oOo

The castle contained even more undead. So many people had died to come back as these monsters, the village must have lost well over half its population. The only good thing that happened was that we found Valena, safe and sound, hiding away in a small storeroom. At least someone had not lost everyone.

I managed to remember enough of the castle layout to get us to the courtyard without going into the main hall. We could see Ser Perth and his men waiting, but the dead had already started to rise. Zevran nimbly dodged the snarling corpses to let the Knight in, and I was glad to see he was making himself useful.

Once the courtyard had been cleared, Ser Perth was told to stay where he was and hold it. Frankly, I just didn't want him to have to see what might have become of the Arl and his family, as he seemed a very dedicated and earnestly loyal chap. He agreed, but implored me to let him know if I changed my mind.

We entered the main hall of the castle cautiously. We all came to a wary stop on the threshold, watching the scene ahead play out. Teagan was rolling and jumping across the floor, a queer grin fixed on his face. Connor was standing by the hearth, face lit with unnatural glee as he clapped his hands and watched the show. Isolde was standing next to her son, looking near tears as she half-watched Teagan's performance. Redcliffe guards stood around the perimeter, staring blankly ahead.

My stomach dropped. Teagan had only managed to get himself ensnared by whatever demon was controlling Connor.

I cursed under my breath very, very quietly.

Teagan finished his amateur acrobatics, landing with a terrible thump, and bowed to Connor with a flourish, before walking unstably to sit down on the floor next to the boy, folding over with legs akimbo like he had forgotten how they worked.

The voice that emanated from Connor when he addressed us and beckoned us inside was just not human. No way could Isolde not have known Connor was possessed – she shuddered to hear what was clearly not her son's voice address her as 'mother', but ably tried to pretend it was still Connor she was talking to.

There was a brief moment when Connor took back control of his body, but it lasted only a few seconds. Still, it gave me some hope that perhaps Connor had not been totally... consumed by the demon.

"Grey Warden... please don't hurt my son! He's not responsible for what he does!"

Elissa looked too angry to respond. She maintained eye contact with the Arlessa as she stepped back to be at my shoulder.

"I don't hold Connor responsible, Isolde, I hold you. You have caused this. You should have known better," I told her.

Isolde protested that it was Jowan's fault, that he had started everything and summoned the demon.

"Even if Jowan did summon the demon, you still started it by bringing him here in the first place," I retorted, too tired to summon anger anymore. Isolde began to protest some more when not-Connor interrupted her, saying it had been a fair deal. It seemed something of Connor was influencing the demon, because Connor's desire to help Eamon was what had kept him alive. I shot Isolde a look as this all but confirmed that Connor had summoned the demon, and she shrank back a little. I abruptly felt sick; she looked terrified. Of me.

"What have you come here for?" Not-Connor eventually addressed us.

"We came to see Arl Eamon," I replied carefully. Diplomatically, even.

"So you're a concerned well-wisher. Why didn't you say that in the first place? All this sneaking around and killing is so unnecessary... but Father is so very ill. We really shouldn't disturb him. Isn't that right, Mother?"

If she weren't the one who had brought all this about, I would have felt bad for Isolde. It was clear the demon had her under his thumb with both her son and her husband at its mercy.

Not-Connor complained of being deprived of his fun, and, after declaring that we would pay him back for spoiling his sport, ran out of the main hall.

The guards began to move like badly controlled puppets. Teagan also stood, even though he was not armoured or armed.

"Incapacitate and disable only, if you can!" I shouted as I drew my sword.

We tried to avoid killing anyone else and mostly succeeded thanks to Morrigan, Jowan and Wynne making liberal use of paralysis spells. Still, a couple of the guards stumbled into the way of killing blows.

I was so exhausted. All of this needless death could have been avoided.

Once the battle was over, luckily it seemed a good whack to the head had released Teagan and the remaining guards from the demon's sway. Then Isolde, huddled next to the fireplace, came back to stand next to Teagan. She spotted Jowan and lost it. She screamed at him about his betrayal.

"He's no more to blame than you are, Lady Isolde," Elissa informed her very coldly.

