It had been a long time since Loghain Mac Tir had backpacked across Ferelden, not since the days of the rebellion, in fact. He soon realized that, even though he had been used to traveling with his army, he had become accustomed to a certain level of luxury. He had been used to tents that he was able to stand up cleanly in and that were set up by servants who also cooked dinner. Needless to say, the first night that the party stopped to make camp came as a bit of a rude awakening for him. True, he was prepared to sleep in a small tent on a thin bedroll, but he certainly wasn't expecting to be asked to keep watch. Not that he felt that he was above it, but even during the rebellion, he and Maric had others who kept watch for them. It simply wasn't something he was accustomed to, that much was for sure. But everyone had a role when they stopped to make camp, even the Warden herself.

It was amusing for him to watch the familiar routine the little party seemed to have first even the group stopped for the evening. He was surprised when the young apostate woman that traveled with them transformed into a wolf, and she and the mabari disappeared into the woods. The Warden and her elven lover made their way around the perimeter of the camp setting up snares and traps. The qunari and dwarf immediately began to cut wood for their fire while the Orlesian bard and the older mage began rolling out everyone's tents in what he assumed was a familiar formation around the center of the camp. They stopped for a moment when they came to the space directly between the fire and camp's entrance, sad looks crossing their faces. "Ah, so that must be Alistair's spot," Loghain thought to himself as he began to set up his own tent away from the circle.

"What are you doing way out here?" Eriana asked, walking up to him.

"Well, I simply assumed that you would prefer it if I camped away from your group." He nodded toward her companions, "They don't exactly seem happy with my presence, after all."

"That doesn't matter. We camp close together for safety's sake. We learned the hard way that if we spread out too much, we are vulnerable in the night. Even Morrigan has moved a bit closer to the rest of us. Now, set your tent up beside mine. We will be on first watch together tonight anyway."

That had surprised him. "You want to be on watch with me?"

Eriana shrugged, "There is much we need to talk about, and I thought that it would be the perfect time to discuss certain Grey Warden issues without others overhearing. Besides, no one else trusts you enough yet to take watch with you just yet, so you're stuck with Zevran and me for a while, I'm afraid."

"You and Zevran? There are three people on each watch?"

"No, but where I go, Zev goes. He's kind of stubborn about that, and he made that perfectly clear to me before we left Denerim." She gave him a slight grin. "I think he wants to make sure you don't try to kill me again," she said as she walked away from him, back to the center of the camp.

Loghain observed the Warden and her party as they sat together around the fire eating the rabbits that the witch and mabari had returned with. It was an interesting little band of misfits that the Warden had assembled, and somehow, they all managed to get along and seemed to genuinely like one another. After dinner, Eriana walked around the camp, talking with each member of her party individually before they each turned in for the night. She was fascinating, this elven woman who had united the nation against him. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, but she seemed sincere at the same time. Perhaps that was why people tended to gravitate toward her, to trust her; she was charismatic and alluring without conscious effort, and that made her genuine, a quality that can't be faked even by the most talented bard.

When it came time for Loghain and the two elves to keep watch, he was content to simply sit by the fire silently contemplating what he had observed. The Warden in turn was content to let him sit in silence while she and her lover talked quietly on the other side of the fire, her massive mabari sleeping by their feet.

The next day proved more of the same for Loghain. He walked quietly beside the Warden during the day and spent most of the evening by himself while the camp moved around him, but when it came time for him to keep watch with the elves, it was clear that they weren't going to let him sit in silence anymore. It was the Warden's lover who first broke the silence between him and the group.

"So," Zevran said as the elf sat down beside him, "Lord Loghain."

Loghain glanced over at the foreign elf; he looked vaguely familiar, but the former teyrn couldn't quiet place him. "As I am no longer a teyrn or even a knight, you shouldn't address me as such. Just address me as you would any other Grey Warden."

Zevran began laughing, "Oh, I don't think you would want me addressing you as I do your fellow Grey Warden; most Ferelden men are not quite that secure in their masculinity."

Loghain glanced over at him for a moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. "What is on your mind?"

"You know who I am, yes? I was one of the Crows you hired to kill the Grey Wardens."

Ah, yes, that was how he knew him. "I thought you looked familiar."

Zevran chuckled, "Well, I just wanted to report that I failed my mission, Loghain."

