"Maker spit on you" Howe cursed lying on the floor. With his remaining strength he spit a gush of blood towards Aliena before collapsing dead.

Suddenly overwhelmed by her feelings, the Warden fell to her knees. For so long, she felt nothing but the urge to avenge her parents' deaths. And now – it's over. Finally, Howe was dead and she got her revenge. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands. Relief was quickly replaced by grief; only now did she realise that she never properly mourned the loss of her parents. She never actually had the time to think about what had happened.

Duncan had dragged her away (so to say) from the kitchen's storage, where they found her father lying in a pool of his own blood. They had left him together with her mother to die as well when they were under attack. The following week, Duncan and Aliena were travelling across the whole country from The Coastlands, passing Lake Calenhad, to The Hinterlands. When arriving at the ruins of Ostagar, Aliena was determined to find her brother right away. Together they would mourn, comfort each other and plot their revenge on Howe. However, the king got in her way when he told her that Dairren wasn't even at Ostagar. She felt lost. There was no one to comfort her in her despair. Yet again, the upcoming Joining ritual and the battle kept her busy. And who would've thought – another betrayal almost cost her life. Lying at the top of Ishal, she was certain: that was her end. Her end together with all the Grey Wardens and the king and his army. Now, she would never find her brother; and Howe would get away with his treason. At least, she would be united with her parents at the Maker's side again. But that end never came…

Aliena was torn out of her thoughts, when suddenly strong arms embraced her in a warm comforting hug. 'Oh, Alistair' There he was. Kind and gentle Alistair, who had been with her all this time since Ostagar – he always knew how to comfort her, calm her down, make her laugh... Quite a few moments passed, until the tears had stopped completely, but neither Aliena nor Alistair broke the embrace.

"Thank you, Alistair" the female Warden whispered at his neck, enjoying the warmth and the scent radiating from there.

"That's what I'm here for" he whispered, pulling slightly away to look at her now pale face. Gently, he places a hand on her cheek, making her move her head into it appreciatively. 'I'm such a fool' Alistair thought to himself, remembering the one time he was mourning over Duncan's loss and actually asked her if she had had someone close to her die. How could he have been such an idiot and forget about her entire family being murdered just months before?

He looked at Aliena, hurting to see her like that. "Are you ok now?" he asked gently. "Yeah… Thank you – really. I couldn't have done this without you having by my side" she said, lifting her head from Alistair's hand and giving him an exhausted smile. "Let's leave this place."

…

The sun has already set when the whole pack gathered for dinner at Earl Eamon's estate. Everyone took a seat at the long wooden table and got themselves a few plates full of meat, fish, bread, and everything else they could reach. Alistair looked around; searched for her… Aliena wasn't at the table. A few hours have already passed since they had returned. She went straight to her chambers and haven't come out since. He began to worry. Alistair turned to ask whether someone has seen Aliena. To his right he found Sten gulping down an entire chicken by himself, while on his left Oghren was having a hard time reaching the jug of ale in the middle of the table. 'Of all the…' How come he was seated between the only two people who were either too busy eating or too busy drinking?

"Leliana!" He spotted her just across to the table, thankful for her not to be another idiot. "Have you seen Aliena?"

"Not since the two of you came back. She said she needed some time to think." Leliana replied shrugging her shoulders.

Not pleased by her answer, Alistair rose from his seat and made his way to Aliena's chambers. Though he was determined to comfort her and be there for her right now, the closer he got to her chambers, the more nervous he became. 'Pull yourself together, Alistair! You're simply comforting a friend in sorrow!' But who was he trying to fool? It was more than obvious that he has fallen for her some time ago – deeply. Probably, everyone in the camp has already noticed his glances and stares and him being way too distracted when she was around. Everyone, except for her.

Before he noticed, he was standing right in front of her door. He tried to think about what he was going to say. He tried listening, but nothing was to be heard. 'Maybe she's asleep' Alistair thought. 'Arrrg what should I do?' He inhaled deeply before gathering all his courage and knocked on her door. A few moments passed before the door opened. "Alistair. What can I do for you? Come in…" Aliena went back to the fire place and signalled her companion to join her. Alistair gulped before entering the room and closed the door behind him. As he made his way over to her, he noticed she wasn't so pale anymore. She looked much better now – beautiful, even, just as always. "You didn't come to dinner, so I worried."

"I wasn't really hungry" Aliena explained looking into the fire as the two stood right before it. For a few moments, they just stood there looking into the flames – no talking, no moving, just enjoying the quiet together. Alistair was just about to say something, when Aliena broke the silence first:

"I think… I need to apologise to you" Alistair looked at her in shock, but she didn't lift her gaze. "I wasn't with you in this whole thing… Well, not – mentally at least." Now Aliena met his gaze looking deeply and earnestly into his eyes. "I was way too focused on eliminating Howe, so that I actually forgot about my duties – our duties of being a Grey Warden. I left you, in a way, alone with this huge task. I'm sorry" Aliena discovered a bit of relief in Alistair's expression, though, she couldn't really understand why. 'No – he must be mad at me. I would sure be if I were him' Her heart was beating so fast. She was so afraid of what was coming next.

