"Adaia, tell me a story, one with dragons," pleaded the little blonde elven girl snuggled in Eriana's arms. The child looked up at her, excitement shinning in bright blue eyes. "I promise I won't go to sleep this time, please."

Eriana laughed, "Okay, but the only story I know about dragons is really scary," she said, wrapping her arms around the child. They were sitting in front of a roaring fire in her home in the ailenage, the smells of her father's Winter Solace stew filling the air. Leaning back in the leather chair that she remembered fondly from her childhood, she began telling the little girl the story of the Grey Wardens and the archdemon, playing with the child's blond hair as she talked. The little girl squealed at the exciting parts and clapped when her mother told about King Alistair beheading the beast.

"That was always my favorite part, too," a voice behind her said. Turning around, Eriana saw her father standing behind her, cradling a small bundle in his arms. He patted the girl on the head, "Run along now, child; your mother needs to feed your little brother."

Eriana took the small bundle into her arms and looked down into the honey-colored eyes of the baby boy in her arms. She smiled, an overwhelming feeling of contentment filling her. But there was another feeling, a deeper feeling. Something about this wasn't quite right. She looked around the room; it was exactly as she always remembered it, but it wasn't somehow. She was still curiously looking around when the front door opened, and Zevran walked in. "Ada!" shouted the little girl as she ran into the assassin's arms. Zevran took up the girl and spun her around, laughing happily.

"Hello, my precious. How is my girl today?" he asked her, kissing her lightly on the cheeks. Zevran crossed the room, the little girl perched on his hip, and kissed Eriana lightly on the lips. "And how are you today, my love?"

Eriana blinked and looked up at her assassin. "My love? Zevran never called me love; as far as she knew that word never crossed his lips," Eriana thought to herself. She looked back at the little girl in his arms, "What is her name? What kind of a mother am I that I don't even know my own daughter's name." Then it hit her. Of course she didn't know her name; she didn't have a name because she didn't exist. Eriana looked down at the baby in her arms; he doesn't exist either, Eriana realized suddenly. "None of this is real; I can't have children. I'm a Grey Warden." Tears welled up in her eyes as she suddenly remembered where they were. They were in the Circle Tower, trapped by a demon. The demon was creating this somehow; he somehow knew what she wanted and was using it to control her.

She looked, first at Zevran, then her father, and finally into the blue eyes of the blond child clinging to Zevran. "I'm sorry," she said. "This isn't real; it's some kind of dream."

"But Adaia, Mommy," cried the little girl, "don't you want me. Don't you love me; don't I make you happy."

"Come, my love," purred Zevran, "stay with us; we will make you happy."

"But it's not real," she said with tears rolling down her cheeks. "You're not real; as much as I want to, I can't stay. I'm so sorry."

"Fool!" the Zevran thing hissed at her, "Can't you just be content? Don't you know resistance is futile!" The alienage seemed to melt around her, the raw nature of the fade coming into focus, and slowly the child in her arms disappeared. "You will never escape, silly mortal."

Eriana drew her blades as 'Zevran' drew his. "Please don't make me do this," she pleaded as he came at her. Metal clashed against metal as the two elves moved around each other. "This isn't Zevran," she told herself, "This is a demon." But that didn't make it any easier when her dagger and sword crossed each other at his throat, causing him to fall at her feet. Suddenly a portal appeared in the middle of the room, but Eriana found herself temporarily unable to move. She sank to the floor and dissolved into a mass of tears.

It had been a grueling day in the tower. They had fought their way through the tower all night only to be caught in the snares of the Sloth demon. Eriana had been the only one to see the world around her for what it was, so she had to navigate though the fade to find each of her friends and defeat the demon once and for all. Then all they had to do was defeat the blood mages, the Uldred demon abomination thing, and a few more baby dragons and the tower was safe, mages help against the Blight secured. Eriana was exhausted. All she wanted to do was sleep, but her mind was racing. She simply couldn't get the demon's illusion out of her head. Children, her and Zevran's children, children that will never exist. Eriana sat on the banks of Lake Calenhad, looking at the tower bathed in moonlight, completely lost in her thoughts. Leliana tried to talk to her, but couldn't get her to open up, neither could Wynne, so Zevran went to sit beside her, his arm around her.