Loghain himself chuckled a bit at that, "You don't say."

"I'm terribly broken up over it."

"Well that's plain to see," Loghain said turning back to the fire. "So tell me, how exactly did you end up bedding the woman you were hired to kill?"

"Exactly, hum, let me see. When a man and a woman are attracted to each other, often times there are certain urges that…"

Loghain sighed, "That's not what I meant. I know how that happens." He shook his head, "Antivans. What I was curious about was how you went from trying to kill her to joining her party."

"Ah, yes, that," said Zevran with a sly smile. "I did try to kill her, but had you told me originally how lovely she was, I assure you, I would have gone about it a completely different way. Obviously, I failed in my attempt; she is quite formidable as you well know. She spared my life, and I pledged my oath of loyalty to her. The rest as they say is history."

"You are in good company, Loghain," Eriana said, as she sat down on the ground in front of Zevran. "Two of my best friends tried to kill me at one time or another."

"Hum, I am honored."

Eriana ignored his snide comment for the moment. "So how have you been getting along? I realize that this has probably been a difficult transition for you, and I wish that we could give you a bit more time to adjust."

"I am fine, thank you, Warden. Your companions have been…accommodating."

Eriana laughed, "Which means they have ignored you for the most part. They will come around. It took some of them months to start trusting Zevran, and he only tried to kill me once."

"Were as I have tried to kill you numerous times, yet you seem to trust me already. Why is that?"

"Oh, I don't completely trust you; not yet at least. But you are a Warden now, and I know the change that you undergo when that happens. You see that I have not been lying, that Duncan was not lying when he talked of a Blight and an archdemon. You've seen it; you know it's true."

Loghain looked over at her, "That is true. I realize that I was a bit hasty to dismiss Duncan's claims at Ostagar, but he had no proof other than what he himself had seen." The trio was quiet for a moment. "I still fail to understand your motivation behind making me a Warden. You say you knew how Alistair would react, so it seems to me that you knowingly traded one Grey Warden for another."

Eriana sighed and looked up at Zevran for a moment. "In a way, that's true, but Alistair, as you know, was not just a Grey Warden. He is the last of the Theirin line; it is imperative that he survive this. The reason I supported Alistair in the Landsmeet isn't because I thought he'd be a better ruler than your daughter, far from it actually. I believe Anora will be a fine Queen, but I know how important blood is for the nobility. They needed that Theirin blood, and the will support Theirin blood. You of all people should know this. Keeping Alistair alive to the end of the Blight will secure Ferelden and keep her from plunging herself into civil war once this is all over.

"The three of us that remain are expendable. I'm just an elf who was conscripted into this order; Ferelden can stand to lose me. I'm sorry to say, but most of the nobility would see you as a threat to the throne if you remain alive, so you're expendable too. And as for Riordan, well, he's close to his Calling, so he wouldn't be a big loss either. Three expendable Wardens makes me feel a lot better than two."

"That makes all makes sense," Loghain said. "I have to say, Warden…"

"Eriana"

"Right, Eriana. I have to say, you surprise me. This is a very forward way of thinking. You show a great deal of wisdom for someone of your…" Loghain paused for a moment.

"Of my class, my race? I know that I'm just a poor elf, but I'm not completely uneducated."

"No, I wasn't thinking of your race; in fact, I have great respect for elves. I was actually thinking about your age, but it occurred to me, I have no idea how old you are. It can be difficult to tell with elves sometimes; your race ages so gracefully."

Eriana smiled up at him, "Oh, well, I'm eighteen." Loghain felt his jaw drop. She laughed, "Remember, Loghain, if I was still living in the alienage, I would probably be married and starting a family. We are forced to mature quite quickly in the alienages; life is not easy for us."

"Well, once again, you surprise me; I assumed you were young, but I had no idea. How old where you when Duncan recruited you, anyway?"

"I was seventeen, almost eighteen. But in Duncan's defense, he did it to save my life." Loghain listened as Eriana explained what happened on her wedding day. "To be fair, he probably didn't plan for me to have any kind of responsibility so soon. After all, the only responsibility he ever gave me was climbing a tower and lighting a fire. Everything else I have done had been from necessity."

"So that was you; you were the one who killed Vaughn?" Eriana nodded. "It seems we humans have a bad habit of underestimating you."

