As Nathaniel stood along the back wall, watching Eriana as she presided over the nobles' cases, a few things came to mind. The first thing he noticed was that whenever she got anxious, her ears would begin to twitch. He had never realized that before as her ears were usually covered by her hair or tucked away under her helmet. Today, however, she wore her hair pulled back in a low tight bun, so his eyes were drawn to her slim, elegant ears. All her other nervous ticks - twisting her ring, biting her lower lip - she had under control, trying very hard to look sure and confident for her vassals, and he doubted anyone else noticed the ear thing. But he did, and on some level, he found it adorable. It was a cute little flaw in her normally perfectly polished public persona. The second thing he realized was that they really needed to get her a new chair. After fighting by her side for so long and seeing how deadly she could be, it was easy for Nathaniel to forget just how small the elven woman really was, but sitting up there in the massive chair that used to belong to his father, Eriana almost looked like a child, waiting in her father's chair for him to return home. Somehow, though, whether it was the heavy-looking armor that she wore or the stern, icy look in her eyes, she still managed to look intimidating, leaning on one arm of the chair, resting one leg across her knee. Still, something needed to be done about that chair. He would speak with Varel about it after court concluded.

At present, though, he needed to keep his attention focused on the case at hand. The first few cases had been pretty straight forward, easy for Eriana to dispense justice. The case at hand, though, was a little bit more delicate. A young shepherd had been caught stealing grain from the crown to feed his starving family. The sentence for such an action was normally death. When they had reviewed the case the previous night, Eriana's immediate reaction was to release the man without penalty. "Look, you guys don't understand what it's like to be pushed to such desperate measures just to survive. I do; I've been there. This man was just trying to save his family."

"I understand your compassion," Varel had told her, "but if you pardon him, it will set a dangerous precedent that you can commit a crime as long as you can justify it. They'll start believing that if they can get you to feel sorry for them, then they will be able to get away with anything. The laws here are clear as crystal. He stole from the King; the consequence of that is death. If you let him go without punishment, then your people will see you as weak and unwilling to uphold the law. You will lose their support."

Eriana had been torn, even after the meeting was over, so Nathaniel was curious as to what she would do about the shepherd.

"Alec," Eriana said, leaning forward on her knees, looking the shepherd in the eye, "Unlike many of those in the ranks of the nobility, I can honestly sympathize with your situation. I do. I know what it is to feel as if you have no other options besides breaking the law. I know what it is to be starving and to feel as though you have no other option but to steal, but you made a very unwise choice. And as much as my compassion compels me to pardon you without penalty, my conscience cannot, in good faith, allow me to turn a blind eye to this offense. You stole from the Crown, and in the eyes of the law, that makes you a traitor to King and Country. That cannot go unpunished. Therefore, I have decided that you are hereby conscripted into the ranks of the Amaranthine guard. A portion of your pay will go to reimburse the Crown for what you stole; the rest will go to provide for your family. You will serve in the guard for a term of no less than two years, and at such time, you may choose either to return to your farm or to remain in the guard. This is my final judgment."

"Genius," Nathaniel muttered to himself. "Why didn't I think of that?" Conscripting him spares his life and shows mercy while still upholding the law. Eriana is seen as a just ruler without being cast as too soft. After thanking her profusely and pledging his eternal service and gratitude to her, Alec the shepherd, now guard, left to rejoin his relieved family. Eriana glanced around the room and her gaze caught Nathaniel's eye, and he could tell that she was curious to see how he felt about her decision. Smiling up at her, he nodded in approval, receiving a quick grin from her in response.

Nathaniel's smile immediately dropped, however, when he saw Haden Temmerly stroll into the grand hall. This was the case he had been really worried about. Temmerly was accused of murdering Ser Tamra, the woman who had informed Varel of the conspiracy against Eriana. Nathaniel was sure that he was guilty, but the only evidence against him was a small amount of blood that was found on his garments. Nathaniel and Garevel both wanted to simply execute the man right out, lack of hard evidence against him or not. Varel argued against that route, pointing out the fact that it could make things difficult among the other nobles. He suggested that they merely imprison him for a time. Eriana had disagreed with all of them. "Guys, I see where you're coming from, but we simply don't have the evidence to do either of those things, lock him up or execute him. There's simply no proof; people will think I'm being unreasonable or biased against people who don' t seem to like me. I can't afford to be painted as a tyrant so early, especially amongst the nobility. Too many of them are already trying to kill me as it is."

