Aedan Cousland was a bit wary when he strolled into the dining hall and found Eriana and Zevran already eating breakfast. His older brother had told him the night before in a few not so gentle terms that his behavior toward the Warden was "embarrassing and inappropriate and bordering on pathetic" and that he was to stop fawning over her like she was the Empress of Orlais. Fergus went on to point out that the two elves were obviously together, and if his behavior continued, he ran the risk of angering two people who were very close to the King. Aedan apologized and promised to try to keep his behavior in check, but since his brother's rebuke, Eriana was all he found himself able to think about. Maker's mercy, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and since she had arrived, there was nothing he wanted more than to be around her. He realized that he had been a bit forward with his attentions, but, deep down, he had hoped that she would try to recruit him. Well, that was until they encountered the darkspawn on their hunting trip; now, not so much. After the way he reacted, he knew there was no way she would ever attempt to recruit him, and, truth be told, he was fine with that. He just hoped that she wouldn't hold it against him because he definitely wanted to get to know her better and in every way possible.

Taking a deep breath and drawing up as much confidence as he could muster, Aedan strolled into the dining hall, offering a greeting to the two elves. He asked Eriana if she was feeling better and was pleased to find that she was. "So what do you two have planned for today?"

"Well, I was hoping to make use of your training grounds this morning. We haven't really had an opportunity to train properly since we left Denerim a month or so ago," Eriana said as she pushed an empty plate away from her.

"I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem. If it wouldn't be too much of an intrusion, I would very much like to join you. I've never seen anyone fight the way you two do; I think I could learn a great deal from you."

Eriana smiled as she and Zevran rose from the table, "Of course, you are more than welcome to join us. We'll meet you at the archery range after you've had breakfast."

Aedan ate and dressed as quickly as he could and made his way eagerly into the training yards. The castle's facilities were relatively empty, since most of the Highever knights chose to train later in the day, so it was easy to find the two elves. Zevran was perched on the fence that surrounded the archery enclosure, barking out commands in Antivan to Eriana who was standing in the middle of the range, a huge bow in her hands, leveling shot after shot at various targets. From time to time she would spin around and lash out at an imaginary enemy or roll as if dodging an unseen attack. She would immediately be back on her feet, firing an arrow dead center into one of the practice dummies. It took a while, but he slowly came to realize that Zevran was directing her shots, telling here what target to hit and where. The speed at which the arrows moved from her quiver to the targets was staggering; he had never seen anyone shoot so fast with such accuracy. Suddenly, Eriana stopped, cursed, and turned toward the Antivan who was grinning wickedly from the fence. "That was mean," was all she said.

"What happened?" Aedan asked. "You hit that target dead center."

"It was the wrong target," she said, shaking her head. "I didn't realize it, but Zevran fell into a pattern. Every fourth target he called was number seven, and without realizing it, I began anticipating that shot. I stopped paying attention, and he caught me slacking."

"And now, you have to do it all over again. Tisk, tisk, my Warden, and how many arrows did you have left?"

Eriana checked her quiver. "Three," she said with an angry scowl on her face. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"

"But of course," Zevran said. "I have told you over and over; you can never get complacent during a battle. If you get comfortable and start to get lax in your fighting, the enemy will do something to surprise you, and then you will be in trouble. You can never let your guard down, never."

Eriana nodded and moved to the fence and took a long drink from her water skin. "Now, collect your arrows and we start again."

Eriana sighed, "Look, Aedan didn't come out here to watch me shoot at targets all day. Let's work with him, and I'll do this exercise again once we finish."

Aedan spoke up, "Actually, I'd like to see the two of you spar first, if you don't mind. We only have a few guards here who aren't trained as warriors and they mainly focus on ranged combat. Fergus told me that he watched you two teaching dueling techniques to the Wardens when he was in Denerim last and said it was amazing."

Zevran looked over at Eriana and said with a grin, "Are you up for that? You were feeling ill last night, and I'd hate to take advantage of your weakened state. I would be a shame for Aedan to see you get beaten because you have a stomach ache."

"Har har, Zevran; I told you I'm fine. And if you're so sure you can beat me today, then why not make it interesting? If I win, I don't have to do the archery exercise again."

"And if I win?"

