Elandria came slowly awake to the scent of the crushed flower Alistair had tucked behind her ear last night. She kept her eyes closed, but a small smile curved her lips as she remembered their first night together since before the Blight had ended. As she laid there drifting between sleep and wakefulness, she felt Kellin stirring beside her. She opened her eyes and rolled her head to look at him. He pushed his body up off the bed and rubbed at his eyes with one hand as he looked at her, "Mamae?" he asked questioningly.

"Shh," she said quietly. She reached out and put her arms around him to pull him close to her. "Come here, little one. Don't wake your father," she whispered.

Kellin quite happily put his head on her chest while his mouth split open in a huge yawn. They laid there for a bit with Elandria stroking his hair until he began to wake up and started moving around. They slipped out of the bed as quietly as they could.

Elandria knew she had a dressing robe somewhere in the room, but where it was exactly, she didn't have a clue. She scooped up a tunic of Alistair's, which was thrown on the floor by the bed. She drew it on over her linen underclothing and it fell down below her knees on her. Her mouth quirked in a smile as she saw how dwarfed she was in it, but figured she was dressed decently enough to take Kellin next door. She raked her hands through her hair and pulled out the flower Alistair had given her last night. She sat it gently on a bedside table. She spared a moment to gaze fondly down at her new husband. Alistair laid on his back with his head rolled away from her. He had one arm behind his head and his other hand resting on his stomach. She could tell by watching the movement of his chest with each breath he took that he was still deeply asleep.

She took Kellin's hand and they moved toward the door to his suite.

Zynalla knew nothing about the events at the palace when she arose that morning. She went through her normal routine of dressing and having breakfast before kissing her father goodbye and leaving for the palace. She had only taken two steps from her door before the early winter breeze knifed through her. She huddled in her uniform and quickened her pace. There was no way she could wear the coat she had worn for the past few years to the prince's suite. It was threadbare and worn and had stains from her time in the kitchens. No, until she knew if she was going back to the kitchens or staying with the young prince, she would just have to get by without one.

Stretching her stride and walking briskly soon had warmed her up a bit. By the time she left the alienage and headed towards the palace, she was almost comfortable. When she arrived at the servant's entrance, she was in for a surprise. There was a line of elven servants waiting to be admitted. Zy fell into the line and asked the elderly woman in front of her what was going on. The woman eagerly turned to spread the news to a fresh ear.

"Didn't you hear, lovey? They tried to kill the king last night!"

"No! Who? What happened?" Zy remembered how the king's presence had filled Kellin's bedchamber, but yet how he had taken the time to speak to her and try and make her feel better when she had fallen. She hoped nothing bad had happened to him.

"I heard five men attacked him, but 'is new wife magicked them dead," the woman said in a staged whisper.

"That can't be right," declared Zy. She decided she would wait and ask the guardian what had happened. He would surely know the truth and would be able to tell her.

"That's what I 'eard. Anyway, they is searching all of us before letting us in."

Zy looked at the line. She hoped that it wouldn't take long. She didn't want to be late. She waited patiently as the line snaked its way to the door and listened to the chatter around her. She heard three different stories about the events of last night before she even made it into the building. Once she had arrived at the head of the line, one of the guards who was controlling it directed her to two others who were just finishing searching an elven man.

"Go on then," said one of the guards, giving the man a cruel push to move him off. He turned to Zy and his face lit up. He waved to her to come up to he and his partner.

"Now then, we have to search you and make sure you don't have any weapons. We don't want anything to happen to King Alistair now, do we?" asked the man.

"No, of course not," said Zy softly.

Zy stared straight ahead as she felt the men's hands start to pat her down. One of the guards "accidentally" brushed her breast while he was searching. Zy felt her face flame, but she knew it would be worse if she said anything. Finally, the men were done. The man behind her patted her on the rear and said, "Off with you now. Though if you are ever looking for company, you just come and find us. Norbert and I can show you a real good time."

Zy didn't answer. She just hurried off with her fists clenched. She hated not protesting her treatment by the guards, but she had seen enough in her short life and heard enough horror stories in the alienage to know how things were for elves, especially elven women.

Zy moved as fast as she could through the hallways, almost running in her haste to get to Kellin's suite. She was happy to see Corporal Conall as one of the guards on Kellin's bedchamber door. He had been nice to her the day he had shown her the way through the palace. "Good morning, Corporal," Zy said with a small bob as she prepared to enter the room.

