Note from the writer: Well, people, we have come to the very end at last. Only took me about five years to finish, how crazy is that?

Anyway, this chapter took me a while to write, it's about three times as long as my normal chapters, but it is the very last one, so that's not so strange after all.

I hope that you enjoy the final chapter of War.

Ashe

They had barely stepped foot inside the royal palace before Alistair had been whisked away by shouting advisers and pissed off nobles. The king's sudden departure from Denerim had apparently not fallen into the good graces of his people and Ashe felt a little guilty over putting him in this situation. But on the other hand, if he had truly been planning to abdicate the throne, he wouldn't have cared either way. All Ashe had time to say to him before he was all but dragged off was that he shouldn't do anything rash and that she would come find him later. He hadn't responded to that, only looked at her questioningly before disappearing behind a door that was slammed shut in Ashe's face by the guards.

Ashe grabbed a hold of the nearest servant and spoke to him in a hushed voice. "Get me Eamon. Tell him the Inquisitor needs to see him right away."

The man's eyes widened when he realized who he was looking at. "M-my lady! I-I… Ser Guerrin is very busy, very busy indeed and I'm sure he's with His Majesty right now-"

"Tell him," Ashe spat, "that if he wants to rectify the unfortunate scenario that the king laid out before him before he left, he will come see me in the library. Immediately," she said and something in her face must have told the man she meant business. He swallowed hard and nodded frantically before running off.

Ashe was well known among most of the palace staff and a few maids rushed over to her side as soon as they spotted her. They escorted her to the guest quarters and helped her clean up and gave her a fresh set of clothes, and after less than an hour, she had finally gotten the smell of dirt and horses off her and made her way to the royal library. The guard stationed outside the grand double doors leading into it bowed slightly and opened one of them for her to pass through. She entered and heard the door close behind her right as she spotted the old man standing with his arms crossed, staring into the fire. A red haired man she had never seen before stood beside him, speaking quietly to the older man.

She cleared her throat and both men turned to look at her.

"Your Worship-" Eamon began but the other man cut him off.

"Stop with that nonsense, Eamon. This girl is not holy. She is a nuisance, and she has all but led us to war with Orlais!"

Ashe swallowed the rage that came flooding up inside of her at the man's outrageous rudeness; forcing her face to remain impassive. "I don't believe we have had the pleasure," she chirped instead, ignoring the thunderous expression on the man's face.

"You must forgive my brother, Your Worship," Eamon said, his arms out to his sides in an apologetic gesture. "Teagan is simply worried about the present political situation, as am I."

Arl Teagan, then. Ashe had heard of him. He was, according to Leliana, one of the biggest supporters of the Inquisition's dissolution. She wondered why such a handsome man was so angry. If he were such a patriot, he should have been glad that the Inquisitor favored King Alistair and therefore Ferelden.

"As if things weren't bad enough already," Teagan cut in, "now I hear that Alistair means to step down from the throne, for you." He stared daggers at her. "Leaving us all to the wolves, to civil war! And how long would it take for Orlais to move in on us then?"

Ashe clenched her jaw but forced herself to sound calm as she answered him. "I made sure that Celene continued on as empress for a reason, Arl Teagan. I could have put Gaspard on the throne, a war mongering, blood thirsty general, but I did not. Celene wants nothing more than peace."

Teagan scoffed and looked at her as if she were a stupid little girl, which made Ashe furious. None of them would even be alive if it wasn't for her.

Eamon must have noticed her eyes turning black and quickly walked towards her, positioning himself between her and his brother. "Now, now, you can fight all you want later. There are more pressing matters at hand. I was told had something to tell me, something regarding that nonsense Alistair told me before he left."

"I do," Ashe said. "But first, I want you to tell me exactly what Alistair told you before he traveled to Skyhold."

She needed to hear it from Eamon himself, to make sure – once and for all – that Alistair had told her the absolute truth.

Eamon sighed and nodded. "He woke me up in the middle of the night," he started. "I thought something had happened. Alistair, he… He had this look on his face, like he had never been more sure of anything in his life."