"How dare you! If this man hadn't poisoned my husband, none of this would have happened! He should be executed!" Isolde sounded more incensed than I had ever heard her, and if I thought for a moment she had any chance of doing Elissa harm I would have stepped between them. As it was, the only risk was of Elissa giving Isolde a good thrashing, and I wasn't particularly concerned about avoiding that outcome.

"Your secrecy made his actions possible, Isolde," Teagan interjected before Elissa could respond, sounding disappointed and furious.

"But I..."

"You cannot tell me that you do not understand the danger of magic when Alistair, standing before you, was sent to become a Templar at your insistence," Teagan continued hotly, and Isolde gave me a startled, tearful look and then hung her head.

I stared at Teagan. It sounded like he resented me being sent away to the Templars – I didn't remember him being particularly opposed, but then, I had been so focused on my own bitterness that I might have missed it. It... felt nice. That he had cared.

Jowan apologised to Isolde for taking advantage of her fear, and I thought that was more than she deserved. It smoothed things along into what we actually needed to be discussing - what to do now.

I didn't think there was much option other than to... well. Kill not-Connor. Isolde insisted that Connor still lived, pointing to the brief moments when he spoke and the fact that he actually hated seeing violence, and that there must be something we could do. Jowan suggested a blood magic ritual, but Wynne helpfully broke in that actually, such a ritual could be completed without blood magic – if you had several powerful mages and copious amounts of lyrium.

"We can go back to the Tower to ask Irving for help. He will answer," Elissa said, gaze on the far wall as she considered. "I suppose the quickest way to the Tower is by boat from here – is that possible?"

Teagan confirmed that there was at least one vessel in Redcliffe that was seaworthy enough still to make the journey, and that if we were lucky and the winds favoured us, it would be a four day round trip.

"Do you think you can keep Connor or whatever possesses him calm for four days? Are there any sleeping potions or spells we can use?" I asked, and Wynne replied that she had a spell to ensure dreamless sleep that she had used on her younger charges before. Morrigan also conceded that she had several potions for sleep she could make. Jowan scratched his head and awkwardly offered that he had "nothing suitable".

"We can do it. We can seek the aid of the mages," I concluded eventually, a flicker of hope in my chest. I scarcely dared to hope we could avoid more death. I glanced at Elissa; she was already looking at me. "Elissa and I need to plan. The day is nearly over already, so the journey will have to begin first thing tomorrow. Leliana, could you fetch Ser Perth from the courtyard, please? Teagan, once he arrives, can you discuss with him getting a ship ready?"

Leliana slipped away with a nod, and Teagan agreed.

"A bath would also be lovely," Elissa broke in, finally sounding like she was unwinding from the stress of battle. "Is it safe to stay in the castle or should we stay in the village?"

"I am not sure... Connor will not harm me or Teagan, but..." Isolde replied haltingly.

"I can cast the sleep spell now, that should allow us to stay in the castle for tonight," Wynne offered, and I nearly sagged with relief. I didn't fancy sleeping on the Chantry floor again.

"Thank you, Wynne. Morrigan, please provide her with some back-up."

Once they were gone there was an awkward silence, which Teagan eventually broke by saying that he would have guest rooms prepared with some baths drawn up. He glanced at Jowan, who readily agreed to go back to his cell – but asked almost sheepishly for some food and water, which Teagan agreed to. Isolde remained silent.

Wynne and Morrigan returned, saying they had found Connor asleep in his room and that under the spell he would sleep another half-day.

"Thank you," Elissa and I said in unison. "In the meantime, Alistair and I will discuss our next steps. If you'll excuse us, we'll use the Arl's study for now. We reconvene here in a half hour," Elissa finished.

We left the others and headed to the study, where I dumped my helmet on the desk and sat down heavily in the chair, leaning back in it to contemplate the ceiling.

"I think today and yesterday were some of the longest and worst days of my life," I mused with false cheer. The first days away from Redcliffe had been bad. Ostagar had been worse. The days after Ostagar had been rough. The circle Tower had been nightmarish. I had been having a lot of bad days recently.

Elissa didn't respond, and I brought my gaze back down to find her considering something laying atop the desk. I leaned forward as she held it out to me.

"Alistair, is this your mother's amulet?"

I stared agape at the unassuming little pendant, before I reached and very gently took it from Elissa's hand. Examining it closely I could see the hairline fractures in it. It had been painstakingly reassembled and glued back together.