"Good morning, Mistress Zynalla," replied Conall with a grin. He flashed her an appreciative look as her appearance was much different from when he had seen her fresh from the kitchens.

Zy pushed the door open and smiled back at the corporal as she entered. She shut the door and was about to turn and face the room when she felt herself grabbed and pulled back against a strong body, "Hum," a voice purred in her ear. "What do we have here?" The melodiously accented voice went on to answer his own question. "A beautiful young elven woman. Tell me, my dear, what are you doing here and what can Zevran do for you?" His hands held her firmly against him with one on her waist and the other loosely around her neck. She felt his fingers begin to stroke the delicate skin he found there.

Torin had heard the door and exited his room for Kellin's. "Let go of her," he ordered sharply when he saw that Zevran was holding Zynalla.

Zevran looked over at Torin and raised an eyebrow. This was interesting. "Tell me, my dear, did you come to see me? I would have visited Alistair before if I had known he was in the habit of sending such beautiful women to his visitors." Zev continued to watch Torin, but he was in no hurry to remove his hands from the girl.

Zy wasn't sure if she should try to pull away or stay where she was. "I-I'm Prince Kellin's servant," she finally settled on saying.

Torin strode across the room anger apparent in every muscle as his eyes bore into Zevran.

"Ah, I see," said Zevran as he released Zy and stepped back. "I apologize. I did not mean to intrude," he said with a small bow in Torin's direction. "I did not realize she was your woman,"

"Wait, no," said Zy in horror. "You think.. I'm not…"

"No," Torin said loudly so that he drowned her out. "She's not my woman, as you so quaintly describe her, but she deserves better than to be manhandled like a common whore."

Zevran could barely keep the smile off his face. "I apologize once again then for misunderstanding the situation. Come, let us be friends. Introduce us."

Torin gritted his teeth. "Mistress Zynalla, this is Zevran Arainai. He is a friend of Elandria's and the king. Zevran, this is Mistress Zynalla. She helps in the care of Prince Kellin."

"Call me Zev, my dear. All my friends do. I think we will be great friends."

Elandria had come through the door with Kellin while Torin was speaking. "Zynalla, ignore Zevran's flirting."

Zevran was put out. "How do you know I was flirting with her?" he asked rather grumpily.

"Oh Zev, really. She's over fourteen and quite pretty. Of course, you flirted with her!" replied Elandria with a grin.

"Ah, my Warden, I fear you know me too well," said Zevran with a theatrical sigh.

"Nalla," said Kellin joyously. "Sing my song. Sing it for me!"

Zy moved away from both Torin and Zevran and squatted down to his level. "If you want me to later, then I will," she promised. "But, I think first we need to get you dressed and some breakfast in that tummy. Maybe there will even be pancakes!" she finished with a smile.

Elandria was glad to see Kellin take to the young elven girl. The fact that she had remembered his favorite breakfast food was a mark in her favor in Elandria's book. She watched as Zy took Kellin by the hand and they went over to his clothes press to find him some clean clothes for the day. Elandria turned her attention to Zevran and Torin. Zevran's eyes were following Kellin.

"I'll introduce you as soon as Zynalla gets him dressed," Elandria said softly.

"Poor child. He looks amazingly like our favorite ex-templar," commented Zevran. "Still I suppose all hope is not lost. Alistair managed to win you after all."

Elandria playfully swatted Zevran in the arm, "Quit being so mean."

Zevran held up his hands in mock surrender. "I give up," he said. He turned his attention from Kellin to her. "I see you still insist on stealing Alistair's clothes," he commented.

Elandria flushed, but just threw him a glare and asked, "Any problems last night?"

"No," Zevran said. "There were no attempts to get in this room. Although Torin and I discovered a passage and followed it to the outlet."

"Really?" Elandria commented with interest.

"Yes," Torin said. "It goes all the way to the bottom level of the palace and exits near the prison cells. We want to do some more investigating and see if there another way out of the palace from there."

"I believe there may be other entrances to the passage lower in the palace. When I have the chance, I will search for them," Zevran said.

Elandria wrinkled a brow in thought. "What about securing these rooms from the passage? How do we do that?

"I've set a few traps in the passage itself," replied Zevran. "The entrance swings out into the room so we could put a heavy chest in front of the entrance here, but the best guard is having someone always with Kellin. Perhaps you should have him stay in Torin's room until the immediate danger is over?"

