A/N: Hello again, folks. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I just didn't know if it flowed as it should. Please review and let me know what you think.

)O(

"Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature."

- Saint Augustine

The Crows were renowned for their poisons.

This particular poison drained the willpower from its victims, draining them of both the ability and desire to fight off its affects. The toxin's job was then to cripple the immune system, leaving the victim's body unable to heal any wounds or infection. Finally they would slip into a coma, and unless provided with expert medical attention, eventually die.

The venom itself was not lethal, nor was it very potent, it didn't have to be. The key here was cause and effect.

Of course, because the would-be assassins had gotten away, it took a fairly long time for this to be figured out.

By then it was almost too late.

No one could understand why Jenji not only wasn't healing but was actually getting worse.

Anders could only do so much and so - without informing him of course - they sent for a myriad of healers and anyone who might know the slightest thing about poisons. The Circle of Magi had not yet been entirely restored to its former state but, like everyone else in Thedas, still considered itself in debt to the Hero of Ferelden and so they gladly sent whoever they could spare.

Anders was not pleased when he found out.

He'd been the one up all night keeping the Commander alive; he'd been the one constantly by her side for the last week even though the unconscious woman really wasn't much for conversation; she wouldn't have even lasted this long if it weren't for him. And yet they just cast him aside without as much as a word of thanks? It would be nice to get some sleep for a change though.

Did she dream?

He found himself captivated by the idea. What did the Commander dream of? Darkspawn? No; surely she was capable of dreaming up something other than nightmares sometimes.

It was thoughts like these that helped him ignore the fact that she was slowly but surely wasting away before his eyes.

After a while he could no longer convince himself that they'd all have a good laugh about this when she got better...

Everyday she got a little thinner, a little paler, a little...less alive.

But she's still so beautiful...

No...She was his Commander. It was wrong.

I'll probably never get another chance to do this...

His lips touched hers, and for a second he thought her eyes would snap open, like magic. But of course they didn't. In fact, the only thing that had changed was that now Erlina and a man he didn't recognize were standing in the doorway. The Orlesian's jaw had dropped, but the man's expression was unreadable.

"Did you just kiss my wife?" he asked evenly.

Oh Maker, templars take him now, this was the worst thing he'd ever done. Only now did he notice the ring on her finger.

"Uh...no…?"

He follows Erlina out into the hallway knowing perfectly well that not only was he going to be yelled at - probably in Orlesian - but also that he deserved it. Anders just wanted to get as far away from the Commander and her husband as possible.

He really needed to stop following his heart.

)O(

At first Daveth hadn't believed his eyes.

But it was real, and even though he was not usually a jealous man something about that mage kissing Jenny just drove him crazy.

Anders was lucky he was a mage or else...

But there would be time to plan some torturous method of revenge later. Right now he had to focus on her.

"Oh Jenny..." he sighed, speaking to her as if she could actually hear him. "You know, you're lucky we know exactly where Andraste's Ashes are now."

He waited, expecting something...anything to happen.

Nothing did.

But at least she was still breathing.

So he talked about everything, mostly Adaia. He didn't know when but eventually the lighthearted tone changed. "...And I need you, we all need you Jenny. Maker, you just have to wake up, because if you don't...I just can't do this alone."

Slowly - miraculously - her condition began to improve.

She opened her eyes.

"Daveth...?" Her voice was scarcely even a whisper. "Is this the Fade? Am I dead?"

"No," he replied, "I'm afraid we're still in Amaranthine."

And suddenly she started laughing.

"What is so funny?" Daveth asked, grinning.

"I'm alive." she said simply. "I thought I'd be dead, but I'm not. I was so sure I'd wake up and see Mamae and Harvey and Nel-" Jenny stopped speaking abruptly and then said, much softer this time, "I'm alive..."

"Yes, you certainly are."

"Where's Ada?"

"Ms. Kay agreed to take care of her until we got back." he explained. "But don't worry; Leliana is going to check in on her from tme to time."

She blinked. "So...you're staying?"

He kissed her, which was as good an answer as any. He wasn't going to let anything keep them apart again.

)O(

It was with a heavy heart that Erlina had written to Daveth, informing him of what had happened. She knew that things would change now. For one, she would have to retire to her own quarters from now on. But she had to put those feelings aside and do what was best for her Lady. She sighed deeply, her heart aching in her breast for want of something she never really had in the first place.

She'd been fooling herself.

"He seems to make her very happy." Nathaniel said.

"I know."

"And you deserve better anyway."

"I..." What?

She turned around only to see him scowling at her.

It would seem everyone had gone crazy.

)O(

Velanna didn't know what to make of this.

In fact, she'd never been more uncertain about anything in her life.

They were not kin. The Commander was not part of her clan, if she even had a clan anymore, and yet she had offering Velanna a place in her order. She did not cower in fear like most flat-ears did. She respected the Dalish elf and all that she stood for. Freedom, pride, dignity...

Never again shall we submit.

The Commander was not Dalish and yet she lacked none of these qualities. Not only did the shemlen respect her but it seemed she had taken one of them for a lover. A sickening thought to Velanna, but each to her own. It wasn't any of her business.

She couldn't deny that ever since that man had arrived the Warden's recovery had progressed surprisingly quickly. She'd slept for five long days, almost like uthenera - the waking sleep - and it was by the Gods' own luck that she still lived at all.

To her, it wasn't a question of if their leader was capable enough, because she'd proven that already. It was a question of if her recklessness - her heart - would make her do foolish things. The Creators give each person their own set of challenges, the hahren once said, and it was up to them to persevere. But sometimes it seemed the elves had a lot more challenges than everyone else.

The Commander respected her. She respected her need to distance herself from the others - her goal was only to find Seranni.

No one was forcing her to stay, otherwise she wouldn't have.

But at least here she was wanted, accepted, maybe even liked on some level. The Commander was reason enough to stay, perplexing as she was, a woman who had forgotten so much of the Old Ways yet somehow still spoke Velanna's language.

People like that simply didn't exist in her world. The Dalish mage had no choice but to re-examine what she considered freedom - revas. Was it hidden deep within a forest? Or perhaps it was a matter of individual perspective?

"Andaran atish'an, Commander," Velanna greeted. It was the first time she had seen the other elf since that night. "Good to see you are well."

"Ah. Hello Velanna." She smiled. "Good to see you haven't given up on me just yet."

"We have a deal." she stated. "We Dalish keep our promises."

"As do we…"

Nothing made sense here. She prefered to believe they were all just crazy.

)O(

She'd had the strangest dream. In it, Daveth was dead and so she and Alistair were the only Grey Wardens left in Ferelden.

It was a nightmare.

Jenji didn't like to think about it. He was not dead, and neither was she. At one point she had even thought that was what she wanted, but it wasn't.

One thing she knew for sure was that there was work to be done. They still had to look in to the matter of the Blackmarsh. And on a different note, she'd been hearing an odd rumor about Anders for days...

When Jenji decided she was done resting, no one could stop her, especially since Wynne wasn't here.

In the end, everyone decided it was best not to over complicate what couldn't be explained.