"You're not from Haven, are you?" the store proprietor asked Eriana.

Why did everyone feel the need to point that out; of course I'm not from Haven. From what she had seen, there weren't many people from Haven at all. This village was unlike anything Eriana had ever experienced before. Ever since she and Zevran discovered the bloody alter, she couldn't shake an uneasy feeling that was growing in the pit of her stomach. They were being watched; she knew it. There seemed to be shadows stalking their every move, unseen eyes scrutinizing every action. Even Zevran seemed to be uneasy, constantly scanning the crevices and corners that bordered the village square.

"No, we were passing through and needed to restock our supplies, and we had an old map showed this village," she said, smiling up at the nervous shop keeper, trying hard to be as discrete as possible. Alistair and Sten stayed standing behind her as Zevran began to wonder around the store. Eriana started talking to the shopkeeper about their supply needs and what they had to sell, trying to draw his attention away from Zevran as he moved about, scoping out the store. Despite her best efforts to engage the proprietor, his eyes kept flitting nervously to the assassin as he moved around the store; yep, this guy was definitely hiding something.

"Hey! You can't go back there," he shouted at Zevran as the elf moved toward the back room of the store. Zevran raised an eyebrow, but didn't withdraw from the door.

"Why?" asked Eriana, "Do you have something that you're trying to hide?"

The nervous man glanced back and forth between the two elves refusing to say anything. Suddenly, the man reached down and drew a dagger from beneath the counter and lunged across it, straight at Eriana. Seconds passed slowly for Eriana as she tried, unsuccessfully to move out of the man's grasp, but just before he slammed into her, she saw a flash of silver fly across the room. The store keeper slammed into her and they both tumbled to the floor, hot, red blood covering the elf. Quickly, she pushed the man off her and rolled across the floor; only then did she notice one of Zevran's daggers lodged in the man's temple. She glanced over at Zevran who merely shrugged and disappeared into the back room.

"I guess he's hiding something," said Alistair as he pulled her to her feet, wiping the blood off her face.

"This whole town is hiding something. We're close, I can feel it," Eriana said as she retrieved Zevran's dagger.

"I think I've found what this one was hiding," Zevran shouted from the back room.

As soon as she entered the room, the strong smell of death and decay hit her. Covering her nose and mouth, she walked up behind Zevran and looked down at the decomposing human remains. "Just when I think things couldn't get worse."

"That is the seal of Redcliff," Alistair said, aghast. "This was one of Eamon's knights; I would bet anything that Genitivi is here somewhere."

Eriana couldn't stand the smell of the decaying body any longer, so she made her way back to the front of the store, trying to make sense of everything. The store owner had tried to kill her, and they had already killed some of Eamon's knights as well as Genitivi's assistant. She was sure the urn was close, but why were these people trying so desperately to hide it? As she was pacing the length of the store, some movement outside caught her attention. "Um, guys, you may want to get out here; it looks like we have some company."

By the time the group fought their way through a mob of angry villagers in the streets and in the Chantry, Eriana was completely exhausted. She should have been happy that they had found Brother Genitivi, but she was simply too tired to care and was pretty sure that she had torn out every stitch that was holding her shoulder wound together. "Let's just stay in the Chantry tonight," she said, looking up at the late-afternoon sky that was beginning to fill with ominous clouds, "we'll continue up to the temple tomorrow."

The men quickly cleared out the room with Eriana went out to fetch Leliana and Morrigan, filling them in on what they had discovered. As Leliana and Morrigan started preparing dinner, Fereldan rabbit stew again, and everyone else began setting up a makeshift camp in the Chantry, Alistair pulled Eriana gently into a corner.

Taking her in his arms, he looked down at her, "I am so sorry about the way I've been treating you; I feel like an absolute jerk. I should have been more supportive of you. I just didn't know how to react to everything that happened in Redcliff, and I handled it..badly." (You can say that again, Eriana thought). Alistair continued, "Part of me knew I was being childish, but when you came back from Denerim, laughing with Zevran, I don't know, something in me snapped, and I wanted you to hurt, to feel as badly as I did. Then I did something I swore I'd never do; I hurt you, purposefully even. I have felt awful ever since then, but I wasn't sure how to apologize or if you even wanted me to."

Eriana looked down, unable to hold Alistair's gaze any longer. "I was being childish," he continued, tucking a hair behind her ear, "and foolish. Here was the woman I cared about, and I was pushing her away because of my own stupid pride."

"What changed things, then," she asked without looking up at him, so he lifted her chin gently so he could look in her eyes.

"What changed is that I realized I could lose you. When Sten attacked you today, I was so afraid that he would kill you. Seeing him coming at you with that sword woke me up in a way; it made me realize just how much I had come to care for you, just how much I stood to lose if anything happened to you."

"Alistair, I," she stopped for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. She sighed, "I already told you that I forgave you, but that doesn't exactly heal the hurt. I needed you, and you weren't there for me. In fact, if it was even possible, you made me feel worse. I know you're sorry, but hurt like that doesn't just go away just because you say you're sorry."

