Opening the door, Angelus sighed, a weight settling heavily in his chest.

He didn't want to do this. He really didn't want to do this. Maybe if his bride-to-be was a male, someone he knew and actually loved, things would have been different; he probably would have been happier about this - but that wasn't the case. It was no one that he knew, it was rearranged, and Angelus strongly opposed to such ideas. Well, it's not like anyone was going to listen to him, especially if he'd tried to explain that he wasn't into females on the day of the wedding. How bad would that look, he mused. A wry smile came across the blond elf's face when he heard an elf - albeit drunk - speaking.

"Well, there once was a women who lived in the sea. I didn't love her, but I think she loved me. I brought her diamonds, rubies, silver and gold - but all she wanted was to be saved from the cold! She begged me to catch her, convinced me I should. I promised her a house, all grey, stone, and wood. We made love in the sea, we made love on the shore, I was just there playing, but she wanted more! But there's one small problem, you see; I can't grant her wish. My wife gets suspicious when I come home smelling like fish!" The elf slurred, laughing at the end of his rhyme. Angelus, who heard the conversation, stood there awkwardly, the wry smile firmly in place on his face, even if his nose wrinkled a little.

He was never a fan of cheating, despite the rhyme being a joke - at least he hoped so.

"Celebrating a little early, are we?" He asked, causing the group of elves to turn around and face him. The drunkest one - a redhead - smiled big as the elf beside him, hair braided, hiccupped.

"It's a -hic- wedding, isn't it?" He said, and the redhead cheered, hands waving wildly above his head.

"HOORAY! -hic-" He said, before falling over flat on his face. Angelus just chuckled nervously and scooted far, far away from them. Don't remind me of my doomsday. He thought before traveling to the center of the Alienage, where everyone was walking around, smiles and happiness filling the air, and yet, Angelus was immune to it all. Everyone is so happy but me. It's...really weird. He thought, looking up at the sky as if all his troubles would just go away, when he heard a commotion coming from his left.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to leave."

Angelus blinked. Leaving? Who's leaving? Curious getting the better of him, the elf followed the voices until he came to a scene where he spotted a family of elves with a cart, their daughter - Nessa, a friend of Angelus and Shianni - looking a bit frustrated, hopeless, and despair. Now the blond was really curious.

"What's going on?" He asked. The man, the father of Nessa, turned around surprised, but the look quickly gave way and his face harden. Angelus couldn't help but shift his feet in response. He knew Ness's father was hard man, prideful, and most of the time strict, and it always made Angelus feel a bit nervous and smaller by comparison.

"Many blessings, young one. We hoped to stay for the celebration, but we must be off." He said. Angelus's eyes went wide, shifting again, as he looked between the parents and Nessa.

"Wait, why? What happened?"

"The human that owns our building had decided to sell it for storage space. We can't afford to live anywhere else here in Denerim." He said. Angelus's gut clenched, as if he just been punched, and looked over at Nessa, who turned her head away.

"Don't you have a place to stay? Where are you going?" Angelus whispered, to which the father's nose twitched, mildly annoyed.

"The Ostagar ruins. The army camp there is calling for more laborers." Nessa said.

"We wanted to look for work in Highever-" Nessa's mother interrupted, voice sounding hopeful, despite their circumstance.

"But that's just not possible." The father spat out, glaring at the ground.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Angelus asked, hoping there was at least a way to help out his friend and her family, but, having to deal with them before, Angelus already knew the answer to that. As if reading his mind, the father shook his head.

"You're still a child, you can't do anything. Enjoy your day and put us out our mind." He said.

"What my husband meant to say is that you're very generous, but we don't need charity to solve our problem." His wife said, offering Angelus a soft, kind smile, but her eyes told him that she agreed with her husband. Angelus sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine, but really, if there's a problem, you should let us help you." He said. The father's lips twitched at that. "Goodbye then."

"Goodbye indeed." He said and the two elves continued with their cart. Angelus had been ready to walk away when Nessa pulled him back, grabbing his arm as she looked into his eyes with sympathy.

"Wait, can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked. Angelus smiled and nodded his head. She smiled back. "I apologize for my parent's behavior. They're too prideful to accept the help, much less ask for it. But...you should already know that, right?"

"I do." He said. Nessa shook her head.

"My parents will labor in the army camp, and they'll expect me to do the same, but...I don't like the idea of being surrounded by human soldiers who haven't seen a women in months." She said, fear trembling in her voice. Angelus already knew what she was getting at, and gave her a small squeeze on her shoulder, offering a sad smile. Now that she had mentioned it, Angelus didn't like that idea either. Nessa was his friend since childhood, and it would hurt him to know that she's been hurt and he couldn't do anything about it. Now, he really felt like he should do something - anything - to stop her from going.

