A million years later, they return. Sorry for the long wait, I think I may be a little reluctant to end this! One epilogue away from the end now. Thank you for your support and patience with this story. Beth' secret is revealed. Hope you enjoy :)

The last time they'd danced, it had all been quite playful and flirtatious, but this time, there was some sort of heaviness in the air which made Beth blush.

It would have felt uncomfortable if it wasn't for the person she was dancing with. With Krem, this kind of tension felt exhilarating, exciting, full of promises.

She did not even care that the music was partially disappearing behind the buzz of gossiping going on around them. Krem had the warmest eyes, golden brown skin, high cheekbones, serious lips. She liked his height, the kindness in his voice, his quiet strength. It seemed impossible to think of him as a she. Beth cast her eyes down, her cheeks reddening furiously as she thought back to what Dalia and Maryden had said. As they danced, Beth tried to imagine herself in the arms of a woman. As she had expected, this thought brought absolutely no arousal to her, but neither did imagining herself in the arms of a random man. However, thinking of being in Krem's arms... Krem touching her, kissing her, holding her close, caressing parts of her that no one had ever even laid eyes on... That thought was definitely arousing. Not that she needed to actually start asking herself that, really, because there was no way Krem would ever reciprocate her feelings, not once he found out about her. No way. And she would never blame him for it, because she could hardly bear to look at herself either.

She knew the break was inevitable, but she did not want things to end with Krem thinking her to be anything like Dalia. They needed to clear things out, part on good terms. Unconsciously, Beth held on more tightly to Krem's arms and she felt rather than saw the questioning look he sent her. She stepped closer to him and laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes. She would be selfish at least this one more time, enjoy this dance. Her lips stretched into a smile as she felt his 'under armor' under his tunic. That had clearly been a harness of sort to disguise any unwanted curves. How could she be so silly, really?

The elf's mind wandered to all the times when she could have worked out the truth, had she been more attentive. His smooth cheeks, soft voice. The harness. His past, the disagreement with his superior in the army, then with his mother. The few times he attempted to tell her something big, something which was obviously difficult for him to tell people. At least he'd tried to tell her about it, whereas she was simply choosing to blatantly ignore her own little issue. But then again, how was she supposed to simply put it into a conversation?

Beth could feel Krem's cheek resting on the top of the head. She had no doubt he would forgive her for not saying the truth sooner, just like she'd forgiven him, but she also did not doubt that once that truth was out, it would be the end of their relationship. There was sheer irony in the situation, really. Krem probably felt embarrassed about his body, or rather, by what people may think of it, and people like Dalia and Jora now thought him ugly, while no one knew just how... Just how plain ugly someone's body could be. At least their parallel situation could be a guarantee of friendship, if not love.

But who was she kidding.

You're nothing like him, her mind whispered, and it sounded like her brother's voice. He's honourable, and brave, and honest. He runs towards danger to save people, whereas you just try and save yourself. You're a coward.

I'm not.

Beth pulled away and looked into Krem's eyes.

"Krem, I am so, so terribly sorry about what happened. I should have said something, I was too stunned to react... I never even... I feel so stupid!"

"It's ok, it's fine, I'm sorry I never told you. I tried, Beth, believe me. Sometimes I just get so... Frustrated! To me, there's nothing to say. I am a man."

"I know, you are, I understand. Listen I... I don't mind."

"You don't?"

"You're a man. You're the best man I've ever met. I'm sorry you had to take all of this rubbish."

"So you... Are you not... Disgusted?"

"Disgusted?"

He meant it, she realised. Krem was looking at her like he had probably looked at his army commander when he'd discovered the truth about Krem's origins. Expectant, but brave.

"No! Maker, no! I think you're the most attractive man in the world!"

As soon as she said it, she knew things had gone back to normal between them. A cheeky smile crept its way to his face, and Krem raised an eyebrow at her, teasing.

But before Beth had time to say anything, or even start blushing for that matter, someone broke them apart roughly by pushing Krem away.

"That's enough, you weirdo. Get off her. Beth, you don't need to show that girl any pity. She's a liar and she's trying to manipulate you."