"The Arl... kept it?" I wondered aloud. "Why would he do that?"

"Maybe he meant to give it back to you," Elissa suggested as she rounded the desk and leaned against it next to me.

"Maybe he did... maybe he brought it with him during one of his trips to the monastery and I was too determined not to speak to him that he didn't bother to give it to me in the end."

Elissa ran a hand through my hair with what I could only describe as affection. "Don't beat yourself up about it, Alistair. You have it now, and that's ancient history."

"I know," I sighed. After some hesitation I placed the pendant around my neck and carefully tucked it underneath my breastplate. I looked at Elissa. "You remembered. My story about the amulet," I clarified when she looked confused.

Elissa was looking at me very softly, and then she leant forward and kissed my forehead. "Of course I did, Alistair. You mean a lot to me."

I squirmed, a little discomforted by the admission even though it was far from unwelcome. I was absolutely not trying to will away some moisture in my eyes. I reached up to take her by the wrists.

"If this were another day, I would kiss you absolutely senseless for that," I told her, and she gave me a small lopsided grin. "As it is..." I pulled her down and gave her several chaste but very heartfelt kisses on the lips and cheeks. "You mean a lot to me, too," I reciprocated when she leaned back, prompting another smile. Maker, I would never get tired of seeing that smile.

"Now," I said as I rubbed my hands across my face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we have to split up?" Elissa asked, and I nodded.

When I lowered my hands, I squinted at her. "It's going to be very odd without you, you know. I don't like the idea, at all, but we need both someone to go to the Circle and someone to hold the fort here – potentially quite literally."

Elissa nodded. "I think I should go, and you should stay here. Morrigan and Wynne should stay with you, you'll need all the magical assistance you can get. I might bring just Dal with me, as I'm not expecting much trouble – unless Lake Calenhad has a lot of pirates I haven't heard about?"

I frowned. "Not that I'm aware of, but times are desperate for a lot of people right now and some might have been pushed further north from Blighted lands to try their hands at it. Still, I expect you and Dal can hold your own. Maybe take Leliana with you?" I paused. "No, wait, take one of the difficult people, please. If I have to have Morrigan, you can take Sten."

Elissa laughed. "I'll take whomever is least likely to get seasick. I don't think Sten will be difficult after he got his sword back yesterday, anyway."

"Here's hoping." I sighed. "What an absolute mess. I can't believe that Connor is a mage, and that Isolde was so stupid. None of this should have happened. Even Eamon getting poisoned only happened because she was looking for an apostate tutor... but I suppose he would have found another way in any case."

"I don't think Teagan can believe it either." Then Elissa frowned. "One thing I don't quite understand is how Loghain knew that Isolde would be looking for said apostate tutor. Either Loghain is very well informed, or it's a terrible coincidence and Jowan just had a much easier time of gaining entry to the castle than he could have hoped."

I hummed in agreement. "If rumours had already spread to Denerim that Connor was a mage, Isolde was very foolish to think that a mage tutor would help hide anything. Then again, desperation makes fools of us all."

"I'm desperate for that bath. And sleep. Maybe even on a bed," Elissa said hopefully.

I stood and wrapped her up in my arms, pressing a kiss to her hair as she hooked her arms around me and let her weight fall on me. "Ooof," I joked. "Heavier than you look in that armour, aren't you?" She flicked my ear, but I could tell she was smiling.

After a few minutes, I sighed. "We should get back to it."

We returned to the main hall and shared our decision with the others. It received only a token resistance from Leliana – presumably Morrigan had no complaints because she wouldn't be required to travel – who was concerned about Elissa travelling on her own. Dal whined pitifully, and Elissa smirked. "See? Not on my own." Leliana grumbled prettily (she did most things prettily) but accepted it.

Teagan and Ser Perth returned then, saying the ship had been stocked for a week-long trip, just in case. Teagan then personally led us to the rooms that had been prepared, which was just about every guest suite the castle had.

They had already cleared away the undead and two of Ser Perth's men stood guard in the hall, but the attempted return to normalcy didn't quell the feeling that we were extremely vulnerable.

Teagan abashedly said that we would have to share rooms, like that was going to be of great concern to people used to sleeping outside in tents. There were several twin rooms and only one double. It seemed ridiculous to be worrying about it when we had all been living together in small campsites for weeks, but somehow the intrusive thought that Elissa and I could share a room crossed my mind. I suddenly felt very flustered.

