A/N: It is not necessary to read my story "Forgiveness" to follow this one, nor is it necessary to read this story to understand "Forgiveness." However, the stories are related to each other in certain situations. If you're interested in Fergus' perspective, the opening chapter of "Forgiveness" takes place immediately after this meeting in this chapter. Thanks. :)

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"Elissa, we need to talk."

Those words. Those were the words that Alistair had spoken to her after the now infamous (in her mind, at least) Landsmeet. Those words had crushed her very soul; the last time she had heard them spoken, it had taken her the better part of a year to recover from their effects. And now her brother was using them, looking at her the way Father would have when he expressed his rare disappointment with her.

This can't be good.

Elissa took a deep breath, then responded to her brother. "What is it?"

Fergus walked up to her and lowered his voice. "You never told me what exactly happened when the castle was taken." He was angry, she realized. Really, really angry.

How did he find out?

Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Fergus answered the question for her. "One of the servants also managed to escape that night. He came to me a few days ago and expressed his … condolences." Fergus' mouth turned down further and his brows lowered, making him look menacing. "You kept it from me. Why?"

"I wanted to spare you the pain. Since Rendon was already dead when I found out you were alive, I figured you didn't need the details. Nobody should have to live through knowing that happened to their family, and you were already grieving enough as it was."

"I didn't need the details?" Fergus' voice raised in volume. "You thought that I didn't NEED to know how my wife and child died? That bastard's men RAPED my wife and you didn't think it was important enough to tell me?" She heard gasps around her as he shouted the last part.

"What would you have done about it, Fergus?" Elissa was trying to stay calm, but her brother's anger made it difficult. "Rendon Howe was already dead. He had already paid for his crimes. I didn't want you … to have to deal with the nightmares I had from that night. I thought it was better that you remember them from happier times." She looked at Fergus intently. "I knew it would have done no good, and much harm, to bring it up afterward."

"So you decided to allow his son to join your ranks instead, Elissa?" Fergus sneered the word son. "You decided that it would be all right to let a Howe stand behind you with a bow in hand? Were you TRYING to finish the job his father started!"

Elissa narrowed her eyes at her brother as she heard a scuffle behind her. Oghren's and Zevran's voices sounded, making reassuring noises. Please keep Nathaniel calm. "Nathaniel has nothing to do with this, Fergus. We've discussed this already. He's a good man, and nothing like his father."

"He's a Howe, Elissa!"

"So you've decided that the entire family should be defined by the actions of one crazy man? Nathaniel has more than proven himself. He's saved my life countless times and he's even saved your life! Rendon would never have done that! Nathaniel and his sister are HORRIFIED by what their father did." Elissa took a deep breath to calm down. "Yes, Nathaniel is a Howe. He represents the name far better than Rendon ever did. You thought so yourself not long ago."

"That was before I knew how sick and twisted his father was! And Father trusted Rendon right up to the point where he murdered everyone in the entire castle! What makes you think his son won't do the same to you eventually?"

Elissa looked at Fergus steadily. "I'll take my chances," she said quietly.

Fergus' eyes widened and he stood there, stunned, as realization grew in his face. His jaw worked soundlessly as he attempted to speak. Finally he found his voice. "You're sleeping with him?"

Elissa stood tall and tilted her chin upward. "Yes."

"You...you ..." Fergus stared at her, disbelieving. "What is WRONG with you? You rejected Teagan. For HIM."

I was wondering who put Teagan up to that. "Yes."

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? DO YOU KNOW WHAT FATHER WOULD HAVE SAID ABOUT THIS?"

"I presume he would say that I'm showing more sense than his son is, at present," Elissa replied tartly. "I'm not the one who is confusing one man for another here."

Fergus' hands jerked. He gritted his teeth in a visible effort to, Elissa presumed, not strangle her at that very moment. After several moments of struggling with himself, Fergus straightened. "I will not allow a Howe to inherit any part of Highever." His voice belied his tightly controlled fury.

Now it was Elissa's turn to stare in disbelief. "You think that a piece of dirt is what this is about? Do you honestly believe that? We're Grey Wardens, Fergus. We don't hold land or political titles. The minute Duncan made me a Grey Warden, I stopped being a noble. You know that Amaranthine is the property of the order and not mine personally. I don't even want it, truth be told. Neither does Nathaniel, or he would have left the order and taken the land you already gave him instead of passing it on to Delilah's child."

Fergus snorted. "It's a better explanation than the other thing I can think of." Derisive was too generous of a description for his tone.

"Which is?" Elissa's voice held a quiet warning.

Fergus' voice dropped to a low growl. "How long did it take you to invite a Howe to your bed, dear sister? Did you wait for Alistair to kick you out first, or did you have to give Loghain a tumble before the King would toss you aside? Did Zevran warm your bed until you went to the keep? Who else has gotten a piece of you?"

She saw her fist connect with her brother's face before conscious thought registered, although she honestly could not say she was sorry that she punched him. He fell to the floor and blood started pouring out of his nose. She leaned over him and grabbed his shirt, pulling his shoulders off the floor in her anger.

"I will say this," she ground out, "and then our conversation is OVER." She took a breath so that she wouldn't punch Fergus again, although she dearly wanted to smash his face to a pulp. "Do you think our family was the only one that was destroyed by Rendon? The damage he caused his own family occurred for years. And when you calm down and think about what Father and Mother would have wanted, you reconsider your position. In the meantime, I have to go and be a Grey Warden." She dropped him then and spun on her heel. She marched up to Nathaniel, who had stopped struggling against Oghren and Zevran, and said, "Anders, please heal Teyrn Cousland. I think I broke his nose. Everyone else, we're leaving. We have to go to Orzammar now." She held out her hand to Nathaniel, who took it and squeezed it in reassurance, and left Cousland Castle with her head held high. She made it a point to ignore the stares and whispers of the Highever guards who wisely decided not to intervene.

The group went to the inn and packed their things quickly and silently and made their way to the city gates. She set a fast pace in her anger, the others following behind her without making a sound. After about an hour, she heard Anders behind her. "Hey, Elissa?"

She stopped and turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Do you have a sister?"

She laughed despite herself, and her companions' faces relaxed. The rest of their travel that day went, more or less, back to normal.

Later, when they made camp for the night, she leaned against Nathaniel as they both watched the flames of the campfire flicker. "I'm sorry my brother was an ass today," she said. "I never expected him to act that badly."

Nathaniel rubbed her shoulders, easing some of the tension from them. "I can't say that if our positions were reversed that I'd have shown as much restraint as he did. There's no need to apologize." He sat silently for a moment. "Do you regret not letting Arl Teagan court you?"

Elissa sat up and looked Nathaniel in the face. "No." She smiled at him and turned back around, leaning against him again.

She could hear his smile when he replied. "Good." They sat and watched the fire for a little bit longer before going to sleep.