Three days later, Eriana stood in the palace bailey, supervising the final preparations for their departure. She had managed to procure several horses which would be ridden by three of her former knights, Garen (who had successfully undergone his joining the day before), and Niko, one of the two Warden mages. Brenden and Dillon, the other Redcliffe knight who had joined the Order, volunteered to drive the wagons, and Eriana decided that Cybele and Delian, the twin Dalish archers should ride with them incase they needed to fend off an attack along the way. The rest of the Wardens, Eriana herself included, would be riding with the supplies and equipment in a pair of wagons. It had taken her and Zevran the better part of two days to pack up their things and sort out what they would be carrying with them and what they would be sending ahead to Amaranthine. Eriana had no idea how they had managed to accumulate so much stuff in four short months, but it had taken four very large crates to pack and store the combined belongings of the two elves. But she was ready to go; all she had to do was wait for Alistair so she could leave.

The King strolled into the courtyard flanked by the Queen and Eamon. Time for the formal goodbyes.

Alistair gave a brief speech, thanking the Wardens for their assistance in the rebuilding efforts in Denerim and wishing them fortune on their travels. "You have done a great service to this nation; may we never forget that. May the Maker speed you on your way, and may his blessed Bride offer you her protection and guidance." Eriana smiled as Alistair went to each of her Wardens individually to say goodbye, saving her and Zevran for last. "I'm really going to miss the two of you," he said after giving Eriana a quick, but formal, hug. "This castle is going to be so boring. You do realize you're leaving me alone with Anora and Eamon," he whispered to them.

"Duty calls, my Prince; besides, Amaranthine is close. You are welcome to come by anytime; you are still a Warden, after all."

"Yeah, but I'd still give anything to be riding out there with you again instead of stuck here doing all this kingly stuff."

Eriana huffed, "Right because living in a palace is such a hardship; shame on me for laying this huge inconvenience on you." She rolled her eyes up at him. "Besides, there will be no riding off for me, not if I can help it."

Alistair grinned wickedly and glanced over to Zevran. "I was hoping you would say something like that." He gave a sharp whistle and turned toward the courtyard entrance. A servant came in, leading a beautiful white and brown charger that was saddled and ready for the journey. Eriana gave an audible groan as the servant led the horse to the King. "It is customary for the Crown to give gifts to departing war heroes, and since I knew that you would be doing a great deal of traveling, I thought a horse would be the perfect gift." Then he lowered his voice so only Eriana and Zevran could hear, "Plus I knew you'd do everything you could to get out of riding a horse."

Eriana glanced over at Zevran, "You were in on this; weren't you?"

Zevran grinned and shrugged, "We both agreed that it wouldn't be fitting to have the Hero of Ferelden ride from Denerim huddled down in the back of a hay wagon."

"And me falling off a horse is so much more dignified then?" Eriana growled as she glanced up at the massive beast. "I'll never forgive either of you for this, I hope you know that. And could you have maybe found a horse a little bigger? I mean, look at that thing, it's huge."

Alistair smiled and patted the charger on the neck. "He's a sturdy war horse, and he could come in handy in fights as well. Don't worry, you'll do fine. I'm sure Zev won't let you fall," he said as he gave her a boost into the saddle. He sighed as Zevran hopped up behind her and took the reigns. "Maker speed you, my friend." He looked over at Zevran, "Take good care of her; she's important to all of us."

Alistair gave Eriana a quick pat on the leg, "I am sorry to spring this on you, Ana, but I have another present for you to make up for this one. It will be waiting for you when you get to Highever."

Eriana huffed as at him from up in the saddle. "It better be a big present," she muttered to herself. "I will write to you once we get to Highever. I may have forgiven you for this by then." Alistair laughed as he walked back to stand with Anora and Eamon, both of whom looked absolutely thrilled that the Wardens were leaving

With their goodbyes finally said, Eriana and the Ferelden Wardens made their way out of the city, headed South toward Lothering.