"Morrigan and I will share," Elissa offered. "Leliana with Wynne, and Sten with Zevran. Alistair can room with Dal," she recited with a tired smile. I was about to protest when she strategically cut me off to bade Teagan goodnight. He left with a courteous bow and I gave Elissa a mutinous look which she ignored.

The others took to their rooms immediately, and I heard various echoes of joy at the baths within.

Elissa noticed me hovering, and rolled her eyes as she pushed me towards the last room. "Go on, you're sharing with Dal and that's final. No protests."

I surrendered. "Goodnight, then."

She gave me one last smile and then disappeared into her shared room with Morrigan across the hall.

Dal entered first, scouting the perimeter before settling on the coverlet at the foot of the bed. I considered trying to oust him, and decided I couldn't be bothered to try. I dumped my pack and then hesitated, keeping an ear out for any screaming or moaning corpses, before the steam rising from the bath in the corner drew me in.

"You'll keep watch, won't you, boy?"

Dal huffed in response, not bothering to lift his head. I took it as a yes.

I undressed, keeping my weapon close, and drew a bucket of the water before I sank into the hot bath. I couldn't help the groan that slipped out. I rested my head against the rim of the tub and for a while just lay in the warmth, feeling too lethargic to even wash myself. Eventually I roused and scrubbed my skin hard with the bar of soap provided. The water turned a truly disgusting grey. I stood and upturned the bucket over my head. I must have been dozing longer than I realised because it was completely cold. I gave an undignified yelp as I hopped out. Dal raised his head to look at me.

"Yes, I know you're judging me. It's palpable," I muttered at him as I scrounged around in my pack for a change of clothes.

I collapsed into the bed. Even laying halfway across it to avoid the huge mabari taking up the bottom, it was so comfortable, I didn't even have time to groan again in relief before sleep took me.

oOo

Four days should not have been long, but it had felt like eternity.

I had been constantly on edge, convinced that something would go terribly awry without Elissa here. Even with Wynne and Morrigan fastidiously keeping Connor under control, and three peaceful nights with no more dead rising, I still felt uneasy. I'd been working out my nervous energy by sparring with whoever was willing and running errands around Redcliffe – helping to repair some of the buildings had been the only time I'd been too busy and tired to worry. Although I had got some splinters lodged in unfortunate places.

Isolde had been avoiding me. I'd seen her about-face gracefully at least twice. I wasn't going to complain; it helped keep the peace. It was also rather funny.

I'd spend the fourth night anxiously pacing the Redcliffe docks, until Teagan had come to find me and told me that four days had been the best case and cajoled me into going to bed. I had grumbled and acquiesced only once he pointed out it was past midnight and that getting a cold wouldn't help anything.

I'd woken this morning and hurriedly gotten ready, feeling for some reason like I needed to be up and ready to welcome Elissa back.

Now I was back at the docks, pacing again.

When the boat actually appeared on the horizon, I'd thought I was playing tricks on myself. By the time it was dropping anchor, I was trying to control my expression so I wasn't smiling like a child on Satinalia morning.

Dal disembarked first at a gallop, giving me a cheerful welcome bark but not stopping until he was off the pier and able to relieve himself. I laughed, but stopped abruptly when I heard Elissa's voice. I turned back, and there she was.

"Turns out we overlooked that when deciding a dog should come on a sea trip with no stop-offs," she commented as she made her way down the gangplank, one hand on the strap of the pack slung over her shoulder, the other shielding her eyes above cheeks reddened with sunburn and hair in an escaped halo around her face.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," I breathed. Too late, I realised how difficult it would be not to welcome her home as I'd sent her off. Our hurried, stolen kisses in the study that morning before she'd left had been sustaining me during her absence. We'd agreed then to keep our feelings for each other private for the time being, but I was struggling now to care about that.

Elissa reached me with her 'I'm suppressing a smile' face and squeezed her free hand around my bracer. Behind her, several mages began disembarking with a clatter, Irving at the forefront.

"I missed you, too," she said under her breath, before she threw her shoulders back and returned to professionalism. "Come on," she said. "It's time we save Connor."

oOo