Zevran couldn't remember exactly how they got back to Eamon's estate. In fact, he didn't remember anything except for the image of an armored hand slamming into Eriana's face and her body crumbling into a heap at the knight's feet. He had stood there helpless as the knight picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, her arms dangling limply on either side of her head.

His mind was busy the entire journey back to the estate, wondering what was happening to her, cursing himself for not stopping her, planning routes into Drakon to rescue her, but his mind kept coming back to her parting words. How was he supposed to be patient in a time like this, and what exactly did she mean when she said patience? Did she mean to wait and come rescue her later or to wait for her? Zevran wasn't sure, but he had to decide and soon. Logahin had finally succeeded in ensnaring her, something he had been trying to do for months. Zevran was quite sure that Loghain would kill her, but he was a clever man. Surely he knew what a reputation Eriana had garnered over the past seven months; killing her now in secret would have a very negative impact on the other nobles, nobles whose support he needed if he was to defeat Alistair and Eamon in the Landsmeet. They had time to do this the right way. The logical part of his brain was telling Zevran this, but there was another part of his brain was screaming for something quite different, screaming for him to act now, to get her back. He felt a sudden void in his life without her, like a part of himself was suddenly missing. As they walked through the doors of Eamon's estate, Zevran was struck with the sudden realization that this was more than a casual fling; it was simply too clear to deny any longer. And there was no way he was losing her now.

Zevran slowly began to register what was happening around him. Leliana was beside him, her hands wrapped around his, her presence oddly assuring. Anora was frantically explaining their escape and Eriana's capture to Alistair, who was pacing erratically behind Eamon, muttering to himself. The rest of their companions had filtered into the room, some were looking to Alistair, some to him, all with mixed expressions of horror and concern.

Suddenly, Alistair stopped his pacing and slammed his fists into the desk in front of him. "Andraste's flaming sword, why didn't I go with her?" His head jerked up, and he glared at Zevran, his eyes blazing, and Zevran felt any bridge that had been built between the two of them crumble. "And you, how could you just let her surrender? Don't you know what they will do to her?"

Zevran heard Leliana's surprised gasp beside him, but he remained unflinching. "And exactly what would you have me do, Your Majesty, kill a dozen armored knights single handedly? Eriana did what she thought was right; we would have been slaughtered."

Alistair growled in frustration and resumed his erratic pacing. "Loghain will kill her if we can't get to her now, and there is no way I'm letting that happen. If we leave now, we can make it to Drakon by midday. Sten, Ogren, and I can take out the guards while Leliana and Morrigan…"

"No."

Alistair's pacing stopped once again as his and every other head in the room turned to look at Zevran. "No?" asked Alistair, aghast, "What do you mean no? We are going after her, now."

Zevran steeled his resolve and stepped up to the fuming knight, "I said no. If Loghain intends to kill her, he will have done it already, but I do not believe that is the case. He needs her alive so that he can discredit her before he can kill her. Eriana is simply too famous and too respected among those in the Landsmeet to be eliminated quietly. Besmirching a good reputation takes time; he will have to garner to approval of the nobility before he can eliminate her in a way that best benefits him."

Leliana stepped forward, "He's right, Alistair. I've been listening to the nobles talk about Eriana in the tavern. They're intrigued by her; Loghain knows this. If he kills her now, he does himself more harm than good."

Alistair was not convinced. "So are you suggesting we simply leave her there to be ridiculed and then killed? I can't believe this; I thought you two were her friends," he spat at them, angrily.

Zevran's eyes narrowed. "I am suggesting nothing of the sort. I am merely pointing out the fact that one cannot lay siege to a fortified prison with a force of eight people, or perhaps you were sick the day they taught tactics to the new Grey Wardens. It takes a special kind of stupid to think you can overpower the guards at Drakon with our small numbers," Zevran spat at Alistair, ignoring Leliana's discreet protests at his side. "Invading a fort such as that takes careful planning and execution, not a fool-hearted charge."

"How dare you…"

"I am not finished," Zevran said, ignoring Alistair's interruption. "Furthermore, you forget who Logahin has managed to capture. Eriana is more than capable of rescuing herself; in fact, our efforts to liberate her may only draw attention to the fact that she has already freed herself."

"So you think we should sit here and do nothing." Alistair threw up his hands and walked away from the two rogues. "Well, I'm sorry, I can't do that. I can't just sit here while they have her."

