It was over a year later in late Autumn when Leto appeared to find Faelyn pacing. She must have been doing it for some time as her walking pattern had already been dented into the grass.

"Fae? Is everything alright?"

Her head snapped up to the sound of his voice. Without a second thought, she ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head into his chest. Physical contact between them was not something new, but it still took Leto a moment to register what just happened and wrap his arms around her and holding her close.

She muttered something but even with his heightened hearing he couldn't make it out.

"Excuse me?"

Not letting go, she merely tilted her head and repeated in a low voice.

"Bethany used magic today."

"Oh."

He didn't say anything else, he just held her. Leto knew this was a cause of anxiety for her, at the age of twelve she still hadn't manifested any magical abilities other than amazing control over the Fade. And so, they stayed that way for the rest of their time that day. She clung to him, hiding her face in the attempt to muffle the sound of her crying and Leto soothingly running his hand up and down her back.

It wasn't until Faelyn's thirteenth birthday that they would realise that her worrying was for nought. When Leto entered the clearing, he was welcomed to the sight of Faelyn dancing around to music that could only be going on inside her head.

Crossing his arms, he leaned against a tree and watched her. Entranced didn't feel strong enough of a word for what he felt when watching her. Enraptured? No, that still didn't feel right. Unknown to him, a smile crept to his lips as he watched her spin while raising her arms to the sky. Her melodic laugh sounded like heaven to his ears and his breath caught in his throat when she turned her gold eyes to his green. He was able to clearly make out the excitement and delight shining in their depths.

"I did it! I used magic today!"

Both not realising they had already started walking towards each other, stopped when they were a mere pace away. Squealing in delight, Faelyn ran and jumped, Leto laughing along with her as he caught her and spun her around before placing her back on the ground.

"See? I knew you could do it. What happened?"

Looking down at her feet, Leto could see a blush rise up on her cheeks.

"Some town kids were being really mean to Carver and Bethany. They were saying some really nasty things when I asked them to stop, they didn't and only just got worse and… and they just made me so MAD!"

Leto tried to hold back a laugh as he watched her cross her arms and pout before stomping her foot to punctuate her point.

"I kept thinking that water would cool them off. And I kept getting angrier until I imagined a large ball of water just dunking on them! And then it happened. They were suddenly covered in cold water."

"The twins and I ran back home and told Dad. He then tested out my abilities by getting me to perform difference spells, and I could do it all!"

For the remainder of the evening, Leto watched as Faelyn showed him everything her father had taught her so far.

"That's amazing Fae! You've already learned so much!"

"Well, it helped that I had been reading books on the matter for a long time."

"But still, your magic is beautiful. You'll be an amazing and powerful mage one day, and you'll show the world that not all mages are evil."

Faelyn could do nothing but squeak out a thank you, as a blush lit up her face, which she ducked and tried to hide with her hair.

They were having a nice relaxed day. Faelyn was leaning against the base of a tree reading a book on ancient Elven languages and culture. Leto was laying on the ground with his head on her lap reading a book on swordplay.

He almost groaned out loud when he felt her nimble fingers start to play with his hair. He knew she only did it when she was really concentrating on something but for him it was torture. Using all his willpower he tried to focus on his book, but his eyes slowly slid closed at the sensations he was feeling.

That was until he felt one of her fingers glide over the edge of his ear. When he realised that the moan, he heard was actually his own, his eyes snapped open and he instantly shot up into a seated position.

"Leto? Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

Willing his heart rate to go back to normal, he didn't dare turn around to answer her.

"Yes… eh… elven ears can be pretty sensitive…"

"Oh!"

Realisation dawned on her and a blush crept up her neck to her face. Suddenly determined she asked, "What would happen if I kissed one of them?"

Leto took in an audible gasp and turned his wide green eyes to lock with hers. Unknown to him, she had been planning this since her sixteenth birthday. She had hoped he would kiss her then but when that didn't happen, she knew she would need to make the first move.

Faelyn watched with a smile on her face as Leto opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. Placing the book down, she moved to slowly crawl over to him. Watching as the pulse on his neck quickened, how his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, how his eyes raked over her face and body until they settled on her eyes.

Lifting her skirt up slightly Faelyn proceeded to crawl on to his lap until she was straddling his hips. Keeping eye contact for as long as she could before she leaned forward until her lips were beside his right ear.

Gently whispering, she repeated the question.

"What would happen if I kissed right here?"

To punctuate her point, she gently flicked the tip of her tongue against the line on his ear. Faelyn felt a thrill throughout her whole body the instant he grabbed her hips and groaned. When he said her name, it was breathy and just the sound alone caused her to intake breath, causing his grip on her hips to tighten.