"Oh, Maker' sake, Jora, will you just SOD. OFF?!"

"You heard her," added Krem, his voice low and dangerous.

"Beth" Jora just ignored the young warrior.

"Jora, please! Just mind your own business. How hard can it be to just mind your own bloody business?!" Beth knew she was shrieking, but she couldn't care less. The whole tavern was listening and the music had stopped. Beth hoped they were all listening in very carefully. "Leave. Us. Alone."

"Unless you're looking to get your ass kicked again?" Asked Krem, and it was very clear he was hoping that this was, indeed, Jora's intention.

"Oh shut up, you crazy dyke!" Yelled Jora.

He did not quite get to finish this last, offensive word though, as the bony space between Krem's eyes collided with Jora's nose in a sickening crunch.

For a few seconds, it seemed as if the whole tavern had frozen over, everyone's mouths comically open in a surprised "Oh!". Suddenly, one of Jora's friends stood up and set off running towards Krem, but was stopped by a flying chair thrown by none other than the Iron Bull himself. Then,with no apparent reason, someone decided to break a bottle on top of their neighbour's head, and the whole place erupted into fighting.

During the commotion, Maryden dragged Beth away to safety, not before the latter was pulled into a crushing, toe curling kiss. Krem pulled away and gave her his widest smile yet, promising that they would see each other the very next day. Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, she would tell him.

Now the thing with secrets, is that they're often not as terrible as their keepers think they are. One way to figure out how bad a secret truly is, is to try and imagine what you would say to someone if they were to come to you and confess to it.

See, Beth was never advised to do that, so to her, her secret made her the ugliest thing to ever walk Thedas. But were Dalia, or Maryden, or anyone really, to come to her and share a similar secret with her, Beth would have been the most supporting friend, and would have forbidden them from blaming themselves and thinking themselves ugly. Beth had a very kind heart, and a fair judgement, but the downside of that was how hard and unforgiving her heart became when she looked upon herself.

Krem deserved the truth, though, and Beth decided to forget about being a coward and to simply find him and tell him the truth.

So the next day, Beth put on a dress, combed her hair, and walked out of the tavern. On the way, she passed Dalia who had a nasty looking bruise on her cheek and Maryden who was smirking to herself while massaging her fist.

It was a clear, sunny day, and the Chargers would be training nearby, where the lady Cassandra always was.

Walking out, Beth felt as if this was the first, or last, time she saw the world. Chastisising herself for being so dramatic, Beth felt as if her whole fate was about to be sealed. She had no doubt that Krem would be kind to her, but she also had no doubt that he would never be able to touch her once he knew. She didn't blame him. It was hard enough touching herself.

The sunshine nearly blinding her, Beth walked to the Chargers. Sure enough, they were all there, Krem included. He wasn't wearing a top, she suddenly realised. Just his bindings, revealing defined abs, and leaving no doubt as to what the bindings... Well, bound.

It would be a lie to say that the view of his bound chest did not unsettle Beth in the slightest, but the view of the muscles, the tanned skin, the physical power Krem displayed as he trained, successfully drowned any last bit of doubt Beth may have had. He was the most attractive man she'd ever seen.

When he caught sight of her, Krem seemed momentarily thrown off, and he looked around as if looking for something, then changed his mind, and stood a little bit taller, proud, though his eyes watched her somewhat expectantly.

"Hello" she greeted him. The Chargers whistled. She waved at them.

"Hey" replied Krem. He kept on putting his hands on his hips, then crossed his arms, set his hands on his hips again, crossed his arms again. His jaw was shut tight.

Eager to let him know she did not mind seeing him like this, Beth reached forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He smelt nice, like sand, sun and a bit of sweat. His smile grew, and his shoulders loosened a bit.

"Nice day!" Commented the elf, looking around. She put her hair behind her pointed ear. It would be easier if the Chargers weren't around.

"Lovely. Gorgeous." Said Krem, and Beth instantly knew he was talking about more than the weather.

"May I speak to you?"

It sounded abrupt to her own ears, and Beth saw the smile melt off Krem's face and his jaw set in stone again.