"You can, and you will," Zevran said sternly, his eyes never leaving Alistair's quickly reddening face.

"Look, elf," Alistair said, ignoring the sharp intake of breath from most everyone in the room. "Just because you are bedding her doesn't give you the right to make this decision."

Zevran felt Leliana's hand tighten on his arm, and he realized that his hand had instinctively gone to the hilt of his dagger. He clinched his hand into a fist and tried to calm himself. Maker, what was getting into him? Taking a deep breath, Zevran looked up at Alistair, "And just because you have finally decided to step up and become a true Theirin doesn't mean you are making the decisions either." Leliana groaned beside him and Alistair's jaw dropped, but Zevran didn't care. This man was not going to be the death of HIS Warden. "Eriana is the most cunning, alluring, clever, and resourceful person I have ever met. She will find a way back to m… to us unless you do something royally stupid to stop her."

Alistair crossed the room in three steps and stood, looming over the elf, but Zevran stood his ground. The two men stood, staring at each other, neither willing to give the slightest bit of ground to the other. Finally, Leliana had enough, and she stepped between them, taking Alistair by the arm. "What Zevran is trying to say is that it would be easier for someone as skilled as Eriana to break out of Drakon than it would be for a group of us to break in. You have to admit, it does require a certain set of skills that she already possesses, no?"

"Alistair," Eamon interrupted, "you are far too valuable to risk running off after her. You would be caught, and then where would we be? The Warden understood the risks when she went after the Queen. She is expendable, you are not. She has served her purpose, as you must serve yours."

If Ogren hadn't managed to get a death grip on Zevran's arm, Eamon would have lost a body part of some type, of that much Zevran was sure. Stupid, arrogant, ignorant nobleman. Leliana sighed, "Give her time, Alistair."

The King-to-be glanced at Leliana then at Zevran, refusing to even spare a glance in Eamon's direction. "Fine," he finally said, "she has until night fall, but if she is not back by then, we do this my way." And with that he stormed out of the hall, knocking Eamon out of the way in the process. Zevran smiled a bit to himself as he thought that there was one thing that he and Alistair agreed on. Now all he could do was pray that Eriana made found a way out by nightfall.

As Eriana slowly began to regain consciousness, she became acutely aware of two things. One, she was stripped down to her smalls and laying on a very cold stone floor, and two, Loghain was standing over her talking to Ser Cauthrien.

"So the trap managed to fool her then?"

"I'm not so sure she was ever fooled, My Lord. If anything, she came into it knowing it was a trap. She didn't seem at all surprised to find us at the doorway waiting for her, yet she came anyway."

"Hum, interesting. And you say she was the one who managed to kill Howe as well?"

"It looks that way. The poison on his wounds matches the poison on her blades, but her other companions could have been using the same compound."

"Impressive, and most fortunate, too, I wonder if she realized she was doing a double service to me, turning herself over so nicely into my custody and eliminating that viper Howe for me. Really, I should give her a medal," Loghain said with a cruel laugh.

Eriana laid perfectly still, feigning unconsciousness, quite unwilling to talk to Loghain or Cauthrien, but listening as they talked about her, hoping to garner some new information.

"So what are your intentions with her, my Lord? Do we execute her in the morning?"

"No, just lock her up for a while; I have some work to do on the fools in the Landsmeet before we can properly kill her. Plus, if we keep her here, Maric's bastard might actually be stupid enough to try to come after her. Then we will have both of them, and we will be able to put a stop to this foolishness." A feeling of panic ripped through Eriana. That was exactly what Alistair would try to do. It was a new trap, and she was the bait.

Loghain cleared his throat. "So tell me, do you think he is bedding this one? Or is she just employing other methods of controlling him?"

"No, My Lord, I don't think he is with her," Cauthrien said as the pair began to move away from her. "From what I saw at the estate, she is with another elf. He seemed pretty distraught to see her arrested."

"Hum, give the guards a description of his appearance as well as that of any of her other known companions. If they try to break in, we need to be ready for them."

Eriana heard a door close and a lock click home, and she began to breathe normally again. Her eyes still shut, Eriana tried to assess the situation around her. The way that their footsteps had echoed as they walked suggested that they were in a large room. To her right, she heard a soft rustling sound, another prisoner perhaps. Other than that, she heard only the sound of a single guard moving around the room. Surely that couldn't be right; only one guard? If that was the case, Eriana was truly insulted. Cautiously, Eriana opened her eyes, careful to keep her expression timid and slightly afraid. Trying her best to look nervous and frightened, she quickly scoped out the room. Sure enough, a lone guard was walking patrolling a large room, housing two meager jail cells. Beside her, a haggard looking prisoner sat, silently appraising her.