Ashe waited with her breath in her throat for the rest.

"He said that he was sorry, but that he didn't see any other way out. That he was done being king, that it had only caused him suffering. That everything else he could take, but that a life without you was unthinkable."

Ashe felt a relief so staggering that it made her legs shake and she had to brace herself against the table.

"You bewitched him, somehow!" Teagan yelled. He had come up to her without her noticing, and he jabbed his finger very close to her face. "He has never cared about any woman enough to even consider the idea of marriage, no matter how many suitable and willing candidates we have thrown his way! And then you came along, and we're supposed to believe he would just give up his throne for you? That some girl barely out of her teens would make him cast aside the duties to his country-"

"That is enough, Teagan," Eamon snapped and his brother shut his mouth, even though he still looked murderous. "The lady Ashe is no mere girl. She is the Inquisitor. You wouldn't be standing here yelling, or even breathing if not for her."

Ashe felt a wave of affection towards the older man. He seemed to be at least slightly more concerned for Alistair as a person than Teagan.

"And in any case," Eamon continued, "we have been at a loss for what to do. I am honestly glad to see you here, Your Worship. I do hope you have convinced him to change his mind about this absurd idea of his."

"We haven't really discussed it. I wanted to come here first, to hear for myself if what he was telling me was true or not. You know there is only one way to stop him from abdicating, right?"

Eamon nodded, but his brother looked confused – and still angry. "What is she talking about?" he asked and pointed at her without looking at her.

"Come now, Arl Teagan, that is no way to treat your future queen," Ashe said, as casually as if she were talking about what was for dinner.

"Queen? You?" Teagan's face was red with indignation. "That will never happen! As soon as Orlais hears the first rumor, that the Inquisitor would be marrying the King of Ferelden, they would march on us that very same day! Do you wish war upon this nation you would claim as your own, Marcher?" He spat the last word as an insult to her.

Eamon held up his hand to stop Teagan from continuing, his eyes never leaving Ashe. "She is not that stupid, little brother." He paused, his eyes scrutinizing her hard. "You would really do it? Give up everything you've built, all your power, to be with him?"

Teagan's mouth dropped open as he heard the implications of what his brother was saying, and Ashe nodded. "I would. And I will."

Alistair

He was finally alone, and he was exhausted. People had been shouting in his ears for hours, and Alistair had barely been able to concentrate on calming them down, thinking instead of where Ashe was and what she was up to while he was stuck with his angry subjects. He had finally managed to get the last of them to leave by promising he would be theirs from dawn the coming day, for as long as they wanted. A quick bath and a wardrobe change later, his crown in place on top of his unruly golden hair, he made his way out from his chambers, intent on finding Ashe. She had promised him that they would talk as soon as they arrived in the capital, and he couldn't wait a second longer to hear what she had to say.

He rounded a corner in one of the winding corridors on the way to the guest quarters, and came to a startled halt as he found his path blocked by a woman. He growled at the sight of her. It was not the one he wanted to see.

Ashe

She felt elated; scared, but most of all free. There was no turning back now. She had let the ravens fly and all she had to do now was to find Alistair and tell him.

Alistair.

She wondered now, as she was walking through the palace corridors, how she couldn't have seen it long, long before. It was so clear to her now. He was the only one who had ever cared, truly, for her. She had been confused in the beginning, sure. And it wasn't that she thought that Cullen hadn't cared for her, in some capacity at least. But being possessive and being in love was not the same. The same was true for Hawke.

Alistair was not like them. Since meeting her, he hadn't so much as looked at anyone else, he had endured her childish behaviour; fought for her, Maker, even prepared to abandon his kingdom for her. The way she had acted sometimes, it made her ashamed. Ashamed that she was too stupid to see what was right before her eyes. But she would make it up to him a thousand times over now by telling him what she had done, she-

She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard voices from the next corridor. She leaned against the wall right by the door and listened.