"If you release him, you can add one more to their number" Nathaniel pointed out, "I know that man; I grew up with him. He's vicious and mean, and he will do anything to get ahead. It's likely he's already a member of the conspiracy; that's why he killed Tamra."

"Nathaniel, what do you expect me to do? There's no evidence here. You said it yourself, they are doing this to test me, right, to see if I can be a fair ruler? Well, if I'm going to be fair, I have to be fair with everyone."

"It's dangerous to let him live, Eriana, much less to let him walk freely." Nathaniel shouted, slamming his hand on her desk.

"Nathaniel, I'm surprised at you. Where would you be if I did things that way, if I just instantly killed anyone who I believed was out to get me?"

"Well, you probably should have killed me. It would have been the smart thing to do." He snapped at her. "Sometimes you have think about what's best for you."

Eriana smiled sadly and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "If I was a normal noble, I would agree with you, but I'm a Grey Warden. Our whole life is wrapped up in self-sacrifice for the greater good. If the Wardens are going to continue to grow and get stronger, we will need the support of the arling, the whole arling."

It was obvious to Nathaniel that unless some new damning evidence was presented, Eriana was going to let him go without consequence. He was right; after all the evidence was presented, she ruled that there was too little evidence to support to the claim, so after giving him a stern warning, she set Temmerly free. Nathaniel watched as the smug nobleman strolled, a triumphant smile on his face, over to where Bann Esmerelle was standing, watching the proceedings. Just before he reached the Bann, he glanced back to where Nathaniel was standing, giving the Warden an arrogant, too familiar smile. Making sure that Nathaniel was watching, Temmerly turned his gaze back toward the dais where Eriana was still sitting. A grim smile crossed his face and he slowly licked his lips before shooting Nathaniel another quick glance.

Beside him, Oghren grunted audibly. "Well, I can't say that I liked that decision one bit. There's something about that one that sets my teeth on edge; he seems dangerous. And I can't say that I like the looks he's givin Ana either."

Nathaniel glanced back at the large nobleman who was still staring at Eriana with a disturbing, hungry look in his eyes. "Yeah, me neither; he's trouble," Nathaniel said as Temmerly leaned over to say something to Esmerelle who was also glaring at Eriana, but with a very different look on her face. She was up to something; they were up to something, that much was certain. Nathaniel didn't hear anything from the final case; his eyes never left the sinister looking pair who were staring so intently at his commander.

"Well," Anders said, turning toward the other two Wardens once the final case was done, "If that Packton woman wasn't in the conspiracy against us before, she's definitely a part of it now."

"What," Nathaniel asked, reluctantly looking away from the two nobles to look at the mage. He was suddenly aware that Eriana had ruled on the final case and the nobles were beginning to file out of the hall.

Anders gestured toward the loser of the final case who was storming angrily out of building. "She just lost a lot of land that your father gave her. I'm just saying, if she wasn't out to kill Eriana before, it definitely looks like she could do it now."

Nathaniel glanced over at Lady Packton, an old friend of his father's. As the noble woman exited the hall, she glanced over at Esmerelle who gave her a smile and knowing nod. The brief exchange sent a chill down Nathaniel's spine. If he ever had any doubt about the existence of a conspiracy, it was definitely gone now. He watched as the rest of the nobility filed out, waiting until they were all gone before following Eriana up to her room. Sigrun was already there when he arrived, perched in front of the fireplace, briefing Eriana on what she heard while observing from the shadows.

"Well, how do you think it went?" she asked, turning to Nathaniel as she began stripping off the light-weight plate armor that was covering her arms.

Nathaniel crossed the room to assist her in removing the complicated ceremonial armor. "I think the decision you made with Alec was brilliant; that probably won some people to your side. But…you definitely made some enemies today."