Eriana shrugged, "Most humans underestimate elves. Even you." Loghain started to protest, but she stopped him. "Yes, I know all about your history with the Night Elves during the rebellion; you are probably more open than most when it comes to our recognizing our abilities and our value. But what happened after that? Nothing! Nothing changed for the elves in Ferelden. You were the advisor to the King; you saw how helpful elves can be, yet you still allowed us to be treated like second-class citizens in your own back yard. Nothing changed for us after the rebellion. You may see our talents and abilities, but when you look at us, you still see elves."

Loghain sighed and nodded. "Once again, Warden, you show wisdom far beyond your years."

The next week proved to be quite interesting for Loghain. A few of Eriana's companions began to actually talk to him on occasion, especially the qunari and the dwarf. The women of the camp were still undeniably cool toward him; in fact, the older mage had on several occasions gone out of her way to chide and insult him.

"Oh, don't take it personally, Warden Loghain," Zevran told him as they were keeping watch one night. "Wynne takes it upon herself to critique everyone. If you want her to stop, just start talking about her magical bosom and she clams right up," he said with a laugh.

Loghain shook his head, "I will bear that in mind." Despite his best efforts to the contrary, Loghain actually found himself enjoying the time he spent with the two elves on watch each night. There was a nonchalant air about the two of them that put him at ease. Deep down, he suspected it was an act, a clever rouse to encourage him to open up so they could see his true nature; they were both, after all, trained rogues and assassins, but he found that he didn't care. He had in the past week developed a good deal of respect for the elven Warden. She was open, forward, and honest with him, something that he had not experienced since Maric died. She was not afraid to ask him the hard questions about Ostagar and his actions since then, but at the same time, she did not seem overly judgmental with him. In fact, in a number of cases, she seemed to empathize with him, especially when it came to Cailan.

"You were in a difficult place when it came to King Cailan, Loghain, I'll give you that. Not to speak ill of the dead, but the boy was a fool. I met him only twice, and that much was plain to me. I'm not saying he deserved to die the way he did, no one deserves to die that way, but in the long run, his death may prove better for Ferelden than even you realize," Eriana told him one evening while the three kept watch.

Loghain was confused, "What do you mean by that?"

Eriana got up and disappeared briefly into her tent and returned a moment later with a handful of papers. "I found these in Ostagar when we went to retrieve the King's armor."

Loghain looked though the papers, horrified by what he found. That fool of a king was planning to leave his daughter to marry the Orlesian Empress. In one swift move, Orlais would have gained everything that years of war were unable to secure, and Eamon seemed to support this move. "Are these legitimate?"

Eriana nodded, "So far as we can tell. I removed them from the King's cache myself."

Loghain turned the papers over again, scanning through them a second and third time. "Who knows of this?"

"Only Zevran and I." Loghain glanced up at her, surprised that she would allow such sensitive information into the hands of a foreigner. "He was with me the first time I looked over them," she explained, "and as I don't speak Orlesian, he had to translate the two letters from the Empress Celene. I was considering using them against Anora before she suggested and alliance."

"So she does not know of these?" Eriana nodded. "Good, then it needs to stay that way. There needs to be no question surrounding her or Alistair in these difficult times. I think you for this, Eriana; most people would have made these letters public the moment they found them."

"Well, it was my intent to eventually make them public, but once we came to an agreement, your daughter and I, I found it advantageous to keep them secret. The letter from Eamon would have been especially damning to her and would certainly go against our ultimate goals."

Loghain thanked the elves again and turned his attention back to the letters, fuming over the impertinence of his late son-in-law.

"Amora, you look exhausted," Loghain heard Zevran whisper to Eriana as he rubbed her shoulders. "Why don't you go ahead and turn in, and Loghain and I will finish, yes? I will join you shortly, mia cara. Leave your weapons with me so I can get them polished for you." Eriana glanced at him before he rolled his eyes and handed her his own weapons. She smiled, kissed the assassin, and bade them both good night.

"She doesn't sleep unarmed?" Loghain asked as he watched as Zevran began meticulously tending to the weapons before him.

"Do you?" Zevran said with a laugh, "I know I certainly don't. There are at least three people in this camp who have tried to kill her, you know."