"Agreed," said Torin to Zevran. "And I don't want to put a guard at the exit at the other end. That just signifies that there is something that needs guarding. If whoever was behind the attempt last night had known about the passage, they would have used it then."

"Alistair wants to keep this all quiet. Are you going to tell Kellin's other guards about the attempt? And what about Zynalla? Are you going to tell her?" Elandria asked Torin.

Torin looked at her and realized she was leaving the decision to him. He thought quickly, honored at the trust she was showing in him. "I think I shall tell Ser Bryce, but not the other guards. With the attempt on the king public knowledge, it only makes sense that we would increase precautions for Kellin as well. I will talk to Ser Bryce about setting up a split shift for us, much like Ser Hugh and Ser Adair use on the king's detail."

Elandria nodded and raised an eyebrow in the direction of Zynalla, who was still involved in assisting Kellin in his morning routine. "What about her?" she asked.

"What do you think?"

"Well, I'd hate to see harm come to her because of someone trying to get to Kellin," answered Elandria.

"I'll play it by ear," Torin said. "My gut says we can trust her to keep her mouth shut, but I may wait a bit before telling her."

"Fair enough," Elandria agreed. "Oh Zev, by the way, I want you to start teaching Torin some of your skills with poisons, traps, and such if you would be so kind. I also think you two should spar together. I've tried to give him some pointers on two-weapon style, but you've forgotten more about it than I ever learned to begin with."

Zevran nodded his head in acquiescence. "As you wish, my Warden."

Elandria moved quietly to the side of the bed allowing Alistair's tunic and her underclothing and smallclothes to drop to the floor. Alistair seemed to still be asleep. She slid back under the covers and enjoyed the sensation of pressing herself against him. She still found the fact that she would be able to go to sleep beside him every night and wake with him there every morning a hard truth to believe. She had been trying to push aside her thoughts and feelings for him for so long, it felt strange to be able to give them free rein. She tried not to bother him and let him sleep, but it wasn't long before she wasn't able to resist the urge to touch him. She ran a finger lightly up his arm and across his chest as she laid curled beside him.

"Um, that feels wonderful," he said without opening his eyes. "But you'd better be careful. I have a wife around here somewhere, and there's a rumor she's jealous."

"Is that so?" said Elandria. "Just how jealous is this wife of yours?"

Alistair rolled over on top of her, turning her beneath him so she laid on her back as he did so. "Hugely, insanely jealous," he began. "Hey, you're naked!"

"Very observant of you, my king," Elandria teased him.

"Well, my jealous wife, I think we should do something about that," he said as he dropped his head to start nuzzling the sensitive areas of her neck and ear.

"What an excellent idea," she agreed as her body came alive under his touch.

Zevran, Torin, Zynalla, and Kellin had all had breakfast together (which did include pancakes). They decided that Zy and Kellin (with an appropriate guard) would go down to the salle and watch Zevran and Torin work out. Zynalla didn't know much about weapons, but watching the two elves and seeing the other guards who were at their own training, she could tell they were in a class by themselves. Their graceful blocks, turn, and spins as they worked was almost like watching two cats at play. Evidently, Torin's workouts with Elandria had taught Torin many of Zevran's practice moves and the two were able to develop a routine quickly.

Kellin was beside himself with excitement. This was the first time he had been to the salle and he could hardly stay still long enough to watch. Zy was constantly afraid he would dash off and accidentally get skewered with a weapon. She kept a firm hold on his hand. He kept chattering about how Torin was going to give him his first dagger on his birthday. The two men were still working when Kellin's attention span was at its limit. When she called out that she was going to take Kellin to the stables to see his pony, she was surprised at the response from Torin and Zevran. They immediately stopped what they were doing and stated they would accompany them. Zy was still curious about what had really happened with the king last night and had been hoping to get the guardian by himself to be able to ask him. Evidently, Zevran was staying with them all day. She wondered if this had something to do with the attempt on the king last night. As they were all heading to the stable, she finally raised her courage enough to ask.

"What happened at the palace last night? I heard something about an attack on the king?" she asked. Zy didn't miss the quick glance that went between Torin and Zevran.

