There were people swirling around her, some faces she recognized and some she did not. Hands pushed at her back and pulled at her sleeves and led her away from the Landsmeet Chamber. A cacophony of questions and answers and accusations and pleas for calm flooded her ears until they rang.

She was being led up the stairs, toward her rooms. Somebody was trying to ask her a question. "Maebh, the blood, were you hurt?"

She turned to Zevran, who was holding her left arm. "Blood?" she asked. What could he be talking about? "My dress is supposed to be this color."

She watched as he exchanged a concerned look with Renaud. "She may have been knocked senseless," the other Warden said.

"I'm right here," she protested. "And I'm cold."

"Of course you are, my darling," Zevran took off his cloak and threw it over her shoulders. "We'll get you nice and toasty soon." He turned back to Renaud. "Or she could have been poisoned."

They continued to talk as Maebh stumbled on the thick carpet. Her feet felt completely disconnected from the rest of her body. She was shivering, and all she wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep.

"Commander!" Renaud shook her. "You must stay awake!"

"The party's over," she mumbled as they arrived in her rooms. "I want to go to bed."

"Not so fast, sly one," Zevran tsk-tsked at her. "We must take a bath first."

"I don't want to take a bath with you, Zevran." She shook off his cloak and fumbled at the ties on her gown with thick fingers. "I want to be left alone." She was so sleepy, why wouldn't they leave her alone?

"Maebh, please," Renaud took her hands. "Allow me to help." She stood meekly as he began to unlace her bodice.

"I see how it is," Zevran chided. "How soon I am replaced! You are a cruel mistress." He took her face in his hands and gently pressed his thumbs against the skin of her cheekbones, looking into her eyes intently.

"Where's Ghislaine and Leliana?" she asked. "Why can't they help me?"

"Ghislaine is with the queen. Leliana is with the prisoner," Renaud informed her. "Shall I assist you further?" he asked as he carefully removed her tattered gown.

"The queen!" she said. "I need to go to her!"

"No," Zevran maneuvered her to the tub. "You will, but not yet. We need to make sure you were not harmed. Smile for me?"

She did her best, and he placed a finger in the corner of her lips and pulled up slightly, then down, checking the color of her gums. "No obvious symptoms yet. This could be a stroke of luck."

"I wasn't poisoned, I've just had a very long day and I'd like to go to bed," she continued to argue.

"Maebh, please, it won't be pleasant to wake up covered in dried blood," Renaud stroked her hair. "Plus, you will disturb the healers if you arrive at the queen's rooms in your smallclothes."

Frowning, she tried to think of a reason why he was wrong, but for some reason she just couldn't put two thoughts together coherently. She was shivering so hard her knees were knocking together and the steam rising from the water looked so inviting... "Fine," she spat angrily as she pulled off her smallclothes and got in the bath.

She scrubbed at her skin with as much venom as she could muster. "Not so hard, you're so impatient!" Zevran took her arm and inspected the skin. "It will do nobody any good if you scour holes in your skin."

She yanked her arm out of his grasp and started scrubbing her chest and face. The suds were turning a disturbing shade of pink. "How did you get out of the cell, anyway?" she demanded. Bits and pieces of information were falling into place in her mind, memories were clearing and the fog of uncertainty lifted. "I thought I left you locked in most securely."

"As it turns out, your sister did not want to spend all that money simply to keep me locked in a cell," Zevran answered, sluicing water over her back and chest.

"So what went wrong?" she asked as she began to tear the pins out of her hair. "How did this happen? How could you let this happen, Zevran?" She was pulling bits of her hair out with the pins but this only fueled her anger. "I thought that's why you were here in the first place!" Anora lying in a pool of her own blood. Cailan's body on the cold ground. She couldn't breathe. "Fade take you!" She slammed her fists on the sides of the tub. "Why couldn't you just do your Maker-forsaken job!"

Zevran paused in his examination and looked at her with a cold, appraising gaze. "Your senses seem to have returned, such as they are."

"Don't you dare be flippant with me, you sorry excuse for a cutthroat!" she raged. "My sister hired you to stop the assassins, and she's the one who was the target the whole time? I of all people should have known... After all, Zevran the Crow was once defeated by a little girl-mage, he can't be competent enough to protect royalty!""

"Stand up," he ordered, his face stony.

Shakily, she got to her feet. "I wasn't injured," she said. "Nobody hit me."

He continued a close inspection of her skin. "If the blade was sharp enough and the proper poisons applied to it, you would never feel a thing. And as to answer your questions, all of our information pointed to you being the target of the assassins. So, it was you I was watching."

