Another skirmish at the border, another hundred men dead. At this rate, there would be no men left to fight the Darkspawn. As much as he hated the idea of bending a knee to Loghain, it might be unavoidable at this point. If the balance of power didn't shift somehow, then they were going to end up being swept under the rug by the Blight with little more than a dying whisper. The thought of allying with the man who had allowed his father's death was distasteful at best, but at least if they banded together they could kill each other after the Blight was over with. Doing it the other way around would result in nobody getting their just desserts.

To make it all worse, Eamon was still clinging to the notion that they had to find Maric's long-lost orphan to fill the spot as king. The old Arl knew where to find whoever this boy was, of course, but he was being mum on the subject and downright stubborn every time either he or Fergus tried to weasel more information out of him. Between cross checking every new recruit that came in the door and trying to stay one step ahead of Loghain, Aedan was becoming more and more frustrated.

Aedan was on the way back to his room when his thoughts were interrupted by a pair of voices coming from down the hall, the speakers obviously around some corner somewhere near by.

"…the mage in the city."

"You think it's her?"

"Could be. He's been gone too long for a dead end, so he's on the trail of some mage."

Two Templars came around the corner, both looking surprised to meet someone else in the halls and immediately shut up. They gave a small nod stiffly and kept walking. Aedan returned the gesture passively and continued walking in the other direction. Inside however, his heart was racing.

It was entirely possible that he was over reacting. Who knew how many renegade mages might be lurking nearby, and what percentage of them were of the "her" variety? Despite what little logical alternate explanations he could come up with in that brief moment, his mind immediately went to Solona, hiding somewhere in the Redcliffe village and his heart thudded against his chest with worry. Aedan kept his pace until the heavy clanking steps of the Templars faded a bit down the hall before he let the flare of panic sweep through him and quietly turned to follow the Templars down the hall. He wasn't as sneaky as Kallian, but at least in the soft leather boots he was wearing he was quiet enough not to attract attention.

The Templars walked a little farther down the hall before one of them opened up the conversation again, talking just above a whisper this time. "I only heard that he was missing today. How long's he been gone?"

"Two days. I saw him questioning those mercenaries the Cousland boys brought up. He had that look like he was on a trail."

"Always did call that boy a blood hound."

"Yeah. If that mage is running with the Couslands, then he'll find her."

"You think those boys are thralls?"

"Maybe. Or maybe they don't know. Could have bewitched the both of them, if the rumors are true."

"You believe that tripe?"

"Never underestimate a blood mage. You got to the tower after we cleared them out, so you don't know. They're capable of anything, and I mean anything. Just remember that next time you think that a mage can't or won't do something."

Aedan's heart was thundering in his ears by this point. They were hunting for Solona, and there was no amount of rationalizing that could turn his thoughts from this fact. He stopped following the Templars and turned, very nearly running back to his room all the while wondering: How? Had something happened? They said something about questioning his men… What did they know? What could they know? Solona had always been careful, so careful not to do anything that would tip off the soldiers to what she was really capable of. Except for the snow storm on the plains, she had done her best to stick to the sort of magic that was more or less invisible to those that didn't know how to look for it or else healing spells for the wounded. Not a lot to go on, but perhaps it was enough for whatever Templar was tracking her down.

When he arrived at his room Aedan threw off his formal clothes and dressed in the clothes that he'd brought with him from Denerim instead. Once dressed down he looked common enough as to be unremarkable, which was exactly what he was going for. He only stopped for a moment to slip on a pair of more sensible boots and grabbed a heavy hooded cloak hanging off the corner of his dresser. Should he bring his sword and shield? No, just the sword. The shield might be too conspicuous if he had to sneak up on someone, and he couldn't hold it on his injured arm anyway. Sweeping the cloak over his shoulder, Aedan secured it tightly and walked briskly out of the door, closing it behind him with a little more force than necessary. All the while he sent a silent prayer to Andraste that whoever it was tracking Solona hadn't found her yet.

Outside of the castle it was far more humid than it had been in the smoke tinged halls, even with a breeze coming up off of the lake. A storm seemed to be gathering to the east on the other side of the banks of lake Calenhad, the thunderheads painted red and pink by the setting sun and filled with lightning. It would be raining here within the hour. With a wary glance at the storm front quickly rolling in, Aedan flipped up the hood of his cloak despite the heat and shrugged the material into a position on his shoulders so that his face would be partially shadowed.