Her blood went cold when she recognized Alistair's voice. He wasn't alone. He was with that girl he'd dragged with him to Skyhold to swear that Alistair had not cheated on Ashe by laying with her and her sister. It was the older one; the smart one.

Lydia.

"If you don't think I'll do it, you've underestimated me," she heard Lydia shriek.

Alistair scoffed somewhere nearby. "You go ahead and do it. She won't believe you."

Lydia laughed, a high, shrill sound that made Ashe shiver with displeasure. "She will when she finds me like this."

"Like what?" Alistair asked, disgust in his voice.

Ashe heard the sound of fabric ripping and dared a peek around the corner to see what was going on. Her eyes landed first on Alistair, who's back was to her, and then on Lydia, who stood before him but who was too preoccupied with what she was doing to notice Ashe.

She was tearing her own clothes apart, and Ashe held her hand in front of her mouth to stop herself from making any noises when Lydia pulled a knife from somewhere inside her dress and started cutting into the skin of her own arms.

"What in the Fade are you doing?" Alistair exclaimed. Ashe could only imagine the horrified look on his face. "Are you insane?"

Lydia only smiled and wiped her face with her bloodied hands, making her a gruesome sight. "I'll tell your precious Inquisitor that you did this to me, that I came begging to you for forgiveness-" Her expression changed instantly from malicious to desperate and crying "- and that you hurt me, that you raped me and spat in my face, that you hit me so hard I thought I was going to die. I'll beg her to protect me from you." Lydia's face changed again from a sobbing mess to calm and smiling.

Alistair took a few steps back and Ashe ducked around the corner again, careful not to be seen.

"You crazy, fucking witch. I should have thrown you to the darkspawn when I had the chance," Alistair snarled. "But you do that then. Tell her."

"Wh-what?" Lydia didn't sound half as pleased with herself as she had only moments ago.

"She loves me, and she trusts me. Were it not for unfortunate circumstances involving other people lying to her, she would never have believed that I would have betrayed her by fucking you in the first place, and she certainly won't believe it now. Why would she think that I would throw away what she and I have together over a filthy little whore like you when I'm going to give up my crown for her?"

"You… you what?" Lydia sounded incredulous.

"That's right. So you tell her as many lies as you want. She won't believe you and it won't get you anywhere. I'm not going to be around to be King anymore. So you know what, Lydia? You can just stay here and fucking bleed to death for all I care, you miserable little cunt. I hope you do, for the sake of your sister. Maybe then she can finally be free of you."

Ashe flattened herself to the wall when Alistair came into view, but he wasn't heading in her direction so he didn't see her when he stalked out another door. Ashe's attention snapped back to Lydia when she heard the girl scream up into the ceiling in frustration.

She thought about what she had just heard for a few moments before stepping around the corner, revealing herself to the mess of a girl in front of her.

Lydia looked like someone had struck her as her eyes landed on Ashe.

"Your Worship, I-"

"Don't you fucking 'your worship' me," Ashe snarled and grabbed Lydia's torn sleeve to pull her up from the floor where she had been sitting. "Did you really think you could break me and Alistair apart? That you could just fucking lie about-" Ashe clenched her teeth, trying to stop the rage from spilling over, "-about him assaulting you and get away with it? You filthy liar, I should kill you right, fucking now."

Lydia seemed to regain her senses and with a snarl, she spat in Ashe's face. "You are trash, a dirty foreigner who just happened to stumble upon your so called gift," Lydia hissed and jerked her chin towards Ashe's hand. "That is no gift, that is the work of demons, and you're trying to put your claws into the King, when I have worked so hard, all these years," she shrieked, "to make him mine! I'm not going to let you just take him! I will do whatever it takes, I will sully his name, let everyone see me like this. A seed is all it takes, a seed of doubt that he can never wash from his name. No one would care if he raped a thousand low born whores, but I am from one of Ferelden's greatest houses-"

"Oh?" Ashe said and yanked Lydia harder to her while wiping away the spit from her own face. "Delusional on that part as well, are we? I've never even heard your pathetic last name before."