"Point taken." Loghain folded up Cailan's letters and put them in his pack. "Zevran, I have a question, if I may? A Crow question." The assassin looked up at him, intrigued. "Once a contract is taken out, is there any way to revoke it? Not that I would expect a refund of any sort, but is it possible to cancel a contract once it is out there?"

Zevran shook his head, "No, once the Crows take out a contract, it remains active until the target is eliminated. Now, it may prove unprofitable to continue to pursue a target that proves too difficult, even for us, but it would take some time for our Warden's status to reach that. As it stands, there will always be a contract out on Eriana."

"Even if I change my mind, there is nothing I can do about it?"

Zevran shook his head again. "All you can do is hope that she is a successful in the next attempt as she was in the first two. That, and help her to put down the assassination attempts yourself. It is quite fun, I assure you, to be on the other side of those assassination attempts when you have been privy to them yourself."

"Imagine the irony of it. I could very well be killed fighting off assassins that I myself hired."

"Ah yes, fate is a tricky whore, isn't she." Zevran said with a laugh. "I should have warned you when you first joined us that this was an inevitable end. You can only be around our fair Warden so long before you feel the need to protect her." Loghain gave slight grunt in response. "Deny it all you like, but you know it is true. You wouldn't be asking how to revoke her contract if you didn't feel this way. She is a remarkable woman, our Warden, even if all don't clearly see her value, those of us closest to her certainly do."

Loghain looked over at the elf for a moment before he nodded in agreement. He wasn't sure when or how it happened, but he had definitely grown to respect and appreciate his fellow Warden, and he found himself suddenly very concerned for her safety.

The party made good time to Redcliffe, but as they grew closer to the village, Eriana was met with a growing unease. So she wasn't surprised to find the town and Keep full of darkspawn, but this was not the horde. It was a clever rouse, a distraction from the real threat. The archdemon had shown itself and was leading the horde directly for Denerim. The Wardens and their army would be leaving in the morning to face the Blight head on. As they were preparing to turn in for the night, Riordan had called Eriana and Loghain into his room for a private conversation. There he had confirmed Eriana's suspicions; a Grey Warden's life was required to end the Blight. Deep down, she had known the truth of this for a while, but there was a difference between knowing it and really knowing it for certain. Her heart in her stomach, Eriana bade the other Wardens good night and returned to her room only to be propositioned by Morrigan. Another suspicion was confirmed; Morrigan had ulterior motives all along. She wanted the soul of the archdemon; she promised salvation for the Wardens. Eriana refused.

"Morrigan, be serious. How could you possibly know if this would even work? Even if it does save us, preserving the soul of the archdemon is insane. What if it triggers another Blight?"

"Flemeth assured me that it would not."

"Yeah, well Flemeth was also planning on killing you and stealing your body, so she not exactly the most trustworthy source here, now is she. That's why you were sent with us, isn't it? You've been playing me the whole time." Morrigan was silent for a moment, telling Eriana all she needed to know. "I'm sorry Morrigan, but I will not agree to this. There is just too much that can go wrong, and I will not risk another Blight."

"Have it your way then, fool. I myself will not sit idly by and watch your demise. I thought you would have more wisdom than honor, but I see you are as big a fool as our templar King. Good bye."

Eriana didn't turn to watch her leave; she just leaned forward, resting her head against the stone hearth of the fireplace, fighting back the tears threatening to spring from her eyes.

"Why, amora, why?" Eriana hadn't heard him come in; she doubted he did. He had probably been with her the entire time, hiding in the shadows. "She promised you safety; why did you just let her go?"

"She promised me nothing, Zevran. There's no guarantee that I will even make it to the archdemon; the horde may very well kill us all before there's even a chance at defeating that thing. What she offered was a selfish gambit; there's no assurance in that."

"You heard what Riordan said. The Warden who kills the archdemon dies," he said as he turned her so that she had to look at him. There were tears forming in his eyes, a look of fear and desperation on his face. "Please, Ana, please don't do this to me. Go after her; say you changed your mind, but don't do this to me."

Eriana's hands somehow found the side of his face, and she hoped he couldn't feel just how much they were trembling. "Zevran, I can't. If this was about you or me, my love, I would do it in a heartbeat, but I can't risk it. Zev, think about the consequences. Even if the child isn't tainted; releasing that kind of power into the world is dangerous. How could we trust Morrigan with that kind of power?"

