Elissa turned onto her back and let out a silent sigh. Despite not having slept for two straight days and having walked all day, she was unable to let unconsciousness claim her. I've got to try or I'll be no good to anyone. So she lay there, her eyes wide open and her mind refusing to clear.

It had been a long, long day. The Wardens had, indeed, joined with the royal procession. It made sense as both groups were going to the same destination, and now they all had to worry about potential threats to Alistair and Alfstanna's lives. Of course, maybe traveling with Elissa and Nathaniel might have done more harm than good in that regard, as Elissa's mind reminded her frequently. She wasn't sure if the Wardens' presence was a help in making the royal couple safer, or a hindrance in that it was putting them in harm's way.

Then, there were the instances of individual tension. Anders was unusually quiet and stayed as far away from Ser Bryant as he could, becoming decidedly morose by the end of the day. Bryant, for his part, chose to walk near Eleanor, who was released from her bonds but was uneasy because she was smart enough to know she wasn't trusted by anyone there. She knew that if she tried to run away that she'd have several large men chasing her down and killing her. That's not uncomfortable at all. Elissa shook her head wryly.

Oghren stayed near Bryant, his natural resistance to magic making him an obvious choice to help guard Eleanor. This would have been fine if he wasn't also the perfect person to entertain and distract Anders from the fact that there was a templar in their party. And since Anders was avoiding Bryant, he was nowhere near Oghren while they traveled.

Elissa had felt obligated to walk near Alistair and Alfstanna for a large portion of the day. This was reasonable, it being appropriate protocol, except that Alistair being his usual charming and chatty self seemed to threaten Nathaniel. Between Alistair's constant talk and the royal guards whispering about Nathaniel and the other Wardens, Elissa was sure that Nathaniel had seen enough of royalty for a long time. She was also sure that he was jealous of the easy manner that Alistair had with everyone, including herself. He got to the point where, by the end of the day, he refused to leave Elissa's side and was silent. At least he didn't act like a mabari to mark his territory. I'm surprised that he detached from me long enough to take first watch. Elissa sighed silently again and rolled her eyes in the dark.

She heard footsteps outside the tent, then Nathaniel and Anders' voices conversing softly. It must be time for Anders' watch. They talked for a moment, quietly, then it was silent again. Then there were footsteps coming near her tent, only they were heavier than Nathaniel's. Then, "Isn't that Elissa's tent?"

Oh, joy. It's Alistair. And Elissa felt her headache from that morning start again.

"Yes, it is." Nathaniel spoke softly, his tone being one that Elissa recognized as carefully neutral.

There was a long moment of silence, then, "...Oh." There was another long silence, then she heard, "How long?" Alistair's voice had that little crack in it, the one that he got when he was feeling emotional. Elissa could almost picture the wounded puppy look he got when he was unhappy.

"About a month now." Elissa envisioned Nathaniel's expression at that point; she could see the raised brow, the forced politeness covering the underlying challenge, the intense stare.

There was another long pause. Even inside her tent, Elissa could feel the tension coming from the two outside.

She heard a deep breath, then a loud exhale. That was Alistair. "I was hoping to speak with you privately. I wanted … to thank you." Elissa's eyebrows raised in surprise. She was sure Nathaniel was doing the same.

"What for?"

"Well ..." Alistair sounded unsure now. "You know about … us … during the blight, I'm sure. I think everyone does. Did you know about the Landsmeet, and after?"

"Yes." Quietly spoken, and not altogether happy. What is Alistair getting at?

"Right. Well." Another sigh. "I know what I gave up. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. I also know what it did to her when I … I know what I did to her when I left her like that." Another pause, this time with feet shifting. Elissa imagined Alistair running his hands through his hair as he formed his next thoughts into words. "She looked like she had just stopped … being. It was awful. I don't think she cared whether she lived or died."

Nathaniel's voice had turned hard now, but remained quiet. "You came here to tell me that you know how much you made her suffer?"

Elissa pictured Alistair's wince in her mind. "No. No, I didn't. This is hard, sorry. What I meant to say was...well, when I saw her after that, when she'd just arrived at Vigil's Keep, she didn't look much better. She still looked dead. In her eyes. But then when I saw her again, just a few months later, when you came with her to the palace, she looked a lot better. She actually smiled. I didn't think … I didn't think it was possible for her to smile again." Alistair sounded ashamed when he said that.