Lydia's face was a mask of rage and indignation, but Ashe's senses were trained to take in everything, and she could hear footsteps running towards them, and she was sure Lydia's blood was pounding too loud in her own ears for the stupid woman to hear the same. So Ashe loosened her grip on the her and, very unsurprisingly, Lydia's knife came flying up to Ashe's throat. She even let her nick the skin of her neck with it, letting the furious woman think that she had the upper hand.

Only a few heartbeats passed before a retinue of guards showed up, Captain Roth the first among them. He took in the scene before him in a matter of seconds before barking at Lydia to drop her knife. The woman obeyed, looking scared for the first time that evening, and Roth's men had her in their grip before she could do anymore damage.

"Your Worship, are you alright?" the captain asked, concern filling his eyes. Ashe had a feeling that despite her making his King a bit crazy, the man really liked her. "His Majesty ordered us to find the 'lady-'" he spat the word with contempt, "- here and take her away before she could do anymore harm to herself. Seems self harm wasn't the only thing on her mind."

"I'm fine," Ashe said."Although I can bear witness to the fact that she was planning to commit high treason against the King."

Captain Roth's eyes darkened and he barked at his men to get the woman out of his sight and place her securely in the dungeons. Ashe smiled at him. He was clearly very loyal to Alistair.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain, I need to find Alistair."

Roth nodded. "Of course, Your Worship. You will find him in his quarters."

Alistair

The nerve of that fucking whore. He should have killed her a long time ago.

He was pacing around his bedroom, blind rage threatening to well up and take over as the scene with Lydia kept on replaying in his head.

She had actually planned on going to Ashe and tell her that he-

Maker, he wanted to smash something. The fucking nerve of that woman, that he had ever taken her to his bed made him sick to his stomach. That Lydia had planned to lie about such a thing, to tell Ashe; his Ashe, that he would ever have done something like that, that he had forced her; cut her; raped her. After everything that Ashe had been through, too.

He would have the whore's head for it, her father be damned. He would even consider staying on as King for just a little longer just for the sake of seeing that bitch get what she deserved.

His blood was still pounding when he heard his door open. He whirled around and saw Ashe and the relief of seeing her almost washed away his anger, before he spotted the bleeding cut on her throat.

He hurried up to her and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the wound was very shallow. He took her hands in his and she smiled at him. "It's fine Alistair, I promise. Just had a little run in with that blonde little horror that thinks of me as competition."

Alistair's face contorted with fury. "I'll fucking kill her if she touched you, I-"

"No need, Alistair. I heard everything."

Alistair's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I heard what she told you that she would do. I saw her rip her own dress, cut herself. But Roth came, and he threw her in the dungeons for you."

Alistair pulled her to him, letting her head rest against his shoulder while he caressed her hair. "If she would have hurt you, I would have killed her myself. Slowly."

Ashe laughed softly against him and she pulled away from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Only you could sound so murderous while being so gentle at the same time. I love that about you."

Her words calmed him. Her saying that she loved him made him forget everything else.

There was only her.

He kissed her then, his lips pressing against hers softly. "Maker, I've missed you so much today. What have you-"

"I have something to tell you," she interrupted.

He leaned back and looked at her face, worried about her serious tone.

"I sent ravens back to Skyhold this evening. Back to Leliana. It's done, now."

He tried to read her face but it was hard, as usual. "About what?" he asked, dread threatening to overtake him.

"What I discussed with her before I left." She took a deep breath. "Alistair. I've ordered the Inquisition to disband. It will take some time for everything to be set in motion, of course… But from this day forward, I am only a noble girl from the Free Marches. I'm not the Inquisitor anymore."

Alistair blinked, unsure if he had heard her right. "You… You what?" he mumbled, astonished.

She smiled at him. "It's true. So, you know. There is nothing keeping me from you now. No politics, no nothing. And you certainly don't have give up your throne. Everyone got what they wanted. Ferelden, Orlais; there will be no war now, no matter what you choose to do with me.