"There was an assassination attempt on the king," confirmed Torin. "It obviously failed." With one more look at Zev, who nodded in agreement, Torin put his hand on her shoulder. "Da'len, you go with Uncle Zevran. Mistress Zynalla and I will catch up with you."

Kellin looked shyly up at Zevran, the gray man. Kellin didn't know him, but mamae had said he could be trusted. Kellin hesitantly took the hand that Zevran held out to him. Zevran smiled down at him and asked him a question about his pony. With his favorite subject at hand, Kellin led the way chattering at a smiling Zevran the whole way. Torin and Zynalla stayed on the path while Zevran, Kellin, and the three other guards continued on their way to the stables.

Torin turned to Zynalla. "I'm going to tell you something that needs to remain a secret," he said quietly. "I think you deserve to know and can help to make sure Kellin stays safe. There wasn't just an attempt on the king. There was an assassin sent after Kellin as well. I killed him," he stated baldly. "The king has decreed that this is to stay a secret. Even most of Kellin's other guards don't know anything about it. We are using the attempt on the king as our excuse for upgraded security. That's why Zevran has been staying so close today.

"I can't believe someone would want to harm the prince," she replied in a low voice. "He's such a sweet child."

"I doubt Kellin's sweetness had anything to do with it. The king seems to think it is an attempt to take the throne, and Kellin is second in line and would be an obstacle to that even if the king were removed," replied Torin. "Anyway, I just wanted you to be aware of the danger and ask that you keep your eyes open when you are around Kellin. There will be more guards than normal for a while so if you see anything that gives you pause, you tell one of the guards, understand?"

"Yes, guardian," said Zynalla with a nod. "I understand and I won't say anything to anyone either."

"My name is Torin," he said. "You can call me that."

Zy demurely dropped her eyes. "Yes…Torin," she said shyly.

Alistair and Elandria were lying sated in their bed. She was snuggled up to his chest. Alistair was lying on his back with his eyes closed.

"It's going to be hard to give him a near-normal life, you know," Elandria finally said.

"Kellin?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I'd like to try though. When he gets older, I'd like him to spend some time each year with different groups of people. Send him to the dwarves, the elves, heck, even the mages. If he stays here in the palace all the time, he'll just turn into another human noble with no real view of the world. You make such a good king because you've seen the way the world really is and traveled widely before coming to this rarified lifestyle. I don't want him to grow up just in this bubble in the palace."

"The idea has merit. We'd have to make sure of his safety," mused Alistair. "I never considered fatherhood as planning someone's future. Of course, I never expected…" he trailed off.

Elandria propped herself up on an elbow to look at him. His eyes were closed, but she could see the lines of pain around them. "Alistair, did you want to talk about your daughter?" she asked softly.

"Moira," he said. "Her name was Moira."

"I know," Elandria replied. "Tell me about Moira."

"I don't have a lot to tell. She was only a few days old when she died. She was dark-haired like most babies with blue eyes. I don't think she would have kept them though because both mine and her mother's were dark. It hurts so much that I will never know her, Lanie. I'll never watch her first steps or hear her call me father. The first time I held her in my arms it was like a miracle, but that happiness only lasted for a day. Wynne came to me the next morning carrying her in her arms. She had detected the taint in Moira and wanted me to confirm it."

"Oh no, Alistair! I'm so sorry."

"I worried the entire pregnancy that she would be tainted after I saw those records from the Wardens. Turns out I was right to worry."

"I wish I could say something to make it better, but I know I can't. All I can say is I'm sorry you had to go through that and that you lost your little girl. I can't imagine how horrible it was." Elandria laid her head back down on his chest and stroked him soothingly.

"I still think about her all the time. Nobody mentions her though. It's like everyone is afraid to."

"I'm sure no one wants to upset you and that they think it is kinder to not mention her. Anytime you want to talk about Moira though, we can. I wish I could have seen her. I bet she would have wrapped you around her little finger. I've always heard little girls do that to their fathers. Did you-did you love her mother?" she asked without looking directly at him.

"Briana?" he said in surprise. "I like her very much. She is very different from you, but I think you would like her if you ever met her. I care about her, but no, I don't love her. I can't. I told you years ago you would always hold my heart and you still do. Did you have anyone special while you were with the Dalish?"

Somehow Elandria couldn't see her and Briana being friends, but she let that comment pass. "It was different for me," she said in answer to his question. "Kellin was always my main concern. Once he was born, some of the elves backed away from being friends with me."