"Musing over the name of the lake again, my dear?" That managed to get a bit of a smile out of her, but she was still quiet, staring off into the distance. "Would you like to talk about what happened in the tower, in the fade?"

Eriana shook her head, "Alistair," she said quietly. "Could you get Alistair for me?"

Zevran looked a bit surprised and somewhat hurt, but got up slowly to walk away. Eriana caught his arm before he was out of reach. She grabbed his hand and held it close to her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Zev," she said as she rubbed his hand and forearm, "it's secret Grey Warden stuff. I…"

Zevran brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her palm and the soft part of her wrist, "Of course, my Warden. We will talk after you have finished your business." She gave him a weak smile and nodded, turning her attention back to the lake. She couldn't help but think about her demon induced dream and try to figure out what it meant. Alistair's dream had been something he desired, a relationship with his sister. Wynne's dream was her greatest fear, failing the tower and allowing her students to come to harm. Zevran's dream seemed to be a memory of his time with the Crows. Perhaps the demon had picked up the thing that was foremost on their mind. She had been thinking about children a lot since she overheard the Zevran's conversation with Shale. When Alistair told her the physical changes that came with being a Warden, she wasn't bothered by the possibility that she might never be a mother. The life of a Grey Warden wasn't exactly conducive to motherhood, and she had never really wanted kids anyway. But now, now that she got the impression that Zevran might want to be a father; well, that changed things.

"Zevran said you wanted to talk," Alistair said, sitting down beside her. "Something about Warden stuff."

"Yeah, I was just thinking about being a Warden and how that changes you. It's quite a sacrifice when you really think about it isn't it? I mean, I'm only eighteen now, so that means I'll never see fifty, never live beyond my forties." She glanced over at Wynne, a slightly envious look across her face. "I was grateful to Duncan for saving me, but he didn't really save me did he? He just prolonged my sentence. You said it yourself, the taint is a death sentence; we just have to live with it for so long."

"So you're mad at Duncan for recruiting you?" She shrugged. "Eriana, you would have been executed, at least now you have time. Thirty years is a long time; you can still have a full life."

Eriana's eyes flashed with anger, "A full life? How can this be considered a full life? We have no home. We are on the run constantly, and even if we survive this, what kind of life would that be? A soldier's life isn't exactly what I'd call a full life either." She was quiet for a moment then she looked up at Alistair, "And recently I've been reminded that there will always be something missing from my life, something else that being a Warden has taken from me."

Alistair glanced over at her, "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"My dream from the fade," she said, shaking her head. "You're not the only one who dreamed of a life you missed out on." She put her hands in her head and massaged her temples. "I dreamt that I was back home with a family of my own. I had a daughter and a baby boy who looked just like Zev. I was happy and content." She gave a small laugh, "and that's how I knew it was all a dream. I was there, telling my daughter stories, feeding my son, waiting for my husband to come home, and I knew, I knew that it would never be that way for me. I knew it was all a lie." She looked up at Alistair, "I had to kill him, you know. In the fade, I had to kill Zevran to escape."

She sighed, "So this Grey Warden women not having kids, is that a hard and fast rule or is it just an assumption?"

Alistair shrugged, "I'm not sure; I've never heard of a Warden giving birth, but Fereldan never had any female Wardens while I was with them. It would be harder for women than men since woman carry the child. There would be a greater chance of passing along the taint to the baby."

"Would that make it some kind of darkspawn?" Eriana asked, the memory of the broodmother fresh on her mind.

"No, I would think it would just kill it; like the taint kills most people. A baby just wouldn't be strong enough to fight it. Why are you worried about this anyway? Does Zevran want kids?"