"Alright." He said, uncrossing his arms,looking down. He probably thought she was about to break things off with him.

"Oh no! No no no! Not like that, I mean... I've got something to tell you!"

"I'm listening?" He said gently, though his expression was still guarded.

"Uh..."

Behind him, she could see the Chargers training, but Beth was no fool. She could practically see their ears bending in their direction.

"It's uh... Personal. Of sorts."

"Do you... Want to go somewhere else?" Asked Krem, slightly concerned.

"Yes... Well no, actually, no, let's just stay here."

Let them hear it.

"You had this secret... I mean, not a secret, but I didn't know... Which was clearly my fault, but you said you felt bad for not saying... It was awkward to say, I get that, and like I said I don't mind. I uh, I have a little secret of my own. If we... Uh... Do you think we'll have sex?" She blurted out.

What?

Beth heard a snort coming from the training ground. Her cheeks suddenly felt very warm in the hot sun.

Krem coughed, amused, and perhaps a bit worried too. He threw a look over his shoulders, then whispered to her:

"I uh, I don't know, I guess it's up to you... I mean I'd love to, so uh..."

More snickering from the training ground, silenced by a loud thud.

"Yes. I... Sorry, it came out wrong. Of course we'll have sex. I mean..." She was stammering, but glad to see Krem was blushing too.

"Look, I know I haven't got what a regular man has, but I can promise you I will do my best to uh... You know." The young warrior scratched his neck.

"Oh no it's not about that. I know, I'm sure you're very, I uh, it's not that." Breathe in, breathe out. "It's me. I'm..."

Her breath was short now, and Beth stopped looking at him. She stared beyond him, into the stones of the fortress. Breathe in, breathe out.

"When we left the Bog, my brother and I were with a lot of people. Only the two of us made it to Haven, with the dog. And obviously, I'm left now. And the dog. The thing is, on the way, many of us died of various causes," she waved a trembling, dismissing hand. "Like refugees do. Anyway. One day we, we crossed this, this plain... Not knowing that it was dragon territory. We got... Massacred."

She gave a weird giggle, refusing to let the tears start falling.

"The dragon just killed everyone. I lived, my brother too, but we both were," her hand showed her body. "Sort of... Burnt."

She swallowed nervously, looked at Krem. He was quiet, his look serious. Unable to sustain the intensity of his gaze, Beth looked at her hands.

"I'm covered in scars. Burn scars. My uh, my shoulders and, and chest, are ok, but anything beyond t-this point," she showed her belly, "is completely... It's a battlefield. It's... Ugly. It's not just burnt, it's hardly human looking anymore, it's dragon fire you know, it scars all... Colourful."

Crevices and mounds, green, blue, purplish. Ugly.

"It's ugly." She repeated. "It looks nasty. I wouldn't... I don't know who'd ever want to touch that, it's just... Nasty. I'll show you if you want, but honestly, you'll get nightmares."

She stopped, choked. Breathed in and out, looked back at him, blinking the tears away. His face was unreadable.

"See, your secret is hardly one because you are a man, so nothing to see there! But I... I never told you what I'm really like. What I look like. I don't even look like a woman anymore."

She tried to laugh it off, failed miserably. Her whole body was shaking. The Chargers weren't even pretending to look busy anymore.

"I thought you should know. I should have told you earlier. I perfectly understand if you don't really feel like speaking to me, or if you... Honestly, I look like a lizard or something. I'm really sorry."

She didn't know what else to say. She was about to break down.

"I do really care about you, Krem. I want you to be happy. You deserve... Everything you want. I'd like to be your friend if, if you can forgive me for not telling you about the whole thing. I'm just going to... You just have a think, ok? If you want to see exactly what... I'll show you if you want. Just you. Please don't ... Don't tell too many people. People sort of pity me when they know. I'm just going to go now, ok? See you later. I hope."

Beth turned around and ran off, not feeling Krem's hand as it tried to grab her arm.

She ran, like a little girl, up to her bedroom, and when she got there she just collapsed on the bed and cried.

It's done now. Now he knows. It's done. You did well.

You can cry now.