The walk across the bridge was a bit nerve wracking for him. He felt so overexposed on that barren stretch of stone and was only relieved when he finally was off of it and at least somewhat more hidden on the path away from the castle cut between the hills. The town of Redcliffe looked dead from way up there, the whole city lay out along the bank of the lake like a well-crafted miniature. It was light enough that no one had lit candles, and no one appeared to be walking about in the streets. He knew that the people were scared of the Darkspawn at the borders and so made a habit of locking themselves inside as soon as twilight started to roll around. They had probably seen the approaching storm and closed all the windows as well, even in the stifling humidity.

Aedan quickly made his way down the hill past the windmill and the Chantry, and then became lost. Where could she possibly be? He headed to the tavern that they'd first met in and scanned the insides quickly before deeming that she wasn't there then moved on, searching the town frantically for a glimpse of her. He thought about calling Keran to track her down but reluctantly decided against it. If she was in danger, then the war hound was her best defense against a Templar.

He turned a corner and almost ran into a man in full armor, just barely managing to keep from colliding into the soldier by throwing himself against a wall. "So sorry, I-" Then he noticed that the armor did not bear Redcliffe heraldry, and the apology stuck in his throat.

The Templar simply looked Aedan over like he was a stray dog, hitching up the helmet under his arm a little. "Careful friend, these streets are a wee bit tight." He was about to turn away and continue on when the Templar did a double take and looked at Aedan a bit closer. His eyes widened a fraction and a grin stole over his face. Immediately Aedan started reaching for his sword but the Templar was quicker, drawing a blade and laying the flat of it over Aedan's hand where it rested on the pommel of his sword. "No need to draw. We're not enemies yet."

"What do you want?" Aedan hissed, drawing back his hand but remained just as wary.

The Templar smiled disarmingly and slipped his own blade back into its scabbard. "You've got a little wildfire on your hands. You keep her safe, or the next time I track her down, you'll never see her again." Though his expression remained cheery, Aedan had to fight down the urge to shiver at the man's tone, the steely glint in his brown eyes clearly meaning business. "Let's hope that we never have to cross paths again, eh?" Then, with a simple nod, the Templar turned and gave a dismissive wave over his shoulder, continuing the way he'd been heading before their very brief conversation.

Having expected something of a battle from the second that the Templar recognized him, Aedan took a moment to process the fact that the man obviously meant him no harm. For now. Shaking himself, he ran the opposite way of the Templar, guessing that wherever he'd come from was the direction that Solona probably was. He'd obviously been talking about her, and relief swept through him at the realization that she'd been left alone.

By the time that he reached the lake the storm clouds were overhead and the wind from the storm was whipping off the lake in a fierce gale. Lightning crashed frequently now, the thunder rumbling so loudly he could feel it in his chest. Would she even be out in this weather, or would she have gone somewhere safe from the impending downpour?

Just past the docks a woman stood on a small peninsula that jutted out toward the lake, facing the wind with her hair streaming out behind her. A mabari stood at her side, pawing distractedly at the ground. Aedan wasn't sure if he shouted, or if Keran heard him approach over the gale, but the dog spun and began barking like mad before taking off and fairly leaping into his master's chest, slobbery tongue catching him under the chin before he could settle the huge hound. He had to keep his balance from the attack of love, or else risked being knocked down into the lake.

Aedan was so relieved to find them both safe that he didn't even care that he would probably be covered in muddy paw prints. He gave the dog a good scratching, Keran rolling over on his backside so that Aedan could get at his belly. When he looked up from the hound's antics, Solona was there, trying in vain to hold her hair out of her face and looking over the both of them.

"What are you doing here?" She yelled over the wind, catching her hair in both hands and watching Aedan carefully with a concerned look on her face.

Aedan wiped his face on his sleeve, getting of the worst of Keran's slobber off the bottom of his chin. "I thought that…" His words failed him when he met Solona's eyes, hesitating for a moment. He thought that she had been killed. It should have been easy to say, but even imagining the possibility stilled his whole body, constricting him. Haltingly he reached out and touched one of her hands, his thumb tracing the line of a silvery knife scar. "I was afraid… that I wouldn't make it in time."

Solona blinked, surprised, and swallowed visibly. After a second she took his hand gently and smiled, her hair springing free in the wind now that she wasn't devoting all of her attention to keep it in check. "There was nothing to be afraid for. Everything's fine." Her voice was sincere enough and her smile placating, but there was something in the way she said it. Maybe it was the faintest hint of sadness in her gaze that tipped him off. She was scared, perhaps as much as he was.