"Well, well, for a new prisoner, you get some high ranking visitors. I was wondering when you would wake up. Did you know the Hero of River Dane was in here a moment ago talking about you?"

Eriana glanced over at him, "Yeah, we've met once or twice." She pulled her legs up under her and wrapped her arms around her midriff, feeling suddenly chilly. She saw the guard shoot her a familiar look, and it was in that moment that inspiration hit. Suddenly, breaking out of the prison didn't seem so hard.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Eriana grinned, "Me, I'm breaking out of this place."

Quickly, Eriana quickly undid the clasp that was holding up her hair, letting her long, blond locks fall around her shoulders. She tucked the lock picks that she had hidden in there in the front of her breast band. Finding a small bucket of water in the corner of the room, she carefully washed the blood and grime off her face and the carefully dripped some water on her arms and down her back, causing her to shiver as the water cooled her. Wrapping her arms tightly just beneath her chest, just high enough to cause her breasts to come together in an alluring way, Eriana made her way to the edge of her sell as the guard walked by.

"Excuse me, sir," she asked, keeping her voice as soft and innocent as possible. She turned her head down and glanced up at him, shyly through her eyelashes. "I know this is probably a silly question, I'm almost embarrassed to ask, but is there any way you could get me a blanket, or even a shirt. It's just so cold in here, and look at me, I'm shivering from head to foot."

She wagered a peek up at the guard who was glaring down at her with a hungry look in his eyes. Yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake. "I'm sorry, miss, but this is a prison. We don't have extra blankets."

"Oh," she said, looking down sadly and hugging herself tightly, causing her breasts to swell and move together. She heard the guard take a deep breath. "I understand, but maybe, perhaps, you could keep me warm." As she spoke, Eriana glanced up at him, her head cocked in a coquettish way to the side, a slight smile crossing her face. She turned her face slightly upward and batted her eyelashes a few times as her eyes traveled over his body. When she caught his eye, she grinned again and looked away bashfully.

"Well, um, I guess, um," the guard hastily whipped a ring of sweat off his forehead as he stammered. Then he laughed, "Yeah, I could definitely keep you warm."

The guard quickly made his way to the door of her cell, fumbling a bit with the keys in his hands before he managed to get the door open. Eriana spared a glance at the prisoner in the neighboring cell who was staring at her, his mouth agape. She quickly waved him off, and he nodded and made his way to the corner of his cage. Finally, the guard managed to unlock the door and made his way into her cell, closing the door behind him. Eriana grinned and made her way over to him.

"Let me see what's under this helmet," she said, reaching up with both hands and removing the guard's helm, letting it fall behind him. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched where the helmet came to a rest, just behind the guard, but not out of reach. "Now, isn't that better?" she said as she smiled up at him. He wasn't that bad looking, but he was no Zevran or Alistair by any means. Running her hands up the front of his armor, she pulled herself close to him only to jump back with a surprised yelp.

"What is it," he asked, surprised.

"It's nothing; well, it's just, how can you warm me up in all that cold metal armor?" Eriana said with a slight pout. She ran her fingers down his jaw line to the neck of his armor; pulling him down close, she captured his mouth in a slow, sensual kiss. "Ummm, so warm," she purred as the guard shivered under her touch.

"Right, armor, well, I can fix that easily," the guard said, as he began to fumble clumsily with the straps.

Eriana stepped back up to him, taking one of his hand into hers and deftly removing the gauntlet. "No, allow me." With nimble fingers she quickly removed both of the guard's gauntlets and dropped them out of the way. Then Eriana moved behind him and slowly began to unbuckle the clasps of his armor. As she worked on him with her hands, she slowly began to reach back with her foot to pull the man's helmet to her side. Once she had it, she let the guard's armor fall off him. "See," she said as her arms snaked around him, pressing against his back, "isn't that so much better." The guard sighed as she let her hands travel down to undo the laces of his breeches. Keeping her body pressed against his, she slid a hand down his pants, while the other hand reached behind her to grab the helmet that she had quietly lifted with her foot. Once the helmet was firmly in hand, she whispered into the guard's ear, "So, are you ready?" He groaned and leaned back against her. Smiling to herself, she brought the helmet hard across the base of his neck. The guard let out a surprised yelp before crashing to the ground in front of her, completely unconscious.

