Author's Note: And finally, here's the crazy ideas that Drea's been toying with! (Okay, that I've been toying with haha)

~Party Favours~

No expense was spared with preparing the palace's main hall for the royal Spring Celebration that evening. True to the theme, the vibrant colours of the drapery and many vivid floral adornments lit up the room with all the life that spring has to offer. The nobles dined on everything from plump pheasant to mouth watering berry tarts as course after course of fine delicacies were brought to the tables. Even the setting sun did not dampen the enchanting mood as the hundreds of candles on the tables and in the large wrought iron chandeliers bathed the room in a dreamy glow.

Drea glanced over her Wardens as they genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves. Each had done their share of complaining at the idea of being forced into such a formal affair but after all the effort Eamon had gone through to find suitable clothing for each of them, none of them felt right about refusing. Not surprisingly however, Velanna was not among them. Eamon was not insulted; he was surprised she even accepted the lodgings he offered.

Almost against her will, Drea's eyes were drawn to the head table where Alistair sat. He appeared as handsome and charming as ever while he smiled and laughed with everyone. However, his lips drew together in a thin line of irritation when he thought no one was looking. Although he had come a long way in being more comfortable in such a setting, it was obvious to her he hadn't come so far as to enjoy them. Drea couldn't help but feel for the King - until the matter of a queen was officially resolved, he could expect Eamon to throw together many more frivolous social gatherings.

It was then that the band struck their first cord. Looking from the head table to the small stage set up across the room from where Drea sat, she saw the group of four. First the men playing the drum and lute began, starting a lighthearted tune. After several bars, the woman with the flute cheerily trilled along with them. The last member, a woman holding a bell, would not play until everyone was ready to dance as she would be chiming their steps. Slowly, the large dance area in the middle started to fill with nobles as they all stood across from their partners, forming two lines.

Turning back to her table, Drea had caught a brief glimpse of a young woman approaching the head table, presumably to ask for Alistair to join her. Even with Drea's quick glance, she could see how beautiful the girl was with her soft brown hair tastefully pinned back. Fine jewels hung about her neck as her tightly fitting green dress accented her other form of jewels. At least Alistair's eyes wouldn't go wanting…

Pulling her out of her thoughts, Oghren snorted, "So are you going to get up there and show us dwarves how you surfacers do it, Commander?"

"I really don't see that happening," she replied dryly as she reached for her wine glass. "Unless there's a sword in my hand with a darkspawn at the end of it - I don't dance."

She didn't even have a chance to set her glass down before someone addressed the table from behind her, "I apologize for not making my way over sooner, but I wanted to thank you all for attending as my guests of honour tonight." Inwardly, Drea groaned as she hastily set down her glass and turned to face Alistair, wondering how much he had heard. The woman in the green dress smiled warmly as her hand was comfortably tucked around Alistair's arm.

Plastering on a smile, Drea answered, "You are too kind - the honour is ours."

"Nonsense," he replied, playing the part easier than Drea expected. Thoughtfully he added, "I wonder though if you would grant me and my guests the privilege of joining us for a dance?"

Making a conscious effort to keep smiling, she tried not to grit her teeth as she replied, "Of course, your Majesty."

"Excellent," he responded with the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips as he and his partner turned towards the dance floor.

Already hearing their snickers, she glared at her companions and tried to decide who to ask to join her. Skipping her gaze over the dwarves, she looked to Anders. Drawing his lips together to try and kill the grin, he quickly replied, "I am afraid I missed dance day at the Circle, Commander."

With a frown, she turned to Nate as she gestured to the band, "I assume you know this one?" Not trying to hide his smile, he nodded. Impatiently she sighed, "Well?"

Easily getting to his feet, he laughed, "With such a lovely invitation, how could I refuse?" Taking her hand, he led her to the floor with the other nobles where they joined the lines across from one another. As frustrated as she was, she was impressed with her dance partner. Between his blue and gold tunic, neatly trimmed facial hair, smoothed back hair, and confident stance, he truly belonged among the nobles.

As the nobles finished coming to the floor, the music changed slightly and soon the bell started to ring. Stepping towards their partners, the two lines met and joined hands as the men bowed to the women. Turning to face the same direction, the dancers took steps forward with the chime of the bell. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Drea commented, "You clean up well."

Keeping his poise, Nate chuckled, "Don't sound so surprised! You've seen me in formalwear before."

Drea kept quiet for a moment until she realized what he was referring to. Furrowing her eyebrows she quietly scoffed, "We were kids."