Thunder cracked loudly overhead and the smell of wet dirt assaulted them on a strong gust of wind. The thunderhead was closer now, a curtain of gray rain rapidly approaching from the opposite shore. "We should go." Solona grabbed Aedan's hand to pull him away from the shore and back toward the city. "I have a room in a tavern near by. You can wait out the storm with me there." Aedan followed without protest, still overloaded with relief from having found her whole and safe. The storm didn't wait for them however, and the curtain of rain hit them in a downpour. Big fat rain drops fell from the sky, pelting them relentlessly as they sprinted through the streets to try and get out of the worst of it.

It didn't take very long before they were soaked through, even with Aedan's cloak as a shield, which wasn't made to be weather resistant in the least. Solona was leading the way when Aedan slowed to a stop, staring at her as she ran and began laughing.

Hearing him laugh, Solona stopped as well and turned, shielding her face against the downpour's onslaught as best she could. "What's so funny?" She had to almost yell above the crashing and rumbling of the storm to be heard.

"This!" He replied, gesturing vaguely to everything in front of him and slowly picked his way to where Solona was standing, who looked appropriately confused. "What are we doing, running? We're already soaking wet. There's no point."

She blinked rain water our of her eyes, not quite knowing what to make of his statement. "That may be so, but I don't want to catch cold standing around out here either."

Aedan just chuckled to himself, lifting his hands palm up in front of him, catching water. "It's just like everything we do, isn't it? Neck deep in trouble, assaulted from all sides, and all we do is run." His smiled changed, became sad and he dropped the small pools of water that had been collecting in his palms, brushing wet hair out of his eyes as the rain continued in rivulets down his face. "Solona, what are we doing? What am I doing? So much scheming and hiding and making plans… How many people are going to die for this? Kallain has already been captured once, and we're lucky to have saved her before she was sent away. I've nearly died," he lifted his bandaged arm slightly, then reached out with his good hand and tucked a strand of wet hair clinging to Solona's face behind her ear. She froze at the contact, staring at Aedan with large eyes. "You've nearly died as well. Is it even all worth it?"

After a moment of silence with only the sound of rain to fill the emptiness, Solona took Aedan's hand and gently removed it from her face. "Maybe it isn't." She replied quietly, holding his larger hand gently between her palms. "But whatever you decide is worth this struggle, I'll be there to see you through it. I won't leave you until your task is finished, whatever it may be." He frowned at that, catching the hidden meaning that she did intend to leave eventually when all tasks were set and done. She didn't want to give him enough time to think about it. "Come on, we're going to catch our deaths out here."

She tugged his hand and turned to leave, heading back toward the inner city but Aedan remained and held fast to her hand, pulling her back when she sought to flee. "Solona, wait." There was a breathless moment where they stood barely inches apart, breathing the same space as Aedan silently pleaded for her to reconsider. She couldn't meet his gaze a moment longer, flicking her eyes to the ground.

"We really need to get out of this rain." She mumbled quietly, and this time when she turned around Aedan didn't stop her, just quietly followed behind.

Solona got them back to the tavern that she'd purchased a room at, the barkeep openly staring as the two walked in then shook his head mumbling about their idiocy. Keran shook himself dry the second he got in the door, which sprayed everyone in the near vicinity. Aedan made a muttered apology for Keran's actions and Solona quietly led them back to her room, locking the door behind herself once everyone was inside.

"We should probably get out of these clothes. I already had to stitch you back together once. I don't want to have to save you from pneumonia, too." She refused to meet Aedan's gaze and went to work undressing herself, slapping her wet sash across the back of a chair before working on the tough strings of her half-corset. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Aedan wasn't moving and shot him a small smile. "No need to be timid. I've seen you without a shirt on before."

Yes, back when things were simple. Aedan thought with a sigh and began the laborious task of getting his own clothes off which was no easy task given that it was bound and determined to stick to his skin. After a few moments of struggling Solona decided to help the cripple out, eventually getting his shirt hung over the foot board of her bed. "I should probably re-bandage you." Her hands paused over the thick wrapping of gauze and bandage material over his arm, finally meeting his eyes in a timid flick of her gaze. "Are you ready to see what's underneath?" She was watching him carefully, nervously, almost like she expected him to break down at the thought of seeing what kind of damage he'd suffered to his arm.

