When she woke up again, Evelyn could hear hushed bickering right outside her room. She got out of bed, adjusted the dress she'd been sleeping in all night, and opened her door.

"There she is, finally! Are you alright? He won't tell me what's wrong with you." Solana was clearly worried. She threw her hands up at Anders as she spoke.

Evelyn sighed then turned to Anders, "Could you please gather everyone in the kitchen? If you'll excuse me, I have to freshen up a bit." Anders nodded to her.

As she went back into her room and closed the door, she heard Solana give a small scream of frustration.

She opened up her trunk and started rummaging for something to wear. She didn't want to put on a dress. She opted instead for a pair of linen pants and a tunic. She took a quick bath, changed, then made her way downstairs.

When she got to the kitchen, she looked at everyone in attendance. Anders and Merrill were there, along with Solana, and Alistair. That was all. Anders had only gathered those that he felt she could trust. She cleared her throat, "What we're about to disclose doesn't leave this room, does everyone understand?" She waited as there were nods all around, then continued, "As my family doctor can attest," she smiled slightly and gestured at Anders who grinned back, "I am fine. There is, however, something else that has come up and it would appear that I may be a larger target for the Templars than we initially realized."

Everyone looked confused so she continued, "It would seem that now there is a potential mage who has a claim of inheritance to the Viscountship of Kirkwall."

After a little more confusion, Alistair cleared his throat and said, "I think I speak for everyone here when I say...um, what?"

Anders rolled his eyes, "The Viscountess is pregnant."

There was a collective cry of, "Oh!", from the table, then concern. Solana spoke up, "That would certainly explain the nausea...But, instead of seeing this as so much of a problem, we should be congratulating you."

Evelyn acknowledged that it was true and accepted congratulations all around. When asked if Cullen had been informed, she nodded and said, "Anders has already seen to that."

Solana grabbed her cousin's hand, "I know...we all know...why you want to keep this a secret, but you do realize that eventually, people are going to find out?"

Evelyn nodded, "Yes, I do...which is why I can't stay here. There are far too many people required to run the castle than I feel comfortable being around."

Alistair asked, "I'll offer whatever protection I can, of course, but what are you thinking?"

Evelyn swallowed before continuing, "As it so happens, I know a couple of people, who know a couple of people, who are very good at hiding those who don't want to be found." She turned to Anders, "Will you please use whatever channels you need to send a message to Isabella and Varric? They know where I am now, so you can be very discrete while still conveying the message."

Anders smiled and nodded, "Of course."

"Please tell them they should get over here as quickly as possible without drawing attention to themselves. After they arrive, we'll explain everything."

Then she turned back to the group, "So that's it. I trust each and every one of you, quite literally with my life and my family. Please don't make me regret that decision."

Everyone got up and left, except for Anders. He fixed them both a hot beverage and gave one to her. Then, he took the seat next to her and asked, "So, you're back to trusting me again?"

Evelyn took the mug, blew on it and sipped while she considered her answer, "Are you sure you want to have this conversation now?"

"I think that it'll be a bit more difficult to ensure your safety if you don't trust me," he grinned at her, then took a sip.

Evelyn sighed, "As far as my welfare or that of my family, you've never given me any reason not to trust you. Quite the opposite, in fact. I have no doubt that if you say you'll keep us safe to your dying breath, you absolutely will." She stood up to leave, taking her drink with her.

"But...?"

"But...I think that's all you need to answer your question and anything beyond that is no longer any of your business."

As she turned to leave, he tried again, "Evelyn, wait..."

Her hand was on the door. She quickly turned back to him, "No, you wait!", she said as she slammed the mug down in front of him on the table. "You lost the privilege to my heart the day you blew up that chantry! That includes knowing how it feels about anything concerning any relationship we had or have. You have no right to even ask me that question, and certainly no right to press me for an answer." She didn't wait for a response, leaving the mug and spilled beverage there, and quickly turned around and walked out the door.

When she stepped out of the kitchen, everyone that had previously walked out was staring at her. Almost at once, they acted like they were concerned with everything but her.

She shook her head, then hurried to her room and slammed the door shut.

Solana looked at Alistair, "Would you...?"

Alistair rolled his eyes, "Alright, I'll go talk to him..." He took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen.

Anders had grabbed a towel and had started cleaning up the escaped liquid. When he saw the king, he tried to make light of the situation, "Remind me to add something to her nausea remedy for her mood swings."

Alistair crossed his arms over his chest, considering how he wanted to handle the situation, "Are you two going to kill each other before the Templars get to you?"

