A rather odd, surreal chapter here. Obviously, going straight from what happened after the previous chapter. Hopefully, you guys will like it; oh and yes, a secret is revealed ;)

This was difficult to write - actually more difficult than the last chapter, which kind of surprised me. I can't count how many times I scrapped parts of this, out of unhappiness of how everything worked out. Still, here's the final version - for now.


THE SHOW MUST GO ON

0:6

"Hello world; hope you're listening.
Forgive me if I`m young, for speaking out of turn.
There`s someone I`ve been missing, I think that they could be;
the better half of me."

Everything was white, with no beginning or no end in sight.

Elissa was lying on what appeared to be the ground, although, you wouldn't really know with the surrounding. She awoke, blinking. A sense of confusion crossed over her; where was she, and more importantly; why was she there? She tried to remember something, anything of her past – but, nothing could come to mind. Her mind was as blank as the surroundings she was currently in, and Elissa didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

She decided to remain sitting on what appeared to be the closest thing to the ground, pondering her situation. It wasn't that she couldn't recall any events to her mind, just that they were a rush of colour in her mind, blending together to make – well, a mess in all honesty. But maker, Elissa couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her to bring her into such a bizarre place. Also, to add to the question – in the odd situation she was currently facing, why was it that she felt completely calm and – relaxed? Her brow furrowed, and once again, Elissa was put into deep concentration.

"Oh my dear child, why do you have such concentration written on your face?" Came a voice from behind Elissa, one that she knew all too well.

Slowly, she turned around, and came face to face with a person looking down at her, smiling. Elissa stood up slowly, disbelieve flowing through her body – for what reason she did not know. She looked at the persons face, and finally felt words that needed to be spoken.

"M-Mother?"

The woman nodded, and held her arms open to Elissa. Elissa ran into the embrace, and clung tightly. A tear fell from her eyes, and Elissa couldn't understand why she was crying. To her, it was like she hadn't felt her own mother's embrace for the longest time. And then it came to her. She hadn't. She suddenly remembered how Arl Howe had betrayed her family, how she had been left alone with the task of finding her brother and praying he was alive, but having to push aside that duty when becoming a Grey Warden. At that thought, she clung closer to her mother, the tears flowing down her face even more.

"Shush my dear; there is no need to cry."

Elissa's mother pulled her close to her, shushing her as if she were a small child once again, stroking her hair to calm her down also. Elissa pulled away from her, looking up into the face of her mother. A dozen questions we're racing through her mind, and she didn't know which one to settle to ask for first.

"But how? Where's father? What happened? Where are we?"

"I'm here too, pup."

Elissa looked in the direction of where the voice had come from. She saw her father appear from – well no where to be exact, but he was carrying something in his arms with him. Elissa suddenly felt curious, she wanted to hug her father, just as she had just done with her mother, but that was obviously going to prove difficult with whatever it was he was carrying. And – what even could it be? There was nothing in this – space, nothing at all.

"Father!" She stepped forward slightly, wanting nothing more than to run to him. "Father, whats going on here? What are you holding? What is any of this??"

Confusion was only a fraction of what Elissa was thinking about right now. Sure, she got her memories back, or at least up till the when Duncan had saved her planning to recruit her as a Grey Warden, but that was about it. There was still so much she didn't know. She was – happy to find her parents standing in front of her, maker she was ecstatic about that one thing, especially when she was convinced she'd never get the opportunity to talk to them again. But, everything was all too strange to her.

Elissa didn't see the exchange in glances that her parents shared; she was too engulfed in her own thoughts to notice it. But she did hear their hushed conversation, and that only managed to spark more curiosity for her.

"Do you really think we should tell her darling? Goodness knows what it could do to her."

"My love, we both know she will not be here long, for it is not her time yet. She deserves to know. I'm sure that knowing this would make her feel slightly better about the situation, then if she was just left to wonder all her life."

"I suppose your right. I just worry that this may be too soon for her".

"She's going to know sooner or later, she should know now."

"Know what?" Elissa frowned. "Forgive me, I am more than happy –no- I have no words to describe how happy I am to see the both of all, especially after what I had feared, that I would never get to see you again, but I don't like that you are hiding something from me. If there is something I should know, you – you should tell me. I'd prefer that than having more confusion thrust upon me."

The parents exchanged glances once again, and Elissa's father nodded. Elissa looked down in his arms, and noticed that whatever her father was holding, it was wrapped up in a blanket. His hand came over the object, and he went to pull the cloth away, revealing something that made Elissa gasp.

There, bundled up in the blanket, was a small baby. She could tell it was living because its chest was rising and falling. Elissa looked amazed; the babe looked so beautiful and perfect to her. She wanted to reach out and stroke its head, but part of her was telling her not to, as if something would happen. A small nagging feeling played at the back of her mind, as if to tell her that there was more she needed to know, that she only needed to remember it. Elissa reluctantly broke her stare at the child for a moment, to look at her father. She noticed that her father's face was holding a smile, but behind it there was a kind of sadness there.

"We wanted you to see her, at least one time. You deserve it, considering everything..."

Elissa frowned again, looking back at the child. It seemed oddly familiar, as if she had known about it before. Her mind was beginning to burn again as it had done when she tried to remember everything at once. For some reason the babe was able to cast some kind of spell on her, or so it appeared that way as she couldn't take her eyes off of it. And her father had said it was a girl, a beautiful baby girl...

"We'll look after her; we'll take such good care over her. So that one day, whenever you return – although we pray that may not be for the longest time yet – but when you do return, you can hold her yourself, and see what a beautiful girl she'll be."