"That was unavoidable, though. I can't please everyone all the time; it's just not possible." Eriana turned around so that Nathaniel could undo the latches on her breastplate.

"Most of the people I heard were impressed with you, Commander," Sigrun said, grabbing the breastplate from Nathaniel and securing it to the armor stand as Eriana moved behind a screen to change out of the padding she wore under the armor. "From what I heard, they thought your judgments were fair and just."

Nathaniel glanced over at the dwarf. "Did you happen to get close enough to Temmerly after he was acquitted to hear what he and Esmerelle were talking about?"

Sigrun shook her head. "They were pretty well surrounded, but judging by looks they were giving Eriana…"

"Yeah, Oghren and I noticed that too."

"What looks?" Eriana asked, stepping out from behind the screen and coming to sit down beside Nathaniel on the couch. "Who are you talking about?"

"Esmerelle and Temmerly, I'm telling you, Ana, they're both at the top of my list of conspirators. Esmerelle was…um, how shall I say this…close to my father. Really close if you catch my drift. Plus, she's got connections all over the nation. She's someone who can cause a lot of trouble for you if you're not careful."

The elf shrugged, "Well, there's not much I can really do about it now. I can't exactly make myself become a human or anything, and I can't bring your father back."

"Thank the Maker for that," Nathaniel muttered, getting a smile out of Eriana.

"I guess all we can do is expose her for what she is. If the Wolf presents us with hard evidence that implicates her in this plot, we can discredit her in the Landsmeet."

"Let's hope the Wolf is successful then," Nathaniel said, draping his arm across the back of the couch behind her. "So, are you ladies up for a game of Wicked Grace?"

Eriana grinned and nodded, but Sigrun didn't look all that enthused. "What's Wicked Grace, some kind of game? I've never played it before."

"It's a card game," Eriana explained, as she ran to retrieve her deck from a chest at the foot of her bed. "And it's a very popular game for those of us who certain roguish skills."

Sigrun raised an eyebrow, "Really, how so?"

"Well, not only is cheating extremely easy; it's almost expected of you," Eriana said. "Come here, let me show you." Quickly, Eriana explained the rules of the game, then she and Nathaniel began to play, explaining it as they went. Nathaniel had always prided himself at being good at this game; throughout his life, he had yet to meet anyone who could consistently beat him at it. But after the first hand was dealt, Nathaniel quickly realized he was in way over his head. Eriana was a master, her hands moving so fast, that he barely saw them, and there was no way he could catch her. As he was getting ready to palm a card, Eriana's soft but firm hand caught his wrist. "I don't think so, Howe," she said with a grin. "You have to be sneaker than that." Nathaniel snarled at her and put the card back down.

"You're good, Commander," Sigrun said, coming to sit beside her. "I've seen master thieves in Dust Town whose hands aren't nearly as quick as yours are. I think I get the gist of it now; do you mind if I play Howe here? I'm not sure I could beat you."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, muttering something about being a suck up, but motioned for the dwarf to join him at the table. Eriana relinquished her spot to Sigrun and walked to her wine cabinet to get herself something to drink. Drink in hand, she perched on the arm of Nathaniel's chair so that she could watch the game, coaching Sigrun on the finer points of cheating and nudging Nathaniel every time he got away with something. Nathaniel found that he was enjoying himself immensely; it was a rare moment when they got to just to sit around and socialize. They had been so busy lately dealing with all the troubles in the arling that they simply hadn't taken time to just rest and get to know each other. He was about to turn around and fuss at Eriana for giving away his hand when there was a knock at the door. Eriana hopped up to answer it.

"I'm sorry to disturb you so late, Commander," one of the soldiers said, "but this missive just arrived marked high importance. The messenger said only that I was to deliver this to you immediately, and that you would definitely be interested in the information it contains."

Eriana nodded and dismissed the guard, quickly breaking the seal on the letter and skimming through it. Once she finished reading it, she handed it to Nathaniel; it was from the Dark Wolf.