Leaning back to look at him in the eyes, she relished in the change. His pupils had dilated and he was panting, to her, he looked wild and she loved it. Shifting her weight slightly, she moved again until her lips were barely touching his, all the while, keeping eye contact.

"What if I kiss here?"

Her hot breath against his skin was his undoing. Lifting his hand to the base of her neck before closing the distance. The kiss was messy and inexperienced but neither of them cared. To Faelyn it felt as if her entire body was humming and on fire at the same time. When they finally had to come up for air Faelyn was smiling brightly.

"About time! I've been waiting for that since my birthday!"

Leto laughed and shook his head before pulling her down for another heated kiss. After all, how else were they going to get better if they didn't practice?

Faelyn and Leto would spend their time together just enjoying each other's company, both intellectually and physically. Leto was quite intelligent as was able to easily keep up with Faelyn's sharp mind and she loved his witty retorts and sarcasm.

He began opening up more to her as he told her about his life in the Imperium, his sister Varania and his mother. He didn't know much about his father, his mother never wanted to talk about him and would always change the subject. They would lie in the open field, his head either resting on her lap as she played with his hair or on her stomach as they held hands. Faelyn loved to listen to his voice, so she was delighted when he told her that he had convinced the head of the guards to teach him how to use a sword because of the sheer joy in his voice as he spoke.

As Faelyn was being taught how to use daggers in close combat they both agreed that it would be good for them to practice. Faelyn was never able to overcome Leto's strength but she was fast.

The end of training normally led to clothes being scattered across the area and them holding each other in a heated embrace and it continued that way for another two years.

It was shortly after her eighteenth birthday that everything changed.

Leto was looking forward to seeing her today, he had important news that he wanted to share with her but when Leto entered the clearing that evening it wasn't like the normal hundred of times before. It was dark, a biting wind tore through him and he immediately wrapped his arms around himself to shield his body from the cold.

Calling her name made no difference, but he knew she was here, he could sense it. When he finally located her, she was lying in the foetal position on a dead patch of grass, tears streaming down her face and a dead look in her eyes.

Fear instantly grasped his heart and he fell to his knees before moving to comfort her. Laying down in front of her he brought her body closer to his. He tucked her head under his chin, her hands that were trapped between their bodies grabbed at his tunic and his arms held her tight against him.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Faelyn did nothing but burry herself closer to him and his eyes widen in shock as the world around him changed and he could do nothing but silently watch.

Faelyn and an older man were walking on a dirt road out of town. From the similarities Leto presumed that the man was her father. Fae was wearing dark leggings and boots, and the dark green tunic she wore barely covered the daggers that she had strapped to her thighs. Her hair was tied back into a loose braid and fell over her left shoulder. Her father wore a white shirt and scruffy black pants, his arm was over her shoulder as he held her in place to tousle her hair. They were laughing and talking and a smile crept on to Leto's features as he watched them interact.

They were no more than a mile outside of town when a group of Templars stepped out from the encroaching trees, causing Faelyn's father to push her behind him and take up a defensive stance. He watched with dread as one of the Templars placed him in a magic bind as another grabbed Faelyn and held her back as she fought and screamed for them to let her father go.

Grabbing one of her daggers she stabbed at the Templar in the leg and in shock he let her go. She then charged at the Templar chanting in order to break the link and free her father. Chaos then ensued as the two of them fought off the Templars. Leto watched in horror as one of them escaped, unknown to Fae and her father and ran towards the town.

A Templar managed to disarm Fae and with no other weapons, she relied on her magic and sent one of the Templars soaring into a tree. Realising that they were fighting against two mages, one of them attempted to put Fae into a magic bind. Leto could do nothing but gasp for breath and subconsciously hold her tighter as he watched the confusion on the face of Fae the illusion. She merely blinked and held up her hand to send lightning at the Templar and send him flying backwards. It was at that point that every person stopped and stared at her. Leto could make out her father shouting at her to run, but Fae just stood there slightly disorientated and confused.

It was at this point that more Templars rounded the corner, there was too many for them to fight off. Leto's heart rate increased rapidly and he quickly glanced down at the woman in his arms. Then it was as if everything happened in slow motion.

One of the Templars came behind her father and impaled him on his greatsword. Leto could see the look of disbelief on his face before the weapon was wrenched from his body and he fell to his knees, his hands coming up to try and stop the flow of blood coming from the open wound.