"Why?"

"Do you think humans are the only ones who are prejudiced, Alistair? I had a human baby. To some I was little better than a common whore." She felt Alistair get indignant underneath her but pressed against him to hold him down. "Not everyone, of course. And there weren't many young single men left in the camp between the werewolf curse and the men lost in the final battle in Denerim; it wouldn't have done much good if I had been looking for someone, which I wasn't. If you remember, the elves took heavy causalities that night in helping us. No, the only male I was worried about during that time was our son," Elandria was quiet trying to decide if this was the time to tell him about the desire demon and its ties to her.

"Alistair, I do have something I need to-"

There was a pounding on the door followed by Hugh's voice, "Sire, there's a message that's arrived."

"Damn," said Alistair as he started to get up.

"It's for the Warden," Hugh called.

Elandria looked at Alistair in surprise. "For me?" She jumped up digging for some clothes. She finally located a pair of leggings and one of her tunics and she quickly pulled them on. She left the bedroom area and went to the door and opened it. Hugh handed her the message, "Thank you, Hugh," she said as she shut the door.

She walked back into the bedroom area where Alistair was still lounging in bed. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet," she said as she finished opening it and started to read. "Oh, by the Maker," she exclaimed.

"Well?"

She dropped her hands to stare at him. "It's from the Wardens. A contingent of them are arriving today from Amaranthine, and they want to meet with me."

"Not surprising," said Alistair with a shrug. "They've heard the news of you being alive and will want to hear your account."

Elandria rubbed her chin in thought. "Hum, I guess. I hope it's not an inquisition."

"Do they say who is coming?" Alistair asked.

"No," Elandria replied. "Just that 'The Grey Wardens request a meeting with the king's consort sometime today.' So they know of our marriage as well. I wonder if it is bad they address me as your wife instead of as a Warden?"

"Want me to be there with you?" Alistair asked.

"Would you?" Elandria looked at him hopefully.

"Of course," he said as he rose from the bed, dropping a kiss on the end of her nose. "Schedule it for later in the afternoon. I have a council meeting I have to go to shortly. Oh, I need to tell you about my meeting with Eamon late last night."

"You had a meeting with Eamon?"

"I did. You were sleeping so hard I didn't think you remembered me leaving."

"No, I don't," she said.

Alistair proceeded to fill her in about Anora's escape and the fire at the grain warehouses as they both went through their morning toilet. Alistair was just taking a last glance in the looking glass and fussing with his hair when he turned to her with a smile.

"You know," he said. "This is nice."

"What's nice?" she asked distractedly as she was pulling on her boots.

He waved his hands. "Us, being here together, getting ready for the day and talking. Normally, I just have Adwen who is only worried that my clothes hang right."

Elandria stood up and stamped a foot finally settling the boot. She smiled at him and went over to kiss him. "It is nice," she agreed. After a lingering kiss as she leaned into his body, she added, "Um, it's very nice. Good idea giving both Adwen and Ciannata some time off."

"All right, that's enough out of you, temptress. You keep that up and I'll be removing those clothes you just put on," he said as he firmly put her away from him and headed for the door.

"I'll see you later then." She called, "Alistair, be careful today. There still may be assassins about."

Alistair stuck his head back through the entrance of the bedroom area long enough to smile at her, say "I love you," and then he was gone to his meeting.

Once everyone had admired the pony, Torin tacked him up and led Kellin around the stable yard. The little boy was ecstatic and yelling for everyone to look at him because he was riding his horse. Torin's eye kept falling on Zynalla and Zevran as they stood together lightly chatting while he was occupied with the prince. He grew a little more irritated every time the assassin would smile down at the elven girl. After Kellin tired of being led around, Torin turned the pony over to a stablehand to take care of, and they all headed back to Kellin's suite for lunch.

After lunch, Zynalla began getting Kellin ready for a nap. Zevran decided he would check out the passageway for any other exits, and Torin left the suite for the guard posts outside so that he could talk to Ser Bryce.

Torin was amazed at how well that actually went. The man managed not to make one slur the entire time they spoke. Torin told him he was the only other guard being informed of what had actually happened, and he figured that helped mollify the man. Ser Bryce agreed to a split shift where he would be in command in the evenings. He would start tomorrow night as Zevran had agreed to stay one more night in Kellin's bed just in case. Once Torin finished his conversation with Ser Bryce, he entered the suite through the sitting room. He went a little ways into the open passageway, but he didn't see or hear Zevran. As he came back up the passageway, he could hear Zynalla singing to Kellin in the next room. He eased over to the door and observed as she rocked the little boy on her lap, unaware anyone was watching.

