Disclaimer: Bioware owns all, except what I most humbly imagine. While, at times, I will take verbatim from the game, I mostly use the events of the Dragon Age games, expansions and universe as a loose structure around which to construct my re-imagined tale. If you are looking for a strict canon piece, I have no desire to offend, and so I warn you upfront!

When reading this tale, I hope you can easily imagine it being told by the very best of storytellers in Varric Tethras (from DA:2). In my version of events, Varric meets "The Hero" (Elissa Cousland) in Kirkwall during the time period of DA:2. I mention this only so that readers can understand his connection along the way, and so I don't have to mention and rehash it again and again as I make my way through the tale.

A/N: Antivan Translations: Just in case you've forgotten. Hentes Fia - Butcher's Son and Doamna Mortii - Lady Death.

Muse Music: New Favorite by Alison Krauss and A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.

Thank you to all my readers, followers and reviewers! And extra special hugs to my betas artemiskat and Snarkoleptic, both of whom did their proofing with headaches today - though it easily could have waited :D

Happy Reading!

-Frayed One

Chapter Thirty-One: New Favorite

"When did you want to leave for Orzammar?"

Elissa's only half-attentive hmm didn't surprise Anders at all. She'd gotten lost in the stacks of paperwork that covered the massive wooden desk she sat behind for what must have been the sixth or seventh time since his presence in her workspace had become routine.

As blissful as it had been, it had taken nearly all of their first week together for Anders to get her to relax enough to allow him access to her daily routines, and even now there were parts of her world that seemed to remain just as off limits as they had been before they started sharing a bed at night. Her personal quarters, for instance, were conspicuously absent from their daily lives and Anders could not help but wonder if that should tell him something – though being new to relationships, he didn't think too hard about it.

"Come up for air, love." He pulled himself up straight in the chair he'd been lounging on and shooed Pounce gently to the floor before leaning across the desk to tuck a curl behind her ear and brush a quick, soft kiss against her lips.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that." Elissa smiled at him, relinquishing her hold on the ledger in front of her long enough to trace his jaw with her fingers and kiss him again.

"Means you'll never get bored, either." Anders shrugged, kissing her one more time before standing up straight. "And I certainly won't complain about that part."

"Was I ignoring you again?" Elissa laughed, but looked genuinely worried. She tended to get lost in her work, and while the other men in her life understood what it took to maintain a position of power, she wasn't sure someone who had spent any length of time locked away in a tower would see that tendency as anything more than an inconvenience.

"I wouldn't call it ignoring so much as filtering, but yes, there was a question asked you didn't answer." He settled down in the chair again, laughing when Pounce leapt back into his lap as soon as his rear met the cushion of the seat.

"I apologize." Elissa folded her hands over her abdomen and leaned back in her chair. "What was the question?"

"I was just wondering when you intended to leave for Orzammar?"

"I'm waiting to hear back from King Harrowmont, but that's merely a formality. I've already passed communication to Kardol and received his response. Whether the king chooses to acknowledge my request or not, I suspect I'll have us underway early next week." Elissa cocked an eyebrow at him in concern. It was no secret that the mage had no warm feelings toward the Deep Roads. "Why? Having second thoughts about coming along? If you don't want to, I suppose…"

"I'm a Grey Warden, Elissa. I can't exactly opt out anytime the underworld makes an appearance, nor can you give me a free pass now that we're involved when I know you'd never have done it before." Anders held her eyes until the nod of her head told him he'd been absolutely right to make such an assumption. "At any rate, I was only asking to get a gauge on time, not to back out of the trip entirely."

"A gauge on time?" Elissa's face was a mask of complete confusion.

"Yes. I was thinking, perhaps, you and I could take a trip into Amaranthine together. It needn't be more than a day if you'd prefer not to be away very long, but I thought maybe taking some time to be Anders and Elissa instead of Commander and Healer might be good before getting locked away in the bowels of the earth again."

Anders knew he'd blurted all of that out, and could tell from the look on her face that she had no idea what to make of it. He immediately started to retract the offer. "It was a silly idea. I mean, you're busy, I can see that… and—"

"It's not a silly idea, Anders. I'm sorry… it's just, are you attempting to court me?" Elissa's brow furrowed and he watched her cheeks color slightly at the thought that it could be her misinterpreting his words.

"Well, yes… I suppose I am. Though, I should warn you. I have no experience with this sort of thing – so whatever you've been used to in the past—" His words stopped coming when he heard her laughter begin.

"I've never been properly courted, Anders. I'm just as unsteady here as you are."