Commander Tabris,

I was pleased that you chose to hold court today. It gave me a fine chance to collect the final pieces information on your little conspiracy. In fact, I was able to pin down the location of their base, a small farm a half a day's journey from here, Old Stark's Farm. I overheard one Bann Esmerelle giving Lady Packton directions there as they were leaving this evening. It seems that they are planning to hire professional assassins to come after you. Perhaps you will find evidence of their treachery there.

I do hope we can work together again. Spying on nobles is far more fun than stealing from them, don't you think? And do try to stay alive; the arling is so much more interesting with you in charge.

Forever Your Most Humble Servant

DW

"Do you know where this farm is?" Eriana asked as Nathaniel finished the letter.

"Yeah, as he said, it would be about a half a day's journey from here, a bit less if we used the horse and cart."

Singrun rubbed her hands together and grinned. "Alright, it's time to show these noble bastards what they get for crossing the Wardens. What do you say, Commander; we have Anders cast that neat fire spell on our weapons and go in daggers blazing?"

"No, I think caution is the key here. We don't need to just stop them; we need to out them, to discredit them publically. Otherwise, our actions will always be questioned in the eyes of the nobility. We need hard evidence to connect them with this conspiracy." Eriana said, ears twitching as she paced. "He said they were hiring assassins; well, that means contracts, and likely, lists of contacts. We need to break in and retrieve whatever evidence we can against them, and then we bring them to trial and hang them."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Nathaniel said, smiling down at the pouting dwarf beside him.

Eriana thought for a moment more. "Okay, I'm going to need you two to go ahead and scout the place out. See how many guards are stationed there; see if there is a weakness where we can get in and out undetected. Then we will take all the Wardens, along with a few guards, just incase there's trouble and we need backup. The three of us will go in and find what we need and get out."

"So no killing then?" Sigrun looked slightly disappointed at the thought.

Eriana chuckled, "Maker's breath, you're as bad as Oghren. No, no killing unless we are discovered and have to fight our way out. We need this to go as cleanly as possible, got it. If at all possible, we must do this the legal way." The two rogues nodded in agreement. "You two will set out just before nightfall to go scout out the area. There's a full moon, so Nathaniel, you shouldn't have any trouble seeing after dark. We'll meet in my office to review what you've discovered and make a plan from there."

-0-

Nathaniel and Sigrun came back with a detailed map of the area surrounding the farm hold, and it didn't take long for the Garevel and the Wardens to formulate a plan. The Wardens would all travel out to the farm along with a handful of Vigil's Keep knights. Oghren and Garevel would stay back with the rest of the warriors and mages while Eriana, Sigrun, and Nathaniel broke into the house, looking for evidence to bring against the conspirators. They were outnumbered by the conspirators' guards, so the last thing they wanted was to start an all out fight. But if the guards were alerted to their presence, then the Wardens would likely have to fight their way out. Eriana was sure that the three of them were stealthy enough to make it in and out undetected, though. Then they would have all the evidence that they needed and this would all be over and done with, she hoped.

The morning of the raid, Eriana knelt in front of a crate that she hadn't opened since she arrived in Amaranthine. It was a crate that held her and Zevran's supplies from their days working as the Dark Wolf. Sighing to herself, she pushed the lid of the crate up and looked at the neatly packed and preserved contents inside. There was Zev's dark, hooded cloak lying next to his dark leather armor; the warm smell of leather and spices, Zevran's smell, swept over her as she lifted the his leathers and set them to the side. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tried to settle her emotions. This was the first time in two months she had touched any of the boxes that held his things, his belongings that he had sent ahead to what was supposed to be their new home.

Reaching back into the crate, Eriana picked up his cloak and held it to her face for a moment, inhaling deeply, taking in the warm, comfortable sent of him. Tears filled her eyes as she sat there, holding his cloak to her face. "Zev," she whispered to the empty room. "Oh, Zev, how I need you. How could you just leave me, now when I need you most?" It wasn't that she didn't trust Nathaniel and Sigrun. She had worked beside them both enough to know that they were both very skilled enough to pull off a job like this, but they weren't Zevran. Zevran whose every move she could anticipate. Zevran whose skill in stealth and treachery were unmatched. Zevran who she trusted implicitly. Zevran who she still loved, even after all the pain he had put her through.