Anders chuckled, "No. We just always seem to end up yelling at each other, that's all."

"I see...what did you say to her?"

"Nothing...it was nothing. I won't bring it up again...ever," he finished cleaning up the mess and took a seat again.

Alistair sat down next to him, then said, "It doesn't surprise me that Solana was the first to mention congratulating her. She's wants a baby so badly herself, you know."

Anders took a sip and smiled slightly in acknowledgement, but didn't say a word.

Alistair continued, "But, that was the price we knew we'd have to pay if we wanted to be together. Never being able to have a child with her though...whether we were together or not, the result would be the same. So, we chose to at least have each other."

Anders furrowed his brow, "That's lovely, but is this just an outpouring of your soul, or do you have a point?"

"Well, it's a rather selfish decision, don't you think? There's the, admittedly very small, possibility of having a legitimate heir with Anora, but Solana and I chose not to take it because we love each other. We'd been through so much with the Blight, we felt we deserved to be together, yet it leaves the entire country without an heir. If I were a really good king, I would have married Anora and would have tried to produce someone to inherit the throne, as I'm expected to do. My point is - I understand how easy it can be to be in a position where you want to hold onto someone that you've shared so much. I opted not to go through the pain of losing her. You may think that you didn't have the same choice, but you did and you chose differently. What's done is done. Had we chosen the alternative, we'd have had to live with our decision, and so must you."

Anders took a sip, he thought about what Alistair had said, "That's the thing, isn't it? Living with it didn't seem an option for me. It never even crossed my mind that I'd still be alive, or at the very least, sane, afterwards. I was prepared to accept dying - I wanted to - I needed to put an end to the constant insistence in my head that mages needed to be free and that we would be that force of change. What would've been the point of keeping her if my grip on reality was slipping from me? So, I choose to commit virtual suicide...I suppose I failed at that, too."

Alistair took a deep breath and sat back in his chair, "Well, I'm not even going to pretend I understand what that's like, but that too is a consequence you have to bear." He contemplated Anders for a second, then asked, "How is your overly insistent passenger these days, anyway?"

Anders chuckled a little, "Surprisingly cooperative. Ever since being thrown in that Templar cell, he's been quiet...Evelyn knew exactly what she was doing."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think she meant to punish only me by throwing me in that cell, by keeping me alive to see how this is all going to play out. Had I been killed, my passenger, as you put it, would've been freed. Instead, he's in as much of a prison, being forced to understand his actions. By doing so, she's made him realize that in this world, justice is not nearly so black and white as he thought. Something I'd been trying to tell him for years, but he had to experience firsthand to understand." After a pause, he continued, "He accepts it as his castigation. He won't be a problem any longer."

Alistair nodded then asked, "And what of your own punishment?"

Anders laughed, "And what, exactly, am I being punished for? The only thing I could possibly stand accused of is escaping the Circle and evading the Templars, which is an opportunity any mage would've taken. I tried to help a friend when he needed it and then I'm called an abomination. I'm constantly used by that friend to further his own goals, and eventually I stand on the cusp of insanity because of it. Beforehand, I had a strong disliking for the Templars, but I certainly wasn't going to start a revolution. Then all of a sudden, we have to do something about "the great injustice in the world". Every action concerning the mages and Templars since then has been because of that voice in my head. What nobody seems to understand is that I've been living with the repercussions of helping Justice every day. Living with my mistakes has become so commonplace for me that at this point, this is just one more thing to add to the ever-increasing list of my blunders."

Alistair smiled a little, "Some would say that it serves you right for escaping the Circle in the first place. That you wanted freedom, but it comes at a price."

Anders smirked at that, "Be careful, your majesty, your Templar training is showing through."

Alistair stood up to leave, "I should probably get back to my royal duties." He sighed, then continued, "I'll let Solana know that everything is alright with you, though. That should ease her mind a little."

"I didn't realize she had been so worried about me."

"Actually, I think she was more worried for her cousin, but if it helps you sleep at night...sure, she was worried about you, too."

Anders rolled his eyes, "Fine..."

Alistair saluted briefly in goodbye, then went out the door, leaving Anders alone with his thoughts.

"So you blame me for everything? Do you also blame me for our feelings toward her?"

"I do blame you for everything, even that. But, seeing as how I can't say I wouldn't have fallen for her anyway...going that far seems a bit unfair. You know, I can't say that Evelyn isn't correct for mistrusting us. You know why."

"Because you still don't trust me, and so yourself."

"Yep."