"Orson, what are you doing here?!"

Solona, brows knit in confusion, turned to her sister, who shouted at the young templar. She turned back as he answered.

"Do not let him poison your mind, Revka!"

Oghren laughed. "Ya hear that, Warden?! He thinks yer a man!" Solona's eyes flicked to Oghren in annoyance just as Natia smacked him upside the head. "Ow! Natia, what the hell?!" He tried to hit her back, but she caught his fist and wrenched it behind his back.

"Let's just wait until this is over before we break into a fist fight, shall we?"

The man looked to the dwarves with confusion before focusing back on Solona and her sister. "Unhand that girl, vile creature, and submit to the holy will of Andraste!"

Solona rolled her eyes. "Seriously? It's like the Maker has a sense of humor…"

Alistair left Solona's side, approaching the young man. He moved to point his sword at the future king, but Alistair didn't even flinch, coming to stop with the weapon inches from his chest. "Stand down, Recruit!"

"No, I will n-" He didn't get a chance to reply further, as Alistair suddenly lashed out, knocking his sword from the boy's sloppy grip and planting him firmly on his backside.

Revka stepped forward, anger written plainly on her face. "Orson, go home! How did you even find me here?"

"A sister from the Chantry came to find me when she saw you with someone with the mark of an apostate," he answered, wise enough to stay on the ground with the blonde giant that was Alistair towering above him. "I couldn't stand the thought of you brought under the sway of one like him-"

"Her," Alistair corrected. "She is a lady. She is also Revka's sister, as well as the Commander of Ferelden's remaining Grey Wardens. She exists outside of Chantry law, and is under the protection of the Arl of Redcliffe. You need to learn a bit more about politics, son, before you go off declaring Holy War on someone who did no wrong."

Revka walked up to him, reaching out a hand to help him to his feet. "Go back to the Chantry, Orson. I'm perfectly safe here." Here eyes met Solona's as she added, "I'm with family."

He eyed her a moment. "You don't have a sister."

"Orson, we were promised to each other only a month ago! I have not shared every bit of my past with you. Now go home. I will tell you about it later." Pausing, she added, "And don't tell my parents I was here until I've had the chance to speak with them. As you might have gathered, my sister is a… sensitive subject."

Alistair stepped in as the boy opened his mouth to speak. "Why don't I escort you out? I'm a Grey Warden now, but I was a templar recruit myself before that. I'm eager to hear what happened to my old friends." He gripped the boy's shoulder, steering him out of the hall and toward the front entrance of the arl's estate before he could say a word.

"Right. I think I've had quite enough excitement for today," Eamon announced, startling Solona out of her shocked stupor. She'd forgotten he was still in the hall. "Warden-Commander, I will meet you and the others in one hour in my study."

"Of course, Your Grace," she answered, watching as he gave a satisfied nod and made for the inner halls of the estate.

"Perhaps you can tell me all that is going on now?" Revka suggested, a smirk on her face.

Leliana giggled. "Solona, my love, her face is just as expressive as yours! I swear I've seen that look before."

Solona sighed. "Yes, I get it. I can't keep my emotions to myself. Shall we go share my life story from the last six months, then? If you're done laughing, of course," she added with a raised eyebrow.

Still giggling, Leliana nodded, following as Solona asked a servant to lead her to her room.


Revka began counting off on her fingers. "So… you are the Commander of the Grey Wardens, while your sole other warden is in line for the throne. You are a powerful mage who is free of the Circle legally. You are here to unseat the man who killed our last king and the rest of your order. You have defeated werewolves, met the near-mythical Dalish elves, found the maker of the golems of Orzammar, and found the Sacred Ashes of Andraste. And on top of it you bring a beautiful Orlesian minstrel with you here as your… lover. Have I covered it all?"

Leliana blushed. Did this girl like women as her sister did? Is that how she knew without being told? Solona merely nodded. "Yes, I think that's about the size of it."

"Wow… I admit I am having a hard time believing it all."

Solona chuckled. "After having gone through all of it myself, I stil find it unbelievable. But it is true. Come the spring thaw, we will have armies of all the peoples of Ferelden gathered on our door, with Alistair as our King."

"He is a handsome man, isn't he?" Revka murmured with a spark in her eyes, puzzling Leliana further.

Solona snorted. "He has no hair!"

"That's true… how did that happen?"

Shaking her head, Solona said, "It's a long story. Suffice it to say, he was burned rather badly in our last… altercation. He and Zevran both."

Revka knit her brows in confusion. "Zevran?"