Now, though, was not the time to dwell on what was lost; Eriana had to focus on the task at hand. And her first task was getting into her Dark Wolf armor, which was no small task. Carefully and methodically, she polished her own set of dark dragon wing armor, working oil into the supple leather so that it wouldn't make a sound as she moved. She forced herself to focus on the job before her, trying hard to keep her mind from wandering to the thoughts that might upset her. She was almost finished massaging the last of the oil in when Sigrun came tapping on the door.

"Commander, you said you needed my help."

"Yeah, Sigrun, come on in, and please, call me Eriana. This particular suit of armor is a little tricky to get in by myself," Eriana said, holding up the unusual armor. It was a piece that was given to her by Master Ignacio back during the blight. To look at it, you wouldn't think it could stop a bee sting, much less an arrow, but as thin as the dragon wing was, it was incredibly strong. And it fit Eriana like a second layer of skin. The pants were so tight that they had to be laced up the side from ankle to hip, molding to her slender legs. The bodice piece had to be laced up on both sides as well.

It had been months since she had last worn the armor, and it still fit her perfectly in every way. Well, almost perfectly. As Oghren loved to point out, she had lost a lot of weight over the past two months, so she and Sigrun were forced to pull the laces at her waist extremely tight so that the armor didn't have any extra give. Not an ideal solution, but it would work until she either put the weight back on or asked Wade take it in. It wasn't until they made it to her bust line that they had a real problem.

"Eriana, is it supposed to be this tight?" Sigrun asked, pulling hard on the laces.

"No, not really. I mean the whole suit is tight, that's the design after all, but I don't remember ever having this trouble before." Once the dwarf secured the laces, Eriana turned around to look at herself in the mirror and her jaw dropped. The tight, black leather body suit hugged every curve of her body, just as it always had, but with one, well, huge difference. The tight bodice had an odd effect on her breasts, thrusting them upward so that the round curves were clearly visible. In fact, the top seemed almost too small to contain them.

"So, were the girls always that…um…snug?" Sigrun asked, gesturing toward her bust line with a sly smile on her face.

"No, they've never been on display this much before." She turned and looked down at the dwarf. "I don't know; it just seems like they're bigger than before. Is it too much?"

"Nah, you might have to watch where you step when we got downstairs though; you might trip over Anders' tongue if you're not careful." Eriana rolled her eyes, pulling on her black gloves and soft-soled shoes. "It doesn't make sense though, hasn't Oghren been fussing at you about losing too much weight." Eriana nodded. "So, how is it that, you know, the girls are expanding?"

Eriana shrugged, "Dunno, maybe I'm not losing weight, maybe it's just migrating north." Sigrun giggled and pulled on her own gloves. "Ah, we'll worry about this later, we've got some conspirators to catch."

-0-

The only sound around the Stark Farm was the occasional clank of heavy armor as the guards made their rounds. Nathaniel crouched in the bushes alongside Eriana and Sigrun, watching as the last of the knights strolled by. It felt strange being out of the keep without his bow and quiver strapped to his back, but Eriana had instead that he arm himself with daggers instead, arguing that if they were going to kill anyone that night, it would likely be at close range, very close range. It made him a bit uncomfortable to be without them, but he would adjust. Glancing around, he took careful stock of their surroundings. He couldn't have planned a more perfect night to execute a raid like this. The clouds overhead blocked out most of the light from the full moon, and the constant rustling from the wind made it hard for human ears to distinguish individual sounds. Lucky for him, Eriana's hearing was much better than his, so they were always hidden well before the guards made their rounds past them. He glanced beside him for a moment at Eriana who was lying beside him, nearly invisible. He had to smile, remembering Ander's reaction when Eriana had strolled into the grand hall in that strange, almost painted on armor. The poor mage stuttered stupidly for a few minutes before Oghren threatened to knock him out if he didn't stop staring at her. Anders wasn't the only one, though, who had reacted like that; in fact, most of the men in their party had the same reaction, unwilling or unable to take their eyes off her.