By the way that she hesitated, he knew it was bad. The only time he'd gotten a proper look at his arm was after he'd awoken from his coma, and it was a bloody mess then, nothing to be made out. Now however, he knew that there was skin where the wound had been. A fierce itching had gripped him shortly before arriving at Redcliffe, and Solona had explained that all the new skin had just finished growing right before the last bandage change. His arm and ribs were still sore of course, but the pain had settled to a dull ache that he wasn't really aware of unless he moved the wrong way too fast. All good signs indicating that he was well on the mend and onto a full recovery.

"Let's see it."

Solona nodded and began unwinding the bandages, rolling them neatly in her hands and working silently without faltering until there was only the last layer left. She paused and took a deep breath, then simply slid what was left of the damp fabric off without further ado and waited.

It should have been amputated. Aedan knew right away from the size of the scar that without magic, he would be missing a hand right now. He flexed his fingers experimentally, watching the way that his muscles played under his damaged skin. The scar was roughly the size and width of his hand staring from the middle of his forearm, the scar jagged and uneven where the metal of his chainmail and the shield had bit into his flesh. The rest of the scar was the aftermath of trying to pry it off his arm. It looked like something with jagged uneven teeth had raked the skin off his forearm and didn't let go until it had reached his wrist where the scar tapered off in uneven ragged triangles.

He flexed his hand again, turning his arm back and forth to examine it and only stopped when it twinged in pain after moving it too far one way or the other. "I really shouldn't be alive." It was different having heard about the event afterwards and seeing the results for himself. He knew that open wounds were a dangerous affair, and that even as a last resort amputation wasn't always a clean process. People died that way, and he was more grateful than ever that Solona had managed what she had done.

She placed her palm over the scar, her hands glowing with the soft blue of healing magic and the dull ache in his arm retreated a bit more. The scar, however, remained as it was. "I'm sorry that I couldn't do more." Her hands moved to his side where another scar, thinner and less noticeable than the one on his arm was and let the healing magic seep into the damaged bone there as well.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Aedan murmured with a small smile as he watched her work. "Soldiers get scars, Solona. I'll wear this one proudly. The other ones too." He added when she hesitated over a particularly nasty gash over his ribs, a wound that had long since stopped bothering him under Solona's careful attention.

Once she'd seen to everything, she backed away and took off her outer shirt with some difficulty, sliding the wet fabric through her hands and steam began rolling off of it under the influence of some magic. "Aedan, you know that I can't stay, right?" She asked quietly, absorbed in the task of drying her clothes and avoiding looking at Aedan altogether. "Ferelden is too dangerous a place for me to be in. The Templars are still hunting for me… I… saw one today. He tracked me down."

Aedan was quiet a moment, mulling that over in his head while Solona quietly waited for a response. "I met him."

She looked startled to hear that, her gaze instantly snapping up to look at Aedan, searching his face. "Did he say anything?"

In response Aedan shook his head and Solona looked almost… relieved. "Just a warning. To keep you safe, or else he would come and take you the next time."

Solona bit her lip, her hands pausing long enough that she started to singe her clothes. With a quiet curse she moved her hands and more steam rolled up into the air. "Keep me safe? That's so like him…"

"You knew the Templar?" It was Aedan's turn to look startled, sitting up a bit straighter.

"Well, I uh- yes." She flushed slightly, looking embarrassed and concentrated harder on getting what was apparently a particularly stubborn bit of her dress dry. "Do you remember when we first started traveling together, how I told you that I'd briefly had a love affair with a Templar?"

Realization struck Aedan like a brick to the head, and Solona's face deepened a shade of red. "Maker, that was him?" Solona nodded once and resumed gnawing at her lip. Aedan sighed heavily and sat back, scrubbing his face with his hands. "So, your old lover is an infamous blood hound? That just makes all of this so much easier…"

"Where did you hear that?" Solona asked sharply, her blush forgotten. "The blood hound."

Blinking in confusion, Aedan cocked his head to the side at her sudden change of tone. "In the castle. I heard other Templars talking about him. They said that he'd 'picked up on the trail' and called him a blood hound. Why?"

Her face flushed of color and Solona sat down on the floor heavily, staring at Aedan in disbelief. "The others know?" She whispered, her eyes flicking to the window as if she expected to see a Templar looking in on them now. "This is bad Aedan! Really, really bad! I have to go, I can't stay in Redcliffe if the others know that I'm here." Unsteadily she got to her feet as if she were to flee right that second and Aedan rose to his feet as well, steadying her by holding onto her arms. He was surprised to find that she was trembling, her eyes filled with fright.