"One of our companions. You can meet them all later, if you like. But until then… tell us about the blowhard who came in here calling for me to submit to him," Solona suggested, causing Leliana to choke down a laugh. Solon kept making these sexual innuendos, and it was thoroughly testing Leliana's ability to keep a straight face.

Revka just sighed. "After you… left, Mother and Father decided I was of marriageable age and started petitioning like I was one of their wares in the market. Orson's parents live here in Denerim and knew our parents from Chantry services. They fell in love with each other's piety and promised us to each other."

Solona narrowed her eyes. "I take it you did not have a lot of choice in the matter. Do you like him?"

Another sigh. "He is a decent man, or will be in a few years. He is barely older than I, however, and not yet a full templar. We would not be able to be married until he can house me, until he has an income. I had hoped that by then I would come to like him, but so far…"

Leliana finished the thought for her. "So far there is not much to like?" Revka just nodded.

"Revka, what… happened after that night?" Solona asked after adjusting her seat upon their bed. Leliana had a brief flash of tying the warden to the bedposts before shaking her head to clear it. What could possibly be her problem?! What about the events of the day made her so… randy? They'd just made love that morning!

"I was… bitter that they would have Derek and I and never mention their first child. They had utterly disowned any memory of you, Solona! So I started asking questions. When they would not answer me, I went to the Chantry sisters. They started painting a picture that I did not like. Perhaps, if someone did not have family taken away from them, then that picture might seem harmless, but to me, it was a picture of a sister I could have known – and who I liked tremendously based on the one day we had together – torn away from me, all memory of her buried by misguided piety."

Solona frowned. "What did they say?"

Revka straightened her skirt around her. "I didn't ask like I had a family member who was a mage – I was still afraid of the association. I apologize for that." Solona merely shook her head, murmuring her understanding. "I was told that children with magic were taken to the Circle to keep others, as well as themselves, safe. They were watched over by templars for their own good. Like children. Or perhaps dogs." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Their families are encouraged to go on without those children, as if they had never existed, for they would not be able to visit them until they reached their majority within the Circle, and by that time they would not know them even if they visited. Families are encouraged to not tell future children of that first child's existence, Solona! You are… you were erased, with the Chantry's blessing. I could not stomach it. I refuse to believe that our beloved Andraste would encourage such things."

"She didn't," Solona replied, her face a mask of rage for a moment before it gave way to a resigned sadness. Leliana knew her lover had long ago accepted the unfairness of the situation with her parents, but being unhappy about it was to be expected. Sighing, Solona continued, "Look, Revka. They just did what they were told. The common person is… frightened of magic. It is the doing of the Chantry, but even those sisters who told you those things believed it was the right thing to do. It is no single person's fault. It is all a misinterpretation of the Chant of Light, and unfortunately this is what it has turned into."

"It is true," Leliana finally chimed in. "I spent a few years as a lay-sister in Lothering. The people are good people, if misguided. For the most part, magic never enters our lives except as those who are fugitives from the Circle, or the occasional abomination that the templars quickly find and put down. This means that the good souls like Wynne and Solona are never seen by the people who really need to see that they can be so good, because they obey and stay put inside the Circle, away from the common citizen. And those who are seen live in disguise, never using their magic, living as ordinary farmers and workmen, as Solona's uncle did. If the only time you ever see magic is from someone willing the to live outside the law, then the only magic use you are ever exposed to is from criminals. It is a horrible feedback that simply reinforces your prejudices. Rarely do people get the opportunity you and I have had, Revka."

The girl knit her brows. "What opportunity is that?"

Leliana smiled, reaching over and taking Solona's hand. "To get a chance to know someone as good and lovely as your sister."

Solona's face flushed, a red hue coming in under her dark skin and purple tattoo. Leliana giggled, releasing her hand and getting up from the bed. "Come, we should go meet the arl. Revka, what will you do?"

"I… I'm not sure. I should go home and speak with my parents, but I don't think I'm yet ready for that."

"Well, I must be in this meeting with the others," Leliana said, "but what if Natia and Max explored the estate with you? Alistair's friend Ellia could show you around, perhaps?"

Solona smiled. "That is an excellent idea! It would give you some time to think, Revka. Max is a good companion, and Natia is a sweet girl. And I'm sure she would be happy to answer all the questions you have about dwarves and Orzammar."

Laughing, Revka agreed, and Leliana hurried into the hall to ask a passing servant for Ellia and Natia's presence.


Alistair stood alone outside Eamon's study, wearing tunic and trousers, having shed his armor in the room he was shown to earlier. The Theirin sword and dagger from Ostagar remained on his person, however – given the surprise greeting first from Loghain and then from that remplar recruit he'd just escorted outside, he wasn't taking any chances.