"Nathaniel never…"

"Nathaniel was sent to the Free Marches shortly after we became officially involved so there was never an opportunity." Elissa explained, watching his mouth begin to inquire after her relationship with The King. "And Alistair and I were too busy trying to stay alive and save Ferelden from the Blight. Not much time for romantic overtures amongst chaos."

"So… if I were to… court you… it would be an actual first?" Anders smiled at her across the desk.

"Indeed." She responded, smiling back.

"Well, that's certainly not too much pressure."

They were both laughing when a knock sounded at the study door, shifting Elissa back into the role of Warden-Commander.

"Enter." Elissa leaned back in her chair and braced herself for whatever was coming now that she'd seen it was Velanna on the other side of her study door.

"May we speak?" The elf looked even more hostile than usual, and that should have been enough warning to keep Elissa away from her normal sarcastic wit, but it wasn't.

"Are we not speaking now?"

"I would prefer not to discuss anything in front of your latest… plaything…" Velanna snipped, glaring briefly at Anders. "If you don't mind."

"Plaything?" Anders looked as though he wasn't sure whether to be upset or amused at the Dalish woman's commentary, so Elissa cut him off before he could make either decision.

"Anders, could you wait outside a moment?" She smiled at him, and he remained silent as he left the two women alone. "There. Better?"

Velanna didn't smile, but seemed to settle enough to take a seat now that Anders had stepped out of the room. "I wanted to know if there were any plans to get back to tracking darkspawn… sooner rather than later. If not, I would like to request permission to take my leave of this organization. I have what I need from you, and if you intend to laze about fraternizing with your subordinates for days on end, I would rather get on with the business of tracking my sister alone."

Elissa's temper was peaked, but she pushed it aside. Clearly something beyond the normal disdain was churning away in the woman across from her. And if she had to guess, it had less to do with Velanna's sister and more to do with a certain archer, one whose intentions to romance the elf had apparently gone horribly awry.

"I have scheduled a trip to Orzammar with the intention of reaching out to my contacts within the Legion of the Dead in a few days. The dwarves stand on the front lines of the abyss every day. If anyone has seen a change within their rank, it would be them." Elissa explained, crossing her arms and leveling her most authoritative gaze at the woman. "Will that suit you, or should I make ready for your departure?"

"That will do, for now." Velanna replied, standing up from the chair and leaving her study just as quickly as she had come.

Anders strolled back in as the elf disappeared down the hall. "Well, she looks even more foul than normal. What was that all about?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but I have a feeling it's got something to do with Nathaniel." Elissa sighed, fretting with her hair as she stood. "Which means I have to go and talk to him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Anders knew she and the archer had been avoiding one another since their relationship had become physical, and doubted that whatever had put the elf in such a foul mood was going to make bridging that divide any easier.

"I'm certain it's a horrible idea, but as Velanna has just threatened to leave us, I find it necessary as Warden-Commander to at least attempt to decipher what would push her toward such a decision." Elissa kissed him one last time, before strapping a dagger to her leg and heading out the door. "I'll be back soon."

Nathaniel had been diligently focused on completely severing their connection since Elissa's first night with Anders, and though she could see why he'd feel it was necessary, it still stung a bit more than she'd expected. Without their link to aid her, tracking the man down became more dependent on her knowledge of his routines and patterns; on simply knowing where it was he would go when he wanted to be left alone.

It was too late in the day for him to be on the archery range, and he no longer wandered the Keep grounds as he might have in their youth, which left only one place Elissa could be reasonably certain she would find him.

"What happened?" She kept her voice gentle and without accusation as she made her way out of the door and onto the ramparts where Nathaniel sat brooding.

"That's a rather vague question. Any number of things have… happened… since last we spoke. If you want me to answer, I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific." He didn't turn to look at her as she took a seat on the battlement beside him, but the slight shift in his posture made it clear he felt her presence there.

"Nathaniel…" Elissa tried to get him to meet her eyes, but he wouldn't – so she gave in and rubbed at her temples in frustration. "Fine. Velanna. What happened with Velanna?"

"What would give you the impression that anything happened with Velanna?" Nathaniel pushed up from where he'd been sitting against the wall and paced over to the edge.

"You sidestepping the question is a pretty good indicator." Elissa replied, watching him grow even more tense the longer she spoke to him. "Though the fact that she came barreling into my study asking for permission to leave the Wardens also gave me a pretty good idea something must have gone awry."

Still, he was silent; staring off into the distance as though ignoring her would make her cease to exist.

"I'm not asking for details here, I—"

"Good, because you won't be getting them." He snapped, still refusing to acknowledge her.