Sleep, sleep, Little One

Till the light draws nigh

Sleep, sleep, My Love

Till the sun is high.

Dream, Dream, Little One

Safe in the Fade

Dream, Dream, My Heart

Do as I bade

Wake, Wake, Little One

Welcome the day

Wake, Wake, My Child

Time to rise and play

"Again, Nalla. Sing it 'gain," Kellin said sleepily.

Torin watched as Zynalla began the song again.

"A beautiful picture, no?" came a soft voice in his ear.

Torin jumped as he hadn't heard the other elf come up behind him. "Kellin's a beautiful child," he answered.

"Ah, but what about the girl? I think you were watching her more than the boy," said Zevran.

"No, I wasn't," denied Torin, rather untruthfully. "Besides I'm not the only one watching," he added in defense.

Zevran just chuckled. "Don't worry, my friend. She's too young for me. I enjoy the sight of a beautiful blossom as much as any man, but I prefer…riper fruit when the time comes for my own personal plucking. Now you, it would be most unnatural for you not to be drawn to such an exquisite picture of young elven beauty."

"I'm just looking out for her because she takes care of Kellin," said Torin uncomfortably.

Zevran threw back his head and laughed, causing Zy to turn sharply and look at the two men. He clapped his hand on Torin's shoulder, "Just keep telling yourself that," he said softly so only Torin could hear. "And maybe one day you might actually believe it."

Elandria was nervous about her upcoming interview with the Wardens, but she hoped she managed to hide it. She was in one of the meeting rooms at the palace that Alistair's clerk had arranged for her to use for the session with the Grey Wardens. She wondered where Alistair was. She had left the time and place with the clerk while he arranged the room for her so she was expecting Alistair to be here. She had sent a page to the Wardens' compound in the palace with the time and place as well. She and Alistair could have gone to the compound, but she preferred to have the advantage of holding the meeting on their turf.

Elandria sat at the head of the rectangular table that was already set up in the room. She noticed she was tapping her fingertips on the table while she waited, and she forced herself to stop. She heard voices as those approaching were challenged by her guards, and she rose to her feet.

A group of three male Wardens came in the door. Elandria felt a little easier as she realized one of them was Dalish. "Good afternoon, brothers," she greeted them.

The older human male who was obviously in charge gave a nod and said, "Same to you, sister," in a heavy Orlesian accent.

"I'm Elandria," she stated simply.

"I'm Warden-Commander Gerod. This is my third, Ashalle Altanori."

"Andaran atish'an, Warden Ashalle," Elandria greeted him.

The Dalish elf smiled at her and in a soft voice replied back, "Andaran atish'an, Warden Elandria."

The Warden-Commander cut right back in. "This is Warden Anders. He is in charge of all the Warden mages in Ferelden."

The handsome human male smiled at her and gave her a quick wave in greeting. Elandria had a hard time holding back her grin. "I remember you," she said. "You were a couple of years ahead of me at the tower, but you were always in trouble with the templars."

"I remember you as well," said Anders. "You were always in special classes with the first enchanter."

The smile slipped from her face. When she had saved the mages of the Circle, it had gone a long way to repairing her ties to the tower; however, the relationship between her and the first enchanter had been forever changed by her actions in dealing with Jowan and his phylactery. She had done as Irving had bid her, as was her duty, but she had never been able to really forgive him for forcing her to betray her friend, even though he had turned out to be practicing blood magic.

"Would you gentleman like to be seated? Alistair was supposed to be joining us, but he must have been held up. If you would like refreshments, I can send for a page."

"That won't be necessary. This isn't a social visit," said the Commander.

Elandria was already starting to feel a dislike for the man. "Well, what can I do for you?" she asked trying to hold on to her calm.

The Commander looked at the other two men and said, "Are we all agreed?" Both of the other Wardens nodded to him.

"To be honest, we weren't sure if we would find that you were really who you said you were. However, we all can feel the taint flowing within you and Warden Anders knows you from before. Perhaps you could tell us exactly what happened four years ago and why you aren't dead."