He hadn't used the new sword much, only while sparring in the evening for the last several days. It was somewhat heavier than the one he'd been issued as a warden, yet it was balanced incredibly well, and therefore easy enough to adapt to. The shield, too, was exceptionally made. He still wasn't sure about using them, but it seemed like the right thing to do. They felt… they just felt right in his hands. It was like they were made for him. He'd never seen his father, but if Cailan was anything to go by, then in a roundabout way they were made for his hands. They were made for Theirin hands.

Cailan… there was a conundrum. He didn't even know if the man had known who he was. But Alistair had known he was looking at his brother. The man's face looked like a mirror that was wrong in some indefinable way. Maybe it was the long hair. Maybe it was his kingly bearing. Or maybe it was just that brothers never looked exactly alike unless they were twins. Or maybe all three swirled together to form the differences between them. Whatever the cause, Cailan didn't seem to see it, or kept his knowledge of Alistair's parentage to himself.

He had spoken with Alistair at length while Duncan had been at the Circle, and over time, Alistair had come to like the man. He was enthusiastic, wanting to hear all the tales of the Grey Wardens that Alistair could share with him. However, because of spending so much time discussing warden tales with the man, Alistair couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow his fault that Cailan had such ideas of grandeur regarding the order; Alistair held them in rather high regard himself, after all. He knew it was stupid, but it was a guilt that was difficult to shake. In his own small way, perhaps if he had kept his distance instead of satisfying his curiosity regarding his brother, then maybe they would still have a king.

He knew, intellectually, that such a thing wasn't true, of course. Loghain's treachery killed Cailan, not Cailan's trust in the glorious Grey Wardens. Yet looking back, Loghain was right about one thing: Cailan did rely too heavily on the wardens. He thought them more than human, and they just weren't. Their only power was the taint, the ability to sense the 'spawn and, in some cases, hear their thoughts. While they trained to become formidable warriors, and did possess considerable stamina, they were all still human (or dwarven or elven, as the case may be). The possibly ironic thing was that Solona very nearly was the invincible being Cailan envisioned them all to be, but Alistair would not be making the same mistake Cailan did. He would not treat Solona as if she were indestructible; he had only think of the arcane warrior she had killed, or how fragile she looked after her week trapped in the Fade, to remind himself that she was not.

At that moment, the very woman he was thinking about marched into the hallway from the stairwell, also without her armor but far from unarmed. Leliana followed Solona, the bard not having bothered to remove the leather armor she wore on the road. He didn't really blame her, as the light linen she wore underneath her light armor was hardly appropriate for a meeting with the arl. She had probably decided to just stay as she was until she could bathe.

"Everything went all right with your sister, I trust?" he asked.

Solona nodded, smiling brightly despite everything that had happened just in that afternoon. "Yes. She's with Natia and your friend Ellia now, being shown around the grounds. She wanted some time to think before going home."

"How do you think your parents will react?"

She pursed her lips. "I honestly don't know. I don't really know them…"

"Sorry," he said quickly, scrubbing a hand over the stubble atop his head before scratching at the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to bring up… bad memories."

Solona just shrugged. "No need for apology, Alistair. I know you didn't mean anything. I just… seeing her, thinking about them… it brings up a lot of conflict in my mind. I feel like I did visiting Ostagar, like I'm a completely different person."

"You were, my love," Leliana murmured, threading her fingers into Solona's. Looking at Alistair, she continued. "You both were different when you met, and before it, too. The events we have been through … if they do not change a person, then that person is not capable of changing at all, I think."

Alistair smiled. "You have an excellent point." Pausing for a moment and thinking back, he finally added, "And I think I know exactly when the biggest turning point for me was."

"Oh?"

He smiled. "Well, part of it is being friends with you two. But… it was the fires leading to the Ashes where I think I really started to change."

Solona cocked her head to the side. "What about the fires changed you?"

He flushed a little. "I realized that I needed to be king. That the throne was… is… an incredibly useful tool. A Grey Warden and a bastard has no power behind his words; but a king? A king can convince Chantries that Andraste's actions were misinterpreted. A king can effect change in the lives of the mages of the Circle in his lands. A king can change the law so that the downtrodden are brought back up. I cannot change people's minds, but I can change the law, and my words will at least require listening to. I want to… I want to make my country a better place. The best way I can do that is to accept my heritage and use the tools available to me, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me to think of being in charge of armies and nobles, and, well… everyone."