Zevran shook his head and pulled her close. "I don't care. I cannot lose you, not now that I've…" He closed his eyes, blinking back the tears that were beginning to flow freely. "I have never allowed myself to feel this way before for anyone, you know this. Opening up to you has been more difficult that you could ever realize; it's made me dig up emotions and feelings long ago buried. How can I survive now in this world if you are not a part of it? I never knew I could feel like this, but now…you are my oxygen, the very essence of my life. To think that I may lose that, I don't think I can bear it."

Eriana threw her arms around him and buried her head in his neck. Together the two elves held each other, neither able to form the words to express the fear, the pain they were feeling. Finally Eriana pulled back to look at her lover. "Zevran, if I accept this, I may be cursing a new generation to the horrors that we have faced. As much as I love you and as much as I want to be with you, I can't bring myself to do it. I can't ask others to suffer for my happiness; I can't be that selfish."

"Then make Loghain do it; make him take the last hit."

Eriana smiled sadly, "How can I ask that of him? I didn't make him a Warden so he could do the unpleasant things for me. I cannot ask him to do something simply because I am unwilling. This is my responsibility; if Riordan fails, I'm the most senior Warden so it falls to me to do it. This life isn't a punishment." She sighed and traced the tattoos across his cheek as she looked into his eyes. "Zev, I know this sounds crazy, but despite the constant threat of death and dismemberment, these last few months have been the happiest of my whole life, and it's all thanks to you. You have given me more than you could ever know. These last ten months have been borrowed time for me; had Duncan not been there, I would have been dead long ago. This time was a gift, and I am grateful for it."

She reached up around her neck and pulled off the necklace that she had been wearing for months. Gently, she placed the coin in Zevran's hand. "Remember when you gave this coin to me? You told me that there were two sides to life, joy and pain. You said that if something wasn't worth losing, then you would never feel that pain of that loss; there no way of having one without the other. Should the worst happen…" Eriana stopped for a moment, looking into his glistening amber colored eyes. "Should the worst happen, please remember that there is another side to the hurt, and focus on that."

Zevran's arms tightened around her as he crushed her to his chest. "Loving you has been worth the risk of losing you, amora. I just can't bear the thought of life without you."

"Then don't think about it tonight, Zevran. Just…just be with me," she whispered as she drew his head up to hers, finding his lips with her hungry kiss. For once, he was slow to respond, but soon she was overpowered by the force of his kisses. There was a desperate passion, a hungry desire that she had never felt before. Without saying a word, the elves moved to the bed, clinging to each other, afraid to let go. His hands searched her body as if it was their first time together, as if he was trying to commit every curve of her figure body to memory, but his eyes never once left her face. Eriana in turn clung to him as if he would disappear the moment she let go, afraid that this moment would be their last together. She savored the feel of his body on top of her, the scent of his leather armor as it surrounded her, and the feel of their lovemaking as they moved together. It was both desperate and tender, passionate yet affectionate, and when they were done, they collapsed in exhaustion beside each other and looked at each other for a long time, both afraid of what tomorrow would bring. It was a long time before they finally succumbed to sleep, still clinging to one another in the darkness.

In his room, Loghain was finding sleep equally fleeting. He had been standing outside of Eriana's room while Morrigan made her proposition and had been about to knock when Zevran made his presence known. He listened as the two lovers talked, his heart breaking along with theirs. He was surprised by the Warden's resolve that she should be the one to take the final blow; it was his suspicion that the only reason he was conscripted was so that he would be the one to make the sacrifice. But as he listened to the two elves, he came to realize, much to his surprise, that she fully intended to take the final blow herself. Loghain shook his head and returned to his room, allowing the couple a final moment of privacy, but he found it difficult to sleep. In his mind's eye, he saw himself standing beside a funeral pyre, surrounded by the Warden's companions, watching as the fire consumed the beautiful elven Warden.

Okay, so we're coming to the final leg of the story, and I wanted to thank those of you who have been so supportive from the beginning. This was the first thing I've written in years, and your support and critiques and advice have been so helpful. Thank you all so much.

I wanted to spend some time with Loghain in this section because I actually enjoyed playing with him in the game. He is such an interesting character in the game; I hope I haven't messed with his character too much here. Again, any reviews and suggestions are welcome. You can expect about two more chapters and an epilogue. Have a great weekend!