Pushing two of the Templars out of the way Fae ran to her father's side and slid to the floor to catch him before he fell. At this point, five or so Templars started to bind her magic but all Fae could do was hold her dying father and beg him not to leave. When he took his last breath, she screamed and buried her face in his shoulder, anger and devastation causing her body to shake violently.

Slowly looking up she glared at each Templar and Leto could see the pure rage in her eyes. He watched as the gold of her iris's seemed to cover her entire eyes and suddenly as she screamed pure magic flew from her body and pierced every Templar through the heart. While each of them sank to the floor dead the scenery slowly changed back to the field that Leto had originally entered.

Looking down he realised that her tears had stopped, but the look in her eyes hadn't changed. Bringing his hand up to cup her jaw he tilted her face until she looked at him.

"I am so sorry."

Something sparked in the depths of her eyes and he just went along with it when she kissed him. It was desperate and pleading, nothing like the normal heated and loving kisses that they shared before.

Her fingers started fumbling with the buttons of his tunic and without knowing how, he suddenly found himself topless. Rolling them both until she straddled his hips, Fae lifted her arms and ground into him, to urge that he return the curtesy. Peeling the tunic from her body he used his right hand to palm at her ass and grind her into him harder and his left to grasp at her scalp to bring her down for another kiss.

The sound of her voice brought him back to his senses. Using his grip, he halted her hips and pulled back from the kiss to rest his forehead against hers.

"Fae, is this even a good idea? After what you just went through, you-"

"Leto, please. I need you. I need to forget, even if it's only for a little while. I-"

Leto captured the choked sob with his lips as he manoeuvred them until she lay on her back and his weight rested on her. Between the two of them, they quickly rid themselves of their remaining clothes.

When he finally sank into her, she cried out and dug her nails into his shoulder and him to ground herself. He gave her a moment to get used to his size, it didn't matter how many times they had coupled before, she was still breathtakingly tight.

Grinding her hips into him was his cue to move, sliding out of her, even as her body was trying to pull him back in, he waited until just the tip was left and looked into her eyes. There were so many emotions swirling around in their golden depths. He thrust back in hard and fast causing Fae's back to arch, her eyes to close and a moan escapes her parted lips.

It wasn't long before both were covered in a sheen of sweat and were a panting and moaning mess. Hooking her right foot at the back of his left knee she added enough weight that she could roll them over so that she was once again straddling him. Fae began to ride him hard and fast, his pelvic bone rubbing against her clit and he was angled in such a way that he was constantly hitting her sweet spot. Leto loved this position for one main reason. He loved to watch her come undone, and come undone she did, bringing him right along with her.

Leto held her to his chest as their breathing slowed down, tracing light patterns on her back with his fingers. He knew he had to tell her.

"I'm entering a contest tomorrow."

"Contest?"

Her voice was raw and hoarse and she used her elbow to prop herself up so she could look at him in the face.

"My… Master… is holding a contest. With the prize money I can buy the freedom of my family."

Tracing patterns on his chest, almost mimicking the one he was drawing on her back she could do nothing but simply nod at him.

"I'm then going to work to save enough gold."

"Enough gold for what?"

"Enough gold to come and find you."

At that Faelyn gasped and tears started falling from her eyes again. She thought she had no more left to give. Bringing his hand up he gently wiped them away, his smile was small and shy and hope shined from his eyes as he watched her.

"I will find you Faelyn. I… I love you."

He had never said it out loud before. He had shown her through actions, yes, but had never actually verbalised it.

"I love you too Leto."

Smiling she leaned down to kiss him. It was gentle and filled with love. Leto reached for his trousers and pulled something out of his pocket, lifting it up to show her.

"What is it?"

"A promise ring." He didn't say any more as he slipped it on to her finger.

She looked at it in awe. It was silver, the design clearly Dalish due to the woven ivy pattern.

"It belonged to my mother. I told her about us, she didn't believe me at first but when she did and she saw how happy I was she gave me this. She said it was a family heirloom. I will give you the real ring when I see you outside of the Fade."

Faelyn kissed him again before resting her head on his shoulder and admiring the delicate ring on her finger. Her heartbeat increased with joy at the thought of meeting him outside the Fade. They had talked about it before, but this was the first time that it felt real. She would see him.

"Promise me Leto. Promise that you won't ever forget. That you will find me, that we will be together."

Bringing his lips closer to her, he simply said "I promise. I will win and I will find you," before kissing her forehead. They stayed cuddled up together until sleep overtook them.

That morning when Faelyn woke up, she gasped in shock and delight. There, on her finger was a silver ring of woven ivy.