"Maker's breath, that was something else," the prisoner to her left muttered as Eriana quickly found the keys on tucked away in the guard's armor. "Did ya kill him?"

"No, just knocked him out, though killing him might have been the more humane thing to do. They will not be happy with him when they realize I've escaped." Eriana quickly unlocked her prison door and then moved to her neighbor's door. "Did you see where they put my armor?" He nodded and pointed to a box by the door. She quickly unlocked the cage door and let the man out. "Don't try to follow me; just find your own way out."

The man thanked her and disappeared. Now she needed to get her things and get find a way out before her friends got themselves arrested trying to free her.

Zevran spent most of the afternoon sharpening and repolishing his daggers, and trying everything possible to take his mind off their situation. He was certain that Eriana could find a way out of Drakon, but he it didn't stop him from worrying about her. Around the room, everyone else was engaged in equally mundane and silent tasks. Alistair had been pacing a rut in front of the fire place for an hour; Leliana had been reading the same page of a book for the last twenty minutes; Wynne had been sorting herbs and poultices; Ogren and Sten had been flipping over cards in a mindless game of Wicked Grace; and Shale simply stood in the corner, watching them all without passion. Zevran sighed and reached down to pet the dog that was laying at his feet. "Don't worry, ol' boy," he whispered softly, "we'll get her back."

"That's it," Alistair suddenly shouted, shattering the silence, making everyone jump slightly. "I can't take it anymore; we're going after her." He glanced over at Zevran, "It's nearly nightfall, and there's no sign of her."

"Alistair, please. Just give her some time. I know it's hard, and Maker knows, we're all worried, but you can't lose your head over this." Leliana pleaded, looking at Zevran for help.

Zevran just rolled his eyes and glanced back at Alistair, who was staring at him menacingly. "I never agreed that we would go at nightfall," Zevran said as he continued working on his already perfect daggers. "That would be the most obvious time to go in after her; they would surely be expecting a trap then. Or are you trying to get her killed?"

"We did this your way," Alistair shouted, "and it didn't work. Now we do it mine."

It was nearly nightfall by the time Eriana crept into the Arl's estate. She was tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a bath, but she was happy to be back. Breaking out of Drakon proved to be a relatively easy task for her once she was out of her jail cell. Dressed as a guard, she was able to simply walk out of the front doors after she nicked the password from the pocket of some dim-witted guards. Quickly, she made her way into the kitchen entrance and grabbed a handful of grapes before making her way upstairs to find Zevran and Leliana. That was when she heard the shouting.

As quickly as possible, she darted up the stairs toward Eamon's study as Alistair's voice carried down the hall, "Now we do it mine." She slipped up to the door to find Alistair glaring down with an angry and defiant look on his face at Zevran who was standing in front of him, arms crossed. She slipped over to Ogren who was standing beside the door and quietly asked what was going on.

"Ah, they're just arguing over how to get you out of Drakon," he whispered, glancing up at her with a grin before he took one of her grapes and popped it in his mouth . "Guess the elf had the right idea."

"Alright, fearless leader, say we do this your way; who do you send after her? We cannot all go; it would be far too suspicious," Zevran said, his back still to the door.

"Sten and Ogren, they would have the best chance of fighting their way through the guards."

Eriana leaned down to Ogren, "Ask how you would get the cage open."

"Say Sten and I do go in, how do we open the cage if we can't find the key? We'd need a rogue with us."

"Fine, Ogren and Leliana will go," Alistair said, never taking his eyes off the elf in front of him.

Eriana prompted Ogren again. "She's supposed to be under cover, won't that blow her cover."

Alistair sighed, "Fine Zevran will go."

"And how, exactly are Ogren and I supposed to get past the guards at the front gates? Should we simply walk up to them and say please." Zevran asked.

Alistair threw up his hands, "I don't know. Take the dog with you. You could say that you're delivering the dog; surely they have dogs in Drakon."

"Yes," Eriana said loudly, smiling to herself as everyone turned to look at her, relieved expressions crossing their faces. "But none of them are as smart as Ramoth."

Leliana let out an excited squeal and dashed across the room, throwing her arms around Eriana. She kissed the top of her head and whispered to her, "I knew you had it in you; it's wonderful to see you."

