." She tailed off as she stared at Drako's sleeping form across the room. "I am worried about our companions' safety." She turned around and face Maia. "Are you able to assure us that our lives are not in danger of him?"
Maia stared at Drako and all of a sudden, she could hear his heartbeat and breathing. She closed her eyes and felt his presence surrounding her body. Their hearts slowly beating to the same rhythm and breathing synchronized. "I can vouch for Drako. He will not harm any of us. It is hard for me to explain because I do not understand this bond that I have with him but I am certain that he will not take our lives."
Sarine kept her stare without batting an eyelid. "What about you? Would you be able to assure us that you will not kill us when your personality switch over to killer mode?"
Without realising it, Maia's hand searched for Alistair's and she squeezed it tight. A long silence followed before Maia finally looked at Sarine in her eyes, "Honestly, I am not a 100% confident that I will not kill any of you but I am very confident that before such an incident would happen, I know that at least one of you would slow me down. I could not live with myself if I had caused any grievous harm to any of you. So, please, in such an event, it is my wish that you stop me, at any costs."
Alistair's grabbed her by her shoulders and began shaking her, as if to snap her out of any trance she was in. "What in Andraste's name are you talking about?! I will never lay a finger on you, let alone kill you and none of them will get close enough to accomplish that. Not unless it's over my dead body!" His words were full of anger, disappointment and fear.
"If I had to choose between losing four or two of my companions, I would rather only lose two. Alistair, you need to understand that we are facing a great danger and we need all the help we can get. We may have a party of mixed matched members, but I know that we will be able to fight alongside each other seamlessly. And if I have to kill you and Maia in order to keep most of my members, I will." Sarine explained in a very confident manner but it only made Alistair angrier.
"Thank you, Sarine. I am glad that you understand. Alistair, I am sorry but I agree with her fully," Maia released his tight grip and lovingly held his hands.
"There has to be another way, there has to be. I won't be able to live without you. That can't be the only way. Please Sarine, we should think of other ways to handle the situation," Alistair pleaded.
Sarine closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths. She knew that Maia is a valuable asset but so are the rest. She was certain that she had made the right decision but Alistair's plea had waivered her resolve. "Tell you what, Alistair, for the time being, until we figure out what is exactly happening to Maia, my orders still stand. I will try to slow her down first and if that fails, only then will I have to take her down. And should you stand in the way, you will receive the same treatment as her."
Alistair looked confused but he was processing every possible situation in his head creating a deafening silent atmosphere.
"Think of the big picture, Alistair. Think of why we are here. Think of everyone who had risk their lives to stop this blight. Think of Duncan," Maia softly reasoned.
"Duncan..." He whispered.
Another long silence followed before he finally looked into Maia's eyes, "Are you okay with Sarine's plan?"
"Yes, I am," Maia replied confidently.
Alistair heaved a huge sigh, "Alright. I shall accede to your request. I will not let Duncan's death be in vain. He is a great man and if I aspire to be like him, there are certain sacrifices that I will have to make. But I want you to know that I love you, no matter what." He pulled her in for an embrace. Holding onto her small frame as if his life depended on it.
"Thank you. Thank you. I love you so so much. Rest assured that should that time come, I will not feel sad or angry. But instead, my love shall continue to grow." She whispered into his ear.
He was filled with intense, raw emotions that he could only nod and hug her tighter.
Sarine knew that Alistair had made a difficult choice and she could not help but to feel proud of him. He was no longer the awkward and indecisive person he once was. Now, he has grown into a mature and confident knight.
"Okay... Now that's over and done with, does anyone feel hungry?" Alistair grinned as he pulled away from Maia.
"He's still good at his lame jokes, though," Sarine thought to herself and grinned along with him.