"Aliena" Alistair began silently. He reached out with one hand and brushed a strand from her pretty face. "You're being too hard on yourself. We've come this far – the Landsmeetis in a few days to come; we have a giant army of elves, dwarves, mages and the army of Earl Eamon supporting us; moreover, anywhere we've travelled, we helped so many people – you helped them. This was all your doing!" 'How could she think like that? Didn't she see what greatness she had accomplished so far?' A little relief and a small smile spread across Aliena's face. Instantly, Alistair's heart began to pound harder if that was even possible. There was no way he could keep his feelings to himself any longer. He had to tell her…

"So, all this time we've spent together… you know: the tragedy, the brushes with death, the constant battles with the whole Blight looming over us… Will you miss it once it's over?" Maker, what was he saying? That's not how he had planned for so long…

Aliena thought about it for a second before she smiled remembering her time as a Grey Warden. It was awful… Really awful. But she also had many good times with Alistair, as he was goofing around every given moment. "It makes me tear up just thinking about it" She grinned, thankful for the distraction from her dark thoughts when she was alone. Alistair laughed about her remark. Thank the Maker she knew how to joke around and not paying too much attention to his dumb questions and statements. Still, he needed to get through to her… "I know it might sound strange – considering we haven't known each for too long – but I've come to care for you. A great deal, even." The smile from Aliena's face faded as a more attentive expression spread across her face. Afraid of what that might mean, Alistair quickly continued. "I think maybe it's because we've gone through so much together… I don't know. Or maybe I'm imagining it. Maybe I'm fooling myself." He felt his courage leaving him, but he had to see this through now. "Am I – fooling myself? Or do you think you might ever… feel the same way about me?" Hope. He was hoping so badly. Now, it was her turn. He couldn't go on, without hearing what she thought.

Aliena was shocked. She wasn't oblivious. She knew how much of a handsome, kind, strong and goofy man Alistair was. She really did find him attractive in all ways. Did her tasks and plot on Howe really distract her this much that she never really thought about – well, feeling more for the man beside her? "I – don't know… I think it's too soon to say" She felt her face heating up. Was it because of affection or embarrassment? Maybe she really was oblivious… 'Stupid, stupid, stupid…' She couldn't look into his eyes to see the disappointment or whatever was awaiting her.

"Well" Alistair's voice was calm and low. "Is it too soon… for this?" Aliena looked up questioningly. Alistair was leaning in close and without hesitation he closed the remaining distance between them. He kissed her ever so gently and sweetly; his hand was resting on the back of her neck. He felt Aliena's hands on his chest but they did not push. Oh, how he had longed to kiss her for such a long time. Though, he pulled away sightly breaking the kiss. Alistair stayed close – no way he could move away fully. He looked at Aliena's blushed face and waited for her to say something; at best, she would say that she wanted this too or something like that. But she did not answer. Instead, she leaned in again, kissing him with such want. Alistair was surprised, she didn't move away or rejected him. But she was the one kissing him now! He never dared to think about this, not even in his wildest dreams!

He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer. He felt his entire body heating up, as she pressed her body against his. Aliena's arms were now twined around his neck deepening the kiss. Alistair could now barely hold back. He wanted her; he wanted her so badly! He started to push his body against her, making her stumble backwards, and pushing her up against the wall. A small sigh filled with pure pleasure escaped Aliena, as he broke away from the kiss to pay more attention to her neck. Her scent was radiating from there and he just wanted to nibble on that soft skin. To give Alistair more access she leaned her head back, enjoying the sweet sensation. He let out a groan, as he felt the entire heat wandering downwards to his groin.

Suddenly, the thought that this was all happening too fast struck him. Alistair broke away from his partner, trying to catch his breath while looking at her. He really wanted to just continue to kiss her, and not stop until… well, he definitely wouldn't have had the strength to stop at a later point. "Well, I think I got my answer" A cocky grin spread across his face. Alistair let his forehead rest against Aliena's. "Maker's breath, but you're beautiful." He whispered causing his companion's heart to flutter. With one last gently kiss, he pushed himself away. "Now…" Alistair cleared his throat. "I should get back to my chambers. Good night, Aliena" With that he exited the room and closed the door behind him. 'Oh, Maker' he thought still standing before the room. 'What… How…' If he hadn't known any better, he would've thought, he was the luckiest man alive. But that wasn't possible, right? Not lingering there any longer, he made his way over to his chambers, ginning from ear to ear.

Aliena was still standing at the wall. 'Did all that really just happen?' She rose her hand and touched her lips. They were still tingling. Remembering his soft and warm lips against hers, made her smile. After all this time since she had fled from Highever and from Ostagar, she did not dare to think about being happy again. And certainly not with such a handsome man like Alistair. But there he was wanting her. She definitely was the luckiest woman alive.