"So of course she screams like she's seen the archdemon and starts scrambling for her clothes while I just grin at the Templar and ask if he'd like to join us," Anders is regaling the dining hall when Lynx finally joins the group, "The entire time I'm standing there in all my glory, not a care in the world, while his eyes are bugging out of his head. When finally he got the stones to take a gander downward, I gave him a wink and informed him that I didn't need magic to enlarge my assets, unlike some other mages I knew."

Jade laughs at the human in between alternating bites of chicken and cornbread slathered with sweet butter, "Let me guess, the Templar turned ten shades of red then ran like his arse was on fire?"

The blond mage points a finger at the elf and winks, "You got it. Luck was with me though, and it only took a few months for me to get my hands on him. Hands, lips...damn, I actually miss him sometimes."

"Because he was such a good boy?" Lynx impishly queries after taking a seat beside her nephew and refilling her mug of tea.

"Hell no, he was so virginal that he nearly fainted the first time I grabbed his cock, which was gorgeous by the way. Actually did faint though when he opened his eyes long enough to see me on my knees in that broom closet, my nose buried in his short and curlies," Anders chortles at the memory, then shakes his head, "No, I miss him because any night he'd stay with me, he would bring me breakfast the next morning, even if I was on lockdown for one infraction or another. He was a Templar who learned to think for himself, under my tutelage, so it's truly a pity that he died when Uldred pulled his shit."

"Hmmm, I guess I'd miss somebody too, if they brought me breakfast every morning," Jade states in a wistful tone, then mischievously grins, "But there is no way I'd tie myself down just for the sake of a good meal every now and then, even if the sex was spectacular."

"Yeh don't stay fer the food boy," Oghren belches as he stumbles over and pours his bulk onto a bench, "Yeh choke down the grub they make and pray to yer ancestors that they let you make the two backed nug on account of bein' such a good boy an' cleanin' yer plate."

"My furry friend, it is truly a wonder that your marriages have been so rocky, with that kind of logic being implemented," Zevran exchanges a sly smirk with his wife before confessing the bad news, "The guards have spotted Anora's entourage on the horizon, they shall be here by nightfall if no unforeseen circumstances arise."

The elder Warden runs a tattooed hand over her face, then rises from the table, "Her servants will have to make due with one of the less damaged cottages tonight. Anora too, if the mess inside here is too much for her delicate sensibilities. Someone go tell that Captain erm, Garble, Gavel-"

"Garevel?" Mhairi offers hopefully, her cheeks staining pink.

"Yeah, that one," Lynx bobs her head, "Garevel is going to have to inform the guard that they will be running on double shifts until her Royal Pain in the Ass is safely out of our hair. And makes sure that he is forwarding the payroll to the Arl, since we're technically doing his job for him. We're not a charity and can barely feed ourselves as things stand."

"I'll get right on it Ser," the woman leaps from her chair and lopes off in search of the Captain of the Guard.

"You are a shrewd woman Commander," Nathaniel sounds almost prideful in his assessment.

"Stop kissing this Commander's ass, it will get you nowhere you will enjoy," the woman in question calls out as he slips into the armory.

"Lieutenant Commander," Zevran corrects absently, causing his wife to swivel on her bare heel and gape at him.

"What the hell did you just say? When did this shit happen and why in the fuck did no one bother to tell me?"

Her assassin serenely waits for her rant to lose its steam before tugging an envelope from his vest and hands it to her, "Because Alistair was well aware that you would react somewhat unfavorably at the idea of a promotion dea. At my request, he left it to me as to when you would be informed. With the impending arrival of Anora though, it became pertinent information."

"Fuck...well maybe Ser Moneybags can dole out a few coin then, at least enough to make those repairs that Voldrik told us we needed to get finished as soon as possible," Lynx resists the urge to beat her head off of one of the pillars they pass as she finishes reading the letter, "My first fucking day back on the job and I'm already starting to miss being tortured by the Crows."