Solona smirked at the end. "Well, not in charge of me. The wardens are outside the jurisdiction of the Crown, after all."

He mock-glared at her. "I'm a warden, too, Solona. Besides, I've put you on your arse more than once. I could still do it, even as king."

"That sounds like a challenge, Alistair," she mocked, her lips spread in a grin.

"Really?" Leliana interjected, rolling her eyes. "You two want to wrestle in the corridors of the Arl of Redcliffe's estate? You are the ones who are going to save us all from the Blight?"

Alistair put on his best sulk. "Do you really think so little of me, Leliana?"

Before she had a chance to answer, Eamon's study opened, a servant beckoning them inside. A moment later, Zevran and Wynne appeared, looking much fresher than the others. Alistair suspected they took the hour they'd had to themselves to quickly bathe and change, as Wynne was wearing an actual dress, and Zevran sported a tunic and trouser set that Alistair had never before seen on the man. Why didn't I do that?

"Ah, good, you're all here." Eamon sat at his desk, Teagan and Fergus with him. Alistair didn't like that they'd been talking without the wardens or their companions there, but it could have had nothing to do with the Landsmeet, and either way, Alistair could do nothing about it now.

Gesturing them all to chairs that had been brought in, he continued, sitting back in his seat. "Unfortunately, Loghain's decree makes it difficult to conduct the reconnaissance we need."

"And what reconnaissance is that, Your Grace?" Solona asked.

"Information, mostly," he answered, heaving a sigh. "We need information on Loghain's dealings in Denerim these many months. We need to know his movements, who he has bribed, if he's been recruiting for the army. We need to know if there's a secret police, if he's had contact outside of the country. We need as much information as we can get our hands on, so we can lay his slimier dealings to bear at the Landsmeet. In addition, we need to get a feel for which nobles will support us and which will not, and perhaps see who can be swayed."

Teagan spoke up first. "I can spend some time at The Gnawed Noble. The other banns and arls should be trickling in over the next day or two – you called the Landsmeet for next week, right?" At Eamon's confirming nod, he continued. "I can talk with those I see. Many spend time at that tavern, and I can always make social calls to those that don't."

Eamon nodded. "That will help a great deal. But there is much information to be had that a bann cannot find. I need ears among the people."

Zevran was the one to speak next. "I can help there, Your Grace. People in cities pay little heed to yet another elf. They think us not powerful enough to repeat their words, or even to understand the full meaning of them. I can exploit this, uncover what has been happening in the city. And I will not look out of place in some of the seedier places a bann cannot go."

Eamon inclined his head. "I thank you for that… Zevran, is it? That will be a great help. Unfortunately, our two wardens cannot leave the estate, nor can you, Lady Leliana, or you, Fergus. Loghain's guards will have descriptions of you."

Leliana cleared her throat, and Eamon looked her way expectantly. "I beg your pardon, Your Grace, but I believe the only one who truly cannot leave this estate is Solona. She is the only one who cannot blend in to the crowd, as it were. Alistair, Teryn Cousland, and myself all have the light skin of this land. My hair can be covered easily enough, and then I am just another small woman no one will pay attention to on the street. If we go in commoner's clothing and stick to crowded areas, we should have no problem listening among the market goers, at the very least."

Eamon looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "Very well. If you are confident you can keep yourselves from being recognized, then I'll allow it. But refrain from visiting areas where people might recognize you, yes?"

Alistair knew the last comment was meant for him. "Don't worry, Eamon, I'll avoid the Chantry, and any templars I see."

Smiling, Eamon nodded. "And I agree with your Lady, Solona. Unfortunately, your visage is far too recognizable for you to leave here until we go to the palace for the Landsmeet."

Solona didn't look happy, but she nodded nonetheless. "I understand, Your Grace. But I would like to be notified whenever more information is found." She paused, shaking her head and chuckling some. "I am not exactly the Paragon of Patience."

"I can understand that feeling quite well," Eamon said, his expression turning sympathetic. It then hardened, however, as he looked up at Fergus. "You, too, Fergus. You are too emotional, too prone to an outburst. You must stay here unless absolutely necessary."

"But I-" the rightful Teryn of Highever began, only to be cut off.

"No. You are not in the right place right now to be wandering the market listening for information. You were raised as a noble, and will stick out like a sore thumb. And given your outburst earlier, I simply cannot trust that you can control yourself. It is for your safety, Alistair's safety, and the safety of your Terynship and your people. We cannot lose you before we have the chance to restore you to your people, Fergus."