Alistair felt unsteady, his legs threatening to give way under him from the implications of what she was saying. "What I choose-" he looked at her as if she had gone mad. "What I choose to do with you?"

For the first time, she looked a little unsure of herself. She didn't quite meet his eyes as she spoke next. "I mean, I know I just kind of sprung this on you, and I don't want you to feel like I gave up the Inquisition for you. It had to be done, I don't want you to feel any pressure to-"

He muffled her words by kissing her; hard. His blood was rushing, adrenaline spiking through him, and he kissed her ferociously. A thousand things ran through his head at once; disbelief and heart exploding elation all at the same time. He pulled back and looked at her, cradling her face in his hands. He stared at her in wonder, her smile making her look happier than he had ever seen her before. It made her look so young, so vulnerable.

It made him love her even more.

He was about to fall to his knees and ask her to marry him right then and there when they heard a commotion outside the door to Alistair's chambers. They barely had time to react before the door burst open and Arl Teagan came into the room, a guard quick on his heel followed by Eamon.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I tried to stop him-" the guard pleaded but Alistair just waved for him to be silent.

Ashe

"Teagan? What is the meaning of this?" Alistair's tone was hard. The guard bowed and left the room, shutting the door behind him leaving Ashe and Alistair alone with Eamon and Teagan.

"Alistair," Teagan began, clearly trying to sound calm and collected when his red face told them that he was anything but. "You cannot be serious about this. Refusing to remain King if you can't marry her," he spat the word out as if Ashe were some disease to be aware of, "like a child throwing a tantrum. It just won't do!"

Ashe remained silent, watching Alistair's face grow darker and darker as Teagan spoke.

"Ten years, Teagan. I have done what you all wanted me to do, for ten fucking years now. And you would deny me this one thing, my only chance for happiness? Why?" His tone was low; dangerous.

"Inquisitor or not, it's too much of a risk. She won't just stop being a figure of power – a symbol- over night! No matter how crazy it is, she will be worshiped as holy by some for the rest of her life! Orlais prides itself in being the most pious of nations. You think they will just let you take her?"

Alistair's jaw tightened and he took a step closer to his so called uncle. "She is not for anyone's taking. She can do whatever the fuck she wants. And if I'm lucky enough that it's me that she wants, if the Maker have blessed me so, the who in the Fade do you think you are to try to stop it?"

"Alistair, Teagan, please," Eamon said. "Let's be civil about this. If this is truly what you want, the both of you," he continued and inclined his head towards both Alistair and Ashe, "then I doubt there is very much you and I can do about it, Teagan. But I would advise against moving too quickly. Ashe should leave here as soon as possible."

Alistair stared murder at the older man. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Ashe could see him clench his fists, and wondered how far the other men thought they could push him before he snapped. She didn't say a word.

Teagan was the one who answered instead of his brother. "She cannot stay here, Alistair. She is a liability." He walked right up to Ashe and grabbed her arm, harshly. Ashe was too stunned to stop him. "Until all this about the Inquisition disbanding is official and over with, she cannot be trusted and she's not to be seen here." He turned to look at Ashe for the first time since he entered the room. "You're leaving. Now."

Teagan twisted her arm so unexpectedly hard that it made Ashe gasp.

"Get your fucking hands off her," Alistair roared and then his fist hit Teagan square in the face. Chaos erupted as Eamon yelled at Alistair to stop while Teagan screamed in pain; holding his hand over his broken nose, and Ashe stumbled back as the man lost his grip on her.

Alistair came at him again, another hit landing in his uncle's gut, sending Teagan staggering backwards before he fell on his ass. Ashe could see that Alistair's eyes were black with rage and he snarled as he launched himself over Teagan, pinning him to the floor while letting his fists rain down on his face; over and over again, ignoring Eamon's shocked pleas for him to stop.

"You think I would just let you drag her away from me? That I would let you hurt her?" Spit was flying from Alistair's mouth as he screamed in Teagan's face and landed another bone crunching punch.