Zevran hastily steps up to hand out marching orders to the others, then snakes his arms around her once they are free from prying eyes, "We could send word to Alistair that this issue needs his personal intervention, then-if you so wished- we could conveniently disappear once he arrives."

"I'm not falling for that spiel twice in this lifetime marito," she scoffs as she buries her face in the curve of his neck, "Besides, Jade would no doubt follow us anywhere we would choose to go-if only to enforce my promise to teach him-so I don't think we would have much peace."

The elf's chest rumbles with a quiet chuckle, "True la mia anima. Just try to remember that this Warden business will not trouble us forever if we do not wish it. We helped to end the blight and destroyed an archdemon, so any other feats we accomplish will be by our whim alone. We have given them enough of our time, our blood, and our lives to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty warrior."

"The duty that cannot be foresworn," the mage morosely utters a single phrase of the oath taken by every Greycloak during their Joining, "No matter how far we run il mio amore, it will find us. I learned this a long time ago. Running away just makes it bite you on the ass that much harder when it finally catches up."

"I know that you do not wish to speak of such things, since it causes so much pain, but I need you to tell me the truth now Aurora," with a gentle touch, he traces the black lines adorning the left side of her neck. Lines that perfectly match the ink gracing his own features, "Does this fatalistic attitude have anything to do with how the Crows found us?"

"Of course it has something to do with it Zevran," she chokes out with no small amount of pain as her eyes well up and overflow, "Those bastards laughed as they tore apart the-the body of our daughter while I laid there, still bleeding from her birth! It's my fault she didn't survive, that I was not strong enough to save her and protect her. Perhaps it was my punishment for trying to make a life outside of the Wardens...but it is their fault that we had no time to mourn her. I won't take the blame for that one. I didn't just burn Antiva for you, I made that fucking city her funeral pyre. The point is, they committed an atrocity simply because of who we are. We can never run far enough to escape it..."

He tenderly presses a kiss to her forehead, "It was not your fault Aurora. Braska, you could not have predicted that bambino tripping and knocking you down those stairs any more than you could tell me what a tree thinks. It was not your fault Lómhara was born too soon to survive, so never think it again. I forbid it."

"I've lost both a son and a daughter now Zev, what else am I supposed to believe?" she whimpers, fresh drops cascading down her face, "I don't give life, I take it. Even from my own children. It seems to me that I can only ever get two things right. Death and destruction."

"You know that is not true," her husband argues as she shrinks out of his embrace and turns her back to him, "Look at us, we are still right, still together in spite of archdemons, Templars, Crows, and even the damned Grey Wardens. Aurora, you do a great deal more than spread death and destruction."

She swipes at her wet face in annoyance and half turns to gaze at him, "Like what? Tell me one thing that I haven't fucked up yet."

He reaches out and takes her hand, "You spared my life when you could have, should have taken it. Then you gave me a new one that was filled with purpose. You gave me your heart, even when we were both terrified of the repercussions. You allowed me to choose my own fate rather than wrenching the decision from my hands. You gave me a family among the Chaisnd, and another within the Grey Wardens. And most of all, you gave me Lómhara, my beautiful daughter. I may not be able to hold her, but she will always be my child. Our child. No one can take that from either of us."

"Zev, I-"

"Auntie Lynx, the queenly type person will be here within the hour," Jade interrupts, throwing the door wide as he saunters into the room, "I swear to the gods, these barbarians have the worst sense of distance. And direction. And taste. And fa-"

The woman smacks him upside the back of his head, "I get it, stop rambling. Zevran, think we should..."

"Go out to greet her? I believe that is the proper procedure dea," he acquiesces with a bob of the head, his tone forcefully calm as he grabs her cloak and tosses it to her, "This way both of you will immediately know where you stand in regards to what has recently transpired."

"Annoying fucking nobles," the hedge mage grumbles, happy to redirect her tumultuous emotions towards something tangible, then throws her threadbare cloak over her shoulders before trudging out to meet the flighty monarch.

Translation-

marito-husband

la mia anima-my soul

il mio amore-my love

Lómhara—gaelic for precious pronounced loam (low+m) harah (like sarah)