Getting Eriana on horseback had proven to be the most difficult obstacle that Zevran encountered during those first few days of travel. He hated to admit it, but after several months of living in the palace, he was actually happy to be on the road again. A city elf to the core, he did miss the creature comforts that came with living in the palace, but he thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie among his new travel companions. There were no darkspawn so close to Denerim, and most groups of bandits were wise enough to avoid such a well-armed group, so their first few days of travel were relatively worry free. The only group that did attempt to ambush them was quickly put down by a particularly well-placed fireball from Niko, who had an impressive array of offensives spells, and a volley of arrows from Zevran, Eriana, and the Dalish twins. The ranged attacks were so efficient that the entire company of bandits was dead before the three dwarfs even got out of the wagons. "Would you save some for us next time, mageling?" grunted Trom, a former member of the Orzammar Warrior Caste, in a very Ogren-like manner. "It's been three months since I've sunk my ax into something living."

Niko laughed, "Well if your legs were a bit longer, maybe you'd get to it faster, my vertically challenged friend."

Trom stared at the mage for a minute before he started broke into a good-natured laugh. "You know, you're alright, for a magic user."

Later that night at camp, as Niko and Trom shared a flask of ale and exchanged stories about the Battle of Denerim, Eriana made her way over to their newest Warden. "Garen, do you know what this is," she asked him, tossing a small box over to the former thief.

Garen looked at the box for a minute. "Yeah, it's a lock box like the ones they use to train bards in Orlais. I've only seen one or two of these before; the guards will usually destroy them if they ever find one."

"Do you think you can get through all of them?"

"Of course," he said confidently, pulling out his lock-picking tools and focusing on the box. Zevran made his way over to the pair and positioned himself behind Eriana, massaging her shoulders as they watched the young thief's nimble fingers as he worked on the box.

"He's almost as good as you," Zevran whispered to her as Garen quickly opened the first five locks. "It almost makes you miss the good old days when we were pocketing everything that wasn't nailed down and breaking into every locked crate in Ferelden." He sighed dramatically as the human finished with the final lock, "Ah, what a magical time that was."

"You almost sound as if you miss the Blight." Eriana said looking back at him. "I think I prefer having a steady income from the crown and the bannorn. Saves me time anyway." She glanced over at the thief, "That was good, Garen, but tell me one thing. Do you keep all your lock picks there in that pouch?" He nodded. "You may want to consider hiding some of them elsewhere on your person. You never know when you'll find yourself separated from your things." She reached up into the braids in her hair and pulled out three picks, and Zevran sitting behind her did the same.

Brenden, who had just sat down beside her, rolled his eyes, "Teaching him tricks of the trade?"

"No, just survival skills. During the Blight, I was imprisoned and all my things were taken from me. If I hadn't had some picks hidden in my hair, I would have had a very difficult time escaping. And as for that," she gestured toward the lockbox in Garen's hand, "I want you to use it to teach anyone with any dexterity to use that. Anyone with rogue training should be able to pick basic locks easily."

"So, you want me to teach them how to steal?"

Eriana shook her head, "Not exactly. I don't want you all taking things illegally, especially since we're decently funded at present, but I can't tell you how many locked crates I came across during the Blight. It's just a good skill to have. Things were different while we were fighting the Blight. We were already operating outside the law, and we had to fund an army on top of that. There were a lot of things that we did then that I wouldn't condone now."

"Like what," Brenden and Garen asked together.

"Ever hear of the Dark Wolf?"

"Yeah," Garen said, excitement growing in his voice. "Man that guy was a legend in Denerim. He pulled off jobs that most of us could only dream of. Why, are you saying…"

"Yep, that was me." Zevran shook his head and gave her a quick jab in the ribs. "I mean that was us, Zev and I. We were short on funds, so the two of us took on some less savory side jobs to earn some extra money. We kept it as secret as possible since Alistair would have pitched a fit if he ever found out."

"And Wynne," Zevran whispered.