Eriana's hand lightly brushed against his arm, motioning for them to move out. Quietly and effortlessly, the three rogues slithered to the farmhouse. With cat-like movements, Eriana quickly scaled the up side of the house, landing on the small balcony Nathaniel believed was adjacent to the room the conspirators were using as an office. By the time Sigrun and Nathaniel had made their way up the side of the house, Eriana had managed to pick the lock on the door and was making her way silently inside. A large desk surrounded by several sturdy chairs dominated the center of the room. At Eriana's silent order, the three rogues split up and began combing through the room, looking for the evidence they needed. Nathaniel was looking through a stack of papers that had been left on a bookcase when he heard footsteps in the hallway. Moving as quickly as possible, he darted back to a corner of the room, making himself as invisible as possible, watching as his fellow Wardens did the same. The footsteps stopped at the door, and he could hear the sound of keys being turned in the lock just before the door swung open.

"Well, Esmerelle," the voice of Lady Packton said as two dark figures entered the room with a small candle. "I was surprised when you approached me about this; taking on such a formidable advisory, very risky, especially considering how well connected she is for an elf. I was a bit concerned that you were in over your head, but it seems that you have everything well under control. So what do you need me for?"

"The men I am hiring to take care of our little elven arlessa do not sell their services cheep, but they are the best. I need just a little bit more gold to ensure their cooperation."

"And what do I stand to gain by helping you?"

Esmerelle laughed, "Just consider this an investment. Once we rid the arling of our Warden intruders, then I will be the logical choice to take control. You do me this favor here, and I will remember it when the time comes, capisci? I never forget a favor."

"And the land that little knife-ear stole from me?"

"Consider it yours, so, do we have a deal?"

The room was silent for a moment. "It's a deal."

"Excellent," Esmerelle said, moving over toward the desk. She began to fiddle with something on one of the drawers at released a hidden compartment in the desk. Laying out some papers, she had Packton sign a few things before returning it all to the desk and locking it up.

"So, Howe's son, Nathaniel, is he in on this as well?"

"No, though I did consider asking him when I first saw him at the fealty ceremony. I thought he'd hate that tart of an elf after what she did to his father, but he seems to be rather loyal to her. It's a shame, really; he would have made a fine arl once we worked all the nice out of him," Esmerelle said as the two women walked out of the room, continuing to talk as they moved further away.

Nathaniel waited till all was silent before emerging from the shadows. He glanced desperately around the room until he saw Eriana appear from her own corner, the slight grin on her face telling him that she was amused, not angry at the conversation she had overheard.

"Did you see how she opened that drawer," Sigrun said, moving forward to inspect the piece of furniture. Nathaniel shook his head.

"Here," Eriana said, lightly pushing them to the side. "Let me take a good long look at this." Nathaniel stood back and watched as she worked, inspecting every inch of the massive desk, her slim, nimble fingers seeking out every crevice until he heard a light click and the secret compartment popped open. Inside were several documents with names and lists and even what looked to be a few contracts. Handing them to Nathaniel, Eriana closed the drawer. "We don't have time to read these now, but it looks like this will be all we need to get them. Now, let's get out of here before someone sees us."

Nathaniel didn't have to be told twice; moving as silently as possible, he followed Eriana and Sigrun back out the window and down onto the ground. Getting past the guards was just as easy as it was the first time. He thought they had gotten away cleanly when a sudden sharp pain suddenly shot up his leg as the jaws of a claw trap snapped tightly around it, breaking the bone cleanly in two. Nathaniel tried to stifle a moan of pain as he tried to open the locking mechanism, but he couldn't get the latch to budge. It didn't matter. Eriana was at his side almost instantly, and in a matter of moments, she had disarmed the trap and laid him out on the ground as she frantically started inspecting his leg. Pulling his dagger, sheath and all, from his hip, she placed it beside the broken leg, using it as a splint to keep the fracture immobilized.

"Sig," she hissed into the darkness, "run ahead and get some help." The dwarf nodded and disappeared into the woods, and Eriana turned her attention back to Nathaniel. "Okay, Nate, I'm going to pick you up and get you out of here."