"Would some money help?" He inquired. Nessa huffed, folding her arms as tears started to appear in her eyes.

"Of course! But I can't imagine anyone here has much to spare. We would need another three silvers to make it to Highever. And if we could get another ten silvers, we could rent a house here, maybe one large enough to start a business." She said, looking quite frustrated. Angelus gave her a hug for comfort, and squeezed her when he heard her sniffling. "But that's just dream talk. Nobody here has that kind of money, and if they did, why would they give it to us?"

"I'm sure someone is willing to help. Maybe me?" Angelus whispered. He could feel Nessa tense, and began to pull away, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Y-you would? Oh thank the Makers! But you should hurry. We'll be leaving soon." She said, breaking away from Angelus and walking towards her parents. Angelus could hear her parents arguing, and determination swelled in his chest.

He will help Nessa, bet on it.

Not a moment after this, Angelus had ran into a couple of elves who, apparently, knew his mother. Considering his father never talked about her much - the most he got was that she was a very brave elf who stood up for her beliefs, and more often than not got into more trouble than she's worth - it was a breath of fresh air, knowing that someone else admired his mother. Dilwyn and Gethon were very nice people, if not a little odd considering the conversation Angelus had heard had the word 'breeding' in it, but he could see why his mother choose them as friends.

The three had talked for a while before Dilwyn and Gethon had gave him their blessings and a little gift. Looking inside the pouch, Angelus eyes went wide at the fifteen silver inside. Immediately his mind went back to Nessa and her family and while there was a bit of guilt, knowing that Gethon and Dilwyn had saved up this money for his own use, he knew that in the end, they both would be very happy that he did a good deed. So, with almost no time to spare, he went towards Nessa and her family - and thankfully, they were still in the Alienage - and gave her some of his silver.

"Where did you-? How did you-? You know what, I'm not even going to ask. Thank you very much, Angelus. May the Makers smile down you." She said, before rushing towards her family to tell them the good news. Angelus watched her go, a buzzy feeling inside his chest knowing his friend was safe, and hopefully, they will stay at the Alienage.

Meanwhile, Angelus has a cousin to find.

It honestly didn't take long at all. Angelus figured because the Alienage was so small, it was kind of hard to lose track of anyone as most of them were at least shoulder's length away when you need them.

"Well, if isn't my lucky cousin!" Soris said, sarcasm dripping in his tone despite his cheery smile. Angelus...kind of stood there, for a moment.

Soris and Angelus had grown up together - meaning, Angelus knew Soris as a kid. He remembered the redhead being a bit chubby, stumbling over his feet, frighten by his own shadow, and pretty much been his best friend, despite Soris being a bit of a coward when they were little.

Older, Soris grew out of that stage, along with being chubby, still kept his red hair - that Angelus really, really, really wanted to touch (soft spot, heh) - and those beautiful green eyes that just speaks sarcasm, yet playfully.

And Angelus pretty much got a crush on him within ten seconds of seeing him. Great.

"You're getting married too, you know." Angelus said, feeling his cheeks heat up at the sight of his older cousin. Half of him was hoping he didn't notice, because it'll be awkward to explain to him that he just sorta kinda maybe gotten a crush on him, while explaining to him that he always found men attractive. And wow, Soris face would probably be priceless, along with being fearful. "Anyway, is the running away option still open? Because I thinking about taking it."

"Funny, because the last time I'd suggested it, you got cold feet." Soris snorted. "Anyway, where would we go? You of all people should know we have no options. And why would you run? Your bride seems like a dream come true. Mine sounds like a dying mouse."

Right. Now the option of telling the truth comes up - and it has to be with the one person that really matters to Angelus. Well, they all do - but Soris and Angelus were tight. Their friendship? Unbreakable. Until now.

"Yeah, about that. There's...something I have been meaning to tell you. Actually, to tell everyone," Angelus scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously as Soris raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? I'm listening."

"Er, well, it's about...this whole wedding thing."

"Look, before you get cold feet, everything will be fine. I'm not happy about this as much as you are, but what can we do? Our respective elders did this. We just have to live with it...for the rest of our lives," Soris coughed and wrapped his arm around Angelus shoulder. Angelus tried not to think about the heat spreading across his back as well as his feet. "Let's go introduce you to our wives before you say anything else, okay?"

So much for listening.