Eriana laughed, "Oh, man, could you imagine the lecture that one would have earned me. Maker's breath, that woman pitched a fit over the fact that we were sleeping together; imagine what she would have said if she ever found out we were working with thieves and assassins."

"Assassins too?" Brenden asked, surprised.

"I told you, Brenden, you really wouldn't like me if we had met in another life. But I was in a tough spot then. I had to do whatever I could to stop the Blight, and if that meant stealing from some uppity nobles, heck yeah, I'd do it. And if it meant assassinating Loghain's associates, sign me up. But, and let me be clear here, don't take this as an invitation for you to engage in the same kind of behavior. The Wardens are in a much stronger position now and we actually have a good reputation, and we cannot jeopardize that, not now. Understood?" The thief nodded and moved away to the other side of the camp toward the pretty twin elves.

"Do you think that's wise, commander; havin him teach all of them to use those things?"

Eriana smiled. "It's a good skill to have, believe me, even if it isn't used for illicit purposes. It's good to have multiple people trained in various skills; that's why we've been teaching the twins to use poisons and melee weapons. During the Blight, we all worked together, training and learning from each other. Zevran was good with poisons and melee weapons, so he taught me to use those effectively. I was a good pickpocket, archer, and a decent lock-picker, so I helped him with that."

"I guess," Zevran added, "that to a knight, our fighting techniques seem a bit underhanded and dirty, but try to understand, we aren't fighting in a tourney out here. Darkspawn don't care about fair fighting. Look at Eriana and I. There is no way we could go up against hurlocks fighting as you do; we simply aren't strong enough. So we play to our strengths, which are speed and dexterity. They can't kill what they can't see or hit."

"That makes sense," said Brenden after a moment, "but why the lock picking and pick pocketing?"

"All these skills work together," Eriana said. "You strengthen one, you strengthen them all. If you can get in close enough to someone to pick their pocket, you can get close enough to stab them or poison them."

"I guess I see where you're coming from. You know, it would probably good for the warriors too if we worked together and learned from each other. I mean, have you seen what Trom can do with an ax? Maker alive, it's amazing, and it would probably be good if someone else knew that templar stuff the king taught me." Brenden stood up and looked around the camp. "I think I'll go talk to them and see if they'd be willing to teach a few of the knights to fight like that. Thanks Commander."

Zevran wrapped his arms around his Warden. "Ahh, our little Wardens are finally growing up. Pretty soon they'll be slaying dragons all by themselves. I'm so proud."

"Me too. I think they'll be just fine without us."

Eriana and Zevran stayed with the Wardens in Lothering for a week before heading north toward Highever and leaving Brenden in command of the order. Eriana spent most of that week working with the chantry and local lords, securing supplies and lodging for her Wardens as well as mapping out a tentative plan of action with Brenden. The problem was bigger than they realized, so it would probably be six or seven months before the Ferelden Wardens could join them in Amaranthine. Zevran realized that their departure was difficult for Eriana; she felt that she was abandoning her duty, leaving others behind to fight darkspawn while she was doing paperwork and administrative tasks, but such was the life of a commander. For his part, Zevran was happy to be alone with her.

"I just realized something, my dear Ana," he said to her one night as they were laying out under a blanket of stars. They were a few days from Highever, and the night air had been so warm the past few evenings that they hadn't even bothered to pitch a tent, choosing instead to sleep in the open, making love under the stars.

"Hum, what was that Zevran?"

"This is the first time we've ever truly been alone." Eriana lifted her head from his chest and looked at him, a confused look crossing her face. "No, think about it. For months we traveled with a large group of companions, no privacy there. Then we move into the palace where there are guards and servants at our constant beck and call, no true privacy there. But here we are, together, and not another soul for miles, just you and me."

"And the dog."

Zevran laughed, "Yes, how could I ever forget Ramoth." He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair lightly. "We have been together for so long, but for these past two weeks, you have been mine and mine alone. No pressing Grey Warden matters to attend to; no emergencies of state for you to deal with; no 'Warden, find my sword," "Warden, kill my mentor," "Warden make me a sandwich.' Nothing but us."