Alistair stood, his mouth gaping open, "But when, how…"

"It was easy; I got the key from the guards and snuck out. Really, Alistair, I'm a bit disappointed that you have so little faith in my abilities," Eriana said with a grin, popping a grape into her mouth. "It was barely even a challenge if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Well, thank the Maker you have returned, I'm sure…" Eamon said, and Eriana noticed several faces harden as he spoke. He seemed to realize that too because he chose not to say whatever it was he was about to say.

Eriana felt Wynne's magic wash over her, healing any bruises that she had acquired, and she shot the mage a smile of thanks before turning her attention to Zevran who was still standing in front of Alistair, a look of pride and relief on his face. "If you would all excuse me, it has been a rather trying day, and I would like to get a bit of rest before we proceed."

"Of course," Alistair said, "Um, I'm glad you're back, Eriana. I'm sorry I doubted you."

Eriana smiled, "Thank you, Alistair, good night."

Zevran quickly joined the women in the hallway as they made their way to Eriana's room. Leliana quietly excused herself, saying she was going to fetch Eriana a bath and something to eat, but Eriana barely noticed she had left. The moment they were in her room, Zevran was on her, pressing her against the door, capturing her mouth in a desperate, passionate kiss, his hands traveling over her body. She moaned and rocked against him, her fingers locked in his hair, pulling him closer to her. They stayed that way, bodies locked together, neither willing to release the other even for a moment until the maids came with water for her bath and food from the kitchen. Zevran helped her into the large, stone tub and brushed her hair as she told him of her escape from Drakon.

"So, you seduced some hapless guard and used his key to escape?" Zevran said with a laugh. Eriana nodded. "Oh, my dear, you are a saucy little vixen aren't you."

"Well, I did learn from the best," she said, smiling as he lifted her from the tub and carried her to their bed.

Sometime later, Eriana lay in the bed after she and Zevran ate her cold dinner. She was still starving, but she simply didn't care. After the day she had had, all she wanted was to be close to Zevran, to be by his side, and judging by his reaction, he seemed to want the same thing. Lazily, he rolled over beside her, and looked down at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't quiet place.

"I have something that I would like to give you, if you would permit me." He opened her hand and placed in it a single solitary diamond earring. "I acquired it on my very first job for the Crows. A Riveini merchant prince, and he was wearing a single jewled earring when I killed him."

"Was that all he was wearing?" Eriana asked with a sly grin.

Zevran glanced down at her with a grin and then kissed her gently on the lips, "Ah, you know me too well, mia cara. I thought it was beautiful and took it to mark the occasion. I've kept it since…and I'd like you to have it."

Eriana sat up and glanced down at the earring in her hand. A sentimental keepsake, something from Zevran's past that he had kept for so long, and he was giving it to her. She glanced up at him, "It's beautiful, Zev, thank you."

"It's meant a lot to me, but so have…so has what you've done. Thank you. I have no better way to say it," he said as his hand stroked the side of her face. "I should have given it to you earlier, I know this now, and then, when I thought I might…we might lose you…well, I'm glad to have a chance to give it to you."

Eriana reached up and put the earring in her ear and glanced up at his face. He was still lightly caressing her face, but now his hand would pause momentarily on the jewel in her ear. There was something else, however, a look Eriana couldn't quite identify. He seemed timid and hesitant for some reason; doubt began to gnaw at Eriana for a moment. Then he smiled sweetly down at her before leaning down to kiss her again. She sighed and snuggled up against him, her head resting on his chest, feeling safe with his arms wrapped around her, the musky smell of leather surrounding her. Whatever was troubling him, they would deal with in the morning. Right now, all she wanted to do was rest safely in his arms.

Zevran watched his warden as she slowly drifted off to sleep in his arms, his earring glistening in her ear. Feelings he couldn't identify began to surge through him; emotions he thought long dead pulsed through his chest. It took almost losing her a second time to make him realize how much he truly cared, and there was no turning back now. He felt suddenly vulnerable like his heart was exposed; confusion and panic threatened to rip through him, but a quick glance at the woman in his arms and those feelings were quelled, at least for the time being. So, there in the darkness, Zevran lay, waiting till he was certain she was fully asleep before he said the words that had never before crossed his lips.

"Good night, amore, I love you."

Hey everyone. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Sorry that it has taken me so long between chapters. Please let me know what you think!