The moon cast a silvery light over the battlements of Amaranthine as Jaxon leaned against them. If he tried hard enough, he was convinced that he could see a tiny cottage, cloaked in darkness. They slept there, in as much comfort as he could provide.

Mhari would probably still be awake, despite the entreaties of their nurse. She would be reading by the light of a candle stub. Jaxon knew she collected and hid them in the wooden box beneath her bed.

Tedric would be asleep, curled up with the stuffed horse doll his mother had made him. He hid the doll each morning under his pillow. Jaxon smiled slightly. It was by his order that the nurse had not gotten rid of the tattered toy. There was plenty of time for Tedric to grow up – had he not grown up enough already?

Maly had done whatever it took, even going against her scruples. Would he? Could he? He pushed away from the rough stone of the battlement and stretched his neck. Jaxon winced as a vertebrae popped back into place. For the two children sleeping below, he could and would.

"She's getting you, isn't she," Rylan stepped out of the doorway and walked to stand beside Jaxon. He stared out over the city spread below them. "She's good at that, you know. Getting to you. Tugging at your heart. She always was."

Jaxon leaned back against the parapet, away from the sight of the city and his charges, "You don't seem to like her much, do you, Commander?"

Rylan laughed bitterly, "Oh, I liked her fine. That was the problem, Jaxon. When she was younger, Malaya was like a hero out of the legends. She was breath-taking," Rylan shook his head as his eyes clouded with memories, "Watching her fight, magic crackling around her, her eyes dark with power. And then, next time I'd see her, she'd be bandaging a child's knee and slipping it a sweetie from her pocket. Her heart was as big as her power was terrifying."

He continued, "But, there were always questions. Always doubts. Riordan fell from the Archdemon's back and Prince Alistair died on the Fort when he ended the demon's life. Malaya was the only one that lived. Somehow she managed to rebuild the Wardens and the Circle," Rylan sighed, "Somehow she managed to live far beyond her thirty years."

The Warden Commander stopped, studying the darkened landscape. When he next spoke, his voice was low, "There was always talk, you know. She would ride off to the Peak without warning and closet herself away with that mage, Avernus. I went with her once. That was when I realized that there was more to Malaya than anyone knew."

"It was late, rather like tonight, with the moon casting enough light down to see by. I was on the parapet between the main keep and the Tower. It seemed the best place to think when my mind was clouded by woman troubles," Rylan paused and grinned at Jaxon. His face fell as he continued, "Malaya came out of the Tower, swathed in a dark cloak and looking as though she had been beaten. The woman who had survived the Blight and was commanding the Fereldan Wardens with more skill than any imagined was sobbing like a child. I ran to her trying to see what was wrong."

Rylan swallowed and his voice grew harsh as he slipped back into the memory, "She pushed away from me, her eyes wild. I had never seen her anything but composed, every hair in place. That night, she was like a wild thing, hair tangled about her face, eyes wide with horrors I could only imagine. I tried once more to catch her and did. I caught her arm for a moment, but she slipped away. She ran, leaving me wondering what had happened. The hand that had caught hers felt warm, wet. I looked down and saw, in the moonlight, that it was wet with blood."

"I never told anyone what I saw, Jaxon," Rylan angled to regard the younger Warden, "Not even when I found her cloak and gown hidden in the midden and covered with blood. But, I never trusted her again. Something was afoot with my Commander."

"And you didn't want to upset the balance by publicly decrying her," Jaxon nodded slowly, understanding his Commander's actions.

"Aye," Rylan placed his hand on Jaxon's arm, unerringly in the same spot Maly had earlier, "Be careful with her, Jaxon. For all her years, she is still powerful and even dangerous. I pray she tells us her secret tomorrow," he stepped away towards the door, "For her sake if nothing else."