Eriana shrugged, "You heard his conversation with Shale, Alistair. It seems like something he might want one day."

"Have you talked to him about it?" Eriana shook her head. "Then perhaps you should before you get yourself all worked up."

Eriana laughed, "How do you bring up something like that with someone you're casually seeing? 'Hey Zev, do you want kids with me? Cause if you do, too bad.' Like that won't send him running the other way screaming."

Alistair laughed, "You're probably right, not the best idea." He was quiet for a moment then he looked down at her. "And just so you know, I don't think this thing between you two is as casual you either of you like to think it is." Eriana glanced up at him, wide-eyed. "I'm pretty sure he's crazy about you, even if he doesn't want to admit it. And as much as I hate to admit it, I can see you feel the same way. But hey, don't ask me; I'm just the unrequited lover waiting in the wings for things to fall apart."

"Alistair."

"No, no, no, I'm just saying, don't get yourself worked up till you know all the facts. Talk to him, and if her runs away screaming, well, you always have another option."

Eriana laughed, shaking her head, "Thanks Alistair. In your own weird way, you've made me feel so much better."

"I guess that's what I'm here for," he said as he got up. "I'll send Zevan over if he's not already lurking around over here in the shadows." He was a few steps away when he turned back to her, "So what was his dream about?"

"No, no, if I tell you his dream, I get to tell him yours. My lips are sealed."

Alistair shook his head, "So it wasn't full of Antivan dancing girls worshiping him and feeding him grapes, then."

She rolled her eyes, "Go!" Smiling, she turned back to the lake, feeling strangely better. This melancholy feeling wasn't like her at all; maybe they should swing by Denerim on their way to the Dalish. The alienage should be open by now; seeing her family would definitely cheer he up. Maybe she just needed to get as far away from the circle as possible. Hearing light footsteps behind her, Eriana turned to see Zevran walking up to her.

Zevran settled himself behind her, pulling Eriana unceremoniously into his arms. She rested her head against the firm leather armor covering his chest, breathing deeply, inhaling his unique scent. He gently untied the leather band holding her hair up, letting it cascade down over her shoulders and began running his fingers through it. They sat in silence for a long time, watching the moonlight dance over the small waves the wind created on the river's bank. "About the fade, Zev."

"Shhh, there is no reason to talk about it if you are uncomfortable with what you saw. My training left quite a deep impression on me it seems."

Eriana shook her head. "It's not about your dream; it's about mine." She explained her dream to him, carefully watching his face, trying to read his reaction. "I guess it was prompted by the conversation you and Shale had the other day; you know, the one about kids."

"And why did you feel that this dream was so improbable," Zevran asked, a confused look on his face. "Do you think that I am unwilling to be a father or that I wouldn't be a good one? Is that what has you concerned?"

Eriana was silent for a moment. "Quite the opposite, really. I was afraid it might be something you wanted; something that I can't exactly give you. You see, being a Warden, well, it changes you. You already know about the nightmares and sensing darkspawn, but the physical changes go a bit further than that. Chances are good that I won't be able to have kids, so if that was something you wanted…"

She was silenced for a moment by Zevran's lips devouring hers. She relaxed for a moment, all the tension melting out of her as his lips moved over hers. "All that I want right now, mia cara, is you." Eriana looked up into his warm amber eyes, relief rushing over her. "Just think, between the Crows and the darkspawn, what terrible parents we would be. Always at work, never at home, jumping at every sound, not the most stable life for a young one, don't you think?" Eriana chucked lightly, "And, in the future, if you change your mind, we can always snatch one from some chantry orphanage, no?"

"Oh, Zev," she said with a laugh, wrapping her arms around his neck, "you always know the just right things to say." Zevran leaned down and whispered something in her ear, causing a deep crimson blush to rise up the neck. "And all the dirty things too," she said, collapsing into his arms.