Another tear slid down Elissa's face at her mother's words. She didn't understand why her mother was talking the way she was. It wasn't as if the child was hers after all. But then it hit her again, as quickly as the first memory had when she was held in her mother's embrace. This time however, all her remaining memories came back. Elissa stepped backwards, and looked at the babe once again, shock flowing through her.

Her mother was talking as if the child was Elissa's, because it was Elissa's.

The child she could never have in her lifetime, because she had to make a choice.

The child that – had everything had happened in a perfect fairytale setting, would have become a miracle to her.

The child that the world would never know even existed, because it never had a chance to live.

"M-My daughter..." She whispered between the tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"Yes my dear, she is yours. And she always will be, even if you can't be there for her."

Elissa frowned, not understanding what her mother had said there.

"What?! Wait – why can't I be there for her?? I'm her mother, surely that means I should be there for her??"

Elissa's mother just shook her head in sadness.

"No, my dear child. Of course, you should be there for her – but I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, she isn't meant to live in your world. She died, the moment you defeated the archdemon. You on the other hand, you have a whole other chance at life. You need to live it, make the most of it, it's what you deserve."

Elissa shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"That's not fair! I want to be there for her, to hold her, to look after her. It's hardly fair I get to live when my own daughter dies!"

"Do not act so selfish Elissa. You have been given another chance, take it. We know you will never forget her, but at least remember that we will look after her here."

"But – I want to be a mother to her."

"Elissa your mother is right. We know how badly you yearn to be with your child, but I'm afraid it's just not meant to be. She will always be with you though, in your heart, along with the rest of us. That much, we can promise."

Elissa sniffed, tears falling rapidly down her face. She knew that she would die as soon as she destroyed the archdemon, but she had hoped that there would have been some way to save her child. A mute hope perhaps, as it would require much more than a miracle to happen, but Elissa had hoped it would happen. A voice came from behind her, yet another one she recognised all too well.

"Elissa, you have much more left to do. Do not forget the promise you made to someone else."

Elissa turned around, her face struck with tears. In front of her stood the very man who had recruited her into the Grey Warden's, the very person who had inevitably taken her down a path on which her life would change forever. The Grey Warden smiled slightly, sadly, just like her parents had just before.

"There is – an idiot waiting for you to return to him. Elissa, you are not the only one suffering right now. Think of Alistair, he misses you, and needs you. More than you can imagine."

Elissa's eyes went wide then. Of course, she thought. How stupid could she have been? Alistair was suffering more than she was. He properly knew by now about their lost daughter, and was grieving for her, alone. Not to mention about how he was already distraught at what would have happened to his betrothed aswell. Elissa had left him in the dark about so many things, hoping to protect him; yet right now she was the one who was hurting him the most. Because she wasn't able to support him in the way that she should have. In a way, Elissa couldn't help but feel that she had failed him, in so many ways.

"Elissa, Alistair seems to be a lovely man. I'm very glad you've found happiness with him; which is why you have to return."

Elissa turned to her parents, and then back at Duncan. They were right, as much as she wanted to be with her child, she couldn't ignore the desire to see Alistair again. To just be with him without worry, to stay with him till the end of their days together. She owed him a lot, and – although she never admitted it, Elissa needed Alistair just as much as he did her.

"You know, I still cannot believe it. The first time you two met at camp, I had a feeling you would be good friends with one another. However, I couldn't have foreseen the two of you having such a powerful bond, that you two would actually find love. It makes me glad to know that with you, Alistair will always been taken care of."

Elissa looked back at Duncan, and smiled. Of course he would want happiness for Alistair, for the both of them. The man was a father figure for Alistair, something he had lacked all his life before he was recruited. Both Duncan and Elissa knew that Alistair was the type of man to not fall in love easily, but once he eventually did - he would love eternally. And Elissa had always felt priviledged to know that, to be the one who had recieved that love.

"Return to him, pup. You have our blessings, and we pray you live happily together, and provide a great many more grandchildren for us."

Elissa laughed slightly at that. It was unusual to hear such a thing from her father, especially when it was her mother who had been the one to try and encourage her to settle down. Her father on the otherhand, would be the one to not want his only daughter to settle down and grow up into a woman, but to remain his 'little girl' forever. For her father to acknowledge and accept Alistair – that was something to celebrate in itself.

"We are so proud of you love, now go have a fairy tale ending with your Prince."

Elissa felt fresh tears spring in her eyes, a mixture of happiness and sadness at the same time. She looked at all three of the people again and then back at her daughter cradled in her father's arms. Elissa wanted to make sure to imprint the image of her daughter onto her mind, so that she may never forget what she looked like; a serene angel.

"You'll look after her? Just as you promised?" Came her whispered reply after a short period of silence.

Elissa's mother only laughed, and nodded.

"Of course we will darling; we would have no greater honour."

Elissa halted for a second, and then nodded, as if content with her final decision.

"Then I trust her unto you. I will miss you two, so much." She turned to Duncan. "And Alistair misses you too, Duncan. Is there any message you would like me to relay back to him?"

The girl smiled to herself. As if Alistair would believe any of this even if she did tell him. Well, he might – considering it had come from herself and not Leliana, but that wasn't the point. Duncan however merely laughed at her question.

"Just tell him to stop blaming himself for what happened at Ostagar; that should be enough."

Elissa nodded again, and turned back to her parents. She waved, but knew that she was not saying goodbye. She would see them all again, someday when her time was truly up in the world.

And at that, the pure, white world around her, faded to black.

And, that's where chapter 6 ends. (What a nightmare that was to write ...)

Next chapter, we'll see another reunion, one I'm sure you readers will love :) The story is so very near to wrapping up to a close D: (well, this was only meant to be a 4 chapter fic, and we're already on chapter 6...)

Review if you liked this chapter, and stay tuned for chapter 7.