Elandria gave an inward sigh, but obediently launched into the whole story once again: Morrigan, the Brecilian Forest, discovering she was pregnant, traveling and searching for the Dalish, finding them, Kellin's birth. The only thing she left out was her trip to Denerim. She didn't figure it was any of their business.

"Why did you not return to the Wardens once you had recovered enough to travel?" asked the commander.

"I was almost five months pregnant at that point and had no clue where the Wardens were besides Weisshaupt Forest in the Anderfals. For personal reasons, I had no wish to contact Alistair at that point to find out where the Wardens had set up their base in Ferelden."

"The personal reasons being you were carrying his child, and he didn't know it, correct?"

Elandria clenched her hands into fists in her lap. "Yes," she reluctantly admitted.

"Once the child was born, why didn't you return to the Warden fold then?" he asked still in a domineering manner.

"Look," said Elandria as some of her calm deserted her. "I had just spent over a year traveling the length and breadth of Ferelden multiple times. I had to make some horrible decisions while doing so in the best interest of stopping the Blight. I had put a sword through the head of the archdemon and almost died. I was pregnant and alone until I found Lanaya and her clan. I wasn't in any condition mentally to carry on in any sort of coherent fashion. It took me a long time to regroup and put myself back together after that night on Fort Drakon. And I'll be damned if I'll sit here now and let you presume to judge me.

"You don't know the desperation Alistair and I felt along with the pressure of being the only two Wardens left in Ferelden during the Blight. Do you realize the crazy odds that we beat to even survive to have a chance at the archdemon, much less to actually kill it? Where were the Wardens when we needed help? Are you trying to tell me that in a year a few experienced Wardens couldn't have slipped through the border and found Alistair and me as we were traveling in order to help? There was so much the two of us didn't know. Alistair had been a Warden for six months and me for a handful of hours when Ostagar happened and everyone else was dead. If it hadn't been for Riordan, we wouldn't even have known about the need for a Grey Warden to strike the final blow. Care to tell me just why the Grey Wardens were so willing to abandon Ferelden to the Blight?"

Where was Alistair? He was supposed to be here!

Alistair had spent the afternoon in a long, drawn-out council meeting. First, the assassination attempt had been discussed in detail along with Hugh's and Eamon's plan for the response to that and his increased security. He had to hide his grin as some of the council members were realizing how helpful it could be to his safety that his new wife was a mage. Then the grain fires were discussed along with the plan to bring in more food from Antiva over the winter. Following that was a huge split in the council as how to pay for such a venture became the bone of contention. Several council members were in favor of raising the tribute required from each bann. Alistair was firmly against that because he knew exactly where the cost would be born, by the serfs who worked the fields. Chancellor Eamon received a message in the middle of the meeting and had departed. Alistair had groaned inwardly because he knew that he would have to stay to the end if Eamon wasn't here. Finally, the council broke up with no answers found, but a new session scheduled for the next day. Alistair vaulted out of his chair and started to head towards the chamber where Lanie's meeting with the Wardens was supposed to be. As he left the room, he was snagged by a messenger.

"Your Majesty," said the young man with downcast eyes. "The chancellor has requested that you come to his study immediately upon the ending of the session."

Alistair cursed. He knew he was already late, and if he went to Eamon's study now, he would miss Lanie's meeting with the Wardens all together.

"Please, your Majesty," said the lad. "He said it was urgent."

"Fine," said Alistair giving in to the inevitable and hoping Lanie would understand. He strode rapidly off, the boy not able to match the king's long legs, and even his guard had to hustle to keep up. Alistair was in such a rush he didn't even bother to knock on the door to Eamon's study. He threw it open and strode in.

He came to a sudden halt as the man in front of Eamon's desk turned to look at him. It was his ex-father-in-law, Briana's father. His mouth hung open in shock when the man went to one knee before him, grasped one of his hands, and begged him, "Please, your Majesty, you must find my daughter. You have to save Briana."

A.N.: I owe thanks to two people in this chapter. First to Erynnar who helped me get the Zev groove going when I just had no clue what he would say. And secondly to Melismo, who is the world's fastest beta reader and literally turned this chapter around in a few hours. Thanks for the saves!

As always, my thanks go out to everyone who continues to follow the story. It's because of all you I keep staring at this screen in front of me and my mind keeps coming up with these crazy ideas. Thanks also to the ladies in the Google chatroom for all the support. You know who you are!