"I know, and I intend to do anything within my power to make it up to you." He kissed her gently on the forehead and pulled her close, "And I promise you this, I will never, never hurt you like this again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Alistair. You don't know what our future holds," she whispered, turning her head away.

"Well, if I have any say in it, I plan on my future holding you. I know that this is a bit soon, but I've come to care for you, Eriana. I've cared for you from the first moment I met you. I just hope that it's possible that you care for me too; perhaps it's just foolish of me to hope for that, after all this. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but is it possible that you may come to feel the same way about me?"

Eriana closed her eyes for a moment as a rush of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. She knew he had feelings for her, but to hear him profess them was something completely different. "Say no, save yourself the heartache, the pain, the confusion," her head shouted while her heart was screaming, "you love him, you want to be with him, say yes!" She was about to follow her head when she looked into his honey-colored eyes. "I already do," she heard herself say.

"That's all I need to hear," and before she realized what was happening, his lips were on hers and her heart was in her throat. She felt his hands move up her back, as her hands found their way into his hair. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of him, metal and sweat, and felt his breath catch as she broke the kiss and looked up at him. He sighed as he brushed her hair back over her ear, the contact sending a shiver down her spine. "Maker's breath, you're beautiful. I'm a lucky man. Now, we need to decide where you're sleeping tonight."

Eriana jerked back, looking up at him, a shocked expression crossing her face. "Are you suggesting…"

Alistair laughed, "No, no, no, of course not; it's just, well you kind of gave Brother Genitivi your bedroll for the night. I was wondering if you considered where you would sleep."

"Oh, dang it, I didn't even think about that."

"Don't worry; I'll run down to that store to see if I can find you anything. I can't have you freezing to death now that you're finally talking to me again," he said kissing her gently on the top of the head before heading toward the front of the Chantry.

Eriana glanced back at her companions. Leliana was absolutely glowing with excitement over the reunion with Alistair, but Zevran's expression was stoic, his face almost as unreadable as Sten's. She gave them an embarrassed smile and was beginning to walk toward them when she heard Alistair shout out in pain just outside the Chantry. Assuming the worst, she ran for the doors, grabbing her daggers as she passed her pack; Zevran and Leliana followed, both arming themselves as they ran. The sun had just set, and snow was falling heavily around them as they stepped out into the cold, carefully scanning the area in front of the Chantry. "Alistair?" Eriana tentatively spoke into the whitening twilight. She was met with a moan of pain from the bottom of the steps. She started toward him only to have him shout at her.

"No, stop, be careful."

Eriana glanced around, anxiously, seeing nothing, she asked, "What is it, who did this?"

"No one," Alistair said, in obvious pain, "There's ice on the steps."

Eriana relaxed, "Maker's breath, Alistair, I thought someone had attacked you," Eriana said as the other rogues behind her relaxed as well. She was almost next to him before she noticed that his leg was bent, but not at the knee. "Um, Leliana, do you think you could get Morrigan and Sten out here? He's broken his leg pretty badly."

They managed to splint the leg and helped Alistair back into the Chantry so that Morrigan could look at the break. "Even with healing magic, tis unlikely that it will be healed for a few days," Morrigan told her. "He will need to remain here for at least two days to allow it to heal properly."

Eriana nodded, twisting the ring on her left hand as she considered their options. They didn't have two days to wait; Eamon could already be dead. They needed to get to the urn as soon as possible. She would need to leave someone with Alistair; he would be defenseless if she didn't, but who? With Alistair down, she would need Sten's sword if they encountered hostiles (and who was she kidding, they always encountered hostiles). Morrigan's healing and spells were also a must, so that left Leliana and Zevran. Though she trusted Zevran not to kill her, she wasn't sure if his vow applied to Alistair as well. That left Leliana. Of all the people in the group, Leliana was the most excited about seeing Andraste's ashes, but she was the only one that Eriana could leave with Alistair. Eriana sighed. She'd tell her in the morning; the day had been too long as it was already.

Kneeling beside Alistair's bedroll, she explained her plan to him. He wasn't exactly pleased with the fact that she was leaving with Sten and Zevran. "You do realize that you are now going out with two people who tried to kill you in the last month, right? Not that I'm questioning you, I won't make that mistake again, but are you sure there's no other option?"

"It's Zevran or Leliana, and I think he would drive you crazy if it was just the two of you," she explained, gently. "I'll be okay, Alistair, I promise."

He didn't look reassured, but he relented. "I never did make it down to the shop to get you something to sleep on, so why won't you just stay here, with me?"

"Alistair, I don't think that's a good idea."

"No, it's not like that; I mean Morrigan gave me this pain-killing potion that will knock me out. I just, I'd feel better if you were near me right now, and you need a warm place to sleep. Please?"