"True," he agreed, "But you made an impression, even then. Thomas never forgot about you. Even after I left, he always mentioned in his letters if he saw you at some event. He was smitten." Drea's face grew serious and she avoided his eyes while they turned to face each other and stepped in a small circle to the music. Lightly, he added, "It's easy to understand why."

Eventually, her gaze dropped down as a small smile grew at his compliment. "A small, but lovely smile…and how many glasses of wine did that take?" he chided.

The smile quickly dropped as she scowled, "Shut up! For someone who doesn't drink, you've had plenty too."

"I don't drink often but I find it's pretty much the only way to survive these sorts of affairs," he replied casually before adding, "I meant nothing by it other than we should keep it on hand…I enjoy making you smile…"

Silently cursing the wine she had, she felt her cheeks flush slightly as another smile emerged. Unable to reply before they switched partners, Drea subtly rolled her eyes at his comment as her new partner bowed to her. Starting the dance again, Drea stepped in time with the new man who was smiling from ear to ear. "I can hardly believe my fortune - dancing with the Warden Commander? I am the envy of every man here!" he exclaimed quietly to her.

As they stepped in a circle, she saw Nate over his shoulder and he offered a smile. Finishing the circle step however, Drea saw Alistair glaring at her over his partner's shoulder. "I'm not sure you're correct," she replied carefully, "But you flatter me."

Politely she continued to smile and listen to his mindless blathering at the excitement of meeting her in person. What felt like a few short moments with Nate, felt like an eternity with the excited man. Eventually, it was time to change partners again, and suddenly it was Alistair taking her hand. Smiling for the sake of those around them, he quietly grumbled to her, "Are you kidding me with this?" Before she could reply, he added, "You dance with him?"

"You made me get up here," she snapped.

"You didn't have to…to…" Alistair's phony smile was hard to maintain as struggled for the right word.

"What? Comply with your request?" she bitterly supplied.

Clenching his jaw, Alistair remained silent while they continued to step along with the bell. As they stepped in the circle, Drea again saw Nate over Alistair's shoulder. He winked at her, but she was too tense offer anything in return. As they prepared to switch partners again, Alistair finally grumbled, "Look, Eamon said you needed to talk to me. After this I'll withdraw to my study for a bit. Just have him show you where that is so we can get this over with and you can be on your way."

Although he echoed her own anxious sentiments, it still hurt to have him be so desperate to get rid of her. As she moved back with her previous excited partner, it was hard to keep the cheerful expression on her face. Numbly she went through the motions as the man politely chatted with her. Finally, she was back with Nate as the dance drew to a close. "Are you alright?" he asked, the concern obvious on his face.

"Fine," she sighed, "Alistair will meet with me shortly."

"Good. Then you can get that over with and we can be on our way. And I can get back to trying to make you smile again," Nate finished with a mischievous grin, trying to lighten her suddenly dark mood.

Raising her eyebrow skeptically, she pursed her lips together, but had no witty reply for him. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't mind the idea of him trying to make her smile again. Turning her focus on the ending of the dance, she turned to bow to him when he suddenly grabbed her hands and quickly spun her towards him. Before she could react, he guided her from the spin to a dip, firmly supporting her. Loudly, she gasped in surprise and couldn't help the laugh that broke through her mood as she grasped at his arm. Looking up at him, she realized he was intensely staring down at her, and her laugh quickly silenced. For a moment, all the tension that Alistair brought melted away, but a new tension replaced it and she found she couldn't tear her gaze from his. Ready to blame the wine, she felt her heart flutter as he slowly stood her back on her feet. Once she was standing, he brought his hand up from her waist and gently stroked down her cheek in a moment that seemed to slow time.

Quietly she whispered, "The drink makes you bold, Nate…"

"Yes," he agreed. For a moment, his eyes traced over her lips and he froze in hesitation. Bringing his hand away from her face, he curled his fingers into a fist and dropped his arm. "But not bold enough I'm afraid," he finished in a regretful tone as he took a step back, and turned towards the table.

Blinking rapidly to break the sudden trance, Drea wanted to go after him, but Alistair was already making his way out of the room as politely as he could. With a deep sigh, she turned to find Eamon so he could direct her to the study, trying to push thoughts of Nate from her mind. Pushing thoughts from her mind was all she ever seemed to do…

It was not long before Drea found herself making her way into the study where Alistair was waiting. Before she even closed the door, he started in on her, "What were you trying to prove out there anyhow? Not only do you bring a Howe into my palace, but did you have to make such a scene with him too? It's an embarrassment."

