Holy crap its been awhile. By now, anyone who's been following me or my fics knows that I take FOREVER because of normal life and, quite frankly, I'm lazy. But I promise to finish this! This was written some time ago, but I've horribly neglected it. Anyways, here's the next chapter! Oh, and this can be taken as "I'm back."

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We slammed the door behind us, though we knew it wouldn't last long. Our enemy was too numerous, and we had no backup.

The night time attack on Redcliffe village by the undead was much fiercer than we had anticipated. While our group and the local defenders had no trouble cutting down the creatures, the creatures had sheer numbers on their side. Which is how Leliana and myself had gotten separated from the fight, and found ourselves cornered in house right on Lake Calenhad.

We had precious few moments before the undead splintered the wood of the door. We quickly looked around the one room home. It was Leliana that noticed that the loose floorboards in the back corner. "Over here! If we can pull a couple up, we can climb down the supports of the house."

I ran over to her, sheathing my sword and dagger. We pulled up three boards and looked below us. It would be difficult to reach the supports, but it was our only option. We looked at each other. "Well, my Warden, how are you at swimming?"

Before I could answer, the door shattered, and a dozen of the undead shambled in. I drew my sword. "Go, I'll hold them off!" She nodded and climbed down the hole. By the time I heard her call "I'm clear," I had cut down three of the beasts, all the while backing towards the hole.

I misjudged the distance. I fell through the floor and plunged into the water below. The cold took my breath away, and I knew, in my heavy armor, that I wouldn't be able to swim for the surface. I was only ten feet under, but it might as well have been twenty. I quickly started fumbling for the straps of my armor, trying to shed it and make my way to the surface, but the burning in my lungs told me I wouldn't have the time.

Then I saw her. Leliana had dove into the water after me, and pulled herself down to me, her lighter leather armor not encumbering her in the least. She grabbed my face and brought her lips to mine. I was shocked at her action, but then I understood what she was doing. As our mouths opened, she exhaled, filling my lungs. After giving me a deep breath, she pulled back, both of us closing our mouths. She pushed off of the bottom, darting back up to the surface.

For my part, the influx of air gave me the strength I needed to make it to the support beam directly to my left. While the water had made untying my armor near impossible, I now had the strength and the time to climb out. The beams and braces were spaced nearly perfectly, and I broke the surface with a gasp. Leliana was there to help pull me up. As I caught my breath, I looked to her. "I can swim fine when not in my armor, I swear."

She smiled at me. "I'll have to remember that, my Warden." We looked around. The beam we were on ran parallel to the walkway, so while we were in relative safety, it also would only take a moment to get back to where we were needed.

I stood, and looked back to Leliana. "Thank you for that, Li. I owe you."

"You'd have done the same for me, Aedan."

We drew our weapons and readied to cross. "I do have to ask, you something. Is kissing you always like that?"

She smiled at me. "No. It's usually much more exhilarating." With a wink, she jumped across to the walkway and ran back up to the village center. I smiled as I followed her.

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As always, all reviews and input are welcome! Up next, a moonlight walk and bad memories.