Eriana smiled and nuzzled her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I guess I never realized that, but you're right," she said lazily. "This has been nice, just the two of us. It almost makes me feel normal."

"Ah, yes, but how boring that would be, no?" Zevran said, trying hard to keep the wistfulness out of his voice. Eriana muttered something in response, but she was drifting off to sleep, so Zevran didn't ask her to repeat it. Instead, he simply watched her as she dozed off in his arms.

A normal life. A few short months ago the thought of a normal life would have been enough to send him running very quickly in the opposite direction. What did he know of normal anyway? He had been raised by whores and assassins; he had known nothing of normalcy. But this woman, this beautiful, wonderful, deadly woman who had become the center of his universe, had changed all that without him even realizing it. Now he longed for a taste of normalcy, a home, a job (one that didn't necessarily involve killing things), and children. How ironic it was that the woman who had awaken those desires in him was unable herself to fulfill them for him.

But he didn't want these things only for himself. He wanted them for her as well. A normal life wouldn't be worth living without Eriana in it. He wanted a life for her free of worry and stress, a life where he could shield her from anything that wanted to harm her. But he couldn't provide that for her. He was a wanted assassin, and she was the Warden Commander. Try as he might, there was nothing he could do to completely ensure her safety, but he would do whatever he could to try. He would cut down every darkspawn, werewolf, bandit, crow, or walking tree that tried to harm her. He would throw himself between her and a thousand different dangers if it meant preserving her life.

As he was mulling over these thoughts, Eriana tensed up and her body began to twitch and squirm as she slept, her face knotting up into an angry grimace. This was a familiar scene, one that played out several nights a week, darkspawn nightmares. Zevran gave her a slight nudge, just enough to jar her from her dream, but not enough to wake her completely. Eriana's eyes gave a brief flutter, and her body relaxed against him. Zevran watched her as she returned to a peaceful sleep, an angry knot growing in his stomach. Yes, he could cut down every mortal enemy that moved against her, but in the end, there was one enemy that he was powerless to defeat, the taint in her blood. It was the one enemy that he could not overcome and the one enemy that was certain to destroy her. Regardless of how hard he tried to protect her, her own blood would eventually pull her away from him.

Silently he cursed the Wardens, the darkspawn, and the taint flowing through her veins. He knew that without it, they would have never met, that she would have died at the hands of the Denerim guard and that he would have died at the hands of Alistair and another Grey Warden. It was folly to curse it, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't bear the thought of his Warden leaving him and walking into the Deep Roads to meet her end alone; he hated the dreams that disturbed her sleep; and he hated the call that drew those dreadful monsters to her. But most of all, he hated the fact that he was powerless to stop it. Thirty years simply wasn't long enough. True, he would be nearly sixty by then, but she would still be in her forties when her calling came. It was an event on a distant horizon, but it was there, drawing closer every day.

Zevran sighed, trying hard to push those macabre thoughts from his mind. If his life as an assassin had taught him anything it was to take pleasure in the moment and to savor every moment, and at least for this moment she was his. And as long as she was his, he would make every last moment last. He drifted off the sleep that night, savoring the feel of his Warden in his arms and knowing that he was holding on to the only thing in his world that mattered.

I don't know why but I had a tough time with the beginning of this chapter. (Maybe because it's all transition, I dunno) So let me know what you think.

Thank you to all of you who have added alerts and favorites: Alisu, Jen, Dazzleday, Eva, Pyromaniac, Moonlight, Rhiononon, Neko, Rhianna, and Warrose. Welcome aboard!

A special thanks to my reviewers: Eva, Jenn, Rhiononon, and Zeeji. You all make my day!

I know this may be going in a confusing direction (esp. with the end of JFML, but I swear, it will make sense in a few chapters)

Thanks for reading! Happy Halloween!