"No, Ana, you can't carry me," Nathaniel protested, wincing and biting back the pain. "Just leave me; go get help. I'll be fine."

"Nathaniel, we are less than a hundred yards from the house. The next patrol will be by here in a few minutes and will find this bloody trap; they'll know someone has been here."

"All the more reason for you to get out while you can."

"I'm not leaving you, Nathaniel, and that's final. Now come on, stand up with me so I can get you \," Eriana said firmly. Wrapping one arm behind the knee of his good leg and grabbing his arm, Eriana pulled Nathaniel up onto her back so that he draped across her shoulders. He could feel her straining under the weight, but somehow, she was managing to move fairly well, just not all that quickly. It felt like an eternity, hanging there helplessly off her shoulders as the tiny elf struggled to carry him. Several times, he begged her to leave him behind, but she refused, hissing at him to be quiet. They were about half way back to the camp when Anders, Garevel and Keenan found them. The moment Garevel took Nathaniel from Eriana's shoulders, she stumbled, the last of her strength finally failing her and fell into Anders' waiting arms. He tried to cast a spell on her, but she stopped him.

"Stabilize his leg first, but don't use too much of your mana. I have a feeling you're going to need it." Anders set her down on the ground and moved over to the liter where the other two men were seeing to Nathaniel. As the mage worked, Eriana closed her eyes and began to mutter to herself in Dalish. A few moments later, a lone white wolf emerged from the dark shadows of the forest and made its way to where the exhausted elf was sitting. "Hello, old friend," she whispered, extending a hand to the massive beast. The animal nuzzled its head gently against her hand for a moment before laying down at her feet. She stroked the wolf for a moment, whispering to it in a language Nathaniel didn't quite understand, but the wolf seemed to get the message because it suddenly leapt to its feet and disappeared back into the woods.

"Well, that didn't last long," Anders said.

Eriana glanced up at him, "He and his pack are scouting for us. Chances are good that we've already been detected, and if that has happened, it's only a matter of time before they realize we have their documents. They'll be coming after us. The wolves will let us know when they're on their way."

"Ah," Anders said. "Well, if we're in for a fight, then we should get back and join the others. I've done all I can without draining myself completely. The leg is stable for now. Once we get him home, I'll be able to heal him the rest of the way."

They moved as quickly as possible back to the rest of their party that was waiting by the cart. Careful not to jar his leg too much, the men placed the injured Nathaniel into the cart then helped Eriana in behind him. As soon as they started moving, Eriana crawled over to where he was laying, lifting his head and gently laying it in her lap so she could stroke his hair. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the comforting feel of her hands as they moved across his scalp rather than the pain that was shooting through his leg. After several minutes, Eriana finally broke the silence.

"Nathaniel," she whispered to him in a sleepy voice. "Oh, Nate, I'm so sorry. This was all my fault."

"Your fault? How exactly is my stepping on a trap your fault?" he asked, opening his eyes to look up at her.

"Well, I should have pointed it out to you, made sure you saw it; I mean, I could see it clear as day," she said, continuing to run her fingers through his hair, pushing the loose strands back off his face. "I keep forgetting that you don't see as well as I do in the dark; I should have been looking out for you."

"Ana, I'm a big boy; I can handle it. Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not your job to look after me. Besides, there's no way you can catch everything. There's no way we can catch everything, even working together. Accidents happen."

"So you don't blame me for getting your leg broken? You're not mad at me?"

Nathaniel smiled and reached up, taking one of her tiny hands in both of his. "Of course not, how could I ever be mad at you?"

Eriana grinned down at him and was about to say something more when a loud howl pierced the silence of the night. Eriana closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the haunting call of the wolf.

"They've found the trap, and they're coming for us."

-0-

Okay, so I know this chapter is quite a bit longer than usual, but I really wanted to get all this in and get the story moving. I've been fighting the flu this week (ick), so it took me a bit longer to get this together than normal.

As always, let me say a special thanks to those of you who took the time to review. Judy, Kainen, and Eva, thank you so much for your support.