Eamon had scurried up to Ashe at that point. "My Lady, please, talk some sense into him! Make him stop!"

Ashe regarded the older man coldly at first. "Why should I? Why should I do anything for that hateful brother of yours? He would let me rot in a pit if he could."

Eamon put his hand on Ashe's arm, gently. His eyes were filled with tears. "My Lady, please."

Ashe sighed, cursing herself for being such a softy. But Eamon had seemed reasonable before. She approached Alistair – who was still snarling with rage and looming over Teagan – and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, my love. He didn't hurt me. Don't kill him, it will only complicate things."

Alistair stilled as her hand squeezed his shoulder gently, and he looked up at her; the haze of anger clearing from his eyes as she spoke. "You sure you're alright?" he mumbled.

"Yes. I promise."

Her assurance seemed to convince him, and he let go of Teagan's collar and got up from the floor to look at Ashe, as if he were inspecting her for any injuries or hurt that might have been inflicted on her. When he found none, he pulled her into a tight embrace, quickly, before leaning back to look into her face. "I won't let anyone so much as touch you, let alone hurt you, ever again," he said through gritted teeth, as if the thought alone hurt him physically.

She caressed his face. "I know, love, I know," she cooed, soothing him with her soft voice.

Eamon was kneeling on the floor, helping Teagan to sit up. Ashe glanced down on him. He looked a little worse for wear but it was nothing the healers couldn't fix.

Alistair tore his eyes away from Ashe's face and landed on Teagan, and his face instantly turned hard. But he was in control this time, Ashe could tell.

"If you ever try to keep her from me again, in any fucking way, I'll squeeze the life out of you with my own hands."

Teagan spat out some blood on the floor and wiped his mouth with his sleeve before shaking his head as if disappointed. "What happened to you, Alistair?"

"No, what happened to you?" Alistair retorted. "You used to be the closest thing I had to a family. You protested fiercely when Eamon threw me out just because Isolde wanted me to go away. You supported me for so long. But these past few years, you have done nothing but order me around, tried to shove woman after woman down my throat, you've screamed and tried to manipulate me into taking one of them as my wife. So I could be your puppet? All for the good of Ferelden, huh?" he spat. "Well, I'm done taking orders from you. From any of you," he said, his eyes turning to Eamon as well. "I am not an idiot. Despite your ravings about how Orlais would be oh-so-fucking upset about me and Ashe, it's not entirely true. Not if we play this smart. They wanted the Inquisition gone for a long time. And you can tell them that I made it happen, by offering Ashe my hand in marriage."

Ashe knew that Alistair would want her for his queen. But hearing him say it now, after she knew how he was prepared to sacrifice everything for her, it was something else entirely, and her heart was suddenly racing; her breath catching in her throat as she listened to him.

"Now get out of my fucking sight and leave me alone, for once in my damned life."

No one in the room mistook Alistair's words for anything but deadly serious, and Eamon silently dragged Teagan up and supported him limping out of the room while Alistair barked for his guards to come in.

Ever the dutiful soldiers, two of them appeared within seconds, lining up before their king.

"If anyone, and I mean anyone, is let through that door again, I'll throw them and the one who let them in here out the nearest window. Do you understand me?" he growled.

The soldiers simply nodded and then left as quickly as they came, shutting the door firmly behind them.

"Alistair, I-" Ashe started but Alistair whirled around and took her face in his hands and pulled her in for the sweetest kiss he had ever given her, before pulling away again.

"What you have done for me, Ashe, what you have sacrificed for me, I-" His voice broke. "I have never even dared to dream that someone would care for me like this. Care about me and not my crown or my power."

The utter sincerity in his face made her want to take him into her arms and never let go again.

"Maker's breath but you are beautiful," he mumbled. "I love you more than life itself, you know that, don't you?" His eyes closed and his lips ghosted over hers as he spoke, and it sent ripples of pleasure down her spine.

"I know, Alistair. I will always be yours."

He made a sound so sweet she thought her knees would give way under her, but he steadied her, suddenly kissing her frantically.