"I can respect that." Elissa replied, pushing back to stand and moving toward the door. "I only ask that you make an effort to repair what you can. I don't care for Velanna, and I won't pretend to start now – but our numbers are too limited for me to lose a Warden when I might not have to."

Nathaniel kept his silence, relishing the increasing distance between them when he heard her footfalls growing ever more distant on the stairs and steeling himself to partake in what was certain to be an even more unpleasant conversation.

"Let's do it."

Elissa passed her eyes over the chaos on her desk one more time, and forced herself to ignore it. If it had waited this long, one more day wouldn't hurt and the chilly conversation with Nathaniel directly on the heels of Velanna's bitter melodrama had proved to her that if she was to make it through the long journey into the tunnels beneath Orzammar without killing someone, she needed this brief respite.

"You want to go to Amaranthine?" Anders did a poor job of hiding his surprise. He'd fully expected the weight of her duties to keep her from indulging in any frivolity, such as his awkward first steps into courtship.

"Yes. I have to speak to Varel and let him know to keep an eye on things until we return tomorrow afternoon. We can leave as soon as you've packed, otherwise." She watched him carefully, looking for any sign that he might be questioning his original intent – but saw nothing but excitement in his eyes.

"I'll be ready faster than you can blink." He smiled, winking at her as he headed to the door. "Meet you in the stables?"

She nodded, chewing anxiously at her bottom lip before dashing out her door to find the Seneschal.

The conversation with Velanna had gone just as badly as Nathaniel expected it would, so he was not in the mood for company when he made his way back up to the ramparts only to find Zevran had taken up roost there as well.

The Assassin barely acknowledged him as Nathaniel made his way over to the edge of the wall and followed the elf's eyes down to whatever had so fully consumed his attention.

"Where are they off to?" Nathaniel asked, watching as the mage laced his fingers into Elissa's and steered them toward the main gate.

"Amaranthine." It was a short response, but left nothing about the elf's feelings on the matter unable to be deciphered.

"Aren't you going?" Nathaniel watched the pair pass through the gate, and into the day beyond, suddenly able to understand the other man's irritation.

"I offered my services as an escort, but was told they were unnecessary as this trip was unrelated to routine Warden business."

"I don't care what her reasoning is, there's a price on her head and Anders is in no way capable of preventing whatever they might throw at her even within the limited protection of these walls!" Nathaniel was uncertain what angered him more, that she was off for a romantic getaway so soon into her new relationship or that she was choosing to ignore her own vulnerability once again. Either way the pitch of his voice made it clear that he was furious.

"Yelling at me will accomplish nothing, Hentes Fia." The Assassin hissed, narrowing already frustrated eyes in his direction. "Doamna Mortii did not accept me into her service to have me question her decisions, and I will not violate my oath in such a manner whatever my reservations may be."

"Even if questioning those orders could very well save her life?" Nathaniel leveled his own glare back at the elf.

"Even so." The resignation in those words made it clear that beneath his carefree persona, Zevran was far more unsettled with his decision than he might have let on as he left Nathaniel alone with his thoughts on the ramparts.

The fact that Elissa had made it clear to the assassin she had no desire for company should have translated into an order to Nathaniel's ears as well, but it did not. The Archer could no longer see beyond the countless ways someone could get to her while she traveled unprotected, and so he left to prepare for a trip of his own.

Nathaniel was very good at traveling undetected. Quite a bit better than Elissa had managed to discover, as it turned out.

He trailed along in rooftop shadows as they strolled the various vendor stalls in the market square, and ducked inside a nearby doorway when they stopped to enjoy a light snack the mage had purchased from a nearby pastry maker. When they stopped at the Crown & Lion to book a room for the night, he was forced to linger outside; paying one of the barmaids who'd stepped out to retrieve a merchant's delivery to alert him once they'd turned in for the evening.

Nathaniel himself would not take a room, instead remaining vigilant in the tavern below. Come light of day his fears would be relieved or realized and he would either leave for the Keep with his presence never known or do what was necessary to keep Elissa safe once again.

The getaway had been just what they needed if Elissa's still-slumbering body was any indication. Normally she was up long before Anders drew himself out of the Fade, but this morning she lay at his side exactly as she'd been the night before.

"I'll have to remember that specific combination if it has tired you out so thoroughly." He chuckled, curling in behind her and sliding an arm across her belly.

The chill of her body was an instant indication that something was wrong. The intricacies of her condition kept Elissa's core temperature higher than normal as a constant, so for her to be so cold beneath three layers of blankets was far from normal.

