My Spanish guest - Thank you for the comment. Yeah she is kind of like her cousin. Judy-thank you.

I kept my eyes on my goblet for fear if I looked up, they would see every emotion I had. Teagan was right he not only left the Grey Wardens, but he left Ferelden too. I wondered if he had been here for the entire last year. My hand was white from gripping the stone cup as tightly as I was. Slowly so as not to tremble I set the cup down.

"Aedan Cousland is in Kirkwall? The King has been looking for him for about a year."

Alton's question for Bethany mirrored what Varric had tried on me. Fortunately, he was able to tell the truth with looking like he wasn't interested in the information. And I was grateful to my Seneschal for picking the right men to send with me. I gave myself grief for vacillating on Alton's worth.

"No, the other one. I think I heard the Templar call him Alistair when he came to get him and take him back to the Gallows."

Darragh cleared his throat and asked. "The hero was the mage not Alistair. Besides the Templars have no authority over Grey Wardens."

Hawke took another pull of the wine and didn't taste apple anything. But he like a good strong ale, just like his father Malcolm. He'd taken Carver to the tavern to get him drunk when reached manhood like his father did for him.

But his stupid, brave, stubborn brother didn't like ale. He probably would have liked this. Bethany seemed to be enjoying her cup. He was half listening. When they'd come to his aid this afternoon, he thought they would be swapping war stories and he'd find out what happened after Carver and he had to flee to get Mother and Bethany safe.

But they were busy talking about the wine and the drunk who wouldn't shut up about being a prince and Grey warden. "Did the king know the Teyrn was going to betray him? Did just decide he would seek glory with the Grey Wardens despite the sodding mess the kingdom was in? Did the Ash Warriors protect him while he made a fool out of every Ferelden who mourned for him?"

"No." Darragh said quietly. "My wounded contingent left the wilds thinking the King was dead. I lost many men that night. But had I known I would have traveled with him. He believed we Fereldans could win. He believed in the traitor to the point he allowed the man to strategize the battle plan. I'm not sure what convinced him to stay with the Wardens except for the protection of them."

"The bard's songs are slightly vague on how the King made it off the battlefield except that the Warden single handedly saved him from an Ogre and carried him out of the wilds." Varric prompted.

I snort and laugh sardonically. "She was just a simple Mage. Not the Maker, not the Creators or even a Paragon. There is no way she saved him by herself. She hadn't been out of the Tower two weeks before that battle."

"Are you saying the bard lied," Fenris challenged.

I looked away and swallowed hard. This was the part I hated most about being the Warden. The adulation and the ridicule. To be fair most of the time the contempt was from myself.

I caught Darragh's eye and saw the subtle movement of his head. I had woken both men up on occasion with nightmares and Nathaniel having to leave his bed roll and try to soothe me back to sleep.

Somehow the typical darkspawn dreams kept taking me back to Ostagar. "No. I just think that too much credit is given to one girl and the rest of the men and women who laid down their lives are forgotten."

"To anyone else who didn't fight at that would sound like jealously. But its guilt. You were at Ostagar, but you weren't with the Ash Warriors or at least not the same company that your friend Darragh was," Hawke said understanding.

"No, you're right. In fact, when I first arrived at Ostagar, Darragh was the leader of the Ash Warriors and I hadn't proven myself in battle yet. He was on his way out to scout and I reported to another for duty. I am … new to Darragh's command." I was excellent at lying without lying.

The man who took the Kings place was Ser Morien and he called the Storm Coast home. He came from the island of Finlay and had two little sisters and a brother. He was betrothed to marry his lover. She had their son seven months after Ostagar. He helped his father bring the fish in every night except for the nights he had a special duty. You see he was King Cailan body double. His majesty didn't want him on the field that day but where his King was if there was danger it was Morien's duty to be there too.

When the traitor pulled the troops and the soldiers were scrambling to get off the field, Morien put the king's armor on and waded out into the Darkspawn to provide a distraction to get the injured king to safety. It is said when his majesty found out what Morien did for him he didn't speak for hours and took his name to bring the man honor. No one remembers anything the king did as Morien. All they talk about is the Warden and how she saved Ferelden and the King."

"Morien was your commanding officer and you couldn't save him," Bethany asked.

Blinking back the water welling in the corners of my eyes I cleared my throat. "There were so many that day that I couldn't save.

But the answer to the question of why the king traveled with the Wardens. He wasn't safe in Denerim. The traitor was responsible for poisoning his uncle so there was no safety at Redcliff. The traitor had already killed him, and it wouldn't be hard to make a lone man claiming to be the dead king, disappear. With the Wardens he could exonerate them and have protection until he no longer needed it."

Notes:

We travel back to the blight for the next two chapters... after that we get to see Alistair.