Summary: The world knows of Alistair, Zevran, Leliana, and Morrigan. But what of those who came before...?

Disclaimer: Repeat after me: I own zilch.

Queen's Quornor: The dwarf origin stories are rich and detailed, but they are not my favorites. For the Commoner storyline I'm going to have to do some research; was there a crush option for him/her? If there isn't, I'll just do a spin on the option to flirt with Jowan in the mage origin.

Gorim

I never liked being an Aeducan. It's not that I minded being of the Noble Caste, merely the house into which I was born. As second in line from the throne, I was treated differently by everyone. Trian looked down on me, Bhelen gave those appraising looks every time he saw me, merchants scrambled to catch my attention for every little item, and warriors treated me gently in the sparring ring. I had no friends, not even a mother after Bhelen came along. A girl in a family of men must prove her worth; an Aeducan princess must prove herself to all of Orzammar.

By the Stone, I hated the pressure, especially after it became clear Father favored me above my brother. I've never objected to hard work, nor backed down from a challenge; I resented that I had no chance to rest, not even when I slept.

Father held me to a double standard. As his daughter I had to earn his praise, but at the same time he thought I needed more protection than his sons. When he saw how Trian and Bhelen banded together against me, he cast about for a suitable bodyguard for me. I argued that I could protect myself, and he ordered me to accept his choice.

Then I met Gorim, and my opinion changed. I'd see him in a few Provings. He wasn't as famous as some of the other fighters, but he did possess a tenacity and sense of honor that I found lacking in most of his peers. Gorim was as skilled as any of the Warrior Caste, but he did not have the cruelty, the arrogance, that were so heartily endorsed by fighters such as Wojech Ivo, or my cousin Piotin. Even better, his family had served mine for generations with distinction and he was extremely handsome.

I was honestly tempted to kiss my father's cheek when he presented Gorim as my personal bodyguard and second.

Perhaps he did not intend to begin a relationship with me, but I convinced him to stop merely guarding my person and become intimately familiar with the body he was meant to protect. I seduced him, I freely admit it. Ancestors know I was discreet, but I couldn't take it anymore. Trian dallied with willing girls and Bhelen had his consort, yet I was supposed to remain pure? By the Stone, I was only a few years away from leading my first expedition. There are no virgins in the Deep Roads! How long was I supposed to wait?

I didn't expect to actually fall for Gorim. I figured we would have some fun, and eventually I would either be married off or chosen as queen and have to pick a consort from the Noble Caste. Ancestors, I never truly believed Father would pick me over Trian as his preferred heir. I was told I was everything he wanted in his successor, but I surmised the Assembly would chose my big brother anyway. So perhaps I was more open with Gorim than I should have been, risked more of myself than was wise.

I can only blame myself for my broken heart.

I always condemned my brothers for their haughty dispositions, but I still had the arrogance to assume that I would be the only woman he would ever want. In spite of my exile, some part of me expected him to drop everything and fight at my side when I spied him in the Denerim marketplace. I almost wanted him to sweep me into his arms and smother me in his beard, kissing me.

I wished to shatter into a thousand shards when he said he had a wife now, with a child on the way.

The Aeducan name was between us, even on the surface. When I tried to mask my pain with a false smile and a joke about how quickly he had moved on, he gave me a sad look and said how we both knew "it" could never be. Despite our affair, I was still an Aeducan.

I had loved him. He had loved me, or so I thought. In reality, he had loved the Aeducan princess, a woman he would never completely have as his own. It was never real emotion for him.

There's only one person among all my companions who truly understands. That's why I'm in Leliana's room, curled in her arms, crying into her shoulder while she holds me close. She stole men's hearts before impaling them; she knows what it is like to be loved for what is seen rather than what is.

We've become so close since we met in Lothering. I told her about Gorim. She was there at our reunion.

Perhaps that is why I am not surprised when her hand strokes along my cheek, raising my face to the moonlight so my tears glisten.

Perhaps it is why I stretch upward, ignoring the soft creak of the cheap bed upon which we kneel.

Perhaps my need for real love, for acceptance, is why I can accept her kiss.