"Your call," she said. Zevran thought for a minute then a huge grin spread across his face. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear, making her blush and roll her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You said it was my call; those are the terms I choose. What have you suddenly lost your confidence mia cara?"

"No," she said sharply and glanced briefly at Aedan. "Fine, have it your way." She put away her bow and moved to her things, pulling out a set of sparring daggers.

"You carry your own sparring weapons? May I see them?"

Eriana nodded and handed them to him. "They are specially made for us, balanced just like our actual weapons." Aedan looked up, impressed. "To a warrior, one sword is very much like another; well, that's what Alistair always said. He said he definitely preferred certain swords over others, but when all is said and done, he can behead a hurlock as easily with one sword as he can with another. It's not quite like that with dueling; it requires a certain degree of finesse. If you practice with one set of weapons then fight with another, the difference could be the difference between life and death. Master Wade made these for us during the Blight, just before the Landsmeet."

Aedan was impressed. He handed the weapons back to her and stepped back as the two elves moved toward each other. They both suddenly became very serious, circling each other slowly for a moment before either made a move. They were both unbelievably fast, feinting, dodging, spinning, and attacking with such speed it was almost a blur. It was clear that this was a familiar exercise between them, so much so that after a moment, Aedan felt that he was intruding on something extremely intimate. Their daggers would lock occasionally, bring their bodies close for the briefest of moments before they would spin away. Aedan find himself becoming increasingly uncomfortable as his trousers suddenly started feeling a bit too tight. Despite the fact that they were both intently focused on defeating the other, there was a passion and hunger in their faces as they moved. Zevran lunged toward Eriana and she spun behind him, pulling his arm just enough to throw him slightly off balance. A quick stumble was all it took, and Eriana was behind him, holding her blunted dagger to his throat.

"No more archery for me," she whispered in his ear just before she planted a kiss on his neck. Zevran turned and bowed in defeat.

"Too bad; my terms were far more interesting," he said giving Aedan a look that left him wondering just what the terms of the bet were.

The young nobleman and the elves spent the remainder of the morning working on melee combat, and much to his surprise, Aedan learned a lot. The two rogues taught him how to best defend himself against the underhanded tactics many rogues used and showed him how to identify exploit their weaknesses. Then the two elves took turns fighting against him while the other one gave advice and suggestions from the side. All told, it was a completely exhausting, but very productive morning.

After they finished with their practice, Aedan thanked the elves and returned to his room to clean up before lunch. Eriana watched him go, making completely sure he was gone before she turned to Zevran. "What were you thinking?"

"What, are you talking about the terms of my bet? I stand beside what I said earlier; I'm quite sure he would agree to a little, how shall I say, some private hands on tutoring that you are so reluctant to offer. I still hold to the fact that it would be quite fun. It was the last time anyway."

Eriana rolled her eyes, "Maker's breath, Zev, you're impossible. I can't believe that you're so willing to share."

"Ah, mi amora, it's not exactly sharing if I'm allowed to join, no?"

Eriana rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. "By now I should have expected no less, I suppose. I guess you can take the Crow out of Antiva, but you can't take the Antivan out of the Crow."

"Hum, that sounds almost dirty; I like the sound of that. Perhaps we could upstairs, and I could put a little Antivan in the Ferelden," Zevran purred into her ear as he ran a hand down her neck.

"A little Antivan?"

Zevran chuckled, "Or a lot of Antivan, either way, it would be worth your while." Eriana moaned as she leaned against him. "You know, it's not too late to invite our young noble; you could get a little Antivan and a little Ferelden at the same time."

Eriana rolled her eyes and dragged him toward the sleeping quarters. "You are impossible Zevran Arainari.

Zevran and Eriana stayed with the Couslands for another week before bidding them goodbye and leaving for the city of Highever. Eriana's seneschal sent a message to her informing her that a Warden recruit named Mhairi would be meeting them at an inn called the Noble Mabari and to escort them to Amaranthine in a week. Eriana planned to spend some time in the city before then, visiting with her father's younger sister, Sybil, and Nelaros's family. As they were preparing to leave Castle Cousland, Fergus approached her with a request.

"Before Howe and his men attacked we had a really strong mabari kennel, and I was hoping to start rebuilding our pack. The only problem is that the only dogs we have are female. I was wondering if there was any way you would consider allowing us to keep Ramoth here with us for a few months to allow him to breed with our females. We could bring him to Amaranthine when we pass through on our way to Denerim for the anniversary of the defeat of the archdemon."