"Hold on." He muttered in a soothing tone, rubbing some warmth into her cold forearms. "They don't know where you are, not exactly. They only seemed to know that this blood hound had been gone for a few days, and assumed that meant you were near Redcliffe. They're not looking for you."

She hardly seemed convinced, but at least she'd stopped trembling. "They find me at every turn." She whispered, bowing her head and squeezing her eyes closed. "You're going to get caught up in this. We've been so careful, so lucky… but it's all going to fall apart. Derik gave me a free pass this time, Aedan. I have one last chance to make sure that I don't prove him wrong. But one slip, one toe out of line and he'll come for me again. He'll find me. I don't know how, but he will. He always finds who he's looking for. Always."

"Hey, look at me. Solona, look." Aedan gave her a gentle shake, squeezing her forearms and she finally looked up, her eyes wet with tears that she was holding back with willpower alone. "You're not going to give him a reason to come looking for you. You're not a monster Solona, you're not. I know you think you are, but I've seen it, who you really are. The mage you see yourself to be isn't the one that lives inside of you. You taught me how to trust again, and after everything that I went through, I thought I would never trust another person. I wish you could trust yourself as much as I do."

A tear managed to work its way out of her eyes, escaping down the contour of her cheek, dread and joy welling up in equal measure. She knew he was speaking honestly, could see it in his face that he wasn't just spewing pretty words to reassure her. But there was always that insidious whisper lurking on the edge of her consciousness, the one that told her that she was a walking magic bomb, ready to go off at any second. "I know you mean it." Her voice quivered, almost silent against the backdrop of rain splashing against the small glass window. "But I can't think like that. I can't afford to."

"Who's talking now?" He asked quietly, kneeling in front of her to meet her eyes, cupping her cheek gently. "You? Or the Chantry? They're right about most blood mages. They seek nothing but power, lie, cheat and deceive to get what they want and are never satisfied. But you're not like that Solona. You're not them. You have a strong heart, and damned be the demon that tries to crawl in and take you over, because I know it wouldn't work. After everything that you've been through in the last few months, I know you're strong enough to face down anything that comes your way. You are not a monster. You're a person, and you should start living like one. You can't keep being afraid of what you are."

She couldn't find her voice to reply to that, dangerously close to breaking down into full-on sobbing. She clutched at her arms, hugging herself against the cold that the wet clothes and rain had brought on. "It's not so simple."

"It is and it isn't." He allowed, reaching gently to tip up her chin so that she would look at him. "Nothing is the same anymore. The monarchy is in tatters, the Circle has been practically wiped out, and there's a Dalish elf out there somewhere who's in charge of saving the world. I have no illusions that the way things were will be the same as how they will be once this is all settled and done. What happens right now is something that we can decide on, something we make ourselves. You have to choose where you go from here." His touch lingered a moment longer than was strictly necessary, and then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "…and if you don't run away, I will be there." He promised, the pad of his thumb brushing strands of hair out of her face. "I will always fight for you, as you have fought for me."

Her heart cracked with the sincerity of the oath, and she couldn't help another tear slipping down her cheek. "What about your brother?" She asked softly. "Highever? All of Ferelden?"

"This is not a promise I make lightly." Aedan replied softly, the palm of his hand resting against Solona's neck. "My duty to my family remains the same; to clear our name and restore our honor. Beyond that… My future is uncertain. My life is my own now, there is little point in thinking that there will be a Teyrnir waiting for me at the end of this road of vengeance. I do think that Howe will have to die, by my hand or Fergus'. The only thing that I know for certain is that at the end of the road, you'll be there, and that's something worth protecting."

Solona sniffled as way of an answer, reaching up and putting her hand on Aedan's wrist. "Maybe I could believe what you say, as long as you're there to keep reminding me."

"That's the spirit." Aedan replied with a small little smile and got to his feet offering Solona a hand up. "Let's get dry, now that that's all settled. It's chilly in here wearing nothing but damp clothes." Solona took his hand and managed a smile back, putting the plan of fleeing the country back to a method of last resort.

I think I accidentally misled some of you last chapter. When I said that I was working on their relationship, I didn't mean that I would finally give all you shippers what you wanted. But it's a step in the right direction, right? Anyway, this is for my fellow dudes that have to be up at stupid 'o-clock in the morning the face the chilly darkness. Next update on Friday.