"Elissa?" A quick pull on her shoulder rolled her back limp against the bed at his side, and the blue in her lips sent him into even further panic. "Oh no… Maker…"

He leaned in close enough to verify that she was still breathing, though the weak pull of it indicated that she would not be doing so for much longer if he didn't figure out what she suffered from and how to address it.

He traced his hands over her body, doing a quick scan for any signs of trauma, but found nothing. This meant it was most likely poison, something about which Anders had little knowledge in practice and even less of an idea what to do to counteract it.

He threw back the covers on his side of the bed and dressed in a frenzy. His only chance was that some patron in the bar knew enough about toxins to identify what had been slipped to her and to concoct an antidote. Taking her out of the relative safety of the Keep had been the worst thing he could possibly have done. At least there Zevran could have offered his assistance, but here… Here, he was alone and there was little he could do to fight something he could neither see nor identify. There was no magical cure for poison.

"Something's happened, hasn't it?"

It was the last voice Anders wanted to hear, especially right at this moment, but a part of him wasn't at all surprised to turn and find Nathaniel standing in the shadows just outside the stairs which would have taken him down into the tavern on his quest for aid. "I'm not even going to ask what you're doing here."

Now that the cat was out of the bag about his past activities, there was no longer any need to hide the extent of his skill, which made it even easier for Nathaniel to reach Amaranthine just shortly behind them while they remained clueless that they'd even been followed.

"Good, because I suspect we both know the answer to that without having to waste time discussing it at the moment." Nathaniel replied, his concern not fully concealed by the arrogant façade he tried to project. "Now, take me to her. If the look on your face is any indication, we haven't got a lot of time."

Anders didn't argue. No matter what he thought of the archer and his intentions toward Elissa, there was no denying the man was proficient with the crafting and detection of poisons as well as their antidotes.

Once inside the room, Nathaniel dashed over to the bed and listened to her breathing for a moment before addressing Anders once again. "Did you have anything to eat or drink before you went to sleep last night? Anything at all?"

"I had some tea sent up." Anders whispered guiltily, his eyes sending Nathaniel over to the small mug on the bedside table. "I thought it might help her sleep."

Nathaniel picked it up and inspected it closely, taking a small bit of what remained in the bottom of the cup onto his finger and tapping it against his tongue just to be sure.

"I know what this is. Thankfully, though it's not one of the more common poisons in the region, its antidote can be easily manufactured from ingredients I tend to carry." Nathaniel dug around in the small pouch he kept on his belt and produced a tiny blue vial into which he mixed small amounts of several dried herbs and tonics. Once he was pleased with the results of his efforts, he tugged Elissa into his lap and pried open her mouth to pour it inside.

She mumbled in her delirium and rolled her head against him, attempting to spit the liquid back out, but Nathaniel held her mouth closed and forced her to swallow it. "Stop fighting and just swallow it you stubborn woman!"

His words were laced with frustration, but Anders could see the unease in his face and the care he was taking with her restraint, though his hands on her face and upper body gave her no opportunity to shift away. It was hard to watch them interact on any level without acknowledging the breadth of feeling that stretched out between them, and Anders was too much of a realist to believe that it would ever get any easier.

Elissa started to stir as her color returned, and Anders finally allowed himself to take an easy breath. When her eyes fluttered open there was a brief moment of confusion upon seeing Nathaniel's face, quickly replaced with embarrassment and fury when she realized she was naked beneath the blanket and now draped across his lap.

"What are you doing here, Nathaniel?" Elissa hissed, scrambling away from him and shifting the blanket to cover as much of herself as she could manage.

"At the moment, saving your life." He replied, ignoring her tone.

"I think my desire to be left alone was made crystal clear in the orders I left with—"

"You left no orders with me. I'd never have even known you were going on this little honeymoon if I hadn't happened upon Zevran on the ramparts as you were leaving." He felt her temper flaring though she fought to control the conduit, but beneath the anger there was a hidden current of gratitude and relief she would never utter aloud no matter how pure the feeling.

"You'd have been no more likely to follow a direct order than an indirect one, Nathaniel. Don't insult me by pretending otherwise." Elissa snorted, readjusting the blanket when her ranting caused it to slip slightly down. "Now, if you're quite—"

"Let me make something clear to you, Commander." Nathaniel said, standing as he spoke and tucking the antidote back into his pouch. "I will never follow an order that threatens your well-being, regardless of the wrath I might incur in response to my disobedience. Your duty may be to the greater good, but mine is to you."

Nathaniel paced over to the door, turning back one last time before he left them. "It might do you some good to acknowledge that the greater good cannot be served while you lay cold in the ground, Elissa. If I hadn't disobeyed your… orders… and followed you on this little interlude, we'd be burying you tomorrow."