Eriana looked down at Ramoth, "What do you think boy? Would you like to stay here with the Couslands and become a daddy?" Ramoth barked happily. "I guess that's a yes, My Lord," she said before turning to the dog. "Okay, you be a good boy and do exactly what Fergus and Aedan tell you, okay."

It felt strange to be traveling without the mabari at their side. As much as the dog's smell annoyed him, Zevran found himself missing Ramoth, but not nearly as much as Eriana did. "It's weird, Zev; it's like part of me is missing. I mean, I haven't been apart from him since we were in the Deep Roads," she said as they were making arrangements with the innkeeper. "And it's not exactly like I could say no; he's my Teyrn after all."

The innkeeper waited for Eriana to finish before handing Zevan a key, "How long will you be staying with us?"

"Five nights," Eriana said, as she handed him a few sovereigns. "Could you please have a bath sent up?" The innkeeper nodded and summoned a chambermaid who showed them to their room, promising that she would return shortly with water for a bath. Eriana sat down at the vanity and while Zevran began to undo the braids in her hair. "I think it's about time for you to give me a haircut," Eriana said as Zevran ran her brush through her hair.

Zevran looked down at her, aghast. "A hair cut, perish the thought. Why in Thedas would you want to cut your hair, my dear?"

"Um, because I'm a fighter, not some Orlesian dancer. My hair is too long; it's starting to get in the way. I'm going to be back to fighting darkspawn soon, so it needs to be a more practical length." Zevran crossed his arms and looked down at her. "You're not going to do it, are you?"

"Nope, your hair, my dear, should be a national treasure. It would be a crime against nature and Ferelden if you cut it off, and I will not be privy to such a travesty."

Eriana laughed and turned to look at him. "You really prefer my hair this long?" Zevran nodded. "Then I guess I'll just keep it tied back whenever I'm fighting, but if it becomes a pain, I'm cutting it off whether you like it or not," she said as the maids came in with water for their bath.

"Well, I suppose that it is a risk that I'll just have to take," he said as he gave the top of her head a quick kiss.

After a quick bath, the two elves crawled into bed, and Zevran watched as Eriana immediately fell asleep, tucked securely against his chest. While she hadn't complained about feeling ill for several days, she still seemed a bit more tired than usual. It concerned him a bit until he realized that she had been experiencing more darkspawn dreams recently, so that may be the cause of her fatigue. He watched her sleep in the dying light of the fire for a while before he himself drifted off to sleep.

He couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours when a sound roused him from his sleep; someone was in their room. In an instant, Zevran was wide awake, but he was careful not to move, lest he alert the intruder. It took only a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light of the room, but he could clearly see the silhouette of two figures moving close to the bed. He reached out with both hands, one reaching for the dagger he kept tucked beneath his pillow, the other reaching for Eriana. He was not surprised to find her reaching for him. Long ago the two had worked out a series on hand signals, just in case they ever found themselves in a situation such as this. She confirmed what he saw, there were two intruders, one on each side of the bed, each moving toward them slowly. Once she signaled that she had her weapon, they made their move, each lashing out in the darkness, attacking their would-be assailants, cutting them down in an instant.

Then Zevran heard a sound that chilled his blood. Across the room, Eriana cried out in pain, and he heard the sickening sound of her body collapsing to the floor. In two heartbeats, Zevran pulled the cover off the lamp, flooding the room with light and revealing a third intruder, a human man shroud in a black cloak standing over Eriana, a bloodied dagger in his hand. The unknown man staggered, temporarily blinded by the sudden light; Zevran used this to his advantage, launching himself across the bed and snapping the man's neck before he could react. Zevran was at Eriana's side before the man's body even hit the floor.

She was bleeding heavily from a deep dagger wound to her side. Quickly, Zevran ripped off his tunic and used it to try to staunch the river of blood flowing from her side. "Ana," he said tenderly, trying desperately to keep the panic from showing in his voice, putting her hands over the wound, "hold this here for a moment while I get help. Can you do that, my love?" Eriana nodded, and he kissed her quickly before running to the door and shouting for help. Once he heard the sounds of raised voices and footsteps, he returned to Eriana's side. Her face was beginning to pale and her breathing was coming in desperate pants.