"They thought they could ever keep you from me?" he whispered between kisses as he tugged desperately at her clothes. "I'll fucking kill anyone who ever comes near you again."

"Only if I tell you to," she breathed and smiled wickedly at him. His eyes filled with even more worship as the words left her and he growled in appreciation.

"Only if you tell me to," he said, grinning like a wolf while he tore the last piece of clothing off her, leaving her naked before him.

He fell to his knees, ripped his crown from his head and threw it away like it was nothing and without warning, he spread her legs and tasted her.

Ashe tilted her head back and sighed with pleasure as he ran his tongue up and down her wet slit. Her legs soon started to tremble but Alistair grabbed her thighs in his strong hands and steadied her, never once stopping himself from tasting her.

"Maker, that feels so good," she moaned, and Alistair lapped at her a few more times before getting up to his feet and sweeping her up into his arms. She opened her eyes and looked at him, and the look on his face almost took her breath away. She had never seen such reverie before.

"I'll spend the rest of my days making you feel good, love," he mumbled against the crook of her neck as he carried her towards the bed.

He put her down, letting her spread out on the bed before him, and his eyes roamed over her and she could see his hard cock straining against his breeches. He quickly discarded his own clothes and then climbed over her, his face dark and hungry.

She moaned again as he teased his fingers over her dripping wet cunt. She was aching to feel him inside of her, and she knew he could tell from the wicked smile on his face.

"You want me to make you feel good, love? You want to feel my fingers inside you, fucking you until you cum for me before I push my big, hard cock into you?"

Ashe bit her lip so hard she drew blood. "Yes," she breathed and it was all the encouragement he needed. He shoved two of his fingers into her, the sounds it made seemingly driving him mad with want as his eyes went black with lust. He coated his other hand in her slickness before using it to jerk himself off while he was still pushing his fingers in and out of her soaking cunt. The sight of it; of him; all ripped muscles and pleasuring himself and her at the same time – it drove her over the edge before she even had time to realize it. She moaned and mewled for him, letting his name spill over her lips over and over as she came around his fingers.

He wasted little time in turning her over to her stomach, waves of pleasure still rippling through her when he pushed his cock into her from behind. She thought she was going to lose it completely when she felt the excruciating pleasure of his huge cock inside of her, pushing at her walls, forcing its way further and further into her while Alistair cursed and moaned deliciously in her ear.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, you feel so fucking good," he groaned, driving himself into her harder and faster with each stroke. "I want to hear you – ahh, Andraste – hear you fucking scream for me, come on, love."

Scream for him she did, and she lost track of how many times before they both drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up again, the soft rays of first sunlight shone in through the windows and hit her where she was still laying in Alistair's bed. She put her arms out sleepily, but when she didn't feel Alistair anywhere, she opened her eyes and searched for him. The bed was empty but she heard a noise from the side of the bed and her head whirled around to find Alistair approaching her. He was already dressed; holding his crown in his hand.

He smiled when her eyes found his, and she could see then that he was holding something behind his back.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he said softly and smiled that adorable grin of his; beaming at her.

She stifled a yawn and he chuckled at her. "Morning. Last night wasn't a dream, was it?"

"If it was, I never want to wake up."

Ashe nodded her agreement, not able to keep herself from smiling like an fool at him. "What have you got there?" she asked and nodded to what he was keeping behind his back.

He approached the bed as she sat up straighter, still naked but the sheets covering her while she propped herself up against the pillows.

"This is something I had made for you a while ago. Before-" he trailed off, a flash of pain crossing his features before he smoothed them out again. "It doesn't matter now."

He pulled out his hand from behind his back and Ashe almost had to shield her eyes when the sunshine hit what he was holding.

It was a crown, not unlike Alistair's own, except the one he had just revealed was adorned with jewels.

Ashe's breath caught in her throat when Alistair sank down to his knees before her, placing the two crowns on the bed between them before taking her hand.

Alistair took a deep breath before he opened his mouth to speak. "Ashe, will you marry me?"