Fergus's jaw clamped shut, and he nodded. Alistair could recognize the shame in his expression. The man was not happy being held back like a child.

Eamon slapped the desk lightly with an open palm. "It is decided. We have some daylight left. Go do what you do best, and let us see what we can find."


Solona exited the room with a slight frown still upon her face. Realistically, she knew she could do nothing outside these walls while she was still a fugitive. But it did not sit well with her. She had been constantly moving, constantly learning, constantly fighting since becoming a warden so many months earlier. To be suddenly idle, to not be involved in anything that was needed until the Landsmeet, left her feeling quite useless.

"It is a good opportunity for you to practice your meditations," Leliana suggested, walking beside her as they made their way to their room.

"Yes, because I love meditating so much," Solona replied sarcastically.

"I know, my love. But if you want to master the techniques before the Blight swarms the lands once more, then you must practice. I know I can't possibly understand what it's like to do, how disorienting it must be, but you must master it nonetheless."

Solona sighed. "I know. I just… don't want to. But I will. Maker knows I have enough practice in spending my time studying. And to practice meditating without using magic will at least be different."

Leliana was quiet for a moment as they walked. Finally, Solona felt the small woman's fingers thread through her own, and the bard tentatively said, "You can also spend the time getting to know your sister, Solona."

Solona just tightened her hand in Leliana's and kept walking, not saying anything for now. She didn't really know what she felt, truth be told. She was very happy to see her sister, of course. She was even happier that her sister did not think her some demon, some reckless beast who must be locked away for the safety of the common people. But she never thought she'd see her siblings again, and she had made peace with that. But then the second she saw her sister, she had run after her, made herself known. Perhaps she hadn't made peace with it like she thought she had.

It didn't help that seeing her sister necessarily brought up memories of the last time she saw her parents. They had been… hesitant, but welcomed her in, fed her, introduced her to her brother and sister, Derek and Revka. They hadn't offered much in explanation to the two younger Amell children, merely saying that Solona had been taken to the Circle because she had magic, and they had moved on with their lives. They had not been overly warm toward Solona, but neither were they hostile. She had gone to the market with her siblings, delighting in them, answering the questions they had. They had come home and gone to bed, Solona sleeping on a pallet in the kitchen. She had awoken to the templars, and had seen her parents watching from the door of the house, hard expressions on their faces as they watched her hauled away like some animal.

And that was the last time she had seen them. Leliana knew all of this, of course. She didn't ask now how Solona felt, seeing her sister. She knew it brought these memories to mind for the mage. They had spoken very briefly of it while walking to Eamon's study, but that was it – the rest of it had been learned over many discussions between them over the last several months. There really just wasn't much to say of this new development as of yet, for Solona did not know how she felt, or what she wanted from this rekindling of familial relationships.

They got to their room without speaking further. Leliana called for a servant to draw a bath, as they lacked the technology of the dwarves to run water themselves, and while Solona could fill the tub and then heat the water herself, they were under a strict "no magic" order until she was no longer a fugitive. Templars knocking down the doors of the estate for the location of apostates was the last thing they needed. Templars did not stop to see if a mage was out of the Circle legally or not. It was assumed you were guilty until proven otherwise. The mark of an apostate upon Solona's face would not help matters.

Removing her dirty travel clothes and helping Leliana out of her armor, the two women slid into the oversized bath together. Solona immediately pulled the smaller woman close to her, suddenly needing the closeness of her skin, the feeling of her lips and her arms and her loving caress. Kissing her deeply, she started the slow dance of lovemaking, sliding her hands everywhere she could reach as she drew pleasured sighs and declarations of love from her lover.

Later, as Leliana dressed for her infiltration of the market crowd, Solona lay in the haze of a half-doze, feeling loved and appreciated despite the absence of her lover's body next to hers. It was exactly what she had needed after the confusing twist of emotions she'd experienced with the return of her sister. With a lighter heart and the satisfaction of having confirmed her life and her love, she dressed and went to find her sister, to speak with her at length of their parents.


A/N: So I decided to include Solona's family because, well... I built this backstory of them living in Denerim. I can't just not have them involved at all. I like realism, and I just don't think it would be very realistic to have her completely avoid them. I don't think we're done with Orson, either.

Fun story time. Raven Sinead asked me when I wrote this, "You wrote the last section while drunk, didn't you?" And she was totally right! I asked her how could she tell, because I was very afraid that meant it read somewhat like a funhouse mirror. But no, she said it was perfectly cogent, just full of grammar and punctuation errors. I can handle that. But I thought y'all might appreciate that little anecdote.