"Zev…harder to…breathe….poison," she managed to gasp out.

Cursing to himself, he grabbed the dagger laying beside her; a pale green ointment coated the blade. A quick sniff confirmed his fear, Quiet Death, a quick working almost always fatal poison; he had to act and quickly. As he was running to his pack to retrieve the antidote, the innkeeper and his wife rushed into the room.

"Oh, sweet Andraste protect us," the woman said as she rushed to his Warden's side. The innkeeper himself rushed out to raise the guard.

"Here," Zevran said, handing her a salve and a clean towel before moving behind Eriana, "you will need to clean the wound thoroughly. She was poisoned, so be careful." He cradled Eriana in his arms, her head resting against his chest. "Mio amante, you must drink this," he said, holding the small vial to her lips. He watched, terrified as she struggled to swallow. "Per favore mia cara, you must drink it all."

Her blue eyes locked on his for a moment before her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed against him. "No, no, don't do this to me, Ana; fight, do you hear me?" Zevran laid her gently on the floor, his fingers searching out her pulse on her neck. It was thready and weak, and getting weaker by the second. His lips found hers, and he tried desperately to force air into her lungs but the poison had all but closed off her airway. Grabbing his dagger, Zevran made a small incision just beneath her collar bone and poured more of the antidote directly into her bloodstream before he started anxiously forcing air into her lungs again. Her lips began to grow cold and blue beneath his as the poison moved quickly through her system.

"Non mi parte," Zevran whispered to urgently her between breaths, "non posso perderla, non ora." He was about to lose hope when she gave a sudden gasp and began to breathe on her own. Slowly, color began to return to her lips and the paleness started to fade from her cheeks. Beside them, the innkeeper's wife began to whisper a prayer of thanks as her pulse began to strengthen. The antidote was beginning to work; slowly but surely, she was coming back to him. She wasn't out of the woods just yet, but he knew that she was strong enough to pull through.

Zevran slowly became aware of what was happening around him in the room. The innkeeper had returned with a company of guardsmen who were currently inspecting the bodies of the would-be (almost) assassins. The man's wife had managed to get Eriana's bleeding to stop and was bandaging the wound. One of the guards, the one who had been bent down inspecting one of the bodies, stood up with a sigh and turned to Zevran.

"I'm sorry, ser…"

"Zevran."

"Ah, yes, Ser Zevran. I'm sorry, but I can't find anything on these men to give us any indication as to who they are or what they wanted."

Zevran hesitated for a moment, brushing a strand of hair off of Eriana's forehead before he stood up and walked over toward the dead men. "Mind if I look?" The guards nodded and stepped back to allow Zevran access to the bodies. Zevran moved over to the closest intruder and pulled up the sleeve of the man's cloak and examined the inside of the man's left bicep and was unsurprised to find a pair of crescent shaped tattoos on his arm. "He's an Antivan Crow," Zevran said frankly as he looked up at the humans.

The innkeeper's wife started with fear and muttered a muffled prayer. "Are you sure?" the captain of the guard asked. "How can you be sure?" Zevran said nothing; he merely held out his left arm, displaying his own impressive set of tattoos on the inside of his arm. "Ah, I see."

"No need to worry; I have recently been perusing other lines of work. But as for these," he said, gesturing to the dead men on the floor, "These two are barely more than apprentices." He pointed to the tattoos on their arms. Crossing the room, he examined the man who had stabbed Eriana. "This one was the one in charge; see," he said pointing to the crescent and check shaped tattoos on his arm.

"But what did he want?"

Zevran knelt down and rummaged in the man's cloak for the hidden pocket where most Crows stored their missives. Pulling out a piece of paper, he read the man's orders. It said only four words.

Zevran Arainari. Ferelden. Highever.

The Crows, it seemed, had found him.

Okay, so I don't speak Italian, so if anyone wants to correct it, shoot me a PM.

Non mi parte – Don't leave me

Non posso perderla, non ora. – I can't lose you, not now.

Thanks to everyone who added this week: Claret, Envinie, Hellen, 4MFT, and TG2000; I'm glad you all are enjoying it! A special thanks to my reviewers: Envinie, Special K, and Eva (if you haven't been reading her Halla stories, they're great check them out!)

I'd love to know what you all think; thanks for reading!

Eriana