"But I was on... I was on the balcony with Eamon." She began to shiver again, this time only from the cold. "I wasn't anywhere near her."

"Precisely. It appears that our luck has held out, at least in this regard. I cannot find any cuts." He held out a flannel nightshift to her.

"But, her shoulder, and her hip," Renaud protested, brow furrowed in concern. "The bruising is so severe."

Maebh stepped out of the tub pulled the nightshift over her head. "No, that's an aftereffect of the shield. When somebody hits it, it's like I'm actually being hit. The bruising isn't very common, true, but it's not unheard of." She turned back to Zevran. "Do you know who did this?"

He gritted his teeth. "The Double Suns."

"Never heard of them. Are they a new guild?" She grabbed a brush off the vanity. Sitting on a stool by the fire, she began brushing the water out of her hair.

"No. They have been active in Antiva nearly as long as the Crows. They just aren't as good as we are." He began to pace, muttering curses to himself in Antivan.

"I am afraid I do not understand." Renaud confessed. "I had heard that the Queen of Antiva had stabbed Anora. Is the Antivan royal family part of this guild?"

"No," Zevran started to laugh bitterly. "Though I suppose their lifespans might benefit from such an arrangement." He clenched his fists. "The Double Suns have been nipping at my heels for months. This had as much to do with my pride as anything else, let me assure you."

Maebh raked a comb through her hair and began rapidly plaiting it. "But how can you be so sure it was them? Aren't there multiple guilds?"

"Si," Zevran snarled, kicking a footstool. "However, there is only one that favors disguises to such an absurd degree, prides themselves on tactical strikes, and refuses to use poison." He continued to pace, shaking his head. "They must have ambushed them on the ship, murdered the entire court, and taken their place. I cannot see any other way this could have happened."

"Wait," Maebh paused, thinking quickly. "Then that would mean that everybody on that crew was involved with it, correct?"

"On some level, yes," Zevran confirmed, the same realization dawning on his face. "The queen is still in danger."

Maebh pulled on her robe. "You two, go to the docks and have the ship seized and all crew members arrested, on the order of the crown."

"Maebh, we cannot do such a thing without the proper authorization," protested Renaud. "Should you not ask the king first?"

"Renaud, do not start this argument right now," she barked at him as she strode toward the door. "Alistair will go along with it, I assure you. Now, so long as you are both satisfied that I am not about to drop dead of some extremely rare venom, I must go to my sister."

When Maebh arrived at the royal chambers, the rooms were packed with people. Servants, guards, healers, even a few clearly confused ball attendees. All swarmed about, babbling and stinking and creating chaos. She didn't recognize any of them.

"Everybody out!" she roared. "Now!"

There was a moment of shocked silence, and Maebh became keenly aware of the fact that she was barefoot in her nightshift and robe, issuing orders to a great deal of people who had no reason to obey her. She held her chin high and clenched her teeth. "You heard me!"

"You heard the Commander," Loghain said from somewhere within the crowd. "Clear out, all of you."

Slowly the crush of people filed out. Maebh crossed her arms and glowered at them, trying to see if she could spy any more would-be assassins. Her countenance softened as Ghislaine approached her. "Merci, commander. Do not be afraid to send for me if you need something."

Maebh simply nodded. "See if you can find Renaud and Zevran. Tell them I got permission from the King to make the arrests. They'll know what I'm talking about."

"But you have not yet spoken-"

"Go, Ghislaine. That's an order."

"Oui, commander." Ghislaine replied formally. With that, she turned and left the room, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Finally the rooms were empty, save for her, Loghain, Alistair, and a dreadfully pale Anora, propped up on pillows on the bed. Alistair was kneeling next to her, eyes red, clutching on of her hands in both of his. Maebh's heart began to hurt remember how he had done the same for her only a year ago.

"Do I have to go, too?" Alistair asked, sounding uncertain and afraid.

"No, don't be absurd," she said, covering up her selfish feelings. "You can stay, too, Father." She closed the doors and prepared to bolt them. "If Nora wants you to, of course."

"He can stay," she said, her voice barely strong enough to whisper. "If he wants to. I don't mind."

Loghain settled in a chair by the fire as Maebh locked the door. "Why is your hair wet?" he asked her, sounding bone-weary.

"Zevran and Renaud gave me a bath." She told him.

Loghain arched an eyebrow at her and rubbed his chin. Alistair began to chuckle.

"What?" she said, feeling awkward.

"I'm sure there's some perfectly reasonable explanation for why such a thing had to happen at such a time," Loghain said in a perfectly even tone. Alistair snorted and began laughing harder. Even Anora giggled a little.