"What are you getting at?" That's the big question, isn't it?

"You brought her back." Elissa blinked, unsure of what to think of that statement. "You fixed the part of her that I broke, and if the way she looks at you now is any indication, you made it stronger. I just … thank you."

Nathaniel's voice was surprised. "You're … welcome."

"You seem to take care of her. I … I don't think I ever did that. She spent her entire time taking care of me, and I never gave her anything back."

Nathaniel snorted. Elissa thought he sounded vaguely amused. "She never asks for anyone to take care of her. It's easy to miss if you don't pay attention."

"Just … please. Don't be an idiot like me. Don't break her again if you can help it. It might just kill her if it happened again. She's too special to have that happen to her. She deserves a lot more than what I did."

"I don't intend to." Nathaniel's voice was quiet and confident. "She's everything to me."

There was another long pause. "I … I should go, I guess. I need to get back to Alfstanna." Alistair's voice sounded resigned. "I don't need to mess up this too."

"She seems like a fine woman." Nathaniel sounded reassuring. "I know Elissa really likes her and she's been saying that Alfstanna is a good match for you, maybe better than she was."

"Really?" Alistair sounded surprised. "Well, um … I'll just … be off, then. Good night." Heavy footprints sounded, getting quieter until they were no longer audible.

Elissa closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She heard Nathaniel enter the tent and undress quietly, then felt him slide into the bedroll next to her. It was silent for a minute, then she heard him whisper, "How much did you hear?"

Elissa opened her eyes. "All of it." She turned her head to see Nathaniel laying on his back, looking at the roof of the tent. She couldn't tell much because of the darkness, but it seemed like he was thinking.

Nathaniel rolled up onto his side then and looked down at her. "I meant what I said," he murmured.

She smiled then. "I'm glad you feel the same way." The air around him stilled for a moment, then he leaned over and the passion in his kiss wiped all thought from her mind. It was a little while before she fell asleep, but when she did fall into unconsciousness at last, she smiled as the wait was well worth it.

-0-0-0-

As soon as Elissa exited her tent the next morning she sought out Anders. She found him sitting on the edge of the campsite petting his cat. He looked thoughtful. She sat down next to him and waited.

After a little bit, Anders shifted and looked at her. "Ser Bryant spoke with me this morning," he said. "Did you know that he was stationed in Lothering before the darkspawn came through there?"

Elissa nodded. "That's where I met him. We were just ahead of the horde – it was right after Ostagar. We stopped in Lothering to resupply."

"You know, when you spend as much time with templars as I have," Anders smiled wryly, "you learn a few things. One of the things I learned is that Lothering was a post for templars who don't fit in to the whole 'the Chantry is the best thing that ever happened to me' mindset. Usually, the templars who got sent there that I knew of were the ones who thought for themselves and usually got in trouble because of it, but not enough trouble to get sent to Aeonar. Something about it being a remote outpost made it good for that, or something." He shook his head.

"I didn't know that." Elissa smiled at Anders. "But it makes sense." She leaned back. "I bet if Alistair had taken his final vows he'd have ended up there."

Anders laughed. "Ser Bryant said the same thing." Then he sobered as he looked at her. "He also said that he had worked with Rylock once to catch apostates. He said he thought she was crazy and had taken too much lyrium, that it had addled her and made her paranoid."

"Either that or she needed to really consider breaking her vow of celibacy." She smirked at him wickedly.

Anders laughed again. "That would explain a lot! I knew she wanted me!" He shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry I was difficult yesterday. I let myself be prejudiced by the uniform and didn't give him a chance. I'll … try."

Elissa leaned over and bumped his shoulder with hers. "It's all right," she said softly. "I don't blame you. I'm sorry I put you in an uncomfortable position. If you have any problems, just let me know and we'll figure something out, all right?" She stood up and offered him a hand to help him stand.

He accepted it, scooping up his cat in the other hand, and they made their way back to the campfire for breakfast. "I can do that. And thanks."

Maybe traveling with everyone won't be so bad after all. Only time will tell.