Oh, this was a bad idea, Eriana was sure of it. They were just starting to work things out between the two of them and moving too fast would just complicate things for both of them, and she was still trying to work past the fact that Alistair was a human. She truly did want things to work with him, but this made her nervous. Alistair was a good man, even if he was slightly immature, and she knew that he would never take advantage of her. She would be safe with him, physically at least. He just looked so pitiful, lying there in pain, looking at her with pleading eyes, so she relented and fell asleep, her head on his chest.

The next day was another long one for Eriana. True, none of her companions tried to kill her that day, but cultists, mages, and baby dragons sure did. The strange behavior of the town's people finally started to make sense to her; they were, as they called themselves, Disciples of Andraste who were worshiping and protecting her risen form. It wasn't until after they killed her leader that Eriana realized what the risen Andraste was. "A dragon, they're worshiping a dragon?" Eriana said as they walked out of the tunnels.

"We aren't actually planning on fighting that thing, are we?" asked Zevran as the huge dragon flew over their heads. "Perhaps we could just sneak past it."

Eriana watched the dragon fly through the evening sky. "We have about three hours till sunset; let's rest here and sneak past it once it gets dark, maybe it won't see us." Everyone nodded and moved back into the cave's entrance, settling down to wait for the sun to set. Eriana made her way over to Zevran who had been unusually quiet for most of the day; he smiled up at her with his sly, confident grin was she sat down.

"So, my Warden, once we have revived the Arl, what is our next course of action?"

"We recruit our allies. The Grey Wardens have standing alliances with Orzammar, the Circle of Mages, and the Dalish Elves, so we need to visit each of them and secure their assistance against the Blight. I'm not too thrilled about going to Orzammar; there's something about being that far underground that makes me very uneasy, but I'm very excited about seeing the Dalish."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"When I was growing up, I always imagined running away from Denerim and joining the Dalish; my cousins and I talked about it all the time when we were little after listening to stories about them. It seemed so nice, living away from the city, away from humans. There were several times after my mother died that I would have left to find them, but it would have killed my father. I was always fascinated with them but have never had the opportunity to meet any Dalish."

"Yes you have, in a way," Zevran said, looking over at her. "My mother was Dalish, so I was told. She fell in love with an elven woodcutter and moved with him into the city where he promptly died. She was forced into prostitution to pay off his debt."

"Zev, that's horrible."

"Is it; it was a common enough tale among the other boys in the whore house. I never knew my mother either; she died giving birth to me, my first victim as it were," he said sadly. "Were were raised communality by the whores, a happy enough existence, except for the occasional beating and then I was sold to the Crows. I brought a good price, so I hear."

Eriana reached over and took Zevran's hand, "I'm so sorry Zevran."

He smiled, putting his hand over hers, "Don't be, my life could have been much worse, as you well know. Your life hasn't been idyllic, no? People like you and I are not the product of happy lives of contentment. Anyway," he continued, lightly stroking her hand, "my mother's Dalish heritage was always a point of fascination for me, much like the Dalish fascinated you, I assume. Through my Crow training, I possessed only one thing that was my mother's, a pair of leather gloves, Dalish make. They were beautiful. I had to keep them hidden; such items were considered sentimental, not something encouraged by the Crows. They were eventually discovered and subsequently destroyed."

Orphaned at birth, raised in a whorehouse, sold into slavery, she had no idea his life had been so wrought with suffering. "Have you known no joy in your life Zevran?" Eriana asked, looking up at him.

"Oh, I have known great joys in my life; I take my joys and pleasures where I can find them. I have expected nothing less of life."

Eriana shook her head, "That's not quite what I was talking about Zev. Pleasure, yes, you've known great pleasures in life, but I don't think that's quite the same. When I think of joy, I think of moments that make you feel perfectly contented, moments that you can return to in your memory and they make you feel whole inside. You've told me so much about your life, but you never seem really happy about. It seems like you've been through so much and most of it, you've endured alone. I would be so bitter if I had suffered half as much as you have."

Zevran was silent for a moment before he looked back at Eriana, "Yes, I have endured much, but if being an assassin has taught me anything it is this. Life can be short and dwelling on the past whether it be happy or sad only takes away from the time at hand. It is best to find your joy in the moment and live your life in the present. You cannot change the past, nor can you regain something already lost. Better to take stock in the pleasures here and now, no?"

"You can really do that, just shut out the past like it never happened?"

"Not completely. I learn from my experiences; I just don't let them affect my happiness now like you do." Eriana glanced up at him. "I can see it in you; you allow so much to weigh on you. It is too much baggage for one with so many present worries. You take too much on you, and one day, you will find it is too much unless you learn to leave some of it behind."

Perhaps he was right; it all made sense to her in a way. Her past had already hindered her relationship with Alistair; it put her in danger when she lashed out at Daveth. Could she truly be happy now, in the present? She patted Zevran on the arm, "Don't worry about me, Zev. I'll figure out some way to carry it all. Come on, I think it's dark enough for us to get past that dragon now."