Solana closed the door to the suite in the Inn. She pressed her hand to the cool wood, delaying the conversation she had to have for just a few more moments. She turned around, and regarded her daughter with a severe expression. The girl stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, her bow and quiver resting on the bed.

"I asked you to remain at home," she said flatly.

Wynne stared down at her feet, shamefaced. "I'm sorry. I wanted so badly to see Denerim."

"And I would have shown it to you," Solana approached slowly, her hands clasped before her, steadying their subtle shaking. "One day. You defied me."

"Yes." Wynne's cheeks reddened. "But you lied to me."

Solana stilled. "I beg your pardon?"

"You never told me you were a Grey Warden. I didn't know you were a mage." She looked up at her mother, her eyes wide and sparkling with tears.

"And that was in my past, Wynne. I wanted to protect you from all of that."

"Why? Being a Grey Warden is something to be proud of."

Solana lowered herself onto the couch. She patted the cushion beside her. "Sit with me."

Wynne sat beside Solana and tucked her feet up under her, as she had done since she was a child.

Solana stared at her hands for a moment, recalling the power that had once flowed from them. "I nearly died fighting the darkspawn, Wynne. It was not high adventure. It was not fun. It was frightening. I would have nightmares. When I found out I was pregnant with you, I decided to start a new life. To leave the old one behind me."

"What about the Grey Wardens? I read some stories about them when I was a child. I thought when you became a Warden, you became one for life."

Solana ran her hand down her daughter's hair, smoothing the tumbling waves. "Normally. Yes. Normally, when one becomes a Grey Warden, you fight until death. And that death often comes early. But when I killed the Archdemon, the taint within me was destroyed. I no longer had a connection to the darkspawn and my usefulness as a Grey Warden had come to an end. I stood as Warden Commander within Vigil's Keep for a time, rebuilding the Wardens. And once my task was done, I came home to you."

Wynne frowned at her mother. "What of the king? If he was a Grey Warden, does he still have this taint?"

Solana swallowed. "I don't know, Wynne."

"So he could still die?" Her daughter asked innocently. "Early, I mean. He didn't kill the Archdemon, so he still has that stuff in his blood, right?"

"Yes." Solana said softly. "I suppose he could still die."

"That's bad. I liked him. He seemed…nice, you know?"

"He is." Solana kissed Wynne on the temple. "He is nice."

"Will you see him before we leave? It's not like you got to talk about whatever you were meant to talk about before I screwed up."

"I don't think so," Solana shook her head.

"I think you should," Wynne said emphatically. "I think if you were friends then you should do the right thing. Maybe you won't ever see him again once we go back to Amaranthine. You would feel bad, right?"

"Yes. I would feel bad," Solana said, tears gathering in her eyes, her throat becoming tight.

"I promise I won't leave the inn. I do. I don't want to go back out there, not on my own. I don't even know where my horse and Griff is." Her lips trembled.

"We will find them. I can ask the guard to keep an eye out, perhaps."

"You should go back tonight," Wynne said, clutching her mother's hand tightly. "He looked very sad. It didn't seem right to leave him sad. And he only has that awful boy as his family."

Solana cupped Wynne's cheek. "You are the best of girls, you know that?"

Wynne wrinkled her nose. "I have a bit to make up for."

"Yes, you do," Solana smiled. "But we can work on it."