"As a matter of fact, there was," she replied haughtily. "They wanted to be sure I had not been stabbed."

"Oh, of course, silly me," Loghain deadpanned. "And I suppose simply asking you was completely out of the question."

"There were... extenuating circumstances. I don't want to talk about it." She went to the bed, where Alistair and Anora were still laughing. "I talked to Zevran."

"Really? Before or after the bathing?" Alistair snickered.

"Stop it!" she said. "I'm being serious!" She stood next to the bed, toes curling on the cold stones. "He says he thinks it was a rival guild. That they killed the King and Queen of Antiva on the way over, and the entire crew of the ship was in on it. They wore disguises, and took the place of the court. He says this guild doesn't use poisons and prides themselves on precision strikes. But don't worry, I sent Renaud and Zev to go have the ship seized and the crew arrested."

Alistair freed one of his hands and stroked Anora's hair. "But then, why did they... the way they attacked you was..." He choked and swallowed. "There are more effective ways to kill a person than to aim for non-vital areas and hope for blood loss."

Maebh shifted her weight from one side to the other, bare feet burning with cold. She twisted her hands and didn't say anything. It wasn't her place.

"They weren't trying to kill me," Anora said. She turned to Maebh. "Stop fidgeting. If you're cold, you can lay next to me. There's plenty of room"

Maebh hopped up on the mattress, quickly squirmed under the coverlet and tried not to shiver too hard as she curled up next to her. Under the covers, Anora sought out her hand and grasped it fiercely.

Anora turned back to Alistair, seeming as calm as ever. "They were trying to kill our baby."

"But..." he let go of her hand and clutched his head. "I don't understand. You're not pregnant!"

"I am," she replied, as calm as ever, though Maebh could hear feel her pulse racing. "I just didn't tell you yet. Let me explain, please," she said, reaching out to touch him as he strangled a cry. "I've been pregnant before. Not... recently. But before, with Cailan and..." she swallowed. "And we were ultimately unsuccessful. I chose not to tell you because I did not wish to get your hopes up until it was certain the babe would live."

Alistair buried his face in the coverlet, breathing heavily, struggling to control his emotions. Maebh glanced over at Loghain, who sat, back rigid, face lined with care. Maebh wrapped her other arm around Anora's. How much they had both endured without the support of each other.

"But..." Alistair took a deep breath and lifted his head slowly. "Maebh and... that other mage."

"Ghislaine," Maebh corrected gently.

"Yes, that one." Alistair acknowledged her briefly. "They got to you so quickly. Did they... did you..."

Anora's face twitched, her perfect calm stretched to its breaking point. "I don't know."

Alistair clenched his fists, gripping the coverlet in a white-knuckled grasp. "So we'll just have to wait." He said resolutely.

"I could try to find out now," Maebh offered. "If that's acceptable."

Anora bit her lip and nodded, eyes brimming with tears. Maebh took a deep breath and gathered what little will had managed to accumulate since the battle. She disentangled one arm from Anora's and reached her hand over her sister's stomach. A soft blue light began to emanate from her fingertips as she reached her sight out slowly, tentatively, as delicately as she possibly could. A misstep now could cause far more problems than it solved. Maebh had never been much for the healing arts and if she barged in with her usual gusto she could finish what the assassins had started.

She trembled with the effort of holding herself back, progressing bit by bit, making sure not to reopen the wound or disturb any other organs until finally she found the other life. It was such a tiny thing, barely even noticeable unless one was specifically looking for it. But the spark was there, tiny and tenacious.

She was torn between two impulses, to stay and watch in amazement until the spark grew into a person and emerged into the world, and to yank back as quickly as possible lest she snuff it out entirely. But her better judgment prevailed, and she retreated just as slowly and gently as she had entered.

Maebh opened her eyes to see that Alistair had climbed into bed as well, holding Anora as if to shield her from any more attacks, and Loghain standing over the three of them. "She's alive," Maebh gasped, trembling from the effort. "The baby still lives. And... it's a girl. In case you were wondering."

Alistair sighed with relief and kissed Anora's forehead as she began to cry. Loghain nodded, lips pressed tight together. "You should get some rest," he told them.

"But what if-" Alistair protested.

Loghain shook his hand. "I'll keep watch outside the door."

Maebh began to push herself up, utterly exhausted. "I should go, too."

"No," Anora tightened her fingers around hers. "Please."

And so Maebh nestled against her sister's shoulder. "Fine. If you really want me to," she said.

She fell asleep before she could hear the response.

"I'm taking her with me," Maebh said as she jammed a pretty, if impractical, pair of gloves into her pack.

"But you can't!" Alistair moaned, slouching in his chair and flopping his head back. "She's my favorite!"

Maebh crossed her arms and glared at him. "I will invoke certain rights if you make me. And then how will you feel?"

Alistair frowned at his lap and started muttering things about his father. "Fine," he said finally, sullen.

"Excellent. Ghislaine," Maebh said to the other Warden. "Would you please go and inform Mhairi that we will be departing within the hour?"

"Of course, Commander," Ghislaine bowed and left.

"I should have known the way you were watching her at the Grand Melee," Alistair pouted.

"Yes, and then again when she helped me at the ball. The woman is a remarkable fighter. Once Father joins us at Amaranthine and begins training her, she will make an exceptional warrior." Maebh reached over the back of the chair and squeezed his shoulders. "And don't worry, Father says he'll only be staying for a week or so, until Anora's recovered. You'll be able to stand him for that long, right?"

"You are a cruel, cruel woman," Alistair smiled ruefully.

Maebh rolled her eyes. "Yes, heartless me. I am so cruel to you all."

He stood and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for saving her. And..." His voice cracked and he held her even tighter. "And my daughter." He said in a voice full of hushed awe. "I don't know how..."

Maebh wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't think about it. It's better that way."

"I wish you didn't have to go," he said, heavy with regret. "What was it that Cailan wanted to do with you?"

Maebh's insides turned to stone. "Are you out of your mind?" She pulled away and resumed packing. "I told you we couldn't do that anymore."

"No, no!" he stumbled over his words, "Not... that. I meant the whole Warden or mage advisor-type thing. Can't we do something like that?" He went to her and took her hand. "I think it would be good for Anora to have you around, and the baby. She'll need her family!"

Maebh took a deep breath and looked directly at him, his eyes full of hope and longing. This is what he wanted, what he had always wanted. Not power, not wealth, not fame. Just a family to gather around him and call his own. She could understand. There still was a part of her that longed only for those things as well. "I can't do that, Alistair. That's not the life I'm meant to lead."

He nodded, crestfallen. "You'll come for her Name Day, though, won't you?"

Maebh laughed. "Hordes of Darkspawn couldn't keep me away!"

"Commander," Renaud entered through the still-open door, "We really must depart, the caravan is waiting."

"And go we shall," Maebh lifted her pack. "Let me linger any longer and I will succumb to His Majesty's charms."

"'Charms'," Alistair scoffed. "Clearly I have none or you would be staying."

Renaud shrugged and arched an eyebrow, lips quirking mischievously. "Or perhaps Commander simply has discovered she prefers charms that come from a bit more... foreign of a source?"

Maebh clapped a hand to her mouth and stifled a giggle. "I'm sure I don't know what he's talking about, Alistair."

He narrowed his eyes at the both of them. "Hm. Of course. Well, at least you have a sense of humor, after all." He went to leave, and at the threshold turned back. "Enjoy it while it lasts. Once Loghain gets there the festivities will be over."

Maebh felt a flutter of apprehension as she approached the caravan. She had finally recruited her first Warden since Loghain at the Landsmeet, but was at a loss of how to proceed with the woman. "Well, now that we're all here," she addressed the small group, "we should probably get going."

"Commander," Mhairi said as they walked their horses toward the palace gates, an edge of awkwardness in her own voice. "Please, allow me to thank you for recruiting me. It is an honor."

"Yes, well," Maebh fidgeted slightly. "You acquitted yourself quite well at both the tourney and the ball. I should tell you, Alistair kicked up quite a row when I told him."

Mhairi blushed. "His Majesty is very kind."

"And very possessive," Maebh grinned. "Don't worry, he'll get over it."

There was a bit of commotion behind them, shouts and footsteps coming from the balconies. Maebh turned to see Alistair waving furiously, and behind him Loghain and Anora lifting their hands and waving much more sedately. She was surprised at the pain in her heart. They really were going to miss her, after all. She smiled brightly and waved back.

A few more steps and they were out of sight of the balcony. The pain sharpened, and she blinked back tears.

"Is something wrong, Maebh," Renaud asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No, not really." How could she explain it? The cold and empty feeling she had carried for so long that it felt like a part of her had thawed and shifted and filled until the ache was something different entirely. Instead of loneliness, it was a pain of love. She reached out and took his hand. "I'm fine. Honestly." A thought occurred to her. "Amaranthine is more temperate than here, isn't it?"

"Yes, Commander," Mhairi confirmed. "The weather there is actually very mild because of the current."

Maebh smiled and lifted her face to the sun that broke through the clouds. "That sounds wonderful."