"Excuse me? A Howe?" Drea asked, shocked at the first words out of his mouth. "Howe or not, Nate is a fellow Warden. That used to mean something to you."

"Oh, just a fellow Warden hey? That's not exactly the look your average pair of Wardens share," he retorted, stepping towards her as he spoke. After glaring for a moment he added, "I just can't believe that's what you'd choose over me."

Drea's eyes widened at his accusations as she sputtered, "Excuse me? We can't be together because we can't be together - it has nothing to do with anyone else! I…thought we were past this?"

"Oh yes, of course we are! We're past everything," his ire rose as he spoke. "I hope you and Howe have a happy life together with many fat, little tainted babies!"

His words were cut short as a resounding smack echoed in the room. He stared at Drea in shock as her hand still hung in the air after slapping him across the cheek. Furious, he grabbed her wrist and pinned it against her collar bone as he shoved her into the wall. "I could have you tried for treason!" he shouted at her.

"Good! Hang me then!" she shouted back. "Because I found Flemeth's staff in Amaranthine." It was a thought she had for a while, but actually saying the name out loud suddenly made her sick to her stomach.

Alistair looked as though she had smacked him again as he let her go and took a stunned step back. Giving his head a sharp shake, he replied, "But…we killed her."

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she tried to calm the blood loudly rushing through her temples. "I know. Look…I know I put you in a position you didn't want to be in, I broke your heart, and then I abandoned you. You have a lot of reasons to hate me and I'm not even going to ask you to stop. But Alistair, I have no one else to talk to."

With the pointless fight quickly forgotten, the mood in the room suddenly shifted to a new sort of tension. Tightly, Alistair pursed his lips together in thought. Finally he nodded and walked over to the table, gesturing for her to do the same. As he lowered himself into his chair, Alistair spoke, "Tell me everything."

A rush of relief washed through her with his words. She didn't even realize how burdened she had become until she was suddenly able to share. Keeping the rush of emotion in check as usual, she settled into the free chair across from Alistair and told him everything that happened since his visit to the Vigil. The story came rushing out in one large, muddled blur but she held nothing back. Having lived through the bizarre with her, he questioned nothing as she told him of the talking darkspawn, being captured, the Architect, the Mother, the runes, tome, and staff. Reaching up, Alistair rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to absorb everything she said. "Well," he started slowly, "I'm not even going to get into how upset it makes me that the Architect manage to capture you all just like the Orlesians. I mean…I can't even think on that too much."

Reaching over, Drea gave his hand a quick squeeze as she tried to make light of it, "You don't have to think on that. I'm fine - you know me, I survive impossible situations. It's part of my charm. It's actually the only part."

Faintly he smiled, but moved on quickly, "So these items you think are Flemeth's - they weren't together? Why would they be left in two places? What business would that person even have in the mines?"

Crossing her arms, she sat back in her chair, "I'm not sure they were left in two places. I think, whoever used these items, did it in the Broodmother's lair. That place seemed old…ancient…and not of dwarven make. It looked like some sort of shrine or temple and had a power of its own that even I could sense. But…there were spots near the entrance that looked like they had caved in and been cleared out. I personally wonder if whoever was in there lost the staff during a cave in…possibly even from whatever ritual they were doing."

"And the Architect would have taken it during one of their attacks on the Broodmother," Alistair finished, nodding approvingly.

"It would make sense. The Architect seemed to be very upfront with me and it didn't know how it came to possess conscious thought in the first place. I imagine it must be looking for answers about its origins."

"That is a pretty big gaping hole in this whole situation," he agreed. Almost hesitantly, he added, "So…after everything you've seen, do you have any ideas on that?"

Dropping her gaze down, Drea shifted uncomfortable in her chair. Subconsciously, her hands began to fidget as she replied in a quieter voice, "I do. Alistair…I think it was Flemeth."

Alistair's face twisted in confusion, "Why would she want to give free thought to a darkspawn?"

Awkwardly sitting up in her chair again, she nervously tapped her fingers on the table as she replied, "To start the Blight."

Shaking his head, Alistair argued, "I'm sorry, but that doesn't make sense. She sent Morrigan with us to stop the Blight so it didn't destroy everything, including them and their home. If she had started it, why would she put her only daughter and future…body…in harms way to end it?"

"I know…but…when I put the pieces together, it's all I come up with. Look…we're still both alive because of Morrigan's ritual," She paused for a moment as Alistair immediately broke eye contact. Going along with Morrigan's request was not a proud moment for either of them. Lowering her voice, she forced herself to continue, "Instead of the archdemon's spirit killing one of us upon its death, Morrigan drew the spirit into her unborn child. She offered this alternative to our certain death as a gesture of friendship, and promised to deal with the burden of the child herself. I still want to believe it was out of friendship…but at one point she did say that she realized it was what Flemeth intended for her all along."

Surprised, Alistair snapped his attention back to Drea, but she continued before he could cut her off, "But being that she was dead, I didn't think that mattered! Now though…now it makes sense. The Architect was the one to start the Blight, right? It passed on the ability for conscious thought to its kin by severing their mental connections to the archdemon and thought if it could sever the connection at the source, it could save all the darkspawn at once. But this wasn't a success and just woke the archdemon, ushering in the Blight. If Morrigan was right and Flemeth wanted her to capture the spirit of an old god, it would be too much of a risk to wait and see if a Blight might happen by chance. Knowing what we've come to know about her…I believe she could have found a way to give the Architect free thought and even plant the plan of going to the archdemon without it ever realizing that wasn't its own idea."

Sitting back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest. Not wanting to directly talk about their shame of following through with the ritual, he frowned, "It does sound rational. Sickening…but rational. But that doesn't explain why she wanted Morrigan with the spirit of an old god, what was happening in that shrine, or how her things ended up in Amaranthine after she died."

"I know," she sighed. "That's why I'm going to the Wilds - there might be answers. Best case scenario, I'm hoping to find a decayed body and signs of a looted hut…"

Alistair remained quiet for a long moment, contemplating everything she laid out to him. If the wine had left him with a buzz at all, her conversation had completely sobered him. With a hard expression on his face, he spoke firmly, "I am coming with you."

"No," she quickly blurted. "You can't."

"Whatever is happening here, I had a hand in it - you can't deny that. I am obligated," he shot back, with the irritation from her refusal clear on his face.

"You are part of this, which is why you can't come," she stressed. "If the story of your involvement with Morrigan's baby gets out, Ferelden will be torn apart. Not to mention the fine line you walk being a Grey Warden and the King. We can't ever let it look like the order is influencing you or you may risk rebellion considering the problem that's caused in this country before. I know times are different, but how suspicious will it look if you start traveling with us after just getting back to Denerim?"

Frustrated, he let out an exasperated sigh when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Without trying to open it, Eamon called through the door, "I beg your pardon your Highness, but people are starting to ask about your absence."

Squeezing his eyes shut in exhaustion, Alistair answered, "Thank you Eamon, I'll return shortly."

Before Alistair could say anything else, Drea quietly pushed, "You may think you're doing nothing, but just letting me get this out…I can't even tell you. I've got no one else I can talk to and I'm starting to lose my mind over it. These far-fetched theories keep circling my brain and after I while, I can't tell what's plausible and what's insane. Between that and how well you've restocked the cache, you've done more for us than I could have hoped." For the first time in a while, she offered him a sincere smile as she stood up.

Standing up with her, they awkwardly faced each other, wondering what was appropriate to do now. At a loss for what to say, Alistair moved over to her and drew her into a quick hug. As they stepped back, they squeezed one another's hand as Drea started moving towards the door. "Oh," Drea stopped and turned back to Alistair, realizing she almost forgot something, "And…it was a bit much, but I do appreciate that you sent a bodyguard to the Vigil."

His eyebrows furrowed as he replied, "What bodyguard?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Drea smiled, "Don't worry, Ashlyn didn't break her promise - she never actually admitted it was you that sent her. It was just obvious…"

"No, Dre," he cut her off, taking a step closer, "I mean it, what bodyguard?" Drea's eyes widened slightly at the sudden concern in his voice. Seeing the subtle panic on her face, Alistair exclaimed, "Who did you leave at your Vigil unattended?"

Covering her mouth with her hand, Drea felt her heart drop, "I have to go back," she whispered.

Closing the gap, Alistair grabbed her arms, "No, Dre you have to go to the Wilds." His eyes darted to the side as he quickly thought of a plan, "I'll send some of my guards up to the Vigil and they'll hold this woman in one of your cells until you return. I'll send them right now…Wait here, I'll go get Eamon."

Drea's mind scrambled through her most recent set of mistakes as Alistair stepped past her and left the room.