A/N: I will be changing the rating to this story to "M" for the next chapter. As always, thanks so much for the kind feedback!

Stress

Alistair fell to the ground and Elissa shoved her boot onto his chest plate to keep him down. The audience anxiously looked on, not wanting to turn her wrath onto themselves. Leliana timidly backed away with Wynne. Oghren scratched at his beard nervously and the dog let out a quiet whine. Even Sten's stoic demeanor cracked when his eyes widened in surprise. Everyone was taken aback by Elissa's sudden rage. All except Morrigan who looked as though she has been waiting for ages for the show to finally begin.

Elissa was already been in a foul mood for the past several weeks. Getting all the allies together to fight against the blight was not an easy task and Teyrn Mac Tir was making it difficult for everyone. Because Loghain had declared the Grey Wardens responsible for the death of the King, their party has encountered suspicion and shunning everywhere they went. Loghain has also gone one step further, offering substantial bounties on their heads, which made traveling all the more easier.

They were right about to enter Redcliffe to ask for Arl Eamon's aid and then Alistair decided it was a good time to tell Elissa something that finally pushed her temper over the edge.

Elisa ground her heel into his steel armor. "You…are…the…son…of…King…Maric?!" She hissed.

Alistair didn't attempt to get up from the ground. He held his hands up to Elissa. "This is part of the reason I didn't tell you!"

Elissa couldn't believe how clueless the man was. She pounded her foot down on his chest repeatedly, his armor rang like a dull bell with each thump. "You! The son of King Maric! You couldn't have at least mentioned it sooner?! Before we've gone through all this mess?! Do you realize your worth, you idiot?!"

"Worth?!" Alistair turned to the others to laugh but they all remained silent. He turned back to her. "What worth do I have?! I'm nothing more than a bastard!"

Elissa angrily reached down and grabbed the neck of his armor. She pulled his face to hers. "I can't believe you are such an idiot! This whole time we have been struggling to get our Grey Warden treaties, getting blocked at almost every turn because Loghain has basically claimed the throne through his daughter! And we find out that YOU are the rightful heir to the throne! We could have saved so much time and effort!"

"Well that sounds lovely, darling. I guess I will just saunter up to the palace in Denerim and say 'here I am, your long lost King!'" Alistair sarcastically replied.

Elissa narrowed her eyes at Alistair. "How did you find this out? When we were childen, you told me that your mother was nothing more than a scullery maid and your father was un-named."

"That's the truth." Alistair tried to get up but Elissa held him down. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, Arl Eamon told me that King Maric was my father right before he sent me off to the Chantry. My mother WAS a scullery maid…but apparently served the King…"

"Why didn't you tell me until now?!" Elissa demanded, her hand still gripped on the collar of his armor, shaking it angrily.

"It isn't something I can just bring up into a conversation! 'Hello, Elissa, fine morning isn't it? Oh, by the way, I'm King Maric's bastard son'. If you were going to take the news the same way you are now, I'm quite glad I kept it to myself." Alistair explained, hoping that Elissa would calm down.

Elissa sighed heavily and let him go. She took hold of his arm and helped Alistair back onto his feet. "Is Arl Eamon the only one who knows of this?"

"I am not sure. I believe so. I didn't really ask for many specifics at the time." Alistair admit.

"If I may offer an opinion." Wynne stepped forward, trying to soothe Elissa. "Even though Alistair is the son of King Maric, it is still a fact that he is still an un-claimed bastard. I don't believe Alistair coming out with this news earlier would have helped us much, child." She gently said.

Elissa glanced at everyone. They all were still in a bit of shock due to her sudden outburst…especially Alistair. She took a deep breath and nodded at Wynne. "I'm sorry, everyone…you're right, Wynne. I should have not taken that news as badly as I just did."

She turned to Alistair who straightened himself as if he were expecting a blow. "I'm sorry, Alistair. This isn't your fault." She then began walking up the path to Redcliffe. "Come on, everyone. Let's hurry up and speak with the Arl."

As Elissa walked off ahead of the group, Leliana cleared her throat and pushed Alistair forward. As he turned around to question her, Leliana nodded at Elissa's direction and mouthed, "Go talk to her!".

Alistair nervously swallowed and quickly ran up to Elissa. The rest of the group stayed respectfully behind earshot to give the two some privacy.

"Elissa…" He took hold of her elbow. "Are you really that angry with me for not telling you this?"

Elissa sighed and shook her head. "No…no, I'm not. I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated at the circumstances I suppose. I guess I'm a little upset that I didn't know this about you."

Alistair walked alongside her. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I've been accustomed to keeping it to myself. It's not really something I am particularly proud of. I didn't even tell Duncan up until a couple weeks ago."

"Why couldn't you tell me?" Elissa turned to him, feeling a bit hurt. "I thought you could trust me with everything!"

"I do! I trust you with my life! But like I said, it's not something I tell everyone…Oh, I don't know." Alistair mumbled. "I guess I was scared if I told you, you'd treat me differently."

"Differently? How?" Elissa asked.

"I didn't want you to avoid me or act oddly around me because of this. Even though I am a King's bastard son, I am still Alistair. I didn't want to be treated like some royal ninny."

Elissa recalled how she and Alistair had first met within the thorny hedges at Redcliffe castle. She remembered how she didn't want to tell her new found friend that she was the daughter of Teyrn Cousland, because she was scared he would treat her differently as others did when they found it out.

"I guess…I can understand that feeling…" Elissa murmured.

Alistair let out a relieved breath. "I'm happy that you realize that this does not change anything. I have absolutely no desire to take the throne."

"Why not?" Elissa asked, genuinely confused.

"'Why not?'" Alistair repeated, laughing. "Can you IMAGINE someone like me on the throne? I'd run Ferelden into ruins within a course of a few days!"

"To be fair, that is what Loghain is doing right now." Elissa replied flatly. "And he and his daughter aren't even of royal blood. Besides, I think you'd make a fine King. Maybe I should start calling you 'your Majesty'?"

Alistair groaned. "For the love of Andraste, please don't. When I was a child, Arl Eamon made sure that I understood that just because my father was the king did not mean I was a prince of any kind. I'd like to keep it that way. I think the Arl would make a much better king than I. Look at what Loghain and Queen Anora are doing! Do you really think it's better to replace a farmer for a stable boy?"

Elissa finally laughed and pushed at Alistair's arm. "Okay, fine. You win for now. I'm sorry for knocking you to the ground back there."

"I should hope so." Alistair looked down at his armor and pointed to his chest plate. "Look at this, you've made a DENT in it, you crazy woman."

"Next time, don't make me so angry or else you'll receive a dent someplace worse than on your armor." Elissa joked back.

"Right. No more unveiling of parentages. I will warn the others." Alistair kidded and they both shared a laugh.

From behind, the group let out a collective sigh of relief. It looked like Alistair had patched things up with Elissa as they watched them smile and jab at each other.

"They're quite cute together, don't you think?" Leliana whispered to Wynne.

Wynne smiled back sadly. "Yes, they are. I hope they understand the seriousness of the situation if their relationship becomes more involved than the usual camaraderie."

"How troublesome." Morrigan gave her usual sarcastic sigh. "'Tis plainly obvious to everyone but our female Warden that the idiot is in love with her. For such an impressive leader, her common sense is quite lacking."

"Let's just watch and see what happens, shall we?" Leliana smiled softly, wishing the best for their two Grey Wardens. They will need all well wishes